Obligatory warnings and disclaimers:
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If reading this is in any way illegal where you are or at your age, or you don't want to read about male/male relationships, go away. You shouldn't be here.
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I don't know any of the celebrities in this story, and this story in no way is meant to imply anything about their sexualities, personalities, or anything else. This is a work of pure fiction.
Questions and commentary can be sent to "writerboy69@hotmail.com". I enjoy constructive criticism, praise, and rational discussion. I do not enjoy flames, and will not tolerate them.
That said, we now continue.
I decided to give April and Justin a little time to themselves, so that they could talk things out. Justin wasn't some fragile little kid, and I didn't want him to get in the habit of being completely dependent on me every time he was upset. I'd noticed for the past couple of days that when he got upset, he immediately reached out for me, and I wanted to make sure he kept a little of his independence. I would be here for him, but considering how much time we were going to be spending apart, I wanted to make sure he could still handle things on his own. Besides that, the two of them had been friends longer than I had known him, so they deserved a little alone time to figure out their issues.
I walked back out to the front, noticing for the first time that there was a small "Help Wanted" sign on the window, and one by the register. I walked over to the cafe counter as Michelle poured me a cup of coffee.
"Everything set with Princess April?" she asked, setting it in front of me.
"Don't call her that, please," I said, shaking my head.
"Matt used to," Michelle pointed out, pushing the creamer toward me.
"Matt meant it affectionately," I said, stirring in some sugar. Michelle made strong coffee, no matter what the flavor.
"So do I," Michelle began, wiping at the counter. She shined it perpetually, whether it was dirty or not. "But she walks all over you, and she did it to him, too."
"That's just her way," I said, shrugging. April had always had both of us twisted around her little finger, which was probably why this was such a hard thing for her to accept. "I don't let her run all over me. Yes, I spoil her, but only to a point. But, yes, to answer your question, things are kind of settled between us. Her and Justin are up talking things out right now."
"Can I ask a question?"
I could have said no, but knew that she'd ask anyway.
"Sure, why not?" I answered, shrugging.
"Is she ok with it?" Michelle asked, her eyes glancing up at the ceiling as if she could see April through it. "With you and Justin?"
"She's not wildly excited about it," I answered, sipping my coffee. "But she's going to give us space, to give us a chance."
"Good," Michelle answered, smiling. "Because I think you guys deserve it, and I wouldn't want to see you turn away from it now because of her."
There didn't really seem to be anything to say to that, and the two of us sat there in silence for a few minutes. Michelle handed me the mail, and she started getting things ready behind the counter for the evening shift, when Meg would come in to take over for her. There wasn't much of interest, some junk mail, a few bank statements and things like that, and I glanced up at Michelle again as I finished sorting it.
"Are you sure you can handle everything while I'm gone?" I asked. It seemed like a big job, suddenly, and I worried about leaving things in her hands. It wasn't that I didn't trust Michelle. I just worried about leaving things in anyone's hands, and suddenly going away with Justin seemed like it might not be the smartest idea after all. "The bills and everything? The orders?"
"Yes," she answered, not even looking up.
"The bakery deliveries?" I continued. "The newspapers?"
"Yes," she answered again, snickering. She walked over and sat on her stool across from me, bringing her own cup. "Chris, I'm the assistant manager. I can handle everything that goes on here. You haven't taken a vacation, ever, since the store opened. Please, go do what you have to."
"Michelle, I'm not trying to say that you can't do it," I began, folding my hands. "I'm just worried, that's all. I'm just."
"You're just trying to make up excuses," she said simply, her black outlined eyes tilting with amusement. She laid one of her hands over mine. "I know you're worried about going with him, but it's the right thing to do. Don't start making up worries about the store, or the way April feels, or anything else. Do this, for yourself, ok?"
I nodded, my throat filled with a sudden lump.
"How long are you going to be gone?" she asked, leaning back and removing her hand, becoming her usual brusque self again. "Do you know yet?"
"I'm not sure," I answered, taking another sip of coffee. "A week? Maybe two?"
"You could even take three if you wanted," she said, shrugging. I shot her a look, and she held up her hands. "If you wanted. That's all. You don't have to."
