“That’s good.”
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it being over.”
“Are you looking to date right away or are you taking a break?”
“I don’t want another relationship right now, but I’m not opposed to fucking around.” He grinned, glancing at Tripp, who hid his smirk by taking a sip of his beer.
Mitch caught their exchange and his eyes widened. “Are you two...?”
He felt the blush creep up from his neck to his cheeks. He didn’t mean to let that fly. Oh well.
“Oh my god, you are! You two are messing around,” Mitch exclaimed, pointing back and forth between them from his seat across the table.
“What? Seriously?” Ian said, his eyebrows damn near hitting his hairline.
“We’re just...it’s nothing serious...like a friends with benefits kind of thing,” he said, looking at Tripp for confirmation.
Tripp nodded. “Yeah, sounds about right.”
“But...but...since when are you into dudes?” Ian asked in confusion.
“I don’t know. I’ve honestly never even looked at another guy like that before Tripp,” he admitted.
“I’m special.” Tripp chuckled.
“Friends with benefits, huh?” Seamus murmured, eyeing Jayme dubiously. “Mitch and I tried that and look how we turned out.”
“Yeah, that maybe lasted a month before we both wanted more,” Mitch said.
Jayme shook his head. “Nah. I just got out of a relationship, I don’t want another one any time soon.”
He glanced at Tripp again, who was taking a sip of his beer and studiously ignoring Jayme’s gaze. Would Tripp eventually want more? He was under the impression that he wanted the same thing. Maybe he was wrong? Maybe Tripp wanted a relationship? Hell, that could really screw things up. He knew first hand how it went when one person wanted something that the other didn’t. He’d have to talk to Tripp about it later. He wasn’t going to keep up this thing they got going on if they both want different things out of it. He dealt with that once, he wasn’t going to do it again.
~~~
Tripp
“We need to talk,” Jayme said as he walked back into the kitchen after seeing his brothers out.
Tripp peered over his shoulder from where he was standing at the sink, washing one of the big bowls that had held the chips. “Okay?”
Jayme stopped next to him and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. “I need to know what you want out of this thing with us. Are you expecting a relationship eventually?”
Tripp blinked at him. He wasn’t expecting this to be the topic of conversation. “I know you don’t want a relationship.”
“That’s not what I asked. I asked what you want. I need us to be on the same page if we’re going to continue. I can’t have any misconceptions about what either of us want. Been there, done that, not doing it again.”
He pursed his lips as he considered what Jayme was saying. What did he want?
“I definitely want this to continue. I’m good with just fucking around right now. I can’t say if that will eventually change or not, I don’t know.”
“Will you tell me if it does?”
“Sure.” He nodded.
Jayme blew out a breath. “Okay, good.”
He finished rinsing the bowl and put it on the drain board. He grabbed the dish towel and dried his hands. “I have a question.”
“Shoot.”
“Even though this is not a relationship and we’re just fucking around, do you want it to be exclusive?”
Jayme searched his eyes. “I would prefer that it is. But I can’t stop you if you want to see other people.”
“I’m fine with exclusive. I generally don’t mess with more than one guy at a time.”
“Okay.”
He grabbed Jayme by the front of his shirt and pulled him in for a quick kiss. “Glad we got that all straightened out.”
Jayme nodded. He let go of Jayme’s shirt and smoothed his hand up to his neck, where he clutched the back of it and pulled Jayme in for another kiss. Jayme hummed his approval and wrapped his arms around Tripp’s waist. Jayme pulled him in close as their kiss turned heated.
“Ready for round two, old man?” He teased when they parted.
“Old man? I’ll show you an old man.” Jayme growled then hoisted him up, making him wrap his legs around Jayme’s waist.
Jayme carried him, he was only an inch or so shorter than Jayme; and weighed almost as much as him too, over to the kitchen table. He sat him down on the table and stood between his spread legs.
“You’re strong for an old man,” he said with a shit-eating grin.
“You’re seconds away from not getting a round two.” Jayme grunted.
Tripp laughed. Jayme was six years older than him. It wasn’t a big difference, but Jayme was fun to tease. Jayme grabbed his face and kissed him roughly, effectively shutting him up. He moaned and clutched at Jayme’s shirt.
Jayme dragged his mouth down to his jaw. Jayme nipped at the skin there, before moving down to his neck. He tilted his head to give Jayme better access. Jayme’s warm hands found their way under his shirt to skim up his sides, bringing the shirt up with them. He lifted his arms, and Jayme yanked the shirt over his head.