Chapter Twenty-five
Jesse rushed through the airport with his Chicago Bears duffel bag slung over his shoulder.
Kenny and Julian on either side of him struggled to keep up, Trish and Greg followed behind.
He stood waiting for his other bag, impatiently tapping his index finger against his hip, his only thought being how badly he wanted to get into Evan’s arms. It was all he had wanted since his first night away.
Missing him so much that he had a constant ache in his chest was just one of the many things to make his first trip to New York not as enjoyable as he’d always envisioned.
From the second they landed, it had been go, go, go.
Interviews here, photo shoots there, autograph sessions next, it was one thing after another, and to top it off, he hardly slept the whole trip despite the frantic schedule.
At night, he would collapse into bed, physically and mentally exhausted, but unable to sleep without the lullaby of Evan’s soft breathing beside him and his firm body to keep him warmer than any blanket.
They talked every morning, in the afternoon, and evening, but those phone calls only managed to make him miss Evan more.
At the time, he thought it had gone well.
Sure there was a tense moment when the VJ asked about him and Evan, but he thought he smoothed it over pretty good.
Of course, he did say he was in a relationship after agreeing with everyone that if questioned about his personal life, he would say he was single, and he had really believed he would be able to do that, but when the question was finally asked, he couldn’t get the lie out.
In that split second, he became filled with an overwhelming sense of betrayal, to Evan and himself, and he realized to be asked to deny the one thing in his life that meant more than anything else was too much.
He could keep quiet, he could dance around the questions, but he would never openly say he was available when he had Evan.
He was pretty sure he had given Greg an ulcer after that interview.
When the show finished and they went back to the green room, Greg was so pale, his forehead beaded with sweat, and he looked like he had just thrown up.
He was surprised Greg never lectured him about what he said, but Greg probably realized there wasn’t any changing it.
Trish scolded him for his words, but he made it clear it wasn’t her place to tell him what to say during interviews.
Julian thought it was funny; Kenny had been pissed at him ever since.
What made matters worse was by the time they walked out of the VH1 studios, his legions of fans were joined by crazed paparazzi screaming questions at him about his relationship with Evan.
From that moment forward, he only knew peace when locked away in his hotel room.
Going out to eat, traveling to interviews and photo shoots, even to the airport to come home, the press tailed him everywhere.
Though so far, things were clear now that he was back in Chicago.
He knew it wouldn’t last. It was just because the local paparazzi hadn’t picked up his scent yet.
It left him feeling hunted, that if he lingered too long in one spot they’d track him, and once they picked up his trail, a certainty as soon as he went to the studio again, they’d be tricky to evade.
But at the moment, none of it mattered. As soon as he walked out the airport doors, he would be in Evan’s arms.
Jesse sighed, grabbed his other bag, and waited for the others to collect theirs. He wondered if Evan really was upset with him. When he asked him, Evan said no, but that had been over the phone. He wouldn’t feel fully confident until they talked in person.
Jesse walked out of the airport, his gaze darted about and landed on the Cayenne. He waved to the others and strode quickly toward it, hearing the hatch pop open as Evan unlocked it at his approach. He heaved it open the rest of the way and met Evan’s radiant blue eyes.
Evan wore a glowing smile. “Welcome back, gorgeous.”
At the sight of him, Jesse felt both calm and excited. “Do you know how badly I’ve been dying to see your beautiful eyes?”
Evan chuckled. “And here I thought the pictures you have of me on your cell phone would keep you satisfied.”
“Not nearly enough.”
Jesse tossed his bags in the SUV and closed the tailgate.
He rushed toward the passenger side, ripped open the door, and jumped in.
The door hardly finished closing before Evan was stretched across from the driver’s seat, devouring Jesse’s tongue in a deep kiss.
Jesse moaned and massaged Evan’s tongue with his.
He slipped his hand up the back of Evan’s shirt, needing to the feel the warmth of his bare skin.
Jesse broke the kiss with a soft laugh. “It’s a good thing these windows are tinted jet black.”
“Yeah. I might not be able to make it until we get home and wrestle you into the backseat.” Evan put his lips to Jesse’s neck. “You smell so good.”
Jesse nuzzled into Evan’s hair, inhaling his scent and Platinum Egoist cologne. “So do you.”
Evan slid his tongue over Jesse’s bottom lip and sat back in the driver’s seat, giving Jesse a playful smile as he veered the Cayenne away from the airport. “As soon as we get home, no clothes for the rest of the day.”
Jesse took Evan’s hand in his. “Sounds like a perfect way to spend the day.”
? ? ?
Jesse panted for breath, his arms stretched up on the bed with his hands pressed flat against the headboard, bracing himself against Evan’s vigorous thrusts.
His legs rested over Evan’s shoulders. He opened his eyes and looked at Evan, his torso glistening in sweat.
The sight of Evan’s body, the feel of his strength in each thrust, drove Jesse closer to climax.
