Chapter 8 Gabriel
GAbrIEL
Iraised an eyebrow in Kai’s direction after Taylor left the table. Something was up, and I could tell; Taylor had tensed up before he pulled away to make his escape.
Kai leaned in my direction, speaking low enough that only I could hear. “I’d give him a few minutes, then go check on him.”
I nodded, grateful he seemed to trust me even though we’d just met. They were obviously close.
“How long have you two been friends?” I asked, a little louder to include the rest of the group in our conversation.
“We met our senior year of college, when we were both studying for the CPA exam. Bonded over our shared trauma,” Kai said with a laugh. “Now he can’t get rid of me. We live together and work at the same accounting firm.”
“Sounds like Kat and me,” Alex said. “She’s attached herself to me like a barnacle, and I can’t shake her no matter how hard I try.”
Kat gasped. “Lies. You love me.”
Alex ruffled Kat’s hair but didn’t deny it.
“Are you seeing anyone?” I asked Kai.
A cloud passed over Kai’s face before it was plastered with a bright smile. “Oh no. I am firmly in my ho phase. Just trying to get laid as often as possible, ya know?”
“To getting laid.” Brian toasted as the others joined in.
I used that moment to slip out of the booth and make my way toward the restroom. I leaned against the wall outside the bathroom door. I didn’t have to wait long before Taylor emerged. His posture was rigid, as if he were bracing for battle instead of drinks with friends.
“Hey,” I said. “Is everything ok?”
Taylor sighed, rubbing his jaw. “Just getting in my head. Groups of new people can be hard for me.”
I could tell that wasn’t the whole truth, but it seemed somewhat honest. I could work with that.
“I know something that might help get you out of your head.” I grabbed his shoulders and turned us so his back was against the wall.
“Oh yeah?” Taylor asked, a little breathless.
I loved how responsive he was to my body in his space. Humming appreciatively, I leaned in to kiss him. It started slow, with soft kisses and hands moving gently up and down my sides under my crop top. The feeling of his soft fingers on my bare skin was next level.
Finally, he relaxed against the wall, and I did an internal fist pump at my success.
It surprised me how much I cared about how he was feeling, but ever since I laid eyes on him in that traffic jam, all I’d wanted was to melt his stress away and put a smile on his face.
I could feel that smile against my mouth now, and it was the sweetest reward.
Taylor spread his legs and grabbed my ass to pull me closer.
Then, the real fun began. I canted my hips against him, and he moaned into my mouth.
He clearly had a thing for my curls, his fingers finding their way there at every opportunity.
Fortunately for both of us, I loved having my hair played with.
I grunted when he tugged at the hair at the nape of my neck and thrust up against me.
“Come home with me,” I said as he used his grip to pull my head to the side, exposing my neck to his kisses.
“Yes,” Taylor breathed into my neck. “Please.”
I grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the bar’s back exit. Taylor texted Kai to let him know we were leaving and not to forget the beach bag.
“With the number of times he’s bailed on me for a hookup, I don’t feel bad at all,” he said.
“You think you’re getting lucky, do you?” I rearranged myself so we could walk to our ride-share pickup without offending the public.
Taylor tracked my hand with his eyes. “I don’t think I’d be the only one disappointed if I didn’t.”
He was dressed more casually than I’d seen him, in a white T-shirt, thigh-hugging jeans, and the same necklaces I’d noticed last night around his neck. I willed myself to stop tracking my gaze over his body, or I’d never be able to leave this alley.
Taking his hand in mine, I led him down the street until our car came into view. Seeing him squeeze his long legs into the back seat was a riot, and soon, we were on our way.
“What were you listening to when we met?” Taylor asked. “You looked like you were having way too much fun to be stuck in traffic.”
“Oh, I don’t remember. Probably Gaga, because she’s mother. I like singing along to her music.”
“She’s an icon.”
As we chatted quietly in the backseat of the car, he trailed his fingers up and down my thigh, inching closer and then farther away from where I wanted his attention.
Tension built between us as we climbed the stairs to my apartment. We made it through the door, and Taylor kicked off his sandals without my even having to ask.
“Wow, it’s like a rainforest in here,” he said as he looked around.
I shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t have a lot of space for my plants, so I have to maximize it. I built most of these greenhouses myself.”
“You’re incredible.” Taylor leaned over and kissed the shell of my ear.
Although I didn’t visibly blush, I could feel my cheeks heating under his praise. “Well, this is basically the full house tour. I can’t wait to get a bigger place someday, maybe even a yard for a garden, but that won’t be in the budget for a while.”
“And where’s the bedroom?” Taylor nipped my earlobe and toyed with the small gold earring with his tongue.
“You’d like to see that, would you?” I turned toward him, caught his bottom lip in between my teeth, and sucked it into my mouth.
He moaned, and it was like a dam breaking.
I pushed him backward with urgency. “This way.”
