Why the hell did I ask him to come out with me tonight? I know the reason, and it wasn’t appropriate, but I can’t deny being excited that he actually said yes.

The bar is packed with locals and tourists. I brought him to a straight bar because I figured it would be a little bold to take him to one of the gay bars I frequent.

The bartender points to me, and I say, “A margarita on the rocks.” I turn to Jesse, who stands behind me.

“Make that two margaritas on the rocks,” he says.

While the bartender mixes our drinks, I start talking to Jesse, raising my voice so he can hear me over the crowd. “My son mentions you a lot. Well, not that I talk to him that much, but when I do, you usually come up. You guys met in college?”

“Yeah, freshman year,” he says. “We had Chem 101 together.”

“Chemistry, huh?”

His gaze drifts down to my lips and lingers there a little too long. There’s no question in my mind that Jesse wants to fuck around with me. He was too obvious back at the condo, standing in the doorway of my guest bedroom, with his raging hard-on and that hungry look in his eyes.

The bartender sets our drinks down, and I throw down some pesos.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Jesse says.

“What?”

“Paid. I’ll get the next round.”

So cute.

“Kid, I’m fine.”

“I get that. I just… I’d rather pay my part.”

I’m surprised by how serious his expression is. Most people, when I pay for things, they just accept it and thank me. But Jesse doesn’t seem as appreciative of my generosity as he seems surprised by it…maybe even a little bothered.

“I’ve been mooching in your guest bedroom, so the least I can do is get some drinks,” Jesse explains before taking a sip of his drink.

“I appreciate that, I really do, but it’s only one drink.”

My words don’t appear to soothe his uneasiness, so I change the subject. “So what did you major in at Georgia Tech? Ty tells me you’re in software development.”

“Computer science. I’m actually between jobs right now. My last workplace let me go. I interviewed for a company, Mincer Corp, right before coming here with Ty. They seemed pretty interested, but we’ll see.”

“I have some contacts with a few companies in software development. I could see if there’s anything—”

“No, no. I’m good. Thank you, though.”

I’m startled by how quickly he refused my offer, and he must have noticed because he says, “Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate it, but I’d prefer to do it on my own.”

Once again, something about him I can respect. Funny, considering my son would jump at the opportunity to get something the easy way.

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be rude,” he adds.

“It’s fine. You want to be a self-made man. I get that. Just keep in mind that there’s nothing wrong with getting a hand now and then. No one gets to where they want to be without a little help. I sure as fuck didn’t. But sorry. It’s your business how you go about your life. I’ll let it go. So what have you guys done since you have been here?”

“Spent some time at the beach. Gone out partying with some people we’ve met here. That’s about it. Been trying to convince Ty to take some surfing lessons with me. He already knows how to surf, but he doesn’t really enjoy it.”

“I surf,” I tell him. “I could show you.”

“I’d really like that, actually.”

“Just say when.”

“For sure.”

I’m genuine in my offer, but I can tell by the way he says that, he’s taking it about as seriously as Ty always does.

As we finish our drinks, I order us two more. I’m out of cash, but as I get my card out to pay, Jesse’s quick with fetching some pesos and handing them over to the bartender.

“Sneaky fucker,” I tell him. “You know I’m good for it.”

“Clearly I am too.”

But as annoyed as I am that he beat me to it, I’m impressed he wasn’t all talk about wanting to pay.

“So enough about me,” he says. “What about your job? From what Ty tells me, you’re kind of a big deal.”

I laugh. “I wouldn’t say all that, but I do okay for myself.”

“That is such bullshit. I know for a fact you’re a bigwig corporate entrepreneur, which I never would have guessed by looking at you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t seem the type,” Jesse says. “You don’t look like the stuffy, suit-and-tie kind of guy. You got this scruff, tats, clearly work out plenty. You seem very easygoing. Chill. Cool.”

“Cool? Oh, you think I’m cool? I’ll take that as a compliment.”

