That Boston Boy (an Affair)

My self-discipline (and chastising) worked, and I left the apartment without further sight of him. Hadrian grumped down the stairs toward the hospital, figuring he'd take care of himself in a bathroom somewhere.

- - - - - - -

The day, despite my "lighter" schedule, had been a little challenging and a lot frustrating. I got a text from Daniel to say that he'd figured out the T and arrived safely, and then later that he was on his way back to the apartment. "Do you mind if I invite several prostitutes I met for drinks?" he tacked on at the end. "Only if they're into Desperate Housewives, I'm not missing that," I replied. It was funny how much more comfortable I was communicating with him in the electronic ways we had utilized for years. I was still kicking myself for gawking at him like a dirty old man in my apartment, and how I tried to make up for my internal feelings by being overly polite and serious. That wasn't at all how we were used to interacting. Of course, neither was face-to-face.

I walked up Mass Ave toward the apartment. Jeff had texted reminding me to take care of the garbage, and run the dishwasher, and how was I doing? I replied everything was fine and yes, will do. The cheery sign of the Parish Pub called to me, and whereas previously it would say, "Come get a beer," now it said, "Daniel Parish is waiting to taunt you with his beauty." My nerves continued to vibrate more as I entered the outside door and climbed up the stairwell.

I found him on the living room couch watching TV, leaning against the corner where the back met the arm of the couch. He rested on his left arm with his right arm up, over, and around his head, and his right leg bent, foot up on the couch. I briefly thought of the Barberini Faun, but that was too much marble. He was wearing jeans and his hoodie, with the hood up and all his hair tucked in. It was chilly.

"Oh my God, I didn't turn up the heat before I left did I?" I liked it cold at night.

"No big deal," he said, pretending to shudder, "I figured at least my frozen corpse wouldn't smell when you got home. Wouldn't want to be a terrible guest."

Hmm, this was more like it. Were we getting more comfortable? The least I could do was to try to return service.

"I would have thought your cold, bitter heart wouldn't mind the frost." For years we'd joked about my cheery disposition in comparison to Daniel's far-beyond-his-years jaded sarcasm.

"But now my Sunshine is here, and I thaw."

We agreed to get dinner after I changed out of my hospital clothes. I suggested Brasserie, a favorite place we could walk to easily. Daniel insisted he would buy, and I was glad I hadn't suggested somewhere more expensive; I wasn't rolling in cash as a resident, but I was certainly comfortable. And while I know it's important in life to be gracious when friends and loved ones give you gifts, it's hard when you know they have less for themselves than you do.

Dinner was fantastic as it usually was there, and much of the time Daniel told me animatedly about his excitement over the study-abroad program and his interviews. Near the end our server let us know she had to leave, and that another would take over for her. She looked worried but I thanked her and didn't ask. A very...colorful guy appeared, and promptly sauntered up to put both feet in his mouth:

"Aaaand would the Lady care for dessert this evening?" He came up to our table from behind Daniel, whose L'Oreal locks had clearly caused confusion.

I love a good train wreck. And I knew Daniel was far too comfortable with himself to be put off in any way, so it was no surprise when he turned to the server and said with a laugh, "She's good, thanks!"

Profuse apologies followed, which Daniel waved off graciously, but I couldn't help going with, "I've been telling her she needs a haircut," trying to put the server a little more at ease.

I should have known better than to run with the scissors that were Daniel's tongue and wit. "Only if you buy me pearls, or finally do that thing to me in bed that we've been talking about." I blanched, and then reddened, briefly considering either a retort or an explanation to the server (who was suppressing his own laugh by now); I chose silence.

With the server and myself roundly defeated, Daniel smugly took the check, paid, and we were on our way. We both laughed about the end of dinner, and I thought about how much I was enjoying his personality...in person. The agitation over my attraction to him seemed calmer. I suggested we hit the bar in my building, "It's got your name on it," and he was game.

The great part about being a regular at a bar you live above is that you can drink to your liver's content, and typically at a discount. This was a place known for its beer selection, and while Daniel preferred cocktails, we both were enjoying ourselves immensely. Daniel told me more about his interviews for the day, I talked about my cruddy day at the hospital, and as the beer got to my brain I started to flash back to that morning.

"...and can you believe Miss Thing led with, 'Would the lady like dessert?'" He had the crooked smile on, and I realized I had been staring at him instead of listening.

