Chapter 27
Miles
Sheila helps me pass out instruments to the kids. Half of them complain about what they get, but all of them use them anyway, until the room is echoing with the most disastrous sound I’ve ever heard.
For someone who gets headaches easily, maybe I should have gone the therapy route.
“I love music,” I say sarcastically.
Sheila laughs.
“All right, all right,” Sheila says, doing a motion with her hands to tell the kids to quiet down. “We’re going to play a game with our instruments.”
“What is this?” Dante asks, giving his instrument a shake.
“A tambourine,” Sheila answers.
“That’s what I have, too!” Annalee shouts.
“No, that’s a maraca,” I say.
“But it makes the same sound. See!” She shakes the maraca hard, and Dante joins in with his tambourine. The other kids join immediately, and it’s chaos once again.
“Come on, class,” Sheila says loud enough they can hear her over the—for lack of a better word—music. “We need to use calm hands so we can start the game.”
It takes a moment, but the kids settle, and Sheila explains the game as I grab the snare drum from the shelf and sit cross-legged on the floor facing the kids.
The game will help them learn addition. She’s going to give easy problems, and the kids use their instrument the amount of times equal to the answer.
I play along but purposely give the wrong answer a few times, to see if the kids catch on. Correcting me helps them learn, too.
We do this for about twenty minutes, which is the limit for kindergartener’s attention spans and my patience with the cacophony echoing through the room.
The kids settle back at their desks, and I pass out coloring papers while Sheila goes through the stack of books we have so she can read while they take some time to relax and color.
The kids have their coloring papers and crayons, so I sit at my desk and look over my lesson plan while Sheila reads them a book about pigs eating pancakes.
I keep my phone in the drawer during school hours, but while it’s quiet, I check it quickly to see if Audrey needs anything before I get home.
There isn’t a text from her, but there is one from JJ from almost thirty minutes ago. I open it immediately, keeping the phone in the drawer so I don’t get caught with it out.
JJ:
Doing anything after work?
I type back with one finger.
Me:
Nothing.
JJ:
Do you have to watch Noah?
Me:
Audrey isn’t working.
The little bubbles bounce as I wait for him to respond. The kids laugh, and I look up at them. Some have their attention on Sheila while others are working on their coloring papers. But everyone is behaving. It’s important to take breaks to get them to calm down so they don’t get overstimulated.
JJ:
Do you want to come over?
Me:
Right after?
JJ:
Whenever you want
Me:
Yes.
JJ:
:)
I smile to myself as I look at the little smiley face.
It doesn’t feel very JJ, but I like that he’s opening up more.
He seems happier and less distracted, like maybe he isn’t carrying as much weight as he once was.
Maybe he just needed more time to warm up.
Not everyone is instantly comfortable with others.
Sheila and I get through the rest of the afternoon smoothly and do parent pick up where she goes back and forth helping me and the other class.
At this point in the year, we’re familiar with the parents, so we don’t have to get IDs from everyone to make sure they’re on the pick-up list. This means it goes quicker than the first month.
We don’t get to leave any earlier, but it does mean we have more time to prepare for tomorrow.
Which for us is pretty simple. As kids get older, the lesson plans get more complex.
“Hey, Noah. How was your day?” I ask when I get back to my room.
Noah is sitting in my chair, spinning around—as he always does.
“It was good. We’re learning about tornadoes!”
“Whoa, that sounds cool.”
“Did you get to do cool experiments when you were in school? Mr. Carpenter says we’re too young to make explosions.”
I laugh. Noah will be the one to blow something up… accidentally, of course—in the name of science.
“Yeah, but not until I was older.”
“I don’t wanna wait,” he huffs.
“Maybe we can do some science stuff at home,” I offer.
“Really?” He perks up.
“Sure. I bet we can find a book or something.”
“Like at the library?”
“Probably.”
“Can we go today?” he asks excitedly.
I don’t have the heart to tell him I have plans. Besides, I doubt JJ will mind if I take a little detour. The library is on the way, so it won’t take long.
“Sure.”
“Yay!”
