Chapter Text
Andrew glanced in the hall mirror before he wandered back to the couch from getting another beer. He barely recognized himself.
Which was a good thing, really. When he dragged himself to classes, the only time he left his apartment, no one else recognized him, either.
His eyes were puffy and raw from lack of sleep. A week’s worth of facial hair had taken over his face. The sullen pout his features had settled into, these days, was nothing like his usual, gregarious smile.
Add a ball cap, ripped jeans and ancient sweatshirts left over from his first go-round with college and Andrew Hennings disappeared. He was no longer the scion of society and political poster boy. He was just Andy from CRWRI 815.
He didn’t know whether to laugh at how easy it had been to shed his old life. Or cry that no one seemed to have ever looked past the designer suit and expensive haircut.
Either way, it didn’t matter now. It was Friday afternoon, classes were done and he didn’t have to see anyone but the pizza delivery guy until Monday.
Settling back into the comfort of his leather couch in nothing but a pair flannel pajama bottoms, Andrew used one foot to nudge old take out cartons out of his way before swinging the other foot onto the coffee table and settling in for an evening of mindless entertainment.
On TV, two women squabbled about who owed who for a bad perm and the ‘judge’ seemed more intent on delivering one-liners than actually weighing the facts or administering justice.
With a sigh, he twisted the cap of his beer bottled and took a hearty swallow. He sank down a little deeper in the cushion of the couch and let the tension in his shoulders ease, the clench of his jaw give a little. Allowed the peace and solitude of his home to wash away the constant paranoia. Every step outside was an invitation for press and paparazzi to pry further into his private life. His living room was an oasis of quiet solitude where he could finally let down his guard.
Of course, the tranquility couldn’t last for long. A sharp, insistent knock sounded on his door.
He ignored it, turning the volume up on the TV a little. He hadn’t ordered dinner yet so it could only be someone he didn’t want to talk to. An enterprising reporter who’d snuck past the doorman. A not-so-well meaning friend who’d come to feign commiseration while gathering gossip to spread. Or, worst of all, his mother.
The knock came again, sharper and louder. When he didn’t answer, a feminine drawl pierced the door and caught his attention.
“Andrew Hennings, I know you’re in there. Get your butt up and come open this door right now.”
The sound of Melanie’s voice surprised him so much, he was on his feet and halfway to the door before he thought about what he was doing. Still, a little human contact with someone he could actually stand to be around might not be so bad.
The first words out of her mouth when he opened the door, however, made him rethink that theory.
“Well, you look like shit.”
“Thanks. Nice to see you too. Won’t you come in?” He made a dramatic, sweeping gesture to highlight the sarcasm. Melanie rolled her eyes and took a couple of steps forward, then stopped abruptly, face frozen in shock.
Andrew supposed it was the layer of dust covering everything. Or the random laundry piled wherever he’d dropped it. Possibly it was the way the take-out containers seemed to be taking over every available surface.
“Andrew,” she whispered. “What happened to your housekeeper?”
She stared at the mess suspiciously, like she expected the answer would be that Mrs. Grayson was lost somewhere under the pizza boxes and Styrofoam containers.
“I gave her a couple of weeks off. I don’t really feel like seeing anyone right now.”
The not so subtle reminder galvanized her back into action.
“I know,” she said with quiet understanding. Then she took a few steps toward the couch and eyed the piece of furniture warily before sitting down. “You haven’t returned any calls.”
Andrew glanced guiltily toward a corner where his cell and answering machine were buried under a mound of dirty socks and empty plastic bags.
“I turned my phone of after…”
He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck, unsure how to even refer to the mess.
The first day, he’d simply turned off the ringer and ignored well-wishers and gossip-mongers alike. He didn’t have the time or energy to explain to each one individually that he was not, in fact, engaged. They’d all hear about it soon enough when his mother arranged a retraction.
Despite the desperate attempts of her PR people, however, the headlines had been sensational and melodramatic.
‘New Engagement Over Faster Than Last’ and ‘Dumped Again?’ had been the kindest of them.
