Maybe This Time Page 7

  “Let me just….” Ryan half sat up and kicked his jeans and boxers off his feet. They hit the floor with a thunk. “There, that’s better.” He settled back down on the bed. “Where were we?”

  “About here.” Matt put his hand back on Ryan’s thigh and leant in to kiss him.

  Shuffling a little closer, Ryan reached down between them and got a hand around both of them. Matt dug his fingers into Ryan’s thigh and kissed him harder, teasing him with his tongue until Ryan pulled away, breathing hard.

  His hand worked slowly up and down, and Matt closed his eyes for a second, enjoying the feel of someone else touching him. It hadn’t exactly been ages since he’d had sex, but long enough. He met Ryan’s gaze, his brown eyes looking almost black now. “What do you want?”

  Ryan licked his bottom lip and drew it slowly into his mouth. He tightened his grip too, and Matt’s eyes fluttered closed on a moan. “You mean this isn’t doing it for you?”

  When his thumb traced over the head of Matt’s cock, Matt gasped out a laugh. “You know it is, but….” Ryan did it again.

  “But?”

  But what? Ryan stroked them a little faster, harder, and Matt kissed him again. He could easily get off doing this, and it was getting to the point where he didn’t want to move. “Nothing,” he muttered and began to thrust into Ryan’s fist with little jerks of his hips.

  “How about this?” Ryan let go and scooted back.

  Matt’s cry of protest died on his lips as Ryan shifted around until his head was level with Matt’s cock, and his dick was invitingly close to his mouth. Smiling, Matt reached for him, wrapping his hand around Ryan’s length and bringing it close enough so the tip brushed against his lips. “This works too.”

  “Thought it might.”

  Any witty comeback Matt might have had disappeared the second Ryan’s mouth closed around him. Wet warmth enveloped the head of his cock, and Ryan tongued at his foreskin. A little insistent nudge of Ryan’s hips reminded him of what he should be doing, and he opened his mouth wide, returning the favour.

  Matt closed his eyes and revelled in the heavy weight of Ryan’s cock on his tongue as he sucked him deep and then slowly drew back. He cupped Ryan’s sack, squeezing gently, then slid his fingers further back, pressing down as he went. Ryan clutched at Matt’s arse cheeks and moaned around him, the vibrations making Matt’s balls draw up. Fuck, he was going to come, and so was Ryan by the feel of him.

  He briefly thought, I should probably pull off, but then Ryan’s cock pulsed in his mouth. As the first lot of his release hit the back of Matt’s throat, Matt’s orgasm rushed through him, and he thrust forward. A little too hard judging by the way Ryan’s hand flew to his hip to stop him. He choked a little but didn’t push Matt away, swallowing around him until there was nothing left to take.

  Flopping onto his back, Matt patted absently at Ryan’s thigh. “Sorry.” He glanced down to find Ryan’s eyes closed, his mouth slightly open, but a smile curving his lips.

  “’S fine. Don’t worry about it.” He waved a hand about in some sort of gesture, then let it fall back onto the bed without saying anything else.

  Matt yawned, his jaw cracking loudly. God, he suddenly felt tired. A night at the pub and an orgasm appeared to be his limit tonight. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Matt knew he should probably ask Ryan to leave—he didn’t exactly have far to go—but he couldn’t be arsed to get up and lock the door after him.

  After shuffling up the bed until his head hit the pillow, Matt then grabbed Ryan’s leg and shook it. “Get up here. I’m not sleeping next to your feet all night.” He gave him another shake until Ryan groaned and batted at his hand, but it had the desired effect, and a few seconds later, Ryan lay down next to him.

  It didn’t take long for their bodies to cool down, and Matt still had enough awareness to nudge Ryan and get him to help tug the quilt out from underneath them. He mumbled goodnight, or at least he thought he did, hoping he wouldn’t regret letting Ryan stay the night, then fell asleep.

  Chapter Seven

  Ryan woke with a desperate urge to piss. It wasn’t until he opened his eyes and focused on unfamiliar surroundings that he remembered where he was.

  Shit.

  He scrubbed a hand over his face, trying to wake up a bit more, before daring to look over his shoulder at the other side of the bed. Yep. There was Matt, fast asleep on his side facing Ryan. Pillow creases marked his cheek, as though he’d just turned over, and his silver-grey hair lay flatter on that side.

