Part 2


Blair kicked a can down the street as he hitched his collar up against the cold breeze.

He kept himself warm internally by recalling the intensity of the kiss. He smirked to himself as he considered that he was probably 'not' the person on Daniel's mind throughout the passionate embrace, but it didn't bother him. He also understood about Daniel not wanting to kiss again either. It was - in some ways - more intimate than having sex. Or at least Daniel felt that way. He often told Blair that people could have the most incredible romp on the hay and still get up and go their own ways in the morning. However, they couldn't be that detached if the following morning was filled with intense, erotic kisses like that! Blair could see his point. It was pretty 'more-ish' and he could really get lost in that mouth, over and over again. He straightened back his shoulders and shook himself from that thought.

Animalistic rutting. That was what this weekend was about. Pure, unadulterated rutting! No strings attached, or rather, no tongues entwined. Smiling to himself, Blair tried to make a mental note to share that little thought with his good 'friend' Daniel.

Further along the street a window display of Egypt in the local travel agency caught his eye. He stopped and pressed his hands against the cold glass, his breath misting the window before him. Sucking back a long, deep breath he began to recall how hot the two of them were together, and some of the incredible places they made love, during that summer at Rainier and Egypt. His heart beat quickened and his breathing noticeably changed as he wandered looking from store window to store window, but thinking about Daniel.

It really was wrong of him to come onto him like he had - even if Daniel assured him it was mutual. This guy was obviously interested in this colonel and Blair had no rights coming in and mucking up his ex-lover's life. Daniel deserved better than a few nights of rough and tumble, what he deserved was this colonel - whoever he was. What he didn't deservve was that the colonel was hetero. But, Blair had to hand it to him, he was pretty well adjusted to it by the looks.

Even still, he told himself, having a lover for a weekend might ease the frustration for now, but it might also rekindle some deeper feelings between them. Feelings that neither man was able to explore. They lived too far apart, their lives were too separate and they each loved another. So, it was definite! Kissing was off the agenda!!

Kicking a pebble, Blair shoved his hands into his pockets and looked up at the next shop window. He recognised the emblem from the pamphlet on Daniel's fridge. It was a bookstore. He pressed on the door and entered the cluttered, over-flowing store, immediately falling in love with its ambiance too. He lost himself amongst the long book bays, his eyes wandering over titles of books he didn't even realise still existed.

As he stood gazing over the titles, with his head tilted to read the spines on the books before him, he spotted a title up high that he wanted a closer look at. Reaching up, he was frustrated to find he was too short to even touch its spine. He tried going on tip toe and extending his fingers as far as they would reach but it was to no avail. Finally he decided that he was going to have to step on the bottom shelf to reach it. Sighing as he stepped back from the shelf to size up a good hand-hold, he was surprised by the long arm that reached up over him then lifted the book down for him. Blair turned and smiled as he looked into the most gorgeous set of brown eyes he'd seen in a long time.

"Thanks." He said as he clutched the book in his two hands.

"Not a problem. They really should supply steps," the stranger said in a soft, deep voice. Blair nodded, his wide blue eyes blinking quickly as he took in the man beside him. Tall, short cropped hair, older, kind soft eyes.. and a gorgeous smile, accentuated by two long dimples down his cheeks.

"It.. would.. help.." he managed to stutter, causing himself to blush a little as he saw the grin broaden on the stranger.

After a few long seconds the stranger turned to look over the shelf that Blair was trying to reach.

"That was the book you wanted, wasn't it?" He asked, to be sure.

"Yeah, thanks, man."

The short grey head bobbed in a nod then he gave a half hearted shrug, looking like he might move off. Blair tried to get his brain to work, to allow him to say something, *anything* that might prolong the meeting.

"Anthropology."

"Huh?" Blair asked in a dazed murmur.

The long tanned finger pointed to the old leather bound book in Blair's grasp. "Anthropology. Are you into it?" He diverted his eyes to the embossed tan cover.

As if suddenly released from the strangers stare, Blair kicked back to life.

"Oh yeah, I'm .. one. An anthropologist." He laughed softly, feeling a little foolish at his hormone rush.

"You are? Sweet."

"I'm.. Blair Sandburg." He blurted out, holding his hand out to the stranger.

