Homecoming Hearts Series Collection

by HJ Welch

  As the lights dimmed and the show started Elion watched everything with the eagerness of a child at Christmas. Blake found himself paying attention to him over the performers and presenters half the time. His joy was infectious. Blake felt his heart swelling.

  All too soon, Joey nudged him. “We’d better go.”

  He was practically bouncing with excitement at the prospect at getting on the stage. Blake hadn’t had the heart to ask how his latest round of auditions had gone. The fact he hadn’t told Blake about any successes spoke volumes. Blake hoped desperately that he’d get something soon. He was made for the limelight. Mundanity would make him wither away.

  He shelved those melancholy thoughts as he jogged up the steps backstage. This night was about having fun, not about stressing over the future.

  He and Joey were shuffled from mark to mark and given the envelope with the winner of their category. They brushed shoulders with Hollywood actors and sports stars as P.A.s herded them all where they needed to be. A Canadian rock band were currently tearing up the stage.

  “It’s good to be doing this again,” he said in Joey’s ear. He turned and grinned at him.

  “Hell yeah, bro,” he said, slapping his shoulder.

  As their names were called by the presenter, Blake winked at Joey and they stepped into the glaring lights, smiling and waving to the screaming crowd. Blake couldn’t see Elion, but he looked where he thought he was probably sitting anyway.

  They jogged to the podium and waited for the applause to die down. “Hello!” Joey read from the tele-prompter. “Good evening California. Thank you for having us!”

  Blake beamed and glanced at his cue. “And thank you for helping us get the band back together. Two out of five ain’t bad, huh?”

  The crowd obediently laughed, thank God.

  “We’re here to present the award for Best Squad,” said Joey, showing them the envelope in his hands. “Blake and I were lucky enough to be part of a kick ass squad. So we’re proud to announce the awesome nominees.”

  Blake looked at the tele-prompter. He could see the words perfectly clearly. But something took over him.

  “You know what though?” he said.

  He felt Joey stiffen beside him for going off book. But he didn’t care. He had a platform, and he had something to say.

  “Our incredible days with Below Zero may have come to an end. But Joey and I are part of another squad now. A…squad that’s new to me.”

  He could feel the tension in the room. People were probably wondering what the hell he was doing.

  “I recently came out as bisexual,” he said. And by ‘recently’ – to himself – he meant right that very second. It was time to stop pretending. The crowd started clapping. He used that to galvanize him. “And it was tough. But it’s something kids all over the world have to do every day.

  “I don’t know if I could have managed it without my friends.” He looked to Joey, then out where he hoped Elion was. “Not every kid has that.” The applause was really mounting now. People were cheering and he felt himself shaking. He leaned closed to the microphone.

  “So while we’re thrilled to announce which amazing squad has won the award this year, Joey and I are also part of the LGBT Plus Squad. It’s got millions of members. They speak a hundred different languages and are every skin color you can think of. They’re rich and poor. Some of them have religion to guide them, and some…” Fuck it. He was going there. “Some of them have religion working against them. Whoever you are, if you’re queer, you’re part of our squad. Right, Joey?”

  “Hell yeah!” Joey practically shouted into the microphone. The crowd was deafening now.

  “Thank you for all the support you’ve shown me. I hope you’ll show it to the rest of our squad too. Today, and every day.”

  Joey was applauding him, shaking his head. Blake grinned. He felt like he might pass out.

  “Now how about those nominees, huh?”

  The crowd cheered again over their applause. But before he or Joey could read out the names, he was hit over the head with a downpour of cold, green slime.

  He screamed and so did Joey as the audience went wild. Getting slimed at the Kids’ Choice Awards was one of their highest honors. It meant that you mattered. But it was also absolutely disgusting.

  Blake could only laugh as Joey, ever the professional, wiped his eyes and read out the contenders. Blake cleaned his eyes and spat out gunk and tried to pay attention. But he was shaking too badly.

