Keeping Sweets

by Cate Ashwood

  They climbed out of the truck and entered the building through glass doors on the side.

  “Do you want the full tour, or just the ice cream?” Bran asked.

  “This place is crazy. We’d be here all day. Just the ice cream I think.”

  They made their way to the section designated for ice cream and lined up. Despite the early hour, there were at least twenty people in line for their breakfast-dessert.

  “You know what flavors you want?”

  Evan’s eyes were wide. He loved ice cream, but it had been a luxury he hadn’t been able to afford very often. With forty flavors, it wasn’t going to be an easy choice. He shook his head. “No. They all sound good.”

  “Well, are you in the mood for something fruity, or something chocolaty?”

  “I think a couple of chocolaty ones, but the strawberry cheesecake sounds amazing too, or maybe the cookies and cream.”

  The line moved quickly, the girls behind the counter obviously proficient at their jobs from scooping hundreds of ice cream cones every day. Before Evan knew it, it was their turn to order.

  “Could I please have the mudslide and the chocolate peanut butter, please?”

  “I’ll have the cookies and cream and the strawberry shortcake, please.”

  Evan shot Bran a skeptical look as the girl got to work building their cones. Bran just gave him a goofy smile and shrugged. “We can share.”

  Evan could feel himself begin to blush. He wondered how many people in the line behind them could guess how he felt about the man standing next to him. He knew he was falling, and falling hard. He didn’t know how he was going to be able to walk away from him. He would gladly give up ice cream if it meant forever with Bran. He couldn’t think thoughts like that, though. The more he entertained the fantasy, the harder it would be to say good-bye in three short days.

  Bran paid and they went back outside, where he snagged a picnic table near the sailboat resting on the lawn. Evan licked at his ice cream, catching the drips that were melting already in the warm morning sun. His eyes rolled back into his head—it was so amazingly good. Bran just watched him, a crooked grin painting his lips.

  “Good?” he asked as he licked at his own strawberry-flavored cone.

  “Uhn-huhn.” Evan licked eagerly at the melting chocolate.

  “Can I try?” Bran asked.

  Evan held out his cone for Bran to taste. Bran took a bite of his, then pulled Evan in for a deep kiss, hot tongues mixing cold creamy flavors together.

  “You were right, it definitely is good. I like the strawberry and chocolate together.”

  Evan was too lost in the feeling of Bran’s mouth on his, the sweet salty smell of the sea hanging in the air, and the warmth of the sun beating down on them to feel embarrassed. There were people everywhere, but no one seemed to notice, or if they did, they didn’t seem to care. Heavy contentment settled in his chest as they licked and sucked at the ice cream and each other, mixing and sharing tastes with every few bites.

  When they were finished, Bran licked his own fingers clean before sucking each one of Evan’s into his mouth, bathing them with his tongue. Evan had been hard since the first kiss, his cock pressing against the seam of his shorts, but the warm wet tongue lapping at him was driving him crazy.

  “I think this is my new favorite way to eat ice cream,” Bran said when he was finished cleaning them both up.

  “You can share ice cream with me anytime you want, but as for right now, the minute I stand up, I’m going to be arrested for indecency.” He glanced down at his crotch, where his dick was sitting up for anyone who looked to take notice.

  Bran just chuckled, looking around to make sure no one was watching, and reached into Evan’s pants, wrapping his hand around his aching cock, fondling him just a little longer than was necessary to adjust it so it was tucked up under the waistband of his shorts. He pulled Evan’s shirt down over the tip that was peeking out, concealing Evan’s problem for now.

  Evan groaned quietly at the loss of Bran’s touch.

  “Patience, Sweets. I’ll take care of you later. Promise.”

  BY THE time they had walked back to the truck, Evan’s erection had flagged. They pulled back onto the road and continued their journey north toward Cannon Beach. The road curved in and out, winding steadily through the gorgeous landscape of the coast.

