Something Like Rain (Something Like... Book 8) (41 page)

Home in this case wasn’t his own. The limo drove them to the outskirts of Austin and down a long drive. Jason was quiet for most of the ride. William understood why. They had spent a lot of time together lately, and even though William said he wanted a normal life, he had thrown himself into the relationship, savoring every minute they had left. As the big day neared, Jason became more and more preoccupied with William’s inevitable departure. He never tried to stop him, or change his mind, but their impending separation was clearly taking its toll. One of them was embarking on a new adventure. The other would wake up to his usual life, except the bed beside him would be empty.

And speaking of empty, they had the entire house to themselves. Jason announced this as he unlocked the door, but he didn’t say it with gusto. He still seemed pensive.

“Where are they staying?” William asked.

“Somewhere on the West Coast. I don’t remember. Ben wanted to go shopping and Tim wanted to see some museum. Watch out, Chinchilla is faster than you’d think.”

The bulldog leapt around their feet, not getting very far off the ground. This helped cheer Jason up. He scratched her rump, talked to her in a baby voice, and led the way to the back yard so she could go outside. Samson came out of hiding when they returned indoors, leading them to the kitchen. Jason took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves to get a plate of cat food ready. Then he set Samson on the counter so he could eat. Only when they retired to the living room did his somber expression return. He put on light music, then moved to the couch, staring off into the distance as if he could already see the lonely future.

“Maybe you should get a pet of your own,” William said. “Ben and Tim each have theirs. You should too.” A companion so he wouldn’t feel so alone. These words seemed to fall on deaf ears. “Jason!”

His head snapped around, expression still pained. “Sorry!”

How could William possibly leave him like this? “You’re breaking my heart.”

“You broke mine first.” Jason’s smile was more than a little sad.

“I know what’ll cheer you up.” William scooted closer to him, murmuring against his neck. “Do you want to do it in Ben and Tim’s bed?”

“What?” Jason looked incredulous. “Why?”

“They’re so hot! We can pretend we
are
them.”

Jason chuckled. “You’re way too into them.”

“I don’t care. They’re an awesome couple. I envy them.”

“Yeah, me too. The answer is no, by the way, but if I had said yes, who would you pretend to be?”

“Ben,” William said instantly. “I figure he’s the—you know. I mean, Tim has that aggressive side to him, so he must be the top.”

Jason thought about this, his response careful. “So you would want to be the bottom?”

“Yeah.”

“But you’re huge!”

“So? Oh I see. Bottoms have to be slight and feminine, is that it? Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

Jason grinned and moved closer. “But it’s such a pretty cover.” The kiss didn’t last long, Jason pulling back again. “So Kelly is a top?”

“No!” William laughed. “No no no. That’s just one more thing I did to make him happy.”

“So you’ve never actually…”

“Nope.”

Jason remained confused. “Then how do you know you’re a bottom?”

“Because the whole time I was topping Kelly, I was thinking how bad I wanted someone to do that to me. Maybe not Kelly.” William poked him in the chest. “Maybe someone like you. Wait, are you a bottom?”

Jason seemed excited. “So there’s still a first for you.”

“I told you I was saving myself for prom,” William said. They’d been joking about it for weeks, although they had done plenty of other things in the interim.

Jason grinned. “I guess I was too.”

“No! Seriously? Oh my god!” William felt like bouncing up and down on the couch and clapping. Thankfully, he managed to restrain himself. “This is so momentous. I mean, if that’s something you want to do.”

“Yeah!” Jason said. “Desperately. Uh, but not in Ben and Tim’s bed. In my room. I want it to happen there.”

So the memory would remain near, even when they were far apart. The notion was romantic and had William ready to go. He kissed Jason, mentally questioning if he was really ready for this. The answer was a resounding yes. He stood and offered his hand, pulling Jason to his feet and leading him upstairs.

“I just need to grab a few things,” Jason said as they were passing the bathroom. “Meet you in my room? Emphasis on the
my
. Don’t go sneaking down the hall to the master bedroom!”

“Shut up,” William chuckled.

He went into Jason’s room, impressed that it had been cleaned since he saw it last. It still wasn’t as organized as he preferred, but he appreciated the effort. He decided to surprise Jason by being undressed, so he hurried to get his clothes off. Then he noticed the guitar and inspiration struck. He grabbed it, sat on the corner of the bed, and pretended to play. He didn’t actually touch the strings, but instead made guitar noises as best he could with his mouth, sounding more like a boat engine. “Brummm brum brum.”

Jason started laughing the second he walked in. “I normally just take off my shirt.”

William set aside the guitar, exposing himself. “Maybe you should take it a step further.”

“Hey, there’s a flute behind the guitar!”

“Know how to play it?” William asked, opening his legs.

“I’ll do my best.”

Jason kept his distance, undoing his bow tie and tossing it at him. That was cute. Having to dodge his shirt, socks and pants wasn’t. “If you throw your underwear at me…” William said warningly.

“You’ll what?” Jason said. He stood there naked, arm primed with undies crumpled up in his fist.

“I’ll put them on.”

Jason cocked his head, considering the threat. “Would you take them off again eventually?”

“Only after I’d gotten home. First I’d put on the rest of the tiny man clothes you threw at me so I could leave.”

“I’m not tiny!”

William grabbed Jason’s shirt and put it on, trying to tug the front of the shirt closed. The buttons wouldn’t meet the holes.

“This isn’t good for my self-esteem,” Jason complained.

“You don’t like my muscles?” William asked.

“I love them,” Jason said, letting the underwear drop. Then he did his best to flex. “Do you like mine?”

