C
hapter 11 –
D
avid:
Take your places!
O
ne night had never felt so long in his entire life. All was going pretty well, as Bo ambled around the room, moving from group to group, his blaring laugh echoing throughout the establishment. The crowd hadn’t stop growing, as time flew by. He was satisfied with his first night. He had managed to get all the drinks, Sin had been a great help in the kitchen and Jet and Danny had done well to serve the patrons without any incident. It had been a bustling night, spent in good company and some talented musicians.
By midnight, the crowd began to thin a little and now, at one in the morning, David was so knackered he only wanted to clean up and go home. He had a sense that the sandman was about to come by. Nevertheless, he didn’t want to go home on his own.
At some point in the evening, people had begun to dance and James had joined them. God, did he know how to dance! David was hungry, and not for food… he had been deeply transfixed by James’ sensuous movements. The man was so languorous, his body supple, his moves smooth. It was wholly unexpected from him, but David loved seeing this side of the American. After the promise James had made to him earlier on, David was impatient to see how he would execute it. He was euphoric, he had been dreaming all night long about how the evening would end and he was finally about to know.
He had been rock hard since the moment James had come behind the counter and had rubbed against his back. He was so tense he felt like his testicles had climbed up to his tonsils.
Half an hour later, Bo rang the bell announcing they were about to close. David sighed with relief, knowing that he was nearly done for the night. When he looked around to check if he could spot James, he couldn’t see him. He checked the toilets, officially to verify that no one had stayed behind before he closed the bar, but mainly to inspect if James was to be seen anywhere or if he had failed his promise. Not a living soul.
He returned to the main room to find out Bo was waiting for him.
“Hey! Ya not too exhausted, after dis first night?” he asked.
“I’d lie if I said I wasn’t brain dead,” David chuckled tiredly. “It’s as if I’ve been through the wringer!”
Bo roared with laughter. “Yeah, I know what ya mean. It was packed tonight and it went better ‘an expected. Da band was good and da atmosphere was exactly what I wanted ta have.”
“I had a great time but, I’m knackered. I think I’m gonna call it a day.” David yawned widely, before he caught himself and lifted his hand to cover his mouth.
“Really?” Bo smirked. “I can’t see ya other half?”
“My oth—? Oh!” David rolled his eyes. “We’re not an item…”
“Yet,” Bo finished for him. “Oh, come on! D’ya dink I haven’t seen ya two exchangin' heated glances? Ya could've boiled eggs between da two of ya!” He laughed and waved at him. “Go now, I’ll finish here and if I see him, I’ll send him ya way.”
David grumbled but turned to leave nevertheless. As soon as he was out of sight, his smile grew so big his jaw ached. He had loved it when Bo had called James his other half. “I wish!” He murmured. He’d like it if James joined him upstairs. After all, a promise had to be kept.
Climbing the stairs tonight felt like the one-thousand-six-hundred-and-sixty-five steps to the Eiffel Tower.
Don’t think, don’t think
was his mantra as he dragged himself up each step. David was tired but his mind was in overdrive. He tried to check his enthusiasm but, as James had avoided him all week and after the teasing he had been subjected to all night, he couldn’t
.
God, won’t these stairs end at some point
? He was impatient to get into his flat, take a quick shower and go to bed to wait for James.
If he ever shows up…no, don’t doubt, don’t think!
But he couldn’t stop his mind from wondering.
What if I misunderstood? What if he doesn’t join me? What if he’s a player and a teaser? Oh, stop it now!!
He yelled in his head.
I can’t even think straight.
He smiled at his own pun.
His hand trembled as he reached for the doorknob when he finally–
finally
–reached the first floor. He slid the key into the keyhole but found the door already unlocked. He frowned, as he tried to recall whether he had closed the door or not before he had left. He pushed the door open and eyed the faintly lit room intently before he stepped in, making sure he locked the door behind him before putting his keys in the trinket bowl. The living room and open kitchen were lit by the light coming in from the street lamps, so David didn’t bother to switch the lights on.
