Chapter 5 #3
“Come here, sweet boy. Please be good for me,” James called, shaking the bag of heart-shaped treats he’d bought.
“Roger that. Ready to deliver your good, sweet boy,” Aspen said, and James choked.
“No, that’s not–” James sighed as he heard Aspen announce to Leon and Noah that it was time for them to go.
There was noise in the background that James was pretty proud of himself for recognizing as Leon’s voice.
“Oh…well, have you asked James to call you that?” Aspen said a little ways away from the microphone. “I’m sure he’d be happy to–okay, yes, we can talk about it on the drive back.”
The phone rustled, and Aspen’s voice came in much clearer. “Sorry, I have been informed that apparently you do not like to put Leon on his knees and call him your good boy.”
There was more rustling, and James scrubbed a hand down his face to try to remove his blush.
All James’ efforts were for naught, though, because a moment later, Leon’s sexy voice rolled down the line and caused his cheeks to flame even hotter.
“Darlin’? You ready for us to come back?
It’s starting to sleet, so I want to let them get back across town, but I can always hang out in the lobby if you need more time. ”
James finally found Yarmen curled up in Leon’s desk chair. He gingerly picked him up and carried him into the living room. “I’m almost done. I think I’ll be good to go by the time you get back.”
“I’ll see you soon, then,” Leon said, his smile carrying over the phone line.
“See you soon,” James said before tossing his phone on the couch. “Alright, Yarmen. We’re going to get you all dressed up for Daddy.”
He snorted to himself, remembering Hailey’s joke from Halloween as he tied a red bandana with candy hearts on it around Yarmen’s neck.
They’d come so far since then. One of the items in the memory book was the label from the bag of chocolate-covered pretzels Leon had gotten for him at the end of the haunted house.
They’d passed the bag back and forth between them as they sat on Leon’s couch, discussing their newly formed relationship.
James wasn’t sure if any treat had ever tasted so good.
As he secured the knot and checked off the final item on his mental to-do list, there wasn’t anything left to do.
The dinner ingredients and chocolate cake James had picked up on the way over were safely tucked in the fridge, all the balloon strands were tied out of Yarmen’s reach, and the decorations were affixed with several extra pieces of tape.
He leaned against the kitchen island and tried not to chew too hard on his lip as he scrolled mindlessly through his phone.
Finally, ten or so minutes later, he heard a noise outside the door.
He peered through the peephole and found Leon standing with his arms crossed, looking off to the right.
He was wearing his leather jacket, a tight-fitting black T-shirt so tight James could see his piercings through it, and gray jeans.
His hair was wet, his cheeks were flushed, and he was absolutely gorgeous, but he was also scowling, which wasn’t how James wanted to start their evening.
He pulled the door open in time to hear Hailey’s voice from down the hall say, “Was just curious what you–”
“No,” Leon said as he reached for the door handle, but accidentally grabbed onto James’ arm. He turned to look at James in surprise as James popped his head out the door.
Hailey and Trina were standing in the hall, holding their winter coats and wearing various articles of red and pink clothing.
“Hi, Hailey. Hi, Trina,” James said, but even he could tell his greeting was less enthusiastic than usual. He was nervous enough already about how tonight was going to go, and he wasn’t sure if his nerves could take on another Hailey adventure.
Leon’s fingers tightened slightly on James’ arm, but before he could say anything, Trina chimed in, “We have plans tonight, and yes, Hailey’s mom gave us permission before she went in to work, and no, we don’t need a ride.”
This seemed to catch Leon off guard. He huffed and slid his hand down James’ arm to entwine their fingers. “Where are you going?”
“To a dinner theater!” Hailey said, bouncing up and down on her ruby red ballet flats.
Leon narrowed his eyes at her. “The one across town?”
“That’s the one,” Trina said.
“And your mom knows?” he confirmed. At Hailey’s nod, he pursed his lips. “Does she know it’s sleeting pretty hard out? Are you prepared to drive in that?”
“Oh my god,” Hailey said, dropping down so her feet were flat on the floor. She cocked her hip and placed her manicured hand on it. “I know how to drive in a little sleet. I’ve lived here my whole life.”
Leon squeezed James’ hand, and it reminded him of the haunted house once again. Given how cold Leon’s fingers were, though, James figured the weather might actually be quite bad.
