Dance (7 page)

Jared
looked puzzled.

“What
do you mean ‘they’?” he asked.

Fenix
paused. He’d never discussed this with anyone outside his family. Was it OK to
share their suspicions with Jared?

“Well...
That show had been on for almost a year and there were never any problems with
mom’s harness. It was checked before every performance. And that night, the
thick straps just snapped clean off. My parents were convinced it was deliberate.
Dad wanted an investigation, wanted to get the police involved.”

Jared’s
eyes widened.

“Really?
That’s terrible! She
could have been
killed,
she dropped like a stone from,
what, ten feet?”

Fenix
wasn’t surprised that Jared had obviously seen the footage of his mother’s
accident. It had been on the news and could be easily found online.

“Yeah, about ten feet.
Broadway is
merciless, Jared. My mom was the best in the business and she took nobody’s
crap. I bet there were a lot of people who wished she would have retired early.
I mean, she gave birth to me and was back on stage in three months! Nothing
could stop her. Well, almost nothing.”

“Bastards,”
Jared swore. “So what happened? I never heard of an investigation of foul play.
It was ruled an accident.”

“The
producers paid her off. They didn't want an investigation, and frankly, they
didn't think the bad press would be worth catching whoever was responsible. My
mom was out of commission and she was not coming back. They had enough problems
with finding a suitable replacement to worry about the police snooping in.”

“I’m
sorry,” Jared said, shaking his head. “I bet it would have made a difference
for your family if they had found out what had happened exactly.”

“I
guess. But it turned out OK in the end. My mom was devastated that she couldn't
perform anymore, but with all the money they
got,
my
parents didn't have to worry about their financial future anymore. With mom
home, they reconnected. My dad had been on the verge of leaving numerous times
– my mom’s greatest love had always been
dance
and she compromised her personal life for it. I think he stayed for me,” Fenix
said thoughtfully as his mind drifted off to his dad. He remembered how all his
childhood, it had been his dad who had taken him to school, helped him with his
homework, gone to bake sales and sports days. Evelyn had always been dancing.

Jared
reached out and took his hand in his over the table, entwining their fingers
and squeezing reassuringly. Fenix cleared his throat.

“So
anyway, they managed to fix their relationship and do stuff they had never been
able to do before, like travel and visit friends more often. Hell, even going
out Saturday night had been out of the question when my mom was performing.”

Conversation
slowed as their food arrived and they tucked in. After a few bites, Fenix spoke
again.

“Tell
me about your family.”

Jared
didn’t respond for a few long moments, silently eating his wild mushroom
risotto. Finally, he took a sip of his drink and said,

“My
dad died when I was sixteen. I’m an only child and I was all mom had left.
Losing my father devastated her, but she found some solace in the fact that she
still had me. She always said I look so much like him.” Jared smiled sadly. “I
came out to her just before I left for college. She... didn't take it well.” He
paused and looked away.

“What
do you mean?” Fenix asked softly.

“She
said my dad would have been ashamed of me, and for the first time since he’d
died, she was glad he was dead so he wouldn’t have to witness this.” Jared
blinked rapidly a few times and Fenix knew he was reliving the moment as
vividly as if it had happened yesterday. Jared’s hand shook a little bit as he
picked up his drink. “I haven’t talked to her since.”

“What?
Seven years?” Fenix asked, unable to believe a mother would not seek out her
child even once in seven years.

Jared
nodded. He swallowed hard and picked up his fork again.

“I’m
sorry,” Fenix said softly and touched Jared’s knee under the table
reassuringly. Jared waved him off but didn't look up to meet his eyes.

“It’s
OK. I’ve made my peace with it.”

Fenix
shook his head but didn’t comment any further. He’d never understand how a
parent could cut their child out of their life like they never existed simply
because they couldn't accept them for who they were.

“Tell
me about Adam,” Fenix suggested in an attempt to shift the conversation in a
more cheerful direction. “You seem pretty close. He’s one of the creators of
Of
Kids and Monsters
, right?”

“Yeah.
We met in
LAMDA
. We were roommates and hit it off straight away.”
Jared looked at Fenix and there was a glint in his eye that told Fenix there
was more to the story.

“Just
roommates?” he asked on an impulse. He didn't want to pry into Jared’s personal
life so much on their first official date, but he couldn't help it. He wanted
to know everything about Jared. And besides, the conversation had been really
personal from the beginning.

“No.
We... There was undeniable attraction between us and we hooked up.”

Oh.

“Hooked
up?” Fenix raised an eyebrow. He hated the pang of jealousy he felt. Jared and
Adam had had sex, but they were still close friends. Which meant their
connection ran much deeper than just sex...

“He
was my first,” Jared said, interrupting Fenix’s thoughts. “We were in a
relationship for a while, but it didn't work out in the end.”

“But
you’re still friends seven years later?”

“Yeah.
We were always better
at the friendship thing than the sex thing. Not that the sex was bad, on the
contrary, but our relationship was based on friendship.”

If
Fenix had felt a pang of jealousy a minute ago, now it was a full blown punch
to the gut. However, he was determined not to let it show on his face – it was
unnatural to feel that way about a guy he’d known for two days.
Right?

Fenix
didn't ask anything else about Adam and Jared didn't offer any more
information, so they left it at that. Fenix thought the conversation needed a
lighter topic after all the intimate details they had revealed in the last
hour.

