Bright Young Things

by Anna Martin

  Juliette kissed them both on the cheek before heading up to her rooms. When she was safely out of sight, Jared wrapped both arms around Adam and held him close.

  Chapter 20

  By late Saturday afternoon, the rain was a steady patter against the windows and inside, it was as dark as if it was early evening. In Adam’s living room, it was warm, cozy bliss.

  Jared sprawled on Adam’s chest, pressing his cheek against the steady rise and fall of his breastbone, and napped. Adam was watching something on TV, a documentary that didn’t interest Jared in the slightest. He wasn’t bothered about the choice of entertainment; the week had left him exhausted, and he was grateful for the opportunity to get some extra rest.

  Now things had changed between them and the world outside this room, Jared felt invincible. This relationship had been built on a rocky foundation, and that was usually a recipe for disaster, but Adam was willing to put the effort in and fill in the gaps. They weren’t exactly going slow; there was an understanding they had to make up for past mistakes. Both of them.

  When there was a change in the room, Jared started to wake up a little but couldn’t find the energy to move, so he stayed where he was. The gentle fingers smoothing through his hair didn’t stop their dreamy caress, so really, he didn’t need to move at all.

  “You look good together,” a soft, female voice said.

  Juliette, Jared’s brain helpfully supplied. Beneath him, Adam hummed, the noise vibrating in his chest.

  “I hope….” she started, then moved closer to the couch. “I hope you know what you’ve got here, Adam. Don’t throw it away.”

  “I won’t,” Adam said.

  “This is probably a silly question, because I think I know the answer.”

  “Go on.”

  “Do you love him?”

  Jared was sure they must know he was awake, or awake-ish, at least. The hands in his hair didn’t stop, though, and he felt Adam lean down and kiss the top of his head.

  “Yeah, I love him. A lot.”

  “I never thought you’d have this, Adam. You were a selfish boy, and love can’t be selfish. You have to give with no expectation of anything in return.”

  “I know.”

  Juliette said something else, and Jared didn’t hear her murmured words this time, then she left. A few minutes later Adam wriggled, and Jared stretched out of his nap.

  “Hey, sleeping beauty,” Adam teased.

  “Hey,” Jared croaked. He leaned up to brush dry lips over Adam’s, then moved off his makeshift, moving pillow.

  Jared padded off to the bathroom, and when he got out, Adam had moved onto his bed. Now he was done with his nap, he was feeling too refreshed to sleep again, but was more than content to lay down to talk for a while. There was something he’d been meaning to ask.

  “Would you tell me about your dad?” Jared said as he settled next to Adam.

  Adam gave him a funny look. “It’s not really a secret,” he said with a frown.

  “I know,” Jared said and shifted on the bed so they were facing each other, sharing a pillow. He tucked his hands under his cheek and waited.

  “He died when I was a baby,” Adam said with a shrug. “I think I was about two. I don’t remember him at all, but my mom talked about him all the time when I was growing up so it feels like I know him. Does that make sense?”

  “Yeah,” Jared said, because it did.

  “He was a marine. He married my mom when she was nineteen and he was twenty-five, which was apparently a big deal to Mom’s family. She was only twenty-two when she had me, and my dad was at home completely by coincidence when I was born. He got cancer.”

  Adam sighed and reached for Jared’s hand, tugging it out from under his cheek and lacing their fingers together.

  “It was bad,” Adam continued. “Inoperable. He died only a few months after they found it.”

  “That’s so sad.”

  “Yeah. Yeah. He was technically still serving when he passed away, so he was buried with full military honors. I think that was important to my mother. Their relationship—well, I only know what she’s told me. But when I was a kid, she used to tell it like a Cinderella story. She was the uptown girl, and he was this blue-collar guy, and they fell in love after meeting at a diner in Tacoma. They got married really quickly and he was already in the military, so for the first year they were married, they were apart more than they were together. I know my mom wanted more kids. She never intended for me to be an only child. But after my dad died, she didn’t want any more children without him. I don’t think she’s ever loved anyone else.”

  “That’s… wow.”

