Chapter Eleven
It had been a week and a half since the Dallas trip, and Justin had been quite different upon their return. There had been quite a few thinking of you texts and heated secret looks around the office. Simply thinking about it made William feel warm inside. He popped his head through the open door to Justin’s office. “I have coffee.”
“You may be my favorite person ever.” Justin smiled and waved him in. “I didn’t have time to stop this morning.”
“I got you a caramel macchiato from the little shop Maddox told me about.” William handed it over, making sure their hands touched.
Justin let his fingers linger just a bit longer than necessary before taking the cup and putting it to his lips.
“What are you working on?” Instead of taking the chair across from Justin’s desk, William leaned against the side he was on.
“The incredibly tedious task of entering all the notes from the last few jobs we completed.”
“Isn’t that what I’m here for?” William asked. His voice was a little sultrier than was appropriate for work, but they were all alone so he thought he could get away with being a little flirty.
“I can think of a few other things.” Justin winked. William’s eyes went to Justin’s lips. Damn, he wanted to kiss him. “William.” Justin got his attention.
“Yeah?” he whispered.
“You should either leave or lock that door.”
“And what if I choose to lock the door?” William trailed his fingers along Justin’s arm.
“There you are, William.” His father arrived, interrupting the mood. “I wanted to go over some of the budgets with you.”
“Sure thing, Dad. Let me just finish up here.” He turned back to Justin when Isaac walked away. “If you put that in my office, I’ll get it done for you.”
“Thanks, William, that would be great.”
“Rain check on the other offer,” William whispered, then went to join his father.
William finished up the last of the day’s paperwork then turned his attention to the scheduling conflict. He had just pulled up the notes in question when there was a soft knock on his open door. He looked up to find Justin standing there with a sexy grin. He wanted nothing more than to pull him into his arms and kiss him until he was breathless and clinging to him.
“Maddox had to get home,” Justin said as he came around to the side of the desk he was on and sat on the edge. “He asked me to stay and help you.” His voice held a hint of seduction that caused a shiver to run down his spine.
“I’m good with that.” This was just what he needed, an excuse to spend the evening with Justin.
“What’s the problem?” he asked.
“Next week is overbooked, and we’re down three people.”
“Three people?”
William nodded. “Yeah. Ronnie and Joey are on vacation, and Christopher is still out from his car accident.”
“Damn, that is a problem.”
As they looked over every possible combination, they had to lean in, all but touching. But that still wasn’t enough for him. His cheek was so close to Justin’s that he could feel the heat of his skin. All he would have to do was turn his head and he could kiss him. The urge to do that was almost overwhelming. Then Justin turned his head and slid his mouth along William’s jaw. William shivered.
“Justin,” he sighed softly when Justin moved to his neck.
“How fast do you think we can finish this?” He trailed his tongue back up to William’s ear to whisper the question. His voice sounded husky, and it turned William on even more.
“It shouldn’t take too long.” William shivered when Justin softly bit his earlobe.
William’s cell phone chimed, interrupting the mood. He ignored it, still leaning close to Justin. His phone went off a second time then a third when he didn’t pick up.
“Maybe you should answer that,” Justin suggested on the fourth ring.
William let out a heavy sigh and reached for the phone. It was Marcus Thornton, an old friend from high school that he hadn’t seen in a while. “Hey, man.”
“What time are you meeting us?” the man asked in lieu of a greeting.
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it tonight. I have a lot going on here.”
“Hold on.” Marcus put him on speaker so that he could hear Faith as well.
“How are you still working?” she asked, then laughed. “It’s not like you can build houses at night.”
“No, but I can do paperwork and fix a complicated scheduling problem,” he returned.
“So boring.” He could almost see Faith rolling her eyes. “Are you there alone?” she asked, and he couldn’t help but wonder why.
“No, Justin is here too.”
“You’re with Ashton? You poor thing. He’s so repulsive.” There was disgust in her loud statement, and he could only hope Justin hadn’t heard her. “Is he the reason you have to work late?”
“Yeah,” Marcus added. “Why should you have to stay to fix his fuck-up?”
