“Kaine! Damnit, what the hell are you doing?” Graeson growled at the man currently standing in the middle of their patio, glaring at him. Graeson knew that Kaine had a lot of nervous energy, but he needed to take it easy, which is why he had suggested everyone come down to their home this weekend for a belated celebration and to lessen Kaine’s restlessness.
“I’m getting things set up before everyone gets here. Why? What does it look like I’m doing?” Kaine answered with feigned calm. Graeson cocked an eyebrow at Kaine’s snarky response.
It had been nearly two weeks since Kaine was released from the hospital and he was slowly going insane. Although his wound had not been life threatening, he’d had a pretty bad concussion and still needed to take it easy. Graeson had been tiptoeing around him as if he were made of glass. He also hadn’t so much as touched Kaine’s naked skin since he’d been home, the big ol’ jerk.
“Moving furniture? Are you seriously trying to piss me off? The doctor said to rest. This is not resting.” Graeson motioned to the disheveled furnishings strewn around the patio. If he’d have thought for one minute, that Kaine would do something as ass-backwards as move furniture….
“I wanted to make sure there would be enough seating if we decided to eat out here. I’m good, I have this,” Kaine said through clenched teeth as he roughly shoved a chair off the patio and onto the grass. He was so sick of being coddled! The injury had ended up not being very serious at all. He’d been knocked unconscious when his head hit the cart. The bullet had gone through his shoulder. Kaine was actually a little bit embarrassed. He’d fallen and bumped his head, for god’s sake! And on top of that – he had not been touched in almost three goddamned weeks… Auuugh!
“What’s going on sweetie? You’ve been a pain in the ass since we got home.” Graeson softened his voice so that this didn’t turn into another one of their famous battles… as this one couldn’t end the way they usually did, at least not while Kaine was still recovering. Graeson couldn’t pin down what was making Kaine so impossible. The argument they’d had yesterday over not having another bottle of Kaine’s preferred brand of soap was just about the most ridiculous conversation he could ever remember having. “Talk to me, sweetie. I thought we had a no secrets thing going on?” Graeson tried to gently pull the scowling man into his arms, but that only made him growl louder and push Grae away.
“What the fuck, Kaine! Tell me what the problem is, goddamnit!” Graeson took a deep breath. Shit. He did not want to fight. Kaine was hurt and he didn’t want to make things worse.
Kaine returned the furnishings to the exact same configuration they’d originally been in and turned on Graeson. “Everyone will be here soon. I guess I’d better go rest my delicate head for bit… wouldn’t want to pass out or anything.” With that, he left Graeson standing on the patio, mouth hanging open in disbelief. What the hell?
Honey nudged himself closer to Kaine, whispering to his best friend, “What’s going on, love? Graeson is worried about you.”
Kaine tried to gather his thoughts as he stared out into the beautiful sunset.
Graeson flipped the final burgers, listening with amusement to Shaw and his younger brother debate the merits of getting a real job versus playing video games all day. The normally levelheaded Shaw couldn’t see that Bruck was just as successful as anyone here; he just didn’t flaunt it. Funny how love blinds you to… oh, shit… No! He’d done it again. Graeson frowned and groaned silently as he glanced at a somewhat subdued Kaine. Fuck me sideways!
No wonder his man was being such a prick lately! Graeson had been so intent on taking care of Kaine that he’d been making sure there was no funny business between them. He wanted Kaine to recover fully, so he’d only held him or showered him with light kisses, watching as the man grew surlier with each passing day. Graeson smiled to himself. God, he could be an idiot sometimes! His baby was in need of some lovin’.
Graeson’s cock immediately pressed against the buttons of his jeans. Just the thought of fucking his man tonight almost had him coming. “Shit!” Graeson yelped loudly as the flames licked up from the pit when he turned the last of the chicken breasts. Damnit, he couldn’t concentrate now that he knew how his night would end – with him buried balls deep in the sexy, tight ass of his partner. Shit, whose idea was it to have all these people here, and more importantly… how soon could he get rid of them?
Kaine turned to Honey and looked into eyes that always reminded him that Honey was a lion, not the kitten he portrayed to the world. He also knew that he could tell Honey the truth.
“I’m having doubts that Graeson will ever see me as anything but the weak, poor kid he fell in love with in college. No matter what I do, he thinks he has to take care of me. I just want him to stop treating me like I’ll fucking break if he so much as raises his voice.” Kaine looked over at the object of his frustration; about to about to be engulfed in the flames he kept insisting he had under control.
“Babe, you need to talk to him. Explain how you’re—”
“I’ve tried! I’ve tried everything!” Kaine knew he was losing it again and lowered his voice at Honey’s raised eyebrow.
“Do you know he hasn’t touched me since the night before the benefit? Three freaking weeks! Three! I practically walk around naked, and you know what he does? He runs up the stairs to get blankets, wrapping me up like a darn sausage saying, ‘Oh, sweetie, gotta keep ya warm, don’t want ya catchin’ cold’.” Kaine imitated, quite poorly, Graeson’s slow drawl.
