Tied to Trouble(38)
“Chad—”
“Call out sick. Come on. One day. Spend it here with me. We’ll eat food and watch movies and maybe some porn and do a lot of cuddling and maybe more of that tonguing.” He waggled his eyebrows and somehow, Owen’s dick began to harden.
No. Bad dick. He had work. But Chad was standing in front of him, looking delicious and so tempting. And…
Chad leaned a fist on the bed and gently pulled the sheet off Owen’s lap, his tongue peeking out of the corner of his mouth. Owen growled with frustration when Chad whooped in triumph. “See? The Dapper Dick likes that idea.”
“Do not call me that—”
“Just one little phone call. Have you ever called out of work?”
“Of course I’ve called out sick before.” Once, when he got poison ivy so bad, his whole face swelled up.
Chad raised his eyebrows.
“I don’t make it a habit—”
“Just once.” Chad was pleading now. “We’ll stay here all day. No one will know. Just me and you, figuring out if we have anything in common other than what we do when we’re naked.”
Chad could have said a lot of things, a whole lot of things, and Owen still would have gotten up and gotten dressed and arrived at work on time.
But last night—well, last night, overnight, and again this morning—he’d begun to wonder what it would be like to have Chad in his life for more than just an orgasm. He wasn’t hardwired for casual sex, anyway. Never really had been. And every time Chad smirked at him, every time he made Owen laugh, Owen wanted more of it. Just…more.
And as Chad crawled onto the bed on all fours and pressed his lips to Owen’s, Owen knew he was going to give in. He was going to call in sick to his beloved job and stay in Chad’s apartment. His boss’s little brother’s apartment. He was going to find out how Chad liked his eggs and what movies he watched and what music made him dance.
He was going to find out if there was any way the high-flying Chad could find anything worth keeping in the grounded Owen.
So when Chad pulled back with a hopeful expression, Owen licked his lips and nodded. “Okay.”
Chad’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Do you have to look so surprised?”
“Well, come on, you’re, like, Mr. I Love My Job. You must really want to get laid.”
Owen cupped Chad’s face, brushing his thumbs along the stubble. “No, I want to get to know you. You, and not what you sound like when you come. I already know that pretty damn well. So, for today, I think we should put a moratorium on orgasms.”
Chad blinked. “Don’t think you can use big words around me and I won’t know what they mean.”
“I don’t think—”
“How long will this moratorium last?” Chad demanded.
Owen glanced at the clock, which read seven thirty. “Um, until one?”
Chad followed his gaze to the clock and hung his head. “You gotta be kidding me.”
“Look, if you—”
“No, shut up.” Chad placed his hand over Owen’s mouth. Owen licked it. Chad glared, then huffed out a breath. “It’s a good idea. But you gotta put on some fucking pants if I’m making it to one without you fucking me.”
Owen was instantly hard. “Can you not talk about fucking when we’re trying not to fuck?”
Chad smiled, and it was a little evil. “I might have to wear a bow tie around today.”
“Chad!”
He hopped off the bed, looking all too cheerful for someone with an erection and no hope of getting off any time soon. “So, coffee?”
Five minutes later, they stood in Chad’s kitchen. Chad wore a pair of sweatpants, and he’d let Owen borrow another pair and a T-shirt.
And they were holding matching bow tie mugs.
Owen sipped his coffee and shot Chad a death glare over the rim. “Seriously with these mugs.”
“They were on sale.”
“Where do you even find something like this?”
“By searching bow tie mugs sale in Google. The internet is amazing.”
Owen ignored that remark. “This is pretty good coffee, by the way.” He’d noticed he had the same coffeemaker as Chad, one with a built-in bean grinder. Chad had actually sung, “Grind it”—to the tune of “Push It”—while the coffee was brewing. Owen had found it endearing.
“So you bought bow tie mugs after you met me? Or have you always had these?”
“After.”
“Was that before or after you turned me into a superhero?”
“The Dapper Dick.”
“Yes, I’m aware of his name.”
Chad squinted, like he was remembering. “I made you into a superhero first. Right after we met. Then after the park incident, I bought the mugs to brighten my mornings.”