Daybreak (6 page)

“Oh, crap.” Nate bounded up and into the kitchen, lifting the lid from a pot and stirring.

“Careful, don’t burn yourself.” Nate was still naked, his ass crack glistening. Lucas would never get tired of the sight.

“I think it’s ready. Let me just put the spaghetti on.”

Lucas stretched out on the floor, his arms behind his head. “Mmmm, my favorite. Meat sauce?”

“Of course.” Nate affected a bad Italian accent. “Secret recipe from ze old country.”

“Ah. Of course, you’re not Italian.”

“Nope, but someone on the Food Network is.”

Lucas watched Nate work in the kitchen, the candlelight flickering off his skin. How did he get so lucky? He couldn’t believe he and Nate had known each other for less than a year. Sometimes it felt like forever, in the best way.

As the pasta boiled, Nate gave Lucas a hand up off the floor and they both donned boxer shorts. With no dining table, they ate on the futon, using the coffee table. Nate poured a bottle of red wine, and they toasted. Lucas swirled the spaghetti onto his fork and took a bite. “Oh my God,” he said, mouth full. “This is amazing.”

“If I do say so myself, it’s pretty damn good, huh?”

“You should cook every day.”

Nate laughed. “Nice try. Not gonna happen.”

“Hey, it was worth a shot.”

They talked easily, the wine flowing and the food settling comfortably in their bellies. Lucas sat back against the cushions, utterly satisfied. Nate kissed his cheek, his lips spicy from the spaghetti sauce. “I’d tell you to save room for dessert, but you won’t really need to.”

“No dessert?” Even though he was full, Lucas always had room for sweets.

“Well, there’s a little something.” Nate got up, taking their plates into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and came back with a can of whipped cream and a wicked gleam in his eye.

Pulling a pillow off the futon and dropping to his knees, Nate yanked Lucas’s boxers down. Even though they’d had sex less than an hour before, Lucas’s dick twitched expectantly.

Nate took the lid off the can and shook it, the can rattling. “Open up.” He squeezed a dollop into Lucas’s mouth, and as he savored the creamy sweetness, Nate moved on to Lucas’s nipples, spraying a blob of whipped cream onto the left. Leaning over, he sucked the nipple into his mouth, tongue swirling around, teasing it into a stiff peak before doing the same on the right side.

By the time he got past Lucas’s belly button and down the faint trail of hair leading to his cock, Lucas thought to himself that he’d happily take this dessert over birthday cake every year.

* * * * *

A vague clicking and whirring noise woke Lucas. As he mentally shook off the cobwebs of sleep, he opened his eyes and found Nate at the foot of the bed, snapping his picture. “Urgh.” Lucas wasn’t quite up to forming words yet.

Nate continued clicking away. “Lucas at rest.”

He groaned. “Lucas who needs his coffee and looks like crap.”

“You never look like crap.” Nate finally took the camera away from his face, snapping the lens cap on. “You’re gorgeous.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right.”

“Yeah,
right
.” Nate went to the kitchen and turned on the cheap coffeemaker they’d bought at Target. “I don’t know how many times I have to say it until you believe it.”

The phone rang, saving Lucas from responding. Nate checked the caller ID and sighed, which meant Mrs. Kramer was the caller. After a moment’s hesitation, Nate answered. “Hey, Mom…why? What happened?” The sudden edge to his tone made Lucas sit up. “Is he okay?” Nate listened for another moment. “Okay, I’m going. Don’t worry, Mom. ’Bye.”

Lucas was at his side. “What?”

“Sam was in an accident. I don’t know, but he’s at the hospital in Manhattan. My parents are on their way, but I have to go too.” Worry creased his face as he quickly shoved his limbs into the nearest clothing, which happened to be the shirt Lucas had worn the day before and left on the floor by the laundry hamper.

“I’ll come with you.” Lucas got dressed too, before running his hand quickly through his hair.

“It’s okay. I’m sure he’s fine.” Nate didn’t sound sure at all.

