by Jerry Cole
“Go have fun. That’s all you need to do. I’ll go with you next time.” I kissed her forehead. “Just be safe.”
She went back to the bathroom to finish getting ready. I looked in the mirror to fix my hair, wondering if Owen liked the tousled look. I heard a knock at the door, walking over to open it with a smile. Owen was wearing black slacks as well, but with a blue shirt. ‘You look amazing,” he told me, looking me over.
Fuck. My body reacted, and I forced a smile to my face.
“Thanks. So do you,” I replied, staring into his eyes. “Where are you taking me?”
“You’ll see,” he replied, and I heard footsteps behind me. “You must be Rosa.”
“I am.” The smile was back on her face, and they shook hands. “It’s nice to meet you, Owen.”
“Are you going out?” He asked as she nodded.
“A friend wants to get me out of the house. She’s taking me dancing.” Rosa smiled and gazed at me. “Take care of my friend. He’s a special guy.”
“I realize that. I’m going to spoil him tonight.” He gave her a reassuring nod. “Maybe we’ll stop by the club afterward. I trust that Peter knows where it is?”
“He does. That would be great,” Rosa smiled, giving me wide eyes. That meant she liked him.
We left, and he led me to his jeep. Owen opened the door for me, and I slid inside, breathing in his musky scent. “This is nice,” I said, looking around.
“I love this year. I take good care of her,” Owen looked around his car with pride, then at me. “What do you drive?”
“Just an old sedan. I don’t even drive that much, to begin with, so why get something expensive?” I shrugged, watching as he pulled into the street. He headed down the main street, and in a few moments, I knew that we were headed to the Lower East Side. He pulled up to have the valet park the car at a new place I’d wanted to try. We got out, and I looked the place over. “How did you get in here?”
“The sous chef is the mom of one of the kids I teach. That is the case in a lot of places around town.” He took the ticket handed to him, walking up the steps to open the door for me. It wasn’t an overly fancy place, and a lot of people were dressed more casually than we were.
“The food is amazing here,” he assured me, making me smile as we walked to the podium.
Chapter Five
Owen
Peter looked perfect tonight. I don’t know a lot of people that could pull off a shirt that shade of green, but the tone of it made his eyes pop. They were so green, and I wanted to hug him. I kept my opinion calm but needed to compliment him.
He returned the compliment, following up with a question as to where we were going. I refused to tell him, but I thought he’d enjoy Windier. It wasn’t as fancy as we were dressed, but I didn’t know what we’d do after dinner. I just thought the food was incredible, and I had an in.
I told the hostess my name, and we were seated in a corner where we could have some privacy. He looked around, inhaling the scent of food in the air. “This place smells amazing. What’s good?”
“They have steak for two that melts in your mouth. Incredible,” I said, watching him blush. Was he thinking the same kind of dirty thoughts that I was? “There are some amazing seafood dishes as well. I think you’ll like it.”
The waiter dropped by, and we asked for wine while we looked at the menu. We did end up ordering the steak and salads to start, and I saw him looking at me before taking in the muted lights of the restaurant. “What?”
“Is that okay? It’s a lot of money.” His face was serious.
“It’s great, and I suggested it. I promise you, I’m doing fine financially,” I assured him, reaching out to cover his hand. “I want to spoil you.”
“Why?” Peter asked as I stared at him.
“I just sensed something about you at the game that day. You’re stunning, for one. There’s more, though. I think it was the smirk you gave me when you caught me staring at you.” I smiled as he chuckled.
“So, you were checking me out?” He asked as I nodded.
“I saw you right away.” I shook my head. “I saw you with Rosa and thought I didn’t have a chance at first. It turns out that I did, after all.” I cleared my throat. “I’m just going to put this out there. I just ended a three-year relationship. Nothing too dramatic, just different lives. I guess the point that I’m trying to make is that I don’t know what I’m doing tonight.”