"Jack O'Neill."

"Nice to meet you, Jack." He smiled as he clasped the warm hand in his and pumped it strongly. Jack's smile broadened even more as his hand engulfed the smaller one.

"Nice to meet you too, Blair."

"Could.." Blair checked over his shoulder to the coffee shop for a spare table. He pointed to it. "Can I buy you a cup of tea? As.. as a thank you.. for your help?"

Jack grinned.

//Ohhh, yeah. This kid was gorgeous! The dark stubble, the red, perfectly bowed lips, the incredibly sparkling blue eyes.. that hair..!!! Oh Jack,. you always were a sucker for long hair// he chided himself, making his grin grow even wider.

"Coffee," Jack said softly causing Blair to frown.  "Coffee. I don't drink tea.." he clarified with a shrug. The smile was breath-taking from the younger man.

"Coffee it is! Though you know, it's not actually good for you," Blair playfully scolded his new friend as they headed to the empty table.

"Thanks, Blair!" Jack quipped dryly, and heard the deep throaty laugh of the younger man. Immediately his twitched in his pants and then rolled his eyes at himself.

//Calm down, Colonel! It's coffee.. that's all!//

But after three cups of coffee and a Doorstep, Jack and Blair still sat in the back of the bookstore, chatting and laughing about practically everything, both lost in the fact that the other reminded them of someone they knew, someone that they secretly longed for.

After a while, Tom, the man who ran the coffee house, brought over the check for the two of them.

"Sorry Jack, but it's time to go." He smiled at his friend. Jack checked his watch and was surprised that over two hours had passed and yet it felt like only moments since they met.

"Aw, hell!" Jack stood quickly and tossed some money onto the table. He reached behind himself and lifted his coat from the back of his chair. "I'm taken up your day. I'm sorry Blair!"

The younger man jumped to his feet, shaking his head as he tried to slow his new friend down.

"No, really man, it's been great! I've had the best time!"

Jack stopped adjusting his collar and stared into the blue eyes. Cautiously, he smiled and said, "So have I.." Tainting it with enough bait and hoping the younger fish would bite.

"Which way are you heading?" Blair asked as casually as he could while he followed Jack through the store. They stopped at the front counter so that Blair could purchase the book that brought them together then they headed out into the grey cloudy day.

"I'm going this way." Jack indicated to his right with his head, hoping that it was the same way Blair had to go as well.

"Cool, so am I!" Blair enthused.

"Sweet." Jack smiled more and they headed down the road together. They chatted some more, until they reached an intersection.

"Oh, this is my stop!" Blair looked down the road to his right which led to Daniel's apartment. Jack looked straight ahead.

"Oh," he sounded disappointed and Blair looked at him. Swallowing hard, he fumbled with the paper bag in his hand as he shuffled from foot to foot. Jack looked around and thought that in a moment, this would start to get awkward. He sighed and leant closer to Blair.

"You.. um.. wanna come back to..?"

"Yeh!" The blue eyes flashed with his smile then he checked his watch. "I've got to meet a friend back at his place in an hour though."

"Sure, I'll drive you back myself." The colonel knew he had a dopey grin on his face, but he didn't care. This kid reminded him of Daniel and he wasn't ready to give that up - not just yet!

Then he added, cautiously, "After.. coffee."

Blair smiled and dipped his face. "Well, I don't drink coffee. Remember, Jack?"

With a cheeky shrug, Jack squinted his eyes as he looked off ahead of them. "I'm sure we'll find something to do then."

Blair gave a throaty laugh then nodded. "Absolutely!"

They stood looking at each other a moment, both realising that the other knew exactly what was on offer here.

"This way," Jack pointed to the black jeep parked down the road a small way. Blair nodded and fell into step alongside of him.

** 

Blair sat in the car and, as he watched Jack circle the vehicle to get into the other side he pulled his long hair back, dragging it from his eyes and securing it with a band from his pocket. Slipping his glasses back on, he looked over the back of the book in his lap.

Jack hopped into the car, and for a split second, with the glasses and the way some of his hair had slipped out of the clasp, Blair definitely reminded Jack of Daniel. The anthropologist looked up, seeing the way he was being stared at.

"Sorry," Jack said looking away and starting the engine

"That's okay," Blair said quietly. Jack looked back over his shoulder at his companion then put the jeep into gear and took off.

