All That You Do

Chapter 1-2

“That won’t take you long to figure out. Not in this town.”

“I’ll take your word for it. How long have you been in this town?”

“I grew up here. I live in Santa Monica now.”

“Near the beach?”

“Near enough that I can hear it when the windows are open.”

Gage’s smile changed and now held a hint of regret. “That must be nice. I haven’t actually seen the ocean yet. I think I had it in my head that LA was one big beach or something.”

“How long have you been here?”

“It’ll be two weeks tomorrow.”

He was even greener than Christopher had imagined. No wonder Power had thrown him for a loop. “I’ll bet you see it before you hit three weeks.”

“I thought I’d wait until I met somebody who could show me around.” Another swallow from the glass left it empty. “I don’t know if I want to be alone the first time I see it.”

“I’m sure you’ve met a lot of people who’d be willing to give you a tour. You met me, didn’t you?”

Gage arched an eyebrow. “Are you saying you want to take me to the beach?”

Was he? He barely knew this guy. But what was a harmless walk around the beach? It was certainly a better atmosphere than the bar.

He deliberately dropped his hand to Gage’s knee and let it rest there. “I’m saying, if you want to see it, I’d love to show it to you. I’m sure we can arrange something that works for both of us.”

Gage’s attention immediately dropped to Christopher’s hand. He didn’t look perturbed by the weight of the contact, but he definitely seemed a little surprised. “That’s…really generous. Thank you.”

Christopher stayed there for several seconds longer, letting Gage absorb the heat, learning the strong lines of the muscles. He itched to go higher. Feel the zipper rasp as he pulled it down. Dip inside the jeans to feel abs twitching at his touch. Slide across pre-come already leaking from Gage’s hard c**k.

Pulling back meant corralling his control again. He had the fleeting thought that if Rev could see him now, he’d probably yell at him for not jumping Gage on the spot.

“You moved to LA without knowing anybody here?” Christopher finally reached for his drink, his throat too dry to handle much conversation without some kind of wet reprieve. “You’re a braver man than I am.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t really know anybody anywhere. But I had enough in my checking account for gas, and I had enough in my savings to get a little apartment. I figured that meant it was fate or destiny or something to go to LA. Plus the music scene here is almost as good as Austin.”

“Music?” His ears pricked up. “You play?”

Gage’s smile turned shy. “Yeah, a little. I mean, mostly my gigs have been school dances and talent shows, so I’m not sure if I’m really prepared to play any actual clubs. But that’s what I’m here to do anyway.”

“What kind of music?”

“Rock and roll with a bit of a country sound. I like to play loud and fast, but with some fiddles, too. Well, I would like to play with a fiddle. I’m on my own now. Nobody else in the band thought it was our destiny to go to LA.”

“Which only makes you braver, if you ask me.”

The music had finally slowed into something more seductive, though the driving beat still underscored every note. It called to one and all, men from every end of the club trickling onto the dance floor to appreciate it. Christopher couldn’t resist. He downed the rest of his drink, then slid off his stool, put his hand on Gage’s shoulder, and leaned down to hover at the young man’s ear.

“Let me pay you back for the drink. Come out and dance with me.”

Gage caught his breath. “Dance? I don’t…I don’t really know how to dance like everybody else here.”

“You don’t have to know how. You just have to let me hold you.”

Gage opened his mouth, but didn’t speak. For a horrible moment, Christopher was convinced he was about to get down. He couldn’t remember the last time anybody had declined an invitation from him, but he supposed if anybody would do it, it would be this peculiar young man.

“I…wow, yeah. Let’s dance.”

Not bothering to hide his smile, Christopher caught Gage’s hand before he could change his mind, and pulled him from the chair. The fingers that curled reflexively around his were callused and strong, proof of the time Gage must spend with his music. Christopher tightened his grip just to feel the hardened skin scrape over his. His c**k throbbed in time with the current song. There was no way Gage wouldn’t feel it once they hit the floor. For once, the prospect of so blatantly announcing his desire only made him harder.

The crowd didn’t make it easy to get through, but he kept a firm hold on Gage until he found a spot large enough for the two of them. Wide eyes looked up into his when Christopher tugged him close. The flashing lights made it harder to see their true color, but there was no missing the way his f**k-me lips parted in surprise as Christopher molded their lower halves together.

They didn’t do anything more than sway to the slow rhythm of the song, though the way Gage moved his body made Christopher wonder if he was a better dancer than he let on. The smell of Gage’s skin wafted around him, an undercurrent of Old Spice and peppermint in the crush of bodies on the floor. The inexplicable urge to touch Gage’s hair made his fingers itch, but he kept them in place on Gage’s hips. His thumb slid underneath the hem of Gage’s shirt, and he gently brushed the tip along the warm skin.

“I really like this song,” Gage said, his words a little rushed. “Do you?”

Truth be told, he’d been paying more attention to the man in his arms than the music around him. Still, Christopher bent his head toward Gage’s ear to answer, rather than have to raise his voice to be heard.

“I like the way you move to it more.” This close, he caved to at least one of his temptations. His tongue darted out and licked away the bead of sweat from the soft hollow beneath Gage’s ear.

Gage jerked back like he had been shocked, pulling away from Christopher’s grip, his hand going up to cover the skin Christopher had just tasted. His face almost immediately clouded over with embarrassment and he smiled apologetically.

