A Little Side of Geek

by Marguerite Labbe

  Theo tugged his hand free, and then he was touching Morris as well, gently cupping his balls, rolling and teasing. Morris felt a finger slide back to stroke over that hypersensitive area that always made him feel as if hot tingles of electricity were rolling over his skin.

  “Wait… fuck….”

  Theo hummed around him again, the suction increasing as Morris came with a shudder that left his heart hammering and his breath panting. Morris caught his arms, urging Theo up so he could kiss him. He tasted the musk on Theo’s lips and groaned, eager to get his own mouth on Theo. He slid his hand between their bodies, gently tugging on Theo’s cock until he moaned against his mouth.

  Theo pulled back, his eyes hazy, his cheeks flushed. “Are you thinking now?”

  Morris pushed him back on the cushions. “I’m thinking it’s my turn. How the hell did you get to be so good at that?”

  “I quit smoking. I have one serious oral fixation.” Theo resisted Morris’s gentle push long enough to lightly suck on his lower lip.

  “Lucky me.” Morris wasn’t going to survive this fling. He was going to spontaneously combust before it was over.

  Theo settled back, one arm tucked under his head as Morris kissed his throat, then his chest. He took his time, now that the sharp edge of his need to get off wasn’t clawing at him anymore. He wanted to make Theo absolutely crazy.

  He skated his hands down Theo’s body, learning the feel of him, sighing softly as he did. Theo’s scent hit him, musk and sweat and ocean air, and all thoughts of going slow left. Morris glanced up at Theo and their eyes met. Naked anticipation and need marked Theo’s expression. Morris dragged his tongue across the head of Theo’s cock, heard his barely there moan, before sinking his mouth over him.

  Theo moaned again, louder this time as he brushed his fingers over Morris’s shoulder. “You keep looking at me like that and this isn’t going to last long.”

  The day was only half over. Morris figured they’d have time to get their hands on each other again. He’d make time. Theo’s cock filled his mouth, filled his senses, stirring his excitement again. Morris concentrated on blowing Theo’s mind until those strong fingers dug into his shoulders and Theo came with a strangled cry that was lost in the sound of the waves washing against the boat.

  Morris lifted his head as Theo shuddered and tugged on his bicep. Morris eased over him, his gaze intent on the hazy pleasure on Theo’s face. Theo fisted his hands in Morris’s hair and kissed him long and deep. “Let’s do this again,” he breathed against Morris’s lips.

  “I think you’re reading my mind.”

  Chapter Eleven

  THEO WOKE up as the breeze shifted direction and the label on the cushion he was resting against tickled his cheek. Lying sprawled out on the deck of a boat on top of the cushions and towels was a restful place to have a nap. Morris had extended the canopy over him so he was in the shade instead of the sun, and that consideration made him smile.

  He stretched, conscious of the fact the cushions beside him were empty. He’d been hoping to wake up next to Morris. They’d curled up together, trading kisses and touches, until they’d both gotten off again. Then Theo had drifted off, completely at ease with Morris beside him. For once, he felt wonderfully rested and not as if he were racing to catch up.

  He shifted his arm off his eyes and blinked, searching for Morris. He sat in the chair at the console on a towel, buck naked, with a sketchbook balanced on his lap as he scribbled away furiously. Theo grinned. And people thought he was a workaholic. He’d love to witness this sight again another afternoon. He nudged Morris with his toe and Morris glanced over, smiled, and nudged him back. “Hey there, sleeping beauty.”

  “Are you really drawing while wearing nothing but your skin?”

  “I am. I wasn’t wearing underwear with my swim trunks, or I’d be scribbling away in them. I often draw in nothing but my underwear,” Morris confessed, tucking his pencil away. “It sometimes takes me a while to get around to being an adult after I start work.”

  Now, that was a lovely image to have in his mind. Morris’s long body folded at his drawing table, all that beautiful exposed brown skin, and the sexy faraway look that he got on his face when he drew, like the look he’d just had.

  “Good to know. I might have to stop by for coffee before I head to work.” Theo rolled up onto his knees, unselfconscious in his own nakedness, and peered at Morris’s sketchbook. “May I see?”

