Lovely Way to Burn, 2/2

[dhvana]

Lovely Way to Burn, Part One

Lovely Way to Burn, Part Two

Waking up the next morning, groaning at the tremulous state of his stomach and the pounding in his head, Jared had no recollection of the trip to the bedroom. He certainly had no recollection of Jensen waking up and leaving him alone in the bed. All he knew was the kiss, and the hope, and then was awash with complete humiliation when he remembered the rest.

“Fuck,” he muttered, scrambling to his feet. He gathered his scattered belongings and ran out of the house and into the street without even trying to look for Jensen. He had to stop twice to ask for directions, seeing as how he had no idea where in Key West he actually was, but he was finally able to find his hotel before the morning was completely over. He showered, made it to the afternoon seminar, drank a couple gallons of water, and tried to forget the night had ever happened.

It wasn’t that he regretted it, necessarily, though perhaps a little less alcohol wouldn’t have been a bad thing. It was just that Jared prided himself on being a man in control. Everything had its place, and he had protocols ready for when things fell out of place, but he didn’t have a protocol for Jensen. For one night stands, yes, but not for a jack-of-all trades who made him feel like he was once again trapped at that awkward stage between teenager and adult. The very thought of Jensen had him popping boners at the most inopportune moments and he swore he could hear that voice whispering in his ear even when there was no one there.

Jared could handle awkward flirtations, one night stands, hand-jobs in shadows, but where Jensen was concerned, he didn’t know where to begin. Everything about his reaction to the man was a mystery to him for which he had no past experiences to compare it to. The best scenario he could think of to solve his problem was to forget about him. Forget they’d met, forget they’d spoken, forget he’d ever laid eyes on him. It wasn’t like they were joined at the hip; they didn’t even have each other’s numbers. Not to mention, he was only going to be in Key West for a few more days anyway. No point in complicating things.

His plan of avoidance was successful, too, for about two hours. As he walked out of a coffee shop, he spotted a familiar head of spiky blond hair and lean muscular build leaving a small vegetarian café across the street. A single look and Jared forgot he wasn’t supposed to care. His feet did the thinking for him and automatically turned him in a new direction. It was a good thing a lot of this was instinct now, seeing as how his brain had turned off. One thing he’d had learned going into security was how to tail someone, whether it be the client or the person trailing the client, and for the second time in less than twenty-four hours, he found himself following Jensen as he traveled deep into the residential area.

He knew he was being irrational, that both his actions and emotions spoke of a man not completely in charge of his faculties, but he couldn’t stop himself. Haunted by the memory of Jensen’s lips on his, the warmth of his body beneath his, by the niggling feeling in the back of his head that he was missing something, he kept on walking. He was either a man possessed, or just really horny.

Either way, the urge to follow Jensen was irresistible and so he stalked him through the narrow streets. The muggy tropical heat, the relentless sun and the heartless humidity soon had his clothes sticking uncomfortably to his skin, but he put it out of his mind. His focus was completely on Jensen, on the tight jeans, the stretch of his tee-shirt, the rugged walk that led him to a gate in a wall. Jared barely managed to catch the gate before it shut and peered into the yard beyond. The plants were a little overgrown and had been allowed to run a bit wild, so he almost felt like he was walking into a jungle when he slipped inside and first laid eyes on Jensen’s home. It wasn’t anything like the neat and tidy B&B where Kane was staying, but the old conch-style house had its own charm. Historic, but wholesome, not rundown so much as lovingly patched, it was obvious someone cared about the house and they just didn’t have the money to give it the attention it deserved. Like so many of its neighbors, it had been divided up into apartments and Jared was so caught up eyeing the bougainvillea growing up a trellis along one side of the house that he almost missed Jensen slipping through a door in the corner.

Jared stepped carefully onto the porch, making sure the wood wouldn’t creak and give him away, then edged towards the corner apartment. Jensen had left the door open, either because he was in a hurry or to provide some ventilation to the place. Jared cautiously peered around the doorframe into the tiny living room and directly into the bedroom beyond, where Jensen had peeled off his shirt and was rooting around the closet for another one. The sight of all that smooth, tanned skin, the lean muscles, the scatter of freckles across his shoulders, and Jared became painfully aware of just why he’d followed Jensen. Walking into the apartment, he closed the door behind him.

