On Point (Out of Uniform 3)

“Mad?” Ben prompted, eyebrow quirking. And for once, Maddox didn’t play polite, didn’t deflect, but instead flat-out glared at Ben, twelve years of resentment distilled into a single stare. “And that’s a no.” Ben suddenly sounded a lot more sober.

“Should I go? I feel like I should go.” Luis was already gathering his drink glass and suit coat. “I’m going. And uh, congrats to your folks.”

“Thanks.” Ben didn’t stop Luis from leaving, waiting until he was walking away to speak again. “You know I’m the one who always has the attitude problem. You’re the one who always smooths things over. Me, it takes about three drinks to get charming. You, you just—”

“I think you passed three drinks several hours ago.” Maddox was tired. So very tired.

“Are you mad that I danced with him or mad that I left you alone so long or mad that he brought up the possibility—”

“That you didn’t shut down.” Maddox rubbed at his temples.

“Ah. There it is. You think I was trying to start something with him.” Ben’s voice was just this side of too loud. Marilee and Kyle weren’t the only guests to have left—the crowd was noticeably smaller, and the bride and groom were dancing off to the side of the dance floor, lost in their own world. And Maddox wanted to keep it that way.

“Can we maybe not have this conversation here?” Maddox headed for the hallway, trusting that Ben had enough of a head of steam to follow him out of the ballroom.

“If you’re going to lecture me on flirting—”

“You always flirt. And I don’t care.” Maddox hit the elevator button with weary fingers. It must have been on the ground floor already because the doors slid open immediately. “And I’m the one who said we shouldn’t tell people we’re...whatever we are.”

“Exactly.” Ben leaned back against the rear wall of the elevator. “So why are we fighting?”

“We’re not fighting.” Maddox hit the floor for their room. “We’re talking.”

“God. You can’t even cop to being mad, can you?” Ben stalked off the second the elevator doors opened, leaving Maddox to hobble after him.

“I’m not mad. I’m...” Hurt. That’s what he was, but he couldn’t articulate that in a way Ben would understand.

“Judgmental,” Ben filled in for him as he used the key card to open the room’s door. “You think just because I’ve had threesomes in the past that I was looking for that tonight.”

“You’ve got to admit you’re kind of a magnet for guys willing to go there.” Maddox knew he sounded petty but frankly had stopped caring.

“I’m not going to apologize for...what? Being friendly? Coming off as an open-minded guy?” Ben stripped off his tie and yanked at his shirt buttons, straining the white linen fabric.

“Stop. You’re going to ruin the shirt.” Maddox brushed Ben’s fingers aside and undid the buttons himself.

“I don’t care.” Some of the heat had come off Ben’s tone and he let Maddox work, let him peel the fabric away, Maddox wishing all the while that he could push this disagreement aside as easily.

“I don’t want to fight.” Ben took a step forward, trapping Maddox against the closet door. He traced Maddox’s jaw with surprisingly gentle fingers.

“Ben...” Maddox warned. “We need to talk.”

“You pronounced fuck wrong.” Ben laughed at himself, right before he leaned in and claimed Maddox’s mouth.

Chapter Twenty-One

Ben’s chest thumped like he’d run all the way to the room, not calming down until Maddox let him kiss him, not pushing him away. Instead, Maddox let out a soft sigh as Ben deepened the kiss. Fuck but Ben loved that, loved how Maddox always, always let him in, even when part of him was clearly trying to resist as evidenced by the tension in Maddox’s neck and shoulders.

“We need to talk,” Maddox repeated breathlessly when Ben came up for air. “I need to apologize—”

“But you’re not sorry.” Ben started in on Maddox’s vest and shirt buttons. Leaning in, he nipped at Maddox’s collarbone.

“I am.” Maddox arched up into the contact. “I assumed—”

“You always assume.” Ben pushed Maddox’s shirt off. Truthfully, Luis had been too brash, too pushy for Ben’s current tastes, and until the guy made his bold proposition, the idea hadn’t crossed Ben’s mind. Once he’d said it, yeah Ben had had a brief moment of interest—he was still himself after all, but mainly he’d been curious to see what Maddox was up for. Heck, for all he knew, Maddox was harboring more secret threesome or voyeur fantasies, and Ben would be only too happy to make those come true.

But really, he should have known better. Of course Maddox wouldn’t be down with that, and of course Maddox would assume he was hitting on the guy because he was always going to be nothing more than a manwhore, one wrong step from a huge fuckup.