Sunkissed Summer

by Gwen Martin

  He pulled Kieran’s hand from his dick, with much reluctance, and kissed his knuckles. Marco wanted so badly to stay in bed and sleep in, wrap himself with the scent and warmth of Kieran, but duty called.

  “Later,” Marco promised. This time Kieran allowed Marco to get out of bed. Scrubbing his hands over his face, Marco began to slowly make his way into the bathroom to brush his teeth, his eyes still closed.

  Marco wasn’t really a morning person. He was grateful that he was able to work from home, which allowed him to start his days a little later than going into an office would. The other appeal was that he got to work in his pajamas most of the time and didn’t have to worry about how often he got a haircut.

  Just as he was rinsing his mouth, Kieran came into the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush.

  “You don’t have to get up too,” Marco said, sliding out of Kieran’s way so that he could make use of the sink.

  Kieran hummed around the toothbrush, lifting his index finger indicating he wanted Marco to wait. Once he was finished, he said, “It’s fine. I’ll help you with breakfast.” Before Marco could protest, a sultry smile slipped onto his face, and he added, “That way we can come back to bed sooner.”

  Breakfast consisted of the usual fanfare of eggs, bacon, sausages, and pancakes. Marco knew that Carter loved bacon like it was a lifeline, and Kieran took to helping out with that as Marco whipped up the pancakes.

  They worked quietly, but well, together. They’d never really cooked together before, and definitely not to this extent, with a big open kitchen and a lot of pans going at once. And yet it still felt as though they had done it together every day.

  Marco caught a glimpse of Kieran on the other side of the stove, watching over a pan as he flipped the bacon again. His hair was still a mess from sleep, his flannel pajama pants hanging loosely on his hips. When he caught Marco watching him, Kieran grinned, closing the gap between them and giving Marco a sweet kiss.

  “I’m actually impressed at how good you are in the kitchen,” Kieran commented, nodding to the several pans Marco had going at once. “I can barely handle the bacon.”

  Marco peered down at the stack of silver dollar pancakes he’d already made, another one nearly on its way, the cheese omelet he had going, and the sausages warming on another burner. Marco did enjoy cooking well enough, but he especially loved making breakfast.

  He felt his cheeks flush and his chest tighten at the compliment and decided to focus on the pancake, flipping it over. “Thanks. My family is really big, so on Saturdays, we’d all come together and make a big breakfast. I used to help my mom and nonna out.”

  “You’re welcome,” Kieran said with ease. He returned to the bacon. “You’ve always been the caretaker in the group.”

  Marco furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

  Kieran’s brown eyes were warm with naked affection. “Who was the one that always volunteered to be DD when the rest of us wanted to party? Who was the one that Eli called upon when he was short a man for that food festival and was freaking out? Who’s the one that saves Carter from many of his stupid life decisions?”

  “I’ll have you know that I do not make stupid decisions, just happy accidents,” Carter announced as he entered the kitchen. He didn’t look hungover at all, his eyes clear, if a little sleepy. “Do we have coffee? Please tell me we have coffee.”

  Kieran nodded to the pot in the corner. “Marco also made some kind of sweet cream to go with it, too.”

  Carter wrapped an arm around Marco’s neck and smacked a loud, sloppy kiss on his cheek. “You’re the best, Marco Flores.”

  Marco grimaced and pulled away, wiping at his cheek. “You flatter me,” he deadpanned.

  “Mind if I make a couple plates for Devon and Eli and deliver it to them?” Carter asked. A mischievous grin settled on his face. “They both got a little too wild last night, and I don’t think they can make it out of bed.”

  “Oh no, sounds like there’s a story there,” Kieran said, raising his eyebrows.

  “Oh yeah,” Carter intoned. “Let’s just say I’ve never seen Devon twerk like I saw last night.” His eyes flickered back and forth between Kieran and Marco, a sly gleam to them. “Too bad you both missed it.”

  After Devon turned the corner, Kieran leaned in close to Marco and whispered, “I think what we did instead was better.”

  Marco ducked his head and laughed. He couldn’t say he disagreed.

