“Oh.”Jake looked down at the ground as he walked, his mouth flattened and the tightness was back around his eyes.The odd raindrop dripped from the ends of his hair.“Blood tests would tell you what strain you have, though, right?So, you’d be okay then?”
“Yes, blood tests would tell you the strain you have.”Blair dodged a couple coming the other direction down the sidewalk.“Even then, unless you’re in a monogamous relationship, stick to your antiretroviral therapy, and your viral load is undetectable, you should always use condoms.”
Jake was quiet the rest of the way.He had a lot to process, and everyone had to process in their own time and their own way.Fortunately, Blair had been able to introduce Jake to the support group on a day he needed it most.That Blair and all the members of the group made sure Jake knew they would all be there for him.That he was going to be okay.
When they reached the bus stop, Jake turned to face him.
“Do you live downtown?”
Blair raised his eyebrows.He’d expected Jake to ask more questions about life moving forward.Or sex.He shook his head.
“No.I have a condo in Kits.”
“Nice.”Jake rocked on his heels and looked down the street.
The bus that would take him back to the West End was approaching, and something squeezed in Blair’s chest.He didn’t want tonight to be over yet.Didn’t want to say goodbye to Jake.Not now.Maybe never.
“I’d really like to see you again,” Blair blurted.Shit.“As friends.I mean.To help with anything you need.With”—he waved his hand in the air— “you know.Ugh.Stop me now.”
The bus drew closer, and a mix of panic and embarrassment roiled in Blair’s stomach.
“I would like that,” Jake said with a smile in his deep-timbred voice.
The bus stopped in front of them, and Jake took a couple of steps back from the curb.
“Your bus ...”Blair pointed.
“I’ll get the next one.”Jake retrieved a cell phone from his inner jacket pocket and held it out toward Blair.“Let’s exchange numbers.”
Relief flooded Blair’s veins.He swapped his phone for Jake’s and entered his digits, while Jake did the same as the bus pulled away.
“I’m really happy I met you today,” Jake said, his gaze steady and intense as he pocketed his phone but held onto Blair’s hand.
“Me too.”
The world could have been burning down around them for all Blair cared, so lost in Jake’s chestnut stare as he was.Distantly, he was aware of people walking past them and the whoosh of tires on wet roads.A horn honked.A siren wailed from somewhere deeper in the city.The rain eased again, offering a no-doubt brief reprieve.
Time ticked on, but in minutes or hours, Blair couldn’t say.
Jake looked away, running a hand over the back of his neck.But when his gaze returned to Blair’s, there was a naked honesty in his eyes.A vulnerability that stole Blair’s breath.
“I just really want to give you a kiss right now.”
Oh my god, yes.
Blair opened his arms, and Jake fell into his embrace as though he’d always been there.Jake’s kiss, the first touch of his lips, was tentative.A gentle press of mouths.A question.The answer wasyes.Blair had a feeling the answer would always be yes where Jake was concerned.He pulled Jake tighter to him but didn’t push for more.Jake needed to be the one to take the lead.For tonight, at least.
Jake’s tongue pressed at the seam of Blair’s mouth, and he opened, letting Jake inside while shivers of delight raced from his head to his toes.How was it he’d only met this man today, when their lips and tongues moved together in pure harmony, as though this had been a dance they’d perfected over shared years?
“Get a room!”someone shouted, and Jake chuckled against Blair’s lips.
Jake rested his forehead against Blair’s and then stepped back.He shoved his hands into his pockets as another bus approached.This time Jake moved toward the curb, but he was smiling.The light in his eyes sparking with desire and hope.
“See you soon, Blair Bliss ...ett.”
Blair returned the smile, not wanting Jake to go, but confident this was only the start of something special for them.“See you soon, Jake I-Don’t-Know-Your-Last-Name.”
“Sheraton,” Jake said, stepping up into the bus.“Like the hotel.”
