Deciphering the Bloom Ch. 03

Thank you to everyone for reading, voting and/or commenting. You cannot know how grateful I am. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Huge happy hippie hippo hugs to Klastbreath for emergency editing. As always I tinker, so for any mistakes I ask your forgiveness.

My gratitude to nomoretears00 for always saving my bacon.

AH you are the other set of eyes I needed, I am one blessed hippie.

This is a copyrighted work of fiction by the author seeker71. All rights reserved.

*

Morning came. Davey raised the thin folds of protection that held him in the realm sleep and was greeted by the sight of his dreams made flesh.

"Good morning," Nicolao murmured before dipping his head and kissing David. Far from a morning peck, it left him breathless, and panting.

"Morning Nicolao," he said as he nuzzled into his lover's body, closing his eyes again.

"Oh no, I've been watching you sleep for half an hour, it's time to get up." Nic slid away.

"You should have gotten me up." Davey liked to snuggle for a while awake before getting out of the bed. Many mornings it led to other activities, but if not he cherished the closeness before facing the day.

Nicolao stood and stretched, "I thought you needed the rest, and I got to watch mi joya que avergüenza el sol.

David wrinkled his brow, "Nic you know I don't understand Spanish."

"Good, because even by my standards that was sappy, though true." Nicolao turned to go to the bathroom. The unfamiliar twinge caused by the previous night's activity caused him to grimace and step gingerly.

Nic adjusted the water for their morning shower. Davey came in not meeting his gaze.

"I'm sorry." David's voice was barely a whisper.

Nic came closer, and raised his chin until their eyes met. "What are you sorry for?"

"You're hurt." He began to shake thinking he had caused Nic pain.

"I swear to you it's the most pleasurable ache I have ever felt." Nicolao touched his forehead to David's. "I needed you last night. We made love, you can't be sorry for that. It's my fault; the sore muscles wouldn't be so bad if we soaked. But the night got away from me." Nicolao rested his hands on David's slim hips.

"I was okay?"

"More than okay, the best I ever had, mi lirio de los valles. Now I'm sure I'm not the only one with sore untrained muscles, why don't we see if a hot shower helps a bit." Nic straightened.

Davey followed him in the shower. The pulsing hot water did feel good on his back. "When was the last time you..." he left the question unfinished.

Nicolao shrugged, but kept lathering David's skin, "Bottomed, thirteen years ago, and that wasn't what I meant. I may not prefer it, but last night was you and me. It was special because it was us, making love, top or bottom, and nothing else in my life compares. Dee, you just have to accept that."

Nic turned Davey's body to clean his back, missing the glorious smile that touched David's lips.

After their shower Nicolao called Breezy offering Davey's services. She quickly agreed giving him her address.

During their morning walk and ride Davey would glance at him, and smile thinking about what had happened. Nicolao made himself completely vulnerable to him, they had made love, and he said he loved him. He hadn't said it back, and didn't know why. Nic was so open with his feelings; he was incapable of being anything less than candid. Davey felt he couldn't afford that kind of honesty.

They parted with a kiss. The next two weeks Nicolao would be spending long days, and possibly nights working with Jeremy. Nic was going to take every opportunity, public, and private to reassure David.

Nicolao was welcomed by Breezy, who followed him into Jeremy's office.

"Good morning Evangelista, Miss St. James would you go get us some coffee while I get him caught up?" Jeremy rose from behind his desk to a stack of boxes.

"This is a long term contract with Muecci International. The maritime shipping is fine; the products are arriving without delay. The company we contracted with for ground transportation has gone under, and they also held the storage facility." Jeremy moved to the couch in his office. The table was covered in papers.

"Sit down, get comfortable. We have transportation, and storage to work on. This was one of my first contracts. I handed it off years ago, but there has been some neglect on our part. Muecci has very specific needs for its imports; there isn't enough time for mistakes, that's why I tapped you. We have weeks to save this, but I don't want to put a band-aid on it, I want a system in place that they can rely on, not a temporary fix."

Nicolao took a seat across from Jeremy. He questioned Jeremy's assertions mentally, why weeks for what normally took months, and what specific needs? Nic would not have thought twice about it, save for his lunch with Breezy. He took in the stacks of papers on the table. It indeed was going to be a long two weeks.

