by D. C. Hall
“I guess not.” He sounded dejected which made Williams's chuckle. He reached over his shoulder and ran his fingers through the man's hair. Nathan leaned into the contract.
“Your hair is nice without the gel.” Williams commented. “It's easier to play with.”
“I'll keep that in mind.” Nathan said, his voice relaxed. One of his hands started to shift slowly. It trailed over Williams’s belly, up to his chest, and back down. They stayed like that for a while until Nathan went still. A quiet snore confirmed he was asleep. Williams sat his book down and closed his eyes. A nap didn't sound too bad. It didn't take long for him to be asleep.
***
A few weeks had gone by. Not much had happened. The two had healed up from their fight and seemed more comfortable with touch. Nathan had gotten his first pay at the end of the month. Williams thought the man was about to have a panic attack when he saw the numbers. The next thing he knew, Nathan was making a call to pay off the rest of his student loans.
Now, Nathan was sitting on his bed, Williams facing towards him while sitting in his lap. This had become common place for them. It varied who was sitting in who's lap.
“What's the plan for today?” Nathan asked. It was Saturday. So, the two didn't have to do anything today. He let his fingers trail over Williams’s thighs.
“I don't know. I hadn't really thought about it.” One of Nathan’s fingers was starting to travel up the inside of his thigh. Williams smacked his hands away. “Down, boy.”
“What am I, a dog?”
“You do seem like a puppy some times.” It was true. He had learned very quickly that Nathan was a very hands on person. It made Williams think of a puppy that was desperate for affection. He wouldn’t complain though.
“I feel like you're going to put a collar and a leash on me.” Nathan didn't appreciate the devious look he received. “You wouldn't do that, would you?”
“Not unless you wanted me to.” Williams responded, the glint still in his eyes. Nathan felt his mouth start to dry and his cheeks go red. “You’re cute when you're flustered.” Now, his chest felt warm as Williams pinched his cheek. The pinch turned into him cupping his cheek. He pulled him closer gently and pressed their lips together.
This had become almost a daily thing for them now. One of them would start the kiss. Williams would play with Nathan's hair, and Nathan would run his hands over Williams's body.
Williams was about to push Nathan back to lay on the bed, but they were interrupted by Nathan's phone ringing. With a grunt he pulled away and pulled the phone out of his pocket. He answered it and put it on speaker.
“Hello,” Nathan answered, setting it down on the mattress.
“Hey,” Brad responded. Williams pushed gently on Nathan's chest to where he would lay down.
“What's up?” Nathan asked, his chest feeling warm from the hands splayed across it.
“I just wanted to see what you were up to today.” Brad said. Nathan looked at the man hovering over him.
“Oh, you know. Nothing much.”
“Well, I actually got a Saturday off for once. You want to go play pool?”
“That sounds fun.” Williams had started to undo Nathan's shirt buttons one by one.
“Cool. If you want to ask your boss, he can go too. If he's not too busy.”
The hands were back on his chest, fingers moving gently over his skin. Nathan had to concentrate. Williams was not making it easy.
“I’ll have to ask him.”
“You know I have a pool room?” Williams asked quietly. He could just come over if he wanted.” Normally, he would have questioned why Brad wanted anything to do with him outside of business, but he was preoccupied.
“You sure?” Nathan asked.
“Did I interrupt anything?” Brad asked but went unnoticed. He really hoped he hadn’t called when his brother was about to get ‘busy’.
“I don’t see why not.” Williams responded. He traced his fingers across Nathan’s collar bones and back down making him shiver.
“Brad, do you want to come over here and play pool?”
“Come over where?” Brad asked.
“Williams is offering to let us use his pool room. I can send you the address.” He let his hands run up Williams's arms before going over to the collar of his button up. He hooked a finger inside and tugged to get Williams to come lower.
“I mean. That sounds great, but I don’t want to intrude.”
“You’re not intruding. I offered to let you come over.” Williams spoke up. Nathan kissed his neck, making him tilt his head.
“O-oh, um thank you, Mr.Williams.” Brad was obviously flustered.
“I’ll get Nathan to send you the address. How does five sound?” he bit his lower lip and closed his eyes momentarily while Nathan kissed at the base of his throat.
“That sounds great. Thank you.”
“See you later.” Nathan said.
“Okay, love you.”
“Love you too.” They stayed quiet until they heard a click on the phone. Williams was laid flat on top of Nathan who was currently cupping his ass. “I should go ahead and text him.” He let go to grab the phone.
“Am I too heavy for you?” Williams asked and received an odd look.
“No, you aren’t heavy at all.” Nathan started texting the address to his brother. Williams wrapped his arms around the other man’s waist and laid his head on his chest. He gave a sigh of contentment while Nathan ran a hand through his hair.
“I probably should have asked earlier. Do you even like pool.” He finished the message and hit send.
“I’ve never played.”
“But you have a pool room?”
“Yeah, my dad designed the house. I haven't really changed much since.” Nathan played with a few of the curls in his hair. It was so soft.
