by Carol Lynne
“It’s in the past.”
“I trust you. That’s saying a lot for me.”
“I’ll never again give you a reason not to.”
As the afternoon sun started to dip into the lake, Jace held onto his future. And Sam was his future, he knew that in his bones.
Sam made it back to BK the following day in time to take Lark to lunch. He didn’t know how to make it up to his friend, but he knew he needed to try.
When he didn’t find Lark in their room, he went down to find Charlie who always knew where everyone was. “Hey, Jack, have you seen Charlie?”
“Why the hell would I know where Charlie is? I’m not his keeper,” Jack barked.
Sam held up his hands. “Chill. I was just hoping he’d know where Lark is. I was supposed to take him to lunch but he’s not around.”
“Well if you have plans, I’m sure he’ll be here. Now get out of my kitchen and leave me to my job.”
Damn. Evidently Jack wasn’t the type to walk around with post-sex afterglow. Sam grinned as he slumped on the couch. He wondered if Charlie was glowing,
Thirty minutes later, Lark walked in the front door.
“You ready?” Lark seemed a little out of it. Alarm bells started to ring in Sam’s mind at Lark’s odd behaviour. When they’d first started rooming together Lark had told him that he was diabetic, but so far he’d always seemed healthy. Sam tried to remember what Lark had told him about the symptoms of what did he call it, hypoglycaemia? “Lark? Are you okay?”
“Huh?”
He started walking up the stairs but seemed unsteady on his feet. Running up the steps, Sam put an arm around his friend.
He helped Lark sit on the bed and knelt in front of him. “Lark, do you have some candy or something you need to eat?”
Lark looked blank for several seconds before pointing to his desk drawer. Inside was a bag of Pixy Stix.
The door opened and Kade stepped inside holding a box. “Hey, Jace asked me to bring…” He seemed to notice Sam’s panic. “What’s wrong?”
“Lark’s having some kind of hypoglycaemic attack. I need to get this candy in him.”
Kade tossed the long box on the bed and knelt in front of Lark. “Hey, buddy, can you hear me?”
Lark blinked a couple of times but said nothing.
“He has some Pixy Stix. Do I just pour one into his mouth? What if he chokes?” Sam asked.
“Put it on his tongue and I’ll help him close his mouth. Maybe get a glass of water and we can see if he can drink some of it.”
Kade sat up on the bed next to Lark and wrapped one arm around him as he pried his jaws open. Sam ripped the top off the sugar-filled tube. He tapped the purple powder onto Lark’s tongue.
Lark tried to fight, turning his head to the side, but Kade managed to get his mouth closed. “Water,” Kade said.
Sam grabbed an empty glass from his desk and ran to the bathroom. He was back within seconds, handing the glass to Kade.
“Come on, Lark, I need you to take a few sips,” Kade coaxed.
Sam’s throat constricted at the gentle way Kade held Lark’s small body in his arms. If those two didn’t belong together he’d eat his hat. Kade held Lark while he started to come around.
Lark’s eyes went wide as he realised someone was holding him. “What?”
“Shhh,” Kade soothed.
Sam took the glass and set it on the desk. “You evidently haven’t been taking care of yourself,” Kade said. “We got some sugar into your system, but I think it would be a good idea to go to the emergency room and have you checked out.”
Lark shook his head and tried to sit up. “I’m okay. I need to take my blood sugar level and eat something, but I’m fine now.”
“Does that mean you’re still interested in going to lunch?”
Lark nodded. “Give me a few minutes.”
“Of course.” Sam looked at Kade. He could see the worry written on his face. “Would you like to join us?”
Kade gazed at Lark for several seconds before shaking his head. “I need to get back to Bianchi. Tony gave me a job rewiring some of the offices. It’ll work until I figure out what to do with my life.”
Lark rested his hand on Kade’s cheek and kissed him softly on the lips. “Thank you.”
Kade jumped as if he’d been burned. “You’re welcome.” He released his hold on Lark and stood. “I’ll, um, see you guys at the party.”
“Thanks, Kade,” Sam said as the big man walked out.
