Chapter Nine
Jace
I threw cans of paint at a large white canvas propped against the wall in my studio.
Kaylee was working on a paint by number in the corner behind me and she watched with awe as I flung a small can of blue at the canvas.
It splashed on top of the other colors before tumbling to the ground and into the folds of the white drop cloths covering the walls and floor.
“Is that art?” she asked, sounding skeptical.
“What I do with the paint after is where the art is,” I said, picking up the blue can and setting it aside. “The paint covers the canvas and then it’s up to me to create something with it.”
Kaylee crinkled her nose, and I laughed, shaking my head before grabbing a can of yellow and tossing it into the mix.
I set the can aside and picked up a sponge and approached the canvas, spotting a way to make the colors look like light reflecting off water.
I started spreading the paint around to pull that image out of the mess.
Maybe I’ll spray paint trees and a lake house over top if it comes out right.
“Can I go see Sloane?” Kaylee asked. My mom had given me this studio space in the back of her art gallery years ago and her office was the next room over. Kaylee loved coming here and watching me paint, but she liked hanging out with my mom—who she’d decided was “very cool”—even more.
“Sure,” I said, checking the clock on the wall. “I’ve got to drop you at your mom’s in an hour, so I’ll be in to get you soon.”
“Okay,” she said, already bounding out of the room. I listened until I heard my mom greet her before getting lost in my art again.
It had been more than two weeks since Kayden’s presentation and he’d called me three times.
The first time had been to talk through a couple ideas he had for the rehab facility.
The second time he’d come over and we’d spent a few hours in bed together before he went home for the night.
A couple days later, he’d called with more work-related questions.
It had been almost a week since that last call.
I was thinking about reaching out to him tonight to ask if he wanted to get a drink, but I found myself hesitating to tell him that I wanted a meal and conversation with him, not just another hookup.
Not because I didn’t think he’d be open to it, but because I sucked at asking other people to meet my needs.
Maybe it was a good thing Kayden and I were keeping things casual. Liv had been preparing me for our pretend date in a few weeks and she’d be starting at the office on Monday, which meant I had a little bit of prep to do to make her first day run smoothly.
The way I was interested in Kayden was confusing whenever I thought about how I felt about Liv, so I tried not to think about either too much.
I was putting the final touches on the water on the canvas when my phone buzzed in my pocket.
I wiped my hands on my already-paint-covered jeans and pulled it out.
It was about time for me to round up Kaylee and get her ready to go home too so now was as good a time as any to wrap things up for the night.
Luckily, the sugar high from our ice cream adventure had worn off after an hour at the playground before we’d come back to the studio.
Kayden: Sorry it’s been a few days. I finally finished your blueprints. I’ve been working on them round-the-clock trying to get them perfect. Do you want to hook up tonight?
I released a breath, relieved. He isn’t blowing me off. He’s just extremely dedicated to his work. I typed a quick response.
Me: I’m at my art studio and I have to drop off my friend’s daughter. Then I’m all yours.
Kayden: Can I come to your place again?
Me: Of course. Give me an hour.
I cleaned myself up, got Kaylee ready to go, and brought her to Olivia’s.
When we arrived, Kaylee pushed open the apartment door, hugged her mom, and sprinted off to her ant colony.
She’d seen one at the store last weekend and had become fascinated with it, asking all kinds of questions about ants.
Of course, she’d talked her way into getting an ant farm of her own and she’d been eager to check on her ants every day after school this week.
“Do I have a weird kid?” Liv asked, watching Kaylee run to the plastic formicarium in the far corner of the living room.
“I’m too biased to answer that objectively,” I said. “She hung out with my mom for a bit today and Mom said Kaylee gave her a five-minute explanation of the solar system.”
“How does she even know that?” Olivia asked, eyes wide.
I shrugged. “Weird. I can’t answer. But I can say for certain she is damn smart, Liv.”
“Can’t complain about that,” she said with a laugh. “Do you want to come in and watch a movie tonight? I can cook for us.”
I put my hands in my pockets. “That sounds amazing,” I said, hesitating. “I can’t tonight though. I’m meeting someone.”
“Oh,” Liv said in a high-pitched voice that made me wince.
“It’s not—” I cut myself off.
Not what? Not serious? Not yet, but it might be. Downplaying it feels like a lie, that’s for sure.
I sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to be sorry, Jace,” she said while looking at Kaylee, before slowly turning her face toward me. “I guess the next time I see you will be at the office.”
I grinned, despite the awkwardness. I couldn’t wait to have her around all day. Just the thought of it made me eager for Monday morning. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
“Are you sure it won’t be weird? You telling me what to do all the time?”
I scratched my beard. “I’m pretty sure we can handle it. Besides, you’ll mostly be telling me what to do.”
“Oh, well, now I’m looking forward to it too,” she said with a teasing smile. “Can’t be as weird as the fake date I roped you into, right?”
Only because I wish it was a real date. I pushed the thought from my mind, because as true as it was, I was also about to go spend the night with someone else who I very much wanted to take on a date someday.
“We are going to fake-date like pros. Everyone in that room will believe I’m infatuated with you.”
Because I am.
She laughed. “You’re a way better friend than I deserve. You realize I’ll either need to come clean to my mother or we’ll need to stage a fake breakup that allows us to still be exceptional friends, right?”
