Sweet and Sexy

by Jeff Adams

  “Hey Matt, good to see you,” he said, as we bumped fists. “This is a surprise. Leo expecting you?”

  “I just got back into town and thought I’d surprise him,” I said, holding up the flower.

  Jared smiled and nodded. “Why can’t my wife do something like that? Get on back there and say hi to your guy.”

  He handed me a visitor badge and buzzed me through the doors. As I moved through the hallways leading to where Leo worked, I said hello to a few people that I recognized.

  Across the hall from the main medical office, I heard someone grunting. Inside the exam room was one of the rookie players, Levine I think, laid out on the table. He was dressed only in an undershirt and jock strap. He was being worked on by someone whose back was to me. The guy had his hands on the player’s upper quad, vigorously kneading the muscles. He rolled his hands from the knee all the way to the top of his thigh.

  When the doc turned slightly, I saw it was Leo.

  Levine didn’t see me. His eyes were closed.

  Leo didn’t see me either.

  As I stood transfixed by the scene, a couple people passed in the hallway. They didn’t seem the least bit phased by what was going on in the room

  The sounds Levine made were hot, sounding like he was in the throes of pleasure even though I could see it was only his leg being worked on. It’d been way too long since Leo had touched me like that, for a massage or for sex. These days there was little foreplay. It was more about getting down to business and taking care of needs. It was easy because we knew exactly how to satisfy each other. Witnessing this, I longed for more, for both of us.

  Levine was a lucky guy, getting worked over by Leo’s hands. I knew exactly how good his touch could be.

  I sighed quietly as pangs of jealousy stabbed at my heart. I wanted to be on that table. I wanted Leo’s hands on me, working my muscles. Except he wouldn’t be doing a therapeutic rubdown, he’d be getting me aroused for what would come next.

  Just watching woke my cock up. Was Levine’s cock doing the same thing?

  Of course not. This was therapy for him.

  I needed to get out of here before my emotions spilled out. It wouldn’t be fair to Leo to make a scene. He had work to do and didn’t need me being stupid. I saw the medical office was empty and stopped inside. Leo’s coat hung off a chair and I put the flower in the top buttonhole. At least it was a little something from me.

  I quickly made my way back to the entrance. Leo wouldn’t be home until at least eleven, and probably closer to twelve and that would give me time to think.

  “Didn’t you find him?” Jared asked as I returned the visitor badge.

  “I did,” I said, not slowing down to chat. “He was busy. I’ll see him at home.”

  I was outside so fast that Jared’s response was muffled as the door closed behind me. My chest tightened as I walked back to the car. Was this what a panic attack felt like? I slowed down and took a couple of deep breaths. I was tired, stressed and needed to get myself under control.

  I shouldn’t have followed Leo to the arena. It was silly. Dropping into the training facility was one thing, but coming here was another. It’d be like him coming to a job site. Thank God he didn’t see me.

  My phone rang just as I got into the car. I didn’t have to look at it to know it was Leo. Jared must’ve told him I’d been there.

  I started the car so I could pick it up on Bluetooth while I drove.

  “Hey, Leo.”

  “Hey Matty. Where are you? Jared told me you were here and I found the beautiful flower in my jacket.”

  I should’ve asked Jared not to say anything then the flower would just be a mystery.

  “Yeah. I was. You had someone on the table though.”

  “You okay? You sound upset.”

  I pulled out of the parking garage and into traffic.

  “I’m fine. Just a lot of frustration trying to get back here.”

  “I’ve got about a half hour if you want to hang out.”

  He tried to make things good, just like last night.

  “I…”

  Damn it. Rather than dissipating, the jealousy turned into sadness.

  “What is it? Matty?”

  “I need to think for a while,” I finally said. “I’ll be home by the time you get there.”

  “Okay,” he said, voice full of concern, which only made me sadder. “If you need me before then, call. Okay? I’ll pick up or call you back as soon as I can.”

