Page 52 of Over the Line

By some miracle—or through Garrett’s impressive self-control—we made it into the foyer.

As he leaned down to put on his shoes, though, he paused. Straightening, he faced me, worry pulling at his features. “Uh, one more thing.”

My stomach knotted. “Okay?”

He hesitated, then took a deep breath. “It goes without saying that I don’t want Chris to know about this. Not now. But also—he doesn’t know about me. That I’m, uh…”

“That you’re bi?”

Garrett nodded.

“I won’t out you,” I said solemnly. “No way.”

“I didn’t think you would. You’re not—I didn’t—I’m sorry, I⁠—”

“Garrett.” I stepped closer and touched his face. “You don’t want me to let it slip. I understand. It’s okay.”

He searched my eyes, and slowly, the tension eased. “Thank you. I do plan to come out to him at some point, but… I don’t know. Maybe I’m a coward.”

“You’re not a coward. I got the impression things were, um, rocky between you and him for a while. I don’t want to make that worse.”

Garrett winced. “‘Rocky’ is an understatement, to be honest.”

I was still curious, but I didn’t ask.

He covered my hand on his face as he leaned in to kiss me. It was a light kiss, but it did nothing to galvanize my decision to back off tonight.

“We’ll talk soon,” he murmured as he drew back.

It took all I had not to chase him for one more kiss. “Yeah.” I swept my tongue across my lips, pretending not to notice the way he watched. “We’ll talk soon.”

Our eyes locked. The temptation for another kiss bordered on irresistible. Somehow, he managed to back away, and I unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door. The gust of December air cooled me off a little, though it didn’t do much for that tingle on my lips.

The smartest thing we did all night was letting him leave without exchanging another word. Because if one of us did, I had no doubt we’d end up getting carried away.

Exactly as carried away as I ached to get with him.

He did glance back when he reached the edge of the porch, and he smiled, but still, neither of us spoke.

Then he got into his car, and as he started the engine, I closed the door.

Leaning against it, I listened to his car disappearing down my driveway. When there was nothing left but silence, I cursed under my breath and rubbed my forehead with the heels of my hands. I was horny beyond words, frustrated as all hell that we weren’t going at it right the hell now, but I was calm too. Relieved that we hadn’t jumped into bed quite yet. I was hardly above going from the first kiss to the first orgasm in no time flat, but something told me to wait this time.

It wasn’t even because Garrett was my teammate’s dad. Not entirely, anyway. That reluctance and guilt were still present and accounted for, as were all the aches and pains that had been driving me nuts all day.

What had me holding back this time felt like something else. Something I’d never felt before with a man. It reminded me a little of approaching a nervous animal, making every move and taking every step slowly and cautiously for fear of spooking it. We were two grown men who obviously wanted each other, but I was sure on some level that if we took a wrong step—took a step too big or too fast—this whole thing would vanish like a rabbit darting into the woods.

I had no idea if there was anything here beyond chemistry. If Garrett and I would screw a few times and then move on, or if this was the beginning of something with some staying power.

If it was just sexual, great. The way he kissed told me that sex with him would be fantastic, and it would absolutely be worth however long we ended up waiting.

If there was a chance of something else, though, I didn’t want to wreck it by rushing into bed. I couldn’t remember ever wanting to jump into bed with someone as much as I wanted to with Garrett. This strong pull to tap the brakes was definitely new, too.

Both at once? What a weird feeling.

The responsible adult in me insisted that after I’d jerked off and then slept, I’d be able to think more clearly and see that this was the right thing to do.

The responsible adult in me, though, was getting seriously drowned out by the lonely, frustrated man who’d invited Garrett over in the first place. The impulse to text him and say never mind, come back, was almost irresistible.