finally told him. “I don’t know. Probably.”
“Were you surprised when he came out?”
Eric thought about his answer before he spoke. “I was surprised that he came out, but less surprised that he was gay.”
“I lost my mind when I saw him kissing Kip on television. It was on the big screen at work and I nearly dropped a whole tray of glasses.”
“I knew they were a couple and I was still shocked.”
“It was brave as fuck. It meant a lot, y’know? The vibe in the bar that night, after he did that? It was like we all won the Stanley Cup. It was a party for sure.” Kyle snorted. “And, it made me feel pretty stupid for thinking I had a chance with Kip.”
Poor Kyle. Eric wanted to say something comforting, but no. Kyle truly did not have a chance with Kip. “You weren’t stupid. Scott and Kip did a good job of keeping their relationship a secret. No one knew.”
“Yeah. Well.”
“So how about you?” Eric asked, changing the subject. “Who’s catching your eye in here tonight?”
Kyle pressed his lips together and looked oddly shy. For a wild second, Eric thought he was about to say that he was the one Kyle had his eye on. But then Kyle said, “Your four o’clock. In the dark blue shirt.”
Eric turned, trying to appear as if he was fishing something out of his coat pocket, then glanced up to spot a tall man with silver-flecked hair wearing a crisp blue dress shirt unbuttoned at the collar. Eric turned back to Kyle, surprised. “He looks...mature. For you.”
“That’s how I like ’em.”
“But I thought you avoided men like that.” Like me.
“I try to. But I can’t help who I’m attracted to. I know it’s a bad idea to involve myself with them.”
Eric fidgeted with his glass. “Why do you like older men?”
Kyle blew out a breath. “That’s a big question.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” Eric said, even though he itched with the need to know why someone like Kyle might be attracted to someone like him.
“I can try. I guess it has something to with the way I feel when I’m with them. I like men my own age, don’t get me wrong. I’ve slept with plenty of them and I’ve had a great time doing it, but older men...” Kyle bit his lip. “They make me feel powerful. Like I’m irresistible and they would do anything to please me.” He grinned, his gaze turning dreamy. “It’s a rush.”
Eric exhaled shakily as blood rushed to his cock. Kyle had just described the vague fantasies that had been overwhelming Eric for months, and especially for the past couple of weeks. He wanted to please Kyle. He wanted to spoil him rotten and have Kyle reward him for it however he chose to. He wanted this stunning young man to conquer him and leave Eric gasping for more.
“But they’ve hurt you?” Eric asked, because he needed to hear the other side right now. The darkness on the edge of this fantasy.
“Not physically. But it’s never ended well with any of them. Too many lies or...” Kyle waved a hand around. “Anyway. Whatever.”
Eric wanted to hear more, but he didn’t want to push. What tumbled out of his mouth instead was, “They didn’t deserve you.”
Kyle’s smile was sad and all wrong. “That’s nice of you to say.”
It was true, was what it was. If Eric were lucky enough to take Kyle to bed, he would treat him like a prince. A vivid image of Kyle reclining, naked, on a mountain of pillows popped into Eric’s head. Eric would be between his spread legs, using his hands and mouth to pleasure Kyle however he was instructed to.
He took a long sip of his drink, and gave a silent thanks to the universe that his lap was safely hidden by the table right now.
“I would also be very okay with taking Justin the accountant home, though,” Kyle said with a sly smile. “Or the twink, to be honest. Or any combination of the three.”
Eric was in way over his head. Threesomes? Foursomes? He just wanted to find a nice man to have dinner with. Maybe a goodnight kiss. “You’re not particular, then?”
“I have high standards, but I like to sample from every aisle of the supermarket.”
Eric laughed shakily. His brain was a mess. “Okay.”
Kyle’s eyebrows lifted. “Ooh. I think Justin is coming over. I wonder which one of us caught his eye?”
“You for sure,” Eric said. “Wait. He’s