by T. M. Smith
“This is your life Jon, did you really just say that?! Am I not a part of that life? Yet, you won’t even listen to me when I try to tell you that you putting yourself in danger, deliberately, scares the living shit out of me!” Kory’s face was beet red, fists clenched at his side. Jon couldn’t have stopped himself if he tried, the sight was entirely too funny. Before he could close his mouth around it, a laugh escaped.
Kory’s eyes grew wide and if it all possible, his skin grew an even deeper shade of red. When he spoke again, gone were the shrill, glass breaking screams. Kory’s voice was calm and low and that was when Jon knew shit just got real. “Are you laughing at me?” Kory enunciated each and every word slowly and clearly.
“Babe.” Jon tried to reach for Kory, but he jerked away.
“Mother fucker, don’t you touch me right now. I’ll knock your fucking lights out. Answer me Jon, are you laughing at me?!” And there was that lovely shrill tone again.
Jon threw his head back and sighed, praying to God he could get his bag packed and get out of his apartment without beating the shit out of his boyfriend. Jon also preferred to still have said boyfriend as his boyfriend when Kory finished his temper tantrum. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph! God save me from this crazy person!” Jon shouted.
He barely dodged the picture frame that flew across the room, aimed at his head. By the time Jon reached Kory two picture frames and a candle had shattered against the bedroom wall and Kory had Jon’s alarm clock in his hand, arm back, ready to throw a home run. Jon slammed Kory against the wall, holding Kory’s squirming body to against it with his own larger frame. “Kory! Stop it. You’re acting like a child! Grow a pair and grow the fuck up!”
Kory snarled at him. “Fuck off, Jon.”
Jon stared into his lover’s eyes. They were almost black with rage. His hair was sticking up at odd angles and his skin carried a thin layer of sweat, Kory had worked himself up so bad. The snarling and squirming reminded Jon of a feral cat, and he was quite certain were he to loosen his grip on Kory’s wrists, the man would claw his eyes out. The feel of Kory’s body writhing against him short circuited something in Jon’s brain, possibly because all the blood quickly flowed south of the border.
When Kory licked his lips, trying to moisten them, Jon truly lost it and slammed his mouth over Kory’s. He fought, in vain, for a few brief seconds, trying to push Jon away. When Jon felt Kory’s dick pressing into his thigh he leaned back slightly but deepened the kiss. Jon smiled as his feral cat started purring, curling their fingers together. Kory slanted his head, allowing Jon’s tongue to dive deeper into the warmth of his mouth. He moaned into the kiss and Jon swallowed the sound before gently biting Kory’s bottom lip.
“You make me crazy Kory, you know that, right?” Kory answered with another blistering kiss and when Jon ran his hands down Kory’s body, grabbing his ass and pulling up, Kory willingly wrapped his legs around Jon’s waist.
Jon turned and ate up the distance between them and the bed in three quick steps. He fell onto the bed with Kory’s legs still wrapped tight around his waist, their lips never breaking the suction that held them together. Their bodies moved against each other, hips thrusting, searching for friction. Jon held Kory’s hands above his head as he pillaged his mouth. They were both panting and moaning, their hips were jerking and thrusting, each of them slowly climbing toward heaven.
Jon briefly considered getting them both naked and fucking Kory stupid, or at least fucking him quiet. At this point though, logic was out the window and both men had succumbed to their more primal instinct to get off, in whatever way possible.
Jon knew Kory was at his peak when Kory’s thighs tightened around his hips to the point of pain. When Kory threw his head back and arched his ass up off the bed, Jon dug his knees into the mattress and pushed back into Kory’s thrust, giving him that final shove over the edge. Kory cried out and his body shook as he came unglued under Jon. Just the site of Kory lying beneath him, body flailing as he rode the wave of his orgasm sent Jon over the edge just a few seconds later.
