Chapter Ten #2
Eric was caught off guard by the question. And by the answer that immediately popped into his head: he liked Kyle. He liked his clear, blue eyes and his carefully styled hair. He liked the peek of collarbone that jutted from the wide V of Kyle’s neckline.
“I don’t know,” Eric lied. “Everyone here is very attractive.”
Kyle turned to the side and observed the crowd for a moment before returning his gaze to Eric. “It’s a good bar for that. What about him?” He nodded at someone over Eric’s shoulder, which meant Eric would have to turn around to see him.
“Who?” Eric asked, without turning.
“Tall, beard, muscles.”
Eric turned, as subtly as possible, and easily spotted the man Kyle had described. He was definitely handsome, but more in the way Eric’s teammates were handsome, which didn’t do it for Eric.
“Attractive,” Eric agreed, turning back to Kyle. “But not for me.”
Kyle’s eyebrows shot up as he sipped his drink. “Too big? Too hairy? What’s the issue?”
“I think...” God, this was torture. “Too...hockey player.”
Kyle laughed like this was the funniest thing he’d ever heard. Eric buried his face in his hands. “I can’t do this,” he groaned.
“You can. I get it. So we’ll look for someone less macho and athletic.”
“I didn’t say not athletic,” Eric argued. “Just not...that guy. I don’t know.”
“How about him?” Kyle blatantly pointed a finger at the table next to theirs, and Eric batted it down.
“Don’t point!”
Kyle crossed his arms. “Sweetheart. We’re all here for the same thing.”
Eric glanced in the direction Kyle had been pointing and found three men drinking cocktails. One of them was smiling at Eric.
Eric quickly turned back to Kyle. “He looks nineteen!”
“Is that a no?”
“That’s an absolute no.”
“Good to know.”
Eric glared at him. “Was that a test?”
“Not at all. First of all, he’s older than nineteen. And secondly, I dated men about your age when I was younger than him.”
Eric did not like thinking about that. “Well, I’m not interested in anyone that young.”
Kyle looked down at the table, frowning. “What would be an appropriate age, do you think?”
“I don’t know. Thirty at least?” Eric had picked the number because it felt right. It was right, wasn’t it?
“Got it,” Kyle said. It sounded a little icy. “Let’s see...” He glanced around the room. “Okay. What about the cute accountant-type over there?”
Eric found the man Kyle was looking at. He looked to be in his thirties, slim, blond, and clean cut with glasses and a V-neck sweater over a checked shirt. He was, indeed, cute.
“Oh,” Eric said. He looked back to Kyle, who was smiling from ear to ear.
“Did I nail it this time?”
Almost. “He’s very...yes. I like him.”
“He looks smart, but not pretentious,” Kyle mused. “Let’s guess his name.”
Eric scoffed. “You can’t guess someone’s name by looking at them.”
“You can have fun trying,” Kyle insisted. “I’ll bet it’s... Alex.”
“This is ridiculous,” Eric said. “And besides, it’s Justin.”
Kyle laughed. “See? Fun. So Justin the accountant...”
“Did we agree that he’s an accountant?”
“Yes. And he’s from... Wisconsin.”
“Wisconsin?”
“Little Justin left the farm for New York City to follow his big accounting dreams.”
“And here he is.”
“And here he is. About to take an NHL superstar to bed.”
Eric nearly choked on his soda. “He is not.”
Kyle reached across the table and placed a hand on his forearm. “I’m kidding.”
Eric’s skin prickled under Kyle’s fingertips. “You’d better be.”
Kyle leaned back in his chair, removing his hand. “You look hot, by the way. I like the shirt.”
“Oh.” Eric resisted the urge to pick at it. “Thanks. You look good too.”
“On a scale of one to kill me, how uncomfortable are you right now?”
He smiled. “Hovering near kill me.”
“Relax. We’re not going to do anything that you’re not comfortable with. I promise. We’re just talking, and enjoying the scenery.”
“How does it compare to glacier skiing in the Alps?”
Kyle grinned as his gaze followed a handsome dark-haired man who walked past their table. “Reasonably close.”
Eric chuckled and took a sip of his drink, but his heart clenched with something that felt embarrassingly close to jealousy.
“So you haven’t told Scott that you’re bi?” Kyle asked, pulling Eric’s attention away from his confusing feelings.
“No, not yet. I want to.”
“Do you think he’ll be surprised?”
It was more likely, he thought, that Scott would be hurt when Eric finally told him. “I don’t know. Probably.”
“Were you surprised when he came out?”
Eric thought about his answer before he spoke. “I was surprised that he came out, but less surprised that he was gay.”
“I lost my mind when I saw him kissing Kip on television. It was on the big screen at work and I nearly dropped a whole tray of glasses.”
“I knew they were a couple and I was still shocked.”