  Adam brought their combined hands to his lips and brushed a kiss over Jared’s knuckles. “A few years ago, I started to nudge her into dating. She’s a beautiful person, you know? She should date. I don’t want to think of her alone, ever, and I know she’s a social butterfly, but it’s not the same. I want her to have someone.”

  “You asked her about some guy. Guillem?”

  “Yeah.” Adam smiled. “I met him the last time I was in Paris. He took us out to dinner. He’s an artist and a good one, despite being one of those people who have never worked a day in their life. Disgustingly rich, which is all I could possibly hope for my mother. He’s very charming and nice, and I think my mom likes him, but she won’t ever tell me about stuff like that. Even though I tell her that’s why she’s got a gay son, for girl talk.”

  Jared laughed and leaned in to steal a kiss. “Best of both worlds.”

  “I’m best of all the worlds, darling.”

  “That you are.”

  “Tell me about your family.”

  Jared groaned. “They’re fucking awful.”

  “Come on. I spilled. It’s your turn.”

  Sighing heavily, Jared moved onto his back, pulling Adam with him so they ended up with Adam’s head on his shoulder, snuggling like a koala bear. Brushing his fingers through Adam’s hair was reassuring, so Jared did it rhythmically until he’d soothed himself.

  “Youngest of three kids,” he started. “Two older sisters. My mom is a society girl, probably like yours. Her branch of the family tree is Irish, actually. I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland.”

  “I’ll take you,” Adam promised. Jared huffed a laugh.

  “My dad was really strict when we were growing up, and that gave me the perfect route of rebellion. I knew exactly what would piss him off from a very young age, and the main reason I came out was because I wanted to see what their reaction would be.”

  “Really? That doesn’t seem like you at all.” Jared couldn’t decide if he was being sarcastic or not, so he dug his fingers in Adam’s ribs. “Really!” Adam exclaimed. “You’re so chilled.”

  “Well, I am now. I don’t have anything to rebel against any more.”

  “I suppose.”

  “Plus, I don’t want to piss Hadley off. She’s been really good to me. I’m not about to fuck that up.”

  “All right. Go on. What happened when you came out?”

  “Oh, it was at dinner,” Jared said, smiling at the memory. “We’d just finished dessert, and I set my spoon down and told them I had something I needed to tell them all. Then I said, ‘Mom, Dad, you should know that I’m gay.’ No one said anything. They just stared at me, so I said, ‘I’m attracted to men.’”

  “Of course, my mother threw a fit, and I was sure my dad was going to have a heart attack; his face actually went purple. He started screaming and told me to get out of his house. Then my mom was wailing and saying he couldn’t throw me out, and my sisters just sat there smirking at me.”

  Adam laughed. “You’ve got style, I’ll give you that much.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Did they kick you out?”

  “Of course not. My grandmother loved it. She still does, actually. She’s in her eighties, and my dad has always had a very tense relationship with her—she hasn’t approved of him in a long time. Says he’s got a bad t
emper, which he does, of course, but he doesn’t like his own mother telling him off about it. Grandma loves me.”

  “You’re lucky. All my grandparents passed away years ago.”

  “I’ll share mine if you’d like. Grandma would love you too, you know. Actually, I should take you out to meet her. She’d get a kick out of that.”

  “Where does she live?” Adam asked, shifting to look up at Jared.

  “New York.”

  “Oh, I’ll definitely go there,” Adam said and sounded relieved. “I thought you were going to send me to the back end of nowhere in Michigan.”

  “Have you ever been to Michigan?”

  “No, and I don’t intend to.”

  Jared snorted. “Well, you’re safe. Grandma lives on the Upper East Side.”

  “Nice.”

  They watched each other for a moment, then together their eyes fluttered closed and with the smallest movements, shifting on the bed, they were kissing. This was slow and easy, no pressure, all sweet caresses, and Jared adored it.

  “This is really happening, isn’t it?” Adam murmured. “I really get to have this.”

  “Mhmm.”

  “I so thought I’d fucked it up.”