  They sat together, their easy conversation punctuated by the digitally created click of Evan’s camera as he snapped photos along the way.

  “You know, you’re gonna run out of space on that memory card before we even get where we’re going.”

  “I have lots of room left. I can’t help it, though. Everything is just so beautiful here…. Where is here exactly?”

  Bran chuckled. “We’re driving past Nehalem Bay right now. Oswald State Park is up next, and then we’ll grab some lunch. Getting hungry?”

  “Are you serious? We just ate! Twice!”

  “Yeah, but breakfast was hours ago and the ice cream doesn’t count. S’not real food. Besides, if we don’t stop, you’re going to miss the best barbecue in the state. You like barbecue?”

  “I don’t know. Never had real barbecue, unless you count the chickens from the deli.”

  “Uh, no. Those definitely don’t count. This stuff is slow smoked, in a smoker outside the restaurant. Fresh-baked corn bread. Creamy coleslaw. Juicy pulled pork. It’s almost better than sex.” Bran turned and winked at him. “Almost.”

  AN HOUR and a half later, the smoky, meaty smell of their lunch filled the cabin of the truck as they drove on.

  “Where are we going now?” Evan asked.

  “You ever seen the movie The Goonies?”

  That wasn’t exactly an answer to his question, but Evan was too distracted to notice. “That’s my absolute favorite movie of all time ever!” he exclaimed. He blushed, slightly embarrassed by his outburst.

  “Me too,” Bran said, surprising him. “I used to watch it all the time when I was a kid. For the longest time, I thought the older brother’s name was Bran, same as mine. When I found out he went by Brand, not Bran, I tried to change my nickname. Never caught on, though. He was so hot… even if he did wear shorts over his sweatpants….”

  Evan laughed. “Matt and I used to watch it almost every time we had a sleepover. His mom always joked that we would run a hole in the tape from overuse, but we never did. Once we even tried to find a treasure map of our own in his attic, but there was nothing in there but old exercise equipment. Talk about a disappointment.”

  “Matt?”

  “Yeah, Matt was my best friend when I was younger. We did everything we could together. I spent a lot of time at his place… was nicer than mine and his mom actually cooked dinners.”

  “You guys aren’t friends anymore?”

  “Nah. He moved away when I was in seventh grade. We tried to keep in touch for a while, but you know how it goes. He made new friends and after a while the letters just kinda dropped off. Not sure where he is now.”

  They had pulled off the highway and Bran was expertly navigating through the forest on a narrow road that twisted and folded back on itself. Evan was a little nervous, but Bran seemed to know where he was going. Luckily, there were no other cars and soon the road opened up into a wide parking lot at the top of a hill.

  Bran grabbed the paper bag that held their lunch. “C’mon. Let’s go eat.”

  Evan followed him past the parking lot to a picnic area. Bran placed their lunch down on the table and grabbed Evan around the waist, turning him to face the edge of the cliff.

  “Surprise,” he whispered into Evan’s ear as he took in the sight before him. They were high up on the hill, able to see for miles. The ocean stretched out before them, a vast blue expanse, and Haystack Rock rose from the water near the shore.

  “Oh my God. This is the hill!” His body was humming with excitement. Maybe it was lame to be this happy about a kid’s movie, but The Goonies meant a lot to him, reminded him of some of the o
nly happy times in his childhood.

  “Yup. The whole movie was filmed here. The jail and the houses they used for filming are up in Astoria.”

  “That is so cool.” Evan settled himself into Bran and snapped a panorama of photos of the view.

  “Thought you might like it. We should have lunch before it gets too cold, though.”

  The barbecue was as good as Bran had described. The tangy, smoky flavors of the meat paired perfectly with the sweet doughiness of the corn bread. It was only just after noon and it was already the most perfect day. Evan didn’t know if he would ever be able to top it.

  Chapter 20

  THEY finally arrived in Seaside. A trip that should have taken just under three hours had taken them nearly five. Bran wasn’t complaining, though. He had stretched out the drive as much as possible. He knew that the day would fly by and he wanted to prolong it as much as possible.