“Nate.” Lucas put his hands on Nate’s shoulders, forcing him to look at him. “I’m coming.”

Nate nodded. “He’ll be fine, right? I mean, it’s Sam. He’s the golden child. Nothing can happen to him.”

Steering Nate toward the door, Lucas grabbed his wallet and keys. “Yeah, he’ll be fine.”

Lucas really hoped he wasn’t lying.

In the back of the cab on the way to the hospital, Lucas held Nate’s hand tightly. They said nothing, and the Saturday morning traffic was mercifully and surprisingly light. The emergency room, however, bustled with activity. A baby wailed, unseen, and Nate had to raise his voice to be heard by the triage nurse.

She told them to take a seat, and they found two seats between a miserable-looking woman with a small child sleeping in her lap, and a disheveled man who was telling the young woman beside him how beautiful she was. The woman appeared singularly unimpressed.

A TV high on the wall aired CNN, and Lucas stared at the news crawl. The same news repeated itself every few minutes, yet he remained transfixed.

Finally, an aging nurse with a clipboard, squeaky shoes, and peach-colored scrubs called for Nate. Lucas accompanied him wordlessly through the swinging doors and beyond into the patient area of the ER.

There were barely inside when Sam’s voice rang out. “That tickles!” he squealed, followed by giggles. Relief and irritation mingled, and Nate’s face transformed. His lips compressed and he marched toward a curtained-off exam area.

When Nate whipped back the curtain, Sam glanced up from the bed where his leg lay propped on pillows. His face lit up. “Heeey! It’s my brother!” Alcohol wafted off him in waves.

“What the hell happened?” Nate was terse.

The nurse smirked. “He had a fall getting out of a cab this morning. Twisted his ankle pretty badly, but he’ll live. He’ll need to be on crutches for a few days.”

Sam’s ankle was about the size of a grapefruit, which looked painful, although he didn’t appear to be feeling it. “Glad you’re okay,” Lucas said.

“Oh yeah, I’m fine. I told them they didn’t need to call anyone.” Sam spoke with the slow cadence of someone who had drunk far too much.

“Well, they called Mom and Dad, who are on their way with half the family in tow, probably.” Nate was not amused.

“Whoops.” Sam giggled.

“It’s eight o’clock in the morning! How are you still drunk?”

“Twenty-four-hour strip bar, apparently,” the nurse told them.

“What about Amanda?” Nate’s anger was clearly building and his voice rose.

“Dude, I was having some fun with the guys. Chillax.”

Nate ignored him and dialed his cell phone. The nurse shook her head. “Uh-uh, you’ve got to go outside for that.” Nate left without another word, and the nurse moved on to another patient

“Aw, man, he’s always mad at me for something. I didn’t mean to cause trouble.” Horrifyingly, Sam appeared as if he might start crying, so Lucas quickly reassured him.

“No, no, he’s not mad.” Obvious lie. “He was just really worried about you.” Which was true.

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“You know, dude, you’re a good guy. I really didn’t want a roommate in my senior year, but if I had to pick one again, it would be you.” Sam was slurring his words badly.

“Thanks. That’s…nice.”

“It’s really cool that you’re living with my brother now. You know, he seems way happier than he used to. I mean, you didn’t know him before, but he barely ever talked or anything.”

Lucas wasn’t sure how to respond, and he hoped Nate would be back soon. “So, how are you feeling?” Steering the topic back to Sam was usually a very successful tactic, since there were few subjects Sam enjoyed discussing more.

“I’m starting to feel a bit…woozy. My stomach --” Suddenly he vomited all over himself.

His own gorge rising, Lucas turned away and yanked the curtain closed behind him. A moment later, the Kramer family bustled into the large, open room, Mrs. Kramer in the lead. Lucas pointed behind the curtain, and he and an angry Nate left Sam in capable hands.

