Set Ablaze

by KC Burn

  “Right. Sorry.” Hayden stepped aside and Jez gave him a funny little grin, like Hayden was being weird and cute at the same time. Both the fluttering in his gut and his dread for the future increased astronomically. “I’ll, uh, meet you downstairs.”

  Hayden stormed back downstairs and flung himself onto the couch, stabbing at the TV remote aggressively, hoping to find something that would take his mind off the last ten excruciating minutes.

  What the ever-loving fuck was wrong with him? Guys didn’t get under his skin this way. Could it be nothing more than forbidden fruit?

  Almost before Hayden had regained his equilibrium, Jez padded down the stairs. No rainbow unicorns on his shirt, but it was some sort of dark pinkish color that Hayden wouldn’t ever think to wear, and tight enough to strain Hayden’s sensibilities. This time Hayden wasn’t going to trail after Jez, because those painted-on jeans weren’t going to help his barely leashed libido.

  “Ready?” Hayden’s voice had dropped an octave, and he cleared his throat. Grocery shopping, not sex. Not sex. No godforsaken sex. Ever. Not with this man.

  “Yes. Thanks for doing this. Hopefully it won’t take me too long to get my own car.”

  Hayden grabbed a few reusable cloth bags from the hall closet. An odd little gasp made him twist around.

  “Something wrong?”

  Jez smiled, but it lacked a bit of sparkle. “No. Just realized reusable bags need to go on my list. I’m pretty sure I forgot to pack mine.”

  Great. Hayden couldn’t get his mind out of his pants—or out of Jez’s pants—and Jez was getting weirdly emotional over grocery bags. Quite the fucking pair. He led them outside into the noonday sun, and his stomach growled. Yet another good reason for his irritation, and a damn fine reason not to go grocery shopping at this time. He’d end up with a cart full of ice cream and Oreos.

  “Holy fuck, it’s hot out.”

  Hayden chuckled. “Yeah, we don’t get cooler weather as early as we did in Willow Ridge. And even though it’s only October, it could be snowing in New York right now. We’re just lucky the day you moved in was quite mild, because otherwise that could have been fucking miserable.”

  Jez laughed, the first time Hayden had heard him do so since the days back in Willow Ridge when Jez was a kid. And it turned the fluttering—which he thought he’d finally gotten under control—up to eleven. Un-fucking-acceptable.

  Hayden pressed his lips together, jaw so tight it was almost petrified, and drove them to the store in silence broken only by Jez fiddling with the satellite stations on his radio.

  When they parked—all of about seven minutes after getting in Hayden’s truck, and too damned far from the doors—Hayden breathed a sigh of relief and bounded out of the truck. Perhaps they should have talked. As it was, nothing had distracted him from Jez’s sugary-sweet smell, which reminded him of oatmeal and apple pie and chai tea. Bodywash? Cologne? Aftershave? He had no idea, but the product had to be full of voodoo and black magic.

  What had he done to deserve this? Clearly he’d fucked up big-time in a past life and karma was laughing her ass off at his predicament. If only Jez seemed equally affected, Hayden might not feel so damned idiotic, but Hayden hadn’t caught one salacious glance. Not one.

  And if he was honest, it stung his ego.

  After walking through the automatic doors, he sucked in a big breath. The grocery store always smelled like a weird combination of earthy vegetation, spoiled milk, and bleach. It was enough to drive the scent of Jez out of his nostrils.

  “I got a cart. We might as well share it,” Jez said from behind. Hayden nodded reluctantly. There went his brilliant idea of telling Jez he’d meet him at the register in like twenty minutes. Or half an hour.

  Jez smiled at him, and Hayden just couldn’t bring himself to suggest it. The guy knew no one here; Hayden could at least shop with him.

  Hayden whipped out his phone. “I start in produce and work to the other side of the store. Where’s your list?”

  “Oh good. I like to start in produce too. But I don’t have a list. I like to see what fruits and vegetables look interesting; then I sort of build from there. On the fly.”

  Hayden stared, hoping he’d heard wrong. Grocery shopping on the fly. On a Sunday afternoon. Forget karma; he must have died and gone to hell.

