Just Jack (2 page)

Leo met the young man’s eyes. The man remained unmoved by Mac’s declaration of love for Leo. So, this kid was just a fuck. A morning screw while Leo was at the office. Was that supposed to make him feel better about this whole messed-up situation?

“You said never again,” Leo reminded him. Yes, Mac had done this before. Twice, in fact, that he knew of.

“I know. I know. I’m weak. You know that and how hard I fight these feelings because I love you.” He had his hands on Leo’s chest and ran them upward to squeeze his shoulders. “But maybe, maybe it’s time to stop fighting. Maybe this time we could both… You know?” He looked at the young man and directed the next part at him. “I mean, you would be up for that, right? The three of us?”

The young man pursed his lips as he shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”

Mac cupped Leo’s face and held him fast, forcing Leo to look at him. His hazel eyes darkened and he looked serious. “See. It’d be good for us. Maybe it’s what we need.”

Leo closed his eyes. So, he wasn’t enough for Mac anymore? Had he ever been? “No.” He wasn’t going to have sex with some stranger. How the hell would that fix anything?

“Please.” Mac kissed him, but the kiss left Leo cold.

Leo stared at Mac’s mouth. How he used to long for Mac’s kisses and his touch. He was everything Leo had ever wanted, and foolishly he’d thought Mac felt the same about him. Now all he felt was repulsion.

“What’s his name?” Leo asked. Why he wanted to know, he wasn’t sure. He just felt like he should ask.

Mac opened his mouth but said nothing.

“You don’t even know his name?”

“Sure I do. It’s…” He looked at the other man, who was on his feet and getting dressed.

“Chris,” the young man said and pulled on his T-shirt. “Look, if this isn’t happening, then I have somewhere to be.”

“It is,” Mac insisted and held up his hand to stop Chris from leaving. He looked at Leo. “It is.”

Leo shook his head. “No, it isn’t.” He focused on Chris. “You should leave now.”

Chris nodded and gathered his things. This time Mac didn’t stop him and simply glanced at him as he passed them on the way to the door.

As soon as the door shut, Leo freed himself from Mac’s hold and put some distance between them.

“Is this the first time?”

“What?”

“Here with him?”

Mac nodded. “Of course. He came onto me. I’m weak.”

Leo closed his eyes. He didn’t know why he asked, maybe out of some twisted way to punish himself further for being such a fool, but he did. “How many others?” He opened his eyes and stared into Mac’s. Mac’s eyes clouded with guilt. Leo had really hoped he’d been wrong, that Mac would say this was one little slip.

“Did you use protection?” he asked. He was angry as hell and wanted Mac out of his sight. But he needed to know.

“Of course.”

Leo took a deep breath. He needed to get out of there.

“We can talk about this.”

Talk? He wouldn’t give Mac a chance to worm his way out of it this time. The silver-tongued asshole didn’t deserve another chance.

“I’m done. We’re over.” He made to leave, but Mac had him by the arm.

“You don’t mean that.”

“I do.” Leo wished he sounded stronger, but he was tired. He hadn’t gone back to bed after Mac had called that morning, too busy worrying about getting everything right and in place for the meeting tomorrow, in place for Mac. “I’m sick of putting up with your crap.”

Mac gripped his arm more tightly. “Please.”

Leo dared to look up into Mac’s eyes. He had always adored the color of Mac’s eyes, a warm toffee flecked with emerald green. There was always such passion and heat in the way Mac looked at him, and before, one glance from Mac would cause Leo to melt. He held Mac’s gaze. He felt nothing now.

“What do you want me to say? Anything. I’ll do anything.”

Leo stayed silent. He’d invested three years of his life into their relationship. But enough was enough. Mac wasn’t ever going to change. It had finally come down to this moment, and Leo needed to make the decision that was right for him. No more second chances. Not this time.

“Move in with me,” Mac said quickly.

“What?” Had the kid literally fucked Mac’s brains out?

Mac released Leo’s arm and took both his hands in his. “It’s what you wanted, right? The two of us? Living together?” He leaned forward for a kiss, but Leo turned his head, Mac’s lips making contact with his cheek. He continued, “You can move in here.”

