Get-Together Summer (2 page)

Phantom hands touched his shoulder,
and in an instant Simon was the one being held instead, his back
pressed against a hard solid body, a lean strong arm wrapped around
his waist and a long-fingered hand taking hold of his cock, jerking
him off easily, working up speed and then slowing again. Lips
pressed against his ear, curved into a knowing smile, and Dirk's
voice in his ear:
You like that, don't
you, you liked watching me fuck her and pretending it was you,
didn't you, you wanted your dick inside of her tight little pussy,
but you've got me instead, how's that? How about I bend you over
that desk and pound your ass till I'm coming out your
throat--

Simon came with a startled shout, clapping a hand
over his mouth a moment too late. He slumped back heavily against
the door -- just a door now, nothing more than that -- and stared
down at his own hand and his own cock like he couldn't recognize
them. His breath was loud in his ears, but slowly, gently, his
heart was calming to a normal pace.

"Oh, fuck me," he said.

It was evening before Simon dared leaving his room
again. Most of the house was dark, but he could see lights on in
the kitchen, downstairs, casting warm yellow shadows all the way up
to where he was. He moved slowly and carefully, holding his breath
as he tiptoed past Haley's room -- the door was closed completely
now, and he wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed by
that.

Dirk was in the kitchen. He was standing at the
stove, humming to himself, poking at a skillet of scrambled eggs
with all the ease in the world. He was wearing clothes again, at
least, though he was barefoot on the kitchen's tile floor. Like his
hands, his feet were long and oddly elegant, with slim graceful
toes. Distracted by his cooking, he didn't even look up at Simon's
very obvious approach.

It was annoying. It was
annoying
. This practical
stranger just came waltzing into Simon's home without so much as
asking, and suddenly he was sleeping in Haley's bed and using the
kitchen like he
lived
there ... !

Simon crossed his arms. "What are you doing?"

Dirk glanced up and flipped loose hair from his eyes.
He gestured with the spatula. "What's it look like? Making
dinner."

"That's not dinner, that's eggs."

"If you could tell, why ask?" Dirk grinned, though it
looked more like a grimace, his teeth bared. He'd bitten Haley with
those teeth, left small red marks on her skin, and now he was
showing them off like they were some kind of prize. It was
disgusting. "Never had breakfast for dinner, pretty boy?"

It took physical effort to not
recoil at the title. Simon lifted his nose higher; even though Dirk
was taller, he didn't really have the weight of
presence
that an Oakley did, and
that, he told himself, was enough. "Breakfast is meant for
breakfast-time. If you
must
make eggs for later in the day, at least make
something more elegant with them." He glanced at the custardy mound
of curds in the pan. "That doesn't look like something anyone would
want to eat."

"No? Your cousin likes 'em." Dirk grinned again, and
Simon caught something almost sinister in the curve of his smile,
an innuendo that lay just beyond his understanding -- and one that
he wasn't sure he even wanted to pursue. "She asked for them, in
fact."

"Haley did?" He wasn't sure if he was incredulous or
indignant at the revelation. "Perhaps she was just curious about
your peasant food."

Dirk looked at him, then burst into
laughter, loud enough to echo in the spacious kitchen. He grabbed
for the edge of the stove island to brace himself, wrapping his
other arm around his stomach as if in some halfhearted attempt to
hold it in. Simon bristled at once; he could hear the mocking edge
as clear as anything. "What?
What
?!"

"
Peasant
food?" Dirk managed, through
a series of choked snorts. "You really talk like that? Shit, I
didn't think anyone really acted that way any more! Oh my
god!"

Simon clenched his fists but refused to uncoil his
arms, gritting his teeth. "Peasants are peasants, no matter when
they live," he said, as loftily as he could manage.

"Let me tell you something, pretty boy." Dirk
straightened again, wiping his eyes and then pointing with the
spatula. "If it's money you've got the problem with, I got enough
to keep Haley in the style she's accustomed, if she wants. But I
don't think it matters as much to her as it does to you. So if
you've got a problem, just spit it out. I'm all ears."