“It’s the other way around. He’s staying to help me out. And, he’s a good guy, so you two need to give it a rest.” The way they talked about Justin had pissed him off, but he kept his tone casual.
“He’s a douchebag, and you know it.” Marcus laughed. William shook his head. “So, Sally’s?”
“Pretty, pretty please.” Faith was using the baby voice that usually got her what she wanted.
“How about I take the two of you to dinner tomorrow?” He tried to compromise. He wanted them off the phone so he could get back to Justin.
“But, William,” she drew out. He could almost see her bottom lip protruding.
“That’s the best I can do,” he told her.
“Fine.” Faith pouted.
“Talk to you soon,” Marcus said before disconnecting.
“Everything okay?” Justin asked when he hung up.
“Yeah, nothing to worry about,” William told him, then his tone turned flirty again. “Now where were we?”
“We were trying to finish this as fast as humanly possible.” Justin winked at him.
Not ten minutes later, William’s cell phone rang again. He let out a sigh and hit the answer button. “What’s up, man?”
“We’re at the door,” Marcus told him. “Come open up.”
“What do you mean, you’re at the door?” William left Justin’s office to let his friends in. Justin followed him, but hung back. “What are you guys doing here?” William questioned. “I told you that I was busy.”
“Come on, William. It’s my birthday.” Faith pouted. The traits he’d found cute in high school grated his nerves now that she was a grown woman. “Besides, Garret came just to see you.”
“Hey, William.” Garret came forward, hugged William, then kissed him on the lips. William and Garret had an on-again, off-again relationship all through school. He pulled out of the man’s arms. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Justin storm back to his office.
“Get your stuff and let’s go,” Marcus said.
“I told you that I can’t,” William protested.
“You have to,” Faith demanded.
“Dinner tomorrow is the best I can do.” William repeated what they had agreed to on the phone.
“Fine, Rosario’s at seven.” Marcus took the group and left.
William walked back into Justin’s office and was completely confused. Not even fifteen minutes ago, they had been all but making out, but currently, the man looked pissed at him as he packed up his things. “What are you doing? I thought we were finishing this up so we could get out of here. Together.”
“And now we’re not,” Justin snapped. “Have fun with your friends.”
William watched Justin walk out. Why was he being a dick all of the sudden? William hadn’t done a damn thing wrong. “Fuck this shit,” William said aloud. He quickly grabbed his things from his office and went to meet his friends.
“William, you made it,” Marcus greeted happily as William approached the table. “Did that dick finally let you leave?”
“I don’t want to talk about work.” While William didn’t like Marcus calling Justin names, the man really was being a dick. Garret went to the bar and ordered William a beer, sitting in the chair next to him when he returned. He casually draped his arm across the back of William’s chair, resting his hand on his shoulder. William’s beer was brought over, and he took a long drink.
“If you had been alone in there, we were going to send just Garret, and meet you guys much later.” Faith laughed.
“We should dance,” Garret whispered to him.
“I’m not feeling it.” William shrugged.
“We’re here to have a good time,” Faith interjected.
William wasn’t interested in having a good time. All he wanted to do was make Justin talk to him, make him tell him why his attitude had completely changed. Garret, not taking no for an answer, stood and held his hand out to William. Faith and Marcus had jumped up as well. Faith came around to him and pulled him out of his chair. “Fine.” William sighed. Garret put his hand on the small of William’s back and they all went out to the dance floor. A slow song was playing, so Garret pulled him close. William tried to put some distance between them, but Garret only laughed and hugged him tighter.
“I missed you, William,” Garret whispered in his ear. “We were always so good together.”
“No, we weren’t.” William shook his head. “We broke up like every two months.”
“Yeah, but we’re all grown up now. We should go out, just the two of us. Or.” Garret smiled seductively. “We could go back to my place.”
“We haven’t seen each other in something like five years, and you think that I’m just going to go to bed with you?”
“Why not? You know that it will be fun.” Garret winked.