  They couldn’t get out of going out that night. Carter practically begged Marco and Kieran to join him after Eli and Devon tapped out.

  “Wimps,” Carter groused, a pout evident on his lips. He was wearing a white button-down shirt with nearly half the buttons undone and a pair of tight black jeans. Carter looked like he’d stepped out of a men’s cologne ad. “They can’t hang like they used to.”

  “Bro,” Eli said from his position on the couch. It actually came out more like a painful moan. Marco couldn’t actually see him from where he was standing, as they waited for Kieran to get ready. “If I even smell vodka, I’m going to hurl. And I have to maintain my dignity.”

  “Dude, your dignity was left behind in that bush you puked in outside of the club,” Devon muttered from the other side of the couch. He had an ice pack on his eyes still, but his face at least was turning back to a normal color. “Don’t worry, Eli and I have snacks, liquid anti-nausea, and plenty of Netflix.”

  “Just make sure you can make it to the toilet. I’m not cleaning up after either of you,” Kieran said.

  Marco spun around and nearly gasped at what he saw.

  Kieran wore a tight black T-shirt that clung to his slender frame and a pair of dark skinny jeans that left very little to the imagination. His dark blond hair was still damp from a shower but styled messily.

  Marco’s heart skipped a beat. Kieran looked fucking incredible.

  Kieran’s gaze traveled over Marco’s body, from his eyes down to his feet and back up again. It felt like a hot brand over every inch of Marco’s skin, and his dick’s reaction to the heated stare was enough to make him reconsider going out.

  The familiar ding on Carter’s phone alerted them that their Uber was there.

  “Alright, boys, let’s go,” Carter announced, lifting his hand as if he was brandishing a sword to lead his army onward. “The night is young and so are we, and it’s time to party!”

  “I truly wonder how the fuck he manages to be so upbeat despite the insane amount of alcohol he’s consumed this weekend,” Kieran muttered to himself.

  “Great genes,” Carter said solemnly as he opened the car door for Kieran and Marco to slip inside the backseat. “Natural selection has been in my favor, it seems.”

  “That’s not really how any of that works,” Kieran said without any heat. There was actually a heavy level of fond exasperation. “But we are still impressed, nonetheless.”

  “Good,” Carter said, pushing his seat back a little. “’Cause I haven’t gotten laid once during this trip, despite my many efforts. And tonight, I’m feeling lucky.”

  The driver, a young Latina woman, snorted and shook her head. “Sweetie, looking like that, you will get all the men tonight.”

  “Too bad I don’t swing that way,” Carter said.

  “Uh-huh,” the driver continued. “If you say so.”

  Carter heaved a heavy sigh and looked over his shoulder at Marco. “She’s the third Uber driver to think I’m not straight.”

  “A bisexual awakening is calling, Hung Harry. Tonight could be your night,” Kieran said.

  “I need to channel Saint Snoop and get my Sensual Seduction on,” Carter replied solemnly.

  Marco snorted and shook his head. Carter was so fucking ridiculous.

  But he smiled when Kieran took his hand and gave it a little squeeze. At least he didn’t have to deal with the great Hung Harry alone.

  Marco’s head swam from the blend of alcohol and strobing lights. An intense techno bass vibrated through the soles of hi
s shoes and into his bones. The only thing that kept Marco grounded was Kieran’s arms around his neck and the sinuous roll of his hips.

  They had been dancing almost all night. At least Marco thought it was all night, but he couldn’t be certain. It felt as if they’d been dancing for hours, but also as if Kieran had just slipped into his arms. All he knew was that the warmth of Kieran’s body pressed against him, mixed with the scent of his sweat and cologne, was making his brain circuits go haywire.

  Marco gripped Kieran’s hips, slipping a thigh between his legs. He felt rather than heard Kieran’s gasp, and when he licked along the column of Kieran’s throat and bit into the damp skin, Kieran’s moan vibrated against his tongue.

  Kieran pushed against Marco’s shoulders, cupped his face, and slammed their mouths together. Marco grew lightheaded as their tongues slid together sloppily. He tasted the shots they’d had on Kieran’s tongue, and when Kieran nipped at his bottom lip and squeezed his ass, Marco nearly dropped to his knees on the dirty floor.

