A Little Taste of Magic

by M. J. O'Shea

  He dragged his pajama bottoms off too and sprawled on his bed, bare and open to whatever Gray wanted to do. He watched Gray stripped off his sweater and warm-ups, until there was only miles of honey and cream skin that smelled liked heaven. Arlo wanted to taste him again and remember how amazing it felt.

  Gray climbed over Arlo and lowered himself down on a shaky breath. “Why does this feel so incredible?” he whispered.

  Arlo had no words to describe it. He wasn’t exactly a virgin, but nothing he’d ever experienced felt like Gray. His skin pebbled, like comets of sensation shot right beneath the surface, he inhaled and ran his fingers down Gray’s back. He could just touch all night long and never stop, and he wouldn’t get sick of it.

  “I don’t know, but it’s perfect,” he breathed. Like we were made for each other.

  Arlo shook as Gray kissed his collarbones and his nipples, panted when he sucked on his sensitive hipbones and the bit of chub Arlo never seemed to lose, and cried out when the wet heat of Gray’s mouth slid around the head of his cock. He gripped the sheets and arched his back and spread his thighs open. Arlo just wanted to be closer to Gray. He needed it more than anything.

  He was lost in Gray’s touch, in his soft seeking mouth for long minutes of silence, when the air in the room was broken only by his needy, breathless moans.

  When a slick finger brushed at his entrance Arlo nearly cried out at how much he wanted it, how desperate he was to feel Gray inside. He rolled his hips and pushed, trying to get more pressure. It was that moment that he opened his eyes… and he saw it.

  Above Gray, swirling in the air were thousands of tiny gold flecks, pulsing to the beat of Arlo’s heart and shimmering like they were about to burst into flames. It was beautiful. It was terrifying. Arlo was about to come harder than he’d ever come in his life and he had to stop before Gray saw it. He’d never done anything like that before, on purpose or accidentally. What if the sparks were hot? What if they fell on Gray’s skin?

  His heart gave two panicked thunks and then he acted.

  Arlo pulled together more willpower than he thought he’d ever had and scooted away from Gray. He was on the edge, pulsing with need, and he wanted to pull Gray into his arms and into his body and just let it happen. But he had to stop it before everything blew up in his face.

  “Wait, wait. I…” Arlo didn’t know what to say. He was sure he looked freaked out. Hell, he felt it too. The sparkles disintegrated in the air with a reluctant pop, and Arlo pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.

  “You okay?” Gray asked.

  “No, I just… I can’t yet. I thought I could but –”

  “Right. It’s all great until things get a little too gay. Is that how it is where you come from?” Gray looked hurt. He pulled the blanket up to his chest, covering miles of bare golden skin. Then he scooted towards the edge of the bed and slid out. He crouched immediately and then started pulling on his pants, shirt, and sweater.

  Of course a perceived rejection freaked him out. Why wouldn’t it?

  “No, that’s. Wait. Where are you going?” Arlo asked. He was confused and so desperately turned on, and he wanted to let Gray do everything to him. Everything. He’s just wanted to talk first, that’s all. He had to tell him. Gray couldn’t find out about Arlo in the middle of an orgasm. Arlo reached out for Gray but came up with an empty handful of air.

  “Home. Obviously.” The shuttered look was back, the one Arlo hadn’t seen since the night of the storm.

  No, no, no. He couldn’t start all over. He had to make him understand.

  “Gray. No. Don’t leave.” Arlo swiveled his legs and tried to get out of bed but his feet got caught in his comforter, and he ended up tumbling to the floor.

  “Why?” Gray asked. He stared at Arlo for a long silent moment, eyes glassy and cheeks pink. Then he turned with his shoes still in his hand, and he left.

  Arlo was frozen for a long time before he reacted. He kicked at the blanket that was tangled around his feet and tripped his way out of it until he could pull on his own sweats and shirt and shoes. He wasn’t going to let Gray think he didn’t want him. Arlo had never wanted anything more.