At that point, he turned off both phones unplugged the answering machine and dumped the whole lot in the corner.
“I get it. I do. But you can’t do… this…” Melanie waved her hand around, indicating the entire apartment. “You can’t cut yourself off from life. From your friends and people who care about you.”
He nearly choked at the storm of unexpected emotion suddenly clogging his throat. “People who care about me?
Andrew snorted and looked away, trying to hide the pain and the wistfulness clawing at his chest.
“I have an ex-fiancée who left me for a man she forgot to tell me she was still married to.”
He felt a slight stab of guilt at Melanie’s wince but not enough to stop. This had been building for weeks. A lifetime. There was no stopping it now that he was on a roll.
“I have a mother who thinks she’s in charge of every facet of my life. Up to and including trying to trick me into marrying a girl I don’t love.”
“What?”
He took a deep breath. For a moment, he forgot that particular bit of information was privileged to the three of them. A nasty little secret that tied him to his mother and Erin. He spilled the whole pathetic story to Melanie. In a way, it was cathartic. For some ridiculous reason, sharing made him feel like he’d broken a hold Erin and his mother had had over him.
Melanie was quiet during the whole thing though he could see the kaleidoscope of emotions crossing her face while she listened. Guilt. Pity. Righteous anger. Sadness.
He wasn’t ready to talk about any of it though. Instead, he kept rambling, letting words spill out before he thought it through.
“So, on top of everything else, I have an ex-girlfriend who lied to me from beginning to end.”
He let himself feel the burn of anger for the first time. Let it override the guilt he’d been carrying around since he’d realized exactly how much pain he’d caused Erin over the years. “She let me use her and hurt her without knowing, without realizing what I was doing to her. Unlike—”
He cut himself off abruptly and walked across the room to stare out the windows.
“Unlike… Bobby Ray?”
Andrew ran a shaking hand through his hair at her quiet question. He didn’t know how much she knew. Chances were good she’d already wrung the entire story out of her friend, though.
“I didn’t hurt him on purpose, either. But I knew. I had a choice. In a moment of cowardice, I panicked and made the wrong choice. I talked a good game, but, in that second, I couldn’t actually walk the walk.”
His throat was dry and tight and he moved back to the end table to grab his beer, downing half of it.
Melanie stared at him so long, he was tempted to finish the beer while he waited.
Finally, she said, “I made a lot of mistakes. I hurt so many people because I reacted in the moment. I was thoughtless and careless with other people because I couldn’t see past my own issues. But they all forgave me.” She smiled, though it was small and a little sad around the edges. “Even you.”
He smiled back and nodded.
“Would you make the same choice again, Andrew?”
He blinked at the unexpected question. “I….”
“That was rhetorical. Don’t answer. Just think about it.”
While his brain whirled around the question, she dug into her purse, coming up with a square white card she pressed into his nerveless fingers.
“We’re having a pre-opening party tonight at Jake’s new store. Come.”
He shook his head, trying to clear it as much as refuse the invitation. “I don’t think—”
“Don’t. Don’t think, Andrew. Over thinking is why you’ve exiled yourself to this cave. Trust me, the latest gossip about the senator and his intern have already made everyone forget about you.” Then a slow, wicked grin crossed her lips. “Besides, think of all the fun new gossip we’ll stir up when you show up at the shop of your ex-fiancée’s husband.”
He laughed, the first time in way too long and she hugged him, hard and tight.
“Come tonight, Andrew,” she insisted when she finally let him go and headed for the door. “You’ve gone to all the trouble of changing your life. Start living it.”
She was almost to the door when he managed to ask for the information he really wanted.
“Will Bobby Ray be there?”
She paused and the narrow-eyed, mischief-filled look she tossed him over her shoulders was one he’d learned to be wary of.
“You’ll just have to come find out for yourself.”
Then she disappeared out the door.
He glanced down at the card in his hand. Cocktails. 7:30. He only had three and half hours to drag himself back to the land of the living. If he decided to go.
He moved to the hall mirror again, and winced at what he saw. It probably wasn’t going to be enough time.