He grins before taking another sip of his margarita. He gets a little salt on his lip, which he licks off…and God, that makes me want to force my mouth against his.

“But seriously,” he goes on. “You aren’t at all what I pictured when Ty’s talked about you.”

“What did you picture?”

“Eh…the Ivy League sort with a couple hundred pounds on him. Maybe balding.”

He winks like he wants me to know he’s just giving me a hard time.

“Well, I’m happy to not have met those high expectations,” I say. “And far from Ivy League. Georgia State University and then UCLA School of Business. I’m not like Ty’s mom, who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. I had to work my way up the ladder the hard way.”

“And how did you go about that?”

“After UCLA, I went to work at an investment firm. Turns out I have a pretty keen sense about investing, and so I started my own company a few years later. Got some investors behind me. Had some hurdles I had to overcome, but now, all these years later, I’ve done okay for myself.”

“That sounds like an understatement.”

“I’ve had some lucky breaks along the way. I feel like we all do, and then hindsight makes it look like you were a fucking genius.”

“I think you’re being a little modest.”

I snicker. “I’m not a modest guy. I know what I have to offer.”

“And now you sound cocky.”

“Maybe…but I get where my weaknesses are too. In fact, I think it’s more important to know those than it is to know your strengths.”

His eyes narrow like he’s curious about something. About me, even.

And I find that this discussion has only increased this attraction I have toward him, and I guess I’m too drunk or too unashamed not to say something about it. “I like you, Jesse.”

He closes his mouth. Judging by his silence and wide eyes, it’s like I asked him to blow me.

“Don’t make this weird,” I say, throwing my arm over his shoulder. “Let’s just get drunk and have a good time. We’re in fucking Puerto Vallarta, for Christ’s sake.”

His uneasiness settles, and I throw back a few more drinks. Jesse does better about pacing himself. We chat about stupid shit, movies and sports, and before I know it, we’re tipsy.

We grab a cab and head back to the condo. When we’re in the elevator, I notice I have my arm around him, leaning on him for support. He looks into my eyes, and he’s not pulling away or acting like I’m being a total creeper. His eyes shift to my lips again. Like they have a few times tonight.

God, I want to take his fucking mouth. Kiss him so hard and then shove my cock in it. I start to lean toward him.

He’s your kid’s best friend, you dumb shit!

I stop.

“Whoa, sorry, I stumbled,” I lie.

I notice his long dick in his pants. It makes me even harder than I already am. Fuck, I didn’t even realize how hard I was until now.

We stand there for a second, gazing at each other, and I wonder what he’s thinking.

Does he want me to make a move? Clearly, he does. But I can’t fucking do that. I’m still fucking trying to build a relationship with Ty. Not a great one, and granted, it’s taken me seven years to get to this point, but I’m doing the fucking best I can.

A loud rattling sound precedes the elevator door opening. I release him and guide him to the condo, trying to mentally will my cock to calm the fuck down, but it doesn’t. We head inside, and I can feel him looking at me still, but I refuse to make eye contact, refuse to fall prey to my temptation.

“I guess we should get to bed,” I say quickly.

“I guess that’s a good idea.”

I pat him on the back and take a deep breath as I restrain myself from pushing him against the wall and ravaging his body.

“Well, it was nice talking to you tonight,” I add. “We should definitely chat some more while you’re here.”

“Yeah, for sure.”

We part to head to our separate bedrooms, but I hear him behind me. “Eric.”

God, why does my name on his lips drive me fucking crazy?

I whirl around to him.

“Yeah?” I ask.

He’s still got that hungry look in those dark-brown eyes of his, and I want to take him so bad, but instead, he says, “You know, I’d really be up for some surfing basics, if you had time.”

“What about tomorrow morning?” I ask.

“That’d be great,” he says. And he sounds like he’s seriously interested, which kind of surprises me.

Now I’m excited and concerned all at once.

What the fuck am I doing?