Catch Me If I Fall Read online

  That was the understatement of the year.

  In the year and a half that Ethan had been living next door, Avery had never suspected his neighbor of being anything but a straight guy who was somewhat of a work-a-holic. Maybe a little lonely, since he always attended the girls' ballgames alone, but so did a lot of the parents.

  Avery's mind reeled as he contemplated some new and important facts. A) Ethan, the man he had been lusting over for more than a year, was gay. B) If that growing heat in Ethan's eyes when the tip of Avery's tongue swept his lower lip was any indication of his feelings, that same man was extremely interested in him.

  After months of vivid wet dreams that had cost Avery a small fortune between laundry detergent and his water bill, he should have been pumping his fist in the air and talking in tongues. Instead he felt awkward, the way he always did when he woke up from that dream--the one where he showed up for class completely nude.

  There were many levels of naked, and right now he felt exposed.

  Avery didn't date much. His last boyfriend had been a little less than a year ago, ending a few months after Ethan and the girls had moved in next door.

  It wasn't a terrible breakup. Things just hadn't worked out. It was nothing dramatic like finding him in bed with a hot bartender or the gardener--which probably would have been the most exciting event of their entire relationship--it just had sort of faded into obscurity.

  Just like all the men who had come before Matt had. As his sister pointed out, Avery was attracted to safe, boring men. The type of guys who looked amazing on paper with their well-padded 401K's, but who earned their titles of "pencil pushers," in more than one way... Avery cringed inwardly when he flashed back to his and Matt's last less-than-stellar sexual encounter. The size of a man's feet did not other things predict...

  Celibacy hadn't been a difficult decision after that, but now Avery caught himself as his gaze slid down to the sturdy, scuffed work boots on the other man's feet, then back up to those tiny shorts. Wait, strike that previous thought. Matt was a fluke.

  Avery squinted a little closer just to make sure. Yep, a definite fluke...

  His throat went dry as long, calloused fingers tipped his chin up with a gentleness that he wasn't expecting from a man who looked like he could bench-press him with one hand. Wondering if those small rough patches would add an extra level of sensation in the dark when Ethan stroked every inch of his body added another "to do" on the growing list of things that Avery intended to learn about the man if given the opportunity.

  "I'm sorry... I should have handled this a little better," Ethan said quietly. "I'm out, but I don't advertise for Hannah and Becca's sakes. Kids can be cruel at this age, you know?"

  "I understand." Avery winced as his voice hit a pitch only dogs could hear. "It's okay. I haven't exactly taken out ads myself, though I've been tempted to try the personals lately--been a dry spell."

  Ethan's chuckle rumbled with confidence this time as he gave Avery a slow onceover from head to toe, lingering on his mouth before he met his gaze again with a grin. "I'd have answered it. But maybe we can try it the old-fashioned way? Dinner and a movie tonight?" Those dimples came out for the kill as he held out one of the boxes. "I'll even sweeten the deal with coconut macaroons. I know they're your favorite."

  Avery cocked a curious brow and Ethan offered a warm, mischievous smile. "Two little birdies told me."

  "Uh-huh. Makes me wonder what else they've told you."

  "Only good things, I promise."

  "Yeah? Coming from the kids who dressed you up like dessert, I'm not sure how much merit that opinion holds," Avery teased.

  "Is that so?"

  Tingling jolts of electricity slid down Avery's spine, pooling hot and low around his dick as Ethan surged up the last step, his proximity causing Avery to take an instinctive step backward. When his back hit the doorframe, he inhaled hard enough to taste the citrusy hint of Ethan's cologne.

  "Um, not that I'm calling you a liar. I mean you've always seemed like an upstanding citizen and--

  "Avery"--Ethan's slow smile should have been bottled and sold as an aphrodisiac. Fuck Viagra!--"I'm confused. Are you saying you find me edible, or just delicious?"

  The cheesy but effective come-on made Avery's breath catch as a mental image of Ethan sweeping him up in his arms like Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman and carrying up the stairs, suddenly etched itself across Avery's mind and sent the memo straight to the growing bulge in his jeans.

