Blane’s knock on the door came just as Falcon shoved the last of the dry dishes into the cupboard. He paused to take one more look around his little place, making sure it looked respectable, then hurried to the door to open up.

“Hey—whoa.” Blane’s eyes were drawn over Falcon’s shoulder, then back to his face. “Cool place.”

Falcon relaxed and grinned. “You think? It’s so stereotypical.”

“Yeah, but it suits you,” Blane told him, and Falcon stepped aside to let him inside.

There was a certain something between them now that they both knew why Blane was there, but Falcon resisted the urge to jump on Blane yet. This wasn’t the usual Grindr hookup where shoes were barely off before shirts.

Blane wanted to take him on a date. Or at least, had wanted to until he’d suggested this. It remained to be seen if he’d fade off the map like every other guy. Falcon brushed the thought aside. If the sex was hot enough, surely it was worth it.

“Want a beer?” Falcon abruptly offered. That seemed like a good way to break the tension.

“Yeah, sure.”

He grabbed cans from the fridge as Blane followed him into the main living space, stopping in the center of the room to turn around. Presumably he was admiring the art everywhere. At least, Falcon hoped so.

They clinked beer cans and cracked them open. “To beginnings,” Blane said simply, then drank.

It took Falcon a moment to mirror him. Beginnings of what? But then, that question might only be answered over time.

“I really like your style,” Blane said.

In the middle of his studio, where the ceiling was the highest, Falcon had his drying area. The windows and fan in this place were more than adequate to vent paint fumes in the early stages. About half the place was filled with stacks of completed works, easels, and a workspace for his work-in-progress.

“Thanks.” Falcon watched Blane wander through the space, especially eyeing the beer can in his hand. Surely a vet had a good sense of balance. “The meerkat one is in progress over there.”

“I just saw! Wow, it’s almost done, isn’t it?”

Falcon joined Blane next to the easel and nodded. “Wedding’s in a couple weeks. I want to make sure it’s ready for the big day. Curing takes time.”

“Oh. Makes sense.” Blane drank deeply and shook his head. “I’d never be able to do it.”

“Everyone says that.” Falcon hooked his thumb through his belt loop. “Just takes practice, like anything. I wouldn’t be able to inoculate a bunch of otters without practice.”

Blane laughed, his gaze wandering across the line of paintings leaning against the wall. “Yeah. Why are these not in galleries and stuff? Or your portfolio online?”

“Sales are slow…” Falcon trailed off, tilting his head. “My portfolio?” he repeated.

Blane turned red and cleared his throat, then swigged his beer again. “I, uh, might have Googled you.”

“The disadvantage of having a weird name,” Falcon chuckled. “That’s my painting business. That’s half my work life.”

“What’s the other half? If you don’t mind saying,” Blane added.

Falcon cracked a smile. “My X-rated art. No, digital art. Cutesy cartoons with feel-good sayings.”

“Oh,” Blane laughed. “Disappointing.”

“Thanks!” Falcon snorted and elbowed him, then headed to the couch to sit down. Being around Blane had this dizzying effect, and he wasn’t sure what to make of it.

Blane followed and gave him an adorable crooked grin. “Welcome.” He crashed close to Falcon and put his arm along the back of the sofa, behind him. “If you did paint X-rated art, what would it be about?”

“I have before.” Falcon laughed. “Commissions online, while I was putting myself through art school. That ain’t cheap. D’you know how many dicks I had to draw? It’s not very titillating anymore.”

“Titillating,” Blane repeated with a snicker. “Sorry. Half my mental age is waiting outside the door, apparently.”

Falcon laughed again and finished his beer, then set the can aside as he watched Blane tip his head back to do the same. Stubble grazed his chin and drew his eyes to his lips, then down to his throat.

Blane set aside his can and looked at Falcon, who met his gaze and didn’t look away. It was a nonverbal agreement, much like usual, to stop talking and start making out.

They leaned in at the same moment. Hands slid over each other’s knees, then shoulders and the backs of necks, awkwardly getting a grip on each other’s bodies.

