A roving photographer was snapping away, drinks were flowing, and the conversations were about what one would normally expect at a party like this. Which meant Chad was bored out of his mind, and that meant that Jared was fair game. Not that Jared wasn't always fair game, but then, he practically begged for it. Chad strolled to Jared and Jensen, flicked Jared's shirt buttons with a well-practiced smirk. "Is that a rooster on your chest or are you just happy to see me?" "Sandy picked this shirt out for me, I'll have you know," Jared replied, and puffed his chest out. "It shows." Normally laughing eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?" "Nothing." Chad turned to Jensen with a smile and a firm, friendly hug. "Good to see you, man." "Likewise." Jensen wagged a finger between Chad and Jared. "You two need a room?" "Nah, we've done worse in public," Chad replied, and drained his rum and coke his third in two swallows. "Yeah, but there's a kid here." Chad twisted in time to see the Chris Rock kid Tyler something introduce himself to Tom. "Dude, is he wearing a Superman belt buckle?" "And showing it off," Jensen affirmed, and laughed loud enough for several heads to swivel their way. "Mike's never gonna let Tommy live that down." "Did I hear someone using my name in vain?" Mike asked, strolling up, drink in hand. "Always," Chad replied, and rubbed an affectionate hand over the dark fuzz covering Mike's head. "I like the new look, bra." "Sexy, innit?" Mike grinned, and rubbed his hand over Chad's bristly scalp. "Maybe they need a room," Jared remarked, and Chad thought maybe it was supposed to be a joke, but somehow wasn't. "Somebody's je-al-ous," Jensen sing-songed and danced out of Jared's long reach. "Who wants another round?" Jared and Chad raised their hands. "J, you sure you should be drinking so much after last night?" Jared asked. "Hair of the dog, man," Jensen replied. "Mikey? You game?" "Aw, sweetheart, I thought you'd never ask," Mike replied, holding a hand to his heart. "I'll even help you carry." "You're such a good girlfriend." "Watch it or none for you tonight," Mike replied, and slung an arm around Jensen's shoulders as they headed towards the bar. Leaving Jared and Chad alone. Which was exactly what Chad didn't want. "So." Jared rocked back on his heels and Chad had an absurd thought about the giant from the beanstalk just before he toppled over. "How's Kenzie?" Jared somehow managed to make her name an epithet. "She's fine," Chad replied, too brightly. "And dear Sandy, how's she doing? Here with you?" "No, she's working. Is Kenzie here with you in the Big Bad, or is it past her curfew?" The truce had lasted about four seconds longer than they usually when they were sober. "Didn't we just go over this the other night?" Chad asked, looking around the room for anyone to get him the hell away from this weak-ass scenario. Hell, even the writers on his show could have given him something better to work with. "We were plastered," Jared reminded him. "I don't remember a lot of talking." Which was true. There'd been a lot of hanging all over each other, some drunken singing at a karaoke bar, and, after Jared had kicked everyone else out of his house, a couple of very fumbling, but very hot, handjobs before they'd both passed out. The next morning, Chad had gone for a run with Jared and the dogs at Runyon Canyon and the subject of the night before hadn't been brought up once. Chad had been pretty happy with that arrangement. Fucking around on your fianc้e was one thing. Fucking around on your fianc้e with your best friend again wasn't just retarded. It was the worst sort of d้jเ vu. "I'm not doing this," he said abruptly. "Bad enough I fucked up with Sophia because of you you know, she wouldn't even come to the party because she knew we were both going to be here " "Are you blaming me for Sophia?" Jared's voice boomed up an octave, the way it did when he got pissed, and this was totally not a goddamn conversation the entire room including Joel Silver and their new boss needed to be hearing. Not unless someone had forgotten to tell him that the new CW was turning into a gay network, and he and Jared were going to be starring in a reality show. "Not here, alright," he hissed, and curled his fingers around Jared's wrist. "Come on." "Where're we going?" Chad pointed to an alcove at the end of the bar, partially hidden by a shelf full of faux books. This place may have boasted an excellent rum selection, but it fucking reeked of East Coast pretension. Only in L.A., man. "Sit," Chad snarled, and all but shoved Jared into the booth, despite the fact that Jared outweighed him and towered over him. He knew how to deal with Jared. Except when he didn't. "Mike and Jen'll be looking " "Like you give a fuck," he snapped, and slid in beside Jared, crowding him into the corner. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, anyway?" Jared crossed his arms and stayed stubbornly silent. Even under the eight layers of clothing Jared had on, Chad could tell his forearms were bunched with tension. His face normally open and easy-going was pinched, and if Chad was reading the way Jared's brows were bunched together correctly, it was going to be awhile before Jared actually spoke. Fine. It would be a change of pace. Normally, he couldn't get J to shut up. "Look," he started, desperately wishing he'd waited until Mike had brought back his refill, because he was way too sober for this conversation. "You may not give a shit, but I do. And I actually like Sandy, so I don't want " "Are you kidding me?" Jared straightened, and even Chad had to admit he did it impressively. "You're trying to turn this into something about Sandy? Fuck that, man, this is " "I know what this is, okay." Screw calm, cool and collected. If Jared wanted a fight, he'd backed the right horse. "And what it is, is something we shouldn't " Immediately, he knew he'd fucked up. "We shouldn't, huh?" Jared asked, low and thoughtful. Chad started to slide out of the booth. Stupid of him to have forgotten this. "J, man, don't. You don't " "Oh, but I really do." And, just like that, Jared yanked on Chad's hand and pulled him deeper into the booth, deeper into the shadows. Closer to Jared and all of that menacing heat just radiating up close and Chad was totally fucked. "C'mon, man, joke's over. Let go." "Not laughing." Jared leaned even closer. "You see anyone laughing?" Which was the point, really, but Chad wasn't going to sit here and debate that the problem with fucking your best friend was that they stopped being your best friend and just became another set of issues to deal with. "Look." He tried again, unsuccessfully, to move. Jared kept staring at him like a rabid dog about to strike. "These are our jobs here " "Like you give a fuck," Jared spit back, and slid his hand over Chad's inseam, and it was really unfair, because Chad cared a great fucking deal about his job, but, right now? He cared about Jared's hand on his cock a lot more. And Jared fucking knew it. The sound of the zipper rasping seemed to echo endlessly between them. "You want me to stop?" "Fuck you," Chad frowned, and yanked on the collar of Jared's truly hideous shirt for a messy, teeth-clanking slide of lips and tongue. Fuck J, anyway, with his all-knowing smirk and his big, booming laugh and his too-large hands and the way he loomed and pushed Chad into anything and everything and just fuck him for being him, stupid fucking fucked up fuck. Then Jared's hand started to move over him, and Chad forgot to think at all. "Tell me to stop," Jared growled, and bit on Chad's lower lip as his fingers closed tight and hot around Chad's cock, moved with military precision. "C'mon, tell me." Chad wanted to, he really did. He loved nothing better than calling Jared on all of his stupid bullshit, and what they were doing (well, what Jared was doing, really) had to rank right up there with the stupidest, but, fuck, no one could make him come unglued as fast as Jared. No one else could even come close. Which was part of the problem, if not the entire problem. "C'mon, Chad..." Jared's hand swallowed him whole as his thumb rubbed over the head in a slow sweep. There was something different, edgy, in his voice. "C'mon..." Chad just clung to Jared's shoulders and bucked his hips, teeth raking over Jared's tongue. It took him an embarrassingly short amount of time to come. He blamed Jared for that, too. But then, he blamed Jared for a lot of things. "What I thought," Jared murmured in his ear, and when Chad lifted his head, the glittering light in Jared's eyes looked a lot like triumph. "Asshole." He couldn't even put his full weight into the reply; it was hard enough to force anger through a post-orgasmic lassitude. "Whatever." He felt the soft brush of lips against his forehead, then gentle hands pushed him against the cushions. Through half-lidded eyes, he watched as Jared used a napkin to wipe off his hand. When Jared met his gaze, he looked...tired. "This is bullshit." "Yeah, I know," Chad replied softly, and sighed. He straightened his clothing, wishing it was as easy to straighten his life. He dropped his hand over Jared's for a quick squeeze, then slid out of the booth. "Ready to be sociable?" "Yeah, why not?" When Jared stood and crowded against him this time, a different sort of heat slammed through them. "But you're staying tonight." Chad just nodded. Arguing about it wasn't worth it at this point, and he wouldn't mean it anyway. Maybe he'd be up for it tomorrow.
|
