When Seth pulled up in front of my house, I realized, exactly, how loud his truck really was. And how quiet my neighborhood was. He got out of his truck, and I cringed at the noise his door made.
"That thing is really loud," I told him as he approached me standing in the middle of my front yard.
He grimaced. "I know. I'm sorry. It needs help."
I glanced around, hoping we hadn't woken up the neighbors. "It's fine."
He made a little breathy noise. "Are you sure that you're okay with me being here? You don't have to do this."
He was right. I didn't have to do it. I could just let him walk out of my life forever. I reached up and caressed his beautiful face. "Yes, I do. Try to be patient with me. This is a big step for me."
"Big and scary," he teased.
"Very," I agreed.
I took him by the hand, led him into my house, and directly to my bedroom.
When I turned to face him, he was wearing an amused smirk. "Anxious?"
I grinned. "Yeah. A little. Sorry. I've never done this before."
He snickered. "It's fine."
"Could you wait for me for a second? I need to check on Mitch."
"Sure. I'll just make myself comfortable."
The thought of Seth getting naked and crawling into my bed was almost enough to make me forget about checking to make sure my best friend hadn't choked on his own vomit in his sleep. Almost.
Mitch was fine, sawing logs and sleeping off his drunk. I was back in my bedroom in record time. I closed the door and leaned against the back of it. Seth was sitting on the end of the bed, still fully dressed. We just stared at each other again.
"You're going to have to help me. I don't know what I'm doing."
"I seem to remember you knowing exactly what you were doing." He smirked. "And doing it very, very well, I might add."
I smiled. "Thank you. But that was just fucking."
"And what is this?"
"It's different," I admitted. "More."
He gave me a soft smile and held out his hand to me. I walked over to the bed and slid my hand into his while sitting down next to him.
"Calm down, Adam," he advised. "Stop putting so much pressure on it. Stick with what you know and build from there. This isn't so much different than before."
"It's very different," I argued. "Everything is different. You're here. In my house. In my bed. And the things I want from you are different too. This is totally uncharted territory for me."
"What do you want?"
"Right now?" I asked, and he nodded. "I want to kiss you."
"Then kiss me, Adam," he breathed, staring at my lips. "I'm right here."
I leaned in slowly and brushed my lips against his in the lightest of touches. He opened his mouth, licked my bottom lip, and I was lost. All of my fears, worries, and concerns were forgotten. All I knew was this man. I was completely focused on the feel of him, the scent of him, the taste of him. All of my senses were inundated with Seth.
We ended up naked and in my bed, but I, honestly, have no recollection of getting undressed. In my memory, one second we were just sitting on the bed, kissing and touching, the next, we were naked and horizontal. There are parts of me that regret that. I would have liked to have been able to recall the experience of exposing his body and rediscovering every square inch of his flesh. I was so overwhelmed with having him in my arms again that my mind could only process so much at a time.
I clearly remember sitting back on my heels and looking at him. He was on his back, with his head on my pillow, lying naked and spread out before me. He was, by far, the most gorgeous creature that I had ever seen. His raven-black hair was fanned out across the pillow, and his tanned skin contrasted in stark relief against the dark blue of my bedding. I reached up and skipped my fingers down his ribs and over his hip while he writhed under my gentle caress. His body was sleek with lean muscle and little to no body fat. His breath hitched, and he moaned softly as my fingers brushed against his hard cock lying on his concave belly. His back arched, and his hips undulated, seeking more pressure and friction from my questing fingers.
His smooth skin was stretched tight over his sinewy frame, calling to me. I lowered my head and drew the flat of my tongue over the tattoo on his hip, causing him to moan loudly and grind up into my face. I had the overwhelming desire to taste every inch of him, and I didn't fight it.
I didn't fuck him. This time, it wasn't because we didn't have supplies. There were condoms within arm's reach. I didn't try to take his ass because he wasn't a trick. Instead, I made love to him with my hands and my mouth. I wanted to learn everything about his body, discover every nuance that brought him pleasure. For the first time in my life, I was in no hurry to come. I wanted to milk as much pleasure from him as I possibly could. I wanted to be the best that he'd ever had. I wanted to erase all memories of every other lover he'd ever known. I brought him over the edge twice before I let him take me with him. Exhausted, we fell asleep wrapped up in each other as the sun rose outside the bedroom window.
