Defense Reaction (Part 2)
Daniel has a confession to make, and in doing so, Gary finds himself in the thralls of getting everything he has ever truly wanted.
In the first installment of Defense Reaction
Gary swore and leaped up from his chair in frustration to close the blinds covering the window behind his desk. The sun had finally come out after two full days of rain, and it was obscuring the frightening numbers being displayed on his computer screen.
Aaron and Phil, the corporation’s partners, were going to have a fit when he showed them the adjustments he intended to remit for the past two fiscal years. Reams of income hadn’t been reported, and Aaron’s sister had botched the depreciation figures, completely overstating them. There would be a significant tax liability.
And penalties. Lots of penalties.
He tapped his pen on the desk, considering their options. He’d already made the dreaded phone call to the government informing them of the discrepancies. Hopefully, they would be lenient. Not likely, but one could hope.
A light knock on his doorframe alerted him to the figure hovering in his doorway. As usual, Peter looked fucking incredible.
And incredibly fuckable.
“Can I come in?” Peter asked.
Gary waved him over. “Sure, I’ve only got a minute, though.” A sense of relief washed over him as Peter took a seat in one of the chairs facing his desk.
Peter crossed his legs and relaxed into the chair.
“How’s your day going so far?” he asked.
“Scary …seriously scary.” Gary cupped his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair as his attention wandered over Peter’s physique and quiet countenance.
The kid was going to go far in life. With his good looks, his dad’s money, and his freaky intelligence, there would be little standing in his way.
“Maybe you can run some stuff by me later,” Peter replied. “I might be able to help you out.” He leaned forward in his chair, ready to stand. “Right now, though, you need to eat. It’s almost two-thirty, and you haven’t had lunch yet.”
“I’m in too deep to take a break right now. If I don’t get these spreadsheets finished by the end of the day, I’ll feel obliged to come in over the weekend.”
“No problem.” Peter rose out of his chair. “I’ll grab you something. Soup and a sandwich sound all right?”
“You don’t have to do that, Peter. You’ve already brought me lunch every day this week. And trust me, I appreciate you doing that, but you also helped me tag all the fixed assets and set up the schedules for them. Don’t you have your own computer stuff to do?”
Peter cocked his head to one side, nonchalant.
“I have my job pretty streamlined at this point,” he said. “I’ve got plenty of free time.” He rubbed the back of his neck, then wandered over, shut the door to Gary’s office, and locked it.
“The truth is—,” Peter continued as he walked around behind Gary’s chair and began working on Gary’s shoulders, trying to ease the tension out of them. “I really like you.”
A flush of color rose in Gary’s face. “Um …I like you too, Peter, but—”
“No—” Peter leaned in and kissed the back of Gary’s neck. His warm breath lingered there long enough to send chills down Gary’s spine. “I mean, I really like you.”
No, and hell no.
“What about Justin?”
“Justin and I have a real loose arrangement. He’s not interested in any kind of commitment. As soon as I start talking about marriage and family and shit, he gets all freaky.”
What the fuck? Seriously?
“You’re interested in those things?” Gary crunched his brow in confusion. There was more to Peter than met the eye, or the dick as the case may be.
Surprisingly, Gary found he liked it.
“Yeah, of course, I want all that stuff. I can’t keep fucking everything that moves for the rest of my life.”
Gary smirked. “Well, technically, you could.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to.” Peter’s hands drifted onto Gary’s chest, and he tucked his face into the curve of Gary’s neck, briefly kissing his cheek. “I want so much more than that.”
“Peter, I—” Gary stopped as Peter began nibbling on his ear. He had his vulnerable spots, and something told him Peter would likely be proficient at locating every single one.
“Are you not into all that?” Peter laughed softly. “Are you happy fucking everything that moves?”
“No …I mean yes …to the first bit, I am, but—”
“Look,” Peter said. “I know we got off to a bizarre start, but maybe we could go out for dinner sometime …or maybe even a movie or something?”
“Like a date?”
Peter stood up. “Yeah, is that weird?”
“No, but—”
Peter stood in front of Gary and crossed his arms. “Are you seeing someone already?”
“No, I’m not, but—”
“You don’t want to see me. Is that it? You’re not interested.” Peter turned away and leaned against the window frame. “Fuck. I always do this. Leap in with my dick first and my brain and heart second, then expect guys to take me seriously.”
