“Yeah. Okay.” He downs the rest of his beer and grabs his coat from the back of his stool. We paid at the bar when we got our drinks, so we’re able to slip out easily. I trail behind him out of Eddie’s. A few times, my hand brushes against his. Would he let me slip my hand into his? There’s no one here watching, no one we need to convince that we’re a couple. Still, it’s nice to have that connection to him, to have him touching me.
“Meet at my place?” I ask. We drove here separately, and while we could leave a car behind, it makes the most sense for us to go alone.
“See you in ten.”
Aidan’s carpulls up to the curb outside my rental, only a minute behind me. I’ve spent those few seconds wondering if he changed his mind, decided to go home instead of coming back here to be with me.
It’s only when he gets out, giving me a little wave, that I can finally breathe normally again.
“Hey,” he says, following me into the house.
“Hey.” It’s the fact that I’m not sure why we’re here that makes me nervous. Whether we’re hanging out as friends or friends-with-benefits. It’s a complicated line, though I’m not sure why. I’ve had a few of these arrangements before, and they’re usually easy; that’s part of what I like about them. Being around Aidan is easy. Navigating some of these pieces is what’s hard. What we have feels fragile, and I’m constantly terrified of breaking it.
Aidan, apparently, is less confused. As soon as we hang up our coats and make it into the kitchen, he’s kissing me.
God, he’s such a good kisser. It still shocks me, especially since our first kiss was so timid. Now that he’s warmed up, he’s incredible, giving as much as he takes. When he raises a hand to my jaw, gently coaxing me to open my mouth for him, I obey instantly—anything he wants.
“Aidan,” I moan into his mouth.
“Is this not okay?” He pulls away, concern on his face. I pull him closer to me, making sure he knows that I’m not objecting to the kiss.
“It’s very okay, but we should move to the bedroom.” If we’re going to do anything other than kiss—and I hope we are—it’ll be a lot more comfortable. We’re not old, but my knees take a beating in dance, so they can’t handle kneeling on the hard tile for any length of time.
“Bedroom, yes.” He grabs my hand and pulls me toward the hall. I chuckle and follow him, working my shirt off on the way—no use in wasting time. Once I get him in bed, I want to spend as much time as possible savoring every inch of him, treating him like the prize that he is.
AIDAN
I’m generally not self-conscious, but whoa. Despite having seen Covey without his shirt on during my ill-planned massage and having seen him in skin-tight outfits on stage—twice—I’m still speechless when he strips his sweatshirt off.
The amount of time I spend in the gym is negligible. The only one I’ve even seen the inside of in the past two years is at the school, and that’s only to drop off or pick up students from P.E. I’m not out of shape, per se, but I could stand to do a few pushups now and then.
It mostly doesn’t bother me, but right now, I’m looking at someone who looks like he walked out of a superhero movie.
“Aidan, are you okay? We don’t have to do anything.”
“No.” He steps back, giving me space to think. “I mean, I want to.” The last time we had sex, it was all under the covers. We didn’t even bother to remove our clothing. Now, my brain is in overdrive, thinking about him seeing me naked for the first time.
“Do you want me to put my shirt back on?”
That’s the exact opposite of what I want. “No, I want this.” How do I explain this to him? “It’s that you look like that”—I wave my hand toward his eight pack—“and I don’t.”
“Aidan, look at me.”
I huff because I haven’t stopped looking at him. His body is mesmerizing. The only thing better than looking would be getting to touch.
“This is part of my job, a tool. When I retire, I guarantee it won’t look like this anymore.” He takes a step toward me, forcing me to adjust my gaze to meet his eyes. “I want you, just like you are. Your body is fucking incredible.”
I’m sure that’s a lie, but his eyes are so convincing that I let myself believe it.
“What do you want?” He runs his thumb over my cheek, and I lean into the touch.
“Anything.” Everything. How much can we manage in one night?
“Anything, huh?” He nips at my ear. “Can I fuck you?”
My legs nearly give out. Thankfully, Covey puts his hand on my waist to help steady me. “Yeah.” I want that so badly, to have him buried deep inside me. “Please, Covey.”
He answers me with a heated kiss. I’m not sure what I thought was going to happen when I kissed him in the kitchen. I didn’t want to let my fantasies get too far ahead ofme, not knowing if Covey would want to continue our arrangement.