“You seem to be doing just fine to me,” he assured me, glancing up as the waiter brought our salads. We talked about my family and me and the fact that his was small and lived in Oklahoma. He wanted something different, like me, moving here for college. He fell into freelance work and never looked back. He told me that Rosa’s family was his family now, and they spent holidays together when they could make it. It was just an aunt and cousin since her parents passed away several years ago.
“I go see my family as often as I can. My sister is coming next weekend to hang out. She’s my twin, and I’d like you to meet her.” I surprised myself with the suggestion.
Peter swallowed the bite of salad he was chewing, staring at me. “You would?”
“Sure. She’s great. We can get dinner or something.” I laughed, realizing that’s what we were doing now. “Again.”
“Wow. I’m flattered,” he said, and I shrugged.
“I haven’t wanted anyone for the last few months. There’s something about you that’s different.” I stared into Peter’s eyes, trying to tell him that I was falling for him. I didn’t know why or how, but I was.
“I agree.”
We ate the steak, both impressed with it. We kept talking and getting to know each other through the meal, and finally, I looked down at the check. “I think they want the table.” I paid the bill, and we walked out front, pausing for a moment to take in the evening air.
“I don’t want to go home,” he said, looking at me.
“Neither do I. We could catch a movie at the theater around the corner, or go meet your friends,” I suggested as he gazed at me in wonder.
“You would do that?” Peter asked, making me wonder who tore him down. Maybe he had a long relationship that he was getting over.
“I just want to spend time with you, whatever makes you happy makes me happy.” I felt someone bumping into me, falling forward as he caught me. Our faces were close, and I pecked at his lips just to watch him smile.
“I’d like to make sure that Rosa is doing okay. She’s been hit or miss.” Peter gave me a wry smile, and I nodded, leading us to the car. “They’re at Bliss. Have you been?”
“Taryn loves it there. My sister. She makes me take her every time she visits. That might be fun next weekend,” I suggested, and he nodded. I made the drive to the club, parking in a lot across the street. We walked over, paying the entry fee and walking around the room to look for Rosa.
“She’s dancing,” Peter said, and I looked at the smile on his face. Rosa was his Taryn. I followed his gaze and watched as she danced to a ninety’s song with a blonde, shaking her hips obnoxiously. “I think she’s had some drinks.”
“Is that bad?” I asked, and he weighed his options.
“She’s good up to about three. Rosa already enjoys things like this. When she goes past that, and there’s something on her mind, it can go south quickly.” Peter watched her for a moment. “She found him with someone else. Her fiancé. Did I tell you that?”
“No. That’s awful. Why wasn’t he just honest with her?” I asked. Peter shrugged.
“I was with someone for five months and caught them on dating apps. I don’t get it.” He felt me looking at him and gave me a sexy smile. “It was nothing, not really. Why did yours end?”
“Well, we weren’t that serious. We worked opposite shifts and had different lives. It just wasn’t meant to be. Time passes so quickly.” I felt strange summing things up like that, but it was true. “We just kind of agreed that it wasn’t working, and that was that.”
“I’m not drunk. I had two drinks. I’m just enjoying the music and letting loose. How was your night?” Rosa asked as she smiled at me.
“We went to dinner. It was great,” Peter told her as they stood close. “We’ll have to try it sometime.” The blonde joined us, hugging Peter and shaking my hand when we were introduced. Her name was Jane, and it appeared that she was also close to Rosa.
“Come dance to terrible nineties music,” Jane offered as she and Rosa headed back out. We followed, and I watched Peter as he got into the song that was playing. He was a great dancer, and I moved closer to him.
We had a good time dancing together, and with the girls. They were very comfortable doing things that made the other laugh several times. I envisioned bringing Taryn here with them, and how much she’d love it.
New York felt more like home than ever, and I smiled at the small group. We had a couple of drinks and danced through the night. Watching Peter smile and laugh with his best friend so easily made me like him as a person even more.