**
When I woke with Seth still in my arms, I immediately went into a panic. My heart was pounding so hard that I was seriously concerned that I was having a heart attack. I kept trying to remind myself that I had made this choice. I wanted this. Everything would be fine. It didn't work. I, carefully, extricated myself, slid out of bed, and slipped on a pair of shorts without waking him.
I made a pot of coffee and sat at the kitchen table, trying to calm down. Whatever I was doing wasn't very effective because I was still freaking out when Mitch wandered into the kitchen looking like death warmed over. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat across the table from me. I knew better than to speak to him. He wasn't a morning person on the best of days. Add a hangover to the mix, and all the denizens from the seven levels of hell would have been more pleasant breakfast companions. I, silently, sipped my coffee and waited for him to speak first.
About halfway through his second cup, he said, "Your face looks like shit."
"Yes, well, this is what happens when I let my best friend provide beauty tips," I replied sarcastically, with heavy emphasis on the 'best friend' part.
He winced, and not from the noise. "You still got that shovel?"
"Yeah. Why? Planning to hit me with something harder?"
He scoffed. "If that were the case, I'd just use my head. There's nothing harder than that."
"True." I smirked.
"I was thinking I might go out there and start digging that pool."
"You think a measly pool is going to make up for the fact that you've destroyed my career?" I sneered. "I'm never going to win a beauty title looking like this."
He huffed a dry laugh. "I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but you weren't all that pretty before."
"I'm going to have to disagree with you on that," Seth opined, sleepily, as he walked into the kitchen.
From the moment I'd gained consciousness, until Seth walked into the kitchen, I had been flipping out. The instant I laid eyes on him, all that changed. He was drowsy, and his hair was all bed tousled. He was wearing one of my t-shirts, and it was so big on him that, with his feet and legs bare, I couldn't tell if he was wearing anything under it. He looked gloriously well fucked and incredibly sexy. The expression on Mitch's face can only be compared to what I'd imagine someone would look like if they had suddenly swallowed their own tongue.
Seth ignored Mitch and went straight for the coffee pot.
"Right hand side of the sink," I told him.
"Oh." He opened the cabinet and got down a mug. "Do you have creamer?"
"Just milk. The sugar is in the pantry."
Seth made himself a cup of coffee and announced, "I'm going to leave you guys to your pissing contest."
"Whoa, whoa, wait a second." I grabbed the back of his t-shirt as he tried to leave.
He turned and arched his eyebrow at me. "Yes?"
I crooked my finger in a 'come here' motion. As soon as he got close enough, I tugged him down to me and kissed him. "Good morning."
He smiled at me. "Good morning to you too." Then he turned to Mitch and scowled. "You don't get one. And the next time you slug my boyfriend, I'm going to cut the brake lines on your car." Then he turned and strolled, casually, out of the kitchen.
"Ho. Ly. Shit," Mitch mumbled under his breath. "What the ever-loving fuck was that?"
I chuckled. "That was Seth. My boyfriend."
I watched a whole host of emotions play across the features on his face as he tried to process the revelation. After a good five minutes, he looked up at me. "He was kidding about the car thing, right?"
I smirked at him. "Guess there's only one way to find out."
**
Mitch and I sat at the kitchen table for hours and talked. We discussed Jamie and Craig, him and Gloria, and Hannah and Crista. He was in a really bad place, and letting go of the hope that he'd, eventually, be able to work things out with Jamie was very difficult for him. Around two o'clock, Seth came back into the kitchen in his own clothes, with his hair back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.
"I have to go," he told me. "My shift starts at four, and I need to shower and brush my teeth and stuff."
I frowned. I didn't know that he had to work. I had been hoping to spend some time with him. "What time do you get off?"
"We close at ten, so... sometime after that."
"Are you coming back here?"
