“That’s good, because I’m never letting you go,” he swears. He lays us down on the mattress, never pulling out, as we slowly catch our breath. “Hope you’re ready to do that again in a few minutes.” I’m not sure he was ever this insatiable.
I hum quietly. “Perhaps after you’ve fed me dessert.” Dare chuckles against my skin, sending goosebumps skittering down my spine.
“No more, Dare,”Harlan whimpers. He sounds completely wrung out, but it doesn’t stop me from taking his oversensitive cock to the back of my throat. His hands fist my hair, like he’s trying to pull me off, but he still chases the contact of my mouth. “I can’t, it’s too much, babe.” I withdraw my fingers from his loose body as a steady stream of cum leaks onto the bed under him.
With an obscene pop, I pull back, leaving a trail of spit and precum from my lips to his leaking cockhead. “Are you sure you don’t have one more in you?” I murmur as I nuzzle against his groin. He smells like sweat, sex, and entirely Harlan here. His neatly trimmed pubic hair rubs roughly against my beard. After we went downstairs for dessert, I took him right back to bed and dragged another three orgasms from his willing body. His limbs are loose, and his exquisite body is coated in a sheen of sweat.
“I need water and sleep,” he says. Grabbing the bottle of water from the nightstand, I open it and help him sit so he candrink. He chugs it, gratefully, before flopping back against the pillows.
“No sleeping yet. We’re disgusting, and I need to change the sheets. You’ve made a mess,” I tease, before leaning in to give him a chaste kiss. “Come on, we’ll get cleaned up, then you can sleep for a few hours before I need to be inside you again.” As much as I’d love to bury myself in him all night, we could both use the sleep. I have to remind myself that he’s not going anywhere.
The moment we’re out of the shower, and the sheets are changed, Harlan climbs into bed and is quickly snoring softly next to me. Now that we’re not operating on heat-fueled lust, it’s getting cold in the bedroom, but I can’t be bothered to get out of bed to turn the heat up. I inhale the scent of him, and relish in the feel of his body pressed against mine. His skin is soft and inviting, my hands stroking along the familiar planes of his body. It doesn’t take much for me to fall asleep next to him, not when I know he’ll be right here in my arms when we wake up.
“Good morning, Harlan,” I mutter into the messy curls resting under my chin. The sky outside is gray and overcast, with the threat of snow. Thankfully, we have nowhere to be. “Happy New Year.” Harlan nuzzles closer to my body, pressing his bare ass into my erection. The fact that I’m able to get hard after last night is a testament to how much I missed him. If I could spend the next six weeks in this bed with him, before the team leaves for spring training, I wouldn’t hesitate. We have a lot of catching up to do.
“Happy New Year, babe,” he sighs, and I can hear the smile in his voice. I notice bite marks on his shoulder, and I wince, running a finger over one. I feel him flinch. “You’re lucky I don’t have any shoots coming up. Although I do have the gala.” Every January, Lust & Lace hosts a charity gala to support underprivileged and unhoused youth in the five boroughs. It’s a glitzy affair that Harlan adores, mostly for the cause, but also because he loves dressing up.
“Fuck, I’m sorry, Lan.” I used to be so careful with his skin because of work, but I was out of my mind with him last night. Further inspection shows several more marks on his neck, and if I had to guess, he’ll have matching ones on his chest and spine, too.
“Nope. Wanted it,” he insists. “Speaking of the gala, since you’re my boyfriend now, you’ll need to be my date.” The light, teasing tone brings a smile to my face.
“Are you asking me on a date, Mr. Bishop?” He spins in my arms to meet my eyes, his beautiful blues dancing with mischief. I don’t hide the way I take in the freckles on his face and his still puffy lips. I trace the sleep lines on his cheek, so thankful that I got to wake up to his face this morning.
“If you’d rather not, I could always check with AJ or Jules. I’m sure they’d love to accompany me.” He shrugs, keeping his face perfectly serious. “Jules does look hot in a tux.” He’s not wrong. Either one of them would gladly attend with him, but that’s not going to happen. Harlan will be on my arm, dancing with me, going home with me. The way it was always meant to be.
“If Julian values his life, he’d say no.” Harlan giggles and kisses my chin gently. “I’d be honored to go to the gala with you, baby.” As if I’d say no to anything this beautiful boy asked of me. I kiss his nose, the smile on his face radiant. The charity gala that Lust & Lace holds every January is quite the glamorous affair,and I always look forward to seeing Harlan dressed up. He never fails to steal my breath.
“How do you feel about pancakes?” My stomach rumbles at the mention of food, making Harlan laugh. “Stay in bed. I’ll go make us breakfast.” With a quick kiss, he climbs out of bed, pulling on my pants and a hoodie before heading downstairs. I snuggle into his pillow the moment he’s gone, savoring the warmth he left behind. Last night could not have been any more perfect. The only thing I regret is not telling him that I love him. I know he knows that, but I need him to hear the words. I need to let myself say them. There are still things for us to talk about—specifically our living situation and spring training—but we’ve done this all before, so I can’t let myself be worried right now.
The day of the gala arrives with some of the coldest temperatures we’ve seen, along with the threat of even more snow. I made sure to confirm with Harlan that the event was still taking place, which earned me an indignant scoff, because this istheevent of the year.Obviously it's not canceled.
