Michael
Justin and Matt were still sitting at their table when Kerri told me to get out of there for the night. That was fine by me, because as much as I wanted to get to know Dax’s friend, I really wasn’t in the mood for entertaining. The only thing I wanted to do was go home and curl up in my bed with the lights off so I could try to figure out what to do about Thomas’s visit. He’d never been so blatant and demanding, and until tonight, I’d almost believed that I was making a bigger deal than necessary about the Whittakers’ interest in my life. But something had changed, and I needed to figure out what that was.
Not wanting to seem like a dick now that Justin and I were finally getting our friendship back on track, I made my way over to their table. “Hey, I heard you had some excitement tonight,” Justin greeted me. “Man, he’s lucky I didn’t know what was going on when it was happening. There are a few things I’ve been dying to say to him, but I haven’t because I didn’t want to upset you.”
“Thanks, but we both know you’d never have the balls to lash out at anyone,” I reminded him. Justin was the type of guy who was very opinionated in his own mind, but was a peacekeeper in reality. I’d always thought that was one of his strengths, where he saw it as a weakness. “And I’m glad you didn’t join in. I’m pretty sure Dax said enough for all of us.”
I was still trying to put together the pieces, because I wasn’t aware the two of them had even met. I’d considered that Thomas might’ve gone to the school to check up on Jagger’s welfare, but I had to trust that Dax would’ve told me about that. It just didn’t make sense.
“Good,” Matt interjected. “I was surprised he didn’t lay into the asshole earlier tonight. God, what type of arrogant prick thinks he can just walk around telling people what to do?”
“Thomas,” Justin and I responded at the same time.
“His family owns the big hydroponic greenhouse at the edge of town. They love to pat themselves on the back and remind everyone that they brought jobs into the community in the middle of a recession,” Justin explained. “And they did, but only because they have more money than the Rockefellers could’ve ever dreamed about and love to flaunt it. So, now we’re all supposed to fall at his feet and clean his boots as a way of thanking him for saving our lowly little town.”
That monologue was easily the most I’d ever heard Justin say in one breath. My eyes drifted to where his hand rested on Matt’s thigh beneath the table. I then looked around to see if anyone cared, but it seemed I was the only one who’d even noticed.
“Hey, I’m going to head out,” I told them. I wanted to get out of there before Matt could ask any more questions or offer any unsolicited advice about how to deal with Thomas and his wife. I wanted to get home to Dax and find out what Justin and Matt were talking about and why he hadn’t told me he’d had an earlier run-in with Thomas. “You two are both coming to Mom’s tomorrow for dinner, right?”
“You know I’ll be there,” Justin confirmed. “Man, I should kick your ass for the shit you pulled. I lost out on way too many of your mom’s Saturday dinners.”
“I’d probably let you,” I informed him before turning my attention to Matt. “How about you? I’m assuming, based on Dax’s description, that you’re the friend in town for the weekend?”
“Yeah. You’ll have to forgive Dax, he’s not always good at remembering things like introductions.” Justin laughed a little too brightly at Matt’s statement. Even though we all knew social graces weren’t Dax’s strong suit, it wasn’tthatfunny. “I’m Matt Martinelli. It’s good to finally meet this mysterious boyfriend he keeps telling me about.”
“I’d like to say the same, but honestly, I haven’t heard that much about you,” I admitted. “Michael Underwood. We’ll have to try and find some time to swap stories before you take off. When do you leave?”
“I have to be back for work on Monday, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be back before too long.” He smiled and looked over to Justin, who already had little hearts in his eyes for Dax’s friend. This could be very bad, but I really wasn’t one to talk. I’d managed to go from thinking I was straight to totally infatuated with a man in less than a month.
“Sounds good,” I responded lamely. “Dax mentioned crashing at my place tonight, so if you want, have Justin drop you off there when you wrap up here.”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll take my chances alone at his place,” Matt scoffed. “Knowing him, he’s going to want to vent some of his frustration, and that’s bound to get loud. The one thing I don’t miss about not living with him is listening to him having sex from across the hall.”
I seriously couldn’t believe the three of us were speaking so frankly about sex and relationships, with other men, in a crowded bar. And no one seemed to care, but I knew that wasn’t because we were being quiet. A group of girls at the table next to us were leaning just a bit closer, and I heard them whispering in that non-quiet way drunk women sometimes do about who played which role in our pairings.
I quickly said goodbye before I further embarrassed myself. I’d never been one to sit around and talk about my relationship or what happened in the bedroom, and I saw no reason to start now. Justin gave me a sly smile and wink, no doubt knowing exactly why I was rushing out of there. I wasn’t totally comfortable with him thinking he knew everything there was to know about Dax and me, but it also didn’t bother me as much as I’d thought it would. I chewed on that thought the entire drive home.
The house was dark when I arrived, but that wasn’t surprising. Dax was most likely already in the bed, probably stripped down to his colored briefs, and engrossed in binge-watchingHouse Hunterson Netflix. I knew this because every night since I’d gotten my head out of my ass, that was exactly how I’d found him when I got home from work.
“Damn, I’ll never get tired of that sight,” I praised as I started stripping out of my work clothes. I was sticky and sweaty and didn’t even want Dax touching me until I had the chance to shower. Too bad for me, Dax had other plans.
He bounded out of the bed and began helping me undress. His hands curled around the waistband of my jeans and he unbuttoned them slowly enough I knew he had a plan. He was trying to take my mind off what’d happened earlier, and it was working.
Still, I seriously needed to clean up. I began backing out of the room and into the hall, smiling when he followed, still working on my zipper. I hissed when his hand slid beneath the fabric of my boxers and nearly tripped when he shoved my jeans and underwear down my thighs.
“Is this okay?” he asked as he fumbled around in the dark for the light switch on the bathroom wall. I’d imagined what it’d be like to share a shower with him, but never thought we’d even try it because my bathroom was barely big enough for me, much less both of us.
“Yeah.” I stopped myself from telling him that it was way more than okay, that it was exactly what I needed. I didn’t want to admit to him that I had been considering telling him we needed to back off until I figured out what was going on with Thomas and his appearance tonight. Dax knew. We might not have been together very long, but somehow, he always knew exactly what I was thinking. Lucky for me, he wasn’t going to let me pull away this time.
While I started the water and pulled two towels out of the cabinet, Dax quickly stripped out of his dark green briefs. He pressed up against my back, running his hard dick through my crease. “I was worried you were going to come home and tell me you couldn’t do this,” he whispered before biting just below my ear.
“Not a chance.” My knees buckled slightly as he continued nibbling his way down the side of my neck.
“I won’t let you shut me out,” he promised me as we stepped beneath the spray. He pulled the curtain closed and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me back against his chest. “I told you before that we’d do this at your pace, and that’s still the plan. But if you try to pull away from me again because of anyone who’s not in this shower right now, you have to know I’m going to fight you.”
“I know.” The words were strangled, and I was sure it wasn’t just water dampening my face. He was telling me everything I needed to hear. Now, it was time for me to tell him what he needed to know.
I turned in his arms, wrapping my own around his neck. I closed my mouth over his, mouth open, tongue pressing its way between his lips. He moaned and rocked his hips against mine, the spray of water allowing our cocks to slide against one another without resistance. If I didn’t stop him, I knew he’d be on his knees sucking me within the minute, and this was important. It pained me, literally, to slide my hands to his shoulders and put some distance between us.