"We'll take it as it comes," I said. That's what Justin and I would be doing, which made it a little difficult to make extended plans. I didn't even know where we were going to be staying, or what we'd be doing. "You didn't waste any time getting the signs up."
"We already got an application," Michelle said, reaching down to pull one out from under the counter. "Here. Seems like a nice kid."
"Michelle, this guy just turned sixteen," I said, pursing my lips. "Are you sure someone this young can handle this kind of responsibility? He hasn't even ever had another job."
"OK then," Michelle said, pulling it out of my hands. "I said he was a nice kid. I didn't say I was going to hire him on the spot. He's the only application we have right now, but I've only had the sign up today. Since you trust me so much, I'm going to take this away from you now. This is going to be my first managerial decision, ok?"
"Michelle," I began, wanting to argue. I realized that it would be futile, since she was just doing what I'd asked her to, and I'd just told her I trusted her with the store while I was gone. I held up my hands in surrender. "OK, you're right. I guess I'm just."
"Worried," she concluded for me, shaking her head and smiling. "Chris, I'm sure everything upstairs is fine, and everything here is going to be fine, too. Now, go do your important boss stuff, ok?"
"OK," I said, carrying the mail back into my office along with my cup. It was too hard not to smile to bother trying. I worked in the office for a while, writing out some notes for Michelle just in case anything came up even though we both knew that she was as capable of handling anything as I was. I was busy writing a memo to Julie about how we weren't going to give out popcorn during the weekly story hours, no matter how much the kids wanted it, because I didn't want them running through the store and handling books with buttery fingers when there was a knock at my door. I looked up, smiling uncertainly. "Hey."
"Hey," April said, sitting on the edge of my desk. She looked quieter, her hair pushed back under a plaid band to match her skirt, her face looking kind of young without much makeup. "I, um, Justin says you guys are going away for a while?"
"Was that a question?" I asked, looking up at her. She frowned. "Sorry. Yeah, we are. He has to go back to Florida for some kind of magazine shoot, and he asked if I would go with him, so I'm going to. Are you and Justin ok?"
"I think so," April answered, shifting a little. She looked at her nails, as if they had suddenly become more interesting than the conversation. "He's still pissed at me for ditching him with you, although, you know, the consolation prize he got out of it sure seems to have helped a lot. I think I'm still a little pissed, too, about, you know, that whole thing, but we're still friends."
"What about me and you?" I asked, leaning back. She sighed. "Are we still friends?"
"We just had this discussion like two hours ago," she said, rolling her eyes. "You overanalyze everything. You've always been like that, and sometimes it's just not real cute, ok? I know what you're trying to do, but I don't want to talk about it right now. I don't want to hash everything out and have this really deep heart to heart like you always do. I just, I still like Justin, and I still love you. It's going to take a little time before I like the idea of the two of you together."
I swallowed.
"I can understand that," I said, feeling like something between us was ending, just the same. Maybe it was. "April, I didn't mean for this to happen. Neither did Justin."
"I know," she said, standing. "Sometimes shit just does. Now come here and give me a hug."
"April," I began, still wanting to talk it out as I squeezed her tightly.
"Shhh," she said, realizing that I was more or less incapable of just letting it go. "Have a good trip, and call me when you get back, ok?"
"OK," I said, letting go.
I walked her to the front door, not sure of what else I should do. The whole thing felt so damned permanent, so much more than just "goodbye, see you soon," but I didn't know how to stop it. Maybe April really did just need some time. Maybe I did, too, but the store suddenly seemed a little darker, a little less bright and open. I walked over to the counter, running my hands through my hair, and waved to Michelle.
"I'm going to go up and help Justin get ready for dinner," I said. "Chris is coming over tonight, so that we can run through all of this again."
Michelle nodded.
"I'll leave Meg a note to have someone walk him back to the stairs when he gets here," she said. "Have a good night, Chris."
"You, too," I said, walking through the storeroom.
