“Kelly. Please.”
He glanced toward the bed. Nothing had changed. William’s expression still spoke of pure need. Kelly had waited so long for this, but with the moment now here, he didn’t want to rush it. He wanted to spend the entire night slowly undressing each other, savoring every inch of skin as it was revealed. With this idea in mind, he went to the end of the bed and knelt down.
“Shoes,” he said, reaching for the laces.
“Oh,” William said. “Sorry.”
“Let me.” Kelly untied and loosened both sets of laces before pulling off the shoes simultaneously. Then he removed his own before hobbling into bed on his knees. William pushed himself upright into the same position. They met in the middle, William’s lips on his, hands reaching for the hem of Kelly’s shirt. He allowed William to pull it off before returning the favor. Then they looked at each other, which was silly considering how often they’d been bare-chested together at the pool. Still, here in the candlelight, the shadows subtly moving across every curve, their bodies were made new again.
William was first to reach out, placing a palm flat against Kelly’s chest before sliding it across to his ribs and down to his hips. Kelly shivered, letting the tips of his fingers touch William’s nipples and quietly laughing with him when he reacted like it tickled. Then he allowed himself to feel those pecs with both hands. He had never understood when Jared used to point out big breasts at the mall. For Kelly they held no appeal, but here, faced with William’s enviable physique, he understood. He wanted to stare at those pecs, to trace the outline of each. And he wanted to feel them pressed against his bare skin, so he brought their bodies close enough to do so. William wrapped his arms around Kelly and started kissing his neck, one hand supporting the back of his head, the other grabbing his ass and pulling him even closer.
Close enough that their crotches rubbed together, both radiating with heat. Kelly couldn’t wait anymore.
“Lie on your back,” he said.
William shook his head. Then, muscles tightening around him, Kelly found himself being flung onto the mattress. Now he was on his back, William huffing as he looked Kelly’s body over. His attention settled on one spot, so Kelly flexed, his cock pressing against his jeans as if begging to get out. William took this as his cue, reaching again for Kelly’s belt. No holding back. Once the leather was unbuckled and the jeans were unbuttoned, he grabbed the waistline—underwear included— and pulled down.
Kelly ignored his own nudity and watched William’s expression instead. Hopefully he wasn’t expecting certain stereotypes to be true, although Kelly felt fairly good about what he had. His cock was long and narrow. A previous boyfriend had nicknamed it The Lance. Kelly tended to be a little longer than most guys he’d been with, but it could be that William was expecting something huge, like a zucchini on steroids. Or maybe not, since he was practically drooling as he stared.
“You can do more than just look at it,” Kelly suggested with a smirk.
William pulled his eyes away. “Naw, I’m done. This is as far as I want to go.” Then he laughed at Kelly’s expression. “Want to see mine?”
Kelly nodded eagerly. “Show me what you’ve got, white boy.”
It must be something good, because William didn’t look at all insecure. In fact, he appeared smug as he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. William was more careful with his own clothing, tugging down the jeans first so that the meaty outline of his cock could be seen straining against his cotton underwear. Hooking both thumbs in the elastic band, he playfully wiggled the fabric, lowering it a smidgeon at a time. Eventually there wasn’t enough material left to contain him, and his cock flopped out completely. He was every bit as long as Kelly, but thick too. Just like the rest of him really—one more pale muscle to complement the rest.
“Bring that thing here,” Kelly pleaded.
William hobbled forward on his knees. The second he was close enough, Kelly reached out his tongue to tease the head. William moved closer, allowing him to take it in his mouth. He moaned a few times, thrusting some, but mostly he didn’t need to because Kelly was doing all the work. Then he pulled back suddenly.
“Uh,” he said, cheeks flushing.
“Close already?” Kelly asked.
William’s face grew even redder. “That’s usually not a problem.”
“I’ll take it as a compliment,” Kelly said. “Get back here.”
“No,” William said. “I want this to last.”
Then he found something else to occupy himself with. After kicking off his jeans, William lay on his side and snuggled close to Kelly, resting his head on his stomach. Of course he wasn’t interested in cuddling. Instead his head was turned downward as he traced a finger along Kelly’s dick, starting with the tip of the head and working his way down to the base. Then he took hold of it and pumped. Kelly sighed in pleasure, caressing William’s hair or reaching over to knead a strong deltoid.
William scooted down, and Kelly braced himself for teeth or gagging or a clumsy first effort. Instead he felt firm lips followed by wet warmth. William proceeded with caution, his tongue lolling against the head of his cock, or twirling around it like a French kiss. Then those lips would come together, massaging, pressing, caressing.
Competing desires coursed through Kelly. He wanted to pull William up, to kiss him for real as their bodies lurched against each other. He wanted William in his mouth again. He wanted William inside of him in other ways too. Instead he gave in to the pleasure, writhing on his back as William experimented, using his hand or taking Kelly as deep into his mouth as he could manage. Now it was Kelly who needed to pull away. He whispered a warning that William should stop, but this only seemed to encourage him. And why not? Kelly remembered his first time, how what he wanted most was to make another man come. If that was William’s wish, it was all too easy to grant. One more final warning and Kelly’s hips started bucking with each shot. Eventually he had to push William away because it felt too good.
