Crazy Love (mxm)

Chapter Fifteen

Carter's POV

I woke up smooshed between a strong bicep and my son, which brought the strongest feeling of contentment I've ever felt in my life. Lazily, I lifted my head from my pillow to kiss Ronan's forehead, then James'.

After the party and Ronan had gone to bed, James and I had tried to take things to the next level, but Ronan interrupted yet again with his screams about nightmares. It seemed that every time I wanted to get freaky with James, Ronan stood in the way.

But James had smiled and told me to let him sleep with us. And it was what I usually did when Ronan had nightmares, so I had. And here I was: content, cozy, and in between my two favorite guys.

James shifted and tossed his arm around my waist. I hid my smile as he kissed my neck. "Morning," he grumbled, voice husky with sleep.

I carefully rolled over and kissed him. The kiss was the type of affectionate gesture that old married couples gave each other — no crazy tongue or wild passion, just comfortable affection.

"We have to be careful getting out of bed," I whispered. "Ronan never wakes up after me. This is a blessing."

James' smile was almost as bright as the sun peeking through the curtains. "Stealth mode: engaged."

"You're a dork."

James rolled off the bed over dramatically and landed lightly on his feet. He pressed a finger to his lips and gestured for me to follow him. Rolling my eyes and hiding my smile, I shuffled to the side of the bed and stood up.

James gestured for me to crouch low and he tip-toed all the way to the bed. I tried not to laugh at how stupid and goofy he could be. Instead, I ducked down and followed after him.

We burst into giggles the second we made it down the stairs. "You engaged stealth mode pretty quickly back there," I snickered. "Have you been practicing or something?"

James leaned against the kitchen table and shrugged. "Not to brag, but I duck and crawl around my entire house."

I smiled wide and took in how beautiful he looked. He was practically glowing in the morning sun, muscles visible beneath his thin white t-shirt and hair rumpled in a way that made me want to run my fingers through it.

"You look different without your glasses on," I mentioned. I walked up to him and he wrapped his arms around me easily, tugging me up against him.

James wiggled his eyebrows. "Ooh, in a good way? Wait— that would be bad, because I wear them all the time."

"Just in a different way," I laughed. "Less nerdy."

He jabbed my stomach and I cackled. "You're the worst!" James groaned. "Make me food." I pulled away without a second thought and started to gather what I needed. "...And I'm getting a beer from your fridge."

I'd been in the process of grabbing the countertop grill from my cabinet, but I turned to see if he was serious. Sure enough, James tugged a bottle of beer from my fridge and sighed when he popped the top.

"You're serious?" I drawled.

He blushed a little when he met my eyes, then shrugged. "I don't know, man. I get shaky if I don't. Or headaches or whatever. Do you wanna deal with me when I'm cranky?"

"That sounds like addiction."

"Well, obviously." James tipped the bottle back and I tried to pretend like his exposed throat and bobbing Adam's apple wasn't hot. He shrugged. "The cigarettes aren't as bad, you know. Maybe once a day. Nothing crazy. But alcohol...it doesn't kill me the way the cigarettes would, so who cares?"