Not Done Yet - 20. Fan the Flames

Fan the Flames

Life had settled into a rhythm since Sam was hurt. Sam and Casey both quit the team. The coach was unhappy with them, but more unhappy with the rest of the team, and the way they'd let down a teammate. Determined to dig out what he called "the rot," he drilled the boys. He worked them as hard as he could. And he called upon them to join him in volunteering for every charitable cause in the community. Slowly, the grumbling subsided.

With more time on his hands, Casey became a regular fixture at Sam's house, helping out with the horses in exchange for riding lessons. James dropped by more often, too, and the three, along with Mary, had grown even closer.

James was on his way to pick up Casey, driving the old truck Mr. Reeves had given him the week before for his seventeenth birthday. He couldn’t keep the grin off his face. The truck looked rough, but it ran like a scalded dog. Getting the new bed restored and installed was a birthday present from Casey, and he’d found the bed on a parts run for the body shop where he worked. They were going to the salvage yard at the county line together – the big one – to pick up the new bed for the truck. Well, not new, but Casey said it had no rust-through, and with sandblasting and paint, it would be perfect.

The scrap yard had wanted a lot more for it, but Casey had talked them down. James was in the room when Casey made the call, and he had laughed for a full five minutes afterward. “Good lord, Casey, have you no shame? I thought Jim drove a hard bargain, but you put on a performance I would’ve paid to see.”

“I just know how Beto does business, is all. He couldn’t have paid a hundred bucks for the whole truck it’s coming from, and he’s getting that back the same week he bought it. He won’t even have to pull the parts, since we’re doing that today. Trust me, he got a good deal, too.”

James pulled up into the driveway, and Carol was walking out to her car. “James! We don’t see you near often enough anymore. Come here and give me a hug!” James laughed and walked into Carol’s arms, picking her up off the ground. “Baby boy, you’ve gotten so handsome! I bet folks can see where you’ve been just by looking at which way the heads are turned.”

James laughed again. “Carol, you’re gonna embarrass me, and get Jim on my case, as well, talkin’ like that. He’s liable to think I’m after his girl. If I had anything to offer, he might be right, but I don’t even have my own place.”

“Honey, don’t worry about that. We can rent us a room at the Holiday Hotel anytime.” Carol pushed James’ hair out of his eye, smirked, and kissed him on the cheek before she pulled away. It was all in fun. “I heard it’s your birthday today. Wish we’d known; we could’ve planned something.”

“Thanks anyway, Carol. If I can just borrow Casey today to do some work on my truck, I’m in your debt.”

Just then, Casey walked up with two tool boxes and set them down to give Carol a hug. “Mom, we need to get going. The scrap yard closes early today, and we’ve got some work ahead of us. James, you ready?”

“Yup. Carol, it’s great to see you again. Mom asked if you would give her a call; she’d like to get together with you and Jim for Halloween. Let’s go, Case. Put the tools in the back end.”

Carol told James, “Y’all take care. Have my boy here back by midnight, OK? Plan to stay the night, and we’ll make you a birthday breakfast in the morning. If you need anything, call. Jim and I both keep our phones close.” She got in her Prius and rolled quietly out of the driveway, waving.

“C’mon, birthday boy. Let’s get you a bed!”

Casey walked to the far side of the truck, and didn’t notice James staring at him.

*
It was five o’clock when the boys finally dropped the new truck bed off at the shop where Casey worked, and they were grimed and sweaty from the work. The sun had been shining, and the weather hadn’t cooled down yet. James looked at them both and sniffed. “Let’s go back to my house and get cleaned up. We’re both ripe, and I wanna get some Mexican food in Austin. I’m buying.”

“Deal, but I didn’t bring a change of clothes.”

“I’ve got something you can wear. Come on.”

At James’ house, Casey went straight up to James’ shower, while James laid out some clothes for him. He picked out a dress shirt and khaki pants for himself, and took them down to his mother’s shower.

When he got back to his bedroom, James could only stare. The hunter green silk shirt shimmered in the light from the window when Casey turned, and the black jeans rested low on his hips, showing off the jock’s body he’d worked so hard to develop. Even the plain black Vans shoes he’d worn to the salvage yard looked good. “I hope you don’t mind, but I borrowed a belt from your closet. It looked the best with this outfit.” It was a black lizard strap with a forged silver buckle set.