  There were only three days left with Evan and he wanted to make the most of them. Normally on a shoot he would edit as he went, piecing together the footage at night after the crew had retired for the day. This time, though, he hadn’t done a thing, opting instead to spend his free time with the smaller man.

  He tried to push thoughts of good-bye from his mind as they parked the car at the edge of town. Seaside was a little beach town, which wouldn’t take more than twenty minutes to walk from end to end. It was such a beautiful day too, and a walk on the beach would be nice.

  They walked along the shore toward the center of town. Bran grabbed Evan’s hand and threaded their fingers together. Evan looked at him questioningly but didn’t pull away. He just flexed his fingers, securing their hands together.

  They walked that way, hand in hand down the promenade. Between the path and the sand were shrubs, growing in the same direction, pushed by the wind coming off the water. There were families on the beach, little kids running and laughing in the surf. The Nantucket-style shingled houses felt cozy with the weathered wood and large windows. The small town seemed to ooze happiness at every turn. It was impossible to be in such an amazing place and be in a bad mood.

  Eventually, they reached the large statue of Lewis and Clark at the end of Broadway. They were almost at the arcade. It sat on Broadway Street, which was an ocean-side version of Main Street, USA. There were 1950s style soda shops and boutiques. A little up the street, there was even an indoor carousel.

  “You ready to get your ass kicked?” Bran joked.

  “We’ll just see about that. You may be all coordinated and athletic, but I have something you don’t have.”

  “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

  “Beginner’s luck!”

  Bran laughed and pushed him through the doorway into Funland. The lights were dim and all over the place were kids spending time with their parents, eating hot dogs and playing games. It had been a long time since Bran had acted like a kid, but it was nice for once to let the weight of responsibility slide off his shoulders, to enjoy things at face value and joke around. Noah was nowhere to be found, the persona dropped and gone for now.

  Bran exchanged money for tokens and they found two Skee-Ball machines next to one another that weren’t in use.

  True to his word, Evan called on beginner’s luck and won the first game, jumping and hollering his excitement when his score almost doubled Bran’s.

  “Yeah, yeah, but beginner’s luck will only take you so far. Best two out of three?” Bran teased.

  Evan laughed. “Care to make this a little more interesting?”

  “What’d you have in mind?”

  “A little wager? Whoever wins gets to call in a favor. Anytime. Anything. No restrictions.”

  “That’s a pretty steep bet. You sure you wanna do that?”

  “Oh yeah,” he said suggestively, plugging tokens into each of their machines. The wooden balls smacked together as they rolled into place. Bran cocked his eyebrow up and tried to look serious.

  Twenty minutes later the score was three to fifteen for Bran.

  Bran scooped up the tickets that had accumulated on the floor as Evan stood with his hands on his hips. “You could have at least let me win a couple more games.”

  “Not a chance, buster. Your ass is mine.”

  “That’s not much of a prize. My ass’s been yours from the beginning.”

  Bran loved the pink that crept up Evan’s neck and stained his cheeks. He was so cute when he blushed. Suddenly, the urge to possess the younger man swamped Bran, hardening his cock to half-mast in his shorts. There would be plenty of time for that later tonight when they were home and alone in bed together. For now, he wanted to keep that look of innocent joy pasted on Evan’s face for as long as possible.

  “Maybe your aim’ll be better at closer range. Do you wanna try the horse races?”

  “Sounds good to me!”

  THE sun was just lowering over the horizon as they made their way back to the car. They had spent more than four hours at the arcade, racing, shooting, and then chasing one another in the bumper cars. They stuffed themselves with milkshakes and corn dogs until they thought they would burst.

  The drive home was quiet, with Evan falling asleep in Bran’s lap somewhere past Tillamook. He drove with one hand on the steering wheel, while the other ran lazily through Evan’s hair, stroking and petting him as he slept. It was so comfortable being with him like that, loving him, taking care of him. Bran thought he could be happy like this forever. For Evan’s own good, it just wasn’t possible.

