Jungkook awoke in Taehyung's arms. He expected to be more startled by that fact, but lying next to Tae felt like the most natural thing in the world. The elder was on his back, an arm stretched over his eyes to block out the sun.
The younger watched Tae's chest rise and fall. The edge of the blanket rested above his waist, and Jungkook saw a hint of his abdomen. Jungkook knew what lay under the blanket and memories of the night before rushed back, making him burn, but not with embarrassment. Not for one minute did he regret losing his virginity with Tae. What happened next was a whole lot trickier. Jungkook liked him. A lot. He lusted for Taehyung. A lot. He wanted Tae like he'd never wanted anyone. Taehyung made him laugh and made him feel lighthearted, and part of Jungkook cringed when he let himself look toward tomorrow.
Would they have a tomorrow? After Tae broke up with him and his family sent him back to Seoul. Back to his adopted home town. Jungkook was smart enough to realize that Taehyung was a forever kind of guy. But they'd gone along with this deception for so long, how could he step back and say, "Sorry everyone, this was all one big mistake"?
"Hey," Taehyung murmured sleepily, cracking his eyes open. "I know you're probably into those cheesy romance novels and movies, but it's actually kind of creepy for someone to watch another person sleep all night."
"You think I spent the night watching you sleep?" Jungkook buried his face in the crook of Tae's neck, his mouth finding the elder's earlobe.
"Did we even have much of a chance to sleep?" Tae asked, rolling onto his side to face Jungkook.
"Not much."
Taehyung laughed, eyes blinking open sleepily as a smile spread across his face. "Good morning."
Jungkook smiled back. "Yes it is."
"You're not one of those happy morning people, are you?" the elder murmured. "Because if you are, I may have to end this fake engagement right now."
"Let me guess, you don't function until after a cup of coffee?"
"Actually it's two cups. And yes. Coffee is the elixir of the gods."
Jungkook's brown eyes danced in amusement. "Are you calling yourself a god now?"
"You were a participant in last night's activities, so you tell me."
The younger laughed and settled his face into Taehyung's chest. An ache filled Tae's heart as he held Jungkook close, stroking his hair. He had to figure a way out of this. Could they just come clean and tell his family the truth, making it into a funny story? One thing was for sure: His mother would never forgive them. Jungkook's mother's opinion was important to him, no matter what he claimed. And that wasn't even taking into account the problem of Jeon Seongjin's business.
What a screwed-up mess.
"How about I take you out for breakfast?" Tae asked, trying to keep his tone light.
"Are you asking me out on a date?" Jungkook asked, his voice muffled.
He leaned back, tipping Jungkook's chin up to look at him. "Jeon Jungkook, would you do me the honor of letting me escort you to the International House of Pancakes?"
Laughter lit the younger's eyes. "How can I refuse such a gallant request? But I'm warning you that I'm a big breakfast eater—much to my mother's dismay—so don't expect me to order an egg-white omelet and black coffee."
Taehyung tried to keep his face serious. "I wouldn't dream of letting you order anything smaller than the Breakfast Sampler Plate."
"The fact you can name an item on the menu has me a little frightened. I'll agree to go out to breakfast with you, but I get to pick the place."
"Deal." He sat up, pulling the blanket down and leaving them both exposed from the waist up. "Although I might want something else first."
"Later. I need food."
Jungkook got on his hands and knees to search for his clothes, and Tae couldn't drag his gaze away from his bare ass.
Jungkook looked over his shoulder at him. "You didn't get your fill last night?"
"I'm not complaining about the views I was blessed to see—so you can't fault me for admiring it now. You have a very gorgeous ass."
The younger smirked his amusement. "Yeah? Well, you might get to see plenty of it if I don't find my underwear."
"I thought you tossed it toward the bottom of the blanket."
"Yeah, well, we got a little creative last night. Who knows where everything ended up."
"So we just get up and look."
"Great in theory," he said, motioning his head toward the water. "I'm sure those fishermen are going to appreciate the view."
"What?" Taehyung's head turned to see a fishing boat coasting into view. He tackled Jungkook flat onto the pallet and covered his with the blanket.
Jungkook laughed, pulling Tae down on top of him. "I think it's too late to save my virtue."
"Maybe so, but you gave your virtue to me and I don't plan on sharing it."
"Oooh..." He grinned, pulling Tae's mouth to his. "I like it when you get all possessive."
"Then you should love the rest of your day, because I plan to spend it being that obsessive boyfriend every girl either loves or hates."
