Skipping Stones

by D. J. Manly

  "You should have just done it," Mark said, reaching up and pulling Leo down on top of him. He kissed him deeply.

  Leo enjoyed the kiss but it didn't thrill him like he wanted it to. Damn Mark. Maybe it wasn't thrilling Mark either because he drew back and looked at him. "Suck my cock, crazy boy."

  Leo laughed and kissed a trail down his chest to his stomach. He licked his balls and then took the head of his cock in his mouth. Mark didn't take long to come and Leo was somewhat relieved. The electricity wasn't there, even if what they were doing to each other felt fantastic.

  "I have lube and condoms up in my room," Mark said, pulling Leo up into his arms after he'd come. "Do you want to fuck me?"

  "Yeah," Leo said. It was no lie, but down deep, any ass would have done. He hadn't had sex for quite some time, and he longed for the feeling. He would have preferred it if Mark would have wanted to fuck him, but as they wrapped towels around themselves and hightailed it upstairs, Leo realized they were both primarily bottoms, Mark more than him.

  "You ever fucked anyone?" Leo asked him as he began to lube Mark's ass.

  Mark squirmed a little. "No. Reed was my first and he's a top all the way. I always wanted to be fucked and I love it. I love the feeling of being taken, possessed by cock. Oh shit, Leo," he said suddenly, "you're not a top, are you?"

  "I'm versatile." He grinned, positioning himself between Mark's thighs. "I've been the top before but it's not my preference."

  "But can you get the job done?" Mark teased, wiggling his ass suggestively.

  "No worries there." Leo winked at him and dipped the head of his cock into his ass, pushing deeper and deeper until he felt Mark's tunnel embrace his shaft all the way.

  "Okay, crazy boy"--Mark grunted--"show me what you got, cowboy."

  Leo threw back his head and began to move his hips, slapping his balls against his best friend's ass until they were both shouting out their release.

  As Leo collapsed into Mark's arms, they both laughed. He couldn't help thinking that Reed must have heard all of that. Where in the fuck was he anyway? Did he leave the house? Was he lurking around, spying on them. Somehow I don't think that's Reed's style.

  "That was great," Mark said, his chest heaving. "Hey, what 'cha thinking about? You sure seem far away."

  "Nothing." He turned his head on the pillow and gave him a smile.

  "Sleep in here with me tonight, okay?"

  "Mark?" He sat up, looked at him.

  "Um," he said sleepily, one eye open.

  "You're not going to get weird on me now, right? We're not going to be weird, you know, our friendship...and..."

  "Don't worry, Leo. I know there was no magic for either one of us, but it sure felt good. There's no harm in making each other feel good, is there? We don't have to be madly in love even though I know we do love each other like brothers. Is that a problem?"

  "No." He grinned, relieved that Mark had come away with the same feeling he had. "No problem at all."

  * * * *

  It was fun waking up beside Leo, like old times really. They used to have a lot of sleepover nights when they were in high school, and they roomed together in college. They'd shared a bed more than once.

  "Now, who's sleeping alone?" he taunted to the air as he climbed out of bed. Maybe, just maybe, Reed might think twice about leaving for good now.

  He threw on his robe and went into the bathroom, making sure to leave the bedroom door open. If Reed walked by the door and saw Leo sleeping in his bed he'd just have to deal with it, wouldn't he?

  "Mark," Leo called out, "who are you talking to?"

  Shit. He hadn't realized that he was talking aloud. Reed, you make me nuts. "No one," he came out of the bathroom, running a brush through his hair. "I could eat a horse. How about I make us a nice breakfast?"

  "Sounds great." Leo yawned. "Got something for me to do today?"

  "Some of the cabins need painting, just to freshen up the walls. You may need to repair a few cracks. Feel like it?"

  "No problem. I think I'd like to try my hand at painting later today."

  "Oh, Leo"--he grinned, jumping on the bed and hugging him--"you feel inspired again? Did I do that?"

  He grinned and ruffled Mark's hair but he didn't actually answer.

  * * * *

  It hadn't been Mark's lovemaking that had inspired Leo. It was a dream he'd had last night, an erotic dream. He was making love to a beautiful body. He never did see the face. God, it was so erotic. Beautiful gentle hands brought him to orgasm again and again. He woke up with the taste to paint.

