Not One for Weddings

Chris

"You're late," I informed my tardy sister as she slid into the booth across me.

"I know, sorry. Is that iced tea?" She began to gulp down the drink I'd ordered for her without waiting for my answer, then turned back to me. "Tell me about the guy you're seeing."

I was immediately guarded. "What about him?"

"Christopher, don't try this shit on me. I'm not going to beg you for information. Just tell me about him if you want to." She gazed at me levelly. Challenging.

Damn her.

"His name's Julian," I began. The mere mention of his name was enough that I had to restrain myself from smiling like an idiot. "He's a vet, from New Jersey. His family is from Italy. He's...great. He's smart, sweet, funny, easy to be around."

Hot as all Hell and amazing in bed.

She gave me a considering look. "You really like him, don't you?"

"I do," I answered truthfully, this time unable to help the smile that touched my lips.

"Is he coming over to the house on Saturday?"

"Yes, he is. Would you do me a favor and not be completely overbearing when you meet him, please?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean don't be...you."

"I think I'm going to be offended by that, Chris." She gave me an affronted look, but her twinkling eyes betrayed her.

"Drew, you know what I mean! Don't make him uncomfortable on purpose. Don't ask him awkward questions. Don't break out the photo albums of me as a kid."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm a grown woman, you'd think I'd know that by now."

"Yeah, you'd

think

so. But you have an awful track record."

The food I'd ordered for us while waiting for Drew arrived then, pausing our conversation. My sister started to eat right away while I watched her with a wary eye.

"What," she asked when she noticed me.

"Say it," I pressed her.

"Say what?"

"Diem, promise me you won't mess with Julian."

She made an exasperated sound. "Okay! I promise I won't mess with him."

Satisfied, I began to eat.

"What were you doing yesterday when I called," she asked through a mouthful of fries.

I felt my ears warm as I recalled Drew's interrupting Julian and me the day before. "Nothing, why?"

"You sounded like you were out of breath. Were you running or something?"

"No. How's your burger," I attempted to change the subject.

She looked up at me and grinned. "You're blushing! What were you doing?"

I flushed further. "I wasn't doing anything, Drew. Don't be so nosey."

She cackled like the witch she was. "Oh my god, you were with him, weren't you? With Julian. Right?"

My eyes flashed up to meet hers. "No!"

"You totally were! Oh, that's hilarious. What did I interrupt?"

"Jesus, Drew, can you not?"

She snorted. "Do you even know how many times I heard you getting it on at home when Mom and Dad were out? Those walls were pretty thin."

"You didn't have to listen," I muttered, face aflame.

"You say that as if I had a choice," she laughed. "Even with headphones on, it was hard to ignore the way your bed banged against the wall. And, you know, you're not very quiet."

I looked around us to see if anyone else could hear. "Please, Drew, I'm begging you."

"Yes, you have a thing for begging, don't you," she leered at me.

"There goes my appetite."

"I'm right, though? You were with him?"

I groaned. "Fine, yes, I was with Julian yesterday. Better, you little pervert?"

"I am not a pervert! Were you guys...?"

I sputtered my soda at her allusion. "Okay, there's the limit. That's enough. Why can't you talk to me about work or movies like a normal person?"

"Very well. How's work been?"

"Pretty well, thanks. Actually--"

My phone buzzed and lit up beside my plate; I'd received a text. Julian.

"Who is it?"

"The Queen of England," I brushed her off as I opened the messaging app. I smiled as I read.

I'm having dinner alone right now...missing you. Hope you're having a nice evening, babe. Call me later.

"What does Her Majesty have to say that's making you look so thrilled?"

"It's Julian. He says he's eating and wants to talk later." I shot him back a quick text.

I'm still here with a very inquisitive Drew. Who, by the way, made me wait half an hour before treating me to her presence. Wish I were with you. I'll call you in a bit.

"He really has an effect on you," she mused. "You went from annoyed to agreeable with a single text."

"That's probably because he doesn't make it a point to get under my skin like a certain sister of mine."

"That takes all the fun out of being with you."

"

Thanks

. It's nice to hear how much I bore you otherwise."

"Anytime, bro."

We finished eating without event. Drew gracefully handed me the bill without so much as offering to pay it herself. We parted with a hug.