The beer made the words flow. "Well, if you weren't so fucking beautiful...." It felt like the whole bar stopped talking, though I'm sure no one but Daniel heard my comment. His eyes were wide, and I blushed. I'd flirted with him online plenty, but in person was really different. There was an earnestness in my voice when I said what I did, and he could see it on my face. There was no turning my comment into sarcasm. "I... uh..."

Crooked-er smile, eyebrow arched. "Really, now?"

"I'm sorry. I just meant-"

"Well I hope you meant what you said, and not that I look like a girl."

Nothing for it now. "No, I was... being honest. You are. Sorry."

"Sorry? For making me feel special for a moment? More than I've been getting lately from the boyfriend."

I realized just then that Daniel hadn't mentioned Joey all night. We didn't often talk about him, but it was strange that he hadn't come up at all. "You...ok?"

"Guess we'll see. It's 'controversial' that I'm even here right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know how excited I would be to study in England. Joey thinks it would be the end of our relationship. In fact, he told me he's not sure he would want to wait around if I went."

I felt horrible. I knew how much Daniel cared for him. "What did you say to that?"

"I came to Boston." He raised his coupe glass, and clinked my beer mug. "Speaking of, I should probably turn in soon. Wouldn't be good to be hung over at tomorrow's interviews."

"Right, of course." I caught Cate's eye behind the bar and with subtle facial expression indicated we were ready. She brought me the check with her usual heart drawn on it, and half the drinks missing. I paid with my card and left her half of the receipt in cash, and we walked around the corner to the apartment front door. How I loved this bar.

As we walked up the stairs to the apartment, it became clear that Daniel had had the heavier drinks that night. His dorky-graceful movements were decidedly closer to the dorky end of the spectrum, and a little slower. We both got ready for bed, and when I thought I heard him finish in the bathroom, I headed there. The alcohol likely contributed to a serious miscalculation that found us smashed into each other. I still had my jeans and undershirt on, but Daniel was in his white t-shirt and what I could now confirm were red boxer briefs.

I caught hold of him to keep him from falling backwards, and his limbs just...tangled into mine. Neither moved for a second. My arm was around his slender waist and my face was buried in his neck and hair, which smelled like...boy. This boy.

It was a crime of passion: I kissed his neck. Not just a kiss — but a full, latching-on, open-mouthed taste of his flesh. If I had been a vampire, there would be twin puncture marks left. We both jumped back. I was horrified at what I'd just done, and he... was at least wide-eyed.

"I'm...SO sorry I...." I looked at the floor, then back up at him. He was smiling now.

"I'll let it pass this time," he said, walking past me and into his bedroom, and raking my belly with his nails. I watched him pull back the covers and slip into them, gracefully now, and lying on his back with his arms on his chest. "Especially since I threw myself at you this morning."

"Wait, what?"

"The hug. When I first arrived."

Recovering, feeling less disarmed and falling back into our more usual pattern, I countered, "Typically one throws oneself at someone from the front..."

"Yeah, well I'm awkward that way."

My mind was swimming in beer a little. Daniel was always so deeply self-deprecating. "I don't really think you're awkward. I meant what I said at the bar."

He turned over to face my direction, brought up his arms and laid his cheek on his hands, curling his body slightly. He bit his lip for a second. "That's nice of you to say. Goodnight, sweet prince."

"Flights of angels," I said as I fluttered my fingers and turned toward my room. It wasn't often I could match Daniel's Shakespeare references, but he threw me an easy one. I climbed into my bed and lay awake for a while. The image of Daniel holding his hair back, his beautiful torso impossibly extended, was all I could see when I closed my eyes.

- - - - - - -

Thursday morning, I was up early as usual, and decided to make some pour-over coffee for my houseguest. I was dressed and ready for work when Daniel roused and found me in the kitchen. He had on his hoodie and some flannel PJ bottoms. I handed him a mug of coffee.

"Bless you, my child." He opened the fridge to get the milk.

"So, I was able to get an extra ticket for this concert tonight. The seats are worse than my original ticket, but I figured you'd enjoy — Bach Magnificat," I offered.

"That sounds like a nice way to take my mind off today's interviews."

I double-checked that he was set for the day, and left to the hospital. Work was fine, and I was able to finish up quite a bit earlier than the previous day. Daniel texted that he was going to be just a little later, so I stopped at Parish for a beer.