  “Take me home,” Kieran yelled against Marco’s ear over the music. He began kissing over Marco’s jaw and back to his ear again. “I want you. I want to feel you. Please take me home. Now.”

  Marco wrapped his arms around Kieran’s waist, hoping that it would somehow steady the thumping of his heart. Kieran tucked his face inside of Marco’s neck, rolling his hips, and nibbling at the spot under Marco’s ear that had him tilting his head back with a groan.

  Marco knew they needed to find Carter first and let him know that they were going home. He knew that was the responsible thing to do. But as Kieran tugged at Marco’s shirt and pressed their mouths together again, hot and frenzied and desperate, all of those thoughts were lost.

  “Okay,” Marco said with a nod, grabbing for Kieran’s hand. “Let’s go.”

  The drive home was excruciating. Kieran kept one hand on Marco’s thigh, roving back and forth but never moving to where Marco needed it.

  It drove him insane.

  When they got back to the house, it was surprisingly empty. Kieran let out a sigh of relief, pulling Marco into the bedroom and slamming the door shut.

  “I know we’re gross right now and normally I’d suggest a shower,” Kieran said, “but I fucking need you naked as soon as possible.”

  The clothes came off easily; the falling onto the bed together came easily too. The way that Kieran’s body slid over Marco’s like it belonged there opened Pandora’s box inside of him, spilling out possibilities and thoughts and emotions that he wasn’t ready to face. They crashed over him like the waves that Kieran coasted on with his surfboard, drowning him in sensation as easily as the glide of Kieran’s wandering hands.

  And when Kieran’s mouth wrapped around Marco’s aching cock, when his dark brown eyes met Marco’s, heated and heavy-lidded and burning with a desire unlike anything else, Marco knew. He knew exactly in that moment what all of this meant.

  He was in love with Kieran.

  That revelation shook Marco, as hard as the orgasm that ripped through him, splitting him in half. It left him panting and off-kilter, and when Kieran kissed him, his tongue curling around Marco’s languidly, Marco’s whole body began to quake.

  He knew as he used his mouth and hands and fingers over Kieran’s body, turning him into a whimpering, begging mess, that this revelation was unlike anything he had ever felt before. He pushed it aside, focused on Kieran’s body and Kieran’s low moans. He focused on how Kieran’s hand tightened in his hair when he was close to orgasm and on the bitter taste of Kieran in his mouth when he cried out during his release. He focused on all these physical sensations, wonderful and brief, so that he wouldn’t have to fixate on the desperate truth that he wasn’t sure he could handle.

  Kieran passed out soon after, sprawled on top of the sheets and duvet on his stomach. His hair stuck to the side of his face, and as Marco reached over to brush it back, a sudden feeling of dread came over him.

  After this, after Miami, Kieran would go back to Chicago. He’d be gone. Marco would return to Orlando, and their paths would diverge again. This moment in Miami—Kieran in his bed, the scent of sex and sweat still in the air— was an illusion. A dream. A pretty fantasy that would dissolve as quickly as seafoam on the shore.

  And Marco had to make sure that he didn’t let the undertow of it drown him.

  “Hey, thanks for the text last night, bro,” Carter drawled when Marco saw him in the kitchen the next morning. “It’s good to know my best friends can at least give me a heads-up when they are punking out on a good club.”

  “Sorry,” Marco muttered, pouring a cup of coffee. He knew he’d be relying on plenty of caffeine today.

  He’d left Kieran asleep in bed, his mouth hanging open slightly, his arms wrapped around a pillow. Marco had to push away the urge to lean over and kiss him awake. He hadn’t slept well the night before, tossing and turning with the knowledge that as soon as this vacation was over, everything he had with Kieran would vanish like a mirage in the desert.

  “Nah, it’s fine,” Carter said with ease, leaning against the counter. “I knew you guys probably wouldn’t want to stay until the end. What did you do when you got back?”

  Marco shrugged, pouring more cream into his coffee than he usually liked just to avoid Carter’s stare. “Just went to sleep, basically. Where’s everyone else?”

