One More Year 24 ~ Nifty

One More Year

by Bradley Scott

**Note:

This is a rewrite of an older story of mine on here called Another Day, which I never finished, and no longer really like, but I'm hoping to redeem it.

This is written in British/South African English, although almost all similar media I consume is American, so that will probably have its influence, but not on spelling. For the purposes of keeping this note short, I'll include specific non-common words I use in a list at the bottom.

**

**Disclaimer:

No underage sex happens between any of my characters. I tend to make that quite clear in the narrative, but just in case it isn't, I state it here. (This is also more Romance than Erotica, so the sex doesn't happen right away, but when it does, everyone is 18.)**

Chapter 24

Louis pulled out of the kiss again, holding my chin between his fingers. "There are quite a few people here. And now they know you're gay. Kind of a big step."

"Good." I kissed him again quickly. "I'm happy. I want them to know."

He laughed and blushed. "Well, as long as you're enjoying it."

"I am. A lot."

"Great. Same." He smiled. "I don't think we're bugging anyone, but any chance you want to get out of here already?"

I turned around. All of our friends had gotten up from the table and moved on to the dancefloor while we'd been busy, and I hadn't noticed. Not all of them were dancing - I could see Angela leaning against a wall on her own, and I couldn't see Sue anywhere. She'd probably left already. I suppose it wasn't every day you got a hotel room with your boyfriend.

"I..."

"We can stay here, if you want. It's fine." Louis said quickly. "And if we go back to the hotel room together, it's not like we have to do anything-"

"I want to do everything." I fiddled with his tie and looked into his eyes. "Everything you want to do, anyway."

He blushed deeply and nodded. "Okay then. I'll go talk to Ellie and get the key."

"Okay." I grinned like an idiot as I watched him head towards the dancefloor, and took a second to compose myself. I took a few seconds to make sure I wasn't tenting in my pants. As I emerged from the little cove we'd been standing in, Matt was right there.

"Hey, Jay." Matt grabbed my hand and shook it. "Congrats on being gay."

"Uh, thanks?" I frowned slightly.

"Sorry, I know that's a weird way to say it." He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "But my uncle's gay, and this school is so ridiculous - it's kind of nice that you got to go out being open about it."

"Yeah, I guess." I smiled. "Thanks."

"Anyway, I've gotta go. My girlfriend thinks this place sucks, and Lea's come to her senses, so now we're not even getting distracted by the make-out session with that creepy guy." He chuckled. "See you around, dude."

"Yeah, you too."

My eyes scanned the room. There was Lea, who didn't quite look as ready to stop as Matt suggested. I kept seeing her bite her lip and look across the room to the bar, at the guy she'd been making out with. Tiffany was busy delivering an emphatic lecture to her, but she didn't seem to be paying much attention.

Nick was also there, and as he saw me looking at them, he gave me a tentative smile. I returned it, and nodded, which caused him to break out into a broad grin. We'd both gone overboard that one day, and said some things we probably shouldn't have. But we'd been closeted gay guys at this school together for years, even when we didn't know it, and I guess me kissing Louis in front of everyone here was still a win for both of us.

I also saw Jamie, on the dance floor, as I made my way around. I felt like he was avoiding looking at me, but he was dancing, so I couldn't be sure. Maybe he was just trying to concentrate. Not my problem, anyway. I walked over to where Angela was standing, and leaned against the wall next to her.

She looked across to me, an amused grin on her face. "Well done. Very dramatic. Ellie will be proud."

"Thanks." I laughed softly. "I don't know what came over me, but I'm glad something did."

"I'm sure." She chuckled.

"Anyway, how's your night going?"

She shrugged. "It could be better. It's nice to get dressed up like this, but nothing special is happening. I suppose it was silly to expect it would."

"You were expecting something?"

She shook her head. "I don't think it matters much now. I suppose I'm just standing here, watching things end."

"Oh. Sorry." A hint of sadness cut through my elation about things finally happening with Louis. Angela was a great person, and she deserved to have a good night too. I'd never seen her express any romantic interest in anyone, so I wondered what she was hoping could have happened tonight.

"It's fine. Someone else's fault, really."

I'd never actually heard her sound genuinely disappointed. She had such a stoic, calm disposition that I hadn't thought it possible. I looked up and scanned the room, at a loss for things to say. Oh, god. Caitlyn was making a beeline for the two of us, throwing her occasional trademark glares at me along the way.

Angela looked up as she approached, and smiled softly. "Yes?"

