Get-Together Summer

by Lotus Oakes

  “That was stupid,” he said, as he cycled through channels. “Was it trying to be horror or something?”

  “Maybe,” Haley agreed. “I think it was trying to imply that the monster would regenerate and attack someone again later.”

  “They should have just burned it.” He glanced at Simon and nudged him with a foot. “What do you think?”

  “Uh—” Simon blinked rapidly. “What do you mean?”

  “Was the monster gonna come back to life? Or maybe it wasn’t dead in the first place?”

  “Who knows,” he said, a little awkward again. He’d barely noticed how they’d destroyed the monster in the first place. “Maybe it was just sequel bait.”

  “Probably,” Haley said. She shifted where she sat so that she could face them both, then tucked her feet under Simon’s leg. “Might as well, if you’ve already got the monster put together.”

  “It wasn’t even that good of a design!” Dirk protested. He gestured to the screen again, where a smiling woman was chopping an onion, and shifted forward until his knee knocked against Simon’s. “Its face was right there, like it was showing off or something! It loses at least half of its impact when you do that.”

  Simon shifted a little himself, staring at the TV again. Even with the lighthearted tone of the conversation, even knowing that they’d just finished watching, the conversation made him just a little nervous. The woman on the TV was nattering cheerfully as she slid her onions into a frying pan, but her voice was mostly drowned out in white noise and the conversation happening around him. He was so focused on watching the closeup of onions turning caramel brown when Dirk nudged him with a foot again, making him jump. “Wha—?”

  “I said, what do you think?” Dirk cocked his head. “If you were gonna make a monster movie, would you go for horror or action?” He braced both of his elbows on the arm of the couch, lifting himself up a bit, and Simon had to turn his head away.

  “I don’t know,” he muttered. “Maybe … both? It’d depend on the rest of the story, wouldn’t it?”

  “Right.” Haley sat up, leaning in, so that her shoulder was brushing against Simon’s now, and he had a brief view down the top of her dress before he turned away from that as well. She shifted and hooked her arm with his automatically, her chest pressed against him. “If you want your movie to be good, you’ve got to have an interesting story.”

  “Yeah,” Simon mumbled, only half paying attention. Dirk had moved closer too, he realized with a small panicked start. Were they trying to play some sort of trick on him? They had him hemmed in like some kind of prey animal, and the only way out was to lean forward and off the couch, but he couldn’t quite make himself move. He swallowed hard, fisting his hands on his knees and staring resolutely at the floor. “I guess so. Interesting.”

  Still holding onto Simon, Haley reached out to shove Dirk playfully. “See? You’re everything that’s wrong with the industry,” she said to him. “No wonder the everything is just remake after sequel after adaption.”

  Dirk shoved back, though somewhere along the way their fingers ended up tangled together, and Simon was well and truly trapped between them and the net of their arms. “You can argue all you want, baby, that’s not going to change what’s true. Some of those sequels can be better than the original, too! And remakes with better technology’s never a bad thing.”

  “Uh, I think you mean that it’s sometimes a really terrible thing.” She shoved at their hands again, grinning. “Only people who’re interested in style over substance would really think like that!”

  “Um,” Simon managed, his voice a low hoarse croak. “Haley—”

  Dirk leaned in closer now, grinning so that all his teeth showed. “Sometimes style becomes substance, what about that? Part of the beauty of a movie is that you can tell some of your story visually, instead of just relying on your written dialogue.”

  “Dirk—”

  “Maybe that’d work, if there was actually some kind of storytelling element to it! No, instead, it’s just the biggest explosions and walls of fire and things like that—”

  “Guys!” Simon burst out, and their argument stopped as they both turned to look at him. Their faces were closer than he’d thought, and he blushed at their proximity. “Um, you know, I’m right here … so, uh, if you wanted to — I could — I can just leave, if that’d be easier …”

  “Leave?” Haley blinked and frowned. “But you just got back.”

