by Shawn Lane
“Oh my God.”
He couldn’t keep still. His hips rose, pushing himself against Michael’s mouth, seeking reentrance. Michael opened and let him in, sucking him past the tip, down the shaft. Michael grasped his sac, squeezing.
“Ah, fuck, Michael.” Kevin gasped, tremors wracking through him. He resisted pushing in farther, afraid of gagging his lover. But Michael swallowed him deeper. Kevin couldn’t believe he was going to come again so soon after sex in the kitchen. He released the feather comforter and moved his hands down to Michael’s head. He speared his fingers through the dark hair, surprised at the softness.
His release tingled at the base of his spine. Moans tore from his throat as his balls tightened in Michael’s grasp. He tried to pull out to save his lover from getting a mouth full of cum, but Michael wouldn’t let go until he’d poured out every last drop.
Panting heavily, Kevin pushed Michael’s mouth off his softening cock, too sensitive for more contact.
Michael chuckled and scooted up until his face was close to Kevin’s. “You taste amazing. Want to taste?”
Kevin could only nod.
Michael pressed his lips to Kevin’s, thrusting his tongue inside. Kevin tasted the musky, slightly bitter taste of his own juices.
“You know, I just had you in the kitchen. You’d think I’d be satisfied with that, but no.”
“No?”
Michael stroked his fingertips across Kevin’s jaw. “No. God, I want to fuck you so bad.”
“Well, then quit talking and just do it.”
“Okay, brat.” Michael reached over to the nightstand and picked up a foil package. Kevin watched him tear it open.
“Wait,” Kevin said, bending toward him. “I want to put it on you.”
His hands shaking, Kevin took the packet from Michael and removed the condom. Before he rolled it on the man’s erection, he ran a finger along the prominent vein in his shaft.
Michael moaned and closed his eyes.
Kevin bit his lip and swiped the drop of precum from the tip of Michael’s cock. He rolled the condom over it.
When Michael opened his eyes, their gazes met. The scorching desire he caught in Michael’s gaze nearly melted his skin. His lover grabbed the lube. “Are you sure? You’re not too sensitive for this?”
Kevin gave him what he hoped was an exasperated look. “Yes, for God’s sake. Just get on with it.”
“As you wish, brat.” He poured lube over his fingers and then used them to slick up his straining cock.
Kevin licked his lips and lay flat on the bed. He could almost get hard again. Too bad he wasn’t superhuman.
Michael lifted Kevin’s legs and slipped a lubed finger inside Kevin. Since he was still slick from their earlier sex, it slid in easily, followed by a second. His lover worked them in and out, pushing and spreading.
Just when Kevin thought he would never enter him with his cock, Michael pushed all the way in with one deep thrust.
Kevin gasped. “Oh. My. God.”
Michael stopped, tensed. “Are you all right?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I am still just a little sensitive.”
“You want me to stop?” Michael asked, his expression pained.
“No.”
“Good, because I really need to move.” Michael hiked Kevin’s legs up a little higher and wrapped his arms around the calves.
Every nerve in Kevin’s body seemed to be standing on end, electrified, pulsing. It was almost too much. He resisted the urge to close his eyes as his lover thrust in and out, brushing his prostate, because he wanted to watch Michael come. For all he knew, this night might be the only time for them. And if that was true, he would savor this.
Michael’s thrusts became rapid, harder. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and his dark brown eyes were hazy with lust. Kevin reached for one of Michael’s nipples and twisted.
“Ah, shit.” Michael gasped, tensing and jerking within Kevin a few more times before he collapsed. He rested his head on Kevin’s stomach. “God, that was good.”
Kevin brushed the sweaty locks of hair out of Michael’s eyes. “You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true. You’re amazing, Kevin. So tight and hot and responsive.” His warm breath brushed the hairs of Kevin’s stomach.
He laughed. “Stop that. You’re going to get me excited again.”
Michael leaned his chin on his hands and peered up at Kevin. “Could you?”