Jon fell on top of Kory, both of them breathless and spent. Realizing he was probably crushing Kory with his dead weight, Jon rolled to his side, Kory rolling with him since his legs were locked around Jon’s waist. “Are we done fighting now Babe? Breaking things and calling each other names?” Jon’s tone was sincere; he reached up and wiped Kory’s sweat soaked hair off his forehead.
Kory just nodded. “No Kory, I need to hear you say we are okay, even if the shit’s gonna hit the fan when I get back. For now though, I need to know we are okay. I can’t go out there and do my job if I’m worrying about you, about us.”
Goddamn him for being logical! Kory thought. Kory inhaled a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “I won’t pretend I’m okay with all this Jon, but I’m not going anywhere if that helps.”
Jon smiled before leaning in for another quick kiss, then got up and headed into the bathroom to change out of his jeans before they dried to his skin. He laughed out loud when he heard Kory bitching about the exact same thing.
“Goddamnit! I’m too fucking old to be busting a nut in my pants!”
***
Kory’s phone buzzed and he jumped. He had started to doze off so the noise startled him. He smiled reading the text from Jon telling him he missed him and couldn’t wait to see him that night.
Kory was just zipping up his back pack when there was a knock at the door. “Yeah?” he called out.
“You ready to shoot the still shots? Micah and Andrew are set up and ready downstairs.” Jordan called from the other side of the door.
Kory pulled the door open, grabbing his bag and walking out into the hall. “Let’s do this so I can head back into the city. I’d like to be on the road by lunchtime.”
“Got a hot date with Jon?” Jordan asked, following Kory down the stairs. Kory just nodded, dropping his pack onto one of the stools in the kitchen and continuing on into the den where Andrew, Mattie and Micah waited for them. For the first time in a long time, Kory had really enjoyed shooting the past couple days. Since he and Jon had started dating, the shine of the porn had worn off. And if Kory was honest with himself, it had begun to dull a while ago. But there was something about Micah’s personality that drew everyone to him, like a moth to a flame.
“I managed to pull a few stills from the footage we already shot, so we really only need a few shots today guys, then we can call it,” Andrew told Kory and Micah, both of them nodding in response.
“Micah, come over here and stand in front of the double doors. Kory, come stand behind him and wrap your arms around his waist.” Both men did as directed. Mattie moved over in front of them and unbuttoned Micah’s jeans, unzipping them half way.
Micah smiled down at him, “Crap, sorry, I forgot they were undone.”
“No worries sweetie, that is why I keep a close eye on the clothing and sets from one scene to the next, so I can keep everything cohesive.” Mattie moved out of the frame so Andrew could snap a few shots.
“Good. Now Micah, lean your head back on his shoulder.” Micah did as instructed. “Perfect, now Kory, wrap your right arm around his chest and lean into him.” Kory followed Andrew’s directions as well.
“Kory was kissing along his collar bone too, Andy.” Mattie called out from the kitchen.
Kory began laying a path of gentle kisses along Micah’s shoulder and across his collar bone. Andrew snapped a dozen or so images of them from different angles before turning the camera and going over each image then looking up and smiling at them. “Got it guys, now I just want one more then we are all set.”
Andrew motioned them over to the brown leather couch they’d brought into the den for the shoot. Victor kept furniture, decorations and lighting to use during shoots at the house, in a storage shed out by the pool house. For this particular video Andrew had decided to use the den so he could have the natural scenery from outside as his backdrop. Christmas was just a few weeks away, and then Victor, Andrew and
Mattie’s wedding not long after that, so the house and the grounds were in pristine condition.
Andrew had shot video of Kory and Micah outside around the house, playing in the snow, having snowball fights, making snow angels and finally cuddling up inside on the big, brown couch by the fire, drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows. He planned to edit and cut all that footage down to about five minutes, breaking away from the two men relaxing on the couch, focusing back in with them in front of the double doors just before Kory bent Micah over the couch.
“Micah, I need your jeans off for this one if you don’t mind.” Andrew switched out the camera lens while Micah shed his pants.