  Adrenaline was making him giddy. He’d just come out, officially, to the whole world. People could argue that he’d already done that on the show. But that hadn’t been real. This…this was him finally giving up the fight.

  It was going to be hard, and there was no going back now, but holy shit he was glad.

  All he could think about was getting cleaned up and getting to Elion.

  The winners – the cast of some dystopian young adult film – were crowding onto the stage, giving air kisses to him and Joey and trying to avoid the slime. Within minutes they were waving their way back stage once again as the crew raced onto the stage to clear up the goop before the next act performed.

  As soon as they were in the wings Joey launched himself at Blake for an extremely squidgy hug. “Are you kidding me? Are you fucking kidding me?” he wailed. “That was one of the most awesome things I have ever seen!”

  “Yeah?” Blake said, feeling like he was asking the question Joey was already answering. “It was okay?”

  “It was fucking epic,” Joey cried as P.A.s attacked them towels so they at least weren’t dripping goo all over the place. “So?”

  “So, what?” Blake asked. He was still trembling and his brain wasn’t working all that well.

  “Sooo,” said Joey. “Are you going to go get your man now?”

  Warmth blossomed in Blake’s chest. “Try and stop me.”

  Most people who got slimed were escorted to a shower area and offered a clean and dry set of clothes for the rest of the evening. Blake had skipped that. As soon as he was no longer saturated with gunk, he tore from back stage into the auditorium. Elion was engrossed in watching Little Mix as he approached.

  Blake leaned over the seats. “Hey handsome,” he said, making Elion jump. He went from surprise to mirth as he took in Blake’s disheveled appearance.

  “Oh my God,” he sniggered, slapping his hand over his mouth. “Don’t you look gorgeous?”

  “What a coincidence,” said Blake. His heartbeat was slamming in his ears. “So do you. Do you want to get out of here?”

  Slowly, the amusement fell from Elion’s face. He looked up at Blake with confusion, disbelief, then finally, he gulped.

  “Uh, yeah,” he rasped. Hastily, he rose from his seat. He checked that neither of them had left anything behind, then followed Blake from the arena.

  Their car wasn’t that hard to locate once Blake had made the call. Unlike when he left with everyone else at a normal event, their car was the only one to pull up to the curb when he and Elion trotted down the steps of the venue.

  “I’ll pay for any damage to the upholstery,” he said by way of a greeting to the driver. “Is that okay?”

  The guy shrugged. “Sure man, whatever you say.”

  Blake let Elion slide in first, then took his jacket off, turned it so the dry side was on the seat, and sat himself on the backseat. Elion kept looking at him throughout the drive, but Blake didn’t trust himself to say anything when they weren’t alone. Instead, he offered his hand which Elion took, and held it tight until they reached the hotel.

  Staff gave him an alarmed look as they crossed the lobby. Blake saluted at them. “I promise I won’t touch a single thing,” he said. He felt like he was drunk. But those couple of glasses of champagne had been ages ago. He was completely in his right mind as he led Elion into the elevator and jabbed the button for their floor.

  They still didn’t speak, but it felt like electricity was sparking between them. Crackli
ng off the walls. Promising what was to come.

  Luckily Blake had been instructed to leave his wallet and phone backstage with a P.A., so their hotel key card had been safe from the slime. He felt absolutely vile. His clothes were stiff and sticky from dried goo, his skin was itchy and his hair actually hurt where it pulled against his head. Yet none of that mattered.

  All that mattered was the heated look Elion gave him as the door blissfully swung inwards.

  “Did you mean that?” he asked. He grabbed Blake’s hand and pulled him into the room. “What you said. On stage.”

  “Yes,” rasped Blake. Elion was still tugging him along. The door slammed shut behind them but Elion’s was focused on his destination. The bathroom.

  “So, you’re feeling up for a bit more experimenting?” Elion asked. He bit his lip, which looked difficult considering how broadly he was grinning. “A little bit more education?”

  “Please.” Blake’s voice caught in his throat. Elion was already undoing his tie as they stumbled into the bathroom. Blake tried to copy him, but everything was gooey and uncooperative. He growled at his shirt buttons when they refused to do as they were told.

