“What the hell are you doing, man?”

Orion’s mumble to himself was barely audible over the hum of his fridge. He hadn’t been able to figure it out on the drive back here. Seeing Gabriel sitting on his couch did things to him that he wasn’t sure he was ready to admit.

He couldn’t hide in the kitchen forever, though. Gabriel was waiting for a beer.

That was all this was: a couple guys drinking beers. Being buddies. Guys being buddies.

He could handle that.

Orion headed out to the living room and handed a beer to Gabriel. He sat next to him on the couch and stretched his legs out. “So, this is the rental. Dirt cheap, even compared to the rest of town. Three bedrooms, a huge basement—I could get used to this.”

“Compared to Houston, I bet,” Gabriel countered. “Not a lot of jobs going here.”

“A lot of entrepreneurs, though. Small businesses and family businesses. It’s nice to see,” Orion said. “I got used to… you know, Walmart and crap. People care more here.”

“They do.” Gabriel tapped his bottle against his hand between sips. “Still.”

The way his slender hands slid over the bottle really shouldn’t have been so distracting. Orion tried desperately to keep his eyes on Gabriel’s face and his breathing steady. He wasn’t sure why his body noticed so strongly.

Goddamn it, he shouldn’t be leading the poor guy on after all this time. Whatever his dick had to say about it, he was straight, wasn’t he? It would be cruel to ditch Gabriel a second time.

Orion had thought of that first time way more than he should have. Sometimes he’d even wondered what would have happened if he’d said yes when Gabriel asked him out.

He couldn’t remember prom night well, and not because of alcohol. Whoever his date had been, they’d made out for a few minutes in front of everyone so they could see that they were a successful couple. Then they had gone to dance with everyone else for the rest of the night.

Orion had wound up partying in some guy’s parents’ cabin hot tub until an ungodly hour. Just hanging out with the guys. Playfully groping each other while laughing about it.

Actually, that sounded a little gay, in retrospect.

“Huh? Sorry.” Orion shook his head and rubbed his face, draining the rest of the beer. He’d barely been keeping up his end of the conversation. It was a shitty way to host Gabriel after his aunt and uncle had been so welcoming.

“I asked how things are going in Houston.”

Orion grunted and shrugged. “It’s… a city. It’s not really all I thought it would be, you know?”

Gabriel frowned, looking concerned. “What do you mean?”

Before Orion could complain, he caught himself. The guy wants to move out there. Don’t blow his dreams. “Well…” he said, carefully thinking through his words. “It’s lonely. I mean, people are nice—I’ve spent a couple weeks or months in a bunch of places around America now, with my job. I’d come back to Houston anytime.”

“But it’s too big for you?” Gabriel’s eyes glinted with mischief as if he were considering saying something.

Oh. Orion got it a moment later and tried not to blush, but it was impossible. Goddamn, the man had a way of subtly turning words around into… flirtation. And Orion didn’t even mind it.

“It is,” Orion said soberly, but let his amusement show through in the way he playfully tilted his head. “I didn’t warm up to it first. Just jumped right in the deep end. Want another beer?” He was going to need it, at this rate.

“It can be better that way.” Gabriel clicked his tongue, then tipped his head back to gulp the rest of his. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and Orion found his eyes drawn to it. Hell, he found himself wondering what it would be like to lick his way up that throat and kiss… “Ahhh,” Gabriel sighed in satisfaction. “That tastes good. Sure.”

Orion nearly scrambled to the kitchen. He only had a few seconds to cool off, trying to think about the leftover tuna casserole in the back of the fridge. Instead, all his brain wanted to show him was Gabriel riding him, his head thrown back as he used his surprisingly strong body for both of their pleasure. Or Gabriel flat on his back underneath him, his legs wrapped around Orion’s waist. Or Gabriel on his knees…

Fuck. Knock it off! He adjusted himself, tucking his growing hard-on up and against him where hopefully it would be less visible—not that there was any good position for a semi. He pulled his t-shirt down as far as possible, then grabbed two beer bottles and made for the couch.

But he was going to have to do something about this.