  An hour later, waiting in an absurdly long line for the cash register, Hayden was forced to conclude two very regrettable things. First, Jez was the sort of shopper who sent Hayden off on curse-laden rants—in his mind, of course. Second, Jez was pretty enough and entertaining enough that Hayden hadn’t minded spending more than double his usual time in the supermarket. And there was even a third thing. His pantry and fridge were soon going to be filled with a number of items Hayden wouldn’t have ever thought to eat, much less purchase.

  It had been both charming and terrifyingly domestic, especially when he’d had the almost unavoidable involuntary reflex to guide Jez with a hand at his lower back. Each time it happened, Hayden had managed to catch himself before he touched, but he didn’t know what was wrong with him. He’d never had a boyfriend, so he didn’t know what it was about Jez that prompted all these feelings and actions he associated with people who had significant others.

  Then again, he’d also never gone grocery shopping with anyone except his mom, when he was a kid. By the time he moved in with his gran, she’d already started to decline, and Hayden had done all the shopping himself. There was a distinct appeal in having company for the task, even if it meant it took twice as long.

  After an eon or two, they made it back to the car. Jez was smiling, so he hadn’t hated their outing, and for that alone Hayden was willing to maybe even take him shopping again.

  “Did you want me to cook dinner for us both tonight?”

  “Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m going to crash for a bit when we get home. I’ll figure out something for dinner when I get up.” Like one of the fat, juicy steaks he’d picked up. With broccoli and asparagus so it wasn’t too tremendously bad for him.

  “Are you sure? I promise vegan food isn’t all tofu and kale.”

  Hayden snorted. “I’m supposed to believe that, am I, when I saw you put both of those exact things in the cart.”

  That got him another laugh. “Okay. Sometimes it’s tofu and kale. But I wouldn’t subject you to that. And I don’t have any recipes combining them that I like. You’re safe. Don’t let that be the reason you won’t eat what I cook.”

  If he was honest, it was a bit of the problem. He didn’t see anything in Jez’s portion of the groceries that would be filling enough for him, even if it tasted fantastic. But he hadn’t been lying when he’d claimed he was tired.

  “I really am beat. We had a couple of fires we were fighting during the night. There wasn’t any real downtime and I’m in serious need of a nap.” Which didn’t sound too manly, but it was the fucking truth. At the moment, staying awake was almost painful. His Jez-interrupted sleep hadn’t helped either.

  “Oh. Of course. You should have said something. I could have gone shopping by myself.”

  Hayden didn’t bother asking how he would have gotten there, because he didn’t want to admit he wouldn’t have loaned Jez his truck. Not until they knew each other better and not until he’d witnessed how he drove something aside from a poorly balanced, shit-for-suspension rented moving truck. Because he hadn’t done spectacularly with the cube van, and Hayden had a serious love for his truck.

  “Happy to do it.” More or less. “And I needed groceries anyway.” Truth. “But the night is catching up with me more suddenly than I expected.”

  Jez nodded, seemingly placated. An enormous yawn cracked Hayden’s jaw and made his eyes water. Definitely not the day for experimenting with food. He couldn’t be objective.

  “I’m going to try to find a car this week.”

  Jez’s defeated tone almost had Hayden reaching across to pat him on the knee. Hayden didn’t need any concrete proof to know touchi
ng Jez in any way would only make this impossible infatuation worse. Instead, he addressed the issue verbally. “What’s so bad about that?”

  Jez shrugged. “Not bad, I suppose. I just don’t know much about cars, and I’m not sure what I should get. The options are almost endless and sort of overwhelming.”

  “Huh. I never had that problem. I’ve been driving pickups since I learned how to drive, and this one”—Hayden patted his baby’s dashboard—“I wanted her right away. There weren’t any other options.”

  Jez rolled his eyes, making Hayden laugh. “That’s no help. I don’t suppose you know anything about regular cars anyway?”

  “Nope. Sorry. Can’t help you.” A couple of the guys at the station had recently bought cars with wives or girlfriends, and they might have some insight, but Hayden didn’t want to ask. What would they make of that sort of question? He was already worried about ending up at an event with both Jez and the guys, because he wasn’t sure he’d be able to hide his attraction. Asking for car recommendations sounded like Hayden had taken a too-personal interest in Jez, didn’t it?