I climbed the stairs and opened the apartment door without knocking, locking it behind me. I didn't want Chris just barging in when it was time for dinner, and the open door policy that had developed in the loft over the past couple of days was starting to rankle me. When I walked in, Justin was standing in front of the dining room table, staring thought fully at the vase of roses in the center of it. He turned when I walked in, his face breaking into a glowing smile as I set down my keys and walked over to him. I stood next to him, our shoulders touching, and looked at the vase with him. He'd found a plain clear one under the sink, probably leftover from some time when someone had sent me flowers for a birthday or something, and had carefully arranged his bouquet in it, trimming the stems and spritzing it with water when he was done so that the whole thing glistened under the overhead light like a showpiece.
"You got me flowers," Justin said, throwing his arm around my shoulders and pulling me against him. "You're my sweetie."
"Sweetie?" I asked, shaking my head. "I was hoping for something a little more manly."
"Were you?" Justin asked, turning me by the shoulders. I looked up into his eyes, noticing that they were almost the same color as the roses, and they were getting a lot closer as he leaned in. "Maybe I like calling you Sweetie."
Justin's lips pressed against mine as I held my hands against his chest, feeling him breath beneath them. His heart beat softly under his t-shirt, and I leaned in to return the kiss, feeling his tongue dart into my mouth. He hadn't shaved today, leaving his chin a little stubbly, and I felt it scraping against my chin as I leaned into him, fascinated with the play of his abs and his tight torso against mine. His hands were holding the sides of my face, keeping me in place as he dipped his tongue into my mouth again and again. It probed along the inside of my jaw, sliding over my teeth and pressing against my own tongue as I sucked him into my mouth. He made a little sighing noise into my mouth as my hands slid around to his back, drifting in lazy sweeps up and down his spine.
"What time is Chris coming for dinner?" I whispered as he pulled back to slide his mouth under my jaw, pressing it against the side of my neck in soft kisses. Justin's short hair brushed my cheek as he used his hands to turn my head to the side.
"Couple hours," Justin answered. I felt his breath push across my neck, giving a little shiver as it blew over the wet spots his mouth was leaving. "It's plenty of time."
"Plenty of time for what?" I asked, as he turned me again. I felt my ass hit the edge of the table and tensed a little, meaning to push him away, but Justin just kept nuzzling at my artery, and I gasped as I felt a little brush of his teeth mixed in with his kisses.
"For me to thank you," Justin answered, his hands dropping down from my face to the collar of my shirt. "For the flowers."
"Justin, that's," I began, fully intending to tell him that it wasn't necessary as his hands began to undo the buttons of my shirt. His head dropped a little lower, his tongue tracing down into the hollow of my throat like a soft wet feather, light and barely there. Instead one of my hands slid up to run into his hair, ruffling it a little. I drew in another sharp breath, my head rolling back on my neck the way he'd left it. I wanted to melt. "That's nice."
His only answer to that was a slight moan of approval as he continued to nuzzle and lick at my neck. His hands slid down the front of my torso, undoing another button, and his mouth followed them. His soft lips slid along my left collarbone, his chin continuing to lightly scrape my skin, sending further shivers through me, and I continued caressing his head with one hand as the other rested on his shoulder, squeezing a little. His hands undid another button, spreading my shirt open a little, and they rested on my chest, feeling my pecs. Under his palms my nipples stiffened, pressing against him, hoping for a little stimulation of their own, but for the moment he had fastened his mouth to the spot where my neck met my shoulders, and was sucking and nibbling at it like a vampire. Actually, that simile was all wrong, because I knew Justin would never hurt me, and the light nipping of his teeth was erotic, not painful.
"You taste so good," Justin murmured against me. He'd stopped working at my buttons for a second as he moved his flattened hands over my chest, the tips of his index fingers tracing delicate circles around my nipples.
"Justin," I began again, trying to collect myself, wanting to tell him that we shouldn't do this, even if we had a few hours, because we needed to maybe talk about what he was going to say to Chris. Before I could speak, though, he caught the tips of my nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, rolling them tightly away from my chest, and all I could do was gasp again as my back arched, pressing me against him.
"Oh, you like that, don't you," Justin whispered, dropping his mouth lower. "Bet you'll like this, too."