"That's not true," Simon said, though he couldn't say
what he was responding to, exactly. "I just thought Haley had
better taste than that, that's all." He looked Dirk up and down,
trying to make his expression as withering as possible. Even
dressed, his clothes were thin enough to show off the lean build of
his body: his shirt had ridden up enough to bare the flat expanse
of his belly, and his pants were slung low on his hips, showing off
their sharp edges. Simon bit his lip. "She's supposed to be smart,
after all."

Dirk shifted, and the movement made Simon realize he
was staring at Dirk's hips; he snapped his head up to look at
Dirk's face instead. There was an expression he couldn't read
there, narrow eyes and pursed lips.

"Haley's a smart girl," he said. "Smartest girl I've
ever dated. Smarter than any of the boys, too."

His tone was casual, but the words sounded like a
death-knell. Simon did recoil this time, flushing.

"So you're one of those?" he demanded trying to
inject as much dripping disdain into his voice as possible. "You're
so insatiable you'll sleep with anyone, just for the sake of a
cheap thrill? You get away from my cousin this instant, you -- you
--"

Dirk put the spatula down and began to walk forward.
Simon's words died in his throat and he swayed back, suddenly
nervous. He tightened his arms around himself and tried not to
cringe as Dirk reached out -- but instead of touching him, Dirk
simply placed a hand on the wall, next to Simon's head. He leaned
forward, enough that Simon could feel the heat radiating off his
body, and he could smell the briefest musky tang under the stronger
smell of soap. He must have showered, he thought. Had he showered
with Haley? There was almost certainly enough room, especially if
two people pressed close together--

"I haven't dated a single person I
wasn't serious about," Dirk said, cutting through Simon's
half-formed fantasy. His voice was even and calm, almost hard.
"Girls, boys, who gives a fuck? I loved 'em all, that's why I was
with them. And out of all of them, Haley's been the best. So if
you've got a
real
problem with me, say it to my face, because if it's bullshit
like that, all you're doing is wasting your own goddamn
time."

Simon licked his lips, quick and nervous. His earlier
bravado felt like it was slipping, no matter how hard he tried to
hold onto it. He tried to focus on his outrage instead, the angry
jealous lump in his throat that lay under his fascination, that
Haley had been so wrapped up in this man she hadn't even noticed
him -- that this near-stranger was so preoccupied with his own
victory that he hadn't seen Simon in the doorway. "It's not
bullshit," he said. "It's being worried for her well-being. Haley's
my cousin, I worry about her! Family is the most important
thing--"

Dirk's eyes narrowed. He reached
out and took Simon's chin in hand, with a surprisingly hard grip,
and forced him to look up. Simon swallowed hard, the rest of his
would-be tirade fizzling out. When had Dirk's face gotten that
close? He should have been paying better attention, especially
after Dirk had revealed himself to be
like
that
-- should he call out? Throw a fuss?
Surely someone else was home and close enough to hear
...

"You really are an idiot," Dirk said, and a moment
later he was gone, pulled out of Simon's personal bubble and headed
back towards the stove island. He took up his spatula, nudging the
eggs in the pan again. It was as if the earlier moment hadn't
happened at all. Simon's knees buckled, and he had to lean back
into the wall to keep from simply falling over on the spot.

"What," he managed after a moment, hating how hot his
face felt, how red he knew it must be. "What was that! What do you
think you were doing! I'll have you thrown out--!"

Dirk switched off the stove. He walked around the
island to open a cabinet, then another, leaving the doors open as
he did, until he found the plates. He took down two, then began to
rummage through the doors. Simon watched until it was obvious his
threat was being ignored, then clenched his fists again. It took
more effort than he wanted to admit to not just stomp his foot in
his outrage. "I mean it! I'll call someone, I'll have you thrown
out! You're trespassing, you know, that's illegal--!"

"Maybe," Dirk said, slow and insolent, drawing out
the word until it sounded like a complete sentence on its own. "But
then you'd have to explain that to Haley."

