Second Toughest in the Infants

SECOND TOUGHEST IN THE INFANTS by Kai Wailbone

Author's note: this and other chapters will now be in text format, if only because the sole reason I have not been posting is because of my access to an HTML editor. This has been eliminated by putting everything in plain text. Just don't expect things to look so fancy...

ALSO - I'm giving up on the mailing list. I simply don't have the access to keep up right now... but I still love you all. Promise.

A little shout out to NICK JOHNSON (if, indeed, that is your real name) for "Nick and Ashley." I admittedly didn't really like the story AT FIRST, but it does get addicting.

FOR SEBASTIAN - "Oh, my God! ...next!"

DISCLAIMER FOR CHAPTER NINE

This is a work of fiction. The characters are fictional, though their names and descriptions are similar to real people. Do not take this (the story) seriously. Please.

The title is from the Underworld album "Second Toughest in the Infants." The chapter headings are from lyrics and song names.

Second Toughest in the Infants Chapter Nine - To Dream of Love

"You crawled inside my mind when you crawled into my bed said everything I've ever longed to hear so perfect, so alive, once inside you sucked me dry used me up and left me here for dead..."

• Stabbing Westward, "I don't believe" ___________________________________

Jacob was careful not to show his surprise at Ashley's presence in his room. Instead, he stepped casually out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist and stoically stifled the small shivers that crept up his spine as the cool air touched his still shower-damp skin. The wet ends of his dreads swept heavily at the base of his neck as he turned his head to face Ashley.

"Hey, Jake."

Jacob stared at Ashley coldly. "Ash."

Ashley's smile faded ever so slightly. "How're you doin'?"

Jacob shrugged and moved past Ashley, not disguising his anger. He'd been in the shower for almost forty minutes, asking himself that exact same question. All night his emotions had been in a constant state of upheaval, moving from the extremes of pdepression and bitterness to an all-consuming rage. He'd resisted the anger, rationalizing and coming up with increasingly improbable ways where it could be his fault, until finally, with morning and the warm shower water pouring over him, he'd embraced the anger, letting it wash over him with the water, feeling it give him the strength and energy he needed to keep standing and go through the motions of normalcy.

Now, with the object of his anger a few feet away, he felt almost afraid to open his mouth, irrationally fearing his words might lash out so hard as to actually do physical damage. Keeping his back turned, he started pulling at the pile of clothes on the floor, searching for something clean to wear.

Sounding uncertain and hesitant, Ashley lifted his hand, which was clutching a tightly wadded towel. "I, uh... I was wondering if I could use your shower." At Jacob's sharp look, he quickly added, "Dan's been in ours all morning."

Jacob felt an immediate twinge of suspicion - Dan almost never spent more than twenty minutes in the bathroom, taking pride in getting himself ready faster than anyone else. He was famous for it. Which pointed to the natural conclusion that Ashley was lying for some reason.

And the idea of Ashley telling such an obvious lie as an excuse to be in his room... Jacob couldn't help smiling inwardly in spite of his anger.

But he didn't let any of his satisfaction show. Instead, Jacob nodded curtly to the bathroom, indicating his permission, and managed to ignore Ashley so well that it took several seconds for him to realize that Ashley hadn't moved. He was staring at Jacob with a sad, almost hopeful expression that tugged at Jacob's heart strings.

"Jake... what's wrong?"

Jacob didn't even look up. He'd been rehearsing this scene in his head all morning, how he would give Ashley the cold shoulder, let him regret ever having made him mad, making him squirm under his justified revenge... But it didn't help that, now that he was actually doing it, all he wanted was to turn to Ashley and smile, tell him everything was forgiven, and ask that they just start over again...

"Jake... Jake, look, I know you're probably mad..."

"'PROBABLY'?" Jacob allowed his bitterness to drip from his voice, rolling his eyes incredulously. "Whatever gave you THAT idea?"

Ashley didn't answer, obviously shocked into silence. Biting his lower lip, he tried to smile again. "Is it about yesterday?"

"Yesterday, last week, last month... does it matter?" Jacob snapped angrily.

"What are you talking about? I didn't..."

"I'm not going to be your rebound, Ash. Just because this thing with Shelli fell apart..."

"But I didn't..."