Jensen turned at the sound, his eyes widening when he saw he had a visitor. “Jared?” he frowned. “What are you doing here? How did you find me? What...what are you doing here?”

Later, Jared would smile to remember how flustered Jensen was. Later, he would be embarrassed by the way he crossed the room and took Jensen in his arms, like some sort of hero from a romance novel. Later, his lips would still burn from Jensen’s kiss, his skin would feel flushed and bruised from Jensen’s hands, his body would continue to hum with pleasure. But that was later, when the memories would be all he had left. This was now.

Jared was barely aware of anything around him, his focus devoted entirely to Jensen, to their kiss, to pushing him against the wall and dropping to his knees. He paused only long enough to look up into those green eyes and say, “If you don’t want this, tell me now.”

Though his expression was one of bewilderment and confusion mixed in with the lust, he still answered, “Why wouldn’t I want this?”

It was all the encouragement Jared needed. Jensen’s jeans disappeared around his ankles and his cock made its way into Jared’s mouth. He sucked until he had to hold onto Jensen’s hips to control the mindless thrusts as the taste of Jensen’s leaking cock coated his tongue. When the breathing above him became ragged, Jared pulled away, his ears ringing with the resulting disappointed cry. Rising to his feet, he stripped off his clothes and knelt a naked Jensen down across the bed. He kissed a path down Jensen’s spine, then licked him open until lube and a condom appeared in his hand. He slid it on, slicked them up, and pushed inside, fast enough to make them moan, slow enough to give them time to adjust, and then he began to move.

His thrusts were slow, experimental as he learned the contours of Jensen’s body, trying to discover the movements that would give them both the maximum amount of pleasure. He let the sounds Jensen made be his guide, telling him when he was doing something right until each sound out of Jensen’s mouth was one of pleasure. It was only when the cries turned broken, Jensen’s body writhing with the need for more, that he sped up. He thrust deeper, harder, Jensen’s hips moving to meet him until he was no longer able to keep pace and Jared was pumping mindlessly into him, trying to fight his way inside of this mystery the only way he knew how.

He was aware of Jensen coming by the ripple of the body surrounding him and he knew he was coming by the sharp pulses of pleasure that rushed through him. As they lay afterwards on Jensen’s bed, lips touching with long languid kisses, hips rubbing against each other in wanton semi-arousal, he didn’t fully comprehend he was the one who’d actually done these things until they were interrupted. The desperate knocking on the door pulled everything back into sharp focus and Jared came back to himself, a growing panic filling his veins. This was not him. This was not something he did. He didn’t stalk people, prowling after them with only sex on his brain. These thoughts, these actions, they belonged to someone else. He needed to get out of there, get away from the sight of Jensen, the smell of him, the taste. He needed to ignore the way his body ached to have Jensen’s warmth wrapped around him all over again. He needed to cure himself of Jensen and get his life back in order.

He was already dressed by the time Jensen returned. Jared spared Jared a quick knowing glance before he finished getting dressed.

“I have to go,” Jensen said, no longer meeting his eyes.

Jared nodded. “Okay.” He followed Jensen out of the apartment. A young man, a boy barely into his twenties, stood waiting with impatience and worry in his eyes.

“Come on, Jensen. We have to hurry!”

“Relax, Matt. It’ll be fine.”

“Something wrong?” Jared asked, unable to keep his professional side out of it even though he longed to make his escape.

“Seems I’m needed on bouncer duty tonight,” Jensen said, leading them out of the yard. “Some assholes with too much drink in them might start trouble.”

“They were already talking trash to the girls. I just know things are gonna get bad.”

“Really, Matt, it’ll be okay,” Jensen said, giving him a reassuring smile, tugging him into a one-armed hug. He glanced back at Jared, saw with surprise that he was following them. “You don’t have to come.”

Jared shrugged, not really sure why he was following but unable to stop. “Don’t have anything better to do.” Besides, he kind of wanted to see Jensen in action, see if he was any good. For strictly professional reasons, of course.

