Fire and Rain

by Andrew Grey

  Kip waited for him to say something, but they just continued walking. With each step they took, they seemed to descend further and further into the night, silence pressing tighter around them. When they reached the house, Jos still hadn’t said anything more, and when they went inside, Jos took Isaac right upstairs to put him in bed.

  Isaac had been asleep most of the way, and Jos must have had an easy time putting him down, because he joined Kip in the living room a little while later.

  “I was going to make some tea,” Kip said.

  Jos shook his head. “All I want is for the crap that keeps getting piled on me to stop.”

  “Isaac is yours to care for. Your mother said so in her will. There’s very little your aunt can do.”

  Jos nodded. “But what if she really can take better care of Isaac than I can? From the looks of her and what my mother said, she could give Isaac things I could never afford. And she is our aunt, my mother’s sister. I suppose if she wants to spend time with Isaac, I can’t say no.”

  Kip sighed. “I told you about my mom.” Jos nodded. “After she died, my dad and I went to counseling. He said we were both pretty messed up because of her drinking. I thought we were messed up because of what happened to Adrienne. Dad said no. That was an accident and wasn’t my fault. It was my mother’s drinking that caused it. Anyway, Dad enrolled both of us in counseling, and it helped. I think he realized he was an enabler. One of the things I learned about myself was that children of alcoholic parents are often nurturers. I took care of Adrienne because my mom couldn’t, just like you take care of Isaac.”

  “Is that bad?” Jos asked.

  “No, it’s not. But the other thing is that we always try to make everyone happy. I used to think that if my mom was happy, she wouldn’t need to drink. I was wrong, but it’s what I thought. Is that what you’re doing?”

  Jos shrugged.

  “Did you ever join a group for the families of alcoholics?”

  Jos shook his head but didn’t answer otherwise.

  “I did for a while. I didn’t get a lot out of it at first. But once I opened up, I realized a lot of things, including how much mom’s drinking had affected me and turned me into the person I am. I also saw how I kept trying to make everyone else happy.”

  “Yeah. I guess I do that.” Jos looked up from where he’d been studying his feet. “If people are happy, then maybe they aren’t drinking or they’ll like me.” Jos met his gaze. “So you’re saying I shouldn’t worry about what Aunt Kathy wants?”

  “I’m saying the only people you need to worry about when it comes to you and Isaac is you and Isaac. If you don’t want her visiting, then you can say no.”

  “But what about if she tries to take Isaac away?” Jos shook as he said the words. Kip saw, and he hated the idea of Jos hurting. He’d been through enough already, and just when things were starting to go his way, this happened.

  “We’ll call Donald in the morning. He should be able to help us. The thing is, she can’t just sue for custody. Well, she can, but it isn’t like a regular lawsuit. Family courts are different. With children and custody, there are all kinds of things that have to be done, and she would need to prove a lot to get Isaac.”

  “I need to get a place of my own. A home for Isaac, so I can demonstrate that he has a safe place.”

  “I don’t know.” Kip was about to say that Jos and Isaac had a home right where they were. But he wasn’t sure if that would only push Jos away. Also, Kip wanted Jos to choose to be with him, not move in because he thought he had to in order to keep his brother. If Jos felt he had to get a place of his own, then Kip would help him, no matter how happy he was with the two of them staying with him. “We can ask Donald all your questions in the morning.”

  “Okay.” Jos stood and leaned down, kissing Kip on the lips. Then he left the room, and Kip heard him on the stairs. He sighed and then began turning off the lights and locking up the house. By the time he got upstairs, the door to Isaac’s room was mostly closed. Kip went to his own room and found an empty bed.

  He stared at it and groaned softly. Jos had been staying with him, happily sharing his bed, for the past week. Now it felt to Kip as though something precious and special had been ripped away from him. However, it was Jos’s choice, and Kip wasn’t going to ask or intrude. If Jos needed to be away, then that was his choice and Kip would respect it.