“What do you like to do?” Nathan asked. He had realized lately that they didn’t really know each other. Williams lifted his head to set his chin on the other man’s bare chest
“I like to paint.” He answered. “I read a lot. What about you?”
“I haven’t really had a hobby in a while. I guess I read sometimes. What genre do you like?” Nathan questioned. Williams looked perplexed. He was unsure why Nathan seemed interested all of a sudden.
“Romance.” They fell into a silence. Nathan wasn't sure where to take the conversation. He couldn't really work with the one that he had started. Oh well. There was always tomorrow. It wasn't very long before his brother would be there.
The time went by quickly. Nathan waited in the foyer and watched for his brother to show up. Williams sat in his normal seat, flipping through his newest book. Nathan perked up when he saw the car pull up
“He's here.” Nathan stated, standing up. He could see his brother looking up at the building in awe. Williams marked his book and sat it down. He stood up as well and straightened his shirt.
Nathan pulled the door open for his brother. He stepped inside hesitantly. His shocked look matched what Nathan felt his first day here. Williams moved towards the two which drew Brad's attention.
“I'm sorry. I should stop staring. I'm Brad.” He held his hand out, and Williams shook it.
“Nice to meet you.”
“I really appreciate you inviting me over.” Brad stated. He glanced between them. “I think I may be a little underdressed.” He chuckled. He’d shown up in a t shirt and shorts. Nathan had a button up shirt tucked into his pants. Williams had the same with a vest buttoned over that.
“You're fine. I'll show you where the pool room is.” Williams led them back down the hallway. Nathan hadn't even come back this far.
“You have some amazing art work.” Brad stated, looking at the paintings on the wall.
“Thank you. I worked hard on those.” Williams responded. Nathan looked up at him quickly in shook. Then, he remembered Williams mentioning that he liked painting. It never occurred to him to ask what he painted or where these had come from.
“Yeah,” Nathan agreed with his brother. Williams smiled, warmth filling his chest. Art had always been important to him, but other than Gertrude and Theodore, no one else had seemed to care. He cleared his throat as he pushed open the door at the end of the hall.
“Here it is.” He stepped inside followed by the other two. It was a nice little room. There was a red lined pool table in the middle, the balls still set up. There were a few seats. Williams grimaced but didn’t let them see it. Brad walked over to the stand that held two pool sticks.
“So, are we taking turns playing or are we doing nine ball?” Brad asked.
“I’ll let you two play the first one.” Williams sat, sitting down in one of the chairs. He expected this place to at least be dusty. He guessed that Gertrude had cleaned in here recently.
“Okay. Nathan, you want to break?” Brad asked. Nathan didn’t respond. He was watching Williams who was looking into the distance. He could tell the man was in a funk, and he didn’t like it. It worried him. “Hey, four eyes. You listening?”
“Huh? Oh, you can break.” He finally looked back to his brother. Brad gave him a fleeting look before lining up his shot. Nathan picked up another stick and went to the table. Brad went and sat next to Williams.
“So, I have an important question for you.” He said, drawing the other man out of his thoughts.
“What's that?”
“How'd you get him to stop wearing that stupid hair gel?” Brad asked with a broad grin. Williams didn't have a chance to respond.
“The hair gel made me look professional.” Nathan interrupted.
“Like a professional dork, maybe.” That got a small laugh from Williams. Nathan looked hurt.
“You don't have to laugh at his jokes.” Nathan stated.
“It was a little funny.” Williams said quietly.
“Traitor,” he sat down on the other side of Williams. Brad stood back up to take his turn.
“Now if you could talk him into some different glasses, that would be great.”
“Oh, come on.”
“I don't know. I kind of like the round frames.” Williams stated. Nathan smiled broadly.
“So, you’re not a traitor after all.” He leaned over in the seat and gave a quick kiss to the man's temple. Williams was mildly shocked. He didn't think Nathan would do anything like that around his brother.
“Look man, if you want to call for help, I understand. I wouldn't want that ugly mug around me either.” Brad joked.
“Why have you got to bust my balls, man?”
“Somebody has to.” Brad sat back down and Nathan stood. He looked over at Williams. “We actually love each other. It's just fun to act like we don't.”
“I was kind of hoping.” Williams said.
“The only reason he talks so much trash is because he's losing.” Nathan said. Brad rolled his eyes. The game continued for a few more minutes. Brad won but decided not to rub it in for once. “Alright, you want to play me or Nathan?”
“That's alright. I don't have to play. You two should have fun.” Nathan held his hand out.
“Come on. It'll be fun.”
“You know I haven't played before.”
“We can teach you.” Nathan said. Williams sighed and took his hand. Nathan pulled him to his feet, their hands lingered together for a moment. “You can play with my stick. Shut up, Brad.” He realized how perverted that sounded after he said it.
“I didn't say anything!”
“It was a matter of time, and you know it.” He handed the pool stick over for Williams. “You get to break.” Williams lined up the best he could. Nathan stepped in to help him. He pressed his body to the other man's and adjusted him.
