Page 9 of The Summer that Ruined Everything

CHAPTER 9

I t took two days for word to reach his parents.

Cal was almost surprised it had taken that long, but it seemed summer and a distraction in the form of planning their Independence Day celebrations — something Cal was trying not to think about — had kept his mother busy and out of the gossip loop for an extra day.

At dinner on Friday — just over a week after he had met Jack — she brought it up over rack of lamb with mint sauce.

“Felicia Wallace tells me that her daughter has been going on and on about our next door neighbor,” she said. Her gaze focused on Cal, her blue eyes piercing. “She says that you introduced them.”

Cal did his best not to choke on the bite he was in the middle of swallowing. He took a large sip from his water goblet and cleared his throat.

“Yes,” he said. “We took a group from next door to Sea View a few days ago.”

Theodore frowned. “I hadn’t realized you’d met the neighbors,” he said.

“Nor had I,” said Judith. “Or that you’d been associating with them.”

“Well.” Cal carefully speared two roast carrots on his fork and brought them to his mouth, chewed and swallowed. “I ran into them on the beach. I knew you were having trouble with the noise, so I asked them to keep it down.”

“That was considerate,” Theodore said. “It has been quieter.”

“I can still hear the music most nights,” Judith said, her lips pursing. “But I suppose it’s been better than at first, and doesn’t go on all night.”

Cal focused on his plate, hoping that was the end of the conversation. Unfortunately, his mother had other ideas.

“Felicia said they’re from Los Angeles,” Judith said, disdain clear in her tone. “The boy Sally seems to be enamored with is an actor .”

“An actor, really.” Theodore hummed. “Has he been in anything I've seen?”

“How should I know?” Judith replied. “Calloway, what do you know about this boy?”

Cal shrugged one shoulder, doing his best to appear like he didn’t much care, and lied through his teeth. “Not much. He’s an actor — popular — but I don’t think you’ve seen any of his movies.”

“Teen movies, I’d bet, if Sally Wallace is fond of him,” Theodore said with a chuckle. “No doubt the type with all the beach scenes and dancing, like that Elvis Presley does.”

It took a lot of control for Cal not to defend Jack’s movies to his father, but he managed to set his fork aside and take another drink of water.

“They take drugs in Los Angeles,” Judith said with a sigh. “There are probably drugs next door as we speak. I should warn Felicia. I’m surprised she’s letting Sally associate with that crowd. I wonder if we should call Sheriff Lassiter and let him know.”

“Let him know what?” Cal asked, his control snapping at his mother’s suggestion. “They aren’t like that. Jack and his friends are just people. They’re here on vacation for the summer and are having a good time. They aren’t a danger to anyone.”

“Well, I’d prefer it if you didn’t spend time over there, Calloway,” Judith said. “You have a reputation to think of. Felicia Wallace may be willing to let her children run wild, but you are a Buchanan.”

“As if I could forget it,” Cal muttered.

“What was that?” Theodore asked.

“Nothing. May I be excused?” Cal set his napkin next to his plate.

Judith waved her hand at him in dismissal. “Please try to remember your appointment at the tailor tomorrow morning.”

Cal made a face. More suits. Never a good sign.

“Have a good night, mother. Father.” He turned on his heel and just barely managed not to stomp out of the room.

Upstairs, he closed his bedroom door, kicked off his shoes, and flopped onto his bed. He’d been hoping to avoid exactly what had just happened. Now he was technically forbidden from hanging out with Jack, and worse, his cover with the Wallaces was blown.

Damned Sally and her busy mouth and her unfortunate crush on his boyfriend.

Just as the thought swam through his brain, he regretted it. Jack wasn’t his boyfriend . Except maybe he was. They weren’t seeing anyone else, at least for now. It was temporary, and purely for fun, but still.

Boyfriend. Maybe.

He sighed. There was nothing to worry about with Sally, not really. She’d get bored soon enough, and Jack had promised he wouldn’t play around with anyone else. Cal wasn’t jealous. There was no need to be.

Rolling onto his side, he stared out the window at the darkening sky. He wished he could go next door, but after the conversation at dinner, it would be best if he didn’t, for tonight. He thought about sneaking down to his father’s office and calling to let Jack know, but didn’t want to risk it.

