Sweaters & Cigarettes (44 page)

"Blame Cassie," he
mutters, picking out some of the condoms his best friend also shoved into his
bag, on that occasion, and he makes his way back over to the bed.

Max cocks his head, eyeing the
small packet of lube in his hand.

"Blame her?" he says.
"I'm sending her a fucking fruit basket."

Theo gives him the tiniest little
slap at the back of his head, a light nudge, more than anything, and Max
smirks.

"What?" he says, looking
up at Theo, who puts the condoms down on his nightstand. "She's being a
good friend. What can I say?"

He shrugs, and Theo glares at him.
He's standing beside the bed, and Max just looks at him, long and hard, before
licking his lips.

"And you know," he says,
his already rough voice just a bit lower, as he puts the lube down on the
nightstand and gets up on his knees. "It would be a waste not to honor
that."

He places himself in front of Theo,
who can quickly feel himself getting hard again, just from Max kneeling on the
bed like that, talking in that smoky voice. And it doesn't exactly help, when
Max moves his hands down to Theo's jeans and starts undoing his fly, that blue
gaze tilted upward, to catch Theo's eye.

"It would be downright
disrespectful," Max continues, and Theo absently moves his hand down to
smooth over Max's hair, the back of his neck, down along his bare shoulders.
He's not sure what's happening, right now, but he sure as hell doesn't mind. He
doesn't mind the way Max keeps his eyes on his, as he unzips Theo's fly and
slowly tugs his jeans down a little, or the way he leans in closer and slowly
starts placing open-mouthed kisses against Theo's stomach. Theo really doesn't
mind.

"'Disrespectful' is a bit
strong," Theo says, "don't you think?"

He's aware of how he already sounds
a bit breathless, but he doesn't care. In fact, Max seems to like it, smiling a
little against his bare skin, eyes now averted.

"You caught me," he murmurs
slyly, his warm breath trailing down along Theo's stomach, along with the
softest sweeps of his tongue. "I'm just trying to get in your pants."

Theo lets out something between a
groan and a chuckle.

"Bonus points for
subtlety," he says, and Max chuckles, smoothing his hands down along
Theo's body, before directing his attention to the now very noticeable hard-on
in his underwear.

"Subtlety was never really my
strong suit, anyway," Max says, moving his lips downward, kissing his way
to the hem of Theo's boxers. Theo gasps lightly, as Max pulls the underwear
down. "Who has time for that shit."

He adds those last words in a
barely audible murmur, and suddenly, Theo's mind just goes blank. He closes his
eyes and lets out a small breath, as he feels that tongue against him, those
lips eager and gentle, all at once, and that hot, wet mouth downright heavenly,
as Max swallows him down. Theo tries to calm his suddenly frantic pulse, and
lets one hand trail along the bare skin of Max's shoulders and neck, while the
other moves up to stroke his hair. Because he actually strokes it, gently;
there's no urgency, no tugging or pulling. At least, not yet.

Theo can't help himself. He opens
his eyes and looks down at Max, who's focusing every ounce of his attention on
Theo, eyes closed and small sounds escaping him now and then, while he uses
both his hands and mouth to drive Theo crazy. Theo swallows hard, his breath
hitching at the amazing sensation, and for what feels like a rather long time,
he just stands there, completely wrapped up in the way Max's mouth feels, like
he simply can't get enough.

He can, though. He's just not there
yet, and he wants to draw it out.

Max seems a little surprised when
Theo gently tugs on his hair, and those dark blue eyes are downright sinful,
when they look up at him. He doesn't say a word, though, doesn't object when
Theo gently pushes against his shoulder, wordlessly asking him to lie down.
Instead, he simply does as he's told, while Theo takes his pants off properly,
along with his underwear, and Max isn't far behind. Within seconds, his clothes
have joined Theo's on the floor, and before long, the two of them are
underneath the covers, hands everywhere and lips locked together, with nothing
but bare skin between them.