“No,” he said honestly. “You?”
“Maybe in a few hours.” Michael yawned.
“Well, why don’t you come up here and go to sleep with me,” Kevin suggested.
Michael rose from the bed, pulled off the used condom, and went into the bathroom.
While he was gone, Kevin pulled aside the feather comforter and crawled beneath the sheets, too sleepy to try to clean up. He hadn’t gone to sleep with a man since Raphael, and even that had been sporadic.
Michael came back into the bedroom, and Kevin was happy to see he hadn’t pulled on pajamas or anything. He slipped under the covers next to Kevin and pulled him close. “Night, Kev.”
“Good night, Michael.”
* * * *
It was around eight-thirty when they left Michael’s house for him to drive Kevin home. Kevin spent most of the car ride wondering if he should ask when or if he would see Michael again. He couldn’t seem to get up the nerve, though.
As they got closer to his apartment, Michael said, “I’m going to give you my number, and I’ll need your number so I can call you later this afternoon.”
Kevin shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t have a phone.”
“You what?”
He shrugged and slouched down in the seat. “I couldn’t pay the bills.”
Michael nodded. “Okay. We stop at the store first then.”
“For what?”
“We’re getting you one of those pay-as-you-go cell phones.”
“Michael—”
“You’re not going without a phone, Kevin. How do you make calls now?”
“The drugstore down the street still has a pay phone.”
The muscle in Michael’s jaw flexed. “What happens in an emergency? Not to mention you shouldn’t be traipsing down there in the dark just to make a call. We’re getting you a phone. What kind of food do you have?”
“Um.”
“We’ll stop at the grocery store too.”
Kevin looked out the window. “You don’t have to.”
“Yes, I do. Do you still have electricity?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, at least that’s something.”
About an hour later, Michael dropped him off with the new phone, Michael’s home, office, and cell numbers programmed into it, and groceries. He promised to call later and sped off. Apparently that meant they were going to see each other again, Kevin decided, even though they hadn’t had any sort of conversation. He was already coming to realize Michael liked being the boss.
Kevin finished putting away his groceries and then supposed he couldn’t put off cleaning up the dreaded ants any longer. As it was, they were a massive black, icky mess.
He opened the sliding door and set to scrubbing down the kitchen and emptying the garbage. After that he was sort of in cleaning mode so he cleaned his bathroom and bedroom too.
When he finished, he realized he was grungy and in serious need of a shower.
When he returned to the living room all freshly washed, he saw that a few hours had already flown by since he got home. His gaze went to the eviction notice. He took a deep breath, picked it up, and looked for a number to call. He would have to find out what his options were, if he even had any.
Using his new phone, he called the law firm listed on the notice.
“Marker and Jakowitz,” a nasally feminine voice said.
“May I speak with Mr. Harris, please?”
“Who is calling?”
“Kevin Flaherty. I received an eviction notice, and I�
��”
There a small click and then more ringing.
“Keith Harris.”
“Mr. Harris? My name is Kevin Flaherty and I received an eviction notice for my apartment at the Terrace Pines complex.”
There was a shuffling noise, like the man was going through paperwork. “Yes, Mr. Flaherty. What can I do for you?”
“I was wondering what I can do to stop this.”
“Stop what?”
Kevin swallowed. “The eviction.”
“Mr. Flaherty, that’s all been taken care of.”
Kevin pulled his phone away and stared at it, then returned it to his ear. “What do you mean?”
“Your apartment is paid current. In fact, it’s paid in advance of next month too.”
His stomach dropped and his heart raced. “What? There must be some mistake.”
“There is no mistake, sir. I’ll be sending you a notice of withdrawal of the eviction, of course. You should get it in the mail in a few days. Good-bye, Mr. Flaherty.”
Kevin grimaced and set the phone on the dining room table. Paid current? How could that be? It had to be a mistake. Maybe Harris had gotten his file mixed up with someone else’s?
