Page 83 of Role Model

“Nah, I had a couple of beers already. I think I’m good.” He gestured to Harris’s pint glass. “Is that your sisters’ cider?”

“You bet. They have it on tap here.”

“Nice.”

An awkward silence fell between them. It had been a pretty excellent day all around for Troy, and he couldn’t help but think that the perfect way to cap it would be pinning Harris to a wall somewhere and kissing him breathless.

If Harris was into that.

“We haven’t talked really. Since we got back from Florida,” Troy said.

“I noticed that too.”

“I haven’t been avoiding you or anything. It’s not because we, uh. Y’know.”

Harris’s eyes twinkled. “You sure?”

Troy couldn’t lie to him. “Maybe it is. I’m kind of embarrassed about it.”

Harris huffed. “Well, that’s not what I want to hear.”

“No! I mean, I’m not embarrassed about...what we did. It’s because I kind of dumped a bunch of stuff on you and bolted.”

“You did,” Harris agreed. “But to be fair, it was a weird couple of days.”

“Yeah, well.” Troy ducked his head. “I also said that what we did wasn’t a big deal. But the thing is, it kind of...was.”

Harris’s eyes widened.

“For me, at least,” Troy said quickly. “I don’t usually...do that. I’ve only ever done that with, um...well, you know.” He hoped someday he’d be able to talk about being gay, about dating men, in a public place, but today wasn’t that day.

“I know,” Harris said gently. “When I left your hotel room after saying all that stuff, I spent the rest of the night thinking about what a big deal it must have been for you. All of it. What we did. What you were able to tell me. And I’m honored you trust me enough to share that with me.”

Troy nudged the leg of a bar stool with his toe. “I do. Trust you. And, um. I liked what we did. A lot.”

Harris put a hand on his arm, warm and steady. “Troy. Would you like to do what we did again?”

Troy’s heart sped up, but he managed to nod.

“Would you like to do it...right now?”

Troy couldn’t answer. He just stared, stunned at Harris’s easy proposition. His gaze focused on Harris’s lips, glistening with his last swig of cider.

Harris stepped slightly closer. “Because I would really like to.”

Troy felt light-headed and couldn’t think of anything except crushing their mouths together. His cock was already firming up, which was going to be noticeable in the snug jeans he was wearing.

“Yeah,” he whispered, then, more loudly and steadily, said, “Yeah. Let’s go.”

Harris stepped back, and Troy damn near fell forward trying to chase his warmth. Harris steadied him with a helpful hand and laughed. “You sure you only had two beers?”

“I’m not drunk,” Troy promised, straightening. “I’m just...eager.”

Harris leaned into him, his breath brushing Troy’s ear. “I can work with eager. Let’s get our coats and get out of here.”

Chapter Seventeen

“You wanted to kiss me in there,” Harris said as soon as they were alone on the snowy sidewalk.

---