Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It started raining just after Asher walked in. That seemed right. It was pouring.

“What can I get you?”

He’d gone to his favorite café but now that he was there, he just felt like leaving. What if Paul showed up? God, that would be so awkward. But what was he supposed to do? Never go anywhere again? Give up his own favorite place?

“Do you need more time?”

God, the last thing he needed was more time. Was there an option to just stop time? Maybe wake up in a world where no one knew him?

A pair of hands clapped in front of his face and Asher jumped, blinking at the big guy behind the counter. He frowned beautifully, one eyebrow arched in a clear “what the fuck?”

Asher laughed apologetically, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry. Long day.”

“It’s noon.”

“Long week?”

“Tuesday.”

Asher huffed another laugh. “Sorry.”

The barista, David if his name tag was true, shrugged his big shoulders. “What do you want?”

“Oh. Um…” The last year of his life back?

The big guy sighed. “Your usual?”

Asher deflated a little. No. This was not an iced blonde caramel macchiato day. “Can I just get a regular coffee?”

He’d thought the barista was permanently frowning—it was part of his charm and one of the reasons this was Asher’s favorite café—but then he really did frown, and it was completely different. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Asher pulled his card out, ready to pay.

David huffed but tapped the register.

After paying, Asher stepped to the side, attention drawn toward the rainwater waterfalling down the big windows again.

“You getting just coffee too?” the barista asked the next person, an edge of sarcasm in his deep voice as he filled the cup for Asher, leaving a third for space for milk.

Asher hadn’t even noticed that someone was behind him in line until then, heat rushing to his face. How long had he made this guy wait? Fuck. He should just go home… only he definitely didn’t want to go back there.

The guy in line barked a laugh and stepped up to the counter. “You wish I’d go easy on you.”

The way he said it, with the sideways pull of his lips into a smirk, made it sound lewd and gave Asher chills. The barista, David, on the other hand didn’t seem to notice or care. He handed Asher his coffee and frowned again—the real frown, before rolling his shoulders and cocking his head back to look at the new customer. His eyebrow lifted. “Well?”

The new guy leaned into the counter, to get closer to him. “Quad shot over light ice, light oat milk, 2 pumps of vanilla, sweet cream cold foam, cinnamon drizzle.”

“Mmhm,” David replied, sounding completely unimpressed and unsurprised and hitting a couple buttons on the register. “Anything else?”

“Your number?”

David huffed and to Asher’s complete shock, smiled. Fuck, he’d never seen that either. It was almost enough to make him forget his whole fucking week.

He poured milk into his coffee and moved along, sitting down in a corner table to kill some time.

His phone buzzed and he pulled it out, tapping the screen to life and instantly regretting it.

Chrissy had sent him another screengrab of a conversation with Paul. Christian thought he was being helpful… or maybe just alleviating his own guilt by showing Asher all the shit his ex was saying about him? Fuck.

“Hey.”

Asher looked up, surprised to see the guy from the line standing in front of him. He had his drink in his hand, the straw between his lips and his hip cocked to the side. His nails were painted dark green and his knuckles on his right hand were bruised. He sucked at that straw and Asher’s brain went blank for a second. “Hey?” fell out of his mouth by some miracle.

The stranger swallowed, let the straw go, and nudged his chin at the chair opposite Asher at the little table. “Are you waiting for someone?”

Asher blinked and then smiled, shaking his head and gesturing at the chair. “All yours.” It didn’t even occur to him that there were plenty of vacant ones around them to snag. If he wanted this one, he could take it.

The stranger snagged the back of the seat and pulled, only he didn’t take it away. He drew it out and then sat down across from him, their knees bumping under the table.

Asher sat up straighter to pull his knees back, his mind still reeling. The guy wanted to sit with him?

“My name is Gavin.”

“Asher.” He smiled, more than a little relieved not to be sitting alone anymore. Asher wasn’t really great at being alone. He didn’t like it. His thoughts got away from him when he was alone. He took a sip from his mug and winced, having forgotten what he got.

Gavin smiled. It was sly and pretty at the same time. “So… Why are you punishing yourself with that?”

“Hm? What? I’m not.”

Gavin stirred his drink by the straw, one pierced eyebrow lifting as he waited for another answer.

Asher laughed and sagged back in his chair. “My boyfriend broke up with me.”

Gavin stopped stirring, eyes widening. “You’re kidding. I just got out of a relationship, like an hour ago!”

Asher leaned forward. “Seriously? Mine was a few days ago but, man, I’m sorry.”

Gavin shook his head. “It was sort of a weekend fling with this couple. I mean, I had hoped it would be an ongoing thing but whatever…”

Asher smiled, glad the guy wasn’t broken-hearted at least.

“So, your breakup,” Gavin said, tonguing his straw back into his mouth.

Asher forced his gaze back up to his new friend’s eyes, rather than watching him suck and swallow.

“Who cheated?”

“What?” Asher jumped, bumping the table and almost spilling his coffee.

Gavin’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh. So, you did?”

“No! No, no one did.” Asher smiled but it felt strained now. Fuck. He used to be so good at talking to people. He was known for making friends everywhere he went! But that had been before Paul… “We just grew apart.”

“And this guy broke up with you?”

Asher blinked, not sure why Gavin was putting so much emphasis on the ‘you’ in his sentence. He looked down at himself and then shrugged.

Gavin smirked and sat back, drink in hand, eyeing him.  “How long were you two together?”

“Almost a year.”

Gavin pursed his lips. “Did you live together?”

Asher sighed. “Yeah.”

“Who moved out?”

“I did. Why?”

“He dumped you, and you moved out, but this wasn’t like an explosive fight or something?”

Asher laughed. “This isn’t a puzzle. We broke up. The apartment was his, so I’m out.” Out and crashing with a friend until he got a new place.

“Why did you really break up? Do you have a weird addiction? A fetish?” Gavin grinned at that.

Asher laughed harder, for the first time having a conversation about this and not wanting to run away. “No! Nothing weird, no addictions. It just didn’t work.”

“You’re gorgeous.”

Asher felt his face fall blank. “What?”

Gavin nodded, still looking at him. “Your nice, funny, sweet, and gorgeous. Why would someone break up with you?”

Asher smiled and hoped he wasn’t blushing too bad. “Well, why did your couple break up with you?” he countered, sipping his coffee and almost not wincing at it this time.

Gavin shrugged his shoulders. He was wearing a tank top even though it was raining outside. “They’re a couple. They’re in love. They thought they wanted a third but after getting it out of their system, it turns out they just wanted a weekend.”

Asher lost his smile as the man spoke. He said it all like it was boring, but there was hurt there—disappointment. Asher nodded. “I’m sorry that didn’t work out. You seem great.”

“Gorgeous even?” Gavin grinned.

Asher couldn’t help but smile back. “Definitely gorgeous.”

Gavin took another drink of his perfectly executed coffee. This was his favorite café, not just because of location and the cozy dark décor, not even because of the great coffee and food, but because of that beautiful, grumpy barista. David.

He had been casually flirting with David for half a year. He knew David wasn’t taking it seriously and, honestly, that was the only reason it was okay that Gavin kept doing it. He swore, if he ever spotted David outside of his damn job, he would seriously ask him out. But asking someone out at their place of work was too creepy even for Gavin.

And then he’d been completely distracted from the hot barista by the sad guy in line ahead of him.

Gavin was nothing if not impulsive. And talking to Asher, only left him more confused about the situation. What idiot could have dated this guy for a year and let him go? What was wrong with him? He tried to imagine Asher as a jerk or a controlling asshole or maybe even a serial killer, but nothing fit.

Asher took another drink from his coffee and pinched his mouth, putting the barely touched mug back down.

A shadow loomed over them and they both looked up. David rolled his eyes and put an iced blonde caramel macchiato down in front of Asher before taking the regular coffee away with a shake of his head.

“Oh. Um. But I didn’t…” Asher tried.

David drank the coffee Asher had been working on and went back to his post behind the counter.

Gavin grinned. Fascinating! “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him come out from behind there before…”

Asher blushed but watched David too. “Right?”

“Is that your usual?” Gavin asked, pretty sure he knew the answer. Did the hot barista have a crush on this recently dumped sweetheart? Oh, Gavin was feeling his inner cupid coming out to play…

Asher took a sip and sighed, nodding.

“You know, just between us, I come to this café—”

“For the barista?” Asher finished in an awed whisper.

Gavin looked at Asher, nodding.

“Same!” he whisper-yelled, knee bumping Gavin’s under the table and this time staying.

Gavin felt his own pulse jump, surprising him.

“I can hear you idiots,” David grumbled, taking another drink of Asher’s former-coffee.

Asher’s eyes went huge but Gavin twisted to the side to smile back at David. “You could just join us then. It’s not like this place is bustling and with that weather…” He waved at one of the windows, a blur of rain water gushing down it. “We’re making a lonely hearts club. Do you want to join?”

David leaned forward, tattooed elbow on the counter and chin in his palm. He looked just as disinterest as before but asked, “What makes you think I’m lonely?”

Gavin smiled. “I guess, because if I were dating you, I would be here all the time.”

“You are here all the time…” David pointed out.

Gavin’s smile bloomed into a full grin. “Is that your way of asking me out?”

David’s eyes flared just a little, his body tensing when he stood upright again and a hint of a blush spreading on his face. “Drink your damn coffee.” He turned and pretend to clean the espresso machine.

Gavin watched him for another second, his huge shoulders straining the back of that black t-shirt. He picked up his coffee and tongued the straw into his mouth, taking a deep suck.

He was drawn from his thoughts about the barista by the warm feel of attention and cut his eyes to the side to catch Asher watching his mouth. Asher blushed and pushed his gaze down to the table when he realized he’d been caught.

Gavin’s day had started off feeling like it was all going downhill and now he was making two men blush. Yes, this was picking up. “So… What are you into?”

Asher swallowed his sip of coffee and blinked those beautiful eyes at Gavin. “What? Oh, I work at this big distribution center. I basically move shit around and pack orders for other stores.” He smiled. “It’s more fun than it sounds.”

Gavin nodded. “Not what I meant.”

Asher poked his straw at his ice. “Oh. Like after work? Gym, hiking with some friends, I mean, I haven’t gone in a while but I used to and it was a lot of fun…”

Gavin bumped his leg against Asher’s under the table, thrilling again at the way the other guy’s breath caught and his gaze flicked up to his. He had meant to ask what he liked in bed. He was trying to flirt…but there was something interesting about Asher’s answer. “If you liked hiking, why did you stop?” Asher looked surprised. Why? It was the obvious next question, wasn’t it?

