SEVEN

 

It wasn’t that Taylor was unaware that Dane hadn’t replied to the invitation. He was, very much so, and he had no idea if Dane would even be around. It could mean that Dane was trying to find a way to let him down easy, because who knew what had changed in the year?

But Dane had been on Taylor’s mind every single day of the last year that they had spent apart. Taylor could try to be blasé about that, but it remained a fact. Every time he had stroked himself to completion, he had been picturing Dane’s body, his face, and his big brown eyes. Every erotic dream that he had had, it had featured Dane and only Dane.

So was it a risk for Taylor to go? Definitely. He was looking at the possibility of some pretty embarrassing rejection, but the fact was that Taylor would kick himself for the rest of his life if he didn’t give it a try. Dane had been the most exciting experience of his entire life, and now that fate, in the form of a traveling fair, had brought Dane back into his life, Taylor had to try.

“Sweetheart, where are you going?” his mother asked, a little bit of a smile on her lips. She was always after him to go out, to do things, and ever since her shifts had changed so that she was working a more regular nine-to-five position, her probing around in his life had only gotten worse. It had been one thing when Taylor had had to be around for Danica in the evenings, but now, most of the time, he didn’t.

It was early in the evening, just after dinner. He should have waited, because not only was his mother still awake but so was Danica, coloring quietly at the coffee table in the living room. She looked up now, her little face curious, and Taylor, feeling strangely guilty, glanced away.

She had never known the year before that Taylor had gone out so many nights to spend time with Dane. He had always waited until she was safely in bed before he had gone.

“Just out, Mom,” Taylor informed her, and he could have kicked himself for it when he saw the grin on her face, the delight in her eyes. She was worried about him, and he knew it, but he had more important things than dating on his mind.

“Out where? Are you meeting someone? A young lady, maybe?” she asked, and Taylor sighed. One more thing to feel guilty about, he still hadn’t come out to his mother, but it had never seemed that important. At this point in his life, it wasn’t like he was going to be hooking up with anyone at all, and it had always seemed to him like it would be better to come out once he needed to.

Or at least, it would be easier, since he had no idea how she would react.

“He’s going to meet someone, I bet,” Danica spoke up, and Taylor flushed as he looked away from her guiltily. “He’s going to meet Dane like he did last year.”

Hadn’t he just been thinking about the fact that she didn’t know that? He should know better, though. She noticed things, far more than other people did. She seemed to see everything, and Taylor shook his head ruefully.

“Dane?” His mother’s face was much sharper now, less delighted and warier. “The Dane that you spent so much time with last year? That man with the fair?”

Were there any secrets left? Taylor had thought that he was being so sneaky, that no one had known or cared.

“How did you know about him?” he asked, hearing Danica get up and come to stand by his side, but not looking away from his mother. He had, he reminded himself, nothing to be ashamed of. He was an adult and had been last year, too.

“I heard about him in my book club, at church, all over the place,” she informed him, and Taylor winced but refused to let his gaze drop guiltily, as they wanted to. He probably should have predicted that. The fair coming to town was a big deal in a place this small, and everyone here had their nose in everyone else’s business.

He had just been so swept away at the time, so high on the summer and on fun, reckless, real fun. Besides, he had never thought of his life as very interesting, so he had assumed that no one else would care that much about it.

He should have known better.

“Yeah, Taylor and Dane are friends. Dane’s my friend, too,” Danica spoke up cheerfully, and for the first time, Taylor was deeply grateful that she was here in this deeply awkward moment. Their mother wouldn’t be able to react quite as strongly to this whole situation with her around, watching everything.

“Is he,” their mother mused, and there was a look in her eye, a sort of appraising stare, that Taylor wasn’t sure he liked the look of.

“He’s great, Mom. He gave me free rides, and he didn’t treat me like I’m a freak because of my hair,” Danica spoke without bitterness, but life, Taylor knew, hadn’t been easy for her. Priya, who had luckily been in her kindergarten class last year and also was in her new class this year, was pretty much her only friend. No one else seemed to know quite what to do with her.

“No one should treat my baby like a freak,” their mother said, but Taylor saw her shoulders relax. She was deeply protective of both of her children, and it was sort of nice even if he was too old for that sort of thing.

“Well, Dane doesn’t,” Danica said firmly. “He’s really nice, Mom. You should come meet him. We’re going back there tomorrow, right, Taylor?”

Taylor didn’t have a chance to reply, because his mom was speaking again.

“I’ll tell you what, honey.” She was speaking to Danica but looking right at Taylor. She and Danica, they both had this odd quality in their bright blue eyes, like they could somehow see right through someone, right into their heads to read their thoughts and emotions. It was creepy. “I’ll do you one better. See if you can’t get this Dane of yours to come home for dinner tomorrow night.”

Oh my God.

Taylor closed his eyes and shook his head. This had to be a nightmare. His mother was inviting Dane, and right in front of Danica, home for dinner? Dane would laugh right in his face, but Taylor had been neatly trapped. He had to ask because Danica was gasping and then giggling with her excitement, and he could let a lot of people down but not his sister.

