Salvation (18 page)

We took turns drying each other with the
towel he’d brought, and I got dressed in my new outfit while he wrapped the
towel around his waist. He’d picked out the light blue t-shirt, white shorts,
and a miniscule pair of semi-sheer white underwear, which made me grin
self-consciously as I slipped them on. Everything fit well. I ran my hand over
the soft t-shirt material as I said, “It’s actually really nice to have new
clothes, even though I wish Nana hadn’t spent a bunch of money on me.”

“I guarantee she had fun doing it,”
Vincent said, drying his glasses on a corner of the towel before putting them
back on. “And it’s always good to let Nana have her fun.”

He picked up my hand and led me back to
the kitchen, where he refused to let me help with anything. I sat on the
counter while he made me a sandwich for lunch, then went to work baking a
chocolate cake after asking what my favorite flavor was. He got very quiet and
focused while he worked, measuring everything carefully, leaving nothing to
chance. Vincent could be upbeat and talkative with me, but I realized as I
watched him that this serious side was his normal state of being. I liked it.
There was comfort in his quietness, in the way he could simply be with me
without the need to chatter constantly for fear of awkward silences.

He glanced over at me and found that I
was grinning. “What?” he asked, a little grin appearing on his lips as well.

“It’s interesting to watch you work. I
like how serious you get when you’re concentrating on something.”

His grin got a little wider. “That’s
because I’m terrible at multitasking.” He loaded the cake pans in the oven and
set a timer, then came and stood right in front of me. I wrapped my arms and
legs around him, and he glanced at my completely empty plate. “I’m glad you ate
your lunch. You’ll need to keep your strength up, given all the celebrating
we’ll be doing.”

“What about you?” I asked. “You didn’t
have any lunch.”

“Sure I did.”

“Before I got here?”

He chuckled embarrassedly and said,
“Okay, I’m bailing out of the joke I was setting up. I was going to tell you I
had a protein drink earlier, outside in the shower, but I just can’t say that
to you.”

I laughed and pulled him closer. “You
just did.”

“I know. Pretend I didn’t.” He actually
blushed, just a little, and that made me far happier than it should have.

We started kissing, and when the timer
went off sometime later, it startled both of us. “We just made out for almost
half an hour,” I said.

“Time flies when you’re kissing the
cutest guy in the world,” Vincent said with a grin, then turned from me and
took the cakes out of the oven with a big pair of oven mitts.

“You really are,” I said as I watched
him pull off one of the mitts and tap the cakes with a fingertip, then poke
them with a toothpick.

He glanced over his shoulder at me. “I
meant you, Trevor.”

“Yeah, I know. But that’s nuts, so I’m
amending it for you.”

Vincent carefully set the cake pans on a
couple wire racks, then came back to me and took my hand. “You’re terrible at
taking a compliment. Even worse than me, which I really didn’t think was
possible.”

“Someone as gorgeous as you should be
used to taking compliments.”

“Right back at you, Trevor.” When I
rolled my eyes, he said, “Come with me.”

I jumped off the counter and let him
guide me down a long hallway. We entered a spacious guestroom, and as he led me
through to its bathroom I asked, “What are we doing?”

“Two things. First, I need to show you
something. Secondly, I need to comb my hair before it dries like this.” It was
still a bit damp, and curling ever-so-slightly.

He stopped in front of a
floor-to-ceiling mirror, then draped his arms around my shoulders. “What do you
see?” he asked gently.

“An incredibly hot nearly naked guy. And
me. We look good together, though. Don’t you think?”

He smiled at that. “We look
great
together. But stop looking at me, and take an objective look at this guy.”
Vincent cupped my chin gently and turned my face so I was looking straight
ahead.

