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“It’s just… that I like spending time with you, only the two of us, and it makes me feel… kinda upset when I have to share you with others. Even people as awesome as Austin. But it’s not right of me to try to hoard your time or anything like that, so I’ll work on it, alright?”

Jamie looked as if he was thinking Jesse’s words over as he rinsed the last of the soap off his skin. And then, suddenly, he smirked. “You don’t like to share me?”

“Of course not,” Jesse replied. “I love you, why would I ever want to share?”

Without a word, Jamie lowered the hand shower to their feet and closed the distance between them.

Jesse’s heart was thudding in his chest. Oh god.

If Jamie went for a kiss now, Jesse would be screwed!

But Jamie seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

He put his hand on Jesse’s shoulder, as if to balance himself in the slippery tub, smirked even more—and then stood on his toes to lean in for a kiss.

Jesse’s breath hitched. Just as their lips were about to touch, Jamie paused, hovering close enough that Jesse could feel his breath.

“I love you, too,” Jamie whispered, before finally closing the gap and pressing his lips against Jesse’s.

And as Jamie moved his hand from Jesse’s shoulder and pushed it through his hair, Jesse felt his self-control evaporate into thin air, even though he still did his very best to follow Jamie’s rule.

With a low moan, he cupped Jamie’s face with both hands, pulling him deeper into the kiss. Jesse just couldn’t help it; his lips parted automatically, and as he let his tongue slide into Jamie’s mouth, the kiss grew even more intense .

The water suddenly turned off.

Jamie pulled away abruptly, his chest heaving as he was panting from the kiss.

It took a second for Jesse’s stalled mind to catch up with what was happening, as if it was frozen in all the heat.

But then the situation registered in his mind, and he glanced at the hand shower in confusion. “Why’d this… stop working?”

“I – I don’t know,” Jamie stammered, still breathless. “M-maybe it’s broken?”

“But it was working just fine a second ago,” Jesse frowned, reaching out to the faucet and trying to fiddle with it.

Nothing happened.

He gestured Jamie to give him the shower head (though he had no idea what to do about it) while Jamie looked as if he was holding back a giggle.

“I’ve never seen it do anything like this before,” Jesse wondered. “Why would it—”

Before he could even grab the hand shower, a heavy stream of water suddenly burst from it, hitting Jesse right at his most private parts—and it was freezing! A loud shriek came from his mouth as he staggered backwards.

Regaining enough presence of mind to act, Jesse then lunged forward and grabbed at the faucet handle, turning it off with a sharp twist of his hand.

The frigid water stopped.

What the hell had just happened?! He’d wanted to ‘cool down,’ but fuck, not like this!

Jamie was laughing now, he realized. Loud and long and uproarious, as if this was the funniest thing he’d ever seen.

At first, Jesse didn’t think it was all that funny. He hurriedly opened the shower curtain and reached out to grab a towel, wrapping it around his middle. He shivered against the cold as he climbed out of the tub. “Stupid cheap apartments,” he grumbled. “Stupid shitty plumbing! ”

“Jesse,” Jamie paused in his laughter just long enough to point to the mirror. “Look at your face!”

Jesse huffed as he glanced up at the mirror.

…Okay, his scowl of annoyance was pretty funny.

A grin cracked through the anger, and his eyes crinkled into squints as he couldn’t help but let out a laugh of his own.

“I have no idea how that happened,” he said, shaking his head as he turned away and kept drying off.

“But I can totally see why you’re laughing. ”

And it really was good to hear Jamie laugh again. A chuckle escaped Jesse’s mouth, now that he realized just how funny he must’ve looked—and sounded.

Jamie also climbed out of the tub, still giggling. He reached for a towel to dry himself off and then wrapped it around his waist. He went into the bedroom—to get changed into something cozy, Jesse supposed—while Jesse stayed in the bathroom and started the hairdryer.

Not even a minute later Jamie stood in the door frame again, wearing only sweatpants; his upper body still naked.

“Um, what’s wrong?” Jesse asked, turning off the hairdryer.

Jamie took in a deep breath, looking as if he was gathering courage for what he was going to say next. “I… I think it would be okay to have sex again.”

“W-what?” Jesse’s head turned around from the mirror so fast it almost gave him whiplash.

Jamie looked at him seriously from where he was standing. “I’d… been afraid of letting you touch me,” he said. “But… if you really are back to normal, and if I don’t touch you, maybe… maybe it would be alright?”