  Kip cleaned up and undressed, getting into bed and turning out the lights. He ended up tossing and turning for a while, then stared up at the ceiling. A soft squeak came from the hallway. Kip figured it was Jos getting up to go to the bathroom. He heard water run and then stop. Finally the door opened and closed. Kip heard the squeak again and rolled away from the door. He had to go to sleep or he’d never make it through his shift.

  “Kip,” Jos said.

  Kip rolled back over and saw Jos standing just inside the door. Kip lifted the blankets, and Jos came over and slid into bed.

  Jos felt good in his arms, and all Kip thought about was how he was going to show Jos how much he wanted him in his bed and in his life. Words fell short, so Kip pushed up the shirt Jos was wearing, tugging until it slipped over his head and off his arms. Then he worked Jos’s shorts off, stroking his warm, smooth chest and belly. He couldn’t seem to get enough, running his hands over Jos’s arms, becoming more and more frantic the more he touched and felt.

  “You’re like an octopus.”

  “I can’t get enough of you, and I could feel you pulling away from me,” Kip said as he continued his explorations. He’d never know what Jos would have said next, because he kissed the words away, and Jos wound his legs around Kip’s waist. Kip licked down Jos’s neck and over his shoulder, sucking lightly on his salty skin, loving when he found one of those spots that made Jos shiver.

  “How come I’m naked and you’re not?” Jos asked. Kip paused in his amorous adventure to tug off his shirt. Jos pressed his hands to his chest, and Kip’s skin pebbled with energy. He’d never experienced anything like it with anyone else. It didn’t seem to matter where Jos touched him—he could raise goose bumps in seconds. Kip managed to clear his mind enough to shimmy out of his briefs and toss them out of the bed. Then he tugged Jos closer, chest to chest, hips to hips, Jos’s cock sliding alongside his. God, he loved that, and he shivered his own excitement when Jos gyrated his hips.

  Jos pressed upward and Kip went with him, letting Jos push him onto his back. Kip liked the way he felt on top of him, and when Jos sucked at his nipple, Kip closed his eyes. Jos lightly scraped his skin with his teeth, and Kip hissed softly as the zing shot straight to his brain and to his dick, which throbbed where it pressed to Jos’s belly.

  He expected Jos to kiss down his belly, but instead he licked across his chest, lifting Kip’s arm over his head. Then he licked down Kip’s side, worrying the spots that sent Kip into orbit. Who knew he had a spot just above his hip that felt so damn good? He hadn’t, but Jos found it and seemed fascinated.

  “Jos,” Kip whined. He actually fucking whined.

  “You have fun spots all over, and I want to find them all,” Jos told him.

  Kip wasn’t sure how many more of those fun spots he could take him finding before the top of his head blasted off. Jos kissed lower, just above his hip. Kip’s leg twitched when Jos licked a spot on the inside of his hip. His cock did a little happy jump, and he wished to hell Jos would shift his attentions. He wasn’t sure how to take all this. It felt strange and wonderful, sort of tingly, all at once. “Dammit,” Kip groaned.

  “What do you want me to do? Suck you?” Jos lifted his face away from Kip’s skin and slowly climbed back up him, making small circles with his hands on Kip’s belly and chest as he went. “Do you want me inside you?” he asked, and Kip felt him shake in his arms.

  “Does that excite you?” Kip asked. “Is that what you want?”

  “Yeah,” Jos breathed. “I want to see you when I fill you up and watch you when you come just from me being inside yo
u.”

  Kip shook for a second and then stilled when what Jos had said kicked in. The way he’d said the words, low and deep, had carried him away, though the words themselves didn’t sink in right away. “You want to….”

  “Yeah,” Jos said. “You’re really sexy, and I want to watch you when I….” Jos paused and started. “Haven’t you ever… bottomed?”

  “A long time ago, and I didn’t like it very much,” Kip admitted. He really didn’t want to think about things like that. “I guess I thought that since….” It was his turn to trail off.

  “You thought since I’m a little smaller than you that I would be the one to bottom and you’d top? I like both.” Jos snuggled closer. “I can make you feel so dang good.”

  Kip chuckled, letting go of his fear. This was Jos. “You can, huh?”