Jensen’s eyes were speculative as he looked at him, quite possibly not believing a word Jared said, but he didn’t try to stop him. They hurried their way over the cracked sidewalks and through the alleys back towards the noise and lights of Duval.

The club Jensen was a bouncer at turned out to be the host of the hottest drag show in Key West. It wasn’t like they were hiding it, trying to disguise who they were. The women on the sidewalk passing out flyers and enticing the tourists inside were fairly blatant about their identities. No matter how beautiful she was, a six foot tall woman in heels and an evening gown with an Adam’s apple was pretty much a dead giveaway as to what kind of show anyone entering would expect to see. Which was what confused Jared, that a group of men with closed minds and bigger mouths could go inside and think they could get away with being a bunch of assholes without there being any consequences.

“Gentlemen, ladies,” Jensen began, walking right up to the problem table. Six men and three women in their early twenties, either intoxicated or coming close to it, all of them stared up at Jensen like he was an alien from another planet. He grinned at them, a good ol’ boy smile that was clearly meant to encourage a feeling of camaraderie. “How’re y’all doin’ tonight?”

One of the men failed to be charmed by his grin. “What do you want?”

“Just a friendly chat. I’ve heard you’re being less than polite to the ladies here.”

The man snorted. “Those aren’t ladies.”

Jensen’s eyes grew hard. “And you aren’t a gentleman, but I’m trying to be nice here.”

Jared tensed as the first man’s orneriness passed on to the others, the entire table fidgeting as they focused on Jensen. A couple of the bar’s performers, whose arms told the tale of how many hours they spent in the gym, edged towards the table. Jared met their eyes, nodded, and they nodded back. Jensen now had at least three people as back-up in case things turned sour.

“Listen, man,” the drunk sneered, “why don’t you go have yourself one of those little girly drinks you people like so much-you know, one of those pink things with the little umbrellas in it?-put it on my tab, and let us go back to watching the freaks.”

The ‘won’t you be my neighbor’ friendliness in Jensen’s smile vanished and was replaced by something almost sinister. It was enough to send lustful shivers down Jared’s spine, not the reaction Jensen was going for, he was sure, but it worked for Jared. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to turn down your generous offer and ask you to leave. Now.”

“Fuck off,” the man said, voice filled with disdain.

“I’m going to ask you to leave one more time. If you choose not to remove yourselves from this establishment of your own free will, I’ll take that choice away from you.”

The man’s eyes narrowed. “You threatening me?”

“I’m sure threats will not be necessary” Jensen answered. Jared noted with professional detachment how Jensen sidestepped the question. He was also keeping his arms at his sides, trying not to appear confrontational, though Jared had little doubt it would do any good at this point. At least Jared could confirm that he tried to resolve things in a friendly manner, right before it all went to hell.

The man and his friends stood up. Jared and the two queens stepped forward, the bartender also moving to stand with him. Some of the customers also rose to their feet, glaring at the unwanted intruders.

“Don’t do this, man,” Jensen said, still smiling, though there was nothing reassuring about his smile. Some of the men at the table who were just on this side of sober began to appear apprehensive as they looked at the crowd around them. “It’s Duval. There are plenty of bars that will be happy to have you.”

“I like this one.”

“No, you don’t,” Jensen contradicted him.

“I’m staying.”

“No,” he said, now crossing his arms over his chest, the smile vanishing from his face, “you aren’t.”

Some members of the group began quietly urging the man to let it go, but Jared recognized the intoxicated stubbornness motivating the man’s actions and knew he wasn’t going to leave without a fight. It didn’t help that the entire club was now watching their interaction and the man wasn’t about to lose face by being defeated by a bunch of drag queens.

The man laughed, looked around at his friends, and turned back to Jensen, his arm already in motion. Jensen saw the fist coming and stopped it, but the swing set off a flurry of motion. Right or wrong, the man’s friends weren’t going to let him fight alone. Jared was momentarily deafened by the shouting that erupted around him, by the sound of flesh connecting with flesh, chairs being shoved backwards, glass shattering, but his eyes never left Jensen. Fighting off two of the assholes at once, he was more than holding his own, but Jared’s heart stopped beating when he saw the broken beer bottle falling towards Jensen’s head.

