Eric cursed himself and Hank all the way home.

It didn’t help that it was a hell of an uncomfortable drive. He hadn’t had a chance to clean himself up before storming out to his car and tearing out of the parking lot. His righteous anger had fueled him for the first twenty minutes, but after that he couldn’t help but notice his discomfort.

Did Hank really have to come at him like that? Acting as though it was Eric’s responsibility that the company had decided — the boss of his boss’s boss — that they wanted this particular piece of land. As if Eric had any say in the matter.

It was either accept this job, or get pushed out of the company; that was how these things worked. This wasn’t some let’s hold hands and love one another company. This was a cutthroat world, and Eric had to constantly prove that he had what it took so that he could stay on top.

Besides, if he had turned down the job, someone else would’ve picked it up, like Denise or Barry, and then they’d be looked at for a promotion instead of Eric. And neither of them had put in nearly the same amount of work, time, and commitment that Eric had, but that was how this stupid game worked.

How did Hank not get that? Sure, it wasn’t Eric’s first choice, but if he’d stepped aside, there would just be another person for Hank to deal with. This wasn’t personal; it wasn’t really about either of them.

Hank had even said that Eric was the latest guy to come out. How could he not understand that this wasn’t Eric’s choice?

Eric didn’t understand how his father had thrived on this kind of thing so much. Dad had talked about the business world as if it was a battlefield, but not the nitty-gritty, “war is hell” kind; the glorious kind, like he was a Spartan or something.

Now Eric was going to have to go back to the damn trailer park, only this time Hank would’ve probably told his family all about him, and wasn’t that just going to be peachy.

It could have been worse, he told himself. It wasn’t like he and Hank were dating or anything. Just a quickie behind a bar. Hell, that was about as far from a setting for romance as you could get.

It just stung a little, that was all. The first person he’d clicked with in ages, the first time he’d had a chance to relax and get off, and the guy was a part of the crazy trailer park trash clan.

Well, that was his lesson learned, anyway. Eric could feel his dad laughing at him from beyond the grave at the irony of it all. He just hoped this wasn’t the universe’s way of telling him he shouldn’t get laid ever again.

He’d actually liked Hank as a person, too. Hank had been funny, and told amusing stories. He wasn’t just some hot guy that Eric had run into at a club where you didn’t know anything about the guy, you just danced for a few minutes and then hooked up in the bathroom. He’d gotten to talk to Hank, and he’d enjoyed that.

Hell, he’d even been looking forward to stopping by the bar again.

Not like he was looking to date the guy or anything. That would be ridiculous. But a regular hookup, someone Eric liked for his personality as well as his looks? That wasn’t something he ran into every day.

Eric pulled into the parking structure underneath his apartment building, guiding his car into its spot and then slumping against the seat.

This was only going to make his job harder, and he’d brought it on himself. If he’d just asked about Hank’s family, or even learned the guy’s damn last name, this whole thing could’ve been avoided. He could’ve been graceful about it, made an excuse about an early morning, or too long of a drive, or something, and then Hank wouldn’t have been any the wiser about Eric’s identity.

It was all his fault. He’d been careless, caught up in the moment and the lure of attraction. Now this was an even bigger mess than before, and he had no one to blame but himself.

God, he hoped Jonas never found out. Not that there was any way that anyone at work could possibly find out. Not unless, for some insane reason, Hank decided to tell the company about it, and Eric didn’t see why he would.

But it could get him in serious trouble. He’d be blamed for complicating the whole matter, and getting involved in a personal relationship with someone they were supposed to be buying from.

Okay. It wasn’t too big of a screwup, right? He could handle this. Just take a few deep breaths, go to sleep, and deal with it anew the next day.

This wouldn’t have to be a big thing if Eric didn’t make it a big thing. From how pissed off Hank was, Eric was pretty sure the other guy would be as eager to forget the entire thing as he was.

If only he was sure that he did want to forget the whole thing. That was hard to do, though, when he had the memory of Hank’s hand around him, of Hank’s tongue in his mouth, of the way Hank’s hot, flexing skin had felt underneath his fingers.

It had been good. It hadn’t been mediocre, or just good in the moment. It was good when he looked back now, the memory of it burning hot and fresh in his mind. Hell, he could still kind of smell Hank’s musky, spicy scent clinging to his skin. And there was definitely a hickey or two on his neck that he hoped would be covered by his collar and tie.

He’d liked Hank and had been wildly attracted to him. Enough so that he’d let Hank get him off outside behind a bar, of all places. It was annoying, sad even, that he wouldn’t get to even really talk to him again.

Hopefully, he and Hank wouldn’t have to see one another again. The Caskills were a big family, after all, and there’d been no mention of anyone like Hank in the reports by Eric’s predecessors on the project. If he and Hank never saw one another again, it would be for the best.

Eric viciously shoved aside the feeling in his gut that was annoyingly similar to disappointment and got out of his car. He was going to pass out and forget about everything that had happened this evening. Tomorrow was a new day.