Waiting for Rain (32 page)

He spluttered with laughter as I moved off to lie beside him, gazing up at the ceiling. I plucked the condom off and tied it, then put it on the bedside table. Rain watched me, a strange expression on his face.

“What is it?” I asked. He looked a little embarrassed.

“We are exclusive, right?” He looked at me guiltily, and I knew he was thinking about his kiss with Tommy and my suspicions. I reached out and drew my finger down his cheek.

“Yes, we are. You know I believe that.”

“Then maybe we should look at losing those bloody things.” He gestured to the condom. “I went and had a test the other day. Just to make sure, because of what happened… you know. I wanted to go bare sooner rather than later.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “I don’t mind the mess myself. I know some guys do. But I hadn’t had a chance to talk to you about it yet, and then today happened and—” He sighed. “I wanted to make it up to you this way.”

My chest tightened again with the emotions surging through me.

He’d done that for me?

I nodded, a lump in my throat. “I know I’m clean, because I haven’t been with anyone this way since I had my last test. But I’d like to make sure for you. So, I’ll take another one, and then if it’s all okay, we can give the raincoats a miss.”

He chuckled. “Raincoats, Toby?”

I shrugged as I cuddled into his side, my hands idly stroking his stomach and my lips nuzzling his chest. “Sure. What do you call them?”

His hands twined themselves through my hair, stroking my scalp and making me drowsy.

“Rubbers, slickers, johnnies….” He laughed. “My brother, Nick, calls them ‘frikkies.’” He said it with a distinct roll of his
r
’s, and my brow furrowed.

“Freakies?” I said in puzzlement, trying to echo his accent. Rain actually giggled.

“You are so cute. Remind me not to let you loose with that terrible accent one day when you meet my mom and dad. They won’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”

My body went still. “You’d want me to meet your family?”

“Of course,” he said indignantly. “My family knows everything about you. I’ve told them when I call home.”

Once again tears prickled in my eyes, and I blinked them away fiercely. But Rain knew something was up.

“Toby, what’s wrong?”

I took a deep, shuddering breath. “It’s just I’ve never had a boyfriend who wanted me to meet his family before.” My voice went quiet. “Things never got that permanent. And even if it had, I could never return the favor.”

Rain growled and lifted my chin to kiss me softly on the lips. “Well, now you do,” he muttered. “I’m your family, Toby. And by default so is my family. They’ll love you. I promise. Who wouldn’t?” He kissed the top of my head and snuggled in with me. For a while I lay there, just enjoying the feeling of being close, the fact to him I was already part of his family. When I drifted into sleep, I felt a sense of contentment that all was right with my world.

Chapter 18

Rain

T
HE
B
ULL
and Horns Pub in the middle of the town was our local watering hole. It was a great pub, warm, busy, and full of ambience. We were sitting, halfway through our beers, waiting for Tammy and Lucas to show up. Toby had his hand over mine as he idly traced my fingers with his. It was well known here in this pub that Toby and I were a “couple,” and it was the one place we felt comfortable being together like this. The publican, a man called Shaw Mortimer, was retired from the nearby air force base, where he’d been a flying instructor. He was pretty liberal in his views, and we gave him our custom as a result. Other pubs were not as understanding, but then, that happened everywhere you went.

“Hey, lads. Whazzup?” We both smiled as Verne Smith wandered over to our table with a big grin on his face. Both Toby and I enjoyed Verne’s company. He was bit of a village institution with his easygoing demeanor and tough attitude. You’d think that an Afro-Caribbean man with skin as dark as tar would have a soft lilting accent when he spoke, but when Verne opened his mouth it was pure Londoner. It was the price of moving out to the UK when he was just a boy. Toby smiled at him as he leaned back in his chair.

“Verne. Good to see you. How’s the taxi business?”

Verne chuckled. “It’d be better if this big lug of a boyfriend of yours was still using my services. He was one of my best customers, he was. I was always taking him here and there to another bloody pub or to Leicester to those bloody gay bars to pick up a man—” He had a wicked twinkle in his eye as he glanced at me. The man was a shit stirrer of note and knew everything that went on in the town.

I cut him off swiftly, seeing Toby’s look of interest. “Verne, you’re a bloody liar. I was never one of your best customers like that, you little bastard. So, we don’t need the history lesson. I’m sure Toby’s not interested.” Toby’s snort told me he was indeed interested, but I had no intention of letting Verne spill any beans about the couple of alcohol-laden past indiscretions that
had
actually occurred.

