by Leta Blake
He didn’t wait to see RJ’s expression, ducking into the bathroom quickly.
Constance was curled up in the sink, sound asleep and adorable. She opened one annoyed eye when he began to relieve himself in the toilet. As he pissed, RJ appeared in the doorway. Aaron didn’t meet his gaze, but he found the annoyance he needed to harden his voice. “I mean now. You need to go now.”
“Sure. I’ll piss on the sidewalk I guess,” RJ said, a flint in his tone that made Aaron wince.
“Fuck. Sorry. Just…” He shook the last drops from his cock and motioned at the toilet. “Go right ahead. I have to hop in the shower.”
Embarrassment heated his skin at what a rude dick he was being. He didn’t do this morning-after thing. Any of it. Ever. He got fucked and got out. That’s the way he always did it. He hated this jittery, confused feeling.
“I’d let you take a shower too,” he lied. “But I really have to get out of here and—”
“And I need to go now. Got it.”
RJ sounded hurt, but he obviously wasn’t going to push it, and Aaron didn’t have time to be sweet. Especially when this, whatever this was, could never happen again. It’d been hot. Wild. Perfect.
But no.
Aaron wasn’t able to be in a relationship. Not with his current job situation—issues with his principal, that pesky black mark on his record… And, besides, RJ had made it clear that commitment wasn’t his style. It was best to call it quits straight away. Put the entire thing in the past. RJ would remain forever a fond memory of the hottest night of his life. And he’d hopefully be the same to RJ—a long-time fantasy come true.
Aaron started the shower over the sound of RJ’s piss hitting his own in the toilet. When the water was the right temperature, he ducked under the stream, soaping up quickly. “Listen, I’m not trying to be an asshole. Really.”
“I know. You’re late.” RJ flushed the toilet and must have dislodged Constance because she meowed in irritation. The sink water ran, and Aaron peeked out to see that RJ was washing his hands.
Aaron ducked back behind the curtain before their eyes could meet, his heart lurching. RJ was still naked, and he looked so vulnerable in the cold light of the bathroom. Not too young, necessarily, but too human. Shockingly so.
Aaron soaped up more, a new kind of regret he didn’t understand filling him.
The shower curtain jerked back, exposing RJ in his entire naked beauty. He didn’t get in, though. He just stared at Aaron like he was memorizing him, and then he smiled. “I just wanted to thank you again, Mr. Danvers.” He gave Aaron another long up and down and added, “That was the best night of my life. The hottest for sure.”
Aaron swallowed, his cock rising treacherously at RJ’s heated gaze and sly smile. “Well, like we said last night, merry Christmas, right?”
“Yeah. Merry Christmas, Mr. Danvers.” He reached out and ran his index finger up the underside of Aaron’s cock, causing it to fully harden in one sweet swipe. Then he brought the same index finger to Aaron’s chin and lifted it until Aaron reluctantly met RJ’s gaze. “I’m in town until after the New Year. Does your phone have a password?”
“Yeah.”
RJ released his chin and grabbed the phone from the counter. He held it out. Aaron stepped out of the shower stream and took it. “What?”
“Put your password in.”
“Why?”
“I’m putting my number in your phone. You’ll text or call me when you’re ready to do this again.”
Aaron’s throat clicked. “I don’t—”
“Don’t make a liar out of yourself.”
Aaron put in the password, not really sure why he was obeying.
RJ plucked the phone from his hand, thumbed at the screen, and then put it on the counter. He leaned into the shower to kiss Aaron. His breath was sour, but Aaron didn’t care. He wanted to dive into RJ’s arms and let him draw all of those hot noises and even hotter feelings from his body again.
RJ broke away first. “Bye, Mr. Danvers,” he whispered.
Aaron’s knees trembled.
“Call me.” RJ’s voice went a shade deeper. “Got it, Aaron?”
Then he stalked out of the bathroom, his bare ass all muscled and gorgeous.
Aaron closed his eyes and took some gulping breaths. Finally calming down enough to finish washing off, he shampooed and rinsed. His cock remained erect and aching, and his balls were sore as fuck. He didn’t have time to think about his life choices right now. He had to get to school before Principal Shock realized he was late. Otherwise, he’d never hear the end of it.