William didn’t let this discourage him. He rose to his knees again, hurrying back to where he’d been before. Kelly was happy to comply. He took that fat meat in his mouth and sucked as if his life depended on it. William had one hand on the back of his head, the other on his neck. His body tensed and he started thrusting, Kelly barely managing to breathe. Then he was swallowing, not once but twice. Obviously poor William hadn’t taken care of business for a while. After some barely stifled groans, William pulled out and looked down at him with concern.
Kelly smiled reassuringly and reached out his arms. William eagerly fell into them, pulling Kelly as close as possible and holding him there. His breathing evened out, enough that he seemed to have fallen asleep. Eventually he released Kelly and propped himself up on one elbow. His features were sad as his eyes travelled over Kelly’s naked body.
“We won’t fall apart,” William whispered. “Promise me.”
“We won’t,” Kelly said. “I know we won’t.”
William exhaled through his nose. “You sound so certain.”
“Because I love you.” The feeling welled up inside of Kelly. “I love you and I’ll never stop. That’s all it takes.”
William studied his face a moment before he nodded. Then he settled back down, pulling Kelly close so they were spooning against each other. His breathing deepened, the breaths further and further apart, but before he fell asleep completely, he murmured something into Kelly’s ear.
“I love you too.”
Chapter Seven
Kelly awoke the next morning, surprised to find William’s arms still around him. Somewhere in the night they must have gotten cold, because they were under the blankets. He remembered stirring a few times, not used to having someone in bed so determined to hold him. He wondered if William would always be like this, or if it was an expression of his anxiety over crumbling relationships.
Kelly remained motionless with his eyes open, trying to figure out how to politely disentangle himself, when he decide
d to simply enjoy the sensation. He’d stay in bed until William was ready to get up. At least that was the plan. When Kelly heard the front door open and close a few times, he realized one of his parents must have noticed the extra car in the driveway.
He quickly squirmed out of William’s embrace, waking him in the process. Kelly was throwing on yesterday’s clothes when murmured words asked him what he was doing.
“Stay here,” he answered. “I need to talk to my parents.”
William sighed in response, perhaps remembering what had happened with his own. Kelly didn’t have time to comfort him. The last thing he wanted was his mom or dad to knock on the door and see a naked man over his shoulder. He glanced back longingly on the way out, William covering his head with his arm before thinking better and using a pillow instead.
Kelly met his mother as she was coming up the stairs. The question she asked was so obvious that he almost mouthed along with her.
“Why is William’s car in the driveway?”
“He spent the night.” Before she could react, he added in a whisper. “His parents are getting a divorce.”
“Oh, that’s terrible!” She looked past him at the bedroom door. “Does his mother know where he is? She’ll be worried sick.”
“I’ll make sure he calls her.”
“Good. The poor thing. He must have gotten here late.”
“Yeah. His dad took off yesterday, and William was with his mom most of the night, trying to comfort her.”
“And then it was your turn,” Laisha said, her tones sympathetic. “How is he?”
Kelly kept his answer simple. “Better.”
“Do you think he’d like an omelet?”
Kelly grinned. “I’m sure he would, but you better make double for him. Wait until you see him eat. It’s scary.”
“I remember from your birthday!” She spared him another worried glance before turning to head back down the stairs.
“Mom,” Kelly said to stop her. He checked that his bedroom door was still closed. “You and Dad are okay, right? You’d tell me if something was wrong?”
His mother looked up at him solemnly. “Honey, quite a few marriages fail. That’s a sad fact. But your father and me, we’re forever.”
He smiled in response, then watched her mosey down the stairs.
Forever. She made it sound so beautiful, so possible. As he headed back to his bedroom to rouse a grumbling lump from sleep, he prayed that it was.
Accompanying William back to his house had seemed like a good idea at the time. Kelly wanted to show his support, and for William to see that he’d be there for him through thick and thin. What Kelly hadn’t counted on was how stifling the environment would be. The home had always felt so cozy before, in a cluttered sort of way. Now—while there was no sign that Mr. Townson had taken anything with him—an absence hung in the air. Something was missing. Kelly felt he would have noticed, even if he hadn’t known the truth.
Mrs. Townson was in the kitchen, making cookies while Christmas music played in the background, but the most wonderful time of the year felt anything but. She greeted her son with a hug, as she always did, thanking him for his text message. Then William announced his intent to shower and get changed. Kelly’s instinct was to follow him up the stairs, but William had other plans.
“What’s she going to think if I’m in the shower and you’re upstairs with me?” he said in hushed tones.
Kelly raised an eyebrow. “That you’re gay?”
“Ha ha,” William deadpanned. “She’s been awesome about all of that, but I don’t want to push my luck. Even my brothers weren’t allowed to have girls over to... You know.”
“What?” Kelly asked innocently.
