Flare (9 page)

Hugo watched as Kevin shifted in his sleep, wishing he were right next to him, feeling the mattress dip and retreat or the rush of cool air as Kevin hogged the blankets.

What was Hugo waiting for?

He decided in that moment as Kevin’s lips parted, mouth becoming slack with sleep, that he had to get rid of his apartment. Less than five minutes later, Hugo was falling asleep, being lulled by Kevin’s steady breathing.

I
T
WAS
still dark out when Hugo was awakened by Kevin’s alarm clock. Hugo cracked open an eye against the bedside light he’d never turned off and tapped his computer screen back to full brightness. He watched as Kevin fumbled around to shut off his alarm and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. His back was to the computer, and Hugo watched as he stretched. It was 4:00 a.m. for Hugo. Six for Kevin. He suspected Kevin had forgotten about the computer still being logged into Skype when he stood and headed toward the bathroom to relieve himself, leaving the door wide open. His ass was perfect. It made Hugo smile when he heard Kevin start the shower and walk into the glass enclosure that was reflected in the large mirror. Hugo could see the steam filling the space, Kevin’s body an outline in profile that showed Hugo just how hard Kevin was.

He felt voyeuristic as Kevin took himself in hand and started to stroke, moaning at the sensation. Hugo rolled to his back, taking a moment to adjust the computer screen so he could still see before shoving his hand beneath his own covers and squeezing his still-drowsy cock to life. He tried to keep pace with Kevin, the steam obscuring more and more of him from view until Kevin accidentally brushed up against the glass with an arm and cleared it.

In a quick motion, Kevin reached for the lube and coated his fingers. He slipped them in his crack as he continued to move his other hand over his cock. The fact that Kevin fingered his own ass while masturbating was a revelation. For years, Kevin had had zero anal stimulation, until he reunited with Hugo. Kevin had admitted as much to Hugo months prior, saying he never touched himself like that. Hugo told him he should. And now he was fingering himself, and Hugo was loving it.

Kevin groaned, desire thick in his voice as he turned and pushed his ass out some as if he wanted to get his fingers deeper. Hugo wished the computer was closer or that he had a zoom setting that would get him more up close and personal, but he knew Kevin’s ass well. He closed his eyes to picture the warm skin that tanned to a deep golden bronze in the sun, the way his fingers would be disappearing into that deep-pink pucker that would tightly hold on to his long, masculine fingers.

When he opened his eyes again, Kevin was in profile, stroking himself, head tilted back in pleasure. The sight was taking Hugo close to the edge quickly. He wished Kevin knew he was watching him.

Kevin looked as though he was about to come, so Hugo pulled his hand away. He watched as Kevin’s hand flew over the end of his cock. His entire body tightened like a string, and then he was coming, muscles contracting as he shuddered through his orgasm. It was beautiful to watch.

Hugo started to stroke himself again. His pleasure built.

It wasn’t intentional, but Hugo couldn’t keep his sounds of desire in. The spray of the shower ceased and Hugo groaned again.

“Hugh?” Kevin asked, sounding surprised.

“I’m on Skype. Remember?” he managed to get out, but he didn’t want to stop touching himself. It felt too good.

“Oh yeah.” Kevin faced the reflected computer in the mirror, wiping away more steam from the glass wall, and peered beyond it. “Good morning,” he said with a little wave. “Wait for me, Hugh. Let me come closer so I can watch you.” Hugo pulled his hand out of his underwear and focused on the screen, watching Kevin dry off, but he was taking too long. Hugo’s balls ached. He wanted release, so he started touching himself again, pushing his underwear farther down and kicking his covers off so Kevin could eventually watch.

“Keep going.” Kevin’s voice sounded so much closer than he’d been, and when Hugo opened his eyes, sure enough, he was right there, nose practically pressed against the screen.

“Watch it,” Hugo managed to get out. “You’re going to drip water all over your laptop.”

“Stroke yourself and let me worry about the computer,” Kevin said. He then gave Hugo little instructions, telling him to do what he would do if he were there, telling him to slide his thumb across his slit to spread his precome down his length, concentrating near the head, tugging his balls to make it last longer. “Pinch your nipples, Hugo. Get them both hard so I can imagine sucking on them over here. I’d bite ’em and tug on ’em so you felt it in your balls. Do you know that? Do you feel it in your balls?”