  He pulled into the driveway and scooped Evan into his arms, then carried his sleeping body into the house. Evan wrapped his arms around Bran’s neck and moaned softly.

  He tucked him into bed, stripping both of their clothes off before climbing in after him. He pulled him in, pressing kisses to his temple.

  “Bran?”

  “Mmm,” he hummed contentedly against his hair.

  “Thank you. For today I mean. It was amazing.”

  “You’re welcome, Sweets. Glad you liked it.”

  “I always like spending time with you.” Evan turned, wiggling to face Bran, and tucked himself into the nook of Bran’s shoulder as if it were meant for him. Bran thought maybe it was. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Of course. Anything.”

  “If I weren’t going away to school, could you, I mean, maybe, would you want to… um… keep seeing each other?”

  Bran swallowed, trying to dislodge the lump that had formed in his throat. In a heartbeat. He would keep Evan if he could. If he gave in to what he wanted, he would take Evan and never let him go. But he knew that was selfish. With that many years separating them, it wasn’t fair for Bran to ask Evan to make promises like that.

  He was young and he had his whole life ahead of him, a life that held more promise and potential than Bran’s ever could. Bran was a shell of the person that Evan had a chance to become. He knew Evan cared about him, had a crush on him. He also knew that Evan was too young to possibly know what he wanted, to know if what he was feeling was real or the result of an infatuation born from the loss of his virginity.

  “I can’t answer that, Ev. You are going away. You have to. We agreed from the beginning that there would be an expiration date on this. We have to keep our promises. We’re leaving the day after tomorrow. I’m going back home and you’re going to school.”

  “But I could—”

  “No.” Bran cut him off, and knew that the stern tone in his voice might upset Evan, but he needed to be firm. There were no buts or ifs in this case. There was only one outcome, and that was Evan getting on a bus and Bran going back to his sad, directionless existence.

  He kissed Evan, just a light brush of lips. “We don’t have a lot of time left together. I don’t want to fight. I just want to make the most of the time we have left, okay?”

  Evan’s eyes were glassy and the corners of his mouth turned down slightly, but Bran couldn’t give in to what he wanted. He kissed him again, harder this time, leaving no room for argument.
He may not be able to say the words, but he could show Evan how much he loved him, how difficult it would be to say good-bye.

  Evan didn’t hesitate. He wrapped himself around Bran, as if he couldn’t get close enough, couldn’t taste enough. They kissed like that, desperate, frantic, for what felt like hours, just kissing and licking and stroking each other, ramping each other up higher. They touched and explored, soothed and memorized. Only one more night together after this and Bran had to remember everything.

  Evan rolled onto his back, knees wide, bringing Bran with him, cradled between his legs. He looked up at him with eyes that were so vulnerable, so trusting that it broke Bran’s heart. He was so fucking beautiful.

  They moved against one another, smooth skin sliding as their stiff cocks were trapped between their soft bellies. Bran trailed his mouth down Evan’s body, little licks tasting every inch of deliciously salty skin. He pulled Evan’s pink nipple into his mouth and sucked gently, reveling in the gasps and moans coming from beneath him.

  He could feel the small body shaking under him, feel the desire manifest itself in shivers and quakes. Evan was close. Bran hadn’t touched him yet, and he was already close. Bran couldn’t wait. He made short work of the rest of the trip, licking a path from nipple to belly button before dipping his tongue inside, teasing, probing. Evan was straining against him, using all his willpower to keep his hips glued to the bed, waiting as patiently as he could for Bran to take him.

  He didn’t have to wait too long, though. Bran pushed his knees up farther, exposing the soft flesh in between. He gently cupped Evan’s balls, rolling them slightly in his fingers, feeling the softness of his skin against his fingertips. He bent down, pulled one into his mouth and began laving and licking, causing Evan to groan with appreciation.