Chapter 9

June 23, Friday evening

As he leaned against the bar counter, Loren ordered his usual, listening to Lorelei babble in his ear. Todd was running late, and Loren waited patiently for him to show up.

Laying an arm around Loren's shoulders, Lorelei squeezed his upper arm. "Well, who let the conservative choir out of their white picket fence cages? They're at six o'clock, hard as a rock, and I don't mean their cocks."

He glanced over his shoulder and spotted Elliot with somebody in tow. The look of twin distain on their faces was damn comical, and he chuckled. "Todd's ex, and if I'm not mistaken, probably the reason he's Todd's ex."

"Good thing you took that boy in hand, Loren. What is the world coming to when a fag can't be a fag?"

When the two came straight toward him, Loren turned and leaned back against the counter, drink in hand. Lorelei nestled to his side, nuzzling to his throat and eyeing the other two.

"Where's Todd?" With no polite how do you do, Elliot addressed Loren in clipped tones.

"I'm not sure. He slipped my leash the other day, and I haven't reeled him in back yet."

"I thought I would find him here." Looking around, the contempt on Elliot's features deepened. "I'll never know why he lets you drag him down to this level."

"My enormous cock. Why else?" Loren murmured, tongue in cheek.

"Amen, I can attest to that." Lorelei giggled as her hand slid down to the front of Loren's pant, patting him lightly.

Elliot looked at Loren like something had crawled up his nose and died.

"Absolutely atrocious. Must we be here, Elliot?" With a sniff of disgust, Elliot's companion ignored Loren and Lorelei.

"And this would be why you dumped Todd." Loren gave Elliot a mild look of inquiry.

Caught off guard, Elliot's eyes widened, and it took him a second to speak. "I--That's…"

Lorelei stared at the two in astonishment. Her tone one of disbelief as she interrupted Elliot. "You mean he left baby boy for the likes of that?"

"Seems so."

Lorelei's eyes deliberately fastened on the crotch of the man's pant. "Hmm, must be hidin' something in those big pants of his. Cuz I'm not seeing it."

Shooting a look of contempt at Elliot, Lorelei continued, "Didn't your momma raise you right, boy?"

Both men had shifted from aggressive to highly embarrassed in nothing flat. Loren smirked as he took over the conversation from Lorelei. "I'll be sure to let slave Todd know you're looking for him. Just remember who his master is now, Elliot."

As the other guy tried to pull Elliot away, Elliot scowled at Loren before turning abruptly away and stalking out of the bar.

***

Todd locked up the car and headed inside. He was already fifteen minutes late, but there wasn't much he could do about it. The moment he walked into the bar, he spotted Loren and his day got better.

"Hey, gorgeous. I'm sorry I'm late. I had a last-minute client emergency."

Lorelei let go of Loren to make way for Todd as she snickered, "Don't worry, baby boy, your ex kept us entertained in your absence."

Rolling his eyes at her, Loren just laughed before he reached out for Todd and drew his lover in against his side. "You're designated driver tonight because I've already had a few too many babe."

An eyebrow rose and Todd looked first at Lorelei then at Loren. "Do I want to know?"

Lorelei eyed him with a smirk. "Probably not, but at least the man knows it's Loren's cock that keeps you with him."

"Don't ask." Loren quickly quipped before Todd could make any comments on his cock.

Todd's mouth just sort of hung open and he felt himself turn ten shades of red. "Well, I'm certainly not going to deny the fact, though I doubt I'd get quite that graphic about it." He nudged Loren with his elbow. "You ready?"

"You are so adorable." Lorelei laughed as she lightly pinched Todd's reddened cheek. She dropped her hand, grabbed her drink and pushed away from the counter.

"Umm, as soon as I finish this drink and get a dance with you, I'll be good to go, Todd."

Todd chuckled and as soon as Loren set the emptied glass down, he grabbed Loren's hand and led him out onto the dance floor. Draping his arms over Loren's shoulders, Todd leaned close, brushing his lips over Loren's. "Mm…needed this, babe."

"It's a pity we only have the weekends to share." It was Loren's first clear hint of wanting more time with his lover, though he wasn't pushy about it. The flick of his tongue teased across Todd's lip, coaxing him to open.

