Unforgivable - 11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Corey squinted in the bright sunlight. Although there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, there was a definite chill in the air, heralding the coming of winter. Still, it was a nice Halloween day for the kids he knew would be swarming the neighbourhood at any time. His phone buzzed, and pulling it out of his pocket, he grinned when he saw a text message from Jason.

“I’ll be there at 9. You’d better be wearing it!”

“Yeah, yeah. I said I would… pushy bastard.” He rolled his eyes and chuckled as he hit send. Running up the steps, he unlocked the door and let himself inside. There were things he need to do before Jason arrived in a few hours.

As always, a warm and happy feeling settled over him when he thought of his friend. The two had been spending a lot of time together since the August long weekend. After the ball tournament, where they’d lost the championship game in a close contest, they’d started having regular morning coffee ‘dates,’ and even had lunch together on several occasions. There had also been a few movie nights, including an homage to Sigourney Weaver, where they watched every ‘Alien’ movie one rainy Saturday. As he poured candy into a bowl and set it on a small table beside the front door, he couldn’t help but smile, remembering that afternoon two weeks ago.

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“Not a chance. Aliens is by far the best movie of in the series. Not only were the computer graphics far superior to the original… it also had Hicks.” Jason placed a bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and turned to Corey, raising an eyebrow as if daring him to disagree.

Corey snickered. “Well there is something to be said about a hot marine being able to make a movie about acid-bleeding aliens prettier.”

“Exactly,” Jason said smugly. “That Doctor Clemens guy just didn’t have the same appeal.”

“Well, he was shaved bald and wearing grubby prison clothes.” Corey winked at the bigger blonde before sitting on one end of the coach. “Kinda hard to compete.”

Before today, they’d had movie nights together every couple of weeks… alternating their locations. This week they were at Jason’s. With the chilly rain falling outside, this was a more pleasant alternative to jogging together. When Jase suggested an Alien movie marathon, Corey had immediately agreed. No one else in his life appreciated horror and B movies like Jason did.

Settling back against the comfortable couch, he dipped his hand into the bowl of hot, buttery popcorn, tossing a few kernels into his mouth. The first movie was just as good as he remembered. As usual, he and Jason repeated lines of dialogue, breaking into uncontrollable laughter on several occasions… a habit that used to drive Andrew nuts. By the third movie, the popcorn was long gone and Corey was now sipping a glass of red wine.

“I have a beef stew in the crockpot. Are you getting hungry?” Jason asked as the closing credits started to roll.

“Is that what that delicious smell is?” Corey licked his lips. “I thought I was just hungry and imagining things.”

Jason chuckled. “I put it on before you arrived, so it should be done by now. I just have to put the biscuits in to warm.”

“Damn, you’ve gotten domestic in your old age,” Corey teased. To his surprise, Jason actually looked a little embarrassed.

“I love to cook,” the older man said as he stood, grabbing the now empty bowl. “Are you willing to risk your tastebuds?”

Corey stood and put his hand on Jason’s arm, drawing the man’s attention back to him. “Stew sounds great. I’m starving. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No…,” Jason said with a grin. “… but, if you grab your glass, I’ll top it up and we can eat in the kitchen.”

Seated at the breakfast bar, Corey watched Jason move around, grabbing bowls and cutlery. He found his eyes following lines of muscle flexing under Jason’s shirt. When the man bent over to put the tray of biscuits into the oven, Corey felt his cock twitch and grow in his jeans. He had to admit Jase had a great body.

Adjusting himself subtly, he forced his gaze away, and looked around the kitchen. It was a bright, airy space with tall white cabinets, black countertops and appliances. “Have I mentioned how much I like your kitchen?” he asked, trying to take his mind off his desire to trace his friend’s muscles with his tongue. After his initial tour, they spent most of their time in the living room, where the entertainment centre was located, so Corey hadn’t been in the kitchen much before today.

“Thanks,” Jason looked around the room. “The sellers renovated shortly before I moved in. I loved what they did in here, so I didn’t make any changes.” He leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms, drawing Corey’s attention to his muscular chest… with the defined pecs, and what he knew were six pack abs. The pool party at Kevin’s ensured he knew exactly what Jason looked like shirtless.

