Read Microsoft Word - MeantForEachOther.doc Online
Authors: Allison
As the kids crowded him to get their turn, his legs began to give way and he started to fall over backwards, catching himself on a desk before he fell all the way to the ground, probably taking a few kids out with him.
Jeremy rose from his seat, laughing. “All right kids, come on, let Craig come in and sit with us. We’ll have plenty of time for you to talk to him for the rest of the day.
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Craig righted himself, shooting an appreciative glance at Jeremy, and headed to a chair on the outskirt of the rug, his earlier nervousness entirely forgotten.
Jeremy shook his head, still chuckling. “So boys and girls, like I told you before, Craig and I were friends growing up. Do you want me to tell you a secret?” A small knot formed in Craig’s chest. Is this an ambush? “Craig was clumsy as a kid too. He used to fall over all the time.” Several kids giggled and the knot unclenched inside him. “In fact, sometimes he tripped by walking along the sidewalk.” Some of the kids glanced at him, wide smiles crossing their faces. Craig blushed, but found the kids’ delight to be too cute to become annoyed by Jeremy’s jab.
A girl raised her hand and Jeremy called on her. “Can we give Craig his present now? Pleeeease!”
Jeremy flushed. “Okay, since Abby has let our little secret out, I guess now is a good time for us to give Craig his surprise.” The kids let out squeals of delight and reached into their desks, pulling out colorful pieces of folded construction paper. “Abby, would you like to go first?”
Abby walked to the front of the room, shoulders held back and head held high, clearly excited and proud to be the first one to share. She opened the colorful paper and began reading. “Dear Craig, Thank you so much for showing us how you make pictures on computers and for letting us play with the computers. I love my picture. It was pretty. Love, Abby.”
Craig smiled. He hadn’t expected the kids to write him thank you notes. “You’re welcome, Abby. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” The students took turns reading their cards to Craig who fidgeted in his seat, embarrassed by all the attention and adoration.
When they finished, Jeremy got them started on their math lesson. With the kids busily working, he was free to pay attention to Craig. “They couldn’t wait to read those to you. They haven’t stopped talking about you since we visited Spectacular Designs.”
Craig was touched. “The kids have so much love to give. You must feel like a king every day.”
Jeremy turned his gaze away from Craig, and faced his class. “They are filled with love; they’re so open and unguarded. It’s one of the things I like about teaching elementary school.” As Jeremy spoke, Craig observed him, noting a slight pinking in his neck. “I can’t believe you figured that out in only a few minutes. I’m constantly amazed at how attuned you are to the things I care about.”
The acknowledgement cut straight to Craig’s heart. Not just because he was pleased that he had made Jeremy feel appreciated, but because Jeremy’s comment meant Andrew didn’t connect with him the same way. Maybe the two of them weren’t as close as they seemed.
Craig spent the rest of the day walking around the room, helping kids with their work. Finally, at dismissal, when the last kid had been picked up, Jeremy took Craig back inside. “You have a natural way with the kids. They adore you.”
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Happiness flooded Craig at the compliment. “Well, they’re kind of hard not to love.
They’re so cute and damn if they aren’t smart as hell too.” I can’t believe how a simple compliment from him causes my heart to race. “So, we have a couple of hours to kill before we’re supposed to meet the boys downtown at The Bulls and Bears.”
Jeremy walked over to the far corner of the room and stood in front of a bulletin board covered with student work. Craig followed him. “Are these the stories your kids wrote?”
“Yeah. I’ve left spaces next to each one for their pictures.” Jeremy kept his eyes focused on the board as he spoke. “I’ve never had anyone take an interest in my class before. No one. I mean my parents ask about school and Andrew listens to my stories, but you really care about the kids.”
Craig watched Jeremy as he continued to inspect the wall, surprised to find the flush had moved from his neck to his cheeks. When Jeremy turned to face him, two smoldering eyes caught him in a lust-filled gaze. Before he had a chance to speak, Jeremy grabbed him and gave him a fierce kiss. Unable to resist, not wanting to, Craig wrapped his arms around Jeremy and kissed him back, opening his mouth to Jeremy’s invading tongue.
They remained together for several minutes, gripping each other as the intensity of their kiss increased and their straining erections pressed against each other through the fabric of their pants.
The wall connected with Craig’s back and Jeremy leaned his body even tighter, to create more pressure and friction. Craig allowed him to take charge, his own hands carelessly running along lateral muscles and resting on Jeremy’s waist.
Jeremy’s hands were far from gentle. He wrapped one hand behind Craig’s neck and pulled him close, sealing their lips together in a fervent kiss. His other hand worked its way inside Craig’s shirt, lightly pinching the sensitive nipple, rolling the nub of flesh between his thumb and forefinger and leaving Craig helpless to do anything but enjoy.
When Jeremy ended the kiss, they both stood panting for a moment, simply staring at each other.
Craig was the first to speak. “Jesus, Jeremy. What if someone saw us?”
Jeremy laughed. “They couldn’t. See, the door is on this wall and we’re standing in the corner here. They would have to come into the room to catch us and no one ever comes in once school lets out.”
“But—”
“I know. I’m sorry. I just can’t help myself when I’m around you. And watching you interact with my kids and the way you understand me and what I do…it’s a huge turn on. You have no idea how good it makes me feel to know you appreciate what I do.” Jeremy’s lips were red and swollen from their kisses, making them appear even more pouty and kissable. Since it was obvious that his cock was tenting his pants, Craig 111
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didn’t bother hiding as he reached into the front and readjusted himself. Jeremy laughed and did the same.
“Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy kissing you, but you’re with Andrew and I’m with Robert.”
