You May Have Met Him

by Sebastian Carter

“That’s good to know. I’d hate to think someone as hot as you would be all brawn and no brains.” Open mouth, insert foot. What was it about this man that turned him into a hormonal teenager again? And more importantly, what was going to pop out of his mouth next, smell ya later?

  Cole chuckled, his laugh deep and husky, sexy as hell, just like the rest of him. “Well, I don’t know about all that, but I’m glad you don’t think I’m the dumb jock I was in high school.”

  “No fear of that happening.” A hot empty shell was not the kind of man he would be attracted to. The ability to hold an intelligent conversation was just as important, more so, than being hung like a moose. And damn if that didn’t derail his thoughts and bring them right back to what kind of package Cole could possibly be sporting beneath his pants.

  Cole weaved his way through the crowd to the bar, where people packed in tight as canned sardines waited to give their orders. Eric trailed after him, his attention locked on Cole’s ass as it flexed beneath worn denim. Now that was an ass worthy of writing home about.

  Cole abruptly stopped and swung back around to face him. Unable to stop his forward momentum, Eric couldn’t prevent his nose from smacking into the middle of Cole’s sternum. His cheek pressed into the nubby cotton fabric of Cole’s polo shirt, instantly surrounding him with his date’s heat and scent. He could hear the fast thump of Cole’s strong heart. The intoxicating smell of spicy cologne, soap and an underlying musky scent that was Cole’s alone wafted up to his nose. Eric swallowed a whimper and fought the urge to bury his face in Cole’s wide chest, wallow in his fragrance.

  More than his next breath of air, Eric wanted to press closer, to rub his burgeoning erection against Cole’s hip and let the man feel the powerful effect he had on him. Instead, he ducked his head and backed away, murmuring a hasty, “Sorry.”

  Calloused fingers, rough as fine sandpaper, slid under his jaw and pushed up, tilting his chin until he looked Cole square in the eye. For an instant, while he stared into those fathomless deep brown eyes, the crowd, the noise, all of it dissolved. Cole, the intense expression on his handsome face, the gentle press of warm fingers beneath his jaw, was all that existed. Electricity crackled in the air between them. His gaze dropped to Cole’s mouth. Cole licked his lips, making them glisten, and Eric whimpered. He took a step closer, needing to kiss, to taste Cole so bad it was like an addiction.

  A woman with purple hair and enough eyeliner to make her resemble a raccoon turned from the bar, two frosty mugs of beer in her hands, and lurched into Eric. Cold, foamy beer sloshed over his arm and down the front of his shirt.

  Cole dropped his hand and stepped away from him. Eric shot the woman a dirty look, more for ruining the moment between him and Cole than the accident. Beer would wash out. Other than the stench, it wasn’t a big deal.

  She handed the now-half-empty beers off to a friend—some guy whose shirt had more safety pins than material—and turned back to him. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry. I totally didn’t see you there.”

  Eric waved off her concern. “It’s no big deal. It’ll wash off.”

  She apologized again and then wandered off after her friend. Eric returned his attention to Cole and found the man smiling down at him. “That was nice of you. To let her off the hook like that.”

  Eric shrugged. “Well, what was I gonna do, yell at her? She didn’t mean to slosh beer all over me. The drinks here cost too much to waste them.”

  Cole snorted. “Isn’t that the truth.” He fidgeted a bit before continuing. “I was just thinking, I’ve had enough to drink, and… Well, I just thought maybe we could go somewhere quieter and get a cup of coffee or something.”

  Damn that sounded like a good idea. They could go somewhere and talk, or something better. Except now he was wet and smelled like a brewery. “Uh, that’s probably not such a good idea.”

  A frown marred Cole’s forehead before a neutral mask dropped down over his features. “Oh, well, that’s okay. Maybe some other time, right?”

  Disappointment flashed through Cole’s eyes and disappeared so fast Eric wasn’t sure if he’d really seen it or imagined it. Either way, he wanted to make sure Cole didn’t get the wrong idea. “No, coffee sounds good, but I don’t think I’m fit for going out anywhere smelling to high heaven and with a big yellow stain spreading out over my shirt. It looks like someone peed on me.” He tucked his chin into his shoulder and sniffed, wrinkling his nose at the pungent smell. “Smells about like it too.”

