EVERYTHING I KNOW

Con didn’t want the night to end, but he was over his limit. And although he’d enjoyed dinner more than he’d expected—a lot more than he’d expected—he didn’t feel relaxed enough with Wes to risk getting plastered in his company. “I think I’ve probably had enough,” he said regretfully.

Wes cocked his head. “Of me or of booze?”

Con laughed. “Of booze.”

Wes smiled faintly. “Good. I enjoyed tonight.”

“I did too.”

“Surprised?”

“Yeah. A little.”

“When you opened the door this evening you looked like you’d been hoping I’d take a permanent wrong turn.”

Wes had read him right, but Con could smile about it now. “I wasn’t sure what to expect.”

“No, me neither,” Wes admitted.

“But you decided to take a chance anyway?”

Wes said with unexpected seriousness, “Everything I have that matters to me, I got by taking a chance.”

Con was thinking that over on the short drive back to his apartment. He was not much of a risk taker. He didn’t mind the occasional nice surprise, but as a rule he liked plans and preparation, he liked to stick with the program. And he liked to know ahead of time what the program was.

Wes pulled up in the driveway in front of Con’s apartment, and Con’s nerves tightened for the first time in hours. This was always an awkward moment on a first date—and that wasn’t even counting the challenge of the first kiss when everyone’s nose seemed to grow and everyone’s mouth seemed to shrink. If there was even going to be a first kiss.

“I’d like to see you again,” Wes said. “But you don’t have to be polite if you’re not interested.”

Con relaxed. He liked the fact that Wes was direct. He liked his honesty. “I’m interested.”

Wes’s smile was no more than a glimmer in the lights from the dashboard. He reached for Con, and it wasn’t awkward at all. His kiss landed lightly, expertly on Con’s parted mouth. Wes’s lips were soft, unexpectedly soft, and warm. They moved with a hungry sweetness against Con’s. Then, all too quickly, it was over and Wes was releasing Con, drawing back.

There was a smile in his voice as he said quietly, “Goodnight, Connor.”