Snow on the Roof

by Sean Ashcroft

  Or maybe that was just wishful thinking, so that he’d be even remotely age-appropriate for Sunny.

  Grant would have liked that more than he was entirely willing to admit.

  “You’ve got a little snow on the roof,” Sunny said, nodding to Grant’s hair and smiling a tiny, impish smile. “But there’s still plenty of life inside,” he added, tapping lightly on Grant’s chest, right where his heart was.

  Grant swallowed again, his heartbeat speeding up.

  Did he have butterflies?

  He did.

  That hadn’t happened in a long time.

  And Sunny was the one making it happen, and that…

  It was nice, but he couldn’t let it. No matter how much he wanted it. No matter how good it felt.

  Dammit.

  He wanted Sunny like he’d never wanted anyone, and it wasn’t because Sunny was young and beautiful, or because he had a little power over him, or anything like that.

  He wanted Sunny because he was Sunny, because he would have done anything for him.

  Grant’s head spun with the thought, unsure whether he could bring himself to act on it. Sunny trusted him. He couldn’t betray that trust.

  Not even if Sunny was being sweet, and a little flirty, and was kind of sending out signals that said he wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea.

  At least, Grant thought he was.

  But that could have been wishful thinking, and he didn’t feel as though he could trust himself with figuring out what he really was seeing and what he wanted to be seeing.

  “You wanna catch up on Game of Thrones?” Sunny asked. “You said you’d missed a ton.”

  “I really hope we’re not here long enough to catch up on everything I’ve missed,” Grant said. “But sure, if that’s what you wanna do?”

  “I don’t really want to lie awake in a freezing room by myself.” Sunny shrugged. “Seems like a better option.”

  “Shit, I’m sorry. I forgot about the heater. I’ll look at it now.”

  Sunny shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll sleep down here again, you can figure it out when your family gets here. Just keep me company for an hour or so?”

  “I can do that,” Grant said. “I’ll make us some hot chocolate. With little marshmallows and everything.”

  Sunny’s whole face lit up at that. “I can’t refuse an offer like that. I’ll set up my laptop.”

  Grant took a step back, missing Sunny’s warmth the moment he was too far away to feel it, but glad of the chance to clear his head.

  He was not going to make a move on Sunny. That was the worst possible thing he could do.

  Hot chocolate and gratuitous violence sounded like a much safer way to spend the evening.

  14

  Sunny lifted up the corner of the blanket he’d barely given up all day in offering as Grant sat down, secretly hoping that Grant would choose to snuggle under it with him.

  Grant paused, setting two mugs of hot chocolate and the remains of a bottle of whisky on the coffee table. After a moment of what Sunny assumed was careful consideration, he took hold of the corner Sunny was holding up and wrapped it around his shoulders as he sat down.

  It was a big blanket, but with two grown men sharing it, they had to sit within an inch of each other.

  Sunny grinned as he reached forward to grab his hot chocolate, curling both of his hands around the mug.

  “World’s best hot chocolate,” Grant said. “Or at least, Hope says so.”

  “I’m sure she’s right,” Sunny agreed. “You seem like a man who’d know his way around a hot chocolate.”

  “You want a shot?” Grant asked, raising the bottle he’d set down before.

  Sunny hesitated, and then shrugged and held his mug out. “Why not. It’s Christmas.”

  Grant smiled at that. “That’s the spirit,” he said, pouring a generous measure into Sunny’s mug, and then another one into his own.

  “I assume this is the adults-only version, and you’re not in the habit of getting your twelve-year-old drunk,” Sunny said.

  “Obviously,” Grant said, setting the bottle back down with the dull thud. “But I figured we could both go for taking the edge off. It’s been a rough day.”

  “It hasn’t been so bad,” Sunny said. “You kept feeding me, so I’ve actually had a pretty great day.”

  “I guess,” Grant shifted his weight, settling deep into the couch cushions. “I didn’t mean for you to get stuck here.”

  “I know, and you’ve already apologized a thousand times. You’re forgiven. I was never even all that mad. This way, I get to avoid all my other relatives,” Sunny said.