"Shut up."

Ashley stared at him in shock, and only his carefully practiced expression of anger prevented Jacob from mirroring it. Opening his mouth, Jacob tried to think of something scathing and wise to say, something that expressed his frustration, his pain at Ashley's (hopefully) unintentional betrayal, his desire for things to be perfect in a way no one else seemed to understand...

But words failed him. Shaking his head in a way he knew could be mistaken for pity, he sighed.

"Take your shower, Ash," he said, lazy contempt on his voice. Turning away again, he sighed again in affected resignation and, without thinking, dropped his towel.

For a moment, Jacob was so surprised with himself that he froze, his back turned but completely naked in front of Ashley. Not that Ashley hadn't seen him naked before - he had, many times, and in far more compromising positions. But... Jacob had never allowed anyone to see him naked in broad daylight. Not casually, not while dressing, not in the shower. Ever. Whether it was self esteem issues or just an overgrown sense of modesty, he didn't know and hadn't really ever stopped to consider. Now, he felt his face getting hot, and he was sure that his blush was extending far beyond his face. He wanted nothing better than to pick up the towel and cover himself back up again, but that would show weakness, or that it had been a mistake. So, praying that Ashley would take the hint and just leave him alone, he bent over quickly and started pawing through the pile of clothes beside his bed, looking for something clean to wear.

"Jake..."

Ashley's voice sounded a bit hoarse, but Jacob didn't straighten until he'd found a pair of gray boxer briefs. No longer caring if they were clean or dirty, he held them in front of him as he turned around. "What?"

"I, uh..."

Jacob, careful to hold the underwear loosely but strategically in front of him, turned all the way around. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest and his hands were shaking ever so slightly, but still he managed to look arrogantly indifferent.

"What?" he asked again. "It's nothing you haven't seen already."

Ashley's eyes slowly made their way to Jacob's face. "Yeah, but..." Ashley seemed to hesitate for a moment. "You... you know, I... just wanted to let you know, that... uh... I thought about you last night."

"REALLY?" Jacob heard the harsh, accusatory suspicion in his voice, but somewhere deep inside of him a surge of hope had leaked into his anger. "'Thought about me' HOW?"

Ashley smiled slightly. "How do you think?"

Jacob sighed heavily, his anger spiking just as violently as his arousal. "Dammit, Ashley, I'm not some toy you can just pick up or throw away when you're bored..."

"I never said you were a toy..."

"But you treat me that way, don't you?" Jacob shot back as he turned away. His anger flowed through him, pumping like adrenaline, and he felt his face flushing in excitement. But somewhere, a tiny, almost embarassing part of him was enjoying this, was waiting desperately for Ashley to... to...

"No, Jake... look, Jake, this is all kinda new to me..."

"Me, too, but you don't see me running around with other guys, do you?"

"No, worse, you're planning our fucking marriage or something."

Jacob closed his mouth with a snap. That had hurt, more than he'd like to admit. But rather than show Ashley how successful his barb had been, he bent over to pull his underwear on.

"You, uh... sure you want to do that so soon?"

"Why?" Jacob asked sharply.

"Well... you could come over here, and I'll show you." In an instant all hesitancy had evaporated from Ashley's voice, and the cold command that underlay the coy statement raised a shiver up Jacob's spine.

Jacob turned to face Ashley, but he found that his anger had disappeared just as quickly. In spite of his half-hearted resistance, he found that his attention was rivited, caught in Ashley's pale blue eyes, so bright, so appealing, somehow managing to reach inside him and melt his insides into a warm, sloppy mess.

"C'mere," Ashley coaxed again, softer this time.

All of Jacob's energy, his self-confidence, his anger, everything drained away as he stared helplessly at Ashley, who had raised a single beckoning hand. Slowly, almost shuffling in his bare feet, Jacob crossed the room.

Ashley smiled at him, but it wasn't very comforting. It was highly suggestive, almost lewd... Jacob felt a moment's discomfort looking at it, and almost backed away. Then Ashley's hand was on his waist, tugging at the elastic of the underwear he'd just pulled on. Jacob flinched slightly at the feel of Ashley's cool fingers against his skin, and he was pushing forward ever so slightly...

"See?"

Shaken out of his thoughts, Jacob looked up, startled. "Huh?"

