Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Pressley
“Wait,” Bowie’s lips were on mine, on my neck, then back on mine. “Are you sure? Aren’t you tired?” His hands were all over me. Not complaining, just a bit surprised.
“Too,” kiss, “Amped,” kiss, “Up.”
“Who tops?”
“Don’t care.” Bowie unbuttoned my shirt and slid it down my arms, his lips now diverted to my nipples.
“Who bottoms?”
“Don’t care.” And now my pants were wide open with his fingers skating along my erection. This was definitely a different side of Bowie, and one that I wasn’t opposed to. Not that I had been to any thus far.
“Okay then, I want you inside me.” He stood up so fast he nearly knocked me out. It’d been a while since I bottomed. Hell, it’s been a while for penetration period, but I wanted Bowie to top me. Tonight, it just felt right.
“Fuck yeah.”
Bowie kicked off his shoes and started removing his clothes. Pants came quickly, but when he reached for his shirt, he paused.
“Bowie,” his head ducked. I tilted his chin up so we were eye-to-eye. “It’s okay if we don’t do this, but just know that no matter what, I love you.”
He nuzzled my hand as a single tear rolled down his cheek. “I love you too. I’ve wanted to say it for days but was afraid of scaring you off.”
I snickered. “Same. Guess we both need to learn to step outside of our comfort zones.”
Bowie sighed and then straightened to his full height, having satisfied his internal conflict. He gripped the rim of his shirt and pulled it off. There he stood for the first time, completely naked in front of me. Completely naked in front of anyone since his accident, from what he’d said.
“You’re beautiful.” I pressed my lips to his, not allowing him a chance to protest. Tears fell, and I kissed each one away. “Thank you for trusting me.”
“You’re, um, you’re still dressed.”
That I was. I finished what Bowie started and stood there, allowing him to take me all in.
It wasn’t the first time he’d seen me naked, but this time I wasn’t racing to put on a pair of boxers.
This was a huge step for him that wasn’t missed by me, and if I showed any kind of nerves, he’d retreat, and that would only set him back in the forward strides he’d made.
I had to be as comfortable in the nude in front of him as I expected him to someday be with me.
Thus far, everything we’d done had been in the dark of night, beneath the covers.
Seeing Bowie in the light, scars and all, was eye-opening.
I couldn’t imagine the hell he went through, healing the physical wounds.
But I’d not let that show in my face. Instead, I gently traced his scars, my lips following my fingers' trail, gently pressing against each one.
Some were thicker and deeper than the others; a few along his side and torso were scarily close to vital organs.
The human body was amazing because all I kept thinking was how lucky we both were that he survived such an ordeal.
“My love,” I kissed along his side. “My life,” then pressed another kiss to a wide one across his abdomen. “My heart,” I pressed my lips right where that organ lay. “Please, open your eyes.”
Bowie took a couple of deep breaths, unclenched the fists that hung at his side, and slowly opened his eyes.
“There you are. Hey, why don’t we lie down and hold each other? Nothing needs to happen. I just want to hold you. Okay?” Bowie nodded, and I led him over to the bed, pulling the covers back for him to slide in.
As I reached to turn off the bedside lamp, he stopped me. “No, um, leave it on. Please.”
Many nights we lay here, holding each other in the dark, but never completely naked or with the lights on.
Since that first time, Bowie had been sleeping with me nightly, but even after we messed around, he’d put his clothes back on before he fell asleep.
Would tonight result in the same, or was he finally trusting me?
I hoped he would, though I’d never push him. His fingers lightly wove through my chest hair, his eyes were glued to their movement. Bowie needed time to gather his thoughts, and if I was anything, it was patient.
“Do you, um, do you still wanna have sex with me?”
“Sweetheart, why wouldn’t I want to?”
“You know,” he shrugged. “The scars are pretty bad.”
“The scars are a part of you and one that speaks of your incredible strength and bravery, and they only make me love you more.” I snuggled in close and whispered, “Now, where were we?”