  Grant sipped his hot chocolate, a tiny, satisfied sound escaping him.

  Sunny really liked that sound.

  “Not a huge fan of your extended family?” Grant asked.

  “I could live without having an awkward argument with one of them every year about them being… racist, or sexist, or homophobic, or transphobic, or… generally assholes.” Sunny sighed, pressing his mug to his lips, but not taking a sip yet. He was waiting for the marshmallows to finish melting.

  “Yeah, I get that. I… am very glad I have my own little family now,” Grant said softly.

  Sunny’s heart sank. Grant clearly missed his family, and Sunny would have happily traded this moment to give him them instead.

  As much as he liked being near Grant, he would have preferred for Grant to be happy.

  “I wish I could trade places with them,” Sunny said, his stomach bottoming out as he made the decision to snuggle closer to Grant.

  This was what he’d wanted before, though he would have liked Grant to be happier about it. All the same, if he could provide even a little comfort, that was all Sunny could ask for.

  “It’s good having you here, actually,” Grant murmured, sipping his hot chocolate. “I would’ve hated to do this alone. Besides, this is kinda nice.”

  Sunny smiled to himself as his heart skipped a beat. He’d take kinda nice.

  He reached out to hit play, and then leaned back into the couch, letting his shoulder press against Grant’s. For warmth, obviously. Not because he desperately wanted to be close to him.

  Just as the opening credits were rolling, the laptop screen went black.

  “Oh,” Sunny said, blinking at it. “I might’ve… forgotten to charge it, and I guess it’s been cold… I’ll get the power cord.”

  Grant put a hand out to stop him. “Don’t worry about it. We’ve got a nice open fire to watch. How often do you get that?”

  Sunny wet his lips, unsure what that meant, but happy to stay put if he got to sit with Grant a little longer. He reached out and closed the screen over, giving them both a clear view of the fire.

  Grant’s hand had fallen, but it was now on Sunny’s knee, his thumb rubbing tiny circles into the fabric of Sunny’s jeans.

  This was, uh…

  Well, they’d had a few too-intimate moments today, but Sunny had always started them.

  Was Grant doing this absent-mindedly, or was he finally responding to every hint Sunny could think of giving him short of coming downstairs naked?

  There was really only one way to find out. Cautiously, and with his stomach in knots, Sunny shifted to rest his head against Grant’s shoulder, sighing as he settled in.

  This was so damned nice.

  Grant smelled of pine and chocolate, the faintest hint of a Christmas-spiced cologne hanging onto his skin. His hand was so warm, heat from it radiating up Sunny’s leg and pooling in his stomach, low-level arousal building there.

  Sunny swallowed, unsure what to do next.

  Grant wasn’t saying no. He was leaning into it, shifting to draw the blanket around them, humming softly.

  He wanted this.

  It was so obvious now. He’d gone from carefully not giving any hints to suddenly being so warm and open, so approachable.

  Sunny wanted to kiss him. He wanted to kiss Grant more than he’d ever wante
d anything in his life.

  His stomach bottomed out as he turned his head, reaching up to touch Grant’s jaw, waiting for him to look toward him.

  Sunny wet his lips, staring at Grant’s, taking a moment to appreciate how good this was going to feel. A tiny smile from Grant was all the encouragement he needed, the tiny signal enough to spur him forward.

  Sunny made a soft, needy sound as he discovered that Grant’s lips were as soft as they looked, his five-o’clock shadow just as excitingly scratchy as Sunny had imagined it would be, his mouth warm.

  The sound he made as he melted into the kiss was even more amazing than Sunny could have dreamed. He sounded like a man who’d just discovered hazelnut lattes or chocolate lava cake for the first time.

  To top it all off, he tasted like marshmallows and the faintest hint of whisky. A month ago, if Sunny had been asked to describe the perfect older man, he couldn’t have come up with someone as wonderful as Grant.

  Just as he was thinking that, Grant pulled back, putting his palm in the center of Sunny’s chest. His eyes were dark and glazed, his cheeks flushed, his tongue darting out to wet his lips.

