When The Right One Comes Along - Ch. 6 (Spark & Stone Side Story, Patreon Exclusive) (Patreon)

Ch.1 

Ch. 2 

Ch. 3 

Ch. 4 

Ch. 5 

Chapter Six – Am I Too Old-Fashioned?

“I’m glad to see you have a healthy appetite,” Michael commented, as he took in how Jess was going through his plate. “I was a little afraid you’d be difficult.”

“Are you kidding me? You cooked the perfect breakfast,” Jess said. “I’m very careful about my diet, normally, but there was nothing you put on the table that I could say ‘no’ to. Wait, have you thought about it? What would I like to eat? You didn’t ask.”

Michael smiled sheepishly and pointed at his phone, thrown haphazardly on the kitchen counter. “I might have googled ‘ballerina diet’. Good thing I still had some berries around.”

Jess grinned. “I slept in the same bed with you, without having sex, and now you cook for me. Am I your boyfriend yet?”

Michael laughed. “Technically, we had sex. I sucked you off. As for the boyfriend part, I don’t know what to say. It feels like we’re both beyond labeling things. Am I right or wrong?”

Jess appeared to give it some thought. “I have no idea. I still think the word ‘boyfriend’ has a nice ring to it, especially if you’re involved.”

“Why? Haven’t you have boyfriends before me?”

“Ah, so I am your boyfriend!” Jess’s face lit up with those words. 

“You’re good,” Michael said and shook his head.

“Good at what?” Jess asked as he stood up and took both plates from the table. 

Michael had a mind to tell Jess to leave the dishes but then decided against it. Maybe Jess needed to feel a little useful. “At dodging my questions,” he replied. “Honesty is one of the things I wouldn’t let go from that list,” he added.

Jess began washing the dishes into the sink. “I will tell you everything.”

“Well? I’m waiting.”

“Not right now. I’m too much … it’s complicated. I need to leave everything behind, and that includes some bad habits. I’m work in progress, okay?”

Jess was speaking softly, and Michael could sense his inner pain, no matter how much he tried to keep it together.

“Okay,” he said. “But I want to know one thing. Why do you want me, in particular, as your boyfriend? You could be with anyone.”

“I think you genuinely like me,” Jess replied.

“A lot of people must like you,” Michael pointed out. “You’re gorgeous. Do I have to tell you that one hundred times to convince you? And I’m sure you know it.”

“That I’m physically attractive? Yes, I know it well. But that’s not why you like me,” Jess said.

“Jess, I do believe you’re handsome. Movie star level of handsome.”

“Yes, you’re not blind,” Jess said stubbornly. “But you like me for a different reason.”

“I see that you’re incredibly insightful when it comes to whatever happens in other people’s heads. Why do I like you if it’s not for your looks?”

Jess turned and wiped his hands on a kitchen towel, with a thoughtful expression on his face. “I don’t know exactly. It’s a big surprise for me. People usually just want to fuck me.”

“I want to fuck you, too. Okay, I get it. You must imply that I don’t treat you like a sex object. Funny, I do remember how you accused me exactly of that,” Michael said and smiled while shaking his head. 

“That was work-related. I’m talking about when we’re outside of work. You see something in me. More than this,” Jess said as he made a vague gesture, pointing at his body.

“You are more than your body, yes,” Michael confirmed. “You’re passionate and talented. But, again, I think you’ve heard that before.”

Jess nodded. “That’s not what you like me.”

Michael tapped his lips with one index finger as he pondered over Jess’s words. Jess was right, in a way. Yet, Michael could not say exactly what he liked about Jess that wasn’t his looks, or his passion for dance. A bit irritated by his incapability to say clearly where the root for his attraction lay, he changed the tactic. “Okay, so I like you. But do you like me?”

Jess appeared surprised at the question. “Do I like you?” He snorted. “What’s not to like?”

“Hmm, maybe my stubbornness in not letting you have your way?”

“I will have my way. You promised,” Jess replied and smiled broadly. 

“That’s right. You got me there,” Michael said back, with a smile of his own. “Still. Jess, your boyfriend should be someone who’s either incredibly rich, or incredibly good-looking, or both.”

Jess grimaced. “I don’t care about those things. And you’re good-looking, what are you saying?”

“I’m pleasant. I make a good impression on people. But I’m far from being the kind to inspire poets or painters. Come on, Jess, don’t make me spell it for you yet again. You’re most probably among the most beautiful people walking the planet as we speak. You turn heads. My profits must be skyrocketing because of you.”