  Morris drew the sketchbook a little closer to himself, a shy look entering his gaze. “It’s silly. You’re going to think I’m a creeper or something. I have a compulsion to sketch when my hands are idle.”

  Morris had been drawing him. Curiosity gnawed at Theo as he sat back on his heels. “I’ve never had anyone sketch me while I was naked,” he said wistfully. “It was on my bucket list. If you show me, I can cross it off.” Morris stared at him, his eyes widening, and Theo quirked a smile back at him. “Unless, of course, you drew me in a wild, physically impossible sexual position. Then I suppose you can keep your fantasy to yourself. We all should have some privacy when it comes to our kinks.”

  Morris cocked his head with a furrowed brow, realized Theo was teasing him, and burst out laughing. “I’ll keep that in mind. Is that on your bucket list too? To be drawn in an impossible sexual position?”

  Theo pursed his lips and nodded. “I think I’ll have to add it now that you’ve mentioned it.”

  Morris shook his head and handed over the sketchbook. Theo tipped it up and smiled slowly. Morris managed to capture him in a few clean lines. He’d drawn Theo’s torso and face. He was sprawled with one arm over his eyes and his hand resting lightly on his stomach. There was something sweet about the way he’d sketched him, so content and relaxed, and Theo realized Morris had a real gift for conveying emotion with lines on a page.

  “Dude, you are really talented,” Theo said, handing it back. “Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

  “Tell my dad that,” Morris said, tucking the sketchbook away. “He thinks it’s cool I make a living off my art. But he’s an attorney. Deep down I know he’d be more comfortable seeing me in a job that had a stable paycheck, health insurance, and a retirement plan. He doesn’t really say anything against it, but it’s in the little comments and that hesitant smile he gets sometimes when I talk about a new commission or a book coming out that clue me in to his feelings.”

  “If you have a chance to do what you love, go for it.” Theo shrugged. “We only live once. I suppose I could find something with better pay and less hours than running the restaurant, but I have zero interest in doing a different career. Honestly, if someone else wants to do the managing and leave me to do the cooking I’d be happier, but it’s a trade-off. Besides, I wouldn’t let anyone outside of family have control. I know myself too well.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I keep telling myself, and I’m grateful for the support I get. Believe me. I’ve heard of some shit between artists and their families. It reminds me not to take my own for granted.”

  “How was the convention you went to last weekend?” Theo asked. It absolutely fascinated him there were people who did them on a consistent basis and worked their livelihoods around them.

  “It lived up to its name, Awesome.” Morris grinned. “It’s always an exhausting madhouse. I usually have to hide away for a day or two afterward and enjoy the silence. I didn’t make as much as I wanted to, but I got to network and see people who probably only pop up once or twice a year. And bonus, I didn’t get the con crud going around.”

  “Con crud, it’s a thing?” Theo shook his head. Morris and his friends even had their own language.

  “Yeah, somebody shows up sick and passes their evil little cooties to everyone else. Add in the excitement and exhaustion, everyone returns home and starts bitching on social media about how they’re dying.” Morris cocked his head, his gaze sweeping over Theo in a way that made him remember how nice it had been to have their arms around each other. “You
know, you’re awfully adorkable when you sleep.”

  Morris closed his eyes, and Theo’s brows rose. “Dammit, cute I meant.” He opened one eye. “I told myself I wouldn’t tell you you were adorkable. Not after all your comments about my sexiness. Now I feel bad.”

  One of these days Morris was going to tell him who made him so self-conscious of men outside of his group. Because Morris didn’t seem to have any problems when he was in his element. “You shouldn’t. Does adorkable push your buttons?”

  “Every one of them,” Morris replied without hesitation. “You’re kind of like a short, less muscled-up Thor.”

  “Thor? The dude with the hammer? I’m not sure how Thor-like I am, but I’m absolutely fine with adorkable if it lets me get my hands on you again.” Theo scraped his hands through his hair and leaned over to grab a bottle of water out of the cooler. “I didn’t mean to drop off like that,” he said ruefully.

  “What time did you actually make it to bed last night?” Morris raised a brow. “It was definitely after midnight, because I heard your car pull up. Then you were up early this morning. No need to apologize.”