  Ryan lay still, taking the time to get a good look at him. Asleep, Matt seemed younger, less serious. On closer inspection—hair aside—he didn’t appear all that much older than Ryan. Late thirties, maybe? Oh, wait… thirty-eight. That was what he’d said at his mum’s if Ryan remembered correctly. So, eight years, then.

  Not a huge age difference by any means, but Ryan tended to stick to guys around his own age. His gaze drifted down to Matt’s mouth—full lips slightly parted and ever so tempting. He was already leaning forward for a quick kiss before he realised what he was about to do and stopped himself.

  Is that allowed? Random hook-ups weren’t particularly Ryan’s thing, well, not ones where you stayed the night, anyway. But then again, Matt wasn’t all that random, seeing as they lived in the same building. Ugh.

  He got up to go to the toilet and buy some time. Maybe Matt would be awake when he got back.

  Will that be a good thing or not?

  Whatever, he needed the loo. Since Matt’s flat was the same layout as his, he had no trouble finding it and was back in the bedroom far too quickly. He stood in the doorway, debating whether to get dressed and leave or slide back in bed. What time is it, anyway?

  Spotting his jeans and boxers in a heap on the floor, Ryan crouched down and fished his phone out of one of the pockets. Five thirty-five. Early still. He slipped his phone back in, then untangled his underwear and pulled them on. It felt wrong to be standing around naked. Glancing at the bed again, he weighed his options. Leave now and avoid awkwardness, but possibly move it until their next meeting, or slip back in bed for another few hours and deal with it when they woke up?

  Leaving now was by far the easier option.

  Josh was at Ryan’s flat, quite possibly in his bed since Ryan wasn’t using it. He’d let him in last night before coming up to Matt’s and—Oh shit, did I bring my keys? A quick pat of his jeans revealed no keys there, so he quietly padded out into the hall where his jacket hung and checked the pockets.

  Nothing.

  Bollocks.

  Ryan shivered in the hallway as he stood there contemplating what to do. No way was he banging on the door at this hour trying to rouse Josh and possibly the rest of his neighbours. He could call him though.

  Returning to the bedroom for his phone, he called Josh’s number as he went back out into the hall. It rang and rang and then went to voicemail. Bastard probably had it on silent. Another shiver ran through him, and with a resigned sigh, Ryan walked back into Matt’s bedroom. Out of options, he set his phone on the bedside table and snuck under the quilt, feeling far too wide awake to fall back asleep.

  Or so he’d thought.

  The warmth of the bed seeped into his bones, and Ryan yawned. Maybe he could manage a couple of hours more. He closed his eyes, turned on his side, and hoped for the best.

  The next time Ryan woke, it was to a hand on his cock and a warm firm body pressed against his back. He pushed into it a little, humming in satisfaction when his arse met with Matt’s erection.

  “This okay?” Matt whispered, hot breath tickling Ryan’s ear. “Figured you wouldn’t mind since you were still here.”

  “’S good. Don’t stop.”

  Matt’s huff of laughter made him smile. “Wasn’t planning on it.” He pushed Ryan’s boxers down his thighs and out of the way, his cock now nestling in between Ryan’s cheeks. “Better.”

  “Yeah.” Thank God I forgot my keys.

  Ryan closed his eye
s and let Matt do all the work. He didn’t seem to mind if his gasped breaths and stuttered movements were anything to go by, and soon enough his hand tightened around Ryan as his body stilled, and a warm wetness coated Ryan’s lower back.

  “Fuck,” Matt whispered, resting his forehead against Ryan’s shoulder. “Just give me a minute.”

  “Mhmm.” Ryan couldn’t resist thrusting his hips, and Matt obligingly loosened his grip a little so Ryan could fuck up into his fist.

  A few seconds later, Matt let go, only to put his hand back again this time slick with come.

  Oh God.

  With his cock sliding easily through Matt’s tight grip, it didn’t take long before Ryan was clutching the sheets and seconds from coming. He quickly shuffled onto his back and pushed the quilt down to avoid making a mess of Matt’s bed. One more thrust up and that was it. Stickiness coated Ryan’s belly, and he relaxed into the mattress with a muttered curse.

  “Morning.”