Jack would understand. He knew that Cal would come if he could. They’d spent the past two nights together, tangled in Jack’s creaky bed, sweating into the sheets rather than move apart and create space between them.

Cal couldn’t get enough of the man, couldn’t seem to stop exploring every inch of his skin, getting acquainted with his muscles and movements, the way he breathed and moaned and whispered. And when they weren’t kissing and stroking each other, but were talking…

...he couldn’t get enough of that, either.

Jack had so many questions. Heavy, important questions. They’d progressed beyond simple likes and dislikes and amusements to things that made Cal’s chest ache to even think about. When was the last time Cal was happy? What made him feel inspired? What made him sad, helpless? How did he see himself? How did he want others to see him?

These things he had never allowed himself to dwell on for long. Maybe a rumination at night while staring out at the ocean or walking the streets of Cambridge. But when Jack asked, he had to respond. He had to confront it all and pull the answers out of the darkest parts of himself and offer them to Jack, guts and all.

The fact that he wanted to, and wasn’t afraid of what Jack would do with them, even though they’d only known each other a week...that in and of itself should worry him. It didn’t.

Cal pictured Jack’s moonlit face as he lay, his head resting on the pillow, his cheek smooshed up and the opposite side of his mouth curled into a playful smirk, and everything tightened. He wanted to go .

What if he did? What if he just got up, slipped into his shoes, walked downstairs past where his parents would be enjoying their after-dinner cocktail, and left? What if he didn’t sneak, and when they asked him where he was going, he’d tell them the truth. That he was nearly twenty-one and not a child, and it was his reputation and therefore his decision who to “associate” with, not theirs.

He laughed bitterly, knowing it was merely a fantasy. If he did that, they’d be suspicious about why it was so important to him. They might look closer, too close. They might find out about him and then it would be all over.

No. Better to lay low for a few days, let them think he wasn’t spending all his time next door, let them forget about the people from Los Angeles. Jack would understand.

God, he hoped Jack would understand.

* * *

By Sunday, Cal was going out of his mind. He’d had Richie, Tom, and Jay over for cards on Saturday night, which pleased his father. Theodore had poured them all bourbons and passed around cigars and asked about their futures.

It all sounded the same. Boring, dry, unoriginal. All three were joining their respective family businesses, which involved real estate or finance. All three had trust funds that had either recently been released or would later in the year, and Theodore spoke with all of them about investment portfolios.

Cal wanted to throw the bourbon in their faces and tell them to wake up. Ask them what they really wanted, the way Jack had asked him. Ask them if they were truly excited at the prospect of putting on a suit and going to a sterile office for the rest of their lives.

Instead, he politely listened and agreed and feigned enthusiasm over the idea of blue chip stocks and club memberships. He pretended to be smug — even though it made him sick to his stomach — when Theodore mentioned Cal being lucky to have Katherine and inquired about the others’ prospects for settling down and families.

He enjoyed the card game, but the rest of the evening left him cold and longing for the warmth and vibrancy of the house next door.

Now, he was going stir crazy. He’d stayed off the beach for two days, knowing that if he went out there he’d run into Jack. He considered going into town, but it held no appeal other than as a distraction. So he was holed up in the house, forced into conversations with his mother about the goings-on of her friends and the benefit luncheon she was organizing for her auxiliary club.

He’d managed to talk to Jack twice on the telephone. Jack was disappointed that Cal was staying away, but hadn’t pressed him on it. He’d listened to and accepted Cal’s explanation that Judith and Theodore had expressed displeasure in the idea of Cal spending time next door, as expected, and that Cal didn’t want them becoming suspicious. Jack had seemed happy to hear from Cal each time, and Cal was praying that he wouldn’t lose interest and move on.

When the rear doorbell rang just after six o’clock, Cal was reorganizing some books in the library before dinner. He looked up, listened, and when it seemed like his mother wasn’t moving to answer it — she’d been in the kitchen last he saw her — he set a book down and made his way to the back hall.

The opened door revealed a grinning Jack. Cal gaped at him. His stomach flipped at the sight and his pulse jumped, his hands itching to reach out and grab hold. Instead, he gripped the edge of the door tightly.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I’m here to meet the neighbors,” Jack said, his green eyes sparkling. “I’ve been a bit delinquent in that, so I thought it was time.”

“To meet the?—“

“Calloway?” Judith’s voice rang out from the kitchen. “Who is it?”