Sheila and I clean up the room and get some things together for tomorrow, and then we leave. Once I’m in the car, I text JJ.
Me:
Stopping at the library with Noah quickly. Dropping him off after that, then I’ll be there. Do you need anything before I head over?
JJ:
All good here.
I plug my phone into the car charger and drive to the library. Noah gets stuck choosing between two books, so we get both. They have some of the same experiments, but different ones too, so it’ll give us more to choose from.
We hit a little traffic on the way home, which adds on another twenty minutes. I’m growing antsy. I just want to see JJ.
I walk Noah inside, hurrying him along.
“You’re not staying?” Audrey asks.
“Got plans.”
“With JJ?”
“Maybe?”
She puts her hand on her hip. “What’s going on with you two? Are you together yet?”
“We don’t need a label.”
Sighing, she walks toward me. “Don’t let this be a repeat, Miles.”
“Audrey, stop worrying.”
“No,” she says firmly. “You weren’t okay for a long time after Derek.”
“JJ isn’t Derek,” I say, my hands clenching into fists. I hate thinking about him—anything to do with him. I don’t even like hearing his name.
“No, but it doesn’t mean he isn’t the same.”
“He’s not,” I say harshly.
“I like him. He’s nice. Thoughtful. Good with my kid. But you two are—”
“Audrey,” I warn.
Audrey holds her hands up. “Fine.”
“I’ll see you later,” I say, turning toward the door. “Bye, Noah!”
I knock on JJ’s door, and he pulls it open a moment later.
“H—” The word isn’t even out of my mouth before he yanks me toward him with an arm around my waist.
The door slams shut behind me, and JJ’s mouth is on mine. My back is pressed against the wall, his body firm against my front.
“I missed you,” he whispers, as his lips trail across my jaw to my neck, kissing that spot beneath my ear that he often pays attention to.
“I missed you too,” I breathe out, reaching for his waist, wanting to touch him. It always feels good to have my hands on him.
“Can I fuck you?” he asks, grinding against me and letting me feel how hard he is.
“Please…”
He steps back, then picks me up and throws me over his shoulder.
“Holy shit,” I say. “Is this really happening?”
JJ chuckles as he carries me to his room and tosses me onto his large bed. I bounce before landing. The sheets smell like him; a scent that is uniquely his. Musky but clean, like his soap. It does something nice to my brain.
He crawls over me, his mouth finding mine again as he thrusts against me. We kiss deeply for a long moment, my hand sliding under his shirt. His skin is warm under my fingertips.
Pulling back, he gets to his feet. “Turn over.”
I roll over and push up onto my hands and knees, which is when I realize I am still fully dressed—with my coat on and everything. A drawer opens and closes, and I see the condom packet drop onto the bed beside me, along with a small bottle of lube.
JJ’s hands come around my waist and undo the button and zipper on my pants before pulling them down, resting them at my knees which doesn’t allow me to spread them much. His fingers run along my ass cheek and then he’s spreading me open and dragging his tongue along my hole.
“Fuck!” I cry out, lurching forward but then push myself against him, wanting more.
He moans as he licks me, running his tongue over my balls and back up to slip inside me. He does this a few times, driving me absolutely crazy, before he starts to use his fingers. But that is also over too quickly.
I hear him undo his pants and I take that moment to tear my coat off and toss it away.
I see him grab the condom and lube. It’s cool when it hits my skin, but he rubs it in, warming it.
His fingers are inside me again, brushing against my prostate, teasing me, bringing me closer to coming.
My body floods with warmth, the pleasure making me feel like I’m floating… and he’s not even inside me yet.
I bite my bottom lip, grasping onto the blankets. I feel the change—when he pulls his fingers out and pushes his cock against my hole. He goes in slowly, my body having no issue taking him in. I want him there. Always want him there.
He moans deeply when he bottoms out, and I breathe out a sigh of relief at how good it feels to have him like this—to be connected like this.
“You feel so good,” he says, shoving my shirt further up my back and dragging his nails gently down. Goosebumps erupt over my skin, and my eyes fall closed.
“So d-do you.”
He fucks me hard but slow, letting me feel every inch of him along with how badly he wants this to keep going.
