Page 39 of Caught Running
“I’ll have to get dressed for that,” Jake practically whined.
“Jake,” Brandon said.
“Hmm?” Jake asked with wide eyes as he looked down at Brandon.
Fulfilling a hidden want, Brandon reached up to place long fingers upon Jake’s forehead, sliding them down over his eyes and cheekbones with a feather-light touch until they rested on Jake’s lips. Jake’s eyes closed automatically and his lips formeda smile. He opened his eyes to look up at Brandon and kissed his fingertips.
And Brandon knew without a doubt. He was in love.Oh. Fuck. A. Duck.
“Okay?” Jake asked with a small smile as he gave the fingertips a nip.
No. Not okay. Not okay by ahellof a long way. But what could he do about it now? So Brandon just nodded as his heart swelled in the quiet of the moment. “I’m afraid you will have to get dressed,” he said apologetically. “Would be quite the stir if you were mobbed nude in the Waffle House.”
“Waffle House,” Jake echoed dubiously. “Ooh! Waffles!” he beamed as if the idea had just occurred to him. “Yeah, okay,” he grunted as he pushed up and kissed Brandon before climbing out of the bed.
Brandon looked after him incredulously. Where did Jake hide all this when he was at school? Was it a case of every action having a complete and opposite reaction? Sure seemed like it. He sighed and swung himself out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
Jake slid into a comfortable pair of old track pants and rummaged for a T-shirt and sweatshirt as Brandon disappeared into the bathroom. “You need more clothes, right?” he called as he pulled out another pair of pants and searched for more.
“Yeah,” Brandon shouted back from the bathroom as he took the time for a decent cleanup, deciding to skip a shower because he didn’t want to wash Jake’s scent off. Then he froze, staring at himself in the mirror. “Man. You have itbad,” he told himself aloud.
“I have what?” Jake called, straining to hear while yanking out an old sweatshirt that had his worn fraternity symbols on the front.
Brandon’s eyes bugged out. “Ah. Nothing important,” he said back, tossing the washcloth he’d been using into the nearby hamper.
Jake ducked his head around the corner of the bathroom door and grinned. “I thought you said I had a nice ass,” he teased with a wink, throwing the man the clean clothes.
“Youdohave a nice ass,” Brandon agreed, catching the clothes against his chest and starting to put them on. “Maybe I should get to know it better,” he chanced. He’d been more than happy to be fucked several times so far, but he was curious whether Jake would want the same. Better to hint or ask outright than be shot down in an attempt.
Jake laughed and ducked back out of sight. Brandon heard a few rummaging sounds and soon Jake reappeared and tossed a little tube of ‘travel-size’ lubricant at him, grinning widely. “Put that in your knapsack for the trip to your place,” he snickered before disappearing again.
Brandon looked at the bottle he’d bobbled to catch and got a wide, silly grin on his face.
Driving into Mountain Park, Brandon turned onto one of the few roads and up through the woods to his house. He felt overfull after eating waffles, but not too badly. He looked over at his passenger, who was studying the scenery as it went by.
“Beautiful place,” Jake mumbled. “You said you grew up here? How were you in Parkview’s district?”
“My mother worked at Central Office, so they paid for me to transfer districts,” Brandon answered. “More challenge and opportunity at Parkview. More students, too. She was worried I wouldn’t adjust well to college if I wasn’t used to other kids. I was home schooled until then.”
“Oh,” was all Jake could think to respond. He couldn’t imagine how horrible being home schooled would be. Never getting out, no friends, no sports, nothing but home and work all the time. He repressed a shiver and looked back out the window.
Catching the pinched look on Jake’s face, Brandon grinned. “It wasn’t that bad, Jake. I had friends. And I went to the middle school here about an hour a day for P.E. and music.”
“Ugh,” Jake offered that bit of information. “I’m sorry, but that’s just cruel,” he stated with a shake of his head.
“Cruel? Explain, please?” Brandon asked as he turned onto a smaller lane that ran along the lake.
“It’s cruel,” Jake shrugged. “Kids don’t understand that kind of thing, and we both know kids can be mean. And I’m sorry, but thinking you know enough to teach a kid everything he could learn from a variety of teachers and experiences and peers is just arrogant.”
“Oh, you mean the home schooling. I thought you meant the P.E.,” Brandon said. “I can’t argue, really. While going to Parkview really threw me at first, I think it made me focus on what was important. It was easy to be lackadaisical at home when it was just me. I could study when I wanted, take off to explore in the woods, fiddle around. There wasn’t much structure.”
Jake nodded and sniffed a little. The topic was one of his major tender spots, and he couldn’t help but get a little ruffled by it. Hell, if Brandon’s mother had sent him to real school when he was younger, his life could have been completely different. He could have played sports—he certainly had the physique for it—or joined clubs. He could have had friends who were loyal instead of just wanting help with their homework, and he could have been part of something instead of being on the outskirts. Jake shook his head angrily and pressed his lips together, trying not to get worked up.
Brandon frowned. Jake seemed to be really upset. “Jake?” he asked as he pulled into the driveway beside the white bungalow surrounded by wildflowers and trees. “What’s wrong?”
Jake shrugged and shook his head. “Sorry,” he offered sheepishly. “I get pissy about that kind of thing. Nice house.”
Turning off the car, Brandon murmured a thanks. But the rest of what Jake said bothered him. “What do you mean, pissy? About the home schooling?” He didn’t get why Jake would care about that.