From the Ashes (18 page)

“Fuck, Jess.” He mouthed Jesse’s shoulder, sucking hard on his neck. Tomas tasted makeup, but he didn’t mind eating a little wax. He needed to put a mark on Jesse before anyone else saw him looking so fine.

“You like?” Jesse rubbed closer.

The rigid material of Jesse’s pants contrasted with the soft, smooth skin on his chest. It was all Tomas could do not to lay him down in the parking lot. “Fuck yeah, I like. I may make you wear that around the house.”

Jesse laughed. “I should make you wear it.” Tomas kept groping him until Jesse gently pushed him away. “Stop kissing me, or we’ll never make it to meet the guys.”

Tomas put his forehead to Jesse’s shoulder and breathed in his scent. Jesse must have just put on deodorant because Tomas caught a whiff of it from the splay of hair poking from under his arm. He never would have thought deodorant was hot, but on Jesse it smelled like heaven.

“Fine. We’ll go to the party.” Tomas took Jesse’s hand as he started walking into the crowded streets. Even with guys everywhere, Tomas noticed him and Jesse getting some interested looks.

Jesse giggled. “You told me you weren’t going to wear a costume.”

“I’m not.” Tomas lifted an eyebrow.

“Mesh?” Jesse plucked at the front of Tomas’s shirt, right near his nipple. “I can honestly say I never would have expected to see you wearing a mesh shirt. A chain, okay. But mesh?”

Tomas reached down and swatted Jesse’s butt.

“I like it.” Jesse leaned away enough to roll his gaze over Tomas’s outfit. “It’s a little
Jersey Shore
, but you look sexy.”

“You saying, ‘You can take the boy out of the suburbs, but you can’t take the suburbs out of the boy?’” They stopped at an intersection, and Tomas wrapped his arm around Jesse’s waist. He leaned in to kiss him.

“Hey.” Jesse blushed on his cheeks and across the top of his chest. “Watch it with the public displays of affection. What if one of your buddies is around?”

Tomas frowned. “That doesn’t matter.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, more out of habit than anything. “I told Rick about us.”

“When?” The light turned to walk. Everyone around them poured into the intersection, but Jesse stood there, a rock in the river, looking at Tomas with concerned eyes. “You didn’t have to do that for me.”

“I didn’t.” Tomas touched Jesse’s arm, urging him to cross while they still had the light. When they were walking side by side, he slipped his hand down Jesse’s arm and wove their fingers together. It felt different than it had before—more meaningful.

“He was running his mouth off. And he would have found out eventually.”

“Oh. Well…” Jesse bit his lip. Maybe he was holding back an
I’m glad
, or
Good for you
, or something else about how Tomas had done the right thing. Tomas was glad when Jesse kept those thoughts, if he had them, to himself.

Jesse kissed Tomas on the cheek. He didn’t say anything else, just swung their arms, enjoying the Halloween crowd.

“You sure we can get in?” Tomas stopped in front of the club. There were at least another dozen guys outside, talking or waiting for friends.

“Yeah. We have tickets.” Jesse flashed them at the bored-looking drag queen sitting on a stool by the door.

“ID?” She cocked a drawn-on eyebrow at Jesse.

He handed her his card, and Tomas did the same.

“Go on.” She jerked a thumb at the door.

Jesse gave Tomas a big, bright smile and led him through the doorway.

That smile slayed him, and Tomas forgot all about Michael and the crap at Haunted Trails. Jesse was cute and adorable and sexy as all fuck. They were going to have an awesome night.

Not needing the coat check, they pushed through to the main area of the club. The floors thudded with bass. Red, green and purple lights beamed down from the ceiling. Mirrors coating the walls reflected hundreds of guys flashing skin.

The atmosphere sank under Tomas’s skin until he was high on just being there. His pulse picked up, and excitement flooded his brain and his dick. Pulling Jesse closer, he kissed him like he would fuck him right in front of everyone. There, at a club where everyone was drinking and grinding and screaming their heads off, Tomas couldn’t see any reason to pretend they weren’t crazy about each other.

“Want a drink?” he shouted into Jesse’s shoulder.

“Yeah.” Jesse palmed Tomas’s pecs through his shirt. “God, it would be so hot if you had your nipples pierced.”