  “No worries. I’ll figure something out. Quickly, I hope.”

  Hayden hoped he did too. He sniffed discreetly, getting another taboo whiff of Jez’s sweet and spicy scent, which hadn’t faded. What good was spoiled milk if it didn’t douse such a delectable smell?

  They were almost home before Jez spoke again. “I was wondering if I could use the sunroom. For exercising. It doesn’t look like you use it much.”

  “No, I don’t. If I want sun, I go out onto the patio.” Hayden paused. “I guess that might be hard with your allergies, right?”

  Jez gaped at him and Hayden laughed. “Dude. I barely recognized you when you showed up, but I do remember Miguel’s kid brother who spent half the year sneezing and trailing tissues.”

  Jez might be blushing, but he was definitely squirming, and, uncharitably, it pleased Hayden that he wasn’t the only one who’d been embarrassed today. “I’m on medication now. It’s a lot better.”

  Still, Hayden remembered how miserable Jez had been, especially when his sisters had started getting flowers from boys. Roses seemed to be okay, but just about anything else was impossible.

  “Look, my gran spent a lot of time building up the plants in the yard. I don’t have a green thumb at all and have done my best to keep it neat and tidy, but if there are any plants out there that are especially bad, let me know and we’ll get them out.”

  He’d managed to surprise Jez again. “Hopefully I’ll find an apartment before that becomes necessary, but thanks for the offer. That means a lot.”

  Fucking hell. That was a stupid offer to have made. Jez was only here temporarily—he was not an actual roommate. Things could get uncomfortable if Jez were here longer.

  Hayden cleared his throat. “I also have a bunch of weights and some gym equipment in my office. You’re welcome to use them.” Preferably when Hayden wasn’t at home. He enjoyed the sight of a big muscular man working out, but watching the less muscular but no less fit Jez work out would make him lose his damn mind.

  “Oh. Thanks. I might take you up on that, but I really liked the vibe of the sunroom.”

  Vibe. Who was this guy? If it weren’t for Miguel’s assurances and some similarities around their eyes and mouths, he didn’t know how anyone would figure out the two were related. The other siblings, from what he recalled, had a lot more in common with Miguel than Jez. But then, they’d all stayed close to home, Miguel going the farthest afield to Los Angeles.

  Nevertheless, he wasn’t about to deny Jez’s request to use the sunroom. The place was far too large for just him anyway. It was going to be nice—in an incredibly torturous way—to have some temporary company.

  “Sure. Do what you want. We can move the furniture to the patio or garage if you want it out of the way.”

  Jez bounced a bit in his seat like Hayden had done him some spectacular favor. “That would be perfect. Thank you. That cross-country drive was long, and I’ve been missing my workouts.”

  Hayden was not going to think about it. He had a bed calling his name, and he was going to sleep and not dream of any sort of workout Jez might engage in.

  “If you’re into running at all, we could go together sometimes.” Where the fuck had that come from? Hayden wanted to smack himself. He was afraid to see what Jez would consider appropriate running gear.

  “Thanks. I tend to prefer a treadmill, but until I figure out where I’m going to be living, I don’t want to join a gym.”

  Those words came with a confusing mix of feelings Hayden was too exhausted to decipher, and he didn’t want to know what it all meant anyway. Ignorance was bliss.

  Once they got home, Hayden lingered downstairs only long enough to put away his groceries. Given that it had been years since he’d shared a kitchen, he’d expected a lot of getting in each other’s way and bumping into counters and doors, but Jez moved around him gracefully, almost effortlessly. Before he could let that influence him any, Hayden escaped upstairs.

  He settled under the sheets, without enough energy to deal with the half chub he’d been sporting almost nonstop since Jez had opened the door to the bathroom that morning. Jez was trying to be quiet, and while Jez disturbed Hayden on a deeply personal level, he liked knowing someone else was in the house. He’d been lonely.

  Having a boyfriend, a partner, or a husband would help, but he didn’t foresee that ever being an option. Maybe after Jez moved out he’d have to consider the roommate idea more seriously.

