The Long Game, page 21
Jack shook his head, his cheeks going pink again.
Grady had to force himself to keep breathing. How was this even his life? Jack Chevalier was blushing in his kitchen and Grady wanted to howl at the moon he was so fucking happy.
When Jack opened one of the upper cabinets, Grady blinked at all the food inside.
When the hell had that happened?
Jack took down a box of spaghetti, pulled out a clump and put it through the hole in the spoon Grady still held aloft. “That’s one serving. You put it in boiling water, stirring occasionally for seven or so minutes, and then you can fish the noodles out with this instead of straining it.”
Grady blinked at Jack, then at the magic spoon. “You’re making that up.”
Sam giggled from the couch, entertained by his big brother being an idiot in the kitchen.
“I’m not kidding,” Jack assured him. “But don’t worry, Sam and I will cook dinner tonight. At some point, though, you and Colton are going to have to learn.”
“You don’t have to cook for us in the meantime, though,” Grady said.
“I think for everyone’s safety, I do.”
Grady rolled his eyes. “I think I can safely order takeout.”
“It’s a miracle you don’t have a repetitive stress injury from scrolling through menus.”
“Shut up,” Grady said, trying not to smile.
“Or haven’t strained something recycling all those little containers,” Jack said, throwing the empty box by the door.
“Gosh, is that the time?” Grady looked at his bare wrist. “You sure you don’t have plans tonight, Jack?”
Jack began pulling all kinds of mysterious boxes and jars from the cabinets. “No, I’d better stay. Though I do worry about the devastating impact on the local economy if you start eating in more often.”
Grady eyed the food on the counter and wondered when Jack had found time to stock his kitchen, what with everything else he’d been doing over the last couple of days. Then Jack pulled meatballs from the freezer and the real mystery was how Jack had fit anything in there with the ice cream.
Jack opened the refrigerator and Grady was startled when jars rattled together. It was such a familiar noise, a homey one, and one that had never been heard in his apartment.
Jack bent to retrieve peppers from the crisper and even the magnificence of the view couldn’t distract Grady from noticing he now had—were those capers? Did anyone actually know how to cook with those?
It should probably freak him out that his house was full of things he barely recognized and hadn’t known he needed, but it only made him feel warm and content. In a matter of days, Jack had transformed his bachelor pad into a home—the first one Grady had lived in since his family had thrown him away.
And he’d done it with fucking capers.
Jack looked up warily when Grady came charging around the island, but he didn’t protest when Grady tugged the knife out of his hand and set it aside before stealing a kiss.
Jack kissed him back, lingering and sweet.
“Oh Christ, they’re modeling healthy relationships again,” Colton wailed from the couch.
Grady sighed, because the kid was hilarious but such a mood killer. He held Jack close and felt the tensions of the day melt away as Jack put his head on Grady’s shoulder and tucked his face against Grady’s neck.
“This is nice,” Jack murmured, sounding surprised.
“It is. We can do this any time,” he promised.
“Okay,” Jack agreed softly, and Grady’s heart squeezed in his chest.
Christ, he had no idea what the hell they were doing, and some part of his brain kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something to happen that would make it all fall apart. For Jack to leave.
It was terrifying.
And yet, still worth it. Because Grady would fight for this. He wasn’t going to let anything happen if he could prevent it. He was going to hold Jack like this as often as possible and the rest of the universe could go fuck itself.
“Think they’ll stop canoodling before we starve to death?” Colton wondered.
“I think it’s nice,” Sam defended. He smiled at them as he entered the kitchen, then searched the lower cabinets until he came up with a large pot.
A far larger pot than any Grady had ever owned.
“Should I even ask where that came from?”
“You’re no longer cooking for one,” Jack explained.
Which was true, except that it implied he’d ever cooked at all.
At the knock on the door, Jack gave Grady a final squeeze and stepped away. Grady resisted the urge to draw him back since Colton had a point about starving to death before Grady would want to let go.
Jack opened the door to reveal Travis and Barnaby, each holding a bottle of wine.
