Barely Existing - 2. Chapter 2

“Hi Tate. It’s nice to meet you, I’m Gavin. Welcome to the neighborhood.”

“Thanks.” He pointed toward the opposite side of Gavin’s house. A thick covering of trees and an acre separated the two properties. “I’m going to be your new neighbor.”

“I didn’t realize that place was for sale. Well, congrats on your new home. When do you officially move in?”

Tate grinned. “I’m technically moving in tomorrow, but I don’t plan on leaving tonight. I’m not feeling the drive back to my old apartment.”

“Long commute?”

“Not really. It’s about a two hour drive depending on the traffic. Everything is packed up and ready to go, dad will bring the truck down tomorrow, so I don’t see a need to go back tonight.”

“I wouldn’t drive back either. So what made you decide to move here? New job?”

“Yep. How’d you know?”

Gavin smiled. “Lucky guess. Congrats on the new job. New job, new house, you’ve been busy.”

Tate nodded, his smile never leaving his face. “Yeah…well…I’m tired of moving, tired of renting and I like the area so I figured it would be a good time to buy. I’d been toying with the idea for a few years now.”

Being so close to Tate was affecting him. While he had known Tate was a big man, now, standing near him, he knew Tate was a big man. If his size wasn’t enough, he exuded sex. He was a beautiful, rough, and rugged man. There wasn’t one thing soft or feminine about him. His eyes were a startling shade of green. His short black hair was tousled, as if he rolled out of bed and never bothered with a comb. His beard was trimmed short, but still looked as if he hadn’t touched it for at least a week. His shoulders were broad, and his chest wide. His red t-shirt fit him perfectly, slightly stretching across his broad frame but was far from tight. Gavin’s eyes dropped lower, and then froze once he read Tate’s t-shirt.

He started laughing. “Really man? That’s awesome.” Tate’s shirt listed three possible reasons he would be single, only one had a check beside it and claimed his big dick might accidentally kill someone.

Tate blushed. “Yeah,” he cleared his throat. “My brother has a twisted sense of humor. It was a gag gift after my last relationship ended. The house was hot, and somehow I ended up covered in paint and…well this was the only t-shirt I could find.”

“No, really that shirt is awesome! I kind of want to get one for my sister now.” Gavin was still laughing.

Tate chuckled. “Really? Your sister?”

“What, it would be perfect!” Gavin grinned.

Tate chuckled and shook his head. “Well hey, it was great meeting you, but I don’t want to hold you up anymore man. You look like you’re headed for a date.”

“What? Oh no, no date. I’m actually headed to a bar with some friends. There’s a local band playing tonight. Wanna go?”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude or anything.”

“Nah, it’s cool. You’re bound to want a cold one after today. Painting’s hard work.” Gavin grinned at Tate.

“Well then, yea if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure. Want to follow me in your truck?”

“Yeah, okay. Let me change real quick.”

“You don’t have to change. You’re fine.” Literally.

“I don’t want to offend your friends.”

“Trust me, you won’t offend anyone. Do you need anything else before we leave?”

“Nope, I’m good to go.”

Gavin hopped into his vehicle, and watched as Tate walked to his massive truck. The view going, just as nice as it was coming. Hmm, wonder what he looks like coming. Stop that! He wasn’t about to take a wild shot with a man who could squash him like a bug. He had no reason to think Tate would be interested in him even if he was gay. His heart plummeted to his stomach. Tate had no reason to think Gavin was gay either. What would he do if he found out? He silently prayed his friends would be on their best behavior, though it was highly unlikely.

He pulled out of the driveway, Tate following close behind him all the way to the bar. They parked side by side, paid their cover charge and walked in. The crowd was just starting to thicken; the band had not yet made an appearance. The DJ had a steady stream of music going, playing everything from country to rock.

“Gavin!” A high pitched, boyish voice squealed a second before a body hit his own, making him go back a step. Gavin grinned, giving the lithe body a squeeze.

“Hey Lex.” When the two men broke apart, Gavin smiled down into mischievous blue eyes then turned to Tate. His smile immediately transformed into a grin. He needed to be cautious and watch himself around this man. “Lex, this is my new neighbor, Tate. Tate, Alex is one of my friends we are meeting.”