  “I will. I love you, Leo.”

  “Love you, too, Matty.”

  I hit the button on the steering wheel to disconnect the call. The tightness in my chest increased and I slammed my hand against the steering wheel in what was becoming my usual response to stress. My eyes burned as tears filled my eyes, forcing me to pull into a bank parking lot since I couldn’t see clearly.

  I don’t know how long I sat, crying. Luckily no one came to find out why I was there, falling apart with the car running. I didn’t know what to do to fix my life, but something had to give before permanent damage was done.

  Chapter 5: Leo

  That was one of the most difficult games I’ve ever worked. Matty was clearly upset when we talked and I hated that I couldn’t go to him. At least the game kept me busy so time didn’t feel at a standstill. I hated it when our players got hurt, but two of them did and it kept me busy. Between managing the injured and tending to players during the intermissions, I had things to focus on besides worrying about Matty.

  The ride back to my car, though, took forever. There was an accident on seventy-nine that made the trip twice as long as it should’ve been. At least once I had my car, I was able to speed home. Thankfully, I didn’t encounter any cops because they surely would’ve given me a ticket since I was more than a little over the posted speed limit.

  Matty’s car was in the driveway and the porch light was on. However, there was no light coming from the front windows.

  Inside was quiet and, flipping on the living room light, revealed nothing except furniture. There were no signs of life from the dark back of the house either. Moving into the living room, I saw Matty, illuminated by the full moon, sitting in one of the lounge chairs on the patio.

  “Hey,” I said, standing in the doorway.

  He hadn’t moved when I opened the sliding door or when I spoke. There was an open, nearly full beer bottle on the table next to him.

  “Hey,” he said, a catch in his voice.

  I stepped out, closing the door behind me. Coming up behind him, I put my hands on his shoulders and squeezed. He put his hands on mine.

  “I’m sorry.” He said, and again there was a slight catch in his voice. Had he been crying? “What’re we going to do?”

  “What are you sorry for?” I asked, confused. “You haven’t done anything.”

  “For everything. For how our life has been lately. For getting jealous earlier?”

  What? I was more confused now than ever.

  “Seeing you work on Levine,” he continued, filling in the details. “Hearing the sounds he was making. I so badly wanted to be him on that table. I miss being touched like that. I miss touching you like that.”

  “Matty, you know…”

  “And I know you weren’t feeling him up or anything. You were doing your job, but it still…It made me think about all the stuff we’re not doing together.”

  Sliding another chair next to him, I sat down and took his hand. We were quiet for a while, looking off in the distance. It was a beautiful night and stars filled the sky. Living away from downtown, the lack of city lights made it easier to appreciate the night sky. Matty squeezed my hand randomly and eventually he let out an anguished sigh that cut me to the core.

  “I don’t know what to do,” he said.

  “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

  “It seems harder this time.” He looked at me. “When we were in school, we had to do what was necessary and dealt with the long distance.” His gaz
e returned to the sky. “We shouldn’t have to do that now. I don’t want to turn into my dad—obsessed with work. Most of all I don’t want to lose you.”

  “You’re not going to lose me. As long as we’re talking, and working on it. Together. We have to decide. Do we want a life where we’re apart because of a schedule that we can’t fully control? Or is it something more routine, where we spend most of our nights and weekends together? Maybe we even work together. Or we’re…”

  “Married?”

  “Yeah.” I said quietly. I hadn’t planned to say that. We needed to sort out a lot more first. “Eventually.”

  “But you’d like it sooner rather than later.”

  I repositioned my chair so I could look at him. “I see my brothers and our friends married and I want that, too.”

  “I guess I’ve got a flawed view. Your parents are amazing. I can see why they’ve been together for so many years. I look at mine and…I mean it’s not like they fight or anything. But they seem more like business partners than a couple in love. My sister and I are their assets, more like something they own. I worry I won’t know how to get the marriage right.”