  His pulse racing, Avery forced his gaze up to meet those hazel eyes that had gone whiskey dark with hints of cat-like amber. Never before, Avery thought, had prey so wanted to be caught.

  Jesus!

  Swallowing hard didn't help remove the husky note from his voice. "A little bit of both."

  Ethan's lips curved up another notch. "So is that a yes, because if we keep standing here like this, we're going to be attracting a whole lot more attention than my ass did in these shorts when I picked up those cookie boxes earlier."

  Avery chuckled. "It's definitely not a look most straight men would be rocking--unless they're sweating with Simmons and the Oldies."

  "I'm so not straight, Avery." Ethan smiled again, but this one was far less sweet, drawing a soft moan from Avery even before the other man's mouth touched his.

  Of all the foolish things he had ever done in his life, kissing a gorgeous mountain of a man in an attention-grabbing outfit, out in plain sight of every other condo in their complex, was probably in the top five. Those burning crosses were for sure going to light up his world like the Fourth of July at this rate.

  But when Ethan's large hand cradled the back of his head with such ease, Avery forced a mental shut down of every sensation that wasn't directly linked to the blistering heat spreading through his body like molten lava as Ethan confidently explored his mouth.

  He swallowed Avery's moan when Avery pressed in so close he wasn't sure anymore whose zipper was tattooing whose dick. The thought of having property of Ethan Harrison etched into his tender bits was both arousing as fuck and ridiculous enough to curve Avery's mouth into a grin that opened him up to the gentle quest Ethan's tongue was on.

  Avery moaned again when Ethan's tongue stroked over his, swallowing the sound as his big hands cupped Avery's ass, pulling him closer still.

  Avery pulled away first, his head spinning like he'd ridden the teacups at Disney World one too many times. "Wow. Clearly not straight," he murmured, barely registering Ethan's low chuckle in his blissful haze.

  And that was only a kiss. What would it be like when they managed to get horizontal? His eyes nearly crossed as he filled in those mental blanks.

  "Most definitely not," Ethan agreed. "So, dinner?"

  After that display of conviction, Avery felt worse for having to turn him down than his throbbing cock did. "I can't. Sarah won't be back till late tonight," he explained hastily, taking immense secret pleasure in the obvious disappointment on the other man's face. "But we can do tomorrow night if you like? Maybe we can skip the movie and just have a late dinner if that's okay?"

  The subtle lines bracketing Ethan's lips deepened when he frowned. "That's no good. It's a school night. I have off Thursday afternoon, though."

  "That's great, because the girls will love to see you at practice." Avery grinned when Ethan offered a puzzled look. "Which is where I will be surrounded by screaming teenage girls like an aging rock star... We have practice every Tuesday and Thursday till 6 P.M., remember?"

  Ethan had the grace to blush, rubbing one hand across the back of his neck. "Dad of the year," he grumbled. "What about next weekend? Is Kyle with you?"

  "Yea he is, but Sarah comes back early on Saturday, and I will make her leave by the afternoon, so I'll be all yours. Line up the babysitter."

  "I won't tell the girls you said that, since I happen to like your eyes right where they are--without the claw marks." Ethan's laughter was a rich baritone rumble and Avery shuddered.

  "Th
anks. Those consequences might be worse than the Ruby Woo-hoo Red polish--don't ask."

  "As long as you never mention these shorts again, it's a deal. So Saturday night. Is seven-thirty okay?"

  Avery nodded. "That works for me."

  Ethan's smile softened, those gray eyes sweeping Avery's lean frame with such leisurely interest, it made Avery wonder if he would be that thorough in everything he did. Oh please yes, God.

  "Until Saturday then. And Avery?" he paused, his smile going from nice guy-next-door to your-mama-warned-you-about-him devastating in five seconds flat. "I can't wait."

  The dimples came out to play one last time before the man turned down the steps, and Avery felt his knees go week. Kyle peeked out from where he'd slammed into the back of them, with a grin.

  "I like the Cookie Man, Uncle Avery."

  "Yea, kiddo, me, too..."