Corey wasn’t sure what to make of his body’s reaction to the handsome blonde. Objectively, he knew just how attractive his friend was. Hell, Jason was one of the reasons he’d realized he preferred guys to girls, but it had been years since he’d allowed himself to think of Jason in those terms. Now that they were spending more time together, it was harder and harder for him to ignore the rekindled attraction. Unfortunately, even if he thought Jason might be receptive, he wasn’t sure he could ever trust the man enough to have an intimate relationship with him.

With an internal sigh, Corey decided to shelve his pointless internal debate. Jason hadn’t been interested in him then, and he wasn’t interested now, so trust issues were a moot point. “So when did you learn to cook?” He dipped his chin towards the stove. “I seem to remember you burning Kraft Dinner.”

Jason snorted before turning to take the pan out of the oven. “You’d be amazed what you can learn when you live on your own, and want to eat more than hot dogs and tuna sandwiches.” Carefully removing the biscuits and putting them on a plate, he smiled at the brunette. “And one of my roommates in fourth year was a culinary student. In exchange for being her guinea pig, she gave me cooking lessons.” He set a steaming bowl in front of Corey, and refilled their glasses before sliding onto the stool beside him.

“Mmm, this is really good.” Corey hummed his approval after the first mouthful.

“Thanks,” Jason said with a blush staining his cheeks.

They ate in silence for a few moments, with the only noise being the scrape of spoons against bowls. “Seriously,” Corey said after popping the last bite of buttery pastry into his mouth. “That was amazing.” Jason smiled as took his dishes to the sink. Corey joined him, nudging him with his shoulder. “I’ll wash, you dry?”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to. You cooked, so it’s only fair that I help clean up…and since I don’t know where anything goes, I’m washing.” Corey raised an eyebrow and tilted his head towards the taller man.

Chuckling, Jason raised his hands. “Fine,” he said with a laugh. “I give up… you wash, I’ll dry.”

They made short work of cleaning the kitchen before returning to the living room to start their fourth and final movie. As Corey watched the familiar scenes on the screen, he thought of how far he and Jason had come since Drew’s wedding. Six months ago he never would have imagined they could be sitting in the same room, let alone watching a movie together.

After several minutes of silence, he glanced at Jason and realized the man had fallen asleep with his head resting against the back of the couch. Grabbing a blanket out of the box that served as the coffee table, he gently urged the bigger man to lie down, smiling when Jason curled up and tucked the blanket under his chin. When the movie ended an hour later, Jason still hadn’t moved, and was snoring lightly. Corey knew he’d worked several late nights on a case, and the lack of sleep must have caught up to him.

“Jase?” he said, gently shaking the blonde. “Jase… I’m going to head home now. You should go to bed.”

Jason’s bleary eyes opened and stared up at him, confused. “Sorry, what?” He sat up with a yawn and a stretch. “What’s wrong?”

Corey chuckled and moved the blanket. “You need to go to bed. You’ll get a sore back sleeping on the couch all night. Go on… I can show myself out.”

“Yeah… okay.” Yawning again, Jason stood and hugged him, nuzzling his face into Corey’s neck. The warm breath against the brunette’s throat caused him shiver involuntarily. “Goodnight, Cor,” Jason mumbled before shuffling towards his bedroom.

What the hell was that? Corey thought, staring at the hall where his friend disappeared. Was Jason still asleep? Shrugging and blaming it on the man’s confused, half-asleep state, Corey put away the blanket and turned off the television. Taking another look down the hall, he let himself out, locking the door behind him, already thinking about what they could watch on their next movie night.

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With their schedules, they hadn’t had time for more than texts back and forth for days. This Halloween party was the first evening Jason had off in a while. Luckily, the deal he’d been working on for weeks had closed, so the long hours would ease off again. Corey hadn’t mentioned the hug to Jason, not wanting to embarrass the man. Before he had a chance to change out of his work clothes, the bell rang signalling the first trick or treaters. With a grin, Corey grabbed the bowl of candy and opened the door. Time to feed the monsters.

By 8:30, the last of the candy goblins were long gone, and Corey was examining himself in the mirror. He didn’t know why he’d let Jason talk him into buying this outfit. He’d never been much for costumes, but one of Jason’s clients was throwing a party and Jason had invited him along, saying he needed to get out and have some fun. Giving himself another once over, he grimaced and headed to the kitchen for a beer. If he was going to be seen in public in this thing, he was going to need something to steady his nerves. The doorbell rang when he was halfway through his drink.