“I mean, hiking wasn’t really my thing, I was just tagging along.”

“Did your hiking friend make you feel like you were just tagging along?”

“Hux? No! No, of course not.” He laughed. “God, he’s so nice. I’m actually crashing at his place right now while I…” His smile faded and he sank a little in his seat. “It’s not that we grew apart, or that my friends did anything, I just… sort of stopped showing up for a while?”

Gavin had made a hobby out of studying people, out of understanding people. He set his coffee to the side and leaned forward, forearms on the table between them, and looked right up into Asher’s face. “We’re strangers. If you don’t want to see me again after today you never will.” Asher started to reply, inhaling like the idea hurt, and Gavin smiled and shook his head, continuing before this kind person could assure him he didn’t want that. “Why did you break up? For real. Not the socially correct answer or the one you’re going to tell everyone you know—not the one you and this guy agreed on—not the one he’s saying—just… between you and a stranger, why?”

Asher stared back at him and Gavin could see him deciding how to answer, if he really could, and then what the real answer even was. A grimace rippled across his face, tears misting his eyes. “He broke up with me because… He says I cheated on him. He was always jealous, always paranoid, always accusing me… I tried to—” He cut himself off with a press of lips and a shake of his head. “We broke up because he’s a bad person,” he whispered, words no less strong for their quiet.

Gavin’s heart ached. He nodded and touched Asher’s hand on the table, seeing the relief on the man’s face when he squeezed it. “Good. He sounds like an asshole. You can do better,” Gavin said, keeping his hand and their new nearness. “Can I taste your coffee?”

Asher exhaled a relieved laugh, rubbing away a tear that hadn’t quite fallen and offering his drink. “Of course.”

Gavin took a sip and hummed, nodding in approval.

Asher grinned, looking even lighter and brighter than before.

“Okay, now tell me about the hiking friends.”

Chapter Text

David tried not to smile when Gavin walked into his café that afternoon.

He stepped right up to the counter, oversized sweater hanging on his shoulders, showing off neck and collarbone. The sleeves hung down to his knuckles, his palm on the counter when he leaned over it and ordered today’s challenge. “Mocha cookie crumble Frappuccino with two shots of espresso, 2 pumps of raspberry, and strawberry purée.”

David screwed up his face. “Seriously?”

“It’s going to be amazing. Assuming you can make it, of course…”

“Fuck you. You know I can. What size? Don’t answer that. You’re getting a grande.”

“With almond milk,” he added, beaming.

“Of course.” He rang it up. “You’re not going to order his drink too?”

Gavin’s smile grew. “And deprive him of getting to talk to you? Never.”

David rolled his eyes at the weird joke and started working on the order. The door chimed and he cast a glance toward it, expecting to see Asher. The two had been coming in together since that rainy day a month ago. They didn’t arrive together, but they were meeting up. David was happy to see it. Asher had been a regular for a couple years but this last one he’d been… down? Off? He just hadn’t seemed happy anymore. He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. His shoulders sagged and his gaze was far away.

The worst had been that rainy day when he just stood there, like he hadn’t even heard David ask if he wanted his usual. And then he’d ordered coffee! Just regular coffee. David was torn between worry about him and being peeved he was using perfectly good coffee like a damn punishment. Watching him sip and cringe grated his nerves like nothing before ever had. Why? Why was he doing that? Why hadn’t he just ordered what he liked?

David hadn’t been able to stand it and made him his usual, swapping them out.

He’d then drank Asher’s coffee. He told himself it was not to be wasteful.

But in the weeks since, Asher had become himself again. Or at least, as much of him as David knew. He seemed happy, bounding in and converging with Gavin at what had become their usual table. David wasn’t sure if they were dating or not. They were definitely flirting but it seemed limited to words and stray touches.

He hadn’t realized how much he was looking forward to seeing Asher join Gavin at the counter until he looked up and saw someone else pushing their way in.

His ex had their mouth pressed tightly and a box in their arms.

Oh shit.

His heart clenched and heat rushed his face, but he tried not to show any of it.

They marched up to the counter but instead of ordering anything, they dropped the box with a heavy thump.

Yep. That was happening.

“I told you I’d be by the get it…” David said.

“I have plans tonight and you’re not invited,” they shot back.

He nodded, accepting this. Despite all their efforts to make it look like they were dumping him this last week, he had actually been the one to initiate the breakup. They were hurt and he accepted that. If this made them feel better in any way, then he’d take it. They weren’t a bad person and he wanted the best for them, but it just hadn’t felt right. They wanted to move in together, to plan a future, and he wasn’t seeing it. He didn’t want to waste their time just because it was more comfortable to stay in than get out. It wouldn’t have been right. He steamed the milk. “Okay.”

They glared at him for a second longer before turning and marching back out, somehow slamming a whisper door behind them.

The silence after them was dramatic as hell, because Gavin was standing right there—letting that silence stretch until David glanced at him. He smiled, like he’d just walked in on something he shouldn’t have seen.

“Shut up,” David mumbled.

Gavin shook his head, still smiling. “Sorry. Sorry. But damn, you’re cold.”

David poured his drink and then handed it off to him.

Gavin took it but sidestepped back to the front counter, looking down into the box. “Is this one of those on again off again relationships?” he asked casually, sucking at the straw and eying David’s things.

David felt exposed in a way that made his skin warm and tight, but he didn’t snatch the box back just yet either… “No.”

Gavin nodded, leaning forward to see around some of those objects but not moving any, eyes widening a fraction.

What was in the box? What had he left at their place to be returned? A hoodie maybe?

“How long were you together?”

“Almost six months.” Why was he answering?

Gavin’s gaze flicked up from the box to David. “Interesting… So, you wanna join our club now?”

“What?”

“The Lonely Hearts Club.”

David rolled his eyes and grabbed the box, pulling it off the counter. It was heavier than he expected. He glanced down into it. A hoodie, some games, the headphones he’d given them for their birthday, and… His face felt like it was one fire when he shoved the box under the counter, the sex toy rolling heavy at the bottom.

Gavin’s gaze was waiting for him, that grin fucking wolfish.

“I’m not really looking to jump into another relationship right now,” he grumbled and, again, wondered why he was even answering the questions. He didn’t have to. He knew that.

Gavin sucked his drink from the straw and then swallowed a large gulp.

David narrowed his eyes, knowing exactly what the other man was doing and refusing to gawk the way Asher did.

“It’s more of a friends without relationships club. So far, it’s just been sexting and flirty coffee dates… but we’re going to a club this weekend. You could join… if you were interested, of course. No strings. Nothing serious.”

David defaulted to a skeptical frown.

Gavin didn’t seem the least bit put off by it, but he didn’t press either. He grabbed one of the napkins and a pen, writing his number down. “Think about it. If you’re not into us, that’s totally okay and I promise not to bring it up again, okay? But if you are… well… if you are interested, you are currently missing out on some incredible voicemails from Asher…”

The door chimed again and this time it was Asher.

Gavin turned around to see Asher walk up to the counter. His black work t-shirt hugged his shoulders and his hair a perfect mess. He’d come straight from work. So far, they were still keeping their meetings to this coffee shop. It had been their way of going slow—of being friends developing benefits rather than a one-night stand.

Not that it had taken them more than a week to go from flirty texts to sexy texts to pictures and audio that couldn’t be called anything but pornographic. The first time Asher sent him an audio clip, late at night, breathy and riled up, Gavin had gone hard instantly. He’d goaded him on—wanting to hear more—telling him what he wanted him to do and then waiting breathlessly for the response—for the audio of Asher touching himself and whining. Fucking whining! The sounds he made…

Gavin’s dick twitched in his jeans just thinking about it, so he quickly pushed the memory aside. Not that Asher made it easy when he hugged him.

“The usual?” David asked just before Ash was about to order.

He grinned and nodded, pulling his wallet out. “Yeah. Thanks.”

Gavin took another sip off his drink and his thoughts strayed to the box David had under the counter… the one with a decent sized dildo rolling around at the bottom. Was it David’s? Or was the ex trying to rekindle something? By the way he’d blushed and put the box away when he saw it, Gavin had to wonder if it was David’s. He pushed away the mental images of the barista working that thing into himself. He’d let himself think about it if decided to join their little club…

When Asher had his drink, they walked over to their table, talking about their day. He’d tell Ash about inviting David to join them later. At least it was in his court now. He could decide if he was interested and they would leave it at that.

Asher’s knees bumped against his under the table. “You’ve officially been invited hiking,” he told him.

Gavin laughed, thinking he was joking and then stopped when he realized he wasn’t. “Wait. Really? Why?”

Asher laughed. “Because I was talking about you to Huxley and Damien. I told you Hux is all about hiking and camping.”

Gavin blinked. “Yeah but why me? I mean. You didn’t tell them I was an outdoorsman did you?” He grinned as soon as he said it, considering all the ways in which he could definitely consider himself an outdoorsman… He definitely didn’t hate the idea of being in the woods with Asher, maybe fucking him against a tree… “Wait, are they swingers?” That would make sense.

Asher was grinning now. “No, they definitely aren’t. I don’t know. They just want to meet you, I guess. Well, Huxley wants to meet you. Damien wants to make sure you’re not a criminal.”

“Who says I’m not?”

Asher bumped their legs together. “You don’t have to, of course. I’m just telling you, I was told to invite you.”

Gavin nodded, hooking his legs around one of Asher’s under the table. “I’m glad you’re getting back to normal with them.” And he meant it. Asher had looked so sad when he’d talked about how things used to be with his friends and how it had sort of all gone to shit during his last relationship. But those friends had still been there for him when he needed them.

Asher nodded and leaned back into his seat. “Me too.”

They were going out this weekend and Gavin was looking forward to it more than he’d looking forward to anything in a long time. But it was less and less about the atmosphere and more about getting to be there with Asher. He wanted to see him on a dance floor—wanted to see how he flirted with strangers—and how he felt pressed against him in a crowd. The plan of their little two-man club was to go out, to flirt with other people and each other, and then go home together. They were officially not looking for relationships.

“Come over,” Gavin said, surprising them both.

Asher blinked, raising one eyebrow. “What? Like scoot around the table?” He beamed, something devious glinting in his eyes. “We agreed not to fuck around at the café and if I sit next to you…”

Gavin grinned, leaning forward. “Come home with me tonight.”

