by Kris Jacen
Siah thought that sounded like a great idea and closed his eyes.
§ § § §
After a quick stop for food, Carter drove to Siah’s house. He figured it would be easier for him to relax at his own place, besides, his place was bigger. Carter pulled the car into Siah’s spot and turned it off before looking at Siah. He could tell he’d given everything today.
Wonder how long Siah had been studying jiu-jitsu. Had to be something new or Top Glenn wouldn’t have had to step in that night but it couldn’t be that new if the stripes on his black belt meant anything. Of course, Siah was a good student, he loved learning in all forms. Something to ask him later.
Carter reached over and gently shook Siah. “Sleeping Beauty, time to wake up.”
“Sleeping Beauty was woken with a kiss,” Siah murmured.
Taking that as an invitation, Carter leaned over and kissed him. It wasn’t a long kiss but had some heat behind it. Whoa boy, Siah was in no condition for anything tonight.
“Come on, up to your condo and we’ll get some food in you so you can crash.”
Siah just nodded and got out of the car. Carter guided him up the steps and pushed him into a chair at the table before heading into the kitchen for utensils and plates. He dished up the salad and sandwiches. Siah seemed asleep with his eyes open until the food was in front of him then he snapped out of it, eating with gusto.
The silence while they ate wasn’t awkward at all. It was more like they’d been together for ages and didn’t need to fill the void with noise. Once they were finished, Siah got up and starting collecting the plates.
“Stop, I’ll do that. You go jump in the shower and let the water do its magic on your muscles.” Carter put his hands on Siah’s shoulders and gave them a slight squeeze which caused Siah to groan and drop his chin to his chest.
“That feels…oh God, don’t stop,” Siah begged.
With a last squeeze, Carter pushed Siah toward the bathroom. “Go shower and then lay on the bed. I’ll give you a rub down.”
Siah stood there just staring at Carter before turning and walking off.
It didn’t take long for Carter to clean up from their dinner. He walked around the condo checking it was locked for the night. He’d make sure Siah was sleeping then curl up on the couch. He walked into the bedroom a few minutes after he heard the shower shut off and stopped in his tracks. Siah had on a pair of shorts and was in a squat position, butt almost on the floor, with his arms on the inside of his thighs in some stretch. He knew Siah had to be good shape to perform on the mats like he did today and he knew he could run but he hadn’t realized he was this flexible. As he watched, Siah dropped to his ass and then folded over himself, arms outstretched, head to the floor, legs in a straddle. Carter lost all conscious thought and his primal side was ready to take over.
“Oh that feels soooo good,” Siah said as he turned over onto his back, arms above his head, toes pointed.
“Uhh…” Carter shook himself. “You good to rest or need me to massage you?”
“Anyone that would refuse a massage after a tournament or even a workout is crazy. Do I look crazy to you?” Siah asked as he effortlessly stood and moved to the bed.
Carter hadn’t been in here before and was surprised to see Siah had a king-size bed. There was a quilt on the bed done in blues and browns with a ton of pillows against the headboard. Siah threw back the quilt and climbed onto the bed on his stomach.
With a nod and a swallow, Carter went over to the bed and kicked off his sneakers before climbing on and straddling Siah’s hips. He noticed a lotion on the nightstand and leaned over and grabbed it. Glancing at the label, he saw it was a sage and mint scent. Oh that should help relax Siah.
Carter started at Siah’s shoulders and worked each muscle gently but deep. He saw the power Siah possessed and knew that translated into tense muscles. Siah would groan when Carter would find a knot or a tight muscle but other than that, the silence from dinner had moved with them into the bedroom.
“Don’t worry about falling asleep. This is to relax you,” Carter whispered.
“But if I fall asleep, you’ll leave,” Siah protested.
“I’ll just be on the couch. I’m not going far.”
Siah reached a hand behind him to Carter’s leg. “Stay here with me tonight. Even if I fall asleep.”
“Here? I just told you I’ll be on the couch. I’m not leaving.” Carter figured Siah was already half asleep so he repeated himself.