Ashley grinned as he pointed at the elastic band in his hands. "These are mine. You don't own any Ralph Lauren underwear..."

Realization crashed down on Jacob. "Oh... yeah... sorry, I..."

"Nah, don't worry about it." Ashley shrugged. "It's not like you're gonna stretch them out or anything."

Jacob flashed Ashley an irritated glance before turning on his heel, but the steam had gone out of his anger. Thinking he'd just shrug it off, he headed back to the pile of clothes, scanning it for anything clean...

He was stopped by an arm encircling his waist. Surprised, he almost pulled out of it before he felt Ashley's fingers tracing his spine, following its trail down to the elastic band of his - no, ASHLEY'S - underwear... which, Jacob now noticed, WERE somewhat loose on him. He couldn't help shivering as Ashley's fingers left his bare skin and traced the curve of his waist through the thin fabric. Ashley's mouth came close to his ear, whispering softly.

"Have I ever told you... what an incredibly cute ass you have?" Ashley's lips brushed against his neck, pulling another shiver out of him, though probably more from the words than the warm, tickling breath. Ever so slowly, Ashley's other arm, which had held Jacob close against him, pulled back, his hand creeping along the smooth skin of Jacob's stomach, moving ever lower. Unable to help himself, a small, desperate whimper escaped Jacob's lips.

He could hear Ashley's smile in his voice.

"Oh, Jacob... how did we ever start fighting?"

With that, Jacob practically melted into Ashley's arms.

"So what do you think?"

Trevor blinked sleepily, the early Californian morning sun reflecting off of the cars in the street and blinding him. "About what?"

Erik shrugged. "You know... the party."

Trevor glanced back at the hotel lobby doors. The reflections from the street were too bright for him to see inside, but he was confident that Jeremy was still inside buying his cigarettes.

Turning back to Erik, he said, "I dunno, man. I mean... it'll be almost four days, and a party to boot. I'd want to go... but Jeremy's been acting all bitchy lately... and, well, you know how he and Ben can be..."

"Yeah..." Erik nodded, his eyes focused on his shoes. "But it would be nice to have a break, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, it would."

They sat on the curb in front of the hotel in silence for several minutes before Jeremy finally came back out, an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth.

"Hey, T."

"Jer."

Jeremy lit his cigarette and looked around. Glancing from Trevor to Erik, he asked, "Where is everybody?"

"What do you mean?"

Jeremy checked his watch. "Well, unless I am mistaken, it is now five minutes before you guys are supposed to leave, and for some reason Erik is here."

Erik looked up, startled. "Huh?"

"You're on time, E. When's the last time that happened?"

"Oh, come on," Erik said as Trevor laughed. "I'm not always late."

"Oh, yeah, sure, you're right... not always..." Jeremy nodded for a moment before frowning. "Wait a minute... YES, yes, you are..."

Trevor laughed even harder. Erik turned and gave him an evil glare before asking, "So anyway... how was the movie?"

"Oh, great. It was a great experience." Jeremy sighed and blew smoke from his nose.

"Well, that's cool."

"Yeah, I guess..." Jeremy looked up to the hotel door. "But seriously, guys, where's Jacob? Or Dan? Isn't Dan usually the one to make sure everyone else is on time?"

Trevor frowned. "Honestly, I don't know. I haven't seen him all morning." Poking Erik lightly on the shoulder, he said, "I've had enough on my hands getting HIM out of bed on time."

"Hmmm... Dan's probably beating Ashley over the head with a stick trying to get him to wake up." Jeremy smiled slightly at the thought, exhaling smoke as he spoke. "So... video shoot again today?"

"No, actually, not until later," Trevor said. "It's a photo shoot today."

"Oooh, for what?"

"Promo shots."

"Sounds like LOADS of fun." Jeremy looked around for a moment, catching Erik's glare. "So, yeah... I won't bother you too much today... I was actually hoping to chat really quickly with Ashley..."

Trevor grinned. "Ashley? He won't be down for a while... he's probably still asleep..."

Jeremy laughed. "Yeah, probably..."

"Why do you need to talk to him?" Erik's voice was flat, and only marginally curious.

