Serpentine Walls (17 page)

“Going to the ladies’ room,” she said, just as Professor R turned his eyes to her. “Don’t leave without me, Pete.”

She bolted, leaving Pete and Professor R alone. Before the ensuing silence could become too uncomfortable, John, Cleo, and Brian arrived.

“Yo, dude, great concert,” John said. “Let’s get a move on to this party. I’m starving.”

D
ESPITE
being a low-paid choral director, Eric and his attorney wife, Layla, lived in a nice part of town, and Pete was impressed as he, John, and Cleo went up their steps. Their large, well-kept house, decorated in colorful Christmas lights, was a far cry from the scruffy student apartments and group homes they usually frequented.

Layla opened the door, beaming, Eric standing behind her. With her long hair and leggings, she seemed more like a graduate student than a lawyer, and her casual graciousness put them at ease. They walked into a festive scene. The sound of Christmas carols being sung to a piano accompaniment drifted in from another room, while in the living room, people hung ornaments on a huge Christmas tree.

Pete looked around in vain for Angie, who was driving over with Brian, and then joined the crowd around the piano in the rec room to sing a few carols. When he entered the kitchen to get a beer, he found Layla and a small group working on making a pizza from scratch. Matthew stood at the island, chopping olives and cracking jokes while Allison rolled out dough beside him, an apron protecting her outfit. Layla peered into a cupboard, and another guy stirred a large vat of tomato sauce on the stove.

Matthew waggled his eyebrows at him. “Peter, dahling, we meet again!”

“Yes, my love,” Pete responded, “we’ve got to stop meeting like this.” Allison laughed. “Uh, can I help you guys with anything?”

“Thanks,” Layla said, “but I think we’ve got enough cooks for now.”

“You can do the dishes later, though.” Matthew smiled mischievously at him and then squirmed and yelped when Pete pinched his waist as he walked by.

“Watch out, he’s ticklish,” Allison said. “It’s the only way I can bend him to my will.” She made as if to tickle Matthew on his other side.

“Uncle!” Matthew dropped the knife and raised both hands.

Pete saluted and left them to their pizza making. Much as he wanted to dislike her on principle, Allison seemed like a fun person.
Maybe it’s better this way.

Cleo, however, wasn’t buying it. “What’s the deal with Matthew bringing someone?” she demanded when he joined her and John in the living room. “He never does that. And who’s he trying to fool? That boy is gay.”

“I thought you didn’t know what he was,” John said.

“That was before I saw him with Pete. Talk about flirting.”

“Matthew? He flirts with everyone,” Pete said.

“Not like he does with you.” She studied Pete like she was trying to figure something out. “Flirting’s the wrong word, actually. It’s more than that.”

“Come on.” Pete fidgeted under Cleo’s scrutiny. “Stop it with the X-ray vision. Have you guys seen Angie?”

Ignoring the question, Cleo mused, “The way Matthew looks at you… it’s distinct.”

“We haven’t seen Angie.” John took Cleo’s hand. “Let’s go get some drinks, honey.”

“Is that my cue to drop the subject? Fine, fine. You want another beer?” she asked Pete.

“No, thanks.”

Pete watched them go into the dining room with relief and felt his phone buzz with a text from Angie:
Not coming. With Brian. C u later.
He stared at it. Angie loved parties. Something was off with her. She’d been moping ever since they got back from Thanksgiving. He’d finally gotten her to confess that there was someone she was seeing, but she still wouldn’t tell him who it was. But whoever Mystery Man was, Pete didn’t like how he was messing with Angie’s heart. He felt a hand on his neck.

“Hey there.” Aidan was right behind him. “Been looking for you,” he said in his trademark sultry whisper. Pete turned, body responding like a frigging Pavlovian dog to Aidan’s touch. His big green eyes gazed down at him invitingly.

“Hi.” Pete pocketed his phone with a frown.

“You okay?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Angie’s… it’s nothing.”

“Will you come sit with me? I got us something to drink.” At Pete’s nod, Aidan steered him over to a love seat in a corner of the living room.

Pete sat next to Aidan, telling his aroused body to calm down. Knowing Aidan, he’d be running off to somewhere else before the night was through.

“This should warm you up.” Aidan picked up a cup from the end table and handed it to him. “Hot mulled wine.”

“Thanks.” Pete took a sip and felt the warmth of the wine begin to spread through him.

