by Shawn Lane
“Which do you think?”
“I don’t want to assume.”
Brandon nodded. “Good plan for you. But as it happens, it means I’ll sleep with you.” And he turned and walked down the hall toward the bedrooms. Tim was pretty sure he’d added an extra wiggle to his walk, too.
Thank God.
It didn’t take them long to get undressed once they entered the bedroom. Besides the queen-size, four-poster bed, the furniture consisted of a dresser, a full-length mirror, and a couple of bedside tables.
He didn’t really care what was in the room. All he wanted to focus on was Brandon. Pleasing him. Making him come.
Tim got them to the bed and crushed Brandon beneath him, kissing him deeply as he held the man’s hands above his head, trapping them in his grasp. With his other hand, he roamed across Brandon’s body freely, grazing over smooth skin. A flick of Brandon’s nipple and he whimpered into Tim’s mouth.
For several minutes, he made love to Brandon with his mouth, kissing and licking the pulse of his throat and trailing all the way down the smooth, bare skin to his stomach. He hovered above Brandon’s hard cock. His breath stirred the coarse hairs nestled there.
Should he?
He wanted this to be about pleasuring Brandon. Wanted him to feel great and wanted him to know Tim was making him feel it. For some reason he hadn’t analyzed too deeply, it was important.
“Tim?”
“Shh.” He caressed Brandon’s thigh. Then he opened his mouth over the tip of Brandon’s cock. He licked the slit and encircled the crown.
Brandon moaned and pushed himself deeper into Tim’s mouth. And Tim swallowed down, drawing him in. He grasped the shaft, sucking hard.
He’d driven Brandon just to the brink, the man quivering underneath him. But Tim wanted to be inside him when he came, so Tim released Brandon after a few minutes.
After searching in one of the bedside tables, Tim retrieved a condom and lube. He rolled the condom on quickly but then took his time moving his lubed fingers inside Brandon, spreading him, locking his lips with Brandon’s.
When they were groaning and writhing against each other, Tim lifted Brandon’s legs and pushed inside his ass. They moved together as one, clinging, stroking, touching.
“Tim!” Brandon gasped as his orgasm rocked through him.
And Tim followed close behind.
Chapter 10
“Honestly, Veronica, I’m so busy with the preparations for tonight’s event, I don’t have time to breathe, let alone to chat.” Brandon checked off an item on his clipboard. He stood in the middle of the ballroom as staff around him scrambled to decorate for the reunion. He’d plugged in his headset earlier in the day so that he could continue to take business calls concerning the event.
“Surely you can spare a few minutes,” Veronica protested.
“No, I really can’t.” He made a slashing motion across his throat when he saw what one of the decorators was about to do.
“But I want to know what’s up with you and Tim Olfander.”
“Don’t whine. It’s unbecoming. Besides, aren’t you supposed to be getting ready for this ball yourself? You and Jimmy are still coming, right?”
“Yes. I bought a new dress and everything. I thought you thought he was a jerk. You know, after the first time.”
Brandon walked across the room, climbed a ladder, and tore a streamer off the ceiling. “Not there. Over there.” He pointed to where he wanted the staff member to go.
“Yes, sir.”
“Brandon.”
“I need to check on the kitchen.” He headed in that direction and dropped his voice to a near whisper, conscious of those around him. “Yeah, he was a jerk. But, well, I guess I’m still trying to decide if I’m going to have this no-strings affair with him while he’s back in Lincoln Hill.”
“Were you with him again last night?”
“Um. Well, yeah. And Thursday, too.”
“Have news for you, sweets. You’re already having the affair.”
“Well, maybe. But I could stop it anytime.”
She laughed. “Do you want to?”
Did he? In spite of his reluctance and the disappointment of the first night, sex with Tim was great. Really great. It shouldn’t be that great, should it? Tim was an egotistical ass and always had been. And in the end, Brandon would be hurt.
“No,” he admitted.
“I didn’t think so. Are you going to see him tonight?”
