AllFreeNovel
Share Us
If nothing else, I just wanted him to be okay with me for the night.
Whatever happened after that remained to be seen.
6
JAMES
It didn’t take me long to get home and showered. I changed the sheets on my bed and did some tidying up, just in case Max decided to come back with me for a nightcap. I didn’t actually expect that to happen, but I preferred to be ready for any situation that could come up.
Even a guy like me could get lucky now and then.
Although, the entire situation was pretty unexpected and took me by surprise, for sure. I’d worked at several Primal events and had seen some cute boys before. But I’d never found one who caught my interest in the way that Max did. Running into him at his shop seemed like more of an act of fate than pure coincidence.
I didn’t normally believe in that kind of nonsense, but it seemed like he’d been put in my path twice now for a reason.
I just hoped that reason wasn’t going to get him hurt.
My track record with lovers wasn’t great. Between the long hours required for my job and the fact that I wasn’t good at communicating, even though I expected the opposite from them, I wasn’t exactly a catch.
In a perfect world, I wanted a sweet boy who would prioritize me and our relationship and be completely open and honest with me in every aspect. And get practically nothing in return except for devotion and loyalty and care.
Win-win for me, but…would someone like Max be open to that? Probably not.
I’d been told that a double standard wasn’t the best way to build anything serious. And my own lack of any past relationships confirmed that was true. Maybe I could change, but I didn’t think so.
At least, not enough to make a sweet boy like Max truly happy.
Even though it was damn easy to picture coming home to him every day and wiping adorable little grease smudges off his cheek as I kissed him hello. We would work on house projects together and sit on a porch swing every night.
Whoa there. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I looked at my watch for the fiftieth time and decided it was close enough. I’d probably get to Max’s house five or ten minutes early, but I didn’t mind waiting. And I kinda liked the idea of watching him in his home environment.
Based on the way his work area looked when I was in there, I expected it to be a little bit on the messy side. Normally, that wasn’t an endearing trait with people, but with Max, I was pretty sure it could be. And thinking about giving him some chores actually got me a little hard. Fuck, I was a mess.
I pulled up to his apartment at six forty-five and tried to sit in my car for a few minutes, but after five minutes of scrolling through random emails on my phone, I couldn’t take it any longer. I had to go in. I wanted to see him again…and I didn’t want to wait.
With a box of chocolates in my hand, I ran my fingers through my hair one more time and then rang the doorbell.
The dull sound of movement on the other side of the door went silent and then it started up again, a little faster and louder. “Coming.”
“No rush.” I smiled at the slamming of a door and wondered if he’d just shoved stuff into a closet or if he was just coming out of the bathroom. On second thought, having Max open the door in a towel wouldn’t be so bad.
A minute later, Max pulled open the door wearing jeans that fit him like a glove and a yellow t-shirt that clung to his muscles in the sexiest way. “Hey, James. Sorry about that. I was just…cleaning up.”
“You look amazing.” I reached up and brushed my thumb across his cheek where he’d had grease on it earlier. “Very clean.”
“Oh, god.” He squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment. “I can’t believe no one told me I had shit on my face all day.”
I chuckled as I extended the box of chocolates. “Sorry, but you were too cute. Here’s a peace offering.”
“Candy?” His eyes lit up. “I love candy.”
My instincts took over, and as usual, I didn’t stop myself from saying something completely inappropriate. “You may have one piece now and one piece after dinner.”
He’d been looking at the back of the box but immediately shifted his attention to me with his jaw hanging slack. “Oh, okay.”
Was that a good look or a bad look? I wasn’t entirely sure.
“Um, would you like to come in?” Max moved out of the way and gestured for me to enter his apartment. “I just need to put my shoes on.”