  When Ryan turned his head, Matt was watching him with half-lidded eyes and a small smile in place. “Morning.” Ryan grinned. “So, not the awkward morning after I was expecting.” And he hoped he hadn’t made it awkward by mentioning it. For fuck’s sake.

  Matt shrugged one shoulder and smiled. No, then. Phew. “It would seem not.”

  Saying that though, Ryan should probably be heading back to his own place soon. His stomach was starting to growl, and despite the easy mood they had going, the prospect of breakfast would probably ruin that. This wasn’t a date, and Ryan’s place was only a flight of stairs away. He reached for his phone to check the time. Eight forty-five. A perfectly reasonable hour to go wake up Josh.

  After snagging a few tissues from the box by the bed, Ryan wiped up the mess on his belly, then sat up and stretched. He glanced over his shoulder at where Matt still lay. “I should get going.”

  “Busy day?”

  “Yeah.”

  Matt raised an eyebrow as though he maybe didn’t believe him.

  “I need to feed Josh to make up for ditching him last night, and I’m going to my mum’s for Sunday lunch later. Might go round earlier and help her in the garden for a bit first.” He gestured to what he could see of the weather out of Matt’s window. “Looks as though it’s going to be a nice day.”

  Matt glanced at the window. “Yeah. Think I’ll go for a run.” He yawned and stretched, and Ryan took that as his cue to get up and get dressed.

  Once he was decent, Ryan stood and nodded in the direction of the front door. “I’ll be off then.”

  “I’ll come see you out.” Matt snagged his pyjama bottoms from the floor, pulled them on, and then followed Ryan out into the hall.

  Ryan stopped to slip his shoes on and grab his jacket, while Matt waited for him. He straightened up and met Matt’s gaze. Would it get awkward now?

  “Thanks for last night.” Matt stepped closer, cupped Ryan’s face, and gave him a lingering kiss before moving away again.

  Ryan’s smile came easily. “My pleasure.” He opened the door, waved over his shoulder, and headed down the stairs to his flat feeling relaxed, happy, and surprisingly not awkward at all.

  Josh answered the door after the third round of knocking. Admittedly, the first two hadn’t been particularly loud; not everyone was up before nine-fifteen on a Sunday. After giving Ryan a thorough once over, he grinned and stood back to let him inside. “Good night, then?”

  “Yep.” Ryan headed to the kitchen and the kettle, dying for a cuppa. “Good morning, too.”

  “Ooh, get you!” Josh stood next to Ryan and nudged shoulders.

  Ryan tried to act nonchalant but failed, his smile refusing to be suppressed. He nodded at the kettle. “Want one?”

  “Yeah, please.” Josh fetched two mugs out of the cupboard and handed them to him. “Seeing him again?”

  “Nope. Just a one off.”

  “And you’re okay with that?” Josh sounded sceptical and with good reason, considering Ryan usually jumped into relationships with both feet.

  “Yeah. I mean, I liked him, and it’d be nice to get a repeat performance, but I knew going into it that it was a one-time thing, so….” Okay so maybe a tiny bit of him had harboured the idea that Matt might change his mind and ask for his number, but on the whole, he was fine with it only being last night.

  “Okay, then. Good.”

  But as he poured out two teas, Ryan couldn’t help but add, “It’s not like I don’t know where he lives. We’re bound to bump into each other again, so who knows….”

  Josh screwed up the tea towel off the counter and threw it at him. “Fucking hopeless.”

  “What? I was just saying—”

  “I know what you were just saying.” He shook his head, muttering, “It’s like Neal all over again.”

  Ryan finished off the teas and pushed one towards Josh, frowning. “That was totally different.”

  “Mhmm.”

  “Anyway, I don’t want to talk about Neal. What’ve you got planned for today?”

  “Nothing much.” Josh played with the handle of his mug, a smile tugging at his mouth. “Why? You going to your mum’s for Sunday lunch?”

  “Might be.” Ryan laughed as Josh’s face lit up. With his own family living up north in Mansfield now, he rarely got to see them. Ryan’s mum always told him to bring Josh whenever he liked. She had a big soft spot for him. “Want to come?”

  “Yes. Of course,” he said and rubbed his hands together. “Like I’d pass up the chance to eat your mum’s roast dinner.” He looked at Ryan as though he was mad. “What time you leaving?”

