Just a Kiss

by Jerry Cole

  Vance still struggled with the guilt of losing his fiancé on occasion, but he knew that Kenton understood that it was a difficult transition for him. They had taken the time to figure out the situation.

  Kenton had been spending a lot of time at Vance’s house lately, it had become something comfortable. But that was going to change tonight. Kenton had invited him over to his house.

  Vance’s hands were shaking. It didn’t make sense. He shouldn’t be so worried about going to see the millionaire’s house for the first time. It was just a house. He tried to think of it as just a house. Just the place that Kenton lived. A home. Someplace that he kept his belongings.

  He shook his head. It was more than that. This was Kenton letting him into the life that the man had built out of his solitude. It was important. This was something special. He was going to finally be allowed to enter into a secretive man’s life. And he was going to do it in a romantic dinner that they plan to share. Kenton was going to cook for him. It was a little strange. Vance was used to being the one doing the cooking. He didn’t have a clue what Kenton would be cooking. He just knew that he was supposed to go there after he was done with work. That was all that the millionaire had said to him.

  But Kenton had seemed happy about it. Vance prepped himself in case it was terrible. He was going to smile and say it was great no matter what.

  When he arrived at the house he was taken by surprise. The house was rather nice. It wasn’t huge, but it was an expensive home in a really good neighborhood.

  He drew in a shaky breath and climbed out of his car. The man was waiting for him. He wasn’t going to turn around. He wanted to see the place and he was curious about it, at least a little bit. The man was still a bit of a mystery, playing his cards so close to the chest most of the time. But that meant that when Kenton planned a date it was always a great surprise.

  He knocked on the door within moments. It was late at night, almost midnight. He had worked to close, helping out with the cleaning after the place closed down.

  He had told Kenton about that but was told to show up anyway. And the lights were still on.

  Kenton came to the door quickly. “Hey.” He offered a smile.

  Vance couldn’t hold back a smile if he tried. “Hey.”

  “You ready?”

  “I could eat.” Vance laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

  “That’s good.” Kenton waved the other man inside.

  Vance took a moment to take in the room. The house was nice and elegant, but it also had the feel of a high-class mancave, black furniture, cushy, and nicely built. “Nice place.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Hey, no problem.” Vance smiled.

  “Why don’t you have a seat. I figure we can just eat at the kitchen island. That alright?”

  “Yeah, that’s perfect. We don’t need anything fancy.”

  “Awesome. Well, don’t expect anything fancy. I’m not a chef.”

  “I’m sure I’ll love whatever you made for me.” Vance grinned and sat down at the kitchen island.

  “Well, I hope you enjoy this.” Kenton turned back to the counter and grabbed a to-go bag.

  Vance laughed. “Fast food?”

  “Nothing like a midnight burger, you know?” Kenton smirked.

  “You planned this, didn’t you?”

  “I considered getting cheaper burgers even, but I ended up deciding on getting the best burgers we could get at this time.”

  “Damn, you planned and everything.”

  “Sure did.” Kenton looked a little proud of himself. “Truth is that I don’t do any cooking. I mostly live on TV dinners and take out.”

  “That can’t be good.” Vance shook his head. “But this is still good. I enjoy stuff like this.”

  “I was hoping the joke would land right.” Kenton passed out the burgers and supplied a small box of various fixings for the burgers. It worked because they could each make their cheeseburger the way that they liked.

  “I enjoy it.” Vance laughed. “It was a good one. Not one that I’d ever think of.”

  “That’s because you’re an amazing cook.”

  “It was all that professional training and experience.”

  “I didn’t have that. I have considered taking a cooking class or two.”

  “Oh?” Vance put lettuce and tomatoes on his burger.

  “Yeah, I think it would be neat. And it would be something new and interesting to do.” Kenton shrugged, piling the onions on his burger.

  Vance pointed at the onions. “Looks like you’re comfortable with me now.”

  “What?”

  “The onions.” Vance laughed.

  “Right, oh, do you mind?”

  “Not at all.” Vance shook his head. “I like some onions too, but not quite that many.”

  “I’m a really big fan of onions. Of course, sautéed is better, but it’s not an option for this.”

  Vance nodded. “Yeah, makes sense. Want me to sauté them for you?”

  “Nah, it’s not necessary. You spent all day cooking. You should take a break and not cook tonight.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t mind.”

  Kenton smiled. “Let’s just get some food in you and then we can snuggle up on the couch.”

  “That sounds amazing.” Vance was already halfway through his sandwich by that point. The man was ravenous, starving after having spent all day on his feet and having skipped his usual meal after the dinner rush. He had wanted to save room for when he met Kenton, but that meant that he was about three hours late for a meal. “I’d love some cuddling on the couch.”

  “Mmm, sounds like a plan. I know it’s not a big fancy date, but I figure you’re tired after working all day. I remember how tough that can be.”

  “I love my job, just so you know.”

  “I know you do.” Kenton nodded. “I love seeing you work when I can. You always seem so happy in the kitchen. It really suits you.”

