Heaven On Earth Ch. 04

“Ok, but Erica, if you knew this, why didn’t you tell me when I had that meltdown in your apartment?”

“It wasn’t my place to tell you. That was Bri’s business. I figured that things would work out the way they were supposed to anyway.”

Brian slanted his brow. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that it was only a matter of time before the two of you realized your mutual attraction.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that. The urge to reach over and take Brian into my arms suddenly hit me. Dealing with the conflicting emotions of everything from telling him to take it slowly to wanting him to touch me all in one day, hell, half a day’s time was maddening. It was the good kind of maddening, it made me want him more. But how was I supposed to tell him that when I told him that very morning that kissing me on the lips was too fast?

“Shit!” Brian said, “it’s after 6! I’ve got to go finish up my work. I’ll talk to you two later ok?” He hugged Erica and gave me a quick kiss on my scarred cheek. I must have been glowing when he left because Erica didn’t stop teasing me about it for fifteen minutes.

***

Maria phoned again that evening. We had a long talk about what I was going through and how things got started with Brian. She said that she was happy that Jane and I had stopped dating. She cared about both of us, and she knew that the two of us staying together was gradually making us more and more miserable. I told her how I asked Brian to take things slowly and she called me an idiot. She said, “You better hook him as fast as you can before someone else does.” The conversation faded into talking about my work at the community center and how Mark and the kids were doing. At the end, she told me how much she loved me and hoped that I would be happy. It truly was incredible to have a sister like her.

When I got off the phone with her, it was nearly 9 o’clock, and I still didn’t know what I was going to do for dinner. It was beginning to look like a microwave night. And microwave night usually meant ordering a pizza that I could put into the microwave the next morning for breakfast. I was about to dial, but the phone rang as I was picking it up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Evan, it’s Brian. How are you?”

I smiled at the call. “Fine, babe, how are you?”

“Listen, have you eaten yet?”

“No, I was about to order out.”

“Erica was making a lot of food and she was wondering if we wanted to help her eat it. That is, if you’re not sick of me by now.”

“Well I suppose I could put up with you for one more meal. The two of you are lifesavers.”

“Great, how about I pick you up in ten minutes?”

“I can walk downstairs myself you know,” I said with a laugh.

“I know. I’m just making excuses to be around you longer than necessary.”

“As long as there’s a good reason.”

“Alright, I’ll be there in a few. Bye.”

“Ok, bye.”

I went to the bedroom to change clothes. Not that there was anything wrong with what I was wearing, but I had been cleaning and wearing them all day. Right as I finished, there was a knock on the door. I shouted ‘Come in’ as I slipped on my sandals and walked into the living room.

“Hey babe, I’m ready to go. So what did Eri—”

It wasn’t Brian.

“Jane? What are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t call. I didn’t finish up until late tonight, so I haven’t had a chance to eat dinner. I was wondering if you wanted to go get something.”

“Well, actually—”

Brian entered the room and I stopped talking. He looked at me and Jane and had a bit of a puzzled look on his face, but he quickly cleared it away.

“Er, hi, Jane.”

“Hi, Brian.”

“Evan and I were just headed to Erica’s for dinner. Did you want to join us?” What was Brian doing?

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Nonsense,” Brian said. “I’m sure Erica has enough food. She’s always making more than she can eat, and that’s saying a lot considering the amount of food that girl can pack away.”

“Um, ok. That sounds fine.”

“Evan, are you ready?” Brian asked.

They both started for the door and I followed, but it occurred to me that I hadn’t mentioned anything to Jane about Brian.

“Wait, Jane. There’s something I need to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Well, um, it’s that Brian and I are seeing each other now.”

She stared me in the face for a moment, her amber eyes burning into mine. “Good,” she said. “It’s about time. Let’s eat.”

She walked past Brian and out the door. He stood by the door and waited for me as I locked it. “Is everyone going to have that same reaction to us?” he asked. I didn’t answer, but I certainly hoped so.

If Erica was surprised to see Jane, she certainly hid it well. We talked, had a good time laughing at some of my corny jokes, and the final stages of my volunteer work. (I was going to be finishing next Friday.) Still, the meal was a litle awkward. I wouldn’t have been uncomfortable showing Brian any affection if it were only Erica, but it was different with Jane there. I didn’t touch him during the meal, I didn’t let him touch me. I think the girls picked up on that a few times. We sat down in the living room and continued talking. After Jane left, Brian and I volunteered to do the dishes since she cooked. Never one to let an opportunity slip by, Erica went off to take a bath. I didn’t understand why Brian invited Jane to dinner. We stood in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes while we washed and rinsed.

“So why did you ask Jane to come to dinner?”

“Evan, she’s your girlfriend, don’t you think it would have been rude to tell her to go away? Everyone’s gotta eat.”

“Ex-girlfriend.”

“What?”

“You called her my girlfriend. We’re not seeing each other anymore.”

“Right.”

I put down the plate I was washing. “Brian, is there a problem?”

