3. Jacob

Chapter 3

Jacob

I do remember why I wanted to get drunk, but I can pretend it doesn't matter while I doze with Archer. Meeting him was exactly what I needed. Okay, maybe sex was exactly what I needed. I'm sweaty, spent, and sated, and I have a gorgeous guy in my arms.

I'm looking forward to learning how filthy his mouth is in the morning. Will he go down on me? If his kisses are anything to go by, he'll be able to work wonders with his tongue as he takes my cock deep into his mouth. I whimper. My cock twitches, even though it's flaccid.

Archer chuckles. "Thinking of something nice?"

"Your mouth on my cock." I sound desperate. Needy.

"Well, since you gave me such a good pounding, maybe I won't make you wait until morning."

I suck in a breath. "You won't?"

"Give me a chance to recover first, and I'll suck your cock until your squirt your cum down my throat."

I groan. "You swallow?"

"Uh-huh." He licks my nipple, and a shiver runs through me.

"Do you work out?"

It's a dumb question. Of course he does. No one gets that kind of muscle definition without putting effort into it.

"I do triathlons."

"Wow." The most I do is walk to and from the bus stop.

"It's not that impressive."

I push him onto his back, lie over him, and nuzzle his jaw. "Yes, it is."

I claim his lips. I can't get enough of his taste, his smooth skin beneath my palms, or how his breath catches in his throat each time I kiss him.

"You are so bossy in bed." He wriggles, rubbing our cocks together. We're too tired for them to react, but it's still nice.

Why am I more confident in the bedroom than out of it? I've always been this way, which is why I stopped dating and started using hook-up apps. I can skip the awkward part and pretend I'm self-assured. Yet despite my clumsy awkwardness, Archer chose to flirt with me. More than that, he asked me to stay. Normally, I'd cut and run after sex, but I don't want to. Is it because Archer makes me feel at ease or because I can escape my problems in his arms for a little longer?

"Why banking?" Archer asks.

"When I finished sixth form, I needed a job. I started as a cashier but have gradually worked my way up to assistant branch manager."

"Impressive. Wait. You've been at the same branch for seventeen years?"

I wince. Is that most of his lifetime? "How old are you?"

"Twenty-one."

When I started working at the bank, he was four. Four. Fuck.

He taps my nose. "Don't look so stricken. You're not the first older guy I've slept with."

"I'm not?"

"I like older guys."

"Because they get better with age?"

"You remembered. Guys my age can be immature. Anyone would think you're ready to draw your pension the way you're acting. Fourteen years isn't that big a difference."

Yes. It is.

He laughs.

"What's so funny?"

"Do the maths. You were our age gap years old when I was born."

I gape. He's right. I press my face against the pillow beside his head.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have pointed that out, should I?"

I shake my head.

He snakes his finger up and down my spine. "It doesn't bother me. I was attracted to you because you're older. I might be younger, but I'm old enough to know what and who I want."

He's right. I raise my head and kiss him tenderly.

"That's better." He grazes his knuckles over my cheek. "I was starting to worry you'd change your mind about staying the night. And about letting me suck your cock. I'm looking forward to that." He waggles his eyebrows.

"So am I."

He grins. "Then stop stressing about being older than me, 'kay?"

I nod. It didn't stop me from fucking him into the mattress, so I shouldn't freak out about it now.

I slip off him and rest my head on his shoulder. He slides his arm under me and places his hand on my back. Our fingers tangle over his taut stomach.

"Tell me something about yourself," Archer says.

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything. What's your favourite film?"

" Jurassic Park ."

"Oh. Scary dinosaur movie. I like it."

"It's not scary."

He laughs. "You're right. It's not. Well, it was when I was a kid. Especially the bits with the T-Rex. Ask me something."

What? I'm not used to hook-ups wanting to know anything about me. Sex is usually the beginning and the end of the interaction.

"What's your favourite colour?"

"Royal purple."

"That's…oddly specific."

Archer shrugs. "Where's the strangest place you've had sex?"

