Hunter looked out the window. “Yeah, well, my family wouldn’t recognize this me.”
“You mean the you that gets drunk and then makes out with his gay roommate in the middle of a crowd?”
He sniffed. “I figured we were just going to pretend that didn’t happen.”
“Is that what you want?”
Hunter kept his eyes on the cars passing by the window. “I don’t know what I want.”
“Yeah, I’m getting that. Hey”—Devon leaned forward and thumped him on the knee—“you need to look at me and tell me what’s up, man. I mean, was it just a drunken lapse in sanity?”
Hunter’s ribs felt like they were cinched too tight. He tried to take a deep breath and turned to face Devon. “I don’t know.”
Devon rubbed his forehead, looking tired. “I need more than that, Hunt. Is it curiosity? Rebellion?”
His gaze snapped to Devon’s. “Rebellion?”
He smirked, a brittle edge to it. “You said it yourself. Your college experience is a big middle finger to your dad. Messing around with a guy seems like that’d be the ultimate fuck-you to his beliefs. A secret thing you could hold in your pocket while he parades you around as the perfect son.”
Hunter’s stomach burned. That couldn’t be it, right? All this stuff he was feeling around Devon. That couldn’t be fueled by some warped sense of passive-aggressive revenge. “This isn’t about my dad.”
Devon considered him, forearms braced on his thighs, that blue-eyed gaze seeming to reach inside Hunter and poke at things. “Well, not completely. You did get hard when we kissed.”
Hunter’s face flamed. “You were grinding against me.”
“You said you don’t get turned on by other guys.”
“I don’t.” He blew out a breath. “You’re not other guys. You’re . . . you.”
Devon closed his eyes and linked his hands behind his neck, a slightly pained expression on his face. “God, this is such a bad idea.”
“What?”
Devon looked at him. “This. The elephant in the limo. It’s been with us since that night we shared your bed. To cross the line or not. I thought it was just on my end, but after that kiss, I’m thinking I’m not alone.”
Hunter swallowed hard, didn’t deny it.
“I’m not going to be a dick, and pretend I’m not attracted to you,” Dev said, fearlessly holding the eye contact. “You’re a beautiful guy. You know that.”
Hunter leaned back against the seat, surprised by how much the compliment got to him. He had no shortage of people telling him he looked good. Being on th
e baseball team got him all the attention he could want, but something about Dev saying it made this satisfied warmth spread through him.
“And if you have this burning curiosity to experiment, then goddamn, I’d want to be that guy to help you out.” Devon rubbed his lips together, anxiety there. “But you’re my best friend, Hunt. I don’t have those. Sex can demolish a friendship faster than anything else. And I really don’t want to fuck this up.”
“You sleep with your friends all the time.”
“That’s different. They’re casual friends and we know what’s what. I don’t live with them. I don’t tell them about my life. They’re hookups. They’re gay. Everybody knows where they stand.”
“I know how casual sex works. I’ve had my share.”
“With women. Don’t pretend this is the same thing. Things might seem exciting now—all that unknown. But how are you going to feel the morning after when you wake up and it sinks in that you’ve slept with a dude? That the taste lingering in your mouth is my dick? That your ass is sore because I’ve had my fingers or more inside you?”
Hunter could tell Dev was trying to shock him into clear thinking, but instead, his heartbeat ticked up and a whip fast bolt of desire snapped through him, sending all his blood south. He shifted in his seat, trying to adjust the front of his pants, but it was already too late. His cock was half hard and obvious against his jeans.
Devon’s gaze caught Hunter’s movement and then slowly traced down his body until it settled on the telltale sign of arousal. “Fuck.”
Hunter grabbed his jacket and dragged it over his lap. “Just forget it.”