He spotted something on the floor in the middle of the room. He walked over and looked down at it. It was a feather, but not your usual bird feather. It was white, long and fuzzy, like the ones they use to make the costumes for the girls of the Moulin Rouge. He looked at it for ages, taken aback by its presence in the room. He noticed a white piece of paper, folded in two and stuck under the feather. He grabbed the soft item along with the paper. He unfolded it and read “
One
”.
One what?
He wondered in silence.
He lifted his head as he, from the corner of his eye, noticed another object down by his bedroom door. He moved forward and saw an item made of some type of plastic, yet squeezable and soft. It was oblong and ended at one side with a little ring. David had absolutely no idea what this could be but he wasn’t surprised to find another note with “
Two
” written on it.
As the second item was right in front of his bedroom door, he figured there was something going on in there. He pushed the door open and was gobsmacked by the view.
James was lying in bed, spread out in the center of the mattress. He looked like Christ on the Holy Cross, arms opened out to the side and his legs crossed at the ankles. The soft fabric of the sheets was the only shield to protect his naked body from the waist down. He was blindfolded by a black silky foulard and David thought he was going to drown in the sight of James’ glowing, honey-like skin. For once, he could stare at the bare skin without being afraid of getting caught or being judged, so he was certainly not going to deny himself the pleasure. A wave of lust overwhelmed him. More than that, he felt the urge to touch him. Marking him.
Mine
.
His head was spinning. His chest heavy, he was submerged in emotions. He placed the feather and the unknown object on the night stand when he noticed one last piece of paper on James’ naked torso. Still silent, David took it, unfolded it and read
“Three. Take me?”
He glanced down at James and saw that he, too, was having trouble breathing. His plumped lips had parted and the sound of his breathing was resonating in the room, regardless of the fact that James was obviously trying to look calm and remain quiet. James was offering himself up on a plate. Naked. Vulnerable.
David felt dizzy, as he realized how much it must have cost James. The risk he was taking was huge.
What if I’m too weak to accept his offer? What if I walk away and leave him there? God, he’s so strong…I could never do that.
It was only a week since he had met the man but he had figured James was more the dominant type and putting himself on display like this couldn't have been easy for him. He was letting David take the decision. He was offering him the liberty to take the next step or to stay in his not-so-comfortable life. He was in awe at the ingenuity and the kindness hidden behind it.
David took a deep breath before he silently undressed to his boxer shorts. He hesitated, he reeked of sweat and he didn’t feel like he should begin a new sexual experiment in this state. He glanced at James and dared to graze his left nipple with a lone finger. James shuddered, his breath hitching. David let his hand trail off of James’ ribs and got out of the room.
He ran to the bathroom, soaped himself up and rapidly rinsed the suds off under the shower, not even waiting for the water to heat up, before drying his shivering body at lightning speed. He was sure that if there was a championship in short showers, he’d have walked away with the gold medal. When he arrived back in front of his bedroom door, he took a few seconds to breath and calm down. He was about to step into the unknown. He pushed the door open, his heart racing in his chest.
James hadn’t moved but David immediately noticed changes in his behavior. He was frowning and his breath came in gasps, his hands clenched tightly on the soft fabric of the sheets. He turned his head imperceptibly to where David was standing as the scent of David’s shower gel came to him. Relief softened the frown on his face.
He must have been wondering where I was gone off to.
David held a trembling hand to James’ clenched fist. As he grazed his knuckles, his skin pale against James’, both men shuddered in unison.
David was now standing bare-naked before the bed, his manhood rising slowly as he observed the man lying down.
He reached out for the long and delicate, white ostrich feather as he sat down on the bed in the crook between James’ arm and his chest. He lifted the feather and passed it over James’ upper body, from his shoulder to his navel and back to his nipples, painting him with invisible decorations. James’ respiration became erratic and he arched his back, as David traced arabesques with the diaphanous item. He skimmed James’ square face, strong but elegant and…unguarded. He trailed it along a cheekbone, his jaw, down his neck and continued to a collarbone…David traced the contours of James’ body. He was trying to learn his geography, the slightest mount, the faintest vale, each canal and canyon. He wanted his fingers to remember the gorgeous body of his lover, so he could recall it in his sleep.