  Vance felt a blush rise on his cheeks. “That’s nice of you to say. I love the place. It’s someplace that I just belong.”

  “Well, I’m hoping that you start to feel like you belong here with me.”

  “Of course, I do. I would drive across town to come here at midnight to eat burgers with you.” Vance offered the man a smile. “This is a bit of a distance from the restaurant.”

  “Did you bring an overnight bag?” Kenton was teasing him.

  “I did, yeah. I didn’t know if I’d be crashing on your couch or not.”

  “Well, I have a spare room if you want it.”

  The silence dragged between them. That wasn’t where Vance wanted to spend the night and Kenton knew it.

  Two sets of eyes met over the counter. Both debating what they were going to say and how they were going to say it. Neither of them knew much about how to get to the next step.

  Slowly Kenton walked around the counter.

  The kiss was passionate and powerful, nearly bringing Vance down to his knees. The explosion couldn’t be stopped, clothes were being tossed to the side, landing haphazardly on the floor, chairs, and counters. Neither of them cared when a shirt took out the takeout containers, sending tomatoes scattering on the floor. That could be cleaned up later.

  Breathlessly Vance pulled away from his lover. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah.” Kenton nodded and went in to continue the kiss. There was no stopping it now. And neither of them wanted to even if they could. There was a need that extended past the mundane and predictable. It was a desire that they had fought and denied up until this point. But it wasn’t going to be denied anymore. It shouted and screamed its way to fruition, making it come to the light as both men stumbled into the living room to land on the couch, already mostly out of their clothes. “I want you so bad right now.”

  “I want you too,” Vance answered breathlessly.

  “God above. You’re so damn perfect.” Kenton whispered the words against Vance’s lips.

  It was almost en
ough to send Vance over the edge as he wiggled out of the rest of his clothes. There was a need there that they couldn’t stop.

  Kenton started to kiss down Vance’s body before taking the man’s shaft into his mouth. Vance’s head fell back for a moment, groaning in desire. Then the chef reached down to pull Kenton’s body up.

  The other man moved easily at prodding, bringing his groin up to Vance’s face.

  The motions started, both men pleasuring each other with their mouths, lying across each other’s bodies. Vance worked his tongue around the shaft in his mouth with emphatic passion. The heat was near to the point of being unbearable. But there was no turning back. No sticking their head under cold showers. No shutting down the inevitable crash of hearts and bodies.

  It was coming. And both of them could feel it. They were both rocketing towards the edge of desire with tongues swirling around each other’s manhood, bringing in more of the need.

  Gasping breaths and moans vibrated around each shaft. Both men seeming to fall into unison, groaning together as they felt the moment raise itself to the peak and then rush over it.

  More groans as they caught their breath, wiping faces and righting themselves on the couch to sit next to each other. Vance put his head on Kenton’s shoulder. It was comfortable and sweet, a moment that they shared that felt like a little piece of heaven had found its way onto the earth. Vance was beyond happy being there. It was a comfortable place.

  But that wasn’t going to last long. The pounding on the door drew them out of their stupor.

  Both men jumped up and looked at each other. “What’s that?” Vance asked.

  “I don’t know.” Kenton grabbed his pants and started to put them on.

  “Police! Open up!” The directive came from the front door.

  “Why would the police be here at almost two in the morning?” Vance was taken aback.

  “I don’t know.” Kenton shook his head.

  “Sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I just…” Vance grabbed his pants and put them on.

  The knocking continued. “Police.” The man demanded.

  “Give me a second,” Kenton called out. “I got to put some pants on.”

  “Really? That’s what you’re going with?”

  “Yeah.” Kenton shrugged. “It’s the truth, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, I guess so. I also guess I missed the whole alert from my doorbell too.”

  “We were kind of distracted.” Both of them got their pants on and curiously headed to find out exactly why the police were there at that time of night.

  Kenton checked his doorbell camera and frowned. “We missed someone else coming up to the door tonight.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know yet, but the cops are the ones there right now.” He frowned and looked at the image.

  The knocking continued. “Coming.” Kenton walked up to the door and checked the peephole before opening the door. A police detective was on the other side of the door.

  Vance frowned, staying a bit back and wondering what exactly all of this was about. He would be lying if he said he didn’t have a certain fear about what sort of things Kenton might have been into that got him the money that he had. Maybe the man hadn’t won the lottery. It was so hard to tell what the truth was.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kenton frowned. “What can I help you with, officer?”

  The police officer looked at him with concern. “Is this your residence?”

  “Yes, sir.” Kenton nodded.

  “Mind if I see you ID?”

  Vance spoke up. “What is this about?”

  “I’m afraid we got a call from one of your neighbors. It seems someone has let themselves into your basement. And they were worried that someone was breaking in.”

  Kenton felt his chest seize up. He couldn’t believe this. “What do you need us to do?”

  “May I come in?” The cop stepped inside the house before he was invited.

  Kenton frowned, then nodded. “Sure. Uh, you need to get to the basement?”

  “I should probably clear the house, just to make sure you’re alright. I can get out of your hair quickly though.”

