by Beth Bolden
There was nothing more that Gabe could possibly want than to take Sean up on his clear offer. His dick was half-hard in his jeans, and his blood was still pumping from the kiss in the car. But it was getting late in the afternoon, and if they wanted to finalize everything for the new wrap, they needed to focus.
He didn’t usually like to leave anything to the last minute, but the enticing promise of getting his hands all over Sean had distracted him the last few days.
“We should really get everything set up for tomorrow,” Gabriel said reluctantly, standing up.
Sean gave an exaggerated sigh, and joined him. “I guess you’re right, though my idea sounds like a lot more fun.”
“It definitely would be,” Gabe agreed.
“I’ll go get the ingredients together for the first batch of nuts,” Sean said, turning towards the kitchen. But then, he turned back. “Hey, you know what would be great?” he said. “If you grabbed some stuff from our trucks, and we made a few more test runs here, before tomorrow.”
What Gabriel wanted was to stay, but he had to admit that it was a good idea. “Sure,” he said. Sean was already grabbing a pen and a pad from the kitchen, and scribbling down a long list of things. “Plus,” he said, glancing up, “anything you might need from yours.”
“Right,” Gabriel said, leaning in close to Sean so he could see what he was writing. The pen, which had been moving at light speed only a moment before, hesitated on the page and Sean glanced up at him, eyes wide.
“Oh,” Sean said, and for a split second, Gabriel didn’t know what he was saying. But then Sean reached up and pressed his mouth to Gabe’s. The kiss was just as hot as it had been in the car, maybe hotter, because then Sean was pushing him against the wall between the kitchen and the living room, devouring him like he couldn’t ever get enough.
Gabriel was just about to say fuck it to the entire plan and reach for Sean’s dick, because it was hard and rubbing against his thigh and he could only take so much temptation without succumbing to it—but then Sean pulled back, and just stared at him, breath coming in choppy, uneven pants.
“Sorry,” he said after a long moment. “Sorry, you were just there and well . . .” He shrugged, like it was hopeless. And it was, because Gabe was hopelessly charmed.
“The way I’m thinking,” Gabriel said, “the sooner we get done with this work stuff, the sooner we can revisit that.”
“Right, right,” Sean said, flushing all the way up his neck to his cheeks. “I just . . . you were right there and well, it’s hard to get enough, isn’t it?”
Gabriel had been with plenty of guys where it hadn’t been so hard to get enough. But with Sean? It felt like that would never happen. And maybe, Gabe thought with a quickening of his heart, Sean was on the exact same page.
“I’ll go, then,” Gabe said, plucking the list out of Sean’s hand. “Before we decide we really can’t get enough.” He leaned in and brushed a kiss across Sean’s scruffy cheek. It felt unbelievably soft, like down, and he turned to go before he could be tempted into staying.
“I’ll get the nuts started,” Sean said with determination in his voice. “My keys are hanging on the hook in the entry. Pink jelly ring, for the truck lock.”
“I’ll be back soon,” Gabriel promised.
He was, actually, back pretty soon. It wasn’t a long walk to the lot from Sean’s townhouse, and he gathered everything they needed quickly, throwing it in one of the Food Truck Warriors canvas bags he had floating around.
He was back on Sean’s doorstep thirty minutes later, giving a quick knock on the door before opening it and walking in.
“In the kitchen!” Sean called out, as Gabe walked through the downstairs towards the back of the house and the kitchen.
“That was quick,” Sean said as Gabe set the bag on the counter and began to unload it.
“Found everything I needed fast,” Gabriel explained. Didn’t want to add that he’d hurried on purpose. Figured that was probably self-explanatory, because it felt like they could barely keep their hands off each other.
“Good,” Sean said. He had a huge metal mixing bowl out, and was stirring some nuts in a sticky spicy-smelling substance. “I’ve just got this ready to put into the oven.”
“How long does it bake for?” Gabe asked, already looking forward to convincing Sean that using the time to make out would be the best use of it, but he was already turning towards the sink, flipping on hot water, and washing out the metal bowl.
