Unforgivable - 12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Jason read the message on his phone and snickered. Corey had sent him a text from the two-day training course he was attending in Ottawa.

‘Sooo bored. You should come here and rescue me. ;-)’

‘So you want me to drive two hours to start some sort of ruckus so you don’t have to sit through a course YOU paid to attend?’ Jason hit send. Before he had a chance to put his phone away it buzzed with another incoming message.

‘Yes. Yes, I do.’

‘Step away from the phone and get your head in the game, Mr. Smyth.’

The lawyer laughed out loud again when Corey sent him back a pouting emoji. Slipping his phone into his jacket pocket, he looked up to a smirking barista holding his coffee. He gave the girl an embarrassed smile before hurrying out of the café. Corey had only left yesterday, but he already missed the man. Pulling on his gloves, he walked out onto the snowy sidewalk and trudged towards his car. There were two weeks until Christmas, and the downtown core looked like a winter wonderland, with lights and decorations on every streetlamp and in every shop window. His staff even had fun decorating their reception area.

He’d just sat at his desk when his cell rang. Thinking it was Corey, he grabbed the device and checked the called display, surprised to see his parents’ number flashing on the screen.

“Hello?”

“Good morning, Jason. Is this a good time?” His mother’s cheerful voice greeted him.

“Hey, Mom. I don’t have any appointments for an hour. What’s up?”

“Your dad and I were wondering if you were coming home for Christmas this year?”

“I’m not sure.” He hesitated. The Sedor siblings tried to make it home every year, but he knew Corey wasn’t planning on leaving Kingston. An increasingly persistent part of him didn’t want to leave his friend alone for the holidays, and he’d been debating if he should come up with an excuse to bow out of the family celebration. Although he knew his parents would understand, they might also insist he bring Corey along. Jason knew his friend well enough to realize he’d never agree.

“You’re not sure?” Rather than upset, his mom sounded amused. “Don’t you usually have your schedule planned for weeks in advance?”

Jason chuckled at his mom’s teasing. It was a family joke that he was a little obsessive about punctuality and planning. “There are a lot of files up in the air right now,” he hedged. Although he was technically telling the truth, there wasn’t anything that couldn’t wait for a week or two.

“Okay, well let me know as soon as you’re sure. Drew called and said he and Liz can’t make it this year, but Katrina will be home next week.”

Jason felt a pang of guilt for even considering bailing on his family, but the thought of leaving Corey wasn’t any better. The younger man told him during one of their many conversations he usually went to visit his mom after the New Year and spent Christmas break ‘catching up on paperwork.’ Oh, he knew the brunette would tell him not to be stupid and go home to his family, but who actually wanted to be alone for Christmas?

The next day, Jason was putting the finishing touches on a stir fry for a late dinner when his doorbell rang. Curious who it could be at this hour on a cold December night, he turned down the stove and made his way to the door. He was surprised but thrilled to see Corey standing on his doorstep.

“Cor, what are you doing here?” he asked, inviting his friend inside. “I thought you weren’t coming back until tomorrow?”

“There’s a storm warning for the morning. The instructor skipped our breaks so we could finish early, and I wanted to make it home before the snow hit.”

After giving his friend a quick hug, Jason took his jacket while Corey removed his boots. “Although I’m happy to see you, how come you’re not holed up at home? It’s damned cold outside.”

Corey grinned sheepishly. “I missed you,” he said, looking away briefly. “… and I’m too wired to sleep. I thought we could continue our creature feature marathon.”

Jason laughed, leading the way into the kitchen. “Sounds great. Let me just check on dinner. It should be about done.”

“Oh,” Corey said, sounding apologetic. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. We don’t have to do this tonight.”

“Don’t worry about it, Cor. You know I’m always happy to see you. I missed you too.” After throwing in peppers and snow peas, he glanced quickly at a blushing Corey. “Are you hungry? I have plenty.”

It’d become a habit lately that whoever hosted movie night also made dinner. When Jason had casually mentioned this to his brother, Drew teased how it sounded like they were dating, without the sex. Jason had scoffed at his chortling sibling, mostly because he didn’t like to dwell on how much he wished it was true. He hadn’t dated at all since Marco, and he was fairly sure Corey hadn’t either.