  “Oh, yeah. I’ll fill you up and touch that place down deep that will drive you crazy and have you begging me to never stop.” Jos slid down his body, and Kip didn’t stop him. He wasn’t so sure about being the one to get fucked, but he also wasn’t selfish and wanted to make Jos happy.

  Jos rolled him onto his belly and straddled his legs. Kip felt Jos’s long cock slide along his ass, and then Jos stroked his back, massaging deep, from his shoulders to just above his ass, then back again. Over and over he stroked, and for a second, Kip wondered what had happened. He was the one who was supposed to be comforting Jos and making him feel better.

  He groaned when Jos massaged his ass, working his fingers into his cheeks and then spreading them apart. He moaned shamelessly as Jos came closer and closer to his opening, teasing him with gentle, magic fingers before finally ghosting them over his opening. Kip quivered and reached for the nightstand. He got out some supplies, fumbling, but managed to keep them from tumbling onto the floor.

  Jos got the slick and teased him some more, sliding his fingers around his opening before slowly pressing inside. “What kind of person were you with before?” Jos asked.

  “I was young.” Kip’s answer turned to a groan when Jos curled his finger and rubbed over a spot that sent lightning running to his mind. Kip was well aware of the love button; he’d found it on other guys and had had an amazing time searching for it on occasion, but he’d never had anyone look for his. “So was he,” he managed to add.

  Jos whispered something about new tricks, and Kip would have growled—in fact, he might have; he couldn’t remember, because Jos added a second finger and then pulled away. Kip knew he was getting ready, and soon Jos was right there, cock sheathed, pressing to his entrance. Kip did his best to relax and trust that Jos would make this good for him.

  “I want to see you,” Kip said. He slowly rolled over. Lying on his belly made him feel too far away from Jos. He needed that connection.

  Jos settled between his legs and leaned over him, their lips close together. “You have no idea what this means to me. That you trust me enough to—” Jos swallowed.

  “Of course I trust you,” Kip said, cupping Jos’s cheeks and tugging him into a kiss. As he did, Jos pressed forward and Kip’s body opened to him. He hissed against Jos’s lips, breaking the kiss as the stretch overwhelmed him. Pain brought tears to his eyes for about two seconds, and then Jos slid inside him and it was all Kip could do to catch his breath.

  “Am I hurting you?” Jos asked and stopped.

  “Yes… no…. Don’t you dare stop,” Kip told him as he went through a gamut of sensation in a few seconds. Jos nodded and slid deeper. By the time Jos pressed his hips to Kip’s ass, Kip had never felt so full in his life. Jos held still for a few seconds and then withdrew. “Oh God.”

  “Yeah. In is good, out is amazing,” Jos whispered and stroked up his chest. “I know you want to scream. Hell, I do too, but if we do, we’re going to have a visitor we don’t want at the moment. So you have to be quiet.” Jos actually snickered at him.

  “I’m not the loud one.”

  “You will be by the time I’m done with you.”

  Jos began to move faster. Kip spread his legs farther apart, and Jos shifted a little lower and proved he was right. It took all Kip’s restraint not to scream at the top of his lungs. Jos’s fingers in him had been one thing, but when he scraped over that spot with his cock, it sent Kip into orbit. And he managed to do it again and again.

  Within minutes Kip was gasping for air and riding the edge of control. He felt like a teenager again, and it was all because of Jos. Kip stroked himself a few times and then released his dick because if he didn’t, it would all be over in seconds, and he wanted this to last.

  Jos seemed to have other ideas. In addition to the fucking driving him crazy, Jos’s hands were busy finding more and more ways to touch him to blow his mind.

  “Are you trying to tickle me?” Kip growled and stilled Jos’s hands.

  “No. That’s one of your spots, right above your belly button.” Jos stroked him there, making little circles, and Kip wasn’t sure if he should laugh, groan, or come. He’d have to ask Jos how he knew all this, but for right now he was too far gone to think about it.