"And which one will I be?" the younger asked. "The one who loves it or hates it?"
Tae's hand cradled his face. "I'll let you tell me at the end of the day."
Jungkook swatted him, and Tae pulled them together for a slow, hypnotic kiss that held the false promise of being the first of a thousand more. Jungkook's hands dug into his hair, keeping Tae firmly in place.
Taehyung lifted his face and gave him a genuine smile. "I promised you breakfast and the opportunity to not be gawked at by old men fishing on the lake. I'm neglecting my duties."
"You haven't heard any complaints from me."
He looked out onto the lake. They were low enough to the ground that they'd probably gone unnoticed by the fishermen. He glanced around the pallet and surrounding grass. "So any good leads on our clothes?"
"Just what you see before you."
Tae saw Jungkook's shirt, his own pants and nothing else. "Where are my T-shirt and underwear?"
"Forget your T-shirt," he grumbled. "What about my pants?"
Taehyung pulled his pants on and zipped them up, taking extra care since he was going commando. "They must be somewhere around here." He moved to the edge of the trees and spotted Jungkook's pants several feet away. He held it up. "How'd this get over here?"
"Those damned raccoons," the younger grumbled.
"You're kidding."
"No, I told you they were the ones you had to worry about."
Tae dropped it by Jungkook on the sleeping bag and spotted his T-shirt on the other side of the clearing. After shaking it off, he pulled it over his head and decided not to put any effort into finding his underwear. He definitely didn't want to wear them again if monster raccoons had been chewing on them through the night.
Jungkook had pulled on his pants and raised his arms to pull his shirt over his head when Taehyung froze.
"Uh, Jungkook...how frightened are you of bugs?"
"You mean like ants and mosquitos?"
"No...more like ticks."
"What?" he screeched, jumping around and dancing in place. "Get it off! Get it off!"
Tae ran over to him and pulled Jungkook into his arms to settle him down. "So you're afraid of your mother and blood-sucking parasites. I can see a common thread."
"It's not funny, Tae!" he shouted, trying to pull free. "Get it off!"
"Calm down. It's just a seed tick. I'll pull it out."
Jungkook took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Where is it?"
"Close to your armpit."
The younger released a shriek of panic, his feet running in place, and Tae had to laugh despite Jungkook's obvious terror.
"Stop laughing at me!"
"I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing with you."
Jungkook swung his face around to glare at him. "I'm not laughing, Tae!"
"I know. I'm sorry. You're just so cute."
"There's nothing cute about ticks!"
"Okay, hold still so I can get it off." He lifted Jungkook's arm over his head and examined his skin, surprised it was gone. "I don't see it."
"What do you mean you don't see it?"
"It's gone."
Jungkook looked up at Tae, his gaze fierce. "Ticks just don't leave, Tae. They wait until they're engorged and drop off. Did it look engorged?"
Tae pinched his lips—he couldn't laugh or Jungkook would kill him. "I admit to seeing more than my fair share of engorged objects in the last ten hours or so, but that tick wasn't one of them."
"Then where is it?" the younger shrieked, panicked again.
"Relax, Jungkook. It's just a tiny tick."
"Just a tiny tick? It's a creature that embeds its head deep inside—" Jungkook glared up at Taehyung again when he began to snicker. "If you're going to continue to act like a twelve-year-old boy, I'm going to leave you out here with the raccoons."
Though he managed not to release the peals of laughter bubbling up inside him, Tae couldn't hold back a chuckle. "I'm sorry. I'm trying."
Without responding, Jungkook tried to look over his shoulder. "I can't see back there."
Taehyung grabbed his shoulders and bent at the knees so his face was level with Jungkook's. "I'll look and make sure you don't have any ticks, okay? I promise."
Jungkook dragged in a breath and let it out. "Okay."
The elder gave him a soft kiss and released his shoulders, then moved behind him to examine his back. After examining Jungkook's back, he moved to his sides and front, then declared him tick-free. "Nothing. You're good."
"Then where did it go?"
"I don't know." Tae picked Jungkook's shirt off the ground. "I suspect it wasn't attached yet and fell off when you were trying to put your shirt on." He moved several feet away from the younger and shook it out before handing it back to him.
Jungkook started to pull it over his head, when he began to scream, jerking the shirt off. The clothing got tangled around his head as he stumbled around, and Taehyung lunged for the younger as he started to trip, keeping him from falling to the ground.
"It's crawling inside my shirt!" Jungkook threw the shirt away from him, sucking in deep breaths.
"Okay, I'll get it out." Tae looked into his eyes. "It's okay."
