14
“Coming,” Ezra called as the doorbell rang, bounding his way down the stairs. He had no idea who might be dropping by at this time of day, but it was Christmas, and there were plenty of relatives and friends of his mom who liked to come over and say hello.
They probably wouldn’t mind that he wasn’t wearing shoes or socks and that his hair looked like he’d just rolled out of bed.
Ezra ran his fingers through it anyway before he opened the door, not wanting to actuallyscareanyone.
When he finally did open it, Mike was standing on the other side with his hands in his pockets, navy sweater hitched up over one hip like a goddamn catalogue model. The tiny smile playing around his lips and lighting up his eyes completed the picture.
Damnhe was gorgeous. Ezra couldn’t help that thought every time he saw him. The last four years had been kind to Mike, and Ezra hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since he’d come back.
“Hey,” Ezra said, surprised to see Mike standing on the other side of his door and trying to snap himself out of staring at the poor guy. Whatever was going on with him, he probably didn’t need Ezra drooling over him right now. That’d only make things more complicated.
“Hey,” Mike responded, glancing over Ezra’s shoulder and into the hallway behind. “Is your mom home?”
What? Why was Mike looking for hismom?
“Uh. No, she’s-”
“Good,” Mike interrupted, closing the gap between them in one step. His fingers threaded deep into Ezra’s hair as he leaned in, holding him in place as their lips crashed together, the taste of stale coffee and cinnamon andMikefilling all of Ezra’s senses at once.
This wasn’t what Ezra had been expecting, but it was a little hard to say no. Notjustbecause his mouth was currently occupied, either.
Mike backed him up against the hallway wall, kicking the door so it swung closed behind them with a bang. He surged forward again while Ezra was still trying to catch his breath, sucking on his lower lip. Ezra gasped in the space between them, his head light from shock and lack of air, spinning at the thought that Mikewantedhim, that he’d come here specifically to do this.
That he’d come back for more, even though Ezra had already satisfied his curiosity.
That was…
A lot.
So much to take in.Toomuch, really, and Ezra’s brain wasn’t exactly operating at peak efficiency with blood already flowing south, his gut tight with arousal as Mike’s fingers slid under the hem of the t-shirt he’d slept in and skimmed over the sensitive skin of his belly, the touch light but so goddamngood.
“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” Mike murmured, kissing him again, leaning his weight against Ezra to hold him in place, and how the hell could he say no to something likethat?
Even if having a casual fling with a man he’d been in love with for so long was aterribleidea.
“Ezra?” Mike paused, backing off an inch, concern suddenly written all over his pretty features. Dammit. Ezra hadn’t meant to make itobviousthat he was hesitating.
“I’m sorry,” he continued, gaze falling. “I thought… I should’ve said something first, I didn’t mean-”
Ezra interrupted by shushing him gently, raising his hand to press the tips of his fingers to Mike’s lower lip. “Don’t feel bad,” Ezra said. “I’m just surprised and half-asleep and still catching up.”
“It’snoon,” Mike said, raising an eyebrow.
“On a Saturday,” Ezra defended. “I get to sleep in on Saturdays.”
“Sleeping in is until like… nine, maybe,” Mike said.
Ezra snorted. “Some of us aren’t morning people.”
And just like that, he was comfortable again. This was Mike, and he was so easy to be around even after all this time, and Ezra wanted him. Wanted whatever he could get.
He didn’twantto say no to Mike. Even if it was stupid or reckless or likely to end in having his heart broken. He wanted Mike to keep kissing him.
Couldn’t it just be that simple?
“I can’t stop thinking about you,” Mike confessed softly, glancing down for a moment before meeting Ezra’s eyes again. The nervousness was back, but there was also a determination this time, like he knew this was hard but he also knew he had todoit.