Besides, he needed to have his head together by the time he met with Carter Ward after lunch. The kid deserved him at his best.
Shaving as quickly as possible, and thus cutting himself twice, he decided to shove RJ Blitz into the back of his mind for now. He could think about him later.
Maybe tonight after a glass of wine, alone here in his apartment. He could maybe text him or call, and, well, figure out a nicer way to turn him down.
A one-night stand he could manage. But anything more, even a holiday fling? That might be taking things too far. Especially when RJ fucked like that. Like he’d reached right into Aaron’s soul with his stupidly tremendous cock and then shattered it with pleasure. Yes, anymore of that would be more than he could possibly endure.
As Aaron left his apartment, hustling down the street to the garage where he paid a monthly fee to park his car, he resolutely ignored the twinge in his ass, the tug of his sore muscles, and the Christmas decorations going up all around. He ignored his own treacherous brain whispering that there were trees for sale on the corner. If he wanted, he could invite RJ over and…
No.
He didn’t have room for romantic emotional entanglements, not in the past, not in the future, and not even at Christmas. He didn’t have it in him to deal with that kind of pain. He’d seen enough of the fallout of love with his parents. He wasn’t going to volunteer to endure it himself.
As he climbed into his car and started the engine, he groaned. He’d be at least fifteen minutes late. Principal Shock would probably notice. With any luck the only thing on the homeroom agenda would be a roll call and a run through of the daily announcements. He flipped on the car stereo. Spotify merrily picked up in the middle of “Tender Tennessee Christmas” right where it’d left off the day before, and he sang it under his breath as he left the parking garage.
A bing from his phone grabbed his attention. He glanced at it, even though he was driving, and what he saw made his forehead crease. He groaned. It was a reminder that he’d promised to play an elf to the Coach Ramirez’s Santa Claus during the school-wide holiday pep rally for the basketball team the following afternoon, and he hadn’t even picked up the costume from the rental place yet.
Crap! Why’d he ever agree to do that? Coach Ramirez was hot, but not that hot. And he definitely wasn’t gay. So, wearing green-striped tights and a jingle hat wasn’t going to get Aaron anywhere with the man. Ugh. What was it with him and coach-types?
And, speaking of getting anywhere with any man…
Why the hell hadn’t he just thrown caution to the wind and spread his legs for RJ Blitz one more time this morning? Who knew if he’d ever get screwed like that again? One last fuck for the road would have taken the edge off his thrumming anxiety, especially since he was going to be late anyway. He glanced at his clock. It would have been worth it.
He put his foot on the gas, hoping he didn’t get pulled over on his way to school. It was the last week before Christmas break and he was already on the principal’s shit list. Christ. He just wanted to have a calm holiday season this year. No drama.
Was that too much to ask?
A nice, fun Christmas Eve with his dad’s family and a nice, tolerable Christmas Day with his mom for once. No fights. No problems. And no tempting, handsome, former students with miraculous dicks that could plow him for hours. He shivered at the memory.
Yeah. Absolutel
y none of that.
Just regular wholesome, drama-free, family fun. He deserved that right? Because God knew he needed it. Almost as much as he’d needed RJ Blitz last night.
RJ climbed out of the Uber he’d taken from Aaron’s apartment and stalked up the sidewalk of his mom and Doug’s place in the new West Knoxville neighborhood where they’d purchased a typical suburban house. He took in the various Christmas decorations that had been added since even yesterday.
Before RJ had left for his gig, Doug had already set out the blow-up Santa and reindeer on the roof. Now they had a Frosty the Snowman in the front yard, along with a glowing star hung in a tree and a full-sized glowing nativity scene that he recognized as having been on sale last week at Joel’s store, Vreeland’s Home and Garden.
“Doug goes all in for Christmas,” his mom had told RJ yesterday afternoon over an early dinner while gazing adoringly at her husband of the last four and a half years. The kids had been shoving mac and cheese into their faces and being quiet for a change. His stepbrother had been at his mom’s house for the night.
