Chapter Thirty-Eight #3
“Fun,” Mark said slowly.
“Deeply, spiritually meaningful,” Lucas
corrected with a quick, self-deprecating grin. “That’s what I meant
to say.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Mark said.
“Not that I don’t want you.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? Prove
it.”
Mark wanted to. He wanted to drag Lucas into
the bedroom, strip off his clothes and keep him there for a week.
Instead, he leaned back against the wall, let his head flop, and
groaned dramatically.
He kept his eyes shut but he could feel Lucas
shuffling in closer. Then his waistband shifted and he knew Lucas
was hooking his fingers in it. He really, really liked it when
Lucas did that. He also really liked it when Lucas leaned forward
and brushed their cheeks together. Both of them had obviously
shaved in honor of the date and their skin was warm and smooth
where it was touching.
“Do you want me to seduce you?” Lucas
whispered into his ear. “Is that what this is about? Am I supposed
to talk you into something?” He kissed Mark’s ear, then down his
neck and along his jawline, up to the other ear. “Or less talking,
maybe. More doing?”
His fingers left Mark’s waistband then as he
brought his arms up to rest against the wall on both sides of
Mark’s head, his forearms making a trap. A cage. A cradle. Mark’s
gasp was swallowed by Lucas’s mouth as he claimed Mark just as
firmly as he had the first night after the fight.
But this time, there was no knock on the door
to interrupt them. Lucas controlled the kiss and he took his time,
hard thrusts of his tongue balanced with quick licks, long
explorations accented by quick pecks. At some point Mark had
apparently brought his hands up to Lucas’s biceps and he found
himself gripping them tightly. He wasn’t sure if he was trying to
keep Lucas from escaping or just working to hold himself still as
the waves of Lucas’s desire washed over him and were magnified by
his own longing.
Mark couldn’t say how long it was before
Lucas finally pulled away a little. His arms were still in place
but his face was distant enough to allow them both to focus their
eyes. “I want more,” Lucas growled, but he didn’t move to take it.
“But if we have to stop, we should do it now. I don’t want…the
further we go, the harder it’s going to be to not go all the
way.”
Mark felt like he was being torn in two. “I
want more too,” he said. “But there’s no rush, right? It doesn’t
have to be tonight?”
Lucas ducked his head for a moment, not
letting Mark see his face. “Doesn’t have to be tonight,” he finally
echoed in reluctant agreement.
“Are you mad?” He sounded like a little girl,
but Mark wanted to know what he was dealing with.
Lucas sighed deeply, still not looking up. “I
am really, really turned on,” he finally said. “And I’m not looking
forward to walking out of here with a raging hard-on and no one to
share it with.” Then he snorted a little and finally raised his
head to look at Mark. “But it’s not like you didn’t warn me. I went
ahead anyway.” He leaned back in for a slow, gentle kiss. There was
still heat, still passion, but it was clear that the waves had hit
the high water mark and the tide was now receding. Or more like
Lucas was deliberately draining the water away.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Mark said
between kisses, “I’m really turned on too. And I’m not looking
forward to staying here with a raging hard-on all alone.”
Lucas drew back a little. “That doesn’t make
it better, just more confusing that we’re not doing something about
it.” He shook his head. “And at least you won’t have to cross town
before you can jerk off and relieve some of the pressure.” His
eyebrows suddenly shot up. “Oh, shit. You’re allowed to jerk off,
right? That’s just Catholics?”
“It’s just Catholics,” Mark agreed dryly. “Or
at least, it’s not Anglicans. We don’t exactly celebrate it, but we
accept that it’s better than some of the other options.”
“Like actual sex,” Lucas said with a sigh.
Then he grinned slyly. “What about, you know…helping someone
to jerk off? That’s not full-on sex, right?” He waggled his
eyebrows suggestively and Mark laughed as he pushed Lucas away and
forced himself away from the wall.
“It’s close enough,” Mark said firmly. “The
idea is that sex should be special. Sacred.”
“I’d make it real special,” Lucas said with a
mock-lecherous leer.
Mark snorted again. “I believe you. And I’m
looking forward to it. Very much. Just…not quite yet.”
“Maybe after prom?” Lucas suggested
helpfully. “We could get a room.”
Mark ignored that. “Do you want to sit down
for a while? We could just talk…”
But Lucas was working his way toward the
door. “It’s pretty hard to get calmed down if I’m still in the same
room as you.” He scooped his keys up from where he’d left them on
the hall table. “Probably if I’m still in the same town as you. But
if I get out of here now I have time for a nice long shower before
bed…”
Mark grinned. He’d been a bit surprised by
the casual references to masturbation at first, but now he was
finding the honestly refreshing. “Okay,” he agreed. “Thanks for
coming over. Sorry dinner wasn’t fancier.”
“It was good,” Lucas said firmly. “And that
salad was a game-changer. I absolutely care about salad now. A
lot.”
“Yeah, okay.” Mark didn’t want Lucas to go,
but he had to admit it would be a bit awkward for him to stay, both
of them trying to have some sort of conversation that didn’t focus
on the swollen flesh inside their pants. “I’ll see you
tomorrow?”
“I’m working all day,” Lucas said. “You
coming out?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Okay then. I’ll see you there.” Lucas
stepped back from the door, close enough to do his
finger-hook-in-the-waistband trick. “Goodnight.” His kiss was
gentle and sweet, but he broke it off with a sudden chuff of
breath. “No more of that,” he said, apparently to himself.
“Not tonight,” Mark amended.
Lucas just shook his head. “Yeah, okay.”
And with that, he was gone. Mark leaned his
head against the door and resisted the urge to run after Lucas.
He’d made a good decision. His brain knew it. His body, on the
other hand, was ready to rebel. He thought of Lucas’s solution, and
smiled to himself as he headed toward the bathroom. A long shower.
If he held off for five or ten minutes he could think of Lucas in
his own shower on the other side of town, finding release and
relief at the same time as Mark. That was an appealing idea. So
Mark undressed slowly, and let his fingers run over his cheeks, his
jaw, and his lips…all the places blessed by Lucas’s mouth.
Mark wanted more. Much more. But for the time
being, the shower would have to do. He turned it on and waited for
it to warm up before stepping under the spray. It didn’t compare to
Lucas’s touch, but really, what ever could?