Asher’s smile wavered, but something burned in his eyes. “Seriously?”

“Unless you don’t want to?”

“I do,” he said, fast enough to blush at how it came out.

Gavin slid an arm across the table to touch the back of Asher’s hand. “I want to kiss you,” he said. It was the tip of the iceberg when it came to the things he had planned for Ash, but it was also the start.

Asher had that deer in the headlights look that made Gavin’s heart pound.

“Do you know how many times I’ve come thinking about you this month?” he asked, voice low, and reveled in the way Asher swallowed, breath coming a little faster. Could he get him to make some of those sounds right here just talking?

“Really?”

Gavin huffed a laugh. How could Asher not know how hot he was? “Yes. I’m half-hard just sitting across from you.”

The door chimed when more people came into the café.

Asher bit his bottom lip, dragging his eyes over Gavin like he was considering him. Gavin waited, not for a second doubting his own appeal, or that Asher was interested, but hanging on those lips and what he’d say next. Fuck, he wanted to make him whine… “Okay,” Asher said, a confident smirk pulling at one side of his mouth. “But I should probably tell you now…”

Gavin waited that split second, holding his breath.

Asher grinned. “I’ve got stamina for days.”

Gavin exhaled a laugh, nodding. “I can work with that.”

“And—” he started but hesitated, a flicker of something uneasy stealing the cocky attitude he’d just been leaning into. Like maybe he wasn’t sure if this was a good thing to say?

“And?” Gavin encouraged. He was pretty sure at this point, he had seen and done just about everything. Whatever Asher wasn’t sure about, he could handle.

Asher nodded to himself, like deciding to just say it. “I can… go multiple times.”

Gavin blinked. “Go?” he said and watched that mix of devious excitement and unease in Asher. Go. Multiple times? “Are you serious?”

Asher winced, shrinking in front of him, the excitement being snuffed out by the unease.

Gavin caught his wrist on the table. “How many times?”

“What?”

“How many times can you go in a session?”

Asher exhaled some relief even on his confusion, shrugging. “I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve tested it…”

Gavin felt his grin growing out of control. “Oh, we’re going to find out.” He stroked his thumb across Asher’s wrist, wanting to kiss that spot. “What’s your personal record?”

Asher blushed and Gavin thought he felt that pulse jumping under his thumb. “Four?”

Gavin groaned, shooting up from his chair with Asher’s wrist still in one hand and his drink in the other. “Let’s go, pretty. We should get started if you’re going to make it to work tomorrow…”

Asher laughed, happy to be tugged along toward the door.

Gavin tossed David a wave over the line of customers he had and was pleasantly surprised when the beautiful grump cocked his head back in acknowledgement.

Chapter Text

Asher wasn’t nervous. Not really. Not exactly.

It wasn’t like this was his first time. Jesus, it wasn’t even close. But it had been a while… months since the last awkward fuck between him and Paul and a year since he was with anyone else.

The last few weeks, flirting and chatting and just hanging out with Gavin, had been like finding himself again. Asher had been flirty before. He used to love sex and just the dance of being close with someone else, even a stranger. Paul had twisted that over the year they were together. It had started with little comments, wrinkled nose and disapproving eyes. Asher was too lewd, too sexual, to eager. What started as little jabs turned into deeper digs, complaints about his behavior, accusations of cheating.

Slut.

Asher winced just as Gavin grabbed the door to his building and held it for him, flashing another smile.

God, Gavin’s smiles were incredible. They were edged in something promising and dangerous.

The elevator was open and they hurried to catch it, laughing when they tumbled into each other and into wall. Gavin kept an arm around him to keep him pressed against him when those doors finally shut them in alone.

Asher kissed him. It was the first time and that newness, that excitement, made him shake. Gavin kissed back like his mouth was made for it and like Asher’s mouth had been made for him. His hand slid around the back of Asher’s neck, holding on tightly and making his knees quake.

The elevator climbed and they made out in slow, deep kisses. When it stopped, Gavin hummed, catching his hand and breaking the kiss to drag him out into the hall.

Asher realized for the first time what a nice building it was.

They were clumsy in the hall, trying to press so close while moving. Gavin laughed, pushing Asher up against the door to rub his thigh up against him while he deftly pulled out his keys. When the lock was flipped, they stumbled inside.

The front of Asher’s jeans were tight when he stepped back, giving Gav the space to shut and lock up. He pulled at the laces of his sneakers to kick them off in the foyer, glancing around at the big apartment with high ceilings and a wall of windows. “Damn… This is your place?”

Gavin shrugged, toeing off his boots and then stripping off his sweater too.

Asher forgot the apartment, a whine climbing in his chest at the sight of all that skin and a pale petal stud through one nipple. “Fuck…”

Gavin grinned, closing in on him. “That’s the plan, pretty.”

When they kissed this time it was needy and Asher felt himself melting. It was like a drug, that affection, that touch. He’d missed this and yet he wasn’t sure it had ever been like this. Not really. Had his head ever spun and his skin hummed like this?

Gavin pulled at his shirt and Asher was quick to take it off. Their hands were all over each other on the rush down a hall, Gavin leading him through a door into a bedroom. His mouth was on his neck and his hands opening the front of his jeans. “So beautiful… I’m gonna make you whine until your throat’s raw.”

Asher shivered, groaning when he was shoved back onto the bed. He pushed up onto his elbows, shirtless with the front of his jeans open and tugged dangerously low. “I’m sure you can find other ways to make my throat raw…”

Gavin hummed. It was almost a purr. Could Asher make him purr?

Gavin watched him, tugging the front of his own jeans open. “Yeah?”

Asher sat up, nodding and reaching out to touch his hip just as he exposed it. A dozen lewd things he wanted to say streamed across his thoughts, but he bit them back.

How long before Gavin calls him a slut too?

Fuck.

He winced at the thought and this time Gavin saw it. How could he not?

He caught his hand at his hip, still standing there between his knees at the edge of the bed. “Hey… You okay?”

“What? Yeah! Of course!” He knew immediately he was being too loud and quick to answer.

Gavin raised an eyebrow. “We can slow down. We don’t have to do anything.”

Asher laughed, bracketing Gavin’s hips in his hands and tugging him onto the bed with him—onto him. “I think we’re past that line,” he half-joked. “I might like to tease but I don’t start shit I can’t finish.”

Gavin straddled the other man’s waist. His cock was hard and still trapped against the denim of his pants, aching. When he lowered his weight a little, he was rubbing down against Asher’s equally trapped erection. He clenched his teeth to keep from grinding and getting distracted.

Asher had looked all in, like a fucking vixen about to rock his damn world, and then he’d flinched at seemingly nothing. And now…

“That’s not a thing,” Gavin countered, voice gravel from arousal but still focused. “We’re never past the line of stopping, Ash.” Who the fuck had made him think there was a point of no return? “Sugar, if you want to stick to teasing and your incredible sexting, that’s fine. More than fine. Seriously, you’re a talent.”

Another wince, but then he was quick to huff a thin laugh and buck his hips under Gavin’s ass. “No. I want to. I do! It’s just been a while since it was…” He searched for a word. “Anyone else?”

Gavin stopped moving, stopped running his hands over Asher’s naked chest. “You…You didn’t seem hung up on your ex—” In fact, even as little as Ash would talk about him, his ex sounded like an asshole.

“I’m not!” Asher really did laugh then, clawing a hand through his hair. “I’m really fucking this up…”

Gavin shook his head. Asher was so good at sexting and dirty voicemails. And there were flickers of moments when they were in person that he could see that Ash knew exactly what to do—how to do it—what he wanted. But then he retreated. “How about we set some ground rules?”

Asher looked up at him, one eyebrow lifting and his hands squeezing at Gavin’s hips.

“We’re going to be honest with each other, okay? Really honest. No shame. You tell me what you want and I’ll tell you what I want and we’ll figure out where we align, okay?”

Asher flushed but nodded, and Gavin felt that bulge against his ass hardening even more. “O-Okay.”

“That includes telling each other when we don’t want things—don’t like things—aren’t in the mood—just want to stop or pause,” Gavin continued, rocking slowly to rub against the front of Asher’s jeans, making him roll his head back and open his mouth to gasp. Fuck, he was gorgeous.

“Okay. O-Okay… Yeah…”

He slid one hand slowly up Asher’s chest, to his neck, wrapping his fingers around it while he faux-rode him. Asher whined, arching a little under him when he squeezed gently. “Tell me,” Gavin urged, keeping the rhythm of his hips excruciatingly slow.

“Hnn…Wh-What?” Asher panted, voice thin.

Gavin groaned at the sound and sight of him. “Tell me what you want. Tell me what you don’t. Where are your lines, Ash?”

Asher whimpered, squeezing his thighs. “Now!? Come on…”

Gavin grinned. “I’ll stop if you don’t.”

“No! No, wait! Okay… Ooooh… Okay… This. I like this. I want this.”

“And?”

“Everything.”

Gavin stopped, frowning pointedly down at him.

Asher whined and squirmed but Gavin pinned him under him, waiting. “Th-This. Fuck, I like you holding me down… T-Torturing me… Please… Please, babe…”

Gavin bit down his smile and started moving again, slowly rubbing, still holding him down with one hand around his neck and the other pushed into his shoulder.

Asher’s eyes rolled. “Th-Thank you. Thank you.”

Gavin’s dick ached at those words, at the way Asher just surrendered under him like this. “What else?”

Asher whined but nodded. “I want you to fuck me… to tell me what to do… I want to suck you off—want to feel you in my throat.”

Gavin groaned, squeezing his neck a little and nodding. Jesus, could he be more perfect? “I can do that. I want to do that,” he amended, playing by his own rules. They were being clear and honest. “I want to work you hard and hear you begging for more…”

Asher whimpered, nodding, eyes losing focus.

He pressed down a little harder, grinding his ass on Asher’s crotch. “Where are your lines, sugar?”

Asher whined, clinging to Gavin’s hips like he knew he would stop again soon.

“Ash?”

“N-No lines. You can do anything. Please.”

Gavin stopped.

Asher swore, shaking under him like he might convulse right out of his skin. “Please!”

“There are lines. You can’t just say anything.” Jesus. What if he’d been with someone else? Would Ash really just go with anything that happened?

Asher twitched and squirmed. “Please, babe… Please….”

