Squared Away (Out of Uniform 5)

Mark easily won the first round, making Isaiah laugh. “I’m betting you clean up in the favor department.”

“Sometimes. I don’t really mind a lot of the tasks that other guys hate like cleaning or polishing stuff.” Mark shrugged as he did the show-stopping shuffle thing again.

“I’ll play you for the next two days of diaper duty,” Isaiah joked.

“Sure.” Mark was slower that round, more deliberate.

“Are you trying to lose?”

“No, of course not.” His neck flushed pink. He totally was. Damn. Why did he have to be such a nice guy?

“Liar.” Isaiah collected the win anyway. “But now let’s play for something you actually want. What do you want if you win the next hand?”

Mark’s blush darkened. “Wanna play for a kiss?”

“Fold.” Isaiah put his hand down. “Unless you want to see me try to lose spectacularly?”

“I take it that’s a yes?”

“It’s always going to be a yes for more kissing.” Isaiah scooted closer. They’d done the massage and good-night kiss routine a few more times, but he was careful to not press for it, to let it be Mark’s idea.

Mark gave him a fast but still electric kiss. “I was thinking about this when I was helping you outside earlier. It’s crazy how much I like touching and kissing you.”

“I love touching you too.” Isaiah trailed his fingers down Mark’s cheek. “You haven’t had that before?”

“Not really. I’ve had a lot of kisses that felt like getting my earlobe chewed by a cat or trying to kiss a salmon. Not awful but not ‘can’t wait to do it again’ either. Had some kisses I liked, but right as I was getting comfortable, the other person would try to take it to the next level. And that was always a disaster.”

“Even with your friend? The other medic?”

Mark shrugged and looked away. “He got huffy when I didn’t want to get naked after a few kisses. Called me a closet case.”

“I’m sorry.” Isaiah patted his leg, not sure what else to say. “You’re a great guy. You deserve all the good kisses—no fish or earlobe chewing allowed. And you deserve to go at your own pace. Always.”

“I feel guilty. Like I should be doing something more for you...”

“Hey now. I’m getting amazing kisses from a hot-as-fuck guy who also likes to massage me until I’m a pile of limp lettuce. Trust me. I’m not getting a shabby deal here. At all.” If anything, Isaiah felt guilty for how very much he was enjoying all this. “And add in yard work help and cleaning? Man, you’d be a lot of people’s idea of a dream date.”

“Good.” Mark leaned in for another, softer kiss. “Because I really like doing this.”

“Me too.” Isaiah tried to calm the thumping of his heart. Careful, he warned himself even as his long-comatose hope monster hefted itself up and did a dance. He couldn’t afford to go falling for Mark again, yet with each kiss, each tentative touch, he could feel his grip on his resolve weakening.

Chapter Thirteen

“We’re out of everything.” Isaiah sighed dramatically as he dished up lunch. Mark was really coming to enjoy how big Isaiah’s emotions were, even about things like shopping. “But no way do I want to take the kids at nap time. That was a disaster last time. Maybe you could go?”

“I hate shopping,” Mark admitted. “Besides, you’ve been needing a break from the kids.” He still hadn’t listened to Mark about taking time to see his friends, other than doing a playdate with his friend Dylan and the twins a few times. “Go. Shop. Get a tea or something while you’re out. Then we’ll make dinner together.”

“You sure you can handle all three kids? And nap time?” Isaiah didn’t sound at all sure, which only made Mark that much more determined to show him he could do this.

“Yup. I’m starting the instructor gig in a few days. You better use me while you have me.” He winked at Isaiah. Was this flirting, trying to refer back to their massage and good-night kisses routine? He hoped Isaiah got the message that he wouldn’t mind doing it tonight. In fact, he’d come to kind of look forward to it the past several days.

Isaiah’s pulled muscle was probably almost healed, but neither of them mentioned that when Mark would shoo him toward the tub. Then he’d give him a massage, trying more of the techniques he’d read about, experimenting with things like lotion and shiatsu. And then the best part was the good-night kissing, which had gone on longer the past few times. Isaiah hadn’t pressed for more, which made Mark relax and enjoy it more than he ever had before. He was starting to get more and more curious about what it might be like to share orgasms, what Isaiah might look like when he came, what he’d sound like, whether he’d call Mark’s name in that deep, broken voice he got when he was turned on.