  “We’re just having a debate,” Dirk added. He looked significantly less innocent than Haley, though; just looking at her, wide-eyed with her lips pursed, Simon could have believed she wasn’t aware — but Dirk’s grin remained sharp and knowing, and he scowled through his blush, hunching his shoulders.

  “That’s not it,” he said. “Look, I’m not — I’m sorry, okay? You don’t have to make fun of me! Just because of all that — I was trying to be a good person, okay? I just wanted to be friends, and then you had to — I’m going to my room!” He started to push forward, ducking to get under their joined hands. He got to his feet and took about two steps when Haley grabbed his arm.

  “Simon, wait—”

  He tried to jerk it free, half-turning to her with a scowl. “No, I don’t want to! You said it would be fine, you said, and now it’s all—”

  “Hey,” Dirk said. “Simon.”

  “You’re a jerk too! I don’t know why I thought it’d actually be okay, how long were you guys laughing about this—”

  Dirk caught Simon’s face in both hands, holding it still. The gesture surprised him into stillness, though he tugged a few more times at his caught wrist weakly. Dirk’s face was even closer now — closer than Haley’s had been that morning, when Simon had almost messed up and kissed her. He was still smiling, but it looked almost gentle now, a little wry. Up close his eyes looked more golden than brown, with shards of lighter color shot through the darker portions.

  “Um,” Simon squeaked, his voice rising up high.

  Dirk kissed him.

  It wasn’t a very sexy kiss to start with, and it was barely even a real kiss, just their lips pressed hard together, their noses smushed at the awkward angle. Dirk’s mouth was slightly damp and a little chapped, and he didn’t actually try to push it very hard, just held that pressure with his hands firmly gripping on to Simon’s face. Haley had released his wrist at some point, but he let his arms dangle loosely by his sides, too shocked to actually respond. A hot wet line of pressure slid across his lips, startling a sharp noise out of him, and he jumped, his mouth opening automatically.

  Dirk pressed the advantage at once, sliding his tongue into Simon’s mouth with a single bold stroke. He continued to hold onto Simon’s hand, as if to keep it still, thrusting his tongue in and out. At first, Simon just made muffled noises, confused — and then he leaned into it as best he could, tangling his tongue determinedly with Dirk’s, whining louder through his nose. Even if it was just out of pity, if he could at least get away with it this once — and it wasn’t even his fault, he’d been the one grabbed! — he would do his best.

  Then Dirk let go and slid back, though his hands still remained cupped around Simon’s face. He was breathing hard, his expression searching, and Simon could only meet that look for a few moments before he had to turn glance away — and found himself staring directly at Haley. She was staring at the both of them, wide-eyed and flushed, her mouth pursed in a round little o. Whether it was from surprise or something else, he couldn’t tell.

  “Hey,” Dirk said softly, and when Simon glanced his way again, Dirk kissed him a second time — softer now, almost gentle, asking instead of demanding, and Simon swayed into it before he could quite stop himself. It was very nearly chaste, just the faint wet glide of Dirk’s tongue over his lower lip before they parted again. Without looking away, Dirk moved one hand away from Simon’s face, reaching out to Haley, still staring at them.

  “C’mere, babe,” he said. “You know you wanna.”

  “Um
,” Haley said, in a small shocked voice. “I do?”

  He turned his head just a little to smile at her; his hand never wavered. Haley stared back without saying anything — long enough that Simon remembered to feel self-conscious again, shifting nervously in place — then took Dirk’s hand, scooting forward on the couch. She turned to look at Simon instead, and he almost couldn’t breathe at the look in her eyes, tentative and curious and hopeful all at once. He sucked in a breath and held it as she leaned in, almost flinching as her lips touched his.

  For long moments neither of them moved, breathing quietly with lips touching and no more than that. Then Haley shifted a little, making a small noise deep in her throat, and the sound made something hot and shaky uncurl inside of Simon. He whimpered in response, surging forward and wrapping his arms around her, pressing his hands hard to her back, clutching handfuls of her thin sundress. Her lips parted under his with a small squeak and he kissed her hard and eager, breathing hard through his nose. Some small part of him was still panicking — what if this was some sort of tremendous joke? what if this had been a test, and he’d failed by actually responding? what if he was hurting her, clinging like this? — but the rest of him was trapped by the softness of Haley’s body against his own, and the way she yielded to his kiss without protest, her tongue curling warmly against his. It took him a moment to realize she was stroking his back, her fingers ghostly light, though she stopped when Dirk pressed up against him from behind. For a single glorious moment he was pressed between them, and it was everything he’d wanted and nothing like he’d imagined.

