Chapter 17
Henry
Walking up the stairs to Nick’s apartment, he was visibly nervous. I didn’t need to be a mind reader to know he was worried about the differences between his place and mine. I’d hoped doing this two nights ago was a step in the right direction, but watching him I wasn’t sure.
Nick unlocked the door, and a tinge of disappointment ran through me when he didn’t stop to give me a kiss. He walked toward the kitchen area, and when he turned, I couldn’t read his expression.
“There’s a movie in the park tonight,” he said. “It’s one of the Star Trek movies. I thought it’d be fun to take food and go watch. You can say no if you think it’s lame.”
The words tumbled out so fast it took me a minute to comprehend what he’d said. It also explained what happened on the stairs. He wasn’t nervous about his place, he wasn’t sure I’d like his attempt to surprise me. I stepped into his space. “Have you been practicing this speech the whole way home?”
“Yes?” he said. “I just thought I could treat you to something. Since I don’t have enough money to impress you, I tried to find something….”
“Romantic and sweet,” I said. “That sounds wonderful. Do we need to stop and get food?”
“Nope.” He disappeared behind the wall and I heard him rummaging through his refrigerator. “Trevor helped me make chicken breasts, biscuits, and pasta salad last night. I have water, brownies for dessert, and everything else we need for a picnic.”
He came back with a box in his hand. I couldn’t see everything inside, but it had some of the things he mentioned.
In a hundred and fifty years of dating, I couldn’t remember a single time anyone put this much effort into surprising me with something this kind. I usually had to supply the romance. “Nick, this is amazing. You did all this last night?”
“Trevor helped, but yeah.” He put the box on the table. “He and I’ve done this before, so we already have the things we need in the apartment.”
How much did it suck that he was doing this sweet thing and he worried I’d find it lame. “No one’s ever surprised me with a movie and a picnic. Thank you.”
I pulled him close and kissed him. Much as I wanted to keep going, if I did we’d have to skip the run and would probably miss the movie too. “We should—”
“Yeah.”
Neither of us moved until finally he snuck a last kiss and walked around me. “You can change in the bathroom if you like.”
I didn’t think Nick was a prude, so he was probably doing this for my benefit. “Or I can change with you.”
“Or that.”
He flashed me a cute, shy smile that tested my resolve to stick to the plan. I might have checked on his commitment to the movie and run, except he’d been the one to suggest we just sleep. Nick needed to be comfortable taking this to the next step. When he did I’d be ready.
We changed quickly and moved to the living room to stretch.
“Work has been weird all week,” Nick said, breaking the quiet.
Neither Brenda nor Trevor mentioned anything strange. “Oh?”
“Yeah. Since Monday, I’ve been blowing through my cases,” he shifted legs. “Like twice as fast as before, and I was already one of the top producers.”
No surprise on either count. Like running, Nick’s mental abilities were better than the average human. If his true powers were starting to emerge, he be able to power through the mundane work he did much faster than anyone else.
“Were the cases easier?” I asked. “Or so similar you didn’t need to think too hard?”
“That’s not how my job works,” he said, changing legs to stretch his left hamstring.
“The process for each case is the same, input the numbers, review the results, evaluate them against a preset list of criteria. Half of it is tedious, the other part requires a bit of skill we got in training. Each case should take about an hour, or at least that’s what they allot us.
“For the past eighteen months, my average was about fifty minutes. This week it’s under thirty.
It was like my brain is hyper stimulated and I could input, review and evaluate at warp speed.
I didn’t know I was blowing through stuff at first. In the moment it doesn’t feel any different, but when I’m done I see it took me half the time. ”
I let him talk to see if he was concerned or suspicious, but he just sounded amazed. “I wouldn’t complain too much. Keep this up and you’ll get a promotion.”
“I doubt it,” he said shaking his head. “But I do get a bonus based on production. If I can keep this up, I’ll get a nice…. I’ll get a bonus.”
Nick’s inferiority complex kicked in again and ruined something that made him happy and proud.
To him this bonus was a big deal. Measured against what he assumed I made it was a pittance.
Once he learned the truth, Michael or the other archangels would make sure the fourth heir had enough money to live comfortably while he trained.
I just needed to keep him positive until then.
“I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong,” I stood and helped him to his feet.
We put a hand on the other’s shoulder and stretched our right quad muscles.
“This isn’t a competition, Nick. I had the benefit of family money.
You can’t compare what you make to me, because you’ve earned every penny.
I didn’t. If anything, your bonus is worth more than my salary because no one handed you anything. Be proud of yourself. I am.”
“Thanks,” he said with a shy grin. Leaning closer, he kissed me on the cheek. “Why are you always so good to me?”
I doubted others hadn’t told him the same thing, but hearing it from the person he had a crush on made it seem so much more important.
“Because you don’t give yourself the credit you deserve.
Your family never acknowledged your achievements, so you don’t.
But I’m not them, and I’m going to celebrate you when you deserve it. ”
We switched legs and his cheeks turned pink. It didn’t diminish his smile, so I took it as a win.
“Don’t think flattery will make me go easy on you.”
Turning to something he knew he excelled at meant I was getting through to him. Money couldn’t buy you some things, and he was slowly realizing he had a lot to be proud of when it came to himself.
“I wouldn’t dream of it. How else will I get better.”
We were both sweaty messes when we reached the parking lot of his complex. Nick hadn’t gone all out, but he’d kept a fast pace. I was no longer confident I could keep up with him if he ran his fastest. My angel physiology couldn’t completely compensate for his superior stamina.
