meet her.”
A smile stretched over his face. “I’d love to.”
“Are you sure? You don’t know what you’re getting into,” I teased.
“Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together.”
“Together,” I agreed. Always.
38
Jake
I pulled through the airport departure lane and jerked the truck in park. Seth immediately jumped out to retrieve his mom’s bag. As I gripped the door handle to exit as well, she stopped me by placing her hand on my arm. I stiffened, wondering what she might have left to say after an awesome dinner where we talked about plenty of different topics. Even though it had initially been awkward for all involved, in the end everyone seemed to relax and have a great time. Seeing Seth and his mom laughing together while recounting childhood stories had been worth it. I hoped he could eventually have as close a relationship with her as I had with my mom. Only time would tell.
“It was great meeting you,” she said as I turned to her. “You’re a good man, and though it’s hard for me to leave right now, I feel confident you’ll take good care of him.”
I opened my mouth to say something—maybe to rebuke his needing me for anything—but she beat me to the punch.
“Not that he needs taking care of,” she said, as if catching herself, much like I’d been learning to do. We definitely had that in common. “Just that someone treats him well.”
“I would never want to hurt him—never, ever on purpose,” I replied, feeling that familiar guilt churn in my gut again. “I love him. He’s amazing and—”
“He is, isn’t he?” Her smile was dreamy, as if she was seeing him in a whole new light. And given all they’d done and discussed this week, that was more than likely the case. It made me feel optimistic, and I expected she felt the same. “Anyway, I hope we can become fast friends. Your mom too. She’s a wonderful lady.”
I grinned. “She thinks you are too.”
And then she hugged me. As I looked over her shoulder to see Seth watching us through the window with an adorable smile, I was even more heartened.
We waited until she got inside the terminal, then drove back to my place, our fingers interlaced between us, Seth lost in his thoughts, no doubt processing the week with his mom. I was grateful just to be beside him right then as he sat in quiet contemplation, and the ache in my chest finally subsided.
As soon as we got inside my house and toed off our shoes, we could barely keep our hands to ourselves, as if it’d been years instead of hours since we’d last been alone together like this. But our reunion last night hadn’t been enough, and I’d been counting the hours until I got to see him and hold him again.
And Seth might’ve felt the same because the way he stalked toward me seemed so visceral, like his longing for me was as real and raw. The way his hands wound in my hair and his lips took possession of my mouth, it was as if he was determined to show me exactly who he was, the Seth that’d been hiding inside him for far too long.
“Jake.” He kissed his way along my jaw, to my ear, which made me shiver, then back to my mouth, planting his lips against mine in a desperate, needy kiss.
I clutched his hand, led him upstairs, and proceeded to pin him against the wall outside my room and devour his mouth.
“God.” He groaned as our groins met and his stiff shaft rubbed against mine. “I want you so much.”
“Fuck,” I swore against his mouth. “I want you too.”
“Did you mean it that time”—he drew back to look into my eyes—“when you said I could have you too if I wanted?”
“Yes.” My breath hitched. “Just wanna be with you. Is that what you want?”
“Someday.” He held my gaze, and in his eyes I saw a promise of things to come. So many things we had yet to experience with each other, and we had only skimmed the surface. “But tonight? Tonight I really want you to make love to me.”
Hell yeah. I wanted that too, so fucking much.
Lips fused together, we began stripping each other of shirts and jeans and underwear, leaving a trail as we stumbled into the bedroom. I urged him to lie down, reached for supplies, then tossed them beside him on the mattress.
As I looked him over, I was overcome with