CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
GAbrIEL
There were all kinds of surprises in the world. Little surprises. Big surprises. Surprises that were not so surprising. But Jake wearing his lacy panties? Totally unexpected, holy-shit surprise.
As the single mingle bantered, my cock pounded in my pants.
I wanted to find an excuse to get him alone.
I was desperate to pin him in a bathroom stall, push him to his knees and stick my cock into his mouth until I was growling with pleasure.
He had no idea how hot he made me by wearing his panties to our group gathering.
The sexiest thing about the whole thing? His confidence and trust.
“So, where did you two meet?” Felix suddenly asked. “Grindr? A club?”
Jake flushed and scooted closer to me. I didn’t take my hand away from his ass.
“A grocery store,” I said.
“Ah, the good ole’ meat-market,” Sean chimed in, his arm around Matteo.
I was so glad he’d found someone to spend his life with.
Matteo was a great guy and exceptionally talented in the musical arts.
At first glance, they might seem like opposites, but from what Sean had told me, they’d bonded over religious trauma.
“Have you all been friends for a long time?” Jake asked to my surprise. He hadn’t said more than two words all night.
Felix set into action with a gasp. “This is my show! I'll tell the story.”
“Please,” Mike hedged. “Can you sit down for two seconds and stop bouncing around like a kangaroo?”
“You should see the way I bounce–”
Jank slapped a big hand over his mouth and Felix tried to bite his finger.
“Cut it out. I’m serious. I want to tell the story,” Felix said and leaned over the table so he could look Jake in the eyes. “You’re going to love it. Are you ready?”
“Here we go…”
Matteo spoke up. “I want to hear the story again. It’s funny.”
Felix waved everyone away. “Once upon a time some lonely men decided they wanted to try a dating site and signed up for single’s night at a bar. Ever hear of that pesky law of everything that can go wrong will go wrong?”
“Murphy’s law!” Matteo spoke up, looking a bit tipsy.
“Yeah, that one. Anyway, whoever organized the event made a boo-boo and some of the attendees were sent to the wrong location,” Felix said.
“Yeah, oopsie,” Sean commented with a chuckle and hugged me close. “We didn’t find our true loves that night, but we got something just as special, amirite?”
“Absolutely,” I said in agreement. I loved the guy, even if we hadn’t worked out.
“You’re stealing my thunder,” Felix complained. “This story might have started out as a sad tale of misfortune, but this small group of men decided to get together for drinks every month, hereby forming a circle of friendship.”
“That was eight years ago,” I said to Jake. “The single mingle was born that night.”
“Although,” Jank said and pointed at Sean. “With you no longer single, and Gabriel on his way, we’re going to have to find a new name.”
“I didn’t get to finish!”
“Let him finish,” Mike said. “Or we will have to listen to him complain about it for the next year.”
“I’m listening,” Jake muttered, and I swiped my thumb across the edge of his panties to let him know I was proud of him.
“That’s not the end of our story, for our heroes’ journey was far from over. It was at this very bar, four years ago, that I heard these poor, sex-deprived, but cute men lamenting about the situation. I took pity on them and bought them a round of drinks.”
Jenk scoffed. “That’s not how it happened.”
“Yeah,” Sean cut in. “If I remember correctly, you volunteered to have an orgy with us, amirite?”
“After I bought you sorry saps a drink.” He huffed and folded his arms over his chest, but his smile let me know he was anything but annoyed. Felix was a total character, and I was glad he’d added himself to our group of friends.
“Not everyone wants to sleep with you, my friend,” Mike said, throwing his arm around Felix’s shoulders. “Trying to have sex while listening to you drone on about anime is mood-killing.”
“Then stick a dick in my mouth. Besides, everyone wants to sleep with me. I have no gag reflex and snake jaws.”
Jank rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Jake. “I should take this opportunity to explain that I bat for the other team.”
“So you say,” Felix bit back.
“Leave it alone,” Mike growled.
“How did you get caught up in the single-mingle?” Jake asked, looking interested and I was happy he was settling in.
Felix gasped as if he wanted to tell that story too, but Sean slapped his hand over the guy's mouth. I wanted to get Jank and Mike going because it was hilarious and saccharine.
They hugged each other at the same time and bumped their heads together. Mike said, “We've been best friends since childhood.”
Jank nodded. “We’ve done everything together.”
“So when I wanted to take a shot and try the dating site thing—”
“I wasn’t going to let him do it alone.”
They went on taking turns telling the story. Jake seemed enchanted by the whole thing. Felix was entertaining and managed to get a laugh out of him which pleased me immensely.