His tongue traced a narrow, wet path down the center of my chest, tickling at the breastbone. Pointing it firmly, he slid it along the curve of my right pec, tracing the slight rise of muscle with his tongue. I wasn't built like he was, all ripples and curves and super tight, but I definitely had a little geography, distinct musculature of my own that Justin was tracing with his tongue before he reached my throbbing nipple. He flicked his tongue over it, looking up to see my response, but I could barely catch his eyes through my own tightly slitted ones. He flicked his tongue out again, drawing a circle around my nipple, tracing the edge of the aureole before he fastened his pink, firm lips over it. He sucked lightly for a second, flicking his tongue across the tip again as he held his mouth there, and my fingers tightened almost involuntarily on his head, pulling at the short strands of hair there. He traced a path across my chest with his tongue again, outlining me with his saliva, before subjecting my other nipple to the same attention he'd given the first.
His hands slid down my sides again, feathering over my ribs before they went back to work at the buttons of my shirt. He reached the last one, his mouth still drifting back and forth from one nipple to the other, and then he began to tug the ends of my shirt out of my pants with the same maddening slowness. My nipples felt like they were on fire, throbbing on my chest after he'd worked them both over with his mouth, and now he was dipping lower, his tongue doing that tracing thing again as he ran down the center of my torso and drew a light circle around my navel. I giggled, squirming, slightly ticklish, and felt his breath flutter over my stomach as he chuckled, too. His hands spread the sides of my shirt as he stood, bringing his mouth to mine again and pecking lightly at my lips. I tried to hold him there, staring into his bright blue eyes, but he took my hands in his own and gently removed them from his head.
I stared at his face, seeing the slight flush across his cheeks, feeling exposed suddenly with my shirt hanging open and my chest glistening where he'd left saliva painted across it. His bottom lip shone with moisture, and his eyes sparkled as he smiled at me, leaning in to kiss me again as he held my hands tightly in his own. His grip was firm, but not painful, and he guided my hands down to the edge of the table, which I was still leaning on. Carefully opening my fingers, he rolled them down over the edge.
"Why don't you put this one here," he began, lifting my other hand as he patted the first. He kissed the back of my hand, fluttering his lips over my knuckles, and then folded that one over the edge of the table, too. "And put that one there, and just keep them there, ok? You just sit there, and I'll show you how much I like the flowers, ok?"
"OK," I whispered as he leaned in to kiss me again.
Justin tugged at my bottom lip with his teeth for a second, pulling it away from my face, and I whimpered, my hands tightening their grip on the table. He chuckled again, dragging his mouth off of mine as he skirted down my chin and along the ridge of my jaw. He slid down over my neck again, his hands smoothing a path down my chest as he sank slowly to his knees. He stopped to worry my nipples with his teeth again, leaving me wondering for a brief second if they were still going to hurt tomorrow and if they'd ever go down before I felt my brain turning to jelly, all my thoughts collapsing under the heat of his kisses trailing across me. His lips kissed their way down the center of my body again as his hands crawled, spiderlike, along my belt, unfastening the buckle and my pants. He dipped his tongue into my navel, sucking at it for a second, and I shuddered, stiffening a little. I'd never thought of that as an erogenous zone, but with the right person, I guess anything was possible.
Justin leaned back on his haunches, his thighs tightening in his casual Abercrombie khakis as my own pants dropped softly to the floor. He smiled for a second, looking up at me, and then leaned forward again, kissing lightly at my stomach as his hands caressed my calves. My cock was beyond hard at this point, tied with invisible threads to my nipples and my chest and every other part of my body that Justin touched, but he ignored it for now as he felt my legs, running his hands up and down them. His mouth was just above the waist of my boxers, his kisses brushing the little bit of hair between my navel and my pubes, and his tongue flicked out and slid beneath the waistband for a second, perilously close to my throbbing cockhead, but not close enough. Justin's hands slid up the back of my boxers, sliding inside the legs, pulling the fabric tight over me and trapping my cock against my body as he squeezed my ass. I was twisting now, my hips moving back and forth, involuntarily pushing toward him, and I was holding the table so tightly that my knuckles were white.