“I hear spaghetti and meatballs are on the menu tonight,” Travis said cheerfully as he stepped inside and kicked off his shoes.
Grady welcomed them and relieved them of the wine while Jack re-introduced Colton and introduced Sam. It had been Jack’s idea to invite them over, and as the conversation got lively, both boys engaged, Grady felt relief knowing Travis and Barnaby were right upstairs if the boys ever needed them.
He went to where Jack was working at the stove and bumped their hips together. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Knowing what needs to be done. Looking after the boys and helping them get settled. Being you.”
Jack shook his head, but he smiled. “I didn’t do anything.”
“That toaster, this meal, those friends, and everything else says otherwise.”
Jack shrugged, his eyes glued to the pot of water working its way up to a boil. Grady put a finger under Jack’s chin and tipped his face up for a kiss.
“Oh my god,” Barnaby whispered breathlessly.
Jack smiled and turned back to his cooking while Grady braved facing their friends.
Barnaby looked like he’d been hit in the face with a shovel and Travis was grinning like a loon.
Grady took a sip of his wine. “What?” he asked innocently.
“You kissed him,” Barnaby accused.
Jack’s shoulder shook where it was pressed against his.
“I did,” Grady agreed.
Travis’s eyes narrowed. “Is this like the thing where you guys hold hands but pretend it’s a totally normal dudes-who-are-friends thing?”
Colton cracked up.
Grady glared at his supposed friend. “No, it’s not,” he said. “Jack and I are…”
Shit. He should have had a conversation with Jack about this.
“Boyfriends,” Jack announced, turning to smile at their friends. He ended up glaring, though, because Barnaby was a grown-ass man bouncing up and down on his toes and clapping his hands.
“Right.” Grady threaded his fingers through Jack’s. “Boyfriends.”
Jack squeezed his hand, but had to let go when Barnaby hurled himself at Jack and hugged him so hard he wheezed.
Travis was more sedate, but his handshake still nearly took Grady’s arm off. “Congratulations.”
“It’s about sodding time!” Barnaby added.
“You can say that again,” Colton agreed. “And I’ve only been here a week.”
* * *
Jack thought the evening went well, even if Barnaby and Travis continued to exhibit an extreme lack of chill. Honest to god, Barnaby watched every interaction Jack and Grady shared as if it were miraculous instead of like most every other couple on the planet. And while Jack felt weird being one half of that equation, it didn’t warrant Barnaby watching everything like he wished he had a bucket of popcorn and a box of Junior Mints.
Once Travis and Barnaby had gone back upstairs, Grady put the unopened bottle of wine away—life was definitely different with kids around—and cleaned up the kitchen, while Jack helped Sam inflate his bed and made up the couch with Colton.
“We’ll spend some of this weekend looking into a bigger place,” Jack promised as he wedged the air mattress between the coffee table and Grady’s free weights. “Hopefully, one where you and Colton can have your own rooms.”
Sam paused in the process of making his bed. “If it’s easier, I can find my own place.”
Grady wandered over from the sink, dishtowel in hand. “We want you here with us. You don’t have to live here, of course, but don’t leave because you’re worried about the rent, okay?”
“Well, I’ll be able to help with that, either way,” Sam said. “I’ve applied for a job at the Dipsy Doodle Dangle.”
“Yeah?” Jack asked. “That’s great. Have you done that sort of thing before?”
“I was working at one of the big chains when I left Edmonton. I’m guessing I won’t be able to get another job with them, though, since I didn’t give any notice.”
Jack winced. “Yeah, maybe not them. But I’m sure the Dipsy Doodle will be happy to have you.”
He’d make sure of it, actually. He’d gone to school with the owner.
“I hope so. It’s not what I want to do forever, but I at least want to be able to help with the rent until I get my own place.”
Colton frowned. “But you don’t have to move out.”
“I know,” Sam said, then smiled slyly. “But these two aren’t the only ones who might someday like to get laid with some privacy.”
Colton cracked up. Once Jack saw Grady’s face, he did, too. It wasn’t easy being a big brother.
