All I'll Ever Need

by J. P. Bowie

  “Wow.” Edward gaped at him. “Who was this?”

  “Uh…well…” Alex gave him a rueful smile. “I hope you don’t mind, but I really shouldn’t mention her name. Like I said we’re trying to keep it all hush-hush.”

  “That’s okay. I don’t follow celebrity news very much.”

  “Happens to be part of my job.” Alex grinned. “Anyway, I took her into my office, got her some eyewash and let her vent, and by the time she’d calmed down, lunch was out of the question. She was worried about getting even more bad publicity if this latest escapade hit the media, but I assured her no one associated with Scott Malone’s would leak the story to the press.”

  “That was nice of you. Do you know her personally?”

  Alex nodded. “She was married to a—a friend of mine for a couple of years. It ended badly, and she, uh, well, she isn’t really over it yet.”

  Edward noted the hesitation in Alex’s reply, and from his faintly sad expression guessed there was more he wasn’t about to disclose just then. Edward felt it best not to ask any leading questions at that moment. Instead, he continued lightly, “Is this pretty standard stuff in your line of work?”

  Alex chuckled. “Not really, but when you’re dealing with over-inflated egos on one hand and panicky low self-esteem on the other, it can get, shall we say, interesting. The good thing is, I avoided a complaint being filed and she and Scott made up, so that was a load off my mind.”

  “I bet.”

  “She has a movie in production and will be in Vancouver for a couple of weeks, so maybe the fact she’ll have to concentrate on her role, which I understand could be Oscar material, will help her get over her depression.” He looked up as their pizzas were set in front of them. “Mmm, smells delicious.”

  “The best in town,” the waiter told them. “Enjoy.”

  They both dug in and the waiter was right, Edward thought, they could very well be the best in town.

  Alex smiled, enjoying the obvious relish with which Edward started to devour his pizza. The night they’d spent together revealed to Alex that Edward had an engaging, shy appeal, but there was an undercurrent of feistiness that told Alex he was no pushover. He might need that particular asset when dealing with his roommates—especially Troy.

  He’d been looking forward to their date all day. It was just a pity Lena had shown up at the office. She always brought with her a host of memories of times past, always wanting to talk about Hank, although that hadn’t been uppermost in her mind today after the security guard had pepper-sprayed her. Her language had been choice but at least Scott had taken back his threat to stop representing her. Alex had been friends with Lena Miles for a long time, and he really liked her, loved her really, despite her propensity to cause havoc when she was upset. Hank had been good at calming her, and now it seemed it was up to him to take over.

  “Are you okay?”

  Edward’s concerned voice broke into his thoughts, and he was glad of it. It didn’t do to dwell too much on things he couldn’t change.

  “Yes, I’m fine,” he replied.

  “Oh good, you went kinda quiet there,” Edward said, then added slyly, “I thought maybe you were reconsidering Troy’s offer.”

  “No way!” Alex shook his head adamantly. “And it worries me that you share an apartment with a guy who’s obviously a bit of a flake. Is your other roommate his partner?”

  “No, I think they’ve known each other for some time, but they’re not a couple. I have to admit, I really don’t know that much about either of them. We hardly see one another as a matter of fact.”

  “Maybe that’s a good thing,” Alex remarked. “Not a good idea to get close to someone who’s so open about his drug use. I just hope he doesn’t deal too.” He gestured at their plates that still had half their pizzas on them. “What say we get these boxed and finish them later at my place?” He lowered his voice a little. “I have an urge to kiss you again and it might get me banned from coming back here.”

  Edward chuckled. “Can’t have you banned from having the best pizza in town. ”

  “No, please. Anything but that!” Alex took their plates over to the counter and asked the server to box the pizzas. “You can put them in the same box,” he told the young man, then thought maybe Edward would object to having his half-eaten pizza in the same box with the one Alex had been chewing on. “Is that okay?”

  “Sure,” Edward said. Once outside he added, “Considering what we’ve been doing with our mouths since we met, I don’t think mixing our pizzas will hurt us.”

  Alex laughed and put an arm round Edward’s shoulders. “You’re right, and when we get back to my place, I have some other things I want to do with our mouths, and they don’t involve pizza.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  * * * *

  “So, Ellingsworth…” Alex glanced at Edward as he drove them to his house. “I looked it up on the map.”

  “You did?” Edward turned a look of amazement on Alex. “Why?”

  “Because I was curious as to where it actually was. Knowing you came from there and seemed pretty happy about it—leaving it, I mean.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “You have family there?”

  “Oh yes, mother, father and brother—all well and probably doing better than ever now that they don’t have me as a constant reminder their youngest son is going to hell.”

  “Did they really say that?” Alex tried to sound more concerned than appalled. Obviously it wasn’t a surprising news bulletin. He might have come from a more accepting family but Edward’s situation was far from unique. “I’ve never quite been able to understand that mentality,” he added quietly.

  “It’s still fairly common.” Edward’s tone was matter-of-fact. “My folks didn’t throw me out but they made my life pretty miserable—especially my brother. God, when I think of how much he must have hated me to have done the things he did. I mean, there was never any love lost between us. Craig’s a born bully, but—” He stopped talking and slumped back against the car seat’s headrest.

