Second Chance(26)

There was an agonising pause before Jack said carefully, “I think I’d be up for giving it a try.”

Slightly offended that Jack hadn’t jumped at the offer, Nate rolled his eyes. “Well don’t bite my hand off. Jesus. You were the one who pounced on me on Saturday.”

“I didn’t pounce! I thought I was pretty smooth actually.”

“Hmm. Well you just keep telling yourself that.”

They were both grinning at each other now, and for a moment Nate thought Jack was going to kiss him again. But then Jessie came bounding over and barked at them, tail wagging, obviously impatient to get on with the walk.

“Sorry, girl, are we keeping you waiting?” Nate patted her head and she barked again.

Jack chuckled. “That sounds like a yes to me.”

They started walking again, with a new air of tension between them. Knowing it was mutual now, it was easier to bear. There was an edge of anticipation, a what-happens-next feeling that persisted even though neither of them brought up the subject again.

When they got back to the car, Nate gave Jessie some water to drink before getting her to jump into the boot. She lay down immediately, exhausted from running circles around them for miles.

They both climbed in, but Nate didn’t start the engine. He was afraid that unless something happened today with him and Jack, one or both of them might change their minds and the chance would slip away.

The car park was deserted apart from them, so Nate turned to Jack and said, “So, are we really going to do this then?”

“Do what?” Jack’s eyes glinted with mischief as he tried to look innocent.

Nate glared at him. “You know what.”

“I want to.” Jack put a hand on Nate’s knee, suddenly switching from teasing to serious.

The warm pressure of his palm spread like molten liquid in Nate’s bloodstream, sparking arousal in his groin and the pit of his belly. He turned, leaning across to grab the collar of Jack’s coat. Their gazes locked.

This time it was Nate who took charge of the kiss. Tugging Jack closer, he moved in, pressing his mouth to Jack’s with no hesitation. It was awkward, their bodies twisted in their seats, the gear stick and handbrake between them. Their lips were cold from being outside, but when Nate deepened the kiss he felt sleek warmth as Jack opened for him on a quiet gasp of breath. Jack tightened his hand on Nate’s thigh and slid it higher, sending another jolt of want through Nate.

Nate was considering the logistics of climbing over to sit in Jack’s lap, when the sound of a car engine made him pull away quickly. “We can’t do this here.”

“No.” Jack was gratifyingly breathless. “Fuck. I want to though.”

“Me too.” Nate’s heart was racing, high on the thrill of wanting and being wanted back.

Jack adjusted his cock through his jeans. “Damn that’s uncomfortable. I guess you don’t have that problem.” His smile took away any sting those words might have caused.

“Actually I do, sort of. My dick might be small compared to yours but it still gets hard. And right now it’s pressing against the seam of my jeans in a way that’s rather distracting.”

“So you get erections?” Jack looked interested.

“Yep. Cis women’s clits get hard when they’re turned on. But they’re usually pretty small so it’s hard to tell. But my dick grew quite a bit from the hormones, and you can definitely tell when I’m hard.” Nate watched Jack carefully, tension making his heart race. He was afraid of seeing uncertainty or—God forbid—disgust. Some gay cisgender guys were put off by Nate’s anatomy, but Jack already knew Nate hadn’t had lower surgery so hopefully it wasn’t going to be an issue. If it was though, better to find out now rather than when they got naked together.

“Cool,” Jack said, seeming completely unconcerned. Nate relaxed again. “Sorry if I ask stupid questions. I should probably look up the answers online. I did read some of your blog, by the way…. But you don’t really go into those kinds of details there.”

“Yeah.” Nate huffed out a laugh. “I’m not comfortable discussing my junk quite so publicly.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“And you can ask me things. I don’t mind. Sometimes googling trans stuff brings up shitty results—and never read the comments.”

Jack laughed. “Isn’t that the first rule of the internet in general?”

“True.” Nate started the engine. “Look, we made the windows steam up.”

Jack grinned. “That bodes well.”

Nate turned the fan on full blast. “Yeah.” He glanced sidelong at Jack. “Nothing like a bit of delayed gratification to ramp things up too.”

“So, when can we get together with some privacy?” Jack asked.

The mist on the windows was clearing now, so Nate started to reverse out of the space. “Well… at my place? Almost never. Cass hardly ever goes out on weeknights, and my mum’s usually in at the weekends. How about at your house?”

“My parents are sometimes both out. But I’m not sure when that’s happening next. I’ll let you know.”

Turning out onto the road, Nate sighed in frustration. “God, it’s annoying not having any privacy.”