Art By Adonis - 11. Chapter 11

Aidan didn’t mean to end the party the way it did. Even though Naomi claimed she enjoyed every minute of it, he knew she had only said it to make him feel better. By the time he and Corey got back into the living room, Rick was long gone. “He said he wasn’t feeling too well, so he went back to his room,” Naomi told him. So, as soon as everyone left, Aidan went to check on Rick.

The door was halfway open, and he found Rick emptying his stuff from the wardrobe. His heart skipped a beat. “Hey,” he said, and Rick turned. “What’s going on?”

Rick folded the shirt in his hand and kept it on his lap on top of the few others he’d already removed. Slowly, he pushed his wheelchair toward the bed. “I’ve decided to go back to Missouri tomorrow. I already called up my friend there, and she’s ready to take me in for a few days. I had a job before I moved to LA, so it’s all going to work out.”

Aidan walked up to him and held his hand. He took the bag away from him and said, “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Aidan…”

“If this is about me yelling at you earlier…I told you I’m sorry. It totally came out wrong.”

He smiled sadly. “No, Aidan. You were right. You have your own life to live, and you cannot spend your precious time taking care of me. I’m a broken piece.”

A lump formed in his throat. He sat on the edge of Rick’s bed and took his hands in his own. “Don’t fucking say that, Rick! You’re not, you’re not broken. And I love taking care of you.”

“I don’t like it though.” Rick looked anywhere but at Aidan. “I hate the fact you’re wasting your life on someone like me. You deserve someone who’s capable enough to care for you back.”

“Why don’t you guys let me decide…” He was about to say it was his decision who he wanted to be with but then suspected something fishy. “Wait,” he said suddenly, narrowing his eyes. “Where’s this coming from, really?” Rick didn’t reply. He stared down at the set of clothes in his lap as if there was something very interesting about them. Aidan pulled at his hands and yelled, “Look at me, Rick!”

It made him jump, but it worked. Rick did look up, and Aidan noticed the tears forming in his eyes. His voice cracked when he said, “I overheard your argument with Corey.” Aidan huffed. Damn Corey! “He’s right though,” he rushed to explain, “I completely agree with him. I can give you nothing but endless problems. You’ve been good to me, Aidan, but it’s all been too good to be true.”

Aidan shook his head vigorously. “No, Rick, you’ve been too good to me. I don’t know what I’d have done when Bratty went missing if it wasn’t for you. You were by my side the whole time, and it wasn’t even your problem.”

“That was nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing for me,” Aidan said softly. “You comforted me. Because of you, I didn’t let go of my hope of finding her.”

Casting his eyes down, Rick swallowed visibly. A tear escaped his eyes and fell freely. “If you’re doing all of this because you think you owe me anything…”

“Are you out of your mind, Rick?” Aidan yelled. He took a pause, realizing anger would only worsen things. So he attempted to calm himself down and continued in a softer tone. “Why can’t you understand what I’m trying to say here? I appreciate you being in my life, Rick. I want you in my life. Not because I think I owe you or something, but because I…” He had to say it. It was high time. “I love you.”

Rick’s eyes grew big as he looked up and his mouth remained wide open. Aidan gave him time to let the words sink in. He didn’t dare look away because he wanted Rick to know how serious he was. When Rick recovered, he shook his head ever so slightly. “You don’t mean that!” The words came out in a gasp.

“Of course, I mean it.” Aidan felt offended that Rick would think otherwise. “I wouldn’t have said if I didn’t mean it. I love you, and I’ve been in love with you for a while now.”

Rick withdrew his hands from Aidan’s hold and silently continued to pack his clothes away. His shaking hands held onto the wheels of his chair and pushed them backward. “You can’t love me, Aidan. I’m not worth it,” he said in a heavier voice and turned away.

“You don’t get it, do you?” Aidan walked up behind him and bent down. He placed his chin on Rick’s shoulder, putting his arms around his body. With their faces close beside each other’s, he whispered near Rick’s ear, “This is what I want to do.” His smell allured him so much that he couldn’t stop himself from kissing his neck.

Rick let out a heavy breath. “Aidan…”

“Do you trust me, Rick?”

“Yes,” he replied almost immediately. He turned his head bringing them face to face. Staring deep into Aidan’s eyes, Rick nodded before saying, “I trust you.” His gaze travelled down to Aidan’s lips. Little by little, the distance between their mouths diminished.

Their breath mingled before their lips touched and Aidan felt a rush within him. When their lips finally met, both men let out a moan. This was definitely better than the last kiss they’d shared, Aidan thought. Maybe it was because the bond between them had grown stronger during the last few days and a lot of emotions had taken over, he didn’t know, or perhaps it was because the lust was replaced by the feeling of love inside him.

Whatever it was, it felt heavenly to kiss Rick at that moment.

Though he didn’t wish to, Aidan had to break their kiss because his legs were starting to kill him. He stood up straight and turned the wheelchair to face him. Rick smiled up at him.