Gavin shivered, those please tugging at his own self-control, which only made it that much better. He loved being tempted, loved edging himself, loved proving to himself how much control he had even when he wanted so much to just fucking come. “Tell me or I’ll get up and we won’t start again until you’re soft.”

Asher’s eyes flung open, staring up at him like he couldn’t tell if he was serious. “That! That’s a line!”

“Is it?”

Asher whined, kicking his legs. “No! Fuck! Okay… Okay… I… Degradation. I don’t like… I don’t want that… and I don’t like name calling.” He shivered, still twitching but not meeting his eye anymore. “I mean… Unless it’s something you’re really into then we could—”

Gavin rolled his hips, shaking his head and bending down to kiss him again. “No. No name calling or shaming. That’s good. You did good,” he purred, building the pace of their hips and the friction of their jeans. Asher moaned, head rocking back, and Gavin took his throat as an invitation, kissing and biting. “Do you want me to edge you, sugar? Or can you really come multiple times?”

“I can. I can! Please…” Asher begged, hips rocking against his ass. “Please… Can I?”

Gavin gasped, almost losing his own load when Asher asked if he could come, practically begging. “Yeah. Come in your fucking pants for me, Ash.”

With a breathy cry, his body arched and convulsed under Gavin’s. His sounds were a symphony, rattling and jerking from his throat under Gavin’s palm. He couldn’t have looked away even if he wanted to. Fuck. This might be the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Asher’s breathing slowly came back down to something close to normal, still shuddering and with a whisper of that whine in his voice.

Gavin released his neck to gently finger his hair out of his face. “You want to stop?” he asked gently, smiling and leaning down to kiss him. “Take a break?” he reworded because it seemed like Asher wasn’t comfortable just saying he wanted out. They would have to keep working on that, maybe have a real conversation about it when there was more blood in their skulls.

Asher grinned, looking sated and devious at the same time, his half-lidded eyes on Gavin. “No.” He shook his head. “I want you to use me.”

Gavin twitched, groaning low in his chest. “Really?” He twisted a hand in Asher’s hair, tugging that long, beautiful neck to the side. He’d said stuff like this in those sexy audio clips but that didn’t mean he’d want to do it in person. Gavin knew people said a whole bunch of amazing sexy shit when they were safe and alone with their hand. He definitely wasn’t going to assume Ash would want all of that in real life.

Asher’s mouth opened a little wider, passion-glazed eyes watching him. “Yes. Please.”

Gavin choked back another groan, painfully hard now. He kissed him, thinking of everything he wanted to do to him. When Asher moaned, Gavin pulled his hair to break the kiss and looked at him again. “You have to tell me if something is too much or crosses a line,” he said.

Asher squirmed and mumbled, “You and the lines…”

Gavin grinned. “Oh, now you have to tell me another one before we continue.”

Asher’s eyes widened and then he smirked. “But I’m already soft. That means we can start again.”

Gavin rolled off of him and Asher actually pouted, practically clawing at his jean-clad thighs to try to keep him.

“Come on!” he whined, rolling onto his stomach to follow him.

Gavin sat with his back to the headboard, legs sprawled, and shuddered at the sight of Asher crawling up between his legs to press his cheek into one of his thighs, looking up at him.

“What if I just tell you things I’m into? How about that?” Asher offered, palming his other thigh. He leaned in closer, nuzzling the bulging in the front of Gavin’s pants and moaning like it was his own erection. “I like how hard you are… I really want you in my mouth…down my throat…”

Gavin pressed his skull back against the headboard, clenching the covers to keep from grabbing at Asher’s head. Fuck. Was he being seduced? Oh, this was new. He’d been turned on plenty and definitely had people try to seduce him before, but it was never like this. He never felt his willpower flagging like this.

“Do you want that?” Asher asked, one part flirt and one part honestly checking in. For all the obvious issues with Ash not knowing how to defend his own boundaries, it seemed like he a hundred percent understood them and respected them for others.

Gavin groaned. “Open my pants and take me out.” His voice was rough.

Asher curled his fingers into the waistband of his pants and briefs, and with a gentle lift and tug, he had them down enough to free Gavin’s erection. “Fuck,” Asher ground out, looking at him. “You’re…” his breath cam faster.

Gavin bit the inside of his cheek to keep back the smile his ego so desperately wanted to let out. “Still want to swallow it?”

Asher whined but nodded, looking up at him with those big eyes…waiting? Pleading?

Gavin finally reached out and slid his hand into Asher’s hair, palming his head. He was perfect for him, and that thought was dangerously close to breaking the delicate design of their lonely hearts plan. He nodded.

Asher grinned and leaned down, licking the length of his cock and then tonguing the piercing in the head.

Gavin was close, so exquisitely close, but he refused to come. He watched that beautiful man wrap his mouth around him and squeezed his hair when he sucked and swallowed around him, taking more and more until he was in the tight squeeze of his throat. Gavin thumped his head back against the wall but kept his eyes open enough to watch him, to watch the strain of his face and the way those watery eyes flicked up to look back at him. It was good. It was so good.

Gavin had never felt more tempted in his life.

He thrust a few times, shallow and testing, into Asher’s throat, careful to watch for his reaction. He could come like this. He could spill right down that throat and be washed in that pleasure. He wanted to.

“Stop,” he said, shaking with the effort to say it—to hold back.

Asher did, eyes wider and sobering from passion when he lifted his head off of Gavin’s dick to look at him. He reached up to palm his cheek. “What—”

Gavin shook his head, laughing. “Not yet. Get up and take your pants off. I want to see how many times I can make you come before I lose it.”

Asher blinked and then swallowed and sat up on his knees, jeans up and riding low with a wet stain on the front, but a new bulge. “Seriously? You… We don’t have to…”

Gavin grinned. “You don’t want to?”

Asher flushed and shook his head. “I do. I really do. I just… You don’t have to wait just because—”

“Sugar,” Gavin interrupted, kicking his pants off. “I’m going to blow you… and then maybe make you jerk off for me… and then I’m thinking of tying your arms behind your back and having you ride me."

Asher actually stumbled off the foot of the bed, breath catching and color rushing his neck.

“Does that sound like a good plan?” Gavin asked, feeling smug.

Asher swallowed hard and nodded. “Y-Yeah. Yeah.”

In the other room, Gavin’s phone buzzed with a first text from a new number.

-Hey. It’s David.

Chapter Text

Asher was shaky and wrung out in a way he hadn’t been in years. Maybe ever. His head was…quiet, and that energy that seemed to always be bundled inside of him, bouncing his knee or strumming his fingers, was spent. He was still face down on the big bed. He knew he needed to get up, roll off the damn bed and find the bathroom to clean up, but he couldn’t quite convince his limbs.

The mattress dipped when Gavin came back. Asher opened his eyes, surprised how close he’d been to passing out. He wasn’t the sort of person who fell asleep after sex. He wasn’t the sort of person who fell asleep easily anytime. Fuck. He had to get up. He laughed at himself and just this whole amazing situation. Gavin was perfect. Even more reason he needed to leave on a good note so he didn’t make this awkward.

A hand he had become very familiar with touched his back, the perfect amount of pressure before sliding up his spine. His whole body shivered when he grabbed the back of his neck briefly before sliding his fingers into Asher’s hair and tugging lightly, turning his head to get a look at him.

“I’m going. I’m going,” Asher said with a smile.

“I think I preferred when you were yelling, I’m coming, I’m coming…” Gavin used his fingers to comb Asher’s hair back. He thought he was just playing with it at first and then he realized the other man was gently collecting the mess of strands into a tie again.

His arms shook when he pushed himself up. His whole body still felt twitchy and unsteady.

“I thought you said you didn’t need to be anywhere tonight?” Gavin asked, a note of worry there—not irritated or offended, just worried like he might have misunderstood the plan.

Asher shook his head. “I don’t. But if I stay down much longer I might fall asleep.” He huffed a laugh, still a little alarmed at how shaky his legs were. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure he could stand and walk to the bathroom yet. “That was fucking amazing.”

Gavin smiled, hands on his back and his shoulders. “So, fall asleep. I’ll clean you up.” His voice was so dark and smooth.

Asher froze. Clean him up? He’d done plenty of casual hookups and a handful of serious relationships. No one had ever offered to take care of him after.

Gavin stilled, his hands lifting off of Asher’s body like he’d said his safe word.

They didn’t have a safe word. He didn’t always have them with his partners just because some of them seemed to take some personal pride in not using it even when they needed it, and most forget them anyway when they wanted out. He preferred to check in and just ask. He liked being in control and he trusted himself to do that—to pay attention to his partners. He had always been good at reading people and in the bedroom, it was where he got most of his enjoyment.

“We didn’t talk about aftercare,” he said, realizing it as he spoke. They’d flirted with so many ideas and tonight had been a lot of talking about what they liked. Asher had been fucking amazing. His stamina was insane and he was somehow even more erotic in person than he’d been on the phone playing with fantasies.

He’d tensed up when Gavin suggested he take it easy. Was it because he said he could sleep here or because he offered to take care of him? Was it too much? Too close to a relationship? Gavin wasn’t sure what Asher was used to in casual sex but considering his allergy to admitting to his own lines, he didn’t imagine it was particularly nurturing. But he’d been in long term relationships too… Maybe he thought this was too serious?

“Is this too touchy for you after? Obviously, you can do whatever you want, sugar, but after everything we just…” He exhaled a breath caught perfectly between confidence and insecurity. He knew exactly how to take care of his partners after a session, but he didn’t know how Asher liked things in the wake of sex. "I usually take care of my partners after. Especially after something that intense.” The last thing he wanted was to scare Asher off thinking he was trying to get serious on him when they’d agreed this was a friendship.

Asher hesitated. His arms and legs were shaking and Gavin was more than ready to get off the bed if he really did try to get up right now. “Really?” He sounded surprised, looking back at him over one shoulder.

Gavin stared back at him, for a second not sure what he was asking. Did he doubt that Gavin was really offering? No. He was surprised that Gavin did this for his partners. “Fuck, sugar… Yes.” He touched him, stroking his back and gently guiding him back down onto the bed. “Did you really think I’d push you out the door after?”

Asher sighed, the muscles in his thighs jumping. “I don’t want to stay too long and make it awkward for you…”

Gavin rolled his eyes and grabbed one of the towels he’d come back from the bathroom with before Asher tried to bolt. It was warm and wet. “Not to sound full of myself… but I don’t think you could walk out of here right now even if you wanted to.”