Heat flushes to my face. "I haven't," I stammer.

"Oh, that's cool. Bedrooms are comfy. I can respect that."

I'm too curious not to ask. "Where's the strangest place you've had sex?"

"A store cupboard on campus. It was mutual handjobs rather than full-on anal."

"What if you'd been caught?"

"That was part of the fun. Knowing we could get caught made it extra sexy and very frantic."

I'll take his word for it. I'm one hundred per cent sure I'd have been too terrified to perform.

"Are you a morning person or a night owl?" he asks.

"A morning person."

"Me too," he says gleefully.

I smile so wide my cheeks hurt.

"Morning is the best time to run."

I grimace. "I'll pass on that."

"Aww, you don't know what you're missing out on. Getting your blood pumping is a good way to start the day."

I kiss his collarbone. "I can think of other ways to get your blood pumping in the morning."

He lets out a dirty laugh. "Is that an offer?"

"You offered to suck my cock."

"Yes, and I'm going to make good on that, I promise. When we've had a bit more recovery time." He nudges me, encouraging me to lift my head to kiss him.

I do so happily. "I think I'll need longer to recover than you."

He knits his brows. "Why? Oh! Because you're so much older than me," he says dramatically and swats me playfully over the chest. "Give over."

I chuckle, kiss him, and settle my head on his chest, my ear pressed over his heart. "What did you read at university?"

"Sports science."

"So why are you a bartender?"

"I've worked there part-time since my first year to pay for books and things. Right now, I'm full-time, but only until I find a job in the sports industry."

"What kind of job?"

"I'd like to be a fitness centre manager, preferably at a local authority-run sports centre. Those positions don't come up often, so it's a waiting game. I teach a cycling proficiency course at my local sports centre every Saturday morning. Well, most Saturday mornings. I have to give my apologies some weeks so I can compete."

"In triathlons?"

"Yes."

"Wow."

"It's not that impressive."

I look up and cup his jaw. "You keep saying that, but it is, Archer. You're impressive."

He blushes. "You're sweet."

I kiss him hard.

"Sweet and sexy. What a perfect combination," he says.

I kiss him again. And again. I'd kiss him all night if I could, except the condom is irritating my cock. I should have taken it off sooner.

"Where's your bathroom? I need to get rid of the condom."

"Second door on the left. Don't take too long."

I kiss him greedily on the lips and wander to the door, where I shoot him a look over my shoulder. He's lying with one arm curved above his head and the other on his stomach, fingers splayed. His legs are parted, and his flaccid cock lolls against his thigh. He's gorgeous, and he's mine for the rest of the night.

He wags his left foot from side to side. "I'm getting cold. Hurry up and come back to bed to warm me."

He's irresistible. I hurry to the bathroom, where I tie off and dispose of the condom and clean my cock. I take a leak, wash my hands, and turn back to Archer's bedroom. I stop dead. On the wall at the end of the hall hangs a large photo of Archer and an older woman. She kisses his cheek, her arm around his neck. I walk towards it slowly, my blood running colder with every halting step. It can't be her. It can't be her. But it is.

Molly.

Why does Archer have a photo of Molly kissing his cheek in his hall?

Is Archer bi? He's only mentioned guys, but that doesn't mean he isn't into women too. Older women. Like he's into older men. Are they still seeing each other? They must be. Why else would he have a photo of the two of them on his wall? But if he's with her, why would he hook up with me? Are they in an open relationship? Is Molly cheating on Dad? Not that I should pity him if she is. He cheated on Mum. With her.

Archer looks out of his doorway and grins. "I thought you'd got lost." He crumples his brow. "Is everything okay?"

"Who is she?" I point to the picture.

"Oh, that's my mum. You didn't think she was my girlfriend, did you? She paid for us to get some photos taken together on my birthday. This was the one she picked to get printed and framed. I think it's a bit cheesy, but she'd be upset if I took it down."

Molly is his mum ?

Fuck. My. Life.