"You just remind me of someone I know."

"Yeah? I seem to get that a lot," Blair mumbled as he continued to scan the pages of the book. Looking up, he slipped the glasses from his face and said, "you kinda remind me of someone, too."

Raising his brow, Jack gave a little surprised laugh. "Huh? Imagine that."

Blair smiled to himself as he lowered his hand and looked out of the window at the passing buildings.

Jack noted how quiet his passenger was, and how he kept staring out of his window.

"Blair?" He asked as he pulled off the main road and headed towards his side of town.

"Yeah?" Came the soft reply, followed by the turn of the head to look at him.

"You okay with this?"

Blair nodded. That would be something Jim would say to him!

"Yeah, I'm more than okay with this, Jack." He delivered another breath taking smile.

Jack sighed. If only it was Daniel saying that to him!
Blair sat and watched the long, lean legs then scanned up the body to the face. So like Jim, so.. close! But it wasn't him! Then he wondered what Jim would say if he knew he'd allowed himself to be 'picked up' in a bookstore by a man who looked incredibly like him? Oh.. well.. first off, what would Jim think of him for getting picked up in a bookstore like some cheap hooker in the first place? He sighed softly to himself as he looked down at the book in his lap.

Jack kept shooting sideways glances at his friend, wondering what Daniel would think if he knew that Jack had picked up some hot little stranger in the bookstore that they normally visited each Saturday together. An anthropologist at that! A cute, blue eyed, gorgeous smile - Anthropologist... Jack sighed softly to himself..

//but not *the* anthropologist I really want !!//

He wet his bottom lip as he concentrated on the road.

"Stop the car!" Blair blurted out suddenly.

Jack heeded the request and pulled the jeep over at the first opportunity he could. They were a block from his house.

Blair shifted in his seat. "I'm sorry, man, but I.. I .. can't!"

Jack coughed softly as he nodded. "O- kay."

Blair shook his head in frustration. "I.. I'm.. you .. well, you're a wonderful guy and all.. and you're .. God !.. your so good looking and all.. but.. I'd.. I'm.." His voice cracked with emotion. "I'd just be using you, man, and I'm already using someone else at the moment. And I don't want to.."

Jack held his hand out to calm the agitated man down slightly. He looked around then pointed to a house a few doors away.

"See that house there? That's mine. You wanna just come inside..? Just a drink.. I promise.. I won't.. pressure you.. I .. I think you need to talk."

Blair sighed heavily. "Oh gods, man! Thanks.. yeah, I'd love a drink!"

Jack gave him a small smile then started the car up again and pulled up his own drive a few seconds later, killing the engine once more.

The two men sat in Jack's jeep for a brief moment, then both turned to look at the other nervously.

"Just a drink!" Jack said softly.

Blair nodded and climbed out of the jeep, following the older man up the drive to the front porch. Jack fumbled with the keys in his hand then finally pushed the door open and stepped inside. Blair entered behind him, looking around at the comfortable home, smelling the fire burning in the living room adding a certain homeliness to the rambling house.

"This is nice, man!" Blair mumbled as he headed towards the living room. Jack lifted his brow and smiled slightly in amusement.

"Thanks."

Skipping down the three steps into Jack's cozy living room, Blair headed over to the mantel piece and looked over all of Jack's military memorabilia there. He felt Jack step up behind him, close, but not uncomfortably. He turned his head to look over his shoulder at him.

"You work at the mountain, too?" He asked, in reference to the Cheyenne Mountain that loomed on the outskirts of the township.

"Yeah," the older man sounded a little distracted as he looked over the medals then he turned and smiled at Blair.  "What sort of drink do you want?"

"Oh, whatever's going, man. I'm easy.." he said, then blushed as Jack gave him a wicked grin. Both then laughed at the faux par while Jack scratched at his brow absently.

"Beer?"

"Yeah, that will be great."

Muttering as he headed off, all Blair heard was, "enough beer and maybe you will be easy," and he chuckled to himself, sensing that the stranger was only joking.

As Jack handed him the beer, Blair's hand brushed his and their eyes met again, locking in an intense stare. The younger man inched forward, hesitatingly, then he shied away at the last moment, causing both men to sigh heavily.

