by Cooper West
“Hey, don’t take off without me.” Toby returned the kisses along his temple and forehead.
“No, just… feels so good. Been a while.” David slowed his hips down to a languid grind, though, and worked at Toby’s neck, kissing and gently sucking his skin. Toby felt hands scrabbling at his waist, then under his shirt, fingers gently skimming his skin. Toby moved his head up and kissed him again, harder, pushing his tongue into David’s mouth. They both groaned and David’s hands flexed, grabbing Toby’s waist in a clutch. Toby shoved his hips up and they were rubbing and tongue-fucking in earnest, a more familiar and comfortable routine he knew what to do with.
Moving his hands, Toby started to undo David’s pants, but David pulled up and back in response. Surprised, Toby stopped to stare, but David smiled and dropped his hands to rest lightly on Toby’s hips.
“Hardly seems fair to move that fast,” he said, and pulled at Toby’s sweatpants, dragging them and his underwear off in a smooth move. Toby could tell from David’s body language, the way he was shuffling backward and licking his lips and staring at his cock, that he was planning to go down. Toby sat up to stop him.
“Like this.” He got up on his knees and faced the back of the couch, bracing himself, legs wide. It was a cheesy way to “present” but he was aiming for distraction. Sex was one thing but he was not too comfortable with how intimate things were getting.
David did not move for a few moments, then pressed up against his back. He helped Toby pull off his T-shirt, wrapping his hands around him to hold them close together. David’s lips were at his ear and he licked it quickly before whispering, “What do you want?”
“As long as you have protection, I think we’re good to go.”
“Damn—yeah, okay—yeah.” One hand snaked around Toby’s waist to slide down and gently stroke his cock. Toby shuddered at the light, exploratory touches. David’s other arm tightened around his waist, pressing them so closely together Toby could feel the erection through David’s pants against his ass. He moaned softly with every touch and gasped as David squeezed ever closer.
“David…” Toby wanted to sound demanding but it came out in a long, anguished groan, and David chuckled.
David pushed Toby forward as he leaned back, his hands retreating. “Stay here. Like this. Just like this.” David ran a hand down Toby’s naked back, slowly. Toby nodded and lowered his head to rest on his forearms which he crossed over the back of the couch. He felt like a moron, sitting on the couch like that completely exposed, but he supposed it was better than having to lie there with his dick bobbing in the air, watching David run around with his pants open. This way he could just wait and think about making it good for them.
David crawled back on the couch after a second, but Toby did not move.
“I put the chain lock on the front door, just in case Steff comes home early. Here, let me….”
Toby felt slick fingers pushing at his butt cheeks, spreading them apart enough for David to rest a finger against his hole. As he did so, his other hand came back around to start teasing Toby’s cock again.
“Please, fuck, just… come on…” Toby groaned, thrusting his dick into David’s hand, then let out a long, heavy sigh as David’s finger breached him. “Oh my god, oh….”
“Been a while for you too, huh?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Toby gurgled out the words as David twisted his hand and shoved another finger in. “But I’m good, this is good. Fucking great.”
David laughed, pushing his fingers in and out and tightening his grip on Toby’s cock, pulling at it hard.
“I’m gonna come, you know that? Just, oh fuck, yeah, I’m…” Toby stuttered and gave it up, David chuckling behind him. His orgasm washed over him hard and dirty, with David’s fingers in his ass and his hand covered in Toby’s come. Toby gasped loudly, his thighs shaking. It was good, so good, maybe too fast but still fantastic.
He heard David fumbling with his pants. He thanked the gods for men who always packed for emergencies as he heard the crinkling sound of a condom wrapper being opened. Another second of silence, or close to silence as David mumbled and huffed to himself, and then he was pressed back up against him, holding Toby’s hips to pull him down.
“Got you,” David said and pushed in slowly.
Toby lowered his head and moaned at the breach. David stopped then, barely inside of him, and rested his forehead on Toby’s shoulder.