Caitlyn sighed, and put her hands on her hips. "Does it have to be everyone?"

"I think Jay will do just fine." Angela smirked. "Luckily for you, Sue's not here."

"Fine." Caitlyn pursed her lips, and turned to face me, letting out a small annoyed sound. "Jay, I'm really sorry about everything. Especially the plagiarism accusation thing, but also just about not being nicer to you in general."

I blinked, and twisted my head to look at Angela. She smiled at me, and shrugged. I turned back to Caitlyn. "Uh, thanks. I'm also really sorry. For the jokes and stuff. That wasn't very nice of me either, and I wish I'd been a bit better to you, too."

It was Caitlyn's turn to blink in surprise, and I was fairly sure she was holding back a smile. Because I was doing the same.

"See? Now, was that so hard?" Angela asked.

Caitlyn shook her head slowly, but didn't offer a reply.

"Now." Angela pushed herself off the wall. "About the other thing-"

"That's okay." Caitlyn grinned. "Jay gave me an idea."

"Oh really?" Angela asked.

"Yes." Caitlyn surged forward, like a big, pink predator, and their faces collided. My brain took a second to figure out what was happening, and even once I did, the shock of one of my friends kissing someone who'd been one of my biggest enemies for years had me reeling. Sue would freak out.

It didn't even occur to me that two girls kissing on the dancefloor might also have been a thing other people might have taken note of. Not until Dru - of course it was that asshole - whooped from the other side of the dancefloor. Without breaking the kiss, Caitlyn twisted her arm out to face him and extended her middle finger. Tiffany, Lea and Nick stopped talking and turned to stare.

"Oh, my." Louis' tone was amused as he popped up beside me, a hotel room keycard in his hand.

"Did you know about this?" I turned to face him.

"A little." He shrugged. "Okay, a lot. God, you should see your face."

I laughed and shook my head. I tried not to stare at Angela and Caitlyn as I grabbed his arm and turned him to face the exit. "Come on. We should... leave them to it."

He let me pull him across the dancefloor and towards the door. I stopped to give Ellie a quick hug and say goodbye.

"Shut up," I said quickly.

"I didn't even-"

"It was preemptive." I grinned.

"Sue's already headed over. I hope you bump into her. You have to explain to her that Louis and you ARE a couple now." She beamed and waved at Louis, who was chatting to Mel by the door. He awkwardly waved back.

"Right." I leaned in for a quick hug. "Okay, we're going to head out. Bye. See you tomorrow."

She winked as I headed off. I gave Mel a hug when I got to them, and Louis and I waved goodbye to everyone else. Soon we were plunging out into the cool breeze of the evening.

"Hey, look over here," he said as we got out.

"What-" He collided with me, forcing his tongue into my mouth and shoving me up against a wall. I groaned in satisfaction as he pressed against me, grinding our hips together so that our hard dicks rubbed together through our pants. I started running my hands all over him, gradually working them under his suit jacket, slipping my fingers down the back of his shirt and past his waistband. The convulsions of his laughter reverberated through my whole body as he pushed off of me with a huge smile on his face.

"Okay, that was my fault - I couldn't help myself." He took a steadying breath. "But if you're going to start doing that, we should head to the hotel. We've literally got a room."

"Right." I nodded, taking a few seconds to gather my thoughts. "Okay, well, then. Let's get going."

I don't know how I managed to keep my hands off of him the whole walk there. It was five minutes that felt like an eternity. I was still nervous enough to wonder if this was really happening. Maybe the weird, paranoid sense that this was a delusion - one that I could shatter at any moment - was just about enough to keep my hormones in check.

We were damn lucky we already had the key and didn't have to check in. I wasn't sure how Louis was coping, but there was no way I would have been able to form coherent sentences to talk to a receptionist. And it seemed like both of us had only just been able to hold on for long enough to get to the elevator, where we crashed against each other again, and he kissed me so hard I nearly fell over.

When the doors opened with a loud ding, he pulled me out, and we stumbled our way towards the room, locked at the lips and pawing at each other. We somehow managed to get the right number without pulling out of the kiss for even a second. He tried to open the door without stopping either, but wasn't successful. We reluctantly pulled apart, and he used the key-card to unlock it.

It was a nice room. Small, but modern and fully equipped. TV, dressing table, bar fridge, door at the opposite end that led to a nice looking bathroom. Of course, the major thing to take note of in the room - that we might have had to share as people who were still awkward around each other - was that it had one bed. King-sized, but definitely meant for a couple.

