by P. K. Tyler
Damn. The last thing Nik needed was to deal with a police raid.
He jogged down the alley through the back streets and toward the subway and home.
Chapter Two
Nik made his way to the A-Train stop. The green ball indicating the subway entrance no longer glowed brightly. Nik related. He was tired after the fight with the possessed man at Fubar. He’d been looking forward to a night of relaxing and, yes, maybe a hookup, but the battle for souls never ended and he had no choice but to keep going.
Nik walked down the platform, thankful it was mostly empty. That saved him from having to deal with people jostling for a seat. The train pulled up and he hopped inside, lunging through the doors just as they started to close.
He leaned back against on the cool orange metal slab that pretended to be seating for the masses riding the NYC subway. Nik knew it was really an autopsy table, collecting bodies, biding its time until it eventually collected them all. He closed his eyes and thrust his hands under his armpits, like the homeless teenager he used to be.
The train vibrated as it rushed down the tracks, pulling Nik further toward home.
Nik got off the train and jogged the final blocks home. He lived in a dilapidated row-house he shared with 6 ex-juvenile delinquents in Brooklyn. The boys called him the "house-mother" and, for the most part, they were right. He kept an eye on them and, in exchange, got a roof over his head and a small stipend from the not-for-profit that took a risk on hiring a guy, not unlike the kids he lived with. He walked into the blaring sound of some horrid reality television show.
"Where you been, poser?" Jimmy, a thug-wannabe with all the attitude but none of the grit called out from the raggedy couch in the living room.
"What are you still doing up?"
"I ain't got work tomorrow." Jimmy threw himself back against the couch and stretched his long legs out onto the coffee table covered in scratches and rings.
"Okay, well, I'm flat out. I'm heading downstairs."
Jimmy flicked off the television and leaned over the back of the couch to look at Nik as he pulled off his jacket. "You're wrecked, dude."
Nik smiled at the kid with a sigh. "Didn't get much sleep last night."
"Chasing ass?"
"What do you know about chasing ass, kid?"
"Whatever." Jimmy plopped back down on the couch and resumed flipping through the channels.
Nik made his way down the hall to the small galley kitchen and poured a mug of water for tea. He set it into the microwave and, while it heated, leaned against the kitchen counter and closed his eyes.
When the microwave beeped, he grabbed his tea and opened the door that led to his private rooms.
Downstairs, he had a full apartment behind one blessed, locked door. Nik's refuge waited. This was his home. The black painted concrete floor was covered in layers of rugs he'd found either cheap or on sale. He sat on the stool at the entrance and pulled off his lace-up boots before padding past the efficiency kitchen he rarely used. His ratty futon waited for him seductively, sheets already folded down because he never bothered making his bed. He shucked his clothes and lay down on the cool fabric. Cold sheets in winter were the best. It took a moment for his body heat to warm up under the comforter, but soon he snuggled in, cocooned in warmth.
He let his mind wander back to the place when he had been the happiest. After their sophomore year, Zeph had invited him to go with his family up to Lake Pharaoh, a name that delighted him. For the whole week, he'd forced Zeph's little sister Adel to call him Pharaoh Nikolai. She had only been nine, so she’d been easy to convince.
His foster parents had let him go without any fight. Nik had imagined they were just glad to have the house to themselves.
In the car, on the way to “the camp”, Adel sat between their parents in the front. Nik had Zeph all to himself in the back seat. He couldn’t help but think of dark roads and moonlight, making out in a cramped space.
Zeph sat in the middle, right beside Nik, who sat on the driver’s side. He wondered if it was just to be close to him. Or maybe it was just because they needed space for all Zeph’s mother’s bags. That woman had a separate bag for everything. Nik was pretty sure they didn’t need five different kinds of shampoo, three kinds of hairspray, and a full array of pins, scrunchies, and clips, but if they did, her hair care bag had them covered. He wasn’t complaining, though. Zeph’s mom was so over-prepared, they were forced to squeeze in closer together, but he could pretend that wasn’t the only reason Zeph sat so close to him.