Jess pursed his lips. “I don’t care about that,” he said stubbornly again. “I like you. You’re kind, and you gave me a chance, a real chance.”

“I would have done it for any other dancer knocking on my door.”

“Yes. Because that’s who you are. I feel like a better person when I’m with you.”

Michael sighed. “It’s so not sexy to hear from my would-be boyfriend that I turn him on with my kindness. And what could you have done to warrant what appears to me to be some self-esteem issues? Have you run a dog with your car?”

“I don’t drive,” Jess hurried to say.

“You catch my drift. What have you done in your short life? You told me you’re not on the run from the law. Please don’t joke with these things, Jess. Whatever it is, you can tell me, and I will help you,” Michael said, this time on a serious tone.

“It’s not the law I’m running from,” Jess replied. “It’s more like … myself.”

Michael exhaled. “Okay. Just talk to me about yourself, then.”

“No. I like this new version of me. I want you to like me, too. I will try harder.”

Michael shook his head. “Don’t try harder. Just be yourself.”

Jess shook his head. “Just let me figure out who I am first.”

Michael exhaled. “All right. I’m not happy with all this secrecy, but far from me to pressure people into doing something they’re uncomfortable with. All right, if you want so much to be my boyfriend, gosh, how this sounds, like someone like you should beg me for such a thing … Anyways, the idea is that I boil down all my requirements to one.”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t cheat on me. I know temptations are everywhere, and there’s no shortage of guys who would like to have you, but, if you do that, we’re through.”

“All right. Done. You don’t even have to think about it. I wouldn’t dream of cheating on you. How about your boyfriend being someone you can get along with?”

“We’ll work out the kinks.”

“I still like chocolate ice cream.”

“We’ll just buy more. I can afford it.”

“And about my sleeping on your side of the bed?”

Michael laughed, seeing the hopeful expression on Jess’s face. “As long as you don’t mind me being wrapped around you that we both end up sleeping on the same side, I’d say we’re good.”

“Great!” Jess beamed at him and appeared genuinely happy.

“Awesome,” Michael replied. “Wanna join me for a little jog?”

“Sure! Wait, I need to make the bed first!” Jess shouted and hurried out the kitchen door.

Michael shook his head in mirth as he looked after him. His boyfriend? That sounded unreal. Was it just some kind of joke? But no, Jess had seemed truly taken with the idea. Well, he would give it a try. Only he knew how many times he had given other people chances. Jess looked like someone who deserved it and not because of his looks.

Yes, Jess was right. Michael saw something when he looked at him, not only the dancer, or the good-looking man who could make people of both genders turn their heads while walking down the street.

He saw a man who was fighting something. Michael felt compelled to help. Whatever Jess’s demons were, he wanted to help him get through. If, on the other side, they would still be close, was not set in stone. But Michael felt that it was worth a shot, if for no other reason than he could truly help someone, someone who wanted to be a better person. 

***

“Boyfriend?” Heath cocked his head to one side and studied him thoughtfully.

“Why not?” Michael pretended to fiddle with his drink, suddenly fascinated with the physics of the single olive floating in his glass.

“You said you two were hooking up. Who’s this guy?”

“All right, mother hen, chill. I’m not rushing on one knee. Far from it. It’s just something temporary.”

He didn’t like Heath’s sly smile, so he preferred not to say or ask anything.

“So, after all, it’s good to have a boyfriend who’s awesome in bed,” Heath said, obviously not in the mood to let it go.

His friend was eyeing him like he was trying to gauge his reaction.

“Did I say these exact words?” Michael tried to keep his tone of voice neutral.

Heath grinned. “It’s funny for me to be on this side of the fence. You like this guy. You two may be fighting as foreplay, but something tells me you’re the right bolt for the right nut when it comes to sex.”

“Graphic,” Michael said with a small wince.

Heath had a gift for seeing right through him. “So, what’s wrong?”

Michael sighed. “He keeps to himself. A lot. I have no idea who he is.”

“Ha! I knew it! So, why aren’t you more cautious? No, let me answer that for you. You like this guy; you really like him.”

“So, are you going to tell me not to see him? I mean, as a boyfriend.”

Heath shook his head. “No. This time I have a good gut feeling about this guy. I know a hard worker when I see one.”

“Work ethics aren’t everything.”

“Well, he doesn’t seem shifty or anything like that. He may come with some baggage by what you’re telling me, but, otherwise, he seems like an okay dude. And he likes you.”

Michael pursed his lips. “And you make that assumption based on what?”

“I saw you two bickering that day when we were having lunch together. It was quite amusing. I don’t recall seeing you pull out your claws too often. It means this guy really gets to you.”

