Waiting for Ty (2 page)

“Yes!” Ty shouted and jumped out of the chair, pumping a fist in the air. “Three points!”

Landon snapped out of his fantasies.
What the fuck?

Damn, he didn’t even know what the score was. He glanced at the upper left-hand corner of the screen. Texas had a narrow lead. Taking a long draw of his beer, he stared hard at the forty-two-inch flat screen and tried to follow the basketball game. That run this morning hadn’t done a damn thing to curb his libido. After five miles, the last thing on his mind should be sex. Well, maybe not the last thing, but it sure as hell shouldn’t be at the top. Maybe if he drained another couple of bottles he’d be numb, oblivious to his feelings for his best friend. Maybe then he’d be able to focus on the game.

Unfortunately, Ty’s fingers caught his attention. The man had the sexiest damn hands. Big, strong. Small white scars crisscrossed the backs, contrasting with his tanned skin. And Landon had memorized every single one. Just the thought of those hands wrapped around his cock the way they were wrapped around the sweating longneck made his jeans shrink a size or two.

He fidgeted like a schoolboy overdue for recess as Ty sat back down on the worn leather and brought the bottle to his lips. His throat worked as he swallowed, drawing Landon’s attention to the strong column of his neck and the dark, scruffy two-day beard framing his mouth. His white T-shirt with the Longhorn logo stretched across the chest emphasized Ty’s tan, which seemed to be permanent. Winter or summer, he had it. Probably from all those years working on his family’s ranch.

Ty lowered the bottle to rest on his denim-clad thigh then turned his attention to Landon. “Looks like they’ll be going to the Big Dance again this year.”

Landon quickly focused on the TV so Ty didn’t catch him staring. A commercial touting the academic strength of The University of Texas flashed across the screen.

“Yeah. Looks that way,” Landon agreed, but it was next to impossible to talk intelligently about basketball when he was lusting after his friend.

Ty nodded toward a stack of boxes in the corner of the living room. “You need some help packing this weekend?”

“No, thanks. Just have the kitchen and a few clothes left. Shouldn’t take too long. I’ll wait until Thursday to finish it up.”

The commercial ended, and Ty turned back to the TV. Landon drained his beer and stared over Ty’s shoulder at the sliding glass door, which led to a small balcony. A wind-whipped rain had started about an hour after they’d returned from their run. That and the thunder and lightning created a false sense of intimacy in the apartment, as if they were the only two people in the world. Or at least in Houston.

Man, he had to shake this off.

“You want another one?” he asked as he tilted the mouth of his bottle toward Ty.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

Landon crossed the room and took the bottle from him, careful not to touch his fingers. A couple more steps took him to the galley kitchen. It was only big enough for one person, but that would change next weekend. After eight years of living like a poor college student while drawing a scientist’s salary, he’d finally saved enough to buy his own place, mortgage-free. A seventh-floor condo near the medical center.

The glass clinked when he tossed the empties in the garbage under the sink. He grabbed the cordless phone on the bar between the kitchen and dining room. The first half of the game would end in about thirty minutes. If he called for pizza now, it would arrive just in time.

After ordering Ty’s favorite, a thick crust with every kind of meat, no veggies, he opened the refrigerator door and stood there a moment, letting the air cool his skin. He placed his hand over the fly of his jeans and pushed his cock around, trying to readjust to a more comfortable position. Unfortunately he couldn’t find one. He gave up and hooked the necks of two bottles in the crooks of his fingers.

When he returned to the living room, Ty had kicked off his tennis shoes and raised the footrest of the recliner. He had one arm behind his head, stretching his shirt across his chest and biceps and exposing a narrow strip of skin just above the faded waistband of his jeans. A tan line delineated his abs. Dark above, light below.

As Landon imagined what lay below the pale skin and behind the frayed denim, he licked his lips, and his feet stuttered. No good could come of that kind of speculation, so he wrenched his gaze away and focused on the tube while thrusting the beer at Ty. Then he wove his way between the couch and the rickety coffee table he’d rescued from the side of the road in college. Back at his recliner, he sat on the gray duct tape that hid the split down the middle. His sisters were going to have a field day once he got moved. They’d been hounding him for years to let them decorate the place. He’d put them off, promising they could channel their inner Nate Berkus when he moved someplace permanent. The electronics were the only new stuff in his apartment. TV, computer, sound system. The essentials.