Aidan caressed his cheek with the back of his fingers. “You’re so beautiful.” Rick leaned into the touch and kissed Aidan’s hand. “Come on,” Aidan said and bent to pick him up. Rick laughed as Aidan carried him in his arms, out of the guest room and into his own bedroom. Putting him down right in the middle of his bed, Aidan then laid on his side resting his head on his left hand and facing him. Rick turned too, mimicking the exact mirrored position and smiled. He reached out to hold Aidan’s right hand and placed it on his own chest. Aidan let it rest there for a while and slowly rubbed it sensuously. Within minutes, he could feel Rick’s hardened nipple through the t-shirt, and he circled his finger around it.

“Kiss me again?” Rick asked.

Aidan obliged happily and kissed Rick hard on the lips. It made him fall back, giving Aidan the opportunity to clamber on top of him. He thrust his hand under his body somewhere near the waistline and pulled him closer, so their groins rubbed. Rick cupped Aidan’s face, sometimes running his fingers through his grown-out strands of hair. He kept pulling his face down deepening the kiss with every passing second. Soon, their tongues made their way in and began to explore. Aidan enjoyed tasting every part of Rick’s warm mouth. Without a doubt, the man was an awesome kisser.

Their breathing became heavier after a while and Aidan had to break apart. He watched Rick’s chest rise up and down in a perfect rhythm matching with his. “Wow,” he said out of breath. “That was…” He swallowed.

“…great.” Rick finished his sentence. The smile on his face proved he’d actually enjoyed this as much as Aidan. Without wasting any time, Aidan got up and on his knees. He unbuttoned the shirt he wore, then discarded it. “God! Aidan…” Rick said, eyeing him seductively. “You’ve got such a hot body.” Aidan grinned. He was happy to receive that compliment. Taking his own time, he unbuckled his belt before opening the fly of his jeans. However, he did not remove them. Not breaking eye contact with Rick, Aidan leisurely got on top of his man and straddled him. Beneath him, he could feel something hard rubbing against his ass.

Both of Rick’s hands remained aimlessly at his sides. Aidan caught them by the forearms and raised them up. Rick swore under his breath as soon as his palms settled on the muscled chest. Not letting go of his firm hold on the guy, Aidan guided both hands, trailing them down his upper body. He had closed his eyes, cherishing the soft touch of Rick’s fingers. His grip loosened when the hands touched his navel, and Aidan left it up to Rick to explore further.

Rick felt around carefully, lingering for a while, appreciating the shape of Aidan’s hard abs. Then, following the trail of his body hair down below the navel, one of the hands reached near his jeans. Aidan felt his dick throb, pushing hard against the thin fabric of his underwear. With light touches, Rick’s fingers finally ended their journey and started to tease the length of his cock. Slowly, but erotically.

Aidan threw his head back and groaned. He breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm down his body. However, the way Rick’s fingers teased him, it was hard to control himself. He gripped onto Rick’s wrists to stop him and bent over, pinning his hands to his sides. Aidan’s mouth attacked his neck, nibbling it. “I wasn’t done,” Rick whined.

“I’ll let you get back to it, later,” Aidan teasingly said between his kisses. The truth was if he’d allowed him to continue, he was sure to explode within minutes. It had been a while since he’d been with anyone, so his libido was on fire.

The man under him hissed as Aidan left a hickey near the nape of his neck and smiled mischievously. “This shows you’ve been claimed by me.”

Rick met his eyes. “I’m yours, Aidan,” he said. “Forever and always.”

Even though Rick hadn’t said he loved him back, his words and actions were sufficient enough for Aidan to know how much he meant to the man. He kissed him again and started to tug on the hem of Rick’s t-shirt. Pulling it off carefully over his head, he moved on to his belt and fiddled with the buckle for a while. As soon as he managed to get Rick’s fly open, he broke the kiss and pulled his jeans and briefs off. It surprised him how quickly he’d undressed Rick. He got off the bed and removed his own jeans too.

He stood up and admired the beautiful man in front of him. He was as mesmerized by the sight of Rick’s naked body as he was the first time. His skin glowed even in the dim lights of Aidan’s bedroom. He noticed the discomfort in Rick when his gaze had traveled down to his legs and stayed there. Aidan didn’t mean to stare, but their frail, bony structure made him sad. “Aidan?” He looked up hearing his name. “Penny for your thoughts?”

“I was just…” His mind trailed off. Aidan’s gaze automatically went back to the legs again, and he whispered, “Do you ever think how your life would be if you hadn’t gotten that disease?”

“All the time.” Aidan watched Rick shrug his shoulders as if it was the most normal thing to do. “But now, when I think about it,” he said placing his left hand behind his head, “I am guessing it would be a completely different life. If I were able-bodied, I would have never lived with my mom in the first place. So she couldn’t have kicked me out then. I would never have come to LA to stay with my sister. And our paths would have never crossed.” They exchanged smiles. “If you ask me, it would be a totally hopeless life without you in it.”

Aidan crawled onto the bed, lying next to him. Gazing into Rick’s eyes, he said, “You know what I think?” Rick turned to face him, looking curious. “I think whatever turns our lives would have taken, they would have still led us to each other.” He took his hand and entwined their fingers together. “Because you see, you and I…we’re meant to be.”