"Ellie." I smiled and shook my head.

"That could have been awkward."

"Wait for it." I wandered over to the drawer of the bedside table, and pulled it open. Yup. Condoms and lube. Louis came over to look.

"Well, it sure beats a Gideon bible." He laughed.

I grimaced. "If she tries to talk to me about it, I'm going to jump through the nearest window."

"Well, we don't have to talk to her until tomorrow." He sidled up to me. "And in the meantime..."

"You're going to keep me away from windows?"

"Among other things." He reached his hand across to turn me to face him, and crushed our mouths together again. I wasn't expecting him to be so forceful, so I let out a sharp breath in surprise. He pulled back, and looked directly into my eyes. "Is this okay?"

"Not when you're not kissing me." I shoved my face forward again, pressing our lips together, invading his mouth with my tongue. His skin was so soft, and the way he moved with me - it was like a dance, instead of a struggle. I wanted to kiss him forever. Until I couldn't breathe, even.

We both wanted more, though. I knew I did, anyway. And from the way his hard dick rubbed against mine through the fabric of our pants, I suspected he did too. I slipped my hands inside his jacket, ran them over his flat stomach, his chest, around to his back. He groaned at the attention, and pulled away slightly. I grunted in frustration.

"We're going to get undressed right?" His nose traced its way across my face, and I could feel his breath on my cheek.

I still couldn't help myself. I smirked. "I understand that's how it usually works, yes."

"Hilarious." He smiled. "I just meant that I rented this tux, so I don't want to give it back in any sort of roughed up state. Or with any, you know..." He blushed.

"Stains?"

"Yeah."

"Fine." I started undoing his tie. "See? I'm helping."

He laughed. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." I leaned in and kissed him again, pulling it off and unbuttoning his top few buttons. "Tie's yours though, right?"

"Yeah, but-" His eyes tracked it as I balled it up and tossed it onto the dressing table. "I still like it. Don't want to mess it up."

"It'll survive." I shrugged. I ran my hands up his sides and over the curve of his shoulders, and gently dislodged the jacket. He held his arms back and shrugged out of it, and I carefully lifted it up. I stepped back and held it out to him.

"Thanks." He took it from me carefully, and walked over to the closet.

I followed in his wake, and when he started carefully hanging it up in the closet, I grabbed him from behind, pulled his collar aside and started kissing his neck. It took way longer than it should have for him to hang it up, but he didn't complain, so I kept at it, and let my hands roam freely over his body.

"So impatient." He let out a breathy little laugh.

"Not impatient," I said between the kisses that I was still planting on his neck. "Take as long as you want. I'm just tired of not touching you."

He let out another laugh, although it almost sounded like a groan. "Fair enough. Give me your jacket."

I murmured my assent, and took my hands off of him, but not my mouth. I quickly slipped out of my jacket and held it out. We went through the whole hanging process again, although I'd managed to undo another two buttons of his shirt, so I had more of his neck and shoulder to kiss. His breathing was getting heavier.

"We need-" he panted. "To get our pants off."

My hand slid down the front of his stomach, and before I went to work on the clasp and zipper, I slipped it further down and let it rest on the hardness I felt there. Fuck, he felt huge, and rock-hard. I gave it a light squeeze. "I can help with that, too."

He didn't respond, just let out a little moan, and kept breathing heavily.

"Is it okay that I'm touching you there?" I asked softly, right into his ear.

"It's more than okay." He gasped. "For you to touch me. Anywhere."

I grinned, satisfied, and buried my face in the crook of his neck again. As fun as it was to touch him down there, and to make him groan like that, I really wanted his pants off. So I slowly unhooked the clasp, and pulled down the zipper, running my hands across his erection a few more times as I did, making myself smile every time I drew an involuntary noise from him.

He turned his head and gave me a peck on the cheek. "Okay. Seriously. Let's get out of our pants now."

I chuckled. "Yes, sir."

It seemed like a worthwhile trade-off, if it got him down to his underwear. I stepped back, and quickly unfastened mine, letting them drop to the floor and stepping out of them. I reached down to grab them, and as I came back up, I noticed Louis staring at me with his draped off his arm. He blushed, but didn't look away as I walked over to him.

I kissed him and, pulling away and smirking, I spun him around to face the clothing rail again. He honestly seemed like he needed help to focus, and I wanted to finish what I'd started. His shirt was hanging off his shoulder at that point, so I started in again, kissing up and down along the stretch of exposed skin. I held out my pants with one hand, for when he was ready for them, and used the other to undo his last few buttons.