“Peter, I never said I wasn’t interested. My life is just a little complicated right now.” Gary scrubbed a hand down the side of his face, contemplating whether or not he wanted to fill Peter in on his relationship with Daniel. He didn’t feel right about brushing Peter aside without giving him a proper explanation.
“Peter, look—,” he started.
“No, it’s all right. I get it,” Peter replied. “I’m just a kid to you.”
God dammit. Hardly.
“Peter, please don’t put words in my mouth. I don’t think of you as some random kid. You’re more mature and put together than most of the guys I’ve dated …ever …combined.”
A loud knock on the door startled them both, relieving Gary of having to explain. He was quick to unlock it and let Aaron in.
“We’ll talk more about this later,” Gary said to Peter as he slipped out past Aaron into the hallway. Gary waved Aaron in and directed him toward a chair. “What can I do for you?”
Aaron didn’t look pleased.
“You can start by telling me why your door was locked.”
“Peter wanted to talk to me about something …privately.” Gary raised his hand, stopping Aaron before he interjected. “We were just talking. I promise.”
“Well, it set off a chain reaction of whispering.” Aaron leaned back and rubbed a finger across his lip. “I don’t need rumors disrupting the flow of work around here. So, I’m going to repeat myself. Keep your dealings with Peter out of this office.”
“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“Good.” Aaron placed his hands on the chair’s armrests. “Gary, the girls have put together a little welcome party for you. Nothing fancy. A few drinks and appetizers in the office. They were hoping to start around seven tonight if that fits with your schedule.”
Gary picked at the edge of his desk. He’d promised Daniel he’d take him out for dinner tonight at seven-thirty. He’d have to call and reschedule.
“Sure—seven works.”
“All right, good.” Aaron rose to his feet. “My husband, Nathan, is looking forward to meeting you. I was hoping the three of us could go out for dinner afterward.”
Gary reached for Aaron’s outstretched hand and shook it. “That sounds great. We’ll do that.” He sank back into his chair as Aaron left the room and reached for his phone.
Daniel picked up after the second ring.
“Hey, what’s up?” he asked quietly.
“I have to cancel our dinner plans for tonight.”
Daniel sighed. “All right, I have some frozen chili I can heat up for us when you get home.”
Gary scratched his head. “Sorry, I won’t be home for dinner. The office is having a little welcome party for me, then Aaron and his husband are taking me out for dinner.”
Daniel’s voice perked up. “Well, that sounds nice.”
Sure. If you like being a third wheel.
Unless, perhaps, you have a friend to come along with you.
“Hey—” Gary sat straight up. “Do you want to come?”
Silence on the other end of the line.
“Daniel?”
“I’m thinking. You’ve never asked me to come with you to anything like this before.” Another silent pause. “How many people will be there?”
“Around twenty or so… Daniel, if you think meeting all those people would be too stressful for you—”
“No… No, I want to come and support you. You’ve always been there for me during fashion week and everything. When I used to do fashion week.” He sighed. “I want to do this for you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, definitely. I’m looking forward to it.”
“All right, it’s at seven here in the office, so I’ll come home and pick you up around six-thirty.”
“No, I can take a cab.”
“Daniel …”
“I can, Gary. I feel safe here. It’s a wonderful city. You don’t have to worry about me. I can get there on my own.”
Gary closed his eyes. It was wonderful to hear the conviction and confidence in Daniel’s voice, but that strength also meant Daniel was potentially one step closer to finding his own way and leaving the security of their bed …and the life they’d built together.
The brief moment they’d shared in bed when Daniel had asked him to make love to him hadn’t been repeated. They’d gone back to fucking. That was the truth of it.
“I’ll see you at seven,” he said, then hung up.
Peter’s head slammed against the padded armrest of the car door Gary had already rocked him into three times, in addition to grinding his ass across the seatbelt several times and mashing his face up against the window in the backseat of Gary’s rental car.
“Fuck …Gary. Where the hell …does all this aggression …come from?” Peter braced his hands against the door behind him and lifted his hips, taking Gary’s furious cock in deeper. “Fuck yeah.” He shifted, lifting his ass higher. “I thought accountants …were supposed to be …boring.” He swore as Gary slid his dick out to spit into his gaping hole before plunging back into him.