Theo doesn't say anything, and
neither does Max, instead filling the afternoon air with hot, hungry sounds and
eager touches. After a little while, Theo awkwardly reaches for the lube Max
put on the nightstand, and presses the plastic packet into Max's hand, hoping
to convey the message. He's pretty sure he does, but Max doesn't really respond
to it, right away.

"Actually," he says, and
that sly tone of his voice makes Theo look at him. They're both lying on their
sides now, facing each other, and Max eyes the small packet of lube in his
hand. Then he looks up at Theo pointedly, before slowly leaning into him and
pushing gently, until Theo ends up on his back. And Max straddles him, before
leaning down, hovering above Theo, and giving Theo a rather great view of that
partly tattooed, naked body. He opens the lube, and while Theo watches,
speechless, he squeezes some of the thick liquid onto his fingers, before
tossing the packet aside, unceremoniously.

Theo thinks he knows what to
expect, is kind of prepared for it, but Max surprises him by moving his hand
back over his own body, rather than down to Theo's crotch. Then his expression
changes, and it takes Theo a moment to realize that Max is actually touching
himself, using his own, slick fingers to prep
himself
, rather than Theo.
And for a second, Theo just stares.

"Max―" he says, but
is cut off.

"We don't have to," Max
says, a bit hurriedly, like he's worried about pushing Theo into something he
doesn't want, as it's pretty obvious what he's prepping himself
for
. He
starts moving his hand away, but before he can stop what he's doing, Theo grabs
his arm, keeping his hand right where it is.

"That's not it," Theo
says, breathing heavily. "I'm just―"

He swallows hard.

"I've never done that,
before." He tries not to sound nervous, failing miserably, and he tries
not to come off as scared about getting the whole thing wrong. An endeavor
which he fails equally miserably, of course. "I wouldn't know what to
do."

God
, he sounds pathetic. But he's just so unprepared for
this that he can feel himself freaking out a bit, and Max looks down at him,
his expression excited and somehow comforting, all at once. He leans down a
bit, planting a soft kiss on Theo's lips.

"You don't really have to do
anything," he nearly whispers, and Theo slowly releases his arm in favor
of smoothing up along his waist. "Just let me."

Theo swallows hard again, as Max
gives him another kiss. He shouldn't be nervous. Hell, they've done pretty much
everything else, already, what difference would this make?

Well, actually
, he figures it's a pretty huge difference. Because
this is one aspect of sex he still doesn't have any experience with,
whatsoever, and that's downright scary.

He nods, though, because he wants
it. He wants what Max is offering, wants to be inside him, and he has wanted
it, in the back of his mind, ever since Max first suggested it in that bathroom
on New Year's Eve. Just this morning, he was honestly thinking about it, and
Max knows that, has most likely been thinking about it too.

So Max gives Theo a small nod in
return, before going back to what he was doing, his expression changing and his
lips parting in one pleased moan after the other, as he does it. And Theo lies
there, on his back, watching Max hover above him, touching himself, and he
feels himself becoming almost painfully hard, at this point.

This is new. This is new, and it's
exciting and terrifying, all at once.

It's after a little while, when Max
is nearly leaning his forehead against Theo's, panting and groaning from the
pressure of his own fingers, that Theo really has to fight the urge to touch
himself. It's all he can think about, Max an irresistible, flushed epiphany
above him, and he swallows hard, digging his fingertips into Max's thighs,
instead.

"Theo," Max eventually
breathes, and Theo makes a small sound of confirmation. Max isn't satisfied,
though, and he lifts his head a little, to motion vaguely toward the
nightstand. It takes another second for Theo to get it.

"Oh," he says, a bit
stunned. "Right."

His hand seems reluctant to obey
him properly, fumbling for a condom, and when he finally gets a hold of one, it
takes him three tries to actually open the wrapper.
Shit
. He remembers
being nervous the first time he and Max had sex, and every other thing they did
before that, but this is different. He's not sure why, but he suddenly feels
like there's pressure on him to perform, now, pressure that simply wasn't there
before.