“Coming,” he called out. Opening the door, he knew shock and admiration were clearly written on his face. Jason looked incredible. Dressed as a cowboy… complete with chaps, boots and a cowboy hat… the man was hot. Faded jeans hugged his body, and the chaps highlighted his… assets. Corey felt his heart speed up as his body reacted to view.

“You look great!” Jason said, stepping into the house.

Corey snorted in disbelief. “I look ridiculous.”

“No, you look… ho… really good.” Corey thought he saw Jason’s gaze linger on his exposed chest, but he must have imagined it.

“But, I’m a pirate!” Corey exclaimed, waving his hand up and down at his body. “And these pants are too tight.” The brown, leather pants were form fitting, with calf-hugging boots. His linen shirt was held together by a leather strap, showing off a significant amount of his chest. The costume was finished off with a wide leather belt to hold his fake sword, and a bandana, which still sat on the kitchen counter.

“But such a cute pirate,” Jason said, reaching up to pat his cheek.

“Fuck off.” Corey laughed, pushing his hand away. “Let’s just go and get this over with.”

Corey had to admit the party was a lot of fun. Several of the guests were from out of town, and he didn’t know very many people, but everyone seemed to be having fun.

“Are you having a good time?” Jason handed him a drink.

“Yeah, I am.” Corey looked up with a smile. “Thank you for inviting me. It’s been years since I’ve been to a costume party.”

The tall blonde laughed. “I know it’s unusual, but they’ve had these parties for years at Sunderson. Gilles tells me his mother started throwing them for the staff the year after his parents married, and they’ve had them ever since.”

Corey looked around the large room at all of the happy party goers. It would seem Gilles Sunderson was a well-liked employer. “Well I’m happy I came, even if I had to wear this.” He pulled at the too-tight brown leather pants.

Jason’s gaze traveled down his body, before he looked away quickly. “Have I introduced you to Gilles’ wife, Jasmine, yet?”

He shook his head, wondering at the abrupt change in topic. “No, I don’t think so.”

After being introduced to their hosts and chatting with several of the guests, Corey found himself by the bar, grabbing another beer for himself, and a water for Jason. Thinking of the man, he searched the room, finding him standing on the far side of the hall talking to an animated looking older woman.

“I love the cowboy costume too,” a female voice said to his right.

“Hmm?” He pulled his attention away from his friend, and found a petite, young woman dressed as what he assumed was Black Widow from the Avengers, standing beside him with a drink in her hand.

“Jason.” She inclined her head in his direction. “I can see why you love the costume. He looks pretty hot in it.” She winked as she took another sip of the colourful drink.

Corey gaped at the smirking woman. “Oh… I wasn’t… I don’t think….”

The woman giggled. “Oh, honey, don’t worry. I know Jason is gay.” She waved away his attempted denials. “He turned me down pretty gently when I hit on him. I’m Kendra by the way. Kendra Miller. I’m a sales rep with Sunderson Agri.”

“Corey Smyth.” He took her offered hand, still not sure what to say about being caught staring at Jason.

“Jason is a great guy.” The woman’s smile widened again. “You’re a lucky man.”

“We’re not a couple.” He finally managed to get his brain to engage.

“Really?” The sales rep actually looked disappointed. “Well, I think you two would look hot as hell together. It was great to meet you Corey Smyth, but I’d better go rescue your cowboy from Molly. She’ll talk his ear off about her gout if he’s not careful.” With another wink she made her way across the room.

Corey stared after her. Why would she think they were a couple? Jason extracted himself from his group and made his way across the room to his side. He ignored the flush of pleasure the man’s smile gave him.

“Did you get your beer?”

“Yeah.” Corey’s voice cracked slightly. He grabbed their drinks and handed Jason a bottle. “Here’s your water.”

“Thanks.” The handsome blonde took a long drink, and Corey couldn’t help staring at his throat as he swallowed. “I see they’ve set up the midnight buffet,” he observed, drawing Corey out of his gawking. “Do you want anything?”

Giving himself a mental shake, he tried to settle his uncooperative libido. “Maybe….”