  A jolt of arousal hit Sunny directly in the gut. He wanted this man. He’d never wanted anyone more than he wanted Grant right now.

  “Are you sure about this?” Grant asked, his voice a half-octave deeper than normal, arousal obvious in his tone.

  Sunny nodded. He didn’t even have to think about it. Screw the consequences, how often was he going to meet someone like this? Someone as perfect and kind and warm as Grant was.

  “I’m sure,” he confirmed. “I’m off the clock,” he added, wanting to soothe any fears Grant might have had about this coming back to bite him.

  Sunny would never have done anything to hurt him. Not for the world.

  He leaned forward, putting his hot chocolate down and then taking Grant’s away from him as well, leaving them both on the coffee table.

  Then, before Grant had a chance to object, he swung his leg over Grant’s lap, settling down on top of him. “I’ve been dying to do this,” Sunny said, leaning in again.

  Maybe being trapped in a cabin together wasn’t so bad.

  15

  Grant moaned as Sunny’s fingers wrapped around his cock, biting down on his lip to save himself a little embarrassment.

  It’d been a long time since anyone had touched him like this. He wasn't sure he wanted Sunny to know that.

  Not that he thought Sunny would mind. His head was still spinning with the knowledge that he hadn’t been reading Sunny wrong, that all the little hints he’d been throwing out had been serious.

  “This is nice,” Sunny murmured against his ear, making a shiver run down Grant’s spine. “As expected,” he added.

  “You’ve been thinking about this?” Grant asked, closing his eyes tight in an effort to keep himself under control. His hips were already rocking into Sunny’s hand, his thighs burning with the effort of holding still.

  He wanted so much more, and he wanted it now, dammit.

  A tight knot of arousal sat heavy in his stomach, every tiny touch of Sunny’s fingers, every breath against Grant’s neck tugging on it, urgency building deep inside him.

  He’d wanted Sunny for so long, and now it was happening, and he couldn’t bring himself to care what else that meant.

  Besides, Sunny had started it. And he trusted Sunny.

  He could have this. He could have it, and not have to be afraid that it’d end in disaster.

  And it felt so good.

  “A lot,” Sunny responded. “I… yeah, let’s just go with a lot. I might’ve had a crush on you for a while.”

  He glanced down at Grant’s crotch, brushing his thumb over the head of his cock. He’d been so quick to get Grant’s pants open that it shouldn’t really have been a surprise that this wasn’t a sudden impulse, but something he’d wanted, too.

  “Maybe since you answered your door shirtless. You are really hot,” Sunny added after a moment.

  “Yeah?” Grant raised an eyebrow, surprised. He wasn’t used to hearing things like that.

  Sunny nodded, biting down on his lower lip. “Oh yeah. If you look up sexy older man in the dictionary, there’s a picture of you instead of a definition.”

  “I… don’t think that’s in the dictionary, but I’ll take the compliment,” Grant said, surprised by Sunny’s enthusiasm.

  Up until Sunny had kissed him, he’d thought he had absolutely no chance with someone as gorgeous as him.

  Hearing that Sunny had been waiting for this, too, felt amazing. Grant’s confidence in himself had never been high, and it’d gotten worse as he’d aged, but Sunny…

  Sunny made him feel attractive. Along with a whole lot of other things.

  “Good,” Sunny grinned at him, flicking open the button of his own fly with his free hand. “Because if you feel sexy, this’ll be better for both of us. Trust me.”

  “I do trust you,” Grant said, though he wasn’t sure that was what he was supposed to take from that.

  Sunny did make him feel a little sexy, though. If Sunny wanted him, he had to be attractive.

  Even if that was only to Sunny, that was enough.

  Sunny was the first person he’d really wanted like this in a long time, and the only one who’d ever wanted him back.

  That was hot. And that was probably enough.

  “Has anyone ever told you you’re incredibly sweet?” Sunny asked, shifting his weight on Grant’s lap. He was still playing with his cock, long, slow strokes that kept Grant’s interest up, but weren’t doing much to get him off.

