Page 144 of Men of Fort Dale: The Complete Series

“What about you?” Matt asked softly.

Matt stirred. “You know...I mean, I got off.”

Matt pushed against his leg in a weak show of annoyance. “First of all, it’s not my first blowjob or my first blowjob from a guy, now that I think about it.”

Matt peered up, the corner of his mouth twitching. “Is that jealousy I’m detecting?”

Nick sighed. “You were making a point, don’t get distracted.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Matt.”

“Hm? Oh, right. Honestly, I’m a little more worried about what’s going on in your head right now than mine.”

“Seriously?”

“I mean, all I can think is that was probably the best blowjob I’ve ever had in my life.”

“Probably.”

Matt rolled so he could look into Nick’s face, smirking. “The fact that it was a guy doesn’t bother me much. It’s a little strange but in an interesting way.”

Nick cocked his head. “How does that work?”

Matt shrugged. “It means I think it’s kind of weird since I’ve never really done it before except for the one time that I’m not allowed to bring up without you getting that cloudy look on your face.”

Nick groaned. “I changed my mind. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

Matt laughed merrily, struggling to sit up. “I’m just saying it’s different, which makes it weird, but that doesn’t make it bad. Plus, I did it with you, which makes a difference.”

“That doesn’t make it weirder?” Nick wondered.

Matt shook his head. “No.”

Nick couldn’t help but chuckle softly as Matt finally pushed himself upright.

Of course, Matt wouldn’t have a problem with it, just like he hadn’t had a problem with starting the whole affair in the first place.

Simple problems came with simple solutions.

It was apparently Nick’s job to think everything to death and worry over the minute details with a focus that bordered on obsessive.

Matt knelt between his legs, watching his face carefully. “I’m just...worried about what’s going on in your head.”

“You said that.”

“Yeah, and you haven’t said anything against it.”

Nick sighed, shrugging in reply. What was he supposed to say, especially when he was sure Matt had every reason to be concerned?

Everything had happened so fast, sparked by a kiss that had knocked Nick off his feet and shoved every bit of reason and sense from his head.

It had been desperate, intense, and the most erotic thing Nick had ever done.

But this was Matt. Despite his experimentation in his younger years, the man was still essentially straight.

As far as Nick knew, Matt hadn’t even kissed Davis, which would make Nick his first. Could he risk investing even the slightest hope in anything when Matt had no reason to know what he wanted?

Matt reached down, hesitated, and adjusted his arms so he could wrap his hands around Nick’s waist instead. He cocked his head, stroking his thumbs up beneath the hem of Nick’s shirt to touch his skin.

“What’re you doing?” Nick asked curiously.

“Touching you like I’ve never touched you before,” Matt said simply.

Nick watched, unable to find words, as Matt’s fingers ran over his stomach.

A shiver ran down his spine as warm fingers stroked his sides and curled to run along his back.

It was exploratory but intimate, and Matt’s eyes darted to and fro.

Nick would swear he could almost see the thoughts moving through the man’s head.

“Different,” Matt stated.

“Probably,” Nick said, trying for humor.

Matt’s gaze flicked up to hold Nick’s. His dark eyes were filled with wonder, but Nick would swear he saw the faintest flicker of heat.

“You like me being in your lap,” Matt said.

“Not really in my lap, but…” Nick began, trying to agree.

Matt, however, had other ideas and clambered forward. Nick grunted, having to curl his legs beneath the man as Matt tried to find the right position. It required him to wrap his legs around Nick’s waist and for Nick to hold onto him, but he managed it.

“Now I am,” Matt shrugged.

Nick was torn between laughter and a renewed interest in the weight pressing down on his lap. He’d be lying if he said he’d never wondered what it would be like to have Matt in his lap, to know how their bodies would fit.

“This is,” Matt began, looking around, “really comfortable, actually. Those big arms of yours are good for something.”

Matt was warm and felt good pressed up against Nick’s body. Just the man’s presence against him was enough to soothe some of the ragged edges of his nerves. Matt wriggled, adjusting his position, and Nick had to bite back a soft noise when the man’s ass slid against his groin.

“Glad you’re happy,” Nick hoarsely replied.

Matt’s eyes flashed, pupils swelling slightly. “Oh, hello.”

“What?”

“Was that your horny voice?”

Nick wrinkled his nose. “Is that what you’re going to call it?”

Matt sighed heavily. “I’m literally sitting in your lap, trying to tell you that the voice you use when you’re turned on is turning me on. And you’re going to focus on the way I said it? Nick.”

His brain stuttered, flipped, and then fixed on what Matt had just said. “Turns you on?”

Matt grinned. “I know, right?”

Before he could second guess himself, he reached under the other man and cupped his ass. “You make it sound so goddamn easy.”

“Why shouldn’t it be?”

“One would think a formerly straight guy would have more of a crisis finding out that he really liked having a guy get him off.”

Matt shrugged. “Why? It never bothered me that it happened before, and it never bothered me when people thought you and I were an item. I never considered what it would mean to be together before last night.”

“When I kissed you,” Nick muttered.

“When you kissed me,” Matt agreed.

It was ironic that he was struggling with the development rather than Matt. It was exactly what he’d secretly wished for all those years, and having it literally sitting in his lap made him nervous.

Matt cocked his head. “Plus, it wasn’t just any guy. It was you.”

“Which should make it stranger,” Nick pointed out.

“Maybe, if you think about it like that, sure. But I mean, it’s you .

I’ve felt good around you since the first time we met.

Being around you makes me happy and comfortable; I can be myself.

I like hanging around you, doing things with you, and doing nothing with you.

