Get-Together Summer (12 page)

"I said, what do you think?" Dirk cocked his head.
"If you were gonna make a monster movie, would you go for horror or
action?" He braced both of his elbows on the arm of the couch,
lifting himself up a bit, and Simon had to turn his head away.

"I don't know," he muttered. "Maybe ... both? It'd
depend on the rest of the story, wouldn't it?"

"Right." Haley sat up, leaning in,
so that her shoulder was brushing against Simon's now, and he had a
brief view down the top of her dress before he turned away
from
that
as well.
She shifted and hooked her arm with his automatically, her chest
pressed against him. "If you want your movie to be
good
, you've got to have
an interesting story."

"Yeah," Simon mumbled, only half paying attention.
Dirk had moved closer too, he realized with a small panicked start.
Were they trying to play some sort of trick on him? They had him
hemmed in like some kind of prey animal, and the only way out was
to lean forward and off the couch, but he couldn't quite make
himself move. He swallowed hard, fisting his hands on his knees and
staring resolutely at the floor. "I guess so. Interesting."

Still holding onto Simon, Haley reached out to shove
Dirk playfully. "See? You're everything that's wrong with the
industry," she said to him. "No wonder the everything is just
remake after sequel after adaption."

Dirk shoved back, though somewhere along the way
their fingers ended up tangled together, and Simon was well and
truly trapped between them and the net of their arms. "You can
argue all you want, baby, that's not going to change what's true.
Some of those sequels can be better than the original, too! And
remakes with better technology's never a bad thing."

"Uh, I think you mean that it's sometimes a really
terrible thing." She shoved at their hands again, grinning. "Only
people who're interested in style over substance would really think
like that!"

"Um," Simon managed, his voice a low hoarse croak.
"Haley--"

Dirk leaned in closer now, grinning
so that all his teeth showed. "Sometimes style
becomes
substance, what about that?
Part of the beauty of a movie is that you can tell some of your
story visually, instead of just relying on your written
dialogue."

"Dirk--"

"Maybe that'd work, if there was actually some kind
of storytelling element to it! No, instead, it's just the biggest
explosions and walls of fire and things like that--"

"
Guys
!" Simon burst out, and their
argument stopped as they both turned to look at him. Their faces
were closer than he'd thought, and he blushed at their proximity.
"Um, you know, I'm right here ... so, uh, if you wanted to -- I
could -- I can just leave, if that'd be easier ..."

"Leave?" Haley blinked and frowned. "But you just got
back."

"We're just having a debate," Dirk added. He looked
significantly less innocent than Haley, though; just looking at
her, wide-eyed with her lips pursed, Simon could have believed she
wasn't aware -- but Dirk's grin remained sharp and knowing, and he
scowled through his blush, hunching his shoulders.

"That's not it," he said. "Look, I'm not -- I'm
sorry, okay? You don't have to make fun of me! Just because of all
that -- I was trying to be a good person, okay? I just wanted to be
friends, and then you had to -- I'm going to my room!" He started
to push forward, ducking to get under their joined hands. He got to
his feet and took about two steps when Haley grabbed his arm.

"Simon, wait--"

He tried to jerk it free,
half-turning to her with a scowl. "No, I don't want to! You said it
would be fine, you
said
, and now it's all--"

"Hey," Dirk said. "Simon."

"You're a jerk too! I don't know why I thought it'd
actually be okay, how long were you guys laughing about this--"

Dirk caught Simon's face in both hands, holding it
still. The gesture surprised him into stillness, though he tugged a
few more times at his caught wrist weakly. Dirk's face was even
closer now -- closer than Haley's had been that morning, when Simon
had almost messed up and kissed her. He was still smiling, but it
looked almost gentle now, a little wry. Up close his eyes looked
more golden than brown, with shards of lighter color shot through
the darker portions.

"Um," Simon squeaked, his voice rising up high.

Dirk kissed him.

