by Trina Solet
Chapter 35
They made arrangements for Leon to come over next Sunday. Before going to Phillip's, Leon spent way too long picking out what to wear while telling himself that he wasn't trying to impress Ken. Ken should be worried about impressing him.
When he arrived, Ken was already there and Ant was excited for him and Leon to meet.
"Leon is a lion, and best friend Ken named the fishes," Ant said.
"You've have Ant-man's endorsement. You might not be such a bad guy after all," Leon said.
Ken squinted at him. "I'm the bitchy best friend. But you can call me Ken." He extended his hand for a firm handshake.
"I'll just call you Kenneth so Phillip here doesn't feel left out," Leon said.
Ken gave him a thin smile and looked at him challengingly. "Kenneth, Ken, whatever, when a cute guy is talking, I'm not really listening. I'm just watching his mouth move and picturing..."
"Ken!" Phillip warned him sharply. Good thing Ant was busy with the fish.
"Did I overstep?" he asked while Phillip stared him down.
The whole thing made Leon wonder if Ken was jealous. He was definitely a better match for Phillip than Leon. He was older and more sophisticated. But from what Leon could tell, Phillip had him firmly boxed in as a friend and nothing more. Too bad for him, but good for Leon. Still, it wouldn't be right to laugh in his face.
Ken looked around with disapproval. "I hardly recognize this place any more. Hell, I hardly recognize Phillip. He isn't himself these days. Lately, he's been taking all these leaps into the unknown, taking crazy risks." Ken pointedly looked Leon up and down.
"Me," Leon guessed.
Ken confirmed it. "As far as I'm concerned you're just a pretty, curly headed trap Phillip has fallen into."
"Ken!" Phillip said again and sort of growled at him. Then he apologized for him to Leon. "Sorry. That's Ken in the protective momma bear mode."
"Can you blame me?" Ken asked. "Phillip is a great guy and I feel like the whole world wants to take advantage of him."
"Not while you are there to protect him," Leon said mocking him a little. But Leon didn't mind seeing how protective Ken was of Phillip. It was only natural. He felt protective toward Phillip himself. Leon caught himself smiling at Phillip adoringly as Ken looked on.
"And Phillip is here to protect you," Ken noted. "Where you are concerned, he's always snarling and barking at me."
"Is that right?" Leon said and grinned at Phillip.
Phillip didn't deny it. He only objected to Ken's choice of words. "I don't bark," he said as he went to the kitchen to pull lunch out of the oven.
"He never did that when I was his boyfriend," Ken said offhandedly once Phillip was gone.
"Wait? What?" Leon said. He glared in the direction of the kitchen then at Ken. "You're an ex. Now I officially hate you."
"Noooo," Ant protested, popping up next to Leon.
Leon reversed his position immediately but only for Ant's benefit. "OK. I don't hate him."
Ant smiled up at him and then at Ken.
"See how sweet he is. He even likes you," Leon said and rifled Ant's hair.
"Who doesn't he like?" Ken said with a shrug.
Ant was ready with an answer. "I don't like Jimmy!"
"Who's that and what did he do?" Ken wanted to know.
"He called me a dummy." Ant furrowed his brow.
"Where is this Jimmy? I'll fight him," Ken said looking around like Jimmy might be hiding behind the sofa.
"Maybe you shouldn't," Leon told Ken archly. "It would be embarrassing if you fought a three-year-old and lost."
"I thought you and I were winning each other over," Ken said with a smirk.
"That was before I knew..." Leon started to say but Ken finished the thought in his own way.
"That I had myself a big, thick, juicy slice of Phillip and ruined him for all other men." His smugness was off the charts.
Leon decided to finish his own sentence. "That you had the bad judgment to let him slip through your greasy fingers."
Ken looked at his perfectly manicured fingers. "Are you sure you don't want to pretend to be all nonchalant about this?" he asked Leon.
"Hell no," Leon told him acidly.
"Uncle Phillip! They're fighting!" Ant tattled on them.
Phillip came out of the kitchen with a look that said, "I can't leave you two alone for one minute." Then he noticed how Leon was looking from him to Ken with murder in his eyes.
