Skipping Stones

...Leo found the door to the wine cellar right away and switched on the light. He carefully descended the stairs and found a small room with rows and rows of wine bottles. “Merlot?” he said out loud. “Where is that?”

Suddenly, he heard footsteps. “Mark, good, I can’t find the…” He paused to see Reed appear in the doorway.

“Ah, we must have had the same idea. I didn’t know Mark sent you down here to get the wine.”

“I, ah…can’t find it anyway,” he said, suddenly feeling a little claustrophobic.

“The merlot is over here,” Reed said, brushing past him to walk down to the end of the wall. “My father used to have a restaurant here, and he loved wine.” He took out a bottle and handed it to him.

Leo accepted it and studied the label.

“I came down here as a teenager and spent hours reading the labels.”

Leo narrowed his eyes. “Seems like an odd thing for a teenager to do.”

“Not really.” He laughed. “I used to love to drink wine, even back then, but my father wouldn’t let me drink too much until I was an adult. He did let me reorder the stock, however.”

“Ah ha…I sense a scam,” Leo accused.

“Dad kept precise track of all the bottles of wine he used, so by memorizing the labels, I could fudge the order a bit. Needless to say, there was always an extra bottle that Dad never missed. I was particularly fond of merlot.”

Leo ran his gaze over him. Reed leaned back against the wall, his head turned to one side, as if he was lost in the memory of his youth. “I lost my virginity down here.”

The words came softly, almost reverently. Leo had a hard time taking his eyes off of the man, although he knew he should. His gaze followed the line of the jaw to Reed’s throat, the place his shirt laid open on his chest, then back to his lips. He had the most incredible mouth.

“Really?” Leo replied, his mouth going dry. “Here among the wine bottles.” He tightened his fingers around the bottle.

He found it hard to breathe when finally Reed met his gaze. “He was about the age I am now, twenty-seven or twenty-eight and he had the most incredible eyes.”

“How old were you?”

“Fifteen. And I was ready. I was so ready. He was a guest, a well-known athlete who shall remain nameless.”

“Were you scared?” Leo asked him, leaning against the wall as well. He found his head falling in Reed’s direction, their faces close together.

“No,” he murmured. “I was too damn horny to be scared. He was so beautiful. I came before he even touched me.”

“I bet he thought that, too.”

“You bet he thought what?”

“That you were beautiful.”

Reed picked his head off the wall suddenly and laughed. “Why, Leo, I didn’t know you cared.”

He was teasing him, and Leo straightened up and cleared his throat. “Well, he must have thought you were something to risk his reputation. You were just a kid.”

“I don’t think I was ever a kid.” He grinned. “Except maybe in actual years. I was the only child and I grew up fast. My parents didn’t indulge me much. They pushed me, treated me like an adult. I just didn’t have much time to be a kid.” Reed rested his head against the wall again, his face turned in Leo’s direction.

“Do you regret not having a childhood?” Leo leaned his shoulder against the wall.

“No.” Reed reached out and touched Leo’s cheek, his voice soft and compelling. “I try not to regret anything.”

It was completely unexpected. His fingers lingered on his cheek, and Leo felt flushed as he melted into those eyes. His mouth gravitated toward Reed’s, his gaze caressing his lips. It seemed like a dream. He was so close to those lips, he could feel Reed’s breath. Then a warning bell clanged in his head.

He drew back abruptly, stiffened. What in fuck am I doing?

Reed dropped his hand from Leo’s cheek. He smiled and brushed past him. “I better get upstairs before my steaks burn.”

Leo didn’t move. He heard Reed’s footsteps climb the steps and he came close to dropping the wine bottle on the floor. He had no idea what to make of that man. He wasn’t sure what Reed’s game was, or if he was even playing a game. He did know, however, that every time Reed Owens came within ten feet of him, his heart hammered in his chest like a drum. And that…well…that wasn’t good...