Empty Net (12 page)

“Are you gonna take your shirt off? Because if you do that, I won’t be. And if you’re still worried, you can take off your pants.” Isaac turned the Jeep off and opened his door. “And if you think I’m not going to make comments about how hot you are just because I might possibly be on my way to liking you as a person, think again.”

Laurent was glad it was dark, because he was blushing.

When he and Isaac walked into the foyer, Mrs. Bowen emerged from her apartment. Laurent wondered if that was good timing or if she waited up for him. That was stupid. Why would she care enough about Laurent to do that?

“Well, looks like that was a good date,” she said, and Laurent’s blush intensified. “Oh, my Harold used to wear a bit of my eyeliner back in the day. We would go to the men’s club, you know. I’d wear his suits, so I looked like a boy. Quite a few memories. Roomy booths with nice cushions.”

Isaac was grinning in pure delight, and he reached out a hand. “Hi. I’m Isaac Drake, and I’m an orphan. Can you adopt me?”

“An orphan? How sad to lose your parents so young.” She shook his hand, then paused with it between two of hers. “Or did you lose them because of the eyeliner?”

“The eyeliner. Yup,” Isaac said.

She patted his hand. “What a sad world we live in. I always wanted children but couldn’t have them. Though probably we wouldn’t have made it to that club so often if we did, so maybe it was for the best. And I have a dog. I think it’s probably about the same thing.”

“What about Harold?” Isaac asked. “He still wear eyeliner?”

“Oh, he went on,” she said. Her eyes grew suspiciously bright. “We were married for sixty-five years, and it felt like five. I miss him something awful, but I figure he’s up there with some of those folks we used to pal around with, in a big ol’ booth, just waiting for me to join him.” She let go of Isaac’s hand. “Be nice to Lawrence, here. He has sad eyes.”

With that, she patted Laurent on the shoulder and went into her apartment.

“Did that just happen?” Isaac asked as they headed upstairs. “Your landlady… she’s like, eightysomething. And unless I’m wrong, she dressed up in her husband’s suits and pretended to be a boy so they could have bi threesomes in a booth at whatever a boy’s club is.”

“Sounds like it,” Laurent agreed.

“You don’t even seem surprised,” Isaac said as he followed Laurent into the small studio.

Laurent shrugged. “No one’s all that normal, no matter what they look like or how old they are.” He closed the door and indicated his apartment with a wave. “This is it. See? Not very exciting.”

“Oh. I don’t know.” Isaac moved in closer, and suddenly Laurent had his back to the door and Isaac’s lean frame very nearly pressed against his own. “I bet I can find something to get excited about.”

“Do these lines usually work for you?” Laurent asked. “Because they’re kind of cheesy. I mean, I’m not an expert or anything. But still.”

“I’m here, aren’t I? So I think my pick-up lines worked.” Isaac reached up to get a hand around the back of Laurent’s neck. “Mine are better than yours.” He gave a soft laugh and kissed Laurent.

Laurent kissed him but gently pushed him back. Mostly to see if Isaac would stop if Laurent wanted him to.

He did immediately and moved away to give Laurent some space.

“We don’t usually do this standing up.” Laurent was surprised to hear how rough his voice sounded.

“I know. Remember how I said I had drills? I think it’s probably a good idea if we do some of those.” Isaac’s expression settled into more serious lines. “I think we need to figure out if you’d like doing more than just kiss me.”

“’Cause at some point, you’re gonna want to get laid?” Laurent was unable to keep the edge from his voice. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and tried to calm himself. When he went to apologize, he was surprised to find Isaac looking at him strangely.

“No. I just meant, I don’t want to end up trying to make you like something you don’t. If you’re not into guys, you’re not into guys,” Isaac said. “I’m still going to be your friend. I’ll even still pet your pretty hair.”

“Oh shut up.” Laurent edged around him and sat on the bed. He looked briefly toward the bathroom and concentrated instead on Isaac. “I—I don’t know if I’m into guys or not.”
I know I’m into you.
He felt way too vulnerable to say that out loud.

“That’s what I thought we’d find out.” Isaac watched him carefully. “But it means. Y’know. Clothes come off. Dicks might get touched.”

Laurent couldn’t hide the reaction that got, which was a surprised little jolt. “Right. I don’t know what I’m doing, but I get the mechanics.”

“It’s a lot different when it isn’t just mechanics. Can I sit down?”

