Awakening

It was raining a little, but Lucian hardly noticed. Landon was extremely upset with him and he wasn’t quite sure why. “I said I was sorry. You misunderstood me,” he pleaded. “Land, you’re my oldest friend, and now with Charlie gone, let’s not do this.”

“You don’t understand how I feel. You come here after all these years and…I mean, I think I could deal with the fact that you’re straight. But I’m not sure of that anymore.”

“Of course I’m straight. Why in hell would you think otherwise? What’s with you and Julian anyway?”

“Julian?”

“I’m not gay. One experience doesn’t make you gay for Christ’s sakes!” He froze, realising that several people were looking over at him.

“One experience? What experience?” Landon probed.

“Nothing. Never mind. Forget it,” he said and stalked off through the backyard. When he saw Julian standing there on the back porch, he paused. “What in hell did you tell him anyway?”

“I didn’t tell him anything,” he said. “Is there anything to tell?”

“Fuck you,” Lucian said as he brushed by him.

Lucian didn’t realise Julian was at his heels until he got to Landon’s front door. It had started to pour rain. “What do you want?” he growled.

“To go inside for starters,” he said, reaching over and pushing the door open. “I’m getting soaked.

Lucian walked inside, Julian behind him. He turned to look at him. “Why did you follow me?”

“I…” He paused. “You shouldn’t be alone.”

“Shouldn’t be alone? What am I, five years old?”

He didn’t answer. He just shrugged out of his jacket.

Lucian put some distance between them. He could see the rain dripping off his black hair, the muscles moving under his shirt. He walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa. “This is not how I wanted it.”

“How you wanted what?” he asked, pulling off his tie and undoing three buttons on his shirt.

“Coming back here.”

“You didn’t want to come back here at all, remember?”

Thunder boomed somewhere in the distance.

“I thought…”

“You thought that everything was going to be the same after ten years?”

He looked up at him. “Why do you think I’m gay?”

“I don’t think anything.” He shook his head.

“Yes, you do. How do I look at you?”

He paused for a moment, tilted his head. “You look at me as if you want me.”

Lucian swallowed hard. “And what if I do?”

“It wouldn’t be…”

“It wouldn’t be what?” He stood. What in hell was he doing? “It wouldn’t be what, Julian?”

“Say it again,” he said, his gaze burning into his.

“Say what?”

“Say my name.”

“Julian.”

Julian took a step toward him and Lucian moaned a little in his throat with the anticipation of it. Julian reached out to him with his hand, but remained at least a foot away, requiring Lucian to reach out also in order to take his hand if he wanted to come closer. Their fingers touched. Lucian’s fingertips danced over the top of Julian’s hand, then closed around it. Lucian’s gaze never left his, the look in Julian’s eyes took on a light he’d never seen in any man’s eyes before, a light saturated with lust.

“Kiss me,” Julian breathed. He pulled him to his chest in one firm movement. Julian squeezed Lucian’s hand in his, bringing the fingers on his other hand up to slice through the back of his hair. “Kiss me,” he urged.

Lucian looked desperately up into Julian eyes while his free hand grabbed a fistful of his long dark hair, and pulled. His mouth came down hard on his. The incredible sweetness of his lips caused his mouth to open and he sucked Julian’s tongue into his mouth. The kiss intensified.