Justin kept kissing my stomach, and then he leaned down, and rubbed the side of his face against my covered cock. I felt myself throb against him, and knew I had to be leaking like crazy. His hands still gripping me tightly, kneading my cheeks as they flexed for him, Justin began to lick my boxers, dragging his tongue over them, pressing and probing with it like a small, firm finger. He slid around my shaft, keeping the fabric between us, although it was just getting wetter and less like a barrier with every passing second, and then I jumped, almost spilling right then when his tongue darted inside the fly and skittered up my shaft.
"Justin!" I yelped urgently, but he showed no signs of slowing down.
He continued to lick at the front of my boxers, darting his tongue inside every few seconds, and then he finally pushed the fabric around with his mouth the open the fly a little, licking up and down my shaft. I was having trouble catching my breath now, gripping the table so slightly I expected the end of it to snap off in my hands, and then I shuddered again as Justin blew his hot breath softly over my wet shaft. I might kill him later for being such a tease, but right then all I could focus on was my throbbing pipe and his hot mouth, and how much I wanted the two of them to meet. Justin seemed to have the same idea, as he was now licking at my in earnest, his nose, mouth, and tongue fully inside the fly of my boxers as he loudly slurped over me. His hands finally unclenched form my ass, sliding down my legs, and then his fingers folded over the waist of my boxers as he tugged them down to my feet. My cock smacked loudly against my abs as he leaned back again, smiling, his chin covered with spit.
"Wow," he breathed, winking at me. "Two presents in one day."
I wanted to answer him, to say anything, beg him to keep going, tell him how hot he was, anything, but all the words were tangled up in my throat, and all I got out was a stuttered syllable. Justin chuckled again, and then all I could do was moan, watching him, as the point of his tongue came out again and dipped into my slit. My cock throbbed, jumping, and a sparkling bead of precum pulsed out. Justin's pink tongue darted out again to scoop it up as he made a contented sort of almost purring noise. He was teasing me again, almost tickling my head with his tongue as he swiped it over my slit, or ran it around the ridge where my head met the shaft. He hadn't used his hands yet, just resting them on my thighs, but his mouth was doing wonders all on its own. My cock was standing almost straight up, and Justin nudged it a little with his head as he brought his lips to my shaft, wetly kissing along the big vein on the underside.
"Oh, Justin," I managed to grunt, before he slid down and sucked my balls into his mouth, tickling them with his tongue. All I could do then was gasp, and tighten my fingers on the table again.
Justin released my balls, letting them slide out of his mouth with a soft pop before he began to kiss his way up my shaft again. When he reached the head, he smiled again, and then leaned forward as his mouth dropped open, more or less inhaling me. My arms were shaking as I stared down at him, my whole body trembling a little as I gasped in breaths and moaned above him, my every attempt at speaking degenerating into a wordless noise. Justin's hands slid around to grab my ass again, and he used it to pull me forward. I looked down, watching my shaft stretch his mouth open, seeing that smooth, angelic face flushing but completely relaxed, and that was it. Before I could warn him I felt my body tightening, but Justin didn't need the warning. Taking a deep breath, he leaned forward again, swallowing, and I felt my cock slide all the way into his throat as he pressed his nose into my auburn pubes.
That was it. I felt myself shake, and I couldn't breathe at all as I shot down Justin's throat. He continued to swallow, almost milking me, and then when I was finally done he let my cock slide slowly back into his mouth. I shivered as he licked at the head on its way out, sucking at it lightly for a moment to make sure it was clean, and when it emerged, glistening, from his shiny lips he kissed it again before he started sliding my boxers up my legs. He pulled them up as he stood, kissing my stomach again as he rose, kissing softly at the center of my chest, and then he leaned in to kiss my lips again as I panted, trying to find myself again. He smiled at me as he grabbed the sides of my shirt and began to button it again.
"Thanks for the flowers," he whispered, kissing my cheek by my ear. "Let's get you all put back together now."
"Wait," I said, catching his hands. "We, um, what about you? I can't just leave you hanging after, you know, after that."
Justin blushed redder than I'd ever seen him, the color rising quickly up his neck and over his ears as it washed out of his cheeks and even up into his hairline. He looked sheepishly away, not meeting my eyes as he finished buttoning my shirt.
"I, um, I came in my pants," he said, bright red now as he pulled up my pants. "I'm going to go, um, clean up and change now."
