Fic: you kiss me like you want it, how rude (Generation Kill)

[impala_evolved]

Title: you kiss me like you want it, how rude
Pairing: Brad/Nate
Rated: Mature
Word Count: 5,519

Summary: After weeks of charged glances and purposeful flirting, Nate thinks he knows what Brad is after. So he propositions him.

A/N: Written for fandom5k. Title from the song mystical magical.

Fic on AO3



Nate was feeling anxious ahead of Ray's birthday party. He'd already made the decision to leave the Corps and he'd started the process of getting out, but he hadn't told anyone yet. Ray's birthday was the last time all of his guys were going to be together. It was the last time they would think of him as a fellow Marine.

But it wasn't just about that. Brad was going to be there.

In Iraq they saw each other constantly. Nate was grateful that he could always lean on Brad. He figured it couldn't always be that way. Surely they'd drift apart once they got back from deployment. But then they ended up doing a bunch of debriefs together. They'd been put on the same reduced schedule, and Brad was still required to check in with Nate every morning. They ran into each other at the on-base gym on the daily. And since they now had the same friend group, they were both invited to all the same summer birthday parties and housewarming parties and weddings.

In fact he'd seen Brad so much recently that the prospect of seeing him again really shouldn't have made his pulse race. But Nate couldn't really control that, just like he couldn't stop the clenching of his gut as he reached up to unlock the wooden gate to Ray's backyard.

Brad's head turned as the gate swung shut, and Nate was drawn to him like a magnet. His eyes were warm and focused as the hint of a smile lifted his mouth. Even though Brad had no claim over him, his eyes said otherwise. Nate felt hot all over just from that look.

He hastily looked away before his heart galloped right out of his chest, and looked around. He dropped Ray's birthday card off on a fold-out table where other gift bags had been deposited, and then waved at Ray.

"Happy birthday!" Nate called out. He carefully avoided running into two dogs and a small child in order to successfully cross the backyard and greet Ray.

"Glad you're here, Sir," Ray said, his cheeks already flushed from either alcohol or the California sun.

Nate shook his hand and gave him a hug with his free arm.

"Anything I can help with?"

"Maybe make sure Brad doesn't burn anything?" Ray gestured over to where Brad stood by the grill with a metal spatula in his hand. Now that Brad wasn't looking at him, Nate had the bandwith to notice he was wearing a green apron that said "kiss the cook" on over his tight t-shirt.

"Sure," Nate said, casual.

He hadn't been fishing for an excuse to make a beeline Brad, but now he had one. He grabbed a beer out of the nearest cooler and made his way over to the grill to stand next to Brad.

"How's the grilling going?" Nate asked.

"I'd say it's going infinitely better now that I can rely on your leadership," Brad said with a smirk as bumped his shoulder against Nate's.

"I'm going to pretend you aren't trying to insult me," Nate said with a performative roll of his eyes.

They'd never actually done anything beyond stare at each other a beat too long, and yet Brad was looking at him now like he knew exactly what Nate looked like naked. Goosebumps broke out on Nate's arm as he met Brad's obscene gaze and let the silence hang between them for a beat.

"You definitely fit in with the dads here," Nate said as he waved his hand in the general direction of Brad's chest.

"Is it the apron? Or would you classify me as having a dad bod?" Brad puffed out his chest a little for emphasis.

"Mostly the apron. Don't expect me to call you daddy, though."

Brad's eyes widened at that and his cheeks flushed a little as he turned back to the grill. Nate tucked that information away for later.

Sharing flirty words and lasting glances had become a fixture in their relationship. At first Nate assumed that Brad talked to everyone that way, or that he was just trying to be funny. But the more time Nate spent with Brad, almost always in groups of people, the more Nate became convinced that he was the only one Brad talked to with such brazen intent in his eyes.

