Chapter 10
ten
L ater that night, I strolled the cement walkway to my apartment with Micah beside me. The fog churned around us, thick from being pulled ashore after the warm day inland. The familiar sounds of pounding waves drifted through the air. As we came to the doors, I pulled out my key. “Let’s go to my place tonight.” My cock tingled and swelled.
“Okay.” He stood behind me.
I stepped inside, turned on the lights and waited for him, then draped my arms around him, swaying us both in the entry. Placing my forehead against his, I said, “I had a great time with you today.” On our date.
He nodded. As he lifted his face, he gave me a kiss filled with need. “I want you.”
I let the edge of my lips raise. “Good.” A shiver lit up my spine, my cock aching. I returned his kiss, opening my mouth, exploring with my tongue. I’d take more of him now. “Let’s go to my bedroom.” I snatched his hand and hurried him down the hallway.
Once there, I lifted his shirt.
He raised his arms and let me skim the shirt off his body.
After tossing his shirt to the floor, I removed my own. In a husky voice, I said, “I want to feel your body on mine this time.” I unfastened his shorts and stooped to shove them down, along with his boxer briefs.
As he stepped out of them, he parted his plump lips, his breath becoming heavy. His hard dick curved upward.
I knelt at his feet. How beautiful his cock was. How would it taste? I wetted my lips. As I peeked at his face, I devoured his dick with one hand at the base, sucking the head and licking the shaft.
He released a soft gasp and closed his eyes, tipping his head back.
Pumping his cock with my mouth, I swirled the crown with my tongue, his salty, sweet, and bitter pre-cum flooding my mouth, enjoying every second.
He grabbed hold of my head. “Stop. You’re going to make me come too fast.”
I didn’t want to stop. With a last flick of the tip with my tongue, I freed his dick, rose, and kissed his mouth, doing to his lips and tongue what I’d done to his shaft.
As he returned more heated kisses, he unfastened my shorts and slid his hand inside, stroking my swollen cock.
I moaned and rocked my hips into his palm. “Damn, that feels good.” I pushed him toward the bed and left him for a second to flip down the covers. “Get in.”
He climbed on the bed to lie on his back.
Shoving my shorts and boxer briefs off, I then came down over him. Propping on elbows around his head, I gazed at him, drinking in his expressive eyes, the pout on his generous lips, the porcelain skin and flush on his cheeks. My heart ached and pounded in my chest, so much it hurt. “Micah, I hope you know I have some pretty intense feelings for you already.”
“You do?” He hooked his arms around me. “Good.” Placing his hands on the back of my head, he brought me close for a passionate kiss, gliding his cock against my stomach.
Tingling rocketed through my groin and up my body. Gentle moans escaped my throat, one after the other, and I lost myself in the bliss of his body against mine.
He wet his hand with saliva, then dove it between us to slick both our cocks, wrapping around them. Thrusting his hips, our hard shafts rubbed against each other.
As sensation shivered through me, my breathing became ragged. I thrust in time with him, kissing his mouth, then licking down to his neck, tasting as much of him as I could.
He shuddered with a sharp groan. Tensing his brows, he ran his tongue over his lips, his thrusting hips growing insistent.
I licked behind his ear and bit at his earlobe. Could I make him come against me?
Crying out, he thrust hard, his cum spilling between us.
Oh God, he came... Need seared through me. I thrust faster, harder against him and his stroking palm. As an intense orgasm shook through my body, I trembled. Each delicious wave jolted inside me until, finally, it slowed. I rested over him, my head lying on his shoulder, catching my breath.
After wiping my hand on our stomachs, he wrapped his arms around me.
“Hey, let me up a minute so we can clean off.” The sooner we cleaned up, the sooner we could cuddle. As he loosened his arms, I rose from the bed and stepped off and then strode into the bathroom, wet a washcloth, and cleaned myself. After rinsing the washcloth, I brought it to Micah.
“Thanks.” He lifted and wiped himself off, then returned the washcloth to me.
I brought it into the bathroom, rinsed it, and hung it to dry on a towel rack. As I strolled into the main room, I flicked off the lamps and made my way back to the bedroom.
As he watched me, he opened the sheets.
I climbed in next to him and turned on my side, letting him embrace me and resting my head against his shoulder. “You’re staying over tonight, right?”
“Might as well.” He chuckled and held me tighter.