Once upon a time, Leo would have done anything to hear Mac say those words. How he had longed for them to be more than a toothbrush and a few toiletries in each other’s bathroom. They had been close once. Mac had even gotten him a key made, but then Mac had blown it, just like he had now, and it was like a reset had been hit on their relationship. He never would have expected it, but Leo was actually glad Mac had kept him at a distance. At least this way, Leo could walk away.

Shaking his head, Leo snatched his hands back. “No. I’m not doing this.” So many times Mac had talked his way back into Leo’s heart, and Leo into his bed. But not this time. This wasn’t Mac confirming Leo’s suspicions and the office gossip about what Mac had done behind his back. This time he had seen it with his own eyes. He’d seen the other man. He’d seen the lies and the cheating. They were done.

He took his keys from his jacket pocket. Never had the pile of metal felt so damn heavy. Looking into Mac’s eyes, he turned the keys over in his hand.

“Don’t,” Mac said.

If only Mac had been able to keep it in his pants. Leo had been happy in his little oblivious world. In his mind, he had been enough for Mac and they had been enough for each other. But he deserved better than this.

“I love you.”

“If you really loved me, this wouldn’t be happening. We wouldn’t be standing here having this conversation.” He separated the key to Mac’s apartment from the rest. Was he strong enough to go through with this? He looked at Mac.
I deserve better than you
. Pressing his mouth in a line, he freed the key from the keychain and held it out to Mac.

“Keep it,” Mac said.

Leo looked between the key and Mac. If he stayed, then what? How long would it be before Mac cheated on him again? He had to stick by his decision. For his own sake.

“I don’t want it.” As Mac wouldn’t take the key, Leo bent over and placed it on the floor. He let his fingers linger for a moment before he straightened up.

Mac rested his hands on his hips and eyed the key. “You’re giving up on us?”

“There is no more
us
, Mac.” He stepped forward and studied Mac’s face. God how he’d loved the man. Mac had been his Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome. Where had they gone wrong? “It wasn’t me that gave up.” He kissed Mac on the cheek. “Goodbye,” he said, then turned on his heel and walked away.

“Leo, wait,” Mac called after him. “Leo. You know you need me, right? You’ll be back.” He paused. “Leo!”

Leo didn’t stop until he reached the bottom of the stairwell. He glanced upward over his shoulder and listened. To his relief, he didn’t see or hear anything or anyone. If Mac had followed him out of the apartment, he wasn’t sure what he’d have done. His heart and head were all over the place. Three years. Three fucking years he’d just walked away from. Where had they gone wrong? Deflated, he sat on the bottom step. Was it him? Was he unlovable?

This was all Mac’s fault. Leo needed to remember that. So maybe he wouldn’t win any prizes for being the perfect boyfriend, because who the hell was perfect, but he had never lied to or cheated on Mac. Hell, if anything, he could be accused of trying too hard. With a sigh, he gazed out the apartment building’s doors. Through the glass he could see it was snowing again. Shivering, he rubbed at his chest. He felt like there was a block of ice clamped on either side of his heart, painfully squeezing the organ. Could someone die from a broken heart? Pressing his palm flat, he felt the gentle thump of his heartbeat.

Not completely broken.

The pulse beneath his hand reminded him there were worse things that could have happened to him today, not many, considering how he felt right now, but there were certainly some. A door opened and closed above him, and he heard voices on the stairs. The voices were female, and Leo guessed they belonged to Mac’s neighbors, a mother and daughter who lived across the hall.

He eyed the entrance. He couldn’t sit here all day, despite the sudden urge to curl into a ball and be damned with everything. He was only supposed to be on his lunch break, and he’d already spent a good amount of time
thoughtfully
selecting his ex-lover the perfect sandwich and standing in line for his salted caramel mocha.
Ex-lover
. That sounded pretty damn final.

I should have taken back the damn sandwich.

He blew out a heavy breath and got to his feet. He’d save the self-pity for the evening and have a full-on Bridget-Jones moment with a tub of ice cream and a breakup playlist. He straightened his tie. Not really his style. More likely popcorn and horror movies. As much as he’d love to see Mac chopped up into little pieces right now, it was never going to happen.

I’d never get away with it
. He sniffed a laugh. Watching Freddy or Jason hack up a few people might help a bit, he figured. He sighed. He needed to get a grip, get back to the office, and hope to God nobody asked him how Mac was doing.

