Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 1.1 - Sometimes You Just Know (9 page)

and I see your point. But… can you see my point, that I don't wantSometimes You Just Know | Kate Sherwood
'walking away' to be an option, either?"

Dan looks at him and then nods. "I see what you're saying, I just… what does that leave us?"
Justin looks at the clothes Dan has stuffed into the washers. "I don't know. Maybe brunch? While you're waiting for the wash?" Justin grins. "It'll be public enough that we should be able to keep our hands off each other, and we can just, you know, relax a little."
Dan looks doubtful, but he finally nods. "Yeah, okay." His smile is shy, and it breaks Justin's heart. He wants to wrap Dan up in warm blankets and feed him soup and homemade cookies, and snuggle up behind him while he sleeps. Justin isn't sure what to do with these urges, and he doesn't really think Dan would appreciate it if he tried to act on them. At least not yet.
Dan loosens up the clothes he's stuffed in the washers and nods Justin in the direction of the soap, so Justin adds that while Dan puts the coins in and starts the machine. It feels cozy and domestic and Justin is practically glowing by the end. Jesus, how did he get this far gone so fast?
He's grinning like a fool when they walk out of the Laundromat, and he knows that Dan is watching him like he's a chimpanzee at the zoo. Oh well. As long as Justin's stupidity doesn't totally turn Dan off, maybe it'll be good to seem a bit vulnerable. It might make Dan feel a bit safer. He fights the urge to hold Dan's hand; Justin doesn't know Lexington too well, but there aren't many neighbourhoods in Kentucky—hell, not that many in the country—where two guys holding hands wouldn't seem like an invitation to trouble. And Justin's not really much of a crusader, and he doesn't want to freak Dan out
too
much. He contents himself with letting their fingers brush together, and Dan doesn't move away.
Dan points at a restaurant across the street and Justin shrugs and heads for it. He doesn't really care what they eat. When they get there, a table is just clearing, and they sit down and have coffee in front of them immediately. The waiter smiles at Dan.

"Hey, Dan. We haven't seen you for a couple days." The waiterSometimes You Just Know | Kate Sherwood
smiles, and it's not over the top, more friendly than flirtatious, and Justin still wants to hit him in the face.

Dan responds with something noncommittal, and the waiter goes to serve other customers, and Justin tries to get himself back under control. He isn't a jealous guy, and he sure as hell doesn't want to become one—he needs to put a lid on this. He thinks he's got himself under control, but as soon as he speaks, he hears the disapproving tone in his voice and wants to kick himself.

"So you come here a lot?"

Dan looks a little defensive, which isn't surprising, since Justin could hear the aggression himself. "Well, yeah, I guess. It's close by, and I'm not much of a cook."

Justin nods, forces himself to calm down. "Yeah, that makes sense. I just mooch meals off my parents a lot of the time… not many restaurants in the country." He smiles, and Dan relaxes a little. "So, how about you— do you have family around here?"

Dan tenses up again, but he responds casually. "Nah, they're back in Texas, but we're not really in touch."
Justin wants to know more, but he doesn't want to push. "That must be hard."
"Nope. Hell of a lot easier than living with them." Dan catches the waiter's attention, apparently looking for a way to change the topic. "I'm good to order—Justin? You ready?" Justin nods, although he hasn't really looked at the menu, and when Dan orders a breakfast special, he says to make it two. The restaurant looks pretty mainstream, so he assumes he's not going to be served yak brains or anything.
They don't talk much while they wait for their food, and at first Justin is desperate, worrying that Dan is going to take this as a sign of their lack of compatibility, or some underlying tension, or even that he's just going to get restless. But then Justin notices that Dan seems pretty content. He's watching the people around them, and every now and then

he'll catch Justin's eye and smile a little. They're sitting right by theSometimes You Just Know | Kate Sherwood

window, and Dan angles his chair a bit so he can look outside and see the traffic on the sidewalk. But then, as Justin starts to calm down, he notices that Dan starts getting more tense.

Finally, Dan speaks. "Is this boring? It just occurred to me… I come here alone a lot, and I'm acting like I do then. But… I guess it's pretty boring, huh?" He looks around almost desperately, as if he thinks a circus may start performing at the next table. "I, uh… we could talk?"

"Dude… trust me, I'm not bored. It's…." Justin blushes a little, but he forces himself to continue. "It's nice. Like we don't have to talk. But we can if you want to, obviously."