“Perfect choice. I forgot about a belt. Glad everything fits OK – the jeans are a little big on me, and I guess my aunt expected me to grow into that shirt.”

James had on a bright white linen shirt stitched in brown. His khaki pants hinted at a lithe body underneath, and the brown suede shoes looked perfect. “Wow! That’s the coolest belt I’ve ever seen.” Casey couldn’t stop looking at the belt in James’ hands. The buckle set was silver, and intricately inlaid with multicolor stones. The strap was made of alligator hide, and dyed a rich brown.

“Thanks. Mom’s got a friend who’s a jeweler in New Mexico, and she traded for it. I don’t get to wear it much ‘cause, well, this is Bastrop.” He threaded the belt through the loops and fastened the buckle. When he looked up, Casey was checking him out head to toe. “What?!!”

Casey had been staring. The white shirt against his dark skin was stunning, and the khakis hugged his legs lightly. “Damn, you clean up nice. You look HOT.” Casey realized what he said, and blushed and stammered an apology, “Sorry, I mean, you look great.”

James grinned. “Thanks, stud. You look pretty hot yourself. C’mon, let’s go to Z Tejas. I want to show off.”

*
Talk was easy on the way into town. When they got to the restaurant, the hostess couldn’t seem to get enough of looking at the two young men, and seated them where she could still see them, and they caught her looking several times, but they paid no attention, laughing and talking about nothing and everything. Casey casually mentioned James’ birthday when the waiter brought the check, and when he brought the change, he also brought them dessert at no charge. James paid, saying the truck bed was already a generous birthday gift, but Casey insisted on covering the tip.

The two decided to walk around downtown for a while since they didn’t come to the city very often. Admiring the clothes in the windows of the shops, or staring at the lights on the buildings, several people paused to look at the young men when they passed. A group of girls invited them to their hotel room, saying they couldn’t get into a bar, but they could have a drink or two back in the hotel room, “and see where things go from there.” They seemed nice, and the girl who said that had her eye on Casey, but they politely declined.

The guys teased each other about all the attention they received. A breeze was blowing, fresh and cool, so when they got tired of downtown, they drove down to the lake and parked nearby. They picked up a couple of bottles of water from the convenience store on the way and wandered down to the boardwalk, just watching the city life going on around them, talking and laughing.

A guy and a girl with a guitar and a box drum set up nearby, and set the open guitar case in front of them to collect money from the passersby who would stop to listen. A group of skateboarders swept up and past, wheels rumbling on the pavement. One of them looked back and waved at James. James smiled and looked at Casey, and they both waved back at the skater.

After a while, James said they should be leaving to get back to Casey’s house by midnight. They walked slowly back to the truck. Two young men passed, holding hands. James glanced over at Casey, who was smiling.

The talk was easy all the way back to Bastrop, as they recalled the day they’d spent together and made more plans to restore James’ truck. Finally, pulling up alongside Slither, James stopped the truck and breathed a sigh. “Case, that was just the best. The food, the company, the music wasn’t so hot, but it was still fun. This has been the best birthday I can remember, but I’m tired.”

“C’mon up and get to bed. It’s been a long day.”

James got out of the truck and said, “Say that again, stud,” and started to laugh.

“It’s been a long day.”

“No, the other part. The part about come up to bed.”

Several times throughout the evening, one or the other had made a comment about how good the other looked, or they had teased each other about all the pickup lines they’d heard. They were walking toward the door, and Casey stopped and turned so they were face to face. His eyes shone in the starlight. An owl hooted off in the distance. Late night in the country, everything is dark, except where the moon and stars shine, but James in his white shirt was clear to see, and he seemed oddly relaxed. Casey breathed out, “If I thought you were serious…”

“What? You’d beat the crap out of me? Never speak to me again? Tell everybody in town? Hell, I was only jokin’.” James started to fidget, uncertain of his ground and trying to pass off the comment as another joke, and prepared for the worst. But it didn’t come. Casey smiled, put his arm around James’ shoulder, and started walking toward the door. When James walked through the door first, Casey looked down and admired his butt, flexing under the khakis.

