Yes (18 page)

“I like you too,” Ryan said.

Matthew leaned over and kissed him. Ryan wrapped his arms around Matthew’s neck and pulled him close. He tasted like espresso and chocolate.

Matthew ran his hand under Ryan’s T-shirt and tugged on his nipple. “You want to go somewhere else?”

“Eventually, but this is kind of hot, don’t you think?” Ryan grabbed Matthew’s hand and moved it to his crotch.

“Hot and hard,” Matthew said.

“All the better to fuck you with.”

“Are you negative?”

“You bet,” Ryan said. “Just got tested last week. You?”

“Two months, but nothing even remotely risky since then. You want to…?”

“What?”

“Go raw?” Matthew asked.

Ian tried to protest, but Ryan shut him down. “Are you sure?”

“If you say you’re negative, I believe you.”

“Uncle Ian tells me to use a condom every time, even with people I’m dating.”

“But if we’re both negative, what does it matter? We can’t give each other something we don’t have. Do you think I’m lying to you?”

“No.”

“I don’t do random hookups, Ryan. I told you I like you, and I meant it. I get a hard-on whenever we work together. You’re my boss’s hot nephew, and you’re here with
me
. I want to spend all night with your bare dick up my ass, and in the morning, I want to fall asleep with your come inside me. I don’t see what’s wrong with that if we’re both clean.”

Ryan cringed. “Don’t use that word.”

“I’m sorry, you’re right. It’s a bad habit. Look, if you want to use a condom, I under—”

“No. I don’t want to use a condom. Take off your pants and get over here.”

Matthew slipped off his shoes and jeans. Ryan undid his fly and pulled out his stiff dick. He spit on his hand and covered his cock with saliva. Matthew straddled Ryan, and they kissed. Then Matthew eased himself onto Ryan’s dick. Ryan looked up in time to see Matthew’s eyes roll into the back of his head.

Matthew moaned. “It’s just like a clutch. You have to ease through that engagement point. And once we get to second gear, you won’t have to worry about taking it easy anymore.”

“I can slam you all the way to fifth?” Ryan reached between them to feel Matthew’s dick. “Nice. I like a bottom who can stay hard while he’s getting fucked.”

“Are you kidding? A cock up my ass is what gets me that way.” Matthew increased the pace of their fucking.

“Be careful. I’ll come fast if you—”

“But you can come more than once, right?”

“Sure. Several times.”

“Then shoot your load, Parker. Shoot it right up my ass, and then use your spunk for lube in the next round.”

Ryan found the whole scene so hot that he immediately started coming. Matthew’s cock swelled in his hand, and Ryan felt a warm liquid dripping down his knuckles. Matthew slowly came to a stop and lifted himself off Ryan. He moved back into the driver’s seat and laid his head against the rest.

“Jesus, I hope that was just a preview.”

Ryan tucked his dick back into his briefs. “You want to drive home?”

“Absolutely. Can we go to my place, though? I have three roommates, but we each have our own room.”

“Why? I have a whole house to myself.”

“I know, but it would be too weird, sleeping in my boss’s bed.”

“Okay,” Ryan said as he leaned over and kissed Matthew. “I didn’t even think about that. Your place is fine. But I hope your roommates don’t complain about the fucking noises.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

R
YAN
HAD
to be at La Tazza the next morning at eight. At seven, he left Matthew sound asleep and content. He drove home, took a shower, and changed his clothes. He checked Ian’s phone. In addition to another missed call, there was a new voice mail from Bartley. He tapped through and listened.

Hey, Ian. Can you give me a ring? I really need to talk to you. Anytime this weekend, but the sooner the better. Thanks.

Ian thought about calling him back, but he already knew what Bartley was going to say. Something about maybe them having dinner together wasn’t such a good idea, and frankly Ryan didn’t want to hear it. He stuffed the phone into his pocket and left the house.

He met Teresa at La Tazza and went into the office. He planned on texting Matthew a big “
Good Morning
” with a smiley emoticon so it would be waiting for him when he woke up, but then Ryan realized he had the wrong phone. He reached for a pile of invoices and turned on his laptop. Ian’s phone buzzed. Ryan looked at the caller ID.
Bartley
. He might as well get this over with. Ryan cleared his throat, lowered his voice, and answered the call.

“Hey, Bartley.”