“God I’m pale,” I murmured. “I really
shouldn’t be wearing white shorts, or
any
shorts for that matter. One
look at my legs could cause snow blindness. Are you going to do any more
landscaping? If so, I’ll hang out with you. Maybe some time outdoors will
upgrade me from Arctic Blizzard to Barely Beige. I mean, I know sunbathing is
hazardous and all that, but it’d practically be a public service. No one should
have to look at legs this white.”

He knit his brows. “So totally missing
the point of this little exercise.”

“You asked me what I see, and that’s my
honest answer.”

He sighed and said, “Fine. But now I’m
going to tell you what I see. Do you want the romantic version, or the dirty
version?”

I smiled at his reflection. “Both.”

“Okay, romance first. I see amazing
blue-green eyes that I could get lost in for days, flawless skin, the best
smile I could ever imagine, and lips so full and soft that they drive me to
distraction.”

I grinned and said, “Now give me the
NC-17 version.”

“Alright. When I look at you, Trevor, I
see more than just your gorgeous face. I also see a lean, tight, sexy body and
a perfect little ass that I’m absolutely dying to fuck. I want to be inside you
so bad that I can barely form sentences when I’m around you.” He reached around
and rubbed the growing bulge in my shorts, and continued, “I also see a smooth,
cut, absolutely perfect cock that I want inside me, pounding me until I can’t
even remember my own name. But only after I finish sliding my cock in and out
of that totally fuckable mouth of yours.”

I stared at his reflection wide-eyed,
and he said, “Shit. I went too far, didn’t I? I wanted you to know that I think
you’re a desirable, incredibly sexy guy, Trevor. I didn’t mean to objectify
you, or make you think that sex was all I wanted from you.”

I turned and smiled up at him. “You know
what?”

“What?” His expression was wary.

“I know what I want for my birthday
now.”

“To get as far away from me as you can,
now that you think I’m a sex-starved degenerate?”

“Uh, no. What I want for my birthday is
every single thing you just mentioned, in every possible combination.” I
flashed him a huge smile.

“Really?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Well, that’s great,” he said, suddenly
a bit flustered. Then he said, “Hold that thought,” and darted from the room.

I laughed at that, then picked up his
comb from the vanity and ran it through my spiky hair before going to sit on
the bed. There was a crashing sound from the kitchen, and Vincent called, “It’s
okay! That was just the cake pan, not the cake.” He was back a few moments
later, saying, “I had to turn the cakes out onto the wire racks to finish
cooling. I didn’t want them to get stuck in the pans.”

“I thought you went to get the lube and
condoms.”

He thought about that for a beat, then
darted from the room again, calling, “I’ll be right back!”

When he returned, he was carrying all
three shopping bags, which he’d apparently repacked. He sat down on the edge of
the mattress and said, “I don’t actually know what’s in the third bag. I’m
almost afraid to look.” He pulled out the tissue paper and glanced inside.
“Good news. This isn’t full of buttless chaps and ball gags.”

“What’s in there?”

“Shoes.” He pulled out two shoe boxes
and a pair of flip flops, and I lifted the lids to reveal a new pair of
sneakers and a pair of brown leather dress shoes. “No glass slippers,
surprisingly,” he said with a little grin.

“That
is
surprising. So’s the
fact that she and Mr. Mario actually guessed exactly right on the size. Nana
has skills.”

Vincent packed the shoes back up and set
everything on the floor beside the bed. “Let’s make that the last time we
mention my grandmother today. In fact, when we go to use the lube and condoms,
let’s just pretend they were left for us by anonymous woodland creatures or
something.”

I chuckled at that. “Isn’t that
more
distracting than remembering they were a gift from—”

He pressed a finger to my lips. “Don’t
say it.”

When he took his hand away, I said, “Got
it. Just ‘she who shall remain nameless.’ Kind of like Voldemort.”

Vincent grinned and shot me a look.
“Yeah. Kind of like that.”

“So, before we, you know,” I cleared my
throat and gesturing at the bed, “aren’t we supposed to have some kind of
mature discussion about, like, health issues and past sex partners? You know,
junk like that?”

