Sweaters & Cigarettes (16 page)

"When do you have to be back
home?" Max asks, when it's getting close to noon, and Theo frowns.

"I don't know, actually,"
he says. "Didn't really come up."

It's true; he didn't exactly give
his parents much of a heads-up, before he left. All he really let them know was
that he was spending the night at a boy's house, and they didn't really
question him on that. And they're pretty cool, too. They don't give him curfews
or anything, at least not since he turned eighteen.

"Oh," Max says
conspiringly, tightening his arm around Theo and nuzzling closer. He plants a
soft kiss against his throat. "Does that mean you can stay forever?"

Theo smiles.

"I wish," he says, meaning
it. "But I'm afraid I will have to go back home, eventually."

Max groans.

"That's just retarded,"
he mutters, kissing Theo's bare skin again. "You haven't been here nearly
long enough."

Theo closes his eyes as he feels
Max's lips against his throat, the warm breath as he murmurs against his skin.
It feels good, really good, and he absently notices himself tighten his arm
around his boyfriend, slightly.

"Well," he murmurs, eyes
still closed, as he trails one hand up along Max's tattooed back. "I don't
have to leave
yet.
"

He moves over a bit, so that he's
lying on his side, properly. They're facing each other now, and Max pulls away
the slightest bit to look at him.

"Okay," he says, sounding
almost jokingly suspicious, the tiniest smile playing on his lips. "How
long can you stay?"

Theo makes a humming sound,
thinking, as he moves closer, close enough to brush his lips against Max's,
feather-light.

"Don't know," he murmurs,
not kissing him, but simply touching those lips with his own, that metal ring
lightly brushing against his mouth. "A little while."

Max takes a breath, closing his
eyes, just like Theo. Theo can feel his fingers tensing slightly against his
waist.

"Long enough for this,"
Theo nearly whispers, suddenly feeling rather brave and impulsive.

He still isn't used to this, still
isn't used to this feeling. It's warm and hot and burning, slowly building
somewhere in his stomach, spreading through his body. He's still not quite used
to it, but he has gotten pretty used to the way it's a reaction to Max. It
doesn't take much, after all, that much he has learned. It doesn't take much
for Max to drive him crazy.

"For what?" Max asks,
voice raspy and low, and Theo smoothes his hand down along Max's waist, over
his stomach, over his hips. He's wearing boxers, but they're thin, and tight
enough for Theo to feel the outline of his muscles and his hipbones.

"This," Theo replies,
barely audibly, and he can clearly tell what kind of reaction Max is having,
right now. It's obvious, he can feel it, as his fingers ghost over the slight
bulge in Max's underwear. It gets bigger as Theo touches it, harder, and Max
exhales slowly, moving one hand up along Theo's back.

"Well, I can't say I
mind," he murmurs absently against Theo's lips, and Theo swallows hard.

He hasn't done this before. Which
is odd, he thinks, considering what else they've done, so far. The make-out
sessions, all the touching and kissing, even Max going down on him. Not to
mention last night. Just thinking about last night is enough to make Theo shiver
and tense up in the most amazing way, and for a moment, he forgets all about
the fact that he has never actually touched Max this way, before, so
deliberately; last night was more in the heat of the moment.

Instead, it makes him brave, and he
slowly slips his hand underneath those boxers, making Max almost gasp, as Theo
wraps his fingers around him.

Max's hand moves up to Theo's hair,
fingers carding through it, pulling him as close as he can without kissing him,
and Theo uses every ounce of restraint he has to keep their lips apart from
each other. His eyes are closed, though, and he can both hear and feel the way
Max is suddenly breathing heavily, gyrating his hips ever so slightly against
the pressure of Theo's hand.

Neither of them says a word. Not
even Max, who's usually so full of comments and witty remarks. Instead, they're
silent, apart from the breathing and the deep moaning now emitting from Max's
throat, sounds that make Theo squeeze his eyes shut and move his hand more
deliberately, loving the way Max clings to him desperately, as Theo touches
him.

It lasts for a while, as Theo takes
his time, but eventually, Max can't seem to take much more, kissing Theo as he
falls right over the edge. And it's after another few seconds of silence and heavy
breathing, that Theo feels Max's hand slip in underneath his underwear, as
well, and he swallows hard.

He doesn't open his eyes, though,
and he doesn't say a word. He's already hard, and instead, he just lets Max
return the favor, as he clings to him, letting himself get lost in this
blissful, perfect day, desperately wishing that he could stay suspended in it
forever.

♦

Sunday seems to pass unbearably slowly.

Up until this weekend, Theo and Max
haven't spent more than a few hours together, at a time, and that has been bad
enough. Bad enough for Theo to feel like he's somehow waiting for his next fix
of some amazing drug.

This time, though, they spent
nearly twenty-four hours together, and as soon as Theo got back home, Saturday
night, he could feel his skin practically crawling. He needed Max, needed him
there. He
needs
him.

They talked a bit on Sunday, a few
texts in between their forced study sessions, for what it was worth. Theo
imagines that Max had a much easier time with the schoolwork, but it didn't
really help Theo, as he sat there, trying to get it done. It was boring, slow,
and so very uninteresting, and all Theo could think about was running back to
Max's house and never leaving there again.

But things aren't that easy. There
are certain obligations, even outside of schoolwork, and Theo couldn't have
gone back there, no matter how badly he wanted to. So he had to wait, all day
and all night.

Monday has never felt more welcome.

Cassie is the first person Theo
runs into, Monday morning, and she makes sure that he hasn't forgotten about
the
Thor
screening that week. And Theo scoffs indignantly; how could he
forget?

He doesn't see Max during the first
half of the day; they haven't had any classes together, yet. And at lunch, it
takes about fifteen minutes of looking around (with Cassie rolling her eyes at
him), before Theo actually spots Max, who immediately makes his way over to
their table.

