Page 112 of Worth the Wait

Callum shoved his phone into his pocket and splashed water on his face, drying it quickly as the doorbell rang again. There were muffled voices from the living room, Callum assumed Samantha must have opened the door.

“I don’t think we’ve met,” she said lightly to someone.

“This is Keith,” Justin’s voice echoed down the hallway, causing Callum to skid to a stop as he turned into the living room.

“Nice to meet you,” Samantha said, completely playing off the fact she knew who Keith was. It was one of the things Callum had always loved about his friend—her ability to know when to push and when to not, almost like she had a sixth sense, or maybe just an abundance of empathy.

“Hey,” Callum greeted, the welcome caught in his mouth. He cleared his throat and resumed his entrance, tentatively opening his arms in Keith’s direction.

Keith shook Justin’s hand loose and smiled at Samantha before passing her by completely and coming to Callum. He walked right into Callum’s arms and rested his head on his shoulder.

“Not that one,” Callum winced, maneuvering away from Keith’s face. He was out of the sling, but his clavicle was still sore sometimes and the weight of Keith’s guilt was far too heavy for him to carry.

“Sorry.”

“You’re fine,” Callum said, hugging Keith and waving to Justin and Micah who were still in the doorway with Samantha. “It’s all fine.”

“This is a cute place you and Jack have,” Micah said, coming behind Keith and resting a soft hand against the side of Keith’s arm. Keith smiled at Micah and nodded.

“It is. Thanks for having us over.”

“Oh, well, what fun is a housewarming without friends?” Callum asked rhetorically.

“It’s about as much fun as lube free sex, I’d imagine.”

Callum barked out a laugh and looked up, finding Verity and Aaron crowded into the doorway as well.

“I don’t know much about that, Verity.”

“None of us do, thankfully, and you’re welcome.” They smiled, dragging Aaron into the living room.

“I love your shoes!” Samantha squealed, pointing at the floral print ankle boots Verity was wearing.

“So do I,” Aaron confirmed, wrapping his muscled arms around Verity’s slender waist and carrying them through the house into the backyard in the most blatant display of affection Callum had ever seen Verity allow.

“No Jack yet?” Justin asked, joining him, Micah, and Keith in the center of the living room.

Callum’s cock leaked at the sound of Jack’s name and he shifted himself in a manner he hoped was inconspicuous. “No, he’s not back yet.”

He took a deep breath, his hard-on not willing to abate, pulsing even stronger when the door opened to reveal Jack in the doorway with a case of beer in either hand.

“Speak of the devil,” Justin said, jogging to the door and taking the beer from Jack’s hand. A quick look toward Keith had him at the door as well, taking the beer himself.

“There’s a cooler outside,” Jack shared, wiping his hands down the front of his jeans before clapping Justin on the back in a quick hug.

Keith carried the beer to the yard with Micah and Justin trailing behind. Jack flicked a quick look in Callum’s direction, his nostrils flaring when he caught sight of the bulge in Callum’s pants. Callum licked his lips and returned his assessing stare with an imploring look of his own.

In reply, Jack ran a palm up and down his own crotch, wrapping his hand around his cock after Samantha had looked away to dig inside her purse. Callum reached for his own erection, but stopped when Jack shook his head.

“Come give me a kiss,” he said.

Callum approached him, an awkward gait in his step thanks to the hard cock shoved down the leg of his pants. He raised up on his tiptoes and pressed his lips against Jack’s. He kissed him with all the urgency his arousal required, and Jack returned the kiss mindfully in what Callum assumed was an attempt to temper the heat radiating from every exposed inch of Callum’s skin. He forced his tongue deeper, pushing for a more attentive return.

“Mark is running late,” Samantha interrupted.

Callum separated himself from Jack, who smirked knowingly at him.

“That’s fine. You can hang out with us. Everyone is nice, and you’ve met them at least once.”