His eyes widen as he chokes on the ginger shot, coughing violently.

I just grin and down mine with ease. “Eat before it gets cold.”

He licks the corner of his mouth slowly before grabbing his fork. I try not to stare. He’s shirtless, sitting in black shorts that cling to his thighs. His chest is still damp from the shower and I want to lick the water right off his collarbone and bite, but—

Food first. Then fun.

“You’re telling me to eat, but you’re the one staring,” Caleb chuckles with a mouthful of toast.

“Busted,” I mutter, finally picking up my own fork.

We finish our breakfast talking about Game of Thrones—arguing over characters and plot twists like it’s 2013 again.

“So,” I start, clearing my throat. “You were saying last night that you wanted to hang out today?” I grab our plates and move them to the sink.

“Yeah.” He leans back in his chair, stretching, his abs flexing beneath the light. Damn. “I want to do what we used to do… before everything changed.”

My eyes glance from him to the plates in my hand.

“Before I fucked it up,” Caleb adds quickly, eyes dropping.

I nod my head slowly. I don’t want him to be so hard on himself. I turn and open the hotel microwave. “I got you something,” I say, dropping the plastic package on top of the counter.

His eyes widen and his mouth gapes open as he takes in the sight. “Carrot cake muffins!? Nathaniel, you angel!” He laughs, immediately opening the packaging.

“Alright,” I say, wiping my hands off. I grab his laptop from the counter and head toward the bedroom. “Bring a few of those and let’s go to the bed. Horror movie time.”

His face lights up and he follows, barefoot and glowing with boyish excitement as he’s already digging into one of the muffins.

I can’t lie—seeing him respond like that when I do something for him? It does something to me. Maybe no one's ever tried to care for him like this before.

We sprawl out across the bed. For tall guys, it’s thankfully huge. Leaving tomorrow is going to be brutal.

“I can’t believe you’re making me watch this. You know horror movies mess me up,” Caleb laughs, licking his thumb clean.

“Remember The Conjuring in your basement? You couldn’t sleep for a week.”

“Screw you,” he groans, settling against the headboard. The room stays dim—curtains still half-drawn from this morning.

I cast the movie from my phone to his laptop, but I can feel it already: the tension starting to build. That familiar pull between us that’s never really gone away. Just… evolved.

“I hate you right now,” he mutters, running his fingers through his hair. He gets comfortable beside me, his legs already tangling with mine. A warmth spreads across my chest as I realize, this is what I always wanted. Even back then. Him being close feels…right.

“You’re such a baby,” I tease. “How did you ever get girls?”