The Current Between Us

“You look very nice tonight,” Gage said, weaving through traffic.

“So do you,” Trent said, giving him a sideways grin and effectively stopping Gage’s heart.

“I didn’t think I could like your look any more than those low lying Levi’s, but you proved me wrong.” Trent turned to him, giving a grin and perhaps even a small blush darkened Trent’s cheeks. A blush… How long had it been since Gage saw one of those? It sent his heart slamming in his chest and he jerked his eyes away, swallowing back the play of emotion tugging at his heart. After a minute or two, he brought their joined hands up to his lips and kissed Trent’s knuckles.

“Your grins touch my heart,” Gage said, expertly navigating the streets of downtown Chicago only as a man who grew up there could. Trent didn’t know his family owned the building they were headed toward as well as many others in this city. Gage never shared this information with anyone and certainly had never used his connections to impress another. He pulled the car into valet parking. “I hope you like Sapore di Casa. It’s the only place I knew with complete certainty we would have a quiet atmosphere so we might talk and get to know one another.”

“Mr. Synclair, good evening, sir. It’s been a while,” the valet said, opening his door.

“Hi, Harry, you’re supposed to call me, Gage. How many times do we need to go over this?” Gage said, stepping from the car, watching as they opened Trent’s passenger side door. Damn, I wanted to get his door…

“At least once more, sir,” the valet said. Gage chuckled at his family’s valet who’d serviced their cars for well over thirty years, virtually all of his life. Gage never stopped, but rounded the car to Trent, ushering him inside through the front doors of the property.

He liked Harry and would normally have stayed a minute to get caught up on his life, but he worked in stealth mode right now, trying to keep his family out of their way for a little while longer, to keep Trent in the dark as to who his family was in this community. Besides, who knew what his parents would do if they found he contemplated settling down and dating, living a normal life, but certainly it would include them being in his personal space, and he wasn’t ready to share Trent with them yet. Hell, all this emotion coursing through him was new, and he couldn’t comprehend the feelings going on inside him, but their kiss sealed the deal, firming his resolve to figure out where this might lead.

The doors to the skyscraper opened automatically. This particular building held an entire world within the structure. Shopping on the first several floors, office space on the next, and living spaces to the top. The building hopped with shoppers on the main floor, and security gave him a nod as they passed by. Gage moved quickly again, taking Trent’s hand, moving him along at a fast pace to the bank of elevators leading to the top floors.

“Trent, have you ever been to Sapore di Casa?” Gage asked, trying to find something to say as he hit the elevator button and waited for the doors to open. He usually went through his secured entrance on the fourth floor, but that would be a dead giveaway as to his ties to this building.

“No, I haven’t, but I’ve heard of it. I almost got the bid on the electrical if I remember correctly. I think the contractor doing your gallery is the one who did the work on the restaurant,” Trent said, dropping his free hand into his slacks pocket.

“They probably did, it makes sense. I eat here regularly, at least every time I come home. It’s cozy, has a good feel, quiet, and I love the chef,” Gage said, scooting Trent into the first elevator doors sliding open. Gage pressed the appropriate floor at the top of the building and turned back to Trent. Their fingers were still locked together. The hold felt so natural. Gage’s concentration had been focused on getting them inside the building unseen by any of the regular staff or his family, and he’d forgotten for a minute that he finally had Trent within his grasp. He’d neglected this opportunity for too long, and immediately corrected his mistake by stepping into Trent’s personal space, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“I want to kiss you again. Would it be too big a scene to kiss you here in front of the others?” Gage said, four other people filled the small box. As luck would have it, all four got off after a two-story ascent, not riding the other fifty or so stories up with them. Gage didn’t hesitate and took the opportunity of privacy, pushing Trent back into the corner, his lips on Trent’s in a matter of seconds. Trent opened immediately for him, spreading his legs apart, drawing Gage in as the kiss deepened to a frenzy. Gone was the sweetness of the last kiss, to be replaced with a hunger building inside both of them. Gage’s hard-on punched forward at the flavor of the sweetest lips he’d ever tasted. Trent kissed him as if they were made for one another. There were no awkward moments. They were fluid as if they had done this for years.

The kiss lasted until the ding sounded to announce their arrival at their floor. So many times Gage rode this elevator thinking it to be the slowest one in the history of all elevators, but tonight when the bellhop to the restaurant stood outside the elevator door, clearing his throat, Gage knew he got it wrong. He needed to talk to maintenance about slowing it down for any future dates he might have with Trent. Gage pulled from the kiss, but not the embrace.

“Your kisses undo me,” Gage said. He was rewarded with Trent slowly opening his eyes, a dazed glassy look staring back at him. Trent didn’t let him go, but pulled Gage tighter against his body, grinding his hips into Gage’s.