“No!” he shouted, diving across the table. He grabbed the raised arm with one hand and the bottle with the other. He stopped Jensen from getting harmed but wasn’t fast enough to save himself. “Son of a bitch!” he gasped as the glass dug into his skin.

“Jared!” With one swing, Jensen knocked out the instigator of this whole mess and went after the bottle-wielding assailant. The man took one look at Jensen’s face, dropped the bottle, and ran towards the door. One of the queens stuck out an arm before he could reach it and clotheslined him. Clutching his throat, the man was flipped onto his back and lay coughing on the floor.

“You idiot!” Jensen yelled, carefully cradling Jared’s hand in his own. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

“I was trying to keep the bottle from being lodged in your head!”

“And grabbing it was the best way for you to do that?”

“Actually,” Jared said, cheeks growing red, “I was trying to grab his wrist.”

Jensen stared at him for a couple heartbeats, then sighed and shook his head. “You fucking idiot,” he growled, pressing a handful of napkins into Jared’s palm. “Don’t you ever fucking do that again!”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Jared said, smiling at the gruffness in Jensen’s voice, the tenderness with which he tried to staunch the bleeding. He’d been worried about Jensen. It was kind of nice to see Jensen worrying about him.

The melee in the bar seemed to be winding down and Jensen tugged him through the crowd towards the back door. “Come on. This is going to need stitches, and I’d rather not get slowed down by the cops.”

Jared frowned. “What cops?” he asked, and then noticed the flashing lights on the walls that had nothing to do with the club’s décor. “Oh, those cops.”

“Yeah,” Jensen said with a smirk, “those cops.”

Though he knew he should stick around, make sure his and Jensen’s statements were given and that the police knew none of this was Jensen’s fault, his increasing wooziness made him think leaving was a better idea. At least he could blame leaving on the blood loss, even though his hand wasn’t bleeding that badly, instead of on the feeling of Jensen’s hand around his wrist. He would follow Jensen anywhere, so long as he kept touching him.

“So why don’t you want the police to see you?”

Jensen shrugged. “They’re not actually going to get anything accomplished tonight other than settling everyone down and possibly closing the bar for the night, though I hope that doesn’t happen. When they’re ready for my statement, they know where to find me.”

“That’s extremely...” Jared frowned, trying to think of the right word. He was beginning to suspect he’d lost more blood than he’d thought, or maybe the shock was just clouding his mind. “It’s wrong. That’s not how these things work. There’s a procedure, an order that needs to be followed. It’s not like calling a friend to grab a beer. It’s the law.”

Jensen looked back at him, eyebrow arched at Jared’s ramblings. “Things happen at a different pace here in the Keys. I’m not saying they’re going to dismiss me entirely. They can trust me. They know I’m not going to run, especially when I didn’t do anything wrong. When they’ve got time, probably tomorrow after the drunks have been rounded up and sent home, they’ll give me a call and I’ll come in. It’s not a big deal.”

“But-”

“Jared, concentrate. Focus on what’s important here. You’re injured, and why are you injured? Because you GRABBED A BROKEN BOTTLE!”

Jared flinched as Jensen’s voice rose a couple octaves. He probably should have seen that coming. “Sorry?”

“You should be. That was one of the most incredibly fucking stupid things I’ve ever seen!”

“But he was going to hit you with it! In the head!”

Jensen sighed, running his free hand through his hair. “I know. That’s why it’s so fucking difficult to be mad at you.”

Jared’s heart perked up. “Yeah?”

“In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that you hurt your hand, I’d be taking you home and thanking you properly.”

“You know, I think I’m all right,” Jared said, trying to tug Jensen back towards Duval and then to his hotel.

“No, you’re not,” Jensen said, keeping a firm grip on Jared’s wrist and continuing to walk away from Duval. “We’re going to get you stitched up, tucked in, and then...I’m still working on then.”

The frown was back as Jensen thought about ‘then’ and Jared had to wonder just what it was Jensen was trying to decide. There was something going on behind those green eyes Jared couldn’t interpret-he wasn’t sure he wanted to. After all, this thing between them, it wasn’t going any further than the end of the week. There wasn’t anything to feel conflicted about. Right? Right.