Cal turned, unsure how to answer. He watched his mother appear in the doorway, his mind racing.

“I—this is—” he glanced back at Jack, who was wearing neat-looking, pressed trousers and a yellow Oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He looked…

“Mrs. Buchanan?” Jack asked, as Judith came to the door. “I’m Jack Francis. I’m staying next door for the summer, and wanted to introduce myself.”

“Hello,” Judith said, a polite smile pasted on her face as her eyes took in Jack critically. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you as well. I’ve admired your house from the beach. It’s beautiful.” Jack’s smile was genuine and charming. “I’ve brought a small token to apologize if we’ve been a little loud. I’m not used to how sound carries on the ocean.”

Cal realized that Jack had not shown up empty handed. He was holding out what looked like a pie from the bakery in town.

“It’s not homemade,” Jack said. “I can’t really cook. But we had one of these at the house the other day and thought it was tremendous.”

“Thank you,” Judith said, accepting the gift. She hesitated, and then her manners won out. “Would you like to come in?”

“I’d love that, thank you,” Jack said. Judith stepped aside, and Jack shot Cal a wink before crossing the threshold.

Judith laid a hand on Cal’s shoulder. “Calloway, take our guest into the living room. I’ll get your father. It’s time for drinks anyhow.”

She retreated into the kitchen, and Cal looked at Jack.

“What are you doing here?” he whispered.

Jack grinned and responded in a whisper. “I missed you. Figured if you were barricading yourself in here, I’d have to breach the wall.”

“You missed me?” Cal smiled. His eyes dropped to Jack’s lips.

Jack shrugged. “You didn’t miss me?”

“Oh, I did.” Cal reached out and grabbed Jack’s hand. Their fingers tangled together for a brief moment, and something quieted inside Cal. “Come on, let’s go to the living room.”

He led Jack down the hall, releasing his hand but allowing their knuckles to brush as they walked.

“How’ve you been?” Cal asked.

“Okay. A little bored,” Jack said. “My friends decided to take a trip up to Boston for a long weekend, so the house is pretty quiet.”

“Why didn’t you go?” Cal asked.

“I didn’t feel like it,” Jack said. “Thought I’d stay here, get some work done.”

They reached the living room and stepped inside. Cal glanced down the hall and then, seeing it deserted, quickly dipped his head and pressed his lips to Jack’s briefly. When he retreated, Jack was smiling.

“Look at you, taking a risk,” Jack said. He poked Cal’s stomach. “But you’d better watch yourself, because I’m hanging onto control by a thread as it is.”

He turned and crossed to one of the sofas and settled onto it.

“You should sit over there,” Jack suggested, pointing at the other sofa with a smirk.

Rather than listening, Cal moved to the drink cart to begin putting together his parents’ pre-dinner cocktails. A scotch, neat, for his father, a Manhattan for his mother.

“Would you like a drink?” Cal asked Jack.

“If it won’t make your parents judge me,” Jack said. “I’m trying to make a good impression here.”

Cal tossed a grin over his shoulder. “I’ll have a scotch with my father,” Cal said. “So you should be safe.”

“Then I’ll have the same.”

Theodore and Judith entered as Cal was finishing pouring the drinks. Jack immediately got to his feet.

“This is Jack...Francis?” Judith confirmed. When Jack nodded, she continued. “He’s in the Winston house for the summer.”

Theodore reached out and shook Jack’s hand firmly. “Good to meet you,” he said. “You’ve been a topic of conversation around here.”

“I have?” Jack asked. He accepted the drink Cal passed him with a quiet, “Thank you.”

“Yes, we were wondering about you. And it seems you’ve made an impression on Calloway and some of his friends.”

He accepted his own drink and passed Judith’s to her, and then they settled on the sofa opposite Jack. Cal picked up his glass and, after a brief hesitation, took a place on Jack’s sofa, being sure to leave a couple of feet between them.

Jack shot a smile at him. “Calloway has been great. He’s helped us learn about the community, introduced us to people and places. He’s been very hospitable.”

It was odd hearing Jack use his full name, and Cal smirked into his glass. The way Jack was making it sound, they barely knew each other.

“Glad to hear it,” Theodore said. “Then you’re settling in all right? How long are you planning to stay?”