  Cole snickered. “Well, you know what they say, it’s better to be pissed off than pissed on,” and then he was laughing again, harder this time. Eric joined in, both of them being loud in their mirth. People all around them shot weird looks their way, which for some reason only made it funnier.

  By the time they were through laughing their asses off, the awkward moment from before was long forgotten. Eric was glad of that because he wasn’t ready for this night to end yet. There was so much more he wanted to learn about Cole—everything really.

  The most intriguing was the vibe he got from Cole. Usually, he would say that tingly gut feeling was his gaydar going off, but who knew what it was with Cole. Sure, the man had shot him some mixed signals—prolonged eye contact, lingering stares, and though he’d pulled back before Eric could kiss him, Cole hadn’t exactly complained about being rubbed up against half the night. Then again, there was every possibility he was interpreting Cole’s body language in the way he wanted instead of as it was really intended. Or maybe his brain was fried from being around an old crush and not being able to act out all the feverish fantasies he’d had about Cole over the years. That was as likely an excuse as anything else he could imagine. The urge he possessed to pounce on Cole and lick him from head to toe was his own problem to solve.

  Eric glanced at Cole from beneath his lashes and tried not to sigh like a love-struck teenager. He hadn’t been so torn up over a guy since he’d blown Tommy Morgan under the bleachers in the twelfth grade and ended up having to endure a month of ridicule before graduation because the little bastard told everyone he was gay and easy.

  Cole glanced at his watch and Eric knew their time together was drawing to a close. If Cole had been anyone else, and Eric had still been at college, instead of home for the summer, he would’ve invited Cole back to the apartment he and two other guys shared and made a move on him just to find out which way he swung, but he couldn’t exactly do that here. Just imagining the horrified look on Mother’s face if she caught him sneaking a man into his room was enough to make his cock curl up and shudder. He wasn’t a kid anymore, but he had enough respect for his parents not to bring anyone home with him. In the end, he didn’t have to say anything.

  Cole tapped his watch. “It isn’t very late, only about eleven. I know you don’t want to go out anywhere covered in beer, but if you’re interested in a cup of coffee, we could go back to my place.” He bit into his bottom lip and released it, looking cute and bashful all at once. “I make a mean pot of French Vanilla.”

  As if he was going to say no to that. “Sure, that sounds great. I’ll drive.”

  Chapter Four

  Cole pointed to the green exit sign. “Turn off up there, on the next exit.”

  “So,” Eric asked, guiding his jeep off the interstate, “where to from here?”

  “Take a right here and stay straight for about two miles, then turn left onto Magnolia Street. My place is about halfway down the street, on the left. Just look for a big sign that says Winchester’s Game Emporium and pull around back. My apartment’s above the shop.”

  “Cool.” Eric hit the gas and swerved around the corner.

  Humid night air, pungent with the scent of freshly cut grass, whipped at Cole’s face and stung his eyes. He latched onto the sides of his seat and held on tight. The ride so far had been interesting. Make that terrifying. Eric was sober as a saint, but drove like he’d thrown back a few too many drinks. Only his own hatred of side seat drivers kept Cole from commenting on Eric’s
haphazard driving. Especially since he was pretty sure the passenger side wheels lifted right up off the ground on one of those sharp turns a little ways back.

  He had to wonder whether or not Eric always drove like a maniac, or if he was just in a hurry to get them back to his place. The thought made him smile, until Eric swerved sharply, barely missing a dog that ambled out into the street, and his death grip on the seat regained all his attention.

  His old, two story brick building came into view. The neon yellow sign shined like a beacon out of the large plate-glass window. Cole had never been more grateful to be home in his entire life. He pointed the building out to Eric. “Right there.”

  “I see it. It’s so cool how you live right above your store. Did I tell you that I’m majoring in business management at UVA?” The tires squealed as he maneuvered the jeep around the side of the building and slid into the small gravel lot behind.