His phone rang, and since only one person had this number, he flipped it open and said, “Michael?”
“Hi. What are you doing?”
“Cleaning up some.”
“What are you going to have for dinner?” Michael asked.
“I don’t know. Chicken?”
“That’s good. And?”
Kevin scratched his leg, his gaze still on the eviction papers in hand. “Nothing.”
“You need to have a vegetable, Kevin. Even a salad.”
“What are you my mother? Actually forget that, she didn’t even bug me about eating vegetables.”
“Hmm. Listen, Kevin, I called because I’m not going to be able to get away to see you tonight. Got a crazy case right now and I’m going to have to work late.”
“Okay.”
“So I’ll see you tomorrow, all right?”
“Sure.” Kevin forced himself to ask, “Hey, Michael, can I ask you something?”
“Yes, but make it fast. I’m about to go into a meeting.”
“Do-do you know anything about my apartment—”
He could hear another voice, and then Michael said, “Kevin, I have to go now. Can this wait until tomorrow?”
Kevin bit his lip and sighed. “Okay, yeah.”
“Talk to you soon.”
“Bye—”
Michael had already hung up.
Chapter 5
“Mr. Lewis wants to have a meeting after work with all the employees,” Gabby told Kevin a couple of days later at the car wash just before two o’clock.
Kevin was taking a short break inside the cashier’s booth. He’d just filled a cup with some coffee. “What? Why?”
She shrugged. “He didn’t say. Just said it was important and mandatory for all employees.”
Kevin sipped at the bitter brew. “And you don’t have any clues?”
“None. He was acting kind of weird though.” Gabby chuckled at his raised eyebrow. “I mean even weird for old man Lewis.”
“Um. Okay. I’ll see you later.” He stepped out of the booth and punched in Noah’s work number.
“This is Noah.”
“Hey, girlfriend,” Kevin said cheerfully.
“Hi, Kev. I was about to have the police search for you.”
“Yeah, sorry, I’ve been out of touch so much lately. That’s why I’m calling you. I have a new cell number to give you.”
“Great, give it to me.”
Kevin gave him the new number. “Anyway, I’m just on a short break. Maybe we can reschedule dinner at your place real soon.”
“Absolutely.” Noah paused for a moment, then said, “Are you all right, Kev?”
“Of course.” Kevin paused a moment. Should he mention what he’d been going through to Noah? But God. Things could get awkward, and over the phone probably wasn’t the best way. “Maybe when I come for dinner I can even…bring someone,” Kevin said, wondering himself if that would be true.
Michael acted on the phone like he wanted to continue seeing Kevin, but he wasn’t sure how long that would last. Two days in a row he’d called Kevin and said he couldn’t see him because of work. Some divorce case was taking up all his time. The call last night when Kevin got home from work had been very brief. Kevin still hadn’t had the chance to ask him about the apartment.
Really, for all he knew Michael calling him and telling him he had to work late was his way of easing out of seeing Kevin. Sort of like, I’ll call you, but then they never do. He couldn’t imagine Michael would pay the rent on his apartment and buy him a phone and food if that were the case, but Kevin never had fully understood Michael Bennett. He didn’t know for sure Michael had paid for the apartment, but unless it was a mistake there was no other explanation. He only hoped he would actually get to speak to Michael about it.
“Kevin,” Noah said loudly.
“Oh sorry, sort of got lost in thought. What were you saying?”
“You said maybe you could bring someone. Are you actually seeing someone?”
Kevin smiled at the incredulous tone in his friend’s voice. “It’s not like I’ve never had a boyfriend, Noah.”
“Well, it’s been a while. And you’re not actually counting Raphael as a boyfriend, are you?”
“I wasted several weeks of my life on him. Doesn’t that count?”
Noah snorted. “I guess. So, do you have a boyfriend?”
“Not a boyfriend. Exactly. I don’t know, really.”
“How can you not know?”