“Well, yes, there is. It seems pretty clear to me that you’re not over Jane.” He picked up the plate I put down and continued washing.

“And how did you come to that conclusion?”

“I think it’s pretty obvious judging from the way you acted at dinner.”

“Brian, I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Well for starters, you wouldn’t let me touch you at all. You moved away every time I tried.”

“I told you that I wanted to take this slowly.”

“I wasn’t trying to grope and molest you on Erica’s couch, I just wanted to move a little closer. You also ignored half of the things I said at dinner.”

“Brian, are you jealous?”

“Don’t you think I have some reason to be?”

“Brian, she’s one of my best friends.”

“If that’s how you’re going to treat me whenever she’s around, I’d say it’s pretty clear that you aren’t comfortable being with me.”

“If I wasn’t comfortable, why would I tell Jane that we were dating? You already knew that I was uneasy about this. Are you trying to tell me that you invited her to dinner to test me?”

“In a way, yes.” He finished washing the dishes and dried his hands on a nearby towel.

“Brian, I don’t appreciate that. That’s horribly unfair.”

“Again, looking at the way you behaved, I’d say I was justified.”

“I can’t believe this. So you think I shied away from you because I want to go back to Jane?”

No answer.

“If you don’t trust me, why are we even bothering to give this a shot?”

“It’s just that your actions are different from your words.”

It was time to be bold. I stepped in and kissed him on the lips. “How’s that for action?” I asked. “Or do you need more proof that I’m serious?”

I could tell that my kiss had taken him aback. “No, no, I don’t need more proof. Although I wouldn’t object to it.”

“I told you before, it’s going to take me some time to get used to this. It’s different, and it’s harder to adjust around someone like Jane that I’ve known for so long. I know it doesn’t matter to her, but it feels strange after breaking up with her last week and being with you this week. I’m sorry and I understand if you can’t wait for me to be completely comfortable with this, but if we have a chance at a good relationship, we’re going to have to trust each other.”

He walked over and slipped his arms around my waist. “No, I’m sorry. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a relationship. The last boyfriend I had was Noah and that was two years ago. I need to learn how to trust again.”

“If you’re not at a point where you trust me to be honest with you, maybe we should reconsider this.”

“No, Evan, I don’t think we should reconsider this. It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s that I can be insecure sometimes. I do want to try with you.”

“Good. Who’s Noah?” I asked.

“He was the guy I was dating when Chris and I first moved in here. Erica was going to tell you about him when she was talking about how I met her, but I stopped her, remember?”

“Yea, I do remember that now. So what was the part of the story that you left out?”

He laughed pretty hard before continuing. “Noah was a pretty small guy, and compared to that huge football player, he was almost nothing. Anyway, Noah saw him pushing me up against the wall and he ran down the hall and tackled Erica’s boyfriend. He practically flew through the air. Then he started wildly punching him, which did absolutely nothing since Noah was about half his size. By this time, Erica managed to pull Noah off of him and explain that we weren’t having an affair.”

“It sounds like Noah really loved you if he did all that.”

“I thought so too, but he loved drugs more.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m not. I did everything I could for him, but he didn’t really want help. I finally gave him an ultimatum.” Brian began to tear up. I pulled my arms around him and held him closer.

“I know we’ve only known each other for a few weeks, but you know I really do care about you, right?” he whispered in my ear.

“I know, Bri. I feel the same way.”

He pulled out of our hug a little and looked at me. His ocean eyes were still misty. “You never called me ‘Bri’ before. Only Erica calls me that.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t know it wasn’t ok.”

“No, I liked it. Feel free to do it anytime.” I hugged him again and rested my head on his shoulder.

I felt him turn his head towards me and the feeling of his lips on my neck. A deep sigh escaped my lips and my knees almost gave in. God, how did he know what I wanted even when I told him I didn’t want it. I even tried convincing myself that I didn’t want it. But I was loving every moment of this. My hands moved over his back and he sucked on my neck harder.

“Bri,” I managed to say in a high, squeaky voice.

“What is it, baby?”

“If you’re going to do that, maybe we should get out of Erica’s kitchen.”

“Why’s that?” he said pulling back.

I pointed over his shoulder. “Because we seem to have attracted an audience.”

Erica was looking at us and her eyes were practically sparkling with happiness. “Y'all are so cute together!”

Brian blushed, “Sorry, Erica. I guess I couldn’t help myself.”

“Oh don’t stop on my account, sugah. Better for you to do it in my kitchen than on my couch or in my bedroom.”

Despite her words, we separated. I wasn’t the biggest fan of PDA and according to what Brian told me later, neither was he. Both of us decided to leave at the same time: I had work in the morning, and although I had enjoyed my day off, I had kept Brian from doing his work.

He did walk me back upstairs to my room.

“I have got to say that this is a first for me. I’m usually the one to walk a girl back to her room. No one has ever walked me back. Well, girls have come back to my room, but it was never to drop me off. They always came in with me.”