“Hm?” Tomas puffed up his chest, giving Jesse more to hold on to. He loved the way Jesse bit his lip. “I’ll take that under advisement.” Tomas tweaked Jesse’s bare, pink nipple, imagining it speared through with a flat steel bar. “Maybe we could get it done together.”

“Fuck, I love you.” Jesse made a sound like a whimpering puppy and pressed their lips together in a messy kiss.

Tomas grabbed his back, trying to show him with his arms and his tongue that he loved him too. He could tell by Jesse’s split second of tension that Jesse hadn’t meant to say it out loud.

He’d meant
I love you
the way he’d say,
I love this movie
, or
I love it when you make me come
. Not in the bone-deep way Tomas felt.

“Let’s get that drink.” Tomas half dragged, half urged Jesse toward the bar. He shuffled them forward, pressing kisses into Jesse’s neck and rubbing his dick against Jesse’s ass. Again and again, he replayed what Jesse had said. Jesse loved him, at least enough to say it accidentally.

Chapter Fifteen

Michael and Henri texted to say they were still looking for parking, but Jesse didn’t mind. He hung out near the edge of the dance floor with Tomas, dancing in an easy grind, drink hanging from his hand. With the beat fast enough to be frantic, they moved in a way that was slow-motioned and incredibly intense.

Tomas stood behind him, running his hand up and down Jesse’s belly, right along the center. Each time Tomas got high enough to be close to Jesse’s nipple, he circled just along the outside.

Jesse leaned back, wrapping his free hand around Tomas’s head to the short hairs on Tomas’s neck. He took another sip of his drink—something electric blue with floating eyeballs. They’d ordered two drinks each when they’d finally gotten to the front of the bar. Despite the plan to give Michael and Henri their extras, Jesse and Tomas had gone through the first ones already, and were both on their second.

“You are so sexy,” Tomas murmured in his ear. He passed a hand down Jesse’s front, his fingers teasing over Jesse’s painfully erect cock.

“You wanna go out back? Or into the bathrooms?” Jesse had never hooked up outside a bar. He’d never even wanted to before, but with Tomas he knew it would feel rough and delicious, even a little scary, but also safe.

“Wanna take you home.” Tomas nipped his earlobe so hard it stung.

“Oh, c’mon.” It was torture, the best torture of his life. Lights spun around him, and Jesse felt like he was about to come from the heat of Tomas’s body and the rush of the crowd. “I can’t wait that long.”

Tomas reached into Jesse’s pants, under the stiff, nylon fabric. He cupped Jesse loosely, skimming his fingers along the sides of Jesse’s hard-on. “Mmm…” he breathed along Jesse’s neck. “This all for me?”

“Oh God.” Jesse tipped his head back on Tomas’s shoulder. He pushed his erection forward, praying Tomas would grab it for real.

Teasing, Tomas pressed his cock against his belly. The pressure was firmer, closer to what Jesse needed, but still so far away. “You gonna come in your pants?” Tomas teased.

His words were fond, almost cooing. Jesse’d been scared after he blurted out that weird “I love you.” He hadn’t meant to say it. At first he’d worried that Tomas would freak out—either have an
I’m-not-gay
moment, or go the other way and get all heavy and serious like he had when they were getting their tests.

After a while, Jesse had started to worry that Tomas hadn’t wanted to say it back. And how stupid was that?

He knew Tomas cared. On some level, he knew Tomas was even more attached than he was, but they loved each other in different ways. Tomas had never had people he cared about turn their backs on him. He gave his heart like it was nothing and could trust anyone to keep it safe.

Jesse didn’t know how to trust like that. So if he loved Tomas, it meant something different. Maybe that he was considering letting Tomas in.

“If you don’t get me off soon, I’m going to the bathroom and jerking off.” Jesse bucked into Tomas’s fingers.

“Naughty.” Tomas rubbed him harder through his boxer briefs. “You should wait until we get home so I can fuck you while you come.”

Jesse grinned, pleasantly surprised at how Tomas was all of a sudden pro-fucking. Sure, some of Tomas’s enthusiasm might have been due to his jealousy over Michael, but that was fine. Jesse’d take Tomas any way he could get him.