“Get frisky,” William said. “Shut up,” he added when he saw Kelly’s smile. “Besides, you think you can keep an eye on her? Baking cookies first thing in the morning is weird, even for her. Please?”
“Okay.”
Kelly reluctantly headed back to the kitchen and sat at the breakfast bar. Mrs. Townson gave him a half-smile before returning to work. He watched her for a moment as she transferred cookies from a baking sheet to a wire rack. Then he glanced around the house again, noticing the Christmas tree in one corner, ripe with presents at its base. He wondered how many had been for Mr. Townson, or were gifts from him. How could they possibly expect to have a nice holiday this year?
He looked back at Mrs. Townson, who had put another loaded cookie sheet into the oven and shut the door, leaning against the counter next to it.
Kelly tried to find a cheerful topic of conversation, but ignoring what was happening seemed disrespectful, as if it were of no consequence. So he didn’t.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “About everything.”
Mrs. Townson nodded. “I honestly didn’t see it coming. You think you know someone...”
“Yeah,” Kelly said, barely able to relate. He supposed Jared had turned out to be a lot less cool than he’d hoped, but running out on your family—especially at this time of year—was completely different. The thought made him shake his head. “He could have waited.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mr. Townson. He could have waited until after the holidays. That would have been the decent thing to do.”
Mrs. Townson crossed her arms over her chest. “He didn’t have a choice. He was caught. I followed him after work and saw him pick her up in that stupid car of his. As soon as she kissed him, I laid on the horn. You should have seen their faces. I think she bit his tongue and—” She shook her head. “Are you saying I should have waited until after Christmas to confront him?”
“No,” Kelly said, trying to keep up. “I was just thinking about William. He’s going to have a bad Christmas this year.”
“I’m thinking of him too,” Mrs. Townson said. “His father being here wouldn’t have made the holiday any happier. No doubt he would have found some excuse to sneak off in the middle of opening presents. Does that sound like a merry Christmas to you?”
Kelly had no idea why this kept coming back to him, but he was getting annoyed. “All I’m saying is that if I had kids, I would fake it. No matter what was going on between me and my partner, I’d pretend we were fine until Christmas was over.”
Mrs. Townson scoffed. “You try being married to someone, giving birth to three of his children, and giving him twenty-five years of your life. You do all that, and then see how you feel when he cheats on you!”
Kelly felt confused and frustrated. He hadn’t meant for the conversation to turn so sour. “I feel bad for William,” he finished lamely. “That’s all.”
“So do I,” Mrs. Townson said. Then she turned around and busied herself with her baking. She kept her back to him until William returned downstairs. Only when he joined her at the counter did her shoulders relax somewhat.
“Everything okay?” he asked, grabbing a cookie.
“Fine,” his mother said. “Your brothers are coming over today. They don’t know yet. I thought you could help me talk to them.”
“Yeah,” William said. “Of course.”
“This is a family matter,” she said pointedly.
“I know,” William said. Then he turned to Kelly and shrugged helplessly.
That was his cue. “I should head home,” Kelly said.
“Take some cookies with you.” Mrs. Townson met his eye briefly, but didn’t smile. “For your family.”
“Thank you,” he said.
He watched in silence as William picked out cookies and his mother packed them in Tupperware. Then she turned and handed it to him.
“I really am sorry,” he said, not sure if he was apologizing for the conversation or for the divorce. Either way she nodded curtly.
Once they were outside, he felt like he could breathe again.
“I think she likes you,” William said.
Kelly glanced over at him to see that he was serious.
“Yeah,” Kelly said. “We get along great.”
/> “PARTY!”
Whoever shouted this sounded somewhat desperate. Surveying what little of the house he could see, Kelly couldn’t blame them. William’s friends—one of the girls who had a transparent crush on him, even now —was throwing a New Year’s Eve soiree. Kelly had been excited when William first told him about it. None of the track team guys had anything interesting going on, except for a plan to find a homeless man downtown who would be willing to buy them beer. Classy.
So Kelly had leapt at this opportunity. No parental supervision. The end of the year. One last wild night before the next school semester started. So much could go delightfully wrong. And yet, Kelly felt like he was in a family-friendly sitcom where nothing truly bad or interesting ever happened.
No beer, no cheap fruit-flavored booze, not even a Jell-O shot in sight. No heavy clouds of smoke from cigarettes or joints. At least the music was pumping, but William’s friend had a thing for the eighties, making Kelly feel like he was trapped in the car with his parents. Or worse, since the dining room furniture had been shoved to one side so white people could lurch stiffly in what might have been an attempt to dance. But for the most part, everyone hung around the living room, engaging in conversations that could have taken place anywhere, even in a classroom.
Kelly stifled another yawn, watching as two girls held pencils to their mouths and pretended they were puffing on cigarettes. Naturally this made them both giggle. Suddenly, that booze-buying bum didn’t sound so bad. He glanced over at William, who appeared perfectly content. He even smiled as he watched the proceedings. Of course this was the guy who rushed home after school every day for cookies and an episode of Beast Wars. Kelly tried to roll his eyes and ended up sighing. He was dating such a nerd, but damn was he adorable!