The Half of Us (Family 4)

Chapter 4

ABE WOULDN’T describe himself as completely buttoned-up when it came to sex, but he wasn’t wildly uninhibited either. He’d had two boyfriends in his twenty-six years, the first shortly after he came out when he was twenty-one and the next not long after he graduated from college. Neither relationship had lasted a year, and though he had slept with both men, it wasn’t right away.

Growing up in conservative Salt Lake City, Utah, meant family values were instilled in him from a young age. Although his parents’ marriage hadn’t worked out, both of them had remarried shortly after their divorce and were still married to his stepparents. His older sister had married at twenty-two and by all accounts was very happy. The friends he had grown up with were almost all married, and their Facebook photos had shifted from couple photos to baby photos. The bottom line was that Abe was a relationship guy—born and raised.

Ironically, that aspect of his nature was what had led to the demise of his relationships. When he realized he wasn’t forever compatible with a man, he no longer saw the point in dating him and couldn’t bring himself to sleep with him. Which was what made his attraction and reaction to Jason so out of character.

Normally, Abe was a follower when it came to sex. Spending almost every Sunday of his youth in a church pew had established a niggling voice in the back of his head that associated sex outside of marriage with sin. Though he had long since left the church and he was happy with who he was, the echo of the voice still lingered, so it was easier to go along with his boyfriends’ suggestions than to take the lead and thereby admit what he wanted.

But things with Jason had been different from the get-go. The rules of their interaction had been established on the first night—they were going to have sex, nothing less and most certainly nothing more. The decision, once made, had been incredibly freeing for Abe. He had already admitted what he wanted to do with Jason. There was no denying it and therefore no reason to shy away from it. Even when the one-night-stand he had justified as a wild deviation from his normal life had turned into a second night, the rules had stayed the same and so had the freedom Abe felt to relish the experience.

When Jason asked him to sit down in the coffee shop that evening, the rules of engagement had shifted. They’d intentionally spent time together with their clothes on. Plus, charmingly awkward though it was, they’d had a conversation, not in order to pass the time in a car ride, but to get to know each other. But regardless of those changes, their method of interaction in the bedroom had already been established, so with Jason, Abe acted without guilt or hesitation.

“I’m glad I ran into you tonight,” Jason said.

“Me too.” Abe turned the lock on his front door and moaned when Jason pressed up against his back, wrapped his arm around Abe’s waist, and mouthed his neck. Abe had barely managed to keep himself in check before they’d gotten to his apartment. Now, all bets were off. He rocked his hips backward, rubbing his ass over Jason’s groin. “You feel good,” he said when he made contact with the long, hard ridge behind Jason’s zipper.

“Going to make you feel even better in a second.”

Jason flicked Abe’s zipper open and tugged his jeans and briefs down below his backside. He humped against Abe one time, the rough fabric of his pants dragging against Abe’s sensitive skin, and then he moved away. Abe snaked his hand behind his back and helped Jason open his button and zipper. Within seconds, Jason was against him again—his chest plastered to Abe’s back and his dick rubbing against Abe’s cleft. He wound his arms around Abe, tweaking his nipple with one hand and cupping his balls with the other.

“I love your mouth and your hand, baby, but tonight I want to be inside,” Jason said as he moved his hand beyond Abe’s balls and tickled his fingertips over the wrinkled flesh around his hole. “Are you into that?”

Abe’s cock filled, his balls tightened, and his belly clenched in anticipation. His previous experiences with Jason made him associate the verbally reserved but physically demonstrative man with pleasure. They had gone down on each other, stroked each other off, and rubbed off against each other. Abe had enjoyed every second of it. His orgasms had been strong and drawn-out, and the foreplay had been intense and passionate, so now he instinctively reacted with desire to any suggestion involving sex with Jason.

“Yes,” he whispered, pressing against Jason’s hand.

“Let’s go to the bedroom.” Jason licked a swath up Abe’s neck and nibbled on his ear. “I want you laid out in front of me naked.” He moved his hand over Abe’s balls and stroked his erection. “Did I already tell you how gorgeous you are?”