“Very funny,” Jason said. “That’s not what I meant.”

“You want more? Let’s see….” Asher picked up his empty beer bottle and rolled it between his palms. “Don’t unbutton your shirt all the way down to your rib cage and wear a bunch of gold necklaces in the opening.”

Jason snorted. “Anything else?”

“If you pick a guy up, go to his house, and find small pieces of the newspaper cut out, he’s probably writing a letter to the press about his latest victim.”

“Hmm. So then I have to decide what’s more important—the fact that he cares enough about the world around us to be one of the few remaining people with a newspaper subscription, or him being a murderer.”

“It’s a tough call,” Asher said. “Personally, I’d turn around and get the fuck out. Find a guy who likes movies instead.”

“I’ll take it under advisement,” Jason said, shaking his head in amusement. “You have any other golden nuggets to share?”

Asher’s expression turned serious. “If you get a chance at happiness, don’t squander it.”

JASON PLAYED catch-up at work after getting back from his trip to San Francisco, doubling up on his office hours to make up for the time he’d missed and keeping his busy surgery schedule the same. Between that and Christmas, he didn’t have much time to do or think about anything else.

But once he was back to his regular schedule, he reflected on what Asher had said about squandering his chance at happiness. The comment hit close to home because it was exactly what Jason knew he had done, not with the cute guy from the bar, but with his marriage. He wondered if it was really possible to have any version of the life he had wanted but thought he’d lost when his marriage had deteriorated. Or, if he was being honest, well before that.

Marrying another woman was out of the question. Angela was smart, funny, and beautiful, but Jason hadn’t been able to make things work with her, so there was no way he’d be able to sustain a relationship with another woman. He’d never considered men an option for anything other than good sex, but after talking with his cousin, he wondered if maybe there was something to the idea of having sex with the same person on a semiregular basis. After all, the second night with Abe had been even better than the first, and they had plenty of positions left to explore.

Hoping if he spent time at the coffee shop Abe frequented, they’d accidentally run into each other and he’d have the chance to find out if the third time was in fact the charm, Jason went to the Roasted Bean on Saturday evening. It was the fourth time he’d been there that week, and up to that point, the only thing he’d found out was that the chai latte was as good as Abe had said. The last time he struck out, he’d decided to improve his odds by describing Abe to one of the baristas and asking if she knew when he usually came in. With as frequently as Abe said he went there, Jason had high hopes the barista knew which customer he meant and had armed him with accurate information.

“Was I right? Best chai anywhere, isn’t it?”

Jason snapped his gaze up from his phone and met blue eyes. “Abe,” he said, not quite as casually as he would have liked. He cleared his throat and got his bearings. “Yes, the latte’s great. I might need to get another one.” He nudged his chin toward the empty seat across from him. “Join me.”

“Uh.” Abe flicked his gaze to the chair and then back to Jason. “I don’t want to interrupt your evening. I just saw you sitting here, so I came to say hi and see what you thought of the chai.” He swallowed hard and turned away. “I’ll see you around.”

“Wait,” Jason said as he jumped to his feet. “You won’t be interrupting me.”

“Really?” Abe faced him again. His eyebrows were drawn together, and he was chewing his bottom lip. “Are you sure?”

“Definitely.” Jason pointed to the chair again. “I’d enjoy the company.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Abe slowly slid into the chair. He wrapped his palms around his cup and looked down at his drink.

“Are you having the chai too?” Jason asked, trying to make conversation. It was awkward as hell, and he wondered if it was because he was out of practice or if it was because of the situation. People didn’t have coffee and make small talk with guys they took home to fuck.

“Yeah. I, uh, have them add a pump of vanilla and a pump of cinnamon to mine.” He licked his lips nervously. “It’s great.”

“That sounds good. I’ll try it.”

“Sure.” Abe pushed his cup halfway across the table.

It took Jason a moment to catch on to the fact that Abe was offering him a taste of the drink. When he said he’d try it, he meant another time, not that he wanted to literally try Abe’s drink. Normally, he would have waved the offer away rather than doing something as intimate as sharing a beverage from the same cup. But he didn’t want to make the situation awkward and he had already used his mouth and tongue in other intimate ways with Abe, so instead he reached for the cup, said, “Thanks,” and took a sip.

Tags: Cardeno C. Family Erotic
Source: readsnovelonline.net