“I’ll ask, but he’s probably working,” Taylor cautioned. Both Danica and their mother just looked at him, though, with matching expressions of expectation, and Taylor wanted to curse as he turned around and went through the door.

How was he going to get out of this one? Maybe Dane wouldn’t even be there, and he could honestly say that he tried.

Dane was going to take this all wrong. He was going to freak right out when Taylor said that he wanted Dane to come to dinner. See this as Taylor trying to force an intimacy that he wasn’t.

And there wasn’t anything that he could do about it, not really, not without disappointing his sister. He had to try at least, even if he had no idea, none at all, how he was going to go about it.

To think, this whole time, he had thought that Dane was his little secret. Things had been a lot easier when he had thought that was the case.

 

* * *

 

Dane was there waiting when Taylor got out of the car. He had been perched on a park bench nearby, but when Taylor drove up, he stood, and by the time Taylor was opening the door, Dane was reaching down, gripping his shoulders, and pulling him with his strong hands and arms and shoulders to his feet.

Before Taylor, who was still definitely lost in his own thoughts, could even comprehend what was going on, Dane was kissing him.

No one had ever kissed Taylor like this. He had been kissed, from time to time, but when Dane did it, it was easy to think that Taylor was worth something, that he was urgently desired, maybe even needed. That hot tongue plunged into his mouth, tangling with Taylor’s. And the familiar, slightly spicy taste of Dane filled Taylor, seemingly all of his senses reeling with it.

There was no time even to adjust to what was going on. Taylor felt the cool metal of his own car against his back, Dane’s body, just as hard and hot as it had been the year before, trapping him against it. Helpless, vulnerable, Taylor whimpered as he wrapped his arms around Dane’s huge body and kissed him back.

He had wondered if Dane had moved on or if Dane didn’t want him. It hadn’t escaped his notice that Dane hadn’t confirmed that he wanted to see Taylor again. It wouldn’t have surprised Taylor much if Dane hadn’t wanted to pick up from where they had left off. He seemed like a pretty love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of guy.

But there was no mistaking the want, the lust, in that kiss, and Taylor whimpered into their shared kiss as Dane shifted them both down along the car, standing by the hood. He reached down and grabbed Taylor’s ass, and so easily, he hefted him up onto the hood of the car so that they were on the same level and could kiss effortlessly.

There was something about Dane which made Taylor act on pure instinct. Maybe that was why he liked the guy so much. He encouraged him to get out of his head, to do what he wanted to, and for once, not think about the consequences. As it was, Taylor spread his legs, taking Dane between them, and wrapped them around Dane’s waist, anchoring them more firmly together.

In this new position, it was easy to tell just how much Dane wanted him. The hard erection seemed to pulse against Taylor, even through the layers of their clothes, and pressed as close as he was, Taylor was right in the sweet spot, able to feel it as Dane palpably hardened further against him. Curious, Taylor rocked his hips, rubbing his bulge against Dane’s, teasing them both.

Dane rewarded him with a soft groan, and their kiss, already desperate and heated, turned searing hot then. The months rolled away, and he was nineteen again, having his first real sexual experience with the handsome stranger who was somehow magically now back into his life.

“I need you,” Dane whispered, not the sort of thing that Taylor was used to hearing, not this way. He knew that Danica needed him, and his mother needed him, but they didn’t have anything to do with this sensual side that he had discovered inside of himself. It was like, when he was with Dane, he was a whole new person, a more exciting person. Maybe even a desirable person.

“I need you, too,” Taylor admitted, not the sort of thing that he was used to saying to anyone. But it felt like nothing more than the truth. His body had been mostly sleeping, it felt like, but it had woken up now, and he had never felt more alive.

“Take me somewhere we can be alone,” Dane demanded, and one thing, it seemed, hadn’t changed in the year that they had been apart. Dane was still just as dominant, as forceful, with that low southern growl, as he had ever been.

In this case, though, that hardly bothered Taylor. Not when he wanted the same thing, and he squirmed down off of the hood of the car, his body hovering close to Dane’s as he slid his arm around Dane’s waist and felt the heavy weight of it as Dane wrapped his own arm around Taylor’s shoulder.

“This way,” he whispered and led the way off into the forest which bordered the park, wild and untamed and yet as familiar to Taylor as his own backyard. He had tramped through these trails growing up, and it was easy to find a trailhead and lead Dane off into the concealing shadows under the trees.

They didn’t even have to go very far in. The sounds of the carnival were only slightly muted when Taylor turned to Dane, stopping him in his tracks. There wasn’t a lot of light, and Taylor had deliberately picked one of the most overrun trails. He had no patience, not when his body felt like it was burning and the only thing which would put out the flames was Dane.

“No one will find us here,” Taylor whispered, and then, swallowing down his nerves with surprising ease, he went down onto his knees and went for the buckle of Dane’s belt. This wasn’t something that he had ever done before, but it had been one of his biggest regrets that he hadn’t done it before when he’d had the chance.

