by Tara Simon
Lee and Kris craved each other’s touch. They’d always been close emotionally. As best friends, they’d shared each minuscule detail of their lives with one another, their passions and dreams, ups and downs. They knew intimate details about each other’s love lives, as well as sex lives. Nothing had been off limits. But now they needed to be close physically, intimate in a way they’d never been before. It wasn’t all sexual, not completely. They wanted to learn each other’s bodies until they knew them better than their own.
There was nobody coming to interrupt them on such a lazy afternoon, so after they’d cleaned themselves up, Lee leaned back on the bed with a sci-fi novel that’d been a present from Rebecca. Kris watched him reading, in awe at the way the sunlight floating through the window defined the planes of his chest in Haverford contrast, his fingers twitching with the urge, the need to draw the scene before him.
Kris cursed inwardly, wishing he’d thought to bring his sketchbook, when he remembered that Lee had got him a new one, along with some charcoal. He silently slid off the bed, finding the present next to his bag. Lee was watching him fondly when he settled back beside him, back resting against the headboard.
“What’re you gonna draw first?” Lee asked, placing his book face down but holding his page open, intent on going back to it once the conversation ended. “You have to christen it with something pretty.”
“That’s why I plan on drawing you,” Kris said, beaming down at Lee and the faint pink that tinged his cheeks. Kris was always the one who blushed, so it was nice to see Lee blushing for a change.
Lee ducked his head, hiding his burning face for a second, before looking up at Kris with a smirk. He put the book down on the bedside table, rolling onto his side and posing with his arms resting on the pillow above his head.
“Draw me like one of your French girls,” he purred.
Kris really should’ve expected him to say something like that. He’d drawn Lee only about a million times before, but he’d never actually told him he was going to beforehand, he just kinda did, and then showed Lee the finished drawing afterward. But now that he thought about it…
“How long have you been waiting to use that line?”
Lee sighed, slumping so he was on his back again. “Only forever! But hey, I’m glad I didn’t get the opportunity before now. It works so much better when I’m naked.”
“I have no doubts in my mind that you would’ve have stripped off had the opportunity arisen before now.” Kris laughed, shaking his head. “You gonna let me draw you, or what?”
“Okay, okay, how do you want me? Like this?” Lee pushed himself up on his elbows, legs spreading obscenely as he winked at Kris.
Who just rolled his eyes. “Maybe later. Just go back to the way you were before; when you were reading.”
“Fine.” Lee did as he told, grabbing the book from where he’d left it and sliding his body into the position it was in before.
“Just pretend I’m not here.”
“Easier said than done.”
Kris didn’t start drawing immediately, instead focused on memorizing the way Lee’s muscles tensed and fluttered under Kris’s gaze. With the knowledge of being watched, it took Lee a while to completely relax. That was one of the reasons Kris never warned him beforehand. When the subject didn’t know they were being drawn, the end product looked far more Samural. Kris himself preferred sketching this way. He liked art that was Samural and candid, capturing moments more authentic than the ones that were posed.
Not that he was against doing any posed drawings of Lee. He had plenty of different positions he’d like to sketch him in.
Eventually, all the rigidity was gone from Lee’s body, and he laid there relaxed. Kris started sketching, smiling fondly when it appeared Lee had indeed forgotten he was there, and was instead engrossed in the book. His fingers would occasionally twitch around the cover, his eyes would widen or narrow, his abdominal muscles occasionally tightening when something intense must have happened.
They stayed there for another couple of hours, until the sun started travel low over the horizon and the delicious scent of turkey drifted up the stairs and into the room. Kris’s fingers had started to cramp, but he was too stubborn to stop until every detail was perfect. He thought he was just about done, anyway, and put down his charcoal. When he cracked his knuckles and stared down at the drawing with a critical eye, Lee let out an audible sigh of relief, twisting his body around and stretching.
“Thank God you’re done,” he groaned, sitting up and rolling his shoulders. “My back was hurting, and I think dinner will be ready soon.”
Kris leaned over to kiss Lee. “Thank you for being so patient with me. But we should probably put some clothes on before one of your family members walks in on us naked.”
“That’d be a good incentive for them to knock first, though.”
* * *
After dinner, Kris and Lee cornered Rebecca, not letting her escape to her room. She pouted, leaning against the wall in the hallway and crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.
“What do you two want?”
Lee looked at Kris and they shared a grin, turning back to his sister. “Just for you to cash in on your bet.”
