Sweaters & Cigarettes (48 page)

Theo hums against his mouth.

"And go where?" he asks, not
even opening his eyes.
God
, his heart is beating so fast, his blood
pumping.

"That's kinda where my idea
comes in," Max replies, and Theo half-pauses.

"What do you mean?"

Max makes a small, apprehensive
noise.

"I may have arranged for us to
have somewhere to go," he says, almost reluctantly, and Theo pulls away.

"Wait, what?" he asks,
and Max looks sheepish, drunk, and very aroused, all at once. He chews his
bottom lip for a moment, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out what
Theo quickly identifies as a keycard. And it takes another second, before his
alcohol-addled brain puts the pieces together.

"Is that what I think it
is?" he asks, half-pointing at the card, and Max cocks his head. Theo
blinks. "You seriously got us a room?"

Max rolls his eyes, clearly a
little uncomfortable.

"I may have," he admits,
avoiding Theo's eyes. "You know, out of practicality, or whatever..."

Theo is a little stunned for a
moment, and then he smiles.

"Oh my god," he says, a
little teasingly, a little drunk. "You got us a room."

Max groans as Theo gives him a
kiss.

"So what, if I did?" he
says, discomfort blending with awkward annoyance, which is all very uncommon
for him. "What about it?"

"I never would have pegged you
for such a romantic," Theo teases with a smile, kissing him again, and Max
lets out another groan.

"Not exactly romantic,"
he points out. "Also, mention it again, and die."

"I'm willing to take that
risk." Theo kisses him again, moving one hand up to cup his face.
"And I'm
very
willing to take you up on your offer. Even if you did
refuse to dance with me."

This time, the sound coming out of
Max's mouth sounds more like a moan, and Theo can feel him smile.

"Good," he says.
"And I promised I'd make up for that,

didn't I?"

Chapter 30

Burn

It's only a matter of minutes, before Theo and Max
have gotten their coats and left the school. They notice how Cassie's car is
still parked outside, which Theo appreciates; no one should drink and drive,
and he's glad Cassie is sensible enough to get that.

Max has a cigarette, while they
walk, and it doesn't take long before Theo realizes where they're going. By the
time they reach the motel where Max has booked a room, he recognizes it as the
motel they stayed at that night, so long ago, back when everything was messy
and difficult, and Theo's family wouldn't even accept Max.

Back when Max and I had sex for the
first time
. Just the thought of
that makes Theo shiver, in a way that has nothing to do with the cold winter
night.

It's pretty obvious that there's a
school dance tonight, at least judging from the much larger number of cars that
fill up the motel parking lot, than last time Max and Theo were here. And when
they get inside, the guy behind the front desk―thankfully, a different
guy than last time―doesn't even look surprised, just looks bored, more
than anything, and Theo and Max just slip past him, already armed with a
keycard.

They make their way along the first
floor hallway, and it's only when they reach their room that Theo realizes
something.

"Wait," he says. "Is
this the same room as last time?"

Max hums and looks away pointedly.

"Maybe," he says, slowly
swiping the keycard and opening the door, and Theo looks at him.

"Alright," he says,
"you can't honestly tell me that
that's
not romantic."

Max doesn't answer him, though, and
is spared the trouble, when they hear the obnoxiously loud sounds of kissing.
They look over their shoulders, and sure enough, a girl and a guy are making
their way down the hall, grabbing and practically slobbering all over each
other, and judging from their age and outfits, Theo is entirely sure that
they've just come from the Winter Dance. They don't even seem to notice Theo
and Max, though, and instead just keep grabbing and kissing and moaning, as
they open the door to the room right next to Max's and Theo's, step inside, and
shut the door behind them.

Theo looks at Max, who nods slowly.

"Tasteful," he says,
before he and Theo make their way inside their room, closing the door and
effectively shutting out the world.

Theo looks around the room, and
feels a small smile on his face, as he takes off his jacket. The room looks
exactly the same as last time, which he supposes it totally normal for a motel,
but still. It makes him feel all warm and happy inside, as he thinks about that
night, about everything that happened. Everything from the fast food to the
impromptu
Star Wars
commentary, to the amazing sex that followed. Not to
mention the shower they had, the next morning.

"Do you approve?" Max
asks after a little while, and Theo turns to him. His trenchcoat is off, and
tossed over the armrest of a chair, along with Theo's jacket.

