Chapter Twenty-Two

THE WORLD’S END was definitely the worst movie of the trilogy by far. It wasn’t bad, per se. Julian was certain that anything Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost did together was good. But of the three movies, Julian was definitely most distracted during this one. Cole was, too, because by about thirty minutes in, Julian already had his arm draped around Cole, and this time, there was no question whether he’d initiated it.

Cole’s head was on his shoulder, and the moment Cole looked up at him, lips close to his face, Julian took his opportunity, giving him a gentle kiss, lips brushing together softly. Cole didn’t hesitate to deepen it, touching Julian’s cheek, turning him a little bit more, shifting on the couch.

Julian smiled into the kisses. This was new. Exciting. His tongue grazed along Cole’s lower lip as they continued to kiss. This was going beyond a simple show of affection. They were definitely approaching a makeout. Julian trailed his hand down Cole’s arm, down his waist.

“I like you,” Cole mumbled. “A lot.”

“That’s mutual,” Julian said. “You’re way more than a bench buddy.”

Cole laughed against his lips, which vibrated against him and felt ridiculous. Not in a bad way, but in the weirdest way. Julian couldn’t help but laugh in return.

“Sorry.” Cole pulled back, blinking at him. Was the moment gone? Julian thought maybe it was, watching as Cole’s eyes flitted to the screen, but then Cole turned back to him, leaned in, and kissed him again.

Julian wasn’t going to hesitate this time, wasn’t going to take it slow. He reached down, large hand on Cole’s smaller thigh, and pulled Cole onto his lap. Cole came willingly, straddling him comfortably. This was definitely more than small kisses now.

Cole’s hands tangled in Julian’s hair, and Julian smiled into the kiss, moving his lips along Cole’s chin to his neck.

“Feels good,” Cole mumbled, “keep going?”

Julian didn’t need to hear the encouragement twice. It was enthusiastic, and he wasn’t going to stop. Hands on Cole’s ass, he kept kissing down his neck, sucking slightly. He moved one hand up, under Cole’s shirt. God, he wished Cole would take it off.

Thankfully, Cole got that silent wish, understood the message, leaning back and pulling his shirt off over his head and dropping it unceremoniously on the floor. “I want you,” Cole said softly. Julian’s lips traveled down, grazing his collarbone, teeth gently scraping there. A moan told him he was doing this right; Cole liked this. The way Cole was grinding against him said that too. He could feel his interest, his intrigue, against his own desire for Cole.

Julian trailed his lips further down, teasing Cole’s nipple, tongue swirling over it, eliciting another moan. He flicked his eyes up to Cole, noting the expression on his face. Yeah, that was good, that was exactly what he wanted to see. Cole was enjoying this. A lot.

Pulling away, Julian finally decided to respond verbally to Cole’s request. “How do you want me?” he asked.

“Any way you’ll have me.”

Julian’s heart was racing. This was more than a hookup. This was something intense. Something interesting. Something…powerful. He nodded, pulling Cole in for another kiss, deeper this time. When he pulled back, his eyes didn’t meet Cole’s. No, over his shoulder, he could see Bruiser and Sprinkles, both cocking their heads and looking at them.

Julian stilled. Suddenly, this felt a little awkward.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just…the dogs,” Julian said, forcing a small laugh. He could feel his erection wilting as their eyes stayed on him.

Cole’s hand was on his cheek. “Look at me, not them,” he offered, turning Julian’s focus, but still, Julian could see them out of the corner of his eye.

“It’s weird, though,” Julian admitted. “Like…we’re making out and they’re watching us.”

“It’s okay. They’re not going to mind.”

“I kind of mind!” Julian insisted. He worried that Cole was going to roll his eyes, or this was going to shut everything down. That fear only intensified when Cole backed off his lap.

But Cole took his hand, looked at Julian, and smiled. God, that smile made Julian weak. “How about,” Cole asked, eyes sparkling as he glanced back at the dogs then to Julian again, “we take this to the bedroom, and they stay out here?”

“I think that is an excellent idea,” Julian said.

*

JULIAN LAID IN bed, sheets draped over him. The sun came in through the window. Cole had already taken the dogs outside once, so there wasn’t exactly a rush to get out of bed. “Molly’s going to kill me for not sticking to the schedule.”

“Is she?” Cole asked, head on Julian’s chest. Julian’s hand traced gentle lines over his back. He looked up at the ceiling.

“Yeah. But it’ll be a good death. Like, worth it. You know?”

Cole laughed. “As long as it’s worth it.” Julian was sex-spent and happy. Exhausted maybe, but happy. He didn’t really want to leave. Whatever this was, it was good. It was exactly what he needed. They were both quiet for a long time. So long that Julian thought Cole had fallen asleep again. But no, he hadn’t. Instead, Cole said quietly, “I write under a pen name.”

“Yeah?”

“C. L. Stephens.”

That explained why Julian hadn’t been able to find his works before. “That’s not entirely a pen name, right? Just like, initials?”

“Yeah,” Cole said. “But still. That would be why searching wouldn’t bring anything up.”

Julian considered this for a moment. “But if I searched now, with that name…?”

“You’d find what I write.”

“Do you want me to find it?”

“If you want to.”

“You could just tell me.”

Cole laughed again. His laugh was one of the best things about him. “I could.” Julian waited for a moment, wondering if he would. Then, “I write absolutely, unreasonably filthy gay smut.”

Julian coughed. “I’m sorry?”

“Not the fade to black kind of books. The kind that spell out every single detail.”

Julian considered the implications of that. Would Cole write about what they’d just done, last night, then later last night, and again that morning? Would that be out there for the world to read?

“I don’t draw from experience. Not…directly. I mean, if you read it, you wouldn’t be able to pinpoint a scene and say, ‘hey, that was you and me.’”

Julian replied with a soft, “Hmm.”

“Hmm what? Good hmm? Bad hmm? You’re upset I didn’t tell you sooner hmm?”

“Just…hmm,” Julian said softly. “Like…a general hmm. Like, a ‘can I read your books?’ kind of hmm.”

Cole played with the hair on Julian’s chest. “Yeah. I would be okay with you reading them.”