Page 53 of Ride the Lightning

He rolled Avery onto his side with a playful growl. Jonah repositioned himself so his head was facing the opposite end of the bed. He would much rather have Avery straddling his face in a sixty-nine position, but this allowed Avery to have more control.

Jonah would’ve loved to drag out their pleasure and include more teasing foreplay, but things were still so damn new and thrilling. They spilled down each other’s throats without much effort or fanfare, but neither of them complained as they lay panting in the bed.

“I wish I could stay longer,” Avery said, pressing a kiss against Jonah’s chest. “There’s so much of you I haven’t explored yet, but I need to get home and get ready for work.”

Jonah held him tighter. “Don’t wash my scent off you yet.” He liked knowing Avery would go to work smelling like his soap and shampoo.

“I didn’t plan on it,” Avery said, smiling at him.

Jonah patted his ass, then eased out of bed. “I’ll go get your stuff from downstairs.” They’d washed their wet clothes after their shower and tossed them in the dryer before going to bed.

“Like that?” Avery asked, gesturing to Jonah’s nude body.

Jonah smiled sheepishly as he pulled a pair of basketball shorts from a drawer and put them on. “Better?” he asked.

Eyes locked on Jonah’s crotch, Avery said, “Barely, but I’ll take it.”

Jonah wished he could make Avery a cup of tea before he left, but he didn’t keep any on hand. He made a mental note to pick some up along with Betty’s preferred dog treats from the store. Avery hated coffee with a passion, so Jonah didn’t bother offering him a mug or make any for himself. He could wait until he gave Avery a proper send-off which included a lot of tongue and touching.

Avery sighed happily and leaned against the driver’s side door of his car. “I thought you’d be freaking out this morning.”

“Me too,” Jonah admitted. “It might come later.”

Avery laughed. “I’ll be ready. Have fun with Felix. Call me later.”

“I will,” Jonah said softly, kissing him once more before releasing him. “You were right, by the way.”

“I so often am,” Avery replied cheekily. “Care to elaborate?”

“You make me believe the boyfriend thing is a good idea.”

“With me,” Avery amended. “Don’t leave out that part.”

“With you.”

“It’s a fucking great idea,” Avery said. “You’ll see.”

Felix arrived at eight twenty, and he didn’t show up empty-handed either. He’d procured donuts and two tall coffees from Hermes, a Savannah landmark built in the late eighteen hundreds. The bakery was on the first floor of the massive Queen Anne corner store, and the Hermes family lived in the residential area above it. Sometime in the 1920s, the Gottlieb Bakery moved into the building. The bakery became Hermes-Gottlieb, but most locals still just called it Hermes. The stately building had recently undergone renovations to preserve history while bringing the beautiful structure up to current code. The current owners upgraded their menu to appeal to a broader customer base, but they never fucked with the original recipes that had made the pastries a household name.

“I hope they put enough syrupy bullshit in there to please you,” Felix said when Jonah got in his car. “This is some sea salt caramel concoction.”

Jonah took a sip and hummed appreciatively. “It’s perfection.”

“Glad you like it,” Felix said while reversing out of Jonah’s driveway. “I grabbed a variety of pastries since I didn’t know what kind you like.” He wouldn’t know Jonah’s coffee preferences either if Jonah didn’t have a terrible habit of drinking coffee in the evening.

“Did you see iced coffee on their menu?” Jonah asked.

Felix had just taken a bite of a glazed donut covered in cinnamon sugar, so Jonah had to rely on his partner’s scowl as an answer until he finished chewing.

“Coffee is supposed to be hot,” Felix said after taking a sip of his brew.

Jonah chuckled. “Does that mean iced coffee is on the menu, and you don’t approve?”

“It means I didn’t notice if iced coffee was on their menu because I wasn’t looking for it,” Felix countered.

“And here I thought reporters were observant and noticed everything around them.”

“I observe you’re filled with piss and vinegar this morning. You remind me of Pul after he’s taken a shit.”