  “Sure. What else do you need?”

  “If you don’t mind, you could just step outside, maybe wait in one of the cars?”

  “Sure.” Kenton ducked back into the house to grab his phone, wallet, and keys. When he came back, he handed Vance his belongings, just to keep them safer.

  They both walked out of the house and climbed into the car. “You’ve got good neighbors,” Vance mentioned.

  “So, I don’t talk to them a lot.” Kenton shook his head. “I say hi when I pass them on the road, but that’s about it.”

  Vance nodded then glanced around the area. “Where did that cop park, I wonder?”

  “Huh?”

  Vance frowned as he kept scanning the surroundings with his eyes. “I don’t see a cop car.”

  “What?” Kenton couldn’t quite wrap his mind around what was being said to him.

  “I said that I don’t see a cop car,” Vance repeated what he had said already.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Pretty sure. I mean. Wouldn’t he park in front of the house?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I just think the cop would have a car, right? There’s not one out there.”

  “Maybe there’s a reason for it?” Kenton started to swivel his head around, looking for the cop car. There wasn’t one there. Just an old beat-up car on the road. “Is that one yours?”

  “No, mine is right in the driveway here. Right there.” Vance pointed to the car parked next to Kenton’s on the driveway.

  “Then who’s car is that?” Kenton was starting to have a bad feeling about this entire ordeal.

  “I don’t know. Maybe the cop is in an unmarked car?”

  “He was in uniform though. Don’t cops normally wear plain clothes if they’re in unmarked cars?”

  “I don’t know. I never deal with the cops.” Vance shrugged. “I’m not really up to date on anything except for cop dramas on television.”

  “And that’s not exactly realistic.”

  “Probably not.”

  “I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this cop.”

  “What should we do?”

  Kenton sighed and picked up his phone. “I’m going to call the police office and ask if they dispatched someone to my house or not.”

  “That would probably work.”

  Kenton got on the phone.

  It didn’t take long for his fears to be revealed. There was no cop dispatched to his house. There was no reported break-in. The dispatcher that he talked to told him to stay in the car, and possibly drive away if he could.

  He didn’t like that idea. He didn’t want his space to be invaded again.

  Vance was frowning. Kenton stepped out of the car. “Wait, where are you going?”

  “Inside.”

  “They’re sending someone. We should wait.”

  “This is your life. What he’s doing isn’t wrong.”

  “Just get back in the car. Nothing in that house is worth your life. Please. Don’t do this.” Vance was begging.

  “We should stop this.”

  “If he’s dressed as a cop, it’s likely he has a gun. Don’t risk it. Things can be replaced, you can’t.”

  Kenton sighed and climbed back into the driver’s seat. “Fine. What do we do then?”

  “How about you two just shut up?” The voice came from outside the car, a hand grabbing Vance’s car door before he could close it.

  Kenton nearly jumped out of his skin.

  Vance’s head pivoted around to look at the man that had stopped him from opening the door.

  But Vance was looking right down the barrel of a gun. He gulped.

  Kenton put his hands up. “This doesn’t need to end like this. We can solve this.”

  “Are you so sure about that? From what
I found, you don’t have a whole lot of money in the house. How about you open up that wallet for me.”

  “Sure. Sure.” Kenton nodded, reaching for his wallet.

  “Slowly.” The man parading around as a cop nodded. “No sudden movements.”

  “I’m not making any sudden movements.” Kenton’s movements slowed. He had to make this take longer. He had to make this work. Vance was under threat.

  “Watch it.” The man warned.

  Kenton looked back up at the man then realized it was because Vance was shifting in his seat.

  “I don’t have a problem shooting you.”

  Vance nodded. “I get it. I’m not going to do anything stupid.”

  “Good.” The robber nodded, looking smug about everything that he had done. “Because I know who your boyfriend over there is. And I know exactly what kind of money he can get a hold of when he needs it.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Nothing, if you can get me enough cash.” The man shrugged. “So, you better get to working on that.”

  “I don’t carry a lot of cash on me.”

  “Then I guess we’re going to the bank in the morning.” The kidnapper smirked at the pair. “Because I know that no one is going to be coming for you.”

  “What makes you say that?” Vance asked that question.

  Kenton blinked. He hadn’t expected Vance to ask for more information. Whoever thought about talking when there was a gun held to your head. Kenton had never really done that, and he had been robbed plenty of times.

  The kidnapper sneered at Vance. “Because he doesn’t have any friends. It’s what he does. He runs away.”

  “You knew him before, didn’t you?”

  “Course I did.”

  Kenton squinted. He didn’t recognize the man at all. “Ok. Look. It’s not that bad.”

  “I know it’s not. And it’s going to get better.”

  Kenton wracked his brain, but nothing came of it.

  “How do you know him?” Vance asked the question.

  “Like I would tell you that.” The man snorted in derision. “I’m not going to give you a way to recognize me. And I know that Kenton doesn’t even know who I am.”

  “What makes you say that?” Vance asked. He was clenching his fists, but speaking in a very calm and soothing voice.