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BLURB: Reid gets intimate with Phil.
LOVE IS ALL THAT MATTERS
~ Chapter 25 ~
From the Narrative of Joshua Spencer:
I watched Reid leave with the handsome, dark-haired guy. I guess I was happy for Reid, but I was also very confused. I could have sworn that the guy had been flirting with Harry. Had I been reading too much into their interaction?
I quietly approached Harry and put my arms around him from behind. "Hello, handsome."
Without turning around, he said, "You do know that it was this public display of affection that got me into trouble in the first place."
My smile faded and my grip around his waist automatically loosened. "Do you regret it?"
He twisted his head around to face me with a gentle smile on his features. "Regret it? I regret that it didn't happen sooner, that I couldn't be honest with myself before that."
I saw the way he was gazing at me adoringly and decided I was being unnecessarily jealous to the point of stupidity. I softly kissed his hair and whispered, "Reid left the party, with your friend."
He didn't seem surprised by the news. Instead he mused, "You know, I'm really quite amazed how well that worked out; I didn't even have to introduce them."
I was thrown by this revelation. "You mean ... you were planning to set them up from the beginning?"
"Well ... it did occur to me when Phil mentioned his attraction to surfers. But I didn't want to be obvious since Reid was quite clear he didn't want to be set up again after the last mishap. I was still considering how I would draw them together when Reid did it for me."
I felt like an utter idiot. Harry had planned to bring together Reid and Phil all along. That explained Phil's willingness to go off with Reid. It also showed me how untrusting I was of my boyfriend.
I decided to focus on Reid's love life than my own guilt for suspecting Harry of cheating on me. "Do you think they will hook up?"
Harry shrugged. "They seem to be off to a promising start. And they'd make a cute couple, don't you think?"
"Well, the other guy was a few inches shorter than Reid ... how old is he?"
"Um, thirty, I think."
My eyes widened in surprise. The guy certainly hadn't looked thirty. "Wow. But don't you think that's kinda -" I hesitated, searching for a more flattering term, but he beat me to the punch.
"Old?" he suggested, bristling. "For your information, that's only four years older than Reid - which, if I may point it out, also happens to be the age difference between you and him."
"Well ..." I didn't have an answer to that.
"C'mon," Harry cajoled, "be happy for him."
"I am. Of course I am. It's just that -"
"You want Reid to be always hanging around you?" He said it lightly, but it still rang out like an accusation to me. I could feel his brilliant blue eyes piercing me. And it scared me because deep down, I knew he was right. I was used to having Reid around the house and at the caf‚. It was hard to imagine that one day he might move out to be with a new boyfriend. But how could I admit to Harry that, in a way, I felt Reid still belonged to me?
I looked up and he was still staring at me, expecting an answer. I was rescued by the sound of a female voice from behind him. "Well, if it isn't Harrison Ridgeway! I certainly didn't expect to see you here."
Harry turned around, albeit reluctantly, but not before giving me a look that said, this is not over.
The plump young woman who had uttered those life-saving words had frizzy black hair and an olive complexion that indicated Hispanic heritage. Harry was staring at her in puzzlement.
"You don't remember me?" she asked. Her smile was a little too wide and seemed fake. "Carmen Olivares." She said it as if she expected it to immediately trigger Harry's memory. When it became clear it didn't, her smile faded a little.
"I went to Harvard with you, though I was in the year below you." she supplied. "I was friends with your girlfriend, Melissa?"
Now recognition dawned on Harry's face. He didn't look too happy about it.
"Melissa isn't my girlfriend any longer," he said stiffly.
Carmen gave me an appraising look. "So I see. It serves that bitch right."
Harry looked confused. "But I thought you were her friend."
Carmen waved a hand dismissively. "Trust me; no one could be friends with that bitch for long. You did yourself a service by getting out of her clutches. Besides, this guy here is way hotter than she was. I can see why you - how should I put it - changed teams?"