“Thank you, thank you, I’ve wanted this… you… oh Toby, goddammit….” He began pushing again, dragging Toby’s hips down to meet his as he lifted, and Toby shivered at the feeling of being filled. It had been a long time, and it was slightly uncomfortable, even with his own post-orgasmic haze going on—David’s cock was substantial enough to make a difference, he thought uncharitably as he shifted and squirmed, his hands clutching the back of the couch.
David’s hips snapped and he gasped, the reaction uncontrolled, and suddenly everything about David was just right. Toby laughed through a moan as David pulled out and shoved back in, all the way in, then did it again, and again. David leaned forward and kissed the back of his neck, and Toby wondered how in the hell David could multitask like that while he could barely hold on to the damn couch.
“Say my name. Please, Toby, please….”
He nodded and opened his mouth, pleading David’s name off his lips in a chant. David’s thrusts picked up speed and soon they were jerking the couch with their movements, racing to keep up with each other as they lost themselves in the heat of sex. David finally lost the rhythm, his whole body stuttering and shaking, his hands letting go of Toby to reach out and grab the back of the couch for support. Toby’s own cock twitched hopefully at the sensation of David’s cock throbbing with release deep inside of him.
The moment of connection, tenuous as it was, lasted for a few minutes. David’s body kept shaking behind him, even as he made the effort to pet Toby’s body and rock through the aftershocks. Toby wondered how long it had been for him, but decided not to ask, resting his head on the back of the couch and catching his own breath instead. Eventually, David slid out of him, wet and messy with lube, and Toby did not even pay attention to what he did with the condom as David basically fell down onto his back on the couch, smiling up at him. Toby glanced away, the gaze too open and honest for comfort, and untangled their legs.
“Toby?” David ran his hand along his thigh as he got off the couch.
“Hmmm.” Toby waved a hand noncommittally at him, gathering his clothes and stumbling back to his suite with the barest minimum muscle control. Later, he hardly remembered taking a shower before face-planting into the bed in exhaustion, sated and comfortable and pleased, with only the nebulous feeling that something might be wrong bugging a very small part of his brain.
TOBY was no stranger to one-night stands, although admittedly he’d only had a few over the years since the fallout with Alan. Still, he knew that the morning after was always awkward enough that it was better to be long gone before morning hit the situation. He had never hooked up with someone at his own house before, though, much less one of his own tenants, so he figured he was in for some first class denial-avoidance behavior from David that day.
He was not prepared for the loud noise.
“What the fuck…” He stumbled into the hall where Steff was standing, looking shell shocked, her coffee mug sloshing in her hands.
“I’m not going back in there,” Steff said, pointing at the kitchen then disappearing like a ghost into her room, slamming the door behind her. Toby cringed at that, shuddering as another loud bang came from the kitchen along with nerve-wracking noises of dishes being… well, he was not sure, actually. Tortured, maybe.
Pulling his robe tight, he took a deep breath and went to face the music.
“You’re waking up the whole house.”
David did not even look at him as he practically tossed the stew pot into the cabinet. “Oh? I woke you? Sorry.”
Toby blinked and tried to process wh
at was going on. David continued to clean the kitchen with extreme prejudice.
“Did I miss something?”
David stopped, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. “Apparently not.”
“I’m getting coffee.” Toby shouldered past him to the coffee pot, ignoring David’s tantrum as he poured a cup and took a deep, painful swallow of the steaming hot liquid. “So this is about last night.”
“I’m surprised you even brought it up.” David started scouring the countertop.
“Well, you are kind of making it into an issue.”
“Sorry.” David gritted his teeth. Sighing, Toby walked out and went back to bed. It was his basic defense mechanism when things went to hell and he didn’t know why, but he also knew it was only a short-term reprieve.
It was not as if he regretted having sex, or even having sex with David. Toby liked him a lot, and he seemed to put a lot of effort into being a good tenant and a nice guy. He sat on the edge of his bed considering this, when there was a knock on the door.
