“What do you think, hon?” Skirting the dining roomtable, Matt flopped into the chair next to Vic’s. He wore a pair ofswim trunks and nothing else. His hair curled in damp waves aroundhis temples, and the light smell of summery aftershave wafted fromhim to tease Vic’s genitals. God, he loved that scent. With a deepbreath he took it in, eyes slipping shut as he savored thefragrance.
A hard toe poked his ankle beneath the table. “Earthto Vic,” Matt teased. “Am I putting you to sleep?”
Vic opened his eyes wide in exaggeration. “I’m here.Think what?”
Leaning across the table, Matt planted a kiss on thetip of Vic’s nose. “I think you’re cute.”
“What?” Vic asked, confused. At his lover’s sly grin,he growled, “Don’t mess with me this early, Matty.”
Beneath the table, Matt’s hand found Vic’s knee.Brushing aside the hem of his bathrobe, Matt’s fingers tickled upVic’s inner thigh but stopped short of his crotch. Instead hepressed his palm flat against Vic’s thigh and let his fingers rubover smooth skin that trembled at his touch. With his head in hisother hand, Matt gazed at Vic like a schoolboy with a bad crush onhis teacher. Vic glanced at those batting eyelashes, then turnedback to the newspaper that lay open and unread before him. Thewords swam before his eyes, indecipherable, as the hand on histhigh drifted higher. In a dreamy voice, Matt said, “What do youthink…”
His voice trailed off and Vic snapped, “Thinkwhat?”
With a breathy giggle, Matt joked, “I think you’recute.”
An unnerving sense of déjà vu washed over Vic.As Matt leaned forward to kiss his nose again, Vic sent one silentthought his lover’s way. ::Didn’t we just go throughthis?::
Matt laughed and grabbed a playful hold on Vic’sthigh. ::You’re so easy to tease.::
Vic growled, a menacing rumble that started deep inthe back of his throat and made Matt laugh harder. In his head, animage flashed between them—Vic as a snarling grizzly bear, angryand fierce. He watched, amused, as Matt imagined a small boy,himself, trundling up to the bear with his arms flung wide. When hecaught Vic in a tight hug, the grizzly shrank into itself, wildarms and thick legs pulling into the torso as the whole body grewsmaller, and smaller.
The boy now cradled an oversized teddy bear to hischest; a stitched on smile replaced the growling snout, and thedagger-tipped claws were nothing more than blunt stumps of stuffedfabric. “My teddy bear,” Matt sighed. Then, with a wicked gleam inhis eye, he squeezed Vic’s thigh and admitted, “When I was younger?I had this stuffed bear named Mr. Chuckles.”
Vic raised one eyebrow, interested, as Matt hurriedon, “Don’t ask. It was one of these bears with his arms sewntogether, holding a stupid satin heart, you know? And God, I’venever said this to anyone, Vic, ever, and if you let itslip—”
“Who am I going to tell?” Vic wanted to know. Thefirst glimmer of a smile tugged at his mouth. He thought he knewwhere this was headed. When Matt hesitated, Vic prompted, “Mr.Chuckles?”
Lowering his voice until it was nothing but a heatedwhisper between them, Matt admitted, “I used to get off onhim.”
Vic’s smile broke free and Matt blushed, his wholeface reddening. “Don’t laugh! It’s no different from your drawerfull of fuck toys. All I did was…you know, in the space where hisarms met, beneath the heart. I just sort of…”
At Vic’s chuckle, Matt covered his face with bothhands. “Now you’re laughing at me.”
Vic tugged Matt’s wrist until he lowered his hand andlooked up at him, wounded. “I’m not laughing,” Vic assured him witha grin. “I think you’re cute.”
The thought of Matt masturbating with a stuffedanimal sent a surprising shiver of delight coursing through Vic.His blood rushed to invigorate his dick and pound in his balls. Hepictured Matt lying on his side in bed, a tiny teddy bear pressedagainst his crotch, hips bucking as he thrust against the soft,synthetic fur. Picking up on that thought, Matt warned, “If youever buy me a damn bear…”
“I won’t,” Vic promised.
Matt ran a shaky hand through his curls, dishevelingthem. “I can’t believe I told you that. No bears, I mean it. And,God, none with hearts.”
“No bears.” Vic tugged on Matt’s wrist to reel him infor a quick kiss. Against his lover’s mouth, Vic amended, “Notunless you let me watch.”
* * * *
Matt left for work a little after eight, kissing thetop of Vic’s bald head on his way out. “Two more days and you’reall mine,” he said, his breath tickling Vic’s shaved skin. Fridaywas Vic’s last double shift; next week he’d be home in time fordinner. He couldn’t wait to get his evenings back. Rubbing thesmudge of his lips from Vic’s skin, Matt told him, “Think upsomething fun to do this weekend. The less clothing involved, thebetter.”
Before he could stop himself, Vic thought of thescribbled letter that had been left on his windshield at the startof the week. Like a hawk, Matt swooped down on the image, snatchingthe piece of paper up off the ground of Vic’s memory. ::What’sthis?:: he asked silently, smoothing out the note.
Into his coffee mug, Vic muttered, “Kyle. We ain’tgoing.”
Matt’s laughter came out quick and bright. “A cookoutwill be fun.”
Not would, not could. Will, asin Matt already planned to go. Vic threw a dark thought at hislover. ::I already have to put up with that shit atwork—::
::Then avoid him for a few days,:: Matt shotback. His arms eased around Vic’s neck as he kissed one piercedear. “He thinks he’s such a matchmaker,” he murmured, his breathcurling into the collar of Vic’s bathrobe and doing naughty thingsbelow his waist. “Let him see what a great job he did with us.”
“He didn’t…” Vic started, but gave up with a sighthat trailed off into a growl. It was useless—Matt wanted to go tothe damn cookout so they’d go. As Matt headed for the door, Vicsent one thought trailing after him. ::Do you know how spoiledyou are?::
::You’re too good to me,:: his lover thoughtwith a laugh.
When the door shut behind him, a