Simon gulped. It was true; he doubted Haley would
appreciate what he was doing for her right away. In time, perhaps,
once the spell of Dirk's charisma wore off and she came to her
senses. But right now -- she'd just had sex with him! There was no
way his hard work would mean anything to her at first, and even if
she appreciated it later, the frostiness of her disapproval was
still a daunting prospect. As much as he wanted to believe she
would thank him, and maybe even hold his hand in gratitude, it was
unlikely that scenario would come to pass. He gritted his
teeth.

"You'd have to explain what you just did, too," he
said. "What was that? If you're only interested in people you
actually care about, then what the hell did you think you were
doing?!"

Dirk glanced at him and shrugged. "Look, I don't
normally make suggestions like this, but have you considered
getting laid yourself?"

Simon stared. He opened his mouth, but couldn't quite
make himself answer. Dirk portioned off the eggs, half for each
plate, and turned back to him, his expression thoughtful.

"I'm serious," he went on, though he didn't move from
the spot. "Usually I think that sort of advice is shit, but man,
you're not bad-looking. It might be good for you."

Simon blushed again, hard enough to
make his face hurt. He pressed himself harder to the wall, turning
his head away, mumbling something that sounded incoherent even to
his own ears. Maybe Dirk
had
seen him, after all? Maybe he was trying to play
it cool, to try and make things less embarrassing for everyone, and
now Simon had ruined everything. That would be just his luck,
wouldn't it?

"Hey." Dirk sounded concerned now, though he remained
where he stood, a safe distance between the two of them. "Okay,
that was kind of a dick move. Sorry."

Simon took a deep breath and held it for a few
seconds, until his lungs began to burn. He let it out in a rush.
"You should be," he mumbled. "Some of us aren't, we're just not
interested in that sort of thing."

"I said sorry." There was a shuffling, and when Simon
opened an eye to peek, he saw Dirk approaching him, carrying the
two plates. In spite of himself, he flinched away, but Dirk didn't
actually try to touch him, slipping past him and down the hallway.
Simon sagged in place, then jumped again when Dirk's voice came
floating back, disembodied in the dark: "Hey! Tomorrow, you should
come with me and Haley when we go out."

Simon craned his head, incredulous, but couldn't make
out anything down the hall. "What?"

"We're going to a movie! Haven't decided what yet,
though, so come with us."

He scowled, hunching his shoulders up to his ears. "I
don't want your pity."

"Good! I've got no time for things like that. We're
shooting for the matinee, so be awake by then."

"That wasn't a yes--!" Simon pulled
away from the wall at last, scowling, but all he heard in response
was footsteps walking away, and the creak of someone's weight on
the stairs. With a small frustrated noise he scrubbed at his face
with both hands, and gave himself to the count of one hundred
before moving. As he passed Haley's room again, he found himself
slowing, straining his ears. He could just barely hear snatches of
the conversation: just the sounds of Haley's voice, and Dirk's, and
nothing clear at all about
what
they were saying. After nearly a full minute, he
gave up and crept all the way back to his own room, throwing
himself onto the bed and rolling himself determinedly up in his
blankets. In the stale warmth of his cocoon, he closed his eyes and
tried to sleep.

At some point, though, he rolled over and heard the
sound of rhythmic rocking -- a pattern that he'd only just learned,
but recognized in an instant. His breath caught in his throat and
for a moment he didn't move, trying to convince himself the sounds
were nothing more than his imagination.

Then Dirk groaned, low and rich, and Simon clawed his
way upright, breathing hard. He kept his blanket wrapped tightly
around his shoulders, oozing off his bed and tiptoeing to his door
-- though even that was ridiculous; moving around in his own room
was fine, even if they were stupid enough to do anything in the
hallway ... they weren't really that foolish, were they?

He pushed the door open, and saw that there was a
thin shaft of light stretching across the carpet down the
hallway.

It took Simon a moment to make himself move. He went
step by slow shuffling step, listening to the rough sound of Dirk's
voice, gasping a litany of fuzzy-edged words. When he leaned to
peek, he saw the door to Haley's bedroom was open wider than the
first time; there was nothing to block his view -- but at the same
time, there was nothing to shield him as well. He pressed harder to
the wall, but couldn't make himself turn away.