INTRODUCTION

Jung Ewon (Aeon Rhodes)

So, what do you think of Taecyeon so far? Yeah, at that point in our relationship, I wasn't so sure either. But I was undeniably drawn to him, which had been a rare to nonexistent reaction sinse Nichkhun disappeared from my life. And-this is key-he was nothing like Nichkhun. They didn't look alike-Nichkhun was light-skinned with dark brown hair and brown eyes, Taecyeon was a deep olive tan with chololate eyes and black hair. Their voices were completely different-Nivhkhun's was a smooth, deep timbre, Taecyeon's was a gravely, husky growl. And their personalities? Day and Night.

Nichkhun had been warmth and smiles, an easygoing 'what you see is what you get' guy who everybody loved. Taecyeon was cold, intense, a focused, a guy seemingly intent on keeping the world at a distance. But I had grown a lot in the decade sinse I'd met Nichkhun. At twenty-five years old, I had a nice circle of friennds, my career was on the right path, high school was over, and I no longer felt like I needed someone to protect me from the world or fill my otherwise empty time. More importantly, I didn't want to count on someone only to have him walk away without a backward glance.

Taecyeon had a hard shell around him, sure enough, but I thought maybe I could be the one to crack it, which would make me special. And special people were held close, not thrown away. With those things in mind, I decided to let him spend the weekend, figuring we'd see how things played out.

I gotta tell you, neither of us would have accurately predicted where we'd end up, which lead me to the next picture in the album: dice. He wanted to play craps, I wanted to play cee-lo. We ended up drinking way too much, staying up way too late, and playing both.

The next morning, when I was bleary-eyed and willing to give my left nut for a cup of coffee, I noticed the three dice sitting in a small shot glass illuminated by the morning sun. At the risk of expiring from caffeine deprivation, I stumbled for my camera and took the shot. The gamble paid off-I lived and the resulting picture was gorgeous.

So, unexpected though it is, the next picture in the album is three gambling dice glowing in the sun.

Ok Taecyeon

My growling stomach woke me a couple of hours later. Even before I opened mmy eyes, I knew exactly where I was. Aeon's thigh was pillowing my head, he was petting my hair, and the scent of his groin made mine tighten with need.

I blinked my eyes open and saaw that he was holding a book with his free hand, the glow from the table lamp providing the only illumination in the apartment. With his focus elsewhere, I could look my fill without being noticed. The first place my gaze landed was on his eyes. That swirl of blues was breathtaking and served as the perfect jewel to highlight a face too pretty to be called masculine. I let myself examine every one of his delicate features.

It should have been off-putting-the long, dark lashes,  the full red lips, the high chiseled cheekbones, and the small upturned nose. But once again, I had no control over my body's reaction. Desire pushed aside disgust  when I looked at the beauty above me, and my breath hitched.

"Hey, you're awake." Aeon said as he put the book down on the end table "You must have been beat." he moved his hand from my head down to my cheek and rubbed his thumb back and forth over my skin in a caress "Are you still recovering from all those exams?"

His sweet tone, the warmth in his eyes, and the tenderness in his touch, took me off guard. Or maybe it was the way my chest swelled in reaction to those things that was unexpected. Either way, I was too unnerved to speak, so I swallowed thickly and nodded.

"Poor thing. Well, a few good meals and a relaxing weekend should get you back on your feet. You had the right idea coming here." He traced my lips as he spoke, his expression fond as he looked at me.

I registered for the first time he had cooked for me. And it sounded like he was planning to do it again. Other than my mother, nobody had ever wanted to take care of me, and she had resigned from the job when she realized there would be no woman in my life to take the baton.

"The eggplant is probably cold by now." he said "But I can nuke it and it should be fine."

Realizing that was my cue to move, I set up. Unfamiliar emotions still swirling inside me rendered me mute.

Aeon climbed off the couch and ambled over to the kitchen, his easy gait indicating that he was unaware of my tension "The bathroom's over there if you want to wash up." he said as he tipped his head toward the only interior door in his apartment.

I gave myself another few moments to watch his firm, high and lithe form. Then I took a deep breath and wlked into the restroom, intending tto splash some water on my face and smack some sense into my head. Being gay was one thing-I couldn't help that, couldn't stop it. But I sure as hell could choose what type of man I'd have by my side as I finished up my education and finally started to climb my way up the legal ladder. Aeon was not someone who would help me make partner at a good firm or get appointed to a seat on an appellate court or stand a political career.

