Andre blew out a breath. “Come on, man. Let’s get out of here. I think the whiskey’s talking.”
Jace shoved the empty glass out of the way. “I’ve fucked up everything. I always do.”
Oh, Lord. This was going nowhere good, fast. Andre climbed out of the booth and hooked an arm under Jace’s. “Enough. Let’s go, amigo. Whatever’s going on, we’ll figure it out in the morning.”
Luckily, Jace didn’t resist. Andre led him to his car, helped him in, and locked the seatbelt around him. Jace didn’t say a word. Just kept a pensive look on his face—like he was trying to do trigonometry equations without a calculator. Andre had no idea what had passed between Jace and Diana, but apparently it had been more than an alimony discussion.
Andre wanted to ask. Wanted to help Jace with whatever was giving him that look. But the gap between them had yawned wide over the past few days. And Andre doubted there would ever be a bridge back to the comfortable relationship they’d had. So he stayed silent and counted the blocks between stoplights.
Twenty minutes later, Andre had Jace back at their loft. No, Jace’s loft, Andre reminded himself. This wasn’t going to be his home anymore.
Jace had sobered a bit on the ride home and was able to keep steady on his feet for the most part, but Andre helped him to his room anyway. He told himself it was because he didn’t want Jace falling and cracking his head open. That is wasn’t because he simply enjoyed having his arm around him. God, he was fucking pathetic.
He helped Jace to the edge of the bed and then crouched down to pull off Jace’s shoes.
“Why are you moving out?” Jace asked, his words less slurred but still rolling lazily off his tongue.
Andre looked up to meet Jace’s intent stare. The green of his eyes swirled with so many things, Andre didn’t even attempt to try to pick an emotion. Drunk. That was the emotion, he reminded himself. “You know why.”
Jace put a hand on Andre’s shoulder, leaning in with some pressure. Despite the fact that he knew Jace was acting out of his head, the effect of having Jace over him in that position had Andre’s cock stirring to awareness. Freaking perfect.
Silence stretched and Jace’s eyes narrowed as he evaluated Andre. Andre shifted his position a bit, but Jace’s gaze flicked downward, no doubt catching sight of exactly what Andre was trying to hide.
Jace’s brow wrinkled. A beat passed and then awareness dawned. “You’re a switch?”
Fucking hell. Apparently Jace’s instincts didn’t dull with alcohol. “You’re drunk.”
“Possibly. So if you answer me, I probably won’t remember.” He smiled in that disarming way that came so easily to him.
Andre rocked back on his heels, meeting Jace’s stare. “Yes, I’m a switch. With guys. Happy? Now do you need help getting undressed or are you going to sleep in your clothes?”
“I can do it.” Jace peeled off his T-shirt, revealing a view that Andre had seen countless times, but that had never failed to stir something in him. Andre swallowed hard, and Jace stood and unfastened his jeans, surprisingly steady on his feet. “I’m not as wasted as you think I am.”
Andre’s muscles were coiling tighter by the minute, and the air in the loft seemed too thick. If Jace stripped completely, there’d be no way for Andre to tame his hard-on. He needed to get out of here before he made an awkward situation worse. “Good, then I’ll leave you to it. My brother is expecting me back.”
Andre shoved his hands in his pockets and headed toward the door. Get out, get out, get out.
“I don’t want you to go, you know,” Jace said, halting Andre in his tracks. “Or move out.”
Andre shook his head, keeping his back to Jace. “It’s for the best. I don’t want to lose our friendship. And if I stay here, that’s what’s going to happen.”
The sound of clothes shifting filled his ears, but Andre didn’t dare turn around. He didn’t need to see if Jace was getting naked. He took another step toward the door, but before he could reach it, breath hit the nape of Andre’s neck. “Yeah, that’s probably exactly what would happen.”
Andre’s blood seemed to still. He turned around to find Jace within inches of him. “What are you doing?”
* * *
That was a good fucking question. But with everything that had happened tonight, Jace was acting on pure instinct. He knew he’d had too much to drink, but the fresh air and the car ride over had cleared his head enough for him to realize that regardless of everything else, he wanted Andre to stay.
No. He wanted Andre period.
And he had no idea what to do with that urge except to give himself over to it. Jace lowered his head and cupped Andre’s neck, meeting the naked emotion in Andre’s eyes. Fear. Sadness. Want for something Andre had already given up on.
Then Jace kissed him.
A cautious kiss, a soft melding of lips that quietly shattered every unspoken boundary between them. Andre’s spine stiffened against Jace’s fingers, the shock evident, but after only a blink of hesitation, Andre sank into it, parting his lips and deepening their connection.
Instead of awkward—the way Jace would’ve expected kissing another man would be—everything about being there with Andre felt comfortable, a natural extension of what was already between them. Sure they’d been sexual together, but this was different. Intimate.