  Cole held his breath as the vehicle jerked to a stop, the bumper inches away from an old oak tree. Eric rambled on, unfazed. “That’s what I want to do someday, own my own business. Maybe run a record shop or a bookstore, something like that. I’m even minoring in accounting so I’ll be able to do my own books.”

  Cole glanced over at Eric and released his pent-up breath. “Yeah. That’s what I wanted to do too, run my own bookstore, but there wasn’t much call for one around here. There are already so many independent ones. Between those and the bigger chains, there was no way I could compete.” He took a deep breath. “Man, do you always drive like that? Your license should come with a warning label.”

  Eric smiled, popped open his door and slid out. “Oh yeah, sorry ’bout that. I guess I can be a little heavy-footed on the gas sometimes.” He shrugged. “I don’t even realize I’m doing it. You should have said something. I can’t really afford to get another ticket anyway. My insurance is high enough as it is.”

  Cole rolled his eyes and hopped down from the jeep. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

  He strode across the lot, shooting a glance over his shoulder every couple of seconds to make sure Eric was following behind him. The rubber soles of his sneakers ate up the ground until he stood just outside the back door. The security lights, controlled by motion sensors, flashed on overhead and lit up the area around him. He dug through his pockets and pulled out his key ring, riffling through the dozen or so keys before he found the right one.

  Eric stepped up beside him, yellow light spilling over his messy blond hair. “So, you like owning your own place? I bet it’s great not having to answer to anybody, right? You know, being your own boss and all.”

  Cole unlocked the door and ushered Eric in ahead of him. “Oh, I still have to answer to people. IRS, the bank and customers; somebody always wants an explanation about something.” He closed the door, plunging them into darkness, and relocked it. “It’s good though. I always wanted to have my own place. Can’t really imagine doing anything else.”

  He turned to find Eric right behind him, close enough to touch. Tension ratcheted up a notch, growing thick and palpable in the dark. His arms felt empty and longed to reach out, pull Eric to him.

  “Sorry about the dark,” he rambled nervously, while stepping around Eric. “I would turn on the lights, but by the time I get to the breaker box, we could be upstairs anyway.”

  Upstairs. Alone together. With a big comfy bed just waiting for us to make use of it. Cole gave himself a mental smack and, through determination alone, managed to keep his hands firmly at his sides.

  Inviting Eric home with him was the equivalent of playing with fire. Oh, he’d noticed the sly glances the younger man had been shooting his way all night, seen him sporting wood more than once. And then that kiss—he didn’t even want to think about what might have happened if he hadn’t pulled away at the last second. He’d been so tempted to let Eric kiss him, to see what Eric’s lips would feel like against his own.

  Eric was interested, of that Cole didn’t have any doubt. The real question was, was he interested? His cock shouted, “hell yeah”, but the rest of him was torn. Eric was a cute guy, and they seemed to have a bit in common, but he didn’t know if he was ready to take that next step, to go from fantasizing about being with a man to actually doing it. He could see him and Eric being friends, yes, but lovers? Oh, he wanted to fuck Eric, no doubt about that, but he wasn’t sure if he could go through with it. Twenty-seven years of being conditioned to believe homosexuality was wrong stood a silent vigil between him and what he desired.

  “This way,” he said and headed for the private door leading up to his apartment. “Just follow behind me and I’ll try not to steer you into a wall.”

  Eric’s footsteps echoed on the stairs as he tagged along. “Yeah, that would be good. I’d hate to run my head into a wall and end up spending the night on your sofa.”

  Yep, Cole thought, that would be a tragedy. If Eric spent the night, he could think of a lot better places for him to spend time. Like sprawled out naked in bed, underneath him, or on top of him, or hell, even upside down would be okay.

  Cole stopped on the last step and unlocked the door. Eric waited behind him, one step down. Any closer and Cole imagined he would feel the heat radiating off Eric’s body, feel his hot breath on the small of his back. That instantly brought to mind a picture of Eric’s pink tongue—the same one he’d coveted earlier in the night while it ran across Eric’s pouty lower lip—peeking out to lick at the delicate skin of his lower back, drifting lower to explore territory no woman had ever touched. What would that bubble gum tongue feel like moving over his ass, licking, prodding his entrance?