“Oh fuck, yes,” Hugo said, his imagination working so well he could feel the wet, sucking pulls of Kevin’s mouth on his chest. His balls drew up tight, and Kevin kept talking him closer and closer toward his impending orgasm. He was
right
there, the first drop of come leaving the tip of his cock, when Hugo heard a knock on Kevin’s door and Rowan’s voice. There was nothing he could do to stop his orgasm at that point, though, nor the groan that rumbled in his chest as spunk splattered across his stomach.

When Hugo opened his eyes, he saw Kevin laughing and shaking his head, apparently having answered his bedroom door while Hugo had tried to calm his body. “I think our nanny knows we just had cybersex,” Kevin said with a grin.

“Lovely. I bet that’s reassuring to her,” Hugo drolled.

“I don’t really care, to be honest, because that was a great way to wake up. I should go, though. I’m meeting with Mark today. Happy Friday. I hope to see you tonight. I love you.”

“I’ll keep you up to date. Texts and pictures of my cock and all,” Hugo teased.

“Send me photos of your cock anytime, just give me a not-safe-for-work warning so I can open them on my phone under my desk,” he said with a wink. “Not like that time you sent me a link to porn and I clicked on it at work.”

“Deal. Love you.”

W
HEN
H
UGO
arrived at the studio for work, the producer told him there was a problem with the soundboard that would take about an hour to fix. They’d tried calling his hotel, but missed him, so Hugo had time to kill. He ensured the producer had his cell phone number before he left. At first he looked over his script, but the more he did, the less natural the dialogue sounded when he said it out loud, so he gave it up as a lost cause. He spent nearly thirty minutes walking around outside in the California sun. There was street art and other sights worth capturing on his camera to send to Kevin. He and Kevin sent a few texts back and forth before Hugo decided to send some photos off to Brooke, asking her if she’d share them with Finn as well.

Hugo wondered how the kids really were. Was Finn truly doing better after talking to Lori and the new therapist, Tad? Kevin had taken him back to Lori’s once more the previous week, and they had a therapy session as a family this week. Then Tad had started talking to Finn alone. Hugo still didn’t know how that went, but if anything bad had happened, Kevin would’ve surely told him about it right away.

That was their unwritten rule. When something was up with the kids they needed to be on the same page about, they always called or sent a text to let the other know. Hugo certainly didn’t want Kevin walking in the door after a long day at the office to a ticking time bomb of a kid who could so easily be set off by innocuous words or nudges. Many a disaster had been averted this way with Kevin knowing to give Brooke a wide berth if she’d had a particularly trying day. It also allowed Kevin the time to ease Brooke into talking as the night progressed and often ended up with Kevin and Brooke having a heart-to-heart in her room at bedtime. The messages had helped Kevin and Hugo both become closer to the kids. They were also a good tool so no one got stuck in the middle of arguments or felt like they were taken by surprise, not having a clue how to fix things.

By the time Hugo got called back to the studio, he was worried. He wanted to be back home so he felt like he was back in the loop. While Rowan had been a godsend, and someone they most certainly needed—these last days in particular—Hugo didn’t want Kevin or him to take a less active parenting role. In fact, with the custody scare, Hugo and Kevin had even had a brief conversation about taking more permanent legal steps toward ensuring Hugo could act on the kids’ behalf as their dad. They’d talked about second-parent adoption. It was only in passing, but Hugo couldn’t get the idea out of his head when he thought of the incendiary papers the Clarkes had sent to Kevin.

“I
T
WAS
a real pleasure working with you, Hugo,” the director said, shaking his hand warmly. “I think that’s the cleanest anyone’s ever read in all my years of doing this. And I’ve done it a lot of years.” Barry gave him a cocky nod. “I’ll make sure to put in a good word for you.”

“Thanks. That means a lot. I’m sure I’ll be back sometime in the coming months for pickups. Thanks for all your help.”

