Page 56 of In the Frame

“Okay.”

Fuck. I’m fucking this up. Noah would totally ream me out right now, but it’s like someone else’s legs carry me through Florian’s house with its too-bare walls. Like, say something. But my mouth’s gone dry, and it feels like it’s packed with sand or something, muffling me.

In the entry, Florian gets my coat while I stand there, watching him, unmoving as I stand beside my shoes. When he turns back to me, his gaze is curious.

“Florian?” I whisper.

“Yes?”

“What if… what if I don’t want to go? Not yet. Even… if this is all fake. Especially because this is all fake.” Somehow, I manage to get the words out. Mostly coherent words. Points for me.

Florian nods slowly, a glimmer in his eyes, something open in his expression. “I was hoping you might stay longer⁠—”

And then, I step closer toward him, as though I’m daring him to touch me. We lean in, and next thing I know, our mouths meet in a lingering kiss. He slides his arms around me to draw me close to the warmth of his chest, where I swear I can feel his heart thundering as wildly as mine. Florian’s lips are on fire against mine. His fingers are in my hair, and I shudder, tingling down my spine. The kiss is slow and deep, his tongue finding mine while blood rushes in my ears, and I don’t want this moment to end. These slow kisses. The way we savor each other, which feels far beyond fake.

Finally, Florian straightens and gazes at me. “Stay,” he murmurs. “Please, Matty.”

The way he says my name makes me shiver again, the yearning in his voice.

I nod and kiss him again. This time, he cups my face between his hands. Our kisses continue, deep and slow, like time is a worry for other people. Before long, I’m breathing hard, and parts further down are very invested in this situation.

“Yes,” I say at last as we straighten. “I’ll stay.”

“I was hoping all along you would.” A broad smile stretches over Florian’s very kissable mouth. “Besides, I never gave you the tour I promised,” he says coyly, taking my hand.

“I’m not sure where this falls in the fake dating rulebook. Practice?”

“Yes. For one more event.”

And then our arrangement’s over. If it’s going to be over soon, what’s one more hookup? It’s totally reasonable. Then he’ll go on being corporate, and I’ll go on doing whatever it is I’m trying to do. Paint, but it feels like a lifetime ago since I left Brighton.

I let Florian guide me back inside his flat. This time, we continue along the ground floor. “The bedrooms and my office are down the hall. The main reception room is above us.”

“I would,” I whisper, “be very interested in seeing the bedroom.”

Florian laughs, leading the way.

We step inside his dramatic bedroom with its high ceilings and midnight-blue walls and wooden shutters over the windows. There’s a set of sleek wardrobes along one wall, with a suit on a hanger over a door. His king-size bed has dark sheets.

Pausing, I turn to him to search his eyes. I hesitate. He waits. “I… I liked it very much last time. But could we go slower this time?”

“Of course,” he murmurs, “anything you want. Show me.”

The first thing I show him is that I’m ready for more kisses, and we continue, fumbling with the buttons of each other’s shirts. Eventually, I walk backward to the bed and pull Florian down with me.

He kisses my jaw, and I shudder with longing, running my hands over the planes of his shoulders. “Like that?”

“Oh yes.”

Florian laughs, continuing, and he teasingly kisses along my throat, the whisper of his breath along my skin. “And that?”

“Fuck yes.”

He lifts his head long enough to grin down at me where I’m sprawled on my back. His shirt hangs open, and I push it off his shoulders. Florian tosses it aside, and I admire his toned physique. He takes his time, kissing his way along my body, my chest. With his tongue, he teases my nipples ’til I writhe, burying my fingers in his hair.

“Oh God—more.”

Florian chuckles and continues, his mouth burning, to work his way with agonizing slowness to my cock. He unfastens my belt and my jeans, smiling when he realizes how hard I am for him. “Very interesting.”