Luke would kill Hank if he found out what Hank was about to do.

But honestly? It had been a hard day. Aunt Laura had called him about this new developer guy who’d shown up, and then that had just led to this whole guilt trip about why he couldn’t come for dinner, and making him feel like he was the worst nephew in the world for not being able to stop by. It wasn’t even anyone’s birthday or anything, and it wasn’t like he could get off work.

Ugh. He didn’t want to think about that right now. He didn’t want to worry about the damn trailer park, or his family, or work, even. He wanted to not think about any of it.

And here was a gorgeous guy basically begging Hank to show him a good time.

It had been way too long since Hank had relaxed, and this whole thing with his family was driving him up the wall. He wasn’t sure who he wanted to win this damn stalemate: the company, so his family would move into new housing and shut up about it, or his family, so that the development company would stop hounding them and riling Aunt Laura and the rest of them up.

He’d already clocked out, but he let Luke know that he was officially on his way out the door. “What happened to that guy you were chatting up?” Luke asked. “Adam’s friend from work.”

Hank just winked at Luke and decided to let his boss come up with his own conclusions. Then he slipped out the back door to find Eric leaning against the wall, idly checking his phone.

“Tweeting about your evening?” Hank asked.

Eric snorted and put his phone in his pocket. “More like double checking my work email.”

“Is this the part where I say a line about how you need to relax, and I can help with that?” Hank asked.

Eric laughed. “Sure, something like that.”

Hank suspected that Eric was like Hank was — feeling hounded, overworked. The guy looked tired the way that Hank felt tired inside, powered by a manic energy that made him want to be reckless because everyone was asking him to be responsible, or at least their version of responsible.

He moved in, forcing Eric to back up until his back was completely pressed against the concrete wall.

If Luke found out that Hank was about to have sex literally on the back wall of Luke’s beloved bar, Hank’s body would never be found. But hey, Luke lived in a glass house. Hank was ninety percent sure that Luke had done it with Adam in the office — several times. Brad was home after a long day of counseling, and Hank wasn’t about to kick out his roommate, and car sex was overrated when you were two six-foot-tall men.

Eric was a little leaner than Hank, although not by much, and they were the same height, but with Eric pressed up against the wall like this, it somehow made him look smaller to Hank, made Hank feel like he could loom over him a little.

Hank braced his hands on either side of the wall, leaning in. Eric’s hands came up, sliding over Hank’s shirt, feeling out his chest, his abs, going up to move over his shoulders.

They were only a few inches apart, Eric’s hands exploring, his touch firm but gentle, the heat coming off his body in waves, making Hank just want to sink into it.

“What’re you waiting for?” Eric asked him, blue-green eyes gone dark and his voice low and intimate.

Hank leaned in and finally finished closing the gap, pressing his lips to Eric’s.

It was a slower, softer kiss at first, a sort of get-to-know-you kiss. Then Eric pressed back into him, his hands gripping Hank’s shoulders tightly, and Hank tilted his head, and it went from slow to fast and deep in the blink of an eye.

It was like all the energy that had been building up in Hank, all the frustration, finally had an outlet and was exploding out of him faster than he could keep up. He yanked Eric’s suit jacket off his shoulders, kissing him hungrily, his hands greedily untucking Eric’s shirt so that he could get his hands underneath it and onto warm, bare skin.

He sank further into Eric until they were completely pressed together. He could feel the length of him through the thin fabric of his slacks, pressing against Hank’s own rapidly hardening cock. Hank ground against him a little, just a few tiny little thrusts, and Eric jolted, panting into Hank’s mouth.

“Been a while, huh?” Hank said, the words mouthed against Eric’s lips.

Eric slid his thigh between Hank’s legs, pressing up and making Hank’s eyes nearly roll back into his head. “Been a while for you, too, has it?” Eric said lightly, the payback, buster evident in his tone of voice.

Hank kissed him again to shut him up, loving the way that Eric kissed back, ferocious and hungry. Hank was stocky and tall, and so most guys just kind of went pliant when he kissed them, letting Hank completely take the lead, but Hank liked a little bit of fight, that push and pull, the idea of getting as good as he gave.