Halfway through the second beer, he stopped Gabriel before he could keep interrogating him on Houston toll roads. “So, uh, has that asshole been giving you any more trouble? Chad?”

Gabriel looked startled and even wary at first, but he relaxed after a moment. “Him? Nah. He’s not bad anyway. He’s just a desperate loser looking for easy dick. He’ll get bored and go away.”

Orion’s professional senses tingled. When a client evaded the question like that, it usually meant there had been some kind of contact, but it either seemed minor or was embarrassing. He eyed Gabriel. “You’re not sleeping with him, are you?”

Gabriel stared for a moment, and then smirked. “No. Why? Jealous?”

Orion opened his mouth and closed it again. You won’t win if you try to have a snark-off. “A little,” he admitted. “I’m jealous of anyone who figures themselves out so early. At least you’ve had relationships. Gay or not… well. I’ve wondered about myself.” Gabriel didn’t have to know that a lot of that wondering had happened in the last week.

If Gabriel had stared before, it was nothing compared to the wide eyes he was giving him now. “What about all those girls?”

“Which girls?” Orion frowned, searching his memory for who Gabriel might mean.

“Exactly,” Gabriel said. When Orion was no less confused, he sighed and added, “All of them. As a whole. You dated half the school, and apparently at least some women in Houston. My uncle’s friend’s… whatever’s… niece.”

“Oh.” Orion rubbed his neck and sipped his beer a little faster while he tried to work out what to say. “Right. I… well, if this is honesty hour, I may as well repay it in kind. I dated and dumped women a lot.”

“Biggest stud in our class,” Gabriel said. “Or that’s what we all said.”

Orion snorted a laugh. “You’re assuming I fucked them all. I let people assume that.”

Gabriel stared once again. He was blushing now. “Oh. You… didn’t?”

“I’ve tried it a few times, sure. I figured it was supposed to get less awkward after the first time. But it stayed awkward as hell. So I stopped doing that, even. After a few dates, it was always the same. So I’d flit to the next one, hoping she’d feel more… right. And then I stopped even going on dates completely, because nothing was working.”

Orion gripped the bottle so tightly it hurt, and he started to wonder about the structural integrity of that glass. He tried to relax his grip and took a few deep breaths. He could do it. He just had one more thing to say.

“So now I’m thinking it might be… men.”

Gabriel gazed at him, his expression hard to read. He didn’t answer right away, just picked at the corner of his beer bottle label, glancing between it and Orion, then back to it. He peeled the label off after a few seconds and folded it into half until it wouldn’t fold any smaller.

The confession hung in the air between them, making Orion fight not to squirm like he was sitting outside the principal’s office. He kept watching Gabriel, not even sure what he wanted from him. Acknowledgment? Support? He didn’t know if he had any right to that, after turning him down so long ago.

Finally, Gabriel spoke up. “Are you hitting on me?”

“Oh, shit,” Orion mumbled. He swallowed hard and shook his head. “I want to try things out, sure. But I don’t want to… take advantage of you.”

“Huh?” Gabriel stared at him. “You keep coming out of left field here, man.”

“Well, like… your ex situation. That’s a vulnerable situation, psychologically. Or our history together. Or the work relationship, with my gramma and your job. All of that stuff. I would feel horrible if you felt obligated, or pressured in any way—”

Gabriel reached out to press a finger over his lips.

Orion’s body burned in a way he’d never experienced before. He curled his fingers around the edge of the sofa to hold himself still, his chest rising and falling in quick, shallow breaths.

Fuck. I can’t stop myself wanting him.

It was uncontrollable instinct, which certainly backed up the oh my God I’m gay theory.

“Shut the fuck up, dude,” Gabriel murmured when he had Orion’s attention. “You’re hot and I don’t care about all those other situations. I wanted you back then, and I haven’t stopped wanting you.” He dropped his hand to rest on Orion’s thigh.

Orion’s skin tingled with anticipation. He only wished Gabriel’s hand were on his bare skin, instead of his jeans getting in the way.

It took all his courage to admit, “Me neither.”

“You—what?”