"Um... well, I need to make sure he recovered okay from the party. He wasn't... well, he went a bit overboard." Something flickered behind Jeremy's eyes for a second, then it was gone and he was all smiles again. "And, anyway, it was an excuse for me to see if you guys are coming to my sister's for the party."

Trevor watched Erik's expression as Jeremy sat down beside them. "Um... how many people will be there?" Trevor asked.

"Not many... my sisters, Ben... Trent and the Rev said they might stop by... you know, just a really small, family gathering."

"And why are WE invited?"

Jeremy didn't answer for a moment, staring at the smoke trailing away from his cigarette. "Well," he said, "I... well, I figured you guys could use a break." Glancing quickly up at Trevor, he said softly, "I know how tough it can be, living in a fishbowl."

Trevor tried to smile, but he couldn't think of any real response. Shrugging slightly, he said, "Thanks..." It felt too inadequate, so he said it again. "Yeah, thanks, man."

It was all Ashley could do to keep from laughing at Jacob's hesitant, shy desire that he refused to reveal even for an instant, no matter how obvious it was. All it took was a few light touches, a kiss on the cheek, and Jacob had practically collapsed. Ashley half-carried, half-led Jacob over to the nearest bed, laying him none too gently on his back. Jacob's breath was already harsh and ragged, his eyes half closed as Ashley's fingers danced along his chest, his other hand stroking the inside of Jacob's thigh. It fascinated him how smooth and soft Jacob's skin could be... almost like a girl's. For a moment, he sat at the edge of the bed, just staring at Jacob's body.

"Ashley..."

"What?" Ashley heard the slightly annoyed sound of his own voice, so he said, softer, "What's wrong?"

Jacob either hadn't heard Ashley's tone, or hadn't cared. "Do you... do you want me to...?" He lifted a hand onto Ashley's leg, opening his eyes just wide enough to look questioningly up.

"Actually... you know what?" Ashley grinned, taking Jacob's hand from his leg and pinning it to the bed. "You just relax." Taking Jacob's other hand, he held them spread out on either side, then lowered himself against Jacob's neck.

Again, Ashley marveled at Jacob's skin. As he kissed and lightly nibbled at Jacob's neck, he could almost imagine it was a girl under him, soft and giving, squirming ever so slightly in pleasure... but it also excited him to no end that it was Jacob, someone he'd looked up to for months... it was Jacob that he was straddling, holding down, and virtually torturing with the promise of sexual release. Jacob the hardass, the bad boy, the anti-pop hero... being dominated by the youngest member of the band. He felt Jacob struggle ever so slightly against his confinement, but Ashley held his arms tightly as he moved his mouth lower to Jacob's chest. Snaking his tongue out, he lightly licked at one of Jacob's nipples, pulled taught and erect from excitement and cold, then closed his teeth gently on it. Jacob arched his back slightly and moaned, reminding Ashley for a moment of

(oh god dan oh god dan dan dan what did i)

but he pushed the thought away before it could take form.

Beneath him, Jacob gasped slightly at the touch of Ashley's cool fingers as they released their grip on his wrists, moving slowly down his sides. Laying his head against Jacob's chest, he listened to Jacob's sighing breath as his hands moved across the hairless terrain of Jacob's stomach, void of even nearly transparent fuzz below his belly button. His fingers danced tantalizingly lower, and he felt himself almost drooling at the feeling of his knuckles barely brushing against the thin, surprisingly soft and still shower-damp pubic hair, teasing Jacob wordlessly with his butterfly-soft touch...

(-thefuck?)

With a startled jerk Ashley sat up. Jacob was enjoying himself too much to notice, and Ashley just stared at him. His faced turned up, eyes closed, mouth slightly opened, his dread locks fanned out around like a strange, dark halo. His arms, still stretched to the side but with his hands gripping at the pale bed sheets. His breath coming in short gasps. His...

Him...

Ashley felt like his insides were twisting, as if someone had reached into his chest and started squeezing. He felt overwhelmed, physically nauseous, and for a few seconds his vision got a bit blurry...

Then it was gone, swept aside by something that was rising quickly in him, spreading like wildfire, enveloping him in a strange, internal heat.

Desire.

No, not desire. Desire was too nice, to proper, too Sunday- school a word. This wasn't desire... this was more primal, more animal, this was... this was...