Eric’s hands roamed greedily as he pressed up into Hank like he was going to seal them together. Hank moved his mouth down to suck on Eric’s neck, lick at that bit of collarbone that had peeked out when the other man had undone his shirt buttons. He bit down on the juncture of Eric’s neck and shoulder and Eric groaned, his hips jerking.

“Smartass,” Eric told him, when Hank smirked against Eric’s skin. He yanked Hank upwards and bit savagely into his mouth, his hands sliding down to palm Hank’s ass and guide his rhythm so that Hank was riding Eric’s leg properly.

Pleasure spiked harsh and rapid in Hank’s stomach, and he rutted against Eric’s thigh, his jeans suddenly too confining and rough.

Fuck, dammit, why did tonight have to be the night that Brad was exhausted and staying home? Why couldn’t he take Eric back to his place and just tear him to pieces? Hank wanted to be inside him, to take his time with him, get his mouth on every inch of him, and see if the parts underneath Eric’s clothes were as good as the parts he could already see.

But they definitely couldn’t do any of that right here and now, dammit, so he’d have to settle. Who knew; hopefully, Eric would come back, and Hank could have a second go at him.

Eric tore his mouth from Hank’s, kissing his way up Hank’s jaw to his ear, where he whispered, voice throaty and raw, “God, I wish you could get inside of me.”

Hank kind of lost all reason at that, and he reached down to yank at Eric’s pants, wrestling them open and slipping his hand inside to wrap around Eric’s throbbing cock. Eric made a helpless noise in the back of his throat and got his hands underneath Hank’s shirt, raking his nails over Hank’s chest and back.

It had been ages since Hank had his hand down another man’s pants, and he’d forgotten what a thrill it was, the dirty-perfect sensation of it, out here where someone could easily duck out for a smoke or a phone call and see them.

He rode Eric’s thigh, sparks flying inside of him, but it wasn’t enough, and the angle wasn’t allowing him to get the best grip on Eric’s cock, teasing him more than anything.

Hank pulled back and undid his jeans, pulling his own cock out, and then stepped back in, wrapping his hand around both of them. Eric keened in the back of his throat and wrapped an arm around Hank’s shoulders, kissing him desperately.

God, it felt good, better than Hank remembered, to have someone’s cock sliding against his own, precome dripping down the sides, easing the way. He loved the feel of it, unlike anything else, the odd combination of soft skin and hard, trembling muscle just underneath it, the slick, wonderfully dirty sound they made together.

They were just panting into one another’s mouths now, unable to focus enough to kiss properly, the angle and friction finally giving them what they both needed. Eric clung to him, tiny moans coming out of his mouth with almost every exhale, until Hank felt Eric’s movements becoming more erratic, his hips starting to stutter and lose their rhythm.

Hank tightened his grip, leaning his head down to suck at Eric’s neck. He felt Eric’s body stiffen and the other man groaned, coming, thick ropes spurting up and running all over Hank’s hand.

Hank groaned as well, panting against the sweat-damp skin of Eric’s neck, his hips snapping, the slick from Eric easing the way as he sped up his hand and came, jerking hard.

They sort of collapsed against one another, breathing heavily. Eric brought his hands up to take Hank’s face in his hands and kiss him, slow and messy. Hank felt more relaxed than he had in ages, his muscles heavy and drained but in the best way.

“Holy shit,” Eric breathed against his mouth.

“Worth ruining a suit?” Hank asked, voice husky.

“Definitely.” Eric chuckled, gently pushing Hank off of him so that he could get his pants up.

Hank did up his own pants, glad that his house was just a short walk from the bar. “What are the odds we could sneak into the bathroom without anyone noticing, do you think?”

Eric laughed. “Slim to none; your friends all seem pretty nosy.”

“Fair enough.” His friend group did tend to be a pretty curious bunch, and they all lived in one another’s pockets at times.

They relaxed against the wall. It had been so damn long — too long, really — since Hank had had a chance to do that. His only regret was that they didn’t have all night. “You should stop by again sometime,” he said, before he could overthink it.

