Page 43 of Strictly Curious
That was when I noticed the way he watched me. And, damn, he was sitting really close. His thigh practically touched mine, even though there was plenty of room at the table for all four of us to sit comfortably, so there was no reason for him to sit this close unless he really wanted to. Not that I was complaining after the way he’d brushed me off before we got here.
I placed one hand on his leg and picked up my slice of pizza with the other and took my first bite. The flavors burst across my tongue and I moaned around my food. Thiswasreally freaking good pizza. Privately owned places like this typically had the best, anyway.
“Good, right?” Ty asked, placing a hand on top of mine on his thigh.
I nodded, taking another big bite. It was too good to stop and talk.
We all talked very little because the food was too much of a distraction. The silence was filled with contented sighs and happy moans around amazing pizza. This was a place we were going to have to try again.
Once we finished eating, out of nowhere Tyler leaned his head against my shoulder, picking up his Coke and sipping at his straw happily. Tony was telling us this story about a time when he and Jacob had gone on a double date before they’d been together. The girls they’d been dating at the time had both been a little shallow.
Abby, the girl that Tony had been dating, had apparently been too engrossed in her phone. She kept shooting selfies and trying to make him pose for pictures with her so she could post them to her social media, and he hadn’t been into it. The girl that Jacob had been dating hadn’t been much better and the girls quickly became fast friends, forgetting about their dates entirely.
The second I felt Tyler’s lips on my neck I froze. My pulse jumped at the contact. What the hell was he doing? We were in public and while no one here knew who we really were outside of Jacob and Tony; it was still a risk. Newport wasn’t tiny, but it wasn’t huge either. There was still a chance someone we knew could see us.
“Well, he’s at least affectionate,” Jacob laughed, before linking his fingers with his boyfriend, bringing their joined fists to his lips, and kissing the back of their hands. I wished so desperately that I could have that open affection with Ty.
While the world was becoming more accepting of same-sex couples, the fact that we were stepbrothers presented another hurdle. The article that Toby posted being one of them. While we weren’t really related, many people still viewed relationships with a step sibling as wrong and taboo.
“Hey, Tyler?” I questioned. He hummed happily, which was a nice change from the anger from earlier. Go figure, filling his stomach made him happy. “You doing okay?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, doing good. That was some good food.”
Without warning, he grabbed my face, hands on both sides of my head, and placed a kiss against my lips. I froze once more at the contact. My brain did a quick scan of the area trying to remember if I’d seen any familiar faces. I really hadn’t, but I’d also been consumed by amazing food and even better friends to notice.
He pulled back, a smile stretched across his face as his eyes locked with my somewhat panicked gaze.
“You alright, Garrett?” he asked.
“Yeah—yeah,” I lied. I’d give anything to kiss him in public like this. Was this what I was signing on for by being with him? Could I really handle that? I’d wanted it for so fucking long.
“Something’s wrong.” It didn’t take long for Tyler to pick up my internal conflict.
I could hear my heart beat in my ears and I could feel sweat forming on my back. The change in Tyler from when we’d left the house earlier had been sudden. Maybe he was less angry now, but food didn’t normally cheer him up that much.
I stood quickly from my chair. It rattled against the ground and almost fell over. My skin felt like it was vibrating. I didn’t normally feel panicky like this but the reality of our situation was suddenly hitting me. “Shit, I need some air.”
Footsteps followed me out of the restaurant and for the first time, I wished Tyler would leave me alone. Fuck. I was getting everything I’d ever wanted, mostly, and I was just now realizing that I’d never fully have it. There would always have to be part of this that was hidden.
“Would you stop!” Tyler said, grabbing my arm as I reached for the handle of the car. Belatedly, I realized that I’d given the keys to him when we’d gone inside, unable to get in even if I wanted to.
“What the hell just happened in there? Everything was fine. We were enjoying some good food, and I wanted to get to know these friends of yours…”
I cut him off, grabbing both of his shoulders and leaning him against the side of the car. I covered his lips with my own, listening to him hiss as his back hit the hot metal. I bit at his lips until he opened his mouth and let me inside.
Him kissing me in the restaurant had been reckless, but kissing him like this, out in the open where anyone could see us? That was downright stupid. But I didn’t care. I needed to take what I wanted, consequences be damned. He whimpered and pressed against me as our tongues fought for dominance. I’d never get enough of his taste and I dreaded the day he decided he was done with this. I dreaded the day he decided he had gotten what he needed from this experiment, and he didn’t want to be with me after all.
Tyler’s fists balled in the front of my shirt, pulling me closer before finally shoving me away. His breathing was harsh, lips pink and swollen. I wanted to dive back in and sample them some more but this was already risky.
“Fuck me.”
I blinked at him stupidly.
“What?”
Tyler’s cheeks went rosy as he looked away, hands tightly clutching my shirt. “Do I—do I have to say it again?” His question was so quiet and I was in shock that he’d even said it at all.
“Are you…?”