Davey arrived at Breezy's house before the children did. His stomach had been in knots all day, when he was with Nic it was so easy to forget who he was. But when he was faced with the world away from Nic, he wasn't his David, he was just Davey. What was he doing at this lady's house? And what was he supposed to do with two kids?

Groupings of children walked past, and he knew the school bus had arrived. He stood, shoving his hands in his pockets. Two figures approached the house, stopped, and stared up at him.

"Um, hi," Davey greeted them.

A young boy climbed the steps, he was burdened with his book bag as well as a cello strapped to his back.

"Hey, David?" The boy questioned, extending his hand.

Davey took it, surprised by the grip, and serious large brown eyes that held his.

"Abel, so you hanging out with us?" Abel dropped Davey's hand to open the door.

"Rude!" The girl stomped up the stairs, stopping in front of David.

"Sorry, I... "Davey began.

"Not you, the challenged one," she rolled her eyes dramatically. "I'm a lady he should have made our introductions, mom says so."

"I am Averie," she smiled, "it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She curtsied, and then swept past her brother, who watched her with the door open. "Don't bang my cello on the way in." She growled as she walked by him.

Abel met Davey's eyes and shrugged, not disturbed in the least by his sister's antics. Davey smiled, following him inside. The two self-possessed kids were not what he had imagined, lately most aspects of his life weren't, and he was suddenly glad he had come.

That night when they were home David's joy was infectious he related everything he and the children had done. Nic held him as he spoke, then he was sure to add Breezy and her family in his prayers before he slept.

*****

The week blurred, due to the amount of work, and the time difference, work days were twelve to fifteen hours. Breezy took care of the current contracts, while Nic and Jeremy worked together on the Muecci problem. Nicolao was reminded of what drew him to Jeremy in the first place. He was fiercely intelligent, ruthless, and to the unobservant, insensate. His chestnut hair was never out of place, and late at night his clothes remained impossibly neat. Nicolao once wanted to break those controls... no, that wasn't quite right; their mutual goal was to splinter the others will. A compulsion, Nic recognized, as a shadow he was drawn to because of August.

Unlike Jeremy, David was not an echo of his past. Which was why these long days with Jeremy was beginning to weigh on him. David's last day of class he was working, while Breezy made sure she left early. She and the children not only took him to dinner, she'd had a cake made for him. Nicolao was torn. He was grateful for the time Dee got to spend with them; maybe a bit jealous, and angry he had to miss his David's celebration. And for what, so Jeremy could flirt with him every free moment? He was going to cut this exercise in futility short. He made sure Breezy was on board, and he approached Jeremy when they were eating.

"Saint and I are going to work through the weekend, when I leave Wednesday night everything should be done except the signatures and filing."

Jeremy stopped chewing, and then swallowed slowly. "You and Miss St. James decide our schedule, I wasn't aware." Jeremy replied the only sign he was annoyed was a slight tightening of his jaw.

Nicolao shrugged in response, he really didn't care. As long as the contract was done and all parties agreed on the terms, Jeremy had no reason to object.

"I put in for time off next week; I'm going to visit my family. We won't take any shortcuts, Saint and I will sleep here in the office if need be. We will have it done by Monday, scanned, and faxed by Tuesday. That should give you time to make any changes, but that shouldn't be necessary. This way I get to see my family, and the Muecci contract will have been handled properly."

"Miss St. James' has children; she's going to spend the weekend here with you?" Jeremy began to suspect the student was not his only rival for Nicolao's affections.

Relieved Jeremy had no real objections, he clapped his back affectionately. "Saint's kids will be at my house, safe and sound. Dee has been watching them for her." Nicolao smiled with the thought of Davey.

The place on Jeremy's back where Nicolao had touched him was warm. The light contact had sent a jolt from his shoulder blade right to his neglected dick. Jealousy roused within him, Jeremy wanted Nicolao's face to light up when he thought of him. He had done everything expected of him, everything. Wasn't his debt paid, couldn't he have just one thing that he really wanted? Jeremy's mind balanced internal scales, in his measure he was due, and Nic was the payment.

Jeremy took another bite of his sandwich, quickly averting his eyes. The enduring despair that rested in his core stirred. Why couldn't Nicolao give him more time?

"Alright, we work through the weekend," he declared, "I would hate to keep you from your family. You have been invaluable this week. I would have been lost without you."

"Thanks Jeremy, you should work on having more people in your corner."