That did not help Nate's rapidly deteriorating resolve not to get involved with Brad. The thought of getting Brad into bed had crossed his mind many times before. But Nate was still an officer and Brad was enlisted. A relationship between them was forbidden under the rules. Sodomy was still forbidden under the rules, too. Nate was also Brad's direct superior, which meant the power dynamic made Brad even more off-limits. Nate and Brad could both get hemmed up by the Corps for letting anything happen between them.

Maybe Nate didn't care so much about that risk anymore, because he had already dropped papers and he was on his way out. But Brad had a whole career to protect. That's why Nate couldn't wrap his head around what Brad was playing at.

That didn't mean Nate wanted him to stop, though.

Brad broke the silence by gesturing to the plates on the nearest table.

"How about you hand me the plates and I'll add cheese on these? I think they're ready."

Nate did as instructed, hyper-aware of how close Brad was to him as he slid past him to grab the stack of paper plates. It was so like Brad to take charge outside of work and Nate was happy to let him. Nate was too distracted by his huge biceps and broad chest to be of much use anyway.

Once Nate started passing out hamburgers, the time flew. At one point he was leaning down to help Poke's kid with the ketchup, and when he looked up, Brad was staring right at him. The way he was admiring Nate seemed so obvious that Nate almost felt embarrassed. He gave a furtive glance around the party, but no one else seemed to notice.

It was sort of maddening the way Brad made him feel like the center of the universe. He wanted to get a sanity check from someone, and make sure he wasn't just blowing this whole thing out of proportion. But he knew he couldn't bring it up to anyone. This thing between them, however ill defined, had to stay a secret. He had to content himself with just looking back at Brad, hoping his eyes conveyed even a fraction of the complicated feelings that were welling up inside him before he accidentally said something stupid.

Once there were only a handful of stragglers left at the party, Nate started bagging up trash to make himself useful. He wasn't quite ready to leave, not with Brad still there.

"Hey, you guys wanna start the bonfire?" Ray asked, gesturing over to the fire pit in his yard.

After an enthusiastic grunt from Brad, Ray handed him the lighter. Nate got to work picking out thinner pieces of wood from Ray's wood pile for kindling.

"I know there are several fire formations that could work, but there is one that is vastly superior," Brad said as he spread some newspaper in the bottom of the pit.

"My assent depends on if you're referring to the right one," Nate replied.

Nate started to stack the kindling on top of the newspaper in a teepee shape, while Brad scrutinized his work.

"It seems you have chosen correctly, Sir," Brad said it in the most cheeky way possible.

"Boyscouts was good for something, then," Nate replied, practically glowing from the praise.

Brad stuck the utility lighter into the bottom of Nate's wooden teepee, and the newspaper tinder immediately caught fire.

As Nate settled into one of Ray's Adirondack chairs, he noticed that he and Brad were alone. Ray must have gone inside for more beers. He wasn't sure who else was left.

Brad leaned down so that his breath ghosted Nate's earlobe.

"Glad I have you alone for a bit," Brad whispered before moved away.

Nate bit back a groan.

"So we can keep flirting?"

"Well, I do think you're sexy as hell." He said it deliberately, the words like arrows to Nate's heart. Suddenly Nate was feeling hot around the collar, and the temperature change wasn't from the fire.

"Is something going to happen between us?" Nate blurted out. He hadn't meant to bring it up like this. But Brad's cocky flirtation was absolutely going to drive him mad if he didn't ask.

Brad's eyebrows shot up. "Do you want something to happen?"

Nate scoffed. "Oh, c'mon Brad. You're smarter than that. You can tell I'm eating out of your goddamn hands already."

Brad's mouth dropped open in shock. "You mean, you want to fuck?"

"If you want to," Nate hastily said. He narrowed his eyes in confusion. Was Brad seriously surprised by Nate's proposition? Maybe Nate had read everything all wrong.

But then Nate heard the back patio door slide open, so he clamped his mouth shut.