In the entry hall, both guys sat on the bench to remove their shoes and socks, glancing at one another. They rose and mounted the stairs side by side. Casey wrapped his hand around James’ waist and pulled him a little closer, and James tucked his hand in Casey’s rear pocket. He breathed in and noticed for the first time that Casey had borrowed some of his cologne. “You’re wearing my cologne. It smells good.”

“So do you.”

“I’m not wearing cologne.”

“I know.”

In Casey’s room, someone had left on a couple of small lamps. Casey turned James to face him, lightly brushing his cheek with the back of his hand. He admired the smooth skin and stroked James’ throat down to where it met his shoulder, and slowly wrapped his hand around the back of James’ neck to pull him closer. Both boys were scanning the other’s face, and James laid his hands lightly on Casey’s hips while Casey wrapped his arms around James and held him tight, sighing. Easing back, they looked into each other’s eyes and leaned in. Eyes closed, breathing deeply, lips brushed, barely a touch, then separating.

One kiss led to another, and another, each hotter than the last. Tongues traced over lips, and Casey began to nibble at James, taking the lower lip between his teeth. James unbuttoned Casey’s shirt, laid his hand on the strong chest, and lightly tweaked the nipple, while Casey held James’ waist and stifled a moan. Then one hand lowered to caress James’ butt, stroking slowly up and down.

James took a step back, keeping Casey at arm’s length. Casey’s look of concern melted into wonder as his friend opened and lowered his pants, then unbuttoned his shirt and removed it. Standing before him, James was wearing nothing but a jock. From James’ strong feet and runner’s legs, Casey’s eyes travelled up over the strained fabric of the jock to a tight belly. His chest was broad and defined from practicing with the bow, and his arms and shoulders were just as strong. In the faint light, his skin glowed bronze, without a tan line.

Moving close again, James slid Casey’s shirt off and draped it over a chair, and nuzzled into the base of Casey’s neck for a moment. He bent to lick and suck on Casey’s nipples, one after the other, ‘til Casey’s skin was pebbled in gooseflesh and his nipples stood out erect; his breathing became irregular.

They held each other tightly as they kissed. Their hands never stopped movin; their lips crushed together as they breathed into each other’s mouth, savoring the taste.

James sank slowly to his knees, tracing Casey’s treasure trail to his waistband, then rising to moisten his abs, following the contours with his tongue while he unbuckled Casey’s belt and opened his jeans, easing them to the floor.

James had neglected to set out more than a belt for Casey, and Casey’s cock now rose with every beat of his heart, the hood sliding back to reveal the broad glistening head. The gooseflesh became evident on Casey’s legs, too, as he looked down in awe at the young man before him, burying his face between Casey’s thighs, his tongue laving one ball, then the other. Then he licked and nipped his way up to the tip of Casey’s dick, where his tongue captured a drop of fluid before it could fall.

While one hand squeezed and stroked Casey’s ass, James wrapped the other around the cock in front of him. He pulled it down just enough to trap the head in his lips and draw it into his mouth. He lightly sucked up and down, then swirled his tongue around the head. Casey’s legs trembled; his knees threatened to buckle. He fought to stay standing as James took the dick slowly all the way into his mouth and throat, down to the base once and again, as if to prove he’d done it the first time.

James pulled off and Casey sighed as James eased his feet out of the jeans, then stood to kiss him lightly. Casey grasped James’ head and pulled him in roughly for a deep and lingering kiss. James chuckled and bit Casey’s lip. Casey brought his mouth next to James’ ear and barely breathed, “I want you so bad.” He hooked his thumbs in the waistband of James’ jock and lowered it to the floor.

James was hard and pulsing, the head dripping. He moved in close and ran his fingers over Casey’s torso, then reached down to cup and fondle his sack. Casey settled his hands on James’ waist, then lowered them to caress the strong muscles of James’ butt, then lightly brushed James’ dick until it twitched hard. When James stepped backward, he drew Casey with him. They kissed hungrily, taking step after step until James felt the bed against the back of his legs. Then he pulled Casey on top, grinding their hips together, never breaking the kiss.