Jeremy crumpled his sandwich wrapping. "Evangelista, let's get back to work now, and fix my life later."

*****

Davey waited for Averie to complete his second look for the day. She had decided her task for the weekend would be to act as his stylist when he mentioned the need for a haircut.

"Rie, leave him alone, and let him play!" Abel ordered. Davey was trying to play the video game with his sister buzzing around his head.

"Be quiet, Bud! This is working," she stepped back to admire her work. "Mr. Nic is going to love it!" Averie declared.

"Thanks Rie, I'm sure I'll love it too, as soon as I see it." Davey hoped it was better than her attempt to straighten his hair with a flat iron.

"You're welcome," she wrinkled her nose, "maybe I could work on Mr. Justice's look."

Before he was able to answer, the doorbell rang, making the trio jump. Who could have gotten past the gates?

Davey gave the children a reassuring smile. "Hold on for a minute." He adjusted his glasses, and looked at the screen by the door; he didn't recognize the dark haired man.

"Yes, who is it." He called out.

"This is Jeremy Mylonas, and I was hoping to have a word with you."

Davey threw the door open, worried something had happened to Nicolao.

"Is Nic alright?" He barked.

"Whoa," Jeremy raised his hand, "yes, when I left the office Nicolao and Miss Saint James were fine."

Davey waited, he didn't want to know the reason Jeremy was there. The man was handsome. Of course he couldn't hold a candle to Nic, but there was no denying he was good looking.

"I came to have a word with you." Jeremy stepped forward, but Davey didn't move to let him in.

They kids had been teaching him the finer points of having sleepovers, point one everyone had to sleep, eat, and socialize in one room. The second point was no cleaning until the sleepover was officially over. He had enjoyed himself so much he could not regret it, but facing the man who he knew would be taking Nicolao from him, he wished he had on clothes; and he could have cleaned a bit. Davey wasn't going to let Mylonas near the kids. They were fully clothed, but he didn't know the man. No, he wasn't going to even see Breezy's kids.

"I'll come outside."

Davey closed the door, and emerged seconds later with Nic's jacket and slippers on, covering his pajama bottoms and t-shirt. Jeremy evaluated his competition. David's styled hair was loose, ash blond curls; tendrils clung to his ears and the nape of his neck, outlining a face of startling pulchritude.

He was a looker, if that type suites you, Jeremy thought. He also appeared to be savvy; Jeremy admired how he would not let him enter his territory, and covered himself with Evangelista's jacket.

"Has Nicolao mentioned me to you?"

Davey rested his hip against the railing.

"Yeah, he said you were why he moved here. In a way I should thank you." Davey's voice was low, reserved.

Jeremy was almost put off-balance by his directness.

"Evangelista is one of my few friends, he means a great deal to me."

"He means a great deal to me too, but you want him back, and not as just your friend." Davey had tucked Jeremy away in the back of his mind when Nic told him about him. He knew someone worthy was there for Nic, and now he was meeting him.

"That's true, very true, but he doesn't feel the same way about me, now that he has you to take care of." Hazel eyes bore into blue. "I had to see you. I wanted to know why Nicolao won't even try to work on our relationship."

Davey's breath caught in his throat, Jeremy was like August. He wouldn't be a burden to Nicolao, they would be equals. "He loves me."

Jeremy shrugged, in spite of the stirring in his chest, "You work fast Dee. But tell me, how many people love things that are not good for them?"

"It's Nicolao's decision not yours." Annoyance flared when Jeremy called him what only Nic did. He wasn't ready to let Nic go, not yet.

Jeremy was shocked David hadn't denied he wasn't good for Nicolao. "But sometimes, if you love someone you have to be strong enough to do the right thing for them, to face the pain of losing them if it is best. Not that I can't see what he sees in you, you obviously get by on your looks."

Davey straightened, "Are you willing to give up on Nic? You did before, what makes you so sure you're the best for him now?"

Jeremy wasn't ready to comment on his past failings, and voiced no answer.

Davey grabbed the doorknob, but waited for an answer. "Just what I thought, you still aren't who Nic needs, yet." Davey called over his shoulder and went inside.