The younger nodded, fighting to gain control. Taehyung moved toward the offending piece of clothing, now several feet away on the ground, when he realized the fishermen had returned and both men were standing in the small boat, staring up at them with open mouths. They looked so ancient that Taehyung worried they were about to lose their balance and fall out.
Tae moved in front of Jungkook, blocking him from their view. He held up his hands as he addressed the men. "Everything is fine here. It's just a tick."
"That must have been some tick," one of the men muttered, his voice carrying over the water.
Jungkook lunged around Taehyung, but the elder held him in place as he shouted, "Ticks are no laughing matter!" The younger pointed his finger at the men to emphasize the point. "They can kill you!"
Taehyung turned around, grabbing Jungkook's arms. "Okay, calm down, Tick Prince of Doom. Cut those guys a break. You just gave them the biggest thrill they've probably had in the last twenty years."
He yelled again when he realized he was shirtless and covered in hickies, dropping to the ground to grope for the blanket.
Tae picked up his shirt again, shook it out, and checked it twice before handing it to Jungkook.
"I'm not wearing that!"
"So you're following in Gran's footsteps now?" Tae gave an involuntary shudder. "I'm not sure they'll serve you pancakes at IHOP if you're not wearing clothes."
"We're not going to IHOP!"
"Then we'll go somewhere else, because I promised you breakfast, Jungkook, and damn it I'm taking you to breakfast!"
Tae heard a gasp behind him. When he turned to look, he saw two more boats in the cove, everyone onboard mesmerized by the Jungkook and Taehyung show.
He squatted next to Jungkook. "Come on, Kookie. We have an audience and Knickers isn't even here to appreciate it." When the younger didn't answer, he pressed on, "I made sure there weren't any ticks. I checked twice. I promise."
Jungkook took another deep breath and released it, his eyes narrowing at Tae as he jabbed his finger into his chest. "If I even find the hint of a tick turd on this shirt, I'm going to make you suffer."
"I accept the sentencing...er, I mean the consequences."
The younger's mouth pursed in disapproval, but Jungkook let Taehyung slip the shirt over his head. When he stood, Tae buttoned the shirt up, and Jungkook marched over to the edge of the bluff, looming twenty feet over the water. "You can all go home now, you freaking perverts!"
Jungkook was close enough to the edge to make Taehyung nervous. He moved behind the younger, snaking an arm around his waist to pull him back. "You told them, so why don't we go now?"
Jungkook marched over to the blanket and picked up his shoes and the cooler, then headed down the path without comment. Scooping up the bedding, Taehyung found Jungkook's boxers under the pallet. He picked them up and shoved them into his pants pocket before readjusting the load in his arms and hurrying after the younger.
Jungkook's stance proclaimed he was a man on a mission, and it looked like a major part of the plan involved leaving Tae behind. But the elder caught up to him as he opened the back of the car and set the cooler inside. Taehyung shoved the wadded bedding into the back and quickly closed the lid so he could corner Jungkook against the car before he opened the driver's door.
"I know you're pissed right now, but stop a moment to take a deep breath before we leave."
The younger glared up at him.
"I'm sorry I laughed at you when you were clearly terrified."
"I was not terrified!"
"Says the man who would rather face an audience of old men in the practically nude than put on a shirt that might contain a seed tick."
A grin tugged at the corners of Jungkook's lips.
"I hereby promise to do my utmost never to let another tick touch your gorgeous body for the rest of the time I know you."
His eyes danced with mischief. "That shouldn't be too difficult, since we have to break up tonight."
How could Jungkook say it so casually? The mere thought ripped Tae's heart out. But he was determined to make this the best day of his life, Knickers' schedule be damned. "Unless the rehearsal dinner is outside." He lifted his eyebrows to emphasize the danger.
Jungkook laughed. "You can put away your tick-vanquishing sword. It's in a restaurant."
Taehyung rested his hands on either side of Jungkook's head and leaned in to kiss his. The younger's hands lifted to his cheeks as their lips met. There were tears in Jungkook's eyes when he pulled away, but he blinked them back and smiled.
"You owe me breakfast. Are you coming?"
Tae opened the car door and held it open for Jungkook. "I'll follow you anywhere." When he gave him a questioning glance, Taehyung hastily added, "Hey, I love breakfast."
The casual comment came easily enough, but even if it fooled Jungkook, it still didn't fool himself.
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A/N: and so ends their little escapade-- and I'm sorry if there are a ton of updates for this book this week bc I keep catching mistakes whoops