  Jared nudged Adam onto his back and twisted so he was lying at a ninety-degree angle, his feet hanging off the edge of the bed. Like this, Adam’s belly was once again his pillow.

  “Sometimes… I don’t know. There’s a journey involved. It took us a while to get here but it was worth it, right?”

  “Yeah. I’m going to be apologizing to you for what happened for the rest of our relationship.”

  “Do that and it won’t be very long,” Jared said easily. “I’m over it, Adam. In a weird way, I don’t blame you.”

  “But it was my fault.”

  “Well, yeah,” Jared said with a laugh. “I get the circumstances now, though. I can’t blame you for acting the way you had always acted before you met me.”

  “I’m different now.”

  “In some ways, yeah. That’s why I’m with you.” Jared turned his head and grinned up at Adam.

  “I just thought of something.”

  “Oh?”

  “We never went out to the club. With your fake ID.”

  “And it was so nice for Clare to get it for me.”

  Adam tugged at Jared’s hair lightly. “We should go out. Like, dancing or whatever.”

  “You want to be seen in public with me? Why, Mr. Hemlock. I’m honored.” The fingers in Jared’s hair tightened. “Fine! Fine. I’d love to go out with you. Set it up, I’ll go.”

  Adam sighed in apparent happiness. “I love it when I get what I want.”

  Waking up in Adam’s bed, in Adam’s room, in Adam’s arms… it wouldn’t be a given for much longer, so Jared tried to savor it. His partner was no longer the covers-stealer he used to be; it seemed he preferred to drape himself over Jared’s back as he slept, cheek pressed between Jared’s shoulder blades.

  Time seemed to be moving too fast. Spring was already creeping in around the edges of winter, stealing some of the chill out of the rain and nudging flowers up out of the ground. Jared imagined summer would come before any of them was ready for it, bringing finals and the last few months of their adolescence before the whole gang split, heading to different corners of the country for college.

  For now, though, there was a weak band of sunlight falling through the drapes, and Jared felt more relaxed than he had in a long while.

  Of course, the blaring of Adam’s alarm ruined his peaceful reflection as well as a foghorn would have.

  “I really wish you would change that,” Jared mumbled, shifting onto his back and opening his arm for Adam to snuggle back into his side. “It’s fucking annoying.”

  Noises came from Adam’s lips, but none of them were any language Jared understood. For a few moments he was content to hold onto his lover, the two of them still clinging to sleep and each other as the realities of morning made themselves known.

  The school day was beckoning. Both boys kept their eyes closed and ignored it.

  Adam was making the reality of his erection known, and Jared was trying to decide if he was going to do anything about it when Adam ducked his head and licked Jared’s nipple, then pulled it between his teeth.

  They’d learned a lot about each other sexually, and Jared’s nipples were pretty much his number one hotspot to getting turned on quickly. He groaned and arched his back, and Adam just chuckled.

  “Come get in the shower with me,” Adam said, rubbing his hand over Jared’s belly.

  “Yeah,” Jared croaked. “Okay.”

  They stumbled out of bed and into the huge bathroom, dominated by the walk-in shower, and kicked off the underwear they’d slept in. Jared loved it in here. It was cocoon-like, the wall of glass blocks turning everything outside the shower cubicle into an impressionistic nothing. The tiles were stone colored—probably real stone, considering the scope of the rest of the house—and covered the walls and floor of the bathroom. It was clean and modern, very Adam.

  He let Adam fiddle with the dials until steaming water poured over them both, then Adam was in his arms again and Jared puzzled over why they’d never shared a shower before.

  Too intimate, he thought as Adam ran slick palms over his chest and kissed up his neck. Jared loosely wrapped his arms around his lover’s waist and rocked them together under the water. Their erections strained up between their bodies, pressing together, the trickling water down their chests an erotic tickle on sensitive skin.

  Jared reached farther and pressed two fingers between Adam’s cheeks, seeking out the puckered hole and teasing it gently. Adam would deny it if Jared ever commented, but he was so sensitive here, which made the whole area ripe for teasing.

  Struck with inspiration, Jared leaned down and kissed Adam’s neck.

