Page 29 of Everything's Better With You
Ten
Leslie
“Coach Payton?”
Leslie had been talking to the school’s financial officer, who’d been in the meeting, when Joe came up behind him. Acting like they were just colleagues.
“I’ll catch you later, Bob.”
Bob waved, gave Joe a glance, and then went back inside the ad building.
“What’s with the ‘Coach Payton’?” he asked, but Joe was walking away, down the sidewalk and around the back of the building. Leslie nearly had to jog to keep up with him.
“Hey,” he said when he caught up to him, hands on his hips, chest heaving with breath. “What’s wrong?” Leslie asked him. “What happened?”
“Tell me again whose idea it was to hire me.”
“Where’s this coming from? Didmy brother say something?”
“No, not really. It’s just, I’m not afraid to work hard, and I want to help out. I’m afraid people think I’m some prima donna—”
Les reached out suddenly and placed his hands on Joe’s biceps, causing Joe to flinch. Les stepped back, realizing he’d overstepped his bounds. Joe had said more than once that he sometimes had issues being physical with people, especially ones he didn’t know well. Les hadn’t thought that applied to him. “I’m sorry, Joe, I just want to make sure you know I don’t feel that way. I know how hard you’ve worked to get where you are. I wouldn’t have encouraged you to be here if I didn’t believe in you.”
Joe blinked up at Les. “That means a lot to me. I couldn't stand it if you felt that way.”
“No way, Twinkle Toes,” Les said, stepping closer again but keeping his hands to himself. “I’m sorry if touching you is out of line.”
“It’s not,” Joe said, and then he laughed. “Well, except for the fact that now we’re supposed to be some big rivals. That certainly changes things.”
“I’m not happy about any of this,” Leslie said. “I was hoping…”
Joe stepped closer and looked up, shading his eyes from the sun. “You were hoping?”
“I wanted us to have this time, you know, to see where things, how things—”
“I know. I want to see how things play out, too.”
“I really want to kiss you,” Leslie breathed. “It’s all I’ve been able to think about since April.” He leaned a little closer, feeling Joe’s breath, warm and minty, against his face. “I want to bring you home with me. I want to pamper you, spoil you. I want long talks and longer kisses. I guess I thought we could have all that—”
“In the middle of football season? Really? Not that I don’t love where your mind is at.”
Les ran a hand down his face. “I guess you’re right. So what do we do?”
Joe sighed. “We do what your brother brought us here for. We coach. And now? We fundraise. And if you aren’t totally sick of me in, say, November, maybe you take me out on a proper date.”
“November?” Leslie shouted and Joe pressed a finger to his lips.
“Someone’s going to find us,” Joe said with a laugh. “I know, it’s only August. At least we get to see each other every day. It’s better than texting while hundreds or thousands of miles apart, isn’t it?”
Les groaned. “I don’t know. To see you and not be able to touch you might be worse.”
“I promise it will be worth the wait,” Joe said in a husky voice, winking at Les.
Les didn’t think he could withstand temptation, not with perfection right there in front of him.
His first sight of Joe that morning had nearly buckled his knees. Those slacks he was wearing highlighted the fact that Joe was in top shape, that he’d just come off a show. He filled them out so well, Les wanted to curl himself around Joe and feel their bodies pressed together in all the right places. He wanted to finally explore all of Joe’s topography with his own hands. Of course, if he tried to tell Joe how he felt it would come out in grunts and growls at this point. He lost his cool whenever he was near Joe.
“Or, I mean, we could always sneak away to the Motel 6 on the highway.”