He pressed his head against the mattress, moaning high and loud.
The sound of Jesse in pleasure took Evan’s passion to a fiercer level. He thrust harder and grabbed Jesse’s cock in his right hand. Jesse let out a sharp gasp at Evan’s forceful grip, yanking and pulling on it. He couldn’t hold back. He arched off the bed, squeezing Evan’s neck with his legs.
“Yes, Evan!”
Jesse’s words turned to an incoherent shout as he released. Evan continued to pound into him with each pulse of his orgasm, making it feel as though it lasted twice as long. Evan slammed into him a final time with a short yell. Jesse felt Evan’s cock throbbing as it filled him with cum.
Evan laid his head against Jesse’s right knee, his eyes closed as he caught his breath. It wasn’t until his breathing got closer to normal that he stirred. He eased Jesse’s legs from his shoulders and pulled out of him, then collapsed on his back beside him.
“Maybe you should go away more often,” he said.
A deep chuckle sounded in Jesse’s throat. With effort, he rolled onto his side and draped one arm across Evan’s chest. “Just imagine how wild it’s going to be when we’re touring together. Of course, having me be your opening act isn’t going to help put the rumors about us to rest.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen anyway after your interview.”
Jesse glanced away from him. “I know you said you weren’t upset, but you are a little bit, aren’t you?”
Evan flipped toward Jesse. He gently held Jesse’s chin and turned his head to look into his eyes, his voice soft and warm.
“No, I’m not upset. The media will eventually brush off what you said so long as we don’t give them any more ammunition.
Sooner or later another big celeb will do something to take the attention off us and make the paparazzi see dollar signs.
We just have to be extra careful until things quiet down. ”
Jesse tried to give him a smile, but only a ghost of one came to his lips.
“It’s not really we, though, is it? I’m the one with the big mouth.
The thing is, I know what I was supposed to say, but when I was actually supposed to put it in action, I couldn’t.
I felt like I was betraying you, and us. And I can’t do that.”
Evan gazed at him, not having any words to combat Jesse’s confession. He held Jesse closer. “I know. I don’t want to either.”
Jesse held onto him, his mind, his heart a turmoil of confusion and emotion.
All his life, the only thing he wanted was to make music and share it with the world.
He always felt nothing would ever mean more to him than conquering the masses with his gift.
Now that he was on the edge of achieving his dream, when he had already won his first battles, the only thing that felt truly important was the man he had his arms around.
“I have something that’ll cheer you up,” Evan said. He sat up, pulled open the top drawer of the nightstand, retrieved an envelope, and handed it to Jesse.
Jesse opened it. He bolted upright, clutching tickets for that Sunday’s Bears game. “These are for a private suite!”
Evan pulled the tickets out of Jesse’s hand and flung them over the edge of the bed. He pushed him to his back and climbed on top of him. “I thought a private suite would be nice if we wanted to invite everyone along, but now I’m thinking maybe it’d be better not to.”
Jesse gaped up at him. “There’s no fucking when football’s going on!”
“Great! At least I know where your priorities are!” Evan ground his hips and quickly rising cock against him. “I guess I’ll just have to get it all worked out before Sunday afternoon.”
Jesse shook his head. “To even think—”
Evan covered Jesse’s mouth with his hand. “Shhh, believe me, if it was the Giants, I wouldn’t have even thought of saying something like that. But it’s just the Bears.”
Jesse pulled Evan’s hand away. “Just the Bears? Haven’t you lived in this city long enough to know you don’t insult the Bears?”
Evan rolled his eyes. “How can anyone like a team who did the ‘Super Bowl Shuffle’?”
Jesse sighed. “All those years ago, and it still won’t go away.”
“Even without that dark blemish, I’m sorry, gorgeous, I’ll always be a Giants fan. But don’t worry, I’ll be there to comfort you when they lose.”
“I can’t believe you said that.” Jesse pushed on Evan’s shoulders. “You’re denied.” He flipped onto his stomach and stretched over the edge of the bed to get the tickets.
Grabbing him by the shoulder and one hip, Evan yanked him back under him. “Is that so?”
Jesse smiled. “Yeah.”
Evan lowered his head and kissed the back of Jesse’s neck.
He drifted lower, his lips gliding over his shoulder blades.
Jesse closed his eyes as Evan’s tongue caressed down his spine to his tailbone and back up.
He felt Evan’s silken arousal pressing against his ass and moaned deep in his throat as he pushed back toward it.
“That doesn’t sound like you’re denying me,” Evan whispered.
“Don’t you dare start teasing.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t have the willpower for that right now,” Evan said, and with a smooth thrust, slipped inside him.
Jesse groaned loud and lifted his body to Evan’s thrust, letting him go deeper. Evan took hold of Jesse’s hip with one hand, seeking out his hand with the other, and clutched them together.
“I love you so much,” he said.
Evan rocked his body slowly, his lips by Jesse’s ear. “I love you, too. More than anything in the world.”