But Garret wasn’t the one he wanted to have fun with. Why had Justin blown him off like that? William shook his head. “Let’s grab another beer.” He stepped away from Garret and went to the bar. Garret followed.
“What can I get for you, hon?” a woman leaned across the bar to ask him.
“He’ll take a lite on tap,” Garret ordered for him. “Make it two.” She brought them over quickly. Garret showed him back to the table, again sitting next to him. “You are looking incredible, William. You’ve really taken care of yourself.” Garret put his hand on William’s bicep.
“Thanks, you too.” William picked up his beer and took a long drink. He shouldn’t have come. He did not want to put up with Garret hitting on him all night. Faith and Marcus returned.
“This is so much fun,” Faith said. “I can’t believe that we’re all back together again. It’s just like old times.”
“Hey, do you guys remember that time we set Laney Mitchell up on a date with Garret?” Marcus laughed.
William did remember, even though he didn’t want to. It had been a prank, and in high school, he’d thought it was funny. But over time, he realized what an awful thing they had done. They’d watched from a distance as the girl was crushed when he didn’t show up. The next day at school, she was the butt of every joke.
“Even better was the time you slept with Ashton’s boyfriend.” Faith laughed as well.
“He told me they had broken up,” William defended.
“What does it matter?” Garret shrugged and continued with their list of cruelties. “How about the time we got Mrs. Hughes fired?”
“We were horrible people,” William said, shaking his head. “We should never have done any of that.”
“They were all losers and they deserved it.” Faith rolled her eyes. “Just like that asshole that works for you. I have his sister in my class, and she thinks she’s better than the trash she is. I give her horrible grades just to bring her down a peg or two.” She laughed.
“You can’t do that,” William protested. Fuck . This is probably why Justin is mad at me. I’m hanging out with horrible people. People who had and are still tormenting him.
“What does it matter, baby?” Garret asked, putting his arm around William and kissing him on the cheek.
William pulled away. “I’m going to go. I have some things I need to straighten out.”
“Don’t leave. We’re having such a great time,” Faith said. But William wasn’t. He did not want to reminisce about a time when he was a terrible person.
Garret stood to whisper in his ear. “You sure you don’t want to go back to my place?”
“Positive.” William had never been surer in his life. “Besides, I really need to take care of this Justin situation.”
“Just have your dad fire his sorry ass,” was Marcus’s suggestion. William let out a heavy sigh. They hadn’t changed at all since they were teenagers.
“Later.” William walked out of the bar and got into his car. He needed to go see Justin.
Justin was in a bad mood. He’d been pissed when he left work, and it had only gotten worse. Thankfully his mom and Natalie had gone to Maddison’s for dinner, and Evie was getting ready to leave to spend the night at a friend’s house. He couldn’t deal with any more problems for the rest of the night He grabbed a beer then plopped down into his recliner, thinking about William. Everything had been going great until his asshole friends had shown up. Then he’d let that bastard kiss him. Justin’s jaw clenched and his free hand balled into a fist. He hated that he was irrationally pissed. He hated even more that William was with Garret instead of with him. A heavy knock sounded on the door.
“Fuck,” he said aloud. He was in no mood for people. He thought about not answering, but the knocking became insistent. With a heavy sigh, he hefted himself out of the chair and went to the door. There stood William. Justin stared at him for a few seconds. “What?” he asked.
“I would really like to know why you’re mad at me.”
Justin stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind him. “Shouldn’t you still be out with your friends ?” Justin’s voice came out a little harsher than he intended it to. In all actuality, he was glad William was at his door. The thought of him spending the night with his ex had been driving Justin insane.
“I wanted to be with you. You all but made me go.”
“I didn’t want to get in the way of you spending time with your boyfriend.” He knew he was being a jerk, but he couldn’t stop.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” William protested.
“Oh, you let all your friends kiss you like that?”
“You’re jealous,” William accused. “I thought you were still punishing me for the past, but that’s not it, is it?”
“Look, I’ve had a really long day, and I don’t have the energy to deal with your shit.” William had hit the nail on the head; he was jealous. But no way was he about to admit that to him.
