Covet Thy Neighbor

hands into useless fists, I pressed my heels into the bed and thrust upward, complementing his rhythm and forcing myself deeper inside him.
    He leaned over me, but stayed just out of reach of my lips, holding my gaze but denying me a kiss. I was completely pinned. Completely at his mercy.
    “I’ve been dying for this,” he whispered. “Every time I see you, I . . .” He trailed off into a soft moan.
    I managed to get one hand free, and reached between us to stroke him. He gasped, throwing his head back and riding me a little faster.
    “Like that?” I asked.
    “Oh, yeah.”
    Our eyes locked just like they always did. We held each other’s gazes, barely blinking, and even when my eyes tried to tear up, I couldn’t look anywhere but right at him. Just watching him, seeing his skin flush and the cords stand out from his neck as he picked up speed, made me almost as crazy as fucking him, and every thrust sent me closer to coming as much from the sight of him as the slick, hot motion of my cock moving in and out of him.
    Darren screwed his eyes shut. His cock stiffened in my hand. I stroked faster. He rode me harder, and as he came, his semen coated my palm, making my strokes slippery and hot, and I lost it. I swore, and groaned, and thrust upward to get as far into him as I could get, and we both shuddered and fucking shattered.
    His hips stopped. My hand stopped. Darren shuddered one last time. As he sank down to me, I wrapped my arms around him and found his lips with mine. We were both panting. Both shaking. Both sweaty, unsteady, and breathing too hard to kiss, but we did it anyway.
    He broke away. “That was hot.”
    “Yes, it was,” I whispered. I very nearly added, It’s always hot when we’re together , but didn’t dare.
    So I just kissed him again.

    The silence that followed sex with Darren always got awkward in a hurry, so we didn’t give the awkwardness a chance to set in. As soon as we’d calmed down enough to kiss without passing out, we made out until we were both turned on again. After a second go-around, we took another shower, which led to a third time, which exhausted the fuck out of both of us. After that, we slept.
    Which saved the awkwardness until the morning after.
    Half-dressed and barefoot, we clung to our coffee cups. The kitchens in these apartments were damned small, and we had both backed ourselves up against opposite counters as if we could push the cabinets apart and create a few extra inches between us.
    Same shit, different morning. I had no idea what to say. Restlessness had me shifting my weight, trying to get rid of some energy that refused to be satisfied by anything less than running like hell out of this room.
    Except we were in my apartment this time. There was no quick, polite exit that wouldn’t make me sound like a complete asshole.
    Darren rinsed his empty coffee cup and set it in the sink. “I should probably get going.”
    “I guess I should get my day started too,” I said. “Have to go do some work in the shop before I open.”
    “No rest for the weary, am I right?”
    I laughed, and he flashed a quick grin that did all kinds of screwy shit to my balance and blood pressure. Then he left the room, leaving me to my heartbeat and spinning head as he went into my bedroom to, I guessed, get the rest of his clothes.
    I rubbed my temples with my fingers. God, I had no idea what to do. It was a crime against humanity that sex that hot—was Darren even capable of being “meh” in bed?—had to have this kind of weight attached to it.
    Something had to give, though. We couldn’t keep playing this game.
    His footsteps sent my heartbeat ratcheting up again. Funny how the same man could make my blood pressure rise from arousal or from nerves, depending on the time of day and how recently we’d fucked.
    He returned to the kitchen, dressed and ready to go, and we walked in silence to my front door. He reached for the doorknob, but hesitated. Time for the awkward small talk, yes?
    “I’ll, um . . .” He paused, dropping his gaze.
    The air between us pulsed with something unspoken. I didn’t dare ask what was on his mind. I was too afraid to hear it.
    “Seth.” He looked me straight in the eye. “We need to talk.”
    My stomach flipped. “Okay. Let’s, um, let’s talk.”
    Hooking his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans, he leaned against the door. “What exactly are we doing?”
    Fuck. Here we go.
    “Um, well . . .” I reached up to scratch the back