13. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Jake

" F uck yeah!" Slade sank the final ball of the game into the corner pocket he'd been aiming for and celebrated by polishing off his beer and crushing the can before tossing it into a recycle bin Axton kept nearby.

Axton took the loss well, rolling his eyes and flipping Slade off good-naturedly.

"Go again?" Slade asked.

Axton shook his head and passed his cue stick to Knox. "You go. I'm tired of losing." Knox stepped up readily and Axton took a seat next to me on the battered old couch that sat nearby. "How's things?"

I looked at him wide-eyed, worried he'd told someone, and tilted my head toward the guys. "Did you—?" When he shook his head, relief washed over me. "Things are good."

"Yeah?"

Dropping my voice to a low murmur, I glanced over at Slade and Knox to see if they were listening. Slade was telling a story about how he'd gotten poison ivy on his ass a few years ago on a camping trip, and Knox was cracking up. They were definitely not listening in on our conversation. "I guess you could say I'm seeing someone."

At that exact moment, though, Slade's monologue ended, the room fell silent, and both Slade and Knox looked directly at me.

"You're what ?" Knox asked.

Slade had a smirk on his face a mile wide. "Hell yeah, you are."

Shit . "What's that supposed to mean?" I narrowed my eyes at Slade.

He shrugged. "It means congrats. I don't think you've dated someone in the, what is it, ten years we've been friends?"

Knox nodded in agreement. "Yeah, man. That's great news. What's her name?"

Heat blazed in me in record time. My neck and throat were hot, my face was warm, even the tips of my ears were burning. I scratched my neck and stammered, trying to think of a response. "I… uh…"

Axton put his hand on my shoulder. "Fuck off, you two. He doesn't have to tell us shit."

"No," I managed to get out. I didn't want to hide it. Even though we hadn't put a label on what we were doing, there was definitely something between Max and me and I wanted to be able to be honest about it to my friends. " His name. Max."

Slade nodded in approval. "Cool. Do we know him?"

"Isn't Max the bartender at that strip club you used to like?" Knox asked Slade.

"No. That was… Mark? No, Matt."

"Oh, right." Knox nodded in agreement, satisfied for the moment that they'd remembered the name. I hoped they'd drop it from there, but no such luck. Knox turned back to me. "What's he like then?"

In for a penny, in for a pound, I decided. "Bossy, but good at it. He's the lead producer on the show, actually."

Slade grinned. "Nice. Keep going."

"Uh… Determined. A pain in my ass sometimes, because he's so damn focused on getting what he wants. At work, I mean. But he's a really good guy under all of that."

"Big dick?" Slade's smirk was back.

My eyebrows shot up. "What?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, man, what do you ask someone who's dating a guy? If you were seeing a woman, I'd ask how she looked, if she had great tits. Seemed fair."

Axton snorted and rolled his eyes. "Okay, moving on. So when do we get to meet him?"

I let out a shaky breath. "Slow down. It's literally been, like, two days."

"Then what's your next move? Are you going to start dating him?" Knox asked.

"I don't know. It's new. And…"

"And?" Axton prompted.

"It's not like I'm out to anyone other than you idiots. What if someone sees us or something?"

Slade snorted. "Give me a break. This is probably the most queer-friendly town in the state. Give it a try. Nothing bad will happen. Promise."

He had a point. I bit my bottom lip. "You're right." I had to learn to move past my fear. I swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay. A date." My phone vibrated in my pocket and I slid it out to check the notification. It was Max.

Max: Are you busy? I thought I might head back to the library and I thought you might want to join.

I quickly tapped out a reply.

Jake: I have a better idea. Why don't we go out?

Max: Out where?

Jake: I want to take you on a date.

My stomach was in knots as I waited for an answer. Did he see this the same way I did? Was he interested in more than just what had happened the previous night? And had it really only been twenty-four hours since we'd hooked up, or whatever I was supposed to call it?

Max: I'd love that.

Jake: Great. I'll pick you up in a bit. What's the address?

I was grinning from ear to ear, my chest feeling warm and relaxed, rather than the tight knot I'd had a few minutes ago. Once he sent his address, I looked up at the guys, who were all quietly watching me.