The earlier moment may have waned, but the heat between us didn’t as we easily picked right back up where we’d left off. Bodies entwined, hands and lips exploring naked flesh. Breathless moans filled the air while the covers were cast aside, allowing the cool air to ghost across our sweaty limbs.
I’d never said I love you to anyone who wasn’t family before, but as I glanced at the amazing man in my arms, it was the first word that came to mind.
Love.
The bone-deep, earth-shattering, forever kind of love.
The very one that had the ability to absolutely destroy you if it slipped away.
“You okay?” Bowie asked.
Was I? Yeah, as long as I had Bowie, I was. “Make love to me.”
“Nightstand?”
“Yes.”
No longer were we about to embark upon the quickie Bowie intended this to be, we’d progressed long past that. Declarations of love, the reality of how deeply I felt it for Bowie. My mind, heart, and body were well past a coupling without deeper feelings.
Bowie leaned across me, grabbing what we’d need from the drawer.
As he rolled the condom on, I spread my legs and drew them back.
I swear, this was like the first time all over again.
I couldn’t recall a single time I watched a lover as intently as I watched Bowie while he prepped me.
The love in his eyes and the care he took only served to intensify the moment.
Between riding his fingers and his mouth on my cock, this was about to be over before it started.
“Bowie, please.” I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed prep-play, both giving and receiving.
Watching a partner writhe beneath you, riding your fingers.
Jesus… “Please.” As soon as his fingers were gone, I regretted speaking up until the tip of his cock breached me.
I thrust up, trying to draw him in deeper, only he wasn’t having it. “I want to take my time and savor every moment I’m inside of you.”
Direct hit, straight to my heart.
“I love you.” Bowie’s lips covered mine before I could respond.
Who knew all it took was falling in love for sex to feel this way? If I had to find my words now, I’d come up empty. The only thing I saw was Bowie. The only thing on my mind was Bowie. The only thing I felt was Bowie.
Soul deep.
That realization was all it took. I arched up and panted his name, “Bowie,” as my release barreled through me, taking him over the edge right along with me. Sweat-soaked, gasping for breath, even through all that you couldn’t erase the smiles from our faces.
“If your smile were any brighter, you’d outdo the sun.”
“Besides saying ‘I love you’ to me,” Bowie stole a quick kiss, “that’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.”
“Come on, let’s shower and get some sleep.” By the time we were done, the sun was rising. Bowie and I curled back up together and fell right to sleep.
Naked.
Maybe I had reached that deeper point inside Bowie as he had with me.
“So, what do you think of that guy that helped out, Vance?” Tony asked us when we finally emerged the next morning.
“I like the idea of hiring people who really want to work. Far too many are overlooked and end up in dire straits. If the guy is legit, I hope Wolf hires him.” I was all for giving people a chance. Far too many got jobs they didn’t deserve, leaving the true hard workers out in the cold.
“I think he is,” Tony said. “They were still talking after we left last night. Seems like a solid dude.”
Wolf really needed to hire an entire team before we hit the road for Rocktoberfest. The briefing Easton gave me on the inner workings for it was insane. Crews have roughly ten to fifteen minutes to set up and tear down each band. Something I definitely had to address with Wolf tonight.
“You guys have a couple hours to relax before we head out for tonight’s show at El Corazon. Soundcheck is at six, and doors open at eight. Imminent is band three of five in the lineup. Last night’s set was a huge hit, are you running with it again?”
“Yeah,” Bowie said as he poured a bowl of cereal. “They’re all songs we’re toying with for Rocktoberfest, so we really need to nail them down.”
“Agreed.” Tony shook his head. “Rocktoberfest is where we need to shine. So,” Tony began in a teasing tone, “when did you move Percilla to the kitchen window?”
Huh, I hadn’t noticed that either, but Bowie blushed at the question. “This morning. Got up to pee and thought she might like the sunlight better in here.”
“Making yourself right at home, I love it.”
Bowie flipped him off. “Shut up.”
“Just saying…”
I felt like I was missing something here.
“He knows,” Bowie nodded in my direction. “Everything.”
“Awe,” Tony made kissy faces. “True love at its finest.”