“After the ball, yeah. I think so anyway.” He pushed open the kitchen doors. “I really need to go. I’ll see you later. Bye.” And he disconnected before she had a chance to say anything else. He had no time for Veronica and twenty questions.
* * * *
Tim knew Brandon wouldn’t have a lot of time for him during the dinner and ball, but he found himself thinking about how he wished Brandon could sit beside him at a table, having dinner with the rest of the class rather than working behind the scenes.
He’d chosen a navy suit with a pale-blue dress shirt and a dove-gray tie to wear that night. He actually hoped the evening would pass quickly because once it was over, he intended to get Brandon alone again.
The man was fast becoming some sort of addiction. Earlier in the day he, Lance, and Ashtyn had hung out together, reminiscing about the old days, but all he had been able to think about was seeing Brandon again. Probably a good thing Tim would only be here a short time, because he could really see himself falling for Brandon. They didn’t even live in the same city, and Tim didn’t think he was ready for anything serious. It would be a complication he did not need.
Tim got off the elevator on the second floor and made his way down the long hallway toward Lance’s room. They were all going to meet there and head into the ballroom together.
He tapped on the door, and Lance opened it almost immediately. Lance had dressed similarly to Tim except his suit was black, his shirt pale yellow, and his tie blue.
“Come on in. Ashtyn’s not here yet.” Lance stepped aside to let Tim into the room.
Lance’s room was nicer than his, a suite really, with a king-size bed and a hot tub. He whistled as he looked around. “Great room.”
“Yeah.” Lance blushed, then glanced away. “It was, um, it was supposed to be all romantic, you know. For Todd and me.”
He was an idiot. He should have guessed. Lance had always been on the quiet side, but the last couple of days he’d been quieter than before. And very pensive. Tim leaned against the wall. “I’m sorry. You want to talk about it more? I mean, I know you told me the other day it was his idea to move out.”
Lance shrugged. “Not much else to say. I loved him. He didn’t love me.”
Ain’t love a bitch?
They were both saved from more awkward emotional talk by rather loud knocking on the guest room door. Ashtyn had arrived.
It was Tim who went to the door to let him in. He half expected to see him wearing fluorescent orange or something, but Ashtyn wore a very elegant designer suit in gray with a lighter gray dress shirt and a pink tie. Still had pink streaks in his hair, too.
“You look good. Really good,” Tim admitted.
Ashtyn smiled. “What did you expect?”
“I’m not really sure. But something less normal?”
“Most of the time normal is boring, darling. But I can pretty up with the best of them.” He flashed his killer smile at Lance. “Shall we?”
They made their way down to the elevator and rode it to the basement floor where the ballroom was located. It was crowded in the hallway outside the ballroom with classmates and their dates.
Tim knew a lot of them, and it occurred to him as he waved at some that generally it was the people who had been popular in school who attended reunions. Probably trying to hold on to some of that popularity.
Tim went to stand in the N—R line, expecting Ashtyn to join him, but when he turned around to say something to his friend, he saw Ashtyn walking away.
“Ash?”
Ashtyn headed straight for a guy who’d just come off the elevator. Tim recognized him as Zach Parker. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged. He guessed if Ashtyn wanted to explain later, he would.
He reached the sign-in table and opened his mouth to give his name when the girl sitting at the table laughed.
“Oh, I know you. Tim Olfander.” She handed him his table assignment, a dinner ticket, and his name tag. Her name tag said Susan Sullivan, though Tim couldn’t recall if he’d known her. “You didn’t come to last night’s dinner. Did you want your T-shirt?”
He frowned. “T-shirt?”
Susan nodded. “Yeah, we gave out reunion T-shirts last night, but you didn’t come. Size?”
“Um, extra-large I guess. I don’t know.”
“Okay. Hang on.” Susan rose and walked down the aisle between the table and the wall and reached into a box for a white shirt. She brought it back to him and handed it over. “There’s a champagne brunch tomorrow if you’re interested. And a pool party in the afternoon. Starts at two. Enjoy the ball.”
