Dan & Tyler 2 - Wintergreen (8 page)

 

Tyler sat up and ran his hand through his hair, trying to figure out what kind of a game this was. Not as much fun as the follow the leader one of a short while ago, that was for sure.

"Okay, I could guess, but I'm not going to. Why don't you want me to come? If you're pissed at me for taking this job and this is some kind of punishment, don't forget that I've gone months – years -- with just my hand for company. A day without sex won't kill me."

"But it won't be a day without sex," Dan said. "We can stay in bed all day if you like. It depends on how much of me being naked and snuggled up close you can take."

"No one died of blue balls, either," Tyler said. "I'm still not clear on where you're going with this, boy, but I've been tortured for real, and if you think you'll break me--" "You think I want you begging?" Dan demanded, a flush rising in his face. "So desperate you're wriggling like a worm on a hook?"

There was something familiar about those last words, and Tyler frowned before realizing that he'd used them to describe Dan once, when Dan had been lying under him, hands clutching Tyler, eyes wide, unfocused, as Tyler fucked him with leisurely, maddeningly slow strokes.

"I'm starting to think that's exactly what you want."

 

Dan gave Tyler a crooked grin, but his eyes were shadowed, not amused. "Yeah, maybe, but do you know why? And no, it's not the way I get my kicks."

"Just tell me," Tyler said with a sigh. His erection was dwindling, but not by much; one touch from Dan, one kiss, and he'd be raring to go again. Months of plentiful sex had spoiled him; he was used to getting off, and he was used to Dan being the one inspiring him.

"You said after today, you won't know I exist. Okay, that's an exaggeration," Dan said as Tyler began to protest, " but not much of one. And that's going to fucking hurt. So I need -- I need you to hurt today. Not to make us even. Hurt with wanting me so much you can't stand it. I want you to know how that feels, because it's --" Dan swallowed audibly, and his voice dropped to a whisper. "It's how I feel about you all the fucking time, and you know it. You proved you did. You love making me beg you to nail me. You get off on seeing how desperate you make me."

"I-- Dan, no, I don't--" Tyler felt his throat close up, guilt choking him. Dan was exaggerating about this, too, but there was enough truth in his words to sting. "And it's mutual, you know," he offered.

Dan shook his head. "Not even close to it. You said it yourself, you can go without fucking me and it wouldn't bother you. Just like it won't bother you turning your back on me tomorrow."

"Oh, yes, it will," Tyler said forcefully. "Maybe I'm better at controlling myself than you; you show everything on your face, you just don't care who knows how you're feeling, but that's something that's been trained out of me. I'm not sure I was ever that open to start with. But don't you ever think you're the only one in this relationship who gives a damn, because you're not. I'm used to you now. I don't want you to go, and I don't recall ever waking up next to you without wanting to get my hands on you to pull you closer."

"Wow," Dan said quietly, and exhaled slowly. He gave Tyler a sidelong glance. "Took you long enough to say it."

 

"Yeah, well, I didn't know it needed saying," Tyler snapped.

 

Dan patted Tyler's arm and then slipped a hand down to take Tyler's, who allowed it, still feeling edgy and unsettled, his emotions as naked and bare as his body.

 

"So are you going to fuck me?" Dan asked when the silence had mellowed to peace.

 

Tyler eyed Dan. "Sure," he said. "And I'll play along if it'll make you happy and not come."

 

"I guess you don't really have to--" Dan began.

 

"Oh, no," Tyler assured him. "I'm starting to see the possibilities."

 

"What possibilities?" Dan asked, his expression uneasy.

Tyler smiled at Dan, showing all his teeth. "Ever been fucked by someone who pulls out just as you're about to come because someone's told him that he can't get off all day? I mean, sure, he could suck you, or jerk you off, but it won't be what you wanted, not really. Or maybe this someone's rubbing off on you, all hot skin and muscle, getting your skin tingling, and you're just getting into it, right in the groove, and he stops and backs away, leaves you high and dry again because he's under orders not to spill. Ever had that happen to you?"

"No," Dan said, edging away from Tyler. "I haven't."

 

"Let's change that," Tyler said pleasantly, and pounced on him.

 

***

 

When Tyler thought about that day later -- and he did, often -- it was less as a series of hours and the events they held, and more as flashpoints, sharply vivid against a haze of arousal.