“Are you sure you want to make this a first, then?” he asked in a husky voice.

The words almost caught in my throat. “I thought you had work.”

“Fuck it.”

All of my pretenses were gone by this point. I reached for him and pulled him into a kiss. And this was not any old kiss. It was hot, passionate, lustful, and I knew by the end, I had him begging for more.

“Get in here,” I rasped.

He pushed me inside as he brought me in for another kiss and shut the door with his foot. A deep growl shook my body. Brian framed my face with his hands and invaded my mouth with his tongue. The things that man could do with his tongue were incredible. Somehow we ended up on a couch, still kissing each other madly. Brian was on top of me when I stopped him again.

“Evan?”

“Bri, do you remember how I said I wanted to take it slowly?”

“Yea, I’m sorry. This was too much, I know.” He started to stand up.

I wrapped my hand around his neck and pulled him within an inch of my face.

“Fuck it,” I whispered. I kissed him again.

Brian broke off the kiss, and I was about to protest when he put a finger to my lips and said, “Just relax.”

He kissed my forehead, eyelids, and the tip of my nose. His lips found mine again, and I claimed them fiercely. He moved on to my left cheek while he stroked the other with his fingertips. When he switched, he planted a lot of kisses on the scar my dad left. He made me feel so special. His journey continued down to my neck and he flicked his tongue across the hollow of my throat. As he sucked on my neck, one of his hands moved down to my crotch and gave it a light squeeze. Before I knew it, he was unzipping my pants. His fingers found the button of my jeans, and he fumbled with it a little before he was able to get it undone. In one motion, he dropped down to the side of the couch and pulled my jeans and shorts off together. And there I was sitting half naked in front of him. Now would probably be the time to mention that I took after my father’s side of the family in the penis department. I was big. One of my college girlfriends refused to have sex with me because she was afraid I would hurt her. I think Brian was impressed.

“Oh, God!” he whispered.

His hot mouth covered my dick before I had the chance to say anything. I gasped so loudly when he was able to take about half of my length in his mouth. That only encouraged him to increase the suction. I brought my hand up to his head and ran my fingers through his wavy dark hair. Brian used his fingers to tickle and finger my balls. Then he did something that no one had ever done. He worked my entire dick into his mouth, everything from base to tip. That did me in. All too soon, I was cumming hard in his mouth. I cried out in ecstasy from the intense pleasure. He held me inside his mouth the entire time. When my orgasm subsided, he pulled off of me and slid my boxers back up. I lifted my hips and let him pull them all the way up.

“That was incredible,” I panted. I reached for him and helped him crawl back onto the couch. His body was stretched out on top of mine with his head resting on my chest. I laid there, basking in the afterglow.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Don’t ever thank me, it was my pleasure,” he replied, his voice muffled in my chest.

Fine. He didn’t want me to thank him, but there was always reciprocation. I rolled myself out from underneath him and got on the floor. I had never done this, but I was willing to try for Brian. I reached for the fly of his pants, but he put his hand over mine to stop me.

“No,” he said.

“Why not? I want to do the same that you did for me.”

“You don’t have to, Evan. Not tonight. I wanted to do something for you.”

“But I haven’t done anything for you yet. Nothing at all.”

“You’ve done a lot,” he bent down and kissed me. “Trust me.” He checked his watch before saying, “I should actually go this time. You need rest, too.”

I stood up and helped him off of the couch. I kissed him again before he started for the door.

“Wait,” I said. “Would you stay with me tonight?”

A questioning smirk crossed his face. “Are we actually going to get any sleep?”

“I promise.”

“Lead the way, stud.”

We went back to the bathroom before bed. I gave him an extra toothbrush, and we brushed our teeth together. True, it wasn’t the sexiest thing in the world watching each other spit out globs of saliva and toothpaste, but it brought a smile out from both of us. We headed into the bedroom, and Brian began to take off his clothes.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I sleep naked,” he said.

“What other way is there?”

He stripped off his clothes while I did the same. He crawled into the king-size bed first and threw the covers back for me. We both lay on our sides facing each other. His eyes seemed to have more depth to them than ever before. I felt like I could stay there for an eternity.

“I love the color of your eyes,” I said.

“I love the way you look at me,” he said leaning over and kissing me one last time. “Goodnight.”

He rolled over and slightly curled his body. I reached to my side to turn out the lamp, and then I decided to reach for something else. I held Brian by the waist and pulled him closer to me so that his back was resting on my chest and my penis was half hard and pushing against his butt. He sighed and put his hand on top of mine, which was flat against his stomach. I kissed his shoulder and closed my eyes.

“Evan?” he asked after a few moments.

“Yea, Bri?”

“Will you teach me that song you were talking about, the one that you keep making up as you go along.”

I positioned my mouth so that it was close enough for him to clearly hear my soft humming. I ran through the melody twice, and on the third time he hummed it with me. The song still wasn’t very long so we continued until the fifth time when I heard Brian whisper, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Brian.” And I drifted away.