by Jerry Cole
It wasn’t just about the sex, though the sex was great. And Jan knew exactly what he was he was supposed to do with his mouth, at least when it came to Morgan’s dick. Once Jan brought him his clothes, Morgan had wrapped his arms around Jan again and held him close. He could smell the agave-scented shampoo that Jan used on his blond hair, even the aftershave that he used. There was a hint of coffee there, too, and Morgan closed his eyes and let himself feel the warm skin of Jan under his own.
He spoke before he could think about it. “Are you free next weekend?”
“I don’t have any plans,” Jan replied. “Maybe I have to work at the restaurant, but I don’t think so. Why?”
“Is your brother here then?”
“No,” Jan replied. “I think he’s going back to New York soon. He wants to see Mom before his furlough is over. And anyway, it’s not like he’s talking to me.”
“Well,” Morgan replied. “Sort it out. I want to take you away next weekend.”
Jan smiled, looking up at him. His eyes glimmered when he spoke. “You’re taking me away? Somewhere romantic?”
“That depends,” Morgan said. “Do you like Southern food and iced tea? Because if you do, I’m taking you somewhere very romantic.”
Jan kept looking at him. “Where?”
“Home,” Morgan replied. “Come to Georgia with me. I want you to meet my parents.”
Jan’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Morgan replied. “I’m positive. I mean, I’ve already met your brother, right? And the next logical step is for me to meet your mother. It’s only fair that you meet my family. My sister lives about three blocks away from my parents, and my brother is coming home next week anyway because the tournament is over.”
“I’ve never been down South,” Jan replied.
Morgan smiled. “We have amazing food. And Southern hospitality isn’t a myth.”
“Good,” Jan replied. “Good. I’m looking forward to it, then.”
“So you’ll come?”
“Yes,” Jan said quietly. “Of course I’ll go. Like you said, it’s the next logical step.”
“Okay,” Morgan said, his heart leaping in his chest. “Good.”
***
When Morgan got back to his apartment, he went immediately to bed after brushing his teeth. He hadn’t realized how tired he was until he finally took his clothes off and climbed into bed, the blankets and quilt feeling wonderful on his skin. The bed felt too big, though, and he was a little bit upset that he hadn’t invited Jan back with him. He had fallen asleep after Jan had turned on the TV and the cat had decided to camp at his feet. Jan was warm, the cat was warm and for a moment, Morgan wasn’t worried about anything. That was the first time he had managed to fall asleep immediately for a long time and he hadn’t intended for it to happen. He still needed to go back to his apartment and get ready for work the next day. Work wasn’t too hard, but he was so exhausted all the time lately, he was starting to worry about falling behind on his deadlines. He would worry about that later, though.
It was more important that he tell his parents he was going to bring a guy home. He hadn’t done that in such a long time, he didn’t want to ambush them with it. They had loved David. Sometimes, it felt as though they liked him more than they liked Morgan. That was probably just because they were so accepting, though. If they had been a little less accepting of him, Morgan might have felt a little better about bringing Jan around.
Jan was nothing like David. More than that, he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to introduce him to anyone. Even how they had met would come into question once they found out that Jan was an economist with a job at one of the most respected financial institutions in the entire world, never mind the country. He would figure that out later, he thought as he hugged a pillow close to his body. All he wanted to do was cuddle Jan close and the pillow was hardly an adequate replacement. He wondered if he should ask him to move in, but that felt far too fast. Then again, their entire relationship had been a whirlwind. Morgan never had fallen that hard or fast for anyone before.
He quite liked it, he thought, as his eyelids got too heavy to stay open. Then he fell asleep and dreamed that Jan was right there, breathing deeply next to him.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Jan watched the cat purr next to the box under the television. It was always warmed and she seemed to prefer hanging around it than hanging around Jan. He wondered where his roommate was. He fed the cat in the mornings before he left for work, and then he fed her at night, too. There was dry food out for her all the time, but the cat was spoiled and she came to Jan whenever he was home for extra food. His roommate had told him it was okay, but the cat was overweight and Jan never had looked after a pet before.
She didn’t seem to like him very much, which he still resented, but she seemed to like Morgan a lot and Jan couldn’t help but take that as a sign. Riley liked him, too. He seemed to like Morgan more than he liked Jan, he thought with a smile.
The moment he thought about that, someone knocked on his door. He went over to it, smiling and wondering if Morgan had forgotten something. He had asked Morgan to stay the night, but he had declined. He said he needed a good night of sleep in his own bed before he went to work. The lack of sleep was catching up to him, which was clear from just looking at him. Jan didn’t want his influence to affect how Morgan was doing at work when it was certain to affect him in the long-term. He felt a little bit guilty about that, but Morgan had been the one who had come to him and told him that he was going to help him. Jan hadn’t had a hand in that at all. He had, in fact, stayed away from Morgan. He didn’t want to influence him and he certainly didn’t want to come across as pushy if Morgan wanted to end the relationship with him.