*
Andrew was late. It was nearly 8 p.m. before he found himself taking a deep breath outside the doors of Deep South Glass.
Part of it was the number of times he’d changed his clothes. The suit had been too buttoned up and stuffy. That was the Andrew Hennings he was leaving behind.
The khakis had seemed too country club casual.
Obviously the ancient sweatshirt and ripped jeans weren’t going to work. And, despite the fact it was the uniform he’d adopted recently, it wasn’t really who he was, now, either.
He’d settled for the classic New York City camouflage of black. Black tailored trousers, black button up shirt. He hesitated but left the jacket and tie hanging in the closet.
The second reason he was late, was the mini-panic attack he’d had in the car while his driver waited with discreet patience for him to get his act together. The idea of seeing Bobby Ray again was exhilarating. The reality, however, left him breathless from the terror of being told it was too late for a do-over.
All that, and he still didn’t know if Bobby Ray was even inside.
There was only one way to find out and Andrew had stalled long enough. With breath caught deep in his chest, he pulled open the door and walked in to what, hopefully, would be his future.
Inside, light glinted off of hundreds of beautiful pieces of glass and the crowd was bigger than he’d expected. A hum of laughter and conversations livened up the room.
He recognized more people than he’d expected and that froze him in place, for a moment. Finally, though, Andrew pushed the stale air back out of his lungs, forced himself to breathe and step away from the quick escape offered by the door behind him.
He’d made his choice. He knew what he wanted. He may still be afraid of facing the world, but he was more afraid of missing out on something that would make him truly happy. He’d had only the smallest taste of what life with Bobby Ray could be like and it was better than anything he could have imagined.
And he’d had a taste of how it felt to be completely bereft of the man.
Maybe things wouldn’t work out, but he couldn’t let the ties that bound him in the past hold him back from something he was sure would make him very happy in the future.
“Andrew, you made it.”
He was hit by the sound and the hug at nearly the exact same second. Melanie squeezed the life out him while, behind her, Jake scowled at him so fiercely, he was afraid he might spontaneously combust.
He hugged her back and said, “It’s not like you gave me many options. Emotional blackmail should be at the top of your resume.”
“What makes you think it isn’t?” She asked with an arch look.
When Mel stepped back, Jake’s arm instantly snaked around her waist and tugged her to his side in an obviously possessive move.
Andrew shook his head and smiled.
“I don’t think I had a chance to congratulate you on your, uh, un-divorce.” He held his hand out and added, “You’re a lucky man Jake Perry.”
The blond stared at his hand with suspicion for a minute before shaking it. With the hand not still wrapped tightly around his wife.
“I know. So you’re not here to cause trouble or make a scene?”
Andrew felt like his eyebrows lifted into his hair and then flicked his attention back to Melanie. “You didn’t tell him you invited me?”
“I wasn’t sure you’d come. Didn’t see the point in arguing about it until there was something to argue about.”
“Ah, good point.” He glanced around, but beyond the door, the crush and the displays made it hard to spot anyone in the crowd. “Is Bobby Ray here?”
“Bobby Ray? Why on earth would you be looking for Bobby Ray?” Jake asked.
Andrew cut a sharp look at Melanie, nose scrunched, lip caught between her teeth, and realized Jake didn’t know anything about what had been going on the past few months.
Then something seemed to click in Jake’s head. “He’s not… is he the reason Bobby Ray’s been acting so—oof.”
Jake’s question cut off abruptly when Melanie landed a solid elbow in his stomach. For a minute, Andrew wished he’d finished. Wanted to know how Bobby Ray was doing. Then, he thought about his own mental state the past few months and decided he never wanted to know if he’d hurt Bobby Ray as much as he’d hurt himself.
“I think he’s over there, under the stairs.” Melanie waved him off, before turning and pushing Jake back into the crowd. Andrew could hear them arguing in whispered tones as they moved away but he couldn’t make out the words.
He scanned the crowd until he caught sight of his quarry. God, he looked good. Jeans, a tailored jacket and a crisp white shirt opened at the collar. Andrew’s heart sped up and his body heated at the sight of the man he’d been dreaming about.