"I very much approve,"
Theo says, before smiling a little. "And again, you can't tell me this
isn't romantic. I mean, really, there's just no other way of looking at
it."

Max groans.

"Don't remind me," he
says. "And I have my moments, you know. Just don't tell anyone."

"Don't tell anyone that you're
a big softie?" Theo says. "That you like cuddling and spooning, and
that you booked the same room where you took my virginity, for tonight?"

He says it a bit teasingly,
amusedly, but Max just groans again, as though embarrassed.

"Alright, we get it," he
says. "Now, do you wanna fuck, or not?"

Theo raises his eyebrows at him.

"Excuse me?" he asks, and
Max shifts a little, clearly a bit awkward, despite the alcohol they're both
still feeling the effects of.

"You heard me," he says,
his confidence slipping just the tiniest bit, while Theo starts making his way
over to him.

"I did," Theo says, now narrowing
his eyes. "It almost sounded as though you're expecting to get laid."

"Well, yeah," Max says,
Theo moving in closer. "I went through a lot of trouble for this, you
know."

"Uh-huh." Theo eyes Max up
and down, only stopping dead when he's standing right in front of him.

"I mean, I even got the same
room," Max continues, trying to catch Theo's eye, but Theo is busy
trailing his gaze down along Max's throat, his chest, down over that red tie
and that gorgeous, pin-striped waistcoat. "Which, you know, was romantic,
like five seconds ago."

Theo just hums in reply, and Max
frowns a little.

"What?" he asks, and Theo
tilts his head a bit, eyeing Max's chest.

"I'm thinking," he says.

"About?"

Theo licks his lips.

"About whether or not I should
take this off," he says, tugging lightly at Max's waistcoat.

"How so?" Max asks.

"Well," Theo explains.
"On one hand, it's extremely hot, and I'm not sure I ever want you to take
it off, again."

He exhales slowly.

"But on the other hand,"
he says. "Getting you naked is pretty much the best thing in the world.
And yet, neither of these choices is required to actually have sex."

He's a little surprised at his
choice of words, but he's pretty certain it's thanks to the alcohol that he
chooses them, at all, and it feels good to say it, especially when he notices
the way Max tenses up a bit.

"Well," he says, that
rough voice a bit lower. "That's quite the conundrum, you got there."

Theo hums in agreement, slowly
starting to unbutton the pin-striped waistcoat.

"But I'm thinking that taking
it off might be best," he murmurs, looking up at Max, whose eyes are
suddenly alight with excitement. He still looks at Theo softly, though,
hungrily, as though he wants to eat him alive, but also wants to slowly savor
every bite, and Theo can feel his pulse speed up just at the thought of that.

"Probably," Max murmurs
in agreement, and for a few seconds, they just stand there, looking at each
other, and Theo's fingers have managed to undo all those buttons, by the time
either of them does anything.

It's Max who does it, leaning in
and kissing Theo on the mouth, and just the sheer intensity of it has Theo fall
apart, within moments. Before he knows it, Max's hands are everywhere, and his
tie is being pulled off, along with his blazer, and his hair is being tugged at
and messed up, while he shimmies that waistcoat off of Max and reciprocates the
kiss with rather extreme eagerness. It doesn't take long before the rest comes
off, too, Max muttering about how there are
too many fucking buttons
,
and Theo can't help but agree, as he undoes Max's tie and tosses it to the
side. There are
so many buttons
, but it's
so worth it
, when Theo
finally
gets to that tattooed skin, underneath, and he's kissing and touching, and
Max's hands and mouth are everywhere, and everything is just a haze of hormones
and alcohol.

By the time they finally make it
over to the bed, Theo is undoing the fly of Max's jeans, and Max moans weakly
against his mouth.

"How do you wanna..." he
asks, trailing off, but Theo already knows what he wants.

"I want you to do it," he
practically breathes against Max's lips. "Like the first time."

And Max inhales deeply, a bit
shakily, and he nods.

Eventually,
finally
, their
pants come off, and they're in the bed, underneath the covers, and Theo's skin
is on fire, his hands trailing everywhere, as though he simply can't get enough
of Max and the way he feels, the way he smells, the way he tastes. Like he
simply can't get enough of
this
, and he kisses Max, roughly, pulling him
even closer, as if that were possible. They're both so hard, already, and Theo
moans, as Max moves his hand down to wrap his fingers around him.

"Have I ever told you how much
I love this?" Max murmurs against Theo's mouth, as he practically lies on
top of him. "Having you, like this?"