“The summer,” Jack said. “When we came out, we weren’t sure, but now that I’ve seen this coastline and what a lovely community you have, I plan to stay until I need to be on set in September.”

Cal’s heart soared. This sounded more definite than Jack had been when they first met.

“Calloway said you were an actor,” Judith said. “Do you enjoy that?”

“I do,” Jack said. “It’s all I’ve ever really wanted to do, and I’m lucky that — for now — they’re letting me.”

The clock on the wall chimed half past the hour, and Judith set her drink down and got to her feet, laying a hand on Theodore’s shoulder. “I need to finish up dinner,” she said. “It’ll be about ten minutes.”

“It smells wonderful,” Jack said. “Is it roast chicken?”

“It is.” Judith watched him for a moment. “Would you like to join us?”

“Only if it wouldn’t be an imposition,” Jack said.

Cal froze. An entire dinner with Jack and his parents?

“Not at all,” Judith said. “I’ll set another place. You boys finish your drinks and make your way to the dining room. Ten minutes.”

Jack and Theodore chatted idly for another few minutes. Jack asked about the house, and Theodore’s business, which pleased Theodore.

When they moved into the dining room, Cal leaned over and whispered in Jack’s ear.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“An actor ,” Jack replied.

Dinner was surprisingly smooth. Jack was a pro at managing the Buchanans, and he seemed to be winning at least Theodore over with his charm. He seemed genuinely interested in Theodore’s talk about his business, asking all the right questions. He was polite to Judith and complimentary of the meal and the table. Cal relaxed and tried to enjoy having Jack around, since he knew it wouldn’t last.

Over dessert — Judith had heated the blueberry pie Jack had brought — Jack spoke up.

“I’d love for Calloway to join me tonight,” he said. “There is a special on broadcast television that I thought he might enjoy, and I just got a new chess board I’m looking forward to breaking in. That is, if you don’t need him here.”

“I think that would be fine,” Theodore said. Judith didn’t look as certain, but she didn’t contradict her husband.

Theodore got to his feet, and Jack and Cal followed suit.

“You boys have a good evening,” he said. “Judith, I’ll be in my study if you’d like to join me for a cocktail.”

“I’ll be in after I clean up,” she said.

“Thank you for dinner, Mrs. Buchanan,” Jack said earnestly.

“You’re welcome. Thank you for the pie, it was delicious.” Judith stood as well. “Would you both help me bring the dishes into the kitchen?”

“Of course,” Cal said.

They gathered the dishes and deposited them in the kitchen, and Judith shooed them out with a last farewell.

Cal could hardly believe his luck as he silently ushered Jack out the back door, down the patio steps, and across the lawn. They broke into laughter as they clattered down the steps to the beach, and once there he shoved Jack under the steps and against the cliff wall.

Jack looked up at him, his eyes glittering with amusement. “So, what did you think of my jailbreak?” he asked, giggling.

Then Cal was kissing him, pressing their bodies together with a desperation he hadn’t known was simmering inside. He twisted his hands into Jack’s hair, tugging at his curls, as he plunged his tongue inside Jack’s mouth.

Jack responded by surging up against him, wrapping his arms around Cal’s neck and hiking a leg up over his hip. They ground together until Cal pulled away, breathing hard.

“We should go inside,” he said.

“Yeah,” Jack agreed. “That was fucking painful, sitting across from you and not able to touch.”

“You can touch all you want now,” Cal said. “You’ve set it up so that I can stay the night, if you want me.”

“Oh, I want you,” Jack said. “You think I’m going to put on this—“ he gestured at his preppy outfit “—and come over and play all proper for the fun of it? I had an ulterior motive.”

He grabbed Cal’s hand and tugged, and they were running across the sand and up the stairs to Jack’s house. As soon as they made it inside the back door, Jack was on him again, hands roaming over his chest and stomach, lips sucking at his neck.

“Didn’t you want to watch a movie? Where’s your — where’s your chess board?” Cal joked breathlessly.

“In the bedroom,” Jack said. “If we look hard enough, we might find it between the sheets. Come on.”

He pulled Cal through the empty house, leading him upstairs.

“There’s really no one here but us?” Cal asked.

“It’s really just us,” Jack said. “Until tomorrow sometime. So you can be as loud as you want.”

“Me?” Cal laughed. “I don’t think I’m the one who has to work to keep quiet.”

