Page 20 of Starfish and Coffee
Matt thought of the two of them trapped together in that hot kitchen yesterday, of the way Alex’s voice felt against his ear. The way it sounded, low and teasing, as if he knew something Matt didn’t. His cock was hard again, and that feeling was swirling in his stomach once more, warm and exciting in a way it’d never been before now.
Girls were fun. They were a means to an end. They were expected, and Matt always did what was expected of him, but this feeling was something entirely different and wholly addicting because of it. Others might shy away from a connection that was essentially forbidden in his world, but Matt had the sort of hard-driving personality that demanded he stay there sweating from the manual labor until he found out why Alex made him hot and frustrated in a way no girl could.
* * * *
Before the sun set Alex and Matt had cleaned the shed, helped Holly with housekeeping for all the empty rentals, fixed the garbage disposal in unit three, and made a run to the hardware store for new plywood. Alex couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so productive on a day off.
Will might take him in for testing, because it was such a stark departure from his usual personality. Alex was a hard worker, but he wasn’t one to sweat and slave for no good reason. That shed would’ve been fine as it was for another two years. Sheds were meant to be filled with all the old shit no one wanted to take the time to get rid of. Now it was like brand-new, all because Alex liked the way Matt’s big, thick muscles looked when they flexed.
He liked the way Matt looked bent over making a bed too, and once they’d gotten started Alex insisted they take over the task from Holly on all the newly vacated rentals, just for the eye candy. Even if Matt hadn’t really known how to make a bed—which was a new low for the trust-fund brat—teaching him had been entertaining.
Alex was in so much trouble.
He knew it, but he couldn’t find it in himself to give a fuck. Even if this was a train wreck waiting to happen, it sort of felt like the universe was smiling on him. Holly had a girl’s night at the movies, and Will was working late. It was one of those rare evenings where Alex had the house to himself, only this time he had Matt for company.
It’d make sense after the long day to just chill out on the couch and watch something on television. Instead they broke up all the old wood in the name of finishing the job and lit a fire on the beach.
With the flames dancing, Alex and Matt sat on old towels while the last vestiges of dusk drifted away. The stars grew brighter and brighter before their eyes as the darkness blanketed the sky.
“We probably should’ve eaten something,” Matt mused and then took a drink out of the whiskey bottle. “I’m half-drunk already.”
They’d had lunch while they were out buying new plywood, but that’d been hours ago, and the booze was going to Alex’s head too. It was as if they both wanted it, that dazed, exhausted feeling of being hungry and overworked. It lowered inhibitions, and it suddenly felt like they’d worked their asses off all day to get where they were right now.
“Yeah, we probably should’ve,” Alex agreed as he reached over without asking and took the bottle from Matt. “I could cook.”
“Nah, you’ve busted your ass enough for one day.” Matt sounded as tired as Alex felt. He fell back against his towel. “This was a day off for you? Kick me the next time I call you beach bums lazy. I’m tired as hell.”
Alex kicked him just because.
Matt laughed as he laced his hands behind his head and looked up at the stars. Alex used Matt’s distraction to study him. The way the flames reflected in his light eyes and danced over his handsome face. The broad expanse of his bare chest, his thick biceps; everything about Matt was large and powerful—including his bank account.
Alex took another long drink, willing the burn of whiskey to remind him where he was and who he was playing with, but it wasn’t working. Instead he felt the tension that had been boiling under the surface all day. The unspoken questions. The hot looks Alex kept catching when Matt thought he wasn’t looking. The dozen times he got caught doing the exact same thing when he’d always been extremely vigilant about checking guys out.
Matt’s gaze shifted to stare up at Alex as if reading his thoughts and that look made everything in him tighten with lust. Bright eyes hooded with stark desire, Matt wasn’t even subtle, and Alex didn’t know whether to yell at him or fuck him.
“What’s Holly to you?” Matt finally asked, his voice a rasp of want.
Alex took another long drink, still looking for some sort of strength from the burn, knowing on some level it was probably doing away with his last shreds of common sense instead.
“She’s been my best friend for as long as I can remember.” Alex shrugged, searching desperately for a reprieve from the sexual tension that was choking out the air around them. “I’d do anything for her. I’d die for her without even thinking about it.”
“Are you with her”—Matt paused and met his eyes once more before he punctuated the last word—“intimately?”
That was a loaded question if he’d ever heard one.
Leave it to Matt. It must be part of his rich-boy syndrome. He’d never had to worry about losing a job or pissing someone off. Matt was at the top of the social food chain and fearless because of it. He just said whatever he felt like and never seemed to give a shit about the consequences.
Alex took another drink that burned all the way down to his empty stomach. He was going to save himself by ending up passed out in the sand.
“Alex.” Matt’s voice was hard and impatient. “Answer me.”
“I don’t owe you anything,” Alex snapped with a look of disappointment. “And I don’t work for you, Matty. So stop acting like I do.”
“Please,” Matt amended, his eyes becoming softer somehow, more compelling. “Answer me.”
Alex looked to the ocean to avoid Matt who was a little too hot for Alex’s sanity. The fact that saying please before demanding an answer felt like a step in the right direction for Matt was sort of sad. Alex learned how to say please when he was three. Why was he so fucking drawn to this guy when there were countless others he could have—without the attitude?
“No,” Alex admitted, because like it or not, he was drawn to Matt, and he couldn’t seem to help himself. “We’re just friends.”