We kicked off our socks while he finished hanging up our pants, and he undid the cuff-buttons of his shirt. I helped him slip out of it, grabbing it before it hit the floor and holding it up to him.

"Fuck it." He balled up the shirt and tossed it on one of the shelves. "That's mine anyway, and it's cheap."

"I could have ripped it off of you."

"It wasn't THAT cheap." He laughed.

"Pity." I was mostly joking, but a little disappointed. Not that there weren't other things to enjoy. Like how only the two thin layers of our underwear - both boxer briefs, my mind noted absently - were separating my hard cock from his ass. I grinded my hips against him. He pushed back, clearly in no hurry to move yet.

I slid my hand down his now-bare torso, feeling the smooth skin, interrupted by the lightest dusting of hair around his treasure trail. I slipped the tips of my fingers past his waistband, and paused, not sure if I should go further yet.

"Please." He gasped.

That was all I needed. My hand plunged inside, coming to rest on the silky skin of his raging erection. We both let out a slight groan as I made contact, and my hips bucked with just enough force to make him reach out a hand to steady himself against the closet shelf. I panted into his neck as I stood there, gently stroking up and down.

"Okay, enough." He reached down to grab my hand.

"What?" I let go of his dick, worried I'd gone a bit too far.

"It's... um." He turned his head to look back at me, and his face was flushed again. "Been a while since the last time I did stuff with a guy, and if you keep doing that, I'm going to embarrass myself."

"Can't have that." I put my hand on his arm, and spun him around.

I took a moment just to look at him. Smooth skin, with that slightly darker hue of his that made him look like he had a permanent tan. Slender, but toned, and the way his underwear could barely contain his erection was doing things to me. But he ruined my view by crossing his arms.

"I know I'm not exactly athletic, like Eric or Jamie-"

"Neither am I." I scoffed.

"Yeah... But you're less freakishly skinny than me, and-"

I stepped forward and kissed him. "You're beautiful."

He didn't respond - just blushed furiously, and looked at the floor. I set out to prove it to him, gently pushing his arms open, running my hands all over him. I started to kiss my way down his torso, and subtly slipped my hands past the back of his waistband, cupping his asscheeks as I gradually lowered myself to the floor. He watched me as I moved, but didn't say anything.

I probably should have taken more time to show him just how attractive I thought he was, but I was too excited. There was one goal in my mind, and I wasn't in the mood to be distracted. As I got to the floor and settled onto my knees, I gently pulled his underwear off, and his dick swung forward to greet me.

It wasn't as if I hadn't been wondering what it could have looked like. Even in the depths of my longing for him, my hormones were still at work. But I hadn't pictured it this big, or this beautiful. I didn't have to worry about looking, because it was Louis. But looking wasn't all I wanted to do.

I wanted to engage all my senses. Sight. Scent. Touch. Taste. Everything. Wrapping my hand around the base, I inhaled deeply. He smelled amazing, and I was in heaven. He was still a little sweaty from the walk over, and maybe having to wear a suit all night, but that only enhanced the smell. And it was pure Louis, mingled with sex in a way that flooded my head and drove me wild.

I didn't want to take him in my mouth too quickly, either - it felt like I should try to savour it. To study every angle, keep running my hand along the smooth skin of his shaft, feeling every vein, how it moved with every twitch. But I couldn't wait, so I hoped - trusted - that there'd be more time later.

I leaned forward and licked the tip, lapping the tiniest trace of precum. He groaned and twitched his hips forward, and I held out and teased him a bit longer, running my tongue up and down his shaft. He put his hand in my hair and gripped it, not forcing my head anywhere, but following my movement.

I grinned up at him, and with one smooth motion, slid his length into my mouth. He let out a loud moan, his grip on my hair loosened, and his knees even trembled slightly. His dick fit my mouth like it was made for it, and I gradually worked myself further and further down his length, trying to relax my throat so that I didn't gag.

I was pretty proud of myself when my nose reached his pubes. His breathing had gotten really erratic, and my dick was feeling uncomfortably restrained. I reached down my hand into my underwear to pump at it while I started bobbing my head on his, getting into a rhythm. Louis's breathing got even wilder, and his body began to jerk and twitch.

"Fuck, Jay, I'm cumming."

I redoubled my efforts, and was rewarded with a warm flood of his juices. I could have sworn it was the best thing I'd ever tasted, but maybe that was just because it was Louis. It was salty and intense, and didn't even taste slightly bitter. I swallowed every drop, and slowly stood up to look him in the eye.

