Convincing Landon (5 page)

Kendall swallowed. He couldn’t speak. Landon thought
he
was sexy? Maybe there was hope for more after all, despite his total lack of experience. Sure, he’d watched some gay porn—who didn’t?—and he’d played with a dildo. But that was nothing like real life. The feelings alone were very different…never mind that he was now facing Landon, whom he had admired from afar for so long.

“Come on, we’ll put your clothes in the laundry. I’ve got a dryer, so they’ll be fine in a few hours.” Landon held out his hand and pulled Kendall up. “Gives us time to see what happens when we try this on a flat surface.”

That sounded too good to refuse, so Kendall followed Landon into the bathroom, taking off his clothes and handing them to his host in a crumpled heap through the half-open door. After a quick shower to rinse off, he wrapped a towel around his middle and walked out into the bedroom.

“Better?” Landon lay back on the bed in his underwear. His light skin was a great contrast with the dark blue of the linen. His broad chest with large nipples and only the lightest dusting of hair was a sight to behold.

“Much.” Kendall licked his lips. Was it possible he wanted Landon again? His cock was already half-hard, so he’d go with a ‘yes’.

“Ready for more?” Landon’s provocative grin said it all.

“Always.” Kendall stepped closer to the bed.

Landon held out his hand then pulled him down. Full-body contact from feet to chest was the immediate result. Kendall moaned and pushed closer, ending up half on top of his lover. Landon didn’t seem to mind. He slid his arms around Kendall as if he wanted to stop him from running.

“Laundry’s being dealt with.” Landon smiled. “I’ll put it in the dryer in a little while. But, until then, I’d like to return the favour you did me in the hallway.”

Kendall nodded so hard, he was sure his head would fly off if he didn’t stop.

“You like that idea?” Landon kissed a path from his jaw down his neck.

“No need to ask.” Kendall panted for breath already. “Who wouldn’t like a blow job?”

“True.” Landon nodded.

In a sudden move, he turned them around so he was on top and proceeded to kiss and lick his way down Kendall’s chest and abdomen until he’d reached Kendall’s by now leaking cock. Slow licks from the base to the tip made Kendall arch his back. The first time Landon enclosed the swollen cock head with his lips, Kendall moaned. And when Landon moved his mouth down to take him into the hottest place Kendall’s cock had ever been, Kendall lost it and bucked his hips.

Landon didn’t even hesitate. He took all of Kendall in, and the tightness of the other man’s throat around his sensitive tip drove Kendall’s arousal high enough to put him right on the edge.

“Gonna!” Embarrassing though it was to come so fast, Kendall couldn’t hold back. It felt too good.

Landon increased the suction and Kendall lost it. Screaming his delight, he shot into Landon’s willing mouth, feeling him swallow around his throbbing member. When he came down from his high, he pulled Landon up, took his stiff cock into his hand and started jacking him off. No way was he going to leave his lover high and dry. It took mere seconds before Landon shot his load, shaking with his orgasm as he bit Kendall’s shoulder.

“God, that was good.” Landon pulled back, grabbed some tissues off the nightstand and cleaned them up before he pulled up the blanket.

Kendall could only nod, still feeling the last quivers of his release race through his body.

“Nap time, huh?” Landon was already half asleep, one arm around Kendall’s middle. “Then we can play some more.”

* * * *

Kendall woke up when the first rays of the sun hit a room that wasn’t immediately familiar. The warm body against his back was strange as well. He looked around, memories of last night and the nap they’d intended to take slowly surfacing in his sleep-fogged brain.

Relief flooded him when he realised this was Landon’s bedroom. He smiled and closed his eyes again, cuddling back into Landon’s embrace. It was all good. In fact, last night’s explosive sex had been better than good. Falling asleep and staying the night hadn’t been what he’d planned, but it wasn’t as if he minded. He’d been dreaming about being with Landon for a long time and all he could feel was happiness about it finally happening.