“And it’s that a good thing?”

“Yes. You’re a good guy, Mikey. But sometimes I fear that your disappointments in the romantic department might have left you a little jaded. It’s a good thing to have low expectations instead of high when going into a new relationship.”

“Really, doc? What kind of expectations do you have from Aidan?”

Heath smiled broadly. “Aidan is perfect. I could never be disappointed with him.”

“I envy you. You kind of hit the jackpot with Aidan. And a virgin, on top of it all? Lucky bastard. It’s all I can say.”

Michael stood up and threw a look at the posters that had just come in. After some deliberation, he picked one and handed it to Heath. “What do you think?”

Heath straightened into his chair and perused the poster as if it was some important legal document. “This guy is sex on a stick. He’s making you rich as we speak, I suppose.”

“You make it sound a bit sleazy. It’s not direct profit we’re talking about.”

“Sorry. I try not to say it out loud. If I hadn’t been with Aidan, I would have told you I would want to know your number one dancer in a biblical and non-biblical sense. Is that better for a reaction?”

Michael smirked. “Not quite. Now you’re the sleazy one.”

“Hey, I’m just pointing facts. Have fun with this dude. Tell me he’s good in bed.”

“He’s more than that. He’s,” Michael hesitated for a second, “practiced.”

Heath snorted. “I bet.”

Michael frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Easy there, Mikey. No one intends to soil the pristine reputation of your beloved.”

Michael relaxed. “I guess you’re right. I’m getting a bit possessive, right?”

The reply was a nod.

“That could be an issue. I can’t get like this. I barely know Jess, and the fact that I’m stupidly happy when in bed with him --”

Heath was laughing. “I like it that you’re smitten like this.”

“Right.” The tone of his voice was as dry as his Martini. “Infatuated would be a better answer. And I don’t like being infatuated, as you well know.”

“Just go with the flow.” Heath stood up and handed him back the poster. “You’re overthinking things, which pretty much says that you’ll find a way to wreck this.”

“Thank you for the vote of confidence.”

“It’s a friendly bit of advice and a warning. Now I know you won’t wreck it.”

“Just because you told me so?” Michael took a sip from his drink.

“Yes. Now, what’s the reason for that frown? The guy’s good in the sack. Have fun with him. And, if he doesn’t stick around, at least you don’t get left at the altar.”

“Always the practical man. Well, if you insist so much to know, I’m jealous.”

“Jealous? That’s another thing you don’t like doing, Mikey. Who are you jealous of?”

“Practically, of all the guys staring at Jess and dreaming of fucking him. Even you said as much.”

Heath nodded. “And here’s the only proof you need that you like this guy for real.”

“Am I too old-fashioned? I tried to like the others before. I did my best. You know, to be a man of my times, and have a practical list against which to compare my lovers slash would-be husbands. Why does it feel like it’s the first time I’m jealous?”

“Because maybe it is,” Heath sat and patted him on the back. “And if you think you’re old-fashioned, maybe you are. But there’s nothing wrong with that. Let’s say you’re in select company.”

“You?”

“I guess so.”

“Then I’m at peace. Wait, what could your little bunny do to make you jealous? By what you’re telling me, he’s all work and almost no fun if you don’t count the time he spends with you.”

“He simply exists in this world, which, of course, makes me happy. But other men have eyes. That’s all,” Heath said.

Michael nodded in agreement. “I guess that pretty much sums it up. The only difference is that, in my case, I’m exposing my boyfriend to the said eyes dressed in nothing but skimpy underwear.”

“So you do consider him your boyfriend?”

“Do I have a choice?” Michael turned the poster for Heath to see it one more time.

Then he looked at it for a few long seconds. Jess wasn’t the centerpiece since he had protested so vehemently. But even his half-obscured position that allowed the play of shadows in the picture to hide most of his face drew Michael in. What could be seen from the picture was mainly a reproachful purse of the lips, but even that look was sexy on him. Michael could not have eyes for the other men in the picture. The wet t-shirt clinging to Jess’s body left little to the imagination, and his long muscular legs were enough to give Michael an insta-boner. The photographer knew his thing; those droplets of water looked good enough to lick from every patch of naked skin exposed.

He was not supposed to work like this; he was supposed to be level-headed and not think with his dick. 

“Cheer up. It can’t be that bad to fuck a hottie like this one,” Heath encouraged him, interrupting his wide-eyed erotic dreaming.

“Shoo away, bastard. Go home to your virgin hottie or something.”

“Not a virgin anymore,” Heath cared to remind him.