“Comfy?” He quirked an eyebrow like he’d seen women do in movies. Men had nothing on women where the subtle art of seduction was concerned. A shame.
“Perfect,” Zeph said.
Nik couldn’t tell if he was flirting back or not, or if he even got that Nik was trying to flirt in the first place, but his friend glanced to the front seat briefly before chancing a wink.
Nik blinked, stunned and unsure of what to do or say. What would those saucy women have done next? He couldn’t remember. He couldn’t even see anything other than Zeph’s green eyes, now looking at him with unmet expectations.
Zeph cleared his throat and reached for the backpack on the empty seat at his other side. He pulled out an anime magazine.
His father wasn’t fond of him reading them but allowed it as long as he and Zeph didn’t “carry on” about them. So they kept their lips zipped and flipped through the pages together.
Zeph slowly turned each page toward him, and Nik brushed his fingertips every time he took the page and finished turning it. To anyone watching them, Nik was sure they looked like two boys getting along very well. Two good little boys. Anyone watching them would be oblivious to the turmoil boiling inside of Nik.
The excitement of sitting so close to Zeph, of touching him every few moments. The rush of something unnamed building inside him, and the fear that that same thing was missing inside Zeph. The ride passed quickly with Zeph’s mom and Adel chatting about Girl Scouts and his Dad humming along with the quiet folk music playing on the radio.
When they pulled up at the camp and his dad announced, “We’re here,” Zeph tossed the comic into Nik’s lap as though he’d been doing something wrong.
Nik picked up the comic and reached over Zeph to grab his backpack. The smell of aftershave surprised him. For the briefest moment, Nik imagined Zeph shaving, standing in front of a bathroom mirror wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.
He stuffed the comic in the bag and left it on the seat for Zeph when got out of the car. They collected their bags from the massive trunk of the two-tone station wagon and followed Zeph’s father into the house.
The boys changed into their swim trunks and headed out to the lake.
They swam out, away from the rest of the family, until they reached the small island in the middle of the lake. Nik wasn't used to swimming so far, but he fought to keep up. His ego and arrogance kept him from admitting it, though.
"You're going to pass out if you don't stop panting like that." Zeph laughed as they walked up onto land.
"Shut up!" Nik punched him in the arm, just to feel some part of his skin against his friend's.
“I’m not the one panting like I’ve just run across the state without training first.” Zeph smirked and threw his arm around Nik’s shoulder.
The close contact of their naked chests made Nik stumble.
“See what I mean? Shit, Nik, I thought you were supposed to be the tough one with all your demon hunting.” Zeph took off into the line of trees across the sandy beach.
Nik watched him run, the strong muscles across his back bunching and flexing as he moved. Zeph’s brown hair had grown out a little and soft curls hung down the back of his neck. Nik wanted to run his hands through them, pull him close.
After a moment, Nik ran after his friend and soon they were darting through the trees together, exploring the sandy roots that held the island together.
“Help me up,” Zeph called, holding out a hand. He
stood next to a large tree with a low hanging branch. He could have jumped, but Nik was happy to lift him. It gave him a moment to steal another touch.
Zeph climbed until he was a good twenty feet above the ground. “Come on!”
“You needed help getting up, but you expect me to be able to climb all on my own?”
“Please, look at you.”
Nik blushed, wondering if Zeph meant anything more than just a passing comment on his newly developing strength. Since he’d started training at the school gym and boxing at the rec center near his foster home, he’d gotten stronger but not much bigger. He didn’t have the broad chest Zeph had developed or the tight V-shaped hip line. Regardless of how much he trained, all he saw in the mirror was the skinny kid who couldn’t hold his own in a schoolyard fight.
He jumped up and grabbed the lowest hanging branch, not content to remain far away from Zeph for much longer. With a swing, he threw his body up against the trunk and flipped up onto the top of the branch.
“See what I mean? You’ve gotten buff,” Zeph said and winked down at him.
Is he flirting with me?
Nik shook the thought from his head. Being gay in Catholic school was hard enough, he didn’t dare risk losing his best friend--his only friend--by letting his hormones go crazy.
