“Turn around, bend over, and put your hands on the tiles,” I demand.
He does as I ask and I quickly reach for the condom and sachet of lube I dropped on the floor outside the shower door.
In seconds, I’m wrapped up and ready to go. I squeeze a blob of lube on my fingers and set about prepping Caleb for a short, hard fuck.
He flinches and tenses up when I first touch him but he soon relaxes.
“Ready?” I ask, but I don’t give him time to answer because I know he is. Bending my knees, I line myself up. I thrust forward and whatever it was Caleb was about to say comes out as a grunt instead.
His arse is so fucking perfect. If I knew it would be so good, I wouldn’t have let him keep putting this off as long as he did.
“Fuck, fucking love this,” I grunt out between thrusts. “I’m gonna come in your fucking arse. I want to feel you coming, too. You ready?”
“Uh…huh…yeah,” he agrees.
I reach around and take his cock. I move my hand at the same speed I thrust into him. I feel the first twitch of his approaching orgasm just as my balls draw up and I lose myself entirely. I think I call out but I couldn’t fucking tell you if I said anything understandable, or how loud I was.
“Fuck,” Caleb pants as he stands and rests his head on his forearm, leant against the tiled wall.
“Fucking right.”
* * *
“Leah,” Caleb greets as we both step out of his dressing room a while later. She takes one look at us and starts to smile and nod. “What?” he asks but I don’t need to hear her answer. The way she’s looking at us says it all.
“The walls between the male and female dressing rooms aren’t that thick, you know,” she says with a laugh.
“Shit.”
“Don’t; it was hot. Until next time,” she says, before flouncing off into the distance.
“I told you it was a bad idea,” Caleb complains.
“Oh shut up. She loved it. I bet she’ll get herself off thinking about it later—that’s if she hasn’t already.”
“Ew, really?” Caleb asks as he slaps my shoulder and starts walking out.
“What? It was hot!”
“For fuck’s sake, Taylor.” I know he’s not being serious so I keep quiet and catch up with him. “I owe you dinner. What do you fancy?”
“You.”
“I’m being serious.”
“Steak.”
* * *
“I fucking hate this,” Caleb announces once we’ve ordered.
“You hate being out on a date with me?” I ask, a little confused about what he’s trying to say.
“Are we on a date?” The smile he gives me tells me that it’s not being with me out in public that’s his problem right now.
“I haven’t ever been on one before. Going out for a meal, all this wining and dining stuff hasn’t ever really been on my radar before.” When I look up and see the grimace on Caleb’s face, I realise I need to stop referring to my past if I’m ever going to convince him that isn’t who I am now. “Yes, Caleb. I’m pretty sure this is a date. I actually kinda like that you’re my first,” I say, changing tact.
“It’s not like I’m going to be involved in many other of your firsts, is it?” he says sadly.
“Oh, I don’t know. There’s a lot of stuff I haven’t experienced yet,” I say, thinking about my lack of any kind of romantic relationship.
“Like what?”
“Holding someone’s hand in the street. Being someone’s boyfriend. Falling in love.” I don’t miss the giant swallow Caleb does at my last point. I’m not saying I’m in love or anything; I’m merely pointing out that I never have been. I am, however, eluding to the point that I’m pretty sure I could be falling—and falling fast—now he’s giving me this chance. “So what was it you were going to say?” I ask when it becomes clear he isn’t going to respond.
He blinks a few times and looks around the room as he tries to gather his thoughts. “I hate that everyone’s looking at you like you’re some kind of thug just because you’ve got some bruises.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” I admit as I stare directly at him. “My focus has solely been on you.” His mouth drops open a little but I see the corner of his lip twitch.
“Is that so?”
“My focus is always on you. You’re always the best looking man in any room and the only one whose bed I want to end up in.”
Caleb
The past week’s been pretty incredible. Taylor’s been everything I hoped and imagined he’d be. I’ve seen no sign of him wanting anyone else but me, and I couldn’t be happier. Sex with him is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. It’s intense. It’s not always rough like he warned me about, though; there are moments when he’s the most gentle and loving guy—the kind of guy I told myself I wanted but convinced myself that Taylor would never be. He holds my hand while we’re watching TV at night. He stops and gives me little kisses just because he feels like it. Everything he does strengthens my thoughts about him being the one. If only I could fully trust him. I still have this nagging feeling that he doesn’t really want this, that he’s going to get bored of me and want to go and find someone else.
“You’ve got two minutes to get your naked arse into the bedroom,” Taylor growls in my ear. “The washing up can wait.”
Thankfully, I’ve only had a couple of jobs this week and they’ve both been in London. It’s meant we’ve been able to spend as much time together as possible as we both try to adjust to the new us. Taylor seems to have easily fallen into our new routine, involving him sleeping in my room every night instead of his own. I seem to be finding myself questioning everything a little too much. It’s like I’m trying to find any excuse possible to prove he doesn’t want this. I fucking hate it and I wish I could just enjoy what I’ve got instead of looking for clues about what’s possibly going to happen tomorrow, next week, or next month.