Chapter Six

Glancing at the clock on the DVD player again, Lucas turned back to his textbook and attempted to focus. After rereading the same paragraph for the fifth time, he slammed the book shut and looked at the clock again.

It was ten minutes after ten, and the dinner Lucas had made hours ago was packed up in the fridge. He’d given in and eaten his portion at nine o’clock. Nate was usually home by seven thirty on Tuesdays, but he was nowhere to be found and his cell phone was turned off.

By ten thirty, Lucas started to worry in earnest. What if there’d been an accident? How would he find out? Surely the Kramers would call him. Lucas had listed Nate in his cell phone under emergency contact, but he didn’t know what was in Nate’s phone, if anything.

At ten forty-five, he paced restlessly, pausing only to check and recheck that his phone was on and functional. He toyed with the idea of calling Nate’s parents, but if everything was okay, Nate would get an earful from his mother, which he certainly wouldn’t be happy about.

It was five minutes to eleven o’clock when Lucas heard the jingle of keys from the hallway. He exhaled, his shoulders dropping in relief as Nate walked in. The relief was quickly followed by irritation.

“Where were you?”

Nate blinked in surprise as he dropped his bag on the floor and took his jacket off. “Whoa. What’s with you?”

“What’s with me? I thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere.” Lucas cringed at his strident tone. He hadn’t called Mrs. Kramer, but he was channeling her now.

Nate regarded him with a mixture of disbelief and amusement. “Lucas, I was out. I ran into Jamie and we went to meet the boys. Sorry, I lost track of time.”

“You could have called.”

“I forgot to recharge my cell battery yesterday.”

“You couldn’t have borrowed someone else’s phone?” Lucas crossed his arms over his chest.

“I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

“Well, it was.”

“I didn’t realize we were out for so long.” Nate untied his retro Adidas sneakers and kicked them off. “Did we have plans? I thought you were studying for your test tonight.”

“I was.”

“Okay. So we didn’t have plans?”

“No.” Lucas knew he was pouting like a child, but he couldn’t help himself.

“Look, I’m sorry I worried you. I went out for a few drinks and I didn’t think you’d be here waiting for me with bated breath.”

“I wasn’t!”

Nate arched an eyebrow. “Then why are you so pissed?”

Lucas wasn’t sure he knew the answer. “I thought something happened to you!”

“It’s barely eleven o’clock. I’m sorry I didn’t call, and I’m sorry you were worried. But it’s not as if we have a curfew. We’re adults, Lucas.”

“I know that.”

“We don’t have to be together every minute of every day.”

“I didn’t say we did!” Still, it was Nate who had a circle of friends that Lucas didn’t know that well. Without Nate, Lucas’s only friend was Casey, and they’d just met.

“Sometimes it feels that way.”

“Sorry. I know you have a life outside of me. You’re free to do whatever you want.” Or
whomever
. Lucas tried to silence the little voice that told him Nate could do a lot better. “You don’t have to answer to me.”

“Of course I do. Lucas, I’m just saying we should both have our own time as well as time together.”

“Sure. Yeah, that makes sense.”

Nate went to the fridge and poured himself a glass of water from the Brita filter. “Did you cook?”

Lucas didn’t want to answer, and he felt strangely embarrassed now that he’d gone to the effort. “It was no big deal. Just a casserole.” He went back to the futon and reopened his textbook.

Sitting on the other end of the futon, Nate gently closed the book. “It
is
a big deal. I should have called. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I don’t know why I freaked out.”

“Were you really worried?”

“A bit.”

Nate brushed the hair back from Lucas’s forehead. “I promise I’ll call next time.”

“I promise I won’t freak out and act like a five-year-old.”

“No, it’s good that you told me you were upset. Even though I’m not sure if you told me the real reason.”

Lucas shrugged. “Like I said, I was worried. And…”

“And what?”

“I don’t know. I just feel like a big loser sometimes.”

“What? Why?” Nate seemed completely baffled.

“Forget it.”

