“It is. But no one ever claimed I always made good decisions.” He scrubbed a hand up and down his face, more to buy himself some time than to relieve any stress or anything. “Ever since you brought up a blow job, it’s been stuck in my craw. Then you stumble around yesterday, wet and shirtless. “
“You’re really so hard up that just seeing my nipples makes you change your mind?”
Ozzy rolled his eyes. “Keep running your mouth, I’m sure I’ll come back to my senses.” He exhaled sharply. “We’re working together without murdering each other, right?”
“So far. Although I did get close back in Springfield. Jake beat me to it.”
Ozzy caught himself shifting his jaw side-to-side. “Don’t remind me.” Not that Ozzy couldn’t take a hit, but Jake had seriously laid him out.Deservedly so, but still.
Evander leaned back, arms to the side, exposing every inch of his bare abdomen and stretching his chest and shoulders taut. Also basically putting his bulge on display, as though Ozzy needed a reminder. “Point is, no murder yet. But you know I was only partly serious about giving you head, right?”
Ozzy shrugged. “Say no if you want. I’m a dick, but it’s not like I’m going to force you into anything.”
Evander cringed and leaned back forward. “I wasn’t implying anything like that.”
“I know. Just…say no if you were joking.” Ozzy’s chest tightened, but he forced his voice to stay even and mellow. “If not, I think we’re in an okay enough place that one BJ isn’t goingto throw the entire production into absolute chaos. As long as we don’t let it go past that.”
Ev closed his eyes and sucked in a deep, slow breath that expanded his chest and pushed out on his belly. Then he nodded. “You’ll reciprocate?”
Ozzy snorted. “Did Ieverleave you without cumming?”
Evander’s eyes sharpened and it was like the past slamming straight into the present. Ozzy had walked into something old, but before he could cut the conversation off, Evander jumped into it, a smile playing at his lips. “Seattle trip for our one year anniversary.”
“Yes, when I had food poisoning. I remember. Itoldyou not to bother blowing me because I couldn’t risk going down on you and triggering my gag reflex. You didn’t listen.”
“Of course not. If I listened, I wouldn’t have had something to hold over your head forever.”
Ozzy couldn’t help but laugh, warmth blossoming across his chest and, at least for the moment, burning away at the edges of his anxiety. “I’m not sure that holds water. Considering Ipaidfor the hotel room. And the fucking scallops that got me sick. And I did you the kindness ofnotpuking all over your cock.”
Ev nodded. “Plus we’re not a couple anymore.”
Right. Ozzy nodded. “This is just business. And of course I’ll take care of you if you take care of me.”
Evander sighed, then walked over and grabbed the pineapple container. He popped it open and bit into one chunk of bright yellow. He spoke around it as he chewed. “So, I know whatIget out of this. But if you’ll forgive me being a little too honest—”
“I don’t want to dive into anything deeper than physical.” Ozzy had already planned for this, knew that Evander would want to unpackreasonsfor him to ask for head. As though he needed more than just horniness.Nothing I want to touch on. “Suck some dick, slap each other on the ass, then don’t mention it toanyone. I just need something better than low-definition porn and my hand.”
Evander stood quietly a moment. Two moments. Then he grabbed another piece of pineapple and closed the distance with Ozzy, holding the fruit out in front of him.
Chapter twenty-two
Evander
He knew it wasa ballsy play, but if Ozzy was serious about this, then a little foreplay was in order. Not to mention, Evander had barely torn his eyes away from Ozzy’s lips the entire time he’d been sitting there in the office chair. It wouldn’t hurt his feelings at all to get up close and personal with them.
Ozzy leaned forward, red creeping up his cheeks, and parted his lips. Gently, he wrapped them around the pineapple, and around Evander’s fingers. He sucked back hard, tongue grazing over the edges of Evander’s nails as he worked the pineapple back into his mouth. Ev hardened all the way back to full mast.
In part because, the entire time, Ozzy held eye contact. His eyes always felt like a secret to Evander. Brown to look at them, but when you managed to really inspect, the liveliness came to light. Flecks of gold and brass and green that gleamed like tiny shards of gemstones.
When he fully pulled back, Ev had to breathe deeply to get control of himself. He backed away, not wanting to break eye contact and shatter the moment, until he got to the light switch by the door. He jerked his head to the side and, in equal silence, Ozzy nodded.
Hotel room dark wasn’t like normal dark. It was complete blackness that fell in an instant. Evander shuffled forward, not wanting to stub his toes. It would be a little bit before his eyes adjusted, and shouting and swearing and falling on his face might put a damper on the mood.
A bright star gleamed and, after a moment, he saw it was Ozzy’s phone. He was grinning broader than before, almost like when they were a happy couple. “A little light. At least until we’re both safely laying down.”
“Good call.” Ev’s voice came out rough and low.
Ozzy moved to the bed and toed off his shoes, then shimmied out of his pants and tossed his shirt to the side. The phone light in his hand moved, illuminating and shadowing different parts of the process. Evander got a flash of an armpit here, the bumps on Ozzy’s spine there, the outline of his ass, with his underwear riding up his crack just enough to give his cheeks full definition beneath the fabric.