“We could–” James tried to offer, but Trina shook their head.
“You can enjoy your night. We’re good,” Trina said.
Hailey took out her keys and spun them around her finger. “I’ll drive super safely, okay?”
“You should share your location with your mom. Or me, if you don’t want to share it with her for some reason,” Leon said, a muscle in his jaw ticking. “Especially if you decide to go somewhere else and don’t want to tell her. At least let me know so I can check that you get there safely.”
Hailey sighed, but Trina shrugged. “Okay.”
“Okay,” Leon said, some of the tension leaving his body.
“Have a good night. Happy Valentine’s Day to you both,” James said.
Leon sighed and pushed James back into the apartment so he could close the door.
“Hi–” James tried to say, but Leon captured his mouth in a kiss, pressing his slick jacket and damp chest tightly around James.
“Hi,” Leon growled back, immediately initiating a second kiss that was even steamier than the first.
If they kept at it like this, they might actually be able to evaporate all the moisture off of Leon.
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” James said, kissing him a third time and only stopping when Yarmen meowed at their feet. “From me and Yarmen.”
Leon looked down and let out a surprised laugh as he scooped Yarmen up. “Hey, buddy. Did you get all dressed up for our date?”
He continued to coo at Yarmen about how handsome he was, but he was looking at James. That swirl of something was so predominant in his beautiful brown eyes that they looked almost golden.
The only thing that kept James from blurting out his confession of love right then and there was a drop of water running down the lapel of Leon’s jacket.
“Can I take your coat? I mean, it’s your house, so, obviously, you could take it yourself, but I sort of feel like I’m hosting, since I decorated and got all the food and am going to cook–as long as that’s still okay, and you don’t feel like I’m overstepping–”
“I’d love it if you took my coat. It mostly repels the water, but that means it ends up rolling down my back onto my ass anytime it rains or fucking sleets,” Leon said easily, sliding one arm out, and then juggling Yarmen so he could take off the other sleeve.
James took the coat, trying to avoid spreading more water on the ground, but it was a losing battle.
“Can you check if my ass is wet?” Leon asked as James finished hanging up the coat. He turned around to find Leon with one hand on the counter, his butt pointed in James’ direction.
A memory of Leon naked, completely blissed out and leaning against the same corner of the island, played across James’ mind.
“Did you actually want to talk about what Aspen said? The sweet boy comment?” James asked as he walked over to Leon. He ran his hand along Leon’s lower back and then grabbed his hip and gently turned him around.
Leon put Yarmen on the counter and grabbed James by his hips in return, so they were holding each other.
“Is that what you want to talk about? I actually have given it some thought since our last time having sex,” Leon said, but his eyes widened, and pink appeared on the peaks of his cheekbones.
“I mean, I’ve been thinking about some things, not specifically you… calling me a sweet boy or…whatever.”
He looked away, but his cheeks continued to darken, to the point James had no choice but to lean forward and kiss the rosy, mottled skin. “If you’ve been thinking about it, I definitely want to talk, but…you’re right, maybe that’s not the first thing we need to talk about.”
Leon squeezed his hips, stroking the soft bits that sat right above his waistband. “How about you give me a tour of the place?”
If this had been several months earlier, he would have assumed Leon was teasing him, but they weren’t two friends dancing around each other, resorting to sarcasm and wit to connect.
He pulled Leon in, and they shared another kiss, this one as sweet as the orange peel candy waiting in Leon’s basket.
James always thought of orange when he thought of Leon, and it turned out that not only did he smell like long walks holding hands in an orchard, he also liked orange as a flavor.
James had been sure to include lots of orange-flavored things in his gift.
“I guess we can start out here and then go into the bedroom?” James said, taking Leon’s hand and leading him over to the living room.
“Oooh, you decorated my bedroom, too? Weren’t you a busy little mensch?” Leon said, noticeably looking at James and not the decorations.
“I wanted it to be festive,” James said, pretty sure his own cheeks were heating to match the color of the throw blanket he’d spread out on Leon’s couch.
“You’re so fucking adorable,” Leon said, placing a kiss on his forehead.
They were never going to get through this if Leon kept kissing him. Not that James minded them taking their time, but the ball of nerves and heat and anxiety and love was burning a hole through his stomach.