Echo (8 page)

"Ugh, you're going to kill yourself," Anderson said. He was using a fork to stir up his noodles and he hadn't added any jalapenos to his bowl.

"
You're going to kill yourself
. Are you going to eat those?" he pointed at the poor jalapenos left lonely on the plate.

Anderson shook his head. "No thanks. I'm not that into spicy stuff."

Cole grinned and tossed the rest of the jalapenos into his bowl. "
I'm not that into spicy stuff
. For me, the spicier it is, the better." He slurped up some noodles. "Delicious."

Anderson shook his head, but ate his own noodles.

* * *

"So, my mom died when I was fourteen. She had a big stroke, then a bunch of smaller ones while she was in the hospital. She was only forty years old," Anderson said. "I have to get tested all the time because I inherited her blood clotting problem." At Cole's expression, he shook his head, "Don't look so worried. I'm healthy and I don't seem to be having any problems or anything."

"
I don't seem to be having any problems or anything
. Still, that's kind of scary," Cole said. "I don't know what I would do without my mom around. I mean, she smothers me horribly, but she's my mom."

"What about your dad? Where's he?" Anderson asked.

"
Where's he?
" Cole shrugged. "That is a good question. He took off when I was really little. It was only me and my mom growing up and she did everything for me." He looked down at his hands. "You wouldn't believe how upset she was when my 'speech impediment' didn't clear up the way the doctor's said it would. You would have thought it was the end of the world."

"Was it hard growing up?" Anderson asked.

"
Was it hard growing up?
Just a little bit,"
a lot
, his tone said. "There was a group of kids that seemed to get off on teasing me all the time. My cousin would come and protect me from them, but he was in the grade above me and couldn't be there all the time. I kind of had to grow a thick skin."

Anderson couldn't help thinking of a miniature-Cole being taunted and teased by a group of monstrously deformed kids. They would have to be real monsters to ever want to bully such a sweet-faced boy. And considering how shy Cole was and some of the personality quirks he displayed, whatever went on must have been somewhat traumatic.

"How bad was it?" he asked. His foot tapped nervously on the floor and he had to work to keep from showing how upset he was at the idea of Cole being bullied. And never mind that it had happened years ago.

Cole shrugged, his face down-turned. A lock of hair had fallen across his forehead and he looked almost too-attractive; it made something ache low in Anderson's belly. He wanted to reach out and caress Cole's face, but they hadn't reached that point yet.

"
How bad was it?
There were times I really didn't think I was going to make it through high school. They were some real jerks and the one thing I never understood was why none of the teachers could stop them," Cole said. "There were only a couple of times where things got physical, but my cousin put a stop to that real quick. It was the things they
said
that he couldn't do a whole lot about.

"The worst thing was that my echolalia was getting pretty much under control before then." Cole's expression was wry. "My psychiatrist says things like 'psychological trauma' and 'psychosocial abuse.' Basically, all the teasing I received made my tic worse and now I have a hard time controlling it. I went from a banal pediatric condition to a full on anxiety disorder." He gave a painful laugh. "It kind of sucks and not even medication can help it."

"Is it weird to say that I wish I could go back and kick some little kid asses?" Anderson asked.

Cole laughed and shook his head, seemingly throwing off the dark pall that had fallen around him. His cheeks were flushed from the spicy noodles and his brown eyes sparkled. "
Kick some little kid asses
," he said. "That's pretty funny. I'm sure I'd visit you in prison too."

"I could be your prison pen pal," Anderson offered. "You could bake me a cake with a file in it and I would escape just so I could see you."

"
I would escape just so I could see you
. Why do I get the impression that you've seen way too many cheesy romance movies?" Cole asked.

Anderson shrugged. "They're my favorite genre. Them and Antiques Roadshow, that's all I watch on TV." He glanced at his watch, then took out his phone. "Here, I'm going to check out movie times real quick; that way we can know whether we have time for dessert or not."

He checked movie times on his phone and was pleased to see that they had plenty of time before any of the really good movies started.

"Well, we can get some dessert. What do you feel like?" he asked, slipping his phone back in his pocket.

"
What do you feel like
? Well, we can get some ice cream from the shop up the street," Cole said. "A scoop of chocolate lover's sounds really good right now." He licked his lips.

Anderson couldn't help the way his eyes followed that pink tongue and he could feel himself hardening in his pants. There was just something about Cole that seemed to hit every one of his buttons. "Yeah, ice cream sounds good."