“No, I don’t want to forget it. Tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s just…growing up, I never had many friends. My dad and I moved around so much that after a while, it seemed like a waste of time to get to know anyone.”

“Yeah, that would pretty much suck. It takes me a long time to get to know people.” Nate smiled. “Well, except for you. You were the exception.”

Lucas smiled back and shifted closer on the futon. “When I moved here this summer and you were in Europe, I realized how alone I am without you and your family. Without you, I don’t have anyone. I don’t think that’s really a good thing, you know? I mean, what if we broke up?”

Nate’s smile was uneasy. “Hmm. You know something I don’t?”

“No, no. Of course not. I’m just saying…”

“I hear you. You don’t want your entire world to revolve around me.” He grinned. “Although I am pretty awesome, so it’s understandable that you’d want to be with me day and night.”

Lucas laughed. “Right. So you can see my dilemma.”

“Look, don’t worry. You just need to get out there and meet people. Join a club or something.”

He made it sound so easy, but Lucas wasn’t convinced. “Yeah, I should look into it. Maybe I’ll ask Casey.”

At Casey’s name, Nate’s smile flickered, but he said, “Sounds like a good idea.” Leaning in, he kissed Lucas’s neck. “So, am I forgiven?” His hand slid up Lucas’s thigh.

A bolt of desire surged through Lucas. “Well, that depends.”

“On?”

“How hard you make me come tonight.”

Nate kissed him in response, his tongue slipping between Lucas’s lips. Before long, they’d made their way to the bed, flinging their clothes off and bumping into the wall in the small space between the foot of the bed and the bathroom.

As Nate reached for the lube, Lucas got onto his hands and knees on the mattress. Nate pressed up close behind him, kissing down his spine, his hands teasing. Then a slick finger pushed inside him, and Lucas moaned softly. “Fuck me,” he muttered.

“That’s the plan.” Nate added another finger, opening him up.

Lucas was hard, and he resisted the urge to touch himself. He heard the tear of foil and tensed in anticipation as Nate slipped his fingers out. The head of his cock replaced them, and Lucas pushed back, eager to take him inside.

As Nate entered him, Lucas closed his eyes and savored the familiar mix of pleasure and pain. He loved the sensation of being possessed, and of possessing Nate at the same time. Nate thrust back and forth gently at first, then with increasing power.

His hands gripped Lucas’s hips as he drove in and out, deeper each time. He hit exactly the right spot, and Lucas cried out as his body tingled with waves of pleasure. Nate repeated the motion, and soon Lucas was moaning loudly, his arms trembling.

While Lucas loved the intimacy of having sex face-to-face, there was something primal about being on all fours that really turned him on. “Harder,” he groaned.

Nate was only too happy to comply, and Lucas could hear his harsh breathing as he rammed into him. Lucas went down onto his elbows, opening himself up further. The bed slammed into the wall with a rhythmic noise, and a thought about what the neighbors must think flitted through his mind.

Then Nate reached around and began stroking him roughly, and Lucas came in a blinding rush of joy that shook his body. Nate still moved inside him, gasping as he worked his hips faster before shuddering with release.

They both caught their breath, and after a few minutes, Lucas gathered the energy to shift away from the wet spot. Nate smiled lazily. “What’s for dinner?”

Laughing, Lucas told him to go microwave the casserole himself.

* * * * *

The line for Gomorrah wrapped around the block, but Nate confidently marched up to the VIP entrance, Lucas in tow. At least Lucas was twenty-one now, but he still wasn’t much of a clubber. “Nate, are you sure they’ll let us in?”

“I told you, Ryan got us on the list.”

“How?”

He smirked over his shoulder. “Ryan has his ways.”

It was the Saturday before Halloween, and the whole city seemed to be on the streets, decked out in costumes. Plumes of feathers, masks of all shapes and sizes, and garish makeup were everywhere Lucas looked.

