The Cupcake Conundrum, page 10
part #2 of Williamsville Inn Series
“That’ll be at least a forty-five-minute wait.” The hostess gestured toward the even more packed bar. “If a spot opens up there at the bar, you’re welcome to grab it but ...”
“Put me on the list for a table, I guess,” he said with a resigned sigh. “Last name, Cobb.”
It was 7 p.m. on a Saturday night in a downtown Philly restaurant. Every other place in the area was likely as swamped, and he didn’t have the motivation to drive to the outskirts of town where it might be less busy. He knew this place wasn’t going to be in any hurry to seat a single person at a bigger table, though, so he resigned himself to a long wait.
He managed to squeeze himself into a small pocket of space between a straight couple, who couldn’t keep their hands off each other, and a group of guys, who looked like they’d just gotten off work. He let the noise of the conversations wash over him as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and fiddled with it. He kept half an eye on the people around him to make sure he wasn’t in anyone’s way as he played a mindless puzzle game while he waited. But when a small group pushed past him, trying to reach the door to leave, they shoved him back, and he nearly lost his footing. A hand between his shoulder blades steadied him, and once the group was out the door, he twisted around to thank the person who had kept him from tipping over.
“Thanks, I—” He blinked as he saw Jay with an equally startled expression on his face.
“Adrian?”
“Oh, shit. Sorry.” Adrian grimaced. “I swear I’m not following you. It’s just ...”
“The closest restaurant to Seth and Erik’s apartment if you turn left,” Jay finished, sounding more resigned than anything else.
“Yeah. Guess we both turned left.”
Jay let out a humorless little chuckle. “Guess so.”
“Look, I can go somewhere else,” Adrian offered. “If you want.”
“No, that would be ridiculous. We’re adults. We can eat in the same restaurant.”
“Thanks.” Adrian offered him a tentative smile before turning away.
He’d rather talk to Jay, but he’d already pushed his luck today. No point in antagonizing him further. Adrian returned to his puzzle and tried not to obsess over the fact that the man he wanted was just a few feet away. Ignoring him.
“Table for Sun-ager!” the hostess called out, and Adrian glanced up. She’d butchered the pronunciation, but Jay squeezed past Adrian, holding up a hand to indicate he’d heard her.
The waitress smiled at Jay. “Right this way.”
Jay started after her but he paused and glanced back at Adrian. “Come on. It’s stupid for you to wait another half hour just to get a table. We can share.”
It took Adrian a second to process Jay’s offer, but Jay had already begun to weave through the crowd in the server’s wake. “Oh, um, thanks,” Adrian managed as he did his best to keep up with them.
The waitress gave Jay a confused look when Adrian approached the table. “I thought there was just one in your party?”
“My friend is joining me,” Jay explained. “We just ran into each other, and I figured we might as well share a table.”
“I was on the waitlist too,” Adrian explained as he hung his coat off the back of the chair. “So you can take Cobb off there.”
“Oh, great.” She smiled at them both. “Let me grab a second menu.”
After they’d ordered drinks and food, they stared at each other from across the small table. It was tucked up against the window, and with a small candle burning in between them, it felt cozy, like they were on a date. Except, they’d never been on a date. They’d spent a lot of time in bed before Adrian up and disappeared from Jay’s life, but they’d never been on a date.
Jesus, I am an asshole. Definitely a grade-A asshole.
“So, this is awkward,” Adrian said.
Jay laughed, the tense set of his shoulders softening. “It is. And I’m sorry I stormed out earlier. I shouldn’t have taken everything with my parents out on you.”
“No, I listened in on a private conversation, then intruded with completely unsolicited advice and sympathy. I deserved it.”
“I knew you were there listening,” Jay admitted. “I could have paused the conversation and told you to go elsewhere or left myself. And let’s be honest ... I overreacted to your comment.”
