Page 85 of Sapphire Spring

“Okay, so, um… I guess that when you talked about meetingfriends my head immediately went to the fact that…” Naser stood up straighter,but it didn’t help. No way could he get through what he had to say next andmaintain eye contact with Mason at the same time. “Mason, I’ve been out of thecloset since I was eighteen. And before that, my closet door was made ofLucite, apparently.SoI guess when you talked aboutus meeting each other’s friends, it was weird because I felt like I was caughtbetween two things. On the one hand, I don’t want to be introduced as justanother friend. But on the other, this is all so new that I’m not sure I have theright to ask to be anything else.”

“Is it new, though?”

“Mason, we hadn’t seen each other since high school.”

“But you thought about me, right?’CauseGod knows I thought about you.”

“Yeah, but not always kindly.”

Mason held up both hands. “Fair.”

For a while, neither one of them spoke.

“No matter what happens, I don’t want to be anyone’ssecret,” Naser finally said.

Mason’s tongue made a lump under his upper lip. He studiedthe fridge off to Naser’s right. Better than looking at the floor, which Naserhad learned was what the man did when fighting feelings that made him deeplyuncomfortable. “When the time comes, I’ll introduce you to the people in mylife however you’d like. But give me just a little time on that one.”

“Exactly. That’s what I’m saying. Let’s not rush. I don’twant Connor’s little case of Rich Boy Saves the World syndrome to force us intoanything here. The only schedule we should be following is our own.”

“Agreed. Totally.” Mason started for him.

Naser felt immensely proud of himself. He’d spoken his truefeelings, been honest and candid despite the fear.

And he hadn’t mentioned Chadwick once. So how honest hadhe been, really?

Naser went back to plating food. Suddenly Mason was rightbehind him, sliding his arms around him, taking advantage of their heightdifference to rest his chin on the top of Naser's head.

For a second or two, Naser thought the man would be contentto watch him, hold him, while he worked.

And it felt good.

“Just like I’m not going to rush you into giving me this sweet,beautiful ass either.”

Mason made his point by slowly grinding his bulge intoNaser’s ass cheeks.

This felt better.

Naser didn’t drop the spoon, which in thisparticular momentwould have felt the same as dropping thesoap. Instead, he lowered it gently into the bowl full of stew, then he broughthis hands to the edge of the counter so he could stay upright as he struggledfor breath.

“Not rushing,” Mason whispered into Naser’s ear. “Justfeeling. Promise.”

They hadn’t had a fight—technically—but they’d stared down afearful topic together and managed to take a step back from the edge, thanks toa courageous bit of candor and a mutual agreement.

As a result, they both seemed filled with the kind ofwhite-hot charge that ignites the best kind of make-up sex.

“No pressure,” Mason whispered.

Mason’s embrace felt gentle and affectionate, but it wasspiced with the lustful yearning of the man’s slow grind against his ass. Hishands traveled underneath Naser’s polo. His fingers knew their destination, butthey were true to his word—no rush. They traced a path right to Naser’snipples, tweaking each one lightly on arrival, pulling them out just the rightlittle bit from his chest before rolling them slowly between thumb andforefinger. In seventy-twohours’time, Mason hadlearned the perfect amount of pressure, the perfect degree of tug, and as aresult, Naser struggled now to keep his eyes open, struggled not to drive hisass back against Mason’s bulge in a way that swept aside the boundary he’d setfor himself.

“This isn’t pressure?” Naser asked, voice thick with lust.

“Just a reminder. Of my interest.”

“Interest?”

“Given our complicated history, as your best friend put it,I feel an obligation to constantly remind you of how badly I want tofuckyou. Just in case you forget and assume the old versionof Mason has taken over.”

Naser turned his head as far as he could and found Mason’slips inches from his. “Rumor has it the old Mason wanted to fuck me too.”

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