Their food comes, thankfully, before Justin can embarrass himself further, and it takes their attention for a while. Justin doesn't really know how to describe the way he's feeling. He's not enjoying himself, exactly; he's too tense to call it that. But he can't imagine wanting to be anywhere else, or with anyone else, more than he wants to be here with Dan. Okay, well, he could think of better places, maybe, but not better company. Even though, by any objective standard, Dan is
terrible
company, all touchy and keyed up. Although the sexual willingness should certainly count in his favor.

"Your food okay?" Dan asks, nodding to Justin's almost untouched plate.
"Oh, yeah, it's good. I…." Justin decides that the total-openness policy worked pretty well in the Laundromat, so he might as well keep it going. "Actually, I already had a pretty big breakfast. I just couldn't think of what else to suggest we do."
Dan looks at him in disbelief for a second, then throws his head back and laughs, and it's a real laugh, not one of his bitter, angry ones. He leans forward and grins. "Dude… I already had breakfast too. I'm about to make myself sick trying to eat all this!"
Justin nods, and then laughs himself. "Okay, so… planning and communication, two areas we should work on." He pulls his wallet out and tucks more than enough money under the side of his plate. "Let's get

Sometimes You Just Know | Kate Sherwood

out of here, then. We talked about going for a ride today—you still up for that?" He raises his hands defensively. "No strings, no commitments, just horses. You can throw your laundry in the dryer before we go—we can hang around and wait for it if you want, or you could bring it along wet, if you wanted, and dry it at my place."

Dan's starting to look a little spooked, and Justin wonders if he's gone too far. But then Dan nods. "You don't mind? The laundry, I mean?"
Justin tries to play it cool, tries to pretend that the idea of Dan bringing all his clothes over doesn't have him dancing in the street with pre-teen glee. "Nah, it's no problem."
Dan smiles slowly. "Yeah, okay, then…let's ride."

Sometimes You Just Know | Kate Sherwood
CHAPTER SIX

Dan working with horses is just about the sexiest thing Justin's ever seen.
Well, okay, not sexier than Dan with his shirt pushed up and his pants pushed down, lying back on the front seat of his truck. And not sexier than Dan leaning over Justin, wetting his lips and then lowering them…
Dan working with horses is just about the sexiest
non-sexual
thing Justin's ever seen. But that just makes Justin feel like a pervert for taking the innocent, sweet rapport Dan has with the animals and making it about sex. But, honestly, the way he runs his hands over them, like he knows just where they want to be touched, the way he murmurs to them, reading their reactions and responding, the way he's clearly in charge, but gentle about it… Justin shakes his head vigorously, but it does no good. Dan with horses is hot. He can't help it.
Of course, Dan with lepers would be probably be hot, too, 'cause it's Dan, but not this hot.
Dan looks up and smiles at him, and it's the real smile, and Justin resolves to keep Dan around horses as much as possible, not just for the sexiness, but for the relaxed happiness. It's a bit sad that Dan trusts horses more than he trusts humans, but it's obviously true. "Should I tack him up?" Dan asks, and Justin rips his mind back to the present. His own horse is barely half-groomed, but Justin decides to skip over that detail; it's not like the horse was really dirty, and the saddle area's clean and his hooves are picked, so…
"Yeah, sure…" Justin walks with Dan towards the tack room, and they brush against each other in the doorway and Justin almost passes out from the rush of desire. He leans against the wall, trying to collect himself. This is just not workable. But he was the one who had suggested they try

being friends, and, okay, Dan had shot that down pretty fast, but thatSometimes You Just Know | Kate Sherwood

doesn't mean that Justin still shouldn't at least try, shouldn't be showing Dan that he wants more than his body. But then Dan is there, looking at Justin with concern on his face.

"You okay, man?" Dan asks, and then looks a little more closely and blushes. Justin thinks it's the first time he's seen Dan show any sort of embarrassment about anything sexual, and doesn't know if it's a step forward or a step back. "Oh," Dan whispers, and he moves in closer, right into Justin's space. "How private is the barn? I mean, we don't want your parents to walk in on us…"

"No, Dan, you don't have to. Just because I'm acting like a teenager doesn't mean that you have to… do anything about it." Justin is blushing now too.