So
they talked about books and movies, theatre gossip and music. By the time
dessert arrived, both Fenix and Jared were in much better spirits than they’d
been at the beginning of dinner. They paid the bill and walked out of the
restaurant into the warm London evening.
                                                                        

“Do
you
wanna
go see a movie?” Jared asked as he draped
his arm over Fenix’s shoulders and tugged him close. Fenix shook his head and
looked at Jared, biting his lower lip to suppress the smile that threatened to
betray his thoughts on exactly what he wanted to do right now. Jared must have
read his eyes correctly because he smirked and said, “Let’s go home then.”

Chapter seven

Fenix

There was no
urgency this time. This time, they explored each other’s bodies leisurely under
the moonlight seeping through the windows in Jared’s bedroom. Fenix couldn't
decide what he liked more – touching Jared or Jared touching
him
. The combination of both was mind
blowing.

Fenix
lay on his back with Jared on top of him, his brain completely empty save for
the sensations he was experiencing right now. The soft, warm skin under his
fingers; the scent of soap and skin and arousal; the feel of Jared’s hands
roaming all over his body, touching every inch of skin, finding all his
sensitive spots; the wetness of Jared’s tongue as he licked his nipples, his
collarbone, his lips, his neck, his cock...

“
Ughhhh
,” Fenix groaned as Jared sucked the head of his dick
into his mouth, circling his tongue over it. Fingers involuntarily fastening in
Jared’s hair, Fenix buckled his hips, desperately seeking more of that
incredible, hot mouth.

Jared
chuckled and pulled off, tracing Fenix’s body with his tongue, lips, and fingers
all the way back to his face. He kissed him slowly, not pushing his tongue
inside, but licking his lips, searching Fenix’s tongue out, sucking on it
gently.

Christ,
it was too much! Fenix felt like he wanted to climb out of his own skin. He
needed
more
, he wanted it
harder
. The need for release was clouding
all his other senses as Fenix snuck his hand between their bodies, trying to
get hold of his cock. If he didn’t relieve the pressure building inside his
balls, his
chest
, any time soon, he
was going to explode.

“No,”
Jared gently removed Fenix’s hand and brought it over his head, pinning it to
the mattress.

“Please...
Baby, I can’t take this anymore,” Fenix whimpered, his whole body trembling.
Jared chuckled softly again and said,

“I
love it when you call me ‘baby’. It sounds so hot,” he ground his hips against
Fenix’s and their cocks mashed together. Fenix arched into the movement,
hoping,
needing
it to be enough.

He
knew Jared was toying with him, taking him to the edge and then keeping him
there, not allowing him to jump and enjoy the freedom, the ecstasy of the fall.
But that knowledge seemed too distant, too far away,
unreachable
.

“Jared...,”
he managed to grind out. “Baby,” he amended himself and smirked when Jared’s
eyes, dark and intense, fell on him. Jared was on the edge himself, Fenix
realised. “Fuck me,” Fenix whispered, not looking away from Jared. Good thing
he didn't because hunger and lust and something almost primal flashed in them,
and spurred Jared into action. He rummaged through the bedside drawer and found
condoms and lube, tossing them on the bed. His kisses became harder, his hands
more urgent, his breathing uneven.

Fenix
drowned in the feeling. He loved how gentle and caring Jared had been, and he
enjoyed the sensual caresses. But this... this was what he needed, what he
craved
.
Jared losing
control and wanting him so much that his hands shook as he opened the lube.
He slicked his fingers and brought them to Fenix’s hole. Circling the sensitive
entrance, Jared slid a finger inside. Fenix cried out. It was so good! He could
not remember a time when just a single finger inside his ass could bring him on
the verge of coming without even touching himself. Jared appreciated the
encouragement and added another finger, and then a third one. He probed and
stretched Fenix, preparing him, ghosting over his gland, until Fenix could not
wait a second longer.

“Baby...”
he whispered urgently, trashing on the bed, twisting his hips, bowing his back,
clenching the sheets with trembling fingers.

Jared
removed his fingers, put on a condom hastily, and slicked himself. A moment
later Fenix felt the tip of his head at his entrance. Jared pushed in, slowly,
and stopped once the head was inside. He lowered his body over Fenix and
started kissing
him,
those sweet, languid kisses that
took his breath away and made him yearn for more all at the same time. Jared
pushed deeper inside as Fenix breathed through the initial discomfort of the
stretch, but his body was so relaxed and so pliable that it quickly passed, and
all he felt was pleasure.
Mind-numbing, exquisite pleasure.

Jared
propped himself on his elbows and started moving faster, with long, precise
strokes, all the time kissing Fenix and whispering unintelligible words in his
ear. Fenix fisted his cock and wrapped his legs tighter around Jared’s waist,
encouraging him to move faster, harder.

His
orgasm spread like wild fire from his toes to the tips of his hair.

The
world could have ended right then and Fenix wouldn't have cared. All he felt
was incredible pleasure melting every single bone in his body. Jared’s rhythm
became erratic, uncontrolled,
desperate
. His body
convulsed as he shouted Fenix’s name and came, his cock pulsing inside Fenix.
He collapsed on top of Fenix, his heart beating so fast that even in that
blissful, unaware state he was in, Fenix could feel it thudding over his own
chest.

They
lay like that for a few long moments before Jared pulled out gently, disposed
of the condom, and used his earlier discarded t-shirt to wipe Fenix off. Fenix
could not move to save his life. Jared pulled the covers over them, tucked
Fenix safely in his arms, kissed the top of his head, and they slept.

Fenix woke up
to noise coming from the kitchen – pans and pots banging, something... boiling?
Frying? He groaned. His whole body felt weightless. He didn't want to move and
more importantly, he didn't want Jared to move. He wanted Jared’s warm body
around him when he woke up.