Disasterology 101 (35 page)

“Don’t give me that. It obviously
is
something.” Kevin knew his voice sounded gruff, but he couldn’t help it. “I’ve been blowing you for ten minutes, and you’ve barely noticed.”

“…twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, I noticed, twenty-six—”

Kevin got up and snatched the towel from where it’d landed on the floor. No way could he be naked right now. “Why are you counting?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“I can’t get into it, and it’s your fault,” Cedric snapped.

“My fault,” Kevin repeated, pacing in front of the bed, and doing his best not to get more annoyed than he already was.

“You didn’t hang the bloody towel.”

“What?” Out of the corner of his eye he watched Cedric take the condoms off, put his jogging pants up, and almost run to the bathroom. Kevin followed. “What towel?”

“
This
towel.” Cedric grabbed a fluffy hand towel from the sink, and dangled it in front of Kevin’s face. “Why didn’t you hang it? Or better yet, dump it in laundry basket?”

“Because you jumped me the second I got out of the shower,” Kevin snarled, baffled to no end by their conversation.

“You should’ve done it as soon as you finished using it.” Cedric dumped the towel in the hamper and looked around the bathroom. “And that.” He pointed a trembling hand at Kevin’s backpack, his expression a mixture of horror and outrage. “You didn’t place it where I told you.” He pushed the backpack with his bare foot, and shot Kevin a dirty look.

“I’m tired and fucking horny.” Kevin turned around from the bathroom and raked a hand through his wet hair. “The last thing on my mind was to measure the locations for inanimate objects.”

“Three inches away from the wall,” Cedric sputtered. “It’s not that complicated.”

“I forgot, okay?” Kevin snapped.

Jesus. Were they having their first argument about chores and responsibilities already? Granted things between him and Cedric seemed to be progressing at the speed of light, but this was ridiculous.

“You can’t forget these things,” Cedric admonished, making Kevin feel like a five-year-old. He resented it.

“You’ll have to forgive me,” he drawled. “I never had to think about it.”

“Don’t apologize if you don’t mean it,” Cedric growled in response. “You’ve been dealing with my need for organization for over a month. You know it’s important.”

“Of course it’s important.” Kevin fisted his towel, and slid his other hand first over the polished dresser, and then over the soft, expensive looking bedspread, not sure if he was trying to calm down, or maybe bother the shit out of Cedric by leaving smudges. He was being treated like a kid, after all. Might as well act like one. “It’s definitely more important than getting your cock sucked and having sex with me.”

Cedric dashed out of the bathroom and stood in front of Kevin, tall and livid. He looked incredible. “That was a cheap shot.”

“It’s the truth.” Kevin lifted his chin and squinted his eyes. “Otherwise you’d be lubing me up right about now.”

“It’s still a cheap shot.”

“I understand you function differently, but I can’t swallow my frustration every time you can’t get in the mood, or go OCD on me.” Kevin knew his words would sting, but he had to say them. “If I can deal with blue balls, then you damn well can deal with my bitching about it. And when is that damn medication supposed to start working anyway?”

“It’s
been
working. Or have you not noticed all the kisses we now share, and all the times we’ve slept together?”

“I want more than cuddling with you.” Kevin knew instinctually that sex was a delicate issue for Cedric. He understood—for the most part—why they did it so sporadically, and he definitely enjoyed all the kisses Cedric mentioned. Still, he knew better than to be so demanding, but he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “I want you to fuck me raw!”

“I could’ve been right now,” Cedric growled.

“Bullshit,” Kevin snapped. “You weren’t into it, so don’t fucking lie to me.”

“If you’d done things the way you were told, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation,” Cedric insisted. Obviously the misplaced towel was his story, and he planned on sticking to it. Though Kevin didn’t believe that was the real reason.

“Do me a favor and stop treating me like I’m an idiot.” Kevin took in Cedric’s rosy nipples, the erratic heartbeat at the base of his neck, and his glistening, chocolate milk-colored eyes. Cedric had gone from looking aggravated to excited in the blink of an eye. A quick glance down south confirmed that. “Are you getting off on this argument?” he asked.

“I’m hoping to get off while shagging you.” Cedric lifted a gloved hand, and twisted one of Kevin’s nipples.
Good God
. “But yes, your reaction has me incredibly turned on.”

“That’s too bad.” He glared at Cedric, and took a step back. “I’m not in the mood anymore.” That was an extremely childish lie, but he didn’t want to give in too easily. OCD notwithstanding, he refused to do everything at Cedric’s command. He couldn’t live like that. Besides, he had a feeling it couldn’t hurt to make Cedric work for it, plus doing something else would give Kevin time to get rid of the remnants of his frustration. “You cooked anything?” He pushed Cedric out of his way gently, and headed in the kitchen’s direction. “I’m starving.”

“I didn’t have time,” Cedric grumbled, following closely. That he didn’t stop to put a shirt on pleased Kevin immensely. “I was in need of a long shower and down time after Roberto and I came back from Resident Evil night at Evan’s.”

Not the movie, Kevin had learned, but the video game. With Roberto—the too-good-looking-for-Kevin’s-peace-of-mind Latino driver/personal assistant that was more friend than anything else—and Evan, the other friend who, according to Cedric, was in really bad shape after 9/11.

“Did you have fun?” Kevin pumped some hand sanitizer in his hands, and sat on one of the bar stools. “What about a sandwich?”

“No.” Cedric stood in front of the refrigerator, and crossed his leanly muscled arms over his chest.

