Dirty Dining (29 page)

“Did I hurt you?”

“God, no. Brice, I won’t break if you’re a little rougher.” He paused, then just came out with it. “And I might not come if you aren’t a little rougher.”

“Oh? Oh. Really? Not doing it for you?”

Jeremy bit his lip. He hadn’t said that right at all. He didn’t reply.

“You know, criticizing a man’s lovemaking style can be detrimental to his self-esteem.” This time Brice’s voice held a teasing tone.

“Perhaps. But your lovemaking style tonight is detrimental to my potential for orgasm.”

“Is that so?” Brice shifted position so they leaned more to one side and gave Jeremy’s ass a loud smack. He squeezed and pushed in hard and deep.

“Please, sir, may I have another?”

“Be careful what you ask for.” Brice pulled out and rolled Jeremy onto his stomach. He planted half a dozen, firm, perfect slaps that had Jeremy hard and grinding his hips into the mattress. Then Brice spread Jeremy open and plunged in deep.

“Oh, God, I love you so much right now,” Jeremy said into the pillow.

“Tell me when you’re close.”

“I’m close.”

“Already?” Brice sounded surprised but also a little pleased with himself.

Jeremy nodded and laughed.

Brice rolled him back over and pulled him so his ass was at the edge of the bed. He fixed his gaze on Jeremy’s and pushed in again as he grasped Jeremy’s cock with one hand. Two thrusts had Jeremy shooting pearly strands all over himself and Brice. He made quite a mess. Brice licked at Jeremy’s sticky chest and fastened his mouth over one nipple, and then orgasm ripped through his body so suddenly even Brice looked startled. He lay across Jeremy, gasping for air.

They held each other tight and, still breathless, pressed together for a long kiss, panting against each other’s mouths.

After a while Brice got rid of the condom, Jeremy brought the pie in from the living room, and they fed each other while lying in bed. Brice dabbed whipped cream on his own nipples, and Jeremy sucked them clean as Brice shuddered and gasped and burst into laughter.

When he calmed down again, he turned to Jeremy. “What did the woman in the diner mean about two nights in a row?”

Jeremy pushed some chocolate cheesecake in his mouth so he wouldn’t have to reply right away.

“What?” Brice asked more insistently.

Honesty was the best policy. “I wanted to apologize to you last night, Friday night, and I thought it best to do it in person. I stopped there to grab some dinner. But when I got here, you weren’t home. I waited in the hall for a few hours, then I went home.” He didn’t say anything else, didn’t say how it hurt when he imagined where Brice might be all night, who Brice might be with, might be
in
.

“You sat in the hallway?”

Jeremy shrugged.

Brice put his pie down and got out of bed and walked out of the room. Jeremy sat up, listening to him opening drawers. When he came back, he handed Jeremy a San Francisco Giants key ring with two shiny new keys dangling from it.

“Let yourself in next time?”

Jeremy felt all warm and gooey inside, and this time it had nothing to do with lube. “Really?”

“I had them made a while ago and just kept forgetting to give them to you.”

They kissed again.

“What did you get for dinner?” Brice asked.

“Meatloaf sandwiches.”

“Aw, my favorite.”

“I was so mad I ate both of them.”

“As much as I adore your girlish figure—” He skimmed a hand down Jeremy’s hip. “—I’ll still love you if you get plump. More to love.”

Jeremy gently slapped Brice’s hand off his ass. “I’ll start jogging till my bike’s fixed. Don’t you worry.”

Brice gripped one of Jeremy’s thighs. “I stayed at the office late Friday, working on a special deal with Ron. Ended up sleeping on his couch. My neck still aches.”

“You spent the night with Ron?”

“Yes, and it was awful. He snores and his feet smell.” Brice gave a crooked grin.

“Poor thing.” Jeremy decided to believe Brice’s story and shifted so he could massage Brice’s neck.

“Aaaah. Oh, good.” Brice hung his head down as Jeremy worked.

“What’s the project?”

“I can’t discuss it yet. Once it’s signed, then I’ll be free to tell you.”

Jeremy didn’t reply. He’d learned it was best not to ask about Brice’s work; it had gotten him in trouble less than a week ago.