  “Hey,” he murmured. “You trust me, right?”

  “Mm. Yeah. Why?”

  “Can I try something?”

  Adam nodded, and Jared kissed him again, on the mouth this time, firm and promising.

  He took hold of Adam’s shoulders and turned him to face the wall. Standing behind, he lifted Adam’s arms and braced his hands against the smooth tile, then took hold of slim hips and pulled them back.

  “You’re gonna need to get lube if you want to fuck me,” Adam said. He didn’t sound opposed to the idea of sex, maybe a little wary of doing it dry.

  “I’m not going to fuck you,” Jared murmured. He kissed down the length of Adam’s spine, crouching to get to the last vertebra.

  When he licked at the very top of Adam’s ass crack Adam realized what was about to happen and groaned. He reached for his cock, and Jared smacked the hand away.

  “Hands on the wall,” he said firmly.

  Adam whimpered and complied.

  This was new territory to Jared. He’d seen it before, in porn, but had never felt comfortable enough with a partner to do it in real life. That was all about to change.

  He used his palms to spread Adam’s cheeks and flicked his tongue over his bottom lip as he looked at the tiny pink hole. A drop of water from the shower ran down Adam’s crack, and Jared leaned forward without thinking about what he was doing and licked it off.

  The sound Adam made was possibly inhuman, and Jared grinned to himself. He watched the pink pucker twitch, then licked it again, and again.

  Since this was new to the both of them Jared didn’t mind experimenting, from quick flicks of his tongue to slow, sensuous laps from the back of Adam’s balls all the way up to the base of his spine. Adam’s hips rocked back and forth, thrusting into nothingness as Jared ate at his hole.

  Soon Jared’s confidence was skyrocketing, and he worked his tongue inside, pressing it hard enough to pierce through the ring of muscle, and Adam howled.

  “Please,” he begged, voice raw and needy. “I’m about to come, baby.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. I need to touch my dick, please, Ja
red.”

  “Okay,” Jared growled, then dove straight back in between the soft cheeks, determined that if Adam was going to stroke himself to orgasm, it would be with Jared’s tongue in his ass.

  Adam must have been closer to the edge than Jared realized because it was only moments later that Adam’s back arched and he yelled, spurting come at the tiles. Jared reached for his own cock and, while still licking at Adam’s twitching hole, brought himself to orgasm in less than three strokes.

  While they were both still panting and breathless, Jared kissed back up Adam’s spine and stretched his aching knees.

  “Holy fucking shit,” Adam gasped as Jared kissed his neck, under his ear.

  Jared chuckled darkly. “Oh, yeah.”

  “That was insane.”

  “You liked it?”

  “Fuck, yeah.”

  “Good.”

  Adam turned in Jared’s arms and kissed him passionately, tongue stealing straight into Jared’s mouth as he pushed his hands into Jared’s wet hair.

  “You want me to….” Adam asked, a clear offer in his words.

  Jared laughed again. “Oh, I came about three seconds after you did.”

  Looking down at Jared’s softening dick, Adam frowned, like he’d been denied something. Then he shrugged.

  “That was hot. Want me to wash your hair?”

  “Sure.”

  Despite being shorter, Adam could still get his hands into Jared’s hair and wash it with something that smelled expensive—spicy and woodsy, not the stuff Jared had picked up when he was at the drugstore. When Adam was done, Jared spun him around and proceeded to return the favor. What he didn’t expect was Adam’s reaction.

  “Oh, fuck,” Adam groaned. Sex noises. Jared’s exhausted dick perked up immediately.

  “Down, boy,” Jared murmured to himself. Or, a part of himself, at least. “You like that?”

  “Mm.” Adam hummed in deep contentment. “This is why I always go to women’s hairdressing salons. I love getting my hair washed.”

  Jared smiled to himself. It was so typical—the prince liked to be pampered. It shouldn’t have surprised him.

  He rinsed Adam’s hair, then quickly washed his body with products that probably cost more than what he spent in a year on shower gel, then ducked out of the shower. There were two towels hanging up, one for each of them, and Jared wrapped one around his waist.