Diplomacy

tone.
    “Fine, let’s treat this as a negotiation. Negotiations always work best when both parties are open and honest towards each other. So why don’t we call a spade a spade, then. Why don’t you explain to me what happened in your kitchen?”
    Jack shushed him “Keep your voice down, we are in a public place.”
    “Is this what you and Maria get off on?” Lucas answered now in a much lower tone. “You seduce young men in front of her and then she needs to win you back?”
    “I wasn’t seducing you!” Jack rebutted, also trying not to talk too loud. He pointed at Lucas, “ You put your hand on my hand. You made the first move.” The American stepped back and leaned against the partition between two stalls.
    Lucas, having regained a bit of his composure, was a lot calmer now. “I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to show you that you mean a lot to me.” He averted his eyes and slightly shook his head. “I wanted to tell you that I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I didn’t have any hope that you would return the feelings. I mean you being married and all… But then you didn’t take your hand away and you looked at me with those eyes of yours and…”
    Lucas looked up at Jack, who was now looking at him, his face soft and his eyes wide, his hand reaching out. He took a tentative step forward and then slowly lifted his hand to touch Jack’s.
    Jack cleared his throat. “When you were finishing the dessert, I couldn’t help but touch you. You were so close to me, smelling of peppermint and wine and… I was glad there was a counter in front of us, because I would have given away some things our women wouldn’t have understood. It wasn’t until later that I realized that if you had reacted to my touch, we would both have been in a lot of trouble.” D i p l o m a c y | 49

    Lucas could feel Jack’s hand pulling him closer. Instead he turned into the cubicle and pulled Jack along with him, pushing the older man with his back against the partition. With his free hand, he snapped the latch on the door, giving them a semblance of privacy. He then leaned forward to whisper, “I was glad for the counter too, because what you were doing to my back with that hand of yours…” He lightly kissed Jack’s temple then leaned his head against the older man, pressing his body against him as well. He could feel Jack’s free hand tentatively moving across his back, just like that first time in the kitchen, and Lucas almost moaned when that hand retraced their first real touch.
    Lucas’s right hand and Jack’s left hadn’t parted since their first contact here in the men’s room, but now Lucas could feel Jack moving his hand to gently cradle his head. Their lips were almost touching. He could feel Jack’s heat radiating off him and his breath ghosting across his face.
    There was a moment’s hesitance when they looked into each other’s eyes, and then Lucas felt himself being pulled into a kiss. Chaste at first, just their lips touching, he could feel Jack open up to him slowly but surely.
    He could feel the hunger rising in the older man and responded by eagerly sucking on the American’s lower lip.
    At that moment, Jack pulled away as much as he could, pinned between Lucas and the partition, panting.
    Lucas, feeling confused, somewhere between rejection and awkwardness, tried to give him a bit more space, but Jack wrapped his arms around his lean frame and pulled him close to his chest. “Oh God, Lucas, I didn’t mean to push you away, I’m just… please tell I’m not making a huge mistake here, that what I feel is real and not some delusion.”
    The Brit ground his body against Jack’s. “Does this feel real enough to you?” He felt some of the tension flood away under Jack’s tight grip so he pulled his head back and smiled. “Ever since that night at the embassy… I just never figured you…”
    Jack pulled him into a desperate kiss again, this time hungry and unbridled. Lucas could feel the American’s tongue in his mouth and gave into him completely, pulling away after what seemed like forever, partly to catch his breath but also because he felt his body reacting to the other man’s growing arousal. “If we don’t stop now, I don’t think I could stop before…”

    50 | Z a h r a O w e n s

    Jack let go of the Brit, chuckling. “Yeah, I know…” They were standing, leaning against opposite walls of the cubicle, still holding hands, almost afraid to let go, but eventually