Orlando snorted and turned around. �It�s a team cookout, Lij. And you live on my side of town.�
�But��
�Fine.� Orlando dragged a hand through his hair, shoving the other hand deep into a pocket. �If you want to pretend we didn�t drive together. That�s�fine.�
�No, it�s just that we��
The front door opened. �Whoo hoo!� Dom turned around to call into the house. �Orlando and Elijah are here!� There was a chorus of hollered greetings from the back of the house.
Elijah and Orlando exchanged glances as they stepped through the front door.
And stood a respectable thirty-two inches apart.
+
�Lijjhh�� Orlando staggered against the door frame, grabbing at one of Elijah�s shoulders. He grinned and leaned forward, swaying slightly. �Heyathere.�
Elijah wrinkled his nose, suppressing a smile. �You�re wasted.�
Orlando shook his head. �Yup. Oh!� His eyes blinked wide and he dropped the hand off Elijah�s shoulder to dig awkwardly in a pocket, holding up the hand with his beer, one finger raised to keep Elijah in place.
Elijah waited patiently.
Orlando yanked at his pocket, finally jerking out his keys. He jingled them just three inches off the end of Elijah�s nose. �Here.� He fumbled the keys into Elijah�s outstretched palm and curled the square fingers around the key ring. �You�re drivin� us home, bay-bee. Thas� a fact.� Orlando winked at Elijah and leaned forward, his whisper more of a low growl. �Kissh ya�, but I�m d-r-unk. And there�s only boys here. Iddn that �onic�� Orlando hiccupped. �I-ronic. Rainsheck kisshes. Gotta piss.� He turned, wobbled, and waved over his shoulder before shutting the bathroom door behind him with a click.
Elijah stared at the door, stared at the keys in his hand, shrugged and slid them into his pocket.
At least he�s a sweet drunk.
+
�Aw, sheeeeit. Who�s turn was it to watch Orlando?� Dom looked accusingly at the crowd of mostly drunk football players lounging around the dark patio. No one volunteered.
Dom sighed and looked down at their quarterback, sprawled face down in a lawn chair next to the pool.
�Uh, I rode with him. Guess it was my job.� Elijah stepped down the back stairs.
Dom looked up and chuckled. �No, man. You didn�t known our fearless leader is a lightweight. More than five beers and he�s comatose.� He leaned down and grabbed Orlando around the waist. �Bills, give us a hand here.� They flipped Orlando onto his back. He mumbled, threw an arm over his eyes, and started to snore. Quietly.
Dom sniggered and leaned down, patting Orlando�s pockets. He frowned and turned to Billy. �You already get the keys?�
Billy shook his head.
Dom reached for Orlando�s back pockets.
�I�he gave them to me earlier.� Elijah pulled the keys out of his pocket.
All conversation ceased.
Only the sound of Orlando�s drunken snuffles could be heard.
�He gave them to you?� Dom looked at Elijah like he�d suddenly grown breasts.
�Uh, yeah.� Elijah jingled the ring of metal to illustrate.
There was a general murmur from the football players.
�He gave you the keys. To his truck.�
Elijah nodded, confused. �So? He�s too drunk to drive.� Elijah gestured at the limp body on the lounge chair.
Billy and Dom shared a look. Billy cleared his throat. �Ladies and�oh. Right. Oops.� Billy wrapped an arm around Elijah�s shoulders, turning him to face most of the crowd. �Gentlemen, I�d like you to meet Elijah Wood. The man who was given the keys to�The Baby.�
There was a chorus of whistles and plastic cups knocked on wood.
Elijah looked at Billy, his cheeks flushed. �I don�t get it.�
Billy shushed him and gestured towards the crowd. Billy�d had a few beers himself. �Once upon a time, there was a nine year old boy who mowed lawns. And mucked stalls. And had two paper routes, that�s rural paper routes. And that boy had other jobs. Tons of other jobs.�
�Hundreds.�
Billy nodded, pointing at Dom to acknowledge his comment. �Hundreds. And that nine year old boy grew into a ten year old boy. And then eleven. And then��
�We get the picture, Bills.�
Billy shot the finger at Dom. �And on that boy�s seventeenth birthday, that boy went down to the Dodge dealership in San Marcos.�
�Hallelujah!�
�Shut up, I�m tryin� to tell a story here.�
�Sorry.� Dom didn�t look repentant.
