by KD Ellis
“Perhaps.” Ian grinned. “It’s an endearment, love.”
“Little chicken?” Teddy seemed put out, eyes flashing. Then he was closing the distance between them, Teddy’s mouth slamming into his with more than a little fire. The little moans Teddy was making, combined with the feeling of his slim fingers clenching the fabric of Ian’s shirt, held him in place.
For a few moments, anyway. Then Ian shifted, resting a knee on the edge of the lawn chair to give him a better angle. He lifted his hands to the sides of Teddy’s face, tilting his head back, opening his mouth for the taking. Ian didn’t kiss him, he possessed him. He wanted the younger man to think of him whenever he pressed his lips to another.
A thought that immediately had his hands tightening, tugging the man up so their chests were nearly flush, though he was mindful of Teddy’s recovering lacerations. He didn’t want to think of Teddy with another. Already, he felt like Teddy was his.
“How was that for a little chicken?” Teddy’s voice was breathy as he broke away.
“Beautiful, cielito,” Ian murmured. “Beautiful.”
Teddy felt like all the air had been pulled from his body and replaced with helium, because surely he was floating. Ian’s hands cradling his face were large but gentle.
A throat cleared beside them and Ian leaned back, freeing Teddy to draw in a breath. “Yes, Mama?” Ian asked. Mama Romero had a straight face, but there was a glint in her eye. Teddy didn’t know whether or not to feel embarrassed.
“Nadine would like to know if Teddy is feeling okay. She said you were performing mouth-to-mouth on your friend.” Mama Romero’s lips twitched, and Teddy flushed. Nadine was one of Ian’s many cousins. She was seven or thereabouts—Teddy couldn’t remember.
“I think I fixed him,” Ian smirked, looking back at Teddy. “What do you think? Is your heart beating fine or do we need to try again?”
Mama Romero huffed and swatted her son’s arm. “Go mingle with your guests, mijo. Take your pretty friend with you, if you want.” Mama Romero winked at Teddy.
“Yes, Mama.” Ian agreed as his mother walked away.
Teddy couldn’t help his chuckle. Ian lifted an eyebrow. “You laugh, but you’ve never had her chase you with a chancla. She’s a brute of a woman.”
“Your mother is an angel,” Teddy corrected. He stood up and dusted off the seat of his jeans. “Come on. Let’s go mingle. I’d hate to make your mother mad.”
They made it only a handful of feet from the shadowed seats near the back fence before getting swarmed. A half dozen children of varying ages were soon hanging off Ian’s arms and back, while a young boy giggled and sat on his left shoe, arms wrapped around Ian’s calf. A girl in a lacy pink dress tugged on Teddy’s pant leg, talking rapidly in Spanish. Teddy could get by with it, if pressed, but it required a good deal of patience, as well as quite a bit of repetition, from the speaker. The little girl, while adorable, had neither.
“Mas lento, por favor… No entiendo,” Teddy said, crouching down in front of her to try and catch the movements of her lips.
The little girl huffed. “Estabas besando a mi prima. Vas a casarte con el ahora?”
“Um… Si?” He didn’t quite understand what she was asking. He knew besando was kissing, and…prima was cousin. He wasn’t sure about the rest, and he felt stupid asking her to say it again.
In front of him, Ian laughed, looking back at him. His eyes were bright with amusement. “Good to know, sweetheart.”
“Wait! What did I just agree to? Ian!” Teddy protested when Ian mimed locking his lips and throwing away a key. “Come on, no fair!”
“All’s fair in love and war,” Ian called over his shoulder. He set the children down that he held in each arm and they scampered off to play. Then he crouched down in front of the giggling girl by Teddy. “Mayumi, cuando nos casemos, vas a llevar las flores para mi?”
“Si!” Mayumi squealed and ran off to a woman in a brightly colored dress near the fire. “Mama, Mama! El Tio Ian prometio que puedo llevar las flores para su boda!”
The woman smiled and ruffled the little girl’s hair. “English, baby. You need to practice.”
Mayumi huffed, sucking in a breath and rapidly switching over. “Uncle Ian promised that I can carry the flowers for his wedding! Can they be dandelions? I like dandelions. They turn my fingers yellow and yellow is my favorite color!”
Teddy choked on nothing and spun toward Ian. “You told her we were getting married?”
“No, sweetheart, you told her we were getting married. I just agreed. I would never dream of arguing with my pollito.”