“Hi, Ian.”

“I got your message. I was going to call you back.”

“It’s okay. I’m sorry to bug you, but I’ve been up all night going crazy. Have you talked to Ryan since yesterday?”

“No. Why? What’s wrong?”

“Do you have a minute to talk?”

“Can you hold on a second?”

“Sure.”

Ryan put the phone on mute and went out front to check on Teresa. She gave him a thumbs-up to indicate she had the situation under control, and then Ian returned to the office. He took the phone off mute and dropped his voice again. “Sorry, I had to check on my dad and make sure he was settled. We can talk now. What happened with Ryan?”

“I don’t know, really. I’ve played it over and over in my head, trying to figure it out. I wanted to be upfront with him. I got the impression he had a little crush on me, and I didn’t want to lead him on. I thought I was doing the right thing. But then I ended up telling him a lot of stuff that I should have told you first. And he said some things I would rather have heard from—”

“Bartley, you’re not making any sense. In fact, I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”

Ian heard Bartley take a deep breath. “I told Ryan I couldn’t date him because I’m hoping to date you instead. I know I asked you to dinner as friends, but that was just me not wanting to make you uncomfortable, in case you weren’t interested. I like you, Ian, and I was afraid you were only being nice to me because I’m a customer. But then Ryan told me something that changed everything. Something about you.”

“What did he say?”

“He told me you’re HIV positive.”

“Oh.” Ian played with a paper clip on his desk. “Well, it’s not exactly a dirty little secret.”

“I understand that. But I wanted to—”

“Let me guess. Once you heard I’m poz, you changed your mind about the date. Why are you calling me, Bartley? Do you feel the need to rub it in or something?”

“Ian, let me—”

“Do you know how many times I’ve been rejected by negative guys? Neither do I, because I’ve lost count. Why couldn’t you just leave me alone? I’m in Arizona, for Christ’s sake, taking care of my sick mom. Is this a sympathy call? Do you have any idea how offensive that is? Think about it. Did I really need to hear that you wanted to go on a date with me until you found out—”

“So am I.”

Ian stopped talking. He stood up, stunned. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “What?”

“I’m HIV positive too.”

Ian silently mouthed, “Fuck” and then said, “Since when?”

“Seven months and thirteen days.”

Ian counted back to September—the month Bartley broke up with Mason. Did Bartley cheat on his boyfriend and get HIV in the process?

“I’m sorry,” Ian said. “I don’t know why I assumed…. Shit. I feel like a total dick. You’re just not the kind of guy I expected to be—”

“But you are?”

Ian sat back down. “I’m sorry. I’m a little defensive when it comes to that. I’m so sick and tired of explaining my status, I sometimes fly off the handle. Please, forgive me.”

“Forget about it. I didn’t call you for an apology.”

Ian smiled. “How are you doing? Do you have a doctor?”

“I’m okay. All that’s taken care of, but I don’t want to burden you with my stuff right now. You have your mom to think about.”

“Please, I’d be grateful if you took me away from that for five minutes. I’ve been where you are.”

“Well, I doubt you’ve been quite where I am.”

“What does that mean?” Ian said.

“Nothing. I’d rather skip the gory details for now, if that’s okay. I called because I got excited. I’ve been wanting to ask you out for months, but I was scared that you wouldn’t want anything to do with me once you found out. And then when Ryan told me you’re—am I crazy, Ian? Tell me I’m not crazy.”

“You’re not crazy. I’ve wanted to ask you out for months too, but I never did, and for the exact same reason.”

“When are you coming back to Austin?” Bartley asked.

“I don’t know yet.”

“Can I visit you in Phoenix?”

“No,” Ian said. “That’s not a good idea.”

“Why not? Your parents will love me. I can help out.”

“No, really. I’m sure they’d love you, but now’s not a good time. Please, trust me, Bartley. Don’t get on a plane and surprise me.”

“Okay. But I want to see you.”

“I’ll try to talk to my brother about an exit strategy next week.” Ian needed to change the subject. “How did the groundbreaking go on your project?”

“Wow, you remembered. It went great, thanks. The couple is happy, and the contractor’s already ahead of schedule. And that’s not even the best part.”

“What’s the best part?”

“The wife recommended me to one of her friends, and now I’m designing house number two.”

