A/N: This story is a mini-sequel(along with Bah Humbug) to a story called In the Garden of Eden, which is for sale on my other website. To purchase the original story of Jeremy and Travis, click here: In the Garden of Eden
Chapters 1 2 3
In the Garden of Eden Redux
Chapter 1
Jeremy Adams was a happy man. You couldn’t actually tell that about him, of course; his face had the pinched expression on it of someone suffering from an intestinal disorder. And he scowled at everyone and everything indiscriminately, as though the whole world were to blame for the bad time he was having in his life. He snapped at all of the students who came into the campus library where he worked every day, cutting them to pieces with his scathing wit and razor-sharp tongue. His attitude and demeanor were just the same as they had been a year ago – so looking at him, you wouldn’t imagine for one moment that his life had changed drastically in only one short year.
The reason for this change stood about six-and-a-half feet tall, wore a long black duster and grey eye shadow, and had long mid-brown hair (the black dye had finally worn off) that he wore in a ponytail. A lazy smile often graced a pair of rather sensual lips, and lidded black eyes looked placidly out at the world. This Eighth Wonder of the World (the man who’d actually – somewhat – tamed Jeremy Adams) was called Travis Burke, and was an art student from Wisconsin. He’d doggedly pursued the librarian until Jeremy had given in and they’d become lovers. They shared a dorm room together now, and they were briskly coming up on their one-year anniversary.
Jeremy was really looking forward to celebrating a milestone that he would never have imagined that he’d ever reach – dating someone for an entire year. His happiness could be seen in the black scowl he was directing at a student who was being too loud nearby, and in the way his eyes were narrowed and full of annoyance. The fingers of one of his hands were drumming on the counter as he contemplated righteous retribution against the douche bag currently talking very loudly about some stupid band that he’d just seen in concert. But his glower was diverted when a familiar laughing voice spoke nearby: “Jer! Five more days to go, right?”
A pretty girl came bouncing up to the counter and grinned at him triumphantly. “I cannot believe that you’ve been with Travis for almost a year!” she crowed. “It’s a miracle, come down from God!” She waved her fingers in front of her as he eyed her jaundicedly.
“It’s not a miracle,” he replied sardonically. “It’s more like a freak accident, like a lightning storm setting a firehouse ablaze.”
Jessa giggled, her eyes crinkling up at the corners. “Okay,” she said merrily. “Whatever it is, it’s still fabulous. Congratumalations to both of you.”
“Thank you,” he said dryly. “I’m anticipating candlelight dinners, luxurious bubble baths, and lots of cuddling.”
Jessa folded her arms on the countertop. “That sounds romantic,” she agreed. “And I’ll warn you that you might actually get something like that, since Travis is WAY more romantic than you. I hope your cynical misanthropy can stand that.”
He snorted. “I think I’ll survive. I survived Wisconsin, didn’t I?”
She laughed, remembering his description of the visit he’d paid to his boyfriend’s family last Christmas. How nice they all were, and how creeped out he’d been initially by all of the cocoa drinking, carol singing, and It’s a Wonderful Life watching. But they’d sort of grown on him, and apparently Travis’s whole family liked Jeremy a good deal. Which was, as he’d said, the freakiest thing ever…
“True,” she agreed. “If you could survive the Cleavers, you can handle a little lovey-doveyness on your anniversary. Anyway, Jer, I just came by to drop off these books and ask you what you’re getting Travis for your anniversary.”
He gave her a blank look. “What do you mean?”
Her brows shot up. “I MEAN…a gift,” she said with exaggerated patience. “An anniversary gift? Hello?”
Jeremy looked rather taken aback. She read his expression accurately, and her lips twitched. “You didn’t get Travis anything, did you?” she said in amusement.
He glared at her. “Hell, no! How the fuck was I supposed to know that you get your boyfriend something on your anniversary? I’ve never done this before!” he pointed out in annoyance.
“Again that’s true,” Jessa conceded. “But you’re doing it now, so you have to buy him something. Something personal and romantic, not just whatever you grab off the mark-down rack at the mall. Wonder what he’s getting you?”
He looked perplexed. “Do you think he’s getting me something?” he asked in apprehension.
It was her turn to snort now. “This is Travis Burke we’re talking about here,” she replied. “What do you think?”
“Fuck,” he muttered. “What do I do now?”
She grinned. “Go shopping,” she said. “I’ll take you tomorrow, K? We’ll find something good together.”
Jeremy stared at her. “You want to go shopping with me?”
She shrugged. “What are friends for? Besides, I owe Travis,” she pointed out. “If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have met Brad.”
He had to concede that this was true too. Travis had introduced his friend to another art student named Brad Findley. Jessa and he had hit it off right away, and had been dating for five months now. She grinned again, a twinkle in her eyes. “I’ll come and get you about ten o’clock. Make up some excuse for your long tall drink of water so that he doesn’t know why we’re really going shopping together. I’ll see you then,” she waved and left the library, while he picked up the books she’d brought in. He began to scan them into his computer in a bemused sort of way. He didn’t really understand the intricacies of relationships at all.
A short time later, the subject of him and Jessa’s shopping trip came strolling into the library. Travis Burke smiled lazily as he lifted a hand and walked over to the counter. Jeremy scowled at him in his usual inimitable way. “Hey,” he said. “What’s up?”
“I brought someone to meet you, Jeremy,” Travis replied, turning to a person who’d followed him in – and who Jeremy had missed before this because his boyfriend was so freakishly tall. “Jeremy, this is Byron Nadjami. Byron, this is Jeremy Adams.”
