"Em? Are you… are you mad that I kissed you? Is it weird? Because I don't want to fuck up our friendship, and whateverthisis, it would be fine if we had to put it behind us. Right now, if you say the word. I can sleep on the sofa or something."
“No. It’s…" I released his hand and rolled to my side to face him. “Why did you do it?”
He turned to look at me and shook his head. “It’s hard to explain.”
“Try me.”
“I—” He swallowed and took a breath. “I saw something that made me think of you. Like, differently.”
“SomethingIdid?”
“No,” he said in a hurry. “I’m not doing a very good job of explaining this, I guess. I saw—this is embarrassing.”
“It’s okay,” I reassured him.
“I saw a guy who looked like you in a porn I was watching. Like… a gay porn. And, I don’t know, I can’t stop thinking about it. About you. Like that.”
I inhaled deeply, parsing my feelings about his confession. “Do you—are you saying you want us to sleep together?”
“No,” he blurted again. “No. I just meant… I don’t know. Things changed for me after that. About you. I got curious. And then, Iliked it. I mean, Ireallyliked it. Like I said, though, I don’t want to fuck things up with our friendship. So if this is weird, or too much, or whatever, I get it. We can pretend it never happened. Go back to normal. Is that what you want?”
I thought for a long minute.Wasthat what I wanted? Something had shifted in me, especially since that first kiss. My chest constricted as I let myself imagine kissing him again.
I shook my head. “That’s not what I want.” And then, I pulled him in for a kiss.
Mason inhaled and immediately leaned into it. The kiss wasn't as tentative as before. Instead, it was tinged with the confidence that came with getting consent, knowing your partner wanted it, too. We kissed, long and slow, tongues dragging along one another, exploring. He tugged me closer and we rolled until I was straddling him, the same way I had the night before. I was hard, my cock pressing against his pelvis, his erection doing the same to me. Without thinking, I thrust my hips, chasing the heat banking in my groin.
He moaned under me, moving his hands to cup my ass and urging me on. His body rocked up to meet mine. Before I knew it, an orgasm was drawing near. I pulled away, breaking the kiss and sitting up.
"What's wrong?" His eyes were wide in the moonlight, dark and hungry.
I ran my fingers through my hair, panting hard. "I was… I mean, I didn't want to…" I gestured vaguely down at my erection, clearly evident through my shorts. "I was close."
He laughed shakily. "Me too."
"Now what?"
He was quiet for a moment before shrugging reluctantly. "I like what we’re doing.”
“But?” I prompted after a second.
“But I’m not sure I’m ready to… you know. Go further.”
I nodded, relieved. “Same.”
“We should probably turn in for the night. Tomorrow is day one for the roof."
"And sleeping arrangements?"
Mason smiled softly, a little uncertainly. "Whatever you want."
Chapter Nine
Mason and Emery
Mason
Eventually we headed inside for the night. I had told Emery he could make the final call about sleeping arrangements, and I had been honest—I would do whatever he felt most comfortable with. That said, I was absolutely hoping he’d let me get in bed next to him and embrace these budding feelings. I wanted to hold him, kiss him, and even touch him in ways I’d never considered before.
