Chapter Ten #4
“Oh, I am?” This is news to Jeremy, smiling coyly, “You don’t think it’ll be weird with Merle there?”
“First off, you need to stop calling him that. Sounds way too personal,” Clark clears his throat and continues, “And secondly, I already called Rezai and buried the hatchet. We’re back to being professional colleagues.”
Jeremy raises a brow, “Really?”
“Well, maybe I’m remembering it wrong. Oh, yeah, that’s right, I told him if he ever thought about making a move on you again I’d bury him. Now it’s coming back to me.”
Laughing, Jeremy shakes his head, “Yeah, that sounds more like you.”
“Anyway,” Clark continues, “That’s not for another month. I don’t know if I can stay in this cold that long.”
“Well,” Jeremy shrugs, “Where else could we go that’s not cold?”
Slowly sitting up a bit, a wide smile spreads to Clark’s face as he gets an idea. Jeremy laughs at the expression, asking, “What?”
Clark doesn’t respond, instead putting his other arm over on the other side of Jeremy’s head to climb back on top of him.
Before Jeremy can ask anymore questions, Clark is stealing his words from his mouth by kissing him wantonly once more.
They get lost in each other’s mutual touch, neither wanting to ever let go.
The room is dark as Jeremy wearily opens his eyes.
Clark’s arm is over him, hand in his, as he continues to slumber against Jeremy’s back.
Thumb lightly caressing the back of Clark’s hand for a moment, Jeremy slowly moves it to the side as he sits up in the lush bed.
Tiptoeing out of the bedroom, the bright day cascades through the tall windows in the penthouse’s main room.
Going about his morning routine, Jeremy makes two cups of strong coffee and brings them back to the bedroom.
Pressing a button on a nearby remote to open the automated curtains, Jeremy returns to Clark’s bedside and rests the steamy coffee mugs on the nightstand. He leans over and kisses Clark’s cheek. The sleepy man mumbles and rolls over, smiling as he meets Jeremy’s eyes, “Morning.”
“Good morning,” Jeremy smiles back, “How’d you sleep?”
“So good,” Clark reaches over for his mug, exhaling happily, “Mm, coffee. I love that you always bring this to me when I wake up.”
“I can’t sleep in like you,” Jeremy points out, “I figure this’ll get you up and going.”
“And you’re right,” Clark says over the rim of the mug, taking a small sip after blowing on it.
To that, Jeremy stands up with his own mug and asks, “Meet me outside?”
“I’ll be right there,” Clark stretches.
Jeremy heads back to the main room and through the sliding glass door.
The ocean whooshes in front of him, salty air breezing past. Jeremy inhales deeply, taking in the aquatic blue expanse as the tropical sun warms his tanned skin.
He’s glad to be met by the sea once more, having missed the peaceful sound of the waves breaking below him.
He takes out his pack of cigarettes and lights the end with his zippo.
Clark wraps his arms around Jeremy’s waist from behind, hooking his chin on Jeremy’s shoulder as he asks, “Can I bum one?”
“Here,” Jeremy holds the cigarette scissored between his fingers up to Clark’s lips.
He inhales deeply and exhales the tobacco as they watch the ocean, saying, “Beats the snow, doesn’t it?”
“I won’t argue with that,” Jeremy smirks.
Clark kisses his neck before asking, “We’re meeting Eneki and Ryan for breakfast, right?”
“Mhm.”
“Then we better hurry,” Clark tells him, biceps flexing and squeezing Jeremy’s torso.
“For what?” He asks.
“I want to have sex again before we go,” Clark explains.
Chuckling, Jeremy shakes his head, “Of course you do.”
“Can you blame me?” Clark turns Jeremy around, loosely bringing his arms up to rest on Jeremy’s shoulders and around his neck.
Jeremy takes in Clark’s expression, both of them enjoying their closeness. Leaning his head forward, their noses brush up against each other and Jeremy says with no hesitation, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Clark responds.
Slowly yet all at once, they meet halfway and share a kiss.
Simple and standard, the connection still brings a joyful tear to Jeremy’s eye.
He’d spent so much time being with people that could never make him feel this way, convincing himself that the kiss was the problem and nothing else.
Now he knows better, realizes all of that had been a distraction from the real thing.
Jeremy is sure that this is it for him, that he’ll never have to kiss anyone ever again.
They’re just starting out their long awaited relationship, but Jeremy is still looking forward to the day that Clark decides to tie the knot again and produces a ring.
He’ll wait patiently for that, knowing for certain that it will come.
He’ll kiss him just the same as he does now, as he’s always dreamt of doing.
He’s in no rush, confident in the knowledge that this is only the beginning.
Thank you for reading!