Bacardi
& Coke
by saabira
you're
my best friend/ best friend with benefits -alanis m.
Somewhere in the
bubble…
AJ was standing
near the ice machine when Nick cracked the door to his room and
stuck his head out into the hallway. Nick discreetly searched the hallway for
witnesses and, finding none, crept into the hall. He crossed the hall and went
down two doors toward the elevators, away from the ice and vending machine. He
stopped, knocked on the door to Kevin’s room, waited for a full minute, and
gained entrance to the room. The door shut behind him and the dead bolt slid
home with an audible ‘click’.
AJ filled the small
plastic bucket to the top with ice cubes and returned to his own room. He idly
wondered what the fuck was going on in the room three doors down and across the
hall from his.
He set the ice down
on a shelf in the mini-bar and dropped a few cubes into the two half-full
cut-glass tumblers of Bacardi and coke.
He walked over to
the high bed, with its hideous ‘art-deco’ quilt, and handed one glass to Howie,
who lay propped against an over-sized pillow. Howie’s eyes didn’t turn from the
TV, which played David Grey’s video for ‘Babylon’ on mute.
“Nick and Kevin are
fucking each other again,” he stated simply, and took a deep gulp of his drink.
“Really? I thought
they’d stopped doing that,” Howie answered as he took a smaller sip of his own.
“They did. About a
week before Kevin’s wedding.”
“Oh.”
They drank in
silence, contemplating.
“That's not going
to be good for anybody.”
“Nope.” AJ agreed.
~
Howie finished
refilling the two drinks and returned to the bed.
“So, you’re not
curious at all?” AJ was saying.
“Nope, not at all.”
“You never, ever
wanted to kiss a girl?”
“No.”
“But they’re so
soft. And they smell so good.”
“Sorry, not interested.”
“For no reason,
other than the alcohol buzz, AJ started to giggle softly.
“What?” Howie
asked.
“Nuthin.”
"Tell
me," Howie insisted.
"No".
“Spill it, AJ.”
“Have you ever
wanted to kiss me?”
Howie blanched, but
quickly recovered. “I have kissed you, AJ.”
“Dude,
spin-the-bottle-drinking games don’t count. I mean really kiss me; like for sex
type reasons.”
Howie took a large
swallow; the rum barely burned because it was his fifth drink. He stared at the
monstrously ugly bedspread. And nodded his head, slightly, because he could
never lie to AJ.
“No shit?” AJ
asked. He had not expected this answer.
Howie wondered why
AJ sounded so pleased.
“No shit.”
AJ was quiet for a
minute. He finished his drink, refilled it, stared at Howie a little and said:
“So, go ahead.”
“Go ahead and
what?”
“Kiss me.”
Howie drained his
glass hastily and choked on the alcohol and coke that found its way down into
his windpipe. AJ reached over and knocked lightly on his back. Howie took a
deep breath and waited for the panicky feeling to pass. AJ turned and moved
closer so he was sitting more directly in Howie’s immediate field of vision.
Howie’s heart pounded. That panicky feeling rose up again.
“God, AJ! No way!”
“Why not?”
“Just no.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“You want to.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Come on. Just do
it before I change my mind.”
“Go ahead and
change it. I’m not kissing you.”
“Why not?” AJ
sounded hurt. ‘Who doesn’t want to kiss me?’ AJ thought.
“Because you’re
drunk and it’s not a good idea.”
“It’s no big deal.”
“Fine.” Howie
leaned forward and passed his lips quickly over AJ’s mouth.
“See? No big deal.”
Howie nodded.
“No. Big. Deal.” AJ
whispered softly.
AJ leaned forward.
When his lips first touched Howie’s, the kiss was soft and sweet. Howie tensed
up violently and AJ was plagued with doubt. But then Howie relaxed, and he
couldn’t resist, so he melted forward a little and AJ opened his mouth and
licked Howie’s lower lip. Howie’s deep-brown eyes were wide with shock. On
reflex, Howie opened his mouth to AJ’s tongue. When AJ licked a long hot streak
along Howie’s tongue, Howie moaned and closed his eyes. AJ shifted his body
closer to Howie and raised one hand to rest on Howie’s cheek. Howie plunged his
long fingers deep into AJ’s newly dyed crimson-red curls. AJ groaned from deep
inside his chest and pushed against Howie until they both fell off balance and
Howie landed on his back against the pillows with AJ’s heavy heat on top of
him. Howie’s tongue danced along AJ jaw and flitted back and forth across the
tiny silver ball at the bottom of AJ’s lip. AJ’s breath was ragged in Howie’s
ear. Howie reclaimed AJ’s mouth and they lost themselves in a frantic kiss.
