Page 53 of Coming Clean

Jeremy laughed. “Let’s getcleaned up, and I’ll see what I can do about that.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jeremy had intended to take a quick shower so hecould make Connor some lunch, but he kept getting distracted. Hecould watch Connor all day, and now he didn’t have to just watch.He could touch every inch of him, from the interesting dips andcurves of his ankles to the swirls of his ears and the spiky hairhe still kept buzzed after more than a year of being acivilian.

Despite his hunger, Connorseemed as determined as Jeremy to not only touch but kiss everypart of Jeremy, including his cock, which hadn’t quite found theenergy to rise again. Though if Connor kept this up it wouldn’t belong.

Connor knelt in front ofJeremy—something Jeremy had never expected to see. He nuzzledJeremy’s legs as water poured over the defined muscles of his back.His shoulders were so broad, the muscles so fucking lickable.Jeremy marveled how Connor could still, at times, look vulnerable.But it was that quality of his that made Jeremy realize he wasn’tanything like Jeremy’s stereotypical idea of a military guy. Connorhad been hurt, probably physically but certainly mentally andemotionally during his last year in the Marines. Jeremy wanted tohelp him. Hell, he wanted to help himself, but could they pullthemselves together enough to make this work? Did Connor even wantto?

When the water started torun cold, Connor rose to his feet, reached behind him, and shut itoff. Jeremy stepped out of the shower and grabbed towels for bothof them. Once he was dry and warm again, he wanted to crawl back inbed with Connor and snuggle until they were ready to fuck again.Maybe, if they just pulled the covers over their heads, the worldwould go away. Maybe they wouldn’t be so different from each other.Maybe Connor wouldn’t be in the closet and…

Yeah, that was so not goingto happen. “I’ll grab some clothes then I’ll get us something toeat. We can take our food out on the balcony if that’s okay withyou.”

“If you’re sure you don’tmind me staying,” Connor said.

“I want you to stay.”Jeremy was sure of that, yet he thought his words sounded stilted.Why did things feel awkward all of a sudden? What if they only feltright when he and Connor were fucking?

You can’t know if youdon’t try.

Take a risk.That seemed to be the theme of hissummer.

****

Jeremy and Connor carried the food they’d gathered to a roundtable on the screened-in balcony which overlooked the large—by citystandards anyway—backyard. Jeremy had poked through the fridge andgathered salami, a few cheeses, blueberries, pickles, and beer, andConnor had found a few kinds of crackers, some Oreos, and a bag ofM&Ms in the pantry. It was an interesting assortment but Connordidn’t seem to mind.

Jeremy considered the foodbefore him and grabbed a beer and three Oreos. After waking up witha god-awful hangover, eating a huge breakfast, and then havingamazing sex, it seemed like exactly the right thing.

Connor laughed at him as hepiled a cracker with salami and cheese. “Dessert first?”

Jeremy grinned. “I think wealready had dessert.”

“Mmm. I agree.” Connorstuffed the cracker in his mouth and reached for anotherone.

They were mostly silent asthey ate. Jeremy realized he was hungrier than he’d thought. They’dcertainly worked off some calories. After eating the last piece ofsalami, he stared out across the lawn, enjoying the beautifulsummer afternoon.

“So… um… this might be anodd time to talk about this, but could I get on the schedule forregular weekly cleans?”

Fortunately, Connor didn’tlook uncomfortable talking business after hot sex. “Sure. I assumedyou’d need me regularly until you sold the house.”

Damn right, Jeremy neededhim regularly, but he was thinking more along the lines of havinghis pipes cleaned than his floors.

“Are you still consideringkeeping the house?” Connor asked, seemingly oblivious to Jeremy’sdirty thoughts.

He was, but he didn’t wantto talk about it with Connor because whether he stayed inAsheville, either in this house or another, would be influenced byhow things played out between them. “Yeah, but it seems crazy tolive in this gigantic house all by myself.”

Connor looked like he wasconsidering his response. “I can see that, I guess. It is big forthis neighborhood, but going by typical American standards, it’snot really all that big.”

Connor was right, andJeremy did love the house. The longer he was here, the more hewould fill it with new memories that would help the bad ones fadeaway. Maybe… “I may not get an offer for a long time, so I guessI’ll see how it goes living here.”

Connor nodded. “Did youlike the house when you were a kid, even if things weren’tgreat?”

“Yeah. I loved thisbackyard. It was my place to go and hide.”

Connor gave a wry smile.“Yeah, I know all about that.”

“Hiding?” Jeremyasked.

Connor looked away, but henodded.