The man was nice, I was willing to admit that And my traitorous body found him attractive, something I couldn't deny with the proof throbbing between my thighs. But at the end of the day, Aeon Rhodes was a joke, and if I brought him around, people would think I was like him, they'd be slammed with his image of what it meant to be gay and put it on me. No way could I earn anybody's respect being that kind of guy. Hell, I'd be lucky to have people wait until my back was turned before they started laughing.

With those reminders firmly in place, I felt ready to go out there and give Aeon the only thing that made sense between us: a hot night and a firm good-bue.

"You're done for the year, right? That's what that girl Yuri said." Aeon said while we were eating the delicious dinner he'd prepared.

"Yeah, I'm done with classes for the summer. I'm clerking at the district court, though, so I'll still be busy." I dragged my fork across my plate to scoop up the last bit of tomato sause, cheese, and what I assumed was eggplant. It didn't taste like a vegetable or eggs, more like a lasagna or something.

"Here." he said as he pushed his plate over to me "I'm done if you want some more."

I darted my gaze down to his plate and then looed at him as I lifted my fork, ready to dig in "Are you sure? This is your first serving and I ate the whole pan."

"Go ahead." he said. That was all the approval I needed to shovel a forkful into my mouth "I don't usually eat heavy dinner, which is why I made a small serving. Besides, I like salad better, and you were gracious enough to save all of that for me."

I paused midchew and I looked at him appraisingly, thrying to decide if he was making fun of me. The twinkle in his eyes and the slight curl of his lip told me the answer was yes.

"Next time I cook for you, I'll use a bigger pan. And I can make a garlic bread too, if you don't mind the carbs."

I moaned in approval and forgot to be offended. Again.

Aeon laughed "Okay, that's a yes on the garlic bread. Got it. I can't do it tonight, though, because I don't have any bread, but I can make it up to you with a dessert."

I paused with the last forkful a couple of inches from my lips and gulped downthe food in my mouth "Dessert?"

"Yes, dessert. Do you like chocolate?"

"I like sweet things in all their forms." I answered. And I included his sweet smile on that list, but I didn't say it out loud because then I'd have to kick my own .

"Good to know." he said with a chuckle "How about we let dinner settle and then I'll get the dessert going."

"Okay." I wiped my mouth off and tried to refocus on my seduction plan.

Finding that focus was surprisingly difficult. Not because I didn't want him, my till swollen shaft proved how much I wanted him. The issue was that I was enjoying speding time with him-chatting about school and work, sharing funny stories, getting to know each other-and I wasn't ready for that to end. But once I ed him out my system, I wouldn't have any reason to stick around.

Of course, if I facked him, then I'd get to him. Not a particularly insightful or brilliant deduction, but one that made me groan.

"So." I said, my voice sounding huskier to my own ears "What do you want to do?"

He pursed his lips in thought for a few seconds and then said "Do you like to play cards? Dice?"

I wasn't a big gambler, my frugal nature wouldn't allow it, but I figured I could hold my own against Aeon. Plus, he had unwittingly given me the perfect setup to get him .

"You're on." I said as I pushed my empty plate away "How about strip craps?"

"Incorrigible." he shook his head "My pants are staying on, hotshot. But, yeah, we can play craps."

Damn it. I wasn't going down without a fight "Look, I'm in school and you have a...career in the arts, so neither of us is flush with cash right now. What's the point of playing if we can't gamble for something?"

"I'm doing just fine with my career in the arts." he said "We can play for fun or bragging right." I snorted derisively. He rolled his eyes and said "All right, so how about theloser of each round has to take a drink."

Hold on, now, that had potential "A drinking game?" I asked.

"Yup." he winked "And you've already got a three-beer lead on me. Scared?"

"Please." I crossed my arms over my chest and smirked "I'm going to kick you round little . And I'm warning you now, while you're sober, that my plan is to get your pants off. So when you wake up tomorrow with a sore , I don't want to hear any bull about how you were too drunk to know what you were doing."

Aeon gaped at me in wide-eyed horror "Okay, first, you're the lawer, but I'm pretty sure that kind of philosophy could land you in jail. It definitely won't land you in my bed. And second, if you want any repeat customers, you need to work on your technique bacause unless you're packing a nighstick, there is no reason for anybody to wake up in the morning with a sore ."

"I've never gotten any complaints." I said with a frown.

He looked me up and down, and said "That's probably because you don't stick around long enough to get a feedback."