The rest of the night was a little bit like torture. Brad kept catching his eye, but Nate couldn't read his face. He didn't know if Brad was saying yes or no. He didn't know what Brad was thinking at all.

But luckily Ray was a great conversationalist, and soon enough Brad and Ray were embroiled in a debate about whether country music should be considered a separate genre from pop.

Nate was content to just watch Brad's mouth move, barely registering the words being said. He still felt a little high from what Brad had said about him earlier. Sexy as hell.

He looked over at Ray's faded USMC t-shirt, and remembered that he'd no longer be a Marine soon. When there was a pause in the conversation, Nate decided to drop his news.

"So I'm getting out," Nate said, his eyes resolutely on the fire burning between him and Ray so he could avoid looking at Brad. "I just thought you guys should know."

There was silence for a beat.

"That's the Corps' loss," Ray said. "But I'm leaving too, so you're in good company."

Then Ray stood up and leaned over to clink his beer bottle against Nate's in a congratulatory way.

"Thanks, Ray," Nate said. "Sad that you're leaving, but cheers to us for pursuing other dreams."

He glanced over at Brad, who seemed to be staring intently at Ray's back fence.

"It won't be the same without you both," Brad said with a heavy sigh. "But I can understand your decision."

Nate was disappointed with Brad's answer, and he realized that he had half-hoped that Brad would be more excited. With Nate out of the Corps, there would be no officer-enlisted relationship to worry about. Maybe Brad wasn't actually interested in Nate, and he'd put his foot in his mouth. Maybe the whole sexy as hell thing was just meant to be a platonic compliment.

What a roller-coaster of a night. Just a few minutes ago Nate had been feeling elated, and now he felt guilty for even bringing up the possibility of something happening between them.

The three of them got back to shooting the shit, and Nate told himself to be present in the moment. He felt Brad's gaze on him in the dark, though. He left before Brad did, intent on avoiding a conversation he was not ready to have. He didn't want their flirting to stop, if that was the only thing he could have.

Nate was determined not to be the one to reach out to Brad. He felt like the ball was firmly in Brad's court. And it was the weekend, so he didn't see Brad around base. He didn't know how long he should wait to hear back, though. He kept obsessively checking his phone and then getting annoyed at himself for being so pathetic.

It took two days for Brad to text him.

BRAD: Meet up for beers tomorrow?

NATE: Sure.

Nate couldn't glean any kind of insight from Brad's message, positive or negative. He couldn't tell if Brad was still considering Nate's offer, or if he'd made up his mind. But Brad was probably ready to give Nate some kind of closure, at least.

When Nate got to the bar, he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and took a deep, steadying breath. Whatever happened tonight, whatever Brad decided, Nate was going to be fine.

He was really, really hoping Brad was going to say yes to the fucking, though.

He spotted Brad sitting at the bar, his back facing him. Nate’s heart was pounding as he walked up to him.

“Hey,” he said, casual as he could.

“Hey,” Brad said with his usual bright, easy smile.

Nate deliberately left the chair between them empty, save for his cross-body that he hastily took off and set there. He wasn’t sure yet if Brad wanted him to come any closer.

“What are you drinking?” Nate asked.

“Just a beer. How’s it been? Seems like we haven’t seen each other in a while.”

“Yeah, this is like the longest we’ve gone without talking in a while,” Nate huffed a laugh, even though he didn’t actually think it was funny.

At that point the bartender came over and asked Nate what he wanted, so Nate just said, “Whatever he’s having.”

Nate glanced over at Brad, who was looking at his mouth. Brad took his sweet time pulling his gaze away, which made Nate feel hot all over.

“Look, Nate. I like you. You're hot. The other night, you made it really hard to say no,” Brad started to say once Nate got his beer.

Alarm bells started going off in Nate’s head. Brad was bringing it up already. And it didn’t sound like it was going to go the way Nate had hoped.