We closed the bar out, and the girls headed to Jane’s house. They invited us to have breakfast with them the next day, and I looked at Peter. Would we still be together then? Did he want me to drop him off at home, kiss him, and then leave?
We walked to my car, and I opened the door for him. “Home?” I asked, and he looked at me.
“I have the place to myself. Want to hang out and have a beer?” He asked, and I grinned.
“That sounds great,” I told him, starting the car. I drove back to his apartment, parking on the curb before following him to the door. Peter unlocked it, and we walked inside, where he tossed his keys to the counter. “Is it hard having someone else here?” I asked. “This is just a one-bedroom, right?”
“Yeah, the bedroom is a loft over there. I guess I feel a little cramped sometimes, but she needs to stay somewhere. I know Rosa, and she’ll bounce back. She’d do the same for me.” He shrugged and got two beers from the fridge, cleaning off the couch of the blanket and pillows before offering me a seat. “She insists on sleeping on the couch. I have a King bed, and it’s oblivious I won’t make any moves. I think she has a lot of pride in staying here since the place she had before was his. It was nice, too. She was more pissed off about that than anything else, I think.”
“I like this place. It’s in a great part of town and has a lot of charm.” I said as we stared at each other.
“Thank goodness for rent control. My landlord is this old couple that’s owned the building for years, and they keep it low. It doesn’t hurt that they absolutely adore the girl and me across the hall.” He chuckled, and I sipped my beer. “I’m so glad I’m here, even if my apartment could fit into the bathroom of one of these brownstones.”
“It’s great. I have a house a few blocks away that’s nothing special. It’s like this with cool landlords. I’m happy there,” I told him, and he nodded.
“New York Life,” He remarked, taking a long sip of the beer before he took my hand in his. “A lot of it is hard, but I wouldn’t change a thing. This city is alive.” He squeezed, and I looked into his eyes.
“It is. My family keeps asking me to come home, but I like it here. It’s not too far from them where I’ll never see them, but I feel like I’m doing my thing.” I smiled, and he leaned in to kiss the corner of my mouth, sending shivers over my skin.
“I’m glad you’re doing it here,” Peter told me, locking my eyes with his gaze. “I wanted to kiss you all night at Bliss, but I’ thought I’d keep it classy there. Does now work for you?” I nodded, and he claimed my mouth with his, his full lips warm against mine. I felt it all over my body, realizing that Ray never made me feel this way in the three years that we were together. Peter leaned in, tilting his head to deepen the kiss with skill and ease.
Our tongues moved together, and he cupped my face as he kissed me. I felt dizzy with it as the heat increased, causing me to break out in a sweat as he sucked my tongue into his mouth. When he pulled away after moments or hours of the best kiss of my life, I was breathless. “I knew it would be like that,” Peter said, his eyes dark with lust.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but that was… that was incredible,” I admitted, remembering the moment I caught him staring at me at the rink. Even then, I heated up despite the temperatures of the ice. We both sipped our beer, needing to cool down as I took Peter in.
He was gorgeous, of course. But more than that, his face was expressive, and his eyes flashed with emotions as he spoke or laughed. I had no clue why his ex would want to find someone else.
Of course, I also wondered why I spent so much time with Ray looking back. There was none of this with him, and I blinked as I tried to clear my head. My schedule would still be crazy no matter what, but he could work with it better than Ray.
“Thanks for going to the club,” Peter told me as he set his beer down.
“It was fun. I go with my sister when she’s here.” I smiled, thinking of her upcoming trip.
“What is she like?” Peter asked, gazing at me.
“Taryn is sassy, protective, and so much fun,” I laughed as I thought. “She takes after my dad with her wit and looks. They have blue eyes, and Mom has brown ones. We’re all close.”
“You’re lucky. I’m glad that I have Rosa in my life,” Peter said, smiling as he took the last sip of his beer.
