Saving Grapes - Madeline Kirby Page 0,34
at Thom’s profile, lit by the dashboard lights. Thom looked as relaxed as Ben had ever seen him awake.
Thom slowed to take the turn into the drive and the headlights swept over the construction site. It was too dark to see much detail, just shadows and vague shapes. Ben didn’t let his gaze linger, though. Thinking about the construction site reminded him of Ross, and the last time he had been on a date. Then he remembered what had happened after that date, and he suddenly couldn’t wait to get Thom back up to the house.
Thom parked the truck and cut the engine, but made no move to get out of the car.
“What is it?” Ben asked.
“I want to kiss you,” Thom answered, unlatching his seatbelt.
“You can kiss me anytime you want, you know that.”
“I mean, I want to kiss you here, now.”
“Ah, I get it.”
Thom reached across and drew Ben towards him, running his hand over Ben’s smooth jaw. The kiss was soft and sweet – a first date kind of kiss. When they parted, Ben drew back, smiling, and repeated his words from the restaurant. “Best first date ever.”
“Can I ask you something? At the risk of spoiling the mood?”
“Of course.”
“When Ross brought you home that evening, what did he say after… after he… kissed you? What did he say that made you laugh?”
Ben chuckled. “He said, ‘That’ll give the boyfriend something to think about.’ He had seen you on the porch, watching us.”
“God, he’s such a troublemaker.”
“Mad?”
“No,” Thom shook his head. “Think I should thank him?”
“I don’t want to talk about Ross anymore.” The look on Ben’s face made it perfectly clear what was next on the evening’s agenda, and Thom leaned in to kiss him again – not so innocently this time, his tongue teasing Ben’s lips until they parted. They kissed like that, with tongues and teeth clashing and hands roaming until they drew back, panting, to see that the truck windows had fogged up.
“This is ridiculous,” Thom said. “Why are we out here fooling around in the truck like a couple of teenagers when we have a perfectly good bed inside?”
“I like fooling around in the truck. But I like beds, too. Especially if you’re in them. Will you respect me in the morning if I put out on our first date?”
Thom pulled back, grinning and pulling the key from the ignition. He opened his door and jumped to the ground, then turned to say, “Last one upstairs bottoms!” before slamming the door and racing for the house.
“Bastard!” Ben yelled, reaching for his door, then realizing he hadn’t unfastened his seatbelt. By the time he managed to get loose and out of the truck, Thom was already unlocking the front door. Knowing he’d lost this race, Ben took his time, locked the front door, and headed up the stairs. He looked up to see Thom leaning against the wall at the top of the stairs.
“Someone might think you wanted to come in second.”
Ben shrugged. “Either way, I win.” He came to a stop on the step below Thom, putting him at the perfect height to lean in and lick a line up the shorter man’s neck, nuzzling where he could feel Thom’s pulse fluttering just below his jaw.
He ran his hands up Thom’s arms, across his chest, and started to unbutton his light blue dress shirt, kissing a line down the center of Thom’s chest as each opened button revealed more firm, pale skin.
Thom’s breath caught. “Ben…” he breathed.
Ben raised his head. “What is it, sweetheart?” he whispered against Thom’s lips.
Thom’s answer was a crushing kiss, and then he was stepping back from the stairs, dragging Ben with him towards the bedroom.
Chapter 12
IT WAS a hot, sunny afternoon in early September and Thom and Ben were walking the vineyard, tasting grapes. Ben smiled, thinking about the first time they had done this, almost two months ago. He wondered what Thom would do if he tried to kiss him now. They had come a long way, but sometimes he still got the impression that Thom was waiting for him to up and leave.
“What’s so funny?”
“Just thinking about the first time we did this. We wound up getting so mad at each other that day and I went on that non-date with Ross.”
“How on earth is that funny?”
“I was wondering what you’d do if I tried to kiss you now.”
Thom shifted his weight to one leg and crossed his arms across his chest. “Whatever happens, you’d