I turn and dry my hands on the tea towel as I watch Taylor pull his t-shirt off as he disappears into my bedroom. I follow suit and I’m only in my boxers when I go to step into the room. Unfortunately, a knock on the front door halts my progress.
I pull the door open and find two people I was not expecting looking back at me.
“Mum, Dad. What’re you doing here?”
“We came down to help Beth out with some last minute wedding plans and thought we’d stop in on the way home. Are you going to invite us in?” Mum asks, taking a small step towards me. I don’t get to respond though, because another voice sounds out through the flat.
“I said you have two minutes to get your sexy arse in here; what’s the hold—oh!”
Mum’s eyes go over my shoulder before she gasps oh my God and covers her mouth with her hand. Dad looks over my shoulder for a second before he raises his eyes to the ceiling.
“Fuck, I’ll go get dressed,” Taylor announces, and I turn around just in time to see his naked arse disappear back in the bedroom.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. This was so not how I wanted to have this conversation with my parents.
“I think you should probably do the same, don’t you, son?” Dad suggests as he brings his eyes back down to me.
I walk over to where I discarded my clothes not so long ago and pull them on as Mum and Dad walk sheepishly into the apartment.
“Tea, coffee?”
“Yes please,” Dad says, as Mum is still stood looking shell-shocked.
“Are you still coming to Paris this weekend?” Mum asks, speaking for the first time, but my answer gets interrupted by Taylor’s arrival.
“I’m so sorry about that.”
“I made you a coffee.”
“I was actually going to head out…give you guys some peace.”
“No, that’s not—”
“I think that’s for the best,” Dad interrupts.
Before I have a chance to argue, Taylor is out of the door, leaving me alone with them. I’m not ashamed or embarrassed in any way about
my life; there’s just something ingrained in me that doesn’t want to disappoint my parents, although I’m well aware I need to man up and tell them who I really am.
“So…” Mum prompts, “Are you still coming to your sister’s wedding?” It pisses me off somewhat that her main concern here is whether or not I’m going to cause drama at the wedding she’s been waiting for.
“Of course I’m still coming. It’s my sister’s wedding. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“And what about him?”
“What about him?”
“Is he coming?”
“I…uh…” I don’t have an answer to that question. I’ve put off mentioning to Taylor that I’m going to Paris this weekend. I know he’s going to want to come with me, and that would’ve meant having this conversation.
“Caleb, there’s no need to look so worried. We’ve known about this for a long time,” Dad says reassuringly. I look over and give him small smile because, although he seems fine, Mum looks anything but happy. “I was worried for a while that you weren’t interested in anyone, so it’s nice to know you’re not alone down here.”
“This is all new. Taylor and I have only just got together,” I admit.
“But he’s been your roommate for a long time now.”
“Yeah, he has. Nothing’s happened before now, though.”
“You should bring him to the wedding.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Mum interjects.
“Why not?”
“What would your grandparents think?”
“Penny! I’m sorry, Caleb,” Dad says.
“What? It’s true. They won’t understand all this,” Mum says, waving her arm around. “They expect Caleb to get married and have kids…not this.”
“Is that what you think they want for me, or what you want for me?” I ask, starting to get pissed off.
“I…uh…”
“I can still do those things, Mum. I can get married. I can have kids. Okay, so maybe it’s not the traditional way you’re imagining, but so what? I won’t live a life just because people expect me to. I want to live the way I want to. I want to do what makes me happy, not you or my grandparents.”
Mum totally ignores my rant. At least, I presume she ignores it, as she decides not to respond. Instead, she reaches over to the bags she set down next to the sofa. “Beth wanted us to give you these. She said you were picking up your suit, but your tie is in there along with some stuff she can’t fit in her and Daniel’s cases.”
“Right, okay,” I say, taking the bags from her and looking inside.
“Come on then, Simon. We should be heading home.”
“I thought we were going to suggest having dinner?”
It’s clear from the look on Mum’s face that not only has Dad just seriously put his foot in it, but she has no intention of hanging around.
I give Mum a kiss on the cheek after saying goodbye. She turns on her heel and starts marching towards the stairway.
“She’ll be fine. Just give her some time to get used to the idea. I think although we knew, she held out hope that Beth’s wedding might not be the only one.”
“I can still—”
“I know,” he agrees. “Like I said, just give her time.”
“Okay, thanks Dad.”
“We’ll see you soon.”
I shut the door behind them and lean back against it. It’s weird; I always presumed it would be my dad who would have an issue with me being gay. I know Mum has all these visions of brides and babies, but I thought she’d be able to see that all of those things are still possibly in my future.
I grab my phone after falling back onto the sofa. I find Taylor’s number and hit call. It rings and rings and eventually goes to voicemail.
“Where the fuck are you?” I ask the empty room.
I start thinking about having Taylor there with me for Beth’s wedding. It’s not something I’ve allowed myself to think about before, because I didn’t think it was something I wanted, but now my parents know about us I can’t help but think I want him there by my side.
I try phoning him again but it goes straight to voicemail this time. What the fuck?