Lust.

Lust mixed with something else... disgust, loathing, guilt... but even as he pushed it away, the mixture intoxicated him like a cocktail. Licking his finger, he reached down and gently touched Jacob's lips... Jacob opened his eyes ever so slightly, and Ashley slowly lowered his own face down and pressed his mouth against Jacob's.

For an instant before he gave himself up to the kiss, Ashley realized he'd never really kissed Jacob like this since that first time, what felt like a hundred years ago, just completely in the moment of simple, innocent passion. Closing his eyes, he reached out and took Jacob's face in his hands, pulling him closer, snaking his tongue out and exploring Jacob's mouth, as slow and hesitant as he would with a scared kitten.

The image of kissing a kitten made Ashley snort with sudden laughter, and he had to back away, coughing to cover for himself.

"Ash... you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Ashley grinned. "Fine."

Jacob looked at him for a moment longer, clearly uncertain, but as Ashley started caressing his neck and shoulder he let it go.

Ashley stared at his fingers, their slight trembling disturbing him somewhat. Flattening his hand, he watched as he streaked a trail of his own saliva against Jacob's skin. Jacob's eyes opened just enough for him to send an inquisitive look up to Ashley before closing again, fully trusting.

"Uh-oh... this is trouble."

Trevor watched as Mike came up to them, hands clutching a clipboard in front of him, his eyes flickering between them and Jeremy, who was leaning against their black Suburban and watching Mike with a strangely baleful expression.

Erik nodded to Mike. "Hey, Mike."

"Erik... Trevor..." Mike glanced at Jeremy again briefly. "Unfortunately, I have some bad news."

Jeremy snorted. Mike ignored him.

"As I am sure you have noticed, we were supposed to leave about ten minutes ago." Unnecessarily, Mike glanced at his watch. "However, due to unforeseen difficulties with the studio, we're going to need to postpone it ever so slightly."

Erik groaned loudly, but before he could comment, Trevor jumped in. "How late?"

"Until this afternoon. Earliest would be one."

"What? ONE IN THE AFTERNOON?" Trevor stared at Mike. "But it's a three hour shoot, and we have at least six hours for the video, which means..."

"Which means we'll be doing the video until about midnight," Erik finished bitterly. "Fan-FUCKING-tastic."

Mike smiled his best I'm-just-doing-my-job-but-I'm-still-your- friend smile. "Look, guys... I know you got up early and everything, but this is just one of those things that happens." He glanced around. "Besides, everyone else doesn't seem to be here yet, anyway. Why don't you guys go see if you can find them and give them the message?"

Trevor nodded and grabbed Erik before he could say anything further. "Sure, no problem, Mike." Looking back, he glanced quickly towards Jeremy. "You comin'?"

"Sure... nothing better to do." Jeremy grinned at Mike. "See ya' later, Mike?"

"Um... Jeremy, I was actually going to ask... you know the cameras..."

"Yeah, I know, they're everywhere," Jeremy called back with a casual wave of his hand.

"No, I..." But the door to the hotel was already closing, and the rest of Mike's words were cut off.

Erik looked sideways at Jeremy as they walked to the elevators. "You know, you can't keep treating them like that."

Jeremy didn't even turn. "Who like what?"

"Mike and Mike. And Marc and Jay and all them. They're not going to put up with it, you know..."

"Oooh, I'm so scared." Jeremy smiled at Erik. It wasn't a nice smile. "What's the worst they can do to me? Fire me?" The elevator arrived with a low tone. Jeremy stepped in and held the door for Trevor and Erik to come in.

"Well... can't they?" Erik asked.

"Hmmm... I guess. But it's not as if that would change anything, anyway." Jeremy laughed. "I mean, can you imagine? Firing me and telling me I can't see you ever again... as if you guys would miss me. Or me you."

"Yeah... I guess." Erik didn't sound very convinced.

They rode together in silence for the rest of the elevator trip, with Jeremy humming to himself occasionally. With a soft tone the elevator arrived at their floor and the doors opened, revealing Dan standing on the other side.

"Hey, Dan," Trevor said. "Where've you been?"

Dan's eyes widened ever so slightly when he saw them, and he glanced furtively from one face to the other, as if searching for something. After a long pause, he asked sharply, "Is Ashley with you?"