“We’re both pretty on edge,” Adrian acknowledged. “I’ve been trying to apologize for what I did last year, and you probably hate my guts for it. Which is fair. I think I’ve been going about this all wrong, though,” he added. “I’m not trying to be pushy. I just wanted an opportunity to say I’m sorry for my shitty behavior—”
“Look, I’m not saying I’m okay with what you did last year,” Jay said. “But I sort of understand it better now. You were looking for an escape from your life that weekend, and it turned into something more. Something you never anticipated.”
“It did.” Adrian looked down. “But I really should have told you the truth about my situation. Or, at the very least, told you I couldn’t pursue something once reality hit again. You deserved a whole lot better than I gave you.”
The waitress appeared with drinks and set them in front of them. “Can I get you anything else?”
After checking with Adrian, Jay politely dismissed her. When she was gone, he gave Adrian a serious look. “What happened last year wouldn’t have been so bad if it hadn’t happened before.”
“Before?”
“You’re not the first guy to ghost me.”
“Oh.” Adrian grimaced. “That sucks.”
“It really does. And happens to a lot of my friends. Gay, straight, male, female, doesn’t seem to matter. You make what you think is a connection with someone and they just disappear. It’s hurtful.”
“The connection between us was real,” Adrian said, leaning in.
“I guess I’m in the minority then because I can’t imagine just disappearing on someone I had that kind of connection with.” He looked down at his hands.
“I don’t have a good excuse for it,” Adrian said. “I got spooked, but that doesn’t justify it.”
“Spooked because of the distance and the kids?”
“Partly. But Seth pointed something out the other day. It probably didn’t help that I was dealing with some custody stuff. My ex hasn’t been great about me being bi—”
“Yeah, I remember you saying that.”
“So I think some part of me was worried she’d use it against me in court.”
“Oh.” The look of shock on Jay’s face was genuine. “Do you think she’d do that?”
“Now? No. But then? I didn’t feel like I knew her at all anymore. I wasn’t sure what she’d do. And I was terrified of losing my kids.”
“You could have told me, Adrian. I would have understood.”
“I should have.” He looked down at his drink. “Maybe I was a little gun shy about trusting someone new as well. I don’t know. It had been a long time since I’d felt anything for anyone but Michelle. It was probably way too soon to get into a serious relationship, and there’s no way what we had wouldn’t have been serious.”
“True.”
“I’m not making excuses. I just want you to understand the reasons.”
“I do.” Jay took a deep breath, but anything else he might have said was cut off by the waitress arriving with their dinners.
“This looks good,” Adrian said. He’d ordered the mushroom and sausage gnocchi and Jay had giant meatballs in a pool of sauce with grilled bread.
“Yeah, it does.” Jay took a bite, then chewed. “I wonder where Seth and Erik were meeting Rex Garland and his husband tonight.”
“I don’t know. I know I’m jealous as fuck, though,” Adrian admitted.
Jay let out a genuine sounding laugh. “Me too.”
“I guess we’ll get to meet him at the wedding, though.”
“Guess so.” Jay used some of the bread to mop up the sauce on the plate. “I guess we should discuss their wedding cake at some point too.”
“Do you actually want to work with me on it?”
Jay looked surprised. “Yeah, why? Don’t you want to work together?”
“No, I do,” Adrian assured him. “I just wanted to give you an out if you wanted it. Sometimes, Seth gets ideas and he sort of steamrolls over people. I don’t want this to be awkward for you.”
“It’s not awkward,” Jay said firmly. “I’m fine with it.”
“Can we clear up one thing I’ve been wondering about?” Adrian asked.
“Sure.” But despite Jay’s easy words, he looked apprehensive. “What did you want to know?”
“What was earlier about?”
“Earlier?”
Adrian dropped his voice. “The, uh, voyeurism yesterday.”
“Oh.” Jay rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know. It was a weird impulse. I mostly wanted to see if you’d do it.”
“Well, I did.” Adrian let out a self-conscious little laugh.
“Yeah, you did.” There was heat in Jay’s eyes again, and when their knees bumped under the table, he didn’t pull away.
“Do you want to grab a drink?” Jay asked after they’d settled the bill, split because neither of them would agree to let the other pay. “Somewhere else, I mean.”