“No, here.” Siah patted the bed. “Sleep here with me.”
Carter took a deep breath and let it out. He hadn’t slept in the same bed with anyone since Jill left. He thought about it for a minute then said, “Okay.”
He finished with Siah’s back and moved onto his legs. His thighs and calves were tighter than his back. It took him some time but the muscles finally released then he moved to his feet. By the time he finished with each foot, Siah was out like a light.
Carter got up and stripped to his boxer briefs. Good thing he hadn’t gone commando today or he’d be sleeping in his jeans. He rolled Siah under the covers and climbed in, reaching for the bedside lamp and clicking it off. He turned on his side and wiggled to get comfortable. He was almost asleep when he felt Siah roll over and snuggle into Carter’s side. With a sigh, Carter followed Siah into slumber.
Chapter Eight
When Siah woke up, he was hot against his back but his front was cool. It took a minute or two for him to open his eyes but when he did he saw he had thrown the covers off, which was strange for him since he normally woke wrapped up in blankets. He glanced behind him and saw Carter. That completely explained the heat and his lack of covers.
He lay there thinking back to the night before. Carter was so good to him, feeding him and making sure he wouldn’t be too sore this morning. This was something Siah could get used to. Siah drifted for a while, just enjoying the quiet.
After what could’ve been either a few minutes or an hour, Siah felt Carter starting to stir and shifted away a bit. Carter’s arm tightened and pulled him back.
“Mornin’,” Carter murmured.
“Morning. How’d you sleep?”
“Really good. Some nights are hard to fall asleep but last night wasn’t one of them.” Carter nuzzled his face into the back of Siah’s neck.
“You’ve deployed right?”
“Yeah, multiple times. First time was lucky enough to serve with Doc Mac’s brother.”
“So PTSD?” Siah asked.
“A little but nothing like other soldiers have. I’ve been lucky. Now, shhhh, no talking,” Carter said before he started kissing his way along Siah’s shoulder. Siah tilted his head to give him more room. When Carter returned to Siah’s neck, he turned Siah over.
Siah decided, although he liked it when a partner took charge, today wasn’t that day. He leaned in and kissed Carter while pushing him onto his back, moving with him until he was lying on top of him. Siah placed his hands on either side of Carter and pushed himself up, looking down Carter’s body.
“Umm, umm, ummm…all mine to do with as I want.” Siah started to shift but Carter stopped him.
“Wait, shorts off first then I’ve been thinking of something since I walked in last night. Indulge me?” Carter asked so nicely, how could Siah refuse?
They both shimmied out of their shorts and Siah waited as patiently as he could for what Carter had in mind.
“Well?” Okay, so Siah hadn’t mastered patience as well as he should have. Something for him to continue to— Not rambling time.
“So you were in a stretch last night and it short-circuited my brain with naughty thoughts,” Carter admitted.
“Huh? A stretch last night?” All Siah could remember was trying to loosen his quads and glutes when he got out of the shower.
“Yeah, kinda looked like a squat but your arms were pushing?”
“Oh, elbows on my inner thighs?” Siah couldn’t figure out how a simple stretch had captured Ca
rter’s imagination.
“That’s the one. You had your legs spread wide, knees out and your ass almost to the ground.”
“Oookkkaaayyy…and…” Still wasn’t making sense.
“All I could think was ‘I could slide under him and with that kind of muscle control…’” Carter trailed off, blushing.
Siah finally caught on and took pity on Carter, kissing him to distract him. Then he pulled back and shifted his legs onto either side of Carter’s hips. He flowed into the stretch that seemed to have done more for Carter last night than it did him. A groan escaped his lips as he felt his muscle release into the stretch. His eyes drifted close as he let the stretch take over. After a minute or so, he heard Carter moan.
Opening his eyes, Siah looked down and Carter had a glazed expression on his face. Carter reached for Siah’s cock and started slowly stroking him off.
“Please say you have some lube and condoms? Close by?”