Sam looked at the forgotten white box. He walked over and opened it, smiling at the long stem roses inside. “I’m gonna go call Jace and thank him while you take care of your blood sugar.”
“I’ll be right down.”
Sam opened the door and ran right into Kade. He quickly shut the door and put a hand on Kade’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“He kissed me,” Kade mumbled. “Doesn’t he know?”
“No,” Sam answered. “But I don’t think it would make a difference. He likes you.”
Kade ran his fingers through his long hair. “He’s too sweet to deal with someone like me.”
Sam grinned, thinking about the nights of listening to Lark jerk off. “You might be surprised.”
Chapter Fourteen
Sam found Charlie in the kitchen. “Hey, you want a ride to Justin and Luc’s?”
Charlie shook his head. “I don’t think I’m going to go.”
If he wasn’t mistaken, it appeared as though Charlie had been crying. What in the hell could make the tougher than nails man shed tears? “Where’s Jack?”
“Left,” Charlie turned and started running soapy water into the sink. “He got a call earlier and flew out of here with no real explanation. Said hopefully he’d be back, and that’s all.”
Sam walked up behind Charlie and laid a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. That sucks. I thought the two of you were finally starting to get along.”
“Yeah, right,” Charlie chuckled. “I guess I got along with Jack as well as anyone could. Didn’t seem to matter much to him though, not with the way he shot out of here.”
“Come to Bear’s party.”
Charlie reached back and covered Sam’s hand with his own. “Thanks, but I need some time alone. Tell Bear I’m sorry I couldn’t make it, and I’ll catch up with him when he gets back from his folks.”
“I will. Give me a holler if you feel like talking.”
“Thanks, Sam.”
Sam gave Charlie’s shoulder one last squeeze before going out front to wait for Jace. He sat on the front step and thought of the people he cared about. His lunch with Lark had turned up an unexpected twist. And although he desperately wanted to talk to Kade about it, he was sworn to secrecy.
Jace gave a short toot of his horn as he pulled into the parking lot. “Hey, stud, can I give you a ride?”
Sam stood and walked towards the car. “Maybe later, but for now you can take me to a party.” He got in and gave Jace a kiss.
“Charlie’s not coming. Jack got a call and took off for who knows how long. Needless to say, Charlie’s a little depressed.”
“Maybe he’ll change his mind and show up later,” Jace put a hand on his thigh and pulled out of the parking lot. “So, do you know everyone that’s going to be at Bear’s party?”
“Not everyone. I haven’t met Alec but Max seems nice. Most of the people that’ll be there I know only casually. Is Kade coming?”
Jace gripped Sam’s thigh momentarily. “Yeah. Why?”
Sam shrugged. “I’m sworn to secrecy.” Sam chuckled and locked his mouth with an imaginary key. Boy would Kade be in for a surprise.
“You’re keeping secrets from me?” Jace ran his hand up Sam’s thigh to rub his balls. “I have ways of making you talk.”
Sam spread his legs and allowed Jace to continue his delicious torture. “Lark’s on the prowl,” he finally blurted out, unzipping his shorts.
Jace wrapped his fingers around Sam’s cock as he
continued to drive. “Didn’t you tell Lark he’d be wasting his time?”
“No. I’ve seen the way Kade looks at him. If anyone can bring Kade back into the land of the living it’ll be Lark.” Sam couldn’t take it any more and pushed his shorts down to his knees. Scooting further down into the seat, he put his feet on the dash, exposing himself even more.
“Like that do you?” Jace released Sam’s cock and put his middle finger into his mouth before inserting it into Sam’s hole.
Panting, Sam grabbed his own cock and stroked himself to the rhythm pumping into his ass. “Oh fuck,” he moaned as Jace inserted another finger.
“I love the way you always stretch yourself before we see each other. The image of you in the shower, fingering yourself…fuck.”
Sam looked over at Jace’s lap. The zipper on his shorts had to be digging in to that fat cock. Looking around, Sam motioned to a fairly empty parking lot. “Over there, park in back.”
Jace did as instructed, driving to the far corner. As soon as the car stopped, Sam knelt on the seat and released Jace’s cock. Wrapping his lips around the bulbous head, he bent forward, giving Jace his ass.