“I didn’t do anything wrong.” William’s voice sounded hurt. “You don’t get to treat me like crap just because they are a bunch of assholes.”
“Jeez, you two should just fuck and get it over with.” Justin stood in shock for a moment before he turned toward the voice. He had failed to notice Evie come to the door while he was arguing with William.
“Evelyn Jane,” he scolded. “Get in the house right now.”
“I’m out of here.” William all but ran to his car, pulling away as quickly as humanly possible. He was gone before Justin could get a word out to stop him. Great, now, on top of William being upset, I have this to deal with. He had to apologize and try to make things right. But first things first.
“What the hell were you thinking, Evie?” Justin asked through gritted teeth as he walked into the house. “That’s my boss’s son.”
“Oh shit.” She bit her lip. “I’m sorry, Justin.”
“I’m sorry isn’t going to cut it this time,” Justin said, pulling out his dad voice .
“What do you want me to say? I couldn’t help but hear the way the two of you were talking to each other, and the way you were looking at one another had heat behind it.” Justin noted that she didn’t really seem to think she’d done anything wrong, which pissed him off even more. “Anyway, you could have cut the sexual tension with a knife.” She shrugged.
“What would you know about sexual tension?” Justin narrowed his eyes on her. “Have you—”
“No,” she cut him off. “But I read books and I watch movies. I’ll be eighteen next week. It’s time to stop treating me like a child. I know what I’m talking about.”
“You really don’t,” he told her. But maybe she did. Not that he’d admit that to her. “Do you even realize how inappropriate that was?” Justin questioned in a voice that sounded far too harsh to his own ears. He shook his head, trying to calm down before he blew up on her. This had turned into a shit day fast. It wasn’t Evie’s fault; he knew that. He was madder at himself for what he’d done to William than what she had said. But her comment hadn’t helped the tense situation any. He needed to make this right. “I want you to go to your room. I have to go do some damage control.”
“I’m supposed to be spending the night at Jessica’s,” she reminded him.
“Is she picking you up, or am I dropping you off?” He sighed. It was probably for the best that she was going to Jessica’s. He had no idea how long this would take, or what kind of mood he’d be in when he got back.
“She should be here any minute,” Evie said just before a car pulled into their driveway. “That’s her.” Evie picked up her bag. She walked over to the door but stopped before going out. “I really am sorry, Justin. You’re right, I shouldn’t have been listening to your conversation. And I most certainly shouldn’t have made a comment like that.”
“We’ll talk about it in the morning.” Justin went to her and gave her a hug. “Have fun.”
When she was gone, he went upstairs, shed his work clothes, then stepped into the shower. Under the hot spray, he tried to decide what he was going to say to William. Tons of scenarios ran through his head, but by the time he’d finished showering, he still had no idea what he was going to do. The only thing he knew was that he had to talk this out with William. He threw on some jeans and a tee shirt then rushed out to his car. He sped the entire way there.
Alright, Justin, pull it together, he told himself as he walked up to the door. His heart beat wildly, and his hand trembled when he raised it to knock. He tried to prepare himself for William’s well-deserved anger. Fuck, would they go back to hating each other after this?
“What do you want?” William asked when he answered.
“I came to tell you that I’m sorry.” Justin was glad that William at least gave him a chance to talk and didn’t just slam the door in his face. “The way I treated you was wrong and I’m sorry. I was about to apologize when Evie came out.” His cheeks heated. “I guess I should apologize for that as well.”
William suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him into the pool house. He closed the door then pushed Justin against it. “Why? She was right,” William whispered. “We should just fuck.” He lowered his mouth to Justin’s, demanding entrance by gently nipping at his lower lip.
We should just fuck. The words took over Justin’s brain as he opened to William’s questing tongue. Damn, he wanted that. Wanted William panting and begging for him again. He wrapped one arm around William’s waist, pulling him tightly to him, and cupped the back of his head with his other hand. Justin then took over the kiss. He exploited every bit of knowledge he had on what the other man liked, and that soon had William grinding his denim-covered cock against his.
“Fuck me, Justin,” William pulled away to whisper.