He should probably get up, but six a.m. was no time to leave a warm bed. His first class wasn’t until nine anyway, so there was plenty of time to cuddle. He was about to drift back into sleep when Landon suddenly tensed.

Kendall turned around to look at his lover. Landon’s eyes were still half-closed, there was a frown on his face and he still hadn’t moved.

“Good morning.” Kendall didn’t like the continuing silence.

“Hmm.” Landon lifted a hand to rub his face. “Too early.”

“Yeah, I’m not a morning person, either.” Kendall was afraid it was more than that. Had he outstayed his welcome?

“Didn’t expect you to still be here. I put the laundry in the dryer for you to take out after the nap.” Landon blinked, his lids looking too heavy for the sleepy man to hold open.

Yep, he should have left before Landon woke up. God, he didn’t want to leave…didn’t want his dream to end like this. The pain in his chest was intense, but he’d known there was a risk of Landon not wanting to go beyond the physical. The odd encounter in a club or a quick fuck in the hallway was apparently okay. Not that they’d done much in the week since they’d reconnected, but there had been a few meetings. None of them had been a real date…well, maybe the coffee bar meeting last night had been. Staying the night was a definite sign of something more, though, and it looked as if Landon wasn’t ready—or willing—to go there. Shit, he hoped he hadn’t ruined everything.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go.” Kendall turned around to get up.

Landon mumbled something before he fell asleep again. Kendall couldn’t understand a single word, so he shrugged and went to the bathroom to do his business then he retrieved his clothes from the dryer and got dressed. He gave the softly snoring Landon a last longing glance. The man was more than gorgeous, even cuddled into the pillows like this with his short, brown hair all mussed, sticking up every which way.

Kendall tore himself away and made his way outside, calling a taxi since it was too early to take the bus. He had no idea how he made it back to the dorm, but when he did, he couldn’t even sleep. The turmoil he was in kept him awake, staring at the ceiling, until it was time to go to his first class.

That day seemed longer than most, and by late afternoon he’d worked himself into a total panic. He’d planned to meet Landon at Promises Kept, to see how he could help. Volunteering together would have been great, giving them something in common, but Kendall wasn’t so sure it was a good idea under the circumstances. He was too afraid of rejection. At least if he didn’t go, Landon wouldn’t be able to tell him no. And wasn’t
that
the coward’s way of looking at things. Not Kendall’s usual approach at all, but everything had always been different where Landon was concerned. Apparently, that hadn’t changed.

“What’s wrong with you?” Fox, his roommate, looked up from his book. He was a second year lit student and did more reading than was healthy.

“Huh?” Kendall dropped his bag and flopped onto the bed.

“You look like—I don’t know—something really bad happened?” Fox pushed his much too-long bangs off his face, something he only did when he was interested in what the other person was saying.

“Sort of.” Kendall needed to shower and change so he’d make a decent first impression with the centre manager, but he was lacking the energy right now.

“You want to talk about it?” Fox tilted his head.

“Not really.” Kendall didn’t even know where to start. He hadn’t told Fox he was gay, so dumping his issues on the other man wasn’t fair.

“Okay.” Fox nodded and turned back to his book. “Let me know when you’re ready. I’ve always found sharing boyfriend issues makes them seem less serious.”

“Boy…boyfriend issues?” Kendall was glad he was already sitting.

“Yeah, that is what’s troubling you, right?” Fox looked back up from his book. “I have no idea what else could have you so depressed all of a sudden, seeing as your GPA is already in the stratosphere.”

 
“But…but…” Kendall didn’t normally stutter, but this was too much. How the hell did Fox know he was gay?

“But what?” Fox grinned and leant back in his chair.

“How did you know?” Kendall was too flabbergasted to even care that he’d just admitted Fox was right. The guy didn’t seem to have any issues, so he was probably safe.

Fox just raised his eyebrows.

“That obvious?” Kendall shook his head. “I’ll have to be more careful. I guess being away from home has made me let go just a little too much.”