An hour later and I’m sat staring at the television—although I have no idea what I’m actually watching—when the buzzer goes off. I don’t even think about it, I just press down the entry button, thinking Taylor went out in such a rush that he forgot his keys.
“Hello?” I hear shouted into the flat after I walk off into the kitchen to open a bottle of wine. The voice isn’t one I was expecting.
“Hello?” I say back, heading to the door.
“I’m looking for Taylor.”
“And you are?”
“Matt. Taylor and I usually meet up when I’m in town. I tried ringing him but there was no answer, so…”
Knowing that one of Taylor’s regular hook ups is stood not only in front of me but at my front door makes my temper flare.
“He’s not here, and he’s not interested,” I seethe.
“And who are you, his boyfriend? Taylor doesn’t do boyfriends. He wasn’t wrong about his roommate being hot though, so if you’re feeling a little lonely, I’m sure I could help,” he says as he steps towards me. I presume it’s meant to be sexy, but there’s something about this guy that I really don’t like. It may well just be because he’s had a taste of what’s now mine.
Before I realise it’s happening, I’m reaching my arm out and swinging the door shut. It slams in his face and I can’t help but feel pleased with myself when I hear him complain about his nose. “Your loss. If you change your mind, Taylor’s got my number. And if you both want to play, I’m more than game.”
I walk away from the door, grab the bottle of wine, and pour myself a huge glass.
Chapter Five
Taylor
Caleb’s panic and his mother’s disgust was written over their faces when I appeared stark bollock naked earlier. Probably not my finest moment, but how the fuck was I suppose to know Caleb’s parents were at the front door?
Hanging around to see what was going to play out wasn’t an option. I get enough shit from my own parents that I don’t need to get involved with anyone else’s, that’s for sure.
Everything had been going so smoothly with mine and Caleb’s transition into a relationship. I guess it was obvious something was going to derail us sooner or later. I just didn’t expect it to be his parents, or the fact he’s going away for the weekend and didn’t think to tell me.
Seeing his name lighting up my phone again pisses me off. I shut the power off and neck my drink. I thought he was serious about us, that he actually wanted to make a go of this with me, but him not telling me about Paris makes me wonder if I’ve got it all wrong.
By the time I walk back through our front door, it’s well past midnight and I’m way past being drunk. I stumble my way down to my bedroom and fall onto my bed.
* * *
When I wake up the next morning for work, my head is pounding and the room is still spinning. After discovering an empty flat, I down a couple of mugs full of strong black coffee and head off in the direction of today’s shoot.
It doesn’t take long for everyone around me to realise I’m in a stinking mood. Thankfully, they keep the coffee orders to a minimum and keep well out of my way.
When I get home, the only thing I find is a note on the kitchen worktop.
Matt wants to know when you’re available to hook up.
“FUCK!” I shout into the empty room. I launch my phone and watch as it smashes against the wall before hitting the floor a broken mess. I’d had a few calls from an unknown number but I hadn’t thought anything of it. If I’d have known it was Matt, I would have answered and told him I wasn’t interested. Instead, he’s turned up here looking for a quick shag. I know Caleb’s spent almost every second of the past few days overanalysing everything to confirm his suspicion that I don’t want a relationship with him, but that isn�
�t the case. To begin with, that was all I wanted, but things have changed a lot in the last couple of years. Living with him as well as watching Lilly and Lucas’ relationship develop has left me thinking that maybe having a boyfriend might not be so bad, and yet he’s trying everything to prove that isn’t true.
When I retrieve my phone, I’m amazed to see that although the screen is smashed to fuck, the thing actually works. I unlock it before finding Caleb’s number and putting it to my ear.
He doesn’t answer and I have no idea if that’s because he’s doing a shoot, he’s ignoring me, or he’s already fucked off to Paris.
I’m sat eating a tasteless microwave meal when I hear a key pushed into the lock. Seconds later, I’m looking at a soaking wet Caleb. His hair is sodden and stuck to his forehead and his white t-shirt is soaked through, clinging to every inch of his body. He stands stock still in the doorway, looking at me. His blue eyes darken and narrow; the longer he stares, the more pissed off he looks.
“Thought you would have been making the most of having the flat to yourself,” he snarls. “Or has Matt already left?”
“Fuck off, Caleb. You don’t get to be pissed at me. When the fuck were you going to tell me about Paris?”
“It’s none of your fucking business.”
“It’s none of my fucking business that my boyfriend is fucking off to Paris without even telling me?” I watch as Caleb’s chin drops open at my use of the word boyfriend. “Yes, boyfriend, Caleb. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that is kind of what I thought was going on here.”
“I stupidly thought the same until your booty call appeared at my front door.”
“I didn’t fucking call him. He’s in the army, and if and when he’s local, he gets in contact. If I’d have know the number calling me was him I would have told him I wasn’t available.”
“Whatever.”
“Don’t fucking ‘whatever’ me. Why didn’t you tell me about Paris?” I stand up and move so I’m directly in front of him, looking down into his eyes. He’s not getting away with this bullshit.
Falling For Caleb (Falling Book 7) Page 6