“Well, on that note,” Jack said, rising to his feet and winking at Grady, “I think it’s time for bed.”
Colton’s laughter died. “Eww.”
After turning off lights and setting a last pot to soak, Grady followed Jack into the bedroom.
Jack closed the door and leaned against it.
Grady’s voice was a low rumble. “Alone at last.”
“Indeed we are,” Jack murmured, keeping his voice down. He could barely see Grady, the only light coming from the nightlight in the bathroom, but he managed to snag the hem of Grady’s t-shirt and tow him in. Grady braced his arm on the door by Jack’s head.
Jack felt surrounded by the warmth of Grady’s body. He skimmed his palm over Grady’s hip and tucked his hand beneath the loose t-shirt.
“And what would you like to do, now that we’re alone?” Grady asked, his voice rubbing over Jack’s skin like the brush of warm fur.
“Do you know what I like?” Jack asked, a flutter of nerves kicking off in his belly.
“I have some ideas,” Grady said with a slow smile. “But I’m still learning.”
Jack chuckled. “That. That’s what I like.”
“My dazzling sense of humor?”
Jack snorted.
“Then what?” Grady asked.
“That you talk,” Jack explained, his voice going hoarse as his throat dried up. “You ask. You tell me what you want and it makes me want those things even more. I’m not big on surprises,” he allowed, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t like to do lots of things. Try new things.”
Grady was silent for a moment and Jack knew he was using that big brain of his to work out why Jack was the way he was, but it was soon pushed aside in favor of a slow grin that Jack could barely see but still made his knees weak.
And that was another thing Jack liked. That Grady knew the truth, could guess why some things worked better or not at all for Jack, and didn’t question it. He just made it work for them both.
Of course, it helped that Grady seemed to like speaking aloud every dirty thought that ran through his head.
“Do you want to know what I’d like to do right now?” Grady asked.
Jack shivered, and Grady’s grin became positively wolfish.
“What?” Jack asked in a whisper.
Before Grady could answer, a loud thump issued from the living room, followed by a squawk of outrage. Grady let out a beleaguered sigh.
Jack chuckled and cupped Grady’s cheek with the hand that wasn’t exploring the broad expanse of Grady’s back. “You’re allowed to say you want to crawl into bed and go to sleep after going out there and telling them to knock off whatever the hell they’re doing.”
Grady shook his head. “No. Unless there’s smoke or arterial spray, they can deal with it themselves. At least until morning.”
“That’s a good rule,” Jack agreed.
“What I want to do now is kiss you.”
“That would be nice,” Jack said, tilting his chin up.
The kiss was gentle at first, but the heat built between them. Jack wasn’t much of a kisser when it came to hookups, so he felt like a hormone-addled teenager again when his entire body responded to nothing more than the taste of Grady’s lips.
He dragged Grady closer and they groaned when their legs and hips bumped. Grady slid lower, inserting a thigh between Jack’s legs. Jack dug his fingers into Grady’s hips and ass, tugging and wriggling until he was pinned to the door. He gasped when Grady’s mouth left his, then tilted his head to the side to encourage Grady to keep peppering kisses over his cheek to his ear.
“This okay?”
Jack nodded. “Yes. Yes, please,” he said, voice embarrassingly breathy even for a whisper. “You never have to ask about kissing,” Jack added. “If I don’t want to, I’ll tell you.”
Grady took a deep shuddering breath and sucked the sensitive skin behind Jack’s ear into his mouth.
Jack squirmed. “Tell me. Tell me what you want to do,” he pleaded.
Grady smiled and the abused skin slipped free. “I want to strip you naked. I want to spread you out on my bed and touch and kiss and lick every inch of your body. I want to learn what makes you moan and whimper.”
The answer to the last bit, at least in part, was to tell Jack all about it, because the sound he made was definitely too squeaky to be considered a manly grunt. “I want that, too,” he gasped as Grady nuzzled behind his ear and pinned him to the door with his hips. “But not tonight.”