The
Feather helped him to achieve his goal. She was giving him the ability to embed the moment in his mind. He moved down to his torso, then his stomach…
Oh mon Dieu, those muscles…
He was never one to notice hunks or overly muscled women on the beach or on the street. James wasn’t exceedingly muscular, but more in extreme good shape.
The Feather hesitated and finally followed the treasure trail of thin reddish-blond hair on James’ firm stomach. David could see James’ jaw twitching rhythmically, as his fists clenched and unclenched on the now crumpled sheets. The Feather had taken the power from David. From now on, she would decide by herself which path to take. She lifted the bedclothes to uncover his cut manliness. It was standing to attention proudly, in a bush of frizzy dark red-blond hair, slicked with precum and begging to be touched, to be relieved. In a graceful movement, David cast the bed linen aside and revealed the entire nudity of his lover, the cold air provoking goose bumps on James’ hot body. David got out of breath at the mere sight and he took the time to observe in silent awe.
The Feather resumed her path, testing James’ patience. She brushed the length of his cock, increasing its throbbing ever more as it tried to catch the attention of the Temptress. She went down his full balls, as tense as the rest of his body. For a moment she thought about increasing her sensual torture and carry down his legs but she decided to let the boys play.
Landing elegantly next to James’ body, she watched them for a moment. She observed how David leaned over to catch James’ impatient lips. She saw how James managed, with great self-control, to keep his arms stretched out. She gazed on as David caught James’ fist in his right hand, slowly forcing him to open it, finger by finger. She noticed how his soft lips covered James’ congested face. It was hard for him, the Feather could see, to restrain himself, to give his man all this power over himself. He looked like he was about to drown in desire. When would David finally decide to cover his lover’s greedy body?
As he eventually did, the Feather turned her attention to the blanket and fell gracefully off the bed. Doing so, she was granting them all the privacy they needed. The last peek she took was as David lied down on top of James and decided to use his hands and mouth to discover his lover’s body. The feral look on David’s face made the Feather shudder. She closed her consciousness to the events that followed, returning forever to her previous state of inanimate object.
C
hapter 12 –
J
ames:
Let it go…
I
t had been one hell of a long night. James had done everything to win David to his cause. He had danced for him. He had moved seductively. And he had conspired for him.
It had taken a long time to decide what he would do and he had come to the conclusion that he couldn’t do it alone. He needed David’s set of keys or at least, Bo’s. So, he’d asked his best friend if he could have David’s keys and of course, he’d had to tell him everything he had planned. Bo had laughed and had told him that he would play along and pretend he hadn’t seen James if David asked. He had also hugged him tight and wished James good luck.
James had brought with him the items he would need later on and had set the clues in the room, before entering the bedroom. He got naked and crawled to the center of the bed. He had ridden up the bedclothes and the unbearable waiting had begun.
He had started off waiting in the dark, the curtains closed. Then, he had switched on the bedside lamp. Finding the low light too harsh for his plans, he had gone to the living room where he unearthed a lone candle stick. He took it back to the bedroom and lit it.
There, much better.
He had thought. But if David was to take a long time coming home, the candle might be burnt. So, he had gotten up again, blown on the flame and returned to the bed, sighing.
Then, he had wondered how to wait for David.
Should I put my arms on top of the sheets? Or maybe underneath them? Arms folded? No…
He opted to wait cross-shaped on the bed, as if waiting to be given to the Goddess on the sacrificial altar.
He had thought for a moment that was it, that he was ready to wait. But he had fidgeted again after what felt like ten seconds…he didn’t want to force David to do anything he wasn’t ready for. He had to think fast of a way to ease him into it.
What would give the man some confidence? What would put him at ease? Maybe I need to show him he’s safe with me…that I won’t assault him, no matter what…that I won’t judge him…that it is his decision to take.
He needed to think faster. David could enter his flat at any moment. He cast a glance around, finding nothing useful in the bedroom. He got up for what felt like the hundredth time and ran into the living room. He spotted a square piece of dark silky fabric. That would do the trick.
