AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You are too wasted to know what you want right now.” Robby dropped his arms, suddenly looking very tired, his Oxford shirt uncharacteristically rumpled. “You told me yourself, you ruined your only other friendship by letting it go somewhere you knew it shouldn’t. What if you wake up in the morning and regret this? What if you can’t look me in the eye because I was too selfish to stop you?”
“I wouldn’t—”
“I willnottake you without consent!” Robby roared. A vein bulged at his neck against the skin still slightly red from his kisses.
Matt had never seen Robby angry before. This went even beyond anger. It was outrage…and as effective in killing his libido as a bucket of ice water. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Please don’t be mad.”
The contorted expression on Robby’s face fell away, leaving something somber behind. “I’m not…mad. This is important, though. I won’t compromise our friendship over something you might regret. And even more importantly, I would never risk making you feel used or violated.” Robby raked back his hair as it fell into his eyes. “You matter to me. If this is something you still want tomorrow, we’ll have a different kind of conversation. If not, well, I hope you can forgive me for not stopping you sooner.”
Robby pulled his shoulders back and walked ramrod straight out of the apartment.
Matt stared at the door as it closed with a snick.
His lips still tingled from Robby’s kiss; his galloping heart gave no sign of slowing down. Lust—real, actual lust—coursed through his veins, and it occurred to him he might experience blue balls tonight for the very first time.
Though his thoughts threatened to scatter on the wind, he tried to make sense of what just happened. The need and desire screaming for satisfaction, Robby had felt it too. He was sure of it. The intensity of their kiss left no room for doubt.
It was getting harder to stay on his feet with the world spinning so hard. He leaned against the arm of the sofa, only to tip over the side, his butt in the air and his face smooshed between two cushions. The position was crazy-uncomfortable, but he couldn’t find the energy to move, beyond turning his head to face the open air of the living room.
He’d take all this apart tomorrow and examine it. For now, he just needed to sleep.
He closed his eyes just as his stomach roiled then violently rejected everything he’d eaten—or drunk—in the past twenty-four hours. The only small mercy was that most of it went on the floor.
Chapter SIXTEEN
Robby
Robby’s eyes burned as he stared at the text Xander sent him a minute ago.
Xander: Matt out sick today.
There was no chance he would cry. He wasn’t sure he even could these days. The burning in his eyes just meant he’d gone too long without blinking.
Sending back a thumbs up emoji acknowledgement, he shoved the phone back into his pocket. Anxiety latched its cold fingers into his chest, and he rubbed at his sternum as if it might help release the icy hold.
Matt had never called out sick. Not once in more than a year. He knew for a fact the man had come to work with bronchitis and even the flu once. Xander told him he’d tried to send Matt home those days, but it always came down to money. Matt insisted he needed it to take care of his kid.
But today? The day after he had slipped a tongue in the guy’s mouth? The day after he’d pressed his erection against Matt’s own?Todaythings were bad enough to risk losing eight hours’ pay.
He tapped his clipboard against his forehead.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!
Why had he let himself indulge in their kiss?
Matt had made it crystal clear he wanted to be friends. He needed time to figure out his feelings. Even worse, he’d crossed a line with his baby’s mama once, and it had destroyed a friendship he’d had for years. Any bond Robby had with him was in its infancy. No way it could survive the same kind of regret.
He paced the confines of the small construction trailer.
What had happened last night wasn’t nearly as catastrophic as what went down with Matt’s old BFF. After all, those two had gone fully horizontal. Still, he’d agreed to honor Matt’s boundaries, then crashed right through them.
What should he do? How could he know whether to trust the attraction he felt burning between them?
***
Matt
Robby wasn’t at the work site when Matt arrived Friday, and there was no sign of him at lunch or in the hours afterward. Even though Matt wasn’t sure what he’d say when they came face-to-face. He just knew they needed to talk.