  He grabbed his keys and took off at a run down the stairs. He didn’t even think to get in his truck, just kept running down Maine Street, through the square, past his shop, and to Gray’s neat little townhouse. He hadn’t passed Gray on the way, but he knew he’d come home –where else was he going to go? Arlo knocked on the door. He didn’t want to shout and wake up the neighbors, but he refused to leave. He knocked and knocked until his hand hurt but no answer. He slid down until he was sprawled awkwardly on the front stoop.

  “Arlo? What are you doing here?” Arlo looked up to see Gray paused at the front gate.

  “Waiting for you. I ran, and I knocked, but you didn’t answer.”

  “I don’t get it. I don’t get you.”

  “Gray. I want you so bad. I do. I want to touch you and kiss you, and I want all of it. I just didn’t want you to think I was one of those guys. I wanted to talk about it for a minute before we just rushed in.” Okay, that was a lie. But Arlo didn’t think he and Gray would survive the truth at that exact moment and Arlo wasn’t giving him up. He’d tell him. He would. Eventually. Until then he’d better learn some self-control. Quickly.

  “You really want me?”

  “I have since the second we met.” Before that.

  “And you’re not just playing with me?”

  Arlo struggled to a standing position and hobbled down Gray’s stairs with cold, stiff joints. “Never. You have to at least know me that well.”

  He knew Gray was worried about people leaving him. Rejecting him. Sawyer had told him about his dad and Caroline.

  “You want to come inside?” Gray asked.

  “Of course,” Arlo said.

  Arlo didn’t care if the whole room burst into fireworks of gold and sparkles, there wasn’t a damn chance he was going to let Gray go again. Of course, he hoped that wouldn’t happen again, but he’d risk anything to have his dream. He followed Gray upstairs to a room that was nearly pitch black. Gray tripped over something, swore, and then the room was bathed in gold lamplight.

  “So, um, this is my room.”

  “Yeah.” Arlo tugged Gray’s hand and led him to the huge four-poster bed that was over by the window. “Can we do the tour tomorrow?” Arlo asked. He felt stupid for panicking and he wanted to get back to where they were twenty minutes ago.

  “I’m fine with that.” Gray’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

  “More than okay. I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page.”

  “You want to be a couple?” Gray asked. “More than just… this. Whatever this is.”

  “Yes, yes, definitely.”

  “And you’re okay with sex? With a guy?”

  Arlo grinned and held back a chuckle. He wouldn’t want Gray to think he was laughing at him. “Very okay. It’s the only kind I’ve ever had. You?”

  “I’ve been thinking about it since the day you walked into Baxter Hollow.” He leaned over and kissed Arlo hard. “Just… be patient, okay? I’m not exactly an expert.”

  Arlo couldn’t think of anything hotter than being Gray’s first time with a guy. “Do you have anything?”

  Gray blushed. “Yeah. Drove over to the next town at lunch today and got it. I know it’s fast but I just couldn’t…I got excited, I guess.”

  It didn’t feel fast. It felt like they’d been building up to this moment since the day he’d gotten to Baxter Hollow. Arlo kissed Gray slowly and then pecked his nose. “I’m excited too,” he whispered.

  Gray rolled onto his belly and pulled the drawer of his nightstand out. He almost fell off the bed rummaging around but he produced a bottle of lube and a condom victoriously.

  “Good. Put those down.”

  Gray’s face clouded. “I thought…”

  “I do. We wil
l, promise. I just want to take it slowly. Kiss. Touch. There’s no rush with us, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Arlo told himself he was taking it slowly for Gray, but he was doing it for himself as well. He controlled himself, relaxed and concentrated on Gray’s feelings, not his own. He felt Gray’s skin, and the tingling beneath his own, listened to the way Gray moaned his name when they kissed, and breathed against the soft skin of his neck.

  “What do I do?” Gray asked.

  “Let me touch you.”

  Arlo ran his fingers over Gray’s belly, smiled at the faint giggles, and then kept touching – hips and thighs, ankles, hard velvety cock. It was like he was caught in a dream. They’d barely done anything, and he was already lost. His mouth followed his fingers, he kissed a slick trail everywhere he could find to kiss and taste. Gray groaned and writhed on the sheets under Arlo’s barely there touch.

  “I can’t take it anymore,” Gray groaned. “I need more,” he said.

  “Come here.”

