The Fall

by Kate Sherwood

  Joe stood quietly as Mackenzie sudsed up his hair and leaned under the spray to be rinsed when prodded to do so, but he didn’t say anything, didn’t seem to notice the naked body next to his, a body that had previously shared quite a bit of pleasure with his own. Mackenzie squirted body wash onto a sea sponge and gently scrubbed Joe’s body. He knew from personal experience that the texture of the sponge was absolutely perfect against the tender skin of his cock, but Joe didn’t react to that, either, just stood there and let Mackenzie fuss over him.

  When Joe was as clean as he was going to get, Mackenzie put down the sponge and stepped around so he was directly in front of Joe. He brought both of his hands up to frame Joe’s face and then kissed him gently on the lips. “I’m worried about you,” he said quietly. “Are you okay?”

  Joe sighed deeply. “I’m fine,” he said. “I’m always fine. It’s other people….” He stopped talking then and stepped as far away as he could get. The shower stall was a good size, but there were two full-grown men in it, and Joe didn’t get far. Mackenzie shifted around so Joe could make it out the door without going through him, then reached out and hooked his hands around Joe’s neck. He didn’t pull hard, just tugged a little. Joe resisted for a moment, then gave in, shuffling forward until his body was pressed against Mackenzie’s, their water-cooled skin slick and smooth. Mackenzie slid his hands down until he was in better hugging position, and finally Joe relaxed, letting his head fall onto Mackenzie’s shoulder, his cold nose nestling into Mackenzie’s neck.

  They stayed like that until the hot water ran out, and then Mackenzie turned off the shower and dried them both off. He guided Joe over to the bed, peeled off the wet bandage, and tried not to react to the long gash marring Joe’s beautiful skin. Joe sat quietly while Mackenzie sorted through the contents of his hospital bag and reapplied the dressing. Then he pushed Joe to lie down on his side and snuggled in behind him. Griffin immediately hopped up on the bed and stepped delicately around them until he was beside Joe’s chest. He lay down, his back pressed tight against Joe. That was enough to prompt at least some response; Joe lifted his arm and wrapped it around the compliant dog.

  That was how they fell asleep. When Mackenzie woke up a few hours later, it was because Joe was squirming around, clearly trying to get up without disturbing either of his bedmates. “We’re awake,” Mackenzie said quietly. “You can just get up. But do you really need to? You should sleep more.” Light streamed in through the small casement window, but the angle made it clear that it was still early.

  Joe twisted around onto his back, then sat up. “I have to call home,” he said. He sounded better now, much more with it. “Austin will want to know where I am.”

  “Just Austin? No one else will be worried?”

  “I called Will last night.” Joe shrugged. “Which doesn’t mean he won’t be worried, I guess. He’s a bit of an old lady.”

  “You almost burned up in a fire!” Mackenzie sat up and stared at Joe. “You have cuts and burns, and I looked in that bag—there’s a puffer in there with instructions for what to do if you start having trouble breathing! I think he has a right to be a bit worried about you without being called an old lady for it!”

  Joe raised an eyebrow. “Now you’re being a bit of an old lady.”

  “No.” Mackenzie shook his head emphatically. “You were messed up. Don’t even deny it. I’m glad you’re feeling better now, but don’t pretend you weren’t feeling crappy last night.”

  Joe looked like he was thinking about arguing, but Griffin rested his head on Joe’s shoulder and looked at him with his soulful eyes, and Joe relaxed. “Yeah,” he said. “I was feeling crappy. Sorry for dumping that on you.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I was glad to help. Just don’t make fun of people who are worried about you when you do something that makes us worried.”

  Joe didn’t respond, which Mackenzie decided to treat as a full admission of his bad behavior. “I don’t have much food here,” he said, willing to change the subject now that he’d made his point. “But we can go out for breakfast, if you want.” He braced himself for Joe’s lame excuses.

  Instead, Joe looked down at himself and said, “I’m naked. And my clothes reek. I can’t go to breakfast naked or in those clothes.” Which was technically an excuse, maybe, but a pretty damn valid one.

  “You could borrow clothes, but we’re not really the same size, and most of my clothes fit pretty snug.”

  “I’ve noticed.” Joe’s grin made it clear the man was on his way back to normal.