Jared wasn’t surprised when he once more found himself in the yard of the B&B where Kane was staying. “Shouldn’t we be going to the doctor?”

Jensen snorted. “If you’d seen how many bar fights the guys had survived, not to mention just general stupidity, you wouldn’t be surprised they’ve got a doctor traveling with them.”

“Jenny!” Chris called in greeting from where he was lounging with his guitar on a picnic table. “What’s up?”

“Had a bit of trouble at work. Is Ben sober?”

“Mostly. You okay?”

“I’m fine. Jared’s in need of a few stitches though.”

“That sucks. Hey McKenzie!” Chris bellowed and a few seconds later, a window upstairs opened. A pair of irritated blue eyes peered down into the yard.

“What?!”

“You’re needed!”

“Now?”

“Yes now!”

“I’m kind of busy!”

“She can wait! Get your ass down here!”

The man looked conflicted for a second then caved. “Fine!”

“You know,” Jared said with a nervous eye towards the window, “if this isn’t a good time...”

Chris waved him off as he hopped off the table. “It’s alright. She can wait while he fixes you up. Jenny, want a beer?”

“Sure,” he nodded, guiding Jared towards the abandoned table and sat him down on the bench. He pulled up a chair next to him to keep a watchful eye on Jared. “How’s the hand?”

Jared looked down at his palm. The napkins had soaked through with blood and were pretty much attached to his skin at this point. He was almost afraid to peel the napkins away-not because he was afraid of what his hand looked like underneath, but because he knew it was going to hurt like a bitch.

“It’s fine.”

“Sure it is.”

“All right,” a man said as he walked towards them, a scowl on his face. He had short blond hair, quick blue eyes, and fingers that were already reaching for Jared’s hand. “I’m Ben, the doctor to these clowns.”

“Jared.”

“Pleasure to meet you. What happened?”

“Grabbed a broken beer bottle.”

“Smooth,” he said, peeling off the napkins. Jared hissed and Jensen immediately placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Doesn’t look too bad. Come on inside. We’ll get you cleaned up and stitched up and then I can get back to work.”

“And Jared?” Jensen asked.

Ben shrugged. “So long as he’s right-handed, he can go back to work, too.”

Jensen growled. “That’s not what I meant.”

“He’ll be fine. A good night’s sleep, some antibiotics, tetanus shot?” The last a question aimed at Jared, who shook his head.

“I’m up-to-date.”

“No tetanus shot then. Just keep the stitches clean, keep your hand raised above your heart, check in with your doctor when you get home, and you’ll be good as new. Now come on. Jensen, you stay here. I don’t need you glaring at me over my shoulder. I promise not to hurt your boyfriend any more than I have to.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Jensen glowered, “and you’d better not.”

Ben rolled his eyes as he turned and walked back towards the house. “Whatever. Jared, hurry your ass up.”

Before he could follow, Jensen placed a hand on Jared’s knee and looked at him with worried eyes. “You gonna be all right?”

Jared’s gazed followed the stomping of the doctor across the yard. “He’s good, right?”

“He just got cockblocked,” Jensen chuckled. “He’s allowed to be grumpy.”

That wasn’t the reassurance he was looking for. “Jensen...”

“Ben’s one of the best,” he said, giving Jared’s knee a reassuring squeeze. “Chris wouldn’t have hired him if he wasn’t. Now go get fixed up. When you’re done, I’ll be waiting right here.”

“All right,” he sighed and stood up. “Better get this over with.”

“Yell if you need anything,” Jensen said, taking a long drink from his beer.

“Don’t drink too much,” Jared said, leering back at him. “You heard the doctor, I might need a hand tonight.”

Jensen coughed as he choked a little on his beer, and Jared’s smile was triumphant as he followed Ben into the house. The doctor was in the kitchen, the only room in the house completely flooded with light. He had Jared take a seat at the table, made sure everything was sanitized and every tool he needed was at hand, and set to work. Any worries Jared might have had about Ben’s competence vanished as he watched the nimble fingers clean his palm and neatly stitch his skin back together.

“How’d you end up here?” he had to ask.