But that wasn’t what had happened at all. Jan could hardly believe that Morgan had gone back to him after the time that he had spent thinking. He had always hoped that it would happen, but his hope seemed futile, misplaced. When Riley had walked out after Jan had taken the internship, that was the moment Jan had been sure that even if Morgan decided to come back to him, he was going to walk out the moment he realized Jan had taken the internship. Every time he thought about what had actually happened, though, he had to resist the urge to pinch himself.
The person at the door knocked again, which made Jan snap back to reality. He opened the door and saw Riley standing there, his clothes soaked through and his dark hair sticking to his face.
“I’m only here because getting a hotel in this city is fucking impossible,” he said. “And the girl that I was going to spend the night with turned out not to be single.”
“She could be in an open relationship,” Jan said, smiling.
“If she was, I don’t think her boyfriend knew about it,” Riley said, walking past him and shivering. “I’m going to go in the shower and then I’m going to go to sleep.”
“Sounds good,” Jan replied.
Riley turned to look at him, his eyes narrow. “Just so you know, I’m still angry with you. I’m only here because the guy literally chased me out of their apartment.”
“That sounds like something from a movie,” Jan replied, laughing and shaking his head. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m sorry that things went poorly for you. But I would have paid to see that.”
Riley smiled, obviously begrudgingly. “Shut up. Not only was I supposed to get laid, I was supposed to have a place to sleep. Now I’m here and I’m not nearly as happy about it as you look.”
“I’m not happy,” Jan replied. “Okay, I am a little happy. Morgan came over.”
That made Riley, who now was walking toward the bathroom and taking off his coat, stop in his tracks. “He did?”
“Yeah,” Jan said. “He wants me to meet his parents.”
Riley rolled his eyes. “So, you didn’t tell him you had taken the job?”
“No, I told him,” Jan replied. “I resent that accusation.”
“It’s not really an accusation,” Ril
ey replied. “Honestly, it’s the way you were acting.”
Jan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I know that you don’t like this,” he said. “I know that you think this position is terrible. But it’s what I need to do, seriously.”
“No, it isn’t,” Riley replied, rolling his eyes again and throwing his head back, groaning at the end of his sentence. “But if you’re going to keep believing that, that’s fine. Whatever. I’m going to go take a shower.”
“Wait,” Jan said. “You’re still mad?”
“Yeah, of course I’m still mad,” Riley said. “You may have gotten lucky with Morgan, but this entire thing is not cool. Not all your problems are going to be solved magically by some outside force. At least not until you accept some help.”
Jan chewed on his lower lip then took a deep breath. He wanted to tell Riley that he was wrong, but he was far too happy to engage in an argument right then and Riley seemed upset.
“You’re wrong,” he finally replied. “I know you can’t see it, but I’m doing the best I can.”
Riley exhaled through his nose as he chuckled humorlessly. “Okay. You keep telling yourself that if you must.”
Jan’s voice was quiet when he spoke again. “It’s not a lie.”
“Sure,” Riley said. They both were quiet for a few seconds, then Riley shook his head, looking away from Jan. “I’m cold.”
“Yeah,” Jan replied. He watched his brother walk away and sighed heavily before he sat down on the couch. He was happy about Morgan, but maybe sorting things out, like Riley had said, wouldn’t be as easy as he thought.
He sighed. All that he wanted to do was spend time with Morgan, not have to deal with his brother, too. But if that was what he had to do, he supposed he was going to do it. He just needed to find the energy from somewhere first.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Sam was leaning back on Morgan’s desk as Morgan finished the last of his lunch. Sam had picked up the food, which Morgan appreciated, because he didn’t want to take a long break. It was Jan’s first day and Morgan had barely seen him, mostly because of how much work he still had to catch up on. He had seen Jan walk past his office with a stack of papers a couple of times and he had winked at him when he had walked past Jan as he was serving himself some coffee.
Every time that they could have talked, Jan was too busy or Morgan was too busy. Morgan wanted to ask Sam to go away, but the walls were still clear and if Jan had walked into his office, Morgan wasn’t sure he would be able to keep his hands to himself. Somehow, he looked hotter than ever wearing business casual, going around the office and carrying stacks of paper. Morgan wanted to ask Jan what, exactly, he was doing, but it wasn’t as though either of them had any time for that.
“So,” Sam finally said. “I bet it’s really nice for you to see your boyfriend here. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d hate working with my wife in the same department, but you were gunning for this, weren’t you?”
Morgan tried smiling at him. He didn’t want to lie to Sam, but he didn’t see what other option he had. “Well,” he said. “It may lead to a better position for him, right?”
“Right,” Sam replied, cocking his head. “I bet it’s weird for someone as smart as you to date someone like a waiter.”
“No,” Morgan said, rubbing his temples. “Don’t be a dick, Sam.”
“I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” Sam replied. “I just mean, having a different income is hard. Especially when you’re just dating someone. And you’re a very smart guy, so it must be even harder for you, right?”
“Not really,” Morgan said, looking out of the office and trying to find Jan. “I’m not any smarter than him, I’ve just had access to better opportunities.”
Sam nodded, looking away from him. Then he spoke. “My friend Jax still wants to meet you.”