It didn’t take much convincing to entice Corey to join him for dinner. They ate and tidied up quickly, with Corey washing and Jason drying, as usual. It felt very domestic, and it saddened him that his past mistakes killed any chance of that kind of relationship with the handsome brunette. As it was, he was having more and more difficulty keeping his body under control when Corey was near.

They settled with their legs tucked under a blanket Jason had started to leave on the arm of the couch. With a full stomach and the low light, Jason felt his eyelids grow heavy. He struggled to stay awake, but must have actually fallen asleep at some point. When a stiff back woke him, there was a weak light coming through the window, and snow falling heavily outside. Warm and still sleepy, he was reluctant to move, but felt the need to at least stretch out his muscles.

Shifting, he finally registered a weight over him. He looked down at a mussed head of dark brown hair…. Corey. The smaller man was draped across Jason’s chest with an arm thrown around his middle. One of Jason’s arms was wrapped around Corey’s shoulders… something he must have done unconsciously as he slept. Knowing it was Corey snuggled against his body caused his morning wood to press more insistently against his zipper. Damn, the man felt good in his arms. Without thinking, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to Corey’s hair, pulling back quickly when the other man started to stir.

Confused green eyes met his for a moment before recognition set in. Jason would have thought Corey’s blush was adorable, except it was accompanied by a look of embarrassment.

“Oh shit,” he whispered, his voice rough. “I can’t believe I fell asleep.” As he started to pull away, Jason fought the urge to draw the man back into his arms. Corey sat up, and scrubbed the heel of his hands over his face. “I guess I was more tired than I realized,” he said sheepishly.

“Yeah,” Jason agreed. “It sounds like we both had a long day.” He looked out the window. “I’m not sure if you’re going anywhere this morning. It’s coming down pretty hard out there.”

Corey followed his gaze. “Shit,” he muttered. “I guess that storm hit sooner than expected.” He stood and walked to the window. “Damn, that’s a lot of snow.”

Jason joined his friend and was surprised to see more than a foot of the white stuff on the ground. “I think you might be stuck here for a while.”

Corey bit his lower lip, his expression unreadable. “It looks that way,” he agreed.

Jason stared down at his friend, feeling a strong desire to run his fingers through the man’s sleep tousled hair… to kiss the lips that looked so inviting. With an internal sigh, he wrenched his attention to the clock on the wall. “If you want to take a shower, I can find you something to wear, and get breakfast started.” The thought of Corey; naked, wet and soapy, did nothing to bank his desire. Cursing himself, he shifted so his erection wouldn’t be so noticeable. “Pancakes okay?”

Corey looked out the window again before nodding. “A shower would be great.” His mouth turned up into a crooked smile. “And you know how much I love pancakes.”

Jason chuckled, feeling some of the tension in the room dissipate. Whenever Corey had stayed at their house when they were younger, his mom would make him chocolate chip pancakes which the small boy could somehow decimate in minutes. “I think I may have chocolate chips in the pantry.”

Corey’s grin widened to a happy smile. “Then I’d better hurry up with that shower.”

After setting out a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt, Jason started on breakfast. The coffee was on and the first few pancakes were on the griddle when Corey walked, barefoot, into the kitchen. Jason fought a smile thinking how cute the other man looked in clothes that were a too big for him.

As if he could hear Jason’s thoughts, Corey shot him a glare before sitting at the breakfast bar. “Don’t say a word.”

Jason bit back a laugh. “Wasn’t going to.” Corey stuck his tongue, making him lose the battle. “Very mature, Cor.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Corey scoffed, although his eyes twinkled with amusement. “Just give me my damned pancakes.”

“Of course, Your Majesty”

Soon, all of the pancakes were gone and they were sipping their second cup of coffee. The snow didn’t look like it was letting up any time soon. After watching a movie, they read from Jason’s extensive library, enjoying the quiet companionship. It felt… comfortable.

“You know,” Corey said, breaking the silence, and sounding pensive. “I don’t think you’ve ever told me why you decided to move to Kingston.” Jason saw the expectant look on his friend’s face, but didn’t know how to answer his question. They’d discussed his apology to Pierre a long time ago, but he had glossed over his relationship with Luc, still too embarrassed to talk about the man.

“I needed a change,” he answered, with a shrug. “I was getting tired of the city, and this opportunity fell into my lap.”