“I love your body,” William said, shrugging out of the shirt. “I think. Bring it closer so I can double check.”

Jason strutted forward, already hard. That was exciting. William adored all of him, but of course some parts were more alluring than others. He stooped to take Jason’s cock in his mouth, running his hands up his back. Then he placed his palms on the bed to support himself because Jason had started thrusting. He felt something beneath one hand, using his fingers to identify it. The bow tie.

“Hey,” William said, leaning back. “Put this back on.”

Jason laughed. “We’re not playing waiter again.”

“No, but I think it’s hot.”

He held it out, and Jason complied, looking suspicious as he wrapped the ribbon around his neck and struggled to get it tied. “You know this is the one Tim wore that night.”

“Is it?” William asked innocently.

“You’re such a perv.”

“Says the guy who chose to wear it to prom.”

“Maybe I was hoping some of his sex appeal would rub off on me. Now then, if I’m going to be a topless—and bottomless—waiter, I might as well serve you.”

Jason got to his knees, returning the favor, and while the blowjob felt great, William focused on his messy hair, running his fingers through it and feeling a little melancholy, because he was going to miss it and everything else about this person.

“Come here,” he said, tugging on Jason’s arm.

He crawled into bed, Jason doing the same. Then William rolled over onto his side.

Jason scooted close behind, wrapping an arm around him. “One of these days I’m not going to let go again.” He pressed his lips to William’s shoulder and ran a hand up and down his thigh, tickling him.

William rolled over to face him so they could kiss. Jason wiggled his hips, making their cocks bang together. “Sword fight,” he said with that mischievous smile of his. How he could be tender one second and so goofy the next was baffling, but William added it to the list of the things he liked.

“I’m ready,” he whispered.

“Okay. Um.”

William smooched away his concern. “I’ve got a lot of experience you can learn from.”

Jason looked relieved. “I’ll need all the help I can get.”

“Get on your back. It’s always easier if you let the bottom, I mean me, be in control. That way I can set the pace. At the beginning anyway.”

Jason rolled over, groping for the condom on the nightstand. “Want to do the honors?”

“Sure.” William sat on Jason, bouncing up and down to make him laugh. Then he twisted around to get Jason suited up, which was trickier than he thought it would be. The bottle of lube came next. He poured some on his finger and slid it inside himself. William had been practicing, fantasizing about this happening without knowing if it would.

“Okay,” he said, making sure Jason’s cock was drenched in lube. “Let’s find out if this is something I really want or not.”

He sure liked the idea when Jason was rubbing against his butt. That felt good in its own way. Actually getting it to go inside was a lot trickier. After a few false starts, he went for it, instantly regretting his brashness because it freaking hurt. He thought of Kelly, having been on the opposite side of this situation, and used the same phrase he always had.

“Play with me.”

Jason started stroking him. Everything changed. Pain shifted to pleasure, and while William still had to proceed with caution, this no longer seemed impossible. They moved slowly, Jason going deeper a fraction at a time. Then William was sitting on him completely, butt cheeks touching hip bones. He rose up and down again, moaning in pleasure. His fantasies had always been a little different though.

“Let’s roll over, but try to stay inside because that was harder than I thought it would be.”

William lowered himself, pressing their torsos together. This took some doing, but they managed to roll over. Jason pushed himself up, palms to either side of his head. William’s legs were in the air, the position alone making him wild, but when Jason carefully pumped his hips…

“Is that okay?”

“Yeah.” William rasped. “Oh man… Go to town!”

Jason put a shoulder under one of William’s legs. That seemed more comfortable for him, but he still moved slowly. William grasped at him, wanting him to pump faster—harder—but knowing they should play it safe. They got there eventually, Jason’s cheeks flushed, his eyes glazed over with pleasure. He leaned close to kiss William, hissing against his lips at times. Then he pulled back, eyes questioning. William nodded. He’d been on the verge since they rolled over. He didn’t want to hold back anymore and didn’t. Jason growled in ecstasy as he came too. William struggled to breathe. He knew it would feel good, but this was off the charts!

Jason moved out from under his leg and collapsed onto him. William caught him in his arms. Jason remained inside, which was fine with him.

“I love you,” William whispered.

“I know. I could feel it. I love you too.”

They held each other, the heat of their bodies keeping each other warm. Then Jason pulled away, but only to get a towel so they could clean up. Once they had, William rolled over on his side, wanting to be held again. He crossed his arms over his chest, feeling like his heart was going to explode, words insufficient to express the depth of emotion he felt.

“I can’t go,” he said, swallowing against the tears, but they came anyway. “Not after that. There’s no way. I can’t.”

Jason tightened the arm around him. “You have to. It’s your dream.”

“That’s not my only dream,” William said. “I’ve been waiting for you without even knowing it.”

Jason was quiet, his voice hoarse when he replied. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll still be around when you need me. You’ll see.”

“This isn’t goodbye,” William promised. They would make it work somehow. Four years was a long time, but he couldn’t imagine these feelings ever fading. Their love would keep them together. Ben and Tim had proven it was possible. If they could do it, he and Jason could too.

* * * * *

“I always pictured you getting on a boat.” The tone was humorous, and Jason wore a brave smile, but William knew him well enough to see through it. “This feels wrong.”

That they were at the airport? Or that they were about to say goodbye? “I have to take a plane to where the boats are,” William said. He knew Jason understood this, but with their time at an end, all that remained were superficial words that failed to mask how much this hurt.

“I know you’re freaking out,” Spencer said. “And it’s only going to get worse during boot camp, but stick with it. After a few weeks, you’ll feel like you’ve found a new family. You won’t depend on us anymore.”