I could see that Harry wasn't quite sure how to respond to her remarks. "Uh, actually, Melissa and I broke up long before things happened with Josh here. You ... you may recall what happened, with her brother Mike and ..."
She nodded. "Yes, I did read about that in the papers. It didn't surprise me that she took his side - those two were so close it was creepy. I'm surprised you didn't see it sooner."
Harry sighed. "I didn't see a lot of things clearly back then." He gave me an affectionate glance. "I'm glad to say that now I do."
Carmen didn't seem to be paying much attention to what Harry was saying. "Well, like I said earlier, serves the psycho- bitch right." She gave another too-wide grin. "I'll see you around; I'm down here for a few days since my boyfriend is competing in the Surf Fest."
"Oh, right. I'll see ..." Harry began to say, but Carmen had already disappeared into the crowd. Harry looked at me helplessly.
I asked, "What was that about?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, but it was disturbing. I mean talking to a friend of Melissa's."
"Former friend," I corrected.
"Yeah, but that wasn't what I meant. Being reminded of her ..." I knew he was referring to Melissa, not Carmen.
I felt a little dizzy. What was he getting at? "Are you saying you still have feelings for her?" I'd completely forgotten that Harry had ever had a relationship with a girl.
Harry was shocked. "What? No! I meant, I never wanted to hear or think about her again."
"Oh ..." I was relieved. I must have been still stressed out from the earlier scene, when I'd thought Harry was flirting with Phil. "I'm sorry, baby."
He didn't realize I was apologizing for suspecting him. He shook his head and said, "It's not your fault. It was that Carmen's. I mean, how weird was that? Coming up to me, who she barely talked to when we were at Harvard, just so that she could bitch about her former friend."
"Well, some people are shallow that way."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
I said with a straight face, "Just imparting some of my vast knowledge of human behavior."
Harry laughed. Then he glanced at me. "I haven't forgotten what we were discussing earlier, you know."
I swallowed.
"We'll talk about it later, okay?" He gave me a quick peck on the cheek and cast a disbelieving look in the direction of Marcia and Mr. Fernley, before walking over to help Liz.
I was left to prepare my defense.
From the Narrative of Reid Scott:
I loved the pattern the moonlight made on the crests of waves. Lately I'd found myself spending more time on the beach. That's saying a lot, since I'd always spent a significant amount of time on the beach.
The silence was more pronounced as we walked further away from the caf‚. I let Phil lead the way.
"You're very quiet," I observed.
Phil seemed startled out of his reverie. "People usually say I talk too much."
"So what's wrong now? Cat got your tongue?"
He looked down and shuffled his feet, scattering a fine spray of sand. "I don't know, but ... I think it might be you." He gave me a shy, sideways glance.
I felt a strange warm fuzziness envelop me. No one had ever said anything like that to me before. It had always been, "Your place or mine?" or "Do you top or bottom?" Well, not that I had expected any real relationship when I was picked up by strangers at sleazy bars.
I kicked off my shoes and, lifting one foot up at a time, peeled off my socks.
"What are you doing?" Phil asked curiously.
I rolled up the bottom of my jeans as I replied, "Going to walk along the water's edge. Haven't you ever done that?"
"Yes, but not at this time of night."
"Come on, it'll be fun."
"Okay." He followed my lead and removed his shoes and socks. As soon as he had, I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the water.
He squealed as the first wave ran over our feet. "It's cold!"
I grinned. "It's not that cold. It's liberating."
"You're crazy," he declared. "But," - the beginnings of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth - "I think I might actually like this type of crazy."
"You call this crazy? You haven't seen anything yet." I started to unbutton my shirt.
Phil gulped audibly at the few square inches of bare skin I was revealing. He ran his tongue over dry lips and said huskily, "This ... this is a public beach."
My retort was a single word. "So?"
He just stared at me open-mouthed.
"Is that open mouth an invitation?" I teased. Without waiting for his answer, I bent down and planted a soft kiss on those luscious lips.
I stepped back to see the expression on his face. He was looking so ridiculously pleased that I wanted to laugh.