Their lips met, warm and gentle at first, exploratory. Blane seemed to be taking it carefully, cupping Falcon’s cheek and stroking his cheekbone with his thumb. It was nice to be treated gently for a change, rather than rushing to the main act.

Falcon leaned into the heat of Blane’s body, slowly sliding toward him until their legs were pressed from hip to knee. His back would hurt if they kept this angle up for long, though, so he shifted to slide his knee over Blane’s lap.

“You look good there.”

Falcon grinned at Blane and tipped his chin up with a finger, leaning down slowly and deliberately for another kiss. “I know I do.”

“You know where you’d look even better?”

He knew what any man would say now. “On your dick?”

Blane’s eyes crinkled in amusement. “Yeah. But I was gonna say fucking my mouth.” He pressed a mischievous kiss against Falcon’s lips. “Your call.”

“Oh.” Falcon’s breath rushed out. “I… wouldn’t mind that.” His voice was strained as he tried to keep it from cracking. That was the understatement of his life.

Blane had ignited passion in him that he’d forgotten. It was more than the passing physical interest and sex just for the hell of it. The chemistry was strangely unbearable. It made him itch for more, and at the same time, he felt… vulnerable.

And being offered a blowjob before anything else? It had been a while. But it fit with what little he’d guessed of Blane’s nature: dependable, invested in caring for the few people (or mostly animals, if he was like many vets) he actually cared about, and sexually confident.

It was an intoxicating mix. Falcon’s whole body ached for anything of Blane’s touch: his cock in him, yeah, but also his hands on his back or playing with his hair, his lips grazing his chest or ear or neck, his tongue sliding between his lips.

Falcon hardly knew how to express what he wanted, so he settled for what he was offered. He slid carefully off Blane’s lap, swaying and grabbing the back of the couch as Blane leaned forward to unzip and unbutton his jeans.

He was hard already, and Blane took care as he slid down his clothes to reveal just how turned on Falcon was.

“Gorgeous,” Blane whispered, scooting to the edge of the sofa and wrapping his hand around Falcon’s hip to pull him close.

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Falcon laughed, but his breath hitched.

Blane was already leaning in to run his tongue around the head in slow, tantalizing circles. The wet heat was a tease, a promise of what was to come, and Falcon dug his nails into the back of the couch to avoid begging. Yet.

Blane’s broad hand wrapped around the length, stroking from base to tip before he leaned down to press kisses against Falcon’s balls.

Falcon’s knees weakened as Blane took one into his mouth, gently pressing his lips into sensitive skin, then the other, before kissing his way up the seam along the underside of his shaft.

“You’re patient,” Falcon muttered, trying and failing not to make it sound like a complaint.

Blane chuckled. “When the payoff is worth it.” He swiped with his tongue along the sensitive spot where head met shaft, then wrapped his lips tightly around the shaft and pushed his head down.

Feeling himself glide into Blane’s mouth, in and out of the wet, tight heat, made Falcon grab the sofa harder, bending over slightly and widening his stance as much as he could with his jeans around his shins. “Oh, God.”

Blane moaned appreciatively, and the vibrations coursed down Falcon’s sensitive shaft, making his skin ignite. Electric charges of need curled his toes and fingers, sparked at his nipples, and even his lips felt sensitive to the gasped breaths across them.

Falcon pulsed with need already. “Ooof. Oh, fuck. Blane.” The urge to move was almost irresistible.

Blane dug his nails into Falcon’s hip and pulled him sharply in, almost making him fall onto his face if he hadn’t had such a tight grip on the sofa. The encouragement was all Falcon needed to thrust, slowly at first, then faster until he matched the pace Blane had been setting.

The slight ridges of the roof of his mouth, the tightness of the head fitting into Blane’s throat, and even Blane’s strong grip on him made Falcon breathless, his world narrowing to just this pleasure.

“Yes… I’m so close,” Falcon panted, straightening up again. He held onto the sofa with one hand, the back of Blane’s head with the other. It was impossible to tell him how goddamn good he was without sounding repetitive, so he let his moans do the job.

