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“Okay fine. I’ve considered trying stuff. I just never thought I’d do anything about it. Especially not with you.”
Hurt flashed across his face before he masked it, which only made me feel worse. Especially when he followed up with, “Yeah, I guessed that.” He pushed out of his chair, stalking towards the door.
He was taking it all wrong, and I hated myself for making him feel that way. I launched to my feet, moving to block him before he could storm out.
“Wait! That’s not what I meant. I just meant… You’ve been my friend for years, Ben. I thought crossing that line would ruin what we’ve got and I just couldn’t risk it. You and Grayson are my family. I don’t want to lose you.”
He hesitated, which was progress in my mind.
“And now?”
My stomach dipped, and I ran my fingers through my hair uneasily. This was the part where I didn’t have any answers. I’d had relationships aplenty, from one-night stands to the occasional girlfriend. Never with a guy. I was in uncharted territory, and I had no idea what happened next. I had more questions than answers. And none of the curiosity changed the fact that I still didn’t want to lose my friend. Even if I was a shit one the last few weeks.
“I don’t… I don’t know.”
With my eyes on the ground, I couldn’t see the look on his face. I still felt awkward. But when he sidled closer, I didn’t move away. Grayson was right. I was being a shitty friend to a guy who struggled to make connections like that for fear of losing the people he cared about.
“You started this. What do you want to do about it?”
I made a face. “Hey, you kissed me first. Technically, you started it.”
“Luka…”
A flush worked its way up my neck, and I grimaced again. I didn’t want to say the words out loud, but I felt like I owed him for being such an ass.
“I, uh… I’m…” I sighed heavily. “I’m curious, alright? But I don’t want this to come between our friendship. Or what I’ve got with Julie. She’s the priority and if it makes her uncomfortable then–”
“Then we stop.” He nodded in agreement before frowning at me. “Are you sure you want to explore this shit with me? What happened doesn’t have to mean anything. We were both wound up.” He shrugged.
He was still seeing it like he was the problem and not me. I scowled. “Pretty sure I’ve never been fighting with a friend one minute, then dry humping him like a fucking teenager the next. It meant something. At least, it did to me. I’m not asking for shit if that’s not what you want. I just want you to know I’m… into it. Or whatever. If you are.”
This couldn’t get any more awkward if I tried. I was rambling like an idiot, which I never do, and my face was burning hotter than a freaking volcano. I took a step back, hoping for an escape, but Bennett stopped me. Damn, did he stop me.
He put a hand on my chest, pushing me until my back hit the wall by the door. Stunned, I looked up just in time to watch him dip his head and crush his lips to mine. The same feelings from the first time exploded through me. Confusion, curiosity, need. Fuck, I needed this. I gripped his shirt, dragging him closer, biting back a groan when his tongue tangled with mine. It was nothing like I was used to. I was the guy in control, but not right now. Bennett kept me pressed against the wall with his hands on my hips, completely obliterating every argument I had the last two weeks. Why fight something that felt this good?
When he pulled back, I had to bite back the urge to follow him. We were at work for one thing, and for another, while I was exploring whatever the hell this new curiosity was, I didn’t need a damn audience. This place was a gossip haven. People ate that shit up. The gossip about Julie’s break up was just starting to die down, and it’d been over a month since the incident.
“Are you going to do that every time I panic?” I murmured.
He chuckled. “It works, doesn’t it?”
“You’re an asshole,” I scowled.
He just grinned, shutting me up with another kiss that almost knocked me on my ass. No wonder Julie looked so damn drugged every time he kissed her. Bennett knew what the hell he was doing.
When his hips brushed against mine, I jerked, ripping my mouth away from his. “Fuck. Not here, man.”
If he started the same shit from before, I’d make a mess and I didn’t have any spare outfits here. It felt like torture to stop, though, especially when he stopped but didn’t quite pull away. I could still feel the heat of him, the bulge behind his fly pressed up against mine. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to push up against him.
“My place or yours?”
I choked on a whimper, shaking my head helplessly. “I can’t– I don’t–” I still couldn’t process what happened next and any time he threw questions at me, my mind stalled out. Not to mention the fact that all my blood was currently below my belt, throbbing insistently.
He leaned and brushed his lips against my neck, the scrape of his stubble sending a shiver up my spine. Why the hell did that feel so good?
“Tell me what you need.”
My brow furrowed. The urge to run was still there, the complete deviation from what I thought I knew throwing me for a loop, but I couldn’t do that to him. Not again.