  Then Elion captured his mouth in a kiss.

  “We’ve got all night,” he said. His voice was laden with promise. “No stress, okay?”

  Blake was breathing heavily. “Okay,” he managed as, together, they unraveled the tie and dropped it to the tiled floor with a splat.

  Blake leaned over and seized Elion’s mouth for another kiss. Despite the fact they were both in a frantic struggle to get out of their clothes, despite the fact that Blake knew his skin still carried the plastic taste of goop, he had to kiss him.

  He’d never shared a shower before; he imagined it would be really awkward. But like everything with Elion, it felt easy and fun as they pulled off their clothes and stepped under the hot water.

  “That was pretty awesome,” said Elion between kisses. “Your little speech. I bet that’ll be all over YouTube by tomorrow.”

  Blake’s skin was already flushed from the heat of the shower, and the provocation of being naked and rubbing up against Elion’s lithe body. But he blushed again at the praise.

  “I just,” he mumbled, “said what was on my mind. For once.”

  “I liked it,” said Elion. He showed Blake how much he liked it by sliding his hand over his already hard cock.

  Blake uttered something obscene. He wasn’t even sure what, he was too focused on Elion and his gorgeous body and what he was doing with his hand. Tentatively, he reached out and slipped his fingers around Elion’s own shaft. He buckled immediately, only just catching himself from dropping completely by slamming a hand on the wall tiles.

  “Oh, fuck, yes, baby.”

  His cock was slightly longer and thinner than his own, and it curved a little upwards. But really, it wasn’t too dissimilar. They were both cut and there were the same thick veins and ridges. It was hot to the touch and had a velvety softness to it despite the rigid core. He stroked it, absolutely loving how it made Elion come undone.

  “What do you want?” he asked Blake, despite his distracted state. “We can do anything.”

  The prospect was daunting. Blake had no idea where to start with a guy. If it had been Lola he probably would have fingered her – she always loved that – then taken her to bed and made love, slowly, until they couldn’t hold back and it was all over in a few frantic thrusts.

  The idea of actually fucking with a guy though seemed too much. He almost wanted to wilt at the prospect. Try as he might, he couldn’t really see how you’d get a cock in an ass.

  Something must have shown on his face, because Elion let go of his dick and cupped his jaw, kissing him tenderly under the waterfall. “Hey,” he whispered. His face was full of delight and excitement. “You don’t have anything to be worried about. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want. Or you can ask me for whatever you desire.”

  The word ‘desire’ short circuited his brain. “I don’t know,” he stuttered. He blinked water away from his eyes and looked into Elion’s brown ones. “I don’t – I-”

  “How about,” Elion suggested with a tone akin to a purr. “We get you cleaned off, then I take you back to that big, warm, comfy bed, and we just cuddle.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Naked.”

  Blake smiled. He felt ridiculously inexperienced, but Elion didn’t seem to care. “That sounds lovely,” he admitted.

  To speed things up, they stepped apart and washed their hair and bodies. But then Elion captured his lips again, hot and needy. It took Blake a second to realize that while they were kissing, he had his fingers between his ass cheeks, cleaning himself.

  Blake still wasn’t sure he was up for anything that advanced, but it wouldn’t hurt to give himself a freshen up either. So while Elion was preoccupied, he made sure every inch of his intimate areas were rinsed. That way he was ready for anything.

  By the time they shut the water off they were both painfully hard and slightly breathless. Blake dried off in record time, and soon Elion was once again leading him by the hand. This time they were stripped entirely bare, and headed for the bed.

  Blake chuckled as they ripped the comforter back and scrambled between the sheets, damp hair splaying over the pillows. They lay side by side and tangled their bodies together as they kissed. Elion used his right hand to capture both their cocks, wrapping his fingers around the shafts and rubbing them together.

  Blake spluttered. “Oh God, oh fuck.”