Me being blindfolded might hold its appeal to David. He won’t feel threatened in any way if I’m rendered harmless for him, right?
He settled back on the bed, the fabric next to him, ready to be put over his eyes, the sheets up to his waist, when he heard the scratch of the key in the keyhole. He jumped back out of bed, scratched a match to light the candle stick and hurried back into position. Making sure everything was in place, he put the third piece of paper on his bare chest, tied the blindfold at the back of his head and stretched his arms as he tried to even his breath. He tried to calm his thumping heart, running as if it were late for the Indy 500.
Silently, or as silently as he could anyway, he listened to the ambient noises as he followed David’s wanderings around the flat. He heard him stepping closer and closer.
Breathe, in and out…in and out.
You could have cut the tension with a knife. He was entirely focused on the sounds David was making. When he finally entered the bedroom, James felt the air move around him and he imagined the flame of the candle wavering a bit. He heard the sound of objects set down on the night stand. He heard the ruffle of clothes being removed. When he perceived the light touch of a fingertip on his skin, he shuddered violently. Then David withdrew his fingers and left the room.
What on Earth just happened?
He panicked. Deep down, he knew he could just walk out of the room and never come back. He knew he was his own master and he didn’t owe the man anything. He couldn’t stop wondering why the hell the guy had just walked away.
Is it worth the wait? Will he come back to me?
He was so unsettled right now, he could barely breathe, never mind speak. He strained to hear the faintest sound resonating in the flat. He didn’t dare bat an eye under the blindfold as he was scared to face reality.
What if David has taken fright? What if I hit too hard? What if he’s left me?
No, he wouldn’t do that.
I’ve heard him getting undressed. It’s not possible. He has
not
left me.
He couldn’t make sense of the sounds filtering through to him. David was still there, though, he was sure of it. After what felt like eons but what would have probably been no more than a minute or two, David came back. He got a whiff of David’s shower gel and couldn’t stop turning his head toward the smell, before he caught himself and straightened again. He hadn’t abandoned him. He came back for him.
James had never been prone to crying since his childhood, but right then and there, he felt like sobbing in relief.
He’d been so focused on his own relief that he jumped when he felt the feather’s titillating touch. At some point, no doubt, he had moaned as well. Maybe even more than once. After forever and a day of this sweet torture, the caresses and the subtle touches, David let go of the feather. He brushed his lips at the corner of James’ mouth, like a delicate butterfly’s wing. James mewled. He leaned into David in an attempt to approach his face, searching for his mouth with his own. He was so tense…it was like floating―dancing in the water―as if his body wasn’t his anymore but his lover’s. He fought to stay his hands at his sides when all they wanted to do was to touch his man.
My man…mine.
But David was the one in charge. The decision to take things further was his to make. It didn’t look like David was about to give up tormenting James. He was tantalizing him; biting him here, nibbling him there, licking his heated skin from his collarbone to his nipples where he would tickle one after the other ―and ended up moaning against the tight buds, the sound echoing in James’ heart, melting his insides.
He was groaning loudly now, his breaths coming in short bursts. His body seemed to live its own life and his hips were bucking in the air against his will, undulating in hope it would make David touch the rest of his lover’s body. He was desperate for more. He almost said it but he knew better. Being blindfolded strongly increased the sensations and he truly loved it. He imagined for a second what David would look like in his place. He stored the thought for later, as he pictured keeping his lover on the edge for a long time, retarding his climax as much as possible.
In the meantime, he was the one whose orgasm was denied. The one who would come stronger than ever. The one about to die from pleasure. He wanted to touch David so bad, to come and make him come in return.
The only sounds in the room were their heavy panting and their unremitting moans.
David was mapping James’ body. His hands everywhere, his mouth never far behind. James was longing to take over, to flip his man on the mattress and to be the one doing the kissing and licking and tormenting. He was barely managing to curb his urge. He had thought David was a quiet, shy man when he was in fact a rumbling volcano inside. He dared everything, touched him everywhere and was afraid of nothing. It was as if something had shifted in him, freeing him somehow. His curious tongue was licking every part of James. Every part but the one desperate to be touched, it seemed.