Jeremy finished tucking his shirt back into his pants, his skin returning to a normal pallor. “I know. We’re going to have to work harder at controlling ourselves. Let’s say we’re even. You pulled me into a kiss the other day. I initiated this one.”
Craig had to work to suppress a laugh, the thought of them competing to see who could trap the other in the most compromising kiss caused all his work at readjusting himself to be undone. “This isn’t a competition, Jeremy.”
Jeremy shuffled from foot to foot. “I like kissing you.”
Four words, four very dangerous words which could make the difference between a lasting friendship, or losing one forever. Craig held Jeremy’s gaze. “Maybe we should grab a bite to eat before meeting the guys.”
Jeremy nodded, grabbed his things, and led Craig outside. The fresh air helped to dissipate the heat between them and made regular conversation easier. “Do you like Thai food?” Jeremy’s voice had returned to its normal cheerful tone.
“Yeah, I love it.”
“Cool. Let’s go eat at Thai on Two. They have the best curry puffs I’ve ever eaten and I haven’t been there in ages.” They walked the few blocks to the restaurant and sat down in the nearly empty dining room.
Craig looked around. “The place is kind of empty. How does it stay in business?”
Jeremy sighed. “No idea. So many of my favorite spots have closed as the gentrification of the East Village has progressed. Whenever I get used to a place, it’s forced to close down and something new opens up.”
Craig hadn’t spent much time in the East Village, so he wasn’t familiar with the dramatic changes. The West Village was well established and hadn’t changed much at all since he lived there. He knew the East Village had once been a slightly dangerous place, but as wealthy businesses bought property and developers upgraded the area, the diversity of the neighborhood had been significantly impacted. “I never paid much attention to the changes. What a bummer people and restaurants are getting pushed out.”
Jeremy sighed. “I know. This place used to be teaming with diversity. It’s what I loved so much about living here. It’s still one of the most diverse places in the city, but people are getting pushed north or out to the boroughs. Have you noticed how One-Hundred Sixteenth Street has become completely upscale? Ten years ago it was dangerous. Now, people are getting pushed even further north. Before long, no one except the wealthy will be able to afford to live anywhere in Manhattan. So much for this being the original melting pot.”
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Jeremy’s passion for the subject surprised Craig. As he imagined people being forced out of their homes due to inflation, increasing rent, and the abolishment of rent control, he realized what Jeremy said was true. “You’re a tree hugger, aren’t you?”
Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
Craig clarified, realizing his comment might be taken as a criticism. “I didn’t mean that as a bad thing. I use the term for anyone who cares about those less fortunate than themselves. You teach. You care about people being pushed out of their homes; refreshing in a city where everyone is so cutthroat.”
Jeremy smiled. “Oh. Yes. I’m definitely a tree hugger.”
Craig let out a breath, relieved Jeremy was not offended. When their meal arrived, they continued talking. Craig was surprised when he checked his watch and realized two hours had passed. “Shit, we’re going to be late.” He waved for the waiter. They split the cost and headed out to the bus stop across the street. Twenty minutes later, they got off near Wall Street and headed to the bar where they were meeting Robert and Andrew.
Robert and Andrew were already at a table and had their drinks. Craig turned to Jeremy. “What are you drinking?”
“I’ll have an Orange-Stoli Madras.”
Craig’s eyes widened. “Oh, that sounds good, especially on a hot day like today. I think I’ll get one of those too.” Craig walked over to the bar and ordered their drinks and returned to the table where Robert, Andrew, and Jeremy sat. Placing Jeremy’s drink in front of him, he took the seat next to him. ‘Hey guys. Sorry we were late. We ate at this Thai place and lost track of time.”
Robert waved his hand. “No worries. Andrew and I were talking shop. You would have been bored.” He raised his glass. “To…uh…to…”
Craig shook his head. “To old friendships and new ones.” Everyone raised their glasses and clinked over the middle of the table, before taking sips. Craig watched Jeremy and Andrew as they clinked their glasses. They hadn’t made eye contact and a tension seemed to hover between them. Given their kiss back at Jeremy’s school, a flash of hope surged within him. They seemed like the model of happiness and Jeremy hadn’t mentioned anything about problems, but by reading between the lines—stop.
This is how problems begin.
“We actually have news for the two of you.” Andrew leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, and leaning his head on his hands. “There’s a conference in DC this weekend and our companies are sending the two of us. We leave on Friday and come back on Sunday. We thought sharing a room would make sense, but wanted to check with the two of you first.” Craig noticed that Andrew’s tone was curt and that he had leveled a steady glare at Jeremy.
Jeremy looked up, obvious tension in his voice when he responded. “Of course.
Why would we mind?”
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“No reason. I thought I should check with you before making any big decisions that impact the two of us.” He sat back without breaking eye contact, as if he were challenging Jeremy with his stare.
Jeremy’s shoulders stiffened. The movement would have been imperceptible if Craig hadn’t been watching. “I think that sounds like a great idea.”
Robert finished his drink in one large gulp, seemingly oblivious to the entire exchange. “I’m getting a second round. You need a refill, Andrew?” Andrew swished what remained of the contents of his glass and downed it.
Robert got up and the three of them sat in awkward silence until he returned with two new drinks a few minutes later. Craig watched as Andrew and Jeremy shot glances back and forth, as if they were engaged in some sort of a silent argument.
They spent another couple hours drinking and making small talk. Conversation was pleasant enough, but rather two sided; Robert and Andrew engrossed in discussions of the market and their trip, Jeremy and Craig talking about things they would do over the weekend. It was a challenge, but he managed to keep the thoughts of what their weekend might entail to himself. They had already proven twice that they couldn’t keep their hands off each other when they were alone.
Eventually, they finished their drinks and headed out.
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