The studio had arranged to have Hugo’s belongings removed from the hotel and brought over, where he got in a car and was driven right to the airport. Hugo had hardly gotten a chance to tell Kevin what was happening because he’d been so busy trying to finish. By the time Kevin responded, it was to tell Hugo the family was already about halfway to the lake. The kids were anxious to get in the water, especially since a heat wave with temps nearing one hundred was already in the area.

It’s 97 degrees at 7pm
, the latest text had said.

Hugo’s flight was scheduled for sixish LA time. His flight was expected to arrive home just before midnight Minneapolis time, and suddenly he was more than thankful Kevin had insisted on leaving Hugo’s car in the short-term parking ramp at the airport. Hugo had tried to argue, but Kevin refused to get into it, sending him a photo of his orange car parked in the ramp with the text
green level 2, just outside the door
. Hugo had smiled at the gesture, but not nearly as much as he did when he finally got to the car and saw an envelope on the passenger seat with his name written in Kevin’s neat print.

Welcome home. I didn’t want you to have to figure out how to get home in the middle of the night in case that’s when you get here. Come find me. I miss you.

K

He smiled at the note, carefully putting it back in the envelope as he considered what he’d do. It was a solid two hours to get to the lake. Hugo had been awake since Kevin woke up, yet, he wasn’t nearly as tired as he should’ve been. He started his car, paid the ridiculous rates for parking because the car had been there for more than nine hours, and headed toward the lake. He’d make do with the clothes in his suitcase and what he knew Kevin had in the dresser at the lake.

By the time he pulled into the driveway behind the lake house, it was two fifteen and the only sound he could hear was the steady thrum of the waves washing up on the beach. Hugo closed his eyes to the sound and stood in the still-muggy air, smelling that familiar scent of the lake. No matter what, those sensations made him think of Summer and Kevin—mostly Kevin—and Hugo shook his head, questioning why on earth he was standing in the yard when he could be lying with Kevin.

He pulled his suitcase and laptop bag from the car and dug through his pockets to find his keys, thankful for the outdoor light that was turned on above the door. Leaving all his belongings in the mudroom, Hugo quietly brushed his teeth with a spare Princess Ariel toothbrush in the bathroom downstairs, so he wouldn’t disturb anyone’s sleep, before heading up to their bedroom. He stripped down to nothing, wanting to feel Kevin on every exposed inch of his skin.

Kevin slept peacefully, facing Hugo’s spot, a hand on Hugo’s pillow as if he’d been wishing Hugo was there when he fell asleep. Hugo slid in, taking care not to jostle the bed and wake Kevin. A strand of hair had fallen toward the outer corner of Kevin’s eye, so he pushed it aside. A soft moan came from Kevin’s parted lips, and then his eyes lazily opened.

“Hey,” Hugo said with a smile, leaning in to tease his lips against Kevin’s. “I’m home.”

Kevin pulled him closer, wrapping him in his arms. “I’m so glad you’re here.” He nuzzled against Hugo’s neck, taking in deep breaths of Hugo and smiling against his skin.

“Smell the same?” he asked.

“Better than I remembered,” Kevin said, and released a heavily contented sigh, refusing to let him go. “Sleep. You’ve got to be exhausted.”

“I am,” Hugo agreed. “But take off your underwear.”

Kevin pulled away to strip, and as soon as he was naked, Hugo found that perfect sleeping spot he loved so much on Kevin’s chest. He tangled their legs together and slowly brushed the bottom of his foot along the top of Kevin’s, closing his eyes in satisfaction at the feel of familiar skin.

“Night,” Hugo barely managed to get out before falling asleep.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Permanence & Pride

D
ESPITE
HAVING
only been apart for eleven days and having some sort of communication occurring every day, whether text, e-mail, Skype, or actual phone conversations, Hugo felt as if he’d missed out on a month. Brooke actually had a tan, even with her fair complexion, the marks from her sandals white, evidence of where they’d been when she’d been outside playing over the past days.

When Hugo asked if she’d been wearing sunscreen, Brooke said with a little sass, “Of course I was, and I just put some on a few minutes ago, in case you’re wondering. I’d be red if I didn’t. Serena got burned, and her mom is making her put aloe on every few hours. It’s gross and now her skin is sorta green. It’s kinda funny.” She giggled, letting down all her defenses.