"Hey," he says, planting
a deliberate kiss on Theo's mouth, before he has a chance to reply. And Theo
can't help but kiss him back, a bit more enthusiastically than usual, before
letting him pull away.

"Hey," he says
breathlessly, as Max sits down next to him. Max gives him a small smile, before
turning to Cassie.

"My lady," he says, with
a nod, and Cassie nods back.

"Good sir," she replies,
and Theo smiles a little at the repertoire the two of them seem to have
developed so quickly.

Max turns back to Theo, one hand
automatically finding its way to his leg, where it smoothes over the fabric of
his jeans. It's an affectionate gesture, more than anything, and it makes Theo
feel all warm inside.

"I can't stay long," Max
says, obviously sad about this fact, and Theo frowns.

"Why not?" he asks, and
Max cocks his eyebrows, looking slightly bored and annoyed.

"Group assignment," he
says flatly. "We're meeting up, and sadly, I have to be there."

Theo hopes he doesn't look too much
like he's pouting, but apparently, he does, at least judging from the little,
teasing smile Max suddenly has.

"You'll survive for a few more
hours," he says, giving him a soft kiss and murmuring against his mouth.
"Not so sure about me, though."

Theo can't help but smile, and Max smiles
back. And Theo gets momentarily lost in those gorgeous, dark blue eyes, back to
being framed by the black eyeliner Theo is more used to.

Max leaves after another ten
minutes or so, and Theo is sad to see him go. But Cassie is great company, and
Theo only glances once at Michael, Hannah and Ben, as they sit across the
cafeteria. He hasn't really thought about them, lately.

Theo is lucky enough to see Max
again during recess, before the last class of the day. He finds him by his
locker, as though he's waiting for Theo, and going up to him and giving him a
long, proper kiss suddenly feels so natural, it's ridiculous.

"Still alive, are we?"
Max asks, and Theo smiles.

"Barely," he says,
kissing him again. "You busy later?"

"Depends," Max says.
"If I'm not, does that mean we can hang out?"

Theo cocks his head, and Max
chuckles.

"Then, no," he says.
"My day's wide open."

"Awesome."

They just stare at each other for a
moment, before Cassie nudges Theo slightly in the arm.

"Uh, guys," she says.
"What's he doing here?"

Theo and Max both follow her line
of sight, and almost immediately spot who she's talking about; he's kind of
hard to miss.

Michael is standing further down
the half-crowded hallway, talking to someone, Hannah and Ben right next to him,
looking oddly tense. It's after another second or so, that Theo recognizes the
guy they're talking to; it's Luc, Michael's big brother.

He goes to their school, but he
rarely ever shows up, and Theo is more than surprised to see him here. If
nothing else, it makes him slightly anxious. Luc has been suspended more than
once, for fighting and picking on other students, and Theo knows very well how
edgy and easily provoked he can be. And it doesn't help that he's a bit of a
fitness freak, who's rumored to even be on steroids, making his volatile
personality all the more unsettling.

Theo has never liked him, has
barely ever really talked to him, despite being friends with Michael for so
long, and he has always made a point of avoiding him. And it has always worked
out fine; Luc has never really had a beef with him, anyway.

This time, though, it's different.
At least, apparently, judging from the way Michael suddenly tenses up as he
spots Theo, looking over at them. Theo frowns, can't imagine why, and then, Luc
spots him, too. And he actually looks mad.

"What's he doing?" Cassie
asks, but Theo just half-shrugs, confused and just a little bit concerned.

"Don't know," he says.
He's about to dismiss it, when Luc suddenly starts making his way over, despite
Michael seemingly trying to talk him out of it.

"Shit," Theo murmurs,
very quietly. He doesn't know why Luc is coming over here, but it can't be
good, and he honestly doesn't want him anywhere near him.

"What?" Cassie says,
frowning at him, but Theo doesn't have time to answer, and only has time to
catch Max's confused and slightly watchful expression, in the corner of his
eye, before Luc is suddenly there.

"Davis," Luc says, as he
reaches them. "Long time, no see."

Theo swallows, trying to seem
relaxed. Luc isn't really taller than him, but he's bigger, and Theo knows how
easy it can be to piss him off, seemingly by doing nothing.

"Hey, Luc," he says.
"Good to see you."

Luc flashes a humorless, oddly
dangerous smile, one that clashes weirdly with his face; he would be handsome,
if he didn't look so bitter and mean, all the time, and despite his dark blond,
short hair, he looks a lot like his brother. Although, Michael's face is, in
contrast, kind, and well-matched with his personality. Well, most of the time.

"I don't know, man," Luc
says, actually taking a step forward, making Theo tighten the grip on his
shoulder bag the slightest bit. "See, I've been hearing things. Heard
you've been talkin' shit about my little brother."

Theo blinks, honestly confused. He
has no idea what Luc is talking about, and vaguely wonders what kind of
shit
he supposedly has been spreading. He wants to glance at Michael, or Hannah,
or Ben, all three of them standing half-behind Luc, but he doesn't dare.
Instead, he decides to try and get out of this situation, as quickly and as
painlessly as possible.

"I really haven't said
anyth―" Theo says, just barely bordering on a stammer, trying not to
look Luc in the eye, but at the same time making it a point to, as he shakes
his head a little bit. He has always been intimidated by Luc, even after he
started hanging out with Michael. Because where Michael has a calm air about
him, Luc is the opposite, somehow emanating a vibe that makes you walk on
eggshells around him.

"And all because of this
little shit, too," Luc says disdainfully, cutting off Theo and frowning in
Max's direction. Max doesn't look offended, though. Instead, he gets a
wtf-
expression
that mostly says something along the lines of
dude, you serious?