“Oh,” Rebecca sagged a little, though she sounded almost relieved. What’d she think they’d cornered her for? “I can’t give you guys the money yet. It’s in my bank and I was planning to withdraw it when I dropped you both home tomorrow.”
“That’s fine,” Lee said, waving her off.
Kris threw an arm over his boyfriend’s shoulder. “But I believe there’s something else you have to do now.”
“Uh-huh, and we’re doing it tonight, so there’s no chance for you to put if off before we leave.”
“I hate you both.” Rebecca slumped further against the wall, before pushing off and heading to the bathroom, Lee and Kris trailing close behind.
“You’re the one who made the bet,” Lee pointed out. For the next year of her having blonde hair, he’d never let her forget that her decision was the reason why.
“You didn’t have to agree…” She paused, eyeing Kris critically. “Or go and fall in love with your best friend.”
Kris laughed, patting Rebecca’s shoulder. “We were already in love, it just took us far too long to realize it.”
“Could’ve waited a little longer, then.”
If only she knew it wouldn’t have worked out for her in any way. Rebecca busied herself in the cabinet beneath the sink, shuffling some cleaning products around until she could grab the bleach, a pair of plastic gloves, and another little shampoo-like bottle that Lee didn’t recognize. She explained that it was toner, that she would be using after. Kris went over and opened the window as far as he could while she set everything up, pouring some powder into the little bottle of liquid, then shaking it thoroughly to mix it all together.
“Wait a sec,” Rebecca mumbled when she’d finished, glancing down at her top. She hurried out of the bathroom and came back a few minutes later, now wearing a raggedy old shirt and sweatpants. “Okay, are you guys gonna watch, or does one of you wanna help?”
Lee was already pulling on the gloves, grabbing the bottle from the counter. “Like I’d pass up the chance to bleach my baby sister’s hair.”
“Oh, joy.”
Rebecca went and sat on the edge of the bathtub, her feet in it, while Lee came up behind her and got to work. He’d dyed Rebecca’s hair a few times when he was in high school, at her insistence, and he still remembered the steps. If not, Kris was there to read them out from the instruction manual that came with the bleach. It was a long process, and one that gave them all a pounding headache to rival that of their hangovers. The scent of the bleach was powerful, and not even the wide open window was enough. They needed more airflow, so Kris opened the door a crack, not wanting too much of the smell to leak out and disturb Winifred and George.
Eventually all the bleach was gone and Rebecca’s hair was covered in it, her
brown locks starting to turn orange. Lee inspected the front of her scalp, where he’d started, and was pleased to see it was already yellow.
“Lookin’ good,” Kris teased, quickly snapping a picture of her annoyed face.
Lee wrapped a hand around his arm, leading him out of the bathroom. “Come get us when you’ve washed the bleach out and dried it. I wanna see the end product.”
“Whatever.”
Kris and Lee headed back to their room, falling into their bed with laughter.
“Oh, my God, she’s gonna look so weird.” Lee pressed his face into Kris’s neck, muffling his sounds of amusement.
Kris didn’t reply, instead cupping Lee’s face in his hands and bringing him in for a sweet kiss. Lee could feel him smiling against his lips, and he nipped at them playfully. They continued kissing, light and sweet and exploring, not deepening it further. The reason wasn’t entirely because Rebecca would be back whenever to show them her hair, but because they didn’t feel the need to get hot and heavy every single time they made out.
But when Rebecca did come barging in to find Lee peppering kisses all over Kris’s gorgeous face, they were glad they hadn’t let things heat up. She groaned, but showed them her hair anyway.
It was bright yellow; white at the roots.
Lee and Kris failed to hold in their amused delight.
Chapter 8: The Goodbye
“Rebecca, what on Earth did you do to your hair?” Winifred was gaping at her daughter’s sunshine yellow locks, mouth open wide and eyes unblinking as she took in the sight. Lee pressed his face into Kris’s shoulder to hide his laughter, while Kris hid his smile behind his cup of coffee.
“It’s not done yet,” Rebecca muttered, scooping some scrambled eggs onto a piece of toast, before snagging a few pieces of bacon. She sat down at the table with the rest of the family, slumping in her seat. “I thought it was time for a change, so Lee and Kris helped me bleach it last night. But it looks horrible.”
Time for a change? Ha! Lee snorted, popping some bacon in his mouth. He wasn’t sure if his parents had known about the bet, but now he had an answer. Rebecca seemed to want to keep it a secret as much as Lee and Kris wanted to keep theirs. They’d considered coming clean yet again, letting them know they really were together now, for real. But the fact that they had actually been faking the whole relationship at one point would still upset Winifred and George.