“I’m…I’m sorry. You just startled me.”

Doubt crept past his desire, and he took a half-step away, lengthening the distance between them, distance it seemed they both needed. “Why don’t we go sit back down, then?”

“No, please. I want to dance. I’m sorry I’m so lame. It has nothing to do with you, I promise.”

It felt like it had everything to do with him, and the fact that he couldn’t seem to keep his hands or mouth to himself when it came to this particular young man. But more than one person was looking at them now, and the prospect of leaving Gage alone in the middle of the dance floor made him feel like a s**t. Carefully, he reached for Gage again, though this time, he kept his hands in more respectable, fully clothed places, and his mouth far away from any further seduction.

“I’m sorry I’m so jumpy,” Gage muttered. Christopher almost didn’t catch it under the music. “It’s something I’m trying to work on.”

He tried to make light of it, though he still felt like they should take it back to the bar. “You’re not expecting an old boyfriend from your hometown to come in and make a scene, are you?”

Gage snorted. “No. That’s pretty much the one thing I don’t have to worry about.”

Maybe it was a bad break-up, then, that had him so skittish. Someone who hadn’t appreciated Gage and what he had to offer and perhaps abused his trust. It would explain, too, why he’d pick up and just leave town on a whim, leaving his band behind. Trying to escape memories and start over.

Though he knew his theories were romantic drivel at best, Christopher relaxed enough considering them to pull Gage flush with his body again. He kept his hold looser this time, everyplace still respectable, and let the music control how they moved.

“This is nice,” Gage murmured after Christopher relaxed. “For two years, the only human contact I had was shaking hands.”

That sense of innocence clinging to Gage like a second skin returned, evoking more of Christopher’s protective instincts than before. Without tightening the embrace, he ducked his head, letting his nose and lips nuzzle Gage’s temple, and breathed him in. No other contact. Just a deep inhalation. Then letting it out. Allowing the scent of Gage’s cologne and light sweat to fill his head and focus him on giving Gage a few moments of the contact he might not necessarily know how to process but so obviously craved.

Christopher caught his breath when he felt Gage’s tentative lips brush across his throat. It was the softest of caresses. Barely a kiss at all. His lips were smooth, but the scruff of his beard scraped across Christopher’s skin. He instantly tried to imagine what the hair would feel like across his chest, along his hips, and sliding up and down his shaft. Christopher tried to snap his thoughts back to the present, but they still lingered on how Gage’s mouth would look wrapped around his c**k.

Someone jostled into Christopher’s arm, forcing him to tense in reflex. If Gage felt it, he didn’t react, but the swarm of bodies only heightened Christopher’s desire to shield Gage from the worst of them. He let his hand stray to the small of Gage’s back, slowly so he didn’t startle him again, letting his fingers gradually disappear beneath the hem of the shirt.

The heat he found sent his pulse thundering. When his other hand lifted to the back of Gage’s head, he told himself it was to better secure Gage from getting bumped again, but he knew it was only partially true. He wanted to keep their bodies aligned, maybe encourage Gage to try kissing him again. His own mouth watered for another taste, but until he was sure Gage wasn’t going to run, he had to hold firm and wait.

His hopes weren’t in vain. He felt Gage’s lips on the hollow of his throat, and then a hint of his tongue. Just the very tip. Like Gage wanted to steal a taste of his skin without getting caught. Christopher wondered what it would take to prompt Gage to be bolder, but at the same time, he found Gage’s timidity charming.

“It sounds like the song’s ending,” Gage murmured, his mouth close enough Christopher felt the shape and breath of the words.

“Yeah.” Which was a shame. He continued to hold Gage, his fingertips now massaging lightly at the edge of Gage’s nape. “Do you want to dance more? Or I could look for a table where we could have some more privacy than at the bar.”

Christopher felt a slight shiver move through Gage’s body. “Dance more. Definitely.”

He smiled, though Gage wouldn’t see it. “It probably won’t be a slow one. They only play those every once in a while to let people catch their breath.”

“Maybe we could find music somewhere else.”

“We could find privacy somewhere else, too.”

“Do you have anywhere in mind?”

He would have loved suggesting his place, but he had the distinct feeling a blatant invitation like that would startle Gage into backing off for good. The progress they had made during the dance would be lost, and Christopher didn’t want that. He wanted the time to coax Gage into trusting his instincts, to indulge in what he wanted without having to fear the repercussions. Under that innocent exterior, there was a sensual man just waiting to be discovered. Probably begging for it.

Christopher wanted to be the one to find him.

The music finally finished, and as the driving pulse of the next song took over, Christopher caught Gage’s hand and pulled him through the hot, sweaty bodies to the edge of the dance floor. He spotted an empty section of the wall and guided Gage to it, pushing him gently ahead until his back hit the brick. Bracing his hands on either side of Gage’s shoulders, he leaned in with a soft smile.

“If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?” he asked.

Gage licked his lips. Just the sight of his tongue intensified all of Christopher’s fantasies. “Someplace private. My…” He swallowed. “My apartment is just one block over.”

Every single one of his nerves leapt in excited triumph. That was exactly what he’d wanted to hear. Somehow, however, he managed to keep from grabbing Gage and dragging him out of the club, then and there.