“I wanted to say yes, part of me.” Orion couldn’t look at Gabriel as he said it. He set aside the beer bottle and locked his fingers together so tightly they ached. He’d barely admitted this to himself, even in the small hours of the night. “Some small part I ignored. Back then, I thought it was just—curiosity, or something. I was sure I’d only hurt you by experimenting with you, and you were too sweet to do that to.”

Gabriel hissed slowly, letting out his breath and squeezing Orion’s thigh. “I didn’t think you noticed me at all.”

“Oh, I did.” Gabriel had been the always attentive student at the front of the class, the shy wallflower at school performances and assemblies, the master of disappearing in a crowd in the school hallways.

At least Gabriel hadn’t met with much bullying, even after someone had overheard him asking Orion out and the word had spread.

Orion had made damn sure of that from third grade, when kids had started to whisper about him. Even if he’d kept his distance throughout the years, he’d made it damn clear that he liked Gabriel and would physically disagree with anyone who thought otherwise.

“I kind of wish…” Orion trailed off, then looked away even further, staring at the TV.

Gabriel rubbed his thigh gently in a way probably meant to soothe him, but which only riled up the instinctive lust burning through him. “What?”

“I wish I’d been brave enough to talk to you back then. But I didn’t want to get tied down. You know how it is—waiting to leave.”

Gabriel caught his breath, then sighed. “Yeah, I know. But won’t you now?”

“No. I still have my place in Houston, you know. My job and everything.” Orion finally managed to look at Gabriel, who gave him a small, patient smile in reward. “I can’t stay. I just want… to follow this chemistry. I haven’t felt anything like it before.” That was about all the honest truth he could handle giving Gabriel.

“And I can’t seem to get out of this town,” Gabriel chuckled quietly. “So… this is just a one-time thing?”

Orion gulped. “Or short-term. For however long I’m here. If I like it. I don’t know. I don’t want to use you to try—”

“I’m using you just as much as you’re using me, man. Casual sex is like that,” Gabriel informed him with a dry smile. “That’s the point.”

“Oh.” Orion hadn’t thought of it that way before.

“So, sure,” Gabriel murmured, his hand running slowly up Orion’s thigh and between his legs. “Why not? We never have to talk about it again if you don’t like it.”

Orion’s heart was racing with a different kind of nervousness than he’d felt before. This time, he wasn’t meticulously planning his next move. Instead, it just felt right. Orion had no other way of describing it that sounded more scientific.

Hell, he wasn’t worried about whether he’d be able to get it up. He could barely keep it in his pants, especially when the palm of Gabriel’s hand ran up along the shaft now straining at the fly of his jeans.

“Fuck,” Orion breathed out, closing his eyes for a second to enjoy it.

The touch felt good, but in a much deeper way than before. Being touched by someone else had felt strangely good before. Being touched by a man—no less than Gabriel, the very man he’d tried to pretend he didn’t miss for all this time, to whom he’d constantly been comparing the few women he’d tried sleeping with…

He couldn’t screw this up.

“Don’t worry about me not liking it,” Orion breathed out, his hand settling on Gabriel’s shoulder as he opened his eyes again.

Gabriel slid closer, their thighs pressing together as he draped his arm along the back of the couch behind Orion’s head. Even that intimate move made desire thrum under his skin. It was almost like being held close, and instead of vaguely discontented and turned off by the intimacy, he wanted more.

He wanted to drink it in, to milk and bathe in the tension between them for all it was worth.

“Good already?” Gabriel murmured, the heel of his palm still slowly rubbing from the base of his shaft to the tip, which was tucked into the waistband of his jeans and absolutely desperate for freedom.

Orion answered by pulling Gabriel close and kissing him, cradling his cheeks between his palms. The scrape of stubble against them made him tingle with pleasure and shift his grip so he could run his fingers up Gabriel’s cheeks to the side of his head.

And Gabriel’s lips. Oh, fuck. His lips were divine. Soft, warm, wet against his, moving in a slow dance of lip, teeth, and tongues.

Orion’s eyes were closed, but he peeked through his lashes at Gabriel up close a few times as they kissed.

He was beautiful. Orion wasn’t afraid of admitting how gorgeous he found Gabriel.