“You’re his first man, Heath. Aidan’s a keeper.”

“And keep him I shall,” Heath said with a small laugh.

Michael had a mind to lecture Heath a little on the importance of treating his young lover right. Yet, he didn’t feel quite so capable of giving anyone lessons in romantic dealings. He had too much to deal with on his own.

***

“What did you think?” Jess was the last left, and he still wore the wet clothes he had worn on the stage.

It was, maybe, a bit of a stretch to call clothes a pair of underwear and a t-shirt, especially since, being wet, they left Jess’s body completely bared to hungry eyes. 

“You should change and take a hot shower. I don’t want you to catch a cold.”

“Are you going to wash my back?” Jess walked over to him, shaking droplets of water from his curls.

The shadowed eyes were giving Michael chills, the good kind. Without a moment of hesitation, he grabbed Jess, first by the wet curls at the back of his head, then by his waist. His lips were a tad cold, and Michael felt responsible for a second for postponing that hot shower. Only a second. The tongue slipping inside his mouth was warm and sinuous, turning the straight line of his thoughts into a ramen noodle.

He placed his hands on Jess’s chest and felt the nipples standing stiff, poking at the wet fabric. Jess moaned into his mouth, in that secret language only the two of them shared at the moment. Michael explored each defined muscle through the t-shirt, making Jess shiver. 

“I want to lick you everywhere,” he whispered. 

It wasn’t hard to pull the t-shirt over Jess’s head. Michael threw it on the floor and hiked his fingers into the waistband of the underwear Jess still had on him. It was hanging low on the hips, which made it easy for him to push them down. Michael cupped the firm buttocks, enjoying their firmness, and continued to kiss Jess, tasting his lips and tongue thoroughly. 

“Do you think you could use a towel quickly? I trade the hot shower here for a hot bath at my house,” Michael proposed. “I want you there.”

“Sure,” Jess replied.

His eyes seemed stuck on Michael’s lips as if he were hungry for words like those. Michael caressed Jess’s mouth briefly, fascinated with the curvy line he could draw just by following the contour. Jess parted his lips and put out his tongue slowly. Michael watched as Jess licked his fingers. “We should stop,” he whispered. 

“Do you think we can?”

“We must. I want you warm. I want you home. I want you in my bed. It’s where I want to see you.”

Jess nodded. “Just let me dry a little. It will only take a second. I promise.”

***

Michael was pretending to read a magazine, but his eyes were dancing on the page. He could not see clearly. Hell, he could not think clearly, either. Was it truly all right to feel so in lust with another person? He wanted Jess like he could not recall wanting anyone in his life. 

It was only natural; he tried to tell himself. He had never had anyone this hot in his bed, anyone as intense as Jess. It messed his internal compass, making its needle act out of whack. 

He was so deep in thought that only when Jess coughed to draw his attention, Michael noticed him standing in the bedroom door, wearing nothing but an all-knowing smile on his handsome face.

“How was the bath?” he asked in a tone that could have been used to ask how the weather was.

“Good,” Jess replied and began moving toward the bed. 

“That’s good,” Michael said. 

Their eyes were doing the talking, and that explained why their mouths found nothing interesting to say. Jess climbed on the bed, making it dip under his weight; then, he took the magazine from Michael’s hand and put it on the nightstand. 

Michael was about to come up with a clever thing to say, but any thread of logic was lost in an instant, the precise time it took Jess to grab him by the hips and make him slide under him.

“Do you want to try riding on top tonight?” he asked.

Jess nodded, his expression even more intense than usual. Michael didn’t protest as Jess undressed him. Without a word, Jess reached for the nightstand where Michael had neatly placed earlier condoms and lube.

“Oh,” he said in surprise when he saw Jess putting on a condom, with a focused look on his face. “It’s that kind of top.”

“Is it okay? I didn’t ask,” Jess said.

From his voice, Michael suspected Jess hadn’t meant to ask on purpose. Maybe it was a test of sorts. It didn’t matter. Michael had felt his mouth water from the first moment he had seen the contour of Jess’s cock through his underwear that first time. He had had it in his mouth, and, to himself, it was no secret that he wanted it in his ass, as well. If it had felt natural for Jess to slide into the bottom’s role, Michael hadn’t questioned it.

Otherwise … Well, otherwise, he was totally game. Jess moved his cock, now snugly fit into the rubber, to tease his balls and the length of his manhood, too. 

Michael exhaled and stretched lazily. “I think you know my answer.”

He shivered a little as Jess poured lube over his ass and began playing with his fingers. 