Trevor glanced at Erik. "Um... no, isn't he with you?"

Dan seemed to physically deflate, but whether it was in relief or frustration was not clear. "No..." Smiling thinly, he said, "So what're you guys doing?"

"Fucking photoshoot's been postponed," Erik said loudly as he stepped out of the elevator. "We've got another five hours to sleep in."

"Oh... okay." Dan's eyes darted to Jeremy. A strange little shiver seemed to pass over him. "Hey, Jer."

"Dan... nice turtleneck." Playfully, Jeremy plucked at Dan's sweater. "But it's a little warm outside, isn't it? Or is it just you heating it up in here?"

As Jeremy's hands lightly brushed Dan's neck, Dan hissed, sounding shockingly like an angry snake. "Get your hands off!" he snapped, knocking Jeremy's hands away.

Jeremy stared, shocked, and took an instinctive step backwards. "Wha... hey, Dan, I'm sorry, I didn't..."

For a moment Dan stared at Jeremy so menacingly Trevor almost stepped forward to keep him from striking out. Then Dan shook his head and took a deep breath. Without looking up, he said, "I'm... tired. I'll... I'll see you guys later."

"Okay..." Trevor tried to smile. "But we're leaving by one... Mike'll tell us exactly. You'll be back, what, in a couple hours?"

Without acknowledging Trevor, and noticeably without apologizing to Jeremy, Dan pushed past them roughly and into the elevator. Trevor glanced from Erik to Jeremy, a rueful smile on his face.

"Sorry 'bout that, man..."

But Jeremy waved it away. "Don't worry about it, man. He's under a lot of stress... probably had a fight with Cindy or something." Grinning, he said, "So, who wants to find Ashley and beat him out of bed?"

When Ashley finally lifted his head, Jacob looked like he was ready to bite his own bottom lip off, and Ashley had done nothing further down than Jacob's stomach. Breathing in long, heaving gasps Jacob looked up.

"Ashley, what the..."

"Shhh..." Ashley smiled slightly, resting a finger against Jacob's mouth. "Just relax."

"But you..."

Reaching out, Ashley tweaked one of Jacob's nipples, one he'd roughly chewed on a moment before. He knew it would be especially sensitive, and the sight of Jacob's involuntary shiver sent a thrill up his spine. "I said... RELAX."

"But..."

Looking back on it later, Ashley would never be able to say if he did it to shut Jacob up, or if it was something he'd been meaning to do the whole time. Whatever the reason, Ashley just smiled impishly, lowered himself onto Jacob and took his entire erection into his mouth.

Ashley was a bit surprised at himself. He'd actually never done this to Jacob, thinking it was still "too gay" for him to do. Occasionally, when Jacob managed to push him to higher levels of passion, he would reach down and jerk him off, but otherwise just let Jacob minister to him. Now... with Jacob in his mouth, he found himself suddenly at a loss.

The effect on Jacob was instantaneous, if not utterly predictible: with a loud gasp and a nearly incomprehensible moan, he spread his legs wider to allow Ashley access, his whole body going tense with expectation.

'So... this is what it feels like....' Ashley thought as he cautiously allowed his tongue to touch Jacob's penis, running it experimentally along the tip. It didn't have much of a taste, except for a slight salty tang, not at all like Shelli... Ashley smiled to himself slightly as he wondered what Shelli would think if she could see him now, giving another guy a blow job.

Well, not technically... at least, not yet. Carefully, hesitant and unsure of himself, he moved his head up, then down again. Jacob squirmed under him, but it was a different kind of squirming than a moment ago. This was the kind of movement... the kind...

(The kind of movement I make when he does this to me.)

Instantly Ashley pulled away, shocked at his own revulsion. He hadn't had any problem with Jacob doing it to him - none at all. But now, to have this perspective on what it was like...

Jacob swallowed, his throat so dry it made an audible clicking sound, a wordless yet obviously questioning murmer on his lips. His eyes weren't opened, but Ashley could see that they'd been squeezed so tightly a few seconds ago that the edges were wet.

A surge of affection ran through Ashley. This was Jacob...

