Chapter 17
After fighting off panic over the feelings he had for Caleb, which were definitely not just sexual, Rhys knocked on the back door of Cloud Nine.
Caleb removed his apron as he walked to the door, and Rhys gave him a slow once-over.
He was wearing a ridiculously tight T-shirt and a pair of jeans that looked like he might’ve gotten them as a hand-down. They were so worn.
Rhys realized he was staring when Caleb cleared his throat. “I see you’re already distracted.”
“Work first,” Rhys insisted. If Caleb kissed him, he didn’t think they’d get anything done that night.
“Okay, we’ll indulge in distractions afterwards.”
Rhys knew he should say no, but he didn’t want to.
“Come on.” Caleb waved him toward the front.
It took multiple attempts to reach a point where they both agreed the pumpkin chocolate chip latte had potential. Maybe not as much as the apple, but more than the maple. Even if Rhys liked the idea of maple best, it just wasn’t working out. They couldn’t get the flavor strong enough.
By the time Rhys felt like it was reasonable to stop for the night, he was exhausted.
He hadn’t slept well the night before, not with two loud voices in his head arguing about whether sleeping with Caleb was the best thing he’d ever done or the worst. One voice told him he should never leave Caleb’s bed, and the other said he needed to go back to making his own drink for the festival and never talk to Caleb again.
“Are you ready to clean up?” Caleb asked. “I think we’ve done as much as we can tonight.”
Rhys nodded. “I think you’re right.”
When they had the shop back in order, Caleb stood behind Rhys and began to massage his shoulders. Rhys groaned and dropped his head down and let himself enjoy the feel of Caleb’s warm hands.
Caleb kissed the back of his neck, and Rhys could feel his warm breath as he spoke. “Are you ready to go upstairs? We got all our work done now, so we can enjoy ourselves.”
Rhys sighed and turned to face Caleb. “I don’t know. I’m really tired. It’s been a long day and… This whole thing… You and me… We shouldn’t be doing this. There’s too much at risk. My business, your business, our friendship.”
“What’s the worst thing that will happen?” Caleb asked. “If people in town figure out there’s something going on with us, they will gossip about us but it wouldn’t put our shops at risk.”
“They’ll give us advice, and you’ll be in the spotlight. They’ll keep driving you crazy until you don’t want anything to do with me. You’ll want to close up and leave town.” Rhys froze. Caleb was studying him with a confused look on his face. He shouldn’t have said all of that.
“What if we don’t make it that complicated?”
“There’s no way to keep things from being complicated. That’s just how it is living here.”
“Come here.” Once again, Rhys took Caleb’s hand. He couldn’t resist. Caleb didn’t lead him upstairs. Instead, he brought him into the storage room, where there were no windows. No one could watch them there. Slowly, Caleb backed him up against the door of the walk-in refrigerator.
“If you want me to stop, just tell me, but I want to kiss you again. I want to help you relax. You deserve that.”
Rhys wasn’t sure he was even capable of relaxing or that he deserved it, but he didn’t tell Caleb to stop.
Caleb’s kiss electrified him the way it had the night before. His lips trailed along Rhys’s neck as he kissed and nipped at the tender skin, making Rhys gasp.
Then Caleb dropped to his knees. Rhys stared down at him, unable to speak or move or even breathe.
Was Caleb really going to… He unfastened Rhys’s pants, then pushed them down enough to pull Rhys’s cock out. He wrapped a hand around it and leaned in until his lips were less than an inch from the tip. Then he looked up, meeting Rhys’s gaze. “Is this okay?”
“Oh my God, yes.”
He gasped as Caleb swallowed him down. He was glad for the solidity of the fridge behind him because he couldn’t have stood up on his own. Caleb wasn’t just sucking his cock; he seemed to be worshiping it.
Rhys closed his eyes as he tried to keep from coming after only a few seconds. Caleb was so damn skilled with his mouth. He was taking Rhys so deep he was in heaven. Rhys didn’t know how much he could take.
Caleb let him go when Rhys was right at the edge, making him whimper. He reached for Caleb, wanting to pull him back, wanting to hold him in place so he could fuck his mouth.
Caleb rose to his feet, undid his own pants, then wrapped a hand around both their cocks. When he gave them a firm stroke, Rhys shuddered with pleasure.
He reached into his back pocket and managed to pull out the packet of lube he’d grabbed that morning. He held it out to Caleb.
“Oh, you came prepared.”
“I just… I mean, I didn’t know what would happen, so I thought—”
“I love it.” Caleb tore the packet open, squirted the lube on their cocks, then began stroking them. His hand moved easily up and down now.
Rhys thrust into Caleb’s grip, loving the feel of his cock and Caleb’s rubbing together. It took almost no time for Caleb to bring both of them off. They clutched at each other, gasping for air as they came.
Eventually, Caleb grabbed some paper towels and helped Rhys clean up. “I… Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”
“It was absolutely my pleasure. Do you feel at least a little more relaxed now?”
Rhys smiled. “I do.” And he meant it.
“Good. Go home and get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Rhys reached for Caleb and pulled him down for a kiss. As much as he wanted to stay right there in Caleb’s arms, he kept it brief, because it would be way too easy to forget why he shouldn’t be there.