Asher snorted and then inhaled sharply when Gavin pressed the warm washcloth against his skin and then stroked it up his thigh. He exhaled in a slow sigh, his eyelids dragging shut. “Fuck…” He practically purred. “Well, as someone who was recently full of you…”

Gavin grinned, his own dick twitching at the memory and turn of phrase even though he was spent.

“I think you might be right,” Asher confirmed.

“I usually am.” Gavin made slow and thorough work of wiping him down. “Just relax. If you fall asleep, that’s fine.”

“You really do this after?” Asher asked, voice low and easy, eyelids still shut but a small crease in his brow. He really was too good—thinking this was anything.

Gavin tossed one washcloth off the side of the bed and grabbed another, gently wiping his neck and then his face. “It’s called aftercare…” He really hated that he didn’t seem to know any of this. Asher had proclivities that suggested he liked to sub and definitely had before. This shouldn’t be new. “I think we’re going to have to have a conversation about expectations before we set you loose on strangers…”

Asher hummed. “Yes. Give me the sex talk…”

Gavin laughed at the easy, almost flirtatious joke the other man had made out of this. He tossed the second washcloth away. “When someone asks what you’re into,” he said, because the joke might be the best chance to really talk about this. “You’ve got a praise kink.”

Asher’s eyes flew open and he sat up. “What? No I don’t,” he almost stuttered out the words. “I don’t have a kink.”

Gavin really did laugh then. “Everyone has kinks! And you definitely have a praise kink! You literally busted when I told you what a good boy you’d been for me.”

Color flushed the other man’s face. “I-I… was just.. anyone would…”

Gavin straddled his thighs and cupped his face in his hands. “Hey. There’s nothing wrong with it. No one is going to say there is and that’s definitely not why I’m saying it. I’m just telling you what words to use to get what you want.” He watched some of that initial panic ease out of Asher’s expression, his thumbs stroking his cheeks. “You’re a soft dom’s dream, sugar. I promise. You were fucking amazing.”

Asher’s breath caught and Gavin had to bite back pointing how the proof of what he was trying to say.

“The problem is, this thing where you’re afraid to draw lines and upset the person you’re with would also make you the dream of a lot of other kinds of partners…”

Asher flopped back onto the bed, looking up at Gavin still naked on his lap. “Are you worried about me?” he asked like it was a joke.

“Yeah, kinda.”

Asher laughed. “Dude, I literally work security. You don’t need to worry about it. I can leave whenever I want to.”

Gavin felt a pain somewhere in his chest. He really wasn’t sure that was true. Just the bits he’d gleaned about Asher’s ex seemed like he’d stayed through a lot of stuff he shouldn’t have. “You could, but I’m not sure you would…”

Asher tensed, smile gone.

Gavin rolled off of him and onto his feet, not wanting to feel like he was trapping the other man under him. Not like this anyway. He could have just left it like that. He could changed the subject. He was sure Asher would go with it and find a good mood again, and it would feel safer for Gavin too. He liked sex and partners and people in general, but he didn’t usually hand too much of himself away. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt,” he explained, pulling a drawer open and finding some clean sweats.

Asher watched Gavin get dressed.

He wasn’t sure what to make of what he was telling him. He understood, of course he did, but for some reason he struggled to believe it. It wasn’t that he doubted Gavin. So, what did that say about him?

“So, should I get a sticker?” Asher asked.

Gavin turned to blink at him.

Asher held back a smirk. “Like a ‘slut for praise’ sticker? Something to let people know?”

Gavin laughed, the sound rich and bursting out of him. His hand went to his mouth like he could catch it.

Asher grinned. He loved that sound and that reaction. “Thank you,” he added quietly.

Gavin nodded and tossed another pair of sweats to him.

Asher caught them and blinked. His jeans weren’t dirty.

“Do you want to hang out? We can order food.”

Asher felt himself beam before he could keep his cool. “Yeah! I mean, yeah, I could eat.”

Gavin’s smile turned sly. “Oh, I know you can, sugar.”

Getting out of bed, he pulled on the pants. There was something about wearing Gavin’s clothes that made his heart beat faster.

“Are you kidding?”

Asher looked up, suddenly afraid he’d been caught, but Gavin was looking at his phone. Before he could decide if he should be giving him privacy, Gavin closed the distance and put them shoulder to shoulder. His phone had a text conversation open.

It was just one message.

Hey. It’s David.

Asher blinked, at first not sure who it was or why—“No fucking way!” he grabbed Gavin’s hand with the phone.

Gavin laughed. “I gave him my number and said if he was interested in the Lonely Hearts Club and going to the club with us this weekend to get in touch, and if not then we’d take the hint and stop bringing it up.”

Asher nodded, still staring at the message. He had actually texted them. Asher wasn’t really surprised because who could resist Gavin? But also, David had been resisting Gavin. “Are you going to reply?”

Gavin laughed, bumping their hips together. “Grab your fucking phone and lets move this party to the living room. We’re going to start a group chat!”

Chapter Text

A -You’re still coming tonight, right?

G - I’m definitely cumming tonight

David bit the inside of his lip. He wasn't sure what he'd expected when he sent that first text two days ago but it wasn't this. He didn't always know what to say in the group chat but somehow he wasn't falling out of it either.

At first the group chat felt voyeuristic. He was watching them. They flirted and sexted. They shared pictures that were either completely innocent snaps or lewd as fuck. David had looked at them more than he'd be comfortable admitting, more than he'd ever looked at porn. Strangers had never done anything for him, but these two… 

One of the pictures had just been Gavin from chest up, sunk deep into a couch, holding his shirt up in his teeth with his eyes dark and his other arm low. Fuck. The look he'd been giving the camera…giving them .

Asher flirted but it was Gavin that nudged that flirting into full-blown sexting. And the shit Asher said… sometimes he sent audio recordings. Sometimes he was breathy and pleading, saying the best, dirty, things. But then there was the time he was quiet, breath catching, and the sound of his hand going, going, going…. And then his raspy, small voice asked if he could cum. Asked if they'd let him.

David had been stroking himself in his own living room and actually groaned. And then he realized Gavin wasn't replying. Asher was waiting. Whining. Struggling. 

It was the first time David sent an audio to anyone, but he couldn't leave him like that…and, really, he wanted to be the one who made him come apart.

That had been last night. Tonight they were actually meeting at a club. What had he gotten himself into?

Asher sent a picture of two shirts on a bed.

A - Davey?

He got a little thrill every time Asher called him that. He wasn't sure why. He'd never liked nicknames before.

D - left.

It wasn't a hard decision. But would he really go with the one David picked?

“...earth to David,” Milo called, not for the first time.

He pocketed his phone and looked up only to roll his eyes and look away when faced with Milo's grin. “Don't start.”

Milo had come by just after he started closing up the cafe. “Who you talking to?”

“No one.”

“Are you getting back together with–”

“No,” he double checked everything was turned off before grabbing his jacket and hitting the lights.

Milo nodded but added, “They seemed nice.”

David headed for the back door, his friend on his heels. “They are but I wasn't feeling it.” He deflated a little. That didn't explain it right. It didn't sound like enough. There was nothing wrong with his ex. Maybe it was him?

Milo nodded again, slower. “Okay. So…who are you talking to then?” He stopped in the doorway, preventing the heavy door from swinging shut, effectively trapping David there in the alley waiting for him.

“Who says I'm talking to anyone?”

Milo laughed. “Fair enough. I guess you could be watching porn.”

David almost smiled. Almost . It was dangerously close to the truth.

Milo stepped into the alley, the door snapping shut. He reached back and tried the handle to make sure it was locked on second nature. “Do you want to come over tonight and watch the game with us?”

“I'm busy.”

Milo blinked. “With what?”

David ignored his stare. “I'm going out with some…friends.” Oh, that didn't sound right. His phone burned against his thigh. Those were not friend texts… 

“Who?” Milo wasn't smiling anymore.

“Seriously?” David snorted, fishing his keys out of his pocket. Milo’s bike was in the shop so David had offered to give him a ride home. 

“Where do you know these people from?”

Oh shit. Milo was really digging in. “The cafe.”

“Where are you going with them?”

“Out.” David unlocked his truck and got in the driver's seat.

Milo opened the passenger door but stood there and frowned at him.

David laughed. “Really? What are you getting worried about?”

Milo blustered and jumped in. “You can't just go out with some strangers without telling anyone who you're going with or where! What if something happens?”

David started the engine and tried not to think about all the things he hoped would happen. “What? You think someone's going to kidnap me? Fucking look at me, Milo.”

“I'm looking,” Milo said, dead serious.

David stared back. No one but Milo would worry about David's safety like this. “I'll tell you where I'm going if you promise not to go or talk about it anymore.”

“Deal.”

Fuck . “Crush.”

Milo stared. “You said you hate that place.”

“You agreed not to talk about it.” He pulled away from the curb and into slow traffic.

“You said it was a meat market. You said the music was shit and too loud!”

“ You're too loud but I'm here, aren't I?”

They both went quiet for a stretch.

He took a right.

“Are you still coming to my dad's for dinner Sunday?” David asked.

“Of course,” Milo answered without pause. It was basically a family thing. Their parents had been friends for as long as either of them could remember. “Are you bringing your… friends ?”

David groaned. “You said we wouldn't talk about it…”

“I said we wouldn't talk about the club.”

“Which we immediately did…”

Gavin met Asher in line for the club. It was the first time they'd met in person since he took him home earlier that week and they spent the whole night together. It was dawn by the time Asher left and, even then, the only reason he'd had to go was because he had work.

Gavin liked people, but this was different. He couldn't get enough of Asher and now David was in the mix too. He hoped David showed up tonight.

Asher beamed when we saw him, immediately offering a hug that Gavin was more than happy to accept. The night wasn't too cold, which was good since Ash was only wearing that tank top David picked out. 

Gavin had at least worn something with sleeves…even if they were sheer.

They exchanged smalltalk in line but Asher seemed half focused.

“Are you worried he won’t show?” Gavin grinned and then added, “Or worried he will?”

Asher turned toward him. “What? No. I’m not worried!”

Gavin nodded but he could see how wound his friend was. He brushed his hand against Asher’s. It was simple enough that it could be ignored as an accident. As much as he wanted to touch him, as much as he always wanted to be touching Asher, Gavin wasn’t exactly sure what the rules were here. Yes, at some point tonight they would be dancing and at some point there would probably be a lot of touching, but they were still in the line outside and they were, afterall, friends.

