Scott swallowed hard as he felt Anson’s gaze practically leave behind a heated path. Damn, Anson may have well been wearing a shirt that begged fuck me with the open desire that stood evident on his face. He even had the audacity to run his tongue over his lips, like he was just waiting for a chance to lean forward and take a bite. To Scott’s horror, he found himself mimicking the motion, his gaze riveted on Anson’s full mouth. Madison, for her part, seemed oblivious to the sexual tension as she got in and started up the engine. She looked over at Scott, a beaming grin on her face.
“Are we ready for the long drive?”
Afraid of being caught basically drooling over his BFF’s little bro, he jerked his head forward and gave a dumb nod. “Yeah, I think we’re all good to go.”
“Cheer up, Scott. This is going to be a great Christmas. I just know it.” She gave him a mock punch in the arm.
Scott glanced up in the visor mirror and met Anson’s gaze in the reflection. The younger man gave a slow wink, a wicked grin spreading out over his face as he ran the palm of his hand over his cock.
At that point Scott realized the trip and Christmas holiday would be a whole lot longer than he’d anticipated.
CHAPTER 2
Fuck, even though Anson never would have thought it possible, Scott had only grown hotter over the past three years.
Anson bit his bottom lip to hold back a moan of appreciation as he continued to study the man. It had been a routine that Anson had developed around five years ago, when he first realized he was infatuated with Madison’s best friend. Now Anson easily fell back into the habit as he stared at the man he’d practically spent his entire teen years lusting after. While some things had changed about Scott’s appearance, it seemed all the best things had stayed the same. Scott styled his dark hair a bit longer now, the ends curling slightly at the collar. His green eyes were as alluring as ever, the color even more pronounced thanks to the long, dark lashes framing them. Even though Scott was sitting, Anson could tell the guy didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. He appeared to have a lean, a “runner’s build” as they liked to call it. Anson just preferred to call it damn sexy.
He frowned as he remembered the last encounter he’d shared with Scott. How he’d all but thrown himself at the man only to suffer the bitter sting of rejection. At the time, Scott had assured him it was because Anson had only been eighteen and was nothing personal, but it had still hurt, bad.
Maybe that’s why Anson enjoyed pushing the guy’s buttons now. It had been fun to see the flush spreading out over Scott’s face as he stared at Anson’s cock. It had been even more fun to imagine how far he could have taken things had Madison not been there. What would the normally slightly uptight Scott have done if Anson had decided to unzip his pants? Not all the way, just a bit, so the invitation was blatant.
“Why haven’t you gone home already? Didn’t your winter break start a while ago?” Scott called back, breaking into Anson’s X-rated daydreams.
If Anson wasn’t mistaken, he could detect just a hint of annoyance in Scott’s tone.
“I work at a coffeehouse and I couldn’t get time off until now,” Anson explained as he tried to get into a more comfortable position. His sister’s backseat didn’t have that much legroom. He wondered how long before he could convince her to let him take over the driving duties.
“That’s too bad,” Scott replied blandly, giving a clear message that he’d wished Anson had gone home long before now so they wouldn’t have to share the upcoming car ride.
Anson tried not to allow that comment or underlying implication to sting. He just shrugged as he shifted his legs slightly apart. By now he practically sat sideways with his legs all the way on the other side of the backseat. He caught Scott peeking another glance in the visor mirror. The brat in him wanted to pay Scott back some for the attitude, so Anson made a big show of slowly licking his lips as he spread his legs even wider, so the hardening bulge in his pants couldn’t be missed.
“I’m not complaining. Now I get to enjoy your company,” Anson said, all the while striving to keep his tone flippant. He realized that being a tease probably wasn’t the best way to get on Scott’s good side, but there was something about the man that just set Anson off and made him act irrationally.
He knew he’d scored another point when he saw Scott swallow hard. Damn, what Anson would do to really give that throat something to work on. Maybe if he got the chance to fuck Scott, then Anson could finally get over his damn infatuation with the man. Scott shot a sharp glare over his shoulder that did nothing to dissuade Anson’s desire.
“I would think you would be bored since you’re so much younger than us,” Scott snapped.
“I’ve always like hanging out with more experienced men. They have so many interesting things to share.”
Madison pointedly cleared her throat, reminding Anson of her presence. “We’re only five years older than you. That’s not much.”
Anson held his hands up. “Hey, you don’t need to convince me of that. It’s Scott who seems to have an issue with it, just like he always has. You would think he’d gotten over it by now.”
He realized he may have pushed things a tad too far when Madison sucked in a breath.
“Is there something you two want to tell me?” she demanded.
Anson should have known that Scott had never told her about the incident, and by that he didn’t mean when Scott ran over his goddamn turtle, but the time where he’d not so gracefully shunned Anson. A small part of him wanted to expose the whole secret right then, but he realized that it could drive a wedge between Scott and Madison and that was the last thing he’d ever wish for. Giving a slow shake of his head, he said, “No, I was just giving your friend a hard time.”
“Well, stop it. The drive is going to be long enough without having to put up with your attitude.”