  “If you heard my car, you were up late too.” Theo slid his arms around Morris’s waist. “You could’ve napped with me. I liked having you near.”

  The corner of Morris’s mouth lifted, and he nuzzled Theo’s lips with soft kisses. “I dozed a bit, but then my fingers started itching for a pencil.”

  Theo chuckled. “I suppose I’ll have to get used to that and seeing random doodles everywhere.”

  “It is a hazard. Besides, I wasn’t thinking of only myself. Your best interest was on my mind as well.” Morris rubbed his lips along Theo’s jaw, and his body stirred.

  “Do tell. Because if it’s getting me all worked up again, you’re definitely accomplishing your task.” Theo wasn’t alone. Morris’s nakedness made his own renewed desire very apparent.

  Morris smiled against Theo’s skin. “I didn’t want you to have to go to work tonight with a sunburn in uncomfortable places.”

  “That’s very thoughtful of you. I should do something in return.” Theo slid his hands along Morris’s thighs.

  “Maybe that something could include a bed where we could take our time all night,” Morris murmured, rubbing slow circles on Theo’s back.

  “Mmm, I like the way you think, Proctor. Just you and me and nowhere we have to be and all the time we want to explore each other.” Which sadly reminded Theo they did not have time today. He did not want to look at his watch. Reluctantly, he pulled back before they both got too worked up.

  Morris hesitated, and Theo cocked his head when he seemed to decide not to speak. “What is it?” Theo could’ve sworn Morris blushed. He wasn’t entirely sure, given Morris’s complexion, but he’d seen the other signs before too. The look of embarrassment as Morris glanced away, the way he nervously rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. “Seriously, you can tell me.”

  Worry trickled down his spine. They hadn’t discussed protection. In the past, Theo admitted he hadn’t always been the most careful and he’d been lucky, but since he’d assumed custody of Lincoln and after everything that had happened with their parents, he’d vowed to be more cautious. He’d been tested and was clean and he planned on keeping it that way. Had he screwed that up?

  “Well, I wanted to say something before we did anything, but I didn’t know how to say it, and then one thing led to another. It’s nothing bad. I swear,” Morris hastened to assure him as Theo drew back even more with a stab of alarm. “I like to get assumptions out of the way.” Morris stopped with a groan. “I’m making it worse. Look, I prefer to bottom.” Morris cast him that sexy, shy look through his lashes, the look that made Theo’s blood heat. “Most guys look at me and assume top, but it’s not really my thing.”

  Theo sat back on his heels with a wave of relief. Then what Morris said registered. Morris was a bottom. Theo had to admit he’d assumed the same thing and he figured they’d work around it some way. He’d dealt with the opposite assumptions often enough, so he should’ve known better.

  “I think we’re well matched, then.” Theo dropped a kiss on his mouth. “Because bottoming isn’t really my thing either. And if you keep looking at me through your lashes like that, I’m going to be very late for work, and I haven’t done that in ages.”

  Morris’s eyes warmed, and the shy look dropped away. “Maybe we’re a little more compatible than I thought.”

  Theo laughed and pulled back before he gave in to temptation. A little regretfully, he began to put on his clothes. “Darling, we have loads of compatibility based on the way you blew my mind earlier.”

  “You do amazing things for my ego.” Morris slipped into his own clothes and tossed Theo one of the life vests. “And for the record, since I saw that fear in your eyes, I am clean. I haven’t had that many partners, but a friend of mine had a scare, so I went with him and got myself tested as a show of solidarity.”

  Theo smiled at him. “I’m clean too. I can’t say I was all that celibate before Lincoln became my responsibility, but he caused me to change many bad habits.”

  Morris nodded his understanding and gestured to the dancing water. “Did you want to tool around a little longer?”

  Theo shaded his eyes as he looked out on the expanse of glittering bay. Then he glanced at his watch and frowned. Time shot by too fast when he was relaxed. “We actually should start making our way back. Duty calls.”

  “Duty is a greedy bastard.”