"Thank you for not telling him I was your ex," Ken said with a most self-satisfied smirk ever worn by anyone. "I got to see his face when he found out."
"What are best friends for," Phillip said, looking confused.
"For fucking," Leon said under his breath though Ant was busy looking at the food Phillip had set up in the dining room.
"I thought you knew," Phillip said to Leon. "And lunch is ready."
Leon stomped off to the dining room to violently stab the delicious roasted vegetable tart Phillip had made as well as the yellow heirloom tomatoes with vinaigrette dressing and chives.
"Veggies, veggies, veggies," Ant grumbled. He suffered through the tomatoes valiantly, but when it came to the tart, he only ate the crust. He did hold up his end of the conversation. "I like easy-peasy."
"That's peas and mashed potatoes," Phillip translated while Ken made a face. Food snob.
"Let's play cards," Ant said. Done eating first, he was fidgety at the table. "I played cards with Bernie and Gran-gran. Gran-gran said I was a shark. Ant-man shark!"
"I think only another three-year-old could understand his strange, alien language. What's a Gra-gra?" Ken asked.
"Gran-gran," Leon annunciated. "That's what Ant calls his great-great aunt?
Ant confirmed it. "She's great great." Then he gave Leon credit for his skills. "Leon teached me how to play cards too," he said to Ken.
"He didn't teach you proper grammar, did he?" Ken said and got a warning look from both Leon and Phillip, but he only had eyes for Leon. "That gives me an idea. If Phillip has a deck of cards lying around here somewhere, I might be up for a couple of hands of poker."
Phillip asked Ant. "Do you know where the playing cards are?"
Ant said yes and ran off to find them.
"Is there any chance in hell that we will be playing with a complete deck?" Ken asked.
"Since I had to fish a couple of them out of the aquarium, I can't guarantee anything," Phillip said and Ken rolled his eyes.
Phillip cleared the table to give them room. When Ant came back with the deck of cards, Leon took them from him and started shuffling expertly.
Ken raised an eyebrow. "Maybe one of you guys can finally give me a run for my money."
Leon did more than that. He beat Ken, then beat him again when Ken demanded a rematch. He was just lucky they were playing for Goldfish crackers and not for cash. Leon offered to beat him as many times as he liked, but Ken decided on a cowardly retreat. As Phillip walked him to the door, he gave Leon one last wicked look.
Not feeling too proud of his behavior, Leon was glad to see him leave. While Leon was brooding, Ant was more than happy to eat his winnings. Leon considered it a miracle that he could be even halfway civil to Phillip's ex with everything inside him screaming, "Mine! Mine! Mine!" Faced with a guy who had more experience, who had to have better sex skills, and who had been with Phillip – Leon wanted to kill him.
Who knew he even had this kind of jealousy and possessiveness in him. When it came to Phillip, he just wasn't a sane and reasonable human being.
Chapter 36
As he was doing the lunch dishes, Phillip noticed his weird mood. "Ant did his part, but I know that wasn't as festive as the party with your friends."
"I just have better taste in friends," Leon said while he slouched against the fridge and fumed.
Phillip didn't fail to notice the harshness of his tone. He turned away from the sink to face Leon and invited him to speak up. "Let's hear it," he said as he wiped
his hands.
With Ant safely out of earshot, playing in his room, Leon didn't hesitate to unload on Phillip. "Did it just slip your mind that you and Ken used to do it? Because if I was asking you to spend time with one of my nonexistent exes, I'd make sure to mention it."
"I thought I told you about Ken when he first came to the office after you started working for me," Phillip said in a mild tone that was nothing like Leon's.
"That's something I would definitely remember. And hate," Leon said. He was all worked up and that didn't make him look any better when he compared himself to Ken.
"Ken and I haven't so much as cuddled in years. He's..."
Leon didn't let him continue. "I'm not worried about Ken's cuddling abilities."
"What are you worried about?" Phillip asked like it wasn't obvious.
"I know Ken has to be better in the sack than I am." Leon looked down. Everyone was better in the sack than he was.