He’d always thought he was jealous of Gabriel’s slender, modern good looks. His own build was better for looking intimidating and guarding things, but Gabriel looked like he wouldn’t be out of place in an office or running the world.

But no, I don’t want to be him. I just want to have him—not just that way. To have and to hold. Oh, fuck. No, that’s way too quick. Just an expression.

He gasped against Gabriel’s mouth as Gabriel slid his hand into his jeans, fingers curled around the shaft and squeezing right to the base.

“What a beast,” Gabriel teased.

“Thanks.” Orion moaned as Gabriel stroked him a few more times, then worked on unbuttoning his jeans.

Shit. I should reciprocate. He fumbled with Gabriel’s shirt, pulling it out until it was untucked, then ran his hands slowly up Gabriel’s torso to his shoulders.

Gabriel pushed Orion’s jeans and underwear down around his thighs, then held still to let Orion touch him. “Oh, man.”

“Good?” Orion murmured. He retraced his touch and slid his hands up under Gabriel’s shirt instead. He wanted—needed—Gabriel closer, but he wasn’t sure how yet.

“Really good. Oh! Especially that.”

Gabriel’s body was smooth to the touch, and strangely addictive. Orion found himself fantasizing about oiling Gabriel up and touching him for hours, just enjoying the lines and curves of his body.

When Orion’s palms grazed his nipples, Gabriel stiffened and gasped, his eyes sliding shut.

Orion took the hint and ran his fingers slowly around them both, teasing Gabriel before flicking them gently.

Gabriel was putty in his hands. “Yes!” he moaned, rocking into Orion’s touch.

Orion shifted slowly toward Gabriel, then gave up on subtlety. He was too damn horny for that. He kicked off his jeans and underwear so he could straddle Gabriel.

“Hey there, sexy.” Gabriel growled playfully and tilted his head back against the couch as he gazed up at him.

Orion laughed. “Hey yourself.” Weirdly, even his amusement didn’t kill the mood between them. It was sturdier than the fragile balance of need and desire that had propelled his previous encounters along.

“How’s it hanging?” Gabriel grinned, his hands running up Orion’s sides gently, like he was still testing.

“Not hanging so much as…” Orion shifted his hips so his erection poked Gabriel’s stomach. “Stabbing.” Gabriel laughed. Seeing the answering tent in Gabriel’s pants did inexplicably hot things to Orion, but he figured Gabriel would want relief, too. “Can I?”

“God, please.”

Orion fumbled with Gabriel’s jeans, pulling them carefully down to his thighs and easing his erection free.

He slid his hand to the base of the shaft and back up to the tip, rubbing his palm gently across it. The velvety, yet veiny skin slid easily over the firm weight in his hand, and instinct made him expect to be touching himself. But it wasn’t him, it was Gabriel.

Touching another guy’s junk—which was hard because of him—was a totally new experience, and he loved it already.

“That’s it, baby. You’re a natural,” Gabriel teased.

Orion winked. “Those ten years of intensive practice were good for something.”

Gabriel laughed, a beautiful sound cut off by an equally beautiful moan when Orion gently twisted one hand around the head and corkscrewed his hands down the shaft. “Oh, that’s different. Hey. Come here.”

He pulled Orion’s hips closer until his hand almost didn’t fit between them and Orion realized what he was doing. Their hard cocks bumped, sending sparks of pleasure through him. They deepened to a steady burn when he ground against Gabriel, their cocks trapped together between them.

“I love frotting,” Gabriel whispered, reaching between him to pull his shirt up to his shoulders. Then he unbuttoned his own, and their chests were bare, too. Not quite naked, but close enough for tonight.

“Huh?”

Gabriel snickered. “Frottage. Grinding. Two cocks. Ancient tradition.”

“Oh.” Orion catalogued the term in his brain. “It’s… good.”

Good was nowhere close to the right word to describe the tingles of pleasure under his skin. He wanted to tangle his body with Gabriel’s, hold him close, kiss him gently as he made love to him.

Good meant so much to him, though. It wasn’t a pretense at pleasure, or a desperate attempt to model for himself what he should be feeling. It was natural, every move coming effortlessly.