“It was brave as fuck. It meant a lot, y’know? The vibe in the bar that night, after he did that? It was like we all won the Stanley Cup. It was a party for sure.” Kyle snorted. “And, it made me feel pretty stupid for thinking I had a chance with Kip.”
Poor Kyle. Eric wanted to say something comforting, but no. Kyle truly did not have a chance with Kip. “You weren’t stupid. Scott and Kip did a good job of keeping their relationship a secret. No one knew.”
“Yeah. Well.”
“So how about you?” Eric asked, changing the subject. “Who’s catching your eye in here tonight?”
Kyle pressed his lips together and looked oddly shy. For a wild second, Eric thought he was about to say that he was the one Kyle had his eye on. But then Kyle said, “Your four o’clock. In the dark blue shirt.”
Eric turned, trying to appear as if he was fishing something out of his coat pocket, then glanced up to spot a tall man with silver-flecked hair wearing a crisp blue dress shirt unbuttoned at the collar. Eric turned back to Kyle, surprised. “He looks...mature. For you.”
“That’s how I like ’em.”
“But I thought you avoided men like that.” Like me.
“I try to. But I can’t help who I’m attracted to. I know it’s a bad idea to involve myself with them.”
Eric fidgeted with his glass. “Why do you like older men?”
Kyle blew out a breath. “That’s a big question.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” Eric said, even though he itched with the need to know why someone like Kyle might be attracted to someone like him.
“I can try. I guess it has something to with the way I feel when I’m with them.
I like men my own age, don’t get me wrong.
I’ve slept with plenty of them and I’ve had a great time doing it, but older men.
..” Kyle bit his lip. “They make me feel powerful. Like I’m irresistible and they would do anything to please me.
” He grinned, his gaze turning dreamy. “It’s a rush. ”
Eric exhaled shakily as blood rushed to his cock.
Kyle had just described the vague fantasies that had been overwhelming Eric for months, and especially for the past couple of weeks.
He wanted to please Kyle. He wanted to spoil him rotten and have Kyle reward him for it however he chose to.
He wanted this stunning young man to conquer him and leave Eric gasping for more.
“But they’ve hurt you?” Eric asked, because he needed to hear the other side right now. The darkness on the edge of this fantasy.
“Not physically. But it’s never ended well with any of them. Too many lies or...” Kyle waved a hand around. “Anyway. Whatever.”
Eric wanted to hear more, but he didn’t want to push. What tumbled out of his mouth instead was, “They didn’t deserve you.”
Kyle’s smile was sad and all wrong. “That’s nice of you to say.”
It was true, was what it was. If Eric were lucky enough to take Kyle to bed, he would treat him like a prince.
A vivid image of Kyle reclining, naked, on a mountain of pillows popped into Eric’s head.
Eric would be between his spread legs, using his hands and mouth to pleasure Kyle however he was instructed to.
He took a long sip of his drink, and gave a silent thanks to the universe that his lap was safely hidden by the table right now.
“I would also be very okay with taking Justin the accountant home, though,” Kyle said with a sly smile. “Or the twink, to be honest. Or any combination of the three.”
Eric was in way over his head. Threesomes? Foursomes? He just wanted to find a nice man to have dinner with. Maybe a goodnight kiss. “You’re not particular, then?”
“I have high standards, but I like to sample from every aisle of the supermarket.”
Eric laughed shakily. His brain was a mess. “Okay.”
Kyle’s eyebrows lifted. “Ooh. I think Justin is coming over. I wonder which one of us caught his eye?”
“You for sure,” Eric said. “Wait. He’s coming—?”
“Hi,” said a voice behind Eric’s shoulder. “I just wanted to tell you that your eyes are the most gorgeous color.”
He glanced up at the man who had easily said the words Eric had been thinking privately for days. It was, indeed, the cute accountant-type guy. Possibly cuter this close up.
“Well, thank you,” Kyle said playfully. “You came all this way just to tell me that?”
“That depends,” the man said with a questioning glance at Eric. “Are you available to hear more?”
Eric started to push his chair back. He would make an excuse, go to the bar or to the bathroom. Maybe go home. He should let Kyle have this.
Before he had a chance to make his exit, Kyle spoke. “We’re actually celebrating our anniversary tonight.” He reached across the table and took Eric’s hand. Eric’s mouth fell open. “Well, monthiversary, right, love?”
Kyle’s eyes were full of mischief. Eric’s must have shown his confusion, but he managed to say, “Right.”
“I figured.” The man sighed. “I had to try, though.”
“You’re cute,” Kyle said, still holding Eric’s hand. “What’s your name?”
“Alex.”
Kyle shot Eric a quick, victorious smile, then said, “I’m Kyle, and this is Eric. My boyfriend.”
Alex nodded. “Well, happy monthiversary.”
“Thank you,” Kyle said, “Alex.”