No point in doing that.
“It’s very yellow,” George observed, not realizing just how bad something as simple as that statement could be.
Rebecca’s cheeks reddened, and feeling sorry for her, Lee jumped in. “Ya know, heaps of those Brooklyn hipsters have been dying their hair yellow lately. It must be the new trend.”
“Thanks Lee, that’s so reassuring,” Rebecca said dryly, picking at her toast. “Maybe I should start posting arty photos of weird food and industrial buildings on my instagram too.”
“Ignore him.” Kris smiled gently. “From an artist’s perspective, it’s actually quite nice. More gold than yellow.”
That, at least, seemed to perk Rebecca up a bit.
* * *
After breakfast, Kris and Lee helped clean around the house. Lee vacuumed while Kris helped pack away most of the decorations, little strands of tinsel littering the floor and making the job harder. The Stern family didn’t tend to leave all their decorations up until New Year’s Eve, instead relaxing for a day or two before taking them down. They threw the last of their washing in the drier just before lunch, so it’d be dry before they left.
The second they’d packed up all of their belongings, Rebecca wasted no time in herding them out the door.
“I have an appointment in two hours and I don’t wanna risk being late.” She explained to them, after they’d said goodbye to Winifred and George, with many hugs and kisses all around. Winifred had made Kris promise to join in on every occasion, whether it be a birthday, holiday, or anniversary. He’d been quite touched at that.
Lee settled into the seat beside Kris, both deciding to be in the back again. “You’ve got an appointment?”
“I’m getting my hair done.” Rebecca had twisted her hair up in a chignon and slid a beanie over it, hiding the bright locks. “Don’t worry, I’m staying blonde. But that doesn’t mean I can’t get some professional help.”
Kris barked out a laugh. “Geez, Becks, it sounds like you’re going to a therapist, not a hairdresser.”
“Oh, trust me, I considered that too.” She winked at them through the rear-view mirror.
They got back to their Brooklyn apartment with time to spare, but Rebecca hadn’t wanted to linger, so she left them to unpack alone. Except, they didn’t get much unpacking done… not for a few hours, at least.
“We’ve fucked way too many people in this apartment, but not each other.” Lee gazed around the room distastefully. “Wanna change that?”
Kris glanced at him with a smirk. Oh, he was totally on board for where this was going. “Your bed or mine?”
“I was thinking the couch.” Lee shrugged, looping his arms around Kris’s neck and pulling him in for a searing kiss.
“Not the table?” Kris asked, face flushed and already starting to sound a little breathless. He was already so turned on, needing to feel Lee’s body under his own… Or on top. He wasn’t feeling all that fussy right then.
“We can fuck there next.”
Yeah, their afternoon was too busy for something as trivial as unpacking their bags.
* * *
It was the day before New Year’s Eve, and they had yet to tell their friends anything. Lee considered sending them a post-coital selfie, and while Kris was tempted to let them see just how fucked-out Lee could get because of him, he also didn’t want to send them something so crude. He suggested just texting them the news, but Lee was against the idea.
“I already thought about doing that,” he explained. “But we need to do it in person so we can see their faces.”
“Good point. So what’re we gonna do, then?” Kris brushed a hand through his hair, slumping back in his seat.
Lee pouted. “No idea.”
“When are we seeing them next?”
“Tomorrow night at Haverford’s party. He said you could bring as many friends as you wanted, right?”
“Yeah, the more the merrier. I think he just wants them there to flaunt his wealth. Show them how fun and rich he is or something.”
“You think he’ll show off one of those fancy new robots he’s been making?”
Kris laughed, shaking his head. “No idea, but knowing Eric, he just might.”
“Oh God,” Lee pulled a face. He was keen to see a robot, but he’d also seen footage of drunk Eric Haverford at many of his parties, and he was basically the definition of wild. If he brought out one of his robots to brag about, there was potential that he’d blow it up just for shits and giggles. “So, we tell them at the party?”
“How about we show them?” Kris wiggled his eyebrows.
“What? We get drunk and make out?”
“Well… yeah.” Kris grinned, and excited sparkle in his eyes. “But I think I have the perfect plan.”
Chapter 9: NYE
Pretending to be boyfriends had been easy… so easy that they became real boyfriends. But now they were pretending not to be together… and that was actually turning out to be quite hard. Part of their plan to come out to their friends involved letting them think they weren’t together for most of the night. That way, the big reveal would be all the more shocking to everyone.