  The cheeks of his backside clenched in response to the taboo image. His pulse quickened and in the dark, silent corridor, he could hear the resonance of his own labored breathing. As he shoved open his door and reached a hand inside to feel for the light switch, he wondered if Eric had noticed it too.

  His hand never made it to the light. Eric rushed him from behind and pushed him up against the wall opposite the open door. A hand wrapped around the back of his neck and pulled his head down.

  “Fuck it. I may be way off base here, but I think you want this as much as I do,” Eric whispered, hot puffs of breath caressing Cole’s skin with every word.

  Before he could utter a response, soft lips pressed against his, and a tongue slid over the seam of his mouth, coaxing him to open wide. His eyelids fell shut and his lips parted, allowing Eric in. The first touch of Eric’s tongue gliding along his sent an electric current ricocheting through his body. He groaned and tilted his head, losing himself in the taste and texture of Eric’s mouth.

  His arms rose of their own will and wrapped around Eric’s slim body, zeroing in on his firm little ass and pulling him closer. Their bodies flush, tongues dueling, Cole could feel everything. A hundred sensations hit him at once and short-circuited his senses. The whoosh of breath leaving Eric’s body, the fast thump of blood rushing through his own ears, the ache of his balls drawing tight, the hard ridge of Eric’s cock rubbing against his own through too many layers of clothes.

  He wanted them naked. Now. Wanted to touch and taste with an intensity that should’ve frightened him, and probably would have if he’d been in the frame of mind to care right then. Luckily, he wasn’t. He was too tired of all the bullshit, of hiding and pretending to be someone he wasn’t. Though he wasn’t sure why, Cole felt safe enough to let go and be himself around Eric. The only thing holding him back was himself, and for the first time ever, Cole was ready to ignore the persistent little whisper of his overactive conscience and throw caution to the wind for what he wanted. Nothing mattered but the man in his arms and the flame burning hotter between them.

  Cole spun them around and pressed Eric’s back to the wall. He sucked Eric’s bottom lip into his mouth and nipped it, savoring the sweet whimper he got in response. His hands slid between their bodies and fumbled with the button of Eric’s pants. The damn things were skin tight—he couldn’t get them unfastened.

&
nbsp; Eric shoved Cole’s hands out of the way and undid them himself, yanking the front of his jeans open before going to work on Cole’s. In a matter of seconds, Eric had both their cocks out, in his slender hand, and was rubbing them together. He leaned up on tiptoe, pressed his lips against Cole’s and whispered, “Touch me.”

  He didn’t need to be asked twice. Cole wrapped his fingers around Eric’s dick and slid his palm from root to tip, stroking and caressing Eric with the firm grip he used on himself. The feel of Eric’s dick, all hot flesh and throbbing need, was unlike anything Cole had ever dreamed of. So similar to taking himself in hand, but vastly different because it was Eric. Panting, Cole buried his face against the curve of Eric’s neck, giving himself a brief second to calm down before he lost control and embarrassed himself. He listened to the rapid heartbeat under his ear, one that rivaled his own beat for beat, and inhaled the musky scent of Eric’s skin.

  He held another man’s dick, the firm flesh hot as a brand and hard as iron in his fist, and he could scarcely believe how good it felt, how right. He couldn’t remember another time in his life when he’d been turned on so easily, so fast. It was like every nerve ending in his body had been lit on fire and was tingling. Sensations bombarded him—the cool air against feverish skin, Eric’s hot body against his own. It felt like he’d been waiting for this moment all his life.

  Now that he’d had a small sample of what he’d been missing out on, he wanted to do it all, to experience everything. “Eric, I want…” God, he couldn’t say it.

  “What do you want, Cole?” Eric’s voice was thick and hoarse, full of need. “Anything. Just please, God, don’t stop now.”

  The desperation in Eric’s voice boosted Cole’s courage and gave him the balls to go through with what he wanted to do. He dropped to his knees and wrapped his hand around the base of Eric’s cock, holding it down and in position for his mouth. He leaned in, took a deep breath full of the heady scent of warm skin and male musk, and swiped the flat of his tongue over the moist tip of Eric’s cock, testing the taste to see if he’d like it.