“Could you stop treating me like I’m going to break or freak out?” Laurent shook his head, but scooted over to give Isaac room. “Stop asking me and just do whatever it is,” he said, pleading.

“No way. Not negotiable. I’ll stop if you’re uncomfortable, you just have to say something.”

“I’m trying to tell you that you being so considerate is making me uncomfortable.”

They stared at each other. Isaac’s mouth twitched. “Well, that’s a problem.”

“I know.” Laurent took a long moment to simply look at Isaac—the hair (
he dyed that just for me
), the lip piercing, the dark blue eyes, the smudge of black around them, Isaac’s lean body in a shirt that showed it off without being
showy
, and the fact he was willing to go through a lot of stress for a guy who didn’t deserve it.

For a guy who, because he was a coward, spit on him and called him a fag.

Laurent was horrified to feel himself about to cry. It was the worst date ever, probably. “I’m so sorry. About what I did during that game. I didn’t understand what it meant. But I do, now. And I’m—I’m sorry.”

“I know,” Isaac said, and straddled Laurent’s lap. His knees pressed on either side of Laurent’s thighs, and he smelled good. Spicy.

“You put on cologne.”

“Duh. It was a
date
. You wore a dress shirt,” Isaac countered.

“I didn’t tuck it in, though.” Laurent tried not to squeak as Isaac’s mouth moved down to his neck. It felt like someone electrocuted Laurent’s spine. He’d never felt anything like it, and he gasped out loud.

“Ah. You like that.”

“Yeah,” Laurent was too shocked by pleasure to think about lying. It felt shivery good, and he wanted more of it. “If you stop and ask me if I’m sure, I’ll suffocate you with this dress shirt.”

“I’m supposed to be the violent goalie,” Isaac said, but he kept kissing Laurent’s neck, and the drag of his lip ring against Laurent’s skin was nothing short of amazing. “So, good. That’s one drill down.”

Laurent wanted Isaac to keep doing that, but he settled back and started undoing the buttons of Laurent’s shirt.

Unease crept into Laurent’s previously pleasure-soaked senses. He reached out and put a hand over Isaac’s. “Wait.”

Isaac stopped and went still.

Laurent exhaled slowly and then gave a brief nod. “Okay. Keep going.”

“Are you sure—”

Laurent responded by leaning in and kissing Isaac and flicking his tongue over Isaac’s lip ring like he’d wanted to do since the moment Isaac picked him up. Isaac kissed him back and unbuttoned Laurent’s shirt, but instead of taking it off, he just pushed it open so it was still hanging off Laurent’s shoulders.

“Think you could lie down? This is harder than lap dancers make it look.”

“When have you—never mind,” Laurent said hastily when Isaac mimicked a terrible beat and gyrated on his lap. Laurent lay back on the bed, his shirt open all the way and falling on either side of him.

“Goddamn,” Isaac said, shaking his head. “I hope you like the rest of this as much as you liked me kissing your neck. You’re so gorgeous, Saint.”

Laurent felt a little ridiculous, lying half-undressed on the bed, but the hungry and appreciative look in Isaac’s eyes helped him get over it.

Isaac climbed back on the bed and straddled him again. “Is—”

Laurent reached up, grabbed Isaac by the neck, and pulled him down. “Did I say it wasn’t okay? No? Then don’t stop.”

Isaac peered at him from between narrowed eyes. “I couldn’t have done the obvious thing and fallen for my straight best friend? God. Even my gay drama is over the top.”

Laurent snorted a laugh. He wondered if Harold and Mrs. Bowen had laughed in bed that much. If Coach Samarin and Coach Ashford did. Were you supposed to? He had no idea.

He stopped laughing when he felt Isaac’s mouth on his skin again and the drag of the lip ring on his chest.

“Do you like that?”

“Yeah,” Laurent panted, eyes closed. It was hard to relax, as usual, but the tension was channeling into something else he liked a whole lot more than stress. Maybe it counted as good stress. He’d heard that was a thing.

Isaac kissed down his chest and over his stomach, and then he
licked
and traced the corded muscles of Laurent’s abdominals with his tongue. Laurent realized he was hard and wondered if Isaac noticed. It’d happened before when they kissed, but he never mentioned it. Or checked to see if Isaac was too.

He didn’t need to check right then. Isaac was on top of him but holding most of his weight on his arms, though Laurent could feel Isaac’s hard cock against his thigh.

Tentatively Laurent reached out and smoothed his fingers through Isaac’s hair. “This isn’t going to turn my hand blue, is it?”