“Go ’way!”
“Toby, open.” Steff sighed. Toby mumbled at her to come in. It was rare that anyone tried to cross the sacred boundary of his bedroom door, and Toby respected Steff for putting forth the effort.
Steff closed the door behind her and sat down on the bed. She was still clutching her coffee cup, so they drank in silence for a bit as the kitchen noises started dying down.
“David’s a nice guy,” Steff said finally, giving Toby a studied look.
“Yes yes yes, we had sex. I was tired and we were drinking and he made dinner and we had sex.”
Steff nodded. “I figured. I’ve lived with you for three years. I knew something was up when the couch was a disaster and your boxers were on the rocking chair.”
Toby looked around frantically and realized that the pile of clothes he’d dragged back with him the night before was, indeed, missing his underwear. “Oh crap.”
“Anyway, he was awake when I got home, looking thoroughly debauched.”
“Who says that? Debauched?”
“Shut up. You know what I mean. Also, he looked thoroughly pissed too.”
“Hey, I’m not that bad.”
“What are you, blind?”
Toby frowned. “No, I know he’s cute. Pretty, even. I’m a photographer, Steff, I notice things like that.”
“But not that he’s been hitting on you for the last three months?”
“He… what?”
Steff rolled her eyes and took a slug from her mug before answering. “He grilled me not long after he moved in, asking if you were gay and about who you were seeing and what kind of guys you like and… really, really not subtle. And then he’s always making you dinner, and making sure you attend his parties, and… seriously, you didn’t know?”
Toby sat in stunned wonderment, remembering the candles and the music and the food, the very good whisky and David’s willingness to share.
“It was a date.” Toby groaned and lowered his head into his free hand.
“What?”
“I kept asking him if he had a date planned last night. It was all so… staged. I can’t believe I fell for that.”
Steff laughed, loudly, and the noises from upfront paused for a bit. Then the vacuum cleaner started up.
“Toby. Toby!” Steff, still laughing, poked him.
“What?”
“Do you like him?”
“Well yeah, hello, boxers on the rocking chair.”
“No, I mean…you know, like him.”
Toby paused. “I don’t know…” He turned to look at Steff. “It’s been a long time.”
“Long enough, maybe?” Steff gently put her hand on Toby’s knee, smiling at him. “You gotta try again sometime. David’s awesome, and he adores you. Everyone knows it. Well, except you, obviously.” Steff patted his knee and then stood up. “I’m just saying, think about it.” She left, closing the door behind her, and Toby sat on the bed drinking his cold coffee long after David gave up on the house cleaning and slammed the front door on his way out.
THE usual monthly fete was set for the following Friday, and Toby was torn between making an awkward appearance or acting like a dick by staying away the whole night. David had been MIA since the morning he stormed out, and Toby was not too sure what he was going to say to him anyway, so he took the reprieve in the spirit of a man getting a free day before execution.
What ended up happening was that Steff locked him in the garage Friday afternoon before he could decide to escape or not.
“Open!”
“No!”
The door opened into the garage, so Toby wondered how the hell she had jammed it from the other side. “Steff, come on.”
“You are staying for dinner.”
“This really isn’t any of your business.”
“Yes or no.”
“Yes! Dammit! Open the door!”
“Hold on.”
There was some scuffling on the other side before the door was pushed open. Toby stepped back, ready to flay Steff alive, but instead David tumbled through.
“Don’t make me move out because your gay-boy emo moping drives me insane. Fix this.” Steff pointed at both of them and shut the door again with a loud slam. Toby stared at it, wondering if she had somehow jammed it locked again and a little scared to find out.
“I told her to stay out of it.” David stood with his hands spread out to his sides, frustrated and looking at the wall past Toby’s shoulder.
“So did I.”
“Well, we’re both pretty ineffectual.”
Toby laughed despite himself. After a second, they both awkwardly maneuvered around to arm’s length, facing each other.
“Look, I didn’t mean….”
David stopped him. “Don’t care. Really, really don’t. I made a mistake, I made an assumption, and it’s my own damn fault. Lesson learned.”
Toby squinted at him. “Okay?”
“Good. Next time I’ll stick with the band’s groupies.” David crossed his arms defensively, still staring at the wall.
Toby did not have anything to add to that, and kept quiet. He had a hunch that David was not quite done yet.
“I just…I thought we clicked. I haven’t been involved with anyone seriously for a while; maybe I just misread the signs. I don’t want you to think I was cruising you in your own living room.”
Toby nodded. “I know that.”
“Because I like the arrangement. I mean, the tenant part.” David flushed red, but Toby could not find it in himself to laugh. It was his fault that David thought they’d just had an awkward one-night stand.
Which was when he realized that was exactly what they had done, despite what he had said to David that night. “Well, shit.”
David went from red to pale in a heartbeat. “Okay, well, fine, I can be out by Monday.”
“No!” Toby stepped forward and grabbed David’s arm, dropping his hand quickly when David flinched. “Sorry… I….”
“The only thing keeping me from grabbing you and shaking some sense into you is knowing about your past, okay? So hands off.” David stepped backward.
Toby stared at him. “Thank you.”
“No problem. We done?”
“No. No, we aren’t. I owe you an apology.”
“I accept. Now are we done?”
“Would you slow down for a damn second?”
David uncrossed his arms, his shoulders slumping. Toby grabbed the reprieve and ran with it.
“I mean it: I’m sorry. I haven’t had anyone really interested in me for a while, and I tend to… avoid that kind of thing.”
“I noticed.” David rolled his eyes.
“David, please.” Toby pleaded, moving closer to the other man. David looked directly at him for the first time since being shoved in by Steff.
“I really don’t know what you want, here, Toby.”
“Am I going out on a limb thinking you were interested in a relationship with me?”
David paused, then nodded. “Yeah, I was.”
Toby’s heart clinched, and that told him what he needed to know about himself. Now he just had to figure out how to let David know. “But not anymore?”
David gave him a cursory, curious once-over. “Maybe.”
“Maybe yes?” Toby shuffled a few inches closer.
“You shut the door on me. That was a pretty clear message, man. This isn’t about apologies, or fixing things.”
Toby stopped at the comment, then nodded back. “I think it’s more about starting over.”
He saw David fighting a smile, and knew he had at least reopened the door between them. Toby reached up and gently ran his hand down David’s chest, pulling it away when he got to his waist. David sucked in a gasp and closed his eyes for a second. He opened them, and Toby nearly drowned in the intensity of his stare, David’s eyes crystal blue and honest.
“Toby, don’t… I mean, I really like you. If you aren’t ready to be a part of this, just don’t.”
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take if you are,” Toby said, because he simply could not promise anything. David studied him for a second, then nodded as if making up his mind. He stepped forward, cupped the back of Toby’s neck gently and leaned in to kiss him. Toby moved into the kiss, placing his hands on David’s waist, pulling him closer.
It was not one of the lust-heavy kisses they’d shared before, instead soft and exploratory with small adjustments made to accommodate noses, teeth, and tongue. David’s hand moved up to drag his fingers through Toby’s hair, and Toby moaned softly.
“Hey! Do I turn the crockpot to ‘Low’ now?” Steff shouted through the door and David nearly fell down jumping backward. They caught each other as they stumbled and started laughing, Toby dragging David into a hug. It felt good, even as awkward as they still were, and he wondered how much more awkward things might get, despite wanting what they were headed for.
“Yes! I’ll be right out! …wait, can I get out?” David shouted back. Steff tentatively opened the door and peeked in.
“Oh good, fondling. But save the sex for after I leave the house, okay? You’ll scar my delicate sensibilities.”