“Uh, sure,” Adrian agreed as he shrugged on his coat. “Did you have a place in mind?”
“Maybe that bar we passed the other night on the way back from the steakhouse?”
“I didn’t even notice a bar,” Adrian admitted. He’d been too wrapped up in actually being able to have a conversation with Jay. “But sure. Lead the way.”
The place Jay took them to turned out to be a dive bar with several small TVs, dartboards, and pinball machines in the back. They took a seat at one of the available U-shaped booths, and Adrian studied the beer menu before settling on one of his favorite bottled beers.
“This is nice,” he said after they had drinks in front of them. The bar had a fun vibe with art on the walls and while there was music playing, it wasn’t so loud they couldn’t talk. It did ensure he and Jay sat fairly close together though, which was A-okay with Adrian. They were at a ninety-degree angle to each other, and Adrian’s knee pressed firmly against Jay’s thigh. He had his shirtsleeves rolled up to reveal his strong forearms, and Adrian really wanted to bury his hands in Jay’s thick black hair and kiss him senseless. He played with the beer bottle instead, rolling it back and forth in his palms.
“I just wanted someplace low-key where we could talk.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.” Jay let out an annoyed sounding laugh that made Adrian smile. “I’m just tired of fighting with you.”
“I don’t like it either.”
“So, truce?”
“Yeah, I’d like that. I can’t undo what happened before, but it would be nice to be friends.” Adrian snuck a quick glance at him. “But, um, I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about you in a, uh, more than friendly way.”
“I watched while you jerked off the other day, Adrian. Hell, I told you to do it. I think we can safely assume the feeling is mutual.”
He shrugged. “It could have just been a way to gain some power over me.”
The startled expression on Jay’s face led Adrian to believe he’d never even considered that possibility. He was silent a moment. “I guess ... yeah, maybe that could have been a part of it.”
Adrian wet his lips. “But not all of it?”
“No, not all of it,” Jay said quietly. “Not even close.”
The conversation turned in other directions as one of them commented on the basketball game showing on ESPN on the TV nearby, and they got into a friendly argument about teams. Adrian was a die-hard Penn State fan while Jay rooted for Syracuse. Adrian was able to forget that they’d ever been at odds. Right now, it felt like the intervening year had never happened, and they were just two guys who’d met and hooked up one weekend and were now out at a bar enjoying each other’s company again. Adrian liked that Jay didn’t shrink from their good-natured disagreement, instead, giving as good as he got as they discussed team rivalries and the upcoming March madness playoffs.
Jay grabbed Adrian’s forearm at one point, probably to emphasize something he was saying, but he left his hand there, and Adrian enjoyed the warmth—even through the fabric of his shirt. The dingy bar seemed to gleam with far more luster than it probably deserved as they each ordered a second drink, and they debated which team was going to win the NCAA conference title. Adrian loved watching Jay’s brown eyes light up and the way he kept sliding a little closer to Adrian so they were touching constantly.
After Jay drained his second drink, he set it on the table and glanced over at Adrian through his dark lashes. “What do you say we get out of here and head back to the loft?”
The words were innocent enough, but Adrian had seen a similar intensity in Jay’s eyes before, and he knew exactly what it meant. Was it a good idea? Probably not, but he didn’t have it in him to fight the attraction between them.
“Yeah, I’m good with that,” Adrian said hoarsely. He drained his beer while Jay paid their tab, and in a few minutes, they were out on the sidewalk.
The walk back to the loft was quiet, and Adrian wondered if Seth and Erik were back yet. The condo was dark and silent when they entered, though, and after Adrian hung up is his coat, he turned back to face Jay, wondering what came next and how to initiate it.
It turned out he didn’t have to worry about either because Jay immediately stepped close, backing him up until he lightly bumped the apartment door. And then Jay’s mouth was just inches from his own as he pressed their bodies together full-length.
“So, we’re doing this?” Adrian asked a little breathlessly before Jay could lean in and kiss him.
Jay braced his hands on the door on either side of Adrian’s head. “If you want.”