A romantic stroll and ice cream cones, then an action movie that had Cole waving his hands and excitedly babbling in an orgasm of nerdiness all the way back to his apartment. It was the kind of thing that Anderson had always cringed away from before... but now it was wonderful.

He could spend hours and days just gazing at Cole's face, watching for every expression that might show itself there. His fingers itched to reach out and explore every bit of Cole's skin that he could touch. And he couldn't help imagining the taste of Cole on his tongue.

"You haven't said anything in like ten minutes." Cole crossed his arms. "What are you thinking about?"

Anderson shrugged. "We should go see more movies and stuff together. What are you doing on Friday?"

"
What are you doing on Friday?
" Cole laughed. "This date isn't even over yet and you're already planning the next one?" He shrugged. "I guess I'm doing whatever you've got planned for Friday."

"I'll think of something good," Anderson said, his mind already working. Then reached out and slung his arm around Cole's shoulder, tugging him closer against his side.

Cole gave him a surprised look, but nuzzled in close, wrapping his arm around Anderson's waist.

Anderson walked Cole to the front door, then let him go when they went in. He gave the old man sitting at the front desk a friendly nod and got a gimlet eye in return. It made him grin.

There was something kind of awesome about being the guy old people disapproved of. It made him think that he could be the one to lay claim to Cole's virtue. At the very least, he planned on stealing himself a kiss tonight.

They rode the elevator up to the fourth floor and he walked Cole right to his door. "Well," he said, nibbling on his lip. He stuck his hands in his pockets and tried to look relaxed and a bit hopeful.

"
Well
," Cole echoed. He unlocked his door and held it open. "Do you want to come in?"

"
Yes
."

* * *

He couldn't quite believe what was happening and maybe it was a little too fast for him, but it just felt so right to be pushed down on his back on the couch with Anderson up over him. They were still mostly dressed, though Anderson had lost his shirt somewhere and Cole was thoroughly enjoying running his hands over his bared skin, feeling the warmth of his flesh.

Anderson's kisses were overwhelming. It felt like he was being devoured and he couldn't help the way his hips lifted to grind his erection against Anderson's thigh, trying to find some kind of friction. His body felt so hot and he was almost uncomfortably hard and all he knew was that he
wanted
.

Anderson laughed. "Well, who would have thought?" he husked. His hand slipped down between them and Cole felt the buttons of his jeans being unsnapped.

Something in his head told him that he had to pull back from this for some reason. He made a whimpering noise and grabbed Anderson to stop him.

"It's all right," Anderson assured him, "we're not going to do anything you're not ready for. I just want to make you feel good right now." He slowly pulled his hand out of Cole's, then slipped it back down again, spreading Cole's fly so he could tuck his hand in past the band of Cole's briefs, freeing his erection.

Anderson's hand against his skin made Cole buck helplessly. Distantly, he heard the sound of Anderson's laughter as he began to jerk his cock. But really, all he could do was
feel
as Anderson pumped him.

"Oh," he groaned when Anderson stroked his thumb across the head of his cock, using his pre-come as a lubricant to set up a quick pace that had him gasping for breath as his hips jerked. He could feel his balls drawing tight.

"Come on now," Anderson growled, leaning down to nip at his lip.

He moaned and came into Anderson's hand. He could feel the man's wild laughter vibrating though the couch as his come spurted up over Anderson's stomach and chest.

Anderson sat up while Cole tried to catch his breath. He couldn't help watching the man through half-lidded eyes, taking in the splash of milky-white against his bare skin. He could see the outline of his erection in his jeans and it made him lick his lips.

He suddenly felt a bit unsure, wondering what he was supposed to do in return.

Anderson seemed to read his mind, because he smiled gently. "It's all right. Like I said, you don't have to do anything you're not ready for." He stood up, walking into the kitchen to come back a moment later with a clean chest and a damp paper towel in his hand. "Let's get you cleaned up."

Cole couldn't help blushing at Anderson's solicitous behavior as the man gently cleaned him up. No one had ever handled his cock so tenderly before. It was as though Anderson thought he was something special.

"
Let's get you cleaned up
. I can't believe you did that," Cole said.

"It felt good, though, didn't it?" Anderson raised an eyebrow.

Cole nodded. Then he gasped when Anderson smirked and leaned down to press a quick kiss against the still sensitive head of his cock before tucking him back in his briefs and buttoning his jeans back up.

"Well, I think it's time for me to go," Anderson said, jerking his head toward the door. Cole opened his mouth to object, but Anderson held up a hand to stop him. "We've both got work tomorrow. Plus, I get the feeling that you need a chance to process."