Teddy snagged a thin slice of watermelon off the party platter on the picnic table beside him and chucked it, without thinking, at Ian’s shirt. It splattered in a spray of red, dripping down the cotton fabric. Ian sucked his lower lip into his mouth for a moment, like he wasn’t sure whether to laugh or screech, then released with a pop.
“Oh, it’s on. You better run now, boy.” Ian grabbed a handful of ice cubes from the bowl near the punch and approached with a threatening grin.
Teddy shivered, not at the sight of the ice but at the purposeful way Ian called him boy, then backed away with raised hands, shaking his head. “No, wait…you wouldn’t.”
“Oh, you don’t know me very well at all then.” Ian’s smile grew wide and devilish. Teddy turned and sprinted away, a scream escaping his throat as he tried to escape.
Ian caught him easily, dropping the large handful of freezing cold cubes down the back of his shirt. They slid down his spine in a frigid deluge. Teddy yelped, hopping from foot to foot as he tried to get free. Laughter echoed around them.
“Dance, baby, dance,” Ian crowed.
“You, Ian Romero, are an evil, evil man.”
“An evil, evil man you already agreed to marry,” Ian corrected. “So I’m not worried.”
“I’m not good at Spanish!” Teddy cried, spinning around to face him, burning with embarrassment. He hoped Ian didn’t think he was serious, not that he would mind marrying Ian, someday—the key word being someday. He didn’t want Ian to think he was clingy. He needed to prove that, even though he was only eighteen, he was mature enough for a relationship.
Ian grinned and shoved his fingers in his ears. “La la la, not listening.”
Teddy rolled his eyes and held up his middle finger instead. Ian tugged his fingers free. “Is that an invitation?”
Teddy shrugged. “Kiss me again and find out.”
Ian feigned a gasp, “In front of the children? How risqué.” Despite his pretend outrage, he stalked forward, a lion to his prey, and captured Teddy’s mouth in a bruising kiss. It was short but not sweet at all. It made Teddy want to drag him upstairs to his room—or the bathroom, or the pantry—and do things.
Ian must have seen his desire on his face, because his eyes darkened, his hands twitching like he was going to go caveman and throw Teddy over his shoulder. Instead, he stepped back, though Teddy could read the regret on his face, and put some distance between them. Teddy wasn’t sure whether or not to be grateful for the breathing room.
“Come on. Let me introduce you around. I’m sure you haven’t met everyone yet.” Ian held out his hand.
A small smile curled up the corners of Teddy’s mouth as he grasped it tightly. “Well, everyone is a lot of people. Might take a while.” Teddy was used to his own small, nuclear family, just him and his mom—no cousins, or aunts and uncles. Ian’s was like a village.
“Good thing we have all night, right?” Ian said.
Teddy liked the sound of that.
* * * *
Mama Romero and her sisters—all six of them—carried out the main course well after dark. It was closer to eleven than ten, the yard lit by dozens of strands of colored lights strung through the trees and, of course, the warm glow of the large bonfire. The youngest children had been packed away to bed hours before, while the rest ran barefoot through the grass, uncaring of the small sparks spat out of the fire
and the misplaced pebbles from the garden. Most of the adults sat in groups around the fire or gathered by the food. Spirits were high and the air was filled with laughing and dozens of conversations in Spanish, spoken too rapidly for Teddy to follow.
Ian eventually settled on the ground by the patio, tucked between the wooden stairs and the small hydrangea bush near the corner. He had tugged Teddy down into the space between his thighs, encouraging him to lean back against his chest. The ground was hard and rocky, and the light from the fire made Teddy feel sleepy, but he wouldn’t change a thing. In Ian’s arms, he felt safe, far removed from his distant worries and fears
Ian leaned down and nuzzled into his hair. A second later, he brushed his lips against the back of Teddy’s neck, below his ear. Teddy’s whole body quivered at the intense feeling, like there was a straight shot from his neck to his dick, and he moaned.
Ian shifted behind him and he felt the hardness press against his back. He fought the urge to lean back into it, to roll his hips and tease. Then, he remembered the ice cubes sliding against his skin. He rocked his hips backward, rubbing the growing erection behind him until Ian gave a strangled groan as well.
“Shh…” Teddy whispered, grinning evilly. “Think of the children.”
