Socks for an Otter

by Posy Roberts

  “Oh, I didn’t mean to . . . Here. I’ll dim the light so you have some privacy.”

  “It’s okay. Just . . . We’re two guys who’ve seen cocks and balls before, so don’t freak out. Just . . . just eat with me.”

  He still dimmed the light, but rather than having the intended effect of privacy, it truly gave the room an over-the-top romantic vibe. Louis didn’t say a word about it as he sat on the ledge of the tub and purposefully looked into Sebastian’s eyes as he spoke.

  “Now, what brought you down to DC?”

  Sebastian took some crabmeat between his fingers, mimicking how Louis was eating, and pulled it to his mouth. To tease, he was as obscene as possible as he licked his fingers clean and leaned back against the long side of the tub, throwing an arm across the ledge like he was kicking back on a couch. He felt like he owned the place, like this was his bath, like he did this every day of the week, like talking to a fully dressed gorgeous man while he was sprawled there, legs akimbo, cock and balls rocking on the current of the water, was a normal thing.

  Louis swallowed noisily and his Adam’s apple bobbed. He focused on Sebastian’s eyes as he waited for a reply.

  “I came down here because an old friend of my parents’ was now an enemy, so I thought maybe he’d help me.”

  Louis furrowed his brows. “You thought your parents’ enemy would help you?”

  “He didn’t help.”

  “That’s too bad.”

  Sebastian bit his bottom lip and slowly released it.

  Louis followed the move, and his mouth dropped open. His breaths grew noisy.

  Yep, the guy is totally into this.

  Maybe if he played his cards right, Louis would let him sleep here tonight.

  Sebastian carelessly splashed water on his chest. It clung to the hair there, and the moment Louis tracked the droplets’ journey back to the tub, Sebastian thumbed over a nipple.

  “You should eat,” Louis said, voice breaking. He coughed. “I’m sure you’re hungry, and this is still hot.”

  Sebastian leaned forward and opened his mouth and looked up. Louis’s breath caught, but he grabbed a few pieces of crabmeat and hand-fed them to Sebastian. They both moaned. For very different reasons.

  “That’s fucking fantastic. It’s sweet. I think I’ve had this before.”

  Louis laughed, sounding relieved to have the tension break, but he brought another mouthful to Sebastian’s lips, waiting for him to open.

  Sebastian licked his fingers this time, and Louis shifted to adjust himself.

  “Are you bisexual?” Sebastian whispered.

  Louis brought him another bite, bigger this time so he had to open wider.

  Louis whimpered as he sucked the meat and his fingers down past the second knuckle.

  “No. Pansexual.” Louis’s voice was breathy.

  Sebastian swallowed and gestured to the platinum band on his ring finger. “You still wear your ring.” He scowled, pissed that he’d allowed himself to take this shameless flirting as far as he had. Louis was obviously still in love with his dead wife. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

  “This is the first time I’ve been . . .” Louis fisted his hair. “I thought I was dead inside, but when I ran into you on the street, it must’ve jarred something loose.” He shrugged. “I don’t know what I’m saying.”

  Sebastian licked his lips, crossed his arms over the ledge near Louis’s thigh, and leaned in again. He opened, took more crabmeat from Louis’s fingers, and chewed around a smile he refused to contain. “Don’t forget to eat, or do you want me to . . .” Sebastian pulled himself to his knees, water noisy as it sluiced down his body, and grabbed a few fingers full of meat, bringing them to Louis’s lips. He waited, watching the discord and desire cross Louis’s features. Then he opened, not wide enough, but Sebastian didn’t hesitate. He pushed his fingers in, kept them there, and waited.

  Clearly Louis was conflicted.

  But then he closed his eyes, licked and sucked Sebastian’s fingers, and twirled his tongue around his thumb before pulling away, blushing, and wiping his mouth.

  “You look good with something parting your lips,” Sebastian whispered.

  Louis snorted a laugh. “So do you.”

  “Here. More.” Sebastian fed him a few more bites of crab before bringing a dripping tomato slice to his mouth. He could only fit half in, so Sebastian took the rest, biting it away before their lips could touch.

