Chapter 17

Seventeen

Jacob

After grabbing some dinner, Jacob and Will went out in search of a bar. The area of Omaha that they were staying in luckily had plenty to offer – there were shops, restaurants, and bars on every corner. They went in one place but quickly turned back – the place was empty, playing horrible music, and seemed dirty.

They left and walked down the block slightly further, and came upon a place that had a lively front patio. Old rock tunes were playing on the stereo, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Jacob looked in the window and saw multiple pinball machines near the back of the bar.

"Oooh! They have pinball. Wanna go in?" Jacob asked, looking eagerly at Will behind him.

"Definitely," Will replied, flashing a smile at Jacob.

They entered, and headed toward the bar.

"What can I get you two tonight?" the bartender, a young blonde woman, asked Jacob.

"I'll take whatever beer you have on special, and whatever he's having, I'm buying," Jacob said, gesturing at Will.

"You sure?" Will asked softly, and Jacob nodded. "I'll have the same," Will said to the bartender. "You didn't have to do that. I'll get next round."

"Fine with me," Jacob said, pulling out his wallet.

Jacob had wondered if the feelings he had for Will the night before would fade. He didn't know if he was just feeling particularly emotional last night, or if he really was… developing feelings for Will. But earlier in the car, when Will had sketched him, or just now when he had looked so sweet thanking him just for buying him a beer… Jacob knew the answer. He wanted to bring Will in close, right here in this bar, and plant a kiss on him. He wouldn't do it because he knew it wasn't right. But he was done denying that he wanted to.

They cracked open their beers, and Jacob drank half of the bottle at once, in one long series of gulps.

"Woah! You're not messing around. You wanna have fun tonight," Will said, sitting on a barstool while Jacob stood behind him. Will took his own big swig.

"I guess so," Jacob said, smiling at Will.

"So do you get better or worse at pinball the more you drink?" Will asked, swiveling on his barstool so that his back was to the bar, and he faced Jacob.

Jacob took another gulp of beer.

"Hmm… it depends. Sometimes it can help get me into the zone, but then if I drink enough I just end up getting distracted and can't really play as well," Jacob said. "Do you ever drink and draw? Or paint?" he asked, and took another gulp, almost finished with his beer already.

"I did sometimes, yeah. That's one thing about being an art major. You can't exactly drink and study for a calculus exam, but you definitely can drink and paint, while listening to loud music in the studio. As long as you don't drink too much, it can even help," Will said. "Jesus, you already finished your beer! I gotta catch up."

Jacob rested the empty bottle on the bar and signaled to the bartender for another. He was a big guy, and it took a lot for him to feel tipsy. But after being on the road all day and chugging the beer so fast, he began to feel it a little bit.

"Okay, I'll try to go a little slower with this one. Maybe." He held out the second beer and gestured toward the other full one waiting for Will.

"Oh, you're bad ," Will said, giving him a playful look. Jacob felt a surge go through his body, leading all the way to his cock. He always did when Will talked like that to him. Every now and then Will would let his flirty side slip out, and Jacob was beginning to love it, to crave it. He tried to act as if he didn't notice when Will dropped little comments like that, but he did, every time. Like when he had called him "handsome" in the car earlier – that comment had been replaying in his head all day.

Jacob turned his body so that he faced away from Will, and tried to stealthily hide the slight bulge that had started to grow in his pants.

"Okay, are you ready, Jacob?" he heard Will ask from behind him. He turned around to look at him once again.

"Ready?" Jacob replied.

"For pinball! I know you want to play. And I wanna watch you," Will said, grabbing his second beer and getting up from the bar. "Come on."

Jacob followed Will to the back, where they found an open pinball machine. Jacob reached into his pocket, grabbing his wallet and pushing a quarter into the machine. I came to life, the lights flashing in succession, and Jacob took a big drink of beer before setting the bottle down on a nearby ledge and getting into position to play. He pulled on the plunger, and the little metal ball sprang forth. Jacob went into autopilot, attuned to where the ball would be next, always keeping his eyes pinned on it.

