Chasing the Rainbow (4 page)

              He waited for a response but after a few moments without one, realizing it could be a while yet before Jody had time to get back to him, Bobby pulled his truck out and started winding his way through the one-way streets, heading for home.

              It took over an hour with traffic on FDR and the Queensboro to get home. He hadn’t even realized he’d made the decision not to find other entertainment for the night until his brother stated with some surprise “You’re in for the night?”

              Bobby blinked at Carlo, holding the door for a beat before shutting it and bolting the lock. “Yeah. Guess so.”

              Carlo’s continued surprise chafed a little. It’s not like Bobby went out every night. He asked himself, not for the first time, why he still roomed with his brother. He wouldn’t lie, thought, it was for the bigger house and the badass garage.

              “How’d it go? Did it go?” Carlo asked, not moving from where he sat on the couch munching cereal—from the box.

              “He got busy. We’re hanging out tomorrow.”

              Carlo stopped mid bite and shot Bobby another of his surprised looks. Bobby glared back. “What?” Carlo asked. “I can’t help it. You have to admit, it’s a departure. So. Are you dating him now?”

              Bobby scowled. “I don’t really do the dating thing.” He was annoyed at how bad the words tasted in his mouth.

              “Seems like dating.”

              “I’m going to hang out with him. That’s all. Maybe get my rocks off.”
Definitely get my rocks off.
Bobby got a little satisfaction from the way Carlo grimaced at the last statement. Carlo dropped the subject and went back to watching television.

              Bobby made his way to his room, stripping off his clothes for a shower. His phone went off again.
Glad you liked it. Sorry I’m swamped. Come over to mine tomorrow?
Bobby smiled at the phone as he agreed to figure out what they’d do from there. After saving Jody’s address, Bobby resolved to make sure they just stayed in tomorrow night.

              He could think of one very fun, mutually gratifying way to fix this. All he needed from a certain blond to get over his silly infatuation; was to get that blond under Bobby. He smiled at himself in the mirror and thought that was the best plan he’d had in a while.

Chapter 5

JODY DIDN’T HAVE a clue what they might do. He’d been thinking all afternoon of things that were date-like, but he’d never really been much for more than a coffee or movie date. Even in college, dating had been meeting up in the student union and watching a play on the quad. Not that New York didn’t boast plenty of similar things, but even with his fairly vast amount of literary knowledge, Jody didn’t think Shakespeare in the Park was Bobby’s speed.

              He’d asked Alex for suggestions, but the only thing his friend had suggested was a crude reference to kissing the snake rather than another frog. He laughed as he read the text again, trying to keep his neuroses from taking over.

              Jody had never been on a date with someone like Bobby. He’d met plenty of confident, attractive men, but he’d always spent more time with the bookish crowd. In fact, thus far, the butchest person he’d ever been with was his ex-wife.

              After scrubbing every inch of his apartment and pulling on a more casual outfit, hoping Bobby would be okay with going to a local bar, he decided to do something he didn’t normally do well—Go with the flow. He’d managed to fuck up the few times he’d been interested in someone by over-thinking it. DeDe always gave him shit for having his head in the clouds when it came to romance. He couldn’t help that his standards were high. But maybe not being quite so frigid would help. But, he couldn’t imagine being quite so… Lax as his dear mother.

              He nearly jumped out of his skin when a knock sounded on the door. He hadn’t realized he’d been so lost in thought. He made his way to the door and his eyes must have bulged from their sockets when he saw Bobby on the other side.

              The pose Bobby struck was mildly corny, like a ‘90s heartthrob, with his elbow propped on the doorframe, arms crossed, and one ankle crossed over the other. His black hair was slicked back, brown eyes seductive. He’d opted for dark denim jeans and a grey Henley, sleeves pulled up. Jody would probably have teased anyone else for the Joey Tribiani-esque outfit, but something about the simplicity of it was just so attractive on Bobby.

              “Hey,” Jody said, finally finding his voice.

              Bobby’s devil-may-care smirk made Jody’s heart pitter-patter. Jody was clearly not doing very well at hiding just how attractive he found Bobby. Bobby raised one of his thick brows, glancing behind Jody then back at him. Jody looked behind him, dumbly, then back at Bobby.

              “Oh. Oh, shit. Sorry.” Jody pulled the door open wider, feeling every bit the fool. “Come in.”

              Bobby did as instructed. Jody shut the door behind them and turned to ask—Bobby crowded Jody against the door, planting a kiss on his lips. Jody felt his body melt. Jesus, he couldn’t even stop himself from returning the kiss. Where was his self-control?