“Okay, Micah, right hand on the back of couch and lean over it slightly. Then Kory, I want you to lift his left leg and lean into Micah’s body, can you remember exactly how you two were positioned?” both men nodded. “Good, I want a still shot of when you lifted Micah’s left leg Kory and set his knee on the arm of the couch, then ran your hand down his blade. It was one of the sexiest, most endearing things I have ever seen, and I want to capture that passion for the main shot on the site.”
Kory probably remembered that particular moment of the last three days most vividly. As soon as he had touched Micah’s leg the man froze, body tense and rigid. Kory’s first thought had been to turn the man around and wrap his arms around him. Micah was simply put, stunning, with his dark blonde hair, deep brown eyes and finely chiseled body covered in both color and pain. A series of scars littered his ripped body, remnants of the bomb he survived in Iraq, the same bomb that took his leg. In an attempt to hide the scars and the pain associated with them, Micah had turned his body into a marriage of that pain and the ink that now covered each and every scar.
Kory realized a gesture of kindness was far removed from his online personality. Hayden Cox was not gentle and loving, but sensing the tension in Micah when he touched his leg, Kory acted before he even thought about it. He ran his hand all the way down the blade, then back up and over the flesh of that leg that still remained. He felt Micah shiver as he did it then and again now as they recaptured the moment for pictures.
“Yes! Got it guys.” Andrew walked over to the couch and showed Kory and Micah the images. “I think that’s a wrap.” Andrew smiled and hugged them both. The loud pop in the kitchen barely registered to Andrew and Kory, they were used to Mattie’s way of celebrating them wrapping up a shoot with champagne. Micah, however, was not. He jerked back and almost fell, his arms out in front of him like he was readying for a fight, eyes dark and wild.
“Whoa, Micah, you okay?” Kory asked. It took a minute for Kory to put the pieces together. Iraqi war vet and a loud bang were probably not a great mix. The sound of the champagne cork when Mattie popped it probably sounded like gunfire to Micah. Kory gently touched Micah’s shoulder, using the same soft grip he used on Micah’s leg when they were filming. “Hey,” he whispered and waited for Micah to look at him, literally watching as the fog lifted from Micah’s eyes and he was able to focus on Kory. “You okay there?” Kory asked.
Micah finally managed a half smile, nodding in response. Kory was thankful that no one else was in the room right then except Andrew, who had moved to the other side of the room and was fidgeting with his camera, trying to act like he hadn’t seen what just happened. Perhaps Micah was fooled, but Kory wasn’t. He caught Andrew stealing worried glances at their newest family member who was kindly accepting a glass of champagne from Mattie.
Victor rushed into the room and grabbed a glass, staying long enough to toast and down his bubbly like a shot of tequila, before heading back upstairs. “Paperwork and permits,” Mattie explained.
“Alright guys, if we are done Andrew, I’m out of here.” Kory waited for Andrew to nod and wave him off before he went and grabbed his bag from the kitchen, bolting out the back door to his car. Sunglasses on and his Bob Dylan CD blaring from the speakers, Kory did his best not to speed. He didn’t want anything to hinder his drive back to the city, where Jon would be waiting at his apartment for him.
~ Chapter 8 | Thankful ~
The holidays were a mad rush for both Jon and Kory. Trying to make sure they were everywhere all the people in their lives wanted them to be and be in those places together proved to be challenging at best. Christmas Eve was a cocktail party out at the All Cocks house. Victor, Andrew and Mattie threw one every year the day before the big day, so anyone that had family they wanted to be with could do both. Jon got along well with everyone, especially Micah, and Kory couldn’t remember the last time he had been as happy as he was that night.
Christmas day was spent at the Brennans’ home where Kory got to redefine the term awkward when Gran gave him a gift bag full of condoms, lube and pamphlets from the local health department describing an alarming amount of different STDs and treatments for them. Kory turned bright red as did Rafe, who was laughing so hard, Kory feared he might stop breathing. Jon took it in stride and turned the tables on his Gran though.
