The Better Side of Me - Jerry Cole Page 0,40

that up? He wouldn’t!

It was the right intent. And had Lance been a stronger person, there wouldn’t have been an issue. But Lance wasn’t a stronger person. He was weak willed, he was desperately lacking in self-control, and for the first time all week he was beginning to question whether or not he’d made the right move with Kirk.

***

For reasons that Lance could not fathom, he was angry with Kirk.

The two men were at Kirk’s apartment that night, with the plan being to stay in and watch movies. It was a pretty stereotypical date for two men that were sleeping together but hadn’t actually discussed what that meant. It was a safe date, an easy date, and the kind that Lance usually loved. Heck, it was the very definition of not taking things too seriously. And yet still, he was mad.

It had started at dinner, when Kirk had ordered full-strength coke, rather than diet, to go with their burgers. And it wasn’t the fact that he ordered it which had annoyed Lance, but his reaction. He pulled the full-strength coke out of the UberEATS bag and actually laughed.

“Well, shit,” Kirk had chuckled at the sight of the non-diet coke. “It looks like we’re getting fat tonight.”

“I’m not drinking that.” Lance had crossed his arms defiantly.

“Great. So, I’m going to have to get fat on my own,” Kirk had teased. “So much for abs.” He then grabbed two glasses and started to pour.

“I’m serious.” Lance hurried around the table, stopped Kirk from pouring anymore and snatched his glass away. He then went to the kitchen and poured it out. “I don’t count my calories all week just so I can blow it on some fucking coke – and you shouldn’t be either.” He slammed the glass down in the sink.

“All right...” Kirk had said slowly and very, very carefully. “Water it is.”

It was such a stupid thing to get angry about. First of all, it wasn’t even Kirk’s fault. And secondly, he had just been trying to make light of the situation. But Lance saw a moment and chose to pounce. And he wasn’t even sure why.

The bad mood continued through dinner and toward their watching of the movie. In typical Kirk fashion, he’d managed to make a mess of himself while eating and opted to take a quick shower before the movie started. He always did this, wasted time where he didn’t have to. And more frustratingly, he acted like it was cute. This left Lance seated on the couch for ten minutes, waiting for Kirk to hurry the hell up.

To make matters worse, once he was done with the shower, Kirk pranced around the living room in nothing more than a towel as he hurriedly cleaned everything up before the movie started.

“I keep a clean palace,” he joked as he grabbed at some dirty clothes and launched them into his bedroom. “In case the Pope visits.”

“Ha,” Lance mumbled sarcastically.

There was just something frustrating about Kirk tonight. Something... off. It was like he was trying to annoy Lance. It was like he wanted Lance to get mad and end it, so as to save him the hassle. Surely, that was it?

Lance sat on the couch, watching Kirk hustle through the room in his towel. His body had come a long way since they first met, but it still left a lot to be desired. His shoulders were under-developed, his chest was flat and his arms were thin and spindly. Was he even trying to improve himself? Did he really think that he was good enough for Lance?

Despite himself, Lance started to think about that Brazilian client that Carlo had been telling him about. Now, there was a physical specimen if Lance had ever seen one. Everything about him was perfect... well, to be fair, Lance had no idea what the guy was like personally. But in the moment, that didn’t seem to matter.

“There we go.” Kirk fell in beside Lance and snuggled in next to him. Dressed in his sweatpants and sweater now, he was puffing slightly from the rush. “Sorry about the wait.” He rested his head on Lance’s shoulder.

“It’s fine.” Without even thinking, Lance shuffled across the couch and away from Kirk. He then quickly leaned on the armrest, acting like this was why he moved. “What movie are you in the mood for?”

Kirk frowned at Lance’s sudden movement. For a moment, Lance thought he was going to move across to join him, but he didn’t. “I don’t