"Justin, wait," I said, grabbing his shoulders. I slid my hands up to cup his face, and kissed him on the mouth, a long, lingering kiss. When I let him go some of his blush was fading, but I could see that he was still a little embarrassed about what he'd done. "Baby, knowing that I turn you on that much, I could almost cum again right here. I promise I'll take care of you later, and I'll make it good. OK, Justin?"
"OK," he whispered, melting against me for a second. When he stepped back I noticed a definite wet spot on the front of his khakis, but didn't want to mention it and embarrass him again. One of the bad parts about being that young was having a bit of a hair trigger sometimes.
Justin had suggested ordering in for dinner, so that we wouldn't have to cook anything, and I looked at the menu he'd set out after digging it out of the stack I kept by the phone. Living alone, I tended to eat out or have food delivered a lot because having leftovers in the refrigerator irritated me. While Justin took a quick shower, which I figured was a little unnecessary unless he was using it to cool off, too, I called and ordered a few things, wondering if we were feeding three of us, or four. I hadn't thought to ask, but Justin told me to set the table for three when I yelled my question toward the bedroom as he got dressed. I had to make a very determined effort not to stare as he sauntered across the loft in his towel to get dressed, especially when he deliberately dropped the towel halfway between the bathroom and the bedroom.
"I'm not your maid," I called lightly as I tossed the balled up towel through the bedroom door.
"Want to come in and punish me?" he teased, and I just knew he was naked.
"Maybe later," I answered, finishing the table. I sat on the couch, idly flipping through a magazine while Justin got dressed, which seemed to take forever. When the food came, I went down to get it, because Justin still hadn't emerged from the bedroom. Carrying it back up the steps, I called out to him tentatively as I sat the bags on the counter. "Baby?"
"Yeah, I'm coming," Justin said, walking over to the kitchen quickly. He started to help me put the takeout into dishes, so it would look a little better than just spooning dinner out of a box, and some of it dropped onto the counter as his hand shook a little. I took his hands and led him over to a window.
"Justin, talk to me," I said softly, stroking the side of his face.
"The food'll get cold," he said softly, not meeting my eyes.
"It's ok to be a little nervous, babe," I said, waiting. "When I had to talk to April earlier, I didn't know what she was going to say. I didn't know if she was going to be mad, or if she'd scream, and I was kind of afraid to hear it. It's ok to be worried about what Chris is going to say, too."
"I know," Justin answered, finally looking at me. "I just, I'm not worried about what he's going to think. I'm worried about what you'll think. I don't want to look, I don't want to be weak in front of you. I don't want you to think I'm like that. I don't want you to think I'm stupid, or pathetic, or, I don't know, whatever else."
"Justin, even if you're nervous for a minute," I said, leaning in to kiss him, "it doesn't matter to me. I know how you are, and I know who you are. You and I already talked about this. Nothing Chris says is going to change the way I feel about you."
"I know," he said, shaking his head. He smiled thinly. "I'm just being stupid."
"No, you're not," I said, kissing him again. "You're being human. It happens to all of us."
"Let's go finish getting this stuff together," Justin said, hugging me. He squeezed tightly, and I knew, even though his heart was thumping in his chest so hard that I could feel it, that he'd be ok.
We finished moving everything into dishes, and put them in the oven to keep them warm, both of us glancing at the clock and trying not to watch it. There wasn't much else to do, other than wait, so we both lazed around on the couches, looking at magazines, before Justin got up and began to play with the stereo again. I started to pace, glancing at the clock again, and finally walked up behind Justin and put my hands on his shoulders as he knelt on the floor.
"Do you think we should call him?" I asked. "He's almost a half hour late."
"No," Justin answered, shaking his head. "He's doing this on purpose."
"Justin, why would he," I began, but the phone chirped, cutting me off. I picked it up, watching Justin shake his head and close the stereo. "Hello?"
"Hey," Meg said, her voice irritated. "Your N-stink guest is here for dinner."
"Chris is here," I said, looking at Justin. He nodded. "Send him up."
Why did I get the feeling that somewhere a boxing ring fight bell should be striking?
To be continued.