“I decided to take you back. Besides, you must be cramping your buddy’s style. Is the little trickster home, or did he go out to get laid?”
Jeff looked right and left, wishing his best friend was indeed at home. Craig wouldn’t be afraid to stand up to his ex-boyfriend, and in Derek’s inebriated state he could get rid of him without even breaking into a sweat.
“Well, where is the best friend of the century? Is he here? Maybe I could give him a few lessons in how you really need to be taken care of.”
Biting his lip to keep it from quivering, Jeff still gripped the apartment doorknob, hoping Derek would turn around and leave. “No one’s here but me. I was just doing some work.”
“Work! You don’t work. You’re the little housewife. You weren’t so bad at it either.”
“I did have a job when we were together.” Jeff didn’t want to aggravate Derek, but he had no intention of letting the belittling remark go unanswered.
“You call crunching numbers for some local deli working? You wouldn’t know a real job if it bit you in the ass.” Derek stalked past Jeff, brushing him out of the way, and shoving the door closed behind him. “Hey, Craig, where’re you?” Derek called out, slurring the last couple of words together. “You taking care of my boy? He needs someone to make sure he toes the line so he earns his keep.”
“I told you, Craig’s not here. I’m working and I wish you’d go.” Jeff tried another tactic. “You know how distracted I can get. It’s important that I concentrate when I’m doing my job.”
“No need for that. I’ve come to take you back.”
Jeff turned away and risked rolling his eyes. This was the last thing he needed or wanted. Derek drunk was bad enough, but a drunken Derek thinking Jeff would run back to him… again, was too much to deal with.
“You know you miss me. I’m sure of it.” Derek grabbed Jeff’s arm and spun him around so they were facing each other. “I sure as shit missed having you around. The bed hasn’t been as warm without you.”
“Uhm, well, that’s a tempting offer, but you were right. We really don’t belong together.”
Derek’s hand started to constrict around Jeff’s lower arm. “Is that any way for you to act? Here I am, making the grand gesture of letting you back into my life, and you’re actually turning me down! Who the fuck do you think you are?”
Until that moment, Jeff had thought he could deal with Derek. He’d hoped he would be able to calm the hulking man down, convince him to leave. Now, it became clear that would be out of the question. Jeff could feel his heart beating faster as panic began to set in. “Why don’t we talk about this in the morning, after you’ve had a night to sleep on it?”
“You think I’m gonna change my mind.” Derek’s laugh had an angry, threatening tone that made Jeff take a step back as he pried the gripping fingers from his arm. They left a red mark in their wake.
“I just don’t think this is the time to talk about getting back together. You seem a little—”
“I’m not drunk!” Derek yelled, cutting off Jeff’s words. “In total control here, and I plan to stay in control.” There was a sinister edge to Derek’s tone of voice.
Jeff held up his hands in surrender, trying to think of a new way to put Derek off. Where the hell was Craig? Think, Jeff, think. “Let’s talk. Would you like some tea or coffee? I can make some.”
Derek huffed. “If I wanted something to drink I would have gone to a fucking coffee shop. You know why I’m here. I always get what I want. Isn’t that one of the things you love about me?” If his voice hadn’t been dripping with sarcasm and rage, those would have been words Jeff appreciated at one time. Now he understood just how unhealthy their relationship had been. Craig had always disliked Derek. Why hadn’t he been able to see what his best friend saw so clearly? Because he was in love with being in love.
Craig. Everything came back to Craig. Jeff had spent years chasing love in the hope someone would come into his life that would help him forget the man he truly wanted. It was obvious that wasn’t going to happen. Now, without Craig near, Jeff was scared.
Derek fisted Jeff’s shirt, tugging him close. He smashed his lips against Jeff’s.
“Derek, not now. Not like this.” Jeff tried to pull away. The overpowering smell of alcohol was making him nauseous. Everything about the entire situation was making him nauseous.
“You belong to me, and I plan to take you back.” Derek wrapped his bulky, sweaty arms around Jeff. “Waiting isn’t part of the program. We both know you want it as much as I do.”
Rolling his lips inward, Jeff nodded, hoping to appease his angry former lover. “Of course I want this, too, but not here, not now. You know how much I like romance.”
“Well this is another side of romance, sweet pea. It’s caveman romance, and this is what I like.”
Jeff laughed nervously, hoping to distract Derek. “That’s so silly. I much prefer slow and sensual. You know that.”
“I know you don’t tell me what to do.”
Derek was sobering up, and Jeff was shocked to see it only seemed to make him more intense, more determined, rather than calm him down. “Derek, please. If we do it like this it won’t be good for either of us.”
“How do you know what the fuck is good for me? All you ever thought about was your best buddy.” Derek’s chest was heaving. “It’s my turn to get what I want since I never got it when you lived with me.”
“I thought we were happy.”
Snorting, Derek tangled his
