Starting From Here (Starting From #3) - Lane Hayes Page 0,57
off-the-wall comments, but he didn’t add any of his own. And that was…odd.
I meant to bring it up to Tegan later that night, but we got sidetracked. Again.
I studied my handprint on the wall above his bed where a normal person might have a headboard and shivered at the memory of him pounding into me from behind. Sweat dripped from his brow onto my shoulder as he moved like thunder to the soundtrack of squeaky bedsprings and a steady stream of “Yes, fuck yes, harder.” The second he wrapped his fingers around my cock, I fell apart.
It took me a good ten minutes to resurface. I stared at the ceiling, willing my legs to stop shaking.
“That was hot,” I said, my voice rough and low.
Tegan rolled to his side. “Very fucking hot.”
“No hickey tonight either.”
He chuckled lightly. “Gee, thanks, asshole.”
“Don’t mention it,” I called on my way to the bathroom. He was in the same position, thoughtfully staring into space when I returned. “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing much…family, holidays.”
“How can you think about family and Santa Claus after what we just did? That ain’t right,” I huffed good-naturedly.
Tegan laughed as he sat up. “True. What are you doing for the holidays?”
“Going to my mom’s. It’ll be…nice-ish.”
“Hmm. Does she invite other guests, or is it just immediate family?”
I pulled my T-shirt over my head. “There are usually a few friends too. Why? Do you wanna come?”
“No, thanks.” He waited a beat, then asked, “Any chance she’d invite Xena?”
I froze. “No chance at all. Why do you ask?”
He tried to shrug it off, but I wouldn’t let it go. “Fine. Justin did a little research and found out that your mom is somehow connected with Xena.”
“Is that why he was so quiet today?” I snapped, pulling my jeans over my sore ass. “I should have fucking known. Tell Justin she sold their house. My mom’s a real estate agent. End of story.”
“Right. But the Smiths don’t live in the area she usually covers,” he continued. “So why bother?”
“My mom wanted me to bring her as a date to an award function and—I told you this. It’s not news.” I shoved my feet in my shoes with more force than necessary. “Justin is fucking paranoid.”
“He has reasons. This is our last shot at—”
“Bullshit. He’s practically married to a Grammy-winning songwriter with connections. Zero is gonna be just fine. Scratch Records is gonna be just fine. My band? That’s another story. If our album doesn’t do well, if our meager fan base doesn’t turn into a major one…I’m shit out of luck. The label will drop my ass, and my mom will be asking where I want my desk at her office.” I threaded my belt angrily and looked around for my jacket. I had no clue where I’d flung it when we stumbled in here an hour ago. “This isn’t your last shot. It’s mine.”
“Hey, relax. I’m not accusing you.”
I scoffed. “Yeah, you are. At some point, you’re going to have to trust me, T. I don’t have an ulterior motive. I want the same things you do.”
“Sex and rock and roll?”
“Yeah…something like that,” I said wearily. “See you tomorrow.”
“Dec?”
I paused in the doorway. “Yeah?”
“I don’t not trust you.”
The sincerity in his eyes was sweeter than it should have been. I moved to the bed, lifted his scruffy chin, and planted a wet kiss on his lips. “I guess that’s a start.”
We were navigating something new with a host of old complications weighing us down. But I sensed that we were both trying and for now, it was enough.
But it wasn’t easy.
“Fake boyfriends? Are you fucking kidding me?”
I stopped in front of Zero’s open studio door and peeked inside. Tegan stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed while Justin circled around him like a shark toying with his prey. Johnny and Ky were in the corner, tuning their instruments with—oh great, Bobby J. I hiked the strap from my guitar case on my shoulder and stepped into the room.
“Hey, is there a meeting going on?”
“No, Justin’s just losing his shit,” Tegan replied matter-of-factly.
“And you knew I would!”
Tegan threw his hands in the air. “It wasn’t my idea, asshole!”
“It’s true,” Ky chimed in. “Sebastian came up with that one.”
Justin rounded on Ky. “You knew about it too?”
“I sleep with Charlie, Jus, so yeah, I knew about it,” Ky replied.
Johnny raised his hand. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t know.”