He gave her a mock salute before he settled farther back into the seat and closed his eyes. Maybe if he didn’t look at Scott anymore he could get the guy and his hot as hell body off his brain for a while. Somehow Anson knew that wouldn’t work, though, because Scott had never been far from his thoughts for three years and that was when they were in different cities. Now that they were literally inches from one another, it would be near impossible to focus on anything else.
For the next few hours, he feigned sleep, content to listen in on Scott and Madison as they talked. Scott spoke a bit about his job as an accountant, which only served to make Anson feel for the poor guy for having such a dull job. Madison prattled on about her new vegetarian lifestyle. Which really wasn’t much of a sacrifice as far as Anson was concerned, since she’d never liked meat, even as a kid. Now, if she’d given up her beaded doorway curtain or her Hair DVD, he’d be more impressed.
Then Madison started in on her love life —or better yet her train wreck of love life. First she went on about her boyfriend of three months ago and how he’d only wanted to stay in on weekends, instead of taking her out. Then he had to listen to all the painful details of her brief affair with an older man who’d been into spanking. Anson made a mental note to send her all the therapy bills he’d be piling up after that moment of oversharing. Finally, she completed his moments-you-can’t-unhear ordeal by telling Scott all the mistakes her latest boyfriend made during cunnilingus.
When she finally pulled into a fast food joint, Anson almost cheered in relief. If he didn’t get a break from her, he would be tempted to bail from the moving vehicle. He loved his sister more than anything, but sometimes he wondered if she ever stopped talking. There were times she even babbled in her sleep. She parked the car and quickly turned off the ignition.
“I’ll meet you guys in there. I have to pee,” she announced before she all but jumped out of the car.
As soon as the door slammed shut, Anson unbuckled his seat belt and leaned forward so his lips were inches from Scott’s neck. “Well, look at that. We’re alone at last.”
Scott stiffened, but didn’t pull away. “
What are you doing?”
“If it’s not already obvious, then you need to get laid more often.” Anson lightly blew on the sensitive skin below Scott’s ear, a small thrill going through him when he noticed the man shiver in response.
“My sex life is no business of yours.”
Anson allowed his tongue to briefly dart out to sweep over Scott’s flesh. “We can remedy that.”
“Look, Anson, I’ve already told you —”
“That I’m too young for you. I know, but that was three years ago. Plenty has happened since then.” Anson gave him another lick, the salty taste of Scott’s skin quickly becoming addictive. “I’ve grown up…fucked a lot since then.”
Okay, maybe the words a lot were a bit of a stretch. While Anson had had his fair share of bed partners, it hadn’t exactly reached the double digits or anything. However, it had been enough for him to know that he wasn’t exactly a troll and guys found him more than a little attractive. So that gave him enough confidence to press forward, despite the fear of being rejected once again.
“You want to know a secret?” he asked, forcing himself to lock gazes with Scott.
“No, but I have the feeling you’re going to share, anyway.”
“It didn’t matter who I was with. I always pretended they were you.” Anson’s heart pounded as he made that confession.
He held his breath as he waited for Scott’s reaction. Would he get angry? Embarrassed? Outraged? Anson didn’t know quite for sure which one would hurt the most. Not wanting to face any of them, he decided to try for a distraction. Cupping the back of Scott’s head, Anson brought him in for a kiss.
To Anson’s shock, Scott didn’t resist. In fact, he even parted his lips and returned the kiss in earnest. Anson let out a low growl of approval before he thrust his tongue into Scott’s mouth to give slow, lazy strokes. A jolt of pleasure went through him when Scott continued to return the passion, even going so far as to thread his fingers through Anson’s hair, his touch leaving behind a warm sensation.
Damn, it wasn’t enough —not nearly enough. He wanted to feel the press of Scott’s body against him, to be able to let his hands explore every dip and ridge of the man’s chest, but the damn seat prevented that. If the car had been larger, Anson would have been tempted to crawl into the front and settle himself in Scott’s lap. Instead, he had to be satisfied with just kissing.
Just as things were starting to get really good, Scott let out a grunt and put a hand on Anson’s chest, pushing him away. “Enough.”
“Funny, I was thinking we should push things even further,” Anson replied, but he sat back and put some distance between them.
His lips tingled and he knew they were probably a little kiss-swollen. Without conscious thought, he ran his tongue over them so he could taste the lingering essence of Scott on them. His breaths came out in gasps and his heart beat so hard it seemed to be pounding in his ears. Never before had a kiss affected him so strongly. Which only made sense given he’d always had such powerful feelings for Scott.
Ever since Anson had first come to realize he was gay, five years ago, he’d had a mad crush on Scott. As the years passed, the attraction had only grown stronger, to the point where no man could even begin to compare. Anson ducked his head to the side as a wave of hurt threatened to crush his chest. How sad was that? While he pined away for Scott, the man still obviously couldn’t stand to be around him.
“We should probably get in there before Madison comes looking for us,” Scott said as he brought a hand up to his mouth. It gave Anson some grim satisfaction to note that the kiss had obviously affected Mr. Calm, Cool, and Collected, too. If it only served to annoy him even more.