 

He'd expected to get bored, frustrated; been prepared for the day to become routine, split up by meals, a bath, a heated discussion with Dan about what to watch on TV.

It didn't happen. They ate now and then when they got hungry, soup and sandwiches that took little time to prepare, and they shared a bath in the late afternoon. Dan, his skin flushed from the hot water, leaned back against Tyler, cradled in Tyler's arms, his head turned so that they could kiss languidly. Tyler ran a bar of soap over Dan's chest and down, then jerked him off with a slippery hand until Dan's come clouded the water and Tyler's cock, snug against Dan's ass, suffered.

Aching balls aside, apart from a few moments or irritation, more at himself for agreeing to do this, he'd been reasonably content with the situation. He didn't stay hard all day, but Dan could get him to the point where his hands formed tight fists and he was sweating without any problem at all. Staying in a pair of his ridiculously garish shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt helped; Tyler could see the shape of Dan's cock without needing to stare, outlined by the thin and clinging material, and he could smell Dan's skin, sweat-salted and musky. The bath had been worth losing that rich, musky smell, but only just.

If the day taught Tyler anything new, it was how much Dan turned him on without doing anything overtly sexual. Dan sprawled in a chair, his shorts pushed down, his hand working his cock idly as Tyler watched, longing to go over, but knowing that if he put his hand or mouth on Dan right then, it'd be game over, was one thing. Dan sitting at the table reading a book Tyler had recommended, his lips shaping the words silently at times, a frown of concentration making him look vulnerable, shouldn't have all but brought Tyler to his knees, a baffled tenderness filling him even as he pictured Dan ass up over the table, the book abandoned as Tyler fucked the frown away.

By the time they were ready for bed, Tyler was exhausted, but in a good way, just as he'd always ended these days. He didn't even want the climax that he supposed he was allowed now, only the freedom to hold Dan without worrying that his body would betray him.

"Do you wish I'd asked for something different?" Dan murmured when they'd turned out the light. "Did I fuck it up for you?"

 

"No," Tyler said. "You did everything right."

 

Dan yawned and nuzzled Tyler's neck sleepily. "Has to be a first time for everything. What do you want to do now? I could--"

"Ssh." Tyler put an arm around Dan and pulled him even closer, Dan's leg slipping between his, Dan's thigh grazing Tyler's balls. He came without trying, just from that contact, came in a long, endless shiver of pleasure, his hand curved around the back of Dan's head, silky strands of hair soft against his face.

Chapter Five

The days developed a routine. The morning was for work, with Tyler holed up in his room, tapping away in silence and sometimes swearing loudly enough for Dan to hear him. The afternoons were more of the same, with a short break when Dan dragged Tyler out of their bedroom and into the fresh air for a walk, or, if he was very persuasive, into town for something mind-blowingly exciting like shopping for food.

The high point of the day was always the moment when Tyler sighed, turned off the computer, and joined Dan, his forehead creased with a frown, his eyes reddened from too long staring at a screen.

Dan tried to be supportive, understanding, and an all-around good sport about the whole set up, even the fact that Tyler had gone from being a man willing to have sex most times Dan wanted it, to someone who rolled over and went to sleep after a brief hug if Dan was lucky. He tried not to care that his life was suddenly missing someone who was interested in him, who enjoyed talking to him, being with him -- he missed that more than the sex, which was a sign of how things were with him and Tyler.

He tried, and it got more difficult to succeed with every passing day.

"How much longer is this going to take?" Dan asked Tyler over breakfast one morning, after cooking bacon and eggs, his glare daring Tyler to say that he didn't have time to eat it. Breakfast used to be one of his favorite meals. Tyler had a habit of dressing after he'd eaten, a habit Dan approved of since it meant he got to crunch toast and drink coffee staring at Tyler in shorts and an open robe, bare chest exposed, just asking to be touched.

Nowadays, Tyler showered and dressed as soon as he got up, before grabbing a mug of coffee and disappearing into what ceased to be their bedroom when the door closed and became Tyler's office and a no-go area, scattered with metaphorical landmines.

Tyler cut himself a neat piece of bacon, loaded some fluffy scrambled eggs on top of it, and filled his mouth, clearly buying time.

 

"Not sure," he said eventually. "I'm making progress."

 

"Well, that's good?" Dan offered, and got a shrug in reply. "Bad?"