“I was working at one of those twenty-four hour emergency clinics in Austin when Jensen brought Chris in, the man attempting to turn his insides into his outsides. It was just a case of food poisoning, but Chris liked my no-nonsense approach to dealing with him.”

“In other words, you told him to sit down and shut up.”

“Basically,” Ben said with a fond smile. “Once I had them both calmed down, I was able to put them at ease and walked them through the whole thing. Chris was so impressed, he offered me a job. I took it and now here I am.”

“You don’t ever wish you were somewhere else, doing something a little more important?”

Ben shook his head. “Never. These people are my friends, and there’s nothing more important than looking after them. Besides, it’s practically a full time job. They’re like fucking ten-year-olds, can’t even step outside without scraping a knee or breaking a toe. They need constant looking after and I don’t think anyone else would put up with them like I do.”

Jared chuckled. “Yeah, I guess not. Thanks for patching me up, by the way. I appreciate it.”

“Any friend of Jensen’s,” he shrugged. “It’s always good to come here and see him. I miss having him around.”

“He used to travel with you?”

“You didn’t know?” Jared shook his head. “Jensen and Steve joined at the same time and then one day, a couple years ago, Jensen just up and quit. Never did figure out why. Could be he was tired of touring, or it could be he just wanted to do something different with his life.”

“If that’s the case, I don’t think he’s figured out what yet.”

“Yeah,” Ben said with a slight frown. “It worries Chris, the way he seems to be drifting in place. He keeps hoping Jensen will come back, but I don’t think that’ll happen. I think he’s waiting for something; he just doesn’t know what.”

Jared nodded. That was kind of the impression he had of Jensen, too, what with the miscellaneous jobs and his reluctance to talk about his future. It was too bad Jensen was apparently content to just stand still. He had so much potential. Hell, after seeing the way he’d handled himself tonight, Jared wouldn’t have minded having Jensen on his team.

And then it hit him. He could ask Jensen to go back with him to Houston, hire him to be part of the team. He had no doubt everyone would love him, Jensen would have a steady job with benefits, and they wouldn’t have to quit this thing they had going between them. It was perfect!

His entire body was practically twitching by the time Ben finished with his hand. He didn’t want to wait another second before telling Jensen his brilliant idea. The second the doctor released him, he was out the door.

“Jensen!” he said, nearly running across the yard to where Jensen and Chris were waiting.

Jensen rose to meet him, worry lingering around his eyes. “You all right?” he asked, running his hands over Jared’s arms, as if feeling for himself Jared was in one piece.

“Nineteen stitches, nothing to worry about. Ben said they were shallow and mostly in the flesh of my palm, so there shouldn’t be any nerve damage or loss of mobility.”

“That’s awesome!” Jensen grinned, the tension leaving his body as he stepped closer to Jared, his voice dropping an octave as his hands settled on Jared’s hips. “Now, about what you said earlier...”

“Still stands, but there’s something I want to ask you first. How would you like to come work for me?”

An invisible wall slammed down between them and Jensen stepped back, removing all contact from Jared. “What?”

“I own a security firm and I saw how you worked tonight. You were amazing and I know you would be a valuable asset to the team. I’ll fly you to Houston, let you meet everyone, get a feel for the place, and then if you decided to stay-”

“No.”

The anger in his voice was like a punch to the stomach and Jared knew he had to work fast. “Jensen, just listen to me-”

“I said no. I am not going anywhere. I’m not your goddamn charity case and I don’t need you to try and save me.”

“Jensen, I don’t think that’s what he’s saying,” Chris said, trying to break the tension in the yard.

“Shut up, Chris. You think I don’t know you’d have me jump at this, that you’d fly me to Houston yourself if you thought I’d let you?”

“I think you’re making a big mistake by not hearing the man out,” he said when Jensen’s eyes grew wide.

“I should have realized-of course that’s why you’re on his side! You set this up, didn’t you? You brought him here to try and get me to find real work.”

“Now you’re just being paranoid. I didn’t meet this boy until you brought him around and you know it, but I do think it’s time you got a fucking job. I’m tired of worrying about you, about what could happen to you.”

“Forget it, Chris, and fuck you. Fuck you both.”

They watched as Jensen stormed out of the yard, Jared feeling like he just got bitch-slapped by a tornado. What the hell?