"No one is better than you. I'm sorry. I should have made sure you knew Ken was my ex, but I didn't think it was a big deal," Phillip said sounding so very reasonable and infuriating.
"Not a big deal? Am I going to be no big deal one day?" The thought of it made Leon feel sick, but that could be his future.
"No. It won't be an issue because you'll never be my ex," Phillip said in a deadly serious voice.
Leon was speechless for a while. Did he hear that right? The word "never" echoed in his head. Finally he croaked out, "Never? That's..." He sort of felt out of breath all of a sudden. "You just said a whole bunch there, you know."
"I know. And I meant it," Phillip said, stepping up to Leon and placing his hands on his arms lightly. "I never want to be without you, and I'll do my best not to drive you away like I did the others."
"Don't compare me to those wimps," Leon said and locked his arms around Phillip's waist.
"There is no comparison. You're like no one else," Phillip said and kissed him gently on the mouth.
The sweet sensation made Leon's eyes fall closed. His whole body vibrated with bliss.
Leon smiled, savoring the kiss even when it was over. "Sorry I have kind of a steep learning curve. Having grown up without it, I guess I don't know what it feels like."
"What?"
"To have a rock solid person in your life," Leon said while looking into Phillip's gray eyes. "And since this is my first relationship, I never had to pretend not to be jealous before."
"I am ahead of you there. I've already pretended not to be jealous of your friend Pavel," Phillip admitted.
"Pavel?" Leon considered him for a minute. "He isn't bad, sort of a big, blond bear."
"I don't like the sound of that," Phillip growled. His jealous side wasn't at all a bad thing.
"Good. But I never plan to give you anything to worry about," Leon promised him.
Phillip echoed his promise. "Same here."
"We're saying a lot. You sure?" Leon asked.
Phillip showed no doubt. "Absolutely. You matter to me more than anyone in the world except..."
Leon interrupted him. "That itty bitty guy sneaking around over there," he said seeing Ant creeping in behind Phillip's back.
Since he had been caught, Ant rushed over into Phillip's arms. As Phillip picked him up, he giggled.
"You're so little, I hardly even saw you," Leon told him.
"You did saw me," Ant said. "And you telled on me."
"I guess I did. You're growing fast. Your Uncle Phillip must be feeding you good food."
"It's all those veggies," Phillip said, and Ant denied it with a vigorous shake of his curly head. "Now you better get ready. We're visiting Lilly and Bernie and having dinner at Ivy Gate."
Once Ant went to goof off or whatever kids did when they were told to get ready, Leon looked at Phillip. "I would expect you to start correcting his grammar at some point."
"I do it in my head, but I don't have the heart to do it out loud," Phillip said.
"You're such a softie." Leon kissed him. "I better go," he said and Phillip came to walk him to the door
"I meant to tell you how impressed I was with your poker skills. When it comes to competition, Ken has a take no prisoners attitude, but you beat him so easily," Phillip told Leon at the door.
"You could say it's in my blood. I told you about my dad gambling. He taught me a few things." Leon remembered his nimble fingers, the sleights-of-hand that were actually cheating.
"You're always playing cards with Ant, but I never made the connection. Maybe because you always let him win," Phillip said.
"I like to see the boy happy. He has enough time to learn how to be a gracious loser," Leon said.
"Who's the softie now?" Phillip teased him and gave him a lingering, deep goodbye kiss.
As he was about to step into the hall, Leon stopped. Phillip shouldn't have kissed him like that. He turned back and asked him, "How do you feel about dropping Ant off with Lilly and Bernie? Is that allowed over there?"
"I've seen parents drop off their kids for a visit, so I'm sure it is. What do you have in mind?"
"Alone time," Leon said simply. He didn't want to say more about what he had planned. He did come up with where they might go. "I remember seeing a nice hotel on the way. Faberview, right?"
Phillip didn't say anything.
As he stared at his unreadable expression, Leon's heart started to sink. "You better say something," he warned Phillip.
"I'll call ahead to make sure we can get a room," Phillip said in a raspy voice.