He was blushing furiously. "Crap. I'm so sorry, I-"

I didn't let him finish. Grabbing him around the waist, I pressed my mouth against his. His tongue wrestled with mine, and we shared the taste of the faint traces of his cum. I pulled away, with a broad smile that matched his.

"Good?" I asked.

"Yeah." He chuckled softly. "Very. Come on, it's your turn."

He grabbed my hand and led me over to the bed. I sat down on it, and pulled him onto my lap, where he straddled me and kept kissing me. He seemed much calmer, and I was the one raring to go. My stupid shirt was in the way though, and he seemed happy to take his time now, picking open my buttons, one at a time.

He'd grab my hands and push them away every time I tried to help, all while giving me a mischievous smile. By the time he'd finished, taken the shirt off of me and tossed it into the corner of the room, I was hard as a rock and panting like I'd just run a marathon. He slowly climbed off of me and got to my knees.

I thought he might take my underwear off, but he was clearly in a mood to be patient. He rubbed my dick through the thin layer of fabric with one hand, while he ran the other all over my stomach and chest. I wasn't going to force him to go faster. Not when it felt this good.

He moved in closer, and tilted his head down. I could feel his breath on my thighs, and although I didn't think it was physically possible for me to get any harder, I was proven wrong when he started nuzzling against my erection, taking it and the fabric into his mouth, gradually starting to soak it with his spit.

His hands roamed all over my body - across my stomach, around my back, up to my chest, grazing my nipples. I got a bit more fired up with each subtle, gentle movement of his, and I was fairly sure half of the wetness in my underwear was my own precum. My dick was so hard it ached.

Like falling leaves, his hands drifted gradually, across and down, until they were at my thighs. That's when he worked them under my waistband, and started pulling my underwear off. I was happy to help, lifting my hips and letting him tug them down. My dick bounced out eagerly.

"Cool." He looked up at me, a huge grin on his face, and his eyes were practically sparkling. I'd felt his breath on the head when he exhaled the word.

He glanced back down at my dick for a second, but instead of immediately going for it, he pushed himself up and gave me a quick kiss. I must have been grinning like an idiot as he went back to his knees. Trust Louis to take a moment like this to be sweet.

With another deep exhale that sent tingles across my skin, he shifted forward. His hand wrapped around my shaft, and he licked at the tip, and then started to lick and suck his way down it until the head was lodged at the back of his throat. I was groaning loudly, balling my fists into the bedding as he started up his increasing rhythm.

After hearing him talk about 'embarrassing' himself, I wasn't sure I wanted to cum too quickly either. But he wasn't leaving me much choice. He was incredibly skilled, and every stroke of his warm, wet mouth along my dick had me giving more and more ground in my battle not to explode. Inevitably, I lost.

"Oh fuck. Louis - I'm going to-" I gasped.

He looked up at me, and we made eye-contact as I shot squirt after squirt into his mouth. He gagged slightly, but didn't spill a drop. I grunted as I finally finished, and he let me drop out of his mouth. He swallowed deeply before getting up, and pushed me back on the bed. It was my turn to taste the faint traces of my own cum as his tongue found its way into my mouth.

I could hardly believe my luck. I'd finally managed to not fuck something up. And this was with Louis. At the beginning of the year, I hadn't even thought I'd be coming to the dance. Never mind leaving it with a guy who made me feel... amazing.

He straddled me again, and pushed himself into an upright position, gazing down at me as he sat on my legs. He slowly breathed in and out, and his eyes ran up my body, settling on my face.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. Just..." He grinned, and looked away. "Just struggling to believe this is actually happening."

I laughed. "I was thinking the same thing."

He looked back down to me, and nodded, his face suddenly serious. "Listen, if this is... If this doesn't mean as much to you as it does to me, I'll understand, and I won't hold it against you."

"And... how much does it mean to you?"

He ran his hand through his hair. "Everything. It means everything."

I bucked my hips, and took advantage of his upset balance to pull him down into another quick kiss. I held him by the back of the neck as we pulled apart, so that I could look directly into his eyes. "It means everything to me, too."

He closed his eyes, and his head drooped. "Don't say that if you don't mean it."

"Of course I mean it." I grabbed his face and kissed him again. "How could you think that I wouldn't?"

He sat up again. "I don't know. It's just... wouldn't you prefer someone else?"

"Literally who?"