"Thanks for dinner, Chris. I'll see you on Saturday."

"Alright, be careful. Love you."

"Love you, too." She climbed into her car with a wave and sped off, going too fast.

When I got home I took a quick shower then called Julian.

"Chris,"

he breathed my name.

"

Julian

," I mocked him in an exaggerated tone.

"I see you missed me, too."

I laughed. "Sorry. But I did miss you."

"Oh, did you now? Is it normal for you to tease those who you've missed?"

"As a matter of fact, it is. I

especially

tease them."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

"How was your day," I tried.

"Pretty normal. I got a goldfish in."

"A goldfish? Why?"

"It died and parents don't like to explain that to their kid. They tell the kid it's just sleeping and make me look like the bad guy for not being able to magically revive it. Then I have to explain to the kid about death and give them a lollipop."

"This is a common occurrence? Do you have a lollipop stash?"

"It is and I do. I hand them out to basically everyone who steps in my door. How was your day?"

"It was okay. Nothing exciting."

"And dinner?"

"Drew was being unbearable, but that's her purpose in life. And that reminds me, I think I'm upset with you."

"Me? Why?"

"Because of yesterday, when I was trying to talk on the phone. And you were being...distracting. It was apparently noticeable."

"What do you mean by 'noticeable'?"

"Drew asked me if I'd been running when she called. When I turned red and tried to avoid the question, she made a good guess. And that set her off on a tangent regarding my sex life. And you."

"Wait, me? Why'd you tell her I was there? Couldn't you just lie?"

"I'm a horrible liar! I could never surprise anyone with anything because I'd screw it up right away."

"You didn't go into details, did you? Because you can forget me ever meeting her if you did. I would die of embarrassment."

"No, no. Of course I didn't."

Not that she hasn't heard worse.

I didn't tell him that. "She seems excited to meet you."

"It's getting late."

I looked at the clock and was dismayed to see he was right. "I don't suppose you can be convinced to come over tonight?"

"Maybe. What's your argument?"

"Well, shit. I don't have one - I didn't think you'd go for it."

"Why don't you try that again,"

he laughed.

"Um...come over?"

"Okay."

"Really?"

"Yes. You're very persuasive."

"You have exceptionally low standards if that's all it takes to convince you."

"You're talking about yourself there, babe. See you in fifteen minutes."

I made a half-assed attempt at cleaning up while I waited for him. Then, true to his word, a quarter of an hour later he was at my door.

"Hey," I greeted him with a quick kiss. I noticed he was carrying a a bag with him, but I didn't question it. His face was also beet red. "What happened?"

"I ran into your neighbors again. Janet and her husband."

Uh-oh.

"What did she say?"

"She said she was surprised to see me. She asked me if we were going out. Then she asked if she should wear ear plugs to bed tonight."

"Yeah, that sounds like her," I sighed. "She means well. I think. They're really good people, believe me. Just inappropriate. And you're so easy to embarrass, you can't really blame them. You blush at the drop of a hat."

"Sure, put the blame on me.

I'm

just a prude."

"There a many things I could call you, Jules, but a prude is definitely not one of them."

"Good, because I'm not feeling very prudish tonight."

He let his bag slide off his shoulder to the floor and came up to me, his arms going around my waist. He brought me into a proper kiss, setting his lips firmly on mine and holding me tightly against him. I rested my hands on his chest, fisting his shirt in them. His tongue probed my lips which I was happy to accept, moaning at the welcome intrusion.

I let my hands slide down his chest to the top of his jeans and make short work of undoing his belt, button, and zipper. I shoved them over his hips, and he kicked them off the rest of the way. He yanked off both our shirts so fast I almost missed it while I stepped out of my sweats. As we undressed each other, our greedy lips were never apart for more than a couple seconds. Down to only our underwear, our hands roamed each other's bodies eagerly. I nibbled on his lower lip and pulled back to look at him.

His wavy black hair framed his face alluringly, falling into his hazel eye.

Those eyes

. Brown, flecked with green and gold; I could make a habit of drowning in them. His cheeks were tinted pink, a light stubble shading his cheeks and jaw, his lips slightly swollen and deliciously rosy. He gazed at me with a tenderness that made my breath catch and my heart melt. A choice set of words bubbled to the tip of my tongue.