  Chapter 2

  * * *

  "Oh no, you're not leaving the house looking like that!"

  Ethan winced as soprano screeches of horror threatened his ears and the wine glass in his hand--his vain attempt to calm his nerves now that the "big date," had finally arrived and his cell phone hadn't rung with a cancelation call from Avery. A fact he was thrilled about, in between bouts of nauseating nerves.

  "Dad...seriously?" The incredulity in Becca's voice was topped only by Hannah's chiming in with, "I thought you liked Avery, Daddy!"

  Although they were identical twins, Ethan had never had trouble telling his daughters apart. Becca's calm, responsible personality usually set her apart easily from her two-minutes younger, more spontaneous sister. At the moment though, matching expressions of disapproval wrinkled up their pert little noses. Ethan felt like he was watching a pair of bobble heads as their blond ponytails bounced side to side in disapproving tandem.

  "What?" He looked down at his carefully chosen chinos and conservatively striped dress shirt under the black sports coat that his ex-wife had bought him a few years ago for some family event. As his daughters continued to scrutinize him, he frowned, his hand unconsciously rising to stroke at his tie for the third time in the last half hour.

  "It's a nice place. I want to make a good impression." Exasperation colored his voice when the girl's exchanged one of their patented looks without words. "What?"

  "Daddy you just look..." Hannah paused, glancing over at Becca, who didn't posses her younger sister's filters.

  "You look like a geek, Dad," she said, shrugging when Ethan arched a brow.

  "I thought you said that was the sort of man that he went for?"

  Becca grinned. "No, we said that's the kind of guy he dates--guys that are even geekier than he is."

  "Hey," Ethan protested with a frown. "That's not nice. Avery's not a geek."

  The girls exchanged another one of those looks before Hannah moved over to tug his sports jacket down on one side, Becca helping on the other.

  "Avery's a total geek, Daddy," Hannah assured him, walking his jacket over to the kitchen garbage can before Ethan could protest. "But he's the cute kind of geek that's majorly hot when he takes his glasses off--like Clark Kent before he becomes Superman."

  "And he's really nice," Becca added as she started working on his tie, slim fingers that knew just how to wrap around a bat to hit a homerun every game making quick work of the knots. "All the girls on the team have a crush on him, but the gay thing is kind of a factor."

  Like the pedophilia charges wouldn't be. Ethan watched with amusement as his tie joined his sports coat, before the girls scooted out of the room with a warning for him not to budge.

  There had to be a certain irony in the fact that he was getting Dating for Dummies tips from his teenage daughters. But between the long hours he had been keeping the past few years to build up his business, and trying to be sensitive to the girls' feelings, he hadn't dated much since the divorce.

  After his ex-wife had announced her new engagement six months ago, Ethan had started turning down even the few offers he did get, not wanting the girls to feel that they were losing both parents to change. Not that it had been that big of a sacrifice anyway, since there had only been one man Ethan had been interested in since they'd moved to the neighborhood.

  Every time Avery's then boyfriend had come over to Avery's place, Ethan had been tempted to call in a few favors with his friends at the local fire department to have the gas lines and fire alarms checked. Not that Matt had looked like the type to inspire much heat with his slouched shoulders and nondescript features. But you never knew. Avery looked like the quiet, unassuming nerd next door, but if that kiss on his porch had been any indication of what he was like in bed, the fire department might be paying them a visit after all when they set the sheets on fire.

  Unbidden, the image of Avery's eyes widening, cartoonishly magnified behind his glasses as Ethan dropped to his knees in front of him, popped into his head. Ethan could easily imagine himself slowly lowering the younger man's zipper, dragging out the man's cock with lips and tongue so that he could worship it until Avery's knees went jelly weak.

  His own didn't feel so steady as he imagined the sounds that Avery might make when he got sucked off. Would it be the little breathy moan that had escaped him when Ethan had leaned in for that sizzling kiss? Or would he be a more vocal lover, telling Ethan exactly what he wanted with explicit directions that would singe his ears?