  “I don’t think you could get it wrong. You’re an amazing man. I wouldn’t want to marry someone who wasn’t.”

  Matty stood and pulled me up by the hand he held. Silently he moved us to the swing, which was attached to the biggest tree in the yard. We sat and he rested his head on my shoulder.

  “I think I need a different job,” he finally said.

  A vibrating phone buzzed from somewhere.

  “Where’d you put it?” I asked as my eyes darted around the yard.

  “It’s in the empty flower pot on the big table. I wanted to know if you called, but the rest of it can wait. Dad’s been calling every fifteen minutes or so. I’m sure it’s because I’m taking a couple days off.”

  “You are?”

  “Yeah.” He raised his head and looked at me. “I want to think. The Miami job’ll be fine.”

  “Is this because of tonight?”

  “No. I decided before I left Miami. The biggest problem for us right now is that I’m never here, or when I am, I’m not all here. I can’t remember the last time we were together where I didn’t have to check my phone or my mind wasn’t working on a million different things.”

  “You know I get that you have to work, and that it sometimes takes a priority, right?”

  He laughed, and I was glad to hear it since I’d never seen him in such a dark mood.

  “I know. This is about me. I don’t like the crap I go through in this job. I don’t know if I need to break away from Dad being my boss or if maybe I picked the wrong career.”

  “Whoa. Architecture might have been wrong?”

  He shrugged. “I wish I knew.”

  He snuggled in against me. He was still in his sports coat and I was in a hoodie. Neither of us were really dressed to be outside. The cold seeped in through my sweats, too. It must’ve been even worse for Matty, wearing a thin pair of khakis.

  “We’ve got money, you know? And my job’s good enough that we could live on just my salary. If you want to take time off to sort things out, you could.”

  “You’d do that for me?”

  “Of course. What’s the point of savings if you don’t use them to get what you want out of life? If you need to re-evaluate, I say do it.”

  We looked at each other. Really looked at each other, in a way that we hadn’t in a long time.

  “I love you, Leo.” His voice was just above a whisper, but the tone gave me goosebumps of the best kind. His smile melted my heart.

  “I love you, too, Matty.”

  I kissed him. It was small, but he responded instantly. He turned on the seat slightly and put his arms on my shoulders, drawing me closer. Our lips met gently. It reminded me of the first kisses we’d shared in his room. He’d always had a way of delivering the tenderest kisses and these were perfect.

  I shook, and not from the chill in the air. We hadn’t made out like this in months, and these kisses woke my body up.

  “Matty,” I said through a moan as I ran my hands over his back.

  “Come on,” he said, once again grabbing my hand and pulling me up.

  When we reached the patio door, his phone vibrated again. He didn’t stop.

  “You’re not going to get that? Or at least bring it inside?”

  “Fuck that. It can spend the night outside.”

  I laughed. This was a Matty I hadn’t seen in a while. I guessed he’d gradually become more serious over time. Maybe we both had. It was nice to see a glimmer of the old Matty who’d blow off a class to start the weekend early, or impulsively fly to Maine to see me, or leave his phone outside.

  “You know your dad’s going to be even more pissed.”

  “Too bad.”

  My phone rang, loudly sounding in the pocket of my sweats. I reached for it.

  “Don’t.” He stopped before we made it to the bedroom, a pleading look in his eyes.

  “I’m turning it off. There’s no one I need to hear from tonight.”

  We caught a look at the screen as I keyed it off. It was his dad calling me. He did that sometimes if Matty wasn’t answering.

  “Ugh.” Even as he said it, he broke into full out laughter. “I’m so screwed tomorrow.”

  “Just focus on what’s about to happen right here. We’ll deal with the rest later.”

  Chapter 6: Matt

  I called Dad first thing. It didn’t go well.

  “You’re taking days off? I don’t fuckin’ think so. You get in here. Now. We’ve got a new client to talk about and then you need to get back to Miami.”