I took again his lips with mine before I could say something I might regret. I kissed him with a voracity I hadn't known I'd possessed, wanting to consume him whole then and there. He moaned in surprise at my sudden intensity and I guided him backwards to the couch, pushing him down onto it. I tore off my underwear as I climbed on top of him, straddling his lap and bringing our mouths back together by pulling on his unruly locks. I clumsily peeled his boxer briefs over his knees that he kicked the rest of the way off for me.

I pressed myself against him and could feel his hard cock against my stomach, as he could mine. He held me to him by my ass, his large hands cupping me perfectly. He flexed his fingers, making me moan appreciatively into his mouth. I started to rub myself against him, creating a much-needed friction that made both of us gasp. I disentangled my fingers from his hair and let them stroke along his cheeks, neck, and chest. I played with the smattering of hair there, twirling it through my fingertips and tugging at the curled ends.

"Do you even know how hot you look grinding against me like this, Chris? You're a fucking fantasy come to life," he murmured.

I bit my lip and looked down at him with a goofy grin before I returned our lips together. To my irritation, he pulled away after only a few seconds. When he saw my confused expression, his mouth twisted up into a knowing, lascivious smirk.

He brought two of his fingers, which had been passively petting along my crack, to my mouth and slipped them between my lips. I sucked them in and ran my tongue around them as if around his dick. I kept my eyes trained on his, trying to mimic his lusty stare; judging by the darkening of his features, it must have been working. That I could be the cause of such a desirous look was intoxicating, and I strengthened my sucking on his digits.

When he was satisfied by whatever criteria he'd made up in his head, he extracted his fingers from my mouth and took his hand back behind me. The tips of his fingers wriggled between my cheeks until they came upon my puckered hole. He massaged the ring of muscle until I opened up to him, allowing him to insert first one finger, then a second. I moaned loudly at each encroachment, growing even louder as he wiggled them inside of me. Unexpectedly, Julian chuckled.

"What are you laughing at," I groaned as his ministrations inside me continued.

"You," he smiled. "You

are

pretty noisy." Before I could come up with a retort of some kind, he whispered in my ear, "I think it's so incredibly sexy."

I licked and bit at the nape of his neck and shoulder while my hand wandered down his chest. When I felt the slick head of his cock against my hand, he was the one squirming. I wasted no time in wrapping my fingers around his mast and stroking him up and down, picking up the pre-cum oozing from his tip. He moaned with just as much volume as I had when I picked up my speed on his cock. His fingers plunged in and out of my ass at an increasing pace, delightfully hitting my prostate with each inwards thrust. I couldn't control my cries as I writhed my cock against his body, and my ass onto his fingers.

"Julian," I called out in a desperate whine.

"Mm, God, Chris," he moaned in response. "Come for me, babe, please."

His plea was the last thing I needed to push me over the edge, and I came between us with a shout, covering both our stomachs and chests with the white fluid. A few more pumps over Julian's iron-esque cock and he was joining me in making a mess on the couch. He managed to get come all over me - on my chin, my chest, my stomach and thighs. I lazily continued to caress his cock as we came, until he was hissing for me to stop.

I sagged against him as he withdrew his fingers from inside me. I moaned as he did, this time in weariness. We panted into each other, recollecting ourselves, and tracing invisible patterns on tired flesh.

"Are you staying the night," I breathed contentedly.

"Would you mind if I did?"

"I would mind if you didn't."

He gave me an endearingly soft smile. "Then I'd better stay over."

I peeled myself off him with a sigh and a kiss on the cheek, then went to the restroom. I cleaned myself up and returned to Julian with a wet towel to do the same to him. He was wearing a lopsided grin as he watched me wipe him up. When I'd finished he pulled me back onto the couch with him, placing a sluggish kiss on my lips.

"You're incredible, Chris," he mumbled into my neck with another fluttering kiss.

"Why, because I clean you up when you can't be assed to move?"

"You need to learn how to take a compliment," murmured into my hair.

I looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"

"Every time I compliment you, you either freeze or laugh it off, like right now."

I thought over what he said and realized he was right; I hadn't even noticed it. "Huh. I didn't know I was doing that."