"You must really like him," Knox said. "That smile on your face wouldn't lie."

I flipped them all off and stood up. "I'm going to go."

"Aw, come on, don't be like that," Slade protested.

"I have a date."

They all ooh-ed and I rolled my eyes, chuckling and shaking my head as I left the garage. "See you assholes later." It was said with love, not malice… probably.

I slid into my truck to go home to a quick shower and change. I didn't want to show up for Max smelling like the workday and still wearing my dirty Hayes T-shirt. As soon as I was satisfied that I was clean, presentable, and better smelling, I got back into my pickup and headed to Max's place.

I arrived at Max's a little while later and parked in his driveway next to his little rental. I started to get out of the truck but he stepped out before I could even close my door, wearing chinos and a dark polo shirt. I grinned—even for a date he looked like he'd stepped out of a production set.

A moment later, he climbed into my truck and my stomach did a flip of nerves. Before I could even say hello, he spoke. "I'm so sorry I look like this. I didn't exactly bring date clothes for this trip. All of my good date-appropriate outfits are back in New York."

Right. New York. Where he's from. It hit me like a ton of bricks that Max wasn't from Port Grandlin and he wasn't staying. "No worries," I said, trying to keep my tone light. "You look great."

He smiled at me, his tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip, his eyebrows rising briefly. "So do you."

I was dressed more casually than he was in jeans and a blue V-neck, with a plaid flannel thrown over it, but I didn't think that's what he meant from the tone he was giving me. My face heated. "Thanks."

Max sat back in the seat. "So, where to?"

"I was thinking we'd go to this old movie theater my crew recently worked on. I didn't do any of the work but it's still a cool landmark. Does that sound okay?"

"Yeah, definitely."

Port Grandlin wasn't large and it didn't take long until we were parked on the street a block from the Radiance Theater. A teenager sold me our tickets and we made our way inside, grabbing popcorn and a couple of drinks before settling into seats in the back corner of the theater. It was completely empty besides us.

"This place is really cool," Max said before taking a handful of popcorn.

"Yeah, I thought so too. The owner isn't from around here, but his husband is. They're actually friends with Matthias and Jared, the homeowners we're working with now. I think they all play on the same kickball team or something."

"Oh, that's super cool. I didn't know there were adult kickball teams."

"It's pretty popular around here. There's a queer league and everything."

A few minutes later the movie started, and we stopped chatting. As the lights went down, Max lifted the arm rest and leaned into my side. I took the cue and put my arm around him. We spent the first half hour actually watching the movie, but when Max put his hand on my thigh and began stroking my leg lightly with his thumb, it was all over for me. I got hard almost immediately, and it took a few tries of shifting in my seat to get comfortable and re-adjusted. Once I settled, Max looked up at me and grinned wickedly before leaning in for a kiss, cupping my jaw with his free hand and pulling me close.

His mouth was hot and hungry on mine right away, tasting of salt and butter as he plunged his tongue into my mouth. I stifled a groan and buried my fingers in his hair, my free hand dropping to his thigh. He parted his legs at my touch, and though I was nervous, I slid my fingers up until I grazed his erection. Max's response was a soft, hot exhale into my mouth as he nodded and rocked his hips up into my touch.

He dropped his hand to my waist and gripped my shirt, pulling me closer to him. My cock was painfully hard and Max used his free hand to tease his fingers at the line of my erection through my jeans, and I was grateful that we were completely alone in the theater. Soon we were a tangle of limbs, hands grasping and touching and stroking wherever we could get purchase. Our tongues and mouths moved together, hot and eager, and for a while, I forgot where we were and what was going on in the outside world. It was just Max and me, kissing and touching. That was all that mattered.

When the credits began to roll, we parted, chests heaving and out of breath. We'd been frantically making out for an hour, and even in the dark I could tell that Max's cheeks were scuffed and pink from my short beard, his lips damp and slightly swollen.

He settled back in as if nothing had happened, leaning on my shoulder, my arm around him, and we stayed that way until the lights came up.

"Max?" I murmured.

He looked up at me, smirking. "Yeah?"

"How would you like to spend the night again?"

His chest shook with quiet laughter. "I think I'd like that very much."

"Good. Me, too."