Brad sighed. “But I just don’t think we should get physical. There’s too much at stake with my career. I'm in the Corps until retirement, I can't do anything to risk getting kicked out. You get that, right?”

Nate wanted to scream. He wanted to high-tail it out of that bar. He wanted to do anything but nod and say that was totally fine.

“That’s totally fine. I would never want to put your career in jeopardy.”

“Great.” Brad nodded his head and looked out over the bar at the glass bottles lined up along the wall.

Both of them awkwardly looked down at their beers and took a sip. Neither of them could leave when they had full beers and a mountain of tension to deal with.

Nate sighed. He'd thought he'd read all the signs. He thought he'd caught Brad staring in very suggestive ways. Not to mention the fact that they'd been texting and emailing pretty regularly for months since deployment.

As for Brad's retirement, sure there was a small risk there. But Nate wasn't asking for them to get married, or even move in together. He was just asking Brad if he wanted to hook up. It really didn't have to be so complicated. Brad of all people knew how discrete Nate could be.

But Nate could respect Brad's decision. He'd be an asshole if he kept pushing.

"So how's planning for post-military life going?" Brad asked, clearly just making conversation.

"I've got school applications already sent out, so we'll see," Nate swirled the beer in his glass and debated just chugging it to save himself from the embarrassment of continuing this conversation.

"I'm sure you've hand-selected some premiere dick-sucking liberal institutions, surely."

Brad's dry sense of humor was capped off with an amused tilt of his head that did something complicated to Nate's stomach. Or maybe it was more because Brad had said "dick-sucking."

"Rest assured, I fully expect to be knee-deep in dick-sucking opportunities once I leave the Corps."

Without even the slightest pause, Brad shot back, "Well I'll try not to be jealous."

Nate barked out a laugh at the irony of Brad's statement, after he'd just been turned down.

Clearly the absurdity wasn't lost on Brad, because he bit his lip and then knocked his knuckles against the bar.

"No sex. But we can still do this, okay? This flirty thing we have going on."

"Right. Okay," Nate said, both his hands up in a placating gesture. Brad was being confusing as hell. But here Nate was, not walking away. He wanted whatever he could get, whatever Brad would let him have.

"In fact, you don't have to sit so far away," Brad said as he pulled out the seat in between them.

Nate rolled his eyes. He'd never been in a situation quite like this one. But damn if he didn't want to find out exactly what game Brad was playing at.

He picked up his cross-body and switched seats. As he settled in, Brad splayed his knees out wide so that their legs were pressed together under the bar.

"You do look damn good tonight," Brad said softly under his breath, so only Nate could hear.

The words lit up Nate's whole body until his skin felt too tight to contain it all. It was like a drug, hearing Brad talk about him like that. But it was also a little infuriating. Because then why was Brad holding himself back?

Nate chugged his beer to buy himself some time before he had to speak. He looked down to see Brad eyeing his throat as he swallowed.

"Thanks," Nate said as he put his glass down. "Maybe we should call it a night?"

Brad shook his head slightly. "One more bar?"

Nate seriously considered saying no. What good could possibly come from hanging out and getting drunk with Brad? This already felt like a date, even though they'd already agreed not to have sex. Nate didn't want to be the one to hang on too tightly.

But Nate was still a Marine. Which meant he was a bit of a glutton for punishment.

"Sure," Nate agreed.

Once they stepped outside, Nate could smell the saltiness of the ocean just a few blocks away. It was comforting to him, the familiarity of so many nights just like this, wandering around near the beach with fellow Marines after the duty day was done.

But then Brad bumped his shoulder, and he was reminded exactly why this time was different. Brad had flirted up a storm, had even called him sexy, and Nate was supposed to just forget about all that. So that they could try being friends. Which was fine, Nate could handle doing that, but he'd only found this information out minutes before. He was having a hard time switching gears so quickly. He scrambled for a neutral conversation topic.

"So, uh. You watch sports?"