“Bartley, that’s awesome news. You’re really on your way.”

“I feel like things are finally turning around. It was the worst winter of my life. I felt like dying, but do you know what kept me going?”

“No. What?”

“La Tazza.”

“Are you serious?”

“There’s something about that place,” Bartley said. “I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel like I’m under a magic spell when I walk through the door. No matter how bad things got, La Tazza was always there for me—constant and dependable. It saved my life.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“And the guy who owns it is really hot too. Oh, I almost forgot. I watched Elias and Lari on YouTube while you were in Denver.”

“You did not,” Ian said.

“I’m serious. At first I couldn’t get past the bad acting, but then I got sucked in by the story. And the scenes in the sauna were hysterical.”

“Which one do you think is cuter? Elias or Lari?”

“Neither. The boys do nothing for me, but Elias’s father? I think his name is Sebastian. Wow, what a stud. He reminds me of you. I wouldn’t mind seeing his towel slip in the steam room, one of these days.”

Ian laughed. “I can’t believe you watched that.”

“I tried out
Hollyoaks
too, and I see what you mean about those Roscoe brothers, but I couldn’t follow what was going on. Now I need something else to watch, though. Is there another story that’s more self-contained?”

“Christian and Oliver, from
Verbotene Liebe
. But stop once they get married the first time. After that, it’s just an exercise in frustration. Or, if your heart can take it, check out Lenny and Carsten. Their story is very dark and very German but so worth it in the end. Those two couples can really stand up to Brian and Justin or Will and Sonny in the legendary department.”

“Who are Will and Sonny?”

“They’re from
Days of Our Lives
. They just got married. You can also check out Ian and Mickey from
Shameless
. They’re the best written and acted gay couple I’ve ever seen on television. I’ll text you the link to their YouTube trims. There are only six of them, so it’s not a huge commitment. Watch them first, and don’t bail at any point. Things get brutal in season three, but push past it.”

“Okay,” Bartley said. “Enough about me and my new YouTube addiction. How are you doing?”

“I’m making the best of a difficult situation.”

“I bet. What do you do all day while you’re there?”

“We have a routine with my mom, getting her out of bed and cooking all the meals. The rest of the time, I watch baseball games with my dad and brother.”

“No way. I love baseball. Can you believe the Brewers this season?”

“They won’t be able to keep that up,” Ian said. “They’re going to be a streaky team, mark my words.”

“We have to go to Houston when you get back, and see an Astros game.”

“You’re kidding, right? They’re the worst team in baseball.”

“So? I embraced them when I was at Rice, and I’m not one of those fair-weather fans. Besides, I have a soft spot for the underdogs. It’ll be fun. Maybe they’ll even put us on the kiss cam.”

“This is surreal.”

“Why?” Bartley asked.

“Because I’ve had a crush on you for so long, and now we’re suddenly talking about trips to Houston and kiss cams.”

“I guess we have Ryan to thank. If he hadn’t told me you’re positive, I might have chickened out on the whole thing and never said a word.”

“I thought I was too old for you.”

Bartley laughed. “Too old? Boy, did you have me pegged wrong. I like men, not boys. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to jump across that bar and make out with you.”

“Well, you wouldn’t have encountered any resistance.”

“I’m glad to hear that. You’re one sexy motherfucker, Ian Parker. I can’t wait until you fuck me.” Bartley took a brief pause and then laughed. “Sorry, did I just say that? I hope you know my intentions are more—”

“Has there been anyone since…?”

“No, but you’re the perfect person to break the dry spell. Do we have to use condoms?”

“I’m fine without them. ‘Membership has its privileges’ and all that.”

“Nice. Oh, before I forget, I need to run something by you. Ryan mentioned that he wanted to take a carpentry class while he was here, so I invited him to a party tomorrow afternoon. It’s a friend of mine who makes his own furniture. You should see his house. He and his wife are doing a wine and cheese thing in the afternoon. I thought it’d be a good chance for Ryan to meet him. What do you think?”

“Sounds like a great idea. You don’t have to do that, though.”

“I want to. He’s your nephew. Look, I know he wanted our dinner to turn into a date—he even admitted it—but at his age, he’ll move on after ten minutes. Besides, once he figures out that Matthew is the one he belongs with, he’ll forget all about me. You should see those two together. They’re frigging adorable.”