He climbed up until the two of them sat on a large branch together. “I can see your parents.” He pointed out over the lake.
“Mom’s probably having a heart attack that we’re out of sight for so long.” Zeph rolled his eyes.
“Aww, isn’t that sweet, little Zephy’s mommy worries about him.”
“Shut up.”
“Make me.” Nik intended it as a taunt, a rough and tumble boyish invitation to grapple and play, but Zeph's intense gaze set his blood on fire. He cocked one eyebrow and grinned, a lock of hair slipping into his eyes.
Without thinking, Nik reached out and brushed Zeph’s curls off his face.
Zeph smiled, seemed to lean into the touch, and jumped down the branch below them before climbing back down to the sandy ground.
Did I just imagine that? Nik’s pulse thrummed and his cock hardened. Had Zeph wanted him to kiss him? Did he do the wrong thing by reaching out? Nik imagined he’d probably ruined everything, taking a chance on something that wasn’t his. Couldn’t be his. Zeph wasn’t gay. Was he?
They wandered around the island and found a fire pit filled with the charred remains of a past camp fire.
“Let’s come back tonight, we could have a bonfire,” Zeph suggested.
Nik nodded, his voice still stuck in his throat as his mind obsessed over what might have almost been.
As they gathered sticks, he imagined watching the stars with Zeph. What would it be like to come out here in the dark where no one would see them, where no one would care what they did?
Lost in his own thoughts, he didn’t notice Zeph talking to him until he was hit in the arm with a large stick.
“Did you just throw that at me?”
“I had to get your attention somehow, you were lost in your own world.” Zeph picked up a rock and threw it right at Nik’s chest.
“What the fuck?” Nik growled, charging toward his friend. He slammed his shoulder into Zeph and dropped him to the ground.
Zeph pushed him away, but Nik wrapped a leg around the other boy, pulling him over and then using his weight to push him down beneath him.
Zeph looked up at him, sexy and open. His hair curled at the ends, drying in the sunlight.
Nik looked at his friend, at Zeph's easy smile and clear green eyes. With a tremor of anticipation, he reached out and ran a finger down his cheek.
Zeph definitely leaned into his touch that time.
Nik hovered over him for a moment, so tempted. Zeph’s body felt smooth and warm beneath his own. He had no idea what to do. He’d never kissed a boy, even as many times as he’d dreamed about it. Hell, he jacked off thinking about, this exact moment, though he didn’t know if he was willing to--
Zeph cut off his rambling thoughts by leaning up and pressing his lips against Nik’s in the lightest feathery kiss he could imagine.
Nik drew closer, his breath caught in his chest at the realization that Zeph might want him too. It was enough to terrify him, but the hummingbird fluttering in his chest and the chub in his pants demanded he take a risk he'd never been willing to consider before. It was like a door opened and every desire he'd ever had came rushing through.
When their lips touched for the second time, Nik thought he would die from the joy coursing through his body. It was like angels sang and the ground opened up to welcome them home as rainbows burst out of unicorn assess. He knew he was being a romantic idiot, but he didn't care.
His friend moved his head and Nik followed, opening his mouth and pressing his tongue inside Zeph's mouth. Nik swooned at the taste of him, his eyes fluttered closed and his whole body pressed closer to Zeph's. He ran his hand over Zeph's side tracing the lines of his ribs as he lowered his weight against his body.
They kissed and everything Nik worried about blurred away, finally falling out of focus, until all he saw was Zeph. He snaked one arm around Zeph's waist and pulled him tight against him, pressing his body against the one laying below him, so they laid flush, chest to chest, hips to hips, cock to ... Zeph was hard.
Nik's body tensed, but he didn't lose his hold on Zeph. Terrified that the moment wouldn't last, that this was a dream or that someday he'd find out it was just a cruel joke, he kissed Zeph's mouth hungrily, slipping fingers up into his hair.
After a moment, Zeph's hands moved around his back, holding him tight.
"Nik?" he whispered against his lips.