Reaching out, Ashley took Jacob into his hand again. Running his thumb over the tip of Jacob's erection, he smiled to himself. He joked all the time about the difference in size between him and Jacob - they'd even measured each other in a bout of playful pre- shower fooling around. Ashley came in at what he considered a cool seven inches (Jacob insisted it was barely over six and three- quarters), with a thickness that took up Jacob's entire hand. Jacob, on the other hand, only came in at a bit over five and a half inches, with almost the exact thickness to fit into a light bulb socket (prompting many of Ashley's jokes).

Of course, most times when Ashley and Jacob fooled around, Ashley would sit back and let Jacob do his thing, while Jacob jerked himself off. Since Ashley was often finished first - Jacob was getting quite good at the whole sucking thing - he had the ample opportunity to watch Jacob's masturbation techniques. His own were simple and required ample lubrication - usually his own saliva - because of how tight his skin was. Jacob, on the other hand, had enough loose skin - a distinctly darker shade than the rest of his body - to pleasure himself without it. He was also much rougher, gripping his slender penis in a tight fist and jerking so hard it looked at times as if he would tear it right off.

Ashley used this information now, while spicing it up with some of his own techniques. He remembered how Shelli gave him his first hand job - he'd been too excited at first to last very long, but part of the appeal was someone who didn't know his little methods doing something completely different. Now, he added a little more saliva to his hands and rubbed roughly at the tip, which was growing dark red. Jacob's gasping breaths got ever more rapid, and soft mewing sounds were escaping his parted lips.

With an evil grin that Jacob didn't see, Ashley lowered his mouth onto Jacob again, sucking as hard as he could. On impulse, he grabbed Jacob's balls again and squeezed them, ever so slowly increasing the pressure.

Jacob arched his back, hands grappling blindly at the thin hotel bedsheets. Ashley didn't let up, though, moving his head up and down as rhythmically as he could, attacking the slit at the top with his tongue, his other hand coming together into a tightening fist around Jacob's balls. Jacob's breathing came in sharp, ragged gasps and wordless moans.

Then, suddenly and rather violently, Ashley's mouth was full of a thick, bitter fluid. Immediately he pulled back, spitting the stuff out onto the carpeted floor, but didn't let go of his handle on Jacob's testicles. In fact, he squeezed a bit harder as Jacob's orgasm continued.

"Oh... GOD... ASHLEY..." Jacob gasped, his voice strained and high pitched. "GOD... Ashley... oh, Ash, I love you..."

Shocked, Ashley released his hold on Jacob, unsure if he heard correctly. Staring at Jacob, he asked, incredulous, "WHAT did you say?"

"Huh?" Jacob, overcome by post-orgasmic feelings, looked up groggily. "What?"

"What did you just say?" Ashley asked, insistent. "Did you just say... you... LOVE me?"

Jacob hesitated, staring at Ashley, not saying anything, but Ashley saw all he needed in that look.

Ashley burst out laughing. "You're kidding, right?" Shaking his head, Ashley picked up his towel. "'LOVE ME'? Oh, God, that's rich..."

Jacob stared at Ashley, his eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Ashley chuckled. "No, just..." He trailed off, still chuckling to himself as he stood up. "I'm taking a shower, cool?"

Jacob watched him, still laying down on the bed, saying nothing. Ashley stepped over him to the bathroom, but turned back before closing the door.

"Oh... and when I get out, it's my turn, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, Ashley closed the door. A moment later the shower was turned on.

_____________________________________ Okay, I know I've lost a bunch of readers over some of my more radical plot developments. And, I have no doubt, I will lose more as I experiment even more. I can accept that. However - for those of you who have been missing me - my apologies. I currently have about four chapters fully written, and am sending them as I get online access. (Oh, and incidentally - those of you who have received preview-versions of this chapter will notice that I have changed it significantly. Heh... I warned you...) And one last note - anyone who has gone through the last couple of chapters will have noticed the rather obvious editing blunders in format and conversion style... unfortunately, at this point, there is nothing to be done about it. I will try and fix them on my web site when I finally start updating it again. -- Kai Wailbone wailbone@excite.com

P.S. - The next chapter should be out by the end of the month. But, as always, even I don't know which MONTH.... ____________________________________ Coming soon... (soon being a relative term) Second Toughest in the Infants Chapter 10 - There is a sound