“You’re trying to kill me,” Ian murmured behind Teddy’s ear before nipping the lobe. Teddy sucked in a gasp, tilting his head and exposing his neck farther. Ian slid his tongue over the pulse point, just for a second, then it was gone. Teddy whimpered at the loss.
“I’m trying to kill you?” Teddy protested. He arched his back, knowing it thrust his ass directly into the crotch of Ian’s jeans. “At least I’m not torturing you.”
Ian chuckled, the sound strained. He gripped Teddy’s hips and tugged Teddy back, planting him firmly against him. Ian rutted against him once, then twice. He closed his lips around Teddy’s ear and sucked until Teddy shuddered again.
Teddy didn’t care that they were visible to anyone who walked directly in front of them. He dropped his hand to the front of his jeans, pressing the heel down gently on his throbbing dick. His doctor had cleared him for this, even if Teddy hadn’t thought it would happen. The pain of his nearly healed incisions was worth the burst of satisfaction.
At least it was, until Ian tugged his hands out of his lap and spoke into his ear. “Uh-uh. Be a good boy, now, and keep your hands to yourself.”
Teddy didn’t need hands. As soon as the words ‘good boy’ slipped out of Ian’s mouth, he was gone, his body racked with the effects of his climax. They hardly seemed like strong enough words but it felt like an explosion, like the burst of fireworks that had lit up the sky last month.
Ian clamped down tight, stilling his hips behind him. “Did you just…?”
Teddy flushed hot and red, covering his face immediately. He’d just come in his pants like a teenager. Well, he was a teenager, but if he had been hoping not to remind Ian of that, he’d just failed epically.
“Oh, baby.” Ian gripped his wrists and tugged his hands away from his face. “I don’t mind, I’m just surprised. I didn’t realize how responsive you’d be.” He pressed his lips gently to Teddy’s shoulder. “It’s not a bad thing, not a bad thing at all.”
Teddy couldn’t protest. Before he could even think up an excuse, he heard Mrs. Romero calling from the other side of the yard, “Someone find the birthday boy. It’s almost time for cake.”
“That’s our cue,” Ian murmured, carefully hoisting Teddy to his feet before following him. Teddy patted down his hair and brushed off his jeans, trying to look as if he’d been doing anything but what he’d actually been doing. But no amount of rearranging his clothing could dull the likely fire-engine-red blush he still felt on his cheeks. He was grateful it was dark. Ian, at least, looked as composed as ever…if a bit more well-endowed than usual.
Teddy trailed behind Ian over to the large cake placed at the center of the folding table in the back yard. Twenty-one candles encircled the top. Mama Romero bustled around like a drill sergeant, prodding people into place and dictating the lighting of the candles, all while keeping a careful eye on the shiny silver watch on her wrist.
“It’s almost midnight. Everybody in place!” Mama Romero didn’t quite clap, but Teddy expected her to. Ian smirked at Teddy but stepped up to the table.
“Who’s going to sing? Daniela, you have a pretty voice. You should show it off more often. Why don’t you start us off? No, don’t be scared. Here, scootch forward. There you go.” Mama Romero urged the young teenager forward, ignoring her reluctance. “On the count of three, okay? One, two…”
Daniela’s voice was shaky, but under the nerves, it was pretty. “Cumpleanos Feliz, Te Deseamos a ti…” The rest of the guests joined in. Teddy hummed along. When the song ended, Ian closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then leaned forward and blew hard.
Smoke trailed upward in the night from the extinguished candles. The last flickered, then guttered in the face of Ian’s determination. The guests clapped, the children whooping, and Mama Romero hurried off for a knife.
“I’d ask what you wished for,” Teddy murmured to Ian beneath the excited chatter, “but then it wouldn’t come true.”
“I already got what I wished for,” Ian murmured back, curling his fingers around Teddy’s. His eyes were soft as they met Teddy’s gaze. Teddy’s cheeks warmed again. He wondered if the affection he saw was real.
Chapter Twelve
“Teddy, man, wait up,” Lucas called after him a few weeks later. Teddy slowed at the crosswalk, checking his watch. He was running late and really didn’t have time to chat. “You gotta sec?”
“A quick one,” Teddy said, shifting his weight. “I’m on my way to work.”
“Oh. Um, I’ll walk with you?” Lucas shoved his hands into his pockets then out, before fiddling with the hem of his baggy shirt.