Brad snorted.

"Nah. Surfing is fun, but you already know that about me."

"Did you go out on the water today?"

"Yeah. It helps me think."

"Makes sense."

By then they'd reached a dive-y looking place with dim lighting and the sounds of a sultry guitar were spilling out the front door. It looked fairly packed but there was no cover, so Brad ushered Nate inside. Brad had no trouble elbowing his way up to the bar, probably because of his considerable height advantage.

Nate could barely hear Brad over the crowd when he asked what he wanted to drink. He just waived his hand in a vague way of saying, whatever you're having.

After the bartender handed him two beers, Brad turned around so that his back was to the bar. He said something that Nate couldn't hear, so Nate stepped a little closer.

"What?" He said, nearly at Brad's ear.

"Bartender said we make a cute couple," Brad said, clearly amused. His eyes were sparkling as he waited for Nate's reaction.

"Oh yeah?" Nate said. The suggestion that they looked comfortable enough together to be mistaken for a couple made Nate's stomach swoop. Was their attraction that obvious that it could be seen by others? The thought was terrifying and exhilarating. "What did you say back to her?"

"I said we're not there yet." Brad winked.

Nate could scream from the smug look on Brad's face. Now it felt like he was definitely just messing with him.

"Yet? You're kind of a fucker, you know that?"

Brad's smirk grew wider.

"Yeah, but you like it."

Nate didn't even dignify that with a response. He rolled his eyes and moved even closer, until his leg was pressed to the front of Brad's thigh. He leaned an elbow against the bar. If asked, he could plausibly blame the closeness on the crowd around him. But if Brad wanted to play games, he could play games.

Nate started to sway slightly to the music, hoping that he was close enough to rub against Brad's dick. He couldn't quite tell if he was succeeding until he looked up at Brad's wide eyes.

"Goddamn," Brad said in an undertone.

Nate took a nice long pull from his beer, and watched Brad stare at his mouth.

"Now who's the fucker?" Brad said, teasing. His eyes started to look a little intense, like he was hungry.

Feeling 100 percent of his focus, even though they were in a crowded bar with plenty of other attractive co-eds, was a little intoxicating. Nate was starting to feel buzzed even though he had only had one beer, his skin tingly everywhere he was touching Brad.

"Touch me," Brad said, a little hushed.

Nate looked up at him in surprise. He was sure he'd misheard.

"What?"

"I just want you to know what you're doing to me," he whispered.

"You're hard?" Nate hissed under his breath, surprised. He hardly ever got hard in public. It usually took a lot for him to get worked up like that. It wasn't like he'd been groping Brad. Maybe Brad hadn't gotten laid in a while. Either way, Nate felt his pulse pounding in his ears. This was dangerous and naughty and undeniably sexy.

Brad nodded. And then he reached down to wrap his fingers around Nate's wrist. He subtly nudged Nate's hand downwards, and turned his hips towards Nate so that his crotch was obscured from the other people in the bar.

Nate's hand eagerly completed the journey that Brad had encouraged, and the breath immediately caught in Nate's throat.

Brad was hard, but he was also huge.

Nate couldn't even get his fingers around him. He couldn't see in the dim lights of the bar, but he felt along Brad's dick, straining against the confines of his khakis. It went all the way to the middle of Brad's thigh.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?"

Brad huffed a laugh, and at least he had the decency to look flustered.

"Are you surprised?"

Nate didn't even bother playing coy. "Yeah. You're big all over."

Brad nodded slightly, his smirk firmly back in place. What a smug bastard.

"You sure we can't fuck? What about hand stuff?" Nate probably sounded desperate, but at that moment he didn't care. All he was thinking about was seeing Brad's massive cock. The thought of it stretching him wide open made his mouth water.

Brad laughed, but his voice sounded a little high-pitched and strained. Maybe Nate was finally getting to him.