And then he was tightening, drawing so near the edge he could hardly hold on. “Blane,” he breathed out, pulling back.

Blane let him go, but he held onto Falcon tightly and leaned in to lap at the head while Falcon stroked. “I don’t mind.”

“You… don’t?” Falcon’s voice was a gasp even to his own ears, but he was out of energy to hold back.

“Let me.” Blane leaned in again, and it only took one smooth, tight glide of his lips from head to base before Falcon was squirming, pushing, letting go of all that heat that had built up in quick, needy thrusts. And true to his word, Blane swallowed, his throat working around the head, which made Falcon whimper with pleasure.

“Oh, my god.” Falcon faintly breathed a laugh and pulled back when he’d gone still, the urge to thrust melting into boneless bliss. “Fuck. Wow.” Blane pulled him down to sit on the couch and he gladly went. “Thanks…?”

Blane laughed. “You’re welcome. I’m glad I was that good.”

“A lot of guys…” Falcon said, his tongue loosened by the stupefying pleasure throbbing in his body, then trailed off.

“Hm?”

“Just wanna fuck me. Don’t even wanna get me off, you know?” Falcon rolled his eyes. “Mostly those asshole alpha dudes. It’s all about them.”

“I don’t see who wouldn’t want to worship that gorgeous body.” Blane ran his hand up Falcon’s stomach and chest, pulling his shirt up as he went, and moaned appreciatively at the shape he was in. “You’re sexy when you come.”

“O-Oh.” Falcon was blushing and he knew it. His head spun as he tried to clamp down on his tongue before he said anything even more stupid and clingy. “I… Thanks. Your turn.”

Blane laughed, his hand wrapping around Falcon’s and lacing fingers. “You look half-asleep.”

“Not too asleep for that.” Falcon walked his fingers, awkward though it was, along Blane’s thigh before Blane stopped him, flattening his hand against his thigh. “Mm?”

“That one was for you.”

Blane’s boner was clear as daylight through his jeans, and now that Falcon was looking at it, he couldn’t take his eyes off it. “Please?”

“What?”

Falcon said it as plainly as he could: “I love sucking cock. I wanna suck yours. Unless you want me to wait.” Blane’s grip on his hand weakened, and he knew he was in. “It’d be a shame to let that load go to waste.”

“You have a way with words,” Blane told him and pulled his hand back, lacing his hands behind his head for a moment and stretching.

Falcon rolled sideways to stretch along the couch on his front, his face in Blane’s crotch already. “Thank God you said yes. I didn’t want to have to beg.”

“I don’t often meet a guy who likes sucking dick as much as me,” Blane laughed deeply.

“It’s better than anal in some ways.”

“Yeah,” Blane nodded, lighting up.

“A hell of a lot easier. More versatile. Quicker when you’re on the go…” Falcon unzipped Blane’s jeans and slid his fingers in through the fly, rubbing the shaft a few times before he unbuttoned them and worked that manhood free.

“Are you suggesting public fucking?” Blane exclaimed.

“I’m not not suggesting it,” Falcon grinned coyly up at Blane, and he earned a tweak to his ear.

“Sweet, bubbly, and surprisingly kinky. Noted.”

Falcon snickered, pushing Blane’s underwear out of the way. “Oooh. Look at that.” Blane was hard already and his girth filled Falcon’s grip. If he hadn’t just come, he’d be horny just at the sight of it.

“Way with words,” Blane muttered again, looking pleased. He spread his arms along the back of the couch, gripping on either side of himself.

Falcon licked slowly from those heavy balls up the shaft, tasting the musk of him with pleasure. He loved giving head exactly as much as he’d told Blane. Whatever the guys who were too manly to suck dick thought about it, the control was completely in his hands, and he could make Blane come undone with his hands and mouth alone. Blane was already halfway there. He really had loved it, too.

That was the sexiest feeling in the world.

His shaft was pink and throbbing under Falcon’s teases, but Falcon didn’t let that stop him from teasing a bit more. He pinched the loose skin gently between his lips, then swiveled his head back and forth around the head, sucking gently at first, then harder.

“Oh,” Blane grunted. “Nnn—Nice.”