“That stupid son of a bitch,” Chris growled. “I should have just kicked some sense into him and let you drag him home with you.”

But Jared’s head was still whirling as he turned to Chris. “What the fuck just happened?”

“Wasn’t you, kid. Well, wasn’t just you,” he said, clapping Jared on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s grab you a beer and then you can relax. Feel free to crash upstairs if you want to. Looks like Jenny’s room is going to be free tonight.”

He didn’t want a beer. He wanted to go after Jensen, and even started towards the street when Chris’s hand tightened.

The musician gave a slight shake of his head. “Now’s not the time. Let him cool off a bit, see how he overreacted, and then you might be able to get through that stubborn head of his.”

“All I wanted was to offer him a job and see how he felt about maybe sticking around. I didn’t think he’d go all psycho on me and I really don’t understand why he went all psycho on you.”

Chris gave Jared a onceover, his eyes speculative, then nodded towards the tiki bar. “I’ll explain,” he said, walking towards the palm-covered hut where he grabbed them a couple of beers. They dragged two chairs away from the rest of the group and sat down, Jared’s focus completely on Chris. “The whole odd-jobs/street performer career never bothered me. I’m a musician. I’ve been there. If I hadn’t gotten my big break, I’d probably still be there. It’s the fact that he’s doing all this when he doesn’t have to that pisses me off. He could have stayed with the band. I’ll never understand why he didn’t and he’s never bothered to explain. And then I show up here one day to find him near death’s door because he managed to catch himself pneumonia and couldn’t afford to go the hospital.”

“That happened?”

“Last winter,” Chris said, his hand shaking slightly as he lifted the bottle to his mouth. “Boy’s lucky I got there when I did or he’d have been dead. I had an ambulance come pick him up and drag him there and he’s never forgiven me, mostly because I paid all his bills and won’t let him pay me back. But that’s when I started raggin’ on him to find a real job, and you’ve seen how that goes.”

“He’s an idiot.”

“Tell me about it,” Chris chuckled. “I know y’all barely know each other, but he likes you, better than he’s liked a lot of people. I keep hoping he’ll give you a chance.”

“It’s insane,” Jared said, practically whispered. “I just saw him one night and he’s been stuck in my veins ever since. I can feel him crawling through me, always just under my skin, and I don’t know what to do. I can’t get rid of him. I don’t know if I want him to stay.”

“You do.” Jared gave him a questioning look and Chris sighed. “I know it sound like I’m trying to marry off my best friend to you so I don’t have to be the only one worrying about him, and maybe I am, but also, I just want to see him happy.”

“How do you know that’ll happen with me?”

“I don’t. I’m just hoping.”

“Too bad he doesn’t agree,” Jared said, finishing off his beer in one long swallow. “I think I’m going to go collapse upstairs, mainly because I’m not sure I could make it home on my own.”

“You’re welcome to stay. And who knows-maybe he’ll come to his senses and you won’t end up sleeping alone.”

But Jensen didn’t return. Jared left the next morning with only Steve and Ben to see him off. Ben walked him back to Duval and made sure he got his prescription filled at the Walgreens. Jared bought him a cup of coffee as a thank you for everything, then wandered back to his hotel. For the next two days, he kept an eye open for Jensen but didn’t actively search him out. He hoped they might run into each other but he wasn’t going to force a meeting. He wanted Jensen to want to see him without appearing desperate, or like a stalker.

His second to last night in Key West, Jared decided to join the crowd in Mallory Square and watch the sun set. He bought a mango mojito from Mr. Mojito and took a seat on the dock with his legs swinging over the edge. It was a good night for the sunset-no cruise ships blocking the view, no evening thunderstorms darkening the sky, and, seeing as how he was surrounded by happy couples, he figured the only thing he was missing was someone to share it with.

“This seat taken?”

Jared looked up and froze. “Jensen?”

Without waiting for an answer, Jensen sat down next to him. “It’s been pounded into me, almost literally, that I acted like an ass the other night and I’d like to apologize.”

His mind still overwhelmed by the idea that Jensen was sitting next to him, Jared had only one response. “Okay.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Okay.”