Verne laughed loudly. “All right, don’t get your panties in a bunch. Toby, what are you feeding this man of yours to get him all growly? Raw meat?”

Toby smirked. “Oh, this and that, Verne. He’s definitely not a vegetarian, I can tell you.” He snickered with Verne as I turned to them both with raised eyebrows.

“You’re both so bloody funny, you know that? It’s like having my very own version of Morecambe and Wise.” I picked up my pint glass and took a large gulp. Verne chuckled as he stood up and made his way over to the bar. Toby grinned.

“Scared he’ll let loose all your secrets, lover? I don’t mind a few sordid tales.”

“I’ll bet you wouldn’t.” I put my glass down and looked at my watch. “Where the hell’s Lucas? He was supposed to be here half an hour ago.”

My boyfriend shrugged. “What’s the rush? Just sit and enjoy the ambiance, Rain.” He reached under the table and gently stroked my thigh. My groin reacted almost immediately.

“Maybe we should go to the bathroom, and I can relieve some of your tension?” he murmured suggestively. I shook my head.

“As much as that appeals to me, this is not the place to do that. Hell, can you imagine someone seeing us disappear together, then finding us? That would just give complete credence to the idea that all gay men hook up in bathrooms for a quickie.”

“And that’s wrong how?” he said, his hand moving farther up my body and definitely causing mayhem. I heard the teasing tone in his voice, seeing the glint in his eyes. It was time for a little payback.

“Wouldn’t you rather wait a little, drive up the tension, and then when I get home, I can dance for you?” I leaned forward and whispered in his ear. “I can put on that sexy music you love, and you can watch me strip and dance naked round my pole. I can watch you lying on the bed, just you and skin, and you can touch yourself while you watch me.”

His breath hitched, and his hand clenched at my jeans just short of the erection that was threatening to burst into song. But I manfully controlled myself, suppressing a grin. It had always been very easy to turn Toby on with thoughts of a striptease and a dance. The pole in my living room had become a great source of pleasure and entertainment for us both. I needed more practice for the fete, although Toby had told me one night, after a particularly satisfying burlesque event, that I definitely didn’t need any more. I think he was worried I might get too many admirers at the village fair. I leaned over, flicking the inside of his ear with my tongue. He started and pulled away, his face flushed rosy in the dim light of the pub.

“Christ, you two, are you at it again?” The aggrieved voice of my friend echoed in my ears. “I swear you just don’t stop.” Lucas pulled up a chair for Tammy to sit, plonking himself down in the vacant chair next to me. He stared at us in wonder. “Honest, I have no idea how you boys keep it up, literally. Is it some sort of gay-man thing I should know about? If so, I might have to switch sides.”

Tammy rolled her eyes at me as she gestured at Lucas. “Hush up, you. Shall I go get us a drink?” She made a move, but Lucas forestalled her.

“No, I’ll get us something. You just see if you can lower the testosterone levels between these two horny bastards before it infects me as well.” He leered at Tammy. “Then you’ll be in for trouble.” He stood up and ambled off to join Verne, who was still at the bar.

Tammy gave a fond sigh. “That man will be the death of me.” She saw our grins and flushed. “Not in that way. God, is everything about sex to you two?”

Luckily she didn’t have time for an answer, as there was a loud cough behind her and the buxom form of Ginny Loomis came into view. Her wild red hair curled like octopus tentacles around her rounded face, and her ample bosom brushed Toby’s cheek as she leaned in to give him a hug from behind. Ginny had a definite soft spot for him.

“Toby, Rain. Good to see you in here. It’s been a while.” She gave Toby a smacking, wet-lipped kiss and flopped into a chair next to him, placing a half-drunk pint of beer on the table. He watched her uneasily. She had a habit of enfolding him in said bosom, and he’d complained to me once he’d felt like he was being suffocated. I was always amused at the sight of my scrappy Toby being wary of a woman who stood five foot four high at most in her heels but was, admittedly, built like the Titanic.

Lucas and Verne had joined us, and we sat in our circle of friends and acquaintances. Ginny gazed at Toby with adoration, reaching out to grab his hand. I bit my lip to stop a chuckle as Toby glanced at me in panic.

