Page 33 of Finally
“Good night, Jack.” He kissed Jack’s forehead.
“Good night, Gray.” Jack wiggled closer, pushed one leg between Gray’s, and rested his head against Gray’s shoulder. “You smell good,” he mumbled.
As that night’s driver, he hadn’t had much to drink. Normally, drunk people annoyed him, even more so when he was sober, but he found an inebriated Jack adorable. “I like your scent too.”
“Really?” Jack slurred. The word came out slowly, like each syllable took effort. Gray wasn’t sure Jack’s brain was even following along with the conversation.
“Uh huh.” He brushed Jack’s soft hair off his face. “I like the way you smell. I like the way you look. I like the way you taste. I like the timbre of your voice. I like the way you think. I like how hard you work. I like how much you care. I like how your mind works. I like everything about you, Jack Storm.”
“Gray,” Jack rasped. He was more awake than Gray had realized because he opened his eyes, which glistened with unshed tears. “You’re always so good to me. So so good to me.” He wiped his face against Gray’s shoulder. “You’ve always been too good for me. I would give anything for you to want to stay with me.”
Gray genuinely considered proposing on the spot, but Jack deserved better than a last-minute proposal in bed while he was drunk. “I’m not going anywhere.” He circled his arms around Jack and held him tightly. “Go to sleep, sweetheart, we’ll talk more in the morning.”
“Your sweetheart,” Jack mumbled. “I like that.” His voice lowered with every word, and by the end of the sentence, he was asleep.
Though his body was tired, Gray’s brain was still running, so he stayed awake, skating his palm over Jack’s back as he thought about the day.
Eric’s birthday celebration hadn’t been all that awful. The normal gang had been there, plus Kevin’s friend Jeffrey, who Gray suspected was going to become a regular at their get-togethers seeing as how he had made it onto the group chat. That was fine, he was nice enough, and Gray barely remembered sleeping with him so it wasn’t awkward. Or at least, it wasn’t awkward for him. The same couldn’t be said for Jack who had kept an uncharacteristic distance from Jeffrey, which meant he wasn’t comfortable. Not that Gray was judging because, first off, he had been truthful when he’d told Jack that his jealousy turned him on and also because Gray wasn’t a hypocrite. He had spent years feeling jealous when Jack was with Jaime and then again when he had gone out with a few guys afterward. And unlike Jack’s behavior with Jeffrey, Gray hadn’t always been kind and polite about it.
From the first time he had seen Jack and Jaime together, something had struck him as off about their relationship. They got along well, never argued, were exceptionally polite to one another, and seemingly had a lot in common. Gray hadn’t been able to put his finger on what he found lacking, so he had chalked it up to his own jealousy. When they hadn’t quickly broken up, he had told himself that he was fabricating some shortcoming in Jack’s relationship because he wanted Jack for himself and couldn’t have him. Knowing what he did now, Gray realized what he had subconsciously noticed was lacking between the two men—passion, desire, any sort of physical connection, true intimacy. Jack and Jaime had been friends, they had been business partners, but they hadn’t been lovers, and they hadn’t been connected romantically.
He was no longer jealous of Jaime and not because he was now happily married to Oliver. No. It was because he was too busy despising the man to have room for any other emotion. Gray had never been a violent person, but he would have deriveda great deal of satisfaction from punching Jaime’s smug face. Chances were high that Jack would befriend Jeffrey long before Gray got over his urge to break Jaime’s nose.
Based on the confused looks Jaime had thrown his way throughout the night, he was fairly sure he hadn’t been hiding his animosity well. Or at all. Jaime was Jack’s business partner and his friend. He was and would continue to be a staple in Jack’s life. Gray knew himself well enough to know that he’d never like the guy, but Jaime was essentially family to Jack, so he would work on being less overtly hostile. Normally, he would go to Jack for advice on how to make nice with someone in a tense atmosphere but bringing this problem to Jack would put him in the middle and stress him out, so Gray would have to rely on Google instead. He wasn’t the first man on the planet to dislike his in-laws. Surely the internet could give him some useful tips.
Finally having sex with Jack was a huge and very welcome development. But as much as he had enjoyed getting to taste Jack, see him naked, bring him pleasure, and watch his face when he came, the hot sex and intense intimacy weren’t the only things on Gray’s mind at the moment. Instead, he was reflecting on their conversation about Jack’s past and his worries. Gray kicked himself for missing something that should have been obvious. Maybe if he had understood what was wrong early on, he could have talked to Jack, convinced him that he should get out of his unhealthy relationship with Jaime. He could have saved him years of pain and trauma.
He tightened his arms around Jack, needing him to be even closer. Fuck Jaime for keeping him when he wasn’t willing to give him what he needed. Fuck him for watching Jack suffer and wither away without doing a damn thing to help him. Jaime Snow was a selfish bastard masquerading as everyone’s favorite hero. He hadn’t deserved Jack’s love and he didn’t deserve Jack’s loyalty.
Yeah, cooling his disgust when it came to Jack’s ex wasn’t going to be easy.
***
“Why are these lights so bright?” Jack mumbled to himself. He squeezed paste onto his toothbrush and brushed his teeth for the second time.
The lights above him clicked off. “Bright white makes sense in a bathroom, but I think there’s enough sunlight in here to see what you’re doing.”
Toothbrush in his mouth, he looked into the mirror and saw Gray standing in the doorway. He was shirtless and wearing boxer briefs that did more to highlight his body than cover it. He was gorgeous.
“I brought you some kombucha and water.” Gray held up two glasses. “How bad is that hangover?”
“Not bad,” Jack said, the words sloppy because of the toothpaste and probably the drool he had worked up staring at Gray. He spit into the sink and rinsed his mouth. “Hopefully it’s dark enough that you can’t see me well, because there is no way that looked attractive.”
“Are you kidding? I’ve never seen anything hotter.” Gray grinned at him. “Get back in bed. It’s Sunday. We can be lazy.”
“You don’t have to work?” He put his toothbrush down and walked over to Gray.
“We both work too much. We’re taking it easy today and staying in bed.”
Jack reached his hand up and brushed his fingers through Gray’s hair. “That’s the best offer I’ve had all day.”
“It’s early. I’m confident I’ll be able to top it.”
“Was that a pun?” He got closer to Gray, until they were chest to chest. “Or was it the better offer you promised?”
Glasses still in his hands, Gray leaned forward and brushed his lips over Jack’s neck. “You’re flirting with me.” He wound hisarm around Jack’s back and walked them out of the bathroom. “I’m enjoying it.”
Once Jack slid under the blanket, Gray handed him the water.
