Like a Lover by Jay Northcote Read Free Book Online Page B

make light
of it, but the words stuck in his throat. Again, he wondered what he was doing
here and why he was doing this to himself.
    “I don’t
drink at all.” Josh didn’t volunteer any more information, and the closed
expression on his face discouraged Rupert from asking why.
    “So, what
do you do in your free time?” he asked instead, trying to get the conversation
flowing. “Do you have time for hobbies?”
    “Not much,”
Josh said. “Studying takes up most of my spare time, but I read to relax, or
watch films, sometimes play computer games. I swim too—to keep fit.”
    “Indoors?
Or in the sea?”
    “Both. But
indoors in the winter. I’m not one of those mad people who swim in the sea all
year round. Have you seen them? There are some people who swim in the middle of
winter.” Josh mock shivered at the thought of it. “They don’t even wear
wetsuits.”
    Rupert
chuckled. “Ouch.”
    “Yeah. I
use the university pool in the colder weather, but I love swimming in the sea
when it’s warm enough.”
    The
awkwardness from before had dissipated. Josh was animated and smiling, and
seeing him like that made Rupert feel warm inside. Their knees brushed where
Josh had angled himself to face Rupert, and the small point of contact was
tantalising. Rupert wanted to touch him all over.
    Soon .
    While they
finished their drinks, Rupert answered Josh’s questions about his own hobbies.
They both liked reading, although Rupert was more into contemporary fiction
whereas Josh liked sci-fi and mysteries. There was more crossover in movie
tastes, though they both liked quite a range.
    The
slightly halting conversation gradually became easier as they relaxed and
opened up, and it felt like they were on a date. The subtle flirtation of
extended eye contact and the warm pressure where their legs touched made
Rupert’s nerves and excitement build as they got closer to the time where they
would take this somewhere private.
    Josh was
fiddling with a beer mat, tearing strips off it with his slender fingers, and
Rupert’s eyes kept getting drawn to the movement. He wondered if Josh was
nervous too and whether this was his way of channelling it.
    When both
their glasses were empty, Rupert finally gave in to the urge to reach for Josh.
He took Josh’s hand and laced their fingers together. Squeezing gently, he
asked, “Do you want to get out of here?”
    As though
Josh’s answer wasn’t already a foregone conclusion.
    Josh paused
for a beat, biting his lower lip, before going along with it. “Yeah, let’s do
that.”
    Rupert kept
hold of Josh’s hand as they wove their way between the tables. Josh didn’t try
to pull away, and Rupert felt the thrill of possession as he noticed a few
people glancing their way and noticing their joined hands. The idea they might
assume Josh was his boyfriend made Rupert’s stomach flip, shocked by how much
he wanted that. Once again he found himself wondering what the hell he was
playing at.
     
     
    Once they
were alone in the hotel lift, Josh reeled him in and kissed him passionately,
erasing all Rupert’s misgivings. Josh threw his head back as Rupert kissed down
his neck, and rode the thigh that Rupert shoved between his legs.
    “Fuck,
yes.” Josh wound his fingers into Rupert’s curls and tugged him back up to his
mouth.
    Distracted,
they almost missed the lift stopping on their floor. Rupert was glad nobody was
waiting to get in, because they couldn’t keep their hands off each other as
they stumbled down the corridor to the room Josh had booked.
    They
stripped as soon as they’d locked the door behind them. Josh seemed as
impatient as Rupert was to touch and taste, and when Josh pulled down his
underwear along with his jeans, his cock was hard and ready. Rupert was glad of
the visible evidence of Josh’s arousal, reassured that Josh wanted him too. He
pulled Josh into his arms for another hungry kiss. Their erections bumped
together, and Rupert took them both in one hand to