�As I was sayin�, that boy went to the dealership and paid CASH for a bee-u-ti-ful, shiny, black, eight cylinder, fuel injected, four-wheel-drive, extended cab, Pioneer-cd-stereo-havin� monster of a pickup truck. And called it�� Billy gestured towards the players for help.
�Baby!�
Billy nodded.
Elijah felt like he was in the middle of a revival meeting. �O.K.�
Dom walked up and placed his hands on Elijah�s shoulders, looking at him gravely. �Lij. Orlando doesn�t even let his Dad drive that truck.�
�Oh.� Elijah pulled gently out of Dom�s grasp and stared down at Orlando�s comatose form. He sighed and turned back to the crowd. �Could someone help me get him in the truck?�
+
�You know where he lives, right?�
Elijah nodded, refraining from rolling his eyes. �Yes, Billy, I know where he lives. Thanks for your help. You too, Dom.� Elijah waved them off the running board and pulled out of the driveway.
Dom and Billy watched the truck�s tail lights disappear out of sight around the corner.
�They really are cute together, aren�t they?� Billy leaned into Dom as he felt an arm slide around his shoulders.
Dom nuzzled Billy�s throat, catching a soft centimeter of skin between his teeth. �Not as cute as us. Come on, give me some sugar, baby.�
Billy laughed and squirmed, trying to pull away. �Shut up, you don�t sound anything like Elvis. And someone�ll hear you.�
�Give it up, come on. You know you want it.� Dom blew a raspberry into Billy�s flushed neck.
�Dommie, stop��
+
Elijah jerked his arm up, trying to keep the truck on the road as Orlando fell across his lap.
Orlando sighed mightily and opened his eyes. Halfway. He smiled up at Elijah. �Heya, Lijjjh. �M drunk.�
Elijah grinned down at Orlando and patted him on the cheek. �I noticed. I�m taking you home.�
��K.� Orlando closed his eyes and grunted, rolling on the seat to face Elijah, one hand sliding under Elijah�s thigh, long fingers curling along the inside of a bent knee.
Elijah chuckled and ran his fingers through the dark curls, looking down at the beautiful creature who had the unnerving ability to make his chest ache. Even when that beautiful creature was drunk.
+
�Orli, you have to help me out here. I don�t want to wake up your parents.�
The limp form sighed, the long limbs stretched in a restless sprawl across the cab of the truck. �Not home.�
�Yes, we are home. I�m trying to get you inside, you jerk. Come on.� Elijah tugged on Orlando�s arm, trying to pull him up.
Orlando groaned and rolled upright. Barely. �No, Lijjh. M�parents aren�t home. At the lake. Weekend. Back on Monday.�
�Thank God.� Elijah sounded relieved.
Carefully, Elijah slid Orlando out of the truck. They careened through a series of half-step wobble stagger lunges. Elijah was sure Orlando was going to end up flat-faced in the gravel drive, but the long legs miraculously regained their balance and they zigzagged without incident across the lawn, Orlando�s face lolling into Elijah�s neck.
Elijah hissed and almost dropped Orlando. �Stop that.�
Orlando grinned against Elijah�s throat.
Elijah smacked at the large, wandering hand again. �Quit grabbing my ass, Orli. You�re drunk.�
�But itsh a nice assh, Lijjh. See?� Orlando squeezed it again.
Elijah pinched Orlando�s ass. Hard.
�Oooww. That hurt.� Orlando frowned and rubbed at his abused rear.
�That�ll teach you to fuck around when I�m trying to get. You. In. SIDE.�
Orlando staggered through the doorway Elijah had just unlocked, taking a few stumbling steps on his own before leaning precariously against the doorjamb to the dining room. He turned around, propping himself unsteadily against the wood. �Gonna help me to my room, Lijjhh?� He was leering.