              Bobby’s lips were soft and full, the kiss forceful. The sexy grunt Bobby made when Jody’s hand landed on his hip and squeezed made Jody’s pulse thrum. Bobby broke the kiss, but planted a brief kiss on Jody’s jaw, then the pulse point on his neck. Jody knew his head would still be sore from where it thumped back against the door.

             
Get it together!
He took a deep breath and put a hand on Bobby’s chest. “Wow,” he said. “Not that I didn’t like that….”

              Bobby smirked again, studying Jody’s face. “I’ve wanted to do that since I gave you a ride that day.”

              Jody swallowed audibly. “Oh.”

              Bobby didn’t stop with the cocky expression but he did take a step back, giving Jody some breathing room. He put his hands up in mock surrender. “Promise I’ll be good from here on out.”

              Jody eyed Bobby, trying to keep his expression even. “I’m sure.” That got a sexy, deep chuckle that went straight to Jody’s cock. He had a hard time convincing himself that he wanted Bobby to be good. He couldn’t keep his head around the guy. But physical wasn’t a problem. He thought they might have something here. Right?

              Even if they hadn’t been terribly deep, their conversations of the last couple months had been pleasant, and he felt like he’d gotten to know Bobby a little. Surely a man didn’t come to have lunch with you every day just to get in your pants.

              Well… He couldn’t pretend like he’d shown up for that reason alone. Jody hadn’t really asked what this was.

             
It’s nothing yet because you’re over-thinking.

              Shaking himself out of his spastic thoughts, he traced Bobby’s circuit of his apartment with his eyes. “Can I get you something to drink? Or we could just go out. There’s only thirty bars in this neighborhood.”

              Bobby turned to him. “No kidding.” Bobby kept surveying the apartment. “A beer would be nice. If you have one.” He took a seat on the couch. “I knew you lived on 12
th
Street, but when I put your address in the GPS and saw just where you lived, I felt a little out of my league.” Was Bobby crazy? Bobby held an arm wide. “I can’t imagine the rent on this place.”

              “Oh. Yeah. It’s a great area. I bought this place after the divorce.” He started for the kitchen for their beers. “I actually lived just one block up during college. After the divorce I decided I wanted to be back in the East Village. It’s always felt more like home.”

              When he returned to the living room with two beers, he took a seat next to Bobby. Bobby looked a little put out and Jody couldn’t fathom why. Maybe the beer? “Do you not like pale ale? The bodega across the street has some other stuff. I could run—”

              Bobby shook his head, taking the beer. “Sorry, no. I guess I just didn’t expect you to say you owned the place.”

             
“I felt a little out of my league…”

Oh.

So Bobby G wasn’t as sure of himself as he acted. Jody was actually relieved to see he wasn’t the only one. At least Bobby had pretending perfected. Jody’d always worn everything on his face.

“My dad was into real estate. He helped me find the place, insisted on buying it. I was paying him back, but after he died a couple of years ago the property came with my trust.” He felt a pang of loss discussing his dad. Two years and Jody still didn’t like bringing up his death.

“Your trust?” Bobby croaked.

Jody huffed an uncomfortable laugh. “You saw my mother’s place. And we own McNamara’s.”

“Own it?” Bobby’s surprise was more than evident.

“Well, yeah. You didn’t think I lived in Manhattan on a manager’s… Oh.” Bobby’d started staring at his beer, picking at the label. It was surprisingly endearing to see the man looking so flustered.

“I assumed you knew that. Angie and Iz being friends like they are.”

Bobby laughed uncomfortably. “Guess I just thought her brothers called you Richie Rich because you were from Manhattan. They’re petty like that.”

“Oh, no. They knew my dad. In fact, two of them still work for his development company.”

“I see.”

“Is this a big deal?” Jody didn’t know why it should be, but it seemed like it was.

Bobby looked up, gazing into Jody’s eyes for a beat before covering up whatever he was thinking with his usual bluster. “So what should we get up to?” To say Bobby was leering would be an understatement. Immediately, the description of the “rakish hero” in some of Jody’s romance novels made all kinds of sense.

“I thought,” Jody started, then cleared his throat. “That we could hit one of the bars between here and Union Square. Or we could….” Bobby was shaking his head, staring at Jody’s mouth. Jody’s body sang with arousal as Bobby scooted closer to him on the couch, dropping a heavy hand to squeeze Jody’s knee.

“I vote for ordering in.” His husky tone did not sound like Bobby was thinking about food. This wasn’t what Jody had intended on tonight. But Bobby obviously was not here to braid one another’s hair.

“There’s a good Chinese place,” Jody said, embarrassed when his voice squeaked as Bobby’s hand moved up his inseam. Bobby was on Jody again, kissing him. This time, he owned Jody’s mouth, tongue sliding in and dancing with Jody’s. Hell if Jody couldn’t stop himself. He fell back against the arm of the couch, surrendering to the sensual assault.