Gavin couldn’t stop his grin when he saw Lex’s reaction to his sexy neighbor. He didn’t like it though. He didn’t like the way Lex looked at Tate. Even though he knew he shouldn’t, he felt possessive over the big man. He couldn’t blame Lex for being attracted to Tate. He and Lex had always had similar taste in men, and Tate was hot. Yum.

“Nice to meet you Lex.” Tate’s words were polite, but his smile was tight and it didn’t reach his eyes. Lex, his normally flirtatious and outgoing friend, seemed at a loss for words. He simply stood looking up at Tate stunned.

Gavin decided against giving Lex time to recover. He didn’t want to watch his pretty friend flirt with his neighbor. He tilted his head, motioning Tate to follow him. He walked around Lex, leading them to the table he had spotted his friends at. Tate fell into step with Gavin, shortening his pace to match the smaller man’s.

Gavin cut his eyes to Tate and warned “Just to let you know, Lex will probably hit on you tonight.”

“What do you mean?” Tate’s rumbling voice sent shivers up and down Gavin’s spine.

“Lex is gay, and he likes men like you.”

“Men like me?” Tate turned his head, looking at Gavin.

Gavin blushed and nodded. “Lex likes big, hypermasculine men.” He avoided looking at Tate by studying the bar and the people in it. Tate simply nodded. Gavin wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or worried. “Does that bother you?” He had to ask. Tate’s expression didn’t reveal anything and Gavin wasn’t sure how Tate was going to handle this.

“Does it bother me that he’s gay? No. It won’t bother me if he flirts with me either, but he’ll be wasting his time He doesn’t interest me.”

“What?” Gavin asked, confused. That wasn’t quite the response he expected from Tate.

“I’m not interested in Lex. There’s no attraction there. With you though, I’m very interested. Are you two more than friends?”

Gavin nearly swallowed his tongue. He stopped walking and turned towards Tate. “W-what?” His voice soft, almost a whisper.

Tate looked down at him; his eyes were warm and his smile barely a twitch of lips. “I said ­­̶ “

“No, I heard you. I just don’t understand what you’re saying.” He was still speaking softly and his heart had started to race.

“Then let me make it clear for you.” Tate stepped closer to Gavin, only an arm’s length separating the two. Gavin could feel heat radiating off the taller man. “I want to get to know you. I want you.” His voice came out as a low growl. “Come on; tell me you don’t feel it.”

“Feel what?” Gavin looked up at Tate. The dark heat in those startling green eyes caused his cock to twitch. He knew exactly what Tate was talking about. It was as if some invisible rope pulled him to Tate. He’d never felt anything like it. Or he hadn’t until the moment Tate stepped out of his truck. He needed to hear Tate say it. He needed to know it wasn’t all one sided.

“Yeah, you felt it.” Tate growled knowingly, his smile cocky.

“Y-you’re gay?” Gavin became aggravated with himself. He had mostly outgrown his stutter, but whenever he became extremely nervous, it came back, and Tate made him extremely nervous. Gavin was confident, comfortable in his own skin, but he had never been cocky. Around Tate, that comfort, that confidence simply wasn’t enough.

“What I am is not into labels. I am what I am, I like what I like. I don’t need to tag myself with a label just so I fit in this perfect little box so the world will understand. I’ve been with men, I’ve been with women, and I’ve been with them both at the same time. I lean more towards men, but I keep an open mind. What I can say is I’ve never been drawn to another person the way I’m drawn to you.”

Gavin’s heart sank as he listened to Tate. Tate had been with men and women. There was a dark part of Gavin that insisted Tate was denying his sexuality. He’d never thought the term gay as a label. It was simply a way to say he liked the same sex. Tate calling the term a label only reinforced it in his head that Tate didn’t or couldn’t accept his sexuality.

“Come on.” Gavin turned away from Tate and continued to his friends table. He didn’t turn to check if the taller man followed.

Okay, I did a bit of tweaking and editing for this chapter. I know it's still not perfect, but hopefully it's better.