  Carter shrugged, looking down into his coffee. “Devon and Eli went surfing early this morning. They went out last night to some jazz bar or whatever, I guess.”

  Marco lifted an eyebrow at the hint of irritation in Carter’s voice. “You hate jazz.”

  “Yeah, I do,” Carter agreed, his signature smile slipping onto his face. Marco couldn’t help but notice it was mildly forced. “By the way, do you mind doing the grocery run for me? Eli’s planning on doing a cookout or something fancy, and I want to work on my tan.”

  Marco snorted a laugh and nodded. “Can’t leave Hung Harry without his sexy glow.”

  Carter beamed. “See? You get it. Speaking of, I’m gonna go slip into the proper gear for that and head out. I really appreciate it, dude.”

  “No prob,” Marco said, draining the rest of his coffee. He needed a shower before he ended up going to the store. He still reeked of sweat from the club and felt gross all over.

  Kieran was still lying in bed playing with his phone when Marco walked back into the bedroom. He looked up, his eyes slipping over Marco’s body like a caress.

  “Morning,” Kieran said, his voice a little hoarse. “Do I smell coffee?”

  Marco opened the dresser and began to gather up clothes for the day. “Yeah, Carter made it.”

  Kieran groaned happily. “Awesome. I need the pick-me-up.” A flirtatious grin slipped onto his face. “You wore me out last night.”

  Marco attempted a smile back, but it felt forced and wrong. “I’m gonna go shower.”

  “Want company?” Kieran asked teasingly, batting his eyelashes playfully. “I can make it worth your while.”

  Marco’s throat tightened, a curl of unease swirling in his stomach. He wanted Kieran to join him, more than anything. His dick was definitely interested in seeing Kieran soapy and naked under the hot water of their walk-in shower. But his mind was telling him, in neon flashing light, not to let this continue when his heart was on the line.

  “Sure,” Marco said. His voice sounded raspy and unsure, and he cleared his throat. “We have to hurry though because I told Carter I’d do his grocery run.”

  Marco was sure he saw Kieran’s eyes flash with suspicion, but when he sauntered up to Marco, naked and beautiful, that warning sign dimmed. Kieran’s arms slid around Marco’s waist with ease, and the warmth of his body made Marco’s knees weak.

  “I’ll go with you,” Kieran said softly. He gave Marco a chaste kiss and pulled back with a small smile. “I’d give you a better one, but I have to brush my teeth.”

  Marco chuckled and nodded, giving Kieran’s naked ass a small smack. “Well,
get to it. We got a shower to attend to.”

  “Yes, sir,” Kieran murmured before walking into the bathroom.

  Marco closed his eyes and tried to will away his dick’s enthusiasm. Then, with a fortifying breath, he turned and headed into the bathroom. He could do this, spend time with Kieran without sacrificing too much of himself. It was just a shower, after all.

  “Why do we have to go to Publix again?” Kieran asked as they settled into the car while Marco began to search for the closest Publix grocery store.

  “Because Eli insisted on this specific brand of hipster coffee creamer and stated multiple times that Wal-Mart does not carry it, so to Publix we go.”

  Marco mounted his phone into the holder on his dashboard and started to reverse.

  Go straight on, like a playa you do.

  “Snoop is so complimentary,” Kieran mused, looking over at the phone. “I’m actually impressed with his sly ways.”

  “Are you telling me he’s sweeping you off your feet?”

  “Nah.” Kieran leaned closer, his lips brushing against Marco’s jaw as he spoke. “I already got someone who did that for me.”

  Marco could feel his face heat and inhaled a long breath. The words circled around Marco’s heart, gripping and twisting tighter and tighter until he couldn’t breathe. He had wanted this with Kieran for so long and now it was here, but that was always going to be temporary. What the hell were they doing?

  He tightened his grip on the steering wheel to keep himself grounded, focusing on the roads ahead of him, and turned on the radio to fill the awkward silence. Kieran eventually pulled away, and when Marco stole a glance at him, he was staring out of the window.

  They drove the rest of the way without speaking.

  Marco stood in front of a freezer filled with a hundred different options of coffee creamer.