  “Obviously that’s not ideal,” Mackenzie continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. He looked over at the clock on the bedside table. “Call home. Do your breakfast greetings or whatever. Then I can either lend you a bathrobe for you to drive home in, or you can tell Will to bring some of your clothes when he comes to work on the church. I think he was planning to finish with the floor in the sanctuary today.”

  “You got bossy overnight,” Joe observed.

  “Had a taste of being in charge, kinda liked it.” Mackenzie grinned. “Also, I gave you a choice. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do with a stubborn kid? Give them two choices, both of which are okay with you?”

  “You’re giving me the illusion of control.”

  “That’s right. Pretty generous, huh?”

  “You’re a prince.” Joe rolled his shoulders and winced, then craned his neck around to look at the bandage. “I’m falling apart.” He lay back down. “Do you know where my phone is?”

  Mackenzie reached over to the bedside table and pulled the two phones off it, looked at them, and handed the right one to Joe. Then he stood up and shuffled off to the bathroom, aware of his nudity in a way he hadn’t been the night before.

  By the time he got back, Joe was ending his call. “Will’s gonna bring clothes,” he said. “And probably gloat quite a bit. Just so you’re ready.”

  “He’s not going to gloat at me. Whatever you two have going on, that’s your business.”

  “Wow. Supportive.” But Joe didn’t seem too concerned. Instead he was looking at Mackenzie with a familiar gleam in his eye. “He’s going to be a while. Probably almost an hour.” Joe grinned. “Any thoughts about what we could do with that time?”

  “How about a conversation?” Mackenzie kept his voice light but made a show of reaching into the drawer of his beat-up secondhand dresser and pulling out a pair of underwear.

  “Conversation,” Joe said slowly. “Huh.”

  “You could always leave, if you don’t want to talk.” Mackenzie focused on his clothes and didn’t let himself look at the man on the bed. “Oh, except for the ‘no clothes’ thing. That’s a bit awkward, isn’t it?”

  “I’ve been naked on these streets before,” Joe said nonchalantly. But he wasn’t getting up and heading for the door.

  “Okay, excellent conversation starter.” Mackenzie pulled his shirt over his head, flopped onto the bed, and propped himself up on his elbows. “Why have you been naked on these streets, Joe? How often?”

  Joe frowned at him for a moment, then sighed grudgingly. “Youthful hijinks,” he said. “I used to hang out with a guy who lived down by the creek. He wasn’t out, and his dad was pretty… well, his dad was not the sort of guy you’d want catching you naked in his son’s bedroom.”

  “Better to be caught naked in the street?”

  “I didn’t get caught.” Joe grinned. “It was after dark.”

  “It’s weird,” Mackenzie said slowly. “I’ve been thinking about the country as being a sort of gay desert. But I guess there’s just as many gay kids up here as there are in the city.”

  “Gay kids? Yeah, probably. But I bet there’s not as many gay adults. Most guys I know move down to the city as soon as they can. A few come back, once they’re looking to settle down.” He grinned. “But I got way more action, or at least more variety, when I was a teenager. The pool definitely dried up after high school.”

  “Opposite for me. I
wasn’t out until university.”

  Joe squinted at him. “I can’t imagine you being in the closet. You seem so… I don’t know. The way you act and everything… you just… you seem gay. You know?”

  “Ah, stereotypes. What a charming way to start the day.”

  “Come on. You’re pretty swishy, Mackenzie. I mean, not way over the top, but….”

  “Not all butch and straight-acting like you?” Mackenzie was beginning to wish he hadn’t started this whole ‘conversation’ business.

  Joe frowned at him. “I’m not acting straight. I’m just not acting at all. I’m not putting on a show.”

  “The cowboy hat? That’s not putting on a show?”

  “That’s sun protection. You want to see something scary, look at the skin-cancer statistics for farmers right about the time they stopped wearing hats with brims and started wearing baseball caps. Skyrocketed. You know where the new cancers were? Rims of their ears and backs of their necks. Areas covered by hats with brims.” He leaned back in the bed, apparently confident his point had been made.

  “So you’re natural and honest, and I’m artificial and putting on a show. That’s what you’re saying?”

  “What? Fuck, no. I’m not saying that. I just… even if you are putting on a show, I don’t think that’s the same as being dishonest. I don’t think it’s bad. I like the show.”