“Where’s your bed?” Justin asked, breathing a little labored.
“This way.” William’s voice was husky and low. He led him to a king-sized bed tucked behind a half wall.
Justin pulled William back into his arms, kissing him deeply. William’s hands found their way under Justin’s tee shirt, and his skin heated at William’s touch. His shirt had been inched up to his chest when he broke the kiss to remove it. His hands then went to the hem of William’s tee and he pulled it over his head, tossing it on the floor next to his own. He saw William’s eyes darken with desire and pushed him down onto the bed. While he kicked out of his shoes, William moved to the center of the mattress. Their eyes locked as Justin joined him on the bed, lying at his side. The heat arcing between them was sizzling. Justin cupped William’s face, stroking his cheek with his thumb. “You know I like to top, right?”
“I was hoping you did.” William smiled seductively. “I can if you need that, but I much prefer it the other way.”
The second the words were out of William’s mouth, Justin was kissing him again, deeply and passionately. His hands roamed William’s chest eventually finding their way to his waistband and incredibly hard cock.
“Touch me,” William begged. “I need to feel your hands on me.”
Justin wasted no time unzipping and pulling William’s pants off, leaving him naked. “Fuck, you are beautiful.” He pushed off his own jeans before returning to William’s mouth. He trailed his hands over the man’s body, lightly tracing patterns on his bare skin.
“Touch my cock.” William’s voice was near pleading, and Justin found that he couldn’t deny him. He wrapped his hand around the man’s throbbing flesh and stroked slowly. “Yes,” William moaned, head falling back onto the pillows.
“Kiss me,” Justin demanded, and William turned his head to find his mouth. They kissed for several long minutes until they were both breathing heavily. Justin pulled away and looked down at William, and the desire in his eyes caused Justin’s groin to tighten even further.
“More. Don’t stop.”
“Not stopping, sweetheart. We’re just getting started,” Justin assured. He kissed William lightly then trailed his lips down his neck to his chest toward his straining cock. William let out a deep moan when he took him into his mouth. Justin sucked slowly and leisurely until William was panting and unable to stay still.
“Fuck, Justin, I need more.” William reached into the drawer next to the bed and pulled out some lube and a condom. He sat the condoms on the nightstand and handed the lube to Justin. “Touch me. Get me ready for you.”
Justin found himself a little light-headed as he accepted the bottle. His chest was heaving, and desire swamped his brain. All he could think about was being inside William. He squirted a generous amount of lube on his fingers, and William spread his legs. Justin reached down and gently caressed William’s rim, causing him to moan deeply. Slowly he pushed inside, searching for the spot that would cause William to go crazy.
“Fuck, Justin,” William breathed out, hips rocking. “More. Go to two.”
Justin lined up a second finger, slipped it inside, and went back to rubbing William’s prostate. William was making the sexiest sounds, every one of which went straight to Justin’s aching cock. Slowly he scissored his fingers as he looked up at William’s face. His eyes were squished shut and his mouth was slightly open as sighs and moans escaped his lips. Justin couldn’t resist claiming his mouth once more. The kiss was full of desire, hunger, and intensity. Justin wasn’t sure he’d ever wanted anyone as much as he did William right then.
“Here.” William broke away and thrust a condom at him.
“Fuck yes.” Justin removed his fingers and took the condom. He put it on and lubed it up quickly then he lined himself up with William’s entrance.
“Please, Justin,” William gasped as Justin teased his rim with the head of his cock. “Need you inside of me. Now.”
Justin pushed in slowly, loving the feeling of William’s hot, tight body around him, and William groaned out his relief. He set up a steady rhythm for them, angling his hips in different ways. William wrapped one of his legs around Justin’s waist, and Justin took over holding back the other one.
“Justin,” William cried out, letting him know that his efforts to again find the right spot had been successful.
Justin leaned down and took his lips in a possessive kiss, owning his mouth as surely as he was his body. “Fuck, Will, you feel so good.”
“Faster,” William panted out.