Falcon shifted himself to get a better angle, then pushed his head down on the shaft, taking his time to let the girth of him slide across his tongue all the way to the back of his throat. When he was sure he wasn’t going to choke, he pulled his head up and pushed down again.

Blane’s hips kept jerking up in desperate little pushes before he settled again, so he didn’t waste more time teasing. He sucked fast and hard, intending to blow Blane’s mind at that pace.

Blane was doing a good job keeping his hands off. Ever the gentleman, then. Falcon ran his hand up Blane’s stomach and under his shirt to tweak a nipple, rubbing gently with a thumb and listening for the catches and growls in Blane’s breathing.

Then he got it loose of his shirt and ran his hand over his shoulder and biceps to pull against his hand, guiding it to his head.

“You don’t mind?” Blane whispered. “I know I’m…”

Big? Oh, yeah, he is. How sweet. Falcon tried not to chuckle. His mouth was a little too full for coherent noises. He nodded slightly and tightened his grip on Blane’s hand before releasing it to wrap his hand around the base of the shaft.

Blane fucked his mouth in staccato thrusts, his head rolling back against the back of the sofa. “Oh, fuck. Yes!”

Feeling Blane lose himself in pleasure was so goddamn sexy that even Falcon felt heat prickle his skin. When Blane tried to pull him away, he resisted and swallowed. He didn’t usually swallow on a first date, but to reciprocate? Hell yeah.

He sucked Blane clean, pulling his mouth slowly off his softening dick and casting a last sultry glance up at Blane from his lap.

Blane was watching him with a strange look on his face: something affectionate, maybe? No, that was just the orgasm talking. His and Blane’s.

“Wow,” Blane whispered. “You’re pretty great yourself. I’m glad I came over.”

“Less over and more in,” Falcon smirked, pushing himself upright and licking his lips.

Blane laughed, then pulled him in for a loose, easy kiss. No pressure, no expectation. Just… yeah, that was kind of affectionate.

Falcon let himself lean into Blane’s chest for a good minute before asking the question. “So, this weekend…?”

“Hm?” Blane seemed confused for a moment, and Falcon’s heart started sinking. “Oh! The wine and auction. What, can you still make it?”

“Did you want me to?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Blane straightened up, his arm tightening around Falcon’s shoulders.

Falcon laughed. No way am I getting neurotic on him after the best orgasm ever. “I can make it. Just making sure.”

“Arranging your schedule of suitors?” Blane grinned at him.

Falcon hesitated, then admitted, “There aren’t many.”

“Mm. Right.” Blane nodded slightly, eyeing him. He couldn’t tell what Blane was thinking as he pushed himself up to his feet slowly and tucked himself away. “I better get going, though.”

Stay. But Falcon didn’t say it out loud. He just smiled casually, trying with all his might not to let the hopes that had risen take over his thinking. “Yeah? It’s almost the weekend anyway.”

“Mmm. I better save up my stamina.”

“For hot sex afterward?”

“That and interacting with actual people beforehand.” Blane wrinkled his nose.

“I’m people.”

“You’re sexy people.” Blane wagged a finger. “There’s a difference.”

Falcon laughed, charmed despite himself. Fuck it. I like him. It’s too late not to. “Okay. I’m flattered.”

He saw Blane to the door in a whirlwind of thoughts, and just like in the parking lot, before he left, Blane leaned in for a little kiss.

Falcon caught himself pressing his hand to his mouth after the door was closed, leaning against it and shutting his eyes. All signs pointed to him being stupid again, assuming a guy he’d specifically enticed here on the promise of no-strings-attached sex might want… well, more afterward. Which he knew was the dumbest hope to have when dating.

The tighter he held on, the quicker anything—or anyone—slipped out of his grasp.

But Blane acted kind of like he did want more, all… considerate, even a touch romantic. And if he kept that up, Falcon could maybe find a balance between what he wanted and what the surly hunk was willing to give. Maybe he didn’t need a happily-ever-after, if Blane could be happy like this for a while.

I could get used to this. Really dangerously used to this.