Page 47 of The Barkeep and the Bro

“Sure.” I should’ve told him to stop. He was trashed and unfiltered, and I was sober and his boss. What honesty would come out? I didn’t want him to put himself in an awkward position. “Or maybe it’s best that you drink some–”

“It’s not the same as it used to be. I kinda miss being at the bar.”

Oh. Not what I was expecting. WhatwasI expecting?

“You’ve been through a lot lately. New town, new apartment, new career. You’re finding your groove.” It made me smile that he loved working at Stone’s Throw.

“You always know what to say, Boss.”

Hearing him call me Boss made me smile from the inside out every damn time.

“And…” I heard his mouth get closer to his phone. “there’s this girl who wants to kiss me, and I don’t want to kiss her,” he whispered.

“Why not? Is she not pretty?”

“It’s because I keep thinking about kissing you.”

Shit. My dick jumped in my pants. I readjusted myself but kept my hand there. I’d been unable to think about anything but kissing him.

“Shit. I shouldn’t have said that but wait a minute…you kissed me back. You slipped me tongue, Boss. Huh. Why did you kiss me back with your tongue?”

Because I wanted to wrap you in my arms and completelydevouryou.

I couldn’t usethatanswer. I knew I had to say something. I couldn’t let sleeping dogs lie. “I was trying to protect you from that creepy customer. I’m really sorry, Charlie.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“Because I…” I couldn’t bring myself to say I didn’t mean it, that it was a mistake. It wasn’t a mistake, not for me. Fuck. “It wasn’t appropriate for me to do. I never wanted to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t. The honest truth is that…I’ve been thinking about it. A lot.” His voice dropped and made my dick throb in my jeans.

“What do you mean ‘a lot?’”

Charlie nervously laughed. “I…I can’t believe I’m telling you this, and it’s only because I’m super duper drunk, but I might’ve thought about it…while touching…”

My throat went dry. Every cell in my body tensed.

“...Myself.”

Holy shit. I was hard as a fucking rock. I wasn’t getting to sleep without rubbing one out, that was for sure. My desire for Charlie was now full-blown lust, overpowering all of my good sense.

“Pretend you didn’t hear that,” he said.

“What if I don’t want to pretend?” I chugged the rest of my beer. “How did you touch yourself?”

His breath hitched, as did mine.

“Just regular. Hand on my dick. Good old-fashioned jerking off. I…might be touching myself right now.”

Damn. This boy was drunk and horny. I wished he was here, but I closed my eyes and pictured his warm brown eyes and gorgeous smile.

“Are you touching yourself over your pants?” I kept my voice steady.

“Uh-huh.”

We’d already crossed the line by kissing. You couldn’t cross the same line again.

“Unbutton your pants, Charlie.”

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