“Betsy loves it,” Doug had said, gazing back at her with a lovesick expression that’d made RJ’s homemade noodle soup suddenly taste gross. Though, truthfully, that adoring expression was the main reason RJ couldn’t dislike the guy, even if some petty, idiot part of him really wanted to. Doug was devoted to RJ’s mom, and RJ couldn’t ask for much more than that. Especially since he wasn’t around to take care of her. He just wondered how long it would last. Four years already seemed to be pressing their luck.
But what did RJ know about love? He hadn’t even been able to pull off a decent morning-after with Aaron. How it’d turned into such a failure after such a successful night, he had no idea. When he’d held Aaron, hot with orgasm and sobbing with pleasure in his arms, he’d never imagined the man would be so cold the next morning.
“RJ!” a voice cried from an open window above. He glanced up to see his little sister Perri hanging worryingly out the window, her round face broken into a grin. As she leaned out even farther, her dark brown hair flew in the cool December morning breeze. “You’re home! Mommy’s been so scared about you!”
Shit. He should have texted that he wouldn’t be coming home. Frankly, he wasn’t used to her caring. And not just because he didn’t normally live here, but, before he’d taken off touring, living on his own, she’d been working doubles most of his life. She hadn’t known, or had the time or energy to care, where he was, how late he came home, or if he came home at all.
She was a stay-at-home mom now, but she’d barely been a mom to him at all.
He’d lost his virginity as a teenager in a pretty disturbing situation with an older guy, but he’d never even thought to call his mom for help. She’d never have been able to get off work to come pick him up, anyway. So, he’d gone through with the sex despite his better judgment, and it still made him a little sick to think about that night.
But there were a lot of things from his childhood and adolescence that he preferred not to think about. And, frankly, Mom would be devastated to learn about them or remember them herself. She wasn’t a bad woman. She’d just been in a bad position. Thank God he was old enough to understand that now.
“It’s RJ?” another voice piped up from inside the house. “Perri? Is it RJ? Move over!” His tiny brother Beau’s high-pitched voice was just a bit deeper than his twin sister’s. It was the only way RJ could tell them apart on the phone, and one reason he preferred to FaceTime with them when he was away.
“Both of you get away from that window!” Mom scolded, coming over to shut it, her blond hair held back in a red scarf. “You know better than to—oh!” She raised a thin brow and scolded him with his full name, “Randall James Blitz! Where the fu…um, where on earth have you been, young man?”
“Mom, I’m sorry. I should have called. I didn’t—”
“Get in the house!” She frowned and pointed toward the door beneath the window. “Now!”
RJ raised his hands in surrender as she tugged both kids from the open window and shut it firmly behind them. He’d just put his hand on the front doorknob when the door was jerked open from the inside by a pink-cheeked Perri, Beau stumbling down the stairs behind her.
A golden retriever called Brady came barreling from the kitchen, barking at RJ as he always did. Like RJ didn’t belong in the house. Like he didn’t belong.
“Brady, stop!” Beau yelled, wrapping his arms around his dog. “It’s just RJ. He’s come home. He’s our brother, your brother, remember?” He spoke to the dog, as calmly and sweetly as his little four-year-old voice could, and it melted RJ’s heart even though he wanted to find a way to be hard right now.
Hell, he’d been kicked out of Mr. Danvers’s apartment. His siblings barely knew him. The dog didn’t even believe he belonged here. Why should he feel any different?
But he kept those petty thoughts to himself. His mom wanted him here; his little brother and sister did too. Who knew what his stepbrother thought, but Doug claimed to be thrilled he was home. Never mind that RJ could see the lie in Doug’s eyes. He wished he wasn’t so good at spotting liars.
“RJ,” his mother said, starting down the stairs with her hands out like she was going to either smack him or grab him in a hug.
He dodged her when she reached the bottom, remembering that he hadn’t showered and that he was covered in the scent of sex and Mr. Danvers. No, the scent of Aaron.
God, what a sweet name.
He’d known Mr. Danvers’s first name already of course. But a night of holding the man in his arms and breaking him open with pleasure again and again had somehow changed the ring of it.