"Rough day?" Cate winked at me. She handed me what she knew I always requested first, the newest seasonal draught.

"Short day. I didn't really earn this."

She blew me a kiss, "You always do, lovey."

I finished the beer and decided it was time to head up. Cate rolled her eyes when I asked for the check. Have I mentioned how deeply I loved that bar?

I'd forgotten to turn up the heat again before leaving, and was glad Daniel wasn't coming back to a cold apartment. I had taken off all my work clothes except underwear and, walking by the spare bedroom on my way to the bathroom, saw a small pile of Daniel's clothing on his suitcase. The scent of his D&G-something cologne put its fingers up my nostrils like a cartoon, pulling me by the nose into the room.

I picked up the white t-shirt he had been wearing. It was so soft, and smelled of cologne and Daniel, but mostly Daniel. The red boxer briefs were there also. I was trembling slightly. I wanted to bury my face in them but somehow, I couldn't bring myself to. I was really feeling how deeply attracted I was to him, and it was as if — I didn't want that to be the way I discovered his musk. I'd rather not know than be tempted by a shadow of the real thing. Finally, there were his red and gray Adidas trainers. I put my hand in one, thrilled that his foot had been there. By now I was throbbing, and trembling more, and my own boxer briefs were strained taut.

Beer on an empty stomach often gave me permission, and I was too turned on not to take some advantage of the situation. I whipped off my t-shirt and replaced it with Daniel's. It was tighter on me than on his slender body, and it hugged my shoulders. I rubbed my chest through it as if in a trance, then lifted my arms up and over my head, turning my face to smell, and then lick the right armpit. My left hand trailed down and found my cock, starting to work it.

"Whoa."

My eyes and mouth shot open. There stood Daniel. His shoulder bag hit the floor, mouth agape.

We'd gotten in the habit in this apartment of not locking the front door; the outer stairwell was security-locked to the outside, and often our upstairs neighbors would visit. They'd knock first of course, but there was of course no reason for Daniel to. Except that I gave him one.

"Hi." It was all I could manage. I put my arms down with resignation. "I got nothin."

Daniel had taken off his suit coat and started to walk toward me. "What are you doing?... It's..." he reached down and grabbed the hem of his t-shirt, taking it up over my head and off, "...just dirty..." he tossed the t-shirt to the floor, "...and..."

I felt like I was on the edge of a cliff.

"...fucking the sexiest thing I've seen in a long time." He pushed me over the edge. I fell back on the bed and suddenly he was kneeling, straddling me, holding my biceps down, his tie draped over my bare chest, hair cascading all around my face. He was kissing me so purposefully, so firmly but tenderly, it felt like years of our built-up flirtation and frustration rushing out through his lips into mine. His tongue slipped into my mouth and I moaned.

Daniel came up for air, and with his left hand pulled his hair back behind his head, starting to wrench his tie off with the right. He was breathing heavily, and I don't think my facial expression had changed since he said "Whoa."

Things happened so fast. I grabbed his belt buckle and undid it. He kicked off his shoes, which fell by the side of the bed, while he was already halfway down the buttons of his shirt. I finished the belt and had his pants open, revealing gold sheer boxer briefs. His shirt and t-shirt off, he rolled off me and lay on his back, pulling off his pants. I looked over and saw his beautiful, fair, hairless torso heaving.

I started to speak. "I-"

"Shh!" he interrupted. He was on top of me again, his bare chest pressed into mine, hair all around my face, kissing me like before, enveloping me in his sweet, boyish scent. I wrapped my arm around the small of his back, and then my hand found his ass, perfectly round, taut, and warm through the boxer briefs. He responded by starting to grind into me, and his rigid cock dug in next to mine and plowed along its length.

I put my hand on his flank and pushed him gently off of me to the bed, onto his back. He lay gracefully, his arms bent and hands over his head, hair tumbling around him. I knelt between his legs, bent and pushed his knees up toward him and apart. Taking his long, smooth torso in my hands, I laid the weight of my hips into him, rubbing my throbbing erection along the crack in his ass, the sheerness of our underwear providing lubrication. He gasped and laid his arms along mine, caressing my biceps.