“You two are gonna keep this pg, right?”
“I'm just teaching him.”
“I'm glad you didn't teach me like that.” Brad said. Williams chuckled and Nathan felt it reverberate in his chest.
“That should do.” Nathan pulled away to let the other man play. He took his shot and watched the balls scatter. Maybe he could see why his father liked playing this game.
They played a few more games before Williams decided to say he was going to leave the two alone. They protested, but he said he just wanted them to have fun for a while. He left to his room to work on a painting. So, the brothers were left alone. They were sitting for a moment before they started a new game.
“You two seemed to hit it off.” Nathan stated. Brad shrugged.
“He seems like a good guy.”
“Yeah… You may have been right the other night.” Brad wasn't sure about which part of the conversation he was talking about.
“What part?”
“The part where you called me a whore.”
“I'm going to need a little more information.” Brad responded with a concerned look.
“It's just that it dawned on me lately that I don't know much about him.”
“And that bothers you?” Brad asked. He was starting to see where the conversation was going even if Nathan didn't yet.
“Well, yeah. It feels weird to have a physical relationship with someone and not know anything about them.”
“Then, tell him that you want to get to know him better.”
“I can't do that. What if he gets the wrong idea?”
“Which is?” Brad asked. Nathan sighed and sat back in his seat.
“I don't want him to think that I'm starting to like him.”
“But you do.”
“I do not!” Nathan snapped his attention to his brother. He rolled his eyes.
“Look man, you’ve had like two months to get to know him without interruption.”
“And I don't know him.”
“No, you don't know what he likes. You've had time to see what his personality is. And you've had time to decide that you care about him.”
“Who said that I cared about him?”
“Oh, please. He looked a little sad at the beginning and you stared him down. You care about that man.”
“So, I don’t want him to look sad.”
“Which means you care about him. I’m not saying you love the man. All I’m saying is that his emotion has a little influence over yours.”
“This is not what this conversation was supposed to be about.”
“What was it again?”
“All I’m trying to say is that I feel bad for not knowing anything about him.”
“And I told you to just tell him that you want to know more about him.”
“You are frustrating as hell to talk to. You know that?” Nathan said getting a groan from the other man.
“You’re just mad because you didn’t get an answer you wanted. If you don’t want to ask him what he likes, just pay attention to him. He has to mention something eventually.”
“I can do that.”
“But you have to pay attention. Don’t think you’re going to learn anything just by fooling around with him.” Brad stated. He knew how his brother was. He’d get side tracked too easily. Nathan rolled his eyes. Brad knew this was either going to go very well or very badly. He should probably make it a point to check in on him every once in a while.
***
A few months went by. Nathan didn’t bother mentioning what he wanted to Williams. He just tried to pay attention to him. Over those few weeks, he learned his favorite color was blue, he mostly painted when he was stressed or felt overwhelmed. That one had made him a little suspicious about why he left when they were playing pool. He learned that he was quiet until you asked about something he really cared about. The biggest thing he seemed to care about was his books. Nathan had sat and listened to him talk about what he was reading for nearly an hour. Once he finished, he went red in face and said that he hadn’t meant to talk so long. Nathan gave him a smile and said he enjoyed it.
On the flip side, Williams had started to ask more about him as well. It felt like something had shifted between them. But the
re was more time for that later. There was work to do. Nathan was still sifting through Williams's finances. Meanwhile, Williams had started trying to learn about the furniture and how they were put together. That was what they were doing until Nathan had an article pop up on his phone that raised a few questions.
It was an article about Williams's father passing away. That wasn’t the odd part. The article was saying that he had passed six months ago. Williams had told him it two years when they first met. This would have put them meeting a few days to a week after. Nathan was wondering why he would have lied about it. What had he been covering up? Another thing that concerned him was that meant all the invoices just being piled into the computer wasn’t because of his negligence. Something had to have happened at that two year mark.
“I’m considering changing up some of the color schemes. What do you think about a sky blue with white accents?”
“That sounds like a good combo.” Nathan responded. He locked his phone before the other man could look. Sure, he wanted answers, but he wasn’t about to question why someone would lie about when a parent died. Williams smiled. It was kind of nice to have someone to bounce ideas off. They continued working, making idle chit chat for a while. They kept going like that for about an hour. Williams looked down at his phone when he got a notification.
Nathan was still sorting the files and not paying attention to the other man. Williams grimaced at his phone before scowling. Nathan jumped as the other man slammed his phone down on the corner of the table. The screen shattered violently before the phone was thrown against the wall. Nathan stared at him as he walked out of the room. He’d never seen him react to anything that violently. He wasn’t sure if he should look for him or not. He decided it was probably for the best if he did. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find the man anywhere. Not even Gertrude or Theodore knew where he went.
It was hours later when he turned up. Nathan found him in his room with a paint brush. He knew he hadn't been there long.
“Where the hell have you been?” Nathan asked, stepping into the room. Williams’s expression was blank as he dabbed at the canvas. “I looked everywhere for you.”