My heart warmed. I could hold him all night. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have any bad dreams. “If you have any of those nightmares tonight, will you wake me instead of trying to handle it yourself?” I snuggled deeper into him. If I could crawl all the way inside him, I would.
“Sure. I figured you were tired last night, so I didn’t want to wake you,” he said, brushing his hand up and down my arm.
“I don’t care how tired you think I am. I don’t want you going through that alone.” Kissing his chest, I placed a hand on his taut stomach, then wound it tightly around him.
“Okay.”
I closed my eyes.
* * *
Hard rapping cut through the apartment. What was that? I fluttered my eyes open. The morning sun filtered in through the white shades on the window of my bedroom. I found Micah sleeping next to me. Was I hearing things?
The hard rapping sounded again.
Nope. I jumped from the bed, slid on my board shorts and t-shirt from yesterday, and glanced at Micah.
He rose, the covers falling around him, his eyes still dazed from sleep. “Where are you going?”
“Someone’s at the door.” I strolled out of the bedroom, through the main room, and flung the door open.
“Ash!” Wells gave me a broad smile, his black, wavy hair hanging perfectly down the sides of his face and to his shoulders, wearing a gray, long-sleeve, hooded t-shirt, and jeans. He dove in and gave me a fierce hug.
My heart about stopped. I stood frozen.
Wells released me, cupped my cheeks, and placed firm, passionate kisses on my lips. After a few seconds, he let go and looked me over with an even wider smile. “Damn. I missed you, man.” He came in for a second round of kisses and stopped short. “Oh. Oops.” He dropped his hands to his sides. “Is this the neighbor?” He pointed to the hallway.
I twisted around, trying to make sense of Wells standing in front of me, dazed from his assault on my mouth.
Micah stood in the hallway to the bedroom dressed in his shorts and t-shirt. His eyes glistened. Freeing the bite he held on his lower lip, he said, “Fuck you, Ash.” He ran past us and out the door, knocking Wells aside on his way.
“Shit.” I glanced at Wells and gestured with my hands. “Stay right here. I’ll be back.”
Wells slumped his shoulders and sighed. “Sure. Sorry.”
I sped out of the apartment, catching sight of Micah running down the path to the beach. Why was Wells here already? Why the hell did Micah have to see that? I raced after him in bare feet, shock taking away any pain from the hard surfaces. As I met the sand, I dashed over the wet area, increasing my speed.
He sprinted down the beach, kicking up sand, his hair tumbling over his head.
“Micah, stop!” There was no way I would give up without reaching him. My heart pounded. My lungs burned, but I ran on.
He finally slowed to a jog, his chest heaving with breath.
As I came within a few inches of him, I stretched out and snatched his wrist, my gut knotting.
“Fuck you!” He whipped his wrist free and attempted to race off again.
“Stop, damn it!” I pounced on him, overtaking him, and grappling him to the ground.
He thrashed. “Leave me the fuck alone.” His voice broke.
“No, I will not leave you alone.” I wrestled him down and sat on his stomach, pinning his arms to the ground with my knees. “Stop fighting me.”
He propelled his hips, attempting to throw me off. Twisting his head, the trails of tears wet his face.
I lay over him, attempting to hold him tight. “Stop it. Please.” My breath hitched. “Please, Micah.” I released a sharp sob. My chest ached, and not from the sprint down the beach.
He lay still in the sand, staring at the sky, grimacing. “You fucking lied to me. You made me fall for you and then you lied to me.” The words spit out of his mouth.
He was right. I had lied to him. “I-I’m sorry.” The ache in my chest grew. I lifted my head, and a tear fell to splash on his neck. “I-I wanted to tell you about Wells, but I didn’t want to ruin the good time we were having yesterday.” How could I explain it now? I inhaled a ragged breath. “Wells and I, we’re not like you and me. It’s different. It’s...casual. It’s not a thing like we are.” Wells doesn’t take me on dates. Wait…Holy shit. Micah said he’s falling for me . My mouth dropped open.
With knitted brows and a shaky lower lip, he flashed his eyes at me. As he blinked, tears ran down the sides of his face. “So, you are fucking him.”
“I was. Doesn’t mean I’m going to. Not now.” How could I get through to him? I looked him over. “If I get off you, would you talk to me and not run away?”
As he clenched his teeth, he nodded.