Two fingers plunged inside of him as he devoured Jace’s beautiful cock. He rocked back and forth fucking himself on Jace’s hand and in no time they were both coming. His ass clamped down as he heartily drank Jace’s seed, his own splattering on the console.
Coming down, Sam laid his head in his lover’s lap as he cleaned him up. When he sat up he looked down and laughed. “Sorry about that. Do you have any napkins in here?”
Jace shook his head, and bent to lick Sam’s cum off the wood and leather console. “Damn that’s hot,” Sam groaned.
When Jace finished, he took a few licks of Sam’s cock and then a deep kiss, sharing flavours. “You’re hot,” Jace said. “I’ve never been with anyone sexier.”
Sam laughed and pulled up his shorts. “Yeah, right. Sorry if this hurts your feelings, but Kade’s one hot motherfucker. Way hotter than me.”
Jace started to shake his head, but Sam stopped him with a kiss. “But I like that you think I’m sexier.”
“Hey, guys,” Luc greeted them as they carried their lawn chairs and cooler of beer to the backyard.
“Hi, Luc. Looks like you’ve got a good crowd here already,” Jace said, looking around at the back yard.
“Yeah, well, Justin can’t seem to stop himself when it comes to inviting friends over. Our group has gotten much bigger in the last year.”
“Nothing wrong with that. Better to have too many friends than not enough.”
“You said it. Try and find a spot to set up your chairs. I think we’re still expecting a few more and you might as well save your space.”
“Thanks, man,” Jace said and led Sam over to a more secluded spot in the yard. It wasn’t that he planned on being antisocial, he just knew his man. If the mood struck, Sam didn’t seem to care much where he was.
Jace grinned, as Sam’s hand brushed the front of his shorts as they set up their chairs. “Behave.”
Sam winked. “We might need to take a trip to the restroom later. My hole is feeling awfully empty.”
Jace groaned. He knew Sam was doing this on purpose. His lover enjoyed nothing more than teasing him with the forbidden fruit. “You’re evil.”
“And yours,” Sam chuckled.
Jace gave Sam a deep, tongue fucking kiss. “Yeah, all mine.”
“Break it up,” Kade said walking towards them. He set his cooler down before spreading out a blanket.
“Uh, Kade? We chose this particular spot because of its privacy,” Jace said, tapping Kade on the shoulder.
“Yeah, well, Tony sent me over. Said if you two didn’t have a chaperone, you’d embarrass him by fucking in the bathroom or something.”
Sam started laughing, knocking hips with Jace. “Tony knows you pretty well, Jace.”
“Maybe he knows you.”
“Maybe he knows both of you,” Kade chimed in. “Want a beer?”
“Sure,” they both said and sat down.
“So where’s your roommate?” Kade asked in a casual manner.
Sam looked over at Jace and grinned. “He’ll be along.”
“There you guys are,” Liam came over and flopped down beside Kade on the blanket.
“Yeah. I guess we should get up and mingle.” Jace nudged Sam. “But it’s a lot more fun to just sit here and drink beer.”
“I’m socialised out for a few minutes.” Liam whistled. “Woo wee, would you get a load of him!”
Everyone’s heads whipped around. Sam had to bite his lip from laughing. It was Lark and his clothing reminded him of Olivia Newton-John in Grease. The only things missing were the red heels and cigarette.
With a pair of extremely low-rise leather pants, black biker boots and a tight shirt short enough to show his bejewelled belly button, Lark looked like a biker’s wet dream. Well, in this case, like Kade’s wet dream.
Sam swung his gaze to Kade. No way could he miss his reaction.
Yep, Kade’s jeans were about to bust open at the zipper. He jumped up and stood between Lark and the rest of the crowd that had begun to gather.
“Don’t you think it would be a good idea for you to go home and put some clothes on?” Kade growled.
Sam almost choked when he saw Lark lick his lips and run a hand over his bared midriff. “Why, don’t you like the way I look?” Lark purred.
Yes, his nerdy roommate was actually capable of purring. Sam couldn’t believe his ears.
Kade answered Lark’s purr with another growl. He took a step forward, putting his body in direct contact with all that skin the small man was flashing. “What are you playing at?” Kade asked.
