Kiss Me Forever - M.J. O'Shea Page 0,14
Avery realized he’d been contemplating kissing Tyson. Like, actually leaning forward out of the blue and kissing him.
“You seem to know so much about a lot of things. What do you do?”
“Oh, I’m a professor at Tulane.”
Tyson’s eyes lit up. “Really? That’s incredible.”
Avery grinned at him. He looked so sweet and young and excited by the prospect.
“Well. What do you teach? You’ve probably managed to meet the biggest nerd in the bar. I want to hear all about it.”
Avery wouldn’t have expected to pick up a gorgeous man whose face would light up like that at the prospect of talking about... school?
“It varies. This semester I’m teaching Origins of Myth and Legend, US History, and Mesoamerican Civilizations.”
“That’s quite the broad spread.”
“I’m a bit of a geek too.”
“I have an archaeology degree, so you don’t have to talk to me about being a geek.”
“You do? You don’t look old enough to have a degree.”
“And you don’t look old enough to be a professor.”
Tyson grinned. “Do you want another drink?”
Avery didn’t want to be sloshed, and he’d had quite a few drinks already that night. He wanted to remember this guy, this bar, this one crazy moment. “I think I’ll stick to water.”
Tyson waved the bartender down and got Avery a water. He handed it over and watched Avery take a sip.
“What?” Avery asked.
“Sorry, I just....” Tyson leaned closer.
They were going to kiss. Avery was going to be kissed, and he knew already that it was going to be incredible. His pulse raced, and he felt Tyson’s warm breath against his cheek. The music in the background faded to a distant thump, and... fuck. Tyson leaned closer and closer, their breath mingled, Avery reached up to cup Tyson’s cheek, and....
“Hey, Avery. We’re going to head out.”
Macy. Are you kidding me?
Tyson leaned back, and the rueful smile on his face said he felt the same.
“Oh. Hi. I’m Avery’s friend Macy.” She at least had the grace to look sheepish for interrupting.
“Hi,” Tyson said. He shook her hand politely.
“C’mon, Avery. This girl is going to turn into a pumpkin pretty soon.”
“I....” He looked at Tyson.
I want to see you again, I want to kiss you, I want to take you home and touch every part of you....
He was about to say he’d stay and see the others later when Tyson stood. The moment was officially over.
“It was nice to meet you.” Tyson smiled indulgently at him.
Then he did something Avery hadn’t expected. He grabbed a napkin from the stack on the bar and a pen from the register. He wrote something down and then slipped it into Avery’s hand.
“Really nice,” he whispered. Then he kissed Avery on the cheek and disappeared into the crowd.
Avery barely breathed until they were back out on the quiet street.
“Oh my God, what just happened in there?” Macy asked.
He was still spinning, kind of high off a few too many drinks and Lord knows what else. Adrenaline? Pure lust? Whatever it was, it was potent, and his feet barely felt the ground.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “That was....”
“So unlike you.”
It wasn’t like he never dated, but he didn’t date very often, and Macy knew that. He sure as hell never picked up beautiful mysterious guys at strange bars he’d never been to, and damn, he so would’ve gone home with Tyson if he’d asked. In a fucking heartbeat he would’ve gone home with him.
He still felt Tyson’s hand on his thigh when he leaned in to ask about his lectures. He still smelled him. In a way he was still mentally leaning forward for that kiss. He wanted it so badly.
“Are we going to talk about you?”
He turned to Macy and raised his eyebrows. He didn’t know what to say about Tyson, so he was happy to try to distract her. He doubted it would work for very long. Macy was quite tenacious when she wanted to know something.
“Um, let’s walk. We can walk you home and call an Uber from your place, right?”
“Sure. I have some leftover pie if you guys want it.”
It was a balmy night outside, with just a slight wind coming off the river. Avery couldn’t quite reconcile the neighborhood he knew like the back of his hand with the unreal experience he’d just had. It was like getting shoved out of a dream into the harsh light of day. He blinked at the streetlight for a minute.
“Yes, please,” Vaughn said. “Dinner was way too long ago.”
“Did you have fun tonight?” Avery asked.
He was a