Marie Sexton - Coda 05 - Paris A to Z (7 page)

Cole wasnt quite as familiar with Ang as he had been with Jared— he didnt kiss him, at least. But he did stand awfully close. He put one arm around Angelos waist and whispered something in his ear that made him laugh.
“How can that
not
drive you nuts?” Matt asked me through clenched teeth.
But watching Cole and Angelo now was nothing like the first time theyd met, back at Matt and Jareds house, more than two years before. Back then, the sexual tension between them had been strong. Id almost felt like I could
see it
crackling between them. The entire room felt charged, and everybody around them seemed a bit on edge, although I suspected none of them knew why.
But now, it was completely gone. Yes, Cole was apparently incredibly flirtatious, and Angelo didnt seem to feel inclined to dissuade him. But when I looked at Angelo, I could tell that he felt nothing for Cole beyond a friendly curiosity. I could tell by the look in his eyes and by the way he responded to Coles flirting by touching him yet never leaning into him. He didnt desire him anymore.
“Come on,” I said, grabbing Matts arm. “Lets go get settled in.”
We rounded up Jared and Ang and headed for our rooms, with Cole calling after us that he knew we were probably starving (and he was right) so to meet back downstairs in an hour, and hed take us all out for an early lunch.
The ride in the elevator was deathly silent. Matt glared at Jared, but didnt say a word, and Jared grinned playfully back at him. There wasnt a doubt in my mind they were either going to be fighting or fucking in five minutes flat. I hoped for their sake it was the latter.

I
WAS
trying not to be absolutely furious, and I was definitely failing. Id made an effort over the last few weeks to overcome my
reservations about the trip. Yes, Id probably miss the Super Bowl. Yes,

Id have to watch a wedding between two people I could barely stand. But it was a free trip to Paris with my partner and my best friend. Cole was no threat to me. I told myself that over and over. I tried to be rational instead of letting my emotions take over.

But seeing Cole and Jared together in the lobby had destroyed any attempt at rationality. It made me livid. It didnt help that Jared was grinning at me like it was all a game. It also didnt help that Zach and Angelo were on the other side of the elevator, not looking at me, doing their best to pretend like they had no idea what was going on.

They all thought I was being a fool, and on some level, I knew they were right. But it didnt change the fact that I could not stand to see Cole with Jared. I hated to think about all of the times theyd been together. And I
really
hated to see them touching.

Zach and Angelos room was in the opposite direction, so we parted ways after leaving the elevator. I followed Jared to our room. It was a suite. It was overdecorated and ridiculously ornate, and it only seemed to underline the fact that I was horrifically out of place.

The bellboy had already brought our bags up and left them in our room. I felt like Id been wearing the same clothes for ages, and I was dying for a shower. On the other hand, I knew Jared was probably thinking the exact same thing. I figured Id let him go first because I certainly wasnt in the mood to shower together.

“Im glad you find it so amusing.”
“Come on, Matt,” he chided. “This is supposed to be fun.” “Watching Cole put his hands all over you isnt my definition of

He was down to only his boxers, and he stepped up close to me and started to unbutton my pants, grinning up at me as he did. “Are you going to be jealous like this all week?”

He slid his hand into my pants, and I did my best to ignore him. I didnt completely succeed, but I was still mad, and I was determined to not let him distract me. “Cole and I have known each other a long time—”

“I
know
.”
“So what makes you think that
now
, after all these years, were suddenly going to become more than friends? Hes getting
married
, Matt.” His hand was still moving on me, and although I wanted to stay angry, there were other parts of my body that werent so resolved. “I love you. Not him. Do you really think thats going to suddenly change?”
Did I? No, not really. It wasnt that I thought Jared wanted Cole instead of me. It was the fact that Cole had already
had
Jared. It was their history together that drove me nuts. I had to force my words out through clenched teeth. “I cant give you anything you havent already had with him.”
That surprised him enough that his hand quit moving. He blinked up at me in confusion. “Is that really what you think?”
“Youre the one who keeps pointing out how long youve known each other! It drives me nuts to think that everything we do, you did with him first!”
He absorbed that for a minute, and then I saw a wicked glint appear in his eyes. A playful grin spread slowly across his face. “Not everything,” he said as he kissed me. He pulled off my shirt and started to push my pants down over my hips. “There are lots of things I never did with him,” he said. “Let me tell you all the things I never did with him. Ive never been mountain biking with him. Ive never shared a sleeping bag with

him.” And as he talked, he continued to undress me, his hands moving everywhere, his lips finding mine between sentences. “Ive never been camping with him. Ive never been geo-caching with him.” He nipped at my earlobe, and one of his hands went back to my groin. “Ive never lived with him. We may have had sex, but we were never lovers. I never fell asleep in his arms. I never woke up to him kissing the back of my neck or pulling my hair.”
My resolution to stay mad was fading. Partly it was him; his hard, lean body against mine, and his hands moving exactly right. It was his lips on mine, and the way he used his teeth when he was being aggressive. It was the smell of his coarse curls and the low, soft sounds he made when I finally started to touch him back.
But more than any of that, it was his words. He was reminding me why we were so good together, all the reasons wed been friends long before we were lovers, all the reason his friendship with Cole had never grown into anything like what we had.
“Ive never been to a football game with him,” he said as he pulled me toward the bed. He laughed as he thought about what hed just said. “In fact, Ive never even
watched
a football game with him. He thinks its „vulgar and brutish and horribly dull, darling.” And even I had to laugh at that as he pushed me back onto the bed. He went to the suitcase and pulled out the lube. He dropped his boxers and climbed on top of me. His hand slid down my length, covering me with lube. We had anal sex a bit more often since the Vegas trip, but I still only topped this way, on my back, with him straddling me. “Topping from the bottom” Jared always called it, and he found it funny.
His blue eyes were piercing as he looked down into mine. “You know what else Ive never done with him?”
“What?”
“This,” he said, and he pushed himself down onto me. He was so tight and so warm, and I moaned as he began to move on me. He leaned over as he did and talked softly into my ear. “Ive never bottomed with him. Not even once.” His tone was teasing, but breathless too. “Does it matter knowing I always topped?”
Whether the argument was rational or not, I certainly couldnt judge