Asher’s hand automatically pushed back into his, turning to lace fingers even while his big eyes still darted around at all the other people on the sidewalk.

Gavin smiled and took a step closer, pressing right against Asher’s side. He loved the way the other man visibly relaxed at that pressure. He slid a hand against the low of his back. “Tell me why you’re nervous?”

Asher looked back at him, surprise written across his face. Asher was a delight to watch–his reactions and feelings constantly cascading across his features. But being able to see his emotions did not mean Gavin could read his mind. “I’m not.”

Gavin waited.

Asher exhaled and smiled. “I don’t know. Overthinking?”

Gavin nodded, dropping his head to place a kiss on the other man’s shoulder. “How about this,” he said, as they shuffled a step closer to the entrance. “We go inside, have a couple drinks, dance until we’re both so hard we can’t stand it…”

Asher smiled.

“We’ll meet David if he shows, if he doesn’t that’s okay. And when we’re ready to go, if you need more time or if you don’t want to fuck for whatever reason, you say something about how you’re starving.”

Asher laughed, shooting him a look. “Yeah? And then you’ll tell me you’ve got a big–”

“No,” Gavin laughed too but shook his head, holding the other man’s gaze. “You say you’re hungry, and I’ll take us to a diner instead. We can cool down and you can decide if you want to go home with us both, just me, or on your own.”

Asher’s joking smile fell into something sincere. Surprise? Relief? He relaxed and nodded, and then added, “Assuming David even shows.”

“Assuming that.”

“And if he does, it doesn’t mean he’s going to want to…”

Gavin laughed again. “You wore a tank top that’s more holes than fabric and jeans so tight I can see your dick, he’s definitely going to want to.”

Asher blushed and inhaled, ready to argue, but the bouncer waved them through and whatever nonsense about those pants not being that tight was lost in the pulse of music.

Chapter Text

David sent a text off when he got into the club and then made his way toward the bar. He immediately started second guessing even coming here. It wasn’t even packed and it already felt like too many people–too much sound. Fuck.

He leaned into the bar and waited for one of the bartenders, letting his gaze scan the club floor. It pulsed with bodies but it didn’t take him long to spot Asher and Gavin. They were quite the pair in any setting, but everything was more dramatic there between those sharp lights and deep shadows. They moved like it was easy, like the whole crowd around them were long lost friends. Asher was tall and lean, the tank top David had picked barely hanging onto him. His hair was a mess and his jeans so tight that just looking made David’s a little tighter too. There was a contrast to Gavin, shorter and thicker, moving with feline grace that somehow made everything look easy and intentional–every gesture, every step, every tip of his head.

They were beautiful and though David was flattered to have been invited by them, he wasn’t sure he belonged. This wasn’t his scene and what was he even doing? What were they doing? It was like the chat, wasn’t it? He watched but he didn’t know how to interact with this. It wasn’t him.

A hand touched his back and he tensed, a man sliding in at his side to grin at him. He was handsome, but he was a stranger. “What are you having?” the guy asked.

David raised an eyebrow, trying to look like he didn’t give a shit even though the feel of that hand itched through his shirt. There was no real way to shrug it off without bumping into the person on the other side of him.

The bartender came over and David ordered a whiskey. He’d been planning to get a beer but was starting to think he needed to be at least tipsy to handle this place. The stranger tried to pay for it with a, “Add it to my tab,” like he should be impressed. David shook his head and said he’d get it. The stranger’s hand slid up his spine. “I’ve got it! It’s nothing!” the stranger crowed over the music.

If David had been sitting, he’d stand up, but he wasn’t. He was wedged between people. He rolled his neck and felt that tick in his jaw from the effort not to push this guy off of him. He held the bartender’s gaze and the woman nodded and took his card from his fingers, blipping it and handing it back with the receipt. He shoved both into his pocket.

The stranger’s hand had made it all the way up to the back of his neck and gave it a little squeeze. Fuck . David’s teeth clicked. He needed to leave.

And then the contact was gone, the space beside him suddenly empty.

He looked, surprised to see Gavin sliding into that spot, leaning his side into the bar and smiling up at him. The stranger was picking himself up off the floor, curses lost in the music, but when he lurched forward, Gavin turned his head to meet his gaze. Whatever was there in his eyes, gave the asshole pause. “You had your shot. Move along,” Gavin shouted over the noise and then turned his focus back to David.

He huffed a thin laugh and couldn’t help but marvel at the situation. He had many times had to play guard with friends and dates, but he’d never had anyone do it for him. It wasn’t like he needed it. He could have pushed the guy off if he wanted to make a scene. Jesus, he could have picked the guy up and moved him if he’d wanted to. But he had wanted to…he just hadn’t done it.

Gav was close, but not quite touching. He moved the short glass on the bar the inches to David’s hand. “Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” David replied.

“So, one minute in and we’re already beating them off you with a stick.”

David rolled his eyes, but breathed easier. He took a sip of his drink. He wasn’t cut out for this. He couldn’t stay. 

“We never really talked about what you want tonight,” Gavin said, somehow just loud enough and close enough to be heard.

David raised an eyebrow, his gaze flicking to Gavin's mouth and then to his eyes again. What he wanted? He had a lot of thoughts about that…

“Do you want us to wingman you to find someone…or…”

“Or…” 

Gavin grinned and opened his hand, subtly asking for a sip of David’s drink. David handed it over and watched him take a drink. His throat bobbed and his eyes closed for a second before he exhaled and handed it back. “Then I guess I'm asking how comfortable you are with PDA.”

David was surprised by the question. No one had ever asked him that before. He wasn't usually comfortable with PDA. Usually he would have refused to go to a club like this for exactly that reason. He didn’t like people he didn’t know grabbing at him.

“With you?” 

Something in Gavin’s gaze sharpened. He nodded.

“I like you,” David admitted, taking another drink.

Gavin grinned and it was breathtaking. He closed the very little distance between them but only with his hips, one thigh pressing between his, slotting them together like denim puzzle pieces.

David inhaled, not drawing back and surprised to find the steadiness of Gavin so comforting, not to mention exciting. He offered him another drink and watched him take it. He should probably order him his own, but he liked this more. “So…What exactly are the rules of your lonely hearts club?”

Gavin handed the drink back, club lights shining in the glitter on his cheekbones. “All honesty, no strings, no judgement.”

David nodded, hand on Gavin's hip and watching Asher weave toward them. He'd never been a casual fuck sort of person. He'd always needed to know people, to like them and trust them. He'd also never seen multiple people at the same time… 

“All honesty?”

“No judgement.”

David looked at Gavin. “I don't do this. I don't go to clubs. I don't have casual sex with strangers.”

Gavin smiled slowly, never breaking eye contact. “If you hate the club we'll leave. We're friends, not strangers. And I can promise you, if we fuck, you'll never call it casual.”

What he said and how he said it shot from David's head, to his heart, to his dick. And he knew Gavin felt it against his thigh by the way he inhaled before adding, “But if you want to change this to a friendship without sex, that's always okay. And if you have eyes for someone else we're not going to get jealous or in your way.”

David huffed, pretty sure two people was already at his limit. 

“So…do you want to leave or do you want to try dancing?”

David tried not to scowl or grimace as he probably usually would. He could try. And if he hated it he could leave.

He nodded and downed the last of his drink, not hating the way Gav didn't immediately back up, grinding them together. David was taller, definitely, but they were both thick, both steady. He wasn't sure why that thrilled him but it did.

Asher beamed when he saw Gavin leading David out to the floor to meet him. He hadn’t been sure if David would show up and he’d been even less sure how it would go, but as soon as he saw him there it just felt right.

David definitely looked a little uncomfortable with the surroundings and Asher wondered if he didn’t usually go out–if he’d gone just for them. They danced. There were always stray hands and strangers looking for new friends on dance floors, but he’d have to be blind or drunk not to see the way David tensed up when someone grabbed at his hip.

Before Asher could move in, Gavin was there, removing that hand and playfully snapping teeth at the stranger. Asher grinned. So that was the game? He liked this. They kept other people off of David, like he was all theirs, and he relaxed more and more. It was exciting in a way Asher hadn’t expected.

It was too loud to ask questions with words, so Ash brushed fingers against David’s and caught his gaze. Was this okay? Could they touch? As soon as he did it, he realized Gavin had done it to him in the line. He hadn’t even thought about it then–hadn’t realized what he’d been doing until now.

David’s hand turned in his, sliding fingers along his wrist, before lifting his arm to his shoulder–to the back of his neck, inviting him closer.

Asher bit the inside of his lip, trying to print this shit in his memory forever. How could this guy look so tough and so vulnerable at the same time? He brushed fingertips gently against the back of David’s neck and watched his eyes flutter shut, their bodies still moving, big hands finding Asher’s hips. Every touch sent jolts through him from head to toe. He still couldn’t entirely wrap his mind around the fact that they were all there–that he was there. Asher had loved clubs and dancing, but he hadn’t been to one in…a year, maybe? At least.

His heart beat a little faster when he thought of it, his head jerking to the side to skim the crowd again, like he’d find some familiar face there glaring at him–catching him.

It wasn’t fair. He was single. He’d never cheated when he wasn’t but he was single now. This wasn’t cheating. This wasn’t dirty. This was good. This was fun. He could do what he wanted and he wanted so much to be there with Davey and Gav.

But he was still glancing around, making sure, hunting that phantom sneer he felt burning across his skin. He shouldn’t have worn this shirt. It was one of Huxley’s. It was too big for him. What was he thinking? He was acting like a–

A hand touched his side, slipping right in to find bare skin, and his breath shuddered out when he looked up at David. The other guy looked worried, one eyebrow pitched. He mouthed, “okay?”

Asher inhaled again, nodding. Yes. Oh god, yes. He took another breath and smiled, leaning into David and letting him move them both for a minute. He collected himself and refused to look around–refused to look for someone who couldn’t hurt him anymore. No, for the rest of the night he kept his gaze where he wanted it–on David or Gavin. And at some point on the both of them, entwined and lost together, drowning in music and dancing. Perfect.

Chapter Text

David woke slowly under the weight of having had one too many drinks the night before. It was a familiar ache, behind his eyes even before he tried to open them. With a wince, he rolled away from where he imagined the light in the room was coming from. He curled onto his side, into a wall of pillows and blankets, burying his face before the dawning realization that this wall was not made of pillows at all slowly pressed forward in his mind.