“Aw, thanks Gran. Now we don’t have to stop by the drug store, Babe. I can just take you straight home and fuck you into the mattress.” Kory choked on his eggnog and Rafe literally fell off the couch he was laughing so hard. “Oh, would you look at that Babe, raspberry flavored lube. That will come in handy when I want to…” Jon was cut off by his mother.
“Alright then, who wants coffee?!” Sophia all but shouted at the top of her lungs, turning and glaring at Gran before rushing into the kitchen.
Sal helped Rafe up off the floor. The poor guy was panting and heaving, trying to catch his breath. He sat down on the couch, shoving Sal over out of the way. Sal retaliated, shoving Rafe so hard he almost knocked him back down to the floor. “Cut it out!” Rafe yelled at his brother. Tristan walked past them and smacked them both on the back of the head, but as soon as they finished yelling at him in a language Kory couldn’t decipher, they went right back to shoving each other. Eventually, Jon walked over and squeezed into the tiny space between them, setting down and separating them so they were no longer in arms reach.
“Take my advice Kory, do not have kids.” Shay spoke from his spot on the couch next to Kory.
“Well, it’s not like I can knock him up Da. It doesn’t quite work that way.” Jon quipped.
“Sure as hell not now with that bag full of condoms Gran got him.” Rafe said, still laughing.
“Are you stupid Rafe? Wait, I forgot, you flunked science.”
“Shut up Sal!” Shay, Jon and Tris all three shouted at the oldest Brennan boy.
“Salvatore Brennan, get your ass in here and help me set the table!” Sal’s wife barked from the dining room.
Sal quickly shot up off the couch and headed for the dining room. “Run along now Sallie and help your wifie.” Rafe sang the words as he obviously had numerous times before. Jon smacked Rafe on the leg and told him to knock it off just as Sal bum rushed them and the couch tipped over on its back with three pairs of legs dangling in the air.
Kory gasped and was jumping up when Shay’s hand on his chest stopped him. Shay tapped Kory on his thigh, “Why do you think the couches are in the middle of the room with nothing directly behind them, Kory? Soph and I learned when they were barely teenagers the dangers of things that could break sitting too close to the couch. Leave ‘em be, Tris will stop it, just like he always does.”
And sure enough, Kory looked up and saw Tristan standing over the three idiots that were all laughing like hyenas, shaking his head as he pulled them to their feet, one by one, then sat the couch back upright before heading back to what Kory had dubbed “Tristan’s corner” and picking up the book he was reading. He looked over and met Kory’s eyes, nodding his head once before his attention was back on the book in his hands.
“Idiots! Imbeciles the lot of ya!” Gran yelled at the three brothers in English before going off into a tangent Kory was glad he couldn’t understand. Not for the first time, Kory wondered how long it would take him to learn Italian, and Gaelic so that he cou
ld keep up with all the conversations and ramblings that took place in the Brennan house. Whatever Gran had said whipped them all into shape though. Sal quickly headed toward the dining room and Jon found his place next to Kory, leaving Rafe alone on the couch across from them.
Thankfully, dinner went off with very little drama, compared to the earlier events of the day. Just before they sat down to eat Kory had seen Shay and Gran in a heated discussion in the hallway. He didn’t know what they were talking about, but Gran barely spoke a word while they ate dinner. For that, Kory was grateful, since she always seemed to hone in on him when he was around.
Kory left the Brennan house that night with enough condoms to suit up a football team for a month, lube to spare, a sweater, a new wallet, a hat and scarf set, a copy of “The Catcher in the Rye” and Queer as Folk the US edition, complete series on DVD. The sweater was from Sal and the missus. His future in-laws, as Rafe had put it, got Kory the wallet, hat and scarf. The book was from Tristan and the DVD set from Rafe. Jon’s little brother seemed disappointed when Kory opened his gift and smiled. “Thank you Rafe, my set is worn out and I’ve misplaced a few of the discs. This is perfect.” Kory said with a smile. Rafe just chuckled.