  “I’m so sorry.” Alex placed his hand on Edward’s thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  “Listen to me, putting a giant damper on the evening—but you did ask.” Edward sounded as if he was trying to chuckle but he didn’t quite make it.

  Alex squeezed Edward’s thigh again, his gentleness at odds with the anger that coursed through him on hearing what Edward had been subjected to by his own family. “How old is your brother?” he asked keeping his voice steady.

  “Twenty-six last birthday.”

  “Old enough to know better.”

  Edward laughed at that statement. “They’re all old enough to know better, don’t you think? But they listen to the right-wing extremists and the Bible thumpers, and according to them there’s no place in a decent Christian family for the likes of me. And you know something? I tend to agree.”

  Alex pulled into his driveway and stopped the car. He leaned over and took Edward in his arms, then laid a soft kiss on his lips. “I’m glad you’re here with me,” he murmured after a moment or two. “I think you need some TLC and I’m the guy who wants to give it to you.”

  Edward felt the sting of gathering tears in his eyes. He’d never known this kind of intimacy combined with such a warm sense of comfort, but here, wrapped in Alex’s arms, he could, for the moment, forget the shit his life at home had become since coming out to his family. Alex was everything he’d always longed for in a companion—kind, considerate, easy to talk to, a great kisser, not to mention hot in bed—but they’d only just met and it was way too soon to be pinning any hopes on a lasting relationship between them. He’d probably scare the man away if he had a clue as to what was spinning through Edward’s mind. This was a character flaw of which Edward was only too aware—the tendency to hang his hopes and dreams on someone who showed him affection. He’d made this mistake before, had resolved never to do it again, and here he was, standing on the bri
nk of making the same mistake all over again.

  The touch of Alex’s lips, his whispered, “Where’d you go?” jerked him out of his jumbled thoughts.

  “Sorry, my mind goes off in weird directions sometimes.”

  Alex kissed him on the cheek then pulled back from their embrace. “Come on, let’s go inside. You need cheering up.”

  They got out of the car and walked the few steps to the front door. As Alex inserted the key into the lock he said, “Just so you know, you can talk to me about whatever’s troubling you. I’m a really good listener. Not saying I can solve or take away your problems, but sometimes just getting it off your chest can help.”

  “Thanks,” Edward mumbled following him inside. “But I don’t want to cast gloom and doom on our evening. You’re leaving tomorrow and I don’t want you thinking, ‘Thank God I won’t have to listen to any more of that guy’s whining’.”

  Alex flipped the switch for the living room lights then turned to face Edward. “You think I’m that shallow? That I regard your obvious distress over what happened between you and your family, and whoever, as simply whining? Okay, we’ve just met and you don’t really know me, but this is how two people get to know each other better—by talking and listening, by sharing.”

  “But—” Edward tried to interrupt.

  “Yeah, I know, I know,” Alex continued, “it’s probably too soon for us to be getting into deep and life-changing conversations. And, of course,” he added with a wry quirk to his lips, “you can always tell me that it’s none of my damned business, but I just want you to understand, I’m here to listen if you want to vent.”

  “You are just…so nice, Alex.”

  Alex chuckled. “I’ve heard being thought of as ‘nice’ can be the death knell to the start of a beautiful friendship.” He pulled Edward into his arms. “Besides, how d’you know there’s not a scary person lurking under this nice exterior?”

  Edward grinned weakly. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve made that kind of mistake—but I don’t think that’s the case with you.” At least I hope I’m right about that.

  Alex tightened his arms around Edward and kissed him deep and hard, taking Edward’s breath away and seeming to tilt his world on its axis. He felt like he could stand there forever, letting Alex kiss him and kissing him back while their bodies ground together, their erections aligned perfectly for some serious frottage.

  “Bed?” Alex murmured when they finally broke off the kiss.

  “Yes,” Edward replied through swollen lips. Whatever they were going to talk about could wait. First thing’s first…

  * * * *

  Alex threw back the comforter and the top sheet. “Gotta get you naked.” He slipped his hands under Edward’s polo shirt. “Your shirt’s a nice color but I like the one underneath better.”

  “I’m kinda pale, right now,” Edward said with a self-conscious laugh.

  “You’re kinda beautiful,” Alex murmured, pulling the polo over Edward’s head. He leaned in to nuzzle at Edward’s nipples, tonguing and nibbling each one in turn then raining licks and kisses on Edward’s chest between the two hard nubs. “And you taste so fucking good too. Your skin is so soft and smooth. Mmm…” He looked up at Edward with a mischievous grin. “Do all Southern gentlemen have skin like silk?”

  “What?” Edward sounded even more self-conscious. “Uh… I don’t know. Well, not the gentlemen I’ve ever been with.”