Isaac looked up at him. “I can’t believe the things you say. You know, your whole problem in life is a bad sense of timing.”

Laurent smiled at him. “So it’s not as bad as I always thought, then.”

Isaac snorted and bit him on the stomach. It was playful—just a nip—but Laurent felt it like he’d been hit in the face with a puck. In a good way. He even made a noise.

If nothing else, Isaac was used to reading body language. He looked up at Laurent again. “That was the most you’ve ever reacted to anything.”

He did it again, and that time, he
bit.
Not playfully, but an actual bite. He increased the pressure until Laurent arched up off the bed and grabbed Isaac’s hair with both hands.

Isaac bit his way up from Laurent’s stomach, over his chest, and ended up at Laurent’s mouth. Laurent was a wreck by the time Isaac kissed him again. A
wreck.

He licked out and ran his tongue over Isaac’s lip ring, then sucked it into his mouth.

“Fuck,” Isaac muttered and pulled away. He was breathing hard, and he stared at Laurent like…. Laurent didn’t even know, having never been the recipient of a look like that before. “We might have to stop for a minute.”

“I don’t need you to stop, Isaac,” Laurent said, his voice husky. He was grabbing at the sheets beneath him, to keep him from… something. Maybe something he shouldn’t necessarily stop himself from doing.

“Yeah? That’s great. But I do.” Isaac climbed off him. He was all flushed, and his hair was in a disarray from Laurent having grabbed and twisted it like he was doing to the bedding.

He wanted to touch Isaac’s hair. He wanted to touch
Isaac.
But he sat still, breathing too fast, and waited. “Your shirt is still on.”

Laurent thought that might incite some banter, since it sounded like a challenge, but Isaac just reached down and pulled his shirt off without comment. He was lean, all whipcord and easily defined muscles, and Laurent liked that. Definitely. Laurent sat up and shrugged his own unbuttoned shirt all the way off. The material was too hot on his flushed skin, and besides, what was he trying to hide? Isaac had seen his back. Isaac had seen most every scar Laurent had, and he was still there.

Isaac rubbed his hand over Laurent’s stomach and then lower. He studied Laurent for his reaction.

Laurent made a small noise and then scowled. He shifted on the bed restlessly. He wanted that hand on his cock, but he was a little thrown by the way Isaac was looking at him. All that intensity and focus made him think about not being good enough—being judged and found lacking. He tapped the side of the bed.

“Ah, Saint,” said Isaac as he leaned in to kiss him.

That was good. Laurent reached down and curled his fingers lightly around Isaac’s wrist, but he didn’t pull his hand away or push it down. He just kept hold and tried not to buck his hips up, because that seemed desperate. But he gave a rough nod to show his consent, because he did want Isaac to keep going.

Isaac settled his hand over him, and probably nothing had ever felt that good in Laurent’s entire life. His fingers tightened briefly on Isaac’s wrist, and then he let go so he could get his jeans unbuttoned. Desperate or not, he didn’t care.

“This was definitely not on my list,” said Isaac, his voice roughened and low.

“Shut up,” said Laurent, and he lifted his hips to push his jeans down. “Roll with it.”

Isaac kissed him again, and he traced the shape of Laurent’s cock through the fabric of his boxer briefs. Laurent thought idly that he should maybe be embarrassed by the dampness on the cotton, but he couldn’t seem to care. He felt Isaac make a humming noise of approval as he rubbed his thumb over the head, and Laurent nearly came right there.

And that freaked him out. He grabbed Isaac’s wrist—hard.

Isaac went still and then pulled back a little. “You okay?”

“I don’t know,” Laurent said wildly. He looked up at Isaac and felt stupid, young, inexperienced, and awkward, and he hated that. “I’ve never had someone touch me when it felt this good.”

Isaac kissed the side of Laurent’s neck. “Want me to stop?”

“No. I just don’t know what to do.”

“You don’t have to do anything.” Isaac smiled against his skin. “Just lie there and look pretty.”

“Oh shut up,” Laurent muttered, but he turned his head and caught Isaac’s mouth in a kiss while Isaac went back to touching him.

At some point he felt Isaac’s thumb rub under the waistband of his underwear and against his skin. It was a question, and Laurent just nodded, breathless and caught up in the pleasure of it. When Isaac wrapped his hand around skin, it wasn’t at all like touching himself. There was nothing grim and clinical about it, and he didn’t have to fight to keep his mind blank, because he couldn’t think.