"Hey!" I was actually feeling offended "You don't know that. Maybe I just got out of a ten-year relationship."

He arched one eyebrow "How old are you?"

"Twenty-seven." I mumbled.

"And you just got out of a ten-year relationship?" he asked.

The disbelief was clear from his tone and it pissed me off. I wanted to prove to him wrong, but I had backed myself into a pretty tigh corner.

"No." I ground my teeth "But I could have."

"Riiiiight, you could have. And you also could have learned how to top someone without causing pain." he paused and curled one side of his lip up "But you didn't do that either."

I was about to tell him to off and storm out of his apartment, but then I noticed his shoulders shaking and realized I was being played.

"Are you trying to bait me?" I asked.

"Yup." he got up and cleared our dishes, and carried them to the sink "And it was working." he waggled his eyebrows, looking inordinately pleased with himself.

My jaw dropped "Why would you intentionally piss me off?"

"because if you're all worked up, your concetration will be for ." he said matter-of-factly as he washed the dishes.

"That's cheating!" My voice got embarrassingly high-pitched, so I slammed my mouth shut.

"It's not cheating." Aeon responded. He turned off the water, dried his hand on the bright-purple towel, and got a bottle of vodka out of the freezer, a jug of cranberry juice out of the fridge, and a couple of small glasses off the shelf "It's strategy." he sauntered past me and over to the couch "You coming or do you wanna forfeit right now?"

For the first time since I'd met him, I had an inkling that maybe playing Aeon Rhodes and walking away unscathed wouldn't be as easy as I'd first anticipated.

The cranberry juice was gone, the vodka was perilously low, and the room was spinning.

"What's with all the plants?" I asked as I waved my arms around, promptly smacking myself in the forehead "Ouch!"

Aeon snorted, looking amused. When he didn't answer my question, I asked again.

"Srously." I said. The word sounded strange rolling off my tongue so I swallowed and tried again "Srisly." I decided the problem was that my tongue had mysteriously grown and it no longer fit my mouth "Sriosly." I said the word slowly, trying to enunciate despite my teeth getting in the way "Ser-i-ous-ly." I said each syllable individually.

"Stop." Aeon said as he slapped his hand over my mouth "No more."

"What?" the word was muffled against his palm, my tongue, happy to be released form it's too small cage, decided to take a taste.

"Are you me?" Aeon asked.

"No." I said. Well, I tried to say it, anyway. I was having a hard time getting the word out because I was busy him.

"Yes, you are. You're me."

I kept .

He yanked his hand away, said "Eww." and then he wiped it on my shirt.

"Seriously." I said.

"Oh, for 's sake!"

I blinked in surprise at his sudden outburst. It was loud.

He looked at me as if he was waiting for me to say something.

I looked back and opened my jaw, trying to get hearing back in my left ear.

He sighed in relief.

My ear popped. I my lips and said "Seriously."

"If you say 'seriously' again, I'm going to kick your ." Aeon warned.

"Please." I scoffed and waved my hand at him, somehow smacking my own shoulder "Like you'd stand a chance. You're itty-bitty." I held my hand up with my thumb and pointer finger a few inches apart. Looking at them made my eyes cross.

"Seeing as how you can't even sit up straight, I think I like my chances." he said with a smile.

He sounded way to sober.

"You sound way too sober."

Why was that?

"Why is that?"

"Because you lost every single round of craps and the cee-lo, so I've been sticking to juice and you're drunk as ."

"Huh." I furrowed my brow and cosidered his comment "That makes sense." I leaned back "You want to now?"

He chuckled "No, I really don't. And even if I did, I doubt you'd be able to get it up in your current condition."

"I'm fine, baby." I said with a leer. Well, I was going for a leer. I ended up drooling a little, so I wiped the back of my hand across my mouth "I got what you need right here." I grasped my and balls and squeezed. More harshly than I intended "!"

"Hey, take it easy." Aeon uncurled my fingers from my and patted it gently "Just because I'm not interested tonight doesn't mean I don't want him in working order."

That sounded hopeful. I raised my head and met his gaze "Yeah?"

He shrugged "Maybe."

"When?"

He laughed at me. Again. "I don't know."

"Now?"

"No."

I paused for a few beats and then said "How about now?"

"You're cute when you're drunk, you know that?" he said.

"So is that a yes?"

"It's still a no." he climbed to his feet and held his hand out to me "Come on, let's get you to the bathroom before you pass out and embarass yourself."