“I’m hungry,” he said, loving the normalcy and rightness of their exchange. Granted they’d eased into a routine pretty damn quickly, but it always felt like they were destined to it.

“If you eat now you’ll have to spend the night.”

“Why’s that?” Not that he was opposed to it, but Kevin thought it was fun to bust Cedric’s chops.

“Do I need to spell it out?” Cedric licked his lower lip and palmed his cock. “I don’t want to wait for the prep work again.”

Kevin hadn’t thought about that.

Eating would mean another shower, and Cedric might even insist on another douche. No fucking way he was going through that, regardless of how badly he wanted to get fucked.

“We could do other things.” He got up from his chair, and stalked Cedric slowly, both to give him time to prepare, and because Kevin was pretty sure he looked damned sexy. He wanted Cedric out of his mind crazy for him. He wanted him unable to think.

Cedric licked his lower lip again. Kevin’s stomach flipped. He wanted to suck on that silver stud until he swallowed it.

“What do you have in mind?”

Kevin buried his face in the curve of Cedric’s neck, placed his own hand on top of a gloved one, and forced Cedric to squeeze his own cock. “You could jack off and let me watch,” he whispered between barely-there kisses up and down Cedric’s throat. His Adam’s apple was particularly appealing to Kevin. “Or….” Careful not to touch the slightly swollen flesh of Cedric’s cock, he snuck his hand under the waistband of his pants and rolled the heavy balls between his fingers. “How about some frottage?”

“I’d like that,” Cedric moaned in his ear.

“You could lie on top, and rub off on me until you come all over my belly.”

“
Oh
….”

“I’d like that very much, honey.” He bit Cedric’s shoulder, and quickly grazed the outside of the guy’s asshole with his middle finger. Cedric tensed immediately. “Relax,” he crooned. “It’s clean. You saw me put hand sanitizer on, right?” When Cedric gave a curt nod he retrieved his hand. He wanted to stick his finger in Cedric’s ass, but he didn’t want to rush things. Cedric’s acknowledgement that he knew Kevin was clean, and the fact that he didn’t bolt was enough for now.

“We should…head…you know, bedroom.” Cedric pushed Kevin away, grabbed his hand, and pulled him toward the stairs. “Time’s running out.”

“And to think you could’ve been buried deep inside me, had you only mentioned the damn towel as soon as it started bothering you,” Kevin taunted, happy to follow that backside anywhere. He snickered when Cedric shot him a dirty look.

“I told you I was trying to delay my reaction.”

“Yeah, well, next time, don’t do it when we’re in the middle of fucking. Those erections are precious, and we must not waste them,” he grumbled. “Also, here’s one thing you need to learn about me. Sometimes I’ll be a little wound up, and I’m going to want to get fed and fucked good. I expect you to be accommodating whenever that happens.”

Cedric chuckled and turned around, but continued to walk backwards. That he never released his hand made Kevin a very happy man. “Why, Mr. Morrison,” he teased Kevin, his eyes bright and his smile blinding. “If you’re not careful with what you say I’m going to start thinking you want to keep me.”

God, but he’s beautiful.
“Why wouldn’t I want to keep you?”
I thought it was obvious I want to.

Cedric’s smile faltered, and his eyes flickered. “Why would you?” And wasn’t that question dripping with self-deprecation and sarcasm. He released Kevin’s hand and turned away from him. “Did I ever mention I’m only scheduled to be here a little while longer?”

Kevin frowned, and reached for Cedric’s hand as they climbed the stairs, but Cedric refused to let him take it. “What do you mean you’re only here for a little while longer? How many months are we talking about?”

“I came to America for three hundred days.” Cedric’s soft response hit Kevin with the force of a two-by-four. “Everything I’ve done up to this point in my life has had a pre-set expiration time or date, and this is no different.”

“Is, or
wasn’t
different?”

Cedric didn’t answer.

“You’ve been in New York since January,” Kevin whispered.

“I know.”

Kevin came to a dead stop right before entering the bedroom; his brain working overtime to process this information. He knew Cedric didn’t think much of himself as partner material, and he was British. He was bound to go back home at some point, but Jesus. He never thought Cedric would be gone permanently. He hadn’t known whatever it was they were doing had been doomed from the beginning.

Getting confirmation he’d be losing Cedric sooner rather than later made him feel sad. And gloomy.

Goddammit, he was fucking shaken up by it.

He wanted to know the exact day, but he didn’t dare ask. He wasn’t sure he could deal with it. Besides, he knew he had another week at the very least. Cedric wouldn’t go anywhere until he’d finished teaching the blueprint class.

Kevin braced his hands on either side of the door, and watched Cedric pace in front of the bed. He didn’t lie down, nor did he make any attempts to get naked. Kevin smiled perversely when he noticed the erection Cedric sported thirty seconds ago had deflated.

Good.

Perfect.

That thinking about leaving got Cedric in a sour mood made Kevin feel ten times better, but Jesus. Two figurative cold showers in thirty minutes couldn’t be good for his nether regions.

“Would you like it to be?” Kevin managed to ask without showing his frustration.

Cedric straightened the duvet, and placed the fluffy pillows against the headboard. “Huh?” He finally answered, without looking at Kevin.

Taking a deep breath, Kevin walked up to him, put his arms around Cedric’s waist, and rested his head between his shoulder blades. “Would you like
this time around
to be different?”

The loud ring of Kevin’s phone made it impossible to hear Cedric’s answer. He jumped back and ran to the bathroom. He’d left the cell in his backpack’s side pocket.