The tune of a Billie Holiday song sounded from the bedroom: my mother's ringtone. I groaned and extracted myself from Julian's embrace. "My family has the absolute worst timing ever," I muttered as I stalked out of the room.

"Mom," I answered, sounding more annoyed than I'd intended. Being the woman who raised me, she of course ignored my tone.

"Hi, sweetheart! I haven't heard from you in a few days."

"Sorry, mom. I've just been busy."

"Too busy to call me?"

"Sorry, mom," I repeated the mantra of my teen years.

"Is it because of this boy your seeing?"

I mentally cursed my sister. "Does Drew really have to tell you everything?"

"If you'd called me then I wouldn't have had to asked her how you were."

"You know, you can always text me."

"Christopher, you know how I hate texting. How can I hear your voice through the words on the screen?"

I smiled at her silliness. "What's up, mom?"

"Diem tells me you're bringing a boy over to the house on her birthday."

"Mom, he's hardly a boy - he's about a year older than me, actually. And to answer your question, yes, I invited him over. Drew was the one who suggested it when I talked to her yesterday. You and dad are okay with that, right?"

"Of course we are. Your sister told me you were all starry-eyed when you talked about him at dinner."

I groaned in my head. "Don't believe a word that girl says."

"Very well, then I'll get it from you."

"Mom, really, I'm not in high school. Look, you'll meet him on Saturday and--"

"Christopher Ansel Haze, you tell your mother what she wants to know,"

a voice a few octaves deeper than my mom's commanded me. My parents had a tendency to talk on the phone together and not inform the person they were talking to.

"Dad, do you honestly care?"

"No, but your mother will keep me up all night with questions I don't have answers to if you don't tell her yourself. Now go on and tell her about - what's his name, honey? - Jeremy?"

"Julian, dad."

"Julian, then. I'll leave you with her. Goodnight, son."

There was a muffled pause before my mom was back on the line.

"Are you in love with him,"

she demanded to know without pretense.

"Mom!"

"What? A mother needs to know."

"We've just met, mom."

"That's not an answer."

I ran my hand through my hair. "People don't fall in love in a few days, you know that."

"That's not an answer either."

I breathed out heavily. "I really like him, mom. He seems to feel the same. Isn't that enough for now?"

"Do you think so? Is that what you want?"

I was silent, trying to figure out an answer for her. And for myself.

"Mom..," I started out slowly. "I haven't really had a chance to think this all through. I've been so wrapped up with work," that was a lie for her benefit, "and we've just been spending a lot of time together. I know he wants to be with me, he's said as much. He's going to be meeting you guys, for crying out loud."

"As long as you know what you're doing, dear. I just want to make sure you're okay and you know what you're doing. You two are being...safe?"

"Mother!"

"What, I'm watching out for you!"

She giggled while I groaned in discomfort.

"Okay, okay, enough of me. We'll see the two of you on Saturday, then. Goodnight, I love you."

"Love you, too," I mumbled before hanging up. I went back to Julian with my mother's words echoing in my head

"Is everything okay," he asked me with concern.

"Everything's fine." I settled down beside him, where he followed by putting his arm around me. "My sister doesn't get her nosiness from nowhere; my mom is a thousand times worse than she could ever hope to be."

We sat in silence few more minutes before Julian nudged me with his chin. I looked at him expectantly.

"What do you say we go to bed?"

"That sounds like a good idea."

We made our way to the bedroom and laid ourselves down. As was rapidly becoming normal for us, my head rested on Julian's chest and he wrapped his arms around me, holding us together.

"What was with the bag," I asked him after a moment, remembering he'd arrived carrying a brown messenger.

"I brought a change of clothes this time. Otherwise we'd end up with half your wardrobe back at my place."

My conversation with my mom was still churning in my mind. I shifted myself around so that I could face Julian.

"Jules..." I couldn't help how pathetic I sounded.

"Yes?"

"You're serious about me, aren't you?"

"You know I am."

I thought over his response. He hadn't paused to think about what he was going to say, or take a nervous breath in, or sound the least bit uncertain. That comforted me more than I'd thought it would.

"You're sure about going to my parent's house?"

"I said I would go."

I didn't like that answer as much. "Do you not want to?"

"It's not that I don't want to, so much as that I'm nervous to. I'm not good at the whole 'meet the parents' thing."