  “I don’t need to be in Miami. And you can put someone else on the new client. I’ll be in on Monday and I’ll head back to Miami Wednesday of next week for a couple days.”

  “No. You’ll be here within the half-hour.”

  “Sorry, Dad. I’ve got things I need to do. Margaret can handle any questions. I’ll talk to you Monday.”

  “Matthew, what’s—”

  I did something I’d never done before. I hung up on him.

  I panicked for a moment, and thought I might throw up because it felt like I’d done something wrong. It was a silly, childish reaction. Dad wasn’t going to ground me. The worst he’d do was fire me, and I didn’t think he was going to do that either.

  Leo’d made a good point last night that we could survive if I quit and looked for something else. As a result, being fired didn’t carry much of a threat.

  The phone vibrated in my hand. Sure enough, it was Dad. I sent it to voicemail.

  I called Mom next. I needed to understand some things from her.

  “Matthew, I’m about to start yoga class. Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, Mom. I wanted to know if you were free for lunch.”

  She was silent for a moment. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Miami?”

  “I’m home. I took the rest of the week off.”

  “Oh.” The surprise in her voice made me grin. “Well, sure. I can meet you at Habitat at twelve-thirty.”

  “Great. I look forward to it.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you then.”

  She hung up.

  I knew I threw her for a loop. The last time I remembered her being at a loss for words was when I was in high school and had to explain to her how I got suspended. I’d pulled a bully off some underclassman and ended up in trouble for fighting. I knew what I’d done was right and I didn’t really care that I was punished.

  Mom’s initial reaction was to ask why I got involved in something that wasn’t my problem. I couldn’t believe she’d said that. I kept a kid from getting what would’ve likely been a serious beating. How was that wrong? She apologized for that later and explained it was so unexpected for me to be suspended that she wasn’t thinking straight.

  I spent the morning actually doing some work. I couldn’t leave people in the lurch just because I needed some
time off. I checked in with Margaret and let her know I was going to be off for a few days. She assured me she could handle the job, and Dad if necessary. I told her to call if she needed anything because I’d pick up for her. Like the caring sister she is, she told me to do what I needed to do. She was very aware of the situation.

  Meanwhile, Dad, or Dad’s secretary, called about every half hour. I ignored them. I was tempted to block the numbers, but that seemed like overkill.

  Habitat was a nice restaurant and I dressed for Mom in black jeans and a dark sweater. I knew she’d look pretty fabulous, but I was in no mood to put on anything that resembled work clothes.

  As I arrived, I saw her approaching from down the street. She looked awesome, and as I figured she was dressed to impress. I could see a purple blouse, with a touch of tasteful sparkle, under her tweed jacket, which had been a Christmas present from me last year. She wore black slacks and sensible black flats.

  I waited at the door.

  “Hi, Mom,” I said, smiling as she drew closer.

  “Matthew,” she said as she gave me a quick hug.

  She was the only one who always called me Matthew. Dad only called me that when he was angry. I don’t think Leo’d ever used it. To him, and most of my close friends, I was Matty. Mom was the formal one.

  “Your father seems to think you’ve gone insane,” she said as I opened the door for her.

  I sighed. “That’s a bit of an exaggeration I think.” I looked to the host. “Reservations for Blackwood.”

  The host looked at his screen and nodded. “Yes sir, right this way.”

  “You made reservations.” She nodded. “Nice to see I taught you well.”

  “I didn’t want us to wait. I’m sure you’re busy.”

  She smiled.

  She was right, though. I knew exactly where her expectations were, and simple things like a restaurant reservation to reduce wait time were among them. I knew it’d be my responsibility since I’d suggested the lunch, even though she picked the place.

  “So what’s going on, Matthew?” she asked as soon as we were seated. She set the menu aside. She always ate the same salad here, so she didn’t need it. “Your father wasn’t happy when he got home last night. He said you weren’t taking his calls. This morning, I hear, you hung up on him.”