“So, what about Angie?” Aidan lounged gracefully on the love seat, holding his own cup of wine.

“She—I’m not sure. I think she’s having man troubles.”

“Oh.” Aidan tapped his fingers against his cup. “I’m not surprised.”

“What?”

“Oh, nothing. I hope Brian isn’t breaking her heart.”

“As if. Brian worships her.”

Aidan took a gulp of wine and set his cup down, angling in to face Pete. “Tell me about you.” He put his hand on Pete’s knee, warm and promising, and Pete swallowed in spite of himself, remembering how it felt to have Aidan’s hands all over his body.

“Um, well, what do you want to know?”

“What’s new with the film?”

“The casting is complete, and we’re scheduling the shoot for January after we get back from Christmas break. I’ll send you the dates.”

“Good.”

“I e-mailed you the script, right?”

“Yep.”

Pete caught sight of Matthew coming into the living room with Allison. They were laughing, and Matthew snatched up an ornament from the coffee table and held it above her head.

“Yeah,” he said, eyes still on Matthew, “so the film’s coming along fine.”

“You know what’s fine?” Aidan murmured into Pete’s ear, his breath a seductive tickle. “You.”

That got Pete’s full attention. “God, Aidan, that’s a cheesy line, even for you.”

Aidan chuckled. “You don’t mind, though.” He nipped Pete’s earlobe.

“You’re a bad man,” Pete murmured, but his cock wasn’t minding at all. Aidan ran his hand up his thigh.

“Come home with me?” Aidan squeezed Pete’s thigh.

Fucking finally!
“Okay. Let me text Angie and make sure she’s all right.” He set down his cup on the table next to him and was pulling out his phone when Professor R walked over.

“May I see you for a moment, Aidan?” he asked politely, his eyes boring into Aidan’s.

Pete felt Aidan stiffen beside him.

“I don’t think so,” Aidan replied, just as politely, putting his hand over Pete’s. It was awkward because Aidan had captured the hand that held Pete’s phone, but Pete didn’t move it.

“I see.” Professor R stared at their hands before giving Aidan one more piercing glance. “Well, I’ll bid you gentlemen good night, then.”

“Good night,” Pete said while Aidan merely nodded, averting his eyes as Professor R strolled through the living room in the direction of the door. Pete waited for a moment, but Aidan didn’t say anything. “Do I even want to know what the fuck that was about?”

“No.” Aidan released his hand. “Text Angie.” His face was drawn, pinched with some unnamed emotion.

Pete sent Angie a text—
Going to Aidans. U ok?—
while feeling out of his depth with what was going down between Professor R and Aidan. Whatever it was, it seemed like heavy shit, at least for Aidan, and Pete had a strange urge to protect him.

“You ready to go, Pete?” John stood in front of them, eyes assessing as he glanced at where their bodies were pressed close together.

“So soon?”

“Cleo has to get up early. And aren’t you getting together with Matthew for your film?” John arched an eyebrow at him. Pete gave him a sour look.

“Yeah, but that’s in the afternoon. You guys go on.” His phone buzzed. “Hold on, it’s Angie.”

Angie’s text said:
Yes.
Have fun. Love u
. He texted back:
Love u
2
.

“Can you check in on her?” Pete asked John. “She seemed upset earlier. Brian’s with her.”

“Sure. Take care of yourself. See you, Aidan.”

“Later.” Aidan stroked Pete’s leg as John walked away, seeming calmer than he was when Professor R was there. “I like how you and your friends look out for each other. Is Angie okay?”

“I guess so. She said for me to have fun.”

“Angie is a wise girl. You ready to get out of here and have some fun?” Aidan asked, standing and taking Pete’s cup from him.

“Yep.”

“I’m going to use the bathroom first.”

As Aidan left the living room, Pete went over to Matthew and Allison. They stood near the Christmas tree, talking in low voices.

“Hey, what’s happening? Have you finished kitchen clean up already?” Matthew asked him.

“Ha, ha. No, and I didn’t even get to taste your pizza. I’m about to leave.”

“Oh, be that way, then. We still getting together tomorrow?”

“Absolutely.”

“It was nice meeting you,” Allison said with a warm smile.

“You too.”

“You going to be home during Christmas break?” Matthew asked.

“Yeah, I have no plans other than sleeping right now.”