Landon managed to catch a few minutes of the game before he surreptitiously peered at Ty between half-closed lids. Clean-cut, dark brown hair, strong jaw. The Marlboro Man had nothing on Tyler Coil. Landon’s hand tightened around the cool, damp beer bottle. One thing for sure. Jacking off in the shower after their run hadn’t helped any. If anything, it had made things worse. Because while he’d been stroking his cock, he’d been visualizing Ty’s hands on him, Ty’s slick, nude body pressed against the shower’s fiberglass wall, his muscular legs spread, his—

A triumphant shout interrupted his daydreams. He swallowed hard and turned his attention back to the game. Again.

Finally, halftime began. They ignored the talking heads who were recapping other games.

“How’s work?” Ty raised his beer. He tipped his head back to drink, and the bottle kissed his lips.

Landon bit back a groan. This was gonna be a long damned weekend if he didn’t get a grip.

When Ty set the bottle on his thigh again, he looked at Landon and tilted his head expectantly.

Shit. Ty had asked him a question. What was it?

Oh. Right. Work. Landon forced his gaze to the tube as he answered. “Good. They’ve asked me to go to Albuquerque to help start up a new lab.”

Ty didn’t speak for a few beats, and Landon risked a glance at him. Yep, the announcement had surprised him. He’d known it would. Landon didn’t like change. His family and closest friends were well aware of that fact. Moving to a new city and a new job? Enormous change.

“You just bought a condo.”

“It’s a temporary position, a sabbatical of sorts. They want me permanently, but I told them if I go I can only give them six months.”

“Wow. That’s great.” He shook his head. “I mean, it’s great. Right? It’s a good opportunity for you.”

“It’s something different.”

“When would you leave?”

“The end of the summer.” The problem was he didn’t want to be that far from his sisters or Ty. Especially Ty. But Ty was the reason he was even considering it. He really needed to put some physical distance between them, more than the current 168.3 miles. Then maybe the emotional distance would follow.

They’d met four years ago at a Longhorn tailgate party that Landon’s sisters had dragged him to in Austin. Landon had been instantly attracted to him. Hell, the first time he’d seen him smile, he’d felt as if he’d been sucker punched. The man didn’t just have dimples. He had slashes. He’d been attracted to men before, but nothing like this. Nothing he’d risk alienating his family and friends over. He’d been perfectly happy with women until he’d seen Ty smile. Okay, maybe not perfectly happy, but happy enough. He’d been fine ignoring the gay side of his sexuality.

If Ty had just left him alone... But he hadn’t. It had taken him months to draw Landon out of his shell. And Landon still didn’t understand why Ty had so doggedly pursued the friendship. Unlike Landon, Ty had plenty of friends. Why had he been so determined to add a geeky cancer researcher to the list?

The doorbell chimed, quickly followed by three loud knocks. The pizza.

A gust of wind blew rain across the threshold when he opened the door. He tightened his hand reflexively on the knob to keep the door from slamming into the wall. The delivery guy looked like a college kid, and Landon felt sorry for him. It was a miserable day to be out, so he tipped him a twenty. He grabbed a roll of paper towels off the bar on his way to the couch and set the flat brown cardboard box on the coffee table.

Ty rolled out of the recliner without putting the footrest down. Landon tore off a couple of paper towels, and Ty lifted the pizza box lid. “Ohhh, yeah. My favorite. Thanks, dude.”

“You want another beer?” Landon asked.

“Yeah, but I’ll get it. You want one?”

Once again avoiding even the casual touch of Ty’s fingers, Landon handed him his empty bottle. “Thanks.” He watched six feet two inches of solid man disappear into the kitchen before calling out, “So what’s the story that brought you to Houston?”

“A state senator possibly taking kickbacks from a construction company,” Ty answered, raising his voice a bit as he opened the fridge.

“My district?”

“No, and that’s all I’m saying until I get more information.”

As long as he wasn’t voting for the scumbag, Landon didn’t really want more information. He might not like politics—couldn’t understand Ty’s obsession with it—but he did vote...even in the school-board elections. Especially in the school-board elections. He didn’t want some idiot getting into office and pushing creation “theory” on kids in science class. With the other public offices, he tried to make informed decisions, but all the mudslinging made it difficult and frustrating as hell. It helped that he could quiz Ty about the candidates. Their political views were similar, even if their religious beliefs weren’t, and Landon trusted his opinion.