A hand cupped the back of his head, fingers deftly scratching at his scalp, sending chills down his spine and making his breath heave out into the chest he’d pressed his face against. There was something in that firm touch, in the support and ease of it, that struck a deep chord. Gavin. This was Gavin. He knew it before his mind really knew it. He knew it in the echo of that contact last night in the club, and when they left and traversed the subway back to the other man’s apartment. 

Gavin had taken sex off the table before they even got through the door. “I’m too drunk to fuck. Do you want to come up and hang out?”

Just like that the pressure was gone. The details of how they got there and the place itself were fuzzy, but not the lazy kissing, or the way Asher closed his eyes when he danced in the living room.

David allowed himself one deep inhale, mouth brushing Gavin’s sternum, so tempted to kiss skin that he had to roll back onto his back to resist. He squinted at the ceiling, daylight seeping in around a curtained window to one side of the room. His heart beat faster than usual and his skin felt warm. This was not how his relationships usually went–from the casual quickness of theirs to the subtle dynamics. Since their conversation at the bar, Gavin was clearly leading things. David had thought he’d dislike that, or at least be more uncomfortable with it than he was. It actually felt…flattering? And easy. Like the burden of having to navigate and step carefully wasn’t on him for once. But it also came with the sensation of someone really paying attention to him–to his reactions and his signals–in a completely new way than he’d ever experienced before.

He hadn’t thought he’d like that either. David was used to feeling his feelings and reacting when he was ready–sometimes not talking about it at all. Few people pressed him.

“I guess this means I’ll be the one making you coffee today,” Gavin said, one hand still in David’s hair.

David scrubbed a hand over his face. “Time is it?” he asked, voice rough.

Gavin sat up and leaned across him to grab a phone off the bedside table, and again they were so close that David breathed him in, fighting a groan at the increasing tension in the front of his pants. Had he gone to bed with his clothes on? He supposed that made sense…

“Almost ten.”

“Jesus.”

Gavin laughed. “It’s the weekend. You can sleep in. I won’t tell.”

Before he could argue the waste of time, Gavin threw a thigh over his legs and rolled until he was sitting up, astride David’s hips. David was suddenly fully awake, and fully hard, Gavin’s own erection heavy and pressing against his through the thin cotton of his sweatpants and the stiff denim of David’s jeans. They both inhaled sharply and held their breaths for a beat, staring at each other. Something hungry filled Gavin’s eyes and David thought maybe he hadn’t expected them both to be chubbed up. He expected Gavin to roll his hips–imagined him grabbing the headboard above him and grinding down.

Gavin’s mouth twitched, that darkness still in his eyes. “Good morning,” he said, his voice heavy.

David gnashed his teeth to keep from moaning, remembering those lips against his last night, that tongue pressing into his mouth, tonguing him deeply, in and out.

The big bed jostled a little when another body moved. Asher had been on the other side of Gavin, still asleep when he whined and kicked at the tangle of covers around his bare legs. David had a vague memory of the other man getting out of his pants at some point the night before, dancing in the apartment in his boxer briefs and tank top.

Last night, he had been relieved to not have the pressure of sex on their hangout, but this morning he was a little disappointed to have missed that opportunity. A pang of regret hit him center chest. Why had he been so relieved? Why couldn’t he just jump into new things? Why couldn’t he go with the flow? He was always awkward. Always overthinking. Always missing out on chances to get closer to people just because he couldn’t take that step.

A hand pressed to his chest, right where he felt that phantom pain. David looked up at Gavin still sitting on him, leaning over him, and those dark eyes stared back–seeing him. They were both still hard, still mashed together, but there was nothing lust blind or urgent in Gavin’s gaze. He leaned down, a little at a time, taking that distance between them, curling over David. He kissed him so slowly and so thoroughly that all he could think about was the touch of those lips and that tongue.

David moved his hips first, shaking, shifting in a needy way he wasn’t used to ever allowing himself.

Gavin grinned into the kiss, but didn’t speed up or move his hips. His weight pressed down on David, as if he could pin him, and for a second he thought he might actually be able to. The idea sent a new shudder through him, a groan rising in his throat. He ached.

Gavin dragged teeth against his lip and then broke the kiss, his forehead against David’s and eyes opening to look down at him. “Do you want me to make you come now or do you want to wait?”

David gnashed his teeth, mind hitching on how to answer, on which answer was the right one, on which one he could say…

Gavin still hadn’t moved his hips, not to rub against him or to break the pressure of their contact either. “If you come now, we can still fuck around again later,” he continued, voice raspy and low. “And if you wait, it’s still on the table… it’s always on the table…” he grinned. “Fuck, I might fuck you on the table…”

David shuddered, like his body was bucking out of his control.

“There’s no wrong answer. I just want to know what you want right now.”

David growled. He should be the one asking, shouldn’t he? He should be getting Gavin off right now, should be pounding him into the mattress or…

“Davey?” Gavin called.

He shivered at the nickname, at that voice, at the man on top of him. He was going to say later, because it would make time for all of this to fizzle out. Because if he put it off, things would cool off or get awkward. He would find an excuse to leave. He would go home to his apartment and feel all the disappointment and pent up need alone in his shower.

“Do you want to show me how you look when you come? Do you want me to move my hips? Or do you want to walk around with that thick cock rubbing against your jeans until you can’t take it anymore?”

“Fuuuuck…” he ground out, trying so hard not to move. “Do it.” The words barely made it past his teeth and he winced because they weren't good enough, still detached, still so fucking noncomittal. He could think of the hot things to say, the way Ash fucking sexted and Gavin always talked, but he couldn't quite say it himself. 

He turned his gaze up to Gavin's, not sure what he was expecting but what he was met with was that intense focus. And then without breaking eye contact, Gavin reached up and grabbed hold of the headboard. He rolled his hips, rocking forward hard and making David suck in air. He kept moving, somehow the motion less like riding him and more like fucking him.

Gavin reached down with his other hand, fisting it in the back of his hair, lifting his head a little to arch his next. “Fuck…look at you…” Gavin groaned, thrusting against him, grinding them together. “Do you feel how hard you make me?”

David moaned, squirming the slightest bit to feel the press and restraint of Gavin’s body against his. It felt good. It felt really good. He was already hanging on by a thread. The only thing keeping him from busting was the thought that it might be embarrassing, that it might ruin something, that he should hold out. He should be doing something more, shouldn't he?

“Do you want more?” Gavin asked, voice deep and so incredibly steady despite his own arousal. “Do you want me to take you out? Stroke you? Swallow you?”

David arched, head already drawn back at that angle, chest pushing up. He groaned deep in his chest, trying to churn up words. Through his narrowed, barely focused vision, he saw the knowing curve of Gavin's mouth.

“You're right there, aren't you?” He purred, thrusting against him in that endless rhythm. “You can come. Come in your pants, like a good boy.”

It was something in the tone. In the context. In the exact words. In being told he was allowed to finish like he needed permission. It was ice water waking him up from a dream. He stopped squirming.

“Stop.”

-

Gavin froze, for a second more mesmerized than worried. He felt David's erection flag but he knew he hadn't piqued. At least…he was pretty sure he hadn't. Not unless he was the quietest least expressive orgasmer in the world. No. He had been watching his face, looking for every fucking second of it. He had seen the moment something changed.

It was gone. Had been there, had been so close he was sure David was about to come, and then it was gone.

David stared up at him, once again nearly unreadable.

Gavin exhaled and let go of the other man's hair, watching him stretch his neck and settle back on the pillow like nothing had happened.

“Do you want me to get off of you?” he asked, not sure where to put his hands.

David shook his head. “You’re fine.” 

Gavin settled his hands on David's chest. He didn't seem angry or hurt, at least. But something had ruined the ride for him. “Was it “good boy”?”

David wrinkled his nose and nodded, pressing his lips like he was actively trying not to apologize. That was good.

Gavin nodded, chancing a little smile. “Sorry. Habit. I won’t do it again.”

David nodded too, but he looked troubled. His hands found Gavin’s thighs, squeezing gently even when he said, “I might just not be what you’re looking for, Gav.”

“In what way?” His heart pounded but he thought he hid it well. He’d had a pretty good read on David up until now…or he thought he had. He definitely didn’t like that he’d ruined this moment, but he could chalk it up to getting to know each other as long as David wasn’t hurt–and he didn’t seem to be.

David huffed a breath and looked away, at the room and then at Asher still thoroughly passed out and sprawled on the bed. His expression softened and then saddened.

“You can take sex off the table if you want,” Gavin said.

David looked up at him, eyebrow lifting in something of a challenge. “A minute ago you wanted to fuck me on a table…”

Gavin laughed. “I will always want that, but I don’t need that. We’re friends, right?”

David’s expression got thoughtful, considering him before finally nodding.

He was surprised how meaningful that gesture felt. David had been clear at the club, he doesn’t do casual. He wasn’t one to lie and if this particular little experience said anything about him, it was that. They were really friends. “So, we’ll be friends even if you’re not into me like that. Even if you’re maybe still into Asher.” He smiled, but David’s expression grew unreadable.

“I didn’t say I wasn’t into you. I said I might not be what you want.”

Gavin had to bite back another laugh. He was sitting astride a gorgeous, honest, emotionally deep man who was imagining that some kink or preference could possibly put him off. “I’m nothing if not adaptive and you are…” He almost said “everything I ever wanted” but caught the surprising rush of words somewhere between his heart and his mouth. Where had that come from? Too much. He didn’t do that. He didn’t build expectations like that. He could love people for the moments he had them and let it be enough. “You’re perfect,” he said instead. Still true.

David huffed again, eyes rolling, unconvinced.

“Let me make you coffee and we can talk about this?” he tried again, feeling that tenuous thread between them straining. 

David looked at him curiously. “Seriously?”

“Of course.” Gavin grinned and rolled off of David, onto his feet. “You’re about to be furious when you see my coffee station…”

“Your what?” He got up and stretched.

-

Asher sighed and spread out even more when he had the whole bed to himself, somewhere deep in his mind, dreaming of David and Gavin.

Chapter Text

“So, you’re into me,” Gavin said, working his espresso machine to make David his americano. It was such a boring request but he wasn’t going to coffee shame. When Asher woke up he’d ask for something that would put the full set up of Gavin’s coffee station to work.

David leaned against the wall, watching him work with those dark, nearly-unreadable eyes.

