Challenge

by Quinn Ward

  He sucked my earlobe between his teeth and clamped down just enough to sting. “By the time you leave the apartment Monday morning, I plan on you needing to wear something baggy because your ass is so tender. Or not, because like you said, the idea of every wince bringing back a memory of me fucking you is hot as hell.”

  Someone pushed Freddie from behind, effectively and abruptly ending our foreplay. His arms tensed as he released me, spinning around to confront the asshole. Realizing that the guy was not-so-subtly trying to get us moving since there was a gap between us and the people ahead in line, I curled my hand around Freddie’s biceps to keep him from getting into a fight. “Babe, it’s our fault, not his.”

  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” He seethed. I hitched a thumb over my shoulder and his gaze followed. “Oh shit.”

  “Sorry about that,” I told the guy behind us as we closed the gap.

  “No apologies needed,” he responded, taking a slow look at Freddie from head to toe. “Not sure I’d be able to keep my hands off if I was either one of you.”

  Even in the darkness, I noticed embarrassment staining Freddie’s face. I slid a hand over his cheek and kissed him softly. “See, and you were worried you’d stick out like a sore thumb. We’re not even inside yet and guys wish they could get a piece of this ass.”

  To emphasize the point, I reached around and squeezed his ass. It had the opposite effect as I’d intended, and Freddie went still as a statue. “That’s… is that… do you want…”

  The stammering was cute, but I put Freddie out of his misery. In my heels, I was about an inch taller than him, so I bent down. “No baby, I don’t want to fuck you. If I was into that, I’d have begged you long ago. I’m perfectly happy with you fucking me stupid every chance you get.”

  His shoulders sagged in relief. The line moved again and he stepped forward without releasing me. It took almost a half hour before we reached the front of the line. While Freddie showered earlier, I slipped my license into his wallet, knowing there wouldn’t be room for anything in my pants. His eyes widened as I dug my hand into his pocket and took his wallet, quickly pulling out both of our IDs before handing them to the bouncer. He took a cursory look at the pictures then at our faces, satisfied that we were who we claimed to be. I pulled the cover charge out of his wallet, again because I’d put my money in there, and handed it over.

  “Is this how it’s going to be from now on? You put your shit in my wallet when we go out?” he teased as we made our way through the long corridor and downstairs to the main club. I laughed, knowing he wouldn’t have heard me if I had responded. Yes, this is exactly how I want it to be between us from now on.

  Freddie slid his hand around my waist and led me through the bar, keeping me close to his side while shielding me from anyone who might stumble into us. I spied a group vacating their table at the edge of the room, so I turned in front of him, pressing a hand to his chest. “You get us drinks, I’m going to grab that table.”

  A few of my friends had texted while we were in line, letting me know they were on their way. By the time they got here, we’d have a place to land when we needed a breather, and I’d be well on my way to tipsy.

  I wasn’t much of a drinker to begin with, but I’d been stone sober since shortly after Mama’s death. It didn’t feel right drinking at Freddie’s, knowing Sophia might need us in the middle of the night. I’d reached the point thinking about how I’d restructured my life for the needs of a five-year-old no longer freaked me out. It wouldn’t take more than a couple drinks tonight for me to be at my limit.

  Freddie slid a drink across the table, complaining as he slid into the seat about how expensive everything was here. I chuckled, because I remembered the sticker shock when I first moved here. I’d tell him he’d get used to it, but I doubted he ever would. Instead, I slid a hand along Freddie’s chest as I leaned in, smiling when his breathing stuttered as my fingers grazed the edge of his dick. Yeah, someone wasn’t as opposed to the idea of getting a little freaky in public as I’d thought he’d be.

  Pushing him another step out of his comfort zone, I dragged my tongue over my lower lip as I cupped his package. I gave him a quick squeeze as I leaned in to be heard over the music. “What would you do if I unzipped your jeans and stroked you right here?”