“You didn’t know I lived here, did you?”

“No.” Jason set down his book. “I had no idea until Drew told me the day before his wedding.”

“Would you have come if you’d known?”

Jason focused on his friend, thinking carefully about his answer. Corey’s eyes were bright with curiosity, but they also held a hint of insecurity. “I don’t know, Cor… I would’ve had to put more thought into the decision,” Jason answered, knowing he owed it to Corey to be honest. He hurried on when hurt bled into the brunette’s expression. “Not because I didn’t want to see you… I would have been worried my being here might upset you.”

Corey looked sad for a moment before giving him a strained smile. “That’s very thoughtful. For what it’s worth, I’m happy you didn’t know.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “You are?”

“Yeah.” The other man looked up at him through his lashes. “If you had known I might not have had the chance to get my head out of my ass, and we wouldn’t be friends now.” The younger man shifted forward and took Jason’s hand. “I really missed you, no matter how much I told myself I didn’t care you were out of my life.”

Jason felt tears prick the corner of his eyes. “I really missed you too, Cor. I wanted to apologize to you so many times over the years, but I didn’t know where you were.”

“And Drew told you to stay the hell away from me.” Corey said quietly. His smile looked sad when Jason’s shocked gaze met his. “He told me after the first time we ran into each other outside the gym.”

“Oh….” Jason wasn’t sure what to say. Even though he knew why his brother had told him to back off, part of him always wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t listened.

“I get why Drew did it,” he said, after a few moments of silence. “I was so angry….” Corey sighed, leaning back against the couch.

“I’m really sorry, Cor….”

“I know you are, Jase. You don’t need to keep apologizing.” With a smile, he turned his head to look up at Jason. “We’ve both grown up a lot. I’m thankful we were given the opportunity to find each other again.”

In order to burn a few calories, and to break the serious mood, Corey offered to help Jason shovel the driveway before the snow got too deep. The wind had caused high drifts in some areas, making for a heavy job. They worked side-by-side, clearing the steps, and making slow progress in the driveway. It seemed as though snow filled back in almost as fast as they could clear it. With the storm, the street was deserted, but Jason thought he heard the telltale sound of an approaching plow. They watched as the big vehicle pushed a snowbank into the driveway. “Damned plows,” both men cursed at the same time, before bursting into laughter.

“Let’s do this.” Corey slapped Jason on the back. By the time they cleared the white mountain, both men were breathing heavily. Jason was surveying their hard work when he was suddenly hit with a frozen missile.

“What the hell?” He turned in time to see another snowball sailing his way. Ducking, he grabbed a handful of snow, flinging it at the mischievous brunette. It missed by a mile, although Corey’s shot hit the blonde square in the chest. “Oh, you’re so dead!”

Corey snickered as he took off running up the driveway, and scrambled over a snowbank. Jason gave chase, stopping to scoop the occasional fistful of snow as they ran. His yard wasn’t fenced, making it an obvious escape route. Unfortunately, the younger man lost his footing in a drift and stumbled, giving Jason the time he needed to knock him into the snow. Laughing, they struggled for dominance as they rolled around. When they finally stopped, Jason was on top of Corey, pinning his arms over his head. The handsome brunette bucked, trying to dislodge the larger man. With his cheeks rosy from the cold, and his eyes sparkling with happiness, he was breathtaking.

Corey stilled and his laughter died away, as he looked up at Jason. Realizing he must have been staring too long, he pulled his gaze away. “Jase?” Corey asked, sounding hesitant. Very aware of the beautiful man trapped beneath him, Jason fought the urge to press their bodies together… to know if Corey was as affected. He drew in a breath and pushed himself away, rolling onto his back. The chill of the snow was a welcome diversion.

“You’re a brat,” he joked, trying to ignore the lust thrumming through his body.

Corey lay quietly for a few moments, staring into the swirling snow, before standing and offering his hand. “Don’t be hating because I got you.” The younger man smirked as he pulled Jason to his feet.

Dusting snow off their clothes they trudged towards the back patio door. ‘Yeah,’ Jason thought as he followed Corey into the house. ‘You got me.’

Thank you my editor, friend and mentor, Gary.  You help me more than you realize.    Thank you to all of you who read and support this story.