Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 1.1 - Sometimes You Just Know (4 page)

man's approval. Which he is, but he doesn't want to
seem
like he is… Molly's voice breaks into his musings. "Justin, are you ready to go?
We've got a twenty-four hour hold on her, so we can talk in the car." She's
standing five feet away, and looking at him a little impatiently. She's come
to accept his sexual preferences, but he wonders sometimes…would she
be this inflexible if he was over here talking to a pretty girl rather than a
handsome guy?
Dan is already moving away, circling around Justin to get back to
whatever business he has with the owner. But Justin really doesn't want to
lose him again. "Dan…" he starts, and Dan pauses and looks back. Justin
really wishes he wasn't doing this in front of his mother. "Uh, are you
living around here?" They're about an hour from home, but it doesn't
really matter. Justin isn't sure what the distance would have to be in order
to discourage him from driving to see Dan; he isn't really sure there
is
such a distance.
Dan gives him a cautious look. "Near Lexington…"
That's about an hour the other side of the Archer farm. That works.
Molly is giving Justin a bit of a look now, and he's dreading the
conversation on the way home, stuck with her in a pickup truck. He
charges on anyway. "Do you want to maybe get a drink sometime?"
There, he put it out there. He only has Carol's snide comments to make
him think that Dan's tastes even run to men, and now that he thinks about
it, she'd really just implied that men wanted him, not that he wanted them
back. And even if he
is
gay, what's Justin got that could interest him?
Especially if Carol was telling the truth about Dan's tastes. "Uh, you know,
I owe you a beer for your help with Magic…"
Dan stares at him for a moment. "The horse has been in the ribbons
seven times in eight events, with one first-place finish and two seconds.
He's sound and enthusiastic, and he's got the potential to go a lot further."
Dan takes a step closer and catches Justin's gaze, and for a moment it's just
them, no barn, no impatient owner, no eavesdropping mother. Dan's voice

"Okay, absolutely, I owe you…." He's not sure how he would have finished the sentence if his mother hadn't been right there. He can't keep his eyes from cutting over towards her, and he sees Dan smirk a little. He realizes that Dan hadn't been totally immune to Molly's earlier comments, and that this little display was his way of getting back at her. At least, it was partly that. Justin still hopes that there's something genuine in the chemistry that Dan seems able to turn off and on at will.

"So when do I get to collect?" Dan's smile is positively seductive now, and Justin's torn between his body's enthusiastic response and his brain's dismay at Dan putting up a mask, keeping them from actually getting to know each other.

But there's time for that, maybe, and hopefully Dan will relax when he doesn't have an audience. "Uh, how about tonight? We could meet somewhere in Lexington, or I could pick you up…"

"Nah, tonight's no good…I'm gonna be working real late. And I've got plans tomorrow…" Justin can almost feel Dan pulling away. "You know what, why don't you give me your number, and I can call you when things settle down a little." Justin sees Molly shift in the background, and figures that this is the final touch of Dan's revenge plan. Molly might not have liked seeing her son pick up in front of her, but she sure as
hell
doesn't want to see her son get rejected. And there's no doubt that's what Dan's doing, moving away now without even pretending to wait for Justin's number.

Justin's tempted to let him go. This guy's got heartache written all over him, and Justin doesn't need the pain. But his body betrays him again, his arm reaching out as he steps forward, his hand grabbing Dan's upper arm. The other man turns to face him, and Justin doesn't know what to say. Dan looks at him intently, and Justin can see his face soften a little just before he looks down at his feet. Justin lets go of his arm, and Dan looks

up again.
"I bartend at the Firehall Friday and Saturday nights," Dan says
quietly. This doesn't feel like a performance for Molly. "I don't really need
you to buy me a beer there, but if you come by towards the end of the
night, I could buy you one." He smiles, but this time there's no mockery in
it. "Then you'd owe me even more…"
"The Firehall. Yeah, okay." Bars don't close until 2:30, and Justin's
up most mornings by 6:00, but for the chance of another genuine smile,
he'll lose the sleep. He steps back, and he sees Dan's face harden up as he
turns away and heads back to work. Justin has no idea what has happened
to this guy to make it so important that he shield himself so well, but he
really wants to find out. He just hopes Dan will give him the chance.

Justin's not the nervous type. He just isn't. He's a professional athlete, a professional
horseman
—if he can't keep his nerves under control, his horse will sense it, and a nervous horse is rarely a good thing in any sort of competition. So he's built on his natural calmness, and made himself almost totally controlled, to the point where people have called him a robot.

A robot. Yeah, right. Justin looks up at the sign for the Firehall, and when he wipes his sweaty hands on his pants, he notices that they're actually trembling a little. He's had little bouts of cold feet several times over the last few days, but they've all been about not wanting to make a fool of himself, or being worried that he'll blow it with Dan; now, he's wondering if he can actually afford to get into a relationship that affects him this much, that makes him this crazy. Is this really what he wants? Dan is seductive, intoxicating, addictive… he makes Justin lose control of himself. And Justin doesn't like to be out of control. Or at least he never thought that he did.

His body takes over again, his hand reaching eagerly for the door handle even as his brain prevaricates. His body knows what
it
wants, at least. And when Justin spots Dan behind the bar, his black T-shirt snug against his lean torso, the jolt of excitement that courses through him silences any doubts he might have been having. Justin stares, watching Dan smile at the woman he's serving. He feels a little lurch in his stomach; he'd thought he'd seen something special in the way Dan had looked at him, had really felt they'd made some connection, but Justin can tell from the way the woman is leaning in that she's feeling the same thing. And when Dan moves down the bar and hands two bottles of beer to a preppy banker-type, Justin sees how Dan lets their fingers brush, gives the guy the

Justin's nerves are back, worse than before. He'd been a fool to think that there's anything special in him, anything special between him and Dan. And then Dan looks up and sees Justin, and the easy smile doesn't come. Dan doesn't give him the practiced, pleasant mask; instead, he looks almost wary. Justin isn't sure what to make of it, but he tries to tell himself that at least this response is different from the others, even if it isn't exactly positive. And then Dan nods down towards the end of the bar where there's a bit of a gap, and Justin works his way towards it. He's come this far; he’s going to keep going.