"Gahhh, you're so good!" Will said, watching him from the side of the machine and drinking his beer. He played out the rest of the game, never letting the ball slip down into the valley at the bottom of the board. Will leaned in, placing his arm on the side of the machine and leaning close to Jacob. Jacob tried to stay focused on the ball, but feeling Will's presence, his proximity and familiar scent intoxicated him again. His mind trailed off, thinking of grabbing hold of Will right where he stood, how his thin but firm body would feel in his hands. He pictured pinning him against the wall.

The ball fell down to the bottom, losing him the game.

"Awwwww! Too bad," Will said, smiling and finishing his second beer next to the machine. "I'm gonna go get another, do you want one?"

Jacob nodded yes as he finished the rest of his beer in one gulp. Now he was definitely beginning to feel the alcohol a little.

"'Kay. Then when I get back I'm gonna play," Will said, grabbing Jacob's empty beer bottle and walking it over to the bar.

Jacob watched, staring at Will's ass as he walked over to the bar. He took in a deep breath and looked around. The bar was quite full at this point, and there were even some people dancing in a small area near the back. He liked this place. It had an old-school, dive bar type feel, fairly dark inside with a couple neon signs up high on the walls, and plenty of framed old photos. There were a few people inside with cowboy hats on. Unlike the bars he'd gone to in college, he wasn't worried at all about running into anyone he knew. He liked that this bar spanned all ages, from early twenties to middle-aged people. He took in the scenery for a few minutes, glad to be in another town he'd never been to before. He didn't feel anonymous, just free.

He felt a hand at the small of his back and turned to see Will behind him, holding their two beers in his other hand.

"My turn," Will said, slowly dragging his hand off Jacob's back and heading over to the pinball machine. Does he do that on purpose ? Jacob thought, reeling from the feeling of Will's hand on his back. He's gonna drive me fucking crazy touching me like that . He walked over to Will at the pinball machine.

Will tossed a quarter in, and released the plunger and the ball. He was able to knock the ball around for about 30 seconds before it fell down to the bottom. The losing sound played, and Jacob looked at Will, smirking.

"Okay. I gotta teach you how to play," Jacob said.

"Ohhh-kay," Will said, a mock pout on his face, "but go easy on me."

Jacob put another quarter in the machine and walked over to the plunger.

"First of all, you gotta finesse this. You don't wanna just pull and let go too quick. Put your hand on it," Jacob said, guiding Will's hand. "Okay," he said, wrapping his hand around Will's on the plunger, "take it back slightly and juuuuust… release."

The ball flew up and into play.

"Okay! Don't let it go down there," Jacob said. He moved his body behind Will's, placing his hands on top of Will's on the two paddle buttons. He was acutely aware of Will's warm body, just an inch in front of his, and the softness of Will's hands underneath his own.

He guided Will through the game, basically playing for him, but trying to teach. Will moved slowly backward and Jacob began to feel his lower back and ass brush up lightly against him. Oh fuck , he thought. He was hoping, deep down, that Will would do that, but now Jacob's cock began to rise and he neglected the pinball for a second too long. It fell down to the bottom, and the game was over.

"Well, shit. We lost," Will said, stepping back slightly. He ended up pushing his back into Jacob's front, and Jacob was sure that Will must have felt his burgeoning erection.

Will turned around, slowly, facing Jacob. They were only a handful of inches away from one another. Will looked up at him, with slightly tipsy, very flirty eyes.

"Sorry I couldn't control it," Will said slowly, raising his eyebrows and shrugging a little.

Jacob felt a potent cocktail coursing through his body: the alcohol, his proximity to Will, his cock in his pants that he couldn't disregard. He'd been trying to ignore it all week, to masturbate, to think about other things, but in this moment, his mind could only focus on Will in front of him. He took a deep breath, feeling his inhibitions weaken.

"Well somebody ," Jacob said, putting his index finger on Will's chest and dragging it slowly downward, "distracted me. How am I supposed to play like that?"