He and Nate both wore tight black pants and tall black boots, topped off with open, flowing shirts and masquerade masks from a local costume shop. Nate’s was a black and white harlequin diamond pattern and diagonally covered half his face. It made Lucas think of
The Phantom of the Opera
, and he’d been humming it under his breath all evening, much to Nate’s consternation, although Nate smiled as he complained.

Lucas’s own mask was bright blue and covered his eyes and nose. He felt remarkably concealed under it, although the open shirt flapping around him made him very self-conscious. His chest was so pale and soft compared to everyone else’s. He wanted to do a few buttons up, but then he’d look like he was trying to hide. Which he was, but he didn’t want it to be so obvious. He crossed his arms and shivered in the autumn air, which had turned chilly.

Thinking of the first and last time he’d been in the club, Lucas flushed as he remembered taking his shirt off and letting Nate jerk him off with people watching. He hadn’t felt ashamed then, so why did he feel so uncomfortable in his costume now?

The bouncer eyed them up and down as Nate gave his name. Scanning the list, the bouncer paused for what seemed an eternity before telling them their fate. He nodded. “ID.”

After flashing their licenses, they were admitted entrance beyond the velvet ropes. Inside, the huge, multilevel circular space teemed with revelers, the colored strobe lights pulsing and illuminating a menagerie of costumes. Some of the men on the dance floor had apparently gone with a biblical theme and wore little more than loincloths. Lucas again had to fight the urge to cover his own skin. He couldn’t compete with these men.

Nate clasped Lucas’s hand and they worked their way to the back of the club where Nate’s friends always met. However, they were nowhere to be found, and Nate scanned the room uselessly. “They should be here,” he shouted. Just then, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket, peering at the screen intently. He’d put it on vibrate due to the eardrum-shattering volume of the music.

Nate’s face darkened and he snapped the phone shut. “I’ve got to go outside. There’s drama with Jamie.
Again
. I think he and Roger had a fight.”

“Don’t they have a fight, like, every five minutes?” Lucas had to shout to be heard.

“Yeah, but he’s my friend, so I need to go. I don’t want you to have to deal with this; I’m sure it’s nothing. Look, just have a drink and dance and have fun, and I’ll be back before you know it. Sorry.” Nate kissed him and squeezed his hand before he turned away.

“No, I’ll come with you!”

But Nate was already swallowed in the crowd, and Lucas stood there forlornly as people moved around him. To give himself something to do, he fought his way to the bar and ordered a beer. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he was, and the beer was gone before he knew it. He got back in line.

“Want an Orgasm?”

“Um, what?” Lucas found himself in very close quarters with the man next to him in the crush in front of the bar.

The man, who wore an open leather vest over breeches and sported an eye patch, was tall and beautiful, with dazzling white teeth and perfectly coiffed black hair. A sprinkling of hair peppered his wide chest, and his arms were thick with sculpted muscles.

“An Orgasm. You know, the shot,” the man replied, his mouth close to Lucas’s ear so he could be heard.

“Oh, um…” Lucas felt strangely tongue-tied, and then they were at the front of the line.

“Two Orgasms and two Heinekens,” the man ordered.

Lucas accepted the drinks and threw the shot back, washing down the sweet butterscotch flavor with the beer. “Thanks.”

“Anytime. Sure is packed tonight, huh?” The man rambled on about Halloween, pointing out impressive costumes on the dance floor. Lucas listened politely, drinking his free beer, which went down as easily as the first one. They had another shot and Heineken, with Lucas insisting on paying this time. The guy seemed nice enough, and it was great to have some company while he waited for Nate, who was taking way longer than he said he would.

The new Rihanna remix came on, and the man nodded to the dance floor. “Come on.”

“Oh, I’ve got to wait here. My boyfriend’s coming back any minute.”

“So we’ll stay at the edge of the floor. Come on, let’s get our groove on.” He playfully tugged Lucas’s arm, and Lucas let himself be led. It really was a great song, and Nate was taking forever anyway. Jamie would probably be talking his ear off all night if history counted for anything.