  “Jos,” Kip moaned. He tried to remain in control of his own body, but it wasn’t working. Jos was taking care of him and sending him over the moon. Kip bit the inside of his lip as he tried not to scream. He was so close, right there. If Jos gave him just a little bit more, he’d tumble into the abyss, but Jos held him on the knife-edge until his thrusts became ragged, then he picked up the pace, and Kip lost it. He closed his eyes and did everything to keep from flying apart. Kip swore he was flying when his climax slammed into him, and he held on for dear, delicious life. He felt Jos coming as well, but he was so far gone it was on the edge of his awareness.

  When Jos lay on top of him, Kip squeezed him close. “You’re amazing,” Kip breathed once he was able to speak.

  “So are you, honey,” Jos told him, breathing deeply and settling against him. It was wonderful, the two of them in the darkness, no sound other than their breathing, and nothing at all between them. “I think we need to clean up or we’ll be stuck together.”

  “No one I’d rather be stuck to,” Kip breathed, not wanting to move at all. Once their bodies separated, Jos slowly got off the bed and tugged Kip to his feet. They ended up in the shower in the near dark, groping and holding each other up as the warm water coursed over them. Kip didn’t want to open his eyes and simply held Jos until the water went cold. The nightlight he kept in the bathroom was enough light for them to dry each other and hang up the towels. Then, to be safe, they both pulled on shorts and got back into bed.

  Jos snuggled close, his butt and back pressed to Kip. “Thank you,” Jos whispered.

  “For what?”

  “Giving me what I needed.” Jos rolled over. “I know you’re strong and big and sexy. You’re used to being in control, but tonight I needed that more than you can possibly know, and you gave me that.”

  Kip swallowed hard and pulled Jos close, holding him without saying anything. He didn’t want to burst his bubble, but all he had wanted was to make Jos happy. Sometimes things just worked out. “Go to sleep,” Kip whispered, and Jos rolled back over. Kip spooned against him and closed his eyes. Within minutes he was asleep.

  A clap of thunder woke him in the middle of the night. Kip snuggled deeper under the covers and closed his eyes once again. He loved storms and listening to the rain. After a few minutes, however, the door opened. “Jos, Spistachio is scared.”

  He didn’t even answer before Isaac ran around to the other side of the bed and climbed in next to Jos, who shifted away from Kip slightly.

  “It’s okay. Just a little thunder and lightning. It won’t last too long,” Jos said, and Kip heard Isaac whisper something about God being mad. Jos soothed him, and eventually Isaac settled back to sleep.

  For a while, as Kip dozed off once again, he was able to imagine that he was part of a family once again. Of course, just like the one he’d had and lost piece by piece, he knew he needed to make the most of what he had before s
omething happened and he lost Jos and Isaac as well. That seemed to be the way of things for him: people left, and he tended to end up alone, like it or not.

  Chapter 6

  THE FOLLOWING day Jos’s Aunt Kathy contacted him, and Jos brought Isaac over to the bed-and-breakfast before his shift at work. She was his only living relative, and Jos thought Isaac should get to know her a little. Jos was very wary around her, and when she asked questions about how he’d been living and if he needed any help, he gave vague answers. When she asked if she could help, Jos told her that he had a lot of support and that he was currently looking for a place of his own. What he felt he really needed was some money to help him until he got paid and so he could contribute at Kip’s, but he’d be damned if he would ask her for anything. So he kept quiet and let Isaac be Isaac.

  “What’s your bear’s name?” Aunt Kathy asked.

  “This is Weeble,” Isaac said, holding up the worn animal. “And this is Spistachio. Uncle Kip got him for me. I said I wanted a real horse, and he got me one.” Isaac hugged him tight. “I know this isn’t a real real horse. But it’s better than a Lego horse.” That seemed to settle things for Isaac, and he ran Pistachio around the room, making galloping and neighing noises.

  “Do you like where you live?” his aunt asked Isaac, and Jos stiffened slightly.

  “Yes. It’s really nice, and I have a big room with a big-boy bed all my own.” Isaac returned to playing, and Jos breathed with relief that Isaac didn’t add information about where Jos had been sleeping. He wasn’t ashamed that he was gay or that he was sleeping with Kip. That was the best thing to come out of this whole mess that he’d made of their lives. But he didn’t want to give his aunt any additional ammunition if she truly decided to try to make trouble.