When Justin gets to the bar, Dan is waiting for him. They just look at each other for a moment, and then Dan nods towards the glass-fronted fridge behind him. "See something you like?" he asks with a hint of a grin, and Justin isn't quite bold enough to finish the joke, just smiles a little back and then looks at the beers in the cooler.

When Dan hands the beer over, their fingers
don't
touch, and again Justin finds himself hoping that the difference is significant. It's a little strange to be pinning his hopes on finding ways that Dan
isn't
flirting with him.

The bar is busy, and Dan doesn't stick around to talk. Justin watches him work, and appreciates the simple economy of motion. No twirls, no extra steps or flourishes, just efficient, functional serving. The only extra energy he uses is devoted to flirting, and Dan seems willing to do that with anyone and everyone. There's a woman working behind the bar with him, and they glide around each other easily, Dan comfortably sliding a hand along her back to let her know when he's moving behind her, the woman gently using her hip to nudge him to the side when they're both trying to use the same preparation area. It takes Justin a while to recognize the unpleasant tightness in his chest as jealousy.
Then Dan is back in front of him, just looking at him again, no smile,

but no hardness either. Just that same touch of wariness, as if Dan is almost as unsure as Justin. "You're a bit earlier than I expected—I've got another two hours at least to work." Dan bites his lip a little, then shrugs. "But I've got a ten minute break now…." He moves away, and Justin almost reaches out to stop him, but then Dan's ducking under the bar and moving around next to Justin, and he's standing really close, and now Justin wants to reach out for a whole different reason. His hand twitches and brushes up against something cold, and he looks down to see the two bottles of beer in Dan's hand. Dan smirks and nods toward the back of the bar, and then he's walking back there and Justin is following him. Justin's dimly aware of the crowd, knows that people are watching Dan, and watching Justin by extension, but all he's really aware of is Dan.

Dan pulls out a key to unlock a door marked 'Employees Only,' and Justin doesn't even pause before he follows him into a narrow hallway, and then through another door that leads to a utilitarian staircase, going up. Dan heads up, and Justin is right on his heels. He has no idea where they're going, and he doesn't even dare to think of what they're going to do when they get there, but he really doesn't care.

There's a landing and another flight of stairs, and then Dan has to use his hip to open a heavier door, and Justin steps through it to find that they're on the roof of the building. He hadn't even realized how hot and smoky the bar had been, but his first breath of cool, fresh air is almost enough to distract him from Dan, at least for a second.

And apparently that second is all that it takes, because he's somehow unaware that Dan has stopped moving, doesn't even really see the guy turn around, but then Dan is right there, his beautiful eyes staring intensely, and Justin feels a hand in his hair, tight and just the right level of rough, pulling his head down. Justin's actually startled, his mouth opening in a little gasp that Dan seems to take as an invitation, because Dan's lips are on his, firm and demanding, tongue pushing in just as soon as their mouths connect, Dan rocking their bodies together, and it's more than Justin

Justin isn't sure what this means, or where it's going, and he knows he should care. He wants more than a one-night stand with Dan, or he thinks he does, and he doesn't want to do anything to get in the way of that… but he also doesn't want to give this up, if this is all he ever gets to have. He keeps one hand tight on the small of Dan's back, keeping them pressed together, and he lets his other hand run down of the firm rounds of Dan's ass, then up to trace his spine, feeling the strength in the muscles on both sides of the bone. They're still kissing, too, deep, hard, aggressive kisses that aren't about love or even lust, just about dominance and tension and heat. Dan brings one of his thighs between Justin's and presses up, and Justin has to break off the kiss as his head jerks back almost involuntarily in pleasure. Dan leans back a little too, balancing against Justin's hand on his back as he grinds up with his thigh, and he grins at Justin, then catches Justin's free hand and presses a cool beer bottle into it. Justin's almost too far gone to even be able to grip the glass, and he just watches as Dan brings his own drink to his lip, taking a long pull as his eyes never leave Justin's.

Dan's free hand is on the button of Justin's jeans now, and his eyes have gotten a little cooler as he looks at Justin appraisingly. "I've got ten minutes," he says, and his voice sounds as calm as if he were downstairs taking orders for drinks. "Want me to blow you?"

Justin's dick jerks an enthusiastic 'Hell yes,' but his brain is racing in all other directions. He'd have to be insane to turn down a blowjob from practically anyone, let alone from Dan, but this feels like a test, another one of Dan's attempts to make this just about sex. Justin still hasn't had a drink from his beer, but he raises it to his face now, and presses it against his temple, hoping that the cool smoothness of the glass will somehow transfer to his emotional state.

isn't likely enough time for me to return the favor, right?" Dan's watching him closely, but, as usual, Justin can't read the other man's expression. He starts to feel a bit desperate. "I mean, we can still do something after you're done work, right? It doesn't have to be sex…we could just get something to eat, or…"

"Or what?" Dan's voice is scornful. "Go for a walk in the park? Hold hands?" He shakes his head as he steps away from Justin. "Spare me the bullshit, man. I already offered to blow you; I don't know why you're still dishing out the pick-up lines."