“I may have to go out of town next week. I should know tomorrow if I do.”

“Isn’t that unusual for you? I thought you just did contracts.”

“This is something different, but we have to close a deal by Friday or… well, let’s just say it would be disastrous if we didn’t.”

“Sounds serious.”

“It is. Oh, it is.”

T
HEY
SPENT
a leisurely Sunday, mostly in bed. Jeremy went to the diner to bring back lunch and chose salads, even though Brice asked for a meatloaf sandwich.

“You’ll be busy all week and end up eating takeout junk. Have something green and crunchy while you have the chance.”

There was a shop near the office that did decent takeout salads at lunch, but Brice often found himself choosing a less-healthy option. Jeremy was a good reason to watch what he ate; he wasn’t getting any younger, and he could see his own “girlish figure” as a mere memory.

The Giants were playing in Montreal, so they curled up on the couch to watch. They drank beer and played a game Jeremy devised based on the score. They tossed a coin, and Jeremy got to be the Giants, while Brice was Montreal. When their team got a run, the other one had to take off an item of clothing. The loser also had to give the winner an orgasm.

Jeremy was draped across the couch in a state of bliss after Brice had to pay for the Expos’ crappy performance. His cell phone rang, and Brice grabbed it off the table and handed it to him. He glanced at the caller ID: Thomas. The Dinner Club manager.

“Hello?” Jeremy said. “Uh, yeah I got your messages. … Uh, no.” He glanced up at Brice who had been watching him, though he tried not to eavesdrop too overtly. “No, I’m not available. At all. … Really? … No. … Yes, I’m still seeing him. … Okay. Well, thanks I guess.”

Brice waited for Jeremy to explain the call and forced himself not to ask.

“Huh. That was interesting.”

“What was?” Brice pretended to be watching the sports news.

“Thomas called. He wanted to know if I could work a dinner next week.”

“What did you say?”

“You were sitting right here. You know I said I couldn’t.”

“Why’d he suddenly call now?” Brice stared at the television, though all his attention was on Jeremy.

“Got a request for me from someone. Wouldn’t say who. Dinner only, no overnight.”

“It’s not like you need the money or anything anymore.”

“What do you mean? You know my stipend got eliminated completely. I actually do need the money.”

“Jeremy, you don’t need to work or worry about money anymore. I’ll take care of that. How much do you need, for rent, food, whatever?”

Jeremy grabbed the remote and turned off the television. “I can’t take your money like that.”

“Why not? I can afford it. You can stay here until the funding gets reinstated, then we can get you a nicer place near campus.”

“I already have an apartment near campus.”

This wasn’t going the way Brice expected. Why wouldn’t Jeremy accept his help? “Okay. Keep that place. I’ll cover the rent.”

“Thank you, Brice. I really appreciate the offer. I do. I just can’t take it.”

“You can call it a loan if it makes you feel better.”

“What makes you think my funding is going to get reinstated?”

Way to change the subject. Brice almost wanted to get back to the argument. He didn’t want to let Jeremy know what he and Ron were working on for PharmaTek until it was final.

“You said your results are really significant. I’m sure another investor will see the value in that and snap PharmaTek up.”

Jeremy sat up. “That’s awfully optimistic. I really do need to think about some kind of a job. Go back to tutoring or something. It’s almost the end of term, and a lot of undergrads are about to fail a course or two. They’re usually willing to pay a lot for tutoring at this point.”

“How much does that pay?”

“Fifty, sixty an hour. Nowhere near what Thomas pays, though.” Jeremy laughed.

Brice felt color drain from his face. He didn’t laugh. He almost couldn’t breathe. Did Jeremy want to work at the club again? Why? Money, obviously. Was it selfish of him not to want Jeremy to earn what he needed? He trusted Jeremy, didn’t he?

“Then maybe you should take Thomas up on his offer. A couple of hours there will give you a lot more than a week of tutoring.”

“It sure would. The guy’s willing to pay more than the usual request fee.”

“Why?”

Jeremy stood up, still naked, and settled onto Brice’s lap. “Why did you keep coming to see me there?” He gave Brice a wicked smile.

“For the conversation. But I wouldn’t want you ‘conversing’ with anyone else.”

