Starting from Zero (Starting from 1)

“Are you asking me to talk to Seb for you?”

“No, I’m a big boy. I can deal with him myself.” He laid his head on my shoulder and turned his body so he was sprawled on the bench. “Let’s not talk about it anymore. Tell me about your day instead.”

I studied the top of Justin’s head and tried to quickly process any possible red flags. He said he didn’t want me to interfere, but he had to know bringing up my best friend and my godson would get my attention. However, I didn’t detect manipulation on his part. I sensed that he was overwhelmed and needed to work through some ideas. That was all.

“Um…well, I worked on a couple of pop songs for a British songstress. If she likes them, I may have to travel to London. She hates LA.”

Justin sighed. “I’d love to travel someday. The only place I’ve been outside of California is Las Vegas. Where’s your favorite city?”

“Since I live in LA, I’ll say it’s my favorite. I also lived in New York and—”

“What’s it like? Is it electric? What’s the food like? Where’s the best music? Where’s the…”

I set my earlier misgivings aside, pushed my fingers through his hair, and started talking. I described the streets and scenery, the food and the people of some of my more memorable trips to Boston, Chicago, London, and Paris. I talked and talked…and just when I thought I might be boring him, he’d ask another question. I stroked his head while I spoke and let my gaze wander. But after a while, I got lost in the moment. I tuned out the piped jazz playing through the speakers, the sounds of children laughing and people chatting, and focused on Justin. The weight of his body against my shoulder, the way his voice reverberated through me when he spoke. Hell, just the sound of his breathing grounded me.

He stretched his arms above his head and twisted to face me after a while. “Are you still people-watching?”

“Sort of. I’ve been watching you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you. Kiss me,” I commanded.

Justin looked around the bustling atrium. There were plenty of couples holding hands or standing closer than friends might. But the lone same-sex couple we’d spotted earlier was gone. And no matter how enlightened or accepting anyone claimed to be, two masculine looking men locking lips always turned a few heads.

“Here?”

“Yeah. Here. I dare you.”

He chuckled softly, then leaned in and sealed his lips over mine. It wasn’t an overly amorous display. It was just a kiss. But it felt like a promise.

I pulled back and threaded my fingers with his. “Come home with me.”

Justin

Of course, he valeted. Gray snickered when I rolled my eyes and complained about wasting time and money. We chatted while we waited for his Porsche. We stuck to mundane topics like weather and traffic on the drive, but we both went quiet when he turned onto his street. The sexual tension built as we neared his house. It was subtle. We didn’t touch and we barely talked. We listened to Top 40 radio and commercials on low. But we weren’t lost in our own thoughts. We were both thinking of what we’d do the second we were alone behind a closed door.

Gray parked his car in the garage and paused at the door to wait for me before grabbing my hand and whisking me inside. He didn’t stop and he didn’t let go. He hurried down a wide hallway and led the way upstairs to his room. I gazed down at the blue lights of the pool and the cityscape beyond, but I didn’t bother commenting. I wasn’t sure I could use my voice anyway. My heart raced and a swarm of butterflies fluttered in my stomach. And yeah, my cock throbbed against my zipper like it had a pulse of its own.

The second he pulled me into the master suite, I hooked my fingers in his belt loops to stop his momentum, then crashed my mouth over his. Our tongues dueled in a frenzy as we unbuttoned, unbuckled, and unzipped. I paused to kick off my sneakers and pull my sweater and T-shirt over my head. Then I snaked my arms around his waist and lowered his jeans over his ass before squeezing the flesh with a porny sigh when his bare cock slid alongside mine.

“I want to be inside you, baby.”

I whimpered when he reached between us and closed his fist over me in a firm grip. “Fuck. Yes.”

Gray licked my lips, then traced a slow, teasing path along my jawline to my ear before whispering, “I want to see you this time.”

Words failed me. I could only say, “Me too” so many times. I let out a needy groan before driving my tongue into his mouth again and tilting my hips in the quest for more friction. Gray got the message. He released me and pointed at the king-sized bed like a caveman. And of course I didn’t hesitate. I pulled the fluffy white duvet back, then crawled onto the middle of the platform bed and wiggled my ass in invitation. Gray chuckled at my antics. I glanced at his reflection in the window and gulped. I may have leaked precum on his pillow. I couldn’t help it. A naked Gray was a thing of beauty. He reminded me of a modern-day warrior. Tall, sexy, muscular, and inked in all the right places. And the touch of gray at his temples and in his beard made me a little crazy. But the sight of his raging hard-on sticking straight out in front of him made my mouth water. I wasn’t gonna last long.