When at last David’s tongue crossed the ultimate line and flicked his tongue over the wet head of James’ eager cock, James thought he had died and went straight to heaven. But he was wrong. He went to heaven when, after a couple licks, David closed his mouth on his steeled shaft and engulfed him. First, it was only half of it, but soon enough he was used to the feeling in his mouth and he took it down to the root. James knew he was about to come already. David didn’t master the techniques, he wasn’t confident enough yet, but it was the best blowjob James had ever received, no matter what. The sensuality of the moment, as James was forced to let go, to let things happen to him, increased the sensations exponentially. His fists tightly clenched on the bed linen, he sensed a drop of sweat running down his cheek. His entire body was covered in a thin layer of moist. As the blindfold had slid, he could see David’s eyes looking up at him from time to time, checking if everything was alright. Perhaps even verifying if what he did was good for James?
James was on the verge of going crazy. He was mumbling nonsense, English mixed with French, hoping David would get the gist of it.
David laid down between James’ parted legs, his arms crooked behind James’ thighs as his hands were pinning down his hips. He was sucking him harder and harder, his cheeks hollowed and his head bobbing up and down frantically. James was on cloud nine and wouldn’t be bothered with holding back. He simply couldn’t do it anymore.
The tell-tale signs announcing the eminence of his orgasm came too late. He barely had time to warn David before he spread a scorching flow of release on his flat stomach and on David’s face. His lover had been able to pull off on time but hadn’t avoided a drop or two from landing on his cheek. He hadn’t wanted to go there. He'd wanted to let it go to help his man feeling at ease and he had desperately craved the man’s touch. But he longed even more to be the one to give him pleasure. He wanted…he…he wanted to explain everything without a word.
David was caressing him tenderly, murmuring meaningless words, his soft hands on James’ thighs, on his stomach. His lips brushed James’ abs before he felt a towel wiping the remnants of their pleasure. It was such a delicate gesture that James melted right there and then. He was boneless and couldn’t summon the force needed to move. He merely tried to unfurl his fists as he stretched his fingers one by one. He sighed in delight when David kissed his body, following a path that went from his navel to his eyes. He kissed them lightly through the silk as his fingers crawled to the knot at the back and began to untie it. When he removed it, James blinked in the sudden rush of light. As he grew accustomed to the luminosity of the candle, he glanced at David’s face and the ecstatic look he bore brought him so much relief, he hadn’t realized how much he had feared his lover’s reaction. He wasn’t the only one enjoying the night… The moment was so intimate, so breathtaking for him. It had been a communion of souls as much as a communion of bodies.
David had to start over when his first attempt of speaking failed. His voice was hoarse.”You okay?” he managed.
“Fuck…are you kidding me?” he chuckled, gravelly. “I should be the one to ask!”
David looked him in the eyes. “It was the most intense experiment in my life.” He hesitated. “You know, I’ve never dared doing anything close to that with a guy. Even watching was forbidden. When I was young, I lived in a small town where all you did would be analyzed over and over. Plus, it was just the early days of AIDS and the scandal of contaminated blood. So being with a man wasn’t an option for me. I just played along and went out with girls. But being with you tonight, it just feels right, you know?”
He fell silent and averted his eyes. He sighed as he lifted his head again. “Seeing you on the bed, on display for me, it was a magnificent present. You gave me control over things. For you, I think it might have been a complicated thing to do. So…thank you.”
He leaned over and placed a kiss on James’ lips, so light it felt like the kiss of an angel. James lifted his left hand and cupped his lover’s face. The thought occurred to him that David was a lot more talkative than him after making love. Their tongues tangled together, over and over, a slow dance that suited the afterglow of their lovemaking perfectly. It was scary and comforting at the same time. James took David in his arms and rolled them onto their sides. David curled up in James’ arms.
It was heaven.
When sleep finally took over and delivered them to Morpheus’ arms, James' last wish was that, when morning came, David would not regret what they had experienced.
And right then, he drifted into unconsciousness.