But I didn't get to because he unexpectedly lunged at me and passionately kissed me back. When I say passionate, I mean it. We were at it for possibly a full minute before we had to come up for air.
"Now I know why they call it French kissing," I panted. "I've never been out of breath after kissing someone before."
He smiled. "Then you haven't been doing it right."
Images of my one-night stands flashed through my mind. There hadn't been much kissing. "I don't kiss" was the frequent declaration of many of the men I'd had sex with. In their opinion, kissing made it either too gay or too committed. I knew what they meant. There was a very different level of commitment in kissing, and I mean proper kissing, than there was in casual sex.
I knew what I wanted. I wanted a stable, loving relationship. And I wanted to proceed slowly with it. That meant no sex on the first night out.
Such rules seem easy enough to follow when you think about them. But something about this very cute guy was making me forget that I'd ever decided on such a goal.
"Screw the rules," I declared. Phil's eyes widened as I gave him a gentle shove. We both collapsed onto the sand.
I rolled over until I was leaning over him. He looked so damned irresistible, staring at me with a mixture of anticipation and lust. I kissed his neck and he giggled.
"You're cute when you giggle," I told him.
"Am I?" He reached up and pressed his lips against mine. Then he lay back on the sand and looked at me. "Smile," he ordered.
I looked back quizzically at him.
"Go on, smile," he said. "I bet you have a beautiful smile."
I obliged him by giving a small smile.
"No, no. I meant a proper smile."
Feeling a little fed up, I said, "That's all I can do at the moment."
He sighed and raised his head again, this time to whisper in my ear. "Smile for me, please." He gently nibbled on my earlobe. "One smile and I'll be your slave forever."
I couldn't help it. The smile on my face widened.
He surveyed the result with childish delight. "That is the most gorgeous smile I have ever seen. Don't they have awards for these things? You could seriously win one."
I couldn't stop grinning. "Okay, my photogenic smile aside, you have your end of the bargain to live up to."
"Well, I definitely won't be going anywhere now. You've made me your captive with that smile."
That was all I needed to hear. As I fervently kissed him, my fingers worked to unbutton his shirt. Suddenly he stopped me by grabbing my hand.
"What's wrong?" I asked, feeling a little put out.
He smiled at me. "I admire your passion, but we are making out on the beach. And it's great," he added hastily. "But someone might walk by at any time. Maybe we should move this indoors?"
"Oh, right." I got off from on top of him. "So where should- "
I didn't get to complete my question when Phil blurted out, "My apartment is only a little further down the beach."
I stared at him and he blushed furiously. "So it wasn't random - you leading me down the beach in this direction?"
"I, um, sort of ... Well, I like to plan ahead," he admitted. "Comes of being an accountant, I suppose."
"An admirable virtue, I'm sure. I'm not one for planning myself. But I guess you can do that for the both of us." I smiled encouragingly at him. "Lead the way, Monsieur Montpellier."
"This way s'il vous plait, Monsieur Scott." He made a highly theatrical sweeping gesture, but spoilt it by giggling. I didn't mind, because I loved hearing him giggle almost as much as I loved hearing him speak with his French accent.
I only got a good look around the apartment when I took a break from cuddling on the couch. We were naked save for our underwear, the rest of our clothes lying where they'd been hastily discarded.
"Did you decorate this apartment yourself?"
"Mm-hmm," he murmured as he nuzzled my neck. Then he looked up. "Why?"
"It's just so ... stylish ... and neat."
"Not your typical bachelor pad, huh?"
"You could seriously go into the interior decorating business if you weren't already an accountant," I observed. "Any other hidden talents I should know about?"
He smirked. "To find that out, you'll need to lose these." He playfully snapped the elastic band of my boxers.
I was more than happy to acquiesce. As soon as my boxers were off, he kissed the tip of my cock gently, sending shivers up my spine. Then he took its whole length into his mouth and slurped expertly on it. He hadn't been kidding when he'd hinted he was a talented cocksucker. It was all I could do not to come immediately.