"No sex. But you can touch over the clothes." Brad's voice was stern. At this point his decision didn't make any sense to Nate. Groping in public was a sure way to get caught. But if they left right then and did something sexual in the privacy of one of their apartments, no one would be the wiser.

"Jesus Christ," Nate lamented, only half-joking. "You're killing me. I hate that I have this information now."

"Sorry. Am I being too much of a tease?" Brad's voice was softer, like he was actually concerned.

Nate sighed and shook his head. "Probably. But regrettably, I'm into it."

That made Brad laugh.

Nate took a swig of his beer, and then reached for Brad's dick again. He was still hard. They were in public, being completely inappropriate. It shouldn't have turned Nate on, but he was feeling incredibly horny.

And Brad was clearly enjoying himself.

Brad leaned down until his lips were almost touching the shell of Nate's ear.

"That's just from how you look tonight."

Nate blew out a breath. "I feel flattered."

"You should," Brad said with a smile.

Nate tried to turn his attention to the band after that, but he was lost in entirely inappropriate thoughts involving Brad railing him with that huge dick. Or Nate getting on his knees right there in the bar.

Nate really was going to have to leave soon, or he might explode.

"I'm calling it a night after this," Nate said as he pointed the neck of his beer at Brad.

Brad nodded. "I'll walk you to your car."

Nate swallowed the last of his beer and left it on top of the bar before he headed out, Brad on his heels.

Nate felt like he'd been given a license to touch, and maybe he should use it. Once they were outside, Nate let Brad catch up until they were matching strides. After they passed under a streetlight, they were in a brief period of shadow. He reached over and palmed Brad's ass.

He could see the way Brad bit his lip, his eyes sparkling as he glanced over at Nate.

Nate let his hand drop when they came upon another streetlight. Nate could touch, and Brad could touch, in secret. They could never do anything else. At least, not unless Brad changed his mind.

Once they were in shadow again, Brad reached over and grabbed Nate's ass. Nate grinned. They were really in deep now. Nate's head was spinning as blood filled his dick.

They passed the first bar they'd been at, and then Nate got out his keys. His beat up Nissan was parked just across the street.

"Hey, wait," Brad said. And then he grabbed Nate's hand and pulled him off the sidewalk into a darkened alleyway.

"It's just a kiss," Brad said under his breath.

Then he was pressing his lips to Nate's. It was brief, and Brad kept his mouth firmly closed, but it sent Nate's heart soaring. It was assuredly more romantic than all the groping had been. Nate didn't necessarily want romantic, but it felt meaningful, somehow. He just didn't know what it was supposed to mean.

"Fuck," Nate breathed when Brad moved away.

"See you later, Nate," Brad said. "Hope you have a good night."

And then Brad was walking away. He did glance over his shoulder once, to give Nate a once-over that sent Nate's toes curling in his boots.

Once Nate got into his car, he had to take a few steadying breathes. Brad's overtures felt like some kind of intricate ritual that Nate was not privy to. If his body felt this intense after just a few gropes and a kiss, he could only assume the sex between them would be incredible.

Too bad he wasn't going to find out.

Nate couldn't stop thinking about Brad. Brad's hand on his ass, Brad's heated looks, Brad's whispered what you're doing to me. Brad's hard dick, easily the biggest dick Nate had ever held in his hand.

They'd crossed just about every line there was to cross, but he'd made it clear he didn't want to have sex. Nate felt like he was staring at a puzzle that was missing pieces.

Maybe Brad just didn't like sex. Maybe he was embarrassed about the sounds he made when he came. Maybe he was into some shit he didn't want to tell Nate about.

It didn't matter, in the end. Brad had already made himself clear. Nate was just going to have to calm the fuck down. He'd already jerked off plenty about it. This was just more fantasy fuel. He could live with that.

The hard part was going to be seeing Brad again.