“Oh shit, let me think where I put them. It’s been a while since I needed them and… shit, you’ve got to stop so I can think.” Siah shifted out of the stretch and got off the bed. He quickly moved to his dresser and started rooting around in the top drawer. “Got them,” he crowed as he held up lube in one hand, a strip of condoms in the other.
“Then back here and into position. Unless you’d rather—”
Siah cut Carter off. “Hell no, you’ve got this in my head now and I want!” He threw the supplies on the bed and crawled back on top of Carter. Siah rubbed his body along Carter until he was face-to-face with him. “I want this. I want you,” Siah said before kissing him.
Siah got lost in the kiss before he realized he was grinding into Carter and he was giving back as good as he was getting. Not pulling back from the kiss, Siah started feeling around for the lube. He grabbed it up and pulled out of the kiss.
“Do you want to do the honors or do you want a show?” Siah teased.
“That’s a hard decision but… back into your stretch. I’m sure your muscles are tight. Leave the rest to me.” Carter winked as he took the bottle from Siah’s hand.
Straddling Carter again, Siah let his head fall back as he felt Carter’s hands on his thighs. He wiggled his hips trying to get Carter to move things along. He was revved enough and wanted Carter in him. Finally, Siah felt Carter’s lubed fingers at his entrance. Okay, when did he open the lube?
Siah let out a breath while relaxing as much as he could in this position; Carter’s fingers slowly moved into his hole. There was some stinging since it really had been a long time since Siah had trusted someone enough to share his body. It took a minute or so before Carter was able to continue to stretch Siah.
“Are you ready? I don’t want to hurt you, Siah,” Carter whispered.
“Please? Your cock now?” Siah reached for the condoms and opened one quickly. He slid his hand under him and grabbed Carter’s dick, covering him with the condom in one slow roll.
Carter’s hand joined Siah’s on his cock, holding him in one hand while guiding Siah’s hips with the other.
“You’re in charge. Take me,” Carter ordered.
Siah lowered his hips and with Carter steadying him, began to push down, letting Carter’s cock in. Time blurred then and all that existed was Carter and Siah in the endless dance of up and down, shift and retreat, push and pull as they learned all they could about each other’s bodies and reactions.
Too soon Siah felt his orgasm crashing down on him and he chanted Carter’s name. Only moments after, Siah could feel Carter’s pulses, filling the condom. Siah’s muscles finally gave out and he collapsed on Carter.
“What a lesson in muscle control,” Carter teased.
Chapter Nine
“Want to watch the fireworks together? Go to the DC celebration on the Capitol steps?” Siah asked Carter a few days later. Siah was sitting in his classroom, preparing to clean and organize it for the summer months. The school year was over and soon enough he would have to step up for the new year. The summer break always seemed to go fast and this year with his classes in military children, it would go even faster but he wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity.
“I’m working until close to sun down on the fourth. How about we go watch the rehearsal the night before for the concert then we can just find somewhere away from the crowds to watch on the fourth. Have a picnic?” Carter sounded distracted over the phone.
“Do you need to hang up? We can talk later?” Siah offered. Lord knows he had enough to keep him busy.
“No, no. I’m just trying to figure out the class schedule.”
“Class schedule?” Siah had no idea what Carter was talking about. He was the one with classes scheduled.
“Yeah, I figured out Mooney’s right. Whether I stay in or get out, college is something I need. So I picked up the summer catalog for the community college and I’m trying to figure out what to start with.”
“Have you met with a counselor? Spoken to admissions? Applied? Requested your high school transcripts? SATs?”
“Whoa, whoa. One step at a time, sweetheart. I met with the counselor over there that works with veterans and he’s setting me up with all the steps. He gave me the course catalog and said to look it over and see what interested me. I need to figure out what program to take. Now back to my suggestion about the fourth, what do you think?” Siah noticed that Carter was getting good at redirecting him when he went off on his rambles.
“You’re working on the fourth? Shouldn’t the military get the day off?”