  Well, that sounded a bit better, but Mackenzie still wasn’t totally thrilled. “Humans use body language to communicate,” he said primly. “We add nuance with our tones of voice, our choice of words, our facial expressions. I choose to use all the tools at my disposal in order to communicate in a clear and interesting way. You have apparently decided to limit yourself to a much narrower range of grunts and scowls.”

  Joe looked at Griffin, still curled up next to him on the bed. “This conversation thing is a great idea, isn’t it?” He fondled the dog’s ears with his nonbandaged hand. “I bet you’re jealous you can’t talk and have fun like we are, right?”

  “What’s your favorite food?” Mackenzie blurted out.

  Joe seemed to be questioning his sanity. “My favorite food?” he repeated slowly. “I don’t know. Is this a trap?”

  “I’m trying to find a less heated topic of conversation.”

  “Yeah, sure, until I say I like steak and potatoes and you say you like… I don’t know… quinoa or something.”

  “I despise quinoa. And that’s not a gay food, anyway. Maybe dykes like it, I don’t know.”

  “What is your favorite food, then? Eggs Benedict?”

  “Ooooh. Maybe. I do love brunch.”

  “Everybody loves brunch. Even straight people. How do you feel about picnics?”

  “Picnics? Are picnics gay?”

  “I don’t know. Probably. I mean… they’re a lot of work, and there’s not much point to them….”

  “And that makes them gay?” Mackenzie wasn’t sure whether he was offended or amused.

  “I don’t know.” Joe rolled over, sat up, and leaned against the wall at the head of the bed, the sheet bunching in his lap in a fairly interesting way. “Yeah. I’m gonna go with it. Picnics are gay. Do you like them?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a picnic.”

  “No?” Joe was clearly searching his own memory. “I don’t think I’ve ever been on a picnic either. Maybe they’re not all that gay.”

  “Or maybe we’re just not doing it right. Maybe we’re not being gay enough.” Mackenzie held his breath, waiting for Joe to jump on that with some new comment about Mackenzie being flamboyant or whatever.

  Instead, Joe just grinned, slow and sexy. “We should absolutely be more gay,” he said solemnly. “You know what we should do? Sex. With each other. Two men, having sex. In the morning. That’d be super gay, right?”

  “It’s more gay in the morning?” Mackenzie asked, but he wasn’t totally paying attention to the conversation anymore. Instead, he was making his way up the bed, pushing Griffin to the side and swinging a leg over so he was straddling Joe’s lap.

  Joe’s grin didn’t fade. “It’s more decadent in the morning,” he said. “And everyone knows gay people are decadent. So, yeah, gayer in the morning.” He ran his fingers through Mackenzie’s hair and tilted his head a little, then pulled him in for a deep, sloppy kiss.

  “I guess we’d better do it, then,” Mackenzie said when he came up for air. “In the name of gay solidarity.”

  Joe nodded but then seemed to be pushing Mackenzie away. “Take your clothes off,” he said. “Give me a little show.”

  Nathan had liked that, and Mackenzie had actually gotten pretty good at it. But now he shook his head. “No.”

  Joe squinted at him. “No? Like… you aren’t going to take your clothes off?”

  “No show,” Mackenzie said as he lifted his shirt over his head and efficiently tossed it down to the foot of the bed.

  “Too late,” Joe said, his gaze appreciative as it wandered over Mackenzie’s chest. “Or do you want me to close my eyes?”

  Well, he hadn’t, but now that it was on offer, even if only sarcastically… “Yeah. Close your eyes.” Mackenzie kept his gaze locked on Joe’s until his eyelids dropped. “Now keep them closed. No matter what.”

  “Do I have to think of England too?”

  “If I do this right, you won’t be thinking of anything but me.” Brave words to cover the sudden insecurity sweeping over Mackenzie. He’d never taken charge during sex before, not like this. He’d watched porn, he’d had fantasies… but actually taking action on them? He couldn’t quite believe he was doing it. Then he looked down at Joe, eyes closed, waiting, and he knew he wanted to try. He trusted Joe to be understanding and patient and to laugh at him just the right amount if it didn’t work out.

  He looked down at the beautiful body stretched out beneath him and tried to decide what he wanted to do with it. Give it pleasure, for sure. Give Joe pleasure. But maybe not right away.