  The distinctive creaking floors traced Jez’s path to the sunroom, and it pleased Hayden that one of his gran’s favorite rooms would get some use. There just wasn’t enough of his life to fill up the house.

  Chapter 4

  HAYDEN WOKE from a hot and heavy dream that involved Jez’s lithe form below him, naked and hard. He didn’t know what had roused him, but he hadn’t wanted to wake up. A quick glance at his door confirmed it was shut. Shutting it while Jez lived with him seemed wise, but it was a habit he’d lost after Gran had died, and it might take some effort to pick up again.

  Slipping his hand beneath the covers, he dredged up the vivid dream and began to stroke himself. He closed his eyes against the sunlight and let his imagination have free rein in a way he hadn’t since he first realized he wanted to lick Jez from head to toe.

  Would Jez be smooth all over? Hayden hadn’t ever slept with a woman and wasn’t usually interested in smooth, but he could get addicted to soft skin over Jez’s hard muscles. He imagined rubbing his five-o’clock shadow down Jez’s incredible chest. Things got a little fuzzier when he got to Jez’s groin. Was Jez’s cock long and thin? Short and fat? Cut or not? More importantly, Hayden wanted to inhale that sweet, spicy scent with his mouth wrapped around Jez’s cock—whatever its dimensions—and have his nose buried in Jez’s pubes.

  Unless… Hayden gasped and tugged hard and fast, precum easing his movements. There’d been that time Hayden had gone to a strip club—something he rarely did because it felt weird going by himself. One of the guys, built much like Jez although not as beautiful, had been completely hairless, shocking Hayden with a sudden surge of arousal. What if Jez was waxed bare? Hayden imagined sucking Jez’s hairless balls into his mouth and groaned as he spurted into his fist.

  Hayden held on to his softening cock as his heart rate returned to normal. He breathed deeply, letting postorgasm lassitude bleed through him, relaxing him in a way he hadn’t been since Jez arrived. Next time he saw Jez—which might be in a few minutes—he’d have to be careful not to think about rubbing it out to a fantasy of a naked, panting, sweaty Jez. If he went the roommate route, he’d have to get one he wasn’t attracted to.

  A muffled, whimpery sort of bark made him sit up. Neither of his neighbors had dogs, and a bark had definitely woken him—he remembered now, because it hadn’t blended in with the delectable sex sounds Dream Jez had been making. Hayden listened carefully, but he didn’t hear anyt
hing else. Now that he was fully awake, his stomach chimed in with a loud growl. Holy shit, he was fucking starving. Grabbing his phone, he checked the display. No fucking wonder. Normally after a shift he napped for a couple of hours, then woke up and went about his day until going to sleep at a reasonable hour of the night like a normal person, but after shopping, he’d crashed hard and slept right through until morning.

  The stickiness of cooling cum propelled him out of bed and into his en suite bathroom. He showered and dressed as quickly as he could with his stomach demanding food. Steak and eggs this morning, since he hadn’t managed to wake up to make steak for dinner.

  As soon as he opened the door, he was almost certain Jez wasn’t around. Sure, his bedroom door was shut, but Hayden had spent too long alone in this house not to sense when another person was present. Strangely, though, despite Jez’s absence, the house didn’t feel as empty as it had for the past few years.

  The creak as he put weight on the top stair was so familiar that the only reason Hayden even noticed it was that another muffled bark immediately followed. Had it come from behind him?

  Hayden turned around and slowly walked along the hall, ears on high alert. One noisy floorboard, right outside Jez’s door, drowned out what he thought might have been another bark. He hadn’t seen a TV in Jez’s belongings, but he’d also been at work all day Saturday. Jez could have gone somewhere and bought one, maybe left it on?

  Something told Hayden he was grasping at straws. Generally the most obvious answer was the right one.

  “Jez?” Hayden knocked. “Jez, are you in there?” But Hayden knew the answer. Except there was a noise. A scratching sound on the other side of the door, near his feet.

  Fuck it. He’d apologize later. He opened the door.

  A tiny brown dog leaped out, butt wiggling so hard it was almost curled into a circle. Big eyes stared pleadingly up at him, surrounded by all those sad little wrinkles and a squashed-in black nose. Hayden melted into a puddle right there in the hallway.