“You didn’t mind them looking at me, did you?”

“No, because I knew they couldn’t have you. Because you were spending the night with me.” Now he sounded jealous and possessive. He trusted Jeremy. He had to. That was part of loving him, not putting a fence around him. “Well, if you just want to parade around naked for someone, I guess that would be okay with me.”

“Really?”

“I just don’t understand why you’d take his money and not mine.”

“It’s a fee for a job. I don’t want to feel like you’re paying me for something, or I
would
feel like a whore.”

Brice couldn’t understand the distinction, but he wouldn’t press the issue. “Then go ahead and call Thomas back.”

“You’re serious?”

“I can’t say I’m jumping with joy over it, but you made valid points. You’d make enough taking your clothes off to cover your bills, then you come home and I get to fuck you for free. Win-win.”

Jeremy twisted his mouth. “It doesn’t sound as good when you put it that way.”

It wasn’t supposed to. Brice kept his mouth closed so he wouldn’t say anything he’d regret later. They’d just sorted their differences out, and the last thing he wanted was to tell Jeremy what he could or couldn’t do.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you.” He put his arms around Jeremy and imagined someone else doing the same thing to him. He’d watched that happen just once… and it had been incredibly hot. His cock thickened as he recalled watching another man’s hands on Jeremy, touching him, arousing him, pleasuring him.

But there hadn’t been anything between them then. Everything had changed since. Or had it? He and Greg had brought a guy home with them on a few occasions. The first time Brice had thought he’d hate the idea of Greg fucking another man, even touching another man, much less watching it. But he hadn’t. A lot of couples had arrangements; they made sure to define the limits in advance. He could let Jeremy do this as long as it was just dinner. It wasn’t a reflection on their relationship. It actually meant they trusted each other.

“It’s up to you. I won’t stop you.”

Jeremy glanced at Brice, probably to see if he was serious. “It would be
practical
, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes.” Brice hoped his voice didn’t sound like he was lying.

“Well, if Thomas calls again, then I’ll consider it. But I won’t call him.”

Brice nodded and felt his body relax a little. He shifted position so he was lying on his side with Jeremy in front. He spooned up behind him and flicked the sports news back on.

M
ONDAY
, J
EREMY
was back in his apartment. Brice suggested he stay a few days and work on his proposals from his place rather than in the office, but Jeremy needed to get some things from home first. Brice had meetings scheduled late every day this week, but it would be nice to be there waiting for him to come home at night.

When Doug came in from classes, he gave Jeremy an expectant look, then shook his head and turned away, hands over his ears. “Never mind. I don’t want to know,” he shouted over his shoulder as he went into his bedroom.

Jeremy laughed and packed up a small duffel of clothes and his messenger bag with his laptop and some printouts of lab results he needed to consult. He had access to everything online, but he liked making notes on the hard copies.

“Jer, did you talk to Thomas? He called about fifty times.”

“Really?” Jeremy hadn’t even checked the message board on the refrigerator. He’d already talked to the only person whose calls mattered: Brice. Sure enough, there were about ten Post-its with times Thomas had called. It was nice being wanted.

On Tuesday he got a call from Dr. Morrell.

“Jeremy, I’ve got some interesting news for you.”

“Interesting good?”

“Yes, I believe so. The head of the department called me this morning. He’s been approached by a private donor who wants to fund your research.”

“Is this Doug? Are you pranking me?”

“No, Jeremy. It’s real. It sounds unbelievable, which is why Dr. Rickert is checking into the donor’s background and finances. He wants to be certain this is legitimate and viable.”

“Who’s the donor? A research lab? Another company? What are my legal obligations to PharmaTek?”

“It’s an anonymous donor, so I have no information at all. An attorney on the university staff will check your contractual obligations to PharmaTek, as well as advise you on the contract offered from the private donation. It might take a few weeks. In the meantime, any research already conducted belongs to PharmaTek, as well as the data. You are free to use any results for academic articles only.”

“Yes. I knew that part.”

They spent another twenty minutes discussing Jeremy’s ideas for journal articles, and then Dr. Morrell promised to get in touch as soon as he had information about the funding from either source.