Then he realized Bobby Ray was bent slightly, so he could hear what his companion was saying. Frederick. Standing so close, Andrew was sure his lips must be grazing Bobby Ray’s ear as he talked.
Andrew looked away, searching for one of the circling servers and a handy flute of champagne.
He couldn’t keep his eyes away, though, and he glanced back to see Bobby Ray straightening as the southerner looked his way. A smile started to curve his lips, before his whole face darkened and his mouth slipped into a neutral line.
Andrew grabbed a glass from the waiter who was almost passed him, straightened his shoulders and started to thread his way through the crowd.
There was no turning back now.
This was what he wanted. He knew he could make Bobby Ray happy, if given the chance. And, if he had to grovel to get that chance, then he’d do it. He downed the bubbly courage and set the glass on the next tray he saw. He only hoped Bobby Ray would give him the chance to grovel.
Andrew lost sight of Bobby Ray and Frederick in the crowd when he detoured around displays and groups who refused to acknowledge a polite ‘excuse me’ as he tried to pass. By the time he reached the relatively less crowded alcove under the stairs, Frederick had disappeared and Bobby Ray was leaning casually against the wall.
The tight lines around his eyes and jaw, however, gave away that he wasn’t quite as relaxed as he pretended to be.
Now, inches from the man he had been thinking about pretty much constantly, Andrew’s mind went blank. Completely shut down.
He opened his mouth and all that came out was, “Um, hi.”
Brilliant. Fucking brilliant. He was going to fuck this up before he ever even got to the apology.
Bobby Ray actually gave him a slight smile, though, so Andrew swallowed hard and tried to shake a coherent thought free as they stared in an awkwardly stretching silence.
“I really—”
“I heard about—”
Of course they talked over each other. Andrew sighed with relief and said, “You first, please.”
Bobby Ray shifted away from the wall, but his posture was stiff and tense once again.
“I was only going to say I was sorry to hear about the abrupt end to your engagement.”
The unspoken again hung in the air between them.
“Christ, doesn’t Melanie talk to anyone?”
“Huh?”
Andrew ran an agitated hand through his hair at the honest confusion in Bobby Ray’s voice. He’d hoped at least this part of the conversation would have been taken care of for him. Apparently Melanie didn’t meddle when it might actually be useful.
“Didn’t Melanie tell you anything about our conversation this afternoon?”
“I only got in about an hour before the party and Melanie was busy with the caterers and the lighting… And she was avoiding me.”
“She didn’t even tell you she’d invited me?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
Tension began to coil around them yet again. Andrew was afraid to ask the next obvious question. Afraid it would wind the emotions too tight and break them but he had to know.
“Would you have stayed, if she did?”
It took way too long for Bobby Ray to answer, and when he finally did, his eyes were firmly on a glass sculpture behind Andrew’s head.
“I don’t know.”
He’d been expecting worse, and yet the words sliced him open all the same. Tears stung his eyes and he bit the inside of his lip to keep it from trembling. At least it wasn’t a no. He could still salvage this. He had to.
“Is there somewhere we can go? To talk? Please?”
Bobby Ray finally looked at him, but the wariness and weariness made Andrew ache even more.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” He gestured to a man with a camera just beyond their quiet little space.
“There are a few people here covering this for the media. Someone might see us duck out together and get the wrong idea.”
“Hopefully, it would be the right idea,” Andrew muttered under his breath. Then louder, “I don’t care. I’m not scared anymore.”
That got him a raised eyebrow and a disbelieving smirk. “You’re not?”
“Okay, I am. But I’m not paralyzed by it anymore. I told you at New Year’s, I’m ready to take back my life.”
“Then you got engaged two weeks later.” Again, Bobby Ray looked away, but his voice was tight and Andrew could hear accusation and disdain ringing in his words.
“I can explain that, if we can go someplace quiet.”
“You can’t explain it here?”
“I could. And I will, if you insist. But if someone overhears, I’d be hurting someone else I promised myself I wouldn’t hurt anymore.”