“I do, I just—” Adrian wanted to know what this meant. Had Jay totally forgiven him? Were they going to try to start something new? But the words Adrian wanted to ask got stuck in his throat. “I do,” he repeated. It was enough for now.
Jay nodded, then leaned in again to kiss him. This time, Adrian met him halfway.
Jay’s mouth tasted familiar and so was the slight catch of their facial hair sliding together as they kissed. Jay tilted his head to the left, as he had before, and Adrian still had to tilt his chin down just a little. The quiet sounds Jay made when Adrian teased the seam of Jay’s mouth with his tongue were the same as before.
But this time, Adrian’s fingers shook as he worked the buttons loose on Jay’s shirt. He licked his lips at the sight of all that smooth brown skin. He wanted to drag his tongue along that still very sexy collarbone he’d enjoyed so much in the past, but a sudden wave of apprehension washed over him, and he felt less sure of himself than he had before.
“Bedroom?” Jay said. He tugged Adrian toward it, and he felt his fears slip away with every step. His blood sang at the feel of their palms pressed together and the promise of what would happen next.
In the bedroom, with the door closed, Adrian dropped to his knees and unbuckled Jay’s belt. His uncut cock felt warm and thick in Adrian’s palm, maybe about half hard, and Adrian wrapped his lips around the shaft, sliding down as far as he could go. Jay’s hands were gentle as he threaded them through Adrian’s hair, pushing him to take his dick deeper.
They both froze at the sound of the front door opening, and Adrian heard the quiet murmur of Erik and Seth’s voices. He heard the noise of footfalls near the guest room door, though he couldn’t clearly hear whatever Erik said.
“Maybe they’re already asleep,” Seth responded. “We can talk to them in the morning.”
Erik said something else that Adrian couldn’t hear, and then Seth’s soft laugh. “Well, maybe ...”
After the footsteps retreated, Jay cupped Adrian’s cheek. “You good to keep going?”
Adrian nodded and the heat in Jay’s eyes made him glad he’d said yes. And then Adrian couldn’t think of anything because Jay was thrusting into his mouth, gently but insistently, and Adrian could taste his flavor on his tongue, and it was so sweet and good and familiar it made Adrian want to cry. He’d missed this, missed Jay, and he never wanted this to end. He swirled his tongue around the tip of Jay’s cock, making him moan lowly. He froze at the sound. Jaye gently pulled away, and Adrian missed the connection immediately.
“Strip and bend over the bed,” Jay said softly.
Adrian stood on shaky legs and removed his clothing with fingers that were still trembling. When he was naked, he turned to face the bed. Jay—who had also stripped—stepped up behind him. He pressed a warm palm to Adrian’s back until he was bent over it. “Don’t move.”
He disappeared for a moment, and Adrian glanced over to see him pull a small pharmacy bag from his suitcase. When exactly had Jay gone out to buy condoms and lube? Adrian didn’t dare ask. It didn’t matter, and he needed Jay inside of him too much to question it.
Jay’s fingers were warm and slick as they pushed into Adrian’s body, one at a time. When they brushed Adrian’s prostate, he let out an involuntary moan.
“We’re going to have to be quiet.”
Adrian nodded and bit his lip as Jay withdrew his fingers. After the sound of tearing foil, Adrian felt the nudge of Jay’s thick cock, and Adrian really had to grit his teeth to keep from moaning. In the past year, he’d played with toys a handful of times, so it was less about the stretch than feeling Jay inside him again.
Jay let out a little sound too, a soft stuttering exhalation of breath that let Adrian know he was similarly affected.
Jay moved slowly with steady, even strokes that went deep. Adrian braced himself on the bed and held still, letting Jay grip his hips and control the pace even though he was dying for him to let loose and just fuck him deep and hard.
This was good, though. So good. Colors swam in front of Adrian’s closed eyes, and he felt his cock throb when Jay nudged his prostate just right. No toy could ever feel this good. And Jay still knew just how to drive Adrian absolutely crazy.
