Abe looked at him again, one of his quiet stares. Jason tried not to wriggle under that scrutiny.
“You’re really attractive,” Abe said.
Not sure how he was supposed to respond, Jason went with the simple approach. “Thanks.” When Abe didn’t say anything or make a move to leave the car or stop staring at him, Jason added, “That’s a good thing, right?”
“Yes.” Abe nodded. “But it’s not why I agreed to bring you home.” Before Jason could decide if he should probe for an answer, Abe grinned at him and said, “But it sure helped. Come on.” He opened his door and stepped out of the car.
It wasn’t too late to leave. Jason could put the car in reverse, drive away, and either hit another bar or find someone online who wanted to fuck without talking or laughing or smiling. He had three apps on his phone for just that purpose. But he didn’t back away or reach for his phone. Instead, he got out of the car, locked it, and followed Abe into his apartment.
“Nice place,” Jason said as soon as he walked inside.
“I haven’t turned the lights on yet,” Abe answered with a laugh. “You can’t see anything. The walls could be fuchsia and mint-green polka dots for all you know.”
Jason didn’t care about the walls. He cared about getting Abe naked. The comment was something he said just to have something to say. But when Abe turned around and gave him a half hug to take the sting out of his teasing response, Jason found himself grinning and hugging Abe in return.
“What if I like fuchsia and mint green?” he asked. “Those could be my favorite colors.”
Crinkling his nose, Abe shifted until he was right in front of Jason, their chests touching. “Hmm. Those are your favorite colors?” He wrapped his arms around Jason’s neck, stretched up, and kissed the base of Jason’s throat. “I never would have guessed. You seem more like the tan-walls, blue-shirts type.”
His walls were in fact tan and the majority of his shirts were in fact blue. Slowly, Jason curled his arms around Abe’s waist, and then he goosed him hard.
“Ah!” Abe shouted and tried to move away.
Holding on tight, Jason said, “Not so smug now, are you?”
“I didn’t know it was such a sensitive topic.” Abe’s breath came out faster as he kept trying to escape.
Jason squeezed his ass again for fun and then again because he liked doing it.
“I’ll never tell,” Abe said. “I promise. Your secret is safe with me.”
“Are you making fun of me?” Jason asked, enjoying the interaction more than he would have expected. “Because that seems like an incredibly bad idea.” He dug his fingers into Abe’s sides. “Tell you what. Just to show you I’m a good guy, I’ll let go and give you a sixty-second head start to get to your bedroom. If you manage to get naked in that time, I’ll let you off the hook.”
“What a gentleman,” Abe said breathlessly.
“I’m pretty sure you won’t say that after you see what I plan to do to you once I catch you.” Jason winked and stepped away. “Time starts now. Go!”
Laughing, Abe swung around. Jason managed to get a good smack onto his ass before he hustled away.
“That’s cheating!” Abe said as he ran out of the room.
“Nah.” Jason unbuttoned his shirt and sauntered after him. “Cheating is giving you less than sixty seconds.” He knocked on Abe’s open bedroom door and walked in to see Abe lying faceup on his bed, still fully clothed, kicking off his shoes.
“That wasn’t sixty seconds,” Abe said between gasps. Though he was smiling broadly, his voice sounded strained and his chest heaved.
“Are you okay?” Jason asked as he approached the bed. He toed off his own shoes and then climbed up next to Abe and rested his palm on Abe’s narrow chest, feeling his heartbeat.
“I’m fine. My asthma acts up in this weather, and it was a long day and”—he lowered his gaze and blushed—“you got me kind of worked up when you were touching me.” He licked his lips. “I’m really nervous.”
Damn. Abe was sweet. Young and sweet. Jason suddenly felt guilty for being there. Mindless sex with guys who knew the score was what he wanted, not emotional entanglements for himself or the men he fucked.
“Don’t leave,” Abe said. Apparently, he was good at reading body language or facial expressions. “I want this.” He covered Jason’s hand with his smaller one. “I want you. Let me just get my inhaler. I have one in the nightstand.”
Jason moved back while Abe got his inhaler and took a quick puff. “Better?” he asked.
“Yes.” Abe nodded.
Taking a few moments to look at Abe’s chest, Jason watched it rise and fall and waited for his breathing to ease. When Abe’s breaths were even, Jason laid his hand over Abe’s heart again and noticed the bulge in his jeans growing, which made his own groin tighten. Abe said he was fine. A yes was a yes, and Jason was way too turned on to leave. He flicked open the buttons on his wrists and shrugged out of his shirt.