He hoped Bobby Ray understood the unspoken vow. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t hurt Bobby Ray anymore, either.
“There’s an office in back. Let’s go.
As they moved through the crowd, Bobby reached back and grabbed his wrist to keep them from getting separated.
An electric tingle shot through Andrew, and, for several seconds too long, he forgot to breathe. The feel of Bobby Ray’s fingers curled around his skin made his whole body react with remembered pleasure.
If they ever got around to having sex, it might just kill him.
*
The office was small, crowded further by the desk, file cabinets, and various pieces of office equipment. Bobby Ray slid a hip onto the edge of the desk and crossed his arms.
Andrew stood with his back against the door, but, even then, only a couple of feet separated them. It wasn’t enough space. And it was way too much. Andrew felt cold, already missing the electric warmth the simple touch of Bobby Ray’s fingers on his skin had sent sparking through him.
God, he wanted to skip all of this and slide himself against Bobby Ray’s body. Pin the other man to the desk, feel his breath and his arms. Find the peace he’d only had for the one brief night that ended way too quickly, way too many months ago.
But he owed Bobby Ray so much. An apology. An explanation. Not to mention the proper amount of groveling.
“I’m sorry.” It sounded pathetic, even to his own ears. Too little, too late. He had to start somewhere, though, and he meant the word with every fiber of his being.
Andrew took a deep breath and started again. “I’m sorry for being a coward. For being so blinded by panic and reputation that I didn’t even introduce you as my friend. And you were. Are, I hope. If nothing else, I would like the chance to earn that back. But, you were more than that. So much more. I was stupid and I was scared and I threw it away and I’m sorry.
The last of the words came out in a rush, barely any breath between them. Somewhere in the middle, the fire of shame burning in his gut had made him drop his eyes to his hands. He was still afraid. This time he feared seeing Bobby Ray’s disdain. Feared seeing that the man had given up on him.
“Is that what you want?” Bobby Ray’s drawl, usually warm and fluid, was cool and stilted. “To just be friends again?”
“No.” The word exploded out of his mouth, his head shooting up, but all he could see was an impenetrable, unreadable mask. “I mean, yes I want to be friends, if that’s all you… but I’d hoped, maybe someday, I could prove I’m ready for more. If you still wanted…”
The arms crossed in front of Bobby Ray tightened and the man’s voice moved from chill to deep freeze.
“Are you? Because it didn’t take you long to go from a date with me to dating your ex. Or from telling me you were done being your mama’s bitch to being engaged. When, exactly did you decide you were ready? When she dumped you?”
Fury filled him. Anger at his own stupidity. At Erin’s subtle schemes and his mother’s outrageous ones. He hurt, for himself and all the time he’d lost to the futility of trying to be someone else. Even more, he ached for the pain he’d caused Bobby Ray.
“She did not dump me.” He ground the words through clenched teeth. “We were never engaged. We were never even dating.”
Silence filled the room so thickly, Andrew was surprised the sheer pressure of it didn’t push him through the door.
Finally, Bobby Ray said. “You should sue the papers, then, because they really got it wrong.”
Andrew latched onto that. “You’ve been reading about me?”
His hope soared at the thought. Did it mean that, even in the months of silence between them, Bobby Ray had still been thinking about him? That he still cared?
“Spent a lot of time traveling back and forth. Not much else to do in the airport but read gossip.”
Bobby Ray’s eyes had shifted somewhere over Andrew’s left shoulder and he was pretty sure the man was lying. It didn’t dampen his hope at all.
He took a deep breath, knowing it was time to lay all the cards on the table.
Andrew held nothing back. He told Bobby Ray how much he’d missed him, how he’d used Erin as a poor substitute for their friendship and how he’d gone along with her idea to pretend to date to keep matchmaking family members at bay. He told him how happy he’d been to reconnect with Bobby Ray at Christmas and after. How, he’d intended to make a fresh start with Erin back in California and his classes starting.
Most importantly, how his mother had destroyed all that during a single lunch conversation with a society columnist. He talked about the conversation with Erin and the realization of how oblivious he’d been to other people’s feelings in his efforts at self-preservation.