It wasn't a very sexy kiss to start
with, and it was barely even a real
kiss
, just their lips pressed hard
together, their noses smushed at the awkward angle. Dirk's mouth
was slightly damp and a little chapped, and he didn't actually try
to push it very hard, just held that pressure with his hands firmly
gripping on to Simon's face. Haley had released his wrist at some
point, but he let his arms dangle loosely by his sides, too shocked
to actually respond. A hot wet line of pressure slid across his
lips, startling a sharp noise out of him, and he jumped, his mouth
opening automatically.

Dirk pressed the advantage at once, sliding his
tongue into Simon's mouth with a single bold stroke. He continued
to hold onto Simon's hand, as if to keep it still, thrusting his
tongue in and out. At first, Simon just made muffled noises,
confused -- and then he leaned into it as best he could, tangling
his tongue determinedly with Dirk's, whining louder through his
nose. Even if it was just out of pity, if he could at least get
away with it this once -- and it wasn't even his fault, he'd been
the one grabbed! -- he would do his best.

Then Dirk let go and slid back, though his hands
still remained cupped around Simon's face. He was breathing hard,
his expression searching, and Simon could only meet that look for a
few moments before he had to turn glance away -- and found himself
staring directly at Haley. She was staring at the both of them,
wide-eyed and flushed, her mouth pursed in a round little o.
Whether it was from surprise or something else, he couldn't
tell.

"Hey," Dirk said softly, and when Simon glanced his
way again, Dirk kissed him a second time -- softer now, almost
gentle, asking instead of demanding, and Simon swayed into it
before he could quite stop himself. It was very nearly chaste, just
the faint wet glide of Dirk's tongue over his lower lip before they
parted again. Without looking away, Dirk moved one hand away from
Simon's face, reaching out to Haley, still staring at them.

"C'mere, babe," he said. "You know you wanna."

"Um," Haley said, in a small shocked voice. "I
do?"

He turned his head just a little to smile at her; his
hand never wavered. Haley stared back without saying anything --
long enough that Simon remembered to feel self-conscious again,
shifting nervously in place -- then took Dirk's hand, scooting
forward on the couch. She turned to look at Simon instead, and he
almost couldn't breathe at the look in her eyes, tentative and
curious and hopeful all at once. He sucked in a breath and held it
as she leaned in, almost flinching as her lips touched his.

For long moments neither of them moved, breathing
quietly with lips touching and no more than that. Then Haley
shifted a little, making a small noise deep in her throat, and the
sound made something hot and shaky uncurl inside of Simon. He
whimpered in response, surging forward and wrapping his arms around
her, pressing his hands hard to her back, clutching handfuls of her
thin sundress. Her lips parted under his with a small squeak and he
kissed her hard and eager, breathing hard through his nose. Some
small part of him was still panicking -- what if this was some sort
of tremendous joke? what if this had been a test, and he'd failed
by actually responding? what if he was hurting her, clinging like
this? -- but the rest of him was trapped by the softness of Haley's
body against his own, and the way she yielded to his kiss without
protest, her tongue curling warmly against his. It took him a
moment to realize she was stroking his back, her fingers ghostly
light, though she stopped when Dirk pressed up against him from
behind. For a single glorious moment he was pressed between them,
and it was everything he'd wanted and nothing like he'd
imagined.

Then he pulled sharply away from the kiss with a
gasp, shaking all the way down to his bones. He licked his lips
over and over, trying to recapture the feeling, staring at Haley.
He was afraid to even blink for fear that everything would suddenly
fall to pieces.

Haley stared back, flushed deep red and breathing
hard enough to leave her chest heaving.

"Oh my god," she said, her voice
high and shaking. "Oh my
god
."

Dirk made a hushing noise deep in his throat and
reached out, past Simon, to stroke her cheek with the back of his
fingers. "Breathe, baby," he said, his voice low and soothing.
"Come on, one big one -- right, like that," he added, when she
complied, sucking in a huge breath and holding it for a few beats
before letting it out slowly. Her look of shock faded into
something approaching wonder as she brought a hand to press Dirk's
fingers more firmly to her cheek, staring into Simon's face.

"Um," she said, "so, does this mean
that you
really
... ?" She licked her lips.