"Sorry.." he mumbled. Jack nodded and took a swig of beer. "It's only.. like I said, you remind me of someone." He sighed. 

The colonel shrugged as he turned and sat on his sofa, patting the leather beside him. Blair came and sat with him, his knee pressing Jack's thigh lightly.

"I'm not going to have a jealous lover burst through those doors any moment now, am I?" Jack indicated to his front doors, making Blair chuckle softly.

"Oh, no, I doubt that very much." He took a large gulp of the beer and fiddled with the label as he talked with Jack.

"So...?" Jack shrugged, hoping that Blair would find something to talk about. It had been so easy at the bookstore, but now, it was like pulling teeth. He shifted, pressing closer to Blair. "You said you'd be using me.. Still feel that way?"

Blair looked up into soft dewy eyes and his heart skipped a beat. Confused, he shook his head, "I .. don't know.."

Jack's eyes flitted across the gorgeous face beside him. The shadow of dark hair stubbled over the square jaw and cheeks, surrounding the fullest, most perfect mouth he'd ever seen. He looked up into the crystal blue eyes and drew back a soft, deep breath.

Inching forward, he slowly closed his mouth over Blair's, his lips momentarily brushing the stubble before Blair had a chance to open his mouth and mould his lips against Jack's. Their tongues touched tentatively, Jack feeling the heat rise within him, it had been so long.. so long.. and he craved to hold a man in his arms, take a man.. any man..

But he couldn't silence the nagging thoughts that not any man would do.. He wanted Daniel. At that thought he abruptly pulled back, leaving Blair to almost topple forward into his lap before regaining his balance.

"What..?" The blue eyes looked dazed as he tried to focus onto Jack's face.

Scrubbing his hands over his cheeks, the colonel gave a deep groan. "I'm sorry, Blair.. it's.." He sighed heavily then looked back at him, "I'll be using you, too..!"

Blair nodded, understanding completely.

"You're in love too, huh?"

Jack gave a snort. "Love?" He pushed up and headed over to the mantel piece, resting his folded arms onto the high shelf and dropping his forehead to his arms. He felt the light pressure of Blair's hand on his back and he looked over his shoulder at him.

"Seems a lot of that's going around. I'm here visiting a friend and he's in love.. only the guy he loves is a straight arrow.. you know." He paused. "Man, I really hate the way the milita-" He stopped himself before being derogative about the armed forces, considering Jack worked there, too. "What exactly do you do at the Mountain?" he asked innocently, trying to change the subject.

"I'm a colonel. Research. Long range Telemetry."

Blair's jaw dropped. "Oh.. shit..!" He stepped back a bit. 

Jack frowned then slowly turned towards him. "You're visiting a friend..??"

Blair shook his head then pushed his hand through his long hair. "Oh, gods, man!"

Jack reached out and grabbed the other man's hand before he could get too far away. "Blair, do you know Daniel Jackson, by any chance?"

The blue eyes squeezed shut and faintly he nodded his head. Jack made a sound somewhere between a groan and a squeak as he took one step to close the gap between the two of them.

"Blair.. you .. did you just say that.. Danny..?"

"Danny? You call him Danny..?"

"Yeah.. why?" Jack cringed as he saw Blair turn up his nose at the name.

"He hates Danny! I called him that once back when we were together and he jumped up and down on the spot and told me never to call him that again!"

"He did? You were? Together .. I mean?" Jack knew he was sounding flustered but he couldn't care less.

"Yeah!" A huge smile filled Blair's face. "Man, he's one hell of.. a.."

Jack groaned as he shut his eyes. "Don't tell me!"

"Well, do something about it! I just, like, told you he was in love with you, so what are you waiting for?"

"It's impossible." Jack shook his head then looked at the other man, a little hopefully. "You sure it's me?"

Blair nodded. "I asked him what the hell working for the military could possibly have going for it.." He stumbled over his words, realising how harsh they might have sounded, then he held his hand up to indicate to his new friend. "And he said.. cute colonels !"

Jack suddenly found breathing hard, considering his heart was lodged in his throat. "He.. did? He said that?"

Blair rolled his eyes as he laughed. "Yeah, big guy, he did.. So what are you going to do about it?"

End of part 2..