  "Here try these, Dad. You don't want to scare the guy away on the first date--we need him to coach our game next weekend."

  Becca's snicker yanked Ethan out of his pleasant reverie, and he discreetly held the clothing that Hannah handed him in front of his crotch like a shield as he moved off to his bedroom to leave the girls to their plotting for a few more minutes.

  To say that he had been surprised when the girls had cornered him a few days ago with their insider information about Avery was an understatement.

  As far as he knew, Ethan had always been discreet about his attraction to the younger man since Avery seemed to have a type that was a hundred-eighty degrees from men like Ethan, and crashing and burning was bad enough when you didn't have to see the object of your unrequited affection on a regular basis. With Avery living next door and coaching the girls' games every weekend, Ethan had wanted to avoid any awkwardness if Avery wasn't interested.

  A fact the girls had proven false. Very false. Ethan's lips twitched. If the US government wanted to recruit successful future spies, they only had to look so far as the teenage population.

  All the times that Avery had stuttered when they'd talked, or tripped when standing still when Ethan had startled him, had previously been attributed to a lack of social graces. Somehow it had bypassed Ethan until the girls spelled it out that Avery was only ever awkward around him.

  Looking back, it was easy to see that although low-key unless he was around kids, Avery had always been friendly and easy going toward other parents at the ball games. The neighbors all liked him because he was a nice guy. He was a good man, who only morphed into an adorable mess, stuttering and tripping over his own feet, when Ethan was around, he thought, amused. It was a little ridiculous, somewhat flattering, and strangely endearing...exactly like the man himself.

  With a lean, wiry build like a runner's instead of bulked up like a gym rat, and his pale blue eyes always slightly magnified behind his black-rimmed glasses, giving him a perpetually startled look, Avery was the complete opposite of the men that Ethan usually found himself attracted to.

  When Avery had come to the door a few days ago, his tee shirt and jeans had looked deliciously rumpled--like he had just gotten out of bed--or wanted to be dragged into one.

  Ethan would have been happy to oblige that last part a dozen different times over the last year, but it had never felt like the right moment. Even though it was common knowledge in the neighborhood that Avery was gay, it didn't mean that Avery was attracted to older men. Especially divorced ones with teenage kids--a lot of baggage for anyone to handle.

  Still, every ti
me their paths had crossed, Ethan had felt an odd connection with the man his daughters were always talking about. After hearing on a daily basis how "cool" and how "nice and awesome" Avery was, maybe he was a little brainwashed. Whatever the reason, Ethan had no desire to change his feelings toward the man.

  Following a quick swipe of fingers through his hair and the perfunctory rinse with mouthwash, he changed into the outfit the girls had picked out. After a moment's indecision, he opted to leave his forest green shirt un-tucked over the dark rinse jeans, then he donned the leather jacket. As much as he hated to admit the little pissers had been right, their choice was infinitely better. A fact they refused to let him live down when he walked back into the kitchen to applause--Hannah--and a wolf whistle--Becca.

  Ethan dipped into an exaggerated bow that drew giggles out of both girls who were already settled at the counter with pizza menus in hand, and the money that Ethan had left out for them on the table. "Better I assume?"

  "Much," they chorused emphatically, grinning like fiends.

  "Avery's not going to know what hit him, Daddy," Hannah said with a sweet smile, one bare leg swinging from the bar stool, the other tucked beneath her.

  "Just make sure to keep him away from any water glasses unless you want a shower." Becca snickered as she moved to get the phone.

  It took every amount of self-control Ethan possessed to push back the instant, not-so-innocent visual Becca's teasing brought up front and center in Ethan's mind; Avery in the shower, water streaming down that lean, rangy body that was obstinately pale despite weekly ballgames in the sun. Long, nimble fingers stroking down that happy trail to curl around his cock as his smile beckoned Ethan closer...

  Hello! DANGER Will Robinson!

  Ethan cleared his throat, ignoring his daughter's curious looks as he walked over to the fridge and opened the freezer to cool his cheeks under the guise of looking for one of the chocolate ice cream pops he knew they hid under the frozen waffles.