Simon floundered for a moment. "Yeah," he said at
last. "That was -- I wasn't kidding, before, with the whole ..." He
made a vague gesture at her, his gaze falling to her lips. She
licked her lips automatically, and he swallowed back a moan. "I-I
was going to, you know, I wanted to--"

"To what?" Dirk's voice was right in his ear,
accompanied by a hot burst of air that reached straight into
Simon's gut and twisted. His cheek pressed against Simon's as he
turned his head to look at Haley as well. "You didn't tell me about
this."

"I--" Haley sniffed a little and drew herself up,
though the effect was ruined by her blush. "I promised I wasn't
going to tell, since it wasn't your business."

For a moment Simon wondered if Dirk would be angry --
the possible scenarios flashed through his head, of shouting, or
even possibly an actual physical knockdown fight -- but Dirk just
laughed, stroking along Haley's cheek again.

"Maybe not," he said, "but I'd like it to be." He
curled an arm loosely around Simon's waist, hugging him back
against his own body, and turned his head. "Can I kiss you
again?"

Simon blinked, then swallowed hard. "Me--?"

"Say no if you don't wanna," Dirk said, and his
expression was serious -- outright earnest, in fact, and it made
Simon feel warm in a very different sort of way. "Remember what I
said before? I've gotta feel something before I do anything. So I'm
asking you because I wanna. But if you don't, that's just as
important -- more, maybe. Got it?"

Simon bit his lip. He looked at Haley, who couldn't
seem to decide which of them to stare at, going back and forth from
his face to Dirk's. "Um," he said, more breathlessly than he would
have liked. "If. I guess, if Haley doesn't--"

"No," she said in a rush. "No, it's fine. If you want
to. Go ahead."

He looked back at Dirk, who smiled at him again.
There were teeth in that smile, but his eyes were soft, full of a
warm affection that Simon was sure had only been meant for Haley
--

Simon closed his eyes and tipped his face up,
waiting. Long warm fingers touched his chin, adjusting his head
just so, and then Dirk's mouth was on his again, warm and wet, and
Simon parted his lips immediately this time, breathing hard through
his nose as Dirk's tongue slid into his mouth, easily and casually
possessive, stroking against his in open imitation of something
else. When Dirk finally pulled back, Simon was trembling. He whined
at the loss and Dirk murmured something low and soothing in
response, sweeping both thumbs over his cheeks.

When he opened his eyes, Dirk was looking at him
fondly, meeting his gaze for a moment before looking past him, at
Haley. He let go of Simon to hold out a hand to her.

"Come here, pretty girl," he said, and when Haley put
her hand in his, he tugged her closer, until she was pressed up
close to them, so that Simon was cradled between their bodies. He
could feel the outline of her bra through the thin material of her
dress, and her breathing was quick and fast. Dirk leaned past Simon
to kiss her, closed-lipped and affectionate, and as he did Simon
heard the soft shushing noise of cloth over skin. Pushed as closely
together as they were, he could feel as Haley's dress was pulled
up, over her breasts, and then she drew back from the kiss to pull
the dress completely over her head, leaving her hair a fuzzy halo
around her face. She was blushing furiously, all the way down to
her breasts, which--

Simon swallowed -- or tried to, and
found his throat nearly impossibly tight. Haley's bra was white and
cut in a low dip between her breasts, edged in lace, a gentle
contrast to her pink skin. He started to reach out and stopped
himself, unsure of how to proceed until Dirk took his wrist and
pulled his hand forward to complete the gesture. Simon and Haley
both inhaled sharply at the contact, and Simon stared at his hand
in wide-eyed amazement: he was
doing
it, he was
touching
her, and he squeezed before
he could stop himself. Her breast was softer than he'd even
imagined, warm and heavy in his palm, and after a moment he
realized that the small bump against his palm wasn't just from the
bra itself, but her nipple, and the breath left him in a sudden and
pained rush. He shifted his grip so that he could brush his thumb
over that small peak, watching in wide-eyed amazement as Haley's
whole body gave a small jerk and her hands came up to catch at his
shoulders and hold on tightly. He rubbed in tiny hesitant circles,
torn between watching her face and his finger and looking even
lower, to the low dip of her white panties.