Finally, he told Bobby Ray about the depression, the desperation of the past few weeks. How Melanie’s whirlwind visit had kicked him out of it and given him hope.
When he ran out of words, he looked at Bobby Ray. There was surprise in his face, and confusion. Compassion and something else Andrew couldn’t define.
“No one can give a well deserved kick in the ass quite like our Mel, can they?” When he finally spoke, Bobby Ray had a hint of humor in his voice that made Andrew’s knee’s go a little weak with relief.
He allowed his lips to curve with hope and relief. “No, I’m pretty sure she’s the best at it.”
“’Course, she’s been trying to kick my ass into gear for months, but I’ve known her longer. A have a little built up immunity.”
Andrew blinked in surprise. “So you, uh, told her?”
“Everything, from her wedding night to the date. She got me drunk and dragged it out of me. Apparently she and Jake were worried that I wasn’t my usual gregarious self after that trip up here. She read me the riot act for not giving you a break. Reminded me what I’d felt for years before she finally outed me.”
“You didn’t want to give me a break?” Andrew’s heart hitched a little. Had all of this been for nothing? Was this the beginning of a thanks but no thanks conversation?
“Oh, I wanted to, but I didn’t know how. I’d made such a stand. Been so self-righteous, I couldn’t figure out how to back off and still keep my dignity.”
“But you weren’t…”
“I was. I spent most of my life not getting serious because I was afraid of what people would say. And I judged you for it, because I was ready to break out of that box.”
“Not that I wasn’t hurt by the ‘friend of a friend’ line, because that really stung. The truth is, though, I understood it. If I’d thought about it rather than reacting, I would have been more patient. The pressures of your high-profile life and your mother, and everything you went through with Melanie were more than enough mitigating circumstances. You deserved a second chance.”
Andrew could hear a familiar pain echoing in Bobby Ray’s words and decided enough was enough. They’d both hurt. Themselves and each other. They both deserved a break.
Feeling braver and more confident than he had since he’d stepped inside the gallery, Andrew moved forward so he was only inches away from Bobby Ray.
“How about we give ourselves that second chance now? We forget the mistakes and we move forward, start over again.”
Heavy hands landed on his hips and tugged him closer until they were lined up from shoulder to toes.
“I like that idea. I think we should seal the pact with a kiss.”
Andrew let his hands snake around Bobby Ray’s waist and leaned forward until their lips met.
It started out gentle and tentative, a light brushing of mouths. The warmth and the tingle gathered momentum until it was a hungry and thorough exploration of lips.
The kiss turned fierce, fast. Tongue and teeth and lips battling to learn every taste and texture and pleasure spot. Andrew crowded into Bobby Ray, settling in between his thighs, unable to get close enough, wanting to crawl inside and never leave.
Bobby Ray’s hands were everywhere. They’d found their way inside Andrew’s shirt and strong, calloused fingers blazed trails of sensation along his skin.
Andrew had to, finally, reluctantly, break for air when his lungs began to scream for oxygen. Unwilling to give up contact completely, he trailed his mouth along the stubbled chin until he could drag his teeth over the throat’s delicate skin. Bobby Ray’s breath hitched, his entire body froze for half a second. When he finally exhaled, it was a stuttering moan that sounded a bit like a prayer.
Andrew let his lips curve in pleasure while he set his teeth and tongue loose on the sensitive flesh. He delighted in pulling those low, visceral sounds out of Bobby Ray.
He reveled in the feel of the other man’s hands on his body. Frantic, clutching and possessive, Bobby Ray’s hands seemed able to touch everywhere at once and sent Andrew into a spiral of pleasure and need.
He lost himself in the sounds, the sensations, the pure bliss of every second until he felt the roll of Bobby Ray’s hips beneath his. Felt himself desperately trying to match the rhythm.
It felt so good. He didn’t want to stop… But it wasn’t… This first time… He wanted…
Bobby Ray made a pained, questioning sound when Andrew pulled away slightly, his haze covered eyes trying to focus.