“Ten minutes, give or take,” Sean said, “but I’ve got to flip them around occasionally so they don’t burn.”
“Well, that’s disappointing,” Gabriel said, coming up behind him at the sink, putting his arms around Sean while he washed the bowl out. “I was kinda looking forward to taking a break.”
Sean turned and flashed him a smile. “I thought you just took a break.”
“A break with you,” Gabriel said. “That’s the only kind that matters.”
He watched as Sean’s fingers hesitated on the sponge, and unexpectedly he turned, soapy fingers trailing up Gabe’s arms. The look in Sean’s eyes was full of trust and an undeniable affection. Gabe felt his breath catch in his throat. This was going to be the moment. He could feel it, deep down, in his bones. Sean was going to take a deep breath and he was going to confess everything. How this had started only as sex, but had become so much more. He was going to tell Gabriel . . .
And then the alarm on Sean’s watch went off, blaring practically in his ear. Sean flinched and then slipped out of Gabriel’s arms, and went over to the oven, peeking in and using a towel to grab the edge of the cookie sheet to shake the nuts around.
“How do they look?” Gabe asked, after he’d recovered from his disappointment.
“Good,” Sean said. “Coming along, anyway. We should know if there’s any adjustments that need to be made in the next couple of minutes.”
“Alright,” Gabe said. He turned towards the plastic container of meatballs he’d set on the counter earlier. It made sense to work on the wrap now, and get everything prepped for tomorrow’s sales, so they could enjoy themselves later.
Gabriel wasn’t very good at delayed gratification, but for Sean, he could get better. For Sean, he could do anything.
Chapter Twelve
Sean woke up with the smell of roasted nuts in his nose. For a long moment, he couldn’t remember falling into bed or even falling asleep.
He could feel the warmth of Gabriel’s body next to his though, and it made him smile, because Gabe had stayed again.
Rolling over, he saw the trail of clothing on the floor of his bedroom, and the events of the night before began to filter back through his mind. The first batch of nuts had been a disaster—tasty but the spices were totally wrong for the rest of the wrap, which Gabriel had practiced constructing a few times, making sure that he knew exactly how to do it, so he could also teach Ren how to do it.
Then, on the third batch of nuts, Sean had finally gotten the balance of salty to sweet right, only to realize that his second bag of peanuts he’d bought had started to go rancid, and he’d need another one.
Gabriel had run out again, having to try three different grocery stores to find what they needed, and by the time Sean had been satisfied with their stockpile to use for the next week, it had been almost ten, and while he’d been undeniably eager earlier to fall into bed with Gabriel, when they’d actually done it, they’d both barely had the energy to strip down, before falling asleep almost immediately, exhausted.
Sean did remember setting the alarm for eight, an hour before they needed to be at the lot, but when he glanced at his smart watch, he saw that it was just past seven. Still, despite the early hour, he felt well-rested and incredibly energized. More than ready to face whatever the day held.
He slipped out of bed, and went to the bathroom, brushing his teeth and peeing, before returning to the bedroom.
Gabriel’s eyes were open, the warm brown of them making Sean shiver
with anticipation. “Good morning,” he said, his voice gravelly from sleep still.
“It is a good morning,” Sean said.
“Better than last night, in any case,” Gabe said.
“I . . .” Sean knew he shouldn't apologize; nothing that had happened last night—none of the many, infuriating delays—had been his fault. But he’d been just as disappointed as Gabriel. The kisses they’d shared had left him buzzing with anticipation.
But regret was nothing if you couldn’t keep your eyes open.
“Don’t you dare apologize,” Gabriel said, grinning. “Besides,” he said, sliding out of bed just as Sean returned to it, “there’s plenty of morning before we have to be at work.”
“Forty-seven minutes to be exact,” Sean said.
“I do like how ambitious you are,” Gabriel observed, dropping a soft kiss on his cheek. “I’ll be right back.”
Sean waited with an increasingly breathless anticipation as he heard the bathroom door shut behind Gabriel.
