Appassionato by Erin M. Leaf

breathed as he leaned into his friend’s touch. Duncan shifted closer and Jake’s cock jumped against his jeans so hard it made him fear for the fabric. When he opened his eyes, he finally let his arousal show on his face. Duncan swiped his thumb over Jake’s lips then took his hand back. “You know I’m not going to do anything you don’t want me to.”
    “I know,” Jake said, dropping his eyes. He chuckled then reached down and adjusted himself. “I can’t deny what I feel, and I can’t hide it. This is like having a lie detector hooked up all the time, you know?”
    Duncan laughed. Jake felt him resist the urge to just grab and couldn’t help smiling. His friend’s self-control was epic. “Yeah, I know,” Duncan said. Jake sent Duncan the spikes and sparks of his attraction across their connection before drawing back in an attempt to calm down.
    “Even so—” Duncan started, his smile suddenly dropping away, but Jake interrupted, nodding.
    “Yeah, even so, you’re still my best friend. We just have to figure out how to incorporate this into everything.”
    “And what about Emma?” Duncan asked. Jake wondered what she was doing. He couldn’t tell really where she was, only that she was sitting down and she was absolutely exhausted after dealing with the debacle of the bonded students.
    “And what about Emma?” Jake repeated, understanding perfectly. It wasn’t enough that he suddenly felt this thing for Duncan, oh no. He had to hook up with a third person, too. This is just how absurd my life is , he thought for a second, frustrated, before he caught Duncan’s compassionate look and felt his friend soothe away the edges.
    “Stop it,” Duncan said, not unkindly. “She didn’t ask for this either and she’s scared out of her mind.”
    “I know, I know, I’m an ass.” Jake let himself be comforted. He hoped Emma hadn’t caught his momentary panic but knew that she had. He sent a pulse of regret her way along with the equivalent of a mental hug. He felt her smile, faintly.
    “This is really weird. I could feel you do that.” Duncan wrinkled his nose, and Jake tried not to think about how adorable that made him look.
    “I know.” Jake laughed abruptly. “It’s not even difficult! How bizarre is this? It’s like the universe suddenly woke up and planted a great, big, honking love whammy on us.” He tried unsuccessfully to stifle his laughter.
    Duncan shook his head, smiling unwillingly. “Look, I’ve got an interview in, shit, five minutes,” Duncan said, pulling his phone out of his pocket to check the time. Jake was already nodding. “Let’s just get through the rest of the night and take it as it comes, okay?”
    “Yeah, except, you know Emma’s coming,” Jake said slowly. He didn’t know it would feel so strange to say it out loud, what they’d both been thinking for the past several days. Talking about it made it real, but Duncan just nodded.
    “I know, and I think we should get some backstage passes to her.”
    “How? We don’t even know where she’s sitting.” Jake stood and stretched to work the kinks out of his back. He felt Duncan watching him, and deliberately let a sliver of skin peek out between his low, tight jeans and T-shirt. Duncan smirked as Jake grinned at him. He might still be a bit uneasy with his newfound attraction to his best friend, but he always prided himself on his pragmatism. He refused to hide from the truth.
    “I don’t know, but I think we should get one ready. Or two, actually. Most people don’t go to concerts alone, so she’s probably coming with that cute friend of hers, and yes, I know that you are an alien who likes to go to shows by yourself!” Duncan finished with a laugh before Jake could say anything. “And don’t try to deny it!”
    Jake chuckled and looked around for his clipboard. There were a million details to work out before tonight’s concert. “Okay, I won’t. And I’ll get two passes together, give them to