Grayson went still. He was in his socks, with his high-top sneakers dangling from one hand, and I could have sworn I felt him sink into the carpet a little more.
“Something wrong?”
“My place isn’t really great for guests…”
My curiosity perked up, but from the hesitant look in his eyes, I felt like I shouldn’t press. “That’s fine,” I said, trying not to feel disappointed. “Let’s enjoy dinner. Other plans just weren’t meant to be tonight.”
“Wait, no,” Grayson said quickly. “I’m just being silly. You can come by my place.”
A rush of excitement filled me. I had been so focused on not falling on my ass, I hadn’t really realized how much sweating and skating together had made me horny, on top of everything else I was feeling. “Yeah, are you sure?”
“It’s just messy,” he said. “I have to run my business out of my house right now.” He turned his lips down, then shook his head lightly.
“Hey, no need to explain,” I said quickly. “The first few years we had the club, we were eating beans for dinner every night and keeping all of our records on a legal pad by the TV.”
“Yeah? I kind of just figured you were a smash success from opening night on.”
I laughed and remembered the catastrophe with the plumbing on our opening night. “It took us some time. No, I don’t mind if your place is messy. I’ll just be happy to see where you live, Grayson.”
He sat down on the bench behind him, then slipped on his shoes. “Look at that,” he said. “Out of the roller skates for two minutes, and you’re already making a guy swoon.”
GRAYSON
I lifted a box of tiles off an armchair, then placed it on the ground. Lou mewed around my feet, and I scolded myself not to apologize for the place. I really wished that I could show a guy like Demir a clean, nice apartment, but I’d also worked really hard for what I did have, and I usually felt proud of it.
Still, it was hard not to keep peeking at him out of the corner of my eye and trying to gauge his reaction.
“Wine?” I said. “I have some red open.” I pushed some mail into a pile to neaten it, then watched Demir introduce himself to Lou. “Or tea?”
He scratched along Lou’s back, and Lou purred happily for a second before running away. “Maybe just a splash of wine,” he answered. “Will you tell me about all of this, though?”
I hurried with the cork and a couple of glasses. “Those tiles you’re looking at have been fired in a kiln once and glazed to give them that color, kind of like a pearl effect. Soon, I’ll hand-paint them. They’re just for the shower of some wealthy person who has hired a very particular interior designer.” I chuckled, remembering the instructions that came with the job, which included several full pages of description. “I’m just painting a blue and teal pattern onto them, but I had to special order the paints to get the tone exactly right.”
Demir picked up one of the tiles and held it in the air. “It’s very beautiful, though.” He turned to me and placed a hand against his beard, trailing his fingers near the few silver hairs. “What word did you use earlier? Elegant?” He placed the tile back down carefully on the stack. “Handmade objects just carry a different sort of weight to them. That’s something that Marco has taught me to appreciate.”
Pride and satisfaction swelled in my chest as I went to hand him the wine, which he rose to accept. “Thank you,” I said. “I’m glad you like them.”
We stood a few inches apart from each other, glasses of wine in our hands. I wondered what boundaries he and Marco had set. I almost asked, but I didn’t want to break the moment, and I had a sense that he would let me know when the time was right.
It was funny to be on a date without Marco. He was so warm, I sometimes felt like Demir and I were both just basking in his glow.
I guess that’s why I needed to do something like roller skating for our date. I wanted to make sure Demir and I still glowed when it was just the two of us.
He placed his hand on my shoulder, and we leaned in for a slow kiss. I pressed my lips against his, and he gently pressed his lips back. I opened my mouth wider and pushed my tongue against his, and the friction of his beard sent pricks of pleasure across my skin.
“Fuck,” he groaned when we parted. “You’re so hot, Grayson.”
I blushed, still having a little trouble believing he thought that. “I’m so glad you think so. You’re beautiful, Demir.”
He placed his hand on my cheek and traced his fingertips across my stubble. I wanted to feel those fingertips on every inch of my skin.
Demir’s body was much bigger than mine. His chest was wider, and he carried a heft to his muscles. Beside him, I felt much more like Marco, compact and muscular and lean in places where Demir was a bit brawnier.
I placed my hands on his arms and sank my fingers into his muscles. He pulled me close, and soon enough, we were rutting together, grinding hip to hip like there was a bolt at my core, pushing me against him.
I pressed my hands against his chest, then wrapped them behind his neck. He felt so strong and sturdy. Without thinking, I pulled myself up off the ground, then tightened my legs around him. It was like that first night in the club, when I had fallen to my knees. I couldn’t remember when else I had last been overtaken by a gesture like that, but when he hitched me up the rest of the way against his crotch, I knew I’d made the right choice.
“Well fuck yeah,” he said with a growl. I started to grind my hip against him, pleasure burning between us as I kissed at his neck. I pulled my lips away, the smell of his sweat in my nose and warmth flooding my core, but after just a second, Demir’s eyes went wide, and he fell backward, crashing us to the floor.