Bobby was good at this. Jody hadn’t even realized he’d rescued both beers and placed them on the floor beside them without breaking the kiss. Bobby helped Jody shift around so he was lying on top of Jody, between his legs.

“You’re so hot,” Bobby groaned into Jody’s mouth. Jody’s body was winning the battle between his need to get off and his need to not jump in bed with Bobby on the first date.

Technically it’s the second.

Yeah, right.

Jody was about to protest but Bobby’s hips canted just right, grinding their clothed crotches together, dicks straining against one another. Jody sighed in resignation and pleasure.
Kiss the snake.

He almost laughed at the thought but Bobby slipped his hand inside Jody’s jeans and wrapped around his cock. “Motherfucker,” Jody blurted.

Bobby let out a heady chuckle as he nibbled Jody’s jaw, behind his ear, while doing his best to stroke Jody’s cock inside his pants. “You’re so hard for me, Jo. You need this as bad as me, huh?”

Jody had no clue why he was being so wanton. This was not him; he didn’t do this. Even when he was younger, he never just slept around. But Bobby was right about that. He was so fucking hard for the man who smelled of musk, and man, and a little spicy aftershave. And he most definitely needed. Needed more, needed harder. Needed Bobby.

“Yes, fuck yes.”

Bobby was like some kind of clothing ninja, because with a few swift motions, Jody’s pants were pulled to his knees and Bobby settled his own naked lower half on Jody’s. “How’d you do that?” Jody asked, breathily.

“What can I say? I learned some tricks on my road to being the best gay I could be.”

Jody laughed for real, enjoying the fond way Bobby looked at him. Bobby watched Jody for a moment before winking and dipping down to steal another kiss, moving to slide their cocks together. Jody’s laughter dissolved into a moan.

Bobby took Jody’s cock in his hand and whispered for Jody to do the same for him. They both started jerking each other off, whispering dirty things, and rutting like teenagers. It was probably the most fun, freeing sex Jody’d had, ever. He didn’t feel pressured, either. Yes, this was going faster than he’d intended, but he was pleased Bobby hadn’t tried to move right to fucking.

“Just like that, Jo. I’m almost—” Bobby’s head fell onto Jody’s shoulder, and he let out a loud sigh which was followed by wet spurts over Jody’s hand. That pushed Jody over, his balls pulling up, cock erupting between them, their cum mixing on Jody’s stomach.

They lay there for a long moment; trying to catch their breath, cocks dripping. He couldn’t even bring himself to be pissed that he’d fooled around on a first date. It wasn’t his norm, but it’d been so long since he’d gotten laid, and he’d wanted to touch Bobby Gugino for months—years if he was honest—and it’d been as great as he’d thought, even if it’d just been some mutual masturbation.

Bobby was dead weight. Jody feared he’d fallen asleep. “Hey, Bobby?” 

Bobby grunted in response earning a chuckle from Jody. “Hey, let me up. I’ll go get something to clean this mess.” Bobby rolled off, gifting Jody with a lazy smile. Jody leaned down and kissed Bobby sweetly, chastely. A thank you more than anything. He felt much lighter, more comfortable around Bobby now. Though, he supposed that was to be expected when you were covered in the man’s cum and he was smiling at you like that.

When Jody had pulled up his pants, leaving the fly undone, he made his way to the bathroom. He grabbed the towel he’d used after he showered earlier and wiped the mess off his stomach and dick. He walked into the living room and handed the towel to Bobby.

“Want a fresh beer? I think those got warm.” He had a spring in his step that hadn’t been there earlier. Amazing the wonders and orgasm could do.

When he came back in the living room with the beers in hand, the smile he’d worn died a swift death. Bobby was up, and had put his shoes on, refusing to meet Jody’s eyes.

“I should probably go. I know it hasn’t been that long, but….”

But you’re acting like a fifteen year old.
“Okay.” He hated himself for how disappointed he sounded, but he shouldn’t. This definitely wasn’t the first time he’d been fucked and run from. He probably did that thing one of his exes called the “starry eyes.” Damn. He really had to get better at this sort of thing. He didn’t know why he’d thought Bobby would be different. Not like the guy had pretended like they’d be more than friends.

“We, uh, should get together again, sometime.”
Now who sounds fifteen?

Bobby looked up at that, affecting another half-grin that Jody tried not to cringe at. “We will. I’m sure I’ll see you around.” Bobby seemed to think better of what he’d said, or Jody’s expression was doing something embarrassing, because he amended. “Not like I’m going to go MIA. This was nice, Jo. I’m just not really an ‘exclusive’ kinda guy. Okay?”

Jody nodded, trying his damnedest to feign indifference. “Cool. See you around.”