He wasn’t looking for a date or anything. Just someone he could hook up with a few times. Someone to take the edge off. And Eric seemed like a fun guy, someone Hank got along with as well as finding him attractive.

“I’ll be down here a lot for the next few weeks,” Eric said, sounding resigned.

“Try not to get too excited about it,” Hank teased.

Eric rolled his eyes. “Trust me, finding this place is the best thing I could’ve hoped for, if I’m stuck coming down here trying to get these stupid people to sell.”

“Sell?”

Something about that — the way Eric said it — set Hank’s alarm bells ringing.

Eric shrugged. “Yeah, I work for this one development company—”

Hank’s stomach twisted. “You’re working on the trailer park, aren’t you?”

Eric looked over at him. “Yeah, how’d you know…” his voice trailed off. His eyes narrowed. “Your last name is Caskill, isn’t it?”

Hank nodded.

Eric blew out his breath in a rush. “Great. Just great.”

“Trust me, I’m not too happy about this turn of events either.” Hank crossed his arms. “Do you have any idea the goddamn headache your company’s been giving my family?”

“We’re the headaches?” Eric snorted. “Have you met your family? Because I did today, and I got stonewalled. I think the one lady, Laura, was fixing to punch me. She did, in fact, punch one of my predecessors, apparently.”

“He should’ve ducked faster.”

Eric gave an incredulous half-smile. “You’re kidding. You’ve got to be kidding. Are you — do you live out there?”

“No, I live here,” Hank replied, feeling anger bubble up. It was odd, because normally he didn’t give a damn about that stupid trailer park, but he was apparently the only one allowed to do that. Eric’s tone of voice when he suggested that Hank lived out there made it sound like living in the trailer park was — well, it pissed Hank off, all right? “Doesn’t mean you don’t get to go around insulting my family.”

“I didn’t insult anybody,” Eric replied. “I stated facts and asked a question.”

“Yeah, in the most condescending tone known to man.”

“Are you listening to yourself? I’m not some mustache-sporting Disney villain here, y’know. That park, I saw it today. It’s falling apart. Your family could actually move into decent homes if they sold to us.”

“And your company would have to deal with fewer broken noses if you knew when to give it up,” Hank replied. “Generations of my family have lived there.”

“Oh, here we go,” Eric said, rolling his eyes. “C’mon, let me have the spiel, family pride and generations being born in those very log cabins — sorry, trailers—”

“Mocking the guy who just gave you a hand job, real classy.”

“Says the guy who decided I was mocking him and made me the enemy when all I did was ask a question and tell you my job,” Eric replied.

How the hell hadn’t Hank found out what the guy’s job was before now? But then, someone’s job was usually something boring, and had nothing to do with him. He’d thought that Eric was an accountant or something, for crying out loud.

“You know that your company has been running people out of their homes, right? Driving their stores out of business?” Hank hadn’t realized until this moment how pissed he was about the whole thing. “Hell, Luke almost had to sell out to you guys — that or sell his family home, it was going to be one or the other. That would have ruined the whole neighborhood; literally everyone comes here.”

“And you realize that I’m not my company, right?” Eric said. “I’m not the guy who’s in charge of making these decisions; I just do my job, like I’m paid to do.”

“You choose to do your job — you choose to pressure people and manipulate them until they have no choice but to sign and pack up and leave,” Hank said.

“And you really want to stay in those rusty old buckets?” Eric asked. “That place is the definition of white trash; I mean, it’s falling apart out there. I’d be ashamed to even live next door to that.”

Hank was seriously considering taking a swing at Eric when the back door opened and Luke stepped out. He frowned, glancing between the two of them. “I thought I heard raised voices,” he said.

Hank knew that both he and Eric looked rumpled, Eric’s jacket on the ground and his shirt untucked, Hank’s hair sticking up everywhere even worse than usual. But at least now they looked rumpled because they were pissed off and having a fight, and not because they’d been having sex.

“Everything okay?” Luke asked.

Hank snorted. “Oh, it’s just great. Tell me, did your fiancé know that his work buddy is working for the people who want to drive my family out of their homes?”

