CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I pushed the buzzer for apartment 14, and Jarrod’s voice said, “Yes?”
“Hi, Jarrod. It’s Sebastian.”
There was a pause, and Jarrod’s voice said, “I’ll be down right now.”
I was glad it took Jarrod a few seconds to get the security doors open because I got to admire him without being spotted. Jarrod was wearing baggy jeans, a worn plaid shirt, and bare feet, with a collection of thongs and necklaces around his neck, and he looked gorgeous, at least in my opinion. If he wore that outfit at work, the clients would go crazy for him. OK, maybe I would go crazy for him.
As soon as the door swung open, Jarrod beamed at me and hugged me around his neck. I hugged Jarrod back, breathing in the scent of his shampoo and skin for a moment.
“Come on up,” Jarrod said. “This is great timing, I’ve had wonderful news.”
Whatever it was had Jarrod almost bouncing in the elevator, and I said, “So tell me, before you burst.”
“I got the part!” Jarrod said. “The part in the cop show. My agent called me a few minutes ago.”
“Congratulations,” I said, grinning back at Jarrod.
“Isn’t it great?” Jarrod said as he unlocked his apartment and let me in. “I’m shooting two days next week. Want a beer?”
“No thanks,” I said. “I can’t stay. I’m about to go pick up my son for the weekend. I wanted to drop these things off to you.”
I undid the bag I was carrying and took out a T-shirt. “This is your T-shirt I borrowed.”
“Thank you,” Jarrod said. He took the shirt.
“I wanted to give you my number too,” I said, “If that’s OK?”
Jarrod’s smile softened. “I’d like that, Sebastian.”
I took a folded piece of paper from my pocket and put it on the table. I’d written my last name on it too, and it felt like a far more significant act than it was. I’d given my phone number out a hundred times before, but never with as much trepidation.
Jarrod smiled when he read it. “Everett? Not a bad name.” He tore a sheet of paper off the notepad on the table and wrote on it and handed it to me. “Better than mine.”
I said, “I need to go,” and Jarrod hugged me again, wrapping his arms around my neck, and this time I hugged him back, pulling Jarrod close into my arms and holding him.
Jarrod pulled back a little so he could see my face, and for a moment I saw so much need in Jarrod’s eyes, then Jarrod pressed his lips against mine.
I held still for a second, then slid one of my hands up Jarrod’s back to cradle his neck and tangle in his curls, and Jarrod’s lips moved a little.
Needing no additional coaxing, I kissed Jarrod back, letting him lead until our lips were sliding together and our tongues made flickering contact.
Jarrod moaned then, a wet hungry sound, and I stopped trying to hold back and let his mouth devour mine. I vaguely knew that there were plenty of reasons we shouldn’t be doing this, but I had no intention of stopping, not when I had a steel rod in my jeans, and it sure as hell felt like Jarrod had something similar in his.
It was Jarrod who pulled back, stepping out of my arms, and I let him go. Jarrod said nothing but licked his swollen lips, and I picked up the pack he had dropped without noticing and hesitated at the door.
“Jarrod?” I whispered, and Jarrod shook his head, so I let himself out of Jarrod’s apartment.
In the elevator, I leaned against the cool metal panels and hitched my pack across one hip to hide my raging erection, and tried to work out what had just happened. I realized I did not understand.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I had gone, Jarrod said, “damn it.” That was not supposed to have happened. He’d had every intention of giving Sebastian a friendly hug, and then he’d kissed Sebastian. And kept kissing him. He was screwed now, and screwed, and he had three hours to get himself together enough to go to work. He pulled his jeans free from his hard-on. Damn it. He would have to jerk off, there was no way around it now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jarrod hesitated in the doorway to the office and Autumn looked up from the ledger book she was poring over. Jarrod knew it was the Period Book which implied that Autumn was not in a good mood.
“Yes?” she said.
“I want to change my file,” Jarrod said, and Autumn’s eyes narrowed.
“OK.” She tapped on her keyboard, opening Rod’s entry in the database. “What won’t you do now?”
“Kissing,” Jarrod said, and Autumn’s mouth tightened even further.
“I see,” she said. “Are you dating someone?”
Jarrod shook his head. “No. I don’t want to do it anymore.”
“If you are, and they’re not a sex worker too, it won’t work out,” Autumn warned. “I’ll tell you that now.”
Jarrod shrugged. “I’m not dating anyone,” he said, and Autumn nodded.
Jarrod turned to leave, and Autumn called out, “It better not be someone here. And tell Lanie I want to see her.”
Jarrod walked off. The women all slept with each other, and no one ever said anything about it, not even when Holly and Olivia had had that huge fight in the TV room when they split up. And nothing would happen between Sebastian and himself, anyway. Jarrod was sure of that.