  Arlo got the lube from where he’d dropped it. “Hold out your hand.”

  He coated Gray’s fingers and lay back with his thighs open. He took Gray’s hand and drew it between his cheeks. “Touch me.”

  It was where they’d gotten caught up last time. Gray hesitated. “I’m not sure what feels best.”

  “Just take it slow. I’ll tell you.”

  Arlo stroked himself as Gray slowly sank in one finger at a time, stretching Arlo.

  “So warm,” Gray murmured.

  “Feels really good.” Arlo loved Gray’s touch. Not just the act but how perfect Gray’s skin felt on his, how he seemed to know exactly how Arlo liked to be opened up. He concentrated on relaxing, tried to quiet whatever it was that had erupted into a near disaster last time. Gray went slow and gentle, learning and exploring until Arlo couldn’t take it anymore. So far so good. He stilled his hips and let Gray touch until he thought he might come just from fingers alone.

  “I’m ready,” he told Gray on a moan.

  Arlo turned onto his belly. He got up on his knees and elbows and turned to watch Gray as he fumbled with the condom wrapper and shakily slicked himself with more lube. He looked mystified, soft, a little scared.

  “Please,” Arlo moaned. He let his voice show everything he wanted, the deep, thick pressure. The closeness.

  Relax…

  “Fuck. Yes.” Gray lined himself up and pushed in, slow like he was melting into Arlo’s body.

  It was always a surprise, the insistent presence, but it was more. It felt like a key and a lock, two parts that were separated for far too long. Relax, relax, relax… There weren’t any sparks yet, at least none that were visible. Arlo thought he might have it under control although his body felt nothing like control. He felt like he was coming apart at the seams, shattering bit by bit at every slow inch.

  “Holy Jesus,” Gray moaned. “I don’t… I… Arlo.” He draped himself over Arlo’s back and pushed in until his hips were tight up against Arlo’s ass. “This is impossible.”

  “I know.” Arlo gave a tentative roll of his hips and craned his neck to kiss Gray. “Can you move? Please, I need to feel you.”

  Gray panted against his neck and started to move his own hips, gentle at first, skin slapping faintly at skin, and then harder. Arlo angled his body so Gray was hitting him in the exact right place, again and again. He was going to come far too soon.

  Control it.

  He felt the shivers, the gold and sparkles and the pure magic firing its way through his veins. It was nearly impossible to keep it in with Gray hovering over him, shaking and sucking at Arlo’s neck. With him hitting the perfect spot over and over like he fit just right to nudge it every time.

  The pleasure was so sharp it almost hurt. Arlo’s belly started to coil, and he thrust back against Gray harder and harder.

  “You’ve got to stop. I can’t last,” Gray breathed out. “I—” He broke off on a loud groan and froze deep inside.

  Then he pulled out and pushed in deep one more time. It was enough for Arlo to lose the last grip of control. He came so hard his vision went all black and spotty for a moment, and then he collapsed onto the bed with Gray on top of him.

  Arlo hadn’t seen anything – he hadn’t been able to open his eyes. He waited, waited for Gray to pull away from him and sprint out of the room, but he didn’t. Gray simply ran his palms up and down Arlo’s sides for a few moments before pulling out gingerly, fumbling with the condom and tissues, then flopping to one side with his thigh slung over Arlo’s hamstrings. Arlo relaxed as well. He was safe.

  “I’m not sure if I’m alive right now,” Gray muttered.

  Arlo grinned. “Pretty sure I’m not.”

  “So…” Gray started. “Jesus.”

  “I think it was just us in here,” Arlo whispered, grinning. “You’re the best thing I’ve ever felt. Even better than I thought it was going to be.” He scooched onto his side and ran his palm over Gray’s back.

  “I couldn’t have even imagined that,” Gray muttered. “It was like, I don’t know.” He buried his head into the pillow.

  “Like what?”

  He turned his head and looked at Arlo sheepishly. “Like my body was waiting for you?” Gray shrugged, embarrassed. “I know that sounds corny as hell, but I don’t know how else to say it. Nothing feels like you.”

  He kind of loved watching in control Gray stumble trying to explain how he felt. But he didn’t leave him hanging out there awkward and embarrassed. “Nothing feels like you for me either,” he said. “It’s like I dreamed this whole night.”