“As if you wouldn’t do what Luke told you to do because it’s your job,” Eric replied.

“My job is feeding people, not stealing the land out from under their feet!”

“My job is the reason I can afford a nice apartment in the city. One that doesn’t have a roommate.”

“Oh, so you’re saying you’re better than I am. Glad we cleared that up.” Hank couldn’t believe he’d had sex with the guy — that he’d wanted to do it again, that he’d liked Eric.

“Whoa, okay, hold on,” Luke said, swiftly stepping in between them and holding his hands up. “I’ve been saying it to Travis and Preston since the world began, and I’ll say it to you too; I’m not tolerating bar fights.”

“We’re outside the bar,” Hank said, unable to help himself.

Luke glared at him. “It’s close enough. I get that you two are upset, and it sounds like you both have reason to be, but if you can’t settle it like adults then I’m going to have to ask both of you to drop it and walk away. Cool off.”

Eric picked up his jacket from the ground, making a scoffing noise. “Don’t worry about it, Luke; I was just on my way home. Tell Adam goodnight for me.”

Hank flipped Eric off behind his back as Eric walked away, presumably towards his car.

“Asshole,” Hank muttered.

“And here I thought you two were getting cozy at the bar,” Luke noted. “You looked like you were having a good time.”

“I was,” Hank groused, unable to stop the words from hissing out of him. God dammit. First time in ages he actually liked someone, and got laid, and had the prospect of it becoming a regular thing … and the guy turned out to be the jerk who was making Hank’s life ten times more difficult.

Luke laid a hand on Hank’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, man.”

Hank snorted. “It’s not like I lost the love of my life, dude.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Come back inside, grab a beer; the others are having a dart-throwing competition while Paul and I clean up.”

Hank allowed himself to be led inside, although he excused himself to go to the bathroom and clean up the second that he could.

He quickly used paper towels and hand soap to get himself somewhat decent again. Knowing his luck, everyone would still be able to tell what he’d been up to anyway.

God damn it, seriously? The first person he’d liked enough and clicked enough with to actually do something about the attraction, and the guy turned out to be the one who’d sent his aunt into a hissy fit?

Hank braced his hands against the edge of the sink and glared at his own reflection. That was what he got for thinking with his dick. Letting a pair of big ocean-colored eyes and a strong jawline distract him from getting something as basic as the guy’s job and what brought him to the area.

At least he’d gotten off before the whole fight had derailed things. Silver linings, and all that.

Hank kind of wished that Eric had stuck around, or that he’d gone after Eric to continue the fight properly. His blood was up, and he wanted to square things off.

But why was he so upset about it?

He splashed his face with water to calm down. He didn’t care about the trailer park. He never had. So why would he get his dander up over Eric being the latest company guy to try and take it?

It was just that it was important to his family. And damn it, they annoyed the fuck out of him, but he did love them. This mattered to them for some insane reason, and that meant it was important to him by proxy. He didn’t want them to have to slink off in humiliation, like so many other people he’d seen around town, like Luke had almost had to.

How could Eric not see? This wasn’t a good deal — not to the people who were selling. This was something done because they had no other choice. Because they couldn’t keep up, and were being squeezed out.

It was painful for them. It wasn’t a great opportunity. It wasn’t something they did willingly or cheerfully. It was done out of necessity.

He didn’t want his family to have to feel displaced. He didn’t want them to have to give up something that they didn’t want to. If they wanted to give it up then sure, go ahead, he certainly didn’t care. But they didn’t want to, and that made all the difference.

Hank resolved to stop by the trailer park tomorrow. See Aunt Laura, and Mom, and his older sister Theresa. Hopefully they’d stay calm, and wouldn’t get themselves too worked up over this whole thing.

Yeah, fat chance of that.

Hank dried himself off. This was no reason to freak out. It was just another guy from the damn development company, and his family would handle it the same way that they’d handled all the others, and Hank would just stand to the side and stay out of the drama.

It didn’t have to be a big deal unless he made it a big deal, and he wasn’t making it a big deal.

So there.