  Buoyed by the look of disappointment on Morris’s face, Theo realized he wanted more than a fling. Flings were okay for the short term, but he couldn’t see himself walking away from Morris after a couple rounds with a vague promise to see each other again. Only problem, his life wasn’t in relationship mode, and he didn’t know when it would be again.

  “What are you doing Saturday morning?” Theo had to open and close the restaurant, but maybe they could have breakfast before he headed out.

  “I’ll be in Allentown. Heading up to Pennsylvania Friday morning with Felipe in tow,” Morris said as he pulled up the anchor. “I won’t be back until late Sunday.”

  Well that sucked. “How about Monday morning, then? If you don’t get in too late?”

  “It all depends on traffic, but I think I should be back by midnight.” Morris looked over the console and flicked a glance at Theo. “Why? Got something planned?”

  “I was thinking I could make you breakfast. My days and nights are always hectic, but the mornings I don’t go to the market are fairly quiet and relaxing.”

  Morris gave him a considering look. “It doesn’t get old? All this cooking?”

  Theo pointed at the sketchbook sticking out of Morris’s bag. “Does that get old?”

  “Fair point. Okay, I’ll be there. Is there anything I can bring?”

  “Just your appetite.”

  Morris frowned. “Are you sure? I can pick up juice or something.”

  “Juice is always nice, but you know what would be nicer?” Theo said, letting a wistful, forlorn note creep into his voice. “A couple kisses to see me through the day.”

  Morris shot him a startled glance and then chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do about that.”

  Theo set about replacing the cushions and tying them down as the boat rumbled to life. As they took off, turning in a wide sweep into the bay, Theo straightened to stare at the water and watch Morris’s profile from the corner of his eye. This had to have been one of the better days he’d had in a long time. Right on the tails of that thought came the guilt and heavy weight of his worries. Lincoln would’ve had a ball out here with them. Was it so selfish to want some time to himself?

  “You’re getting that look again,” Morris called over the roar of the engine, the slap of the waves, and the tugging of the wind.

  “Yeah? What look is that?” Theo asked as he made his way over to him.

  “Weight of the world look.” Morris flicked a glance at him. “Are you
still thinking about hiring more help?”

  Theo grimaced. “Jill keeps bringing it up. She’s even gone so far as to start interviewing.”

  “And you’re still resisting every step.”

  Damn, Morris read him rather well. “That nails it.” Theo gave him a rueful smile. “I know it’s a control issue, and I know I have to let go some. But knowing isn’t the same as doing.”

  “Well, I guess recognizing it’s the first step, and really, once you have some new hires in place, it’ll be moot. If you want, my sister works in management at a hotel and she comes across many restaurant managers and kitchen staff in the properties she oversees. She might have a recommendation or two,” Morris offered.

  Theo hesitated and then sighed. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to look into it.” Maybe then Jill would get off his back.

  “Treat it like a Band-Aid,” Morris replied with a shrug.

  “A Band-Aid?”

  “Yeah, instead of fretting over it, rip it off and get it over with. Then the anticipation won’t be hanging over you.”

  Theo leaned against the railing as he pondered that. Yeah… just hire someone and get it over. Then he could move on to adjusting. Sure… simple as that.

  Chapter Twelve

  THE BREWERY hummed with the voices of attendees and vendors, and the scent of hops and yeasty beers underlined every transaction. Light filtered through the tall windows, burnishing the wood floors to a golden glow and caressing the leather-lined booths. Lamps hung from the ceiling in a row of colored glass that gave off more illumination. Morris had been to many a con in a strange location, but this one had to be the most inspired. He could get drunk off light like this even more than he could from breathing in the array of beers, lagers, and stouts. Tall metal vats lined up behind a glass viewing wall, each vat carrying a small chalked sign declaring its contents.

  The signs tempted, and Morris had to remind himself he couldn’t have a sampling fest at his own table, not if he wanted to recoup his money. He’d managed to avoid the partying last night, mostly because he and Felipe had gotten in so late, but he could tell from the bleary eyes of some of the artists across from him the drinking had been hard and heavy. Yep, inspired and very dangerous location. At least the attendees seemed mellow and inclined to spend as they lingered at tables with glasses in their hands. Now if he could keep them from setting those glasses down on top of his books and prints, it would be a near perfect day.