Penelope invited AJ as her date for the evening, so he and I went for early morning haircuts, and a beard trim for me. Harlan may not believe me, but I’m ecstatic for the night with him. He’s already agreed to spend the night, which is something he’s only done a few times since New Year’s three weeks ago.
A few hours later, I’m fixing the bowtie in the foyer, when I hear the horn of the car service I hired to drive us to the gala. Grabbing my coat, phone, and keys, I rush out the door so we can head a few blocks over to get my boyfriend. I smile at the word, even though it doesn’t feel nearly enormous enough forwhat Harlan is to me. I’ve spent weeks trying to classify it, but nothing does it justice. At the end of the day, all that matters is that I get to call him mine.
The air smells like snow, though no flakes have fallen yet. Despite the fact that the sun set hours ago, the sky is that grayish tint that screams of heavy snowfall. When we arrive at Harlan’s, he’s waiting in the vestibule of his building, which has to be a first. I was expecting to have to hurry him along, but he’s already making his way out the door when I step outside to greet him. I can’t see much, since he’s bundled tightly in a black wool coat and sparkling silver scarf, but I have no doubt that he will be the most stunning person in attendance this evening.
“Hey, sweetness,” I greet him, pulling him in for a kiss. “You look breathtaking.” I kiss him again before opening the door so he can get out of the cold. Sliding in next to him, I lean in for a more thorough kiss, just because I can.
“You clean up nicely yourself, Mr. Molina. I love the haircut.” To demonstrate, he reaches for the back of my head and runs his fingers through the tight fade. I wrap my arm around him, enjoying the scent of strawberries and whatever expensive perfume he applied for the evening.
“It’s our first public event,” he muses, leaning his head gingerly against my arm, careful not to transfer his makeup on my coat. There haven’t been any media releases about us since we reconnected. We haven’t been actively hiding it, but since we’ve both been out since launching our careers, it’s possible that it’s just not newsworthy.
“Yes, I’m sure we’ll make the front page somewhere.” I shrug. We have nothing to hide, and with the hundreds that will be in attendance tonight, along with the red carpet entrance, we won’t be avoiding photographers. “Let them plaster your beautiful face all over every publication tomorrow. I’m just happy to be here.”Harlan blushes, but it’s true. I could not imagine a place I’d want to be more than by his side.
The red carpet is as intense as I figured it would be, despite the bitter temperatures. When I get out of the car, I hold my arm out for Harlan, who takes it and climbs out gracefully next to me. Journalists are calling for our attention, asking if we’re back together, and if so, what happened to the other men we’ve been seen with over the last year. We pause for a few photos, but decline responding until we get to the steps at the entrance of the converted brick industrial building. It now serves as one of Brooklyn’s most sought-after event spaces, and Lust & Lace rents it out for all of their black-tie events. At the top of the steps, Harlan pauses, slipping his arm from mine, and turns to face me.
Before I have a chance to ask what he’s doing, he cups my face and pulls me in for a long, heated kiss. Cameras flash all around us, and catcalls come from the attendees waiting for us to move it along. When he finally releases me, we’re both breathless, and he smiles against my lips. “That should answer their questions, yeah?”
A startled laugh bubbles from me. “Yeah, baby. I think it does.” Without looking back or answering any more questions, we make our way into the building. The lobby is all exposed brick, with cast iron chandeliers that emit a warm, flickering glow. I lead us over to the coat check and help Harlan out of his, revealing the entirety of his outfit. I’m stunned speechless. He’s wearing a flowy pair of black silk pants that tie in the front, with a long-sleeved, see-through black mesh top decorated with black and silver rhinestones. The neckline is high and reminds me a bit of a jeweled collar, which has my dick perking up in my tux pants.
“Are you going to stare at me all night, or can we go inside?” Once again, a blush is creeping into his cheeks, and it has mepulling him in for another kiss. Christ, this boy is going to be the death of me.
“I’d rather take you home and strip you out of everything. It’s a shame that’s part of the top instead of a necklace,” I rumble into his ear, hooking my finger into his neckline. He moans quietly into my neck. “It’s ok. I have all night to enjoy you. Let’s go find our table.” I lead Harlan into the main room, which is also made of exposed brick, with high ceilings, and dark wooden beams throughout the space. The tables are a matching wood, with tall candelabras that match the chandeliers at the center of each. The DJ is playing soft music as guests arrive, but as with any Lust & Lace event, the dance floor will be packed before dinner.
Servers are making their way through the crowd, passing dozens of appetizers, glasses of champagne, wine, and some kind of electric blue mixed drink that almost glows in the dimly lit space. Harlan opts for a glass of white wine, but I decline in favor of ordering a beer at the bar once we’ve found our table. The seating chart has us with Penny, AJ, Wes, Layton, and another model with his date. I briefly lose track of Harlan as I head to the bar with Layton and AJ. Wes’s boyfriend and I usually find a quiet corner with our drinks, while the two boys mingle and network. I’m content to do that tonight, but it appears that Harlan has other plans as he makes his way over to me.
“Would you care to dance with me?” Harlan practically purrs as he leans in to brush his lips across my cheek. He takes my hand without waiting for my response—it would have been a yes, for the record—and leads me to the dance floor. There are already couples grinding on each other as more join the party. Just as we find our rhythm, with Harlan’s ass pressed into my groin, the DJ slows it down. Harlan doesn’t miss a beat, turningto wrap his arms around my neck. I pull him closer and place my hands on his hips, teasing the spot just above his waistline.