“Most do but since the late 1800s, the battery performs a ‘Salute to the Union’ consists of one round for every state of the United States at noon on US Independence Day so I’ll be on one of the M5s. Probably get out around four or so.”
“There is so much for me to learn around here. Maybe I’ll go and watch the ceremonies at Arlington. I don’t think I’ll ever stop learning.”
“Sure you can do that. I can’t be with you though.”
“No worries. Rehearsal concert on the third then? Grab something from one of the food trucks and then find a spot?”
“Sounds good.” Siah could hear someone yelling in the background. “Gotta go. Talk soon.”
Guess he couldn’t procrastinate any longer. The room wasn’t going to organize itself. Siah pushed out of his chair and got to work.
§ § § §
Lord, how much fricking paper do they waste each year? Siah thought as he threw another stack into the recycling bin. One of these days there wouldn’t be any paper in the classroom and everything would be on a tablet and Siah was sure he would miss these days but today? Yeah, he longed for paperless.
As he reached for the next stack to sort, his phone rang. Not paying much attention to who was on the other end, he answered with an absentminded “’lo?”
“Siah? It’s Debbie. How are you? Kicking back now that school is out?”
It took Siah a second or two to figure out who was on the phone. “Hi Debbie. I’m doing okay. Sorting through all the papers leftover from the school year. How are the boys?”
“They’re running around like the heathens they can be. Can’t wait for the heptad to get here in the next few days for the fourth. They miss their uncles. We’ve only been stationed with two or three of the guys at a time but the connection the guys have has transferred to the spouses and children. It’s a very close bunch.”
“Sounds like you’ll have a full house.”
“It’ll be the first time in three years we’ve all been together. Time for us to all meet some new babies.” Debbie sounded excited. Maybe she was getting baby fever? He’d heard of it happening.
“You guys are a fertile bunch?”
“Now they are. It took some time, for the longest Luny and I thought we were the only ones that were going to have kids. The twins were spoiled rotten. Now we’ve got our two, Kevin and Britt have three, ages six, three and one month. Spook and Jeannine have Haley who’s coming up on five, Mike and Trish have two,
three and four months old, and Brian and Holly girls, four and one. So ten with only two over the age of ten.”
“That sounds like a ball of energy. Hope the parents all have lots of caffeine.” Siah couldn’t imagine that many so close. His family… well, they hadn’t taken too well to him being gay. Okay, Pappy hadn’t and most went along with him. Mama? He’d always be her little boy.
“You’ll get to meet them. Luny said you’re dating Carter these days?”
“You know Carter?” Siah couldn’t figure out how she knew him. He sat back and began to twirl a pencil. His focus for working on the classroom was gone at this point. Maybe he’d go for a run along the river? There should be a breeze to offset these temps. He wasn’t at the academy tonight.
“I do. Besides Luny mentoring him these days, Danny took him under his wing a bit before he retired. Carter was at Danny’s retirement ceremony and party. He’s a sweet guy.”
“I’ve enjoyed getting to know him.” Okay, understatement of the year there. And the way Carter took care of him after the tournament? Oh yeah, a keeper for that alone. “So what has you calling me? The trainings don’t start until the sixteenth, right?”
“Yes, the trainings are starting then still. I was calling to invite you and Carter to a cookout at our house.”
“Ahhhh…ummm…” Were Carter and him at the point where they were accepting invitations together? Was there a protocol for soldiers of different rank? Lord, he was so out of his comfort zone with this.
“I caught you off guard, didn’t I?” Debbie sounded apologetic, a bit.
“Well, maybe? We haven’t been seeing each other long so I don’t know if we’re at the point of joint invitations.” Siah chewed on his lower lip. “And I’m not sure if there’s rules or something with soldiers and yeah, totally out of my element. And what if I say yes and Carter has plans? And—”
“Whoa, Siah. Breathe.” Debbie cut him off.
“You learned that from Doc Mac didn’t you? He was always cutting me off when Top saved me and—”