He’d seen the toothbrush that Gabe had brought. Had seen it sitting next to his, in the holder, and had been pleasantly surprised at his own reaction.
He hadn’t exactly expected that he’d freak out. But things were changing between them. Sean wasn’t stupid enough to deny that. But he wasn’t sure what they were morphing into, or if he should press pause while he figured out what he felt about that.
Except, the brutal honest truth was that he knew exactly how he felt, and all he felt was joy.
It was just really fucking nice not to be alone. Maybe, Sean thought, it would have been easier if that was all it was. A body to warm his bed on lonely nights, but the problem was that he’d never really wanted that. The only man he’d ever wanted since Milo was Gabriel.
So it was very hard to pin all of this on loneliness.
“You look like you’re thinking way too hard.”
Sean glanced up and saw Gabriel standing there, naked except for a pair of boxers, riding low on his hips, his tongue flicking out to wet his lower lip.
“Maybe you should come over here and make me stop,” Sean teased.
Gabriel stared at him a moment longer and then was on the bed, climbing onto him with a grace that belied his size. He cupped Sean’s cheek with one hand and it was shockingly tender, considering the way Gabriel was grinding his hardening dick against Sean’s own, sending a rush of anticipatory pleasure through him.
For a second, Gabe just hovered there, lips right above Sean’s, and he felt himself aching for it, straining to get closer, to that thrusting cock, and to his mouth, and to the man himself.
Then Gabriel kissed him, and it was hot and sweet and reverent and a whole lot dirty, his tongue delving deep, his mouth echoing the same minty flavor of his own.
“Fuck,” Gabriel said, and Sean could already feel him breathing hard, his heart racing a mile per minute as he pressed a palm to it. “God, I want you so much.”
“I want you too,” Sean said, feeling a little bashful about just how much. Sex had never felt like an imperative before, but with Gabriel? It was life or death.
“I want to be inside you again,” Gabriel said, and his voice had gone hushed. His eyes were worshipful as he slid a hand down Sean’s body, towards the edge of his briefs. “But more than anything, I want what you want.”
“I want that too,” Sean said. He couldn’t say anything else. The desire was so strong, it felt like it was going to wash over him in one suffocating wave. There was so much, he felt like he was going to choke on it.
He couldn’t remember ever feeling its equal.
Even with Milo.
But before that thought could even fully register, Sean pushed it away again. He couldn’t deal with that right now.
Gabriel’s fingers on his cock, smoothing the wetness on the head down further, as he gave him a firm stroke, were all he wanted to deal with.
Pushing himself up, Sean kissed him again, their mouths sliding together again and again, until he was lost in the sensation, barely even registering Gabe letting go of his cock and the sound of the drawer in the bedside table opening.
He relaxed into the feel of Gabe’s thumb sliding inside him, wet and welcome. He knew him now, and trusted him, and didn’t doubt for a moment that Gabriel would make him feel good. The first time had been so extraordinary, and even if it hadn’t been, he knew the man now, in a way that he hadn’t necessarily then.
Gabriel slid a second finger in alongside the first, and Sean groaned at the stretch, desperately craving more of it.
“Come on,” Sean begged. “I’m ready, I’m . . .”
The fingers paused inside of him and Sean’s eyes flicked open, only to find Gabriel staring at him, pupils blown, the expression on his face a mix of tenderness and raw desire. “You’re going to be ready when I say you’re ready,” Gabriel said, leaning down, and brushing a kiss across his mouth. “I want it to be good for you.”
“I’m with you, aren’t I?” Sean said, before he could stop himself. It seemed like with the pleasure short-circuiting his system, the filter between his brain and his mouth had seemingly disappeared. “It’s always good.”
Gabriel smiled, but didn’t say anything, but thankfully, moved his fingers again, delving deeper until it felt like they were pressing right against that spot that never failed to make him see a whole universe of stars. Until he was pleading and incoherent, his cock leaking onto his stomach, so hard he felt like he might come the moment Gabriel touched him.