The only hint Grady was surprised was a tiny hitch in the swivel of his hips. He kept nipping at Jack’s neck, though, and Jack practically melted against the door. He slid his fingers into Grady’s hair and tugged until their lips met again, kissing the gorgeous, generous, patient man for all he was worth. Which was a fucking lot.
And also why they couldn’t do any of those delightful things Grady had described. Jack ended their kiss and used the hand in Grady’s hair to turn his head.
“When you do that,” he began, whispering into Grady’s ear before taking a shuddering breath. Talking during sex was a new experience for Jack and while he wasn’t opposed, it wasn’t easy. “When you do that, it’s not going to be a dozen feet from Colton and Sam because there is no way I’ll be able to stay quiet,” he confessed into Grady’s ear.
It was Grady’s turn to shudder. “Fuck,” he whispered.
“When we do that, it will be somewhere private. Somewhere we can leave the lights on and I can show you…”
Grady sucked in a shaky breath. Jack tucked his lips even closer to Grady’s ear so they brushed the sensitive shell when he spoke.
“…everything.”
Grady’s grip on his hips became painful and Jack reveled in it. It told him how much Grady wanted that—and he didn’t even know what Jack had to show him.
Well, he knew some of it, of course. Jack’s fun bits were probably about as expected. Those same fun bits were rubbed almost raw by the uncharacteristically clumsy and frantic jerk of Grady’s hip.
“But for now,” Jack continued, “we need to come up with another plan.”
Grady nodded, then Grady’s forehead hit the door with a dull thunk. “Jesus Christ,” he muttered.
“Did you come in your pants?” Jack asked with a smirk.
Grady lifted his head and gave Jack a baleful look, which was completely undermined by the way his hair stood on end from Jack’s fingers.
“No, I did not come in my pants. Though it was a near thing,” he admitted in a low grumble.
Jack grinned.
Grady leaned in close again. “Do you think you can stay quiet enough if I blow you right here?”
Jack tried to say yes but he couldn’t seem to get air into his lungs. He nodded instead.
Grady was definitely laughing at him, but he was doing it while sinking to his knees so Jack decided Grady could laugh at him all he wanted.
Long, nimble fingers yanked open his jeans and Jack’s heart skipped with every tug. Jack rucked up his shirt to watch Grady tug his jeans down until they barely clung to his hips.
“Pink?” he asked, a delighted smile on his face as he traced his fingers over the taut fabric, like the color of Jack’s goddamn underwear was more interesting than the cock pitching a tent beneath it.
Jack bit back a groan and ended up sounding like someone was throttling a goose.
Fucking hell.
Grady buried his nose against the soft cotton and Jack’s knees wobbled. He clenched his shirt in one hand and shoved his other fist into his mouth.
Grady inhaled deeply. “Are you sure we can’t turn the lights on?”
Jack shook with quiet laughter, the sound cutting off with another strangled noise when Grady tucked the waistband of Jack’s briefs beneath his balls and the head of his cock was pulled into the tight, wet heat of Grady’s mouth.
The need to shout almost broke Jack and he bit down hard on his hand. Even that pain wasn’t enough to deter the ecstasy roaring up his spine and down to his toes from the hot glide and sweet, tortuous suction.
He wanted to swear, to cheer. He wanted to grab Grady’s hair and hold on for dear life. But he wasn’t willing to let go of the shirt and risk losing the fucking mind-boggling view of Grady Fucking Dudley Do-Right McDonnough going to town on his cock like it was the best thing he’d ever tasted.
Grady’s eyes fluttered shut as he pulled Jack deeper into his mouth, and Jack’s own eyes began to water. He wanted to screw them shut and pump his hips, but he held perfectly still and hoped no one else could hear the desperate keening noises coming out of his throat.
He staggered when Grady pulled off, but a big hand steadied him. He stared, wide-eyed, as Grady shoved a hand into his own shorts. He wanted to ask Grady to take his cock out, to let him see, but then Grady was sucking him down again and words were impossible. Breathing was impossible.
