Chapter Two
Oh my god. Oh my god. He was kissing Tyler.
Owen hadn’t planned it. He’d just turned around to see if the desire and curiosity he saw in Tyler’s reflection was real and to confirm he hadn’t imagined the erection pressed against his ass.
Tyler’s mouth was right there, his lips parting in surprise, and the expression in his coffee-colored eyes was even more potent up close.
Owen had fantasized about this moment for six fucking years.
From the first time he locked eyes with Tyler, he wanted to kiss him.
There were days when he thought about nothing else.
Maybe that was why Owen kept his eyes open for those first few seconds after pressing his mouth to Tyler’s.
Yes, he could have wanted to make sure his best friend wasn’t revolted, but that wasn’t it.
Owen didn’t want to miss a single second of their first, and maybe only, kiss.
Tyler’s eyes widened in surprise for a few seconds before his long lashes fluttered and his eyelids lowered to half-mast. Firm lips trembled against Owen’s and parted to release the softest sigh he’d ever heard.
The sound went straight to Owen’s balls and squeezed them like a vise.
Tyler fisted Owen’s shirt at his waist, closed his eyes, and released a needy whimper, prompting Owen to stop thinking and start reacting.
He shut his eyes, too, and lightly cupped Tyler’s neck.
Owen angled his head and swept his tongue over Tyler’s bottom lip, making his intentions known and giving him the option to pull back or open wider.
Tyler groaned hungrily as he parted his lips more, and Owen swept in.
The first rub of their tongues sent a hard shudder through Owen.
Tyler bunched his shirt until it pulled free from his waistband, and his warm fingers pressed against Owen’s flesh.
At least a tiny part of his brain set off alarm signals that maybe things were going too far, too fast. They needed to talk before things went further, and both the conversation and whatever followed needed to happen in a more private location.
But then Tyler’s curious fingers bumped along his spine, and Owen’s ability to reason tumbled like a house of cards.
Whatever Tyler wanted, he would have. Whenever, however, and how often he wanted it.
Owen cupped the back of Tyler’s neck, and though his hold was light, the embrace was possessive. It said “you are mine.” He deepened the kiss, pressing deeper into Ty’s mouth and seizing complete control, while Tyler’s fingers dipped beneath his denim waistband.
If Ty could explore, so could he. But a repetitive beeping sounded in the booth before Owen could make his move.
The guys sprang apart and looked toward the mechanism under the mirror just as it spit out a strip of photos with a whir.
The paper fell face down into the tray below, but neither man moved to retrieve it.
“Those are going to be some pics,” Owen said breathlessly. Knowing the camera had captured their first kiss made him ridiculously happy.
Tyler leaned forward until his finger hovered over the Start button. He held Owen’s gaze and said, “Wanna go again?”
“Hell yeah.”
This time, Owen turned and straddled Tyler’s lap the best he could in the cramped space.
He knocked his elbow against the thin booth wall with a hard thunk.
Outside their cocoon, the music got considerably louder.
Either someone’s favorite jam came on, or they were trying to cover the noises escaping the booth.
Owen didn’t give a shit; he was just grateful because it meant no one heard his slutty groan when his erection rubbed against Tyler’s.
“Ohhh.” Tyler looked and sounded like a blushing virgin. A delicious flush spread across his cheekbones as he continued to stare at Owen with wide, dark eyes.
Owen worried he’d pushed too far, too fast, until Tyler claimed his mouth in another toe-curling kiss.
This time, Ty slid one curious hand under the front of Owen’s shirt and the other beneath the back.
His fingers danced across Owen’s skin, leaving a trail of fire in their wake.
He longed to stretch out naked so Tyler could explore his body however and wherever he wanted to.
He’d dreamed of this moment for so long, and now that it was here, he—
Bam!
Something or someone slammed into the side of the photo booth, and Tyler and Owen jerked apart and lurched to their feet. The little structure rattled and shook but didn’t tip over. Owen’s heart tried to beat its way out of his chest, and Tyler looked equally rattled.