“Jamie, I still refuse to believe that you had anything to do with what happened to me,” Jesse insisted. He put the hairdryer aside and went over to him, gently taking Jamie’s hands into his own. “But you know I’d always love to pick up where we left off.”

Jamie nodded determinedly. “Alright… Can you tie up my hands? ”

Once again, the question gave Jesse whiplash. “What?!”

“So I don’t accidentally touch you,” Jamie hurried to explain, before blinking with a mildly puzzled expression. “You’re making faces again. Is that something I shouldn’t have said?”

“Er, no,” Jesse said, though his expression probably told otherwise. “I’m sorry, really. It’s just… That’s something some people actually do, but they don’t do it for the same reasons you want to, so it just caught me off guard, that’s all.”

“They do it for other reasons?” Jamie asked. “Which ones?”

“Oh god. Um, they do it to make things more… exciting, I guess you could say,” Jesse explained. “It adds a new kind of depth to what’s happening, and makes you feel… things.”

“What kind of things?”

Jesse had to let out a bit of a laugh, feeling his face heat as he let go of Jamie’s hands and shifted his weight. “ Good things, in my experience,” he admitted. “But not everybody likes it. It can be too intense, so most couples don’t even try it.”

“That means you have done it before?”

“Uh…” Jesse knew he had to be honest. “Actually, yes, a few times. I um… like that kind of stuff a lot.”

What an understatement…

A glint of curiosity lit Jamie’s eyes again, causing the icy blue color to sparkle like diamonds. “It’s even more intense than what we already did?”

“Um, yeah,” Jesse replied, his voice wavering slightly. He was careful to keep his tone neutral as he voiced his next question. “Are you sure you still want me to tie your hands?”

Deep down he hoped Jamie said yes.

And sure enough, Jamie nodded, an eager smile appearing at the corners of his mouth. “Yes. Mainly to keep you safe, of course, but… it sounds interesting anyway.”

Yes!

“W-well… er, okay then,” Jesse stammered, his heart racing. The thought of what they could do sent a rush of excitement through hi m, and he prayed the towel around his waist was doing a decent job of concealing how much he was looking forward to it.

Then he realized Jamie was still watching him, expectant—as if he was waiting for something. “Um… d-did you mean now ?”

“I meant now.”

Jesse stared back into Jamie’s icy blue eyes, swallowing heavily.

Jamie didn’t even blink. He really meant it.

The air around them suddenly felt a lot hotter. Though, Jesse didn’t exactly keep something as ropes or handcuffs on-hand.

He would have to improvise again.

And yet, not as much as in their first night.

A smirk tugged at Jesse’s lips, because, as amusing as the ‘extra virgin’ olive oil incident had been, he had in fact bought some lube a few days ago.

Not to pressure Jamie or anything, of course.

But it had been two months now, so Jesse had wanted to make sure they were better prepared.

Just in case.

And yet he once again found himself looking for some kind of alternative. His heartrate was climbing already, as he tried to think of something he could use on Jamie’s wrists.

His gaze landed on Jamie’s wet jeans on the bathroom floor—along with his leather belt.

Well, that would do…

Though, it probably wasn’t the best option for Jamie’s first time trying something like this.

It would be difficult to tighten the belt comfortably around his wrists, and the stiff edges would probably dig into his skin.

Jesse hesitated as he went to pull the belt free of the loops, biting his lip and looking back over at Jamie.

“This is kind of the only thing I could really bind your hands with,” he admitted. “But it won’t be very comfortable.”

“I don’t care,” Jamie said bluntly, as he looked down at the belt. “I just want to make sure you stay safe.”

Jesse was about to remind him that it was unnecessary, but then stopped himself.

There was no point in arguing. If this was what Jamie needed to feel secure, Jesse would go along with it.

Actually, he still couldn’t believe they were really going to do this, but as Jamie headed for the bedroom, Jesse of course followed him; his gaze wandering over the shirtless, gracefully sculpted body in front of him.

No matter how many times he saw it, it still left him speechless.

The muscles in Jamie’s back shifted with each step, as well as his hips. And that butt… Damn.

But Jesse didn’t have time to gape. Upon reaching the bed, Jamie stopped, briefly looking at him, and then holding his wrists behind his back for Jesse to bind.

“Oh um, no, I’m… going to tie them together in front of you,” Jesse said, unable to quell the sense of excitement and pleasure that was growing in his stomach just at the thought of what was to come.

“It would be way too uncomfortable for you to have your hands behind your back. You’d end up lying on them, and that would hurt. ”