Humming softly, Todd opened up for Loren, the movements of his body against Loren's never stopping as he all but drowned in the kiss. He cupped the back of Loren's head, the press and grind of his body following the music. Breaking the kiss, Todd smiled. "What did you want to do tonight?"

"Quiet night at home? Yours or mine, doesn't matter. Or did you feel like going out tonight?"

"Your place? I've been stuck at my desk all damned day."

"Let's go then." Todd's hand in his, he pulled Todd through the crowd to the door leading outside.

The drive to Loren's was silent and relatively short. As soon as he shut the car off, Todd turned and pulled Loren into another, more urgent kiss.

Loren answered with a slow, lingering taste of Todd's mouth. When he ended the kiss, Loren unfastened the belt and got of the car.

"You hungry, babe?" He looked at Todd over his shoulder as he unlocked the front door. "We can order some Italian if you are."

Todd followed him inside and closed the door behind them. "Sounds good to me," he said as he set his keys and wallet on the table beside the door.

"You like spaghetti?"

Todd nodded to him.

Picking up the phone, Loren dialed the number then reached for Todd giving him a quick kiss as he waited for an answer.

"Yeah, I'd like to order two spaghetti dinners with a side of garlic bread, and a two liter of Pepsi." He paused a moment listening to the other side. "Loren Spears. I'm in your system."

He covered the receiver to say, "You pick out the movie, Todd, and ignore Lor's porn."

Dropping his hand down, he said into the phone. "Yeah, that's the address. Thanks." Todd headed over to the entertainment center and started looking through the movies. "Any preference?"

"You can put in the Garfield movie. Lorelei picked it up a few weeks ago, and I haven't had a chance to see it yet." To get comfortable, Loren toed off his shoes before he took off his shirt.

Todd pulled out the DVD and loaded it into the player. Grabbing the remote, he turned around…and stopped, blinking. "Damn, babe."

As he sprawled on the couch, Loren looked up at Todd then patted the seat beside him. "You have a few minutes to adore me before dinner gets here."

Instead of sitting, Todd knelt down on the floor between Loren's legs. He slid his hands over Loren's stomach and up his chest. "God, I enjoy touching you."

With a bit of a shimmy, he scooted down and opened his legs more, giving Todd room. "So who's complaining?"

A smile quirked his lips as he teased Todd, and the tip of Loren's finger traced along his lips.

Todd opened his mouth and drew Loren's finger inside, just licking and sucking gently. His hands never stopped moving, little hums of pleasure surrounding Loren's finger as Todd slid his hands over his chest.

"We could probably discuss the merits of who enjoys what more, but I'm too lazy."

Todd's answering chuckle was deep and he let Loren's finger slip out of his mouth. Leaning down, he brushed his lips over Loren's chest, drifting to his left nipple. A quick flick of his tongue teased at the small bit of flesh before Todd’s lips closed around it.

With the small attention, the nipple instantly hardened, and Loren shivered. The ball of his thumb rubbed slowly the corner of Todd's mouth as a low murmur of appreciation came from Loren. "You have the sweetest mouth, babe."

Todd moaned softly and caught Loren's nipple in his teeth, tugging slightly. His other hand toyed with the other nipple, rolling it between his fingers.

Loren studied Todd's face as his fingers caressed over Todd's skin. For the first time, he realized he was looking beneath the surface. So conservative in look, yet underneath it all there was a great deal more that attracted Loren. The smile on his lips took on an odd twist. He'd warned Todd about getting too attached, and now he started to wonder at himself.

Todd released him then and moved up, pressing a soft, chaste kiss to Loren's lips. "You're a very good habit," he whispered.

"One I’m not gonna let you break." Loren murmured against the touch of Todd's lips. He had no problem expressing his own revelations, and he wanted Todd to know that he was more than just a fuck buddy.

When the door bell, Loren reluctantly broke off the kiss. "Food's here."

Todd backed up enough for Loren to stand. Loren pulled some the money out of his wallet before he opened the door, then stuffed his wallet back in his pocket.

"Thanks, Steve." After he handed the delivery guy the twenty, Loren took the boxes and soda.

"Lorelei home, Loren?"

"Knowing her, she'll probably be out all night."

At the disappointed look on Steve's face, Loren muttered, "Christ, Steve just ask her out sometime."

When he got a shrug for his trouble, Loren added, "You never know unless you try."