Fifty Shades Of Gay (M×B)

7

“Your thoughts?” he prompts me.
“This is my favorite tea.” My voice is quiet, breathy. I simply can’t believe I’m sitting
opposite Nathaniel Dell in a coffee shop in Portland. He frowns. He knows I’m hiding
something. I pop the teabag into the teapot and almost immediately fish it out again with
my teaspoon. As I place the used teabag back on the side plate, he cocks his head gazing
quizzically at me.
“I like my tea black and weak,” I mutter as an explanation.

“I see. Is he your boyfriend?”
Whoa… What?
“Who?”“The photographer. José Rodriguez.”
I laugh, nervous but curious. What gave him that impression?
“No. José’s a good friend of mine, that’s all. Why did you think he was my boyfriend?”
“The way you smiled at him, and he at you.” His gray gaze holds mine. He’s so unnerving. I want to look away but I’m caught  spellbound.
“He’s more like family,” I whisper.
Nathan nods slightly, seemingly satisfied with my response, and glances down at his blueberry muffin. His long fingers deftly peel back the paper, and I watch, fascinated.
“Do you want some?” he asks, and that amused, secret smile is back.
“No thanks.” I frown and stare down at my hands again.
“And the boy I met yesterday, at the store. He’s not your boyfriend?”
“No. Paul’s just a friend. I told you yesterday.” Oh, this is getting silly. “Why do you ask?”“You seem nervous around men. Holy crap, that’s personal. I’m just nervous around you, Nathan.
“I find you intimidating.” I flush scarlet, but mentally pat myself on the back for my candor, and gaze at my hands again. I hear his sharp intake of breath.
“You should find me intimidating,” he nods. “You’re very honest. Please don’t look down. I like to see your face.”
Oh. I glance at him, and he gives me an encouraging but wry smile.
“It gives me some sort of clue what you might be thinking,” he breathes. “You’re a mystery, Alex.
Mysterious? Me?
“There’s nothing mysterious about me.”
“I think you’re very self-contained,” he murmurs.“I’d better go.
Umm, sorry but i think its getting late
I have to study.”
“For your exams?”
“Yes. They start Tuesday.”
“Where’s Mr Gutierrez car?”
“In the hotel parking lot.”
“I’ll walk you back.”
“Thank you for the tea, Mr. Dell.”
He smiles his odd I’ve got a whopping big secret smile.
“You’re welcome, Alexander. It’s my pleasure. Come,” he commands, and holds his
hand out to me. I take it, bemused, and follow him out of the coffee shop.
We stroll back to the hotel, and I’d like to say it’s in companionable silence. He at least looks his usual calm, collected self. As for me, I’m desperately trying to gauge how our little coffee morning has gone. I feel like I’ve been interviewed for a position, but I’m not sure what it is.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” I blurt out.
"Holy crap-  I just said that out loud?
His lips quirk up in a half-smile, and he looks down at me.
“No, Alexander. I don’t do the boyfriend thing,” he says softly.
Oh… what does that mean? He's not.... Oh, maybe he is - crap! He must have lied to me in his interview. And for a moment, I think he’s going to follow on with some explanation, some clue to this cryptic statement  but he doesn’t. I have to go. I have to try to reassemble my thoughts. I have to get away from him. I walk forward, and I trip,
stumbling headlong onto the road.

“Shit, Alex!” Nathan cries. He tugs the hand that he’s holding so hard that I fall back against him just as a cyclist whips past, narrowly missing me, heading the wrong way up this one-way street. It all happens so fast  one minute I’m falling, the next I’m in his arms, and he’s holding me tightly against his chest. .I inhale his clean, vital scent. He smells of fresh laundered linen and some expensive body-wash.

Oh my, it’s intoxicating. I inhale deeply
"Are you okay?” he whispers. He has one arm around me, clasping me to him, while the fingers of his other hand softly trace my face, gently probing, examining me. His thumb brushes my lower lip, and I hear his breath hitch. He’s staring into my eyes, and I hold his anxious, burning gaze for a moment or maybe it’s forever… but eventually, my attention is drawn to his beautiful mouth. Oh my. And for the first time in twenty-one years,
I want to be kissed. I want to feel his mouth on me.