“Thank you, Susan.”
Lance waited for him by the ballroom door. “Where’s Ashtyn?”
“I don’t know. He was chasing Parker last I saw him.”
“Ah,” Lance said. “He always did have a thing for him.”
“Let’s go inside. I want to get a drink.”
* * * *
“Want to dance?”
Brandon jumped at the unexpected intrusion. He’d just stepped through a side door of the ballroom that led to a small storage room, looking for a brief respite from the throng of partyers currently drinking and dancing and making catcalls in the room.
As an introvert, he hated most parties anyway, and ones where he had to make sure everything was perfect most of all. Add to that a bunch of people he used to go to school with who hadn’t a clue who he was—loser much?—and it was getting on his nerves big-time.
He’d hoped having Veronica and Jimmy there would make it a little easier, but he’d barely had time to stop and say hello to them before he’d been called to deal with a fountain problem.
“Tim, what are you doing in here?” he asked, somehow not at all surprised to see the man. Partly because Tim’s gaze had been following him ever since he’d entered the ballroom hours ago. He hadn’t come up to Brandon, nor had Brandon gone to see Tim, but he’d expected it would be only a matter of time.
“I followed you, of course.” Tim closed the door behind both of them, shutting out a lot of the noise. “So, do you?”
“Do I what?” Brandon took a step back the minute he saw Tim intended to touch him. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be touched by Tim. Not at all. The man looked good enough to eat in his navy suit. If anything, adult Tim was so much more gorgeous and irresistible than teen Tim had been. But this was work.
“Want to dance?”
“Tim, I’m working.”
Tim stepped closer and touched his arm. “I know. I’m not trying to get you in trouble or anything. I just…I want to see you.”
Brandon relented just a bit. “You’re seeing me now.”
“I know.” Tim’s fingers curved around Brandon’s wrist. “We can hear the music in here. Maybe you’ll give me one dance?”
He shouldn’t. Any of his staff could come into this side room for whatever reason and catch him with a guest. Or worse, his boss could come looking for him. Though he didn’t think that would happen, given that his boss had left the reunion ball up to him.
“Please?” Tim reached for him as if to pull him into his embrace for a slow song.
As though he’d planned it, the singer of the band started to sing “My Heart Will Go On.” Certainly not Brandon’s favorite song. But he sighed and placed his hands on Tim’s arms to allow the man to lead him in the dance.
Brandon didn’t admit it out loud, but it felt good to be in Tim’s arms as they swayed to the music. Really good.
“Did you go to the prom?” Tim asked. His gaze was intense.
He stiffened automatically at the mention of the prom. God, it had been painful back in high school. Brandon had never expected to go with anyone really—let alone Tim—but he also hadn’t expected to have to hear Tim laughing at the very idea of taking geeky Brandon to the dance.
“No. There weren’t any girls I would have asked, and I wasn’t even out,” Brandon explained.
“What about your friend Veronica?”
“Neither of us went. We didn’t want to go together, and we didn’t want to go as wallflowers. Why spend money on something you wouldn’t enjoy?”
Tim continued staring at him with that intense gaze. It was as if he could read Brandon’s mind or something. “Well, we can think of this dance as your prom dance then.”
“It was actually my fantasy then that I’d go to the prom with you,” Brandon said. He could feel his cheeks burn and knew he’d probably said too much. He guessed it was being held in Tim’s arms, dancing, just as he’d dreamed, that made his mouth run over.
“Yeah?” But Tim smiled, and Brandon was relieved it wasn’t a mocking smile. “I wish I’d known you then.”
He shook his head. “You wouldn’t have wanted to. In fact…never mind. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“What?”
He’d said it now. Might as well get the whole thing out, Brandon supposed. His stomach turned a little queasy.
“Well, not long after the prom tickets went on sale, I overheard you talking with your friends about it.”
“And?”
Brandon gritted his teeth. He did not want to talk about this. Not now. But he’d started it.