"You might have mentioned
it," Theo replies, pulling Max closer and attempting to silence him with a
kiss.

"I do, you know." Max
manages to pull away enough to speak, pressing short, sweet kisses against
Theo's mouth. "I love it. I love
you
."

Theo groans, digging his fingers
into Max's hair, as Max starts stroking him.

"I love you so much."
Max's words are a murmur, and Theo is slightly stunned at how incredibly sincere
they sound, that pierced bottom lip pressing against his mouth. "So
much."

Theo lets out a moan, as Max moves
down to kiss his throat, smoothing over the skin with his tongue.

"Theo." The way he says
the name is enough to make Theo squeeze his eyes shut, clinging to him. Max
says it softly, reverently, and Theo exhales sharply.

"I love you, Max." His
words are little more than a breathless moan, and he grabs Max's hair to pull
his mouth back up to his own, kissing him fiercely. "I love you, I love you."

Theo feels like he could keep
saying it forever, but he doesn't. He says it with his lips, instead, with his
hands and his tongue, and the way Max eagerly reciprocates leaves no doubt in
his mind about just how mutual those feelings are.

Theo realizes that this is just
foreplay, that they're only building up to the really good stuff, but
god
it feels so good. He moves his hand down and starts stroking Max, who moans in
pleased surprise, and it's only a matter of seconds, before they're practically
panting into each other's mouths, gradually losing their minds and grinding
against the pressure and the touch of eager fingers.

"We should really slow
down," Max breathes, seemingly reluctantly moving his hand away from
Theo's crotch. "I'm not gonna last."

"Then, hurry up," Theo
practically pants in response, still touching, stroking, making Max groan
against his neck.

"Wouldn't that be
counter-productive?" Max says, sounding strained, and Theo plants hungry
kisses against his jaw, his throat.

"Just do it, Max," he
says, with a desperate edge to his voice. "Just do it. I want you."

Theo can't believe the words coming
out of his mouth; it seems that any sense of modesty just completely goes out
the window, when he's in a situation like this, and Max sure as hell doesn't
seem to mind.

"God, you're so fucking hot,
right now." The words are no more than a heavy breath, forced out through
Max's half-parted lips, and he groans, as he kisses Theo, pushing that
wonderful, pierced tongue into his mouth. He makes sure to gently take Theo's
wrist, though, moving Theo's hand away from his crotch, and Theo makes a soft
whining noise of disappointment.

"Babe, I'm not kidding,"
Max says, kissing him. "I'm not gonna last. We need to slow down."

Theo knows he has a point, knows
how right he is. But
damn
, he just really wants this,
needs
it.
He needs it, just like simply
needs
everything about Max.

He nods jerkily, though, and Max
pulls back to meet his gaze.

"At least I came prepared,
this time," Max says, smirking at him, and to prove his words, he
awkwardly gets out of bed and makes his way over to his coat.

"I did too, you know,"
Theo says, already sounding exhausted, and Max looks over at him.

"Really?" he says, and
Theo nods.

"Yeah," he confirms,
thinking of how he actually slipped a condom and a
small packet of lube into his jacket pocket, before he left home. "Didn't
want to risk it, again. Figured I might as well."

Max gives him a wicked, weirdly
affectionate smirk, as he makes his way back to the bed, and Theo just watches
him as he moves, watches that gorgeous body and that beautifully tattooed skin.
He half-sits up as Max puts a small packet of lube down on the nightstand,
along with a condom, and he takes his hand.

"Now, you need to get back
down here," Theo says, pulling Max into a kiss, as he leans down.
"Right now."

And Max is happy to oblige.

It's amazing how everything seems
to move at hyper speed, but in slow motion, at the same time. Theo can still
feel the effects of the alcohol, and it's just the right amount; enough to make
him tipsy and light-headed and all fuzzy and warm and reckless, but not enough
to make him unfocused and actually keep him from getting hard. That would have
been a let-down, if anything.

Before long, Max is touching him
again, but this time, those slicked-up fingers are sliding in and out of him,
rubbing and loosening up, and Theo is moaning loudly, shamelessly, clinging to
that amazing body and kissing and biting the skin with his teeth. He feels so
impatient, so eager, like all of this is just preparations that, annoyingly,
need to be dealt with, and Max is making all kinds of happy sounds, already
panting and moaning and seemingly losing his mind. Before long, he leans down,
just by Theo's ear.