He had that chance now, and he softly groaned as he opened Dane’s jeans, letting them fall around his ankles. Dane wore only boxers, and even as eager as Taylor was, he couldn’t help but take a second just to admire the way Dane’s enormous dick thrust against the fabric, making it jut out. It was the sort of blatantly pornographic sight that he knew he would remember for a long, long time.

Dane made an impatient noise, and Taylor grinned up at him as he finally lowered those boxers, leaving Dane’s dick free to the night air. He met Dane’s eyes, saw the look on his face, and his grin widened. Dane couldn’t believe that this was happening, could he? That Taylor could actually be about to do this?

Honestly, part of Taylor didn’t believe it, either, and he felt daring and wild and all of the things that he never normally got to feel as he nuzzled his lips against the smooth, blunt, slick, slightly spongy surface of the head of Dane’s cock.

Dane’s hands, big and strong, came down to grip Taylor’s head, slipping into his short hair. He was gentle, but there was so much tension in the way that he held himself, and it was then that Taylor had some idea for the first time of the power that he held in this situation. This was about him and his willingness to give Dane pleasure, a pleasure that he wouldn’t get unless Taylor gave it to him.

Slowly, he parted his lips, his tongue pressing over the slit where precome was already oozing out, tasting him for the first time. Salty and sweet at the same time, Dane tasted exactly like Taylor would have expected, musky and almost spicy, deeply masculine here just as he was everywhere.

“Sugar, if you don’t want me to shoot off all over your damn face, you might wanna be careful.” Dane sounded amused, but there was tension in his voice just as there was in his fingers and wrist and forearms. Taylor was getting to him, and all else slipped away in the face of that.

He lost track of himself, of time, of the growing night. He lost all worry, all fear, and became just a man pleasuring another man, slowly, inch by inch, accepting that huge cock into his mouth. When he’d first seen Dane, he had been so sure that Dane could never fit into Taylor, but by the end of it, he had Dane buried fully in his mouth, his nose against Dane’s pelvis, his lips tight around the base of his erection as Dane throbbed and pulsed and leaked precome right down his throat.

“Touch yourself.”

Taylor started when Dane said those two words, his voice terse and tight, his hands pulling against Taylor’s head enough to show even the inexperienced young man that he was getting close. He came slowly back to himself, meeting Dane’s eyes, even though he could barely see him in the darkness.

“I mean it, darlin’. Touch yourself. I’m gonna come in your pretty mouth, but I want you to come, too.”

Dane was pretty much growling now, and Taylor would have grinned if his mouth hadn’t been stuffed full of cock. It was pretty exciting to know that he, of all people, could make this gorgeous, handsome, huge man come for him, just by using his mouth.

He might have resisted, maybe, just to be a brat and to see what Dane would do. But Dane’s words reminded him of his own body, his knees sore and damp on the dirt, his erection pressing painfully against its denim prison. He had lost himself, had lost track of everything but Dane’s beautiful cock, but now, he was remembering, and his body was demanding that he do just as Dane said.

Once he was moving, it took him only seconds to rip his own pants open, to free his poor, aching dick, to wrap one hand around it and stroke along the pulsing, burning hot length of it. His other hand went to Dane’s heavy balls, rolling them curiously as he took Dane all the way into his mouth and even his throat once more.

“Oh, fuck, Taylor, sugar, come for me,” Dane demanded, and even though Taylor had barely touched himself, this was all so dirty to him, so filthy, so beyond his normal experience that his body was trembling right on the edge of release already. He wasn’t the sort of man who dragged someone out to the woods and went down on them, but here he was, doing just that.

His hand tightened until he almost hurt himself, and Taylor couldn’t have resisted even if he had tried, not that he did. His fingers caressed along his length, rubbing over all of the sensitive spots, and in seconds, it was over. It felt like lightning bolts of pleasure ripped through him, and he heard the spatter of his own release as he spilled onto the layer of dirt and wet, dead leaves under his knees.

So many times, as he had spilled into his hand in the safety of his bed or the shower, he had thought of Dane. Every single time, actually, but all of those times, solitary and lonely, had been nothing next to this. He came harder with Dane than he did alone, and the whole experience was immensely more satisfying.

A lot of it was the sound, almost a howl of satisfaction, that Dane let out as his dick surged and pumped fresh come onto Taylor’s tongue. Taylor gasped and the taste of it, the sensation of the cock which swelled up and hardened even more as Dane’s climax hit, only seemed to drag his own release on and on until he could barely see and barely even breathe.

He swallowed, curious about all of this, and while the taste was not something that he was used to, he thought he could get used to it pretty easily. He wasn’t adverse to trying, and when Dane offered Taylor his hand to help him up, Taylor took it, because he wasn’t sure that he would be able to stand at all without that welcome aid.

“I’m only here for a week,” Dane reminded him, as they shook from their shared release, and Taylor gave him a crooked little half smile and a nod. As always, it was better for him if this was just a temporary thing, and they both knew it.

“Good. But I can make you come a lot in a week,” Taylor whispered, and he was delighted by Dane’s wicked grin that he got in return for his naughty comment.