This felt good. Something settled in his chest, something that had been restless and uncomfortable since the weekend. Need, or lust, or maybe just simple curiosity.
Whatever it was, kissing Charlie had silenced it. It felt right to kiss him.
Who cared about anything else when it was so good?
It didn’t matter if he was gay or straight or bi or whatever. It mattered that he liked Charlie, and that Charlie liked him, and that they’d have a lot more fun if they both just gave into that and stopped worrying about what it allmeant.
Charlie’s mouth was impossibly warm again, and it tasted of peppermint instead of beer this time. His body was warm against Scott’s, more solid than he was used to, but that didn’t seem like a bad thing.
Charlie’s lips were still soft, and the brush of his tongue against Scott’s made arousal surge in his stomach, and the tiny, happy sounds he was making made Scott smile.
What more did he want? Whocaredif Charlie was a man? He was fun to be with. Kissing him felt amazing.
That was really all that mattered.
Scott pulled back after a moment, gasping for breath.
His heart was pounding, his lips felt swollen and tingly, and he wanted to do that again. And again. As many times as Charlie would let him.
“Are you gonna run away again?” Charlie asked. He should have sounded concerned, maybe even sick of Scott’s bullshit, but he didn’t. He sounded hopeful, like he knew Scott wasn’t going to run.
Scott’s heart skipped. Charlie still wanted this, even after all the crap Scott had put him through.
“No. Not this time,” he promised. Charlie had no reason to believe him, but he hoped he would, somehow. Rejection would have hurt, even if it was understandable.
Even if it was maybe the smart thing for Charlie to do.
“Good,” Charlie said. He shoved Scott backwards, hard, until he was pressed up against the shelves on the other side of the row.
Before Scott could respond, Charlie was leaning in again, pressing his weight against him, pinning him in place. His eyes were bright, more alive than Scott had ever seen him, and he was…
He was beautiful. There was no other word for it.
Charlie smirked, a slow, sly expression that made Scott’s pulse pound in his ears, the rush of blood deafening.
He couldn’t remember the last time he was this turned on. Charlie hit every button he had and then some, though he still had no idea how.
Slowly, Charlie took off his glasses, tossing them onto the desk. Scott gasped, knowing that meant something.
He wasn’t surewhatit meant, but it felt significant.
“You sure? Last chance to back out.”
“I’m sure,” Scott said, a tight band of nerves closing around his stomach. This was terrifying, but he wanted it. He wanted it more than anything.
He wanted Charlie. And that was just going to have to be okay.
Charlie hummed, pressing a second, softer kiss to Scott’s lips, just for a moment. Just long enough to make contact, to make the pull of nerves ease off, to let Scott know this was okay.
Then, he dropped to his knees.
Chapter Seventeen
“I havealwayswanted to do this,” Charlie said breathlessly, licking his lips.
Scott was clearly still stunned, his silence deafening. He wasn’t running, though. This time, he seemed to be ready.
Charlie had been waiting for that, only half-convinced it would ever happen. Now, it was all happening at once, his stomach doing somersaults as he thought about how good this was going to be.