“Okay, sure. I guess I’ll go first. I’ve
been celibate for the past thirteen months and have been tested for STDs twice
during that time. All the results came back negative, I have a clean bill of
health.”

“Why were you celibate that long?”

Vincent looked down at his hands, which
were fidgeting with the edge of the towel he was wearing. “I, um…I was in a
really damaging relationship before that and figured…well, I guess I needed
some time to get myself together after that.”

“Oh. Well, if you’re not ready yet, we
don’t have to—”

He cut in quickly by saying, “Oh no, I’m
ready. I’ve been ready to – well, I was going to say dive back into sex since
the day I met you, but that sounds weird.”

“Okay. Well, that’s good. Actually, I’ve
been celibate a long time too, but I’m definitely ready.” I smiled nervously
and said, “Wow, this is a super awkward conversation.”

His smile was just as nervous as mine.
“It is. I guess I’m not very good at talking about this stuff.”

“Me neither.” Then I added, “So, since
we both know we don’t have any health issues, I’d be fine with foregoing the
condoms if you want to.”

“That’d be fine with me, too. But do you
really trust me that much?”  

“Of course.” I smiled again and said, “I
can’t believe this is finally happening.”

“Finally? How long were you celibate?”
he asked.

“Slightly longer than you. Actually,
twenty-one years to the day.”

It took him a moment to unravel what I’d
said, and then his eyes went wide. “Oh! So, you’re a—”

“I really hate the word ‘virgin.’ Can we
call it something else? Pre-screwed, maybe? I pretty much want to die of
embarrassment right now, just so you know.”

“Why would you be embarrassed about
that?”

“Well geez, I mean, what a total loser.
It’s bad enough that I haven’t had sex at this age. But even worse is the fact
that I’ve never done
anything
. I mean, who has their very first blow job
at twenty-one?”

Vincent looked shocked, which made the
color rise in my cheeks as I focused my attention on the patterned bedspread.
“Was I your first kiss, too?” he asked after a few moments.

That sent me off on a bit of a ramble.
“No, that distinction goes to Frannie Hoberman. We were in the fourth grade,
and Frannie’s friends dared her to kiss me. Actually, they first dared her to
touch a wad of used chewing gum, and when she refused, I became the backup
dare. It was flattering to know I was less objectionable than used gum. She
really planted one on me, too. Frannie thought kissing was supposed to be done
with your mouth wide open, so it was kind of like kissing a bigmouth bass. Not
that I’ve ever kissed a bass. I’m just speculating.” By the time I finally made
myself shut up, I was mortified.

Vincent slid closer to me and picked up
my hand. “I had no idea. I mean, I figured you might be inexperienced, given
your age, but I didn’t realize you’re so completely innocent. I’m really
sorry.”

I glanced up at him. “For what?”

“For rushing this, for going straight to
sex. I didn’t mean to pressure you. I just…I had no idea.”

I sighed and knit my brows at him. “Quit
it, Vincent.”

“Quit what?”

“Quit acting like you’re corrupting me.
It’s not like I
wanted
to be a virgin at this age, or that I was saving
myself! I just never met the right guy. I was super shy in high school, so I
didn’t date at all. And even though I went on a few dates after that, I just
never really connected with anyone. Not until I met you.”

“But you just recently convinced
yourself that you wanted to go out with me. I don’t even know what brought
about that change of heart.”

“It wasn’t a change of heart. I always wanted
you, Vincent, from the first moment I spotted you at that party. I tried to
convince myself it was too much of a risk, and honestly, the fact that you’re
involved in some kind of dangerous criminal activity really does scare me. But
I never stopped wanting you, even while I was trying to tell myself you were a
bad idea.”

“You weren’t wrong about that,” he said,
his voice subdued. “You saw firsthand the day I met you what my life is like,
and you may not be safe as long as you’re with me, despite my best efforts to
protect you.”