  “Good?” Elion was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

  Blake managed to nod. “So good.”

  This was exactly what he wanted. Nothing complicated, but still so intimate. Elion stroked them as they kissed deeply. He tasted of sweet champagne and something uniquely Elion. A kind of spicy muskiness. Blake moaned.

  Elion pulled away, just an inch, and squeezed their cocks in a sinful manner. “Can I try something?” he asked. “I’ve never done it, but now seems like a good time and if you don’t like it we can stop, like, right away.”

  His eyes sparkled in the dim hotel light. Blake touched his fingertips to his cheek. “You really love sex, don’t you?” he marveled.

  “When it’s done right,” Elion said. He gave them a gentle stroke, just enough of a tease to make Blake shudder. “It’s the best way to talk to someone without the bullshit.”

  Blake didn’t really get that, but he was having a magnificent time, so he didn’t question it further. “What do you want to do?” he asked. “I’m not sure…I mean. I don’t have any condoms.”

  Elion shook his head. “We don’t need that. It’s something I like guys doing to me, but I’ve never done it to someone else.” He pressed their foreheads together, their panting breaths mingling. “I want to eat you out.”

  Blake wasn’t sure he heard him right. But…they had just had a shower.

  He remembered how amazing the blow job had been, and Lola almost always wanted him to go down on her. She preferred that more than sex half the time. Maybe it could feel good, to have Elion’s tongue and lips working his ass?

  “Yes,” he managed to rasp out. “Yes, we can try that. Please.”

  Elion groaned and kissed him hungrily. “Just lie on your front and relax. Let me do the hard work.”

  Blake nodded and they shifted positions. He was trembling with anticipation, but like before, he trusted Elion. What was the worst that could happen, after all? He was pretty sure it couldn’t hurt. If it felt unpleasant, he’d just ask Elion to stop.

  As Elion pulled the covers down and rubbed his hands over his ass cheeks, he did feel horribly exposed. But it was just the two of them, and Elion was soon soothing him by trailing little kisses up the inside of his thigh, inching closer to his hole, tingling with anticipation.

  He moaned into the pillow. “Baby,” he gasped.

  Lola hadn’t been keen on pet names in the slightest, but he loved it when Elion used the term of endearment on him. It made something w
arm blossom in his chest and saying it back to him only intensified the feeling. It gave him a sense of belonging, of being complete.

  He felt Elion smile against the crease where the top of his thigh met his ass. “Hmm, baby,” he agreed.

  Blake did his best not to flinch when Elion pulled his cheeks apart, exposing his hole to the air. He took his time though, massaging his hands into Blake’s skin as he kissed around the puckered flesh.

  There was nothing that could have contained the filthy groan Blake let loose as Elion licked his tongue over the entrance. “Holy shit, that’s incredible,” he whimpered. He wouldn’t have even thought to suggest doing this, let alone had the courage to, if Elion hadn’t voiced the idea. Fuck was he glad he had.

  “Yeah?” Elion asked, doing it again, kissing and sucking his flesh.

  Blake thought his string of profanities was probably proof enough he was enjoying himself. “Yes, feels amazing,” he said. He rutted his throbbing cock against the sheets. There was a good chance he could come like this.

  Elion hummed against him. He began to probe with his tongue, slipping it through the rim of Blake’s tight ring of muscle.

  “Elion,” he gasped, clutching at the sheets.

  Elion kept at it for another few minutes until Blake could hardly remember his name. Then he pulled away, crawling up the bed. “I want to come together,” he said through swollen lips.

  Blake didn’t need any encouraging. He grabbed Elion’s shoulders as he moved to face him, hauling their bodies back together and slinging his leg over Elion’s. He wanted to claim all of him.

  Their kisses were messy and lips bashed against teeth, but it was perfect. He knew what to do after Elion’s earlier demonstration, so wrapped his larger hand around both their pricks and began to thrust. They were both slippery with pre-cum and it felt even better than before.

  Elion’s fingers dug into his back and side. He grunted and gasped and wailed.