His utter annoyance at his situation gathering steam, Kaine continued, “Yesterday, I got into the shower and I yelled for him while I was in there that I was out of my soap, thinking he wouldn’t be able to resist me all wet, naked, and ready, and he’d slam me against the tile and fuck my brains out… but what does he do?”
Honey tried his best to keep the smile from showing as his dearest friend in the world carried on about his man loving him too much. You couldn’t know Kaine for long and not know that the man only used a specific soap and a specific moisturizer… and he had to have both. Ever since they were able to afford it, Kaine had used the same products. Even now, when they could afford to fill swimming pools with top-of-the-line products, Kaine insisted on his old favorites. Honey knew it was because they’d sometimes had to go without the luxury of soap completely.
Kaine was still ranting, “…he calmly apologizes while I yell and carry on, stroking my dick, thinking he’ll get so turned on he can’t resist me – I mean, I can see the lust, he’s flippin’ leaking in his shorts, and then all of a sudden he turns and runs out of the house!”
Kaine huffed in disgust and drained his beer as he sat back shaking his head. “The man was gone for hours before he came back with two cases of Dove and a case of Nivea! What the fuck?” Honey couldn’t hold it in any longer, he finally dissolved into laughter and collapsed over Kaine’s lap. “You’re laughing at me?” Kaine stared down at his friend incredulously.
“Oh, god, that is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.” Honey wiped the tears and tried to get himself together. “Babe, seriously, you have to know Graeson loves you, he respects you. He’s… he’s just afraid. Hell, we all were. When we heard those shots and saw you down, we thought we’d lost you.” Even with that sobering thought, Honey still could not maintain a straight face and collapsed again into peals of laughter.
“Did he really run out while you were standing there with your dick in your hand?” Kaine playfully shoved Honey back into his own chair and got up to go get another beer.
“So much for sharing my emotions,” he mumbled, and even more laughter sounded at his back. Kaine decided he needed a breather and set off for the kitchen. Of course, he knew why Graeson was being so careful… but knowing made it no easier to accept. Hell, at a minimum – he was horny as fuck! At worst, he felt Graeson still didn’t consider him his equal. Kaine walked up the path towards the kitchen, Honey’s laughter still floating on the evening breeze. He fought the smile, determined to remain righteously ticked off. Okay, maybe it was a little funny.
Oh no, we can’t have this! Graeson had watched all day as Kaine kept a smile plastered on his face. Off and on, he’d seen real joy in the man’s eyes, but mostly Graeson knew Kaine was not himself. Now that he understood why, he would make it up to him… again. Graeson had thought hearing Honey’s bright laughter as he sat talking to Kaine would improve his mood, but Kaine seemed to become even surlier.
“Graeson, everything was wonderful… though you grilled enough for an army.” Graeson’s attention was pulled away from Kaine’s retreating back by Justin.
“Don’t eat too much.” Graeson smiled at Justin. “Save room for dessert, we have berries and fresh whipped cream and—”
Justin cut Graeson off with a smirk. “Let me
guess – chocolate trifle?”
At Graeson’s surprised expression, Justin continued, “You know,
Graeson, you’re an exceptional man. After I’d worked with you a
couple of times, I had hoped to get to know you on a more personal
level.” Justin looked towards the back of the house where Kaine had
disappeared.
“Justin—,” Graeson began uncomfortably, before he was interrupted by Justin again.
“No, no… don’t worry.” Justin chuckled, letting Graeson know there were no hard feelings. “I know where your heart lies, anyone can see how much Kaine means to you, how much you mean to each other.
“I was just remembering the first time we had dinner out here. Man, I thought you were good looking then and had hoped to make my play for you when I came down that weekend. That is, until you and Kaine went in to grab the dessert – the chocolate trifle – and came out an hour later looking like you just had a marathon sex session! You two looked darned hot together. I dreamt for weeks about your swollen lips and mussed hair. And the lust in your eyes? Wow!” Justin laughed out loud as Graeson’s eyebrows shot up and he blushed hotly, as much from embarrassment as the memory of being reintroduced to Kaine’s cock for the first time in ten years.
“Oh my god, you knew? Did everyone…?” Graeson was mortified. Justin hadn’t known him other than professionally; he’d have been shocked at Graeson’s behavior.
Justin bumped Graeson’s shoulder with his own. “Oh, come on, surely you’re not embarrassed? I mean, I could only hope to find that kind of passion one day. The heat between you two was… something. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Really. I overheard Shaw’s brother whining about something sweet and I saw Kaine head towards the kitchen and well, it brought back the very vivid memory of the two you that evening.” Justin pulled him in for a hug. “I’m really happy for you Graeson. You’re a very special man and I’m so happy you found Kaine.”
“Thank you, Justin. It means a lot to me that we can be friends. And don’t worry, you’ll definitely find someone who means just as much to you as Kaine does to me.” Graeson gave Justin a quick, chaste squeeze before releasing him.
“I think I need to check on dessert.” And with a wink to his friend, Graeson hung up his spatula for the evening, untied his apron, tossed it to the over a chair and strode off to get a different kind of fire going.