Jacob watched Will's eyes go wide as he ran his hand down his chest, stopping just at the hem of his jeans. Jacob looped one finger through one of Will's belt loops, giving it a playful tug, then releasing. He grabbed his beer, finishing it. He couldn't believe he was doing this, actually flirting with Will, but he sure as hell didn't want to stop now.

"Distracted? You were distracted? How do you think I'm supposed to play when I have you… pressing up against me from behind?" Will said, smiling mischievously at Jacob.

A wave of relief passed through Jacob, giving way to exhilaration. Will was flirting back. This was all new to Jacob – not only had he never tried to flirt with a guy, but even with girls in the past, he had never cared enough to put forth the effort. He had no idea where he was going with this, but he was enjoying it immensely, his body begging to be closer to Will.

Will finished his beer. Jacob watched him, finally not holding back, not trying to hide his gaze. He fixed his eyes on Will: his lips, wrapped gently around the beer bottle, his grey-blue eyes, stealing a side-glance at Jacob, his firm arms. It was more than Jacob could handle. He wanted nothing more.

"Come on. Let's get out of here," Jacob said impulsively, turning and heading toward the front of the bar. Will followed closely behind.

They stepped outside and Jacob realized a light rain had begun outside – not a lot, but enough to dampen everyone outside without an umbrella.

The hotel was only a few blocks away, and by this time, the two of them were essentially the only people on the street. They walked one block, Jacob a few paces ahead and Will following. They approached a crosswalk, the light turned red, and Jacob turned back to look at Will. He saw Will bring his bottom lip into his mouth, suck on it slightly, and give it a little bite. Jacob's cock was aching now, fully hard right there on the street corner as Will teased him mercilessly.

"Light's green," Will said, giving Jacob a coy smile and continuing through the crosswalk.

" Mmmmmhhh… " Jacob groaned quietly, then followed after Will in the street. They made it a few more blocks before the next crosswalk stopped them. This time Jacob wanted his revenge. He stopped and slowly, gently pushed the tips of his fingers into the very top inch of the front waist of Will's jeans, immediately feeling the warmth of his body on his fingers. He gave a little pull on the jeans, dragging Will forward toward him until their bodies were so close that their two erections met, touching through their damp jeans. Fuck , Jacob thought, realizing that Will was just as hard as he was. He saw the crosswalk sign change to walk , then released his hand. They kept walking, and as they went on, Jacob felt Will slip his hand onto the small of his back, underneath his shirt, and start massaging lightly as they walked. Will's hand was warm and slightly wet from the rain.

They were only a block away from the hotel now. The final crosswalk stopped them, and Jacob realized he couldn't take it anymore. Public or not, he needed more, he needed Will, now. Will's hand still rested on Jacob's back as they stopped walking, and Jacob turned to face him. He pushed one of his hands into Will's hair, holding the side of his head. His other hand grabbed Will's upper arm, gripping it tightly. He brought his face in close to Will's, pausing just for a split second, their faces only an inch apart.

Jacob brought his lips to Will's, softly. He heard Will moan slightly as his their lips finally came together, and he became firmer as Will returned the kiss. Jacob felt a hot electricity course through his whole body and he brought Will's body in even closer to him, wrapping his arm around his back, deepening the kiss. Will's lips were perfect, hot and wet, sliding against his own in the cool rain. He allowed his tongue to explore Will's, kissing him deeply, hungrily. He felt as if he had needed this, like he should have done it a long time ago.

The crosswalk signal went through two more cycles before they pulled away, and realized they had been standing on the same corner for that long. Will looked up at Jacob with those same tempting eyes, those eyes that Jacob couldn't resist. Will leaned forward, and gave Jacob's plush bottom lip a final gentle bite, tugging slightly, then releasing.

"C'mon," Will said, his voice low and hungry, "I need to get you out of those clothes." He grabbed Jacob's hand, pulling him down the final short block back to the apartment.