  “In an hour or so. Thought I’d do some work on her garden first. It’s not had much attention since Dad died.” Over twelve months later, it still felt odd to say those words. He couldn’t imagine how his mum felt.

  Josh nudged Ryan’s foot with his. “Want some help? I just need to have a quick shower and get changed.”

  Ryan smiled at him, grateful for the offer. “Yeah, that’d be great.”

  They arrived at Ryan’s mum’s house just after eleven. Her two-bedroom bungalow sat at the top of a cul-de-sac on the outskirts of the village. Most of the homes on the street belonged to other retired couples, and Ryan waved at the next-door neighbours as he pulled onto the drive. His mum came out to meet them, and she stood on the driveway, eyebrows drawn together as she looked around the front garden.

  Ryan followed her gaze. The lawn looked okay; he’d cut it before he’d left. He’d also done some weeding along the flowerbeds, though not much because the weather the last few weekends had been awful. It was sadly lacking in the colourful flowers he was used to seeing, and guilt flooded him. He should have done more while he was living here.

  “Hey Mrs B.” Josh walked up to her and gave her a big hug and a kiss, making her laugh and Ryan smile. Thank God for Josh.

  She slapped him lightly on the arm when he let her go. “It’s Pauline. We’ve been through this far too many times to count.”

  Josh grinned at her. “Sorry, Pauline. Force of habit.”

  Sombre mood apparently forgotten, she rolled her eyes but smiled as she ushered them both inside. “You’re a bit earlier than I was expecting. Dinner won’t be ready for a couple of hours yet. Cup of tea?”

  They both said, “Yes, please,” and she turned to switch the kettle on and get mugs out.

  Ryan passed her the teabags from the cupboard. “We’re going to tidy up the back garden a bit. Then I can take you to the garden centre to pick up some new plants. Either in the week or next weekend?”

  She shot him a wry smile. “I’m not totally useless yet, you know. I can drive myself places.”

  “I know you can, I just thought—” He didn’t want her to go on her own because going to the garden centre was something she used to do with his dad.

  “That would be lovely, thank you.”

  Ryan got the feeling she was humouring him. Maybe he coddled her too much? She’d always been the more independent one out of
his parents. “Okay, well let’s see how much we can get done today.”

  “Boys!” his mum called from inside the back door. Ryan stopped what he was doing and looked up. “Dinner’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.”

  Ryan smiled. “Awesome, I’m starving.” He glanced over at Josh, who was already taking his gloves off. “We’ll put this lot away and come and get cleaned up.”

  She gave them a wave and disappeared back inside.

  Turning back to Josh, he said, “You about done?”

  Josh nodded and wiped at his forehead. “Yeah.” Thankfully their bit of the garden still had a little shade, though not for much longer. The day was warm though, and they’d both worked up a sweat.

  They’d managed to clear all of the flowerbed at the back of the garden and mow the lawn. The bits down the side still needed sorting and the hedge could do with a trim, but on the whole, it looked great. So much better.

  Ryan helped Josh carry all the tools into the garage. “Thanks for coming today. I’d never have got this much done on my own.”

  Josh clapped him on the shoulder. “Anytime. Just ask.” He put the fork back in its place and the gloves on the shelf above. “How’s your mum doing, now you’ve moved out?”

  “Okay, I think? She says it’s nice not to have to clean up my mess anymore.” Ryan sighed. “But I don’t know. I talked to Rob about taking her out for lunch or something every week or fortnight. But I don’t want her to think we’re worried about her or anything. You know how stubborn and funny she gets about stuff like that.”

  Josh laughed. “Mhmm. She’s not the only one.”

  Ryan gave him a friendly shove. “Get lost. I’m not like that.”

  “’Course you’re not.” He danced out of the way as Ryan went to shove him again. “Come on, I want to grab a quick shower before lunch.” He pretended to sniff Ryan and grimaced. “You should too.”

  They bickered all the way to the back door, only stopping when his mum told them not to behave like children and hurry up.

  Showered and dressed in clean shorts and T-shirts, they helped dish out dinner and then sat down at the kitchen table. The dining room held too many memories, and neither he nor his mum could face sitting there looking at the empty chair where his dad used to sit. The kitchen was cosy anyway—light and airy and with a nice view over the back garden.