But he didn’t, just grabbed a condom from the drawer, and then finally, after it was on, began to slide inside of Sean.
He was still big, but this time there wasn’t even that moment of uncertainty, of doubt that it would really work, that it would fit. He just slid right in, delving so deeply that Sean knew his eyes were wide and unblinking, just letting the intense feeling crest over him.
“Fuck you feel so goddamned good,” Gabriel ground out, his head dropping to Sean’s shoulder as he began moving. Sean’s hands reached up, tracing down Gabe’s spine, fingertips digging into his damp skin, wanting him closer, needing it in a way that he didn’t really recognize.
And then Gabriel was moving faster and harder, and Sean could only hang on for the ride, feeling his cock slide between their bodies, catching on Gabe’s stomach, and that was all it took for him to slide right off the edge into oblivion, crying out as he clenched around Gabe’s cock.
“Oh, god,” Gabriel moaned right after him, shaking in Sean’s arms as he followed right after him.
As their heartbeats calmed and he began to come back down to reality, Sean had two immediate overriding thoughts: one, he could stay here forever, just like this, and two, he couldn’t possibly, not at all.
What was he doing?
He’d promised Gabriel just sex. He’d insisted to him that it couldn’t be anything else, because nothing had felt like it had with Milo.
There was no possible way that Sean hadn’t loved Milo with every bit of his heart. He’d known that, before, when Milo had been a laughing, perfect figure next to him. At their wedding. On their honeymoon. During the many nights they’d just relaxed on the couch, throwing popcorn into each other’s mouths and watching the trashiest reality TV they could get their hands on.
But what he felt for Gabriel was so intrinsically different, he’d not even seen it coming, and now that he did, he didn’t even know what to do with it.
Was it friendship? Was it, somehow, impossibly, love?
Sean didn’t know, and he was kind of freaking out.
Because whatever this was between them, it was no longer just sex.
Maybe it had never been just sex.
“I . . .” Sean took a deep breath. “I gotta get up. The alarm is gonna go off any second.”
Gabriel was probably too worn out, riding on a wave of endorphins to recognize the panic in Sean’s voice. But he heard it in his own, and wondered, with a pang somewhere near the vicinity of his heart, how Gabriel could
have missed it.
Rolling off Sean, Gabe just gave him a carefree grin. “I thought we had forty-seven minutes. I’m pretty sure we only used thirty-nine of those, and maybe sixteen seconds, for good measure.”
It hadn’t even been close to forty-seven minutes, which Gabe probably knew, but Sean wasn’t going to bother addressing. He was too full of the panic suddenly streaking through him.
“I just . . . I gotta get in the shower. Get ready. Get the nuts packed up to go. We’ve got more than normal prep this morning, you know.”
“I know,” Gabriel said. He did not seem particularly eager to get up.
But Sean knew he couldn’t stay in bed a moment longer.
“I’ll be in the shower,” he said, and got up and left. And he immediately missed the warmth of Gabriel next to him.
———
By the time Sean got to the lot an hour later, he was still feeling uneasy.
Gabe had helped him pack up the nuts and had given him a brief kiss when they’d parted, telling Sean that he was headed home to shower and change and then he’d see him at the lot.
Gabriel had apparently not noticed Sean’s uneasiness, probably because his own mood had been playful and happy, like his regular innate charm was simply bubbling out of him this morning, too plentiful to control.
Sean hoped that had nothing to do with him, but he was afraid it did.
Somehow, they’d gotten embroiled in this thing, and they were already deep in the middle of it before he had even realized it was happening.
Sean stared across the way at Gabriel’s truck, where Tony was putting up the sign, chatting casually with both Gabe and Ren. Tony had done his first, commenting briefly on how glad he was that they’d figured something out.
He’d initially been afraid that Tony would continue the teasing from yesterday, because Sean could not handle that right now, but he’d apparently gotten the memo that Sean was busy and didn’t want to be bothered, because he’d posted the sign next to Sean’s menu, on the side of his truck, and had moved on to Gabe’s almost immediately.