I like watching you cook, and you like watching me obsess over new gadgets and programs. I’ve shared a bed with quite a few people over the years, but it’s with you that I sleep best, and so do you. ”

“I do,” Nick agreed softly, unable to tear his eyes from Matt.

“So why should anything else be different? I mean, sure, I never thought about it before. Never entered my head. Which is weird when you think about how many times people thought that was happening,” Matt said thoughtfully.

Nick snorted. “I’m pretty sure Aidan still thinks that.”

“Or maybe he’s just been seeing what we weren’t...well, what I wasn’t. I don’t know. What I do know is that being with you, around you, is something I’ve always loved. And if that extends to, like, kissing you, sexual stuff? Sure, fine, okay.”

Nick swallowed hard. “Just like that?”

Matt’s eyes searched his face, smiling softly. “It’s you and me, Nick, just like it’s always been. That’s how I see this, so yeah, just like that.”

Something in his chest cracked, and he reached up, pulling Matt toward him. He felt a shiver run through Matt as their lips met. Nick’s heart swelled when he felt Matt melt against him, leaning into the touch of his hand and parting his lips gently.

“You and me,” Matt repeated. “Simple as that.”

It shouldn’t be that simple, Nick told himself. But it was impossible to argue with such succinct logic, especially when it came from Matt.

And yet, wasn’t there some truth to it? Despite his worried thoughts, everything felt completely natural.

Having Matt in his lap felt natural and easy, and kissing him was blindingly new and wonderful, yet somehow comfortable and familiar.

It was nothing like he’d fantasized because the reality was so much better.

Matt sat back, pink in the face but comfortable. “You’re going to have to teach me some things, though. That should be pretty obvious.”

“Uh,” Nick choked. “Teach you?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, I know the basics of a blowjob, but I’ve never given one, and I’m going to need to learn,” Matt said, hopping up with a sudden burst of energy.

“Especially because, well, I’ve not seen you hard before, but like, I’ve seen it soft, and I felt it earlier. I’m going to need some pointers.”

Nick gaped, even as he felt the blood rush to his groin. “You’re really going to talk about sucking my dick, just throw it out there?”

Matt crouched to dig through the box of decorations. “My dick was just in your mouth and I’ve made out with you a few times. If that’s not the point where you can be blunt, when is?”

“I just…” Nick began, realizing he didn’t know what he wanted to say.

“I know I’ve asked before,” Matt said as he pulled out a neatly bundled string of lights. “But seriously, does butt sex hurt?”

In the span of less than a minute, Matt had gone from talking sweetly to talking about anal. Nick wasn’t sure if he was mortified or aroused and quickly realized he could be both.

Matt looked over his shoulder, frowning. “What? If this is going to be a thing, obviously butt sex is going to come into play, right?”

“Stop saying butt sex, please.”

“Anal?”

“A little better.”

“Fucking?”

“Uh, sure.”

“Okay, if you fuck me, is it going to hurt?”

Just when he thought he might be able to deal with whatever came out of Matt’s mouth, Nick found him knocked on his ass again. His mouth went dry and there was no hiding the tent in his pants. Matt’s eyes drifted down to his crotch, gaze flashing with interest and amusement.

“Doesn’t have to,” Nick finally managed. “If you know what you’re doing.”

Matt rolled his eyes to the ceiling, holding them there thoughtfully. “And I’m sure you know what you’re doing.”

Nick cleared his throat. “I know...enough.”

Matt walked out and came back into the room with a kitchen chair. “I’d ask if it should be the other way around, but I know you’re a top, so I figure I should ask.”

“How do you even know that word?” Nick sputtered.

Matt snorted, standing on the chair to hang the lights above the door frame. “Oh, please. It’s not exactly a super-secret code that the dirty heterosexuals can never learn.”

“You’re not sounding very heterosexual at the moment,” Nick pointed out.

“No, but I am being pretty dirty.”

“That you are.”

“Plus, I’m standing here, noticing your hard-on, talking about fulfilling every suspicion everyone ever had about us. I guess I don’t sound very heterosexual,” Matt said with all the air of a man who couldn’t care less what he was saying.

And as much as Nick was fixated on the sheer vivid imagery floating through his head, most of which involved Matt naked and panting beneath him, that last statement brought his mind to a grinding halt.

With what Matt had said before, he realized everything had inferred that Matt wasn’t simply toying with the idea. Matt was dead set on experiencing the whole gamut of everything that would come with being with Nick.

He was planning on being with him .

“Oh,” Nick said.

“Did your brain break back there?” Matt asked over his shoulder as he struggled to get the last lights up.

Nick watched him, smiling gently. Maybe things weren’t as simple as Matt was making them out to be, but maybe they were.

If Matt was willing to tip himself over the edge and see what came of it, then Nick would have no choice but to follow.

As had already been said, it was the two of them, always had been, always would be.

Nick would follow Matt, and if that meant as a couple, then he would go gladly.

“No, just having a moment,” Nick said, pushing himself upright.

“Well, have your moment and come help me. I want to have these decorations up before we’re expected for dinner,” Matt grunted.

“Dinner?” Nick asked, blinking.

“Yeah, bud, it’s Christmas Eve. If you think we’re going to get out of dinner because I’m having a crash course in being with a dude, you obviously don’t know the woman who raised you.”

“My mother would skin us both if we tried,” Nick admitted.

“Exactly, so let’s get this place Christmas’d up, shower, and get ready for the party.”

Nick stepped forward, reaching out as Matt stepped back from the wall. With the other man on the chair, he could wrap his arms around Matt’s legs and place his head against his stomach. Matt’s fingers curled in his hair, pulling affectionately.

“We’ve got this,” Matt said softly.

And Nick believed him.