Read Marie Sexton - Coda 05 - Paris A to Z for Free Online Page B

back. Matt was at least four inches taller than him, but Cole somehow managed to make it seem that he had to look down to meet Matts eyes. “Anything you want, buttercup.”
Matt rolled his eyes, but otherwise didnt respond at all. He turned to get his key from the woman behind the counter.
Jared and Angelo walked in, and Cole went straight to Jared, pulling him into a tight embrace. Jared hugged him back, laughing. They stayed that way for a second, and then Cole pulled back just enough to look up into Jareds eyes. He had one hand on each side of Jareds face and was looking into his eyes, saying something that seemed to be very serious. Then he kissed him. He put his lips on the corner of Jareds mouth, as if he hadnt been able to decide between his lips and his cheek and had chosen to split the difference. It was soft and friendly, and although he lingered there a bit longer than I expected, the kiss wasnt at all sexual. Nonetheless, I heard Matt, standing next to me, make a low sound suspiciously close to a growl.
“Down, boy,” I said.
He didnt laugh. “I could handle it a lot better if he didnt have to touch him all the time!”
Cole was acting awfully familiar with Jared, but I also knew Jared was one hundred percent devoted to Matt. “What are you worried about?” I asked him. “You cant honestly think Jared would cheat on you.”
He tore his eyes away from his partner, and sighed. He looked at me with obvious embarrassment. “Of course not,” he said grudgingly. “It just drives me nuts knowing theyve been together.”
“Sometimes sex is just sex,” I said, and immediately regretted it. It obviously annoyed him. He might even have been mad.
“Is it supposed to make me feel better knowing that Im the only one who cant seem to see it that way?”
Angelo looked over at us, and he must have been able to tell from Matts face what was going on because he laughed and pulled Jared away from Cole, stepping between them.
    Cole wasnt quite as familiar with Ang as he had been with Jared— he didnt kiss him, at least. But he did stand awfully close. He put one arm around Angelos waist and whispered something in his ear that made him laugh.
“How can that not drive you nuts?” Matt asked me through clenched teeth.
But watching Cole and Angelo now was nothing like the first time theyd met, back at Matt and Jareds house, more than two years before. Back then, the sexual tension between them had been strong. Id almost felt like I could see it crackling between them. The entire room felt charged, and everybody around them seemed a bit on edge, although I suspected none of them knew why.
But now, it was completely gone. Yes, Cole was apparently incredibly flirtatious, and Angelo didnt seem to feel inclined to dissuade him. But when I looked at Angelo, I could tell that he felt nothing for Cole beyond a friendly curiosity. I could tell by the look in his eyes and by the way he responded to Coles flirting by touching him yet never leaning into him. He didnt desire him anymore.
“Come on,” I said, grabbing Matts arm. “Lets go get settled in.”
We rounded up Jared and Ang and headed for our rooms, with Cole calling after us that he knew we were probably starving (and he was right) so to meet back downstairs in an hour, and hed take us all out for an early lunch.
The ride in the elevator was deathly silent. Matt glared at Jared, but didnt say a word, and Jared grinned playfully back at him. There wasnt a doubt in my mind they were either going to be fighting or fucking in five minutes flat. I hoped for their sake it was the latter.

Matt…
    I
WAS trying not to be absolutely furious, and I was definitely failing. Id made an effort over the last few weeks to overcome my
reservations about the trip. Yes, Id probably miss the Super Bowl. Yes,
    Id have to watch a wedding between two people I could barely stand. But it was a free trip to Paris with my partner and my best friend. Cole was no threat to me. I told myself that