“Do you normally let your boyfriends top?” Jess asked.

Inquisitive eyes were observing him from behind a curtain of dark curls. 

“Let’s say I wouldn’t stop them if they asked,” Michael said back. “Was that really your question?”

Jess cocked his head to one side.

Michael smiled. “Should I tell you to be gentle? It’s been a while.”

Instead of a reply, Jess shut him up with a kiss. It was a good call, Michael thought as he buried his fingers in the mass of curls and kissed back. It would be hard to find it in him to worry if it hurt with Jess kissing him like that like they needed that like water. 

He felt it, the pressure, the short sting, as Jess entered him. Michael embraced him, and pulled him close, helping him get deeper, a bit too fast maybe. He welcomed it. It had been perhaps too long since a lover cared whether he wanted that, too.

Jess had the same grace that defined the core of his being in how he moved in bed, as the active partner. Michael reached now for his ass, enjoying those perfect muscles underneath his fingertips, as Jess started swinging his hips amply. 

It was so good like this, Michael thought, as Jess sped up. He murmured something, and it was too bad that it was unintelligible. Michael pressed into the muscled ass, hoping to leave the imprint of his fingers, helping Jess move and give it to him hard.

His unused ass was maybe not that grateful, but Michael enjoyed it despite the discomfort, or maybe, a little, because of it. He had tried to make things too comfortable, too predictable day by day. 

Jess knew how to move when to press, and when to slam hard inside. Their lips clashed, and their mingled moans covered the rhythmic squeaking of the bed. 

Jess pushed himself back so that he could grab Michael’s cock and began rubbing it quickly. 

“Ah, too fast,” Michael tried to protest, but soon his cock was doing its thing, too impatient to care that its owner wanted it to last.

Jess grunted, and it looked as if the sight of Michael’s cum prompted him to change the rhythm. The squeaking was now reaching the maximum decibel limit before they could worry about waking up the neighbors. 

Jess pulled his cock out of Michael’s ass, and frantically removed the condom so that he could spurt all over Michael’s abdomen.

Seconds later, they were both laughing. Michael was pretty sure he looked like a mess, his entire belly and chest covered in cum.

“Now that was something,” Michael said.

“You can say that again,” Jess agreed, as he began playing with their mixed cum on Michael’s chest.

“I should go wash now.”

“Just stay like this, just a little longer,” Jess said and placed himself on top of Michael, rubbing their bodies together.

“Now we’ll both need to wash.”

“I like your smell,” Jess said, as he inhaled, his head hidden in the crook of Michael’s shoulder. 

“You might not think the same, once the high of coming wears off,” Michael joked.

“You’re wrong about that,” Jess replied.

“Are you going to fight me over this?”

“No. I like you too much now.”

Michael kissed a damp forehead and began playing with Jess’s hair. “So, are you trying to say that you fought me because you didn’t like me?”

“No. I fought you because I wanted you to want me.”

“Just for the record, that’s a bit of a fucked-up logic.”

“I am fucked up. So, I guess it’s only natural for me to have a fucked-up logic, too.”

“You can have your routine, you know? The one that’s classy and might change the flux of audience to my nightclub,” Michael joked.

“That’s great. I won’t disappoint you.”

“Would you consider, you know, moving on?” Michael said.

Jess tensed a little. “What do you mean?”

“Trying to practice ballet for real. As much as I enjoy having you as my employee, I think your talent is wasted here.”

“Would you still like me?”

“Of course, I would. What kind of question is this?”

“I wouldn’t be so close to you anymore.”

“Well, maybe that’s true, but it definitely wouldn’t mean the end of our relationship. On the one hand, I would sleep better at night, knowing that no strangers would be able to stare at your almost naked ass.”

“Wow,” Jess said and snickered. “Do I sense a tiny bit of jealousy?”

“Hmm, maybe.”

“Weren’t you saying that jealousy is a sign of a rotten mentality?”

“Then I guess I’m rotten.”

“You’re not,” Jess said. “You’re awesome.”

“Hmm, thanks?” Michael said, exaggerating his hesitation. 

“You are. I like you, Michael. To the moon and back.”

“To the moon and back?”

Jess huffed. “I’m no poet.”

“That’s all right. I like you, too. Not sure if I should use some metaphor to seal the deal.”

“That’s okay.”

“Are you now grossed out by my smell enough that we can go wash?”

“I still like it. But you’re the neat freak. I suppose I can live with that, too.”

Michael laughed. It felt somewhat surreal to have that domestic to and fro with Jess. But it felt good, and it felt right, so there was no need for anything else.

TBC

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