"Eric?" He sighed.

"Dead to me."

"Jamie?"

"Not worth the effort."

"Nick?" A slight smirk twisted his mouth.

"Now you're just being mean." I pulled him down again, and looked deep into his eyes. "Seriously, Louis. How could it be anybody but you?"

He grinned, and looked away, but I put my hand on his cheek to turn his face towards me. He sighed. "I guess... I'm just not used to the guys I want wanting me back. Not when it matters."

"Well, it matters now, and I want you." I kissed him again. "More than I've ever wanted anything in my whole life."

"Really?"

"Yes." I didn't know whether to laugh or to groan in frustration. "You seriously haven't noticed? I'm an idiot, so it kind of snuck up on me. What's your excuse?"

He chuckled. "I guess I'm a pessimist?"

"Maybe about this." I rolled him over, and pinned him down. "But don't be. Can we just enjoy it, please?"

If he had a response, I didn't let him get it out. I started grinding my hips against his, and our dicks slid along each other. He was already hard again, and I was on my way. When he let out something between a chuckle and groan, I pulled up and stared at him with a curious expression.

He shook his head slowly. "What are you doing to me?"

I gave a quick thrust with my hips. "I thought you were the one who always tells me how sex works."

"Not what I meant." He looked away, his hand absently tracing patterns on my chest. "Jay?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to fuck me?"

"Yes." I grinned. "Do you want me to?"

He looked back at me, and nodded slowly, but he didn't say anything else.

I frowned. "Um, I hope you don't feel like you have to-"

"No, I really want to." He propped himself up on his elbows. "I like doing it anyway, right? And..."

"Yeah?"

"I really want you." He licked his lips. "Like that."

I nodded. "Do you need to prepare, or?"

"Would it be weird..." He grimaced. "If I told you that earlier today, when I was getting ready, I still felt kind of optimistic about tonight?"

"No." I laughed, but then something occurred to me. "About your chances with me, right?"

"Of course." He scoffed. "Who else?"

"I don't know." I pulled back, grinning. "Jamie was around tonight. And Nick."

"God. No, thanks." He laughed.

"So only me?"

"Yeah." He nodded seriously, gazing into my eyes. "Only you. Always you."

I didn't know how to respond. Hearing him say that just made me so happy. Why Louis wanted me - of all people - I wasn't sure I'd ever know. But I wanted him back, and it wasn't complicated, or weird, or awkward. I wasn't even feeling self-conscious about being naked around him, or worried that I might be doing things wrong.

It was just me and Louis. Sure, it was electric and exciting, and my blood was pumping so hot I thought I might explode. But underneath that, we were still us. Comfortable and happy around each other, like we'd always been. I could talk to him about anything. Well, except for one thing. Because after all we'd been through, I wasn't sure if he was ready to hear that I loved him.

"What?" He asked.

I blinked, wondering for a second if he'd read my mind. "Nothing." I leaned forward and kissed him. "How do you want to do this?"

"We don't have to, if you're not ready-"

"No, I'm ready." I hopped up on my haunches. "Turn over, I want to try something first."

"Uh, okay." He flipped over onto his stomach, and twisted to look back at me. "Like this?"

"Yeah. Now spread your legs."

"Oh my." He grinned, and turned back, but did as he was told.

I wasn't sure I was going to go through with it, now that I could see his hole. But I'd seen it done before - even up close - and I kind of wanted to try it out. It was Louis, after all.

But I was still wondering what the hell I was thinking. "You're clean, right?"

"Yes. Really, really clea-" He dropped his head, and let out a low chuckle. "Um, yes."

"Okay." I put a hand on each of his cheeks, and leaned forward.

"You're going to use a condom, right?" He turned his head to look at me.

"I don't think people do, for this particular activity." My face was now really close to his crack, and it just smelled like the rest of him - clean, slightly musky, and intense.

"Why? What are you... Oh."

"Yeah." I grinned, and dived in.

It was definitely clean, and once my tongue touched his hole, the ick-factor of the idea completely vanished. Louis gasped when I made contact, and he pushed back slightly. I had no idea what I was doing, but what I lacked in skill, I hopefully made up for enthusiasm. He seemed to enjoy it, anyway - moaning and writhing underneath me.

I came up for air, and decided it had probably been enough. "Okay, now I've tried it."

He laughed, turning his head back to face me. "How was it?"

"Tastes like chicken." I grinned, and kissed my way up his back, positioning myself on top of him.

He sighed. "Please tell me you didn't just make a joke about my butthole."

