“Yeah. So what?” Craig replied, shading his eyes as he looked up at the man on the back of the horse. God, it was Skyler. Of course, he had known that from the voice, but part of him had thought that he was mistaken, that he had been thinking about Skyler and had misheard. “You’re on a horse!”
“Nice tone of surprise,” Skyler replied, and Craig grinned, slightly sheepish. He had been shocked by that, and he was also a little surprised by the ease with which Skyler swung down out of the saddle.
“Sorry. You, uh, look good.” Craig coughed and wiped at his mouth, then took another mouthful of the golden liquid in the bottle. It was smooth going down, good quality stuff, but it hit his stomach and exploded like fire. “Doing that. You look good doing that. Wait, what does it being noon have to do with anything?”
Skyler tied his horse to the tree, his fingers moving with the deft precision that anyone familiar with a horse would manage. To say that Skyler was a fast learner was clearly an understatement since he had been a complete beginner when they had come here only a few months ago.
He was all smooth grace now, but it touched Craig deeply, probably too much so, when he saw that Skyler was still wearing the hat that Craig had given to him before. It was probably nothing but practicality on Skyler’s part, of course. Why wouldn’t he wear something that he’d been given instead of buying something new?
“You’re drinking, and it’s only noon,” Skyler replied, and Craig snickered softly to himself, watching the other man as he dug through his saddlebag, only dully curious about what he was actually doing but highly interested in simply looking at him.
“Yeah, I guess that’s pretty pathetic,” Craig admitted. “And so is drinking alone. So why don’t you come drink with me? Help me out?”
Skyler came to sit on the grass with him, and in his hands he was carrying a few sandwiches, neatly contained in a plastic container, as well as another of the containers filled with apple and orange slices.
“I’ll drink if you eat,” Skyler offered, and Craig was actually a little stunned by that. He had assumed that Skyler would dismiss it out of hand. Skyler didn’t seem like the type of guy who was big on drinking in general. “I noticed you riding out this morning. I hope you don’t mind that I followed you.”
Mind? Not a chance. Even after all of these months, and all of the time that Craig had tried to get over Skyler, he had to admit that he hadn’t managed it. If anything, he was thrilled. Thrilled that Skyler had cared, that anyone had. He had really assumed that no one did.
“It’s a deal,” Craig agreed, and they solemnly exchanged the bottle of whiskey for the container of sandwiches. For a while, they just sat in companionable silence, munching and sipping from the bottle as the sun swung lazily by overhead.
“Where have you been?” Skyler asked, just when Craig had become completely sure that the other man wasn’t going to say anything at all. That Skyler had simply come to bring him food. But Skyler, it seemed, was never going to make any sense to Craig. He was never going to be predictable.
“Trying to figure out …” Craig narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out how to state it, and then grinned.Why not be grandiose about it?“My purpose in life. My meaning. What I’m supposed to be doing.”
Skyler nodded as Craig turned to look at him, but Skyler’s gaze was fixed firmly on the rippling green waves of water as the creek ran slowly past them.
“Did you find it?” Skyler asked, and Craig snorted softly and shook his head. “That’s too bad. I would like to find that myself.”
That interested Craig, in a way that nothing had in a long time. Honestly, he hadn’t been this fascinated since the last time he had been with Skyler. Maybe that was why he liked him so much because it was impossible to be bored when Skyler was around. He was quiet, but Craig could never be entirely sure what would come out of that perfect, generous mouth.
“Well, if you figure it out, let me know,” Craig requested, and Skyler laughed softly and finally, he turned back to look at Craig. That laugh sounded strange to Craig, just a little bit off, a little bit more open. Skyler so rarely laughed at all.
“Now you’re drunk, too,” Craig said in realization, and Skyler smirked, barely noticeable but it was there. To Craig, as closely as he was looking at Skyler, it seemed completely obvious.
“We could figure it out together, perhaps,” Skyler murmured, and while Craig was still trying to figure out whatthatmeant, Skyler was leaning in toward him, his eyes half-lidded, and his eyelashes veiling his eyes.
Months swept away in an instant, and it was like they were back in the water again, deliciously chilled by the water, Craig’s hand on Skyler’s shoulder as they moved together. Craig had been so sure, for a crazy second back then, that Skyler had been about to kiss him. Of course, he’d been wrong then, so probably he was wrong now if he thought …
Those thick lashes swept down, hiding Skyler’s eyes completely, and before Craig could make head or tails of any of that, Skyler was right there, so close that Craig could see every detail of his skin, the slight dryness of his lips, even the small scattering of very tiny freckles over his nose.
Right up until their lips touched, Craig was sure that he was misreading the situation. Of course, he was. There was no way that Skyler would kiss him. He didn’t even get his eyes closed before their lips met.
Skyler’s mouth was soft but firm, very sure of himself. There was no hint of uncertainty to the kiss, no holding back. Those lips asked, without needing to say a word, a very simple question, and while Skyler was very obviously ready to let Craig pull back if he wanted to, Skyler’s actions, at last, made it abundantly clear what the gorgeous man wanted.
It was a dream come true. How many times in his life had everything that Craig wanted just walked up to him and offered itself to him? He had given up on this, been absolutely sure that it was impossible, and his head spun with more than the whiskey in response to getting it.
There was no chance in hell of him turning this down. Only a brief thought of ethics, of whether this was right or not, given the whiskey, but they hadn’t really drunk that much. Enough to lower inhibitions, to let them both past a wall that had been up between them, a wall of misunderstandings.
Craig reached for Skyler, who was still just kissing him, only their lips touching, ready to pull away if Craig showed the slightest sign of discomfort. But Craig wasn’t going to pull away, even if maybe he should.
Instead, his hands settled on the sweet, subtle roundness of Skyler’s ass and pulled him onto his lap. Adjusting his small body so that they could press close, the kiss was able to deepen, and Craig felt the connection through every inch of his suddenly desperate body.
He plunged his tongue deep, pushing between Skyler’s lips, and felt the other man yield to him. Skyler tasted of the sandwich and the whiskey, and the sweetness of the fruit, but there was also something else there, something salty and sweet and addictive, something that Craig was sure was just purely Skyler.
The kiss seemed to go on forever, but it wasn’t long enough. Skyler’s slender, but surprisingly strong arms wrapped around Craig, and perhaps it was often hard for Craig to tell what was going on with Skyler, but he had no difficulty at that moment. It turned out that Skyler’s body spoke volumes.
Skyler’s hips rocked—small, instinctive little movements, a sign as clear as anything. A flush of heat rushed through Craig’s body, something as hot as lava pushing through his veins with every beat of his heart, and that was when Craig stopped holding back.