  ‘Gentlemen’ was uttered with more than a hint of bitterness and Alex could have kicked himself for, however inadvertently, bringing Edward an unpleasant memory from the past. Well, he’d work on erasing whatever it was from Edward’s mind. He cupped the back of Edward’s head then brought him in close for a long and loaded kiss. At the same time he squeezed Edward’s left butt cheek with his other hand then slipped a finger into the warm cleft, probing firmly at Edward’s hole. Edward responded by moaning softly and pressing his groin against Alex’s, sensually rubbing their erections together.

  He started to feverishly attack the buttons on Alex’s shirt and helped him shrug out of it. Alex threw it to one side then quickly toed off his shoes and stepped out of his pants while Edward dropped his jeans and briefs then kicked them away. Once they were naked, Alex pulled him back into his arms and together they fell across the bed, their mouths locked in yet another long and passionate kiss as they clung to each other. Alex slipped one hand down between their torsos and gripped Edward’s erection. Slowly, almost leisurely, he began to pump it, eliciting a groan of pleasure from Edward, his breath sweet on Alex’s tongue.

  He pulled back a little. “Are you still tender from last night?”

  Edward blinked then gave a slight nod. “Just a bit, but if you want to fuck me, that’s okay.”

  “No, Edward, it’s not okay. I want you to enjoy my being inside you as much as I do. I don’t want you to just grin and bear it. How about we reverse positions this time?”

  “You mean…? But I’ve never—”

  “There’s a first time for everything and I’d be very happy to be the first guy you fucked.” He reached for the lube and condom and handed Edward the lube. “Here, get me ready.”

  Edward took the tube and found himself getting even more excited at the prospect of being on top. Excited, and very nervous. What if he was clumsy and hurt Alex? He looked up at Alex’s defined torso as he straddled Edward’s thighs. He laid down the tube and ran his hands over Alex’s abs and chest, gently teasing each nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

  “Mmm.” Alex smiled down at him, his eyes hooded with unconcealed lust. He picked up the lube and coated Edward’s fingers then raised his hips and guided Edward’s hand into the cleft between his buttocks. Edward pushed into Alex’s heat and Alex squirmed over Edward’s fingers. “Feels good,” he murmured and reached for the condom. After ripping the packet open with his teeth he quickly sheathed Edward’s aching erection then positioned himself directly over the throbbing shaft. Edward gasped as Alex sank slowly down, not stopping until he had all of Edward’s cock deep inside him.

  Edward ran his hands up and down the sides of Alex’s torso, marveling at this sensation of complete exhilaration that had overtaken him. Not in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined this happening. This beautiful man riding his cock, his perfect body undulating rhythmically over him, the feel of the smooth, tanned skin under his fingers sending shivers of sheer ecstasy through him. He pushed his hips upward and Alex groaned.

  “That’s it,” he murmured. “Fill me up, Edward, fuck me hard.”

  Edward pushed up again, meeting Alex’s downward thrust, and soon they were matching each other’s rhythm, bodies moving in a sensual counterpoint. Alex leaned down and covered Edward’s mouth with his, tangling their tongues together in a kiss that robbed Edward of every rational thought and made him drive harder and harder into Alex’s core.

  Alex reared back, supporting himself with a hand on either side of Edward’s thighs. His sweat-soaked torso gleamed in the light from the bedside lamp and the visual of his taut abs straining as he drove himself up and down on Edward’s shaft brought Edward to the point of no return. He reached out and gripped Alex’s erection, pumping it in time to the motion of their bodies. He gave a cry of satisfaction when a stream of cum erupted from Alex’s cock, splattering over Edward’s chest and chin. That was all it took. One, two thrusts more and Edward jetted into the condom buried in Alex’s heat. Alex collapsed on top of him and held him, crooning indistinguishable words softly in his ear.

  * * * *

  When Edward opened his eyes, Alex was leaning over him, gently massaging his chest.

  “You must be an angel,” Edward whispered, “because I know I died and went to heaven a little while ago.”

  Alex grinned at him. “It was quite beautiful, wasn’t it?”

  “Beautiful doesn’t come close. In just two days you’ve taught me more about pleasure than I ever thought was possible.”

  “You are quite wel
come,” Alex said with a teasing smile.

  “Why’re you smiling?”

  “Because I love listening to the way you talk. Don’t ever try to lose your Southern accent. It’s very attractive, and very sexy.” He kissed Edward’s lips to emphasize the word. “I don’t think I asked you when you moved to LA.” He gently pushed back a stray blond lock of hair that had fallen over Edward’s forehead.

  “Just over a month ago. I answered an ad on an online job site, fixed up an interview and took the chance I’d get the job.”

  “That eager, huh?”

  “You have no idea how much I wanted to get away. I figured if I didn’t get that particular job I could do the rounds until I found something. As luck would have it, the bank manager I interviewed with was desperate. He’d lost two tellers in less than a week so he needed me to start straight away. I was happy to oblige.” He lifted his head and stole a kiss from Alex. “It’s so nice being here with you, Alex.”

  “The feeling is mutual.” Alex ran his hand over Edward’s chest, caressing the smooth skin. He sensed Edward was trying to change the subject but he wanted to stay on track, learn a little more about Edward’s past. “Have you…uh, been in touch with your parents since you left? Just to let them know you’re okay?”