Devil's Effect

False Accusations

Jason flipped the magazine closed and glanced at his watch impatiently. If Mike doesn't get here soon we won't have time to talk. We have to talk today. The weekend was awful. I have to know what he's thinking. He thought about turning on the television, but decided not to. Not yet. Maybe after they talked. Jason didn't want to deal with any distractions, and even though he knew that, like him, Mike wasn't big on tv, he still didn't want there to be anywhere else to look but him. I want him to look at me while we're talking. I need to know.

There had been a weird feeling in the air between them all weekend, after Mike and Chester's sexual reunion on Friday night. Mike still woke up on Saturday and pecked Jason on the lips when he came downstairs for breakfast, the way he'd been comfortable doing for weeks, but that was where the affection stopped. All the rest was for Chester. Kisses that Jason could feel to his own neck, touches he could feel on his own body. He was jealous in a way he hadn't ever been with Mark. With Mark it was more of a resigned acceptance to how things were, and he'd been mildly jealous of Chester when he first caught Mark's attention. But he had been granted the bulk of Mark's time, effort, and attention, and he'd benefitted from their marriage. It wasn't all perfect, not at all, but the jealousy had never hit him quite the way watching Mike love on Chester was hitting him now.

It's guilt. He's doing it out of guilt, not because he's having second thoughts. I need to talk to him. I need to show him this. Jason looked down at the magazine clutched in his hand. It felt like that magazine would make all the difference in the world when it came to how Mike saw Chester. His head popped up with the sound of keys in the lock, and he looked anxiously over his shoulder, hoping it was Mike. Knowing it should be Mike.

Jason breathed a little sigh of relief when Mike's flannel shirt came into view. He looked perfect, his dark jeans and dark blue t-shirt with the open blue and white flannel over top. He felt his heart skip a beat as Mike's eyes found his across the space. "Hey," he called out, a smile touching his lips. "I thought you'd never get home."

"Traffic," Mike answered on his way to put down his backpack. "You know how it is. Sometimes it's fine, others it's not." He carefully sat the bag next to his keyboard and turned around. He knew Chester and Ryan were running late; Chester had already texted him. "Did Ryan text you? They're going to be late. They're coming from the other side of the city. Traffic." He shrugged and made his way over to the couch, plopping down next to Jason. "How was your day?"

It didn't matter how Jason's day had been. That wasn't what he wanted to talk about for the precious minutes they had alone. He reached over, pulling a handful of Mike's shirt toward him as he connected their lips in the first real kiss they'd shared in days. It excited him that Mike responded immediately, his mouth opening so their tongues could meet, and he held tighter to Mike's shirt. He felt Mike's fingers nestle into his hair and press them closer as they reconnected. It was exactly what he'd imagined this kiss would be like all day. Warm. Wet. A little bit desperate.

When they broke apart, Jason was the first to speak. "The weekend. It was awful."

Mike closed his eyes. His weekend hadn't been awful. It was true that he'd spent most of it confused about what was going on with him and his conflicting feelings, but being with Chester hadn't been awful. Knowing that Jason knew what had happened between them was uncomfortable, but he kept telling himself that Jason would understand. He had sex with Ryan. He can't hold it against me that I couldn't help myself. Ches needed me and I wanted to. I really wanted him. I wasn't doing it to keep things normal. I was doing it because I love him and I wanted to. "What was awful for you?" Mike asked softly instead of agreeing with Jason.

The question set Jason back a little. "Really?" He felt Mike's hand drop away from his neck. "The whole weekend, watching you and Chaz... I mean, all it took for you to turn back was his emotional breakdown, and there you were, right back between his legs after telling me you couldn't do it." He could feel a bubble of anger starting to form. After everything, Mike was second guessing them. Jason couldn't believe it.