  Not yet, anyway.

  He got the feeling Sunny had a plan.

  Just as he finished that thought, Sunny climbed off him, dropping his jeans and underwear in one movement.

  Grant stared at him, in his bright, hideous Christmas sweater and then naked from the waist down.

  That shouldn’t have been as hot as it was, and yet…

  “I have lube,” Sunny suggested. “No condoms, but if you’re comfortable with that…”

  Grant wet his lips, his cock twitching at the thought. He didn’t want to push, but if Sunny was offering…

  It’d be rude to say no, right?

  He hated to be rude. Especially when the man of his dreams was standing in front of him half-naked, offering him sex.

  “I promise it’s safe on my end,” Sunny said, lifting his sweater up to scratch his stomach. Grant saw it for the nervous gesture it was, and his heart melted.

  “Mine, too,” he said. Apparently, there was some point to yearly physicals. If this was what they got him, he’d never complain about one again.

  “Then…” Sunny trailed off, looking at Grant with hope in his eyes.

  He wanted this enough to be hopeful about it.

  Grant nodded. How could he possibly say no to that?

  Sunny’s whole face lit up, and Grant watched him stride over to his overnight bag and bend down to rifle through it, providing a perfect view of his incredibly cute ass while he did so.

  He tossed Grant a half-used tube of lubricant as he came back over, dropping himself into Grant’s lap as if he belonged there.

  Grant couldn’t help smiling at him, his cock brushing against Sunny’s sweater, a bead of precome welling up and leaking into the fabric.

  If Sunny minded that, he probably would have taken it off.

  “So do you know how to…”

  Grant nodded, flicking open the cap on the lube. He’d done this before.

  Once.

  But he’d seen it done plenty of times. In his loneliest moments, porn had been his best friend.

  Besides, Sunny would tell him if he was screwing it up. He trusted Sunny not to let him make an idiot of himself. Even if it was just the two of them.

  “Is it okay if I stay here? Or do you want me on my hands and knees? Because as long as I get your cock, I’m happy,” Sunny said.

  The tips of Grant’s ears burned. He licked
his lips as he pictured Sunny on his hands and knees, back arching as Grant opened him up, soft, needy moans escaping him as he started to relax.

  But he liked Sunny exactly where he was, too.

  “Whatever you’re most comfortable with,” Grant said, his mouth dry.

  How had he lucked into this? Sunny was so perfect, and he seemed to genuinely want to have sex with Grant.

  It wasn’t so much a dream come true as something Grant wouldn’t even have allowed himself to fantasize about, since it seemed so outside of the realm of possibility.

  Looking back, there’d been clues.

  He just hadn’t seen them, because the idea that someone like Sunny might want him was so ridiculous.

  Except that it was happening. So not as ridiculous as he’d assumed.

  Grant’s brain was still catching up with that, torn between trying to figure out how he’d gotten so lucky and enjoying every touch Sunny bestowed on him.

  If he thought too hard about it, he was afraid his heart might explode. He’d never had this before. Nothing that even compared, not really.

  He wanted Sunny so much that he was ready to beg him to marry him here and now, except he knew that’d kind of ruin the mood.

  Sunny might want sex, but he wouldn’t want to be tied to an older man forever. No matter how much Grant might want it.

  “You gonna do something with the lube on your fingers, or are you just waiting to see how long it takes to melt?” Sunny asked, shifting his weight on Grant’s lap, spreading his legs further apart.

  Grant’s eyes went to Sunny’s cock again, straining up toward his stomach, gently curved, as perfect as the rest of him.

  He spent a moment figuring out how he was going to get his hand where it needed to be, and then lifted Sunny’s balls out of the way with the other one so he could slide his fingers under Sunny’s body, support him with his forearm.

  Sunny bit his lip as Grant circled his hole, the delicate skin silky-soft under his fingertips. A drop of precome rolled down the length of his cock, dripping onto Grant’s wrist as he hesitated, teasing while he worked up the courage to shove a finger inside.