"Dan…" Tyler said with a pained look on his face. "Drop it, okay? I'm not in the mood." "Yeah, I noticed," Dan said. "And, no, I'm not talking about the fact that the last time I got laid was two weeks ago. You don't have the energy to fuck, that's fine, but it wouldn't kill you to talk to me."

Tyler walked over to the counter and refilled his mug. "You want an itch scratching, boy?"

 

"Just told you it wasn't that."

 

"I think it is." Tyler ruffled Dan's hair as he walked by. "Maybe tonight I'll scratch it for you."

"Fuck you," Dan said, the condescension he heard in Tyler's voice making him feel like a child handed a candy to stop it crying. He pushed his chair back and jerked away from Tyler's hand, his face burning and his temper fraying. "Keep your hands and your dick to yourself. I'm going into town and finding someone who gives a shit about me to spend the day with. Hell, maybe even the night, and no, I don't mean I'm going to fuck them, but there's probably a couch I can borrow." He took a deep breath. "I just -- I can't spend another day staring at the walls and being ignored. I feel like I've turned invisible or something."

"Grow up," Tyler said, his face twisted with impatience. "I've got a job to do here, and it's important--"

 

"More important than me?" Dan demanded, and didn't care that he sounded selfish. He thought he was entitled.

"I'm not doing this," Tyler said decisively. "This sort of crap is one reason I never minded being alone. Look, no one said you had to hang around here all day. You can take the truck and spend time in town every day if you want."

"Thanks for nothing," Dan said, and pushed past Tyler to get his jacket and snatch the truck keys off the hook that they hung on with a hand that wasn't entirely steady.

 

The light was already on in the bedroom as he drove off, the dismal, sleety day matching his mood to perfection.

When he got into town, after driving along the familiar road without paying much attention to the sparse traffic or the scenery, he didn't know what to do. Too early to hang out with anyone, really; it was barely nine o'clock. The small library didn't open until midday on Tuesday, and he'd read until his eyes started to cross during the last few weeks. The warm splash of light from the Sunnyside Café seemed to offer a refuge, even if it felt like the few bites of breakfast he'd eaten were stuck halfway down.

He went in and found a seat away from the icy breeze caused by the door opening, his head down because he really didn't want to talk to anyone, even if that was why he'd come into town. Logic didn't go well with being miserable.

"Dan! Over here." Dan lifted his head and saw Anne Collins across the room, peering around the side of a booth and smiling at him. It was impossible to blow her off. Summoning an answering smile, he went over to join her, weaving his way across the mats on the floor designed to soak up the wetness being brought in by customers who hadn't bothered to wipe their shoes on the mat at the door. Dan had, but the mat had been so soggy he wasn't sure if it'd helped or just gotten his boots wetter.

"Well, this is nice," Anne said brightly as he sat down. "I thought I was going to eat breakfast staring at the wall, and instead I get to talk to a friend. Where's Tyler?"

 

"Back home, working. I only came in for a coffee," Dan said, not taking offense at the slight droop of Anne's mouth. "I'm, uh, really busy, too."

Anne gave him a look that said she wasn't buying it, and Dan sighed in surrender. Anne wasn't in the least bit scary, but she could be formidable, which came in handy for a doctor, he supposed. If Anne was to tell him that he needed a shot, he couldn't see himself arguing with her for long, even if he did hate needles. "I'll order something to eat if you like."

"My treat," Anne said, generous in victory. She gave a long, anticipatory sigh. "It's my day off -did I mention how happy I am that we finally got the funds to hire another doctor?"

 

"Every time I see you," Dan said, feeling the cloud over his head lift a little because Anne in a bubbly mood was kind of cute.

"Sorry, sorry," Anne said, clearly not. She pushed the menu over to him and began to talk, her voice dreamy as she outlined her plans. "Here, choose something filling. You look tired." She didn't wait for his indignant rebuttal of her appraisal, but continued, "I'm going to have the special, which will mean that I won't need to eat again until about three in the afternoon, on past experience. After I eat, I'm getting a haircut -- I'm losing the long hair and getting highlights -and a mani/pedi at the new spa in Bridge Falls. Then it's off to the mall for an afternoon of shopping with my mother -- and if you keep looking like that, you're going to turn the orange juice sour and spoil my indulge-myself day. What on earth is wrong with you?"