It took me three tries to land my hand in hi "What do you mean?" I staggered to my feet and swayed.

"Never mind. Let's go." he wrapped his arm around my waist and led me to the bathroom.

"You never answered my question." I said.

"I answered you question a hundred time. With the amount of liquor in your system, the only thing I want from your is for it to not piss on my couch during the night."

"Not that question."

"Oh." he sounded surprised "What question?"

It took me a moment to remember "What's with all the plants on your windowsill?"

"I like hydrangeas." he said.

We'd reached the bathroom. He pushed the door open and waited fro me to step inside.

"They're nice." I said. I tried to lean on the doorway and look suave, but I misjudged my proximity to it and slipped, hitting the sink.

"Are you okay?" Aeon leaned in and helped me right myself.

"No." I shook my head vehemently. It made the room spin "I think I hurt my again." I reached for his hand "You better check."

"You're ridiculous." he said, stepping away.

"I'm ." I corrected him.

"And you're gonna stay that way." he pointed at the toilet "Go do your businedd. It's late, I'm tired, and you're drunk."

I wove my way to the toilet, took several tries to my pants, and finally fished my out. The room started spinning so I reached out my free hand to grab the wall. It was farther away than I realized.

"!" Aeon said. Before I could turn to look at him, he was standing right next to me and reached for my .

"See?" I said with a smirk "I knew you wanted it."

"What I want is for you to piss in the toilet and not on my wall or my floor." he aimed my into the toilet "I hope to God you remember this tomorrow, because it's gonna be hella more fun to tease you that way."

I turned my head and looked down at his face. He was right there. Close enough to kiss.

"I want to kiss you." I slurred.

"You're oddly charming." he said. Then he tilted his chin towerd my and said "Piss."

"No seriously." The word seemed to come out better that time "I don't usually go for kissing all that much, but you have pretty lips."

"Lucky me. Piss."

"Your eyes are pretty too. Did you know that? They're all big and blue, and you have lashes like a girl."

"I take it back. You're an and I'm odd for finding you charming." he squeezed my "Drain the lizard, Taecyeon. Let's go."

I closed my eyes to concentrate and the heard the stream splashinng into the bowl "I did it." I said as I opened my eyes.

He shook his head "Good for you. Keep going."

"Kay." when I was done, he shook me off, tucked me into my pants, and zipped me up "You going to kiss me now?" I asked while he was washing his hands.

"You smell like a brewery." he said.

"I can brush my teeth." I offered.

He wiped his hands on his walked out of the bathroom "Toothbrush and toothpaste are on the counter. Brush you teeth. I'm gonna make up the couch for you."

"Then will you kiss me?" I called out after him as I squeezed way too much paste onto his toothbrush.

"I wish I had a video camera." he muttered "I'd have blackmail material on you for the rest of your life."

"I can get a video camera." I shouted excitedly, drooling foamy paste over my chin "Then we can make a tape like Pam Anderson and Tommy Lee."

"Are you hung like Tommy Lee?" Aeon asked as he walked back to the couch with sheets in his arms.

I spit into the sink and frowned. I was eight inches hard. Did that mean I'd blown my chance with him? I'd never been ashamed of my size, because no matter what bull guys spew, eight inches is a good-sized . Besides, it wasn't exactly something I could hide.

"No." I reluctantly admitted.

"Good." Aeon said "Cause that woild be painful."

Relieved, I rinsed my mouth, splashed some water on my face and went back to the couch. Aeon was fluffing a pillow. I reached for him. Well, I tried to reach for him. Mostly I fell on him. He grabbed my hips and lowered me onto the couch.

"So we're seriously not going to ?" I asked him.

"Hard as it is to resist you in your drunken, messy, somewhat smelly state, yeah, 'fraid not."  he grapsed the bottom of my shirt and tugged it up my chest "Raise your arms." he said. I did and he pulled my shirt off "You're on your own for your pants, Romeo."

My eyeelids were feeling heavy anyway, so I didn't bother arguing anymore "But I get a kiss, right?" I asked. I really wanted that kiss.

Aeon smiled at me fondly, hunched down, and cupped my cheek. He pressed his lips to mine in a soft, genlte, perfect kiss. Then he walked over to the bathroom. I admired his as I toppled across the sofa and shoved my pants down over my hips.

"Good night, Aeon." he said, looking at me over his shoulder.

"Good night Aeon."

I was out like a light before he left the bathroom.