  Gray smirked and reached around to pinch Arlo’s butt. “Pretty sure you’re awake.”

  “Yeah and I will be again in about… two hours?”

  “Oh, shit.” Gray cringed. “Sleep?” He asked. “You wore me out anyway.”

  Arlo smiled quietly. “Sleep,” he agreed.

  Gray dragged his thick comforter over their sweaty bodies. Arlo lay there spinning for a few minutes before he passed out.

  Gray…didn’t. It was hard to sleep, even though he was sated and warm and had Arlo cuddled up to him from head to toe. His mind couldn’t shut down. He knew he had to tell his family about Arlo. Well, his mother. His sisters seemed to have figured it out on their own quite easily. He was terrified. Not because he thought his mother was going to be judgmental, or even that she cared all that much what he did with his life, but as long as everyone was just figuring it out on their own, well, then it was easy to slide into being with Arlo and pretend it didn’t change his entire worldview. Saying it out loud? That was a different matter.

  But Arlo deserved it. Hell, he deserved it. It had been a lot of years being the one who did everything to keep his sisters’ lives together. Gray thought he deserved a turn.

  He decided to rip off the bandage so to speak. He was going over to Baxter House to do their monthly property run down with his mother anyway. It was a formality – she didn’t much care as long as she could stay in the big house and everything was profitable – but he still felt like he should somehow. So no better time than the present. Right. Gray wrapped his arm tighter around Arlo’s belly and tried to tell himself that it was no big deal.

  Right.

  The sunrise brought a warm golden light to the countryside, paired with cool breeze and fiery leaves. Gray tried to concentrate on how beautiful everything was, rather than his quaking belly. His nerves calmed a bit, but picked back up when he walked into the library to find his mother waiting. She had a book and a cup of coffee. She didn’t seem overly pleased to see him. At least he got a pleasant smile and a kiss on the cheek.

  “Hi, Darling. I hope you’re doing well.”

  “I, um, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about? Before we go over the accounts?”

  Madeline’s well-maintained face clouded. “Is there something wrong, Gray?”

  “No. Not wrong. I’m just…” He decided to spit it out. “I’m dating the baker, Arlo.
We’ve been seeing each other for a couple of weeks.”

  She looked confused and slightly dismayed. “What about Caroline?”

  “I don’t talk to her much anymore, Mom. I don’t think she’ll ever come home from New York.”

  “So you’re just done with her?”

  Gray honestly hadn’t expected the conversation to be about Caroline. He couldn’t remember five times his mother had even had a conversation with her the entire time they’d been dating.

  “Mom. Caroline is gone. She’s been gone for years. This really isn’t about her.”

  “It’s about you dating a boy in town.” She gave him a long look.

  “Don’t you dare be a snob. He’s wonderful mom, he’s sweet and everyone loves him.”

  “And he’s a man.”

  “Yes. Which is a good thing as far as I’m concerned.”

  Madeline looked at Gray for a long time and then shrugged. “Well I suppose if he makes you happy, darling, then there’s no harm done.”

  She didn’t seem to take the whole situation very seriously, but Gray didn’t care. He’d said it. She’d accepted it. It was done. He figured he’d give her one last chance to voice any objections. “Do you have any questions?”

  “Not particularly. I suppose you’ll need to bring him to dinner. What did you say he did?”

  “He’s a baker.”

  She raised her eyebrows at that far more than Arlo’s gender. Gray was quite sure one of the gay boys on the socialite circuit would’ve made her happier. Too bad.

  “Bring him by sometime,” she said. “We’d all like to meet him.”

  “I will.” He figured it wasn’t time to inform her that McKenna had spent most of yesterday working for Arlo voluntarily. That was another thing that probably wouldn’t make his mother very happy.

  He breathed a sigh of relief that the conversation was over and brought out the property files. Gray had always assumed it was more about him saying it than her reaction to it. He was right. It actually felt good. Official. Gray was surprised by how much he liked that everyone knew, or if they didn’t they soon would. He would’ve thought he’d have been horrified at the entire town finding out. He had been horrified originally. Honestly, it was a relief.