Elijah�s eyes narrowed. �How drunk are you?�
Orlando squinted at him through one eye. �Pretty fuckin� drunk, Lijjhh.�
Elijah snorted and let Orlando drape a long arm around his shoulders again. �Come on.�
+
�Stay.� Orlando reached out from under the comforter and snagged Elijah�s hand, bringing it to his mouth for a sloppy kiss across the knuckles before tucking it under his chin. Orlando�s eyes alternately opened, then drifted closed.
Elijah hesitated. He�d undressed Orlando down to his boxers with little resistance. After forcing a glass of water and two aspirin down him, he�d coerced him into the double bed and tugged the covers up to Orlando�s chin. The football trophies reflected the moonlight coming through the half-drawn curtains.
�Come on, Lijjh. Stay with me. No one�ll know. I won�t say. Promise. Just�stay.� Orlando�s eyes were closed, but he had Elijah�s hand in a death-grip.
Elijah managed half the buttons on his jeans one handed before he changed his mind. �Orli, I don�t think��
Orlando�s eyes opened, struggling towards coherent. He kissed Elijah�s hand again, then released it. He rolled his head back on the pillow, soft brown eyes staring up into dark blue. �Please stay.�
Elijah finished undressing. He sighed as he slid under the comforter, punching at a pillow before settling into the already warm down.
Orlando grumbled unintelligibly and glanced over his shoulder. He scooted back in a slow flurry of covers, grabbing Elijah�s hand and tugging until Elijah was curled around him tightly. He reached for a leg and tugged again until Elijah relented and slid his leg over the curve of Orlando�s thigh. Orlando sighed mightily and settled back down in the pillows. �Soon as�m not drunk anymore, �m gonna kissh you and schtuff, Lijjhh.�
Elijah sighed against the dark hair and closed his eyes.
+
Elijah sat up in the bed, face red-rumple-creased from the soft sheets. �Orli?�
Orlando wobbled next to the bed, eyes closed. He grunted at the familiar voice. ��M pee.�
�Ok.� Elijah collapsed back to the pillows, watching Orlando stagger to the bathroom in the near-black glow of long after midnight.
Elijah was already asleep when Orlando half-fell into the bed and tugged the warm, limp body against his with a low grumble before passing out again.
+
Orlando�s brain made the transition from coma to consciousness very slowly. He sighed, cracked open one eye, winced, and took inventory.
He was in his own room. That was good. He closed the eye. That meant someone had driven him home.
Keys. Lij. Truck. Right.
That was even better.
He tried to smile, but it made things shift too much against his brain. He concentrated on breathing quieter. It seemed to help.
He took a physical inventory. All his limbs seemed to be working properly.
Wait�
Orlando frowned and wriggled a leg experimentally. Then an arm. He rolled his head very gently against the pillow and opened his eyes.
He was staring at the damp, half-parted moue of a pink mouth, breathing softly against his cheek. There was a hand curled over the top of his shoulder, a chin pressed against the rise of his chest, an arm draped across his hip and a leg draped across his thighs, the round knee riding high and firm against the good-morning-heat between his thighs.
Elijah.
In. His. Bed.
Orlando grinned despite the ringing in his ears. Gently, he lifted and bent an arm to trail a fingertip down a warm temple, across a soft cheek and touch the parted lips.
Elijah�s brows creased in the middle and he sniffed, then cracked open his eyes, just a hazy glance from under dark lashes. Elijah�s face melted into a crooked smile, and the eyes closed.
Orlando returned the soft smile, then felt Elijah go suddenly rigid.
Elijah snapped open his eyes, pushing up onto his hands, staring down at Orlando in shocked confusion. �How��
Orlando flinched and managed not to thrust up into the slide of Elijah�s thigh across his hips. He set the pads of three fingers against Elijah�s lips. �Shhh�� Orlando could feel the hard burn of his erection against the top of Elijah�s thigh, Elijah�s heat an answering pulse against his hip.