“And I’m into you,” Gavin continued, looking the taller man in the eyes when he said it to make sure it hit home.

David huffed and looked away, the corner of his mouth twitching in a smirk but his arms folding against his chest.

“Is it okay if we talk about it?”

“Of course,” David said.

Gavin nodded. He understood that plenty of people did not know how to start sex conversations. Luckily for them, he was great at it. “So, you want to be in control?”

David looked around the apartment. “Not necessarily. Just…”

“Just no ‘good boy’ stuff.”

David wrinkled his nose and shrugged. He was closing up.

“What do you like?”

His head snapped to the side to look at him. “What?”

Gavin smiled, putting the cup on a saucer and handing it to him before getting to work making himself a cappuccino. “Sex, big guy. How do you like sex?”

He laughed. “Jesus, you can’t just…”

“Why not? I asked how you wanted your coffee and you answered. How do you like your sex? You seemed to be into the chat stuff…”

David’s cheeks colored a little and he turned and walked to the tall breakfast table like maybe Gavin wouldn’t see it. “I do, yeah…”

“Okay.” Gavin smiled. “And you’ve had other partners…”

“Yeah.”

“So…How did sex generally go for you?”

He sat down and dragged a hand through his hair, clawing his scalp as if to buy time. “It goes…fine…” he said and then rolled his eyes at himself. Gavin could see him trying to open up, trying to shake off whatever it was inside that made it hard to talk about himself candidly. “I guess I’m usually… in charge.”

Gavin nodded, pouring the foamed milk and giving himself a heart. “Okay. Well, if you’re into being in charge, we can do that.” He glanced at David when he said it. He meant it. He was flexible in more ways than one. But he saw the conflict on David’s face as he frowned at his coffee.

Gavin sat across from him.

“You want to be in charge,” David said.

Gavin nodded. “Yeah. I mean, do I like being the soft dom? Fuck yes, I do. Do I want to slowly unravel you and bend you over every piece of furniture in my apartment? Yes. Absolutely.” He grinned. “But would I be happy to play the brat for you? Of-fucking-course!”

David huffed and looked away, blushing again. He looked flattered, interested, and still conflicted.

Gavin leaned back in his chair, considering him. “Are you worried I’m lying? I can promise you, I’m great at being a brat.”

David shook his head, laughing a little. “I’m sure you would be.”

“But?”

There was definitely a but. Something was running through his head. Gavin bit the inside of his lip. David was used to being in charge. Of course he was. He was a big guy. People would assume he was going to be. He probably assumed he’d be. Gavin’s thought went back to that sex toy rolling in the box his ex had return to him. He’d just assumed it was a gift or something for the ex but… “You seemed to like when I took the lead at the club,” he ventured, thinking aloud.

David eyed him. “...I did.”

“And this morning in bed…”

“It’s afternoon.”

“You seemed into it until that whole ‘good boy, you can cum now’ part…”

David blushed and looked away again, nodding.

“So… Okay, when you think about us fucking…” God, he loved the way David’s breath caught when he said it. “How do you imagine it?”

David looked at him. The way his eyes dilated and his lips parted, made Gavin think he was imagining it right now, and whatever it was excited him and maybe worried him a little. He looked at the table–not at his coffee, but at the table, and then away again. 

Gavin bit the inside of his cheek to keep from groaning. “Davey… Are you thinking about me bending you over the table?”

David pressed his lips and shot him a glare, back to grump mode. “Ha ha,” he said dryly, like he thought Gavin was mocking him.

Gavin reached out and caught his wrist, leaning closer. “What about anything we’ve done so far, makes you think I wouldn’t explore this with you?” He thumbed David’s wrist, circling that soft skin.

David stared back at him, feeling his pulse jump and wondering if Gavin could feel it too. Fuck. This relationship was nothing like he was used to. It involved three people for one, and was, sort of open? Sort of friends with benefits? This wasn’t something he would have ever thought he’d be into. But there was something about them… And then the way Gavin had taken the lead at the club… No one had ever done that. Not like that. He had plenty of demanding partners, but they never physically guarded him from other people or took his hand and led him through a crowd.

David had never really imagined being manhandled before but the way Gavin talked about it…

“I don’t know if I’m into it,” he said. “I…” he sighed, remembering the way things had just gone cold so fast. “I think it’ll just disappoint you.”

Gavin still had his wrist. He looked serious. “You can’t disappoint me, David. We can do things however we want to. Or not, if you don’t, but it sounds like you do… We can set some ground rules and figure it out as we go.”

David stared at him, surprised how much he believed him. That they could just…try stuff and bail if it didn’t work out. “Okay.”

Gavin grinned, lifting David’s hand to kiss his knuckles. “Perfect.” He let go of his hand to take up his coffee.

David swallowed and picked up his own cup, lifting it to his lips.

“So, you ever been fucked in the ass, Davey?” Gavin asked.

David coughed, sputtering at how fucking casually this guy could just say shit like that. Even after he’d recovered, he realized Gavin was still waiting. He groaned and looked away. Gavin's apartment was ridiculously nice. “Not…” He almost stopped, almost didn’t, but he was going to try to be as direct and honest with Gavin as he was with him. “I’ve used a toy.”

Gavin grinned and nodded. “Okay.”

David sipped his coffee. “Can I ask you a question now?”

Gavin looked pleasantly surprised, one of his legs managing to hook around David’s under the table. “Of course. Anything.”

“Good. Why the fuck do you have twelve different coffee flavors?”

Asher was half-awake when his phone chimed somewhere nearby. He rolled onto his back and blinked up at the ceiling, smiling at the sound of David and Gavin’s voices from the other room. Last night had been amazing. He’d had more to drink than he probably should have. But they’d come back to Gavin’s place and everything had been so easy. They’d messed around a little, but nothing serious, and he was pretty sure he’d passed out first.

His head hurt but not too bad. He sat up, realized he was only wearing his tank-top and his underwear, and looked for his jeans by following the chime of his phone. 

He picked it up, stretching before pulling the phone out to check the time. He never noticed the clock, because the text messages caught his eye first.

He should have blocked it. Why hadn’t he blocked it?

I can’t fucking believe you.

My friend saw you at the club last night throwing yourself on everyone.

I knew it. I always knew it. 

You were always a slut.

The air went out of him and when he inhaled everything tasted like shame. Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck. He could hear the texts like words spit at him–shouted. His heart pounded like Paul was in the room. Like he’d come bursting out of the bathroom at him without warning. Asher grabbed his pants and pulled them on. He needed to go. He needed to get out of there. He had texts from Chrissy too, asking if he’d really been at the club last night with a bunch of guys. Fuck! He shoved his phone into his back pocket and hesitated at the bedroom door.

He could still hear them out there. How was he supposed to just leave without saying anything? He couldn’t. He had to have a reason. 

His phone rang and he jumped, scrambling to pull it out but already shaking his head like he didn’t want to see it. His vision blurred for a second before focusing on the screen. The relief he felt when it wasn’t his ex calling was almost enough to knock him down.

He hit answer and held it to his ear. “Hey.”

“Hey buddy,” Hux practically sang into the phone. “I know you checked in last night when you decided to sleep over but I just wanted to see how you’re doing. Are you hung over?” He was smiling around the words, like he wasn’t thinking what a whore Asher was for going out and spending the whole night–

“Put him on speaker, babe,” Damien said, soft but certain. He was driving. Asher could hear the hum of the car.

“Oh. Sure, Dames.”

“Asher,” Damien said.

Asher swallowed, closing his eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m here.” He forced a smile when he talked, hoping it would make him sound okay. “I’m a little hung over.” Because he drank too much. Because he wasn’t responsible. Because he was–

“That’s okay. Are you still at your friend’s place?”

He winced. “Yeah. Is-Is everything okay?” No it wasn’t okay. His phone was blowing up because he had been grinding on two guys last night and left with them. Did Damien and Hux know?

“Everything is great,” Hux said. “We’re just going to get lunch and run some errands and wanted to see if you wanted a ride.”

He exhaled, heart thudding. Of course they were just calling to check in. He hated that he’d thought they were judging him for a second. Not everyone was like his ex. Asher scrubbed a hand over his face.

“Ash?” Damien asked, that note of focus in his voice now.

Oh shit. “Yeah. Oh. Yeah, no worries. I’ll get back to the apartment on my own. You guys have fun.”

“Asher,” Damien said, speaking very clearly. Oh no. “Are you okay? Did something happen?”

“No! No. Oh my god. Nothing happened. I’m just hung over. I…I shouldn’t have had so much to drink and…been out… I shouldn’t have…”

“Asher,” Huxley said, sounding worried.

Asher squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m good. I’m sorry. I…I had a nice night. I had a lot of fun.” Slut , he heard his ex and winced, pushing it away. “I just woke up and…and I had these texts from…” He shook his head. When was this going to stop being a problem? When was he going to stop being a problem for his friends?

“Oh, buddy…” Hux said so softly.

“He texted you?” Damien demanded, sounding like he was barely biting back a curse. “Texted you what?”

Asher shook his head even though they couldn’t see it. “Someone he knows saw me last night… I was… I was with these friends and…”

“It doesn’t matter what you were doing,” Damien said firmly, so certain that it jolted Asher a little, making him open his eyes. “Did you have fun?”

Asher swallowed again, nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, I really did.”

“And your friends… were nice to you?” Damien added, choosing his words carefully.

Asher felt a sting in his eyes, really loving Damien and Hux. He couldn’t believe he’d almost lost them to a shitty relationship. “Yeah. Yeah, they’re great.”

“Then the only thing wrong is that son of a bitch talking to you.”

“You’re not doing anything wrong, Ash,” Hux reminded.

He nodded and took a deep breath. They were right. Of course, they were right. Even if he couldn’t feel it, he could trust them. “Okay. Yeah. Yeah.”

“Do me a favor?” Damien added.

Asher straightened. He would do anything for his friends. “Of course. What?”

“Block him, drink a glass of water, and go hang out with your… friends . And give us a call when you want to go home.”

Asher exhaled a laugh, surprised how relieved he felt. “You make it sound like I’m your kid.”

Hux laughed.

Damien snorted. “Don’t make it weird. We’re going to want all the details later.”

Asher nodded. “Thanks, guys.”

When he got off the phone he went into his texts, to that one full of all the worst things he could ever think about himself spewed from someone who had said he’d loved him. And he blocked it.

He dragged another breath and then pocketed his phone, heading out of the bedroom to see what David and Gavin were up to.