The deal got pretty
big after that.
~
AJ slid down
Howie’s body, his breath scorching and heavy. Howie was trembling under AJ’s
touch. AJ slipped his damp palms under the hem of Howie’s forest-green t-shirt.
Howie’s body grew hot and he writhed as AJ’s tongue dipped in and around his
navel, and licked around the scattering of dark hairs, which disappeared into
the waistband of his jeans. AJ popped open the snap at Howie’s fly and slid the
zipper down slowly. Howie ventured a glance down, and was overwhelmed at the
picture before him. He stared, as if he were a spectator, as AJ pulled the
heavy denim pants down his hips and with them the thin cotton boxers. A
white-hot ball of lust burned its way through his veins. The alcohol and
adrenalin in his system formed a caustic mixture, forcing all thought from his
frenzied brain. Howie yelped at the short stab of pain from AJ’s teeth, as AJ
tried to take all of Howie’s hardness into his inexperienced mouth. AJ threw
Howie a quick apologetic look and resumed his efforts. It wasn’t long before
Howie’s heart short-circuited and he came, a strangled cry accompanying his
release. AJ chocked and gagged on the bittersweet conclusion to his labors. He
sat up- dazed. The confused look passed quickly and he pulled the thin tank top
over his head, wiped his face, and dropped the shirt to the floor beside the
bed. Howie lay winded, watching AJ. He was further surprised when AJ landed on
him again, attacking his mouth with another fierce kiss. Howie was lost.
~
AJ leaned on his
right side and with his left hand, he pushed Howie’s t-shirt up and Howie
lifted his shoulders off the bed, so AJ could pull the clothing over his head.
AJ dropped the shirt to the floor with the rest of their clothes. In a moment
of clarity, Howie realized he was naked in a bed with his best friend, Alex
McLean, who he had known for ten years, but the moment soon passed and he
returned to a world of fuzzy thoughts and searing touches. And Alex was just
AJ, whose tongue burned against his and tasted like alcohol and honey cough
drops. His head pounded with the speedy beating of his heart as AJ stoked his
body and licked at his mouth. AJ, who was still only partially naked, lifted
his hips and, with one hand, unbuckled his belt. Howie removed his hand from
AJ’s back and helped undo the button on AJ’s waistband. AJ moaned as Howie’s
fingers grasped at him. Once AJ was free of his khaki pants, he buried his face
in Howie’s neck and began thrusting his hardness against Howie, striving for release.Howie
wrapped one arm around AJ’s shoulders and pulled his right leg around AJ’s
hips. He raised his hips, searching for contact. AJ licked at the sweat beaded
on Howie’s collarbone. Howie tasted like sugar and heat. AJ thrust his aching
erection against Howie with increasing desperation as he felt the beginnings of
orgasm approaching. Howie felt AJ's climax land on his hips in scalding bursts.
Howie groaned. AJ cried out as his orgasm tore through him. He collapsed on top
of Howie with his heart still racing and his breath heaving. Howie landed quick
soft kisses to AJ's face as they waited for their breathing to return to normal
and for AJ to stop trembling with the impact of his release.
~
AJ lay on his side facing Howie with his arm resting across Howie's
stomach. Howie's hair was tangled around his head, like a mocha- colored halo,
and AJ inhaled deeply of Howie's vanilla shampoo. Howie pulled the thin hotel
sheet up around their lower bodies, and sighed.
"Is this going to cause a problem, AJ?" He asked
tentatively.
AJ didn’t answer at first, and when he did his voice seemed to be
reaching for Howie from far away. "I'm not going to let it change things
between us, D, if that's what you mean."
Howie began tracing the tattoo of AJ's name on AJ's left arm with
his fingertip. AJ shivered.
"OK. I don't want to lose a friend."
AJ's reply was heavy with sleep: "I'm not going anywhere,
Howie."
Howie smiled
slightly, kissed the hard, hot, plane of AJ's forehead, and closed his eyes.