Bowie coughed. “Fuck,” cough, “you.”
The two of them laughed. “But seriously, I’m happy for you guys.”
Guess moving the plant to a shared room spoke volumes. Who knew?
“Um, thanks?” I wasn’t sure if a response from me was warranted or not. “That window will be great for her.”
More blushing from Bowie… interesting.
“Well, I’m off to take my car for an oil change. Don’t you lovebirds do anything I wouldn’t do.” Tony made kissy faces at us.
Bowie hollered, “That doesn’t leave much!”
“Not given the noises I heard coming from your room last night!”
“Fucker,” Bowie mumbled.
The two of them were quite entertaining, even if they didn’t mean to be. This was like breakfast with a show.
“Anything you need to do today, Bowie?”
“Nah, got laundry done yesterday. Might work on some lyrics if that’s cool.”
“Of course it is, this is your house too. I want to you to be comfortable here.” And hopefully never leave. Good thing I didn’t say that aloud, even in my head it sounded stalkerish.
“Cool.” He rinsed his bowl, put it in the dishwasher, and then gave me a kiss, and down the hall he went.
How does one address the issue of wanting to make their living with you permanent? Was it too soon? Before I could overthink that, my phone vibrated.
Mom: We’ve waited long enough. Dinner tomorrow night at our house at five. We want to meet Bowie, and Tony is invited too.
Ugh…
Me: Fine.
Mom: Don’t fine your mother. We’ve been patient.
But have they really? That was still up for debate given the five thousand somewhat threatening texts I’d ignored from my mother.
Me: What can we bring?
Mom: Your appetites. See you at five.
“What’s that look for?” Bowie’s voice surprised me. “Sorry, everything okay?”
“Well, that depends on what your version of okay is.”
“Do I want to know?”
“We’ve been summoned to my parents’ house for dinner tomorrow night.”
His eyes widened comically. “Oh. Are we ready for that?”
“You tell me. We’ve got a new member to the kitchen window. Is that your version of taking the next step?”
“Kinda.”
“Well then, it’s meet the parents’ time. I mean, we are living together, after all.” He’ll either run or agree. Guess I’ll find out where we stand for sure after he gets a load of my parents.
“Tony lives here too.”
“Yes, but it isn’t, nor will it ever be, Tony who shares a bed with me. Move in with me, Bowie.”
“I already live here.”
“I mean as my boyfriend who shares a room and a closet with me. Who goes to bed with me every night and wakes up with me every morning. Be my boyfriend in every sense of the word. Permanently.”
The blank stare of relationship death…
Had I gone too far?
Bowie set his notebook and acoustic on the table and went back down the hall. Fuck, was he packing?
I was afraid to look. The scrape of hangers across the rod echoed down the hall.
Rustling of boxes scooting across the tile.
Shit, he was packing. I couldn’t bear the thought of seeing his shit all boxed up again, it would break me.
The chickenshit in me won out. Cup of coffee in hand, I snuck outside and away from the heartache.
Me and my big fucking mouth.
Stupid heart.
Emails checked, schedule read and reread so many times it was memorized. Fuck, this was killing me.
Finally, Bowie came outside with his guitar and notebook. “Done.”
Dare I ask? Be a fucking grown-up, Pressley, and deal with your mess. “With?”
“Moving.”
“Where’s your stuff?” I had a clear shot of the front door from where I sat, and there weren’t any boxes there.
“In our room. Clothes are hung up in the closet, but there wasn’t any space in the dresser, so I moved your stuff around. Hope that’s okay.” He marked something in the notebook, then strung a few chords like he hadn’t just delivered such life-altering news.
Then it hit me. “You moved your stuff into my room?”
“Our room and yes.”
The notes he played came together as the puzzle pieces in my head slotted into place.
My boyfriend moved in with me, and I was taking him to meet my parents tomorrow.
Oh shit, what have I done?
No turning back now, dumbass, but at least you got your man.
Yeah, and hopefully my folks didn’t scare him off.
If they don’t, you’ve always got the chance your sister Twila will.
Fuck. Me. Sideways.