"Sorry." I grinned. "It wasn't bad. Kind of hot. I liked it."

"Well, okay. Noted. It felt great, anyway. That's a first for me, too." He twisted his neck and leaned back towards me, like he was going in for a kiss.

"I... uh..." I backed away slightly. "Are you sure you want to do that, given where I've just been?"

"I'll take my chances. I have faith in how well I clean." He pulled me into the kiss, chuckling. We broke away, and he looked at me expectantly. "Are you ready?"

"For that?" I asked, and he nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

"Do you need help with the condom?" He smirked. "Did they even teach you how to put them on at Elohim sex-ed?"

"No, they think they're a tool of Satan to entice teenagers into sex." I rolled my eyes at him. "And if you don't laugh at that right now, we're not doing this."

He chuckled. "Fine, fine. It's not outside the realm of possibility, though."

"Yeah, maybe not." I pushed myself up and leaned over to the bedside table, sliding open the drawer and pulling out the supplies Ellie had so graciously left us. Trying not to imagine what she might have been picturing when she put them there, or what she might say about them tomorrow.

"Good job!" Louis said when I'd gotten it on - he'd twisted to look at me, and had an annoying grin on his face. I fake-glared at him, and he spun back around, laughing. "Sorry, sorry."

I lubed myself up, squirting a little extra on my hand before setting the bottle down. I positioned my fingers at his hole, which was still slightly moist with my spit. "Ready?"

"Yeah, just... gently. It's been a while."

"Right." I slowly worked in my index finger. "How's that?"

"Mmm, good." He groaned.

I worked my way up to two fingers, and then three. He didn't seem to mind at all - his ass clenched around them, and occasionally he'd let out a little moan that didn't sound pained or uncomfortable at all. He was clearly enjoying himself, even, pushing back, fucking himself on my hand.

"Are you ready?" I pulled out my hand.

"Yeah." His voice was breathy, and I think I got a bit harder just hearing him say that.

I positioned myself between his legs, lined up the tip of my dick with his opening, and started to slide in as I slowly lowered myself onto him. He let out the odd gasp as I worked my way inside, but he didn't complain, and before long my hips were pressed against him.

"You okay?" I asked softly, my mouth right by his ear.

"Hah. God. Yeah." He panted. "You're big, but... ah... it feels good."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He turned to look at me with one eye. "Let's just lie here for a minute, though."

"Sure." I leaned forward, and kissed him lightly on the lips.

We lay there like that for a while, me on top of him, and his breathing slowly evening out. He'd occasionally shift underneath me, and I could feel the muscles of his ass clench and relax around my dick whenever he did. I was in no danger of losing my hard-on.

"Okay," he said eventually. "I think you can start."

I began to rock my hips back and forth, gently at first, sliding in and out of him. He let out a moan, and his hand reached back to grab my hip. I paused for a second, until I realised he wasn't trying to push me off or slow me down - he was trying to encourage me. So I picked up the pace.

"Fuck, that feels good." He groaned.

"Yeah?" The two of us rocked gently on the bed as I thrust into him, again and again.

He was groaning with each thrust now. "You can go a bit faster, if you want."

"Okay." I braced myself more firmly on my forearms and tried to focus on my movements, picking up speed as I got into it.

The increased rhythm of his breathing and the little moans he'd sporadically let out had me convinced I was on the right track. I leaned forward and kissed him, and the way he looked into my eyes was driving me wild. I was fairly sure I was going faster than I should have been, and I was a bit worried that I'd hurt him when his hand reached back and actually stopped me.

"Wait." He gasped.

"Sorry, does that h-"

"No." He laughed, burying his head in the sheets for a second. "You're going to make me cum again."

"Oh." I grinned, and rocked my hips quickly, drawing a moan from him. "So?"

"Can we get in a different position?" He asked. "I want to look into your eyes when I do."

"Oh, okay. Yeah." I pushed myself up and pulled out of him.

He flipped over, and lay back with his head on a pillow. I climbed between his legs again, and he grinned at me and lifted them up, resting them on my shoulders. I pulled him into a better position, so that we were lined up, and with a small nod from him, I slid back in.

Watching his face as I entered him was... mind-blowing. It was the most intimate sight I could have imagined, and I got to see it from Louis.

He pulled me down and kissed me, and then held my chin as we broke apart. "Okay, go."

I nodded, and started to thrust. His eyes stayed locked on mine, even as his hands roamed up to my chest and down over my stomach. He wasn't touching his dick, which seemed like a waste, so I grabbed it and began to gently stroke.