Jack grinned at him and entered the bedroom. “Let’s see, shall we?” He immediately pulled his shirt off.

“Wait,” said Cal, grabbing at his hands before he could unfasten his pants. “Let me.”

With a smirk, Jack surrendered himself to Cal, who slowly unbuttoned the pants, slowly dragged the zipper down, and slowly slid his hands underneath the fabric to squeeze Jack’s hips. Jack tried to wriggle out of them frantically, and Cal tightened his grip.

“What’s the rush? We’ve got all night,” he asked, bringing his hands up Jack’s sides and back down, loving the way the man arched into his touch.

“The rush is that I’ve been deprived of you for two days. I’m no good at abstaining from things I like. I prefer indulging.” As if to emphasize his point, Jack made quick work of Cal’s shirt, wrestling him out of it and tossing it aside before leaning in and licking a stripe from his breastbone to his neck.

“Everything in moderation, though, right?” Cal said, echoing his mother’s favorite caution. “Exercising control over your desires shows character.”

Jack snorted. “Fuck that. I believe in enjoying what makes you happy. As much as you fucking want. That’s my character.”

Cal finally slid Jack’s pants over his hips and let them slide to the floor. He loved the idea of taking what he wanted, when he wanted it, and enjoying it. It just wasn’t how he’d been raised. He’d been raised to be afraid of the very things that made him happy, since they were largely forbidden.

Like this. This was forbidden. He wasn’t supposed to want this, and if he wanted it, he definitely wasn’t supposed to take it. But he was sick of living like that, sick of feeling guilty for something he had no control over. Sick of feeling bad for wanting to be happy.

He shivered as Jack unfastened his pants and shoved them down. He stepped out of them.

“Yeah,” Cal said. “Fuck that.”

Jack pushed him backwards and onto the bed, crawling on top of him, pupils wide, licking his lips. Cal reveled in the way Jack seemed desperate to touch him. He still couldn’t quite believe his luck, but he wasn’t about to question it now.

He pulled Jack flush against him and went in for another kiss, lining up their hips and starting up a rhythm that was going to drive them crazy in no time. Jack let him drive for a while, whimpering into his mouth and letting his hands roam all over Cal’s skin.

Then he propped himself up on his elbows and smiled.

“What?” Cal asked.

“Fucking finally,” Jack said. “When I hung back and didn’t go to Boston, this is how I imagined spending the weekend.”

“You didn’t go to Boston so you could stay here? With me,” Cal said. His heart leapt and then sank. “And then I stayed away.”

“It’s okay,” Jack said. “I got some reading in. I was behind on reviewing those scripts.”

“I’m sorry,” Cal said. “You should have said something. I’d have figured out a way.”

“You’re here now,” Jack said, tracing a finger along Cal’s brow. “I want to fuck you. Tonight. Now. Can I?”

Cal’s mouth went dry, and his gut tightened. He nodded. “Yeah. Yes. Please.”

Jack made a joyful sound and dove back in, kissing Cal roughly. Their teeth clacked together, and Jack cupped Cal’s jaw, his fingers pressing into the joint with a possessive force. Then he climbed off and scrambled for the bedside table.

“Roll over,” he called out as he rummaged in the drawer.

Cal obediently rolled onto his stomach, and Jack returned. He ran his hands over Cal’s back and ass, humming with satisfaction. Then he began to drop kisses down Cal’s spine, starting at the nape of his neck and trailing down to his tailbone.

“You sure you’re good with this?” Jack asked. “If you’d rather, you can fuck me.”

“I’m good,” Cal said, sighing as Jack began to massage the muscles of his lower back.

Then everything was a haze of anticipation and revelation as Jack took control and Cal was able to let go and let himself be taken. His last few partners had preferred it the other way around, so it had been a while since Cal had done this. In the past, there had always been an anxiety, a low hum of insecurity and nerves, that came with being the one in the vulnerable position.

He felt none of that with Jack. Just a sense that this was exactly where he was supposed to be and exactly what he needed.

It was almost like they’d been doing this for ages. There was no fumbling for a rhythm, no need for adjustment, no awkward positioning. Jack fit inside him perfectly, and they moved together without missing a beat.

“God, you’re beautiful,” Jack murmured, running his hands all over Cal’s back. “Every inch of you is perfect.”