They met up about five days later for a little poker night at Poke's place. The San Diego sun showed no sign that summer was nearly over, but Nate was feeling it. This was probably their last group event before everyone went their separate ways, following new orders. Nate had been given his exit papers already. His time in the Corps had an expiration date.

He sat down in the chair that become his customary spot, so that Brad was on his right. They'd only been doing this poker night for a couple months, but everyone had settled into a pretty solid routine.

They'd eat Poke's queso, shooting the shit until everyone arrived. Then they'd all pony up their one dollar for the buy-in, and then they'd start with Texas Hold 'em. There would probably not be any time for a private conversation with Brad, unless Nate made it weird. Anything he wanted to say would have to wait.

Except Brad surprised him when he leaned over during a break in the game.

"You should meet me in the backyard in five minutes. I'll leave first," he whispered.

Nate swallowed and nodded.

Brad made his exit, and Nate tried to count down five minutes in his head. He gave up about halfway through counting, and told everyone left at the table that he had to go to the bathroom.

"Hey," Brad said as soon as Nate shut the sliding glass door that led outside.

Brad's hand was already on Nate's waist. Nate reached for his ass until they were flush against each other in the dark.

"You know when your final day is?" Brad asked.

"A week from now."

"I ship off to England in two."

"Yeah?" Nate was not doing a very good job focusing. Brad's huge hand had moved to his ass, and now they were mutually groping each other in an unmistakably sexual way.

"You're really making me break all my rules," Brad mumbled. "We have to go back in soon."

"It doesn't have to be like this," Nate said before he could stop himself. Brad dropped his hand at Nate's words and took a step back. Even though it was dark, Nate could see the question in Brad's eyes.

"I mean, we can't be public about this, sure. But I'm getting out. And I'd never tell anyone about us, Brad."

Brad sighed and rubbed a hand over his short cropped hair. Then he dropped his shoulders and seemed to hunch in on himself.

"That's not really the issue now."

"Oh. Well we can talk about it, if you want." Nate was trying to be gentle and encouraging. But he felt a little out of his element. He had no idea what Brad was trying to say.

"It's just that sex means something to me."

"Oh," Nate said. The way Brad looked away keyed Nate in to the fact that he was feeling vulnerable.

"You just want to fuck, and I'm not judging. But I've never… friends with benefits has never been my thing."

Nate bit his lip. Now things were starting to make way more sense. Nate thought his Corps expiration date was a good thing, because it meant the risk of getting caught was severely lessened. But Brad likely saw it as an expiration date for their relationship.

"I have every intention of maintaining comms with you after I get out," Nate hastily admitted.

Brad rubbed a thumb over Nate's cheek. The gesture was so intimate, so personal, that Nate felt his gut clench. Maybe he'd really been fooling himself this entire time, but it dawned on him then. He didn't just want to fuck Brad. He wanted to be with him.

"Clearly I should have asked you out, instead of propositioning you," Nate continued, feeling a little guilty.

"Don't beat yourself up, I am quite irresistible."

Brad's shit-eating grin was firmly back in place. He was undoubtedly teasing. Surely that meant he wasn't angry at Nate.

Nate grinned too. "So, long distance, huh?"

Brad bit his lip and took a deep breath. His shoulders visibly relaxed as he reached over to squeeze Nate's hand.

"Sounds nice, actually," Brad said, totally sincere. Then he nodded towards the door. "But we have to get back in there."

"You're right. One more ass grab for old times' sake?"

The laugh that bubbled out of Brad was reward enough, but then Brad's huge hand reached down and palmed Nate's ass cheek.

Nate felt pleasantly tingly all over.

"Promise me we'll make time for each other before you leave," Nate said as he slotted his leg in between Brad's thighs.

"Yeah, Nate, as much time as you want, you can have," Brad murmured.

And then he kissed him. This time, he opened his mouth and licked at Nate's lips. It only lasted a moment, but it set Nate's body ablaze.

Nate really was a goner. The poker game could not end fast enough.