Page 36 of Caught Running
Brandon offered a really fake smile while he gathered his two bags. “Sure thing, Misty. Night!” And he escaped out the door, feeling like he had the hounds of hells at his heels. Getting to the car, he dropped the bags in the back seat and flopped behind the wheel, clutching it like a life preserver.
“Heh heh heh heh heh,” Jake offered from where he lay flat in the passenger seat.
Looking down at the other man, Brandon was going to say something snarky, but he thought better of it and started the car to get them out of there before Misty came out. When they reached the stoplight a few streets away, he finally said, “I feel for you, man.”
“Mm hmm,” Jake responded, rolling onto his side. He smiled in the darkness as the car began to move again. “I was thinking,” he murmured as he tried to get comfortable, “as I was hiding in the floorboard of your car,” he added with a wry smile, “that we have all day tomorrow.”
Brandon glanced down at Jake before he got them moving again, turning toward Jake’s neighborhood. “Yeah?” he said, trying to keep it light. “Did you have something in mind?”
“Maybe,” Jake grinned as he looked up at Brandon from his side. “I’m thinking a trip to your place to get your stuff for Monday might be in order. ‘Cause I don’t intend to let you leave tomorrow night.”
Startled, Brandon stared out the front window, hands gripping the steering wheel. “Is that so? What about the whole being careful thing?” he answered almost evenly as he made the turn into Jake’s subdivision.
“You get to school at like 6 a.m. anyway, right?” Jake asked, pulling the seat to an upright position. “Ah, damn it; we forgot my truck,” he muttered as they pulled into the driveway.
Brandon shut off the car. “We can get it tomorrow,” he said. Then he tilted his head, eyes slightly amused as he thought of something a bit out of place. “You know, you just told me I’m staying tomorrow night. What about tonight?”
“You already agreed to that,” Jake reminded as he reached over and grabbed Brandon’s shirt, tugging him closer and leaning over to kiss him.
Jake’s lips on his, hot and demanding, made Brandon’s head spin again. “Umm...” he mumbled as Jake only slightly pulled back and Brandon discovered both his hands were clutching the front of Jake’s T-shirt. “I forgot?”
“My feelings might be hurt,” Jake responded with a smirk.
“I’m thinking every time you kiss me I forget what we were talking about,” Brandon corrected.
“I’ll keep that in mind for when I get into trouble,” Jake laughed as he popped open the door and swung his legs out of the car. Brandon swallowed hard and got out as well, snagging the bags of groceries and following Jake up the stairs and into the house.
Jake awoke with a groan and flopped onto his side, throwing his arm and leg over the man in bed next to him and dragging him closer to wrap around him like a big blanket. He growled contentedly and then began fading back to sleep.
Dimly aware of being moved, Brandon roused enough to shift more onto his side from his stomach, where he usually sprawled. It was much warmer that way, he thought sleepily. Warmer? He slowly pulled one eye open, becoming aware of the limbs weighing him down.Oh... Jake. Brandon drew in a slow breath and sighed contentedly.
Jake floated for a while in a pleasant state, barely awake. He was aware enough to feel the body next to his, but asleep enough that his mind wasn’t yet wandering into the rest of the day. Finally the call for the bathroom was strong enough to rouse him, and Jake buried his nose in Brandon’s hair and inhaled deeply before raising his head and looking around. It was barely light outside. “Urgh,” he groaned. Still mostly asleep, Brandon answered with an inquisitive grunt, face still buried in the pillow.
“It’s too early,” Jake responded as he rolled onto his back and then kicked the covers off his legs. “What day is it?” he asked sleepily, rubbing his face to stifle a yawn.
“Mmm.” Brandon didn’t move, much too lethargic to wake up without his alarm clock jarring him from sleep.
“That, too,” Jake groaned as he swung his feet out of the bed and sat up. He got up without another word and went to take care of what had dragged him from sleep. Soon he was padding back out into the bedroom and cocking his head at Brandon with a smirk. He took a few steps, leaped back into the bed, bouncing the man on the mattress, and then crawled on top of him and kissed the back of his shoulder happily.
Brandon sucked in a shocked breath as the bed suddenly rocked, and he jerked his head around to see Jake climbing over him. He closed his eyes, trying to swallow his heart back down. “What the hell?” he muttered, voice rough with sleep.
“Grumpy,” Jake murmured with a smirk and a kiss along Brandon’s shoulder blade. “I thought you were a morning person?” he teased as he laid himself down on top of Brandon.
“Ehhh,” Brandon whined, trying to hide his face in the pillow. The rest of his words were mumbled. Jake sighed long and loud and pushed up onto his hands and knees, then flopped heavily onto his side and rolled onto his back. Brandon pushed himself up from the pillow and looked at Jake blearily. “You keep me up till 3 a.m. and you expect a morning person before dawn?” he asked mildly.
“I didn’t hear you complaining last night,” Jake reminded with a sideways glance at the man.
Brandon gave him a silly grin. “True,” he admitted.
Jake reached his hands above his head and pressed both palms upside down against the headboard, then stretched until it arched his back and made his toes curl. Brandon looked up and down the other man’s body, licking his bottom lip as he raised a brow in appreciation. Jake’s body twisted as the stretch wound down, and he turned onto his side and rested his head in his hand as he looked down at Brandon. “I vote for staying in bed the rest of the day,” he said with a smile.
Still comfortably lying against the pillow, Brandon smiled. “Nice thought. But I imagine you’ll be hungry soon,” he predicted.
“A minor problem,” Jake growled as he slid his arm under Brandon and scooted closer to him suggestively.
Brandon’s smile grew, and he shook his head in wonder. “You’re a big teddy bear,” he accused playfully.
Jake gave an insulted huff and pushed at Brandon’s shoulder to roll him over. “Better than Thundercat, I guess,” he murmured, bending his head to begin kissing along Brandon’s collarbone.