Elijah�s gaze jerked around the room, skimming over the pile of clothes on the floor, the unfamiliar furniture, the dark orange light of just-before-dawn creeping across the bed. He blinked. Then stared at Orlando. �You were drunk. I drove you home.�
Orlando nodded and wrapped a hand around the back of Elijah�s neck and tugged gently. Down.
Elijah frowned and looked around again, resisting the pull. His thumb rubbed absentmindedly against Orlando�s shoulder and he shifted his body unconsciously against Orlando�s hip. Push rub breathe. �Whe�how�?�
Orlando sighed and reached for Elijah�s arms, twist, tug, drag and Elijah dropped with a soft thud, his face inches from Orlando�s, arms tucked securely behind his back.
��M not drunk now�� Orlando whispered the words against Elijah�s lips.
Elijah growled.
Orlando released him, eyes wide and wary. �What?�
Elijah pushed up again, this time centering himself over Orlando�s body. �I�nggh.� He was unable to control the low surprised sound that escaped as his movement dragged his inner thigh across the hard heat between Orlando�s and his own erection grazed the unforgiving curve of Orlando�s hip.
Orlando groaned, his head pushing into the pillow in slow motion, his neck arching back and away, eyes narrowing, as his hips rocked up into Elijah�s involuntary grind against damp cotton.
Elijah�s breath caught at the sound. He bent his arms at the elbows, lowering himself until he could feel the tingling heat of bare chest against bare chest. His gaze ricocheted off Orlando�s lips neck skin. �I should go.� He didn�t sound convinced.
Orlando rolled his head back to center, warm hands sliding up narrow hips before Elijah could move, palms flat against the dip of his lower back, trapping Elijah with the lightest of touches. �Why?�
�Your parents��
�Aren�t home.� Orlando slid a leg to the side and pushed up with his hips, head falling back again at the delicious answering push from Elijah. He swallowed his growl, bared his teeth and did it again.
Elijah choked back a whimper and bit down gently on the inside of his cheek, rocking in counterpoint to the supplicating thrusts of Orlando�s hips. He felt each slide catch slide miss of cotton covered cock drag him deeper into wanting more. More sounds. More skin. Taste, even�
Elijah dropped his head and opened his mouth against the hot skin of Orlando�s throat. Licked.
More�
Elijah breathed damp moans into Orlando�s neck and finally found words, spitting one out with each full-bodied rock grind thrust, feet slide grip miss against the wooden frame. �Take.� Elijah�s thumbs caught on the edge of Orlando�s boxers. �These. Off.�
Orlando pushed up harder against him, then abruptly shoved at Elijah�s shoulder.
There was a tangled comforter scramble shove curse pant and they were naked.
Hard.
The comforter and top sheet made a swooshing sound as they slid over the last seven inches of warm bed to the floor.
Elijah stared.
Pillows. Bed. Naked, hard, Orlando.
Elijah slithered, rubbing his entire body up the long stretched length of calf, knee, thigh, cock, hip, stomach, chest, arm. He licked at the damp part of Orlando�s mouth, licked inside against the rub shiver suck of Orlando�s tongue and moved slowly. Down.
Licked the concave angle of a collarbone. Twist of the dark head against a white pillow.
Licked the inside of an elbow. Soft twitch of a long arm and a calf caressed his.
Licked the fifth rib. Low exhalation of sound, the long body going smooth and still.
Sucked on the convex beauty of a hip bone. Heard the increased pant of breath, more panic than pleasure.
Breathed across the down of soft, cradling heat, moving towards�
�Uh, Lij?�
Elijah closed his mouth and lifted his head, crouch-splayed, eyes glazed between Orlando�s thighs. �Huh?�
Orlando bit his lower lip and tugged on Elijah�s shoulder. Ineffectively. �I� thanks. But, uh. You don�t have to. I�what I mean is. No. Thanks.�
Elijah blinked. �What?�
Orlando frowned. �I don�t�like�that.� He gestured vaguely in the direction of Elijah�s damp mouth and his own still-hard cock. Elijah licked his lips and rocked back slightly. Orlando�s cock twitched.