He led me once around the complex to cool off, and halfway through he pulled off his shirt. Like the first day I met him, I wanted to run my hands over his lean torso and track my fingers down the tantalizing treasure trail that started on his abs.
Following his lead, I tugged my shirt over my head and used it like a towel to wipe away the sweat. His eyes were glued to my body, but fair was fair.
“Um….” He looked like he was struggling to say what was on his mind. “When we were in Frederick, I was hoping I could convince you to shower with me.”
His bravery only got him so far without some hint I was interested. I’d been tentative so far with him, so I understood his hesitancy to go further. “If you’re inviting me to shower with you now, that’s a big hell yes. I mean it saves water, right/”
“Right,” he said stretching it out mockingly, but never losing his big grin. “We’ll be doing the environment a favor.”
The thought of seeing him gloriously naked made me want to cut short our cool down. Unfortunately, we were on the opposite side of the complex from his unit. We might have walked a bit faster than intended, but we could finish cooling off under in the shower.
Nick led me to his bedroom, but detoured to the shower to turn it on. He pulled a clean towel from the closet and set it on the vanity. For a moment I thought he was going to get undressed in the bathroom, but he joined me before I’d unlaced my running shoes.
Sitting next to me on his bed, he drew a deep breath, and let it out in a loud burst. “Nervous?” I asked.
“What gave it away,” he said with an uneasy laugh.
“Does it make you feel less nervous if I am too?”
“As if,” he said, untying his shoe so I couldn’t see his face. “It’s not because I don’t think I’m good enough for you. You’ve convinced me you don’t see it that way. I’m anxious because I like you a lot, and I don’t want to do something to scare you away.”
His ‘confession’ was the most confidence I’d heard from him. Leaning over, I kissed his cheek. “So far, all you’ve done is make me like you more. Tonight’s date has me swooning. When I said I’m nervous, it’s because this is a hard date to top.”
Even with his head down, I could see his smile. Good. Nick really was a sweet guy and I wanted him to know how I felt about him.
He peeled his socks off and in what had to be a burst of nervous energy, pushed his shorts and underwear down in one swift motion. His cock snapped back against his pelvis, and it was as beautiful as him.
Tossing his shorts aside, he left before I could speak. “See you in the shower,” he said with a hitch in his voice.
I watched his perfect ass until he disappeared and smiled at his moxie. Asking me might have been outside his comfort zone, but he did it anyway.
Stripping off my shorts, I followed him into the bathroom.
Nick was behind the shower curtain, so I didn’t know which side to use.
Guessing he was closer to the spray, I entered at the other side.
I’d chosen right as he stood with his back to the water.
His hair was wet, and he’d pushed it back.
Wiping the water from his face he met my gaze with a hunger mirroring my own.
I closed the space between us, and pressed our lips together. He eagerly returned the kiss, and we stayed connected for a few seconds.
Uriel’s call interrupted my hope to feel his hot body under the water, and I wasn’t about to waste this chance. My fingers glided over the wet skin, mapping every muscle. He followed my example, and my skin tingled under his touch.
We pressed ourselves together, my cock slotting next to his, both trapped between our bodies.
Under the warm spray, our slick bodies slid against each other.
Nick’s fingers traced the ridges of my abs, his touch light and teasing, before dipping lower to the V that disappeared between our pressed hips.
I gasped into his mouth, our kiss deepening as our tongues explored each other with growing fervor.
I broke away from his lips, trailing kisses down his jaw and neck. Nick tilted his head back, offering me better access. I could feel his pulse racing under my lips, matching the hammering of my own heart. My hands ran down his back, feeling the lean muscles bunch and quiver under my touch.
The idea had been to get clean so we could go to the movie, but we were approaching a point where we’d spend the rest of the night in bed.
The way our bodies reacted, we both wanted more, but this wasn’t the right time.
Nick had put a lot of effort into our date.
There would be plenty more times to go further.
I grabbed the body wash from the shelf, and poured some into my hands. The scent of citrus filled the steamy air as I massaged the soap into his skin. My hands moved down his arms, washing away the sweat from our run.
Nick followed my lead, his soap-covered hands gliding over my chest. His thumbs circled my nipples, making me moan softly. My cock twitched against his, and my resolve to just get clean started to weaken.
Gently, I turned him around, and I washed his back. My hands moved down to his firm ass, and I took my time kneading the tight muscles. Nick pushed back against me and I leaned in to kiss his neck, just below his ear.
“Not now,” I whispered. “I don’t want to rush this.”
He turned back around, his eyes dark with desire. “Me neither, but I want you so much.”
The feeling was mutual, but I’d been serious about wanting our first time to be something we remembered forever. “Me too.”
Nick reached for the shampoo, and I closed my eyes as his fingers massaged my scalp, working the shampoo through my hair. When he finished, he guided me under the water and ran his hands over my head to rinse off the soap.
I returned the favor, keeping our bodies pressed close. Every time either of us moved, our cocks throbbed against each other. His heart pounded against my chest, echoing my own desire. We reached the precipice again, but I stepped back and helped him rinse off.
Nick turned off the shower, and we grabbed towels to dry off. We kept sneaking glances at each other, grinning like fools. Once dry, Nick wrapped his towel around his waist, and smiled. “That was amazing,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
I nodded, and kissed his forehead. “You’re amazing.”