Ty plopped on the couch and handed Landon a beer before twisting off the metal cap from his own bottle and flipping it onto the coffee table, where it landed with a
click.
He took a quick swallow before setting the bottle next to the cap and grabbing a slice of pizza.

“How’s Nikki doing?” Ty asked. “Still trying to escape that bubble Jake’s got her in?”

Landon’s older sister was pregnant. That wouldn’t have been a big deal, except she had a heart condition and her husband was losing his mind, afraid the pregnancy would kill her. “She’s good now that the morning sickness is done. And Jake’s a little better since his doctor friend talked to him.”

“Good.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t seen them,” Landon said.

Ty swallowed his pizza. “Nikki’s called a couple of times, but I’ve been too busy to get over there.”

Landon had never met Ty’s family, but he asked about them anyway. Ty’s dad and his brother had cattle ranches north of Abilene. They were small operations, so they couldn’t afford to hire hands. In fact, his dad and brother did odd jobs off the ranch to feed their families. They didn’t have time to visit Ty in Austin. So Landon only knew them from Ty’s stories and a few photos in his apartment.

They continued catching up and eating. The second half of the game started, and they stayed on the couch. Ty propped his feet on the coffee table next to the empty pizza box. Thanks to the beer, Landon had a great buzz going. He was keeping up with the game better. It was close. Texas and Colorado exchanged leads several times. When the final horn sounded, Texas had the win by only two points.

Landon and Ty shouted, “Yeah!”

Jumping to his feet, Landon high-tenned Ty. As soon as their palms touched, Landon curled his fingers around his best friend’s. He didn’t think about it, didn’t plan it. He just did it.

Hands clasped above their heads, callused palm to callused palm, their gazes locked. Landon didn’t move, didn’t breathe, afraid to break the contact. The crowd’s cheers and the Longhorn band’s brass-heavy fight song merged to create distant white noise.

His heart pounded as he searched Ty’s expression for some indication of what he was thinking, what he wanted...or didn’t want. His eyes were dark and glittering. Anger? His lips were parted slightly, his breath coming in shallow puffs. Excitement?

Damn it
. Why couldn’t he read him?

His skin stretched tight, hypersensitive, desperate for Ty’s touch. His lips drew closer, an intangible, invisible force playing tug of war with his better intentions.

Closer. His lids drifted to half-mast.

Closer. Ty’s scent, musky and masculine, overwhelmed his own.

Closer. Ty’s breath whispered against his lips.

Closer. Five beers and four years of longing conspired against him. Their lips touched, gently at first, as if by accident, an almost imperceptible summer breeze skipping over bare skin.

“
Screw it.
” The words stole from Landon’s mouth into Ty’s, and he began to take more from his friend, exploring the taste, the texture, the shape of his kisses. Screw the consequences. If Ty took off...well, the temptation would be gone.

But Ty didn’t take off. He extricated his hands from Landon’s and wrapped his fingers around the back of Landon’s head as he tilted his mouth and deepened the kiss until their tongues touched, tentatively at first, flickering, nudging, testing the limits. Finding none, they explored deeper, plunging, tangling, devouring.

Landon gripped Ty’s hips and hauled him up against him, melding them from waist to thigh. He tugged at the hem of Ty’s T-shirt and yanked it over his head, breaking the lip-lock.

Ty drew back and gasped, “
Fuck.
This is a bad idea.”

Landon was beyond words. He crushed his mouth against Ty’s to shut him up and made quick work of his button fly before he could change his mind. He shoved his hand beneath Ty’s boxer briefs and found his cock. Hot, smooth and most importantly, hard. There was no denying he wanted this.

Ty jerked his head back. “Condoms. You’ve got condoms. Right?”

Landon couldn’t believe it. This was really going to happen. He grabbed the waistband of Ty’s jeans and led him to the bedroom, where he opened the top drawer of his nightstand, pulled out a strip of condoms and tossed them on the bed. Then he blindly reached all the way to the back of the drawer until his fingers found the tube of lubricant. He tossed it next to the condoms.