  Then he pulled sharply away from the kiss with a gasp, shaking all the way down to his bones. He licked his lips over and over, trying to recapture the feeling, staring at Haley. He was afraid to even blink for fear that everything would suddenly fall to pieces.

  Haley stared back, flushed deep red and breathing hard enough to leave her chest heaving.

  “Oh my god,” she said, her voice high and shaking. “Oh my god.”

  Dirk made a hushing noise deep in his throat and reached out, past Simon, to stroke her cheek with the back of his fingers. “Breathe, baby,” he said, his voice low and soothing. “Come on, one big one — right, like that,” he added, when she complied, sucking in a huge breath and holding it for a few beats before letting it out slowly. Her look of shock faded into something approaching wonder as she brought a hand to press Dirk’s fingers more firmly to her cheek, staring into Simon’s face.

  “Um,” she said, “so, does this mean that you really … ?” She licked her lips.

  Simon floundered for a moment. “Yeah,” he said at last. “That was — I wasn’t kidding, before, with the whole …” He made a vague gesture at her, his gaze falling to her lips. She licked her lips automatically, and he swallowed back a moan. “I-I was going to, you know, I wanted to—”

  “To what?” Dirk’s voice was right in his ear, accompanied by a hot burst of air that reached straight into Simon’s gut and twisted. His cheek pressed against Simon’s as he turned his head to look at Haley as well. “You didn’t tell me about this.”

  “I—” Haley sniffed a little and drew herself up, though the effect was ruined by her blush. “I promised I wasn’t going to tell, since it wasn’t your business.”

  For a moment Simon wondered if Dirk would be angry — the possible scenarios flashed through his head, of shouting, or even possibly an actual physical knockdown fight — but Dirk just laughed, stroking along Haley’s cheek again.

  “Maybe not,” he said, “but I’d like it to be.” He curled an arm loosely around Simon’s waist, hugging him back against his own body, and turned his head. “Can I kiss you again?”

  Simon blinked, then swallowed hard. “Me—?”

  “Say no if you don’t wanna,” Dirk said, and his expression was serious — outright earnest, in fact, and it made Simon feel warm in a very different sort of way. “Remember what I said before? I’ve gotta feel something before I do anything. So I’m asking you because I wanna. But if you don’t, that’s just as important — more, maybe. Got it?”

  Simon bit his lip. He looked at Haley, who couldn’t seem to decide which of them to stare at, going back and forth from his face to Dirk’s. “Um,” he said, more breathlessly than he would have liked. “If. I guess, if Haley doesn’t—”

  “No,” she said in a rush. “No, it’s fine. If you want to. Go ahead.”

  He looked back at Dirk, who smiled at him again. There were teeth in that smile, but his eyes were soft, full of a warm affection that Simon was sure had only been meant for Haley —

  Simon closed his eyes and tipped his face up, waiting. Long warm fingers touched his chin, adjusting his head just so, and then Dirk’s mouth was on his again, warm and wet, and Simon parted his lips immediately this time, breathing hard through his nose as Dirk’s tongue slid into his mouth, easily and casually possessive, stroking against his in open imitation of something else. When Dirk finally pulled back, Simon was trembling. He whined at the loss and Dirk murmured something low and soothing in response, sweeping both thumbs over his cheeks.

  When he opened his eyes, Dirk was looking at him fondly, meeting his gaze for a moment before looking past him, at Haley. He let go of Simon to hold out a hand to her.