Cal whimpered at the compliment, and not long after that Cal was spilling all over the sheets with a shout. Jack sped up behind him and followed a minute later, and they collapsed onto the bed, breathing hard.

They lay there for long minutes. Cal loved the feel of Jack draped across his back, loved the weight pressing down on him as he breathed in deeply, loved the way Jack’s fingers traced languidly along his arms.

He could happily stay here forever.

Jack seemed to have the same idea, because he didn’t appear to want to move. After a while, Cal felt himself dozing, drifting in and out of consciousness.

Eventually, Jack grunted and shifted, pulling out and sliding to the bed beside Cal. He curled against his side and kissed his shoulder.

“Doing okay?” he asked. “Was that?—“

“It was incredible,” Cal said. He rolled onto his side and pulled Jack into his chest. “Can we do it again?”

Jack grinned. “As much as we want, remember? Next time, you do me.”

“Deal,” Cal said. He stretched and grimaced.

“Sore?” Jack asked.

“Sticky,” Cal replied.

“Shower,” Jack said.

A few minutes later, they were jockeying for position in the shower, laughing as they soaped each other up and narrowly missed giving each other black eyes as they twisted around in the narrow space. Somehow, they managed.

When they returned to the bedroom, Cal picked up Jack’s clothes and draped them across the chair.

“Where did you get these?” he asked. “I didn’t know you owned threads like this.”

“They’re Greg’s,” Jack said. “But I might keep them. In case I need them again.”

“You were great, by the way,” Cal said. “I barely recognized you, but my father liked you.”

“Not your mother?”

“She says you probably have drugs.”

Jack laughed. “Well, I do have drugs. Speaking of...come outside with me, I wanna smoke a joint.”

They donned pants and made their way out to the back patio. Jack set about rolling the joint, and Cal sat back and watched the orange rays of the setting sun play across ocean waves. After a minute, he picked up a stack of paper from the coffee table.

It was a script. He flipped through it idly, reading a few lines here and there.

“This something you’re considering?” he asked.

Jack glanced over and shrugged. “Maybe. The part is decent. I’m not sure about the movie as a whole, though.” He picked up the joint, swiveled around so his back was against the side of the sofa, and slung his legs across Cal’s lap.

Cal continued to skim through the script as Jack lit up the joint. He snickered at one line of dialogue.

“What part’s funny?” Jack asked.

Cal passed Jack the script, and Jack offered the joint to Cal. He took a hit while Jack glanced over the page and smiled.

“Oh, yeah. See? This character’s decent. Do me a favor?”

“Sure,” Cal said, passing the joint back.

“Read this scene with me?” Jack asked. “You can be the best friend. I keep coming back to this one, and I want to get a feel for it, see if it fits.”

He scooted closer so they could both see the pages in the fading light.

It felt awkward at first, but after a couple of pages — and a couple more hits — Cal began to enjoy himself. They read more than the one scene, Jack flipping back and forth to find other bits to try. Eventually, when the light had faded too much to see any longer, he sat back and sighed with contentment.

“I think I like it,” he said. “What do you think?”

“It’s good,” Cal said. “Funny in places, but...substantial, somehow. Like it seems to be saying something.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” Jack peered at Cal. “Hey, you were good. Have you ever acted before?”

“No, not really. A school thing here and there.”

“What kind of school thing?”

Cal shrugged. “I was the Stage Manager in Our Town in high school.”

Jack blinked at him. “Well, that’s not nothing.”

“It was just a school play.” Cal fidgeted, playing with the cuffs of Jack’s pants. “It’s not like it was professional.”

“Did you like it?” Jack asked.

Cal looked out at the horizon. The last hazy violet-grays were beginning to slide towards black. The moon hadn’t risen, and soon it would be very dark.

Had he liked performing? Yes, he had. But it had never mattered. His parents had allowed the dalliance because his studies hadn’t faltered, but that’s all it was, in their eyes. So that’s all it had been in his. Something to pass the time, nothing more.

“Yes,” he said, finally. “I loved it.”

Jack was quiet for another minute, and then he said, “Want to read more scripts with me?”

“Sure,” Cal said.

“After I get you naked again,” Jack said. “Priorities.”

“Priorities,” Cal agreed, laughing.

He was still laughing as Jack tackled him onto his back and kissed him until he was once again breathless.