“I’m an optimist,” Oz countered. He knew how harsh and unfair the world could be. He’d seen it hundreds of times. He just always wanted to believe that somehow, everything would eventually work out.
Maybe that was naive. Not everyone could be saved.
Not that he wanted to save Seth.
Did he?
Before Oz could formulate an answer to that thought, Seth’s hand landed on his thigh. Not his knee, or even his mid-thigh, but right up at the top, close enough that he’d only have to extend his fingers to touch Oz’s balls through his pants.
It obviously wasn’t an accident.
Oz cleared his throat, determined to keep his voice even despite the warmth of Seth’s hand seeping into his skin through his pants. “Part of the game?” he asked.
“I’m using sex to distract you from talking about how unhappy I am,” Seth said, startlingly self-aware again. Oz liked that about him, but he didn’t like that he had to be like this.
Whether or not Oz personally wanted to rescue him, Seth deserved better. He wasn’t the aloof asshole he pretended to be, not really. He just had a two-foot-thick lead-lined wall up around him.
A person could only get hurt so often before they put one of those between them and the rest of the world. Oz hated to think how often that was for Seth.
“In public?” Oz asked. He wanted to sound as though he was objecting, if for nothing other than the sake of appearances, but he didn’t sound convincing even to himself.
“It’s not in public if you don’t squirm,” Seth responded softly, pushing his hand further up, tucking it into the crease of Oz’s thigh.
Oz really wanted to be embarrassed, but this… this was kind of hot.
He couldn’t remember anyone other than Seth being so shamelessly into him. Saying so as often as he did. Showing that he was attracted to Oz, and that sex wasn’t some kind of chore they had to go through to get to the rest of the relationship.
Oz had been so focused on trying to settle down that he’d barely considered sexual compatibility as a factor in being happy with someone. He’d made the same mistake with almost everyone he’d dated since college.
He’d told himself that sex wasn’t important, that he didn’t need it to be happy, but feeling as though his partners weren’t particularly attracted to him had worn on his mind.
Having someone reinforce again and again how attracted they were to him, even if it was only physical, made him feel better than he had in a long time.
“You’re complaining much less than I expected,” Seth murmured, shifting his hand to squeeze Oz’s rapidly-hardening cock through his pants.
Oz bit down on the inside of his cheek, determined not to let anyone else know what was going on.
He took a few subtle, deep breaths, and then leaned over casually to whisper in Seth’s ear.
“When we get back to your apartment, I’ll get my revenge.”
Seth swallowed, a shiver running through him that Oz felt as well. It didn’t stop him giving Oz’s cock another firm squeeze, but he took his hand away a moment later, just in time for dinner to be served.
Oz breathed a sigh of relief, spreading his legs to give his half-hard cock a little room to breathe.
Seth’s focus shifted to eating instantly, soft, happy sounds coming from him with every other bite he took. Oz wasn’t sure how to feel about how much he liked seeing Seth enjoy himself, but it was nice to see.
He finally started to relax when Seth got talking to a few of the other guests. None of it was about anything important, but now that he wasn’t on the receiving end, Oz could see exactly how Seth got people to like him.
It wasn’thim, exactly, though. It was a version of him that they’d get along with, the rough edges smoothed off with an impressive amount of raw charm.
Of course, Oz only thought he knew the real Seth. Maybe the Seth he got was an act, as well. Maybe Seth was giving him what he wanted.
He wasn’t sure it really mattered. This was just a mutual convenience thing, wasn’t it?
Oz gasped as Seth’s hand landed on his thigh again out of nowhere, squirming as subtly as he could in his seat while Seth’s fingers traced the shape of his cock, bringing his almost-forgotten erection back within a matter of seconds.
Whether or not this was the real Seth, he was getting payback for this later.