Dan shrugs. "Dude, it's not like I mind. I just don't know about location."
Once again, Justin isn't sure if he should push it or not, but at least here he can steer Dan back out towards the horses if things go badly. "But I don't want you to think that you're… that you're my toy, or something. I mean… you're not just here to get me off, you know?"
Dan gives him a doubtful look and runs a hand down over Justin's groin. Justin moans at the contact, and Dan frowns. "You trying to tell me you can ride like that?"
Justin laughs a little. "Not comfortably, no. But…." Justin looks at Dan, who seems calm and collected. "You're not into it right now, and that's cool. It's not…."

"Dude, you can owe me one. And, hey, I'm only not into it because
I
was paying attention to my horse. I don't think it would take me long to
get
into it, if you want to put the horses in their stalls and go upstairs."

"No, man, you came out here to go for a ride, not… not a
ride
…." "Okay, then…" Dan nods towards the stairs to the storage loft. "How about up there? You're wound so tight…I bet I can get you off in less than
a minute. From the time your pants are down." He grins cockily. "You Sometimes You Just Know | Kate Sherwood

want to take that bet?"
"Not just me…I mean…"
"I already said you can owe me one." Dan reaches one hand down

for Justin's hand, and keeps the other on his jeans. "We can do it here if you want. I mean it, I don't think it'll take long."

Justin groans. His brain has no idea what to do, but his dick is pretty damn clear. "Yeah, okay… upstairs, though…."
Dan leans in and kisses Justin hard and fast, then pulls away. "Upstairs to the apartment, or just upstairs here?" He grinds his thigh in against Justin, and Justin gasps, feeling the wave of pleasure starting to build. He pushes Dan off almost roughly, but Dan doesn't seem to mind.
"Just upstairs here. Now." He guides Dan in front of him, but it's not like the guy needs a lot of encouragement, and they're both up the stairs in a flash. Dan shoves Justin back against the beam at the top of the stairs and kisses him, but Justin pushes his head down. He doesn't want to be that guy, but he's going to come in his pants if Dan keeps going the way he is.
Dan seems to understand, and he's quick to get Justin's fly undone and work Justin free, closing his lips around him and taking him in with no preamble. After that it's just sensory overload, with Dan using his lips, his tongue, taking Justin right down his throat, humming, using his hands everywhere… Justin doesn't check his watch, but he's pretty sure that it's well under a minute before he's swearing and Dan is pulling back a little, just far enough to give himself room to avoid choking as Justin climaxes almost painfully, hips thrusting a little at the end, every muscle in his body spasming with pleasure.
Dan milks him through the aftershocks and then pulls back. He wipes his chin with his arm before he stands up, and once he's upright he just sort of hovers, looking uncertain. Justin's having a bit of trouble focusing on anything, but this doesn't seem right. He reaches out and pulls Dan towards him, and Dan comes willingly enough, but he stops with his

face an inch or two away from Justin's, looking like he's not sure whatSometimes You Just Know | Kate Sherwood
comes next.

Justin runs a hand down Dan's stomach, but Dan squirms away before Justin gets anywhere interesting, laughing nervously. "No, man, I'm good…."

Justin pulls Dan back so their faces are close, but he keeps his hands to himself. "Dude, you're way better than good. You sure I can't show my appreciation?"

"Nah, the horses are waiting for us. We should get back down there."

Justin can't argue with that, and it's not like he's never had a nonreciprocated blow job before, but….
Before his pleasure-fuzzed brain can sort out why it feels wrong, Dan is heading for the stairs. Justin does up his pants and hurries after him, still trying to recover his equilibrium.
The tack room has everything clearly labeled, and by the time Justin catches up Dan has Bailey's saddle and bridle slung over his arm. He looks at Justin questioningly, but Justin just steps aside and lets Dan head out to the barn. Dan knows how to saddle a horse, and Justin needs a minute.
He takes his own tack out not much later, easing past Dan's horse to his own. Justin knows that Dan watches him as he goes by, but he doesn't look over. He's not sure what he's doing, he just feels a little overwhelmed. He gets the saddle on Titan, but that's as far as he's going until he's clarified the situation a little. He turns and walks up the aisle. Dan's already tacked up and is standing there waiting quietly, and he looks unsure as Justin approaches. For once, Justin is anything but unsure. He reaches an arm out and turns Dan's head and brings their mouths together, and this time he makes sure to control the kiss, to keep it sweet and gentle, and Dan tries to push forward and heat it up, but Justin smiles and nudges him back. "No way, man, we're going riding, remember?" He pulls away. "I was just saying hi."
Dan looks at him quizzically. "Okay… hi."
"Nah, I like my way better." Justin grins, and finally, this feels right.