He cut him off with another kiss, too afraid to hear what Zeph might say. Nik just wanted to live in this moment, in this amazing world of bodies connected. He pulled his lower lip into his mouth and rolled his hips forward. Nik could feel the fullness of Zeph's length against his own erection and, for a moment, he stopped thinking.
Zeph shifted against him, bending his legs so that Nik settled between them, bringing them even closer together. Nik moaned before diving into his mouth, pulling on his lips with teeth.
Zeph kissed back and they moved like waves against the shore. His lips crashed against Nik and he welcomed them with a sigh. The sun set behind the trees, but neither cared about being out in the water after dark.
“Zeph..." Nik mumbled, lifting his hand to the face staring up at his with open desire."We should go back."
Zeph turned his head away from Nik and loosened his hold. “What if I don’t want to? What if I want to stay out here with you forever?”
Nik groaned and rolled onto his side so he could face his friend in the evening light. “I’m trying to not get you in trouble.”
Zeph inched closer and loosely took Nik's fingers in his. "I didn't know you felt like this," he finally said.
"Then you weren't paying attention." Nik pulled their joined hands up and placed Zeph's hand over his heart.
Nik watched as the most heart-shattering smile he’d ever seen lit up Zeph’s face. “I was definitely paying attention.” His eyes lowered to Nik’s lips.
Before Nik could move in for another kiss, which would no doubt have them out much later, Zeph stood up and reached out a hand. He let him pull him up and before he could start to worry that this had just been a moment in time, something they'd never have the opportunity to do again. Zeph grabbed him in a tight embrace and kissed him again.
They didn't talk as they walked back into the cool water, but every time Nik risked a look at Zeph, he found him smiling in his direction. The evening with Zeph's family passed in a blur. They ate dinner, and all the while Nik watched Zeph's mouth as he chewed, and—holy God—drank from a straw.
In the evening, they watched a movie. Nik had no idea which one. He sat on the floor with Zeph under a blanket, their fingertips touching under the cover of wool. Nik spent the time relishing the electric shocks running up his arm a
nd trying sit still. By the time Zeph's parents shooed the kids back to their room, Nik felt like he was going to explode.
He changed in the bathroom and jerked off. It only took two strokes before he was biting down on a towel, trying not to scream Zeph's name.
That night, lying in bed was an especially cruel kind of torture. Every time Zeph moved in the bunk above him, Nik got hard. By the time Adel's breathing evened out enough that he thought she had fallen asleep, he was pretty sure his penis was going to explode.
Until Zeph hung over the edge and looked at him with those unreadable eyes and curling hair. "Can I come down there?"
Nik nodded, not trusting himself to say anything without his voice breaking. He watched as Zeph slung himself over the side of the bunk and landed silently in a crouch on the mattress next to Nik. He slipped under the covers and laid his head so he faced Nik, but he didn't reach out.
"You okay?" Nik finally whispered, unsure of what to do.
"Mmhmm," Zeph murmured. He didn't move and, in the dim moonlight drifting in through the cabin window, Nik could see the side of his mouth tilt up in a smile. God, it was the sexiest, most perfect smile he'd ever seen.
"So..." Nik tried again.
Zeph chuckled and snuggled in further under the sheets. Their knees knocked together, but Nik couldn't have cared less if a Mac Truck came rolling through the room.
Zeph leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his lips.
Nik was having absolutely none of that. He grabbed his friend with both hands, pulling him against him roughly. He wanted to feel, he wanted to taste. He kissed Zeph like he was starving, and he realized that in many ways he was. Starving to be himself, to be with someone who loved him back, to be free.
They kissed and Nik rolled them over so he lay on top of Zeph. Their hips moved together, grinding out a rough rhythm. Zeph panted and pulled his lips away, kissing down Nik's neck and clutching his back. His hips moved up against Nik, matching his desire.
It felt so good. They rolled in the small twin bunk bed, the world forgotten. When Nik reached down into Zeph's shorts and took his length in his hand, he cried out softly. He was so hard and hot. The flesh moved along the shaft as Nik stroked him, still grinding his own erection against Zeph's hip.
