Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 9

all directions, and he had the cutest brown eyes. He was lean and cut and his back and chest were covered in tattoos. His right arm too, was covered in a sleeve of ink. He looked hot on stage at gigs, where he showed his ink off in full glory. He'd played keyboard and backup guitar in his college band, where he'd always end up shirtless halfway through a gig. Jase had always had a thing for men with ink, and had always tried very hard not to drool. Wait, Tag just said he loved me? Tag, his Tag , who, despite the fact that he got turned on just looking at the man, had been tucked away in the "straight man" file in his brain since the first day they met, and Jase had ignored anything he felt for the man, other than friendship. Tag just said he WANTED me. He stared straight ahead, his mind racing.
    It was true that when he and Marcus had first started dating, that they had lived in this happy little bubble. He'd been blind. He really hadn't been paying attention to Tag.
    "Jase?" Sean set his bottle down, and stood up. He walked towards Jase, and stopped when he was a few feet away. "Look, by the time I figured out how I felt, you were with Marcus, and you were happy, for like the first time since I'd known you." Jase looked up at Sean, surprised by the pain in those brown eyes. "But you were so happy, so very happy Jase, and I didn't want to be the one to mess that up. I couldn't tell you, and I tried very hard to make sure I didn't let it show. I wish I'd realized how I felt sooner, but I didn't. Not to mention, I didn't know if you'd want me, or how badly it would screw up our friendship."
    Sean closed the distance between them and went down on his knees at Jase's feet as he continued. "Then I found out Lisa was pregnant, and I had to take responsibility for my own actions. So I was with her, and you were still with Marcus. I didn't mean for it to, but that kind of screwed up our friendship anyway. But Jase, how could I have said anything at that point? I couldn't. Now...here we are, and I just, I just had to tell you how I felt, now that I was free, and I could." He hesitated, and when he spoke again, he spoke so softly Jase could barely hear him. "I know I shut you out. Trying to make things work with Lisa was worth it for Cody, but I know I've been a shit friend these past two years, and I'm so sorry for that. But Jase, how I felt about you, it hasn't gone away. Jase, I..."Jase couldn't think. He placed a finger to Tag's lips. He needed Tag to shut up for a second, because his brain was going to overload. Sean stopped talking, and instead focused on Jase's finger.
    Tag's breath was warm, and he pressed his lips forward, planting a tiny kiss on the tip of Jase's outstretched index finger. Oh shit. He felt that everywhere. Looking down, Sean's eyes were still closed, and Jase's finger was tingling. Sean was rotating his head ever so slightly so Jase's finger brushed back and forth on his lower lip. Jase forgot how to breathe. Then Sean opened his eyes, looked up at Jase, and Jase was overwhelmed by the intensity of emotion he saw reflected there.
    "Tag." It came out as whisper. He cupped the back of Sean's head with his hands, pulled Sean close, and hugged Sean's head against his chest. Sean wrapped his arms around Jase's back and squeezed, burrowing his head in Jase's chest.
    They hugged each other tightly, fiercely. Jase's hand came up and tangled in Sean's hair, and gently rubbed the back of his head. Something inside him clicked into place, and he felt calmer than he had in months. Minutes passed. Finally, Jase, remembered something, and murmured into the top of Sean's hair, "Senior year, at the end of October."
    "Huh?" Sean's response was muffled against Jase's chest.
    "That's when you figured it out, wasn't it? That was when you were really busy all of the sudden? I stopped cooking for you, because you were at school till all hours practicing, or you were rehearsing with the band and we barely even saw each other, much less had an actual conversation."
    "Yes," came the muffled reply. Sean was still talking into Jase's chest. "Watching you and Marcus when he was there was hard." His hands, which had been wrapped around Jase, had found their way under Jase's shirt, and were tracing lines along the bare skin of his back. "But mostly I stayed away, because when I looked at you, all I wanted to do was this." With that, he pulled Jase's shirt up and kissed his bare stomach.
    Ohhhhhh. Sean kissed a trail along the