  After his shower, Leo came downstairs to find Mark preparing breakfast. Reed sat at the table with coffee and a newspaper. He didn't look up when Leo walked in.

  "Mark, I want to thank you for talking to my little sister yesterday."

  "No problem," he said, placing bacon on some paper towel. "She's welcome to come here any time to visit. She's young and in love." He sighed. "I remember that feeling."

  "My parents can be really narrow-minded. She told me the guy had an earring and they're freaking. Now you know how they freaked when they learned I was gay."

  Mark handed him the bacon. "I remember. Put it on the table, babe. Eggs are coming. Reed, you want eggs?"

  "No thanks," he said. "I'm not hungry."

  "Not good to skip breakfast," Mark scolded him, then started to whistle.

  Leo helped to set the table, glancing at Reed every once in awhile. "You going to take your nose out of that paper long enough to say hello?" Leo probed, trying to sound chipper.

  Reed lowered the paper. "Hello," he said and then he raised it again and went back to reading.

  "Come on, Reed." Leo reached over and snatched the paper out of his hand.

  He narrowed his eyes. "Give me the paper back please."

  "No." Leo popped some bacon into his mouth and picked up the paper. He squished it up and sat on it. "Have some bacon and I will."

  Reed tilted his head. "I don't eat bacon. So, give me back the paper, please."

  Leo met his gaze. "What could possibly be so interesting in that paper?"

  "Maybe if you read it once in awhile, you'd know."

  "Oooh," Mark said and started to laugh. "There's a war going on." He put down the plates of egg and toast and fried potatoes. "Does anyone want..." He began as Leo picked up a piece of scrambled egg and threw it at Reed. It hit him smack in the face.

  Mark gasped. Reed slowly removed the egg from his face and Leo started to laugh. Reed stood and Leo stopped laughing. "Oh shit," he muttered, jumping up from the chair as Reed went after him.

  "Guys! The breakfast." Mark groaned, but the words were lost as Leo burst through the front door with Reed on his heels.

  "You little shit," Reed called out behind him and Leo ran faster.

  He was laughing so hard suddenly that he could no longer run. He got to the shed and ran around to the back. Reed chased him there. Leo ran around to the front and Reed was there. There was no escaping him, so Leo ducked into the shed, holding up his hands. "I surrender," he told him, laughing. "You win."

  "What do I win?" he drawled, moving closer.

  The laughter died in Leo's throat. Reed was too close. He moved back until he was pressed against the aluminum wall. "What are you doing?"

  "Why did you do that?"

  "Throw the egg at you?" Leo asked breathlessly. "It was for fun, that's all."

  "If you want my attention, there are better ways of getting it. So, answer my question, that's the reason you threw the egg at me, right?"

  "It was a joke, that's all," Leo breathed.

  Reed planted his hands on either side of Leo, his eyes searching his. "What do you want from me, Leo?"

  "Nothing. I...what do you mean, what do I want?" His pulse raced, and damn his cock...he could feel it twitching in his pants. He licked his lips. Helpless. That's what he felt looking into Reed's eyes, totally helpless.

  "Last night you fucked Mark. You spent the entire night in his
bed. So, what could you possibly need me for, unless you want to compare?"

  Leo found the strength to give him an angry shove. It pushed Reed back enough to allow Leo to escape from the wall. "I don't want anything from you. You are one arrogant asshole."

  "Mark is using you to get to me. He thinks I'll be jealous if he sleeps with you, and that I'll change my mind about leaving. I know him."

  "Well, I know him, too, and last night had nothing to do with you, Reed."

  He folded his arms across his chest, barred his path. "If you're in love with Mark, you're going to get burned."

  "You are so damn full of yourself," Leo threw at him. "Get out of my way."

  "Kiss me," he demanded.

  "What?"

  "Kiss me." He seized hold of Leo and dragged him up to his chest. He looked down into his eyes again. "Leo, Christ, kiss me."

  "You've lost your--"

  Reed's mouth took absolute command of his, cutting off his words. The kiss was all encompassing, hot, yet tender, Reed's tongue curving succulently around his. Leo felt Reed's passion in the pit of his groin and right through to the end of his cock. Electrifying, that's what it was. Electrifying and downright decadent.

