*

Sean grabbed the doorknob again. He shook it, pulled and pushed. The door remained closed.

"I don’t believe this. This-this is ridiculous." He turned and glared at the man lounging on the floor.

"This is all your fault." The man stayed still until Sean gave him a small kick in the ankle. Nathan shifted and sat up, yawning and stretching like he was waking from a nap. Sean refused to look at the way the gray and blue striped shirt showed off the other man’s chest.

Nathan crossed his arms and leaned against an unfinished wall. "How is this my fault?" There were small holes near the top of the walls on all sides that let light in. Sean refused to think about the fact that they let in air too. The closet was just a big space with nothing in it but the two of them.

Sean sighed and sat down. "I believe you said, 'let's explore, Gina and Lawrence won't mind.' Next thing you know we're in some unfinished part of their new house locked in a closet. A closet! Oh god, the jokes Joss and Alan are going to make. I can almost hear them now."

Nathan’s foot nudged his thigh. "You have to admit it is pretty funny considering why I suggested we take a walk in the first place."

Sean wished he could push Nathan's foot away. He knew why Nathan had wanted to talk alone and he'd planned to say the same thing he'd been saying for the past month. No, they were not going to have some hidden relationship that involved fake girlfriends and separate addresses.

He put his head in his hands so he wouldn't have to look at Nathan. The man had a way of making Sean forget any and every promise he’d made to himself when he'd come to L.A. It was hard to stay away from someone you’d fallen for when you worked closely together. He had to admit though that Nathan kept it pretty professional, as much as he was able to, when they were filming or doing any of the dozen things that came from shooting a movie. He teased Sean but he teased everyone. The trouble they had came after the camera stopped rolling, and Joss told them to get their asses home because the next day was going to be hell on earth.

"We talked about this. My answer's the same. We both deserve more and I don’t want to duck and dodge and worry every time we’re out together or if you spend the night."

He felt Nathan move closer. "So you’d rather what? Just have a working relationship? We tried that. Guess what? I don’t end up in Alan's bed or Joss's bed…" He paused. "Well, there was that one time but that doesn’t count. Anyway we sleep together already. I have your favorite beer in my refrigerator and whom are you keeping the Canadian beer in your fridge for? Any stray hockey player that stops by?"

His hand stroked Sean's knee. "We laugh together about corny, dorky shit and I listened when you told me that stuff about high school. There’s no one else I can imagine talking with the way I talk with you." Sean could feel Nathan’s body heat as he scooted closer to Sean. Their shoulders touched and Nathan’s hand moved higher on his thigh. His voice was hypnotizing in the silence of the small room.

"Plus you give head like a high priced hooker and I love that. I love everything you do and I know you like what I do to you. It doesn’t matter what we have to do to stay together. You want to smile at the cameras and turn the question away when they ask where’s your date, that's fine. But it will cost you. It'll cost both of us. I just want us to have our cake and eat it too. You want our friends to know? Our nearest and dearest? I'm fine with that. I'm not ashamed of you, but I do want to see where this Hollywood thing can go. Your career is important to you and it's important to me. What we have in this closet and out of it is between us. We don't have to proclaim anything from any rooftop to be happy."

Sean found himself nodding along with Nathan's words. The man could sell any idea. The hand on Sean's leg disappeared and reappeared on his neck. Sean went with the small tug that led him to Nathan’s lips. The kiss was hungry and full of need. Nathan didn’t say it a lot but he did seem to need Sean. They'd clicked right from the beginning. It hadn't taken long for the looks and touches to turn to something else.

A warm, callused hand snuck in between the buttons of his shirt and pressed into the skin on his chest. Sean grabbed at Nathan’s waist. He didn't know if he was trying to urge him on or stop him. It would be incredibly crass of them to have sex in Gina’s unfinished closet. He moaned at the sensation of Nathan's lips on his throat. That was his weak spot and he could only gasp as Nathan sucked and nibbled on different areas. He managed to push Nathan away and button his shirt back up.

"We need to get out of here, and we don't need to get back to the party looking like we've been making out."

Nathan tugged him back into a kiss. "It'd save us from having to tell everyone."

Sean rolled his eyes and stood up. "They're going to miss us eventually. Maybe if I banged on the door?"

Nathan stood up behind him and stretched. "I have a better idea." He pulled out his phone and hit a few buttons. "Hey, Adam. Get your ass over to the back of the house. Yeah, the unfinished part. Sean and I are having problems with some door. No, you don't have to send out search dogs, just hoof it over here." He hung up and shoved the phone back into his pocket. Sean crossed his arms and frowned. Nathan stared back like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.

"What? You never asked if I had my phone on me. I mean I know I’m always losing it but I programmed this one with my favorite songs. No way am I going through that again."

Sean couldn't do anything but laugh, especially when Nathan pulled him close and gave him a messy, happy kiss.

end

---

Your Name
Your Email Address
Subject
Feedback: