by Diane Adams
"Seven o'clock, and so if you still want to stop somewhere before we go to the restaurant, we need to leave."
"Okay." With a last nervous look in the mirror Alex took a deep breath and left the bathroom. Jared looked up from tying his shoes and his eyes lit up at the sight of him. His stomach did a slow roll at the desire in Jared's eyes. If Jared's plans didn't seem so important to him Alex wouldn't let him out of the apartment. He ached for the feel of Jared's weight on him, the heat and the burn of Jared pressing inside. Jared's hands, his mouth, acres of naked skin. A trickle of sweat traced his spine, and he realized with a start he was staring at Jared's mouth.
Said mouth quirked into a knowing smile.
"Tonight." With the single word promise, Jared got to his feet and the sight of his strong, tall body clad in a perfectly tailored gray suit took his breath.
Alex took a step towards him and had to gather every drop of willpower he possessed to keep from taking another. If he touched him they wouldn't make their reservation, much less have time for the side trip he'd planned.
Instead of jumping Jared's bones, Alex looked him over with an air of consideration. "Pink tie, seriously?"
Jared looked down at the pastel tie hanging against his white shirt and grinned. "I like it."
Alex cocked a brow. "People will think you're gay."
Jared grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the door. "I think the way I drool over you is more likely to give that away than the pink tie. Let's go."
Alex followed willingly, his fingers entwined with Jared's. He admired the way Jared's hair caught the light, gleaming with dark red highlights. His suit coat hung perfectly from his broad shoulders, narrowing at his waist. It covered his butt, leaving Alex only his imagination to supply the way the pants accentuated Jared's tight ass. The mental image sent a spiral of heat curling up his spine, and he wondered if they'd make it through the night.
Alex slowed the Camaro, ignoring the questioning look Jared gave him. He didn't want to miss his turn in the dark. The lights glinted off a blue and white "for sale" sign ahead and he slowed a little more. The new addition to the sign gave him a twinge of excited anxiety. Under Contract. He wondered what Jared would think about what he'd done. He hadn't finalized the contract and could back out if his decision about the house turned out stupid as well as impulsive. He'd have to pay a fee if they didn't go through with the purchase, but he considered the effort to do something for Jared worth the risk.
The car bumped along the uneven driveway, splashing through muddy puddles of melting snow. The house came into view, but in the dark the headlights did little but sweep across it, before leaving it cast in shadow.
"Alex?" Jared tossed him a curious look and leaned to get a better look out the Camaro's window. "Where are we? What's going on?"
Instead of answering, Alex reached inside his pocket and touched the button on the small remote control he'd tucked there before they left home. The spotlights Clark and his boys had installed in the front yard at Alex's request came to life, illuminating the old house. Jared didn't say anything. He climbed out of the car. Alex gathered his courage and went to join him.
They stood shoulder to shoulder beside the sports car, looking at the house, the lights behind them casting their shadows as giants ahead of them.
"It's for you," Alex made himself say. "Jared, I think we have to move forward, not just redo stuff the same way we did the first time. Do you like it?"
Jared's hand closed on his fingers, clenching tight enough to hurt. "White. We'll paint it white, with blue shutters and a blue metal roof." He turned and his expression held quiet joy and excitement. "Can we go inside?"
Glad he'd had the foresight to get the key from the realtor, Alex nodded. Jared's eyes brightened and he tugged him towards the house. He paused on the steps and bounced. They gave a little.
"I'll have to rebuild the porch." Alex bit back a laugh at how eager he sounded at the prospect. Jared fidgeted impatiently while he unlocked the door. He touched the peeling paint on it. “And a blue door.”
"Welcome home, Jared," he said as the door finally swung open and they paused together in the entryway. He flipped the switch on the wall and the overhead light came on, revealing a staircase to the right and a huge living room opening off to the left. From previous visits, Alex knew that on the right beyond the stairs, was a bathroom, and the door at the end of the hall opened into the kitchen-dining room that took up the whole back of the house.
Jared made his way through the house, his hand holding Alex's tightly, never letting him get more than a step or two away. Alex relaxed in the face of his obvious pleasure. Making no effort to suppress his grin of delighted amusement, he followed Jared from room to room, listening to his ideas for renovations spill out so quickly his tongue stumbled over them. Save the original wooden floors and the molding, take out this wall, and open that space.
"It's going to be awesome." Jared opened the back door and looked outside. "There's no back porch, just some concrete steps. We'll want a deck, which will be an easy fix."
"For cookouts and hanging out," Alex agreed, looking over Jared's shoulder. "There are a lot of trees."
The light spilled out into the yard, making it impossible to miss the huge oak at the corner, but there were even bigger trees scattered around the backyard. Alex could see at least three and shadows beyond hinted at more. He wrapped his arms around Jared's waist, resting his chin on his shoulder. He gave into the urge to kiss the soft skin behind Jared's ear, leaned into him and breathed his scent. Surprised when Jared leaned forward, he stepped back, frowning, dismayed by Jared's lack of response.
"You know what I think…" Jared whirled around, his eyes lit with excitement. He closed the door and raced out of the kitchen. "Come on!"
Alex watched him go, his feelings a tangled, confused mess. With a sigh, he gave up on feeling annoyed. After all, Jared's reaction surpassed his wildest dreams. He heard Jared's feet on the stairs and then a few minutes later his voice carried back to Alex.
"What are you doing down there? Come and see. I was right!"
He laughed and turned off the kitchen lights on his way to join Jared upstairs. He found him in the dark master bedroom.
"No, wait," Jared said. Alex paused, his hand on the light switch. "If you turn on the light you won't be able to see."
"Which makes so much sense," he teased.
"Come here." Jared held out his hand in the dim light. He could barely make out the ghostly white shape in the dark. Feeling a little bemused, he moved forward and took his hand. Jared pulled Alex to him, turning them so he could see out the window. "If you turn on the light you'll only see our reflection." He wrapped his arms around Alex's waist from behind, much as Alex had done to him downstairs.
Alex sighed and leaned into him.
"Do you see?" Jared's quiet voice brushed his ear, little more than a breath. A breath he felt down to his toes, with plenty of tingles in all the important places between.
He'd let his eyes slide closed, basking in the peace of the moment. He opened them reluctantly. He looked out the window and straight into the dark branches of the tree outside it. “It’s a tree.”
"This one, too." Jared moved him to look out the window on the other wall. The light from the front of the house reached the side better than the back and Alex could make out more detail of the branches overhanging the house. "Can you imagine what the light will be like in here in the summer when it's all green leaves and sunshine?"
"Is that good for the house?" He frowned, leaning towards the window but Jared spun him around until they faced one another.
"Who cares? We can sleep under our tree every night. Don't worry about the house, I'll take care of it."
Alex grinned. Jared's enthusiasm was contagious. He touched Jared's face. "Our first kiss was under a tree like that one." The memory eased his grin into a quiet smile.
The tenderness in Jared's expression warmed his heart. "Well, the first time I kisse
d you."
Alex pushed playfully at his shoulder. "The other one doesn't count." The familiar banter felt nice, easy, like a fresh drink of water after a long run.
"You always say that first one doesn't count." Jared sounded thoughtful. He rested one hand on Alex's hip and the other cupped his neck, thumb caressing the line of his jaw. Jared slid his fingers into the curls at the nape of Alex's neck and he shivered under his touch, his eyes sliding half-closed.
"It doesn't. I pretty much attacked you. A kiss only counts if you want it."
"Ah, well, not wanting your kisses was never my problem." Jared's smooth voice fell on his ears as gently as the caress of his fingers on the back of his neck. "I never told you?"
"How much you like to kiss me?" Alex huffed a laugh and leaned forward, hoping Jared would take the hint, but other than trace his bottom lip with his rough thumb Jared didn't give in. "You've let me know once or twice."
"Not that I like kissing you, what that specific kiss meant. I must have told you."
Puzzled, Alex shook his head. "If you did, I don't remember."
Jared shifted his hold on Alex's hip, pulled him closer. He let their lips touch and he breathed a soft moan into Alex's mouth. "You'd remember."
"Then tell me." The feel of Jared's body, the smell of his cologne, made his knees weak and lessened his interest in the conversation considerably.
"That kiss was the beginning."
He pulled back a little to squint at Jared in the dark. "Beginning? Of what?"
"Of everything. That kiss showed me what I was waiting for."
"Oh."
Their lips touched, and Alex's parted eagerly under the press of his tongue. Jared's fingers tightened on his hip and against his scalp as their tongues met in the heated dark, tangling and sliding wetly together. Alex pushed closer, clutching Jared's shoulders. His blood raced through his veins, and his ears buzzed. Jared pulled back to look into his eyes.
"Is it always like this?" Alex asked in an echo of his words so many years ago.
Jared's touch on his face felt reverent. "Haven't you learned yet? It's never like this."
Alex stared at him wide-eyed. "We aren't normal at all, are we?"
"Do you want normal?" He sounded amused but Alex couldn't think as Jared touched his face, read the shape of it with his fingertips, mapping eyes, nose, and mouth, seeming to memorize the curve of his chin, the cut of his jaw, the shape of his ears.
"Not normal. You. I just want you." Alex arched his neck into his touch.
Jared leaned forward, his lips brushed Alex's ear. "I want you, too. I want you right here, in our new room, under the tree, in the cold. On your knees. Begging." Without Alex being aware of it, he'd slipped one hand under Alex's jacket and pulled his shirt free from his pants. His fingers slid against the small of Alex's back, his touch a hot brand against his skin.
"Oh, God, Jared." Alex crushed their mouths together, scrabbling with his tie, which proved as resistant to coming off as it had to going on in the first place.
Jared plundered his mouth with his tongue and his strong fingers brushed Alex's away from the tie. He deftly loosened it and then his own.
"Are you sure?" he questioned, opening the buttons of Alex's shirt without waiting for an answer.
Alex shrugged out of his coat. "Yes, Jared. Yes and yes. Now would you shut up?"
Naked, they found the pile of their discarded clothing padding enough. They played, roaming hands chased by teasing mouths. Despite the chilly air, sweat slicked their bodies as they moved together, neither satisfied if a hint of space remained between them. Alex cried out at the hot brush of Jared's lips against his belly, arching up into the teasing caress of Jared's teeth against too prominent hipbones. He pulled away when a damp kiss brushed the head of his cock, Jared's tongue snaking out to lap up the pre-cum leaking from it.
"Yes," he gasped, his actions a direct contrast to his words. "No. Jared." Alex quaked under Jared, his breathing ragged as he struggled for control.
Jared stroked his side along his ribs with a gentle touch. Alex knew he meant the caress to be soothing but it fanned the flames and he sucked in a sharp breath, pulling away from the overwhelming touch.
"Alex?" Concern colored Jared's voice.
"No. Wait. I'm okay… I'm not going to last, Jared, and I want…"Alex panted, unable to find the words to express exactly what he wanted but it didn't matter because Jared always knew.
"I want it, too," Jared promised against his mouth and he found himself being turned over, their best suit coats padding under his hands and knees. He rocked his ass eagerly back against Jared at the feel of a wet cock head brushing against his backside. Jared dug through their wallets for a stray packet of lube.
"Yes," Alex groaned continuing to rock back against Jared’s engorged sex. "Yes, yes, yes… Jared, please…"
When he pressed inside, Alex shuddered with the intensity of the sudden, hot burn attempting to override the pleasure. In his needy haste he'd forgotten he and Jared hadn't been together like this since before the fire. He was no longer accustomed to the once familiar invasion of Jared's dick. He moaned and reached back, clutched Jared's thigh in a bruising grip.
Jared froze, crouched over him, breathing short, labored breaths. "Okay?" he demanded. His fingers dug into Alex's hips, his body shook with the effort of his restraint. Alex felt his sweat dripping onto his back.
Concentrating on breathing, Alex unclenched his muscles. He moved, his hips a slow slide on the flesh impaling him. "Yeah. Slow." He leaned forward on his elbows, lifting his ass higher, dropping his head down to rest on his hands. He hissed quietly when Jared pulled back, but the burn eased and the promise of gratification emerged. Jared pushed forward and the head of his cock prodded his prostate. Alex cried out, shifting his hips, meeting Jared's movement with his own. The rhythm of loving one another returned as their bodies remembered the motion and the pleasure, everything that made their coming together magic.
"Faster," Alex panted. Jared bent over his back, driving into his body with a steady pace. "Yeah, like that, but faster… harder… oh, God…"
His cock had softened from the pain of entry, but it refilled so fast Alex felt light-headed. He didn't remember getting hard that quickly as a teenager, much less being brought to the brink of climax without being touched. He'd come that way a few times over the years, but only after Jared had teased him to within an inch of his sanity.
Jared drove into his ass with a harsh gasp. "Fuck." Jared's hips stuttered and his back arched with the unexpected force of his release.
With a sharp cry, Alex came with him, shooting long strings of cum over the clothes under him. Jared leaned over his bowed back, fusing them from hips to shoulders.
His lips felt cool against Alex's temple. "We made one hell of a mess." He slipped his softening cock gently out of Alex.
Feeling Jared's cum leak down the inside of his thigh Alex couldn't argue. He laughed instead. They collapsed onto their wet clothes.
"I don't think we're going to be on time for your reservations." He pressed closer to Jared, nosing under his chin and trying to care. "I'm sorry. I didn't expect… well…" He motioned weakly between them. The sweat on his skin cooled and he snuggled closer realizing for the first time exactly how hard the floor felt. "Oh God, I'm going to have bruises on my knees. How embarrassing is that?"
"Worse than carpet burn?" Jared teased, wrapping him closer in a warm hug.
"Much." Jared's laugh at his response rumbled in his chest under Alex's ear. "Jerk."
"You weren't complaining a few minutes ago." Jared nibbled his ear. "You know, I'm hungry."
"Well, you can't eat me," Alex laughed, shoving his mouth away. "But, now that you mention it, I could eat something."
Neither of them moved.
Alex thought he could stay right there forever except the floor hurt his hipbone and the cold had goose bumps standing up all over him, even the parts pressed against Jared. Disappointment warred wit
h relief when Jared shifted away.
"Greasy Dog? I don't think where I made the reservations would let us in even if we were on time."
"I don't see why not, I still have my tie." Alex groped under his ass. "Somewhere. How about Leo's? I don't think I'm up to a herd of teenagers and a pound of grease tonight."
Jared sat up. "Whatever we do, we need to get out of here before we freeze. By the way, a house is an extreme Valentine's present. Are you sure about this? You don't want to design a new one?"
They searched through their clothes, trying to figure out what they had left fit to wear. It turned out the T-shirts had gotten off lightly and their pants were okay, but their shirts and coats were beyond redemption. They used their underwear to clean up as well as possible.
"You get to take this stuff to the cleaners," Alex muttered with a grimace. "Anyhow, I tried to start a new floor plan, but you already built a house for us once. I couldn't get started. Then I found this place. I figure this time around our home can be your hobby." He pulled his head through the neck of his shirt and came out grinning. "I started a design for a new workshop instead of a house. A place we can share."
"Share?" Jared looked up from turning his pants right side out. "Your state of the art design computers and my sawdust?"
Alex grinned. "Trust me. I have an idea."
"I guess I have no choice, Mr Genius Designer. Go for it." He looked around the dark room. "So, it's really ours?"
"Well, close enough. I paid a holding fee, but I wouldn't sign the contract without you." Alex slipped barefoot into his shoes since he could only find one sock. "The realtor isn't all that happy with me. She said it'd make things complicated when we break up if the place is in both our names."