  “Keep them closed,” he warned as he swung his leg over Joe’s lap and found his way upright. A quick trip to pick up a tie he hadn’t worn since he’d moved north, a moment to drop his jeans and underwear, and then he climbed back up on the bed. There was no headboard to tie Joe’s hands to, but that probably would have been a bit ambitious for Mackenzie’s first crack at this anyway. But it was exciting to wrap the tie around Joe’s face, then knot it loosely with the widest part of the silk covering the man’s eyes.

  Then he pulled the sheet down so Joe was completely exposed. From the front, most of the recent damage was concealed, and Joe looked as perfect as ever. His cock was just starting to fill, but Mackenzie wasn’t supposed to be worrying about that, not right then. Joe would have his turn later. Mackenzie straddled Joe’s lap and kissed him deeply, then pulled away and put a hand on Joe’s chest when he leaned forward to pursue. “No,” he said firmly. “Stay.”

  Joe’s lips twitched. “You remind me of my nurse last night.”

  “Was he a hot young bodybuilder just poured into his scrubs?”

  “She was an older woman, but her scrubs were pretty tight.” Joe grinned. “But I was thinking more of the attitude.”

  “Don’t think about that anymore,” Mackenzie ordered.

  “Why don’t you give me something else to think about?”

  Mackenzie was happy to oblige. He’d been getting hard ever since he started down this path, and his cock was more than ready for a little attention. He tugged on Joe’s feet to prod him to slide down the bed a little. Joe ended up half sitting, half lying on his back, and that put his mouth at just the perfect level.

  Joe seemed to know what was coming. When Mackenzie shuffled forward and rested the tip of his cock on Joe’s lips, the man opened his mouth easily and slid his tongue out to tease along the sensitive skin it found. But that was letting Joe take charge again, and that wasn’t the idea. Mackenzie slid his hips forward, filling Joe’s mouth, pushing back toward his throat until the muscle
s started to tighten around his cock in the beginning of a gag. He pulled out, slid back in just as far, and Joe tightened his lips around his shaft. He felt suction and butterfly flicks of Joe’s tongue, and Mackenzie was pretty sure he wasn’t going to last long and pretty sure he didn’t care.

  He pushed a little further, and Joe shifted, changing the angle enough to accommodate a bit more depth. Damn, Joe’s willingness was the hottest thing about this. Even in his fantasies Mackenzie had never thought of treating Nathan like this; it was impossible to think of the man being anything but in charge. But Joe was strong enough to be flexible and obviously willing to go along with Mackenzie’s plans.

  Unfortunately, those plans were pretty limited. Well, maybe it was a good thing, actually, because Mackenzie really didn’t want to stop doing exactly what he was doing right then. Joe’s mouth was warm and firm, his tongue was strong, and Mackenzie got to decide exactly how deep he wanted to slide into that heaven. He even got to pull right out and take a little break, rubbing the head of his cock along the outside of Joe’s mouth, dipping it in just a little, letting Joe’s lips wrap around it and then pulling it away like he was taking candy from a baby. The sensations were wonderful, but it was the power that Mackenzie found intoxicating: this strong man, doing what Mackenzie wanted simply because Mackenzie wanted it. It was even better that Joe wasn’t tied up, because his freedom made it perfectly clear that he was being obedient because he wanted to be.

  Mackenzie tested his boundaries, pushing in deeper and deeper, not pulling out until Joe finally gagged and moved his head back. “Sorry,” Mackenzie whispered.

  Joe turned his head away just long enough to swallow and say, “No you’re not.” Then he grinned and leaned forward, sightlessly searching for Mackenzie’s cock, and that was it for Mackenzie’s self-control. He wrapped his fingers in Joe’s hair and pushed his cock in deep, then pulled out just as quickly before going back for more sweetness, and more and more. He could feel his orgasm building and tried to fight it off; he wanted to keep going for so much longer. But Joe was moaning softly, sending vibrations along Mackenzie’s sensitive skin, and he was so willing, so ready to please…. Mackenzie came while his cock was deep in Joe’s mouth, and Joe swallowed, fighting not to choke, keeping his lips wrapped tight around Mackenzie’s cock as it shot load after load into Joe’s eager mouth.