  He bristled, but it was impossible to miss the deep, slow inhale. When I kissed the front of his neck, his Adam’s apple bobbed, tempting me to suck it. Freddie groaned. “Look around you, babe. No one’s going to say a word.”

  “I’ve never—”

  “I know. That’s part of why I’m fighting the urge to get you off right here and now,” I told him. He slid down in the seat, wordlessly giving me permission to do whatever came to mind. “You’re okay with this? Want me to jerk you off where anyone could walk up and see us?”

  Freddie’s only response was a strained groan as his head lolled to the side. My man didn’t want to admit how badly he wanted this. Needed it. “You gotta tell me, Freddie. You know I’ll do anything you tell me to do.”

  “Want a hell of a lot more than your hand on my cock,” he admitted, arching up as I flicked open the button on his jeans, wedging my hand in far enough to free him. I shifted backwards, urging him to follow by keeping my grip firm on his shaft, dragging my thumb across his slit. I could feel his arousal already building there. “Fuck you’re good at that.”

  I bent down to kiss his chest, feeling the rapid staccato of his heartbeat through the cotton. I’d expected Freddie to balk at me laying out one of the T-shirts I wore on days I couldn’t be bothered to get dolled up for work, but he’d taken it in stride, and I was reaping the visual rewards.

  He had a sexy as fuck body, muscles sculpted more by lifting cases of produce and meats than weights. The tribal tattoos on his upper arms were a shock when I first saw them, but even those fit in some odd way. And the intricate heart and key with Sophia’s name on the inside of his forearm was a constant reminder of how fiercely he loved.

  I kept stroking, my body shielding him this time, not wanting anyone else to actually see what was only for me. I reached back and pulled my hair out of the low ponytail I’d slicked my hair into before we left, the tresses providing a curtain between the rest of the club patrons and his body. My hand slid up his chest, harshly tweaking a nipple between my fingers, earning me another gasp.

  “You going to come all over yourself, Freddie?” I asked, keeping my voice low and seductive. He nodded as his hips bucked against my fist. “Do it. Come for me. Want me to suck you? Drink every drop?”

  “Fuck yes,” Freddie pleaded. His fingers tangled in my hair, forcing my head lower. I had to be dreaming because there was no way in hell he was going for this in public. Not buttoned-up Freddie Marino, the boy who’d never do anything to embarrass his family. “Suck me, Peter. Going to fuck your mouth until I come.”

  Yes please! I didn’t waste any time drawing him into my mouth, swallowing his entire length at once, contracting my throat around his length. Freddie kept his hand at the back of my head, holding me there until I worried I’d pass out from lack of oxygen before letting him go. My eyes watered. I’d look like the morning-after by the time he got through abusing my mouth, but I couldn’t have cared less in that moment.

  Freddie redoubled his efforts, twisting my hair in his fist. The muscles in his thighs tensed. He was getting close. If we were at home and he was splayed out on the couch, I’d reach between his legs and play with his balls while I sucked him off, but that wasn’t an option right now. I moaned when his free hand came down and he started rubbing his thumb down my cheekbone. He grunted and stilled, the bitter taste of his cum filling my mouth. I sucked him through his aftershocks, not wanting to leave any evidence of what we’d done behind.

  When I sat up, Freddie carefully took a cocktail napkin and cleaned the tear streaks from my face. More than anything, that simple action spoke of his love for me. “What in hell got into you?”

  “Me?”
I asked, my voice cracking and uneven because my throat had been so thoroughly abused. “I just planned on teasing you to get you to loosen up a bit so you could have fun tonight.”

  Freddie leaned in to kiss me, his tongue pressing past the seam of my lips. When we separated, he caressed my cheek again. “Believe me, it doesn’t matter what else we do tonight, I had fun.”

  I laughed, because that much was clear. But it still didn’t explain his sudden exhibitionist streak. “Seriously, what was that all about? You been keeping secrets from me?”

  He averted his gaze. “I might’ve gotten a head start at the bar.”