  Leo clung to him, his fingers digging into the muscular flesh of his biceps.

  Suddenly, Reed released him, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. His dark hair fell across his forehead. His eyes were stormy, filled with some emotion Leo had never seen before. Leo licked his lips. He wasn't sure what to say. He didn't know why this had even happened. And all he was left with was the taste of Reed on his mouth.

  "What the fuck?" Leo hissed, narrowing his eyes.

  "Yeah," Reed sneered, "what the fuck."

  Leo reached out and grabbed his arm. "Don't go," he urged.

  Reed paused, narrowed his eyes.

  "I need an explanation."

  "No you don't," he pulled his arm away and walked outside.

  Leo followed. "Yes, I fucking well do. What in hell is going on between you and Mark? Mark was right. You want to fuck every guy in sight. You..."

  He glared at him. "So that's why I kissed you, right? I want to fuck you?"

  "It's a contest between you and Mark."

  "You're right, there is a contest, Leo, but it's not the one you think."

  "Mark uses me to get to you. And you use me to get to him."

  He sighed. "Whatever."

  "That's it, isn't it? You want to fuck me to get back at Mark for...I'm not playing this game, Reed."

  Reed shook his head. "You got it all wrong."

  "Well then, what was that in the shed?"

  "A kiss, if I remember right. It's been awhile."

  "Well, it was a more than that."

  "Glad you think so," he muttered. "I won't do it again." He walked off in the direction of the house.

  Leo threw up his hands in frustration and screamed at the sky. "That man drives me fucking crazy!"

  * * * *

  Mark stood in the doorway, watching Leo approach. "What are you doing?" he called out. Leo resembled some sort of a mad man doing a rain dance.

  "Nothing," he growled, marching up the steps. "Nothing at all."

  "Reed just walked in here with the biggest scowl on his face, muttering to himself. He didn't knock you one, did he, for throwing egg at him...and what was that all about anyway?"

  "It was just a joke, okay? A joke to lighten things up. I didn't know he was going to chase me into the shed and--"

  "Chase you into the shed and what?" Mark searched his face.

  "Nothing, okay. He freaked out on me, that's all. Reed takes everything too damn seriously."

  "Well, make nice, will you? Adrian is coming to dinner."

  "The writer?"

  "Yeah."

  "I'll behave if Reed will."

  Mark saw a little smile appear on Leo's face as he walked into the house. What in hell happened in the shed anyway?

  Mark walked up the stairs. He heard the treadmill going. Reed was in the spare room where he'd slept since coming home, and was running.

  Mark walked down the hallway and into the room. He watched him for a moment, all those gleaming muscles. He ran hard, sweat streaming down his face and his chest. A bottle of water sat on the side of the machine and he had on headphones.

  Mark pulled the plug out of the iPod, causing Reed to look up. "What did you do that for?" he demanded, slowing down the machine to a walking pace.

  "You're in a bad mood."

  Reed didn't comment.

  "Your door was unlocked. I'm shocked."

  "Go be shocked somewhere else."

  Mark stood in front of the machine. Reed kept walking. He lifted up the plastic bottle and drank deeply, water running down his chin. He wiped it away. He was such a beautiful man, it made his cock ache just looking at him. And he'd never been his. Even that short while after Clifford had died, when Reed had cried in his arms, even then, his heart was somewhere else.

  "What did you do to Leo in the shed?"

  He sighed. "Jesus Christ, Mark. I didn't do anything to Leo in the shed."

  "That's not an answer. Don't even think about fucking Leo, okay?" He pointed at him. "I'll kill you, I swear."

  Reed shut the machine down and stepped off. He wiped his face with a towel. "Is that what Leo told you?"

  "Leo didn't tell me anything, but he was upset."

  "Was he?" He lifted an eyebrow. "Well, nothing happened. Have you given any more thought to what we talked about?"

  "You never should have given me a share of this place, Reed. I'll never let this happen."

  "Well, then fucking take it all," he exploded. "I'll give it to you. You're not holding me hostage here, Mark."

