“Stop, I feel like a fucking teenage girl again.” Tanner pretended to shudder with disgust. “So, I couldn’t pop a boner. Whatever. Now I’m into dick. No big deal. We’re mutuallyexclusive and I’m still stealing your couch.” He adopted an exaggerated frown. “No need to get all—mushy about it!” he declared, as he got up and headed to the kitchen to clean up his mess from cooking dinner.
Lance was right on his heels. He came up behind him and hugged him as he stood at the sink.
“One, you’re a terrible liar. Two, you’re wrong about one thing,” Lance said, placing a gentle kiss behind Tanner’s right ear.
“Hmm?” Tanner couldn’t think beyond the feel of Lance’s boner shoved against his ass. Fuck. Why did he want to lean back against it? Why was he already so fucking hard at the thought of being under him?
“You’re not stealing the couch. You’re staying over, and you’re staying in my bed—that’s the new ironclad rule,” he declared, and hell if Tanner didn’tmeltas he kissed the back of his neck.
“Tell me dishes weren’t included in the food-first, sex-after rule,” Tanner practically begged as his head bent forward to grant Lance easier access to his neck.
In response, LancebitTanner’s earlobe.
He spun around, ready to take some sweet revenge, but Lance sidestepped him, smacked his ass, and then backed away.
“Fuck the dishes! Let’s test out your newelevation,” he proposed instead, grinning ear-to-ear as he baited Tanner into following him.
Tanner fell for the bait this time quite willingly.
Chapter 13
It occurred to Lance that transitioning from friends to lovers was a whole lot easier than what he thought it would be. Not much had changed between him and Tanner, except for the discovery that sex between them was incredible. Worlds away from anything Lance had ever experienced before. Other than that, everything else remained the same. Every day they got together, smiling like absolute morons before reaching for each other and indulging in total body hugs that would make Lance’s college bros cringe. Tanner liked to do this thing where he seemed to inhale Lance. As if grounding himself in Lance’s presence, which Lance loved only slightly less than the amazing kisses they shared afterwards. They’d cook, or watch TV, or work on home repair projects, all while talking and touching like horny teenagers. They discovered each other’s sensitive spots. Lance loved the sounds Tanner would make when he kissed the back of his neck or traced his healed scars with the tips of his fingers. Tanner mastered the art of making Lance blush every time he whispered sweet nothings in his ear. Their relationship revolved around companionship and good humour, making it incredibly deeper and more fulfilling than they could have ever hoped for. Good God, there were orgasms on top of more orgasms. More than Lance had had in the past ten years combined. It was a goddamned miracle that he could even stand up or walk straight.
While driving home from the office, Lance’s phone rang, Tanner’s name popping up on the dash display.
“You’ve reached the Department of Unanswered Questions. What’s puzzling you today?” Lance said after pressing accept. Tanner always had funny greetings at the readywhenever Lance called, and it had become a contest to see who could outdo whom. If Lance was honest—he’d done a Google search and saved a bunch to use whenever Tanner called him.
“Good one!” Tanner responded with a laugh. “How’s my favourite accountant doing? Fingers falling off from punching keys on your calculator all day?”
“I was actually attending meetings with clients today, so my fingers were spared from hard labor.”
“Oh—are you heading home anytime soon?” Tanner asked somewhat hesitantly.
“As we speak. I’m like two minutes out. Everything okay?” he asked, concerned about Tanner’s change in tone.
“Everything’s great, I just—well, I was wondering—do you think you’d like to get a little dressed up and go on a date?” Tanner sounded pretty nervous. Lance smiled to himself, amused and charmed by Tanner’s invitation.
“Tanner Casey, are you asking me out?” Lance laughed.
“Stop making fun of me or I’m putting all of your designer shirts in the dryer on high heat for a whole hour! With a bright red sock!”
“Them be fightin’ words, son,” Lance drawled. “What time should I be ready? And where are we going?”
“I’ll pick you up at 6:00, and don’t worry about where we’re going. Just—wear something nice but comfortable and slightly stretchy,” Tanner advised. His wardrobe advice made zero sense. Lance disguised his laugh with a cough.
“Right—stretchy,” he repeated, fighting to keep his voice steady. “I’m sure my superhero costume from the third grade still fits. That’s stretchy—it would work, right?” he asked in mock seriousness.
“It all depends. What superhero are we talking about? I’m not dating Superman, he’s too much of a bitch. Spiderman isalso out of the question—and, no, I won’t be taking questions at this time—” Tanner replied, always quick with the comebacks.
“Alright. Noted. I’ll see you in a bit,” Lance agreed with a quick laugh.
“Awesome,” Tanner replied with a smile in his voice. “See you soon!”
Lance wasn’t blushing nor was he smiling like a lovesick fool as he drove the rest of the way home. Not at all.
*****
For the life of him, Tanner couldn’t figure out exactly what had gotten into him. He’d been driving back to the office after his last meeting of the day, feeling young and—oddly content. It was spring—spring heading into summer—and every bone in Tanner’s body felt warmed by the clear blue skies and the fresh spring breeze. He wanted to be out and about for the first time in months. He felthumanagain and wasn’t that just goddamned amazing. Fully aware that life with Lance led him directly to this moment, he wanted to do something special with his man. He wanted to show Lance off. Wanted to fuckinglivefor the first time since he’d returned to the US.