Andrew only smiled, leaned in for a quick chaste kiss, then slowly slid down Bobby Ray’s body. Hot blue eyes widened, kiss-swollen lips parted in a surprised ‘O’ and slim hips rocked one last time before his body went completely still.
“Andrew.”
His name was a hoarse whisper hovering between them. It sounded like an endearment, a question and encouragement all wrapped up in one.
He paused with his hands on Bobby Ray’s waist, licked his lips and looked up through his lashes.
“It’s, uh, been a while. Since I’ve done this,” he admitted, apologetically.
Bobby Ray choked out a laugh. “Pretty sure you couldn’t do it wrong if you tried, right now.”
Andrew figured he was probably right. They were both so close to the edge, it wasn’t going to take much to push either of them over. He freed Bobby Ray from his pants, wrapping one hand around the straining cock. The other hand, Andrew curled around his lover’s waist to keep it away from his own aching need.
He gave a couple of slow, tentative strokes. Hot and thick, already glistening and slick and ready for Andrew, it felt perfect. His mouth watered, eager to taste, to feel, to take it in and share the pleasure.
He teased them both for a minute, with slow strokes and light brushes of lips across sensitive nerve endings. He let his tongue flick out for small delicate tastes until Bobby Ray was groaning and panting above him.
“Andrew.”
This time his name was a harsh breath. A plea and demand for more as Bobby Ray’s head tipped backward, his body arching and his hand groping the air until it found Andrew’s head.
Fingers slid into his hair and tightened. A slight pulling pressure just this side of pain that sent sensation streaking straight to Andrew’s gut and left him breathless with need. And, just like that, Andrew had a new kink.
Unable to tease either of them anymore, he let his mouth wrap more firmly around Bobby Ray, taking in as much as he could. He loved the feel of his mouth stretching, making room for Bobby Ray. His strokes sped up and his tongued danced with urgency along the sweet-salty flesh.
“Soon.”
Andrew didn’t need the whispered warning. He could feel the shudders jolting through the body beneath his hands. He didn’t even think of pulling away like he always had in the past.
He wanted this, all of this. When Bobby Ray froze, then jerked, Andrew did his best to take it all in.
Of course, he choked a little and felt it dribble from the corner of his mouth. Still, he held Bobby Ray through it, swallowing around the softening cock until it slipped from his mouth.
Andrew sat back on his heels in satisfaction while he watched Bobby Ray struggle to regain his breath and his composure. For the moment, his own need temporarily lessened as he enjoyed the sight of Bobby Ray’s pleasure.
“Andrew. That was…”
Bleary eyes stared down at him, then focused sharply on his mouth.
“Fuck.” Bobby Ray exhaled the word sharply and reached down to slide his thumb along the side of Andrew’s lips, slicking away the lingering cum from his face. Without thought, Andrew leaned forward and sucked the thumb into his mouth, capturing the escaping flavor.
“Fuck.” Bobby Ray said the word with renewed fervor.
Before he knew it, Andrew was being hauled back to his feet, a fierce tongue invading his mouth, searching every nook and cranny.
The double hit of Bobby Ray’s flavor left him stunned and wanting. Belatedly, he realized he was pinned to the office door, his hands grasping the southerner’s shoulders like a lifeline.
“God, you taste so fucking good,” Bobby Ray murmured and then he was on his knees, releasing Andrew with a speed that would have been surprising if he’d had any brain cells still firing. “Wanna' taste all of you.”
Andrew closed his eyes, gripped Bobby Ray’s shoulders even tighter and whispered a warning. “Not gonna last.”
Bobby Ray smirked up at him. “That’s okay, we’ll do slow next time.”
The promise of next time made him shudder even before Bobby Ray swallowed him down and Andrew lost all remnants of coherent thought. The sight of Bobby Ray on his knees, eyes closed in bliss, cheeks hollowed around him, gave Andrew nearly as much pleasure as the feel of liquid heat surrounding his dick.
When Bobby Ray opened his eyes, pupils blown, love and lust and need all mingled in the blue depths, Andrew lost it completely.