"Wait, what-" His jaw clenched, and the pace of his breathing reached a crescendo. "Fuck, Jay, I'm going to..."

I grinned, and kept thrusting as he started to shoot. It wasn't as much as he'd cum in my mouth - just enough to lightly splatter his stomach, and pool in his belly button. I scooped some of the first squirt up with my free hand, and licked it off my fingers. It was still so good.

The taste of his cum, the way he never took his eyes off of me as his face contorted with his orgasm, and the way his hole clenched around my dick as I thrust in and out of him - that was having its effect on me. He was done, so I didn't even bother trying to hold back - with two or three more thrusts, I was shooting my load into the condom, deep in his ass.

We stayed like that, panting, and just staring at each other for a while. Fuck. It was still just so great to look at him. Being covered in sweat and just a light smattering of cum did nothing to diminish how hot I found him. "I could stay here forever."

He grimaced. "I don't think I can. My thighs are already starting to cramp."

"Oh, damn." I laughed. "Sorry."

I pulled out, and shuffled back. He slowly lowered his legs. I hopped up and dashed to the bathroom, to wrap the condom in toilet paper and bin it. I rushed back to the bed, and gave him another kiss before I flopped down onto my pillow.

"That was amazing." I sighed happily. I ran my hand through some of the cum on his stomach, smearing it against his skin.

"Yeah." He laughed softly, and stared up at the ceiling.

"Was it... good?" I asked. He'd seemed to have fun, but I'd still never been fucked, so I didn't know if it was always enjoyable.

"Are you kidding? It was everything I wanted." He looked over at me. "Was it good for you, too?"

"Yeah... Amazing." I still hadn't told him I loved him. Not that it would have been right to do it during that, but I hadn't done it before, either. There was only one other option.

I looked over at him, and he warmed me with that smile of his. It was ridiculous to be scared now, but I was. There was still a part of me that thought I didn't deserve him, and even given what we'd just done, it still seemed like I could ruin everything by telling him one more thing. People weren't always ready to hear it.

But not talking about how we really felt was what had been tripping both of us up. It was the last thing in the way, and I couldn't leave it like that. Not after the night we'd had. I loved him, and he needed to know that. So I propped myself up on my arm, and took a deep, steadying breath, before looking him in the eye.

"What?" he asked.

"I need to tell you something."

"Okay." His smile faltered slightly, but he didn't look away.

"I just don't want to leave things unsaid again, and maybe it's a bit soon." I shook my head. "And you shouldn't feel like you need to say it back, but... I love you."

His smile returned in full force, stretching out across his face. He grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. I let it linger, and looked away as we pulled apart, gasping. That had gone okay. Or, at least, I could live with it. I didn't need him to say it back - I just needed him to hear it. But then he cleared his throat, and I felt a brief moment of panic.

"I love you too, obviously. In case you need to hear that."

My eyes snapped back to him, and I could feel myself starting to grin. "I wasn't sure."

"Well, you've missed all sorts of things this year." He chuckled. "I really do, though. I've loved you for a while."

A huge sigh of relief escaped me, and I flopped back down to the bed. Hearing him say that was just heaven. Uncomplicated, unimpeded heaven. I didn't feel the need to over analyse it, or wonder what it all meant. It was enough to just lie there - my head next to his, my hand on his chest - feeling the happiest I'd ever been.

In some ways, it had been one of the most chaotic years of my life. My plans to keep my head down had gone off the rails, and I'd gotten really confused and unlucky in love. But I'd made such good friends, and one of those friends had become so much more to me. I never could have dreamed of things turning out this well. Not while I was still in high school.

But they had. Throughout everything I'd been through - put myself through, maybe - it all felt worth it when I had Louis in my arms. My mind had been all over the place since the beginning, but all I could think as I drifted off to sleep, completely wrapped in the sights, scents and sensations of him, was that it had been one great year.

* Epilogue is an external link to a page about how to get access to it.

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Terms: (Not necessarily appearing in this chapter)

• Matric - Final year of schooling in South Africa. (Senior year is the American equivalent, I think.)

• Moderation - Sort of an educational audit, where external moderators check up on the school's standards.

• Prelims - Mock finals, essentially mid-terms, but specifically geared to prepare you for finals.

• Maths - Self explanatory, of course, but I just want to make the point that the are MANY mathematics, so calling it Math is bizarre. Get your shit together, America.

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