I rolled off him and sat in the sand with my legs tucked under me, then swiped the wetness from my cheeks. I should have been up front with him from the beginning. He didn’t need more bullshit in his life. I hung my head, my long bangs swirling around my face in the ocean breeze.
He lifted with his arms outstretched behind him and glowered at the waves, then sniffled. “What, exactly, is your relationship with Wells?”
“We have a sort of friends with benefits thing. Nothing more.” I attempted to gauge his reaction.
“Do you love him?” He wrinkled his forehead and his brown eyes glistened.
I didn’t love Wells, not anymore. “As a friend, yes. As a lover, no.” Would I lose Micah over this? My gaze darted over the tiny dunes in the sand. Chancing a peek at him, I worried my lower lip.
He nodded and straightened his spine, then glared at me. “And that picture on your phone?”
“What I told you is, is partly true anyway. He hates it. So, that’s why I use it.” I lifted my brows. “I-I’ll delete it.”
“Okay.” Micah looked out at sea, shifting position to cross his legs in front of him. “You really fucking hurt me.” He tensed his face.
“I’m sorry. I-I guess I’m not so good at this relationship thing. It was wrong. I should have just told you.” The last thing I wanted was to be someone who would hurt him. But here I was. I reached a shaky hand out and set it on top of his hand, resting on his thigh. “I’m so sorry. You have no idea.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “How am I going to trust you around him?” With a groan, he crinkled his nose. “I mean, in a week, you two will spend all your time together recording music, right?”
“It’s not like we’re going to be alone. The rest of the band will be there and our manager, Jeff, and a producer and probably some sound engineers.” That didn’t sound right. The look on his face was not encouraging. I squeezed his hand. If only I could take it back. “Even if no one was there but Wells and I, nothing would happen, because I’m with you.”
“What is Wells going to think about all this?” He dipped his head, his dark bangs lifting with the ocean breeze.
“Well, I’ve already told him about you. So?—”
“You told him about me? What did you tell him?” He fixated on me.
I thought back on the phone conversation we’d had. “I told him I liked you and, you know, that I wanted to have more than a friendly relationship with you.”
He raised his brows. “Okay.”
“Listen, he probably feels pretty bad about this, too. We should go up there and talk to him together.” How could I ease his mind? I shimmied close to him, sitting next to him, and entwined my arm around his, laying my head on his shoulder. “You really have nothing to worry about.”
He breathed in. “Okay.”
I lifted my head. “So, should we go talk to him?” Then Micah would really see that there was nothing to fear.
“I guess so.” He huffed. “This is so awkward.”
“I know. It’s my fault.” I released him and stood, holding out my hand. “Come on.”
He took my hand and pulled up to standing, then brushed sand off his ass.
I swept the sand off his back and off myself. “Let’s go.” I led him down the beach, up the path, and to my apartment. Once there, I opened the door and stepped inside.
Wells sprawled on the couch with the television on. A bass guitar case with a large suitcase sat in the room's corner. As he focused on Micah and me, he shifted forward. “Good morning.” The ghost of a smile raced over his lips.
After Micah entered the apartment, I closed the door. “Hey, Wells. This is Micah.”
Micah walked forward with a sheepish wave. “Hi.”
“Hello.” Wells waved back. “I guess I owe someone an apology?” His gaze flicked between me and Micah.
I sighed. “Ah, no. I’m the one who needs to apologize. I wasn’t...” God, I’d made a mess of this. “Upfront with Micah about our history.” I rubbed a tense muscle in my neck.
“And it appears the two of you have a definite thing going now?” Wells looked Micah over.
“Yeah.” Wait, this might be really weird for Wells, too. I studied his reaction.
“I see.” Wells rocked once, his elbows resting on his knees, as if taking it all in. He gazed at Micah and flicked his tongue over his lower lip. “Well, Ash, you were right. He is gorgeous.”
Micah flushed, a shy smile spreading on his face.
Wells was right. Micah was gorgeous, along with charming and adorable when he wanted to be. With a coy smile, I squeezed Micah’s hand.
Wells clapped his hands once and stood up. “Anyone hungry for breakfast? I’m starving.”
“Me, too.” Micah grinned at Wells. “I know a perfect spot for breakfast. Do you both like crepes?”
“Sure, what’s not to like about crepes?” Wells stepped to Micah.
My gaze flicked from Micah to Wells and back again. “Okay.” Leave it to Wells to fix things.