“There’s a story there,” Cam concluded, his gaze lingering on Gannon’s face.

“There is,” he admitted. “But not one that’s worthy of a first date.”

Cam appeared to understand, or so it seemed, when he nodded his head and returned his attention to his food.

They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

“What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?” Cam suddenly asked, his blue eyes glittering with interest.

“I started my own business.”

“Not crazy, Gannon.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. It might not be crazy to Cam, but for Gannon, it was. “I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid. Then, when I was in high school, one year I wanted to be a chemist, another year I wanted to be a physicist.”

Cam’s grin widened as he took a sip from his wine glass. “I can see that.”

“Can you now?”

“Yeah.” The honesty in Cam’s tone made Gannon relax again. “You’re buttoned up pretty tight there.”

“Is that code for nerdy?” Gannon laughed.

Cam laughed. “Maybe.”

“And you like it?” Gannon prompted.

“What? The nerdy thing?” Cam nodded. “Yeah, it kinda suits you. So how’d you get into software design?”

“Fluke,” Gannon admitted. “In case you couldn’t tell, I’ve been a geek most of my life. Logged many hours playing computer games.”

Cam’s laugh released the last of the tension that had knotted in his chest when they’d gotten on the subject of family.

“Find that funny, do you?”

“A little bit, yeah. But I can totally see it.”

“It’s the glasses,” Gannon told him.

Cam’s nose twitched, as though he were considering it. “Nah, the glasses are hot.”

Gannon’s face heated, and he looked down at his plate, ignoring the crazy eruption that occurred in his stomach.

Cam’s rough chuckle had him looking back up at him. Gannon grinned back. Lifting his wineglass to his lips, he watched Cam. “And you were a jock, I take it?”

“Definitely. Football mostly, but I played baseball for a few years.”

“I can totally see that,” Gannon said, throwing Cam’s words back at him.

“Safe to say I would’ve picked on you in high school,” Cam told him. “Or at the least, had you do my homework for me.”

“Possibly,” Gannon acknowledged.

“So were you a gamer like the guys who work for you?”

“Hard-core. Didn’t even get my driver’s license until after I graduated from high school. Had no need for it before then.” Gannon didn’t bother to tell Cam that he’d lived with a friend from the time he was sixteen until he’d graduated from high school. His parents had tossed him out after he’d told them he was gay. He hadn’t seen them since. “Went right from high school to college, got a degree in media, animation, and digital arts.”

“Where’d you go?”

“USC. Full academic scholarship,” Gannon told him. “And I’d always had a knack for business, so I figured what the hell.”

Cam’s smile started slowly and took over his entire face. “I’d say ‘what the hell’ looks good on you.”

“Thanks.”

Cam lowered his fork to his plate. “I went to community college. I’ve spent my entire life on the water. For a while, I considered competing in water sports professionally, but when I was seventeen, I started workin’ at a small marina on Inks Lake. Fell in love with it but knew I needed something a little more…”

“Ostentatious?” Gannon offered.

“Somethin’ like that.”

While they continued to eat, Gannon eyed Cam speculatively. As much as he was attracted to the guy, he was beginning to wonder whether or not they had anything in common. From the looks of it, that wasn’t likely.

Then again, in theory, opposites did attract.

So that was certainly one thing they had going for them at this point.

Gannon only hoped it wasn’t the only thing.

After dinner, Cam helped him clear the table before they went back out onto the deck with what was left of the bottle of wine.

The small talk continued until Gannon couldn’t stifle a yawn. It had been a long day, and tomorrow would come early for him since he had a conference call with one of his teams in Singapore. Due to the time difference, in order for them to meet up, Gannon had to schedule calls for the early hours, three or four a.m., in order to catch them before they left for the evening.

“I guess we should call it a night,” Cam said, getting to his feet. “Thanks for dinner.”

Gannon placed his wineglass on the table beside him and forced his weary body up from the chair. “Thanks for coming.”

“Didn’t think I would, did you?” Cam asked as Gannon took a step closer.

Watching him for a moment, Gannon considered his words carefully. “Truth?”

“Yeah. Truth.”

“No, I didn’t.” Stepping closer still, he added, “But I’m glad you did.”

Cam’s blue gaze met his. “Me, too.”

Thinking back on that kiss they’d shared earlier, Gannon lifted his hand and touched Cam’s cheek, the rasp of beard growth lightly abrading his palm as he watched Cam’s face for any signs that he was being too forward. When Cam’s Adam’s apple bobbed slowly, Gannon knew this unruly attraction wasn’t just one-sided.

Brushing his thumb over Cam’s cheek, he leaned in, trapping Cam between his body and the railing. “I think maybe we should get this part outta the way.”

That sexy smile tipped the corners of Cam’s mouth, and Gannon leaned in, closing the gap between them as he reached around to cup the back of Cam’s neck.

When their lips touched, it was a hesitant mating, but that lasted all of a few seconds before Gannon couldn’t contain the driving urge to claim Cam’s mouth with his own. With a ragged groan rumbling from his chest, Gannon crushed his mouth to Cam’s, driving his tongue inside as he licked and teased. He could taste the wine on Cam’s tongue, and he wanted to get drunk on it.

His hand still cupping Cam’s jaw, he tightened his grip slightly, tilting his head as he explored the inside of Cam’s mouth, licking against his tongue. The sweet gentleness of it all was driving him mad, but he refused to take too much too soon.

But when Cam gripped Gannon’s hips, jerking him forward, their chests colliding, lower bodies grinding against one another, he knew it was futile to resist. He needed this more than he needed his next breath, so he settled on plundering Cam’s mouth, making love to him with his tongue until they were both breathless. Long minutes passed while they made out like teenagers. Hands groping, lips sliding together, grunts and groans escaping as they devoured one another.

As much as Gannon didn’t want to, he finally managed to pull his mouth from Cam’s.

“Not bad,” Cam whispered, his breath labored, eyes glazed, and Gannon knew Cam was holding back as much as he was.

Although it would probably be fairly easy to progress this to the next level, Gannon wasn’t ready for that. Well, he was and he wasn’t. His dick was screaming and pleading with him to continue, but his brain told him he had to keep things slow between them. For both their sakes.

“Thanks for dinner,” Cam said, his voice rough.

“My pleasure.”

“Next time I’ll have to cook for you.”

Gannon lifted a brow in question. “So there will be a next time?”

“Maybe,” Cam remarked with a mischievous smirk.

“Give me your phone number,” Gannon stated firmly. It wasn’t a request. He didn’t want to let Cam walk out of his house without knowing he could call him just to hear his voice.

“Give me your phone,” Cam countered.

Pulling his cell phone from his back pocket, he handed it to Cam. A minute later, Cam handed it back, still smiling.

Without hesitating, Gannon hit the button to dial the number Cam had just programmed. A vibration sounded from Cam’s pocket.

“Now you have my number, too.”

“I won’t be calling you,” Cam said.

“No?” Gannon loved the playful tone in Cam’s voice.

“No.”

Gannon waited for Cam to elaborate.