I left his side only to chat with Sean and Matteo.
The night wound on, the alcohol flowing and the laughter booming.
I kept a close eye on Jake and offered him a wink to remind him that he was safe.
He was working on his second beer and his eyes were a bit glassy.
The look he’d cast me suggested he wanted to find a little privacy.
I returned to his side, and something passed between us.
It was a current of electricity, singing our nerves.
“Well, it’s getting late, and I’ve got a house call early tomorrow morning,” I suddenly announced. I took a big swig of my Diet Coke and slammed the can down. “Boys, as always, it’s been a pleasure.”
“What?” Felix exclaimed. “But it’s not even eleven yet. Don’t be a party pooper.”
“Yeah. You have to leave the party-poopin’ to me, ya know?” Jank chimed in.
Jake spoke up. “I should probably get going too. Thanks for having me and it was nice meeting everyone.”
“Yeah, yeah. I remember when I was in love. Fucking day and night,” Felix muttered.
“Sex-addiction is not love,” Sean countered.
My friends heckled us a little more for leaving early, but ultimately wished us a fond farewell. The moment we stepped out into the cold air, my insides jumped with excitement. I threw my hand around his shoulders and kissed the top of his head.
“I hope you had fun. Felix can be over the top, but he is a good guy,” I said.
“No, I did. I like your friends and I want to come again. I think…it’s good for me to get out and socialize,” he said honestly.
“Yeah,” I murmured and slipped my hand down his back. “I think so too.”
“I get the feeling everyone has slept with each other at least once.”
I laughed nervously. “You’re probably not wrong.” He looked at me in silent curiosity and I said, “Sean and I used to be a thing. We haven’t been for a very long time now, but we still care for each other. The single mingle is how we met.”
He nodded slowly, absorbing that information. I was sure he had more questions about us, however. “Are we going home now?” he asked, the hint in his tone obvious.
I said nothing, just smirked. My attention was glued to him all the way to my condo.
I wished he could see how beautiful and amazing he was.
Despite him growing comfortable with me, tonight would be different.
Everything that he is would be bared to me and I imagined it was terrifying.
I couldn’t help thinking it might be the same way for me getting to share my kink with someone I loved.
He seemed to need support, so I reached over and took his hand.
I’d done this a hundred times, and I squeezed hard, silently letting him know that I had him.
I wanted to confess my need for public sex, but tonight was for him, and I didn’t want to ruin it.
It was something that needed to be addressed soon, though.
When we were home, I fed and watered Pixel.
Jake rocked on his feet as he watched me, his pants tented from anticipation.
I led him into the bedroom and plopped on the edge of the bed.
“Undress for me,” I commanded. The alcohol had relaxed him, and his eyes were lit in the dimness of my bedroom like a nocturnal animal on the prowl. I’d gotten to see him with no barriers briefly last weekend when he’d blown me, and I was desperate to see that side of him again. “Slowly.”
Sucking his lip between his teeth, he started shedding his clothes.
First his sweater, then a tank top. He did his best to make a show of unbuttoning his jeans and blushed the entire time.
I was focused on what he was doing, my feral gaze intense as I tracked his every move.
He turned around and slid his pants down his thighs, giving me an unobstructed view of his ass covered in pink lace.
My curse was barely more than a harsh whisper. “Fuck, they’re crotchless.”
I was monstrously turned on, my cock instantly swelling.
He noticed, his gaze dropping down. He awkwardly kicked away his jeans and glanced over his shoulder.
I sat forward, wanting a better look. I parted my lips because I couldn’t get enough air in, and I realized this is what true intimacy is.
It’s not just physical contact, but the baring of oneself to another; the skin and bones stripped away so that the soul is naked, every dark secret made known to the one person you trust above all others.
“Come closer,” I rasped.
He backed up and I grabbed him by the hips, my fingers unintentionally rough. I buried my face in his ass, kissing the globes, nipping his skin. His hand went into my hair, grabbing it securely.
“I like the way they look on you. I like the color, the way the lace feels against my lips. You’re so beautiful, Jake. I wish you could see what I do.”
He made a little sound as if he wanted to refute. Maybe he wanted to ask me for more. I was going to make good on my promise that he’d beg me for what he wanted. Now seemed like the perfect time.
I spun him around, gathering him in my arms as he straddled me.
The instant our mouths made contact, we moaned.
The kiss started slow but quickly grew into a fervent need to crawl down each other's throats.
I cupped his ass in my hands, loving the feeling of the lace of his skin.
When I broke away for air, I could see the caged part of his identity shining in his eyes.
“Just let go,” I murmured. “Let it out.”