I leaned down, kissed him deeply, and then came up. Grabbing the back of the waistband of his briefs with one hand and the front with the other, I pulled them gently under his perfect ass, over his hardness, up along his legs, and off. I looked down at his penis. Of course it looked like the rest of his body: smooth, proportional, flushed pink at the end. The amber hair that surrounded it was neatly trimmed.

Now this was the way to bury myself in his scent. With one hand I grabbed behind his knee firmly, pulling up his leg and lifting his hips up off the bed toward me; he complied sweetly. My tongue curled just shy of his hole and into the mound of flesh above it, pressing hard, and licking up, between his balls, and along the length of his shaft. His soft cries of pleasure were more than I expected to hear. He grabbed the back of my head. "Fuck!"

The soft scent of pure Daniel filled my entire head, nose, mouth, eyes. It was warm, wet, musky, sharp. I paused, just breathing it in, and felt pressure from his hand on my head.

Needing no further prompting, I took his beautiful cock into my mouth. His salty precum was followed by more of his scent, as his shaft slid deeper into me. There was no way I was stopping, and didn't, until it was down my throat and my nose was buried in amber hair, breathing deeply. He ran his hands through my hair while I sucked on him.

There were short cries of ecstasy coming from him now. I uncoupled myself and looked up across his torso. He was looking down at me.

"Please...let me do that...to you?"

Yes. I lay back along the opposite end of the bed, and Daniel knelt between my legs. He similarly removed my underwear, pushed his hair to the side with one hand and moved in to take my entire scrotum in his mouth. I heard and felt him breathe deeply, cold air rushing past my crotch and carrying my scent into him. He moaned with pleasure, licking along either side of my balls and coming up to clamp his teeth gently around the base of my throbbing cock. I let out a short sound of protest.

He looked up at me and laughed. I laughed too. But then he looked down and his hair covered his next move from sight. I felt the tip of my penis surrounded by his soft lips, that then moved down my shaft. I felt his tongue, the roof of his mouth, the back of his throat, and his throat itself, warm and wet around me. He paused like I had, just breathing, with me as deep inside him as I could go.

We took the most obvious course of action, having demonstrated our ability to control our gags. Without a word, we moved to lie opposite each other, on our sides, each kissing and licking the other's scrotum, burying our noses in each others' scent. Shifting slightly against one another, we took each others' cocks into our mouths simultaneously, sliding all the way in. Slowly, gently, we began to fuck each others' throats.

I wet my middle finger in my own saliva from under his balls. Sliding it along his crack, I settled over his hole, pinpointing it. He was already mirroring my actions. I pressed inward slightly allowing the muscles to relax and accept my fingertip.

We were pushing into each other faster now, and with the added stimulation of gently fingering each other, I at least was getting really close. I pulled back a little out of his throat, and he tightened his lips and put his tongue to work. He tried to do the same to me but I grabbed his ass with my other hand and kept him deep inside me.

We finished at nearly the same time. I felt my load repeatedly pump into his mouth, and his shoot down my throat with deep pulses. We throbbed for a few seconds longer still inside each other, loath to move, and then both released. I sat up, swallowing what was left of Daniel inside me. He looked at me from behind his now-wild hair. I leaned forward, pushing his hair aside from his face, intending to kiss him; he threw his arms around me, kissing me first. Our tongues mixed what was left of our cum, and our scents, together.

We held each other for a moment, catching our breaths, and he laughed, pulling away.

"It's a good thing I didn't find you wearing my underwear, too!"

I laughed loudly, glad he answered the question of what the hell do you say when you've finally gotten something you've desperately wanted, but never believed you'd have?

As I turned to get up from the bed he slapped my ass, hard. "Don't do it again, or..."

"...or I'll have to buy you dinner and a night at the theaatre. Oh wait, I am. C'mon, we're gonna be late."

It was all I could do to return to our usual banter, because the million thoughts screaming around in my brain demanded attention I didn't have.

Dinner at Metropolitan was followed by the concert at Symphony Hall. The tickets I had traded my original for were unique if not the best acoustically, perched almost directly over the left stage. Daniel loved the seats, and when I tried to apologize for a less-than-ideal view of the performance, he shushed me with his finger over my lips. It took me aback slightly, a semi-intimate gesture from him in public. I immediately stopped my mind from trying to feel this was a date. But watching him watch the performance, eyes reflecting the stage lights as he occasionally put his hair behind an ear, made my heart beat heavily. Dammit.