“I try not to give out handjobs to people I don’t like. It’s less fun.” Eliot bent down, swooping in to peck Danny on the lips.
He jumped when someone banged on the study door.
“Danny,” Walter called through the door. “There are people out here who came to see you.”
Danny’s eyes widened, his mouth falling open. He worked his jaw, but couldn’t quite seem to come up with a response.
“He’ll be out in a minute,” Eliot called back.
Walter grumbled something unintelligible before walking away.
“Thanks.” Danny smiled wryly. “I thought we were about to get busted.”
Eliot shrugged. “We are supposed to be dating. This adds a little more realism.”
“Yeah.” Danny nodded, sitting up as Eliot stepped back and starting to get his clothes back in order. “Yeah, I guess.”
Once they were both dressed and ready to be seen in public again, they sneaked out of the study they’d locked themselves in and headed back downstairs to the party. Eliot couldn’t stop himself from smiling, nor could he stop his heart from skipping every time Danny brushed against him.
He felt good about what had just happened. There was no regret, no guilt, no worry that everything was going to go wrong. It had felt so right. Every touch, every kiss, all of it had seemed like something he was supposed to do.
Eliot stuck a little closer to Danny this time, near enough to feel the warmth of his body, be assured he was right there.
They couldn’t have been more different people if they’d tried, but there was definitely something between them. Something more than mutual respect, or lust, or self-interest.
Eliot was falling for Danny, hard and fast.
Or, no, maybe not fast. This had been happening since the first time they’d met. It was just that for every hour he spent with the other man, Eliot came to like him more and more. He actively wanted to spend time with Danny.
Not that Danny needed to know any of that. The last thing Eliot wanted was to scare him away now. As long as he played it cool and tried to read what Danny wanted, he didn’t have to look desperate or needy or any of the things he was quickly realizing he felt.
“So, uh…” Danny said softly as the evening started to wind down. “Obviously feel free to say no, but, umm… you wanna come home with me?”
Eliot laughed at Danny’s nervousness. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who wasn’t completely sure where they stood with each other. “I have to, my car’s there.”
“That’s not… that’s not what I meant.” Danny cleared his throat. “I meant, will you stay the night?”
Eliot didn’t even have to think about his answer. He knew what he wanted, and there was no point in trying to deny it to either of them. Life was too short not to do things like this. “I’d like that,” he said, reaching out to brush his fingertips against the back of Danny’s hand.
To his surprise, Danny grabbed his hand and linked their fingers together instead. Eliot’s heart pounded in his chest, surprised by the strangely tender gesture.
“Thanks,” Danny said, looking down at his feet. A tiny, shy smile spread across his features.
Eliot was starting to think that he could spend a hundred years with this man and still be surprised by him sometimes.
He was starting to think he could spend a hundred years with Danny, full stop. Terrifying as a feeling that big was, it was also exciting.
He couldn’t wait to get back to Danny’s place.