Then Anson flashed back to the kiss and he recalled the way Scott had, if only for a brief moment, returned the passion in earnest. A spark of excitement went through Anson as he allowed himself a small measure of hope for the first time in five years.
“So, you’re going to pretend that this just didn’t happen between us?” Anson challenged, not willing to let things go so easily. After dreaming of this moment for so long, he’d be damned if he’d let Scott just shrug it off.
Scott pinned him with a hard glare. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do and I suggest you go the same route.”
Not waiting for Anson’s response, Scott got out of the car and slammed the door shut. Anson sat in stunned silence for several minutes before he let out a low curse. In his haste to proclaim his intentions to Scott, it appeared as if he’d blown things yet again.
§ § §
Scott stared down at his greasy burger, so he didn’t have to meet Anson’s hurt gaze. He knew he’d handled things badly with the younger man, but Scott couldn’t find the words that could smooth things over.
Maybe that’s because Scott honestly didn’t know how he felt about the kiss. Part of him wanted to take the next bus back home and away from the brat, while another half of him wanted to grab Anson and take him to the nearest hotel room.
In the end, he realized that either one of those choices would be a mistake since they’d both upset Madison. That was the last thing he’d ever want to do. Madison was the closest thing he’d ever had to a real family.
“Ugh, how can you guys eat that crap?” Madison asked, as she cast a disgusted look at their burgers.
“You really think that’s healthier?” Anson challenged, pointing at her half-wilted mess that was trying to pass itself off as a salad.
“Probably not,” she agreed before she threw her fork down in defeat.
“Why don’t you let me run across the street to that little grocery store?” Anson offered, already getting up from his chair. “I’ll buy you some of those little, fuzzy fruit things you like so much.”
“You mean kiwi?” She smiled, showing off a set of dimples that matched her brother’s perfectly.
“Yeah, I’ll be back in five.” Anson paused to ask Scott, “Is there anything you want?”
Yes, God help me, but I want you. Naked and under me.
Since Scott couldn’t very well voice that need, he said, “No thanks.”
After he left, Madison picked at her salad for a few minutes longer before blurting, “How long are you two going to let this thing go on?”
Scott froze, shock coursing through his body. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, come on.” She threw her hands in the air. “How stupid do you think I am?”
“Not very?” he hedged, worried that any response would probably be the wrong one.
He wondered how much she knew. Had she been in on his and Anson’s secret past all this time, and if so, why in the hell hadn’t she mentioned it sooner?
“Look, I realize that you two don’t like each other because of the whole Myrtle Incident, but can’t you at least bury the antagonism for a few days?”
“Oh, that.” He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Yes, what else would I be talking about?”
He blinked a few times, before plastering on what he hoped was a convincing smile. “Nothing.”
For the first time, Scott realized how totally in over his head he was. There was no way he could be around Anson without him eventually giving in to the attraction between the two of them. On the other hand, Scott couldn’t avoid the guy either since they’d be sharing the same car and home. All of which meant that Scott was as cooked as the Christmas turkey. He let out a sigh of defeat as he shoved his burger aside. If he made it through Christmas without a disaster it would be a miracle.
CHAPTER 3
Scott stopped in front of the door to Anson’s hotel room and took a steadying breath. God, he hoped he wasn’t about to make another colossal mistake. In one hand he held a pizza box, the other a twelve-pack of cold beer.
After a day full of tension, he should go back to his room, eat his pizza, drink his beer, and then crash for the night. Instead he found himself drawn in, yet again. When would he ever learn?
He gathered his courage and used his foot to
knock on the door. After a few moments Anson opened the door and even if Scott had wanted to change his mind and run, he couldn’t since he found himself face-to-face with the man. Scott had already changed into a pair of sleeping pants that hung low on his hips and a tight, blue T-shirt that molded to his chest perfectly. He scrubbed his hand over his face before blinking sleepily at Scott.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Oooookay…that hadn’t been the reaction he’d hoped for, but he had to admit to himself that a part of him had expected it. He held the pizza box up. “I thought maybe you might be hungry.”
Damn, somebody who just stumbled out of bed should not look that good. While the cowlick, messed hair thing would look silly on most, with Anson it just made him all the more sexy. Although, deep down, Scott had to admit to himself Anson could come in from a day of construction work and still look good. Damn, the thought of Anson all sweaty, covered in dirt, his tight body covered in a white tank top and ripped jeans… Scott shook his head as he jerked himself out of those kinds of thoughts. He was there to make peace with Anson, not make hot, sweaty, messy sex.
When Anson just continued to stare, his brow furrowed in confusion, Scott held up his other hand. “I have beer, too.”
“Why?” Anson asked, flatly.
“Because beer goes good with pizza,” Scott replied, deliberately misunderstanding.
“No, why are you here? After the way you acted earlier, I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me.”
If only that were true.
“I wanted to apologize for being such a jerk to you today.”
“So, it has nothing to do with Madison nagging you to be nicer to me?” Anson crossed his arms over his chest and leaned one shoulder against the doorframe.
Scott felt a heat come over his face. “She may have said something.”
A hint of a smile ghosted Anson’s lips. “Yeah, well if it’s any consolation, I got the same lecture.”
“So does that mean you’re going to let me in?”
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