Leon breathed a sigh of relief. "If that idea falls through, I'm willing to do it in the back seat," he said as Phillip got out his phone.
"You mean next to Ant's car seat? No thank you," Phillip said.
At Ivy Gate, Lilly was happy to get Ant all to herself, and Bernie was even happier to tease Phillip and Leon about what they were going to be getting up to.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," she called out after them as they left.
Lilly had different advice. "Don't do anything she would do either."
Faberview Inn didn't have the vibe that said let's sneak off for some sex. It was cozy and more expensive than Leon realized. Phillip handed over his credit card and wouldn't let Leon talk him out of paying.
They were taken up to their room, and went there hand in hand. The spacious room was full of rustic charm but with all the modern amenities. They walked on thick-planked wood floors to take in the view.
Two small windows overlooked the treetops in the courtyard below and beyond that showed them the curves of the hills in the distance. A wall of rough, white stones surrounded an arched fireplace. The bed was big and covered in white linen.
Once Leon was left alone with Phillip, the room became only a hazy backdrop. Phillip was all Leon could see. He was all the light and air in that room. When he turned to lock his eyes on Leon's, everything stopped.
Leon opened his mouth to speak, but too soon Phillip's mouth was on his. His kiss was like lightning and he was tearing at Leon's clothes. The strength of Phillip's body, his deep kiss, and his erection rubbing against him made Leon frantic with need.
In seconds they were pulling each other to the floor. Getting in each other's way, they were trying to rip one another's clothes off and kiss and grope all at the same time. Frenzied, they wrestled for control, for a handhold, for something unattainable until Phillip held Leon off and just breathed for a minute. He got up and helped Leon up off the floor.
Now that their tussle was over, Phillip seemed more like himself. He looked kind of embarrassed and apologized. Leon grinned at him.
"I like your wild side," Leon told him, his voice husky with the passion that Phillip had unleashed in him so suddenly.
"First I want to tell you I love you," Phillip said breathlessly.
"Phillip," Leon said, stunned. This was too unreal.
Phillip took his hands in his own. "I want you to know how I feel. I don't want history repeating itself. I can't lose you."
"Y
ou won't. Just hold on tight and then history will stay history," Leon said, his voice thick, his vision swimming. He felt like he was lost in a dream.
"When I think of you, it's like my heart just stops, everything stops. I just want to wrap myself in you." Phillip drew him close and held him tight.
"That's how I feel. I love you. I want you. Please fuck me."
Chapter 37
For a breathless eternity Phillip only stared. Leon's whole body was a string pulled too tight, vibrating, ready to snap. His heart, his cock, every part of him was aching for Phillip.
The lightest touch of Phillip's hand sent currents of pleasure coursing through him, seeking his dick. What would it be like to have someone like that inside him? And how the hell was he going to make sure he didn't screw it up? Whatever it took, Leon wasn't going to let his fucked up past overshadow how good Phillip made him feel.
Leon was determined, but Phillip hadn't said anything yet. Then his answer came in the form of a deep kiss and a tight embrace. Phillip's hold on him was crushing, the kiss insanely passionate. In response to it, every part of Leon screamed yes.
As Phillip ran his hands down his back and lightly cupped his ass, Leon grunted and pressed himself into him. Feeling his hard cock against his own made his fear rise. Leon held his breath through the grip of fear, but the terror didn't last. It was quickly smothered by desire and the knowledge that this wasn't just any cock, this was Phillip, the man he wanted, the first one he truly wanted to give himself to.
"Don't worry. I won't make any sudden moves," Phillip said. He must have caught that flash of fear.
"I can't promise the same thing," Leon told him. For once, he didn't want to run from a man who intended to fuck him. He was impatient to finally have Phillip, to prove himself to him and to show him all the love that was trapped inside him until now.
They undressed each other, Leon more roughly and eagerly. He wanted all of Phillip on display. When he had Phillip stripped and his stuffy clothes were strewn all around, he just stopped and stared. But he couldn't let his eyes roam that beautifully sculpted body without his hands joining in.