“Sorry,” a sheepish voice said from the other side. Damn Rueben. The dude was probably just jealous because Burke wasn’t there, and he didn’t get to suck face in the tiny space like the other couples did. Other couples.
Owen slammed on the mental brakes because he was getting ahead of himself. A few kisses, mutual hard-ons, and Tyler’s mostly innocent touches didn’t make them boyfriends. Tyler’s cheeks turned a darker shade of pink, and Owen worried he might spontaneously combust at any moment.
“You okay?” Owen asked. What he really wanted to know was if they were all right.
Tyler averted his gaze but gave Owen a jerky nod.
His attention seemed focused on Owen’s dick, which made it much harder to get his body under control.
He had no intention of stepping out of the booth with an obvious erection straining against his jeans, and Tyler was in no better shape.
Owen could think of several ways to ease his best friend’s hard-on, but they sure as hell weren’t ready for that step.
Well, at least one of them wasn’t. Owen had been primed and ready for this moment for over six years.
The photo machine beeped and spit out the last strip of pictures into the tray. Neither of them moved to retrieve the photographic proof of what they’d shared, though Tyler’s taste, his touch, and his moans were seared into Owen’s brain.
“I have a hard-on,” Tyler whispered. He lifted his head, met Owen’s gaze, and swiped his tongue over his bottom lip. “For you.” Tyler stepped closer and swallowed hard. “And you’re hard for me too.”
The wondrous expression on Tyler’s face made Owen want to smile and laugh, but he didn’t want Tyler to think he was making fun of him.
That was the absolute last impression he wanted Tyler to have about their first kisses.
But how honest should he be? He didn’t want to scare Tyler off after yearning for this opportunity for so damn long.
Owen wanted to believe Tyler’s erection signified something deep and meaningful, but it could have resulted from friction and loneliness.
Please let it be door number one. Owen tempered his naturally assertive personality and aimed for chill.
He took a step forward, too, so that they were toe to toe in the cramped space.
“I am very hard for you.”
Tyler closed his eyes and swallowed hard.
Owen longed to lean forward and kiss his neck, but he didn’t dare move.
Tyler twisted his fingers in Owen’s shirt again and opened his eyes.
“I don’t know what to do with this.” He didn’t mean literally.
They’d shared a small jail cell for two years, and Owen had heard the unmistakable sounds of Tyler jerking off when he thought Owen was sleeping.
Tyler had meant he didn’t know what to do with an erection for his best friend, who also happened to be a guy.
Tyler wasn’t raised in a world where men chose other men.
Yes, he’d been around gay and bisexual men for the past four years on the ranch, but he never pictured that future for himself.
The turmoil in Tyler’s voice made Owen’s heart fall.
In a perfect world, one kiss would prove they were meant to be together.
Hell, that sounded more like a fantasy than any version of the world they lived in.
“We don’t have to do anything about it, Ty.
We could pretend it never happened.” Well, Ty could.
Owen would hold on to the moment until his dying breath.
Tyler darted a glance toward the photo tray. Owen removed the strips, folded them in half without looking at the images, and tucked the pictures in his pocket. He’d take them out later when he was alone and let his mind run as free as a wild mustang.
“We don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to, Ty.
Nothing has to change. You’re still my best friend.
” Owen’s voice came out a little shaky, and Tyler’s eyes widened.
One of them sounded terrified, and the other looked it.
Their friendship was the single most important thing in both their lives.
Owen would do anything to keep Tyler in his life, even if it meant an end to his impossible dream.
Tyler swallowed hard. “You want to pretend it didn’t happen?”
“I didn’t say that,” Owen replied carefully.
“I said we could.” He again debated just how honest to be with Tyler because he couldn’t get a good read on his reaction.
Tyler seemed upset by the idea Owen could forget about their encounter, but he didn’t sound encouraged by the notion Owen wanted to remember it.
He felt damned no matter how he responded.
Someone thumped into the booth again, giving him a valid excuse to postpone a further response. “Can we talk about this in private?”
Tyler searched his eyes for several seconds before nodding.
“We should probably get back out there,” Owen suggested. He received another nod, but neither made a move toward the door. “You should probably turn loose of my shirt first.”