  “A head start?” I asked, biting my lips to keep from laughing as he struggled to put himself back together. There were some definite disadvantages to sex in a dark corner of the club, the second biggest of which was trying to not make it obvious what you’d just done once the haze of lust dissipated.

  “I grabbed a couple shots, okay?” His clipped words put me on edge. If he was truly upset I’d dragged him out, we’d go the hell home. Unwinding and introducing him to my friends wasn’t worth a fight. “Thought maybe I wouldn’t feel so out of place if I wasn’t sober.”

  “Babe, I told you there’s nothing to worry about,” I reminded him. The reason he could get away with his attire was because he wasn’t out here trying to find someone to go home with at the end of the night. I was a sure thing and hopelessly in love with him. If I’d tried putting him in something fancier, he’d have felt even worse because he wouldn’t have been comfortable. “Did you not notice how many guys were checking you out as we walked through the bar earlier? I almost hated leaving you to grab the table. What if you’d gotten a better offer?”

  “As if,” he scoffed. “I don’t fit in here, Peter. Look at us; I’m practically a country bumpkin by comparison. I’ll never fit in places like this.”

  “And you don’t have to,” I reassured him. “I don’t want you thinking I’d ever want you to change to make me happy. Hell, I’m still trying to figure out how I got lucky enough that you still wanted me after you knew my secrets.”

  “It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Freddie told me. It wasn’t the first time, but every time he confirmed I wasn’t fucked up because I like bending the lines of what society expected from binary genders, it made my heart skip a beat. “I love all of you, and I happen to get off on seeing you wear sexy lingerie. If I could, I’d take you shopping and make you model everything for me.”

  The roller coaster of tonight was hard to keep up with. It seemed like Freddie was trying to let the bits of his personality he kept under lock and key out to play, but still struggled with losing a shred of control.

  “That could be arranged, but I call bullshit,” I responded. “No way would you willingly go shopping.”

  “I would if it meant getting to see you in more lace.” He’d just given up his trump card; the next time I wanted him to shop, I’d be sure to entice him with something sexy. “I’d follow you into the dressing room and make you model everything for me. And I might have to tease you so I could see how your cock looked when it’s hard.”

  Before we could explore everything he’d ask me to do in those dressing rooms, my friends clamored up to the table, already well on their way to drunk and obnoxious. “Bitch! We thought you were never coming back!”

  Freddie gaped at Simon, who was a bit much for anyone most days. He made me seem quiet and reserved, which was a feat.

  “Turn the queen down a few notches or you’re going to scare Peter’s new boy,” Andy scolded his fiancé. Freddie’s shock morphed into anxiety. I leaned in, assuring him Andy hadn’t meant it the way his brother’s boyfriend used the term of endearment. While no one in the family said anything, it was apparent that there was some sort of power dynamic going on between those two. Andy reached over the table, shaking Freddie’s hand. “Hey there, I’m Andy. You’ll have to excuse my Simon, he can be a bit dramatic at times.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Freddie responded stiffly. “And it’s not a problem, really. This is all just been a bit much to take in.”

  “Peter said this was your first time in the city. How are you liking it?”

  I stiffened, waiting for Freddie’s answer.

  “It’s definitely an experience, that’s for sure,” Freddie responded diplomatically. Andy and Simon slid into the booth next to us, and we chatted a while as we waited for a server to come by and grab us another round of drinks.

  The longer we sat there the more I realized I wasn’t the same person who left town when I’d gotten the phone call from my sister. I wasn’t having as much fun and part of that was because I knew I’d much rather be at home with Freddie.

  Eventually, Simon and I dragged our men out to the dance floor and shoved our way through the sea of writhing bodies. I inserted myself in front of Freddie, my back pressed against his chest and eventually the beat of the music washed through him and his moves became more fluid and graceful. For as much as he said he wasn’t into the bar scene, the man was a damn good dancer. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised; I knew how talented he was in bed.