“RJ!” his mother said more sharply, as he started up the stairs without acknowledging or hugging her.
“Sorry, Mom,” he said, stopping on the second rung up. “I should have called or texted. I was…yeah.” He grinned sheepishly.
Her brows shot up.
“Anyway, uh, I need to shower.”
She blinked, shock falling over her face for a moment. But then she rolled her eyes and didn’t try to stop him. “Say it won’t happen again.”
“It won’t.” Although it would because he was a grown man.
“And if it does, you’ll text me.”
“I will.”
She rubbed her forehead before changing gears. She was good at that. “Come on, kids. We need to get some yummy breakfast in you and then we’re going to Target.”
“Yes! Target!” Perri fist pumped the air.
“No! Not Target!” Beau cried, his little shoulders slumping and a whine starting in the back of his throat. “I hate Target!”
RJ was grateful to disappear up to the second floor and down the hall to the guest suite before his little brother really got going. He knew he’d screwed up by not calling or texting his mom and might warrant a punishment. But listening to the whine of a discontented four-year-old had to be one of the most severe penances in hell. And RJ didn’t think he really deserved that.
He flicked open the curtains and looked outside. It wasn’t a cold day, not really. Especially not for winter anywhere else in the world, and it was barely cold by Tennessee standards either. But he was cold all the same. Being kicked out so unceremoniously from Mr. Danvers’s apartment that morning had stung.
He’d tried to salvage it and left his number in Mr. Danvers’s phone like he’d said he would. Plus, he’d left Mr. Dan—no, Aaron—he’d left Aaron hard as a rock and panting for more. But still…
After such a hot night, the morning had been like ice.
The steamy shower in the en suite attached to the guest bedroom was a blessing on his skin. He ducked under the stream and reluctantly scrubbed away all the lingering scents. His mother had put out fancy soaps in the guest shower, and he applied them liberally. He felt better afterward, more clearheaded, but also like he’d lost something important that he might never have again.
He flashed back to Aaron in the shower, rem
embering his rigid cock, open mouth, and dilated eyes. Surely RJ would get to see all that one more time, right? And maybe more than once? It’d been so good between them. Like Aaron was designed just for him—every sound. Every movement. The way he’d begged.
RJ’s dick flexed, and he closed his eyes, willing it down. He was sore enough without wanking now.
Once he’d dried off after the shower, he checked his phone, hoping for a text from Aaron, but there was nothing.
There was a message from Joel though:
The van’s at my place. I’m at Vreeland’s. Casey’s back home until eleven if you wanna get your jacket.
Right, his jacket. He checked the weather app on his phone. The temperature was supposed to drop that evening. Nothing wild, not like Finland in January, but he didn’t really want to hang out here at Mom and Doug’s house by himself either. Not with all this restlessness in his veins.
He threw on some clothes and headed downstairs to see if he could catch a ride with his mom on her way to Target. Casey and Joel’s place was a little out of the way, but it would save him some Uber fees. He really needed to suck it up and rent a car, or maybe buy one soon, along with a little house. He didn’t know. This in-between way of life was confusing. Was it worth the expense of a vehicle or a place if he was never around to drive or live in it?
But having nothing to call his own left him feeling like a kid. Everyone else he knew, from Joel and Casey to Becca and Madison, were advancing into adulthood: building houses, buying cars, getting hitched. Okay, so maybe not Becca and Madison, but even they had apartments they actually lived in and owned their own vehicles, like real adults.
RJ just traveled the world and made music with nothing but cool experiences to show for it. The eternal child. He didn’t want to think of himself as Peter Pan, but if the Tinkerbell fit…
“RJ,” his mother said as he walked into the kitchen, reaching for him with both hands. “Did you shave?”
He shook his head. He’d shave tomorrow. For now, he’d keep the stubble and leave the subtle beard burn from kissing Mr. Danv—Aaron—alone. He wondered how long it would take for him to think of Mr. Danvers by his first name. There’d been something hot, though, about calling him Mr. Danvers while they’d fucked. RJ licked his lips and ducked behind the wide kitchen counter when his dick threatened to react to that memory.