Kevin glanced at his watch and realized his break was over and he needed to get back to work before Mr. Lewis took note. “It’s a long story, and I can’t get in to it right now. I’ll call you later.”
“You’d better.”
“I will,” Kevin promised. “Say hi to Charlie for me. Bye.” When he saw Noah next he would confess all. But for now he really did have to get busy.
Kevin slipped the phone into his back pocket and returned to work, his stomach fluttering nervously about whatever Mr. Lewis planned to say to the staff.
* * * *
Kevin stood next to Gabby among the group of car-wash employees just after closing. He twisted his hands while he waited for their boss to speak.
Mr. Lewis stood at the top of the group, near the vacuums, sort of positioned so he could seem to be looking down at them. That was the way it appeared to Kevin anyway. He let his imagination go a bit and imagined the man wearing a diamond tiara. The image was so absurd, Kevin couldn’t stop a laugh from escaping.
Gabby glanced at him quickly, her eyes wide and curious, which only made him laugh more.
“Hush,” she said.
He bit the inside of his cheek when he noticed Mr. Lewis looking pointedly in his direction.
“Gabby, can you join me up here? I’ll need you to translate for those who speak Spanish,” Mr. Lewis said.
Gabby nodded and headed over to stand next to the boss.
“I’ve owned this car wash for about ten years now, and I’ve had some ups and downs,” Mr. Lewis said. His chest was all puffed up like he was giving his acceptance speech in an election or something. He went on for a few minutes about basically nothing, and Kevin’s attention started to wander. Then Mr. Lewis said rather abruptly, “So, anyway, I’ve decided to retire.” He paused for dramatic effect.
Kevin frowned. What did that mean?
“I received an offer to buy the car wash, and it’s one I just couldn’t refuse.” Mr. Lewis chortled. “Obviously, some details have to be ironed out before the sale can go through, but it’s in the works. Until then things will remain as they are, but once the new owner takes over, well, I’m not sure what his intentions are. All right, that’s it. I don’t know how long it will take, but I’ll let everyone know as it gets closer.”
Gabby repeated everything he’d said to those who didn’t speak English. Everyone looked stunned. Kevin was pretty stunned himself.
“Good night, folks, and have a pleasant evening,” Mr. Lewis said. His gaze stopped on Kevin, lingering overlong as far as Kevin was concerned, but then he turned and went toward where he always parked his car.
Gabby walked back to Kevin. “Wow, I can’t believe it.”
“Yeah. How long have you been here, Gabby?”
“Seven years.” She looked worried. “I hope whoever the new owner is won’t tear it down or anything.”
“Me too.”
She sighed. “You want a ride home, Kevin?”
“I don’t want you to have to go out of your way. I know you have to pick up your kids. The bus is cool.”
“All right. See you tomorrow.” She waved and walked away.
Kevin realized with a little disappointment he hadn’t heard from Michael during the day. Last night during the brief call, Michael had told him he expected to get away a bit earlier and would probably call Kevin at work. It never happened. He was beginning to feel like maybe he was getting the brush-off after all.
It was already well after six o’clock and getting pretty dark, so he figured he’d better hurry home. Before he could make his way out to the street to head for the bus, Mr. Lewis’s car pulled up next to him. The window lowered.
“Flaherty, get in.”
“Um, that’s okay, Mr. Lewis, I don’t mind taking the bus.”
“I want to talk about my offer.” The old man licked his lips.
“You mean to sell the place?”
His boss grinned. “No, Flaherty. The one we spoke about the other day.”
Oh God. His heart plummeted. He could tell by the heat in his face he was blushing too.
Mr. Lewis laughed. “Are you shy? Actually, I think I might have an even better offer for you.”
“What?” Was that squeak of a voice really his?
“Get in.”
Kevin’s phone sprung to life in his pocket. Casting a wary glance at Mr. Lewis, he backed up a step and answered, “H-hello?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Michael.” A giddy sense of relief washed through him.
“Kevin, what the hell is going on? You sound seriously freaked.”