“One of them said, ‘Maybe you should go with the geek who follows you everywhere,’ and you sort of laughed and asked who they meant, and your friend said I was probably hanging around you right then. You all looked around and saw me not far away.” He blew out a breath. “And then you all turned around and laughed.”
Tim frowned. “Brandon—”
“I know. You don’t remember. I do. So you see why I say you wouldn’t have wanted to know me.”
“I know you think that. Maybe I was just a shallow ass then. I don’t know. I’d like to think I’ve changed.”
“Me, too. But then I think about you laughing.” Brandon studied him. “Why now? What do you want from me? Why, Tim? What do you suddenly see in me?”
“I won’t lie to you. I wanted you at first because you’re beautiful. So damn sexy you steal my breath.”
“And now?” His heart had sped up, pulsing loudly in his ears.
“I’m starting to get to know you. You’re smart and witty. You don’t back down or take any shit.” Tim shook his head. “You haven’t let me get away with much. And you keep giving me chances even though I definitely don’t deserve them.”
Brandon gazed at him for a long time without responding. He could tell from the uncertainty in Tim’s eyes, he didn’t know what Brandon would say or do next. He wasn’t all that sure himself. Yeah, the slight about the prom had hurt, but it had been a long time ago. Tim was here now. He stroked the stubble on Tim’s jaw, grazing along the masculine line.
They stopped talking then and let the music take over as they moved together, holding each other close. Tim had dipped his head until their lips were bare inches apart, but they didn’t kiss. They stayed like that, looking into each other’s eyes, and for a second Brandon could almost believe it was ten years ago and his fantasy had come true.
The song ended and Brandon pushed himself out of Tim’s arms.
“Just one more?” Tim asked.
“No, I really do need to get back to seeing everything is running smoothly. And you need to get back in there with the rest of the guests.”
“You know, if this had been our prom together, I wouldn’t let you get away.” Tim stepped close again and rubbed his thumb across Brandon’s bottom lip.
“No?”
“No way. I’d keep you with me all night, a
nd I’d find a place where we could go and not be seen, and we’d have sex over and over until we were both too exhausted to move.”
Brandon barely suppressed a shiver. “But it’s not. And I need to go.”
Tim nodded. “Okay. If you insist.”
“I do.”
“What time are you through here?”
“Not until two. The ball goes to one o’clock, and then I have to supervise some cleanup.”
Tim reached up and cupped his cheek. “Can I stay with you tonight, Brandon?”
“Tim—”
“Please?”
Hell, if the man was practically begging, how could he refuse? And he found he didn’t want to, even though he was pretty sure he was entering very dangerous territory.
“Okay.”
Chapter 11
Brandon reached for the lube and squirted some over his fingers and the palm of his hand. Tim lay beneath him on his back, and Brandon angled himself so that he could slip his slick fingers into his hole to prepare himself for Tim’s cock.
They’d arrived at Brandon’s house less than fifteen minutes ago, and they were already naked in bed and about to fuck. That was what it was, Brandon reminded himself. Just fucking.
“God, you’re sexy like that,” Tim said, his voice hoarse with need. “I can’t wait for my cock to be inside you.”
“Just a little longer,” he promised. Withdrawing his fingers, Brandon tossed aside the lube. He leaned down to place a quick kiss on Tim’s lips. Tim had already sheathed his dick in a rubber. He lowered himself to just above Tim’s erection and stopped.
“Grr. Are you teasing me?” Tim grasped Brandon’s hip bones. “Come on, I need to fuck you.”
Brandon shook his head and smiled. “Not yet. Patience.”
“Don’t have any.”
Funny, Brandon had waited ten years to have sex with Tim.
He pushed himself down on just the tip of Tim’s cock, but as soon as Tim made to go deeper, Brandon lifted up.
“Fuck!”
He laughed. “I told you to have patience.”
Tim narrowed his eyes. “And I told you I want to fuck you now.” He grabbed the base of his cock and thwacked his shaft against the crease of Brandon’s ass.