His nails dug into Gabriel’s hips as he pulled him closer, sliding an arm around his lower back to keep the friction on both of their cocks as they bumped and rubbed. The head of Gabriel’s swollen arousal teased at his own, driving him up the fucking wall within minutes.

“I love feeling your big cock on mine,” Gabriel moaned, his hands on Orion’s shoulder blades as he tilted his face up.

Orion met his lips and kissed hard, losing himself in the passion of the moment. Their hot bodies ground together harder and faster, sweat beading on their skin and making every slide smoothly sensual.

The pressure building deep inside was hard to ignore, but even harder was the irresistible urge to hold Gabriel against him. Hell, he’d thought it just a minute ago: make love to him.

Fuck. Fucking fuck, this was really happening, and he was loving it. He didn’t have time to worry about what this meant, though. His body had needs, and those included orgasm—soon.

“Faster, baby,” Gabriel panted when he turned his head away from the kiss to catch his breath. “I wanna come for you. With you.”

“Yes,” Orion hissed. The primal instincts that were surging within him wanted to make Gabriel come first so he could watch his face, but it was so damn hard to hold out. Nerves he hadn’t even been aware of were on fire with his need to come, and he thrust against Gabriel’s body hard and fast, letting his abs ripple against Gabriel’s throbbing arousal.

“Yes!” Gabriel echoed him, but much louder. He threw his head back and cried out again. His body shivered, then tensed up and quivered hard, and he thrust erratically up against Orion. His wetness spilled across them both, giving Orion the last stimulation he needed.

Orion gasped Gabriel’s name, cupping his cheek and kissing him so he could moan into his mouth. His arm tightened around Gabriel’s back and he pressed himself hard against that slender body.

He didn’t understand why he needed Gabriel so close to him as he came, and even afterward, as his thrusts slowed and stopped.

Gabriel didn’t question anything, though. His arms locked over Orion’s shoulders and around his neck, holding him loosely there and rubbing the back of his neck as Orion buried his nose into the crook of Gabriel’s neck.

They didn’t say anything as they softened, but there was a hell of a sticky mess between them that finally forced Orion to pull away from Gabriel and try to find tissues. “Jesus. That’s a lot messier with two dicks.”

Gabriel looked surprised for a moment, and then his laugh was sudden and rich. “Yeah. Yeah, it is. That’s half the fun.”

“It is,” Orion agreed and grinned at Gabriel. “You liked that?”

“Pretty fucking good,” was Gabriel’s verdict. He looked cautious now. “You?”

“Oh, God, yeah. That was good.”

Gabriel rubbed Orion’s shoulder and then sat up to accept tissues, cleaning himself off. “Perfect. I’d call that a successful experiment.”

So would Orion, but now that he’d done it, he wasn’t entirely sure what it had proved: that he was gay, or that he wanted Gabriel sexually, or that… he had feelings for him, somehow, after all this time.

But it hadn’t turned him off. Far from it, Orion found himself hungry for more. So hungry that it almost scared him.

Gabriel was watching him like he understood all the expressions crossing his face, and Orion swallowed hard. I have a lot of thinking to do. On my own. “Okay. I better get to bed. I’ll show you your room.”

They were back to a comfortable distance apart for friends as he led Gabriel upstairs to the guest room and then gave a good-night wave and crashed in his own room.

Only when the lights were off and he was in bed did he wonder if he should have given Gabriel a kiss good night. Then, he wondered if that was too forward. It had been just casual sex, after all. They’d very clearly agreed on that.

But what if he wanted more now? Did Gabriel want more, too? Was that fair to either of them?

Oh, fuck. I thought this would make things less complicated, but I think it just did the opposite.

The minutes ticked by as Orion wrestled with his thoughts. Finally, he caught himself thinking about the incredible sex, half-hard all over again. But goddamn, he had to get some sleep before morning. He could save jerking off for his shower in the morning.

Orion huffed to himself and rolled onto his stomach to get to sleep, ignoring his semi until it finally settled again.

This isn’t gonna be just one time, is it? Not if I can help it.