“Family is family, no matter what.” I shrugged, reaching out to touch his face. Peter gazed at me, and now it was my turn to kiss him. He returned my passion, pushing me back as he crawled over me. I felt his teeth scraping against my jaw as his cock ground against mine. “Peter,” I moaned, raising my hips as he claimed my mouth again. I had been entirely celibate since the breakup, and even before that, we just didn’t see each other enough.
Peter kissed down my throat, unbuttoning my shirt before he ran his fingers over my chest. “I love hockey players,” He murmured as I gripped his hair, having an idea where he was going with this. He moved down slowly, cupping me as I pressed against his hand.
Was this moving too fast?
I heard the zipper on my pants and then air hitting my skin. Peter’s hand gripped me as I moaned, falling under his spell.
“Is this too much? I want you so badly,” Peter told me as I panted.
“I want you, too.”
He stroked me as I closed my eyes. When he brought me close to the edge, his mouth covered me, and I felt him warm and tight around my cock. I cried out as I came in his mouth, filling his throat as he drank me down.
Peter pulled back, gasping for air as I breathed slowly. “Oh, fuck.” I leaned back, gulping in air. I’ve cum before with a man but never like that. It was a fucking explosion of pleasure, and I couldn’t wait to do the same thing to Peter. There were a lot of things that I wanted to do to Peter.
We sipped our beers, looking at each other with shy smiles. “I hope that wasn’t too fast,” Peter said, and I shook my head.
“No, not at all. I want to do a lot more than that, but this is our first date. I haven’t been single in a while, so I don’t know how it works anymore.” I grinned and sipped the beer again.
“I think it depends on the people involved. We know that we get along. We know that we like each other. I know for damn sure that I’m attracted to you. That’s enough for me, but we can move as fast or as slow as you want.” Peter shrugged and looked down at my half-hard cock. “I don’t even care who gives or takes. I think it’s all fun.”
My ex was dominant when we were in bed. I always wanted to experiment with other options, but he was adamant.
“Oh, wow.” I scrubbed a hand through my hair and thought for a moment. “I think I like this.”
Chapter Six
Peter
Owen and I chatted for a while about what we might be looking for as we finished ou
r drinks. Once they were gone, I kissed him, and he returned it eagerly. We took it to my room and stripped each other down before crawling into bed.
There was a part of me that wanted the apartment to myself again. I hated thinking that with Rosa needing a place for a while, but I wanted to get to know Owen.
He returned my favor to him before I pushed him to his stomach, lubing up my cock and his ass. We both groaned as I slid inside, filling Owen as he moaned my name.
“You feel so damn good,” I told him as he pushed back against me. “So good.”
I sensed that he was ready for more and began to fuck him harder. He rocked right along with me, and he shifted to slide his hand down his front.
“I need to cum inside of you,” I told him, feeling Owen push up as he whimpered. I knew that he was jerking off and fucked him hard and deep. I came, filling him as he arched back with his release.
I finished pulsing inside of him, rolling to my back as Owen dropped down to the bed on his stomach. We were both panting, and I brushed my damp hair back with one hand. “Is it completely cheesy to tell you that was the best I’ve ever had?” Owen asked me, and I smiled.
“No, because I feel the same way.” I gazed at him as our eyes locked. “I know that you just got out of a relationship and that I recently stopped seeing someone. I know that I have a friend sleeping on my couch at the moment. The thing is that I don’t care about any of that. I want to be with you, Owen.”
“I want to be with you,” he said, his eyes shimmering in the moonlight pouring through the window. “We can figure it out as we go along.”
“Good. Stay with me tonight.” I reached an arm out and pulled him against me, kissing his lips. “You live alone, don’t you?”
“I do, but Taryn is staying with me this weekend. Maybe we can all make plans together.” He smiled, and I pressed my face into his damp neck.
“I’d like that.”
We fell asleep after talking for a while, wrapped around each other like we were glued together. This wasn’t me. I didn’t hold men tight like this after sex, missing them when I woke up alone. It wasn’t me when I panicked, thinking he’d left sometime during the night.