Page 9 of Announcing Love
Tip laughed. It shone bright in the eyes. “I know, right? I brought it in here while I tried to decide where it should go. As soon as I stepped through the door, I was like, ‘wait.’” Tip laughed again and Artem couldn’t stop smiling. He felt good in Tip’s company.
“I’m really happy I decided to give it to you. When I woke up, it just hit me. You should have it. I don’t think anyone else would appreciate the piece the way you do.”
For a moment, they simply stared at each other. Artem knew Tip would kiss him before the guy even moved. It was odd how easily Artem read Tip when they hadn’t spent that much time together. But he knew, and he wasn’t disappointed when Tip’s lips touched his. Artem’s lips automatically parted. He resented the idea of lunch with the bed right there. With an ease that shocked the hell out of Artem, Tip lifted him and took him down on the bed, as if he read Artem’s mind. This time didn’t feel likelast night. There was intent behind each stroke of Tip’s tongue. Not only was Artem unsurprised when his shirt disappeared, he tore at Tip’s. He wanted to have their bare skin touching.
“I swear I didn’t use the painting to lure you in here.” Tip went right back to kissing him, stealing Artem’s chance to respond. His kisses turned rougher. He had the front of Artem’s pants open before he knew what happened.
Artem grabbed his hand when he moved to shove it inside Artem’s jeans. “Whoa. Can we slow down a little? I’ve never done this before.”
Tip jerked back so hard and fast, Artem wondered if he gave himself whiplash. “What?”
The anger in Tip’s tone had Artem chewing his bottom lip. He had anxiety issues and didn’t like confrontation. Artem also didn’t understand what he had done wrong. In his nervousness, he babbled without thinking. “Well, you know, it’s not like I’ve had time to date. Not really. After my family died, Sacha and I had to scrape to survive and take care of Baba. My every moment has been dedicated to work, school, or caring for her. You’re really the first person I’ve dated since Bandit came along and made things easier.”
Tip crawled from the bed. He didn’t look appeased. Tip jerked his shirt back on. “You should’ve said something sooner. I’m not the type of guy to break someone in.”
His anxiety died an instant death. Fury took its place. His jaw ticked. “Break someone in,” he repeated, saying each word slowly, unable to believe what he had just heard. Artem rolled from the bed and grabbed his shirt. He wanted to calmly dress and leave without another word, but his brain ran at a million miles an hour. Artem had never felt so much anger in all his life. He had thought Tip was a nice guy. Virginity wasn’t a big deal to Artem, but he couldn’t say he hadn’t hoped his first time would be with someone amazing. That wasn’t Tip, and Artem couldn’t walk away without saying as much.
His gaze locked on Tip. Even Artem felt the hatred pouring from him. He motioned helplessly toward Tip, trying to find the words to describe how shitty he was. Nothing came close enough. “Just yikes.” With that hanging as the last words between them, Artem stormed out. He slammed the front door closed behind him with enough force he likely took some pictures off the wall. Artem was halfway down the road before he took a deep enough breath to see clearly. Then the pain struck. It was so stupid. It wasn’t even about Tip. Life was just always so goddamn hard, and Artem was exhausted with it all. He didn’t know where he was headed, but he couldn’t go home yet. If he sat inside those four walls today, he might slit his wrists. He hated how much his family home felt like a prison, but it did. The place was a mixture of happy childhood memories and a living nightmare. He couldn’t go there and listen to Baba’s teasing. She definitely would want to know about last night. Artem couldn’t do it. He felt too broken today. Artem felt exposed. Tip had looked at him with such horror, as if Artem was a freak. Artem always felt like he didn’t fit in. Having those fears validated by someone like Tip was too much. Artem needed time to breathe.
Chapter Five
Artemtorethecrumpledpaper from his straw into a million tiny pieces. He imagined the guy behind the bar would be irritated as hell when he had to clean up the mess, especially since Artem had only ordered a Coke. The guy wasn’t making a hell of a lot of tips from him. Still, Artem couldn’t stop trying to make the pieces smaller. He had only been at the pub house for twenty minutes, but still. It wasn’t like Artem to let a guy upset him like this. But Tip fucking proved sexuality wasn’t a choice because no way in hell would Artem choose men freely. He didn’t think there were enough good ones out there to waste his fucking time.
“Why do you look familiar to me?”
Artem’s chin jerked up at the question. His gaze landed on light brown eyes he had seen before, but he couldn’t recall where. His gaze moved over the guy’s blond hair. “I don’t know. Why do you look familiar to me?”
The guy filled the stool beside him. “Do you follow basketball? I play for the Fireballs.”
Great. Another professional athlete. “No. Sorry. I’m not that into sports. I mean, my brother-in-law plays soccer for New England, so I follow his team, but that’s it.”
The guy snapped his fingers. “That’s it. We met at Bandit’s wedding. It’s…” He made a circular motion with his finger as if flipping through the memories in his head. A huge smile exploded across his face. “Artem, right?”
He couldn’t believe the guy remembered his name, especially since Artem couldn’t remember his.
Thankfully, his barstool buddy took mercy on him. “It’s Jathan.”
Artem smiled despite himself. Jathan seemed like a happy guy. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You too. Hey, can I buy you a beer?”
A nervous laugh escaped Artem. He was about to see two guys run in one day. “Thanks, but I’m still a month away from being old enough to drink.”
Jathan shrugged. “That’s cool. I’m twenty-six and I don’t drink.”
The confession pulled a laugh from Artem, lightening his mood. “You’re at a bar in the middle of the day, you’re old enough to have whatever you want, and you don’t even drink?”
Jathan’s bright smile was irresistible. “To be fair, you’re at a bar in the middle of the day too. I was supposed to meet a friend here for lunch and he blew me off last second.” He looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, “Which is pretty typical of all my friends, actually. I think I’m the only one who shows when I say I will. Do you want to eat with me? I’m starving.”
Artem breathed easier with every word. “That would be great. I actually had my lunch plans ruined too.”
“Great! Not that your plans were ruined, of course. I just don’t like eating alone.”
He had a bit of an awkward streak. Artem liked that. “I knew what you meant. Do you want to sit here or get a booth?”
Jathan stood, reminding Artem how tall he was. Artem wasn’t exactly short. He came from a family of tall people, but Jathan still hovered over him.
Artem made it to the booth before he broke down. Jathan’s ass hadn’t even had time to hit the seat. “How tall are you? I only ask because I’m six-three and it’s pretty rare for anyone to dwarf me.”