He pushed his ass out, trying to feel Tomas through the thick firefighter pants. Jesse whimpered, frustrated.

“Let’s go.” Jesse grabbed Tomas’s hand. By the time he’d pulled him a few steps, he spotted Henri and Michael making their way into the club.

Henri wore makeup striped across his face like one of those old posters of David Bowie, and Michael was dressed as a cop. Yeah, it was one of those sexy-cop outfits, sleeveless and tight, but with the way he frowned over the crowd, he had the air of a guy who wanted to boss everyone around.

“Oh drat.” Jesse wrapped his hands around Tomas’s arm, bumping into him to get him to stop. “The guys are here,” he shouted, pointing to where Henri and Michael stood.

“Think we could sneak out the back door?” Tomas asked in his ear. He didn’t stop rubbing against Jesse’s back.

Jesse’s mouth fell open in outrage.

“Kidding. I know you want to hang out.” He trailed a finger down Jesse’s front, and then tickled over his groin.

“Asshole.” Jesse rolled his eyes.

Tomas led them through the bustling crowd. When they got pushed by a group of girls in ’70s-style leotards, Tomas said in his ear, “Let’s take a trip to the bathrooms after we say hi.”

“Guess that’ll have to do.” Jesse knew it would be a douche maneuver to bail right when Henri and Michael had finally showed up. He wove through the crowd to his friends.

Michael narrowed his eyes at Tomas, but Henri looked both Tomas and Jesse over appreciatively. “Hey there, sexy.” Henri wrapped an arm around Jesse’s waist and pulled him into a hug.

He pressed a kiss onto Jesse’s cheek, probably leaving behind some purple lipstick. When he did the same to Tomas, he whispered something up close that Jesse didn’t hear. He didn’t have to hear it, though, because whatever Henry had said made Tomas smile.

“What took so long?” Jesse touched Michael’s arm. He figured it was best to keep Michael away from direct conversations with Tomas.

“Had to take a detour so Henri could fight with his boyfriend.” Michael wore an expression as pissy as Jesse had ever seen.

“It’s not a big deal.” Henri waved his hand around. He swayed, as if maybe they’d stopped for a drink already. “We always make up in the end.”

Henri’s attention darted all over the room, and it was clear he didn’t want to talk about whatever had happened. “Ooh, look—shots!” He pointed to where a waiter in a pair of tiny shorts and a sparkly, alien-bopper headband was taking money in exchange for test tubes full of bright green liquor.

Giggling, Henri pushed toward the guy.

“Is he okay?” Jesse didn’t know Henri all that well, but he hoped Henri wasn’t too upset.

“No.” Michael ground his teeth, staring daggers at his friend’s back, but he didn’t say anything else.

Tomas used the opening to get across to Jesse. “Ready for that bathroom break?” He nuzzled Jesse’s neck, slipping his hand down the back of Jesse’s pants to fondle Jesse over his underwear.

The move felt different from how they’d been making out before. Tomas’s touch was less teasing and more deliberate. He palmed Jesse’s ass like he had something to prove. From the way Michael was scowling at him, maybe he did.

“Yeah. Let’s go.” Jesse twisted so that Tomas’s hand slipped out of his firefighter pants. He leaned over to shout to Michael. “I’ve got to pee. We’ll be right back.”

Michael scrunched up his face in a look of disgust. He tossed his head, saying an exaggerated, “Whatever.”

Jesse could tell it pissed Tomas off because Tomas held his arm in a death grip.

Grinning, Henri jogged up with test tubes. “Hold up. Let’s do a shot!” He passed out their drinks. “Cheers!”

Despite Henri’s chipper attitude, both Tomas and Michael scowled as they threw back their drinks.

Jesse swallowed his fast, and then gave Henri a big smile. Tomas and Michael being pissy didn’t mean Jesse couldn’t have fun. “Thanks.” He patted Henri lightly on the arm. “We’ll be right back.”

Henri lifted his eyebrows, smirking. “Have fun.”

If Henri teased them anymore, Jesse didn’t know, because Tomas had him by the forearm and marched him across the club. It was a slow procession since the place was packed. Jesse noticed more straight people—couples and a few groups of girls—filling the place.

When they reached the line stretching outside the men’s room, Tomas rubbed his face.