Max looks a little impatient, but
he doesn't say anything, letting Theo take his time, putting the condom on.
That takes two tries, and as Theo curses internally at his own lack of
smoothness, right now, Max leans down and kisses his neck, slowly and hungrily.
And Theo closes his eyes for a moment, suddenly more eager than a minute ago,
as he finally gets the condom on.

"We're good?" Max
practically pants then, and Theo nods, making Max pull his fingers out and
steady himself against the mattress. He gives Theo a slow, searing kiss, before
straightening, almost sitting up completely, eyes on his boyfriend, before
taking Theo in his hand, and slowly moving into position. And within the next
couple of seconds, Theo's mind goes completely blank.

He actually holds his breath, and
he's not sure why. Maybe it's just the intense overload of sensation, as Max
moves, pulls back up, before slowly moving down again, pushing Theo inside.
Maybe it's the way that tight, wet heat feels around him, as he bottoms out,
the way Max lets out a deep, guttural moan, moving one hand down to rest
against Theo's chest, as though to steady himself. Theo has no idea, but
whatever the reason, his entire body is suddenly burning, and he finds himself
staring at the ceiling, letting out his held breath in a surprisingly sharp
exhale.

His heart is pounding, his fingers
tightening on Max's hips, and suddenly, he's breathing again. His breaths are
shallow and quick, though, surprise and utter pleasure mingling together, his
mouth half-open, as he tries to wrap his head around the sensation.

Max seems to notice his
reaction―of course, he does―because he leans forward then, the
slight shift making Theo let out a surprised moan.

"You okay?" Max asks,
sounding oddly breathless and impatient, and Theo swallows hard, nodding
jerkily, as he stares at the ceiling.

"Yeah," he breathes,
barely audibly, and Max touches his face, making him meet his gaze. Theo
immediately reacts; those dark blue eyes are shining, excited and hungry, and
it's enough to make Theo instinctively tighten his grip on Max's hips.

"Are you sure?" Max says,
articulating so much more clearly than Theo feels capable of, right now. And he
is sure. He's very sure, he's just momentarily stunned by this feeling, the
amazing sensation of having Max on top of him like this, of being
inside
him, and those intense, blue eyes staring right into his soul.

"I just―" Theo says
in a labored breath, cutting himself off and letting out a very quiet groan, as
Max shifts again. "It just feels really good."

He's a mess, already. He would be
embarrassed of his own behavior, if he weren't so incredibly caught up in this,
caught up in the feeling of it all. And he watches, with some satisfaction, as
Max licks his lips, clearly affected by Theo's reaction.

"Yeah," Max says, and as
if to accentuate this, he moves up a little bit, before sliding back down,
making Theo grit his teeth and let out a small moan. "It really
does."

His breathing is heavy now, blue
eyes intoxicated, and he leans in closer to give Theo a soft, hungry kiss. It's
like the best kind of drug, the touch of his lips shooting surges of chemicals
through Theo's entire body, and he closes his eyes, absently loving the feeling
of that metal ring against his mouth. Then, Max pulls up again, making Theo
gasp, before he pushes back down, and Theo squeezes his eyes shut, trying to
make sense of this overload of sensory input.

Max straightens, sitting up to make
his movements easier, and Theo just lies there, his hands on Max's hips and
smoothing over his skin, eyes closed and seemingly every muscle in his body
working to stay in control. He wants to
move
, wants to feel more of that
hot, amazing friction, and he finds himself absently thrusting his hips
upwards, very lightly. Max seems to take the hint, though; his pace picks up a
little bit, and Theo is blissfully aware of every single groan, pant, and
labored breath that escapes that wonderful mouth. It might just be the best
sounds he has ever heard, and he swallows hard, trailing his hands up along
Max's naked body, as far as he can reach. And, as usual, although he wants to
keep his eyes closed, he also wants to watch Max. He
always
wants to
watch Max.