  "That's not what I want, and you know it." Mark came closer, touched his forearm. "I love you, Reed. I don't understand why you can't forgive me. It wasn't my fault. It was an accident."

  "You lied to me, Mark. You deceived me. And as a result, someone died."

  "I was desperate." He lowered his head. "You left me no choice."

  "You just wouldn't let go." He shook his head.

  "It's not that I wouldn't, I couldn't. There's a difference."

  "Spare me. It's all a game to you."

  "I promise," Mark pleaded as Reed moved his arm away, "no more games."

  "You're still playing games," Reed insisted. "Like last night in the pool with Leo."

  "I won't do it anymore, I promise. But what in fuck was that in the shed?" he insisted.

  "I told you, absolutely nothing," Reed said. "Not that it has anything to do with you. I am not your possession, Mark. I don't belong to you. We are not together. And we're not going to be together, ever. Give it up."

  "Promise me." Mark swallowed hard. "Promise me, Reed, that you won't fuck Leo. I couldn't stand it if you did."

  "Leo has no interest in me, so don't worry, okay?"

  "And you, do you have any interest in him?" He waited for the answer, scarcely daring to breath.

  "It's a redundant question," he said after a few minutes. "Now, who's coming for dinner?"

  "Adrian. I found out something interesting about him today."

  "Oh yeah, what's that?" Reed asked absently.

  Mark knew Reed was indulging him. Reed usually didn't care too much for gossip.

  "He's just come out of the closet. The reason for his latest divorce was because he got caught with a man."

  "He's just another statistic. There are a lot of cases like that with men of that age. What is he, forty?"

  "About. Good-looking, don't you think?"

  Reed nodded. "Yes."

  "If you're going to fuck anyone while you're here, do the writer and stay away from Leo, okay? Leo had it hard with Pierre. He fell for a married man."

  "Pierre?"

  "Yeah, it's the reason he's here. Got stuck in Paris with no money. He's still recovering from the heartache."

  "I see. And it's over?"

  "Who knows? I suppose."

/>   "Your concern for Leo is touching, but Mark..." He shook his head. "I told you, nothing is going on between Leo and me. Just leave it like that. And you don't need to throw me at Adrian White."

  "Wouldn't dream of it." Mark sighed and headed to the door.

  "And our discussion is not over, Mark. If we can't resolve it between ourselves, we'll have to bring in a lawyer. I really don't want to do that."

  Mark stiffened. "That's low."

  "Like you said, Mark, one does a lot of things when one is desperate."

  Mark slammed the door behind him and yelled, "You won't get out that easy."

  * * * *

  Leo stood in his room quietly. He shouldn't have been listening to the discussion. Most of it he couldn't hear anyway, but he caught a couple of things. Mark's voice was loud when he demanded to know what had happened in the shed. Reed didn't tell him about the kiss. He heard the word lawyer and Mark's threat just after he'd slammed the door.

  Leo walked out into the hallway as Mark got to his door. "Hey."

  "Hey," Mark said.

  "The writer is coming at what time?"

  "Around seven."

  "Do you think he'll stay late?"

  "I don't know. Why?"

  "I wanted to paint today and I still haven't--"

  "You can always excuse yourself to paint."

  "I'll be polite. So, what are we having?"

  "Chicken. Oh, and come downstairs and I'll tell you the latest news about Adrian. You won't believe what he told me."

  "Okay." He laughed. "Juicy?"

  "Oh yeah." Mark put an arm around his shoulders and they walked downstairs together.

  * * * *

  Leo helped Mark set the table. Reed came down just before Adrian arrived in a nice pair of black dress pants and a silky blue shirt. He entertained Adrian while Leo helped Mark put things on the table.

  It wasn't hard to see that Adrian was impressed by Reed. Reed knew a lot about literature, and even Leo was amazed at all the books he'd read. And it wasn't only Reed's brain that Adrian noticed. That, too, wasn't hard to see. And for some annoying reason, Mark seemed to be encouraging Adrian in his carnal interest.

  The conversation got off of books and naturally turned to sex. Mark started it all off by saying, "So, how many times have you been in a room with three gay men, especially as hot as we are?" It was a joke and Mark laughed, poking Leo, who feigned laughter as well.