Matthew laughed. “Sounds like an excellent plan. Maybe we can get together during the holidays, catch a movie or something.”

“Sure! Give me a call.” Pete felt a hand at the small of his back—Aidan had rejoined them, and he draped his arm around Pete as he nodded at Matthew.

Matthew nodded back, his eyes flicking to where Aidan’s hand was covering Pete’s shoulder. “Aidan, my man, you all sounded great tonight. I like what you’re doing with the octet.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Pete cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable. “Ready?” he said to Aidan.

Aidan smiled down at him. “In a hurry?”

“Um. Oh, crap, I need to get my coat. Be back in a minute.” He escaped down the hall, still tense, and heard Matthew introducing Allison to Aidan.

This has been one weird night
, he thought as he pawed through the coats on the guest room bed. He couldn’t wait to get to Aidan’s. He needed to relax and have sex—uncommitted, no-strings-attached, amazingly hot sex.

“M
AKE
yourself at home.” Aidan flipped on the light and shrugged off his coat, dropping it on a chair. “You want a drink?”

“That’s okay.” Pete put his coat on top of Aidan’s. The apartment seemed more lived-in than the last time, with books scattered on the coffee table and various mugs occupying the desk and bookshelf.

“Sorry for the mess.” Aidan picked up a plate and put it in the sink. “I wasn’t expecting visitors.”

“Dude, you call this a mess?” Aidan’s apartment still looked like a movie set to Pete.

“Well, messier than I like it to be. I’ll be right back.” He walked behind the Japanese screen, and Pete wandered over to inspect the books in his bookshelf.

Aidan emerged barefoot, wearing soft sleep pants and a black T-shirt. “I had to get out of those dress clothes.”

“Must be nice.” Pete pulled off his tie and stuffed it into his jacket pocket.

“You can borrow some sweats and a tee if you want. Come on back.”

Pete followed him behind the screen, where Aidan pulled out some clothes and threw them to Pete.

“Thanks.” He waited for him to leave.

“Well?” Aidan asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“What?”

“Go ahead.”

“Oh, you want to watch?”

“Exactly.”

“I didn’t get to watch you,” Pete grumbled, starting to unbutton his shirt.

“Sorry, baby. I’ll let you watch when I get out of these.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” He unbuttoned one of his cuffs and sat on a chair to take off his shoes and socks.

“That won’t be all you’re holding.” Aidan raised an eyebrow and put a hand over his crotch.

“Smooth.” Pete unbuttoned the other cuff and stood up to remove his shirt.

He was beginning to unbuckle his belt when Aidan sighed. “I’m disappointed.”

“Why?”

“I thought you’d be giving me more of a striptease.”

“Like this?” Pete pulled his belt out of his pant loops and cocked a hip, twirling the belt like a lasso. “Hey, big boy,” he said breathily, throwing the belt on the bed.

Aidan applauded. “Oh yes. More!”

Putting on a sexy pout, Pete ran his hand up his chest and tweaked his nipple through his undershirt. He grabbed his cock through his pants and said, “Talk about a handful, baby. Gonna give you some a dis.”

“Please do.” Aidan leaned forward, watching avidly.

“Mmm… oh, yeah.” Pete undid his pants, moving his hips back and forth, and stroked himself through his briefs. He pulled his undershirt off and threw it at Aidan, who caught it and put it to his face, making a show of sniffing it.

“Mmm, baby, ya smell so good,” he crooned.

Laughing, Pete pushed his pants down to midthigh and then played with the waistband of his briefs, slipping his fingers underneath. “You want it?” he whispered.

“Come here,” Aidan said, heat in his eyes.

“I’m not done.” Pete let his pants drop to his ankles and stepped out of them.

Aidan pulled off his own top and scooted to the edge of the bed, opening his legs wide. “I’m waiting for you,” he wheedled, pushing down the waist of his sleep pants to reveal the head of his cock. He was hard already, and he caressed himself with his fingers while slowly licking his lips.

“Aidan, you bastard. How am I supposed to compete with that?”

“You’re not. You’re supposed to come play with it.”

Pete walked slowly over to him, but stopped just outside of where Aidan could touch him and stared at him. “Take them off,” he ordered.

Aidan held Pete’s eyes as he pushed his sleep pants down his legs and kicked them away. His cock was fully erect, large and flushed, and begging to be sucked.

“Good.” Pete crossed the distance between them in two steps and sank to his knees.