  “Come here, pretty girl,” he said, and when Haley put her hand in his, he tugged her closer, until she was pressed up close to them, so that Simon was cradled between their bodies. He could feel the outline of her bra through the thin material of her dress, and her breathing was quick and fast. Dirk leaned past Simon to kiss her, closed-lipped and affectionate, and as he did Simon heard the soft shushing noise of cloth over skin. Pushed as closely together as they were, he could feel as Haley’s dress was pulled up, over her breasts, and then she drew back from the kiss to pull the dress completely over her head, leaving her hair a fuzzy halo around her face. She was blushing furiously, all the way down to her breasts, which—

  Simon swallowed — or tried to, and found his throat nearly impossibly tight. Haley’s bra was white and cut in a low dip between her breasts, edged in lace, a gentle contrast to her pink skin. He started to reach out and stopped himself, unsure of how to proceed until Dirk took his wrist and pulled his hand forward to complete the gesture. Simon and Haley both inhaled sharply at the contact, and Simon stared at his hand in wide-eyed amazement: he was doing it, he was touching her, and he squeezed before he could stop himself. Her breast was softer than he’d even imagined, warm and heavy in his palm, and after a moment he realized that the small bump against his palm wasn’t just from the bra itself, but her nipple, and the breath left him in a sudden and pained rush. He shifted his grip so that he could brush his thumb over that small peak, watching in wide-eyed amazement as Haley’s whole body gave a small jerk and her hands came up to catch at his shoulders and hold on tightly. He rubbed in tiny hesitant circles, torn between watching her face and his finger and looking even lower, to the low dip of her white panties.

  Dirk pressed up against his back, startling him out of his daze, but when he tried to pull back automatically, the weight of Dirk’s body against his own kept him mostly in place. Dirk’s hand smoothed across his, then over the curve of Haley’s breast and along to her back. For a moment Simon was confused, and then he heard a faint click and Haley’s bra loosened abruptly, sliding down until the whole of her breasts were exposed. They were as pale as the rest of her except for the nipples, hard and dark pink.

  “Oh,” Simon breathed. His voice sounded strange and distant to his own ears. “Oh my god.”

  He’d seen them before, of course, but this was different. This was up close; this was her allowing it, rather than a clandestine glance from a distance. At first he could only stare, as if hypnotized, watching the way they rose and fell with her breathing. He could feel her eyes on him, staring at him staring at her, but he couldn’t make himself look away.

  “Look at you,” Dirk breathed, low and appreciative. He reached out, and Simon w
atched as he ran his fingers lightly over the curve of Haley’s breast, his fingers a stark contrast to her pale skin. “You’re the prettiest girl, you’re fucking gorgeous. Isn’t she?”

  It took Simon a moment to parse the question as being addressed to him, but once he had, he nodded. “Yeah,” he breathed, his voice soft and thin. “She’s—”

  “Gorgeous,” Dirk purred. “Go on and touch her, prettyboy, you know you want to.”

  Simon glanced up at Haley’s face, watching the way she blushed and shifted, crossing her arms under her breasts and — perhaps not so coincidentally — pushing them up, as if to present herself to him. He bit his lip hard enough to hurt and reached out with shaking fingers, running them carefully over the generous curve of her breasts, marveling at how soft and smooth the skin was until his index finger caught against a pebbled nipple.

  Haley let out a soft noise, her back arching up immediately in a graceful curve. Simon glanced up, surprised, then focused himself again, rubbing his finger more purposefully against it, then pinching her nipple between thumb and forefinger, greatly daring. She gasped aloud at that, her eyes going wide, and she grabbed at his shoulders, breathing hard. Dirk plucked one of her hands up and turned it to kiss the palm, chuckling briefly.

  “You can do more,” he murmured. “She’s sensitive there.”

  “Shut up,” Haley moaned, kneading at Simon’s shoulder with her one free hand. “Don’t say stuff like that, it’s embarrassing—”

  Dirk kissed her palm again, louder this time, smacking his lips there. “He’s gotta learn somehow, baby,” he said, and laughed when she tried to swat him with the same hand. He leaned more heavily against Simon’s back, nudging him forward, and added, in a lower voice: “Bet you can find something useful for that mouth of yours, huh?”