  We wound up staying at the bar until a little after two, when I was the one who decided it was time for us to head home. The four of us walked down the street until Andy and Simon reached their stop and parted with promises to get together at least one more time before we left. They seemed to understand at some point I would be relocating. As much as I’d miss the city, this wasn’t home anymore; my home was wherever Freddie and Sophia were.

  15

  Freddie

  Monday morning, I was still half asleep when Peter rolled out of bed for the day. I pretended to sleep as I watched him tiptoe around the room, getting ready. It seemed exhausting to me that he put in so much effort, but I understood he couldn’t just pull the first clean clothes he found and head out the door. What really struck me was the way his personality morphed as if he was preparing himself for battle. And I supposed, in a way, he was because, from what little I knew about the fashion industry, it was a cutthroat business and I still worried about what damage he’d done to his career by spending so much time with us.

  He sat down on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on my chest as he bent down to kiss my forehead. “Hey babe, I have to get going. If you’re bored later, I left address for my job on the nightstand. I’ll leave your name with one of the assistants so they’ll let you in and you can see what I do.”

  “I’m sure I’ll be fine. I don’t want to cause any problems and you don’t need me hanging around getting in the way.” In truth, I had no clue what I was going to do today. Sightseeing held little appeal for me unless Peter and I were enjoying it together, but I wasn’t sure how much time he’d want to spend doing that when he wasn’t working since he lived here.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” he scoffed. “If I thought you were going to be in the way, I wouldn’t have offered. But I want you to see what I do so that hopefully you’ll understand a bit more about my life.”

  Not ready to say goodbye yet, I wrapped my hands around Peter’s back and pulled him down on top of me. He put up a halfhearted fight, telling me he really needed to get going, but that didn’t stop him from pressing his lips to mine for a steamy good morning kiss. He ground his hips against mine, turning my morning wood into an arousal-borne erection. “You keep that up, and you’re going to be late for your first day on this job.”

  “You’re right,” he conceded with a sigh. “Is it horrible that I wish I didn’t have to leave today?”

  “Now you know how I feel every day when I have to get up and go to work and you’re the one lying around in bed.” I’d never told them how much I’d come to resent the time I spent at the restaurant. I harbored more than a little guilt because I didn’t even feel that way when I could be spending time with Sophia.

  Then again, it wasn’t uncommon for Mama to bring Sophia down to see me at work, but I didn’t have the same luxury with Peter. If he’d come down before h
e and I told Mama what was going on between us, my brothers would’ve figured it out and they’d have teased me mercilessly about it. As much as I loved all of them, they sometimes tended to take things a little too far.

  I pushed Peter off me and slid my feet over the edge of the bed, following him out to the front door. “Have a good day at work if I don’t see you. I’m probably going to walk around a bit more, but I’ll try to get down there to visit you around lunchtime. Do you want me to bring anything?”

  “Yeah, if you find anything that looks interesting go ahead and grab me something. You know what I like,” he said with a playful lilt to his voice that told me he was talking about more than lunch. “Just make sure it’s something I can reheat if I have to because this isn’t the type of job where we all punch out and take a break for lunch.”

  With one final kiss, Peter reluctantly left, and I locked the door behind him. I rummaged through the fridge and found myself some fresh fruit and an English muffin for breakfast. It’d been so long since I had a day off with nothing to do and no one to take care of, I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. I wound up kicking back on the couch with a cup of coffee and the TV remote, flipping through channels, trying to find something to watch. The morning news held little interest for me, and there was nothing else on this early in the day.

  Once the caffeine kicked in, I grew restless. I got dressed, laced up my tennis shoes, and headed out using the key Peter had left when he went to get his hair dyed to lock up behind me. I had no clue where I was or where was going, but as I took in the summer sun, I challenged myself to keep an open mind and see where the day took me.

  Because it seemed like the thing to do, I wound up taking the subway to Times Square, figuring that was as good a starting point as any. Even during the day, the area was alive with people rushing in every which direction, some on their way to work, others obviously tourists like me. I ducked into a couple stores even though shopping was usually a special form of torture for me, figuring it was a good chance to pick up a few things for Sophia.