“I want this to last,” Justin whispered in his ear before gently nipping his lobe. He soon had William just where he wanted him; chest heaving with the force of his breath while he writhed on the bed beneath him begging.
“Please make me come.” Justin got to his knees and slammed into his partner. “Yes. Just like that.” The pleasure was evident on William’s face. And Justin could feel the tightness in every one of William’s muscles as he strained toward orgasm. His free hand drifted down the man’s body to his leaking cock and stroked. “Justin,” William all but screamed, and Justin felt warmth splash his hand.
Damn, he’s beautiful when he lets go, Justin thought as William’s body tightened around him. He came hard a few thrusts later, the force of his orgasm completely wringing him out. He rested his head against William’s shoulder as they both attempted to catch their breath.
“Fuck, Will, that was amazing,” Justin murmured, gently pulling out and disposing of the condom.
“Completely amazing,” William echoed the sentiment. “I guess I should get us a towel.” He lay there a few more moments, seeming reluctant to leave Justin’s side. Finally, he got out of bed to clean up, and brought back a hand towel for Justin. Then he crawled back into bed and put his head on Justin’s chest.
“What are we doing?” Justin whispered, running his fingers up and down William’s back.
“I don’t know,” William admitted. “But I don’t want to stop.”
“Neither do I, but are you sure this is a good idea?” Justin felt that he had to ask.
“Good idea, bad idea, right now I don’t care. All I know is that I want you. Things were going so much better between us until you got jealous.”
“I was not jealous,” he lied.
William rolled his eyes. “Really?”
“Okay, maybe I was.” Justin tilted his chin up and kissed him deeply. “The thought of you with Garret…” he trailed off, shaking his head as his jaw clenched. “If you’re fucking me, you’re not fucking anyone else, understand? I don’t share, William.”
“I don’t share, either. I know what the papers said, but I had no idea that Sebastian was seeing someone else. He lied to me.”
Justin stroked his cheek then kissed him lightly. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“We’d been seeing each other for a while, and I thought we were in love. The night that picture of us was taken was our six-month anniversary.” William sighed.
“Why didn’t you tell your side?” Justin questioned.
“It would have just been my word against his. He made sure we were never seen together. He always told me that he liked to keep his relationships out of the public eye, and I agreed. Not even my closest friends knew I was seeing him.”
“I’m sorry, William. I really am. No one deserves that.” He held him a little tighter.
“Maybe I do,” William whispered.
“Why would you say that?” Justin asked.
“When we talked in the car, I realized what a complete bastard I was to you. But tonight, with the people I once considered friends, I realized that I was just a horrible person. I did so many things that I’m not proud of. But my friends still think they are funny and deserved. I was disgusted, and I had to leave.” William blew out a breath. “There’s something serious I have to tell you. Faith is failing your sister on purpose.”
Justin sat up quickly, jostling William. “What?”
“I’ll go to the principal or the school board with you,” William was quick to say. “I’ll help you in any way I can. I’m so sorry, Justin.”
Justin’s jaw clenched. He wanted to explode. He heard William’s breathing stutter and looked down to see the worry in his eyes. He had to get himself in check. As mad as he was, this was not William’s fault. He didn’t have to sell out his friend, but it seemed like he was trying to do the right thing. “Hey.” He took hold of William’s chin and pressed their lips together. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” Justin kissed him again, more deeply this time. “We’ll deal with that later.” William nodded, and Justin took his mouth again. Over and over, they kissed, until William was clinging to him and breathing heavily. Justin pulled away to look down at William. “Can I ask you something?” William nodded. “You said you wanted to keep this thing between us going, right?”
“Yes,” William answered.
“Are you looking for another secret relationship? Because I don’t do that. I don’t hide the fact that I’m seeing someone, or who that might be. And I’m not really in the market for a fuck buddy.”
“Are you suggesting that we date?” William looked up at him, brows knitted, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he had just heard.
“Either that or stop this.” Justin caressed his cheek.
“I already told you that I don’t want to stop.” William’s voice was soft and low.
“My friends and I are going to an art show tomorrow. I want you to come.”
“Okay.”