Lex or anyone else.
I was relieved when Lex nodded. More awkward silence filled the air between us, but this time I wasn't going to make the same mistake I had before. I still had ahold of Lex's hand, so I used that to pull him forward just a little. I hoped that he would pass off the contact as nothing more than me helping him get from one place to another. He didn't need to know that I liked the way his palm felt against mine. "I'll show you the kitchen," I explained, since I now understood how important it was for him to know where he was.
He pulled me to a stop and said, "Um, can you show me to the bathroom first?"
I felt like an ass when I nodded. I really needed to get over using the nonverbal responses. "Yeah, sure." I changed direction and led him to the other side of the living room. "We’re in the living room right now," I explained. "When you come out of my bedroom and down that little hall, you turn right and follow the wall until you get to the first door. That's the bathroom."
Lex squeezed my hand the tiniest bit and I wanted to believe it was a good thing. Unfortunately, my cock had already decided it was. Suddenly, the vision of Lex's hand squeezing my shaft the same way he was squeezing my hand jumped into my brain and I nearly tripped over the threshold of the bathroom.
"There's a little step there," I said stupidly as I held on to Lex a little tighter. He used his foot to seek out the threshold and then nodded. My bathroom wasn't very big, so as I led Lex to the toilet, we ended up closer than I would've liked. I caught just a hint of whatever cologne or aftershave he used. I found myself fighting the urge to lean in and explore his scent further. Considering all he'd been through in the past twenty-four hours, the man shouldn't have smelled or looked as good as he did.
"So, um, yeah, this is the bathroom. It has a toilet."
I saw Lex actually smile and it did something bizarre to my insides. It lit them up, lightened them even. I found myself smiling back when I realized what I'd said.
"That's good to know," Lex said. There was a little bit of a twinkle in his eyes instead of just the blankness that was becoming all too familiar.
I didn't realize I’d gotten lost in his smile until it faltered and he said, "Gideon?"
I wanted to kick my own ass for doing the same thing I’d done to him before. He started to step away from me, so I grabbed for his hand again but instead of holding it, I lifted it to my face. I settled his fingers at the corner of my mouth and then said, "It has a heated seat."
"What?" Lex asked in complete confusion.
I kept his hand against my face so he could feel the movements of my mouth. I wasn't sure if it was helpful or not, but I didn't want a repeat of the living room incident. "I don't splurge on much because I simply don't have the money, but there's nothing worse in my mind than sitting on a cold toilet seat," I admitted. “I actually avoid public bathrooms because I can’t stand the idea of a cold backside.”
Lex didn’t react at first which had me feeling like an idiot. Then he smiled and that had me smiling. His eyes widened a little when his fingers moved as my mouth lifted. Even if his touch hadn't felt fucking amazing on my skin, I still would've felt like the king of the world for knowing I'd gotten something right with the man.
"Thank you," Lex said softly. His fingertips lingered at the corner of my mouth and I found myself wishing he'd move them just a little to the right so he’d be touching my actual lips. But after just a moment's pause, he dropped his hand, then his eyes. I wasn't sure if I was glad or disappointed that the move broke whatever spell I'd imagined was being weaved around us. I needed to remember that even if I was dealing with some newfound discoveries when it came to my sexuality, Lex wasn't. And that was a good thing because despite the pleasurable sensation his touch evoked, I was nowhere near ready to deal with any of it.
"So, I'll