“Okay. It’s not far.” Teddy glanced both ways before crossing the street at a jog.
“Julian wants to see you,” Lucas said once they were back on the sidewalk again.
“Why? It’s only been three months…” Teddy had saved up some of his first payment, but he was still a few hundred short. Hopefully, his payments would be smaller when he was paying monthly.
“I don’t know. He didn’t say but he was pretty set on it. Said to tell you to meet him at the warehouse tonight at eight.” Lucas scratched his nose. “He didn’t seem very happy.”
“I work until eight.” Teddy frowned.
“Can you get off early? Come on, man. Julian…” Lucas gnawed on his lip. “I don’t know… He’s changed lately. I don’t want to see him mad.”
“I’ll see what I can do, but I mean, it’s not like there’s someone to cover for me. If I don’t get the work done, it doesn’t get done…” Teddy hesitated, rubbing his palm over the no-longer-prickly fuzz on his scalp. “I’ll get done as quick as I can, I guess.”
“I’ll meet you at the bus stop,” Lucas promised. “Just…be there, okay?”
Teddy agreed, waving Lucas off before jogging the last few feet to the entrance to Blood, Sweat and Shears. He was a few minutes late but the salon wasn’t open on Wednesdays, so he didn’t need to defend his tardiness. Not that his boss Joel would mind—the part-time fitness instructor-full-time hair stylist was pretty laid back. But Teddy felt guilty anyway, since he hadn’t been working there long.
Teddy spent most of his shift scrubbing down the upstairs fitness studio with his stomach twisted up in nerves. He hadn’t even had the opportunity to make a late payment, so he knew he had no reason for them, except for Lucas’ sketchy behavior. But the nerves made Teddy rush, and he managed to get out a few minutes early.
When he met Lucas at the bus stop, his friend was even more agitated than before. Teddy wondered if he was tripping.
“Shit, something’s wrong, man,” Lucas muttered as he paced. He jerked around when a dumpster lid dropped down an alley. “Fuck. I ain’t never seen Julian like this.”
&n
bsp; Teddy stopped and grabbed Lucas’ arm. “Dude, calm down. What’s wrong?”
“Jules. He’s off his rocker, raging about some gringo on fifth who poached his corner and ragged on some of his gwallas. He lost a lot of money and he ain’t happy. I don’t know, man. I don’t get involved in that shit. You know that.” Lucas flinched as a car drove slowly past. “We gotta go, man. They’re waiting.”
“You didn’t say they were involved in anything illegal,” Teddy protested, his grip tightening on Lucas’ arm. He ignored Lucas’ wince. “What did you get me into?”
“Nothing, or… It shouldn’t have been anything. I didn’t know, I swear. I found out about the basuco last month, and I haven’t touched it.” Lucas rocked back on his heels.
“Bas… Cocaine? They deal cocaine?” Teddy asked, letting go of Lucas’ arms but only so he could swipe his fingers over his scalp. He tilted his head back and glared at the sky, trying to calm himself. “Fuck!” He cursed and started pacing.
“I’m sorry. I know I fucked up, but we gotta go, man. We’re going to be late.” Lucas grabbed Teddy’s arm, dragging him in the direction of the warehouse.
Teddy yanked away. “Maybe we should go talk to someone? Ian, or…or the police?”
“No! They’ll kill me. I shouldn’t even have told you. They warned me to keep my mouth shut. Shit, I’m so fucked. So fucked, man.” Lucas grabbed his arm again. “Just…just come with me and talk to him. It’ll be fine. He probably just wants to know how you’re doing on getting the money around. It’ll be fine.” He said the last quieter, like he was trying to reassure himself.
“It’s not going to be fine if we walk in there and you look like you’re tripping acid,” Teddy hissed, shaking his arm free a second time. “So calm the fuck down, okay? We’ll go talk to him.”
Lucas dragged in a breath. “Yeah, yeah. Calm down. Got it.”
When Lucas looked less like a skittish rabbit about to bolt, they started walking again. He saw the warehouse looming in the distance and a kernel of fear sprouted in his stomach, like Lucas’ panic had stretched out trembling fingers and infected him. The warehouse looked worse than it had a few months ago. Across the grungy siding, someone had tagged a large, obscene graphic of a middle finger stuck up to the sky, blood dripping from the knuckles. Two of the bay doors were closed, obscenities in Spanish a neon splash against the white.