Sam watched as Kade ground his cock against Lark’s stomach. Never before was their height difference so noticeable.
“You’d better run home, little boy, I don’t think you’re ready to play with the big dogs.” Kade took a step back and turned around.
Looking at Jace and Sam, Kade motioned towards the house. “I’m gonna see if there’s anything to eat.” He walked off without looking back.
Sam glanced at Lark in time to see the tears in his friend’s eyes. Lark suddenly turned and ran out of the backyard. “Dammit!” Sam screamed.
He started to go after his friend, but Jace stopped him. “Let Lark get himself together before you go after him. If you do it now, it’ll only embarrass him more.”
Sam looked from the direction Lark had gone and back to Jace.
“I’m sorry. I told you that would happen,” Jace said, putting a hand on Sam’s knee.
“I’m not gonna let Kade get away with that bullshit.” He stood and stormed his way to the house in search of Kade.
He found him leaning against the kitchen counter eating a hot dog and listening to Joe and Alec talk.
“I need to talk to you.”
“Look, Sam. I’m sorry about your friend, but I’ve got nothing else to say.”
“Well then you’d better punch me in the face again, because I’m gonna be in yours until you give me a few moments of your precious time.” He stared Kade in the eyes, refusing to back down.
Kade’s eyes narrowed as he stared down at Sam. “You’re nuts. You really feel like taking me on?”
Sam swallowed. “If it’ll get me a few minutes, yeah.” God, Jace would kill him if he tried to fight Kade again.
Rolling his eyes, Kade motioned towards the living room. “Five minutes, Suicide Sam.”
“Geeze, where do you come up with those stupid names?”
“It’s a gift,” Kade shrugged and sat on the sofa. “So talk.”
Sam started to sit, but changed his mind. “I know why you think you can’t get involved with Lark.”
“And I take it you disagree.”
“Have you been to a counsellor? Because I’m pretty sure there are men and women in the world that go on to lead loving, productive lives after contracting HIV.”
&nbs
p; Kade stood. “All those people aren’t me.”
He started to walk away, but Sam reached out and touched his arm. “They could be, you know? I can almost promise it wouldn’t make a difference to Lark.”
Kade stood frozen for several moments before pulling away and walking out of the room.
Hoping he hadn’t just lost a friend, Sam went back outside. He spotted Jace beside the barbeque talking to Dr. Pressman. Sam had spoken to Rocco several times, but it had always been either at the dorm or on campus. For some reason Dr. Pressman intimidated the hell out of him. He wasn’t sure if it was because Joe was a doctor or because he was so much older.
Sam stood off to the side and waited for Jace to finish. He felt a nudge to his side and looked over to find Rocco. “Hey,” he said.
“Why are you back here when it’s obvious you want to stand by your man, as the song goes,” Rocco joked.
Not willing to admit he was intimidated, Sam tried to play it off. “When I stand back here, I can take in the full view. Stunning, isn’t he?”
Rocco looked Joe up and down. “Absolutely, and don’t let the age fool you, he’s a tiger in bed.” Rocco winked at Sam.
“What are you two up to?” Jace asked, beckoning Sam and Rocco over.
“Just a little boy talk,” Rocco answered stepping into Joe’s embrace.
Sam took Jace’s hand, and was pulled to his side. “Did you get Kade sorted out?”
Saying nothing, Sam shook his head. He hated that two people he cared about were needlessly going home alone.
Jace hugged him closer and kissed the top of his head. Jace must’ve sensed Sam’s present mood. “Let’s go talk to the man of the hour before taking off.”
“Thanks,” Sam whispered. He turned to Dr. Pressman and Rocco. “It was nice to see you both.”
“You, too,” Rocco said.
They found Bear holding court at the side of the house, surrounded by Koby, Max and Michael.
Bear pushed through the group and hoisted Sam into the air with one of his trademark hugs. “There you are. I was beginning to think you weren’t going to say goodbye.”
Sam beat on Bear’s massive shoulders until he set him down. “I’m here aren’t I? Besides, it’s not like you’re going away forever. I expect you’ll show up at our summer place in a month wanting to fish.”