Their dicks were so wet they slid easily between their bellies, and they kissed and rubbed against each other until neither could breathe. James broke the kiss and drew in a deep breath, watching Casey’s face as he held it in his hands, and drew his legs up high, feeling Casey at his entrance. They continued to slide against each other ‘til Casey’s tip caught at the rim and began to ease in. Casey rested his weight on the backs of James’ legs as he slowly slid in.

James turned his head to the side and squeezed his eyes shut tight. He whimpered quietly, but he’d worked for weeks to stretch the muscles, hoping, and applied the lubricant before he got dressed. A soft moan came from two throats at the same time as Casey bottomed out. James gasped and his muscles clamped down hard. Casey started to withdraw, afraid he’d hurt James, but James gripped even harder, arms and legs wrapped around Casey, and hissed fiercely in his ear, “No! I want this! Here and now, lover! Hold me ‘til it passes. Make love to me tonight.”

So Casey held him, and kissed him, and they breathed raggedly into each other’s mouth. He felt James begin to relax. Then Casey began to move, out and in, slowly, controlling his urge to cum, as James’ fingers traced up and down his sides, his ass rising to meet each thrust as Casey’s motion quickened, breath catching, their lips fevered against each other. James’ hands wrapped around his lover, his feet against Casey’s ass, pulling him in harder, fingernails biting into the flesh of his back.

As they moved together, their passions flowing and heat rising, Casey sank his cock deep, and both began to spasm and writhe, liquid fire searing into James and forcing its way out of his own cock, slicking their chests. Through it all, they never broke the kiss, but now, they eased back to look into each other’s eyes. Each smiled, shyly at first, then radiantly, and they leaned in again, chuckling. James squeezed, and Casey tried not to cry out as he felt the muscles clench him tightly. He flexed, and James squirmed and gasped in pleasure and pain.

Neither had softened, and they began to move together again, in steady unison. They looked deeply at each other this time, taking and giving pleasure, until a sudden tightening signaled their climax.

James lowered his legs and Casey eased out of him, then rolled to the side, breathing hard. James rolled next to him, resting his head in the hollow of Casey’s shoulder and laid his hand on Casey’s chest until his breathing slowed to normal. “You’re my first, and you’ll be my only. I love you, Casey.”

“You’re unbelievable, James. I never thought I would love a man, but with you, everything is right. I could never want another. It’s like a part of you is always inside me, and I never want this feeling to end.” He turned James’ to face him, and kissed him lightly on the lips. “I love you crazy, darlin’.” James kissed him back.

“Yeh, well, not to make light of it, but a part of you is inside me, too, and I’m afraid it wants out. I need to use the bathroom and take a shower before I go to sleep. Come join me before we both start dripping?”

“Sure. I call dibs on the shower.” Casey gently rose from the bed and helped James up.

When they closed the bathroom door and turned on the light, Casey noticed James limping slightly. James saw the concern on Casey’s face and smiled wryly back at him. “I’m OK. You just stretched me out pretty good.”

“Did I hurt you?” Casey’s voice cracked, and he bit his lip.

James walked to Casey at the door to the shower, turned on the water, and held his man against him. “You’re mine, Casey, and you’re worth any pain. But it was a lot more fun than pain. I’ll be alright.” The two held each until the water flowed hot and steam rose from the shower floor. “Let’s get clean.”

The shower became a slow dance as the boys explored each other. Casey said, “I finally get to play with your hair,” as he worked the shampoo into James’ scalp, then rinsed it out again.

James turned Casey around and washed his back gently, taking note of the scratches he’d left there earlier. When he soaped up Casey’s butt, he took his time. Casey’s breathing grew shallow and quick as he leaned against the shower wall, bent forward. He gasped when James barely slid his finger in. Whispering in his boy’s ear, James said, “Sometime soon, I hope, maybe I can make you feel as good as you made me feel,” and nibbled on Casey’s ear. Casey turned to kiss him deeply.

Breaking the kiss, Casey draped his arms over James’ shoulders, held his forehead against James’, and his eyes were deepest blue as they met James’. Sighing deeply, he said, “I want you to feel as good as I do right now, too,” and leaned in again.

When they finally slipped quietly into bed, Casey settled in behind James, and laid his arm over him. James scooted backwards until he was touching Casey, head to toe. He quickly fell asleep. Casey lay awake for a few more minutes, just enjoying the closeness, until the sound of James’ breathing lulled him to sleep.