I’ve never felt rushed with JJ. I don’t feel like he just wants to get off and that’s it.
Not even that first night, even though that’s exactly what it was.
He always makes sure I come. He isn’t only worried about himself getting off. He gives me attention, too.
“I’ve been thinking about you covered in my cum,” he says.
I look at him over my shoulder. “Really?”
He took his shirt off at some point, and this man’s body… holy hell, it’s perfect. The abs, the defined pecs… my God.
“I can’t get it out of my head.”
I recall the way it felt in my apartment, when he was on top of me and came… it was so hot—in more ways than one.
“You should do it again,” I say, my voice low.
“Mmm,” he groans, pressing his palm to my spine. “All over your ass, though.”
“Fuck yes,” I mutter lowly, grasping onto the sheets.
JJ moves his hips faster, nails scraping against my skin.
He pulls out and I look over my shoulder, watching as he tugs the condom off and strokes his thick cock.
Cum shoots from the tip, landing all over my ass and lower back as he groans this deep, raspy sound that I’ll have wet dreams about, for sure.
He’s panting, his chest moving up and down, the muscles in his stomach tensing, as he stares down at the mess he made.
He squeezes the last bits from the tip, letting it drip down to meet the rest. I can’t tell how long it’s been before he pulls his gaze away and finds a piece of clothing to wipe me up.
“On your back,” he tells me. I roll over and he hands me the bottle of lube. “Let me watch you make yourself come.”
My eyes widen. “Seriously?”
He shakes the bottle at me. “Yes, seriously. But…”
I hesitantly take the bottle. JJ moves to take my shoes off, then my pants.
He crawls onto the bed, getting comfortable against the headboard in a mostly sitting position.
“Lie over here, so I can see you better.” He points between his legs.
“With your head that way.” He points to the opposite end of the bed. “And get your shirt off too.”
I can’t quite picture what he wants me to do, but I trust him. So, I do it.
I get to my feet, tear my shirt off, and get back on his bed to settle myself the way he wants me. He pulls me closer, sliding my legs up so they’re bent and my feet are resting on the outsides of his thighs. I get it now. I see why he wants this.
He’s sitting up against the headboard, so he can see all of me. And I feel that gaze on me like fire. There’s no missing the heat in his eyes when he looks at me like that.
I pour lube into my palm and lather it onto my aching cock.
It’s awkward knowing he’s watching, but the better it feels, the easier it is to do.
Soon it’s like I’m not being watched at all, and I jerk off the same way I would any other time—only in the back of my head I know to draw it out.
I love the way I feel under his gaze, and I’ll edge myself all night if it means he’ll keep looking at me like that.
His hands slide up my thighs, fingers brushing down the insides, almost tickling me but somehow turning me on even more.
“You’re so hot,” he whispers. “So fucking sexy.”
His tone has my stomach twisting, my balls drawing up tight.
I sneak a glance at him. He’s focused intensely on my hand and the way it moves over my cock. My stomach swirls with heat, and the orgasm is right there on the edge.
“Come for me, Miles,” he says in a raspy voice that is going to haunt me.
I wanted to keep going, but if he wants my cum… he’ll get it.
“O-kay,” I grit out. And then I do, as if his words have that sort of control over me.
Cum spills over my hand, landing on my stomach. A lot. More than usual. JJ moans too, his fingers digging into my skin.
“You look like you want to come again,” I say, glancing at his cock and the way his hand is wrapped around it.
“Yes.”
He shifts up so he’s on his knees, leaning over me, his free hand pressed into the mattress beside me.
He scoops up the cum from my stomach and uses it to jerk off.
He looks into my eyes, and it’s so intense that I can’t look away.
Not that I’d want to, anyway. Watching him come is a fucking gift.
His gaze is intense; the fire burning bright.
I know he’s close when his jaw tenses, and his eyes fall closed. His hand moves faster, and then I feel it. His cum spills onto me, warming my skin.
He lets out a long sigh, and his eyes pop open. His smile is slow but big, and he leans down to kiss me… something he’s doing a lot more of lately.