He pulled my T-shirt over my head once we tripped down the short hallway and into my bedroom. Bending over, he took one nipple into his mouth and used his teeth to tease the piercing. I moaned and grabbed at the back of his shirt, pulling it up.
“Yours too,” I urged.
He reached behind his neck to pull it the rest of the way off, and my hands immediately went to the smattering of light hair across his chest. Taylor was leaner than I was, and I ran my hands from his pecs over his shoulders and down his biceps.
He had a trail of hair leading down from his belly button, soft against his pale skin.
Squeezing the backs of his arms, I pulled him closer.
“God, you’re gorgeous,” Taylor whispered into my mouth before he began kissing me in earnest. His fingers teased just inside the waistband of my shorts at the top of my ass, and his thumbs pressed into my hip bones.
I let out a satisfied sound as I worked open the fly of his jeans, pulling them down with his boxer briefs. He had a tiny rainbow tattoo near his hip, just inside his V-line, and I was pretty sure it was his only ink. It was sexy as hell.
I backed up toward the bed and watched his face as I tugged down on my shorts.
I preened under his gaze; I worked hard for this body, and I knew I looked good.
It felt great to be appreciated, and I definitely was.
Taylor’s pupils dilated, each breath coming out as a harsh pant.
He wrapped his hand around his erection.
He stroked himself slowly as I dragged out the show to tease him. “Let me see you, Gabriel.”
Putting him out of his misery, I tugged my shorts all the way down, my hard cock slapping against my abs as it was freed.
Naked at last, I fell back onto the bed, and Taylor was on me in an instant.
We scooted up toward the pillows, and he settled in between my spread legs.
I loved feeling his weight on me, and we groaned as our cocks finally pressed together with nothing in between.
He dove back into my mouth with urgency as he rutted against me.
I reached my hand out, fumbling toward the top drawer of my nightstand until I felt the bottle.
I wasted no time slicking my fingers with lube and wrapping my hand around both of us together.
His cock felt so good against me—a little longer than mine, but not as thick.
I couldn’t wait for him to fuck me. Not tonight, but soon.
I didn’t normally make plans for a second round before I’d even come the first time, but I wanted it all with Taylor.
I wanted to be inside him, and I wanted him inside me.
I should have been scared, but all those fantasies of future fuckings just made more precum spill out of me.
I threw my head back, tightening my grip around us, and he grunted into my neck.
Taylor pushed my legs apart with his knees as he changed the angle of his body, sliding his dick along mine as he rolled his hips.
Pushing himself up on his hands, he looked into my eyes as we frotted against each other, gasping and panting.
His eyes were so blue, his reddened lips slightly parted, and I wanted to kiss every freckle that was painted across his cheekbones.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, Gabriel,” Taylor cried as he sped up his thrusts. His face as he came was a goddamn masterpiece. The feeling of his cum hitting my hand and stomach did me in, and I followed him over the edge.
Taylor collapsed on top of me, all the tension finally draining from his muscles.
I stared up at the ceiling as I wrapped my arms around him and let my soul return to my body.
His weight was comforting and warm in the post-orgasm haze.
He slid off to my side, still tucked under my arms, and rested his head on my shoulder.
Dragging his fingers across my abs, Taylor sighed. “You look fucking hot covered in cum.”
“I look fucking hot all the time.” I teased, pretending to be offended. It was that or admit how much my world had just shifted under my feet.
“That’s true,” Taylor said as he grinned up at me. It was a struggle to maintain eye contact; there was so much between us at that moment. “But I particularly like this look.”
I leaned over to kiss him languidly, the urgency of our orgasms behind us. “I am starting to feel sticky, though. Shower?”
“Yeah.” Taylor followed me into the bathroom and under the spray.
A few days ago, I had imagined this man in my shower with me, and now we were here.
Taylor grabbed my citrus soap and the washcloth, running it over my shoulders and pulling me close so he could reach my back. His tongue peeked out from his lips as he focused extra attention on cleaning the cum off my stomach and chest.
I’d only known him a short time, but I could tell that Taylor was someone who cared deeply.
It was quite an experience to have that energy focused in my direction.
Determined to return the favor, I ran my soapy hands over every inch of his body. His face and chest flushed from the heat of the water, or maybe from how intimate the moment was.
As Taylor towel-dried his hair, I watched his eyes dart from me to his pile of discarded clothes and back. I wasn’t sure if what we’d shared had outweighed the moment in the bar when he’d seemed so skittish and anxious, but I didn’t want him to think I didn’t want him here.
“Stay,” I whispered. “For a little bit. If you don’t want to sleep over, that’s fine, but I’m not done with you.”
The moment stretched out, awkward and silent, as I waited for an answer. Taylor’s eyes darted back to his clothes as he chewed the inside of his cheek.
“I can stay.” A small smile came over his face as I pulled him into bed with me. I tucked myself under his arm, and with the sound of his heartbeat steady in my ear, I fell fast asleep.