“I’m seeing someone,” Morgan replied, laughing. “Obviously.”
“I know,” Sam said. “That’s what I told him. He’s not desperate or anything, he just thinks you seem like a nice person and, to be totally fair, I’ve talked you up a lot.”
“That’s nice,” Morgan said. “But unnecessary.”
Sam laughed, throwing his head back. “Well, I’m not doing it on purpose,” Sam replied. “It’s just that when you come up, I can’t help but be honest about what you’re like. And you’re pretty awesome.”
“The more you talk about me, the more I feel like you don’t know me that well,” Morgan said, laughing. “But I appreciate all the compliments.”
“It won’t last long if you keep this up, just so you know,” Sam said.
“If I keep what up?”
“If you don’t even introduce me to your boyfriend,” Sam replied, tutting and shaking his head. “I mean, he’s right there and you won’t even introduce us. He works here now! Even when we were at the restaurant, you didn’t introduce us.”
“To be fair,” Morgan said, walking to where Sam was and sitting down on the desk next to him, “when we were at the restaurant, it wasn’t as though we were dating yet. You guys just were teasing me about it a lot. Because none of you act like adults.”
“That’s kind of adorable coming from you,” Sam said, laughing quietly. “So, you’ll introduce me?”
“The moment I get a chance to talk to both of you, of course I’ll introduce you,” Morgan replied, smiling at him. Sam nodded. He seemed satisfied by that.
“You’re welcome, by the way.”
“Thank you for lunch,” Morgan said. “Again. You know, next time, we can probably ask the intern to go get food.”
Sam chuckled, his back moving as he did so. “Do you mean your boyfriend?”
“Sure,” Morgan replied, shrugging his shoulders. “Same difference, right?”
***
It was almost the end of the day when Morgan finally got a chance to talk to Jan. They both were standing in the kitchenette at the back of the floor as everyone else had started to clear out. Sam had waved goodbye at Jan and blown Morgan a kiss, which had made Morgan roll his eyes but laugh and had earned him a questioning look from Jan. Morgan hadn’t thought that Jan was the jealous type, but he didn’t know that much about him. He could be. There were still so many things about Jan that Morgan had to find out that, when he thought about it, the rate that they moved at had been dizzying. Morgan normally tried to take things more slowly with anyone he dated. He had spent a long time courting David before they ever had become an official item. It had been months of dating, going out to shows together, kissing behind buildings at three in the morning without opening their mouths and shyly grabbing each other’s hands when they were in the back of one of their friend’s cars before David asked him if they were dating. His experience with Jan had been so different from that. He already knew exactly what he wanted with Jan, he had known what he wanted with Jan ever since he had first started going out with him. The more that he got to know Jan, the more that he wanted that.
Once Morgan spotted Kimber leaving the department, which wasn’t hard because of how loud her red hair was, he turned to Jan and handed him a cup of freshly brewed coffee. “Here,” he said. “Are you staying late?”
“Yes,” Jan replied. “My work day hasn’t really started.”
Morgan raised his eyebrows and looked at him questioningly. “It hasn’t? Then what have you been doing all day?”
“Organizing your damn paperwork,” Jan replied, shuddering. “It’s awful. I was an intern on summer break during my first couple of years of college, but I think I thought it would be a lot easier now that I’m an adult. Let me tell you, I have so much more respect for interns now.”
“Is Kimber working you hard?” Morgan replied, laughing quietly then taking a sip of his coffee.
“Yes,” Jan replied, throwing his head back and groaning. “Apparently, you were right when you talked about exactly how much the department needed an intern. It’s a lot. I really wanted to talk to you, but you’re always so busy and I’m still
learning the ropes.”
Morgan exhaled heavily from his nose, choking back a laugh. “You say that as if you take this job so seriously,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Well,” Jan replied, equally as quiet. He moved a little bit closer to Morgan, so close that their hands almost were touching. “Part of my job is making sure that I make it seem like I belong here and that when I leave, nothing changes. Because that may affect the litigation negatively.”
Morgan nodded, biting his lower lip, then took another sip of his coffee. “This is a little strange, though, right?”
“What do you mean?” Jan said, his voice back to its normal level and a smile on his face, as though they were talking about the weather.
“I just mean,” Morgan replied, looking away from him, “surely they could get someone here to do it.”
“No one would risk that,” Jan said. “This company is a monopoly, and they’re pretty well known for being litigation-happy.” Then he turned to face Morgan, dropping his voice again and continuing. “That’s why you only can help me on the sly, right?”
Morgan sighed. “I just wish there was a better way.”
“Yeah,” Jan replied. “Me, too. Also, this coffee is terrible.”
Morgan nodded, laughing. “Isn’t it just?”
They were both quiet for a few seconds. Then Jan grabbed Morgan’s hand and squeezed it. There was no one around them, but it still felt shockingly sweet and intimate for where they were. “You know,” he said. “I know the circumstances are really weird, but I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“Yeah,” Morgan said. “Same here. Though, technically, you’re here with me.”