�You don�t�what? Are you insane?�
Orlando turned his head and tried to roll away, his entire torso and face flushed bright pink.
Elijah pounced, pinning him flat, fingers digging into hips, one leg straddling a long thigh, Orlando�s cock rubbing distracted figure eights against his skin. �Talk to me, dammit. Why don�t you like getting head? Does it�hurt you?�
Orlando huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. �No. It�s�� He turned his head to the other side. �It�s ok, it just doesn�t�� Orlando waved a hand around in the air. �...do anything for me.�
Elijah snorted. �Doesn�t do anything for you.�
Orlando glared at him, embarrassment taking refuge in anger. �Did I fucking stutter?�
Elijah grinned down at him. He leaned forward, braced against Orlando�s thighs. Still smiling, he lowered his head, eyes locked with Orlando�s, and stuck out his tongue.
Orlando�s breath stuttered out from between his lips at the same rate Elijah�s tongue licked a hard line up the underside of his rigid, harder, harder, aching, now tremble-twitch-leaking cock.
Elijah licked his lips and pressed a soft kiss against the inside curve of Orlando�s hip bone. Orlando made a low, nuzzling sound of something like agreement.
Elijah grinned and kissed him again, letting the soft brush of his hair drag against the heat of Orlando�s cock. �Why don�t you just�relax. And let me change your mind.�
�Lij, I�m not sur�oh.� Orlando�s hand stopped half-way in its journey to tug on Elijah�s shoulder again. His hand flexed, fingers flattening, then curling fist-tight as Elijah, staring up at him still, licked flat around flat around flat around the head. Sucked it just inside, tongue kiss flicker, again to the head, and still sucking just the first two�that�there�right the fuck there, just under the edge, where�where�
Orlando made a sharp sound that could have been a painful admission of ecstasy or a plea for more.
Elijah released his firm grip on Orlando�s hips, pushing the long thighs further apart. Almost immediately, Elijah grabbed at the slender hips again, pinning their jerking upward thrust to the mattress with a hard push. Elijah hummed a pleased laugh around the slick heat in his mouth and had to put more of his weight on his hands to hold Orlando down.
�ohfuck. ohfuck.� Soft, whispered exhalations of air as Orlando�s hands hovered up and back and over and behind and finally dropped in surprise to the only violently graspable surface that wasn�t Elijah�s divine head, moving in a deliberate roll up, roll down, lift and dive between his thighs.
Orlando crushed the pillow between long fingers, pulling it up and around the back of his neck, lifting his head, his teeth bared and growling low in his chest as he stared, helpless to look away.
His cock. Disappearing and reappearing between those soft-sweet-wicked lips.
I�m. Going. To Come.
Very soon.
He tried to speak the words, even opened his mouth to warn Elijah.
Elijah sucked harder, slowed the lift dive of his head and used an elbow to hold Orlando down. With his free hand he cupped the hot silk of Orlando�s balls with one hand, gently lift-prodding along the rise of nerves just under and behind the tight skin.
Gentle press, suck, lick, flicker.
Orlando yowled and bucked against Elijah�s grip, curling up in involuntary, rolling spasms as his feet scrabbled against the sheets and he twisted, coming in hard, full-body wrenching lunges into Elijah�s mouth.
Elijah wrapped his arms around Orlando�s hips, holding on tight through the violent shuddering spasms, swallowing fast and hard, thrilled and amazed to feel the violent twitch bump of cock against the back of his throat as Orlando�s orgasm tore through their bodies.
Elijah waited until he felt the muscles of Orlando�s thigh unclench from around his shoulder. Gently, he licked a soft wet patch of skin and sat back, hands stroking up and down the long thighs.
Orlando had an arm thrown over his eyes, his chest still rising and falling in rapid, deep breaths, mouth parted and lips dry.
Elijah bit his lower lip, wondering what to say.
Orlando threw his arm back down on the bed, and lifted his head, his hair curling damp and sweaty against his temples. �Where in the fuck have I been for the last nineteen years?�
Elijah grinned and crawled up the long, limp body. �Saving yourself for me.�
