Page 27 of Stay with Me
“Trish was married before Mike? And did you say she’d been on Broadway?” Okay, Drew could talk about his family easily.
“So, Aunt Trish…” Drew launched into the story of his aunt and uncle and their fairy tale. He never tired of telling the different stories. They were all individual but the undercurrent of the military and their made family pulled them all together. By the time that Drew and Brody got back to where they started, they’d been walking for over an hour.
“Wait! Your Aunt Jeannine threatened to pull a Ka-Bar on Trish’s former mother-in-law? I don’t think I met your Aunt Jeannine at the pinning,” Brody said as the got to Drew’s Jeep.
“You met Uncle Spook?” Drew asked as he pulled his car keys out and unlocked the door.
“He’s the scary one, right? Special Forces?” Brody reached for the handle just as Drew did to open the door. Their hands met on the plastic bringing them chest to back. Drew dropped his head a little and brushed a kiss along Brody’s nape. “You are coming back to my house with me, right?”
“I did drive you here,” Drew murmured. He didn’t want to overthink Brody’s question but he was hoping.
“Don’t be dense. Will you come in when we get to my place?” Brody looked over his shoulder at Drew. The heat Drew saw in his eyes knocked all thought from Drew and all he could do was nod.
“Nowhere else I’d like to be tonight.” Drew pulled open the door, closing it when Brody was seated. He rushed around the end of the Jeep, stopping himself at the spare tire. Drew took a few deep breaths to calm himself. It might have been a while since he’d gotten with someone — sue him if he was picky — buthe knew how to give and take. He just hoped that he was good enough for Brody. Please let him be good enough.
Chapter Eighteen
Brody flicked the light on in his living room as they entered the condo. He really needed to put some kind of décor up, to stop living like it was all going to be taken away from him.
“What would you like to—” Brody stopped talking as Drew stepped up close and wrapped his arms around Brody’s waist.
“How about we find some music and try dancing now? Don’t have to worry about me embarrassing myself or you?” Drew whispered against Brody’s neck. Holy shit! He never realized how sensitive his neck was.
“I like that idea,” Brody replied as he pulled out his cell and opened a music app. One quick search ended with him finding a soft rock station. Not too formal, not too hip-hop. Perfect. He dropped the phone next to his Bluetooth speaker and hit play. The sound of Michael Bublé’s smooth vocals came through the speakers as he turned and put his hands on Drew’s hips.
Just as when they were in the kitchen last week, their bodies started to move to the music, a slow movement that brought them closer together. It didn’t take long before they were synched, moving around the living room as though they had been doing it their whole lives. Drew led Brody in a pattern that kept them from hitting any furniture, gliding them seamlessly as the song changed.
Brody dropped his head against Drew’s shoulder as he wrapped his arms around his waist.
“I don’t know who told you that you sucked as a dancer, but they should be shot. You move gracefully, without even seeming to think. I’ll dance with you anytime, anywhere,” Brody said. Drew pulled in a breath. Brody was sure he was going to argue with him and that wasn’t something Brody was going to allow.He knew what he knew, and he knew Drew was a good dancer. To prevent Drew’s inevitable argument, Brody leaned up and kissed him.
It didn’t take long for Drew to become a welcome participant in their kiss. Brody felt the moment Drew got out of his own way, when his tongue came out and ran along Brody’s lower lip. Brody gasped and Drew accepted the invitation, sliding his tongue into Brody’s mouth to start up a new dance. A dance that Brody was a willing companion to. He rubbed his tongue against Drew’s before closing his lips to suck on it. Oooh, sucking!
Brody pulled back and whispered, “How about we take this to my room? Get a bit comfortable? I’ve got to stay up all night but you could—” Drew put his finger against Brody’s lips.
“Let’s not think too much, okay? If there was a gold medal for overthinking, I’d have thousands. Comfortable sounds good and whatever happens, happens,” Drew said as he linked their fingers together.
“You and me both,” Brody agreed as he led Drew down the hall.
§ § § §
Drew had no idea where his confidence had come from but he was thanking God, Allah, Odin, karma, or whomever had sent it his way. When he stepped into Brody’s bedroom, he stopped short. Okay he wasn’t sure what he’d expected but this wasn’t it. There was a king-sized bed in the middle of the room. The size of the bed wasn’t what gave him pause. Oh, no. The seven million pillows and blankets on the bed did.
“Umm, okay, so I like pillows,” Brody stammered out, sounding a bit defensive.
“Oh, no you don’t. You don’t get to be all defensive about liking pillows. If you were to come to my place, you’d see aboutthe same number of them on my bed. Julia teases me endlessly that I’m just a teenage girl in the body of a twenty-something gay man. I havealwaysbeen a big cuddler. My dad even called me cuddle bug when I was little,” Drew told Brody. “Now, where were we?”
Brody didn’t answer him but he reached out and started unbuttoning Drew’s vest and shirt. Once he’d gotten them undone, Brody ran his hands up Drew’s chest and pushed the garments off.
“Damn, you’re built. Do you spend all your time in the gym?” Brody whispered
Drew knew he was in decent shape but he was no Adonis. “I’m okay. Couldn’t be on the cover ofSports Illustratedbut I don’t think I warrant being thrown out of bed for eating crackers.”
Brody frowned as he met Drew’s eyes. Drew wasn’t going to fidget. He wasn’t. “That was oddly specific. Have some fantasies about being a cover model, do you? Know someone that is or was on the cover?”
“Model? Me? Yeah, no. But yes, I do know someone. Remember, my brother-in-law is Cam Luna, former second basemen for the Baltimore Orioles. His first year he was part of theSports Illustrated Body Imageedition. There was even a picture of him and Cal in jeans leaning back to back,” Drew finished with a shrug. “So, yeah, not sure I live up to that.”
Drew watched Brody as he thought about what Drew had said. He didn’t know what conclusion Brody came to, but he leaned in and placed a kiss over Drew’s right pec, causing him to gasp. Finally, he said, “I beg to differ but we’ll come back to that later. I’ve got something better to do right now than argue with you.”