Currents of sensation raced down his spine, fluid ecstasy moved through his heart and his body as unnamed emotion combined with passion and sent him over the deep end.
Some chattering part of his brain noted that Bobby Ray was much better at swallowing than he’d been, while the rest of him struggled with the realization that his legs could no longer hold him up. With little grace or finesse, he sank to the ground next to the grinning Bobby Ray.
They wrapped themselves around each other, breath and heart rate slowly returning to normal as they cuddled on the office floor.
Too soon, Bobby Ray was shifting around, though still holding Andrew close while managing to get them both tucked in and cleaned up with the tissues they’d knocked off the desk at some point. Andrew knew they had to go back to the real world eventually. But not yet. He wasn’t nearly ready yet.
Instead of protesting, though, he blurted out the question rattling around in his brain.
“How long are you going to be in New York?”
Bobby Ray blinked in surprise, but answered quickly. “A little over a week. We have the soft opening tomorrow, then the grand opening next Friday. I fly south again on Monday.”
“Will you have time… I mean, I know you’ll be busy… but, do you think we could get dinner? Or something.”
God, the uncertainty jangled through every word and he hated it. He was still wrapped up in Bobby Ray’s arms, but he didn’t know how long he’d get to stay. Or when he’d get to be there again.
“Yeah,” Bobby Ray whispered against his temple, tightening his arms and pulling Andrew even closer. “Yeah, I’ll have plenty of time this week.”
Andrew eased back, more confident and comfortable than he’d been in a long, long time. There were still a lot of challenges for them to face. Now, though, he was willing to fight to keep this. Every day of the rest of his life, if necessary.
He finally knew who he was, what he wanted, and where he belonged.
The sounds from the gallery penetrated the door and burst their little bubble of solitude.
“I have to go back out there, soon, you know.”
Andrew sighed and sat up a little straighter. “Yeah, I’ve kept you long enough.”
“There’s a back way out, if you want me to show you.” Bobby Ray didn’t quite meet his eyes when he made the offer.
Andrew frowned and stepped closer. “What, are you suddenly afraid to be seen with me?”
Bobby Ray immediately met his eyes and shook his head vehemently. “Of course not. Just because you’re ready to come out, it doesn’t mean it has to be all at once. I told you, there’s a lot of media-types out there tonight.”
“Yup.” Andrew ignored the flutter of nerves and gave his best reassuring smile. Bobby Ray didn’t seem fooled, however.
“They all started whispering as soon as you walked in the door, trying to figure out how the angle with you and Melanie and Jake was going to work out.”
“I know.”
“At least some of them are going to have seen us come in here together.”
“Yup.” Suddenly the flutter of nerves became a twist of hunger. Thinking about the two of them walking out hand in hand, obviously together, made him want in a way he’d never expected.
“What I’m trying to say, is if we go out there, right now, looking like this, they are going to know what we’ve been doing in here.”
Andrew looked them both over. “Yeah, I’d say it’s pretty obvious.”
“Andrew.” Frustration laced his growl, and Andrew couldn’t help thinking Bobby Ray looked adorable when he was irritated. He decided it was better not to say that out loud, however.
“Look, I told you, I’m over that. Mostly. Not promising I won’t have moments of panic from time to time. But I want this, I want you. I want us. And I’d much rather share it with the world on my own terms than live in fear that some sneaky photographer is going to blindside me with it. I’m not ashamed of how I feel about you. I never was, just scared of everything it meant. I’m ready to show the world, now, that you mean more to me than all that other stuff.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Not sure I’m ready to be in those gossip rags.” Bobby Ray muttered trying to straighten his shirt a little more, but it was hopelessly wrinkled.
“Too bad,” Andrew laughed and took his hand, sliding their fingers together. “You’re just going to suck it up and be brave with me.”
With his free hand, he unlocked the door and twisted the handle slightly.
“Ready to start the rest of our lives?”
“Together?”
“Together. Definitely together.”
“Yeah. I’m ready.”
Andrew opened the door and they walked back into the party, ready to take on whatever he needed to in order to keep Bobby Ray by his side like this for a very, very long time.