Fastening the button on his suit jacket, Leo prepared himself for the rush of cold. He pushed open the door to the block and stepped outside. Fresh air swirled around him, and he took a moment to appreciate how invigorating the sensation was. Breathing deeply, he stood tall. Despite the solid feeling still lingering inside his chest, he felt somewhat comforted by the chilled world before him. He rubbed at his chest and took the three steps down to the sidewalk. There he stopped as a cold shiver worked its way up his spine toward his collar and beneath his hairline. It was a strange feeling, but one he welcomed. For some reason, it felt right.

People walked past him, wrapped in their warm coats, hats, gloves, and scarves as they hurried through the snow. A gust of wind caused the white flakes to twist and turn, and Leo narrowed his eyes as a flash of blue spiraled in front of him. Rubbing his eyes, he dismissed the spark of color. He was tired, but he still had lots to do back at the office. If he could, he’d have ditched the presentation in favor of something else, but as it was, not only was the presentation important to Mac, Leo’s future at Harding’s Toys also rested on it.

He glanced up and down the sidewalk and settled his gaze on a man walking toward him. The man stood out from the other people on the street. He didn’t rush like the people around him, who looked as if they were running from the cold in search of a hiding place. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it. He wore a short coat open over a pale blue shirt and dark jeans. His skin was fair, even more so set against his dark hair, and softened by the trimmed growth across his jaw. Something familiar leapt in Leo’s chest, but he was sure he had never seen the man before. He watched as blue spirals seemed to dance around the man, then their eyes met ever so briefly.

Clearly, Leo was imagining things, because the icy cold that had gripped his heart since leaving Mac’s apartment made way for sparks of heat. This didn’t happen to him, not like this. Sure he’d ogled plenty of handsome men, some had been downright fuckable, but never had a reaction been so strong to a simple stranger on the street. He was well and truly in lust.

A smile curled the man’s full mouth, and he looked over his shoulder. Leo’s attention was drawn beyond the man as someone seemingly slipped in the snow. The man’s smile widened as a second person fell on their ass behind him, then a third. Others stopped to help the fallen people, but all the man did was simply glance at Leo as he passed him. Intrigued, Leo stepped out. What happened next was a blur as his feet slipped from under him and he fell forward. His head hit the ground and all he remembered thinking was how shitty his day was turning out.

Chapter 3

“Hey, are you okay?”

Leo cradled his head and leaned back. He wasn’t sure how, but he was sitting on the cold ground with the building behind him. Blinking, he tried to focus, but all he saw was white blotted with blue.

“What happened?” he said. He rubbed his eyes, then touched his forehead. He hissed as he caught an open cut on his brow.

“You hit your head,” someone told him.

Leo blinked rapidly to clear his vision. He looked up, surprised to see the gorgeous dark-haired man from before. The man was even more amazing up-close, edged by the soft clouding of Leo’s gaze. Leo looked into the man’s bright blue eyes.
Wow, so blue, so very gorgeous.

“I’m so concussed.”

The guy raised one of his neat, dark eyebrows, and Leo got embarrassed. He’d never meant to say that out loud.
Oh God, did I say anything else?

“Do you want me to call somebody for you? Family? A friend?” There was a flash of concern in the man’s eyes.

Leo shook his head and quickly regretted it as he suffered a burst of dizziness. “I have to get back to work,” he said. He patted each of his pockets until he found a tissue. He briefly pressed the tissue to his head, then looked at it. “Okay, so that’s quite a lot of blood.” He felt a little faint. He’d never really been all that good around blood.

The man leaned a little closer and took the tissue from Leo, covering the wound again. “Head wounds do bleed a lot. They’re often not as bad as they look.” He wiped at Leo’s head, causing him to let out a muted gasp. “Doesn’t look like you’ll need stitches, and I can’t see any skull or brain.” He grinned. “Keep pressure on it for ten, fifteen minutes.”

“Are you a doctor?” Leo asked.

The man smiled. “No.”

Leo gave a slow nod. His hero seemed a little too comfortable around blood. He considered asking what line of work the man was in, but was distracted by a twinge of pain. Uncomfortably, he shifted on the ground. His ass was wet and cold, though he seemed to be sitting on something. He curled his fingers around the edge of the material and then looked back at the man who was wearing a blue shirt and nothing else.