Dee rummaged it out of her purse, then handed it to Jameson, along with a second card. “You said you didn’t want to use your names for anything. Put the rooms on my card! You can pay me back later. Plus, I have Jameson’s haircut in my old ID picture. If anyone takes a look, he could totally be a Dee, especially with the looks he’s pulling lately.”
Jameson handed the ID to Gray, who nodded. “It passes the smell test.”
“Thanks, Dee,” Jameson said, throwing his arms around her. “You’re so sweet. And I promise I’ll pay you back once this is all over.”
“Anything for the lovebirds,” she teased.
“Awwww,” Raiden and Horatio both chimed out at once.
As quickly as they could make themselves, Gray and Jameson tore themselves away from the bonfire, then went to grab some supplies from the house. Gray had only managed to throw back two beers over the long evening, so he felt clearheaded enough to drive and find them a quiet place to hole up again. Still, guilt kept creeping up and snarling at him.
He should have been there, to keep Raiden and Horatio out of this mess. Even if he was falling head over heels for Jameson, his responsibility to his guys didn’t end.
But maybe Gray was always destined to be a fuckup. Maybe he wasn’t good enough to be a leader. And if he couldn’t keep his crew safe, that meant he couldn’t keep Jameson safe, either, and that he wasn’t worthy of the trust Jameson had placed in him earlier that day.
He shook aside the doubt the best he could, then shoved a few more things in his bag. Jameson hurried down the stairs in one of Gray’s old sweatshirts, a backpack over his shoulder. When he reached the landing, he threw his arms over Gray’s shoulders, and the pleasure that washed over Gray’s body was a temporary relief from all his worries.
Even if he was a fuckup, so long as Gray could make Jameson smile like that, he had to be doing something right.
“Back on the road?” Jameson asked.
“Back on the road,” Gray agreed.
Jameson
The next morning,Jameson was in a daze. He and Gray had stayed up until four in the morning, fucking in a motel with the overhead fan spinning to keep the room cool. Just like Gray said, the more he got used to being penetrated, the easier it was to give in to the release of it. They could go faster, and slower, and Jameson began to recognize how the pleasure inside of his body felt when it was stroked, teased, and pounded. And now that he knew how it felt to have someone actually inside him, Jameson needed that much, much more.
It made him present with Gray in a whole new way. He felt a little silly thinking about it, like it was cheesy or trite, but it was true, too. He had been somewhere with Gray that he had never been before and felt things in his body that he didn’t know he could feel. The warm pleasure that coiled at his base had bloomed, and the shuddering release had made Jameson reborn. He was always desperate to touch Gray and to feel like they were joined. But while they packed up the motel and headed out to grab breakfast sandwiches, Jameson realized they were moving in unison, a perfect pair.
Once they had their breakfast and coffees, Gray found an empty park. Jameson wasn’t sure what town they were in, just that they were about ten minutes from the motel, somewhere quiet enough that he could push his scarf aside and eat his breakfast sandwich in peace. The park was flat, with a small wooded area in the back, and they strolled to a small bench under a big old dogwood tree. Across from them, an empty set of swings swayed in the slight breeze, and down the path a bit, a yellow merry-go-round was dotted with rust.
“Okay,” Jameson said, sipping from his coffee. “We have Dee’s credit card, a few hundred dollars in cash, the stripper’s ex-boyfriend’s car, and whatever is stuck in the trunk. What’s next, do you think?”
Gray laughed. He tossed his arm over Jameson’s shoulder, then blew on his coffee. “I thought next was probably going to happen in bed.”
Jameson giggled. “Or some very exciting outdoor locations,” he teased.
Gray laughed along with him, but when a silence fell, Jameson could feel the truth, lingering in the air. It was why he had thrown himself at Gray the night before, he realized, the reason Jameson suddenly hadn’t been able to wait any longer to feel him, deep inside.
Just too many close calls, too many high risks. They had both already known it was true, but the encounter at Gray’s house had made it impossible to deny.
“It’s time to face the truth,” Jameson said.
Gray nodded and squeezed him a little closer. “I think so.”
He pushed his hands through his hair. For a split second, he considered grabbing Gray’s hand, running across the park, and maybe disappearing into the trees. He thought if they ran fast enough and long enough, they wouldn’t be able to find their way back to the flashing cameras and the mobsters, waving their guns.
But then he felt the warmth of Gray’s embrace. He took in a deep breath, smelling the fresh air and the coffee and the scent of the hotel soap on Gray’s body. Jameson turned, brushed his lips across Gray’s, and nodded, their foreheads pressed together. “I know,” Jameson said. “It’s time.”
Gray let out a puff of air. “I’m sorry, beautiful. I’m sorry I can’t take you on the road forever.”
Jameson pulled his head back. “It’s not your fault,” he said. “My publicist will probably give you an award, she’ll be so happy you brought me back. And I need to see Pickles and figure out what I’m going to do next.” Nerves spun in his gut, and he fiddled with his coffee cup. “But that doesn’t mean it has to end, does it?”
Gray smiled, half of his mouth turning up in a lopsided grin. “It? Like… you and I?”
Jameson laughed. “Who else is there?”
Gray kissed him, and the rough scrape of his beard felt good on Jameson’s lips, still tender from the sweaty night. “It doesn’t have to end,” he said. “I promise.”