“Nah, you’re not very obvious at all.” Fox shrugged. “Takes one to know one, you know?”

“Oh.” Kendall swallowed. A gay roommate, how cool was that? “I had no idea.”

“Some people have no gaydar.” Fox grinned. “Mine works really well, though.”

“Okay.” He’d have to remember that, in case he needed a new boyfriend if Landon rejected him after all.

“So, you want to talk about it?” Fox leant forwards. “I’m a really good listener.”

“And really curious.” Kendall laughed. “I’m okay for now…not sure what there is to talk about at this point. But I might get back to you, depending on how tonight goes.”

“Sure.” Fox nodded and turned back to his book. “I’ll be here.”

* * * *

Kendall made his way to the shelter for homeless youths with a heavy heart. It was less than five miles from campus, so it didn’t take long. He knew full well that he wasn’t going to pull out of his obligation to volunteer—Landon or no Landon. While it wasn’t a real obligation in the sense that he’d signed anything, he felt morally liable. He’d settled into a routine at college, so he had the time, and he’d been so fortunate in terms of his life’s circumstances, he felt the strong need to give something back to those who struggled. But knowing he’d run into Landon—and fearing the worst—had taken a lot of the joy out of the activity.

“Welcome to the centre.” An older woman dressed in a pants suit and carrying a clipboard greeted the new arrivals with a big smile. “We’re happy you all made it to today’s introductory session and look forward to exploring the different options with you. As you know, we have a number of programmes, and we want to make sure you find one that suits your talents and availability.”

Kendall nodded. That made sense. These people were definitely a lot more organised than many shelters he’d seen. He was familiar with tasks in the areas of intake, the crisis shelter, and he’d even done some outreach work. But Promises Kept also had a mentoring programme for youths wanting to get into work, a wide range of activities for young people so they could have some fun, and also tutoring. Kendall was too young for the mentoring programme—they wanted experienced professionals over twenty-five for that—but tutoring was right up his alley. Clerical services were always in demand so he put his name down for those as well.

Landon was nowhere to be seen until the necessary last few minutes of the introduction. Granted, he already worked here and probably didn’t want to listen to everything again, but Kendall had missed him. He didn’t even know if they’d get to work together.

“Hey.” Landon walked up to him after the centre manager had taken down their names, details and agreed activities. He looked handsome even in faded jeans and an old navy T-shirt. The serious expression on his face didn’t bode well, though.

“Hi.” Kendall’s heartbeat sped up at the sight of his gorgeous lover…friend…whatever he was now.

“We need to talk.” Landon gestured towards the parking lot.

“Do we?” Kendall didn’t feel like following the man into a car again. He wanted to keep the memory of what they’d done there last week unspoiled.

 
“At least let me buy you a coffee?” Landon unlocked his car without waiting.

“Okay.” Why the hell not? If he was going to get dumped, he might as well do it in style.

They drove to the coffee bar in silence, ordered their coffee and wordlessly took seats at their favourite table. Kendall sipped his coffee and waited for Landon to take the initiative. He wasn’t going to make it easier on the man if it killed him. And, judging from the way his heart was trying to jump out of his ribcage, that was a distinct possibility.

“It’s not going to work.” Landon bit his lip, but didn’t look away. “I’m really sorry it won’t, but being a social worker or counsellor means I can’t be openly gay. It’s too risky. A lot of employers here in Texas wouldn’t even look at me if I came out. Either that, or they’d kick me out of the programme before I’d be able to open my mouth to defend myself.”

“And those are the type of people you want to work with?” Kendall’s heart hurt, but he wasn’t going to let it show.

“I have no choice.” Landon looked down and wrung his hands. “I wish it was different.”

Yeah, well, that made two of them.

Without another word, Kendall got up and walked out of the coffee bar. Not looking back was the hardest thing he’d ever done, but he wasn’t going to give Landon the satisfaction of seeing the tears that were silently running down his cheeks.