“I know you didn’t mean anything by it, that you were only trying to be nice, and I may have overreacted.”

“Huh.”

Jensen glanced over at him out of the corner of his eye, almost as if he were afraid to meet Jared’s gaze, of what he might see there. “You still mad at me?”

Truth was, Jared didn’t know how he felt. At first, he was so relieved to see Jensen, he didn’t care why he was there. Then he was distracted by the heat of Jensen’s thigh touching his, the warmth spreading outward through his body and making his skin itch with the need to be touched. After that, he figured it didn’t matter why Jensen was there so long as he stayed.

“I’ve got two nights left in Key West. The way I see it, we can either take advantage of them or we can pretend this whole thing never happened.”

Jensen was quiet for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t want to pretend.”

“Neither do I,” Jared smiled, “so let’s finish watching the sun set and then we can lock ourselves in my room until I have to leave.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jensen smiled. He leaned forward, pressing a soft, uncertain kiss to Jared’s lips. When he wasn’t rejected, he grew more confident and deepened the kiss, licking and nibbling until Jared allowed him entrance. Jared moaned softly as he welcomed Jensen inside, leaning forward to press their bodies closer together.

“Want to skip the sunset?” he asked when they finally paused for air.

“You’re the guest here. It’s your choice.”

It was an easy choice. “I can see sunsets at home. I can only see you here.”

Jensen rewarded him with a blinding smile and they scrambled to their feet. Taking hold of Jensen with his good hand, he pulled him to the hotel, afraid if he let go he might disappear, but Jensen held on tight, as unwilling to be lost as Jared was to lose him. Once they reached his room, Jared locked the door as promised, only opening it long enough to let in room service. Neither of them left until it was time for Jared to go. Jensen said good-bye to him at the hotel and the last Jared saw of him was the wave of his hand as he walked away.

Epilogue: Six Months Later

The phone at his desk beeped and Jared answered.

“Still moping?” Chad asked.

“I’m not moping.” He was totally moping. Not a day had gone by since he’d returned that he didn’t mope. It made Chad so depressed to be around him that he swore never to make Jared take a vacation ever again. Jared didn’t argue with him.

“Liar.”

“What do you want?” he sighed.

“There’s another prospect from your friend in Florida here to see you.”

Though he’d yet to hear a word from Jensen himself, two men and one woman had shown up at Jared’s business looking for work, all of them carrying recommendations from Jensen. Even if he’d refused Jared’s job offer himself, he clearly had no qualms seeing to it the position was filled by someone equally-or even more-qualified. Jared had hired all three applicants and, as he’d suspected, they’d proven themselves to be an asset to the business. He had no doubt Jensen’s latest would be the same.

“Send them back.”

A few seconds later, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

There was a moment of hesitation before the door swung open. Jared’s jaw dropped. “Jensen?”

“Hi,” he said with a shy smile as he walked into the room, shutting the door behind him. There was a beat of silence.

“Jensen?”

“Oh, good, you remember my name. For a moment there, I’d thought you’d forgotten.”

The uncertainty building up in Jensen’s eyes snapped Jared out of his stupor. “It’s good to see you,” he said, and Jensen relaxed. “So what are you doing here?”

He shrugged. “I was in town, thought I’d stop by, see how you’re doing.”

Because Jared was going to buy that. “Jensen,” he said, and the man relented.

“I wanted to see you. I was hoping that...maybe...”

“Yes?” he prompted and Jensen scowled at him.

“You’re not going to make this easy on me, are you?”

Jared chuckled. “Not a snowball’s chance in hell.”

“Fine,” he huffed. “I guess I’ll just get to the point then. I’m not here for a job.”

That caught him off guard. “You’re not?”

“No. I don’t date people I work with.”

“Oh,” Jared said, disappointment filling his heart until his mind caught up with Jensen’s words. “OH!”

“Which leads me to my next question,” Jensen said, grinning at Jared’s delayed reaction, “are you single?”

Jared’s body flushed with a heat that rivaled Key West in July. “Yes.”

“How do you feel about giving us a chance?”

“I think...I feel pretty good about that.”

Jensen walked around the desk and leaned down to give Jared a kiss. “Me, too.”

[Finished July 31, 2008]