  “Fuck. I think this is the sexiest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Louis panted.

  “What’s sexy?”

  Louis shook his head, eyes wide. “Everything. You naked. The way the candlelight plays off your wet skin. Your hair, a fucking mess. A beautiful fucking mess. Your mouth. You look hungry for more than the crab I made for you.”

  “As long as it’s not expected.” Sebastian pulled out an old defense, and it worked, based on the way Louis’s back straightened.

  “Sorry.” Louis shook his head. “No expectations. No strings attached, and I’m sorry I gave that impression.” He stood. “I’ll leave you be.”

  Before Louis could get to the door, Sebastian stopped him with a “Wait.”

  Louis turned. “I was going to feed you, and I thought having some company might do us both good.”

  “Then come back and be my dinner companion.”

  Louis gave him a half smile, and it was such a revealing look. Louis didn’t do this sort of thing. This was new for him. So his admission that he felt something for the first time since his wife died wasn’t a lie, was it?

  They took turns feeding each other and sneaking a few bites for themselves, especially the vegetables since they were easier to eat from fingers without turning this into soft porn. As the bottom of the plates were slowly revealed, Louis asked, “Do you think this will be enough? I can make something more. Pasta or something more filling.”

  “No. This is good. These last few bites will top me up.” Sebastian turned and stretched his legs to work out a few cramps.

  Louis wasn’t shy about the way he perused his body that time. Not at all.

  “Feed me the rest?” Sebastian whispered.

  Louis nodded, and he brought a mouthful of meat to Sebastian’s lips, but he had to lean so much further now, and he teetered precariously. He caught himself on the wall at the last second, but the meat landed on Sebastian’s chest. Ignoring the meat, he reached for Louis’s shirt and pulled him to his mouth.

  Just as their lips met, Louis slipped into the tub, sending dishes clattering to the floor and bathwater sloshing.

  Louis sputtered and tried to pull away, but Sebastian wanted a deeper kiss. He fisted Louis’s hair, fit their mouths together just so, and kissed him like this was his last kiss ever. Louis deepened it even more, palming Sebastian’s naked skin, rocking against him. He ate the meat he dropped right off his chest, licking away every morsel.

  Louis pulled away, cursing. “Fucking hell. It’s hotter than I expected. I’ve never . . .”

  “The water or the kiss?” Sebastian gave him a wink and a flirty smile. “Get undressed and soak with me.”

  Louis peeled his clothes off, struggling with the wet fabric. Sebastian helped him when he stood, unbuttoning, unzipping, and peeling his wet jeans down his hairy thighs. Gloriously hairy.

  “Yummy,” Sebastian said, unwilling to stop touching those gorgeous, muscled thighs once they were bared.

  He was seconds away from burying Louis’s cock deep in his throat when Louis said, “Let’s just . . . just soak. I’m not ready to move this fast even if my body is ready to go.”

  Sebastian nodded as he dropped Louis’s soaked jeans and underwear to the already wet bathmat. “I hope your floor is sealed.”

  “It is.”

  When Louis sat opposite and stretched out, Sebastian noticed he was still wearing socks. Patterned socks. He pulled one foot to his stomach and kneaded Louis’s arch.

  Louis moaned. “Fuck, that feels amazing.”

/>   “Love the socks.” White daisies with yellow centers on a sky blue background.

  Louis laughed and his cheeks tinged pink. “I have a thing for not-boring socks.”

  “And not-boring shoelaces. I wouldn’t have pegged you as a daisy lover, though.”

  Louis shrugged. “What can I say? I like flowers.”

  Sebastian nodded as he took off his socks, tossed them to the floor, and massaged both feet. “I like flowers too. Tell me your favorite.”

  “I love tulips.”

  “Mmm. Have you ever been to Amsterdam?”

  Louis shook his head but closed his eyes, enjoying the massage too much to make eye contact. That gave Sebastian time to give him a once-over. He had a hairy chest and nipples that were darker than he would’ve expected. His dark hair was gorgeous and thick where it should’ve been, sparse in other places.

  His cock was hard, the dusky tip peeking past his foreskin. Sebastian wanted to push it back, to reveal all of him, but he contented himself on imagining running his tongue over his frenulum and fondling his balls. He was thick and a good seven, seven and a half inches. Maybe eight. It was hard to tell from this angle, and besides, Sebastian was busy massaging beautiful feet. Manicured toes. High arches. And lord, his ankles were sexy as fuck.

  He strummed over Louis’s toenails and said, “You’re really into grooming, aren’t you?”

  Louis opened his eyes; it looked like it was a struggle. “I have so few things I indulge in.” He shrugged.

  “Nothing wrong with that.”

  Louis bent at the knee and carefully stood so he could open the stuffed cabinet again. “Let me spoil you,” he said as he scanned the shelves like he had something specific in mind.

  Sebastian spread his legs so Louis could get even closer to his cabinet of earthly delights. Maybe he’d reach for the stroker and lube. “I’d like that.” He shamelessly dreamed of what he could do with the cock and balls that hovered so near his face.

  He may have moaned, based on the way Louis blushed and shook his head.

  7

  Fair Exchange

  “Here.” Louis handed a few jars and pouches to Bash, digging a bit deeper to find a safety razor he’d never used and a box of new razor blades. He didn’t know what Bash would like, but if he got all his options out at once, he could sit back and enjoy the first bath he’d ever shared.

  “What’s all this?” Bash asked as he picked up a jar and read the ingredients before moving to another to do the same.

  Louis got settled back on his end of the tub and ran a clean washcloth under the faucet in the corner. “Lie back. We’ll let the steam open your pores first.”

  Bash complied but tensed.

  Louis kept up a running monologue, talking about what he was doing, even going so far as to reading the directions. He made sure to make noise so Bash knew where he was at all times, and before he made skin-to-skin contact, he warned, “I’m touching your right shoulder.”

  Bash flinched, then chuckled. “That was my left.”

  “Now you know one of my weaknesses.” When Louis pulled the cloth away from Bash’s face, he was smiling.

  “Do you have any more? Weaknesses, that is.”

  Louis shrugged. “My best friend says I have Robin Hood syndrome.”

  “You rob from the rich and give to the poor? Oooo. You just went up ten notches in my book.”

  Louis laughed. “She thinks I want to save the world. Or those less fortunate than me.”

  “Well, do you?”

  Louis smoothed a clay mask over the bare parts of Bash’s face, taking care around his eyes. “I want to do my part. There were several lean years when I was growing up. I know what it’s like to go hungry. And before losing Mati and the baby, we did all sorts of volunteer work together. She got me into it.”

  “So you were both into public service,” Bash said with a nod. “Is that why you fell in love with her?”

  “I don’t know.” Louis spread the mask over his own face, and when he missed a few spots, Bash took over, returning the favor. “I guess the best way to put it is that I appreciate people who can see beyond their own circumstances. Like you just did there. I was struggling, and rather than turning my difficulty into a spectator sport, you helped me get the mask on evenly. It’s how it should be, at least if someone asks for help. I’m not about to help reel in a seventy-pound yellowfin tuna without being asked first, but the second someone says they need a leg up, I’ll be there.”

  Bash smiled. “I like that. Even if I need help, I don’t always want it. Like the coat. The crab when I first ran into you.”

  Louis shook his head but stopped himself before apologizing yet again.

  “Yes, I know you’re sorry,” Bash said with a laugh.

  “I’m glad you caught up with me before I got on the Metro,” Louis admitted.

  Bash nodded. “Same. I’ll have to thank Marvin too. He’s the one who pushed me out the door. I even left a can of black olives at the pantry to catch you.”

  “You’re an olive fan?”

  “Oh my gawd. Yes. All kinds. Do you know how good they are for you?”

  Louis shrugged. “I mean, I cook with olive oil because it’s a good fat.”

  “Yup. My mom used to eat them before a meal so she wouldn’t feel as hungry. They suppress the appetite. I eat them when I can’t get to food or I don’t know if there will be food for a few days. Takes the edge off so I don’t go crazy. But mostly they taste good. One of my favorites.”

  The guy was eating olives to stave off hunger when he didn’t know when his next meal was coming? That wasn’t right. Olives should be savored, not used that way.

  “Do you enjoy kalamatas?”

  Bash swallowed noisily. “Do I.”

  “I’ve got some in the fridge. When we’re done here, we can watch TV, eat olives, and stay out of the cold while your clothes get clean. How does that sound?”

  “Like heaven.”

  Louis held up the razor. “Want me to shave some of your strays?”

  “What do you have in mind? Remember, this beard keeps me warm.”

  Louis smiled and scooted closer, skimming his fingertips over the stray whiskers from about his Adam’s apple down and a few more that were creeping up his cheeks. “Not a lot. But I don’t have to.”

  “You promise you won’t cut me?”

  Louis held up three fingers. “Scouts honor.”

  “I never trusted the Scouts.”

  Louis slipped his wedding ring off and set it in the center of Bash’s palm. “On the memory of Mati and my baby boy, I promise I won’t hurt you, at least not on purpose.”

  Bash’s eyes shone, and he nodded.

  Louis pretended nothing big had just passed between them and instead whipped up a lather with the shaving soap and brush. He only had to take a few passes, and Bash sat perfectly still, eyes shut, as Louis carefully shaved those stray whiskers away. He rinsed the razor in a cup he’d filled with water so as not to spoil the bath.

  He loved the caretaking. From the hand-feeding to spoiling Bash with bubbles and oils and creams, Louis was filled to the brim. And being trusted enough to shave Bash’s neck . . . well, that said something.

  It had been ages since Louis had been this . . . intimate with someone, and it felt amazing to connect.

  When done, Louis rinsed the suds and whiskers away with a few well-aimed splashes, then passed Bash a steamy washcloth to wipe away the mask. Louis did the same, and when they managed to miss a few spots, they helped each other out.

  “You ready to get out?” Louis asked.

  Bash held up pruned fingers and chuckled. “My skin is, even if I’m not. I love being warm like this.”

  “Downstairs I have a gas fireplace I can turn on and lots of warm blankets. I promise you won’t get cold as long as you’re here in my house.”

  Bash stood. “Then lead the way.”

  Louis left Sebastian to dress while he took care of the wet mess of clothes th
ey’d carelessly discarded when Louis fell in the tub. Sebastian dried off, hung his wet towels, and brushed his hair. He studied his neck and cheeks where Louis had shaved him, and sure enough, not a nick.

  If he lied to himself, he could almost imagine this was his place, that Louis was his boyfriend, and the bearded man staring back at him in the mirror was about to shave the rest of the whiskers off and start partaking in society. For the first time, really.

  Would he even recognize himself without the beard now? Even if it felt like a mask, a thing to protect him, he felt more at home right now with the bushy beard than he ever would without it.

  He took a moment with the brush to tame the straggly whiskers that had a mind of their own.

  Strategically placed so he’d be sure to find it, Louis had left a glass jar of beard balm beside a fine-tooth wooden comb with the words beard comb burned into the side. Sebastian had never had the luxury of such things in his old life because he’d never had a beard. Thankfully the directions on the back told him what to do.

  As he smoothed the thick paste between his palms to warm it, it turned to liquid. He rubbed it into his beard, and it shined like it never had before. Just a few sweeps of the comb made him look like he could model for a barbershop ad. All he needed was a little trim up top and he’d almost believe he could apply for a professional position in an office that had its own espresso machine in the break room. And he’d get hired.

  “Don’t go there, Bash.”

  He turned to the stack of clothes Louis had loaned him, happy to move on to any other thoughts. They would be huge on him, but he wasn’t about to complain. The sweater was soft and warm and felt so good on his skin. The underwear was the same brand he used to wear ages ago. They had to be an older pair of Louis’s, based on the size. Also, that stripe hadn’t been used on the elastic in at least five years. The sweats had a drawstring, thankfully, so he wouldn’t be fighting with the waistband all night.

  Sebastian sat down on the closed toilet lid to slip on the pair of socks Louis had loaned him. They had martinis on them, but rather than the thin dress socks Louis had worn with daisies on them, these were thick and warm, like the sleep socks he used to lounge in. Meant to be warm and cushy at home.