“You look yummy in those chinos and that tailored shirt, Toby. It’s so nice to see a young man who dresses up for the pub as opposed to others who simply look like they just walked in from a western movie set.” She looked over at me, and I grinned, comfortable in my checked shirt, blue jeans, and cowboy boots. I had it on good authority that Toby quite liked my cowboy attire. I even had the hat to go with it. Sometimes I just wore the hat and nothing else.

Yeehah, cowboy.
I grinned at the memory.

Ginny poked Toby’s arm. “So, sweetheart, it’s so good to see you all better. I bet Rain here had a lot to do with that, didn’t he? Kissing
all
of your boo-boos better. So, where’s Simon? I thought he might be here with you tonight.” Ginny raised an eyebrow in question.

Toby leaned forward. “He was visiting family. I did ask him if he wanted to join us, but he goes back in a few days to Cadiz, and he has very little time to get everything done.”

Privately, I thought it was hard for Simon to sit here and see me and Toby cuddling and being all lovey-dovey, but I let Toby believe what he wanted to.

Ginny carried on baiting both of us. “Tammy and I had a discussion the other day as to which one of you was the daddy in your relationship. And by that I mean ‘the Daddy with a capital D.’” She pronounced the word in a deep voice, and I shook my head. Toby scowled and looked daggers at Tammy, who stared back innocently. Lucas sat back and heaved a long-suffering sigh. Verne was listening to the conversation in awe.

I shook my head. “Ginny, you’ve been reading too many penny dreadfuls. There is no ‘Daddy,’ no mommy, no wife, just two grown men in a relationship. And I’m sure as hell not going to tell you anything salacious, so you can stop the inquisition right there.”

Ginny pouted and pushed red locks behind her ear. “What, no Dom and sub relationship? How disappointing.” Her eyes twinkled. Toby snorted as his hand once again landed on my thigh and squeezed. His voice was husky when he spoke.

“Ginny, mind your own business. My sub and I like to keep our activities private.” My mouth dropped open, and Lucas gave a great guffaw. Toby smiled at me wickedly and winked. I decided to play along.

I looked at him with an adoring gaze. “He’s very good to me, actually. He only makes me wear the collar when we’re in bed, and Toby is a master with the flogger.” I could see my boyfriend was having difficulty not laughing. I was actually getting pretty turned on by the lies I was telling. “And you should see his toy chest. Every implement known to man in there. It’s a real treasure trove.”

Verne’s eyes were bugging out, his white teeth showing through his wide-open mouth. He’d stopped drinking, his glass half raised to his lips. Lucas snorted behind his hand whilst Tammy and Ginny regarded us both in suspicion.

Toby waved an imperious hand. “Enough, Rain. Don’t tell them any more.” He smiled evilly. “When you get home, I think we need to punish you for spilling the beans.” Now I was so aroused I could hardly breathe. Toby’s voice was soft, seductive. “Perhaps the ball gag or the cock cage. That might make you less loose-lipped.” His hand had landed on my groin, and he knew exactly how I was feeling from the slow smile that crossed his beautiful, kissable lips. I was ready to explode.

God, he was a tease. And he was actually very good at this whole Dom thing.

I swallowed as he squeezed my cock and let go, leaning back in his chair and picking up his beer. For a moment there was stunned silence. Then Lucas went into spasms of laughter. Verne watched him as if he was a crazy man. I was glad for the well-timed distraction before I came in my pants. That would have been too bloody embarrassing.

“God, Toby, that was classic. Did you see their faces?” He waved his beer mug at Tammy and Ginny, narrowly avoiding splashing beer all over Tammy’s shirt. “They bought it, hook, line, and bloody sinker. Amazing, mate. You should be in acting school, not in the hotel business.”

Verne’s face relaxed. “You mean they were pulling our legs? Jesus, lads. That was epic.” He gave a wide smile and nodded his appreciation at the two of us. I was still reeling from the whole situation. Tammy slapped Toby on the arm as Ginny sat back with a sniff and an evil look in my lover’s direction.

“Hmm. Not bad, Toby, darling. You had me going there for a minute.”

Toby grinned. “Ginny, I’m honored. It takes a lot to pull the wool over your eyes. Rain, are you okay? You look a little… hot.” His words were innocuous enough, but the look he gave me was smoldering. I picked up my beer glass, taking a large swig as I nodded.