“Should be easy. Nothing could ever make me not want to be your friend, Liv,” I said, my chest tightening. I glanced at my watch. Kayden would be at my place soon and I needed to get home and shower first. I glanced at the door. “I should go. See you Monday?”
“I’ll be there,” she said.
“Don’t be late,” I joked, earning myself an eyeroll as I scurried out the door.
I’d just gotten out of the shower and pulled on a pair of gray sweatpants when I heard a knock at my door.
I decided to forgo the T-shirt I’d left on the bed and headed out into the living room to let Kayden in.
The man clearly has a thing for my ink. Who am I to deny him an opportunity to appreciate it?
The last time he’d come over, our time had been entirely spent in the bedroom, and while I was enjoying the hell out of every minute we spent in there, I also wanted to know him better.
I felt something more than just sexual desire with him, and while I couldn’t yet identify what that was, I knew it was different from the other flings I’d had before.
It was the similar to how I’d felt about Liv from the beginning, like I’d accept any excuse to be in her presence.
I opened the door to reveal Kayden standing on the landing with a bag of takeout. “Did you bring dinner?” I asked. My heart kicked up a notch. Maybe he wants to get to know me too.
He shrugged, like it was no big deal. “I thought you might be hungry. You didn’t say anything about dinner in your texts.”
I stepped forward and pressed my lips to his. “I’m starving. Thank you. What did you bring?”
“Indian,” he said with a wrinkle in his brow.
“My favorite.” I looked at him curiously.
“You had a takeout menu for Curry Palace on your desk the other day. I figured that might mean you liked it.”
“You figured right.” I took his hand and pulled him into the apartment. “I’ll grab plates and drinks. You want a beer?”
“No, water’s fine. Sparkling if you have it.
” He shut the door behind him, followed me to the kitchen, and set the takeout on the counter.
I could feel the heat of his gaze on my back as I pulled drinks out of the fridge.
I turned around and saw him smiling at my chest with a gleam in his eyes as he licked his bottom lip. “How hungry are you?”
I laughed. “I’m pretty hungry, but I wasn’t planning to eat when you got here.”
“Oh, good.” He swiftly rounded the kitchen island and gripped my face in both hands, pulling my mouth to his. He moaned softly and gently rubbed his smooth cheek against my beard. “You’re going to need to a put a shirt on for dinner.”
I kissed along his neck and started pushing into him to walk us out of the kitchen. His cock grew hard against me and my own followed suit.
Kayden groaned and grabbed my dick. “I’ve been busting my ass on your blueprints for days and the whole time I’ve been distracted by visions of bending you over and fucking you in your office.”
“Mmm, I like when you tell me what you’re thinking,” I said with a sigh as I rubbed my thumbs over his cheeks.
It was such a rare gift for him to share his thoughts and my chest swelled when he did.
I looked around the condo. “I’m sure you can bend me over something in here until we’re at the office again. Take your pick.”
Kayden looked at me with wide, vulnerable eyes, looking slightly uncomfortable. “I never tell people what I’m thinking, Jace, but I can’t seem to stop sharing my thoughts with you.”
I kissed him softly, the desire to sooth his discomfort overwhelming. “You can tell me anything. Even if this is just sex, I want to know your thoughts and feelings and I’ll never think less of you.”
“I don’t know if this is just sex for me,” he said, shifting on his feet.
“I don’t know either. Do you need us to figure that out tonight?” I asked, kissing just below his ear.
He tipped his head back and let out a soft moan. “No.”
“Me either. If you want to fuck me, Kayden. Let’s do it. However you want.”
He pointed to a chair in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, and I smirked. “You sure you don’t want the world to know you’re bi?”
He laughed, turning me around and pushing me toward it. “I actually do. I’m tired of hiding it and I want the entire world to know how much you turn me on. I just have to figure out how to reconcile that with my dad’s reaction.”
My hips collided with the large, black chair and I turned around to kiss him gently as I cupped his face. “Only you can decide what’s right for you. But I get the sense he’s already taken too much from you. Don’t let him take your identity from you forever, okay?”
Kayden looked at me, contemplating. “Thanks,” he said, before he flipped me around and unbuckled his pants. He pulled down my sweats and ran his finger around the rim of my ass. “For now, let’s just tell everyone driving by. Lube and condoms?” he asked.
“Bedroom drawer,” I said.
“Don’t go anywhere, Jace,” he said coyly before taking off. I watched the muscles in his back as he jogged to my bedroom, surprised at how familiar things with him felt already. I liked this guy a lot more than I’d expected to. A lot more than I’d liked anyone in a long time.
“That is one hell of drawer,” he said, grinning as he came back, lube bottle and a condom in hand. “Do we get to play with all of those?”
I laughed. “I told you, almost zero limits.”
Kayden popped the lube open as he positioned himself between my legs.
I looked over my shoulder as he slicked up his fingers.
“Just sex or more than just sex, I think I’m going to have a lot of fun learning what some of those toys do.
” He pressed two fingers to my ass, rimming me gently before applying more pressure. “Are you ready for me, Jace?”
My heart skipped a beat. I was so ready for him and whatever came out of this. “Yeah, I’m ready for you, Kayd.” I relaxed into him as he pressed his fingers inside me and took his time, tending to me with the same care and precision he seemed to approach life with.