Jeremy was left to ponder what he meant by yet. He hadn't meant to come to Nicolao's home. But he saw how determined Nicolao was to be done with their project and he couldn't stop himself. Jeremy returned to the office and made a call. The visit yielded nothing, except he liked the student. Davey almost had him convinced he was what Nicolao proclaimed, almost. Jeremy called a number he seldom used; he would find out if he had lost Nicolao to the better man.

Davey returned to find the children cleaning up their weekend disarray. After hanging Nic's jacket he joined them, and they silently restored order to the house. He was grateful to them for their intuitive silence. When they were done they sat on the couch, and put in a movie. Averie and Abel settled in on either side of him. They felt like pieces of his life now, not just Nicolao's. They were the brother, and sister he could have had, if life weren't cruel, it always returned to cruel. Jeremy's coming here was proof; he had come, announcing it was over, his sweet respite.

Breezy picked up the children, and dropped Nicolao off. Davey had never seen him look so haggard. His eyes had dark circles under them, and his clothes were a disheveled mess.

Davey tried to feed him, but he declined opting for a shower.

Between stretching and yawning, Nic told him he was satisfied with their progress, and felt they could leave in the middle of the week. Davey decided not to mention Jeremy's visit. He seemed so tired, why upset him?

Nicolao dragged Davey to the bathroom with him, smiling as he removed his clothes.

"Nic you look like you're about to fall over."

"Stay, if only to catch me."

Nicolao turned the water on in the shower, and pulled Davey to him. David returned the embrace, but Nic didn't move. He held him flush against him. Nic's chest would expand as he took great breaths, inhaling David's scent.

"God I love you." He declared as they stepped apart. "Very dapper hairdo, Averie's handiwork I assume, she's got talent."

"She said you'd think so." Davey said as the stepped in the shower.

He scrubbed himself as Nic washed his hair. Davey wasn't tall enough to reach, but when Nic was done Davey cleaned him, memorizing every inch of skin as his hand glided over it. He would remember Nic by sight, touch, and taste until the end of his days.

Nicolao crawled into bed, his body weary. He ached from trying to rest his large body on Jeremy's couch. David settled over him and drew him into a drugging kiss, his tongue worked in unadulterated carnality. David severed the contact, the kiss left him dizzy, and shaken.

"Nic, I..." His voice left him. He couldn't say any of the things he wanted. Davey's eyes pleaded silently for him to understand, to know, he wanted to tell him, but couldn't.

A smile lifted the edges of Nicolao mouth. "I know Dee, I love you too. And I will keep saying it until every part of you believes it. When that happens, and you trust me completely, you will be able to say anything."

Davey's face contorted. He told Jeremy he was not what Nic needed, yet he couldn't even tell him the truth. The simplest truth he knew. Proof he wasn't who Nicolao needed either.

Nicolao saw Davey's pained expression, and was seized by paroxysms of emotion. He rolled pinning his slight frame beneath him. He nuzzled Davey's neck, inhaling the scent that was his David.

"I missed the smell of you," Nic's voice was a low rumble, the sound made Davey's skin come alive with creeping sensation, as the vibrations travelled through him.

Their trapped, engorged shafts wept tears of desire that formed a puddle between their bodies. Nicolao ground his hip into Davey's, rubbing their slick members together. Skin slithered on skin, moistened with their own issue, pressing deliciously closer, exacting moans from them both.

"I missed your eyes, and how they say everything you think." Nicolao continued, his hands on either side of David's head, holding his gaze.

He began to undulate against Davey in earnest. Their rutting bodies moving against one another, developed into two parts of an animated mechanism, driven by the promise of their unfettered release.

"For two days I missed the feel of your skin, so responsive." Nicolao's brows drew together; he wasn't going to last long. Their pre-come lubricated the lair between their stomachs, and the heated friction was fast pulling him over the brink. "The taste of your mouth is divine."

"The sound of your voice makes me hard, especially when you moan like that... so sexy. You give me so much, you don't know how much," Nicolao paused, the built pressure was about to break. "I'm coming love!"

Nic's hips slammed into David's as cream ribbons erupted from his cock. He did not want to break eye-contact with Davey, but as pleasure enveloped him he threw his head back. The sinewy cords of his neck were on display, as he groaned his satisfaction.

Davey was lost in Nicolao; his eyes held his, his word low and sensuous, his touch hard and heated. Nic's erupting tremor covered him in sticky cream, and then, without him knowing, his own release was there. He began to quiver, and shoot, making desperate sounds in his throat, unable to form words.