Just as I was about to release my load, he removed his mouth from around my cock.
"What the-?" My cock felt like it was about to burst.
Phil looked at me with a grin. "I don't want you to come just yet. We haven't reached the best part."
He raised my legs up in the air and pried my butt cheeks apart. He stared briefly at my hole and then he attacked it with vigor. First he ran his tongue around it in circles until I was moaning for him to get it over with already. And then, when I least expected it, he dived his tongue into my hole.
"Fuck!"
"Is that a command?" he asked mischievously.
"You ... you want to fuck me?" I didn't usually bottom, but I wasn't unwilling to try it with Phil.
Phil looked understandingly at me. "I can tell that you're usually the top. That suits me just fine, because I like to bottom."
"So you want me to fuck you?"
He didn't answer. Instead he got off me and disappeared into the bedroom. I was just starting to worry when he returned a few seconds later with a bottle of lube and a packet of condoms. His skilled fingers worked to put a condom on my raging hard-on, but his eyes were focused on my face.
"Your eyes are a beautiful color," he remarked. "Pale blue like the sky."
"Not as nice as Harrison's though. That deep blue." I paused, remembering how I'd actually met Phil in the first place. Just forget it, I told myself, knowing that it was in vain. Now that I'd thought of it, I had to ask.
"In the caf‚, just now ... why were you flirting with Harrison? You do know he has a boyfriend, right?"
Phil didn't seem perturbed by my question. "Ah ... I wondered when you were going to ask me that. We weren't seriously flirting. It's just our private joke. Harrison made it clear on the first day of work that he already had a boyfriend. And I don't go after guys with boyfriends."
"Then why -"
"Because it makes him laugh. There's no harm in it. I like making people happy. Especially those who are secretly sad." He added unexpectedly, "Like you."
I tried to deny it. "Me? What do you mean?"
"Your eyes gave you away. I could see at once that you had sadness in you. That's why I wanted you to smile."
I sat up furiously. "So you think I'm some sort of charity case? Some pitiful bastard for you to cheer up?"
He stroked my cheek soothingly. "No, it's not like that. I know you don't want pity. And that's not what I want to give you." He took a deep breath. "I want to give you something much better." He slipped off his briefs, revealing a slim, six-inch-long uncut cock.
Seeing the look on my face, he hastily said, "It's not about the sex. It's about us sharing a connection. Don't you feel it - a spark? Chemistry? I know I do, because it has me here, naked and wanting to get fucked by you."
A brief silence; I didn't know what to reply. Phil spoke again. "Reid, I'm not the kind of person who has sex on their first date. But I have this burning desire to give myself to you. To have you inside of me - I want it so much."
I saw that his eyes were suspiciously wet. And when he said, almost begging, "Please?", I was completely lost. It was not just the sight of his wonderful nude body. The words that he'd uttered to me were the most romantic things a man had ever said to me.
"I didn't want to have sex on this first meeting either," I said slowly. "But you're right about the feeling ... the chemistry ... I can't deny it. I ... I want you too."
He stared at me as if he couldn't believe what I'd just said. Then he threw his arms around me and hugged me fiercely. I felt wetness on my shoulder and realized he was crying. Only then did I discover there were tears on my cheeks as well.
I was a bit startled when he said my name. "Reid?"
"Yes?"
Phil broke off the hug and leaned back. "I have to ask you something."
I said again, "Yes?"
He hesitated.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to bite your head off," I joked. My smile faded when he didn't say anything. "Phil?"
He averted his eyes. "I'm afraid I kept something from you."
I told myself I should have known it was too good to be true. I just wasn't meant to be happy. This apparently perfect guy had some dark secret that was going to ruin this relationship before it even started.
I wildly imagined all sorts of dire things. But never did I expect Phil to reveal what he did.
"You have a brother, don't you? Carl? And your father ... he owns Scottmart, doesn't he?"
To be continued ...
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