“Hey, Jeremy,” the other young man replied. “Travis has told me all about you.”
Jeremy turned a death look on the newcomer. There were two reasons that he was very, very unhappy right now. One was that Travis hadn’t told him anything about this Byron kid in return – and the other was that the newcomer was fucking gorgeous! He was slender, with light-brown skin and large, liquid dark eyes. His hair was black and slightly curly. His mouth was beautifully-shaped and kissable. His slim hands were graceful-looking, and he displayed a mouthful of white teeth as he smiled at Jeremy in greeting. And so obviously gay, although not in a flaming sort of way.
He turned his dark look on his boyfriend. Travis ignored this glower as he explained: “Byron’s in a couple of my classes. We became friends, and I wanted to bring him to meet you,” he told Jeremy.
“Great,” he growled, “It’s SO nice to meet you, Byron,” he said with a look that should have killed the other man on the spot.
Byron didn’t seem the least bit put out by his hostility. “It’s really awesome to meet you too, Jeremy. I can’t wait to hang out with you guys,” he added.
Jeremy’s head whipped around to meet a pair of sleepy ebony eyes. “Hang out together?” he asked ominously.
Travis nodded happily. “I thought that I, you and Byron could hang out at the pizza parlor tonight,” he told his irate boyfriend.
“Oh, that would be wonderful,” he said coldly. “I can’t wait.”
Both men ignored the sarcasm and loathing in his voice. “Then I’ll see you both later on,” Byron chirped happily. He waved a slender hand at them both. “I have to go; I don’t want to be late for our next class.”
He hurried out of the library with a last dazzlingly white smile for them both. Travis turned back to his boyfriend. He met a pair of blazing blue-grey eyes across the counter. “What’s the matter, Jeremy?” he asked in puzzlement.
“Nothing,” the librarian spat through his teeth. “Nothing at all.”
Jeremy was sulking. He sat back in his chair with his arms folded, glowering at the two other men seated at the round table. Travis was chatting with that Byron kid while they ate pizza. He didn’t know or care about the artists they were discussing. Neither of them seemed particularly bothered by his fuming silence. And did he…fuck, yeah, that Byron kid had just touched Travis’s arm! Jeremy saw a red mist rising in front of his eyes. ‘Take your hands off of my boyfriend, you fucking beauty queen!’ he screamed in his own head.
He tried to take deep breaths and calm down a little. Travis wouldn’t cheat on him. Of course not. And the artist loved him. He’d told Jeremy that enough times. What did he have to worry about? His eyes came to rest on Byron, and he began to catalog the things he had to worry about. Gorgeous, nice, mellifluous voice, charming, personable. Byron Nadjami wasn’t a fucked-up, misanthropic, surly, hate-filled, skinny loser like he was. Why wouldn’t Travis go for someone better than him? Hell, if HE were in the artist’s place he’d definitely want to ditch someone like Jeremy in favor of a better model!
He resisted the urge to stick his fork forcefully through one of those liquid dark eyes, and turned his scowl on the uneaten piece of pizza on his plate. This sucked. Here they were coming up on their first-year anniversary in five fucking days, and in sight of the finish line Travis had to haul in this other kid to mess it all up! But what if…? What if he’d deliberately brought Byron along today to meet Jeremy, because he wanted his soon-to-be old boyfriend to meet his new one? His replacement? Shit, Travis wouldn’t be that cruel, would he? Not normally, but who knew? He’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop for almost a year now. Had it finally happened? Was this the end?
Outside the pizza parlor, Travis turned to Jeremy apologetically. “Jeremy, I have to take Byron home, okay? He lives in town and doesn’t have a car. I’ll see you in a bit, all right?”
Visions of his boyfriend being alone with Byron were dancing in his head. His shoulders tightened, and he spat: “Sure. See you later.”
Byron smiled at him. “Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys tonight, Jeremy. I had fun.”
Since he’d barely said a word to either of them, this statement made Jeremy glower at the other boy furiously. But Byron seemed undeterred by his extended bad mood. Then he stood there and watched the two of them walk toward Jeremy’s car, and a deep, desperate misery began to well up in his breast. Jeremy turned around and began to march away, refusing to look back. If this was it, then he wasn’t going to damn well act like a baby about it. He could survive this. He would. He’d (sort of) had a life before Travis had walked into his library, he could have one again…
Travis turned onto the street where Byron lived. “Here we are,” he drawled. He glanced at the other art student. “Is Jason going to be waiting up for you?”
“Of course,” Byron laughed, his eyes sparkling. “He doesn’t like the fact that I was out with you. He gets really jealous,” he added happily.
Travis chuckled. “So does poor Jeremy. Did you see him? I thought he was going to go over the table at you at least once tonight.”
Byron nodded sympathetically. “You’ll have your hands full there. I’m sorry, but I had to meet him in person…”
“I know,” Travis replied. “Hopefully he won’t be too mad at me. I just wanted him to have an awesome anniversary gift, and you are the best sculptor I’ve ever seen…”
“Thanks. I’ll get right to work on that piece for you. I need the money anyway. Jason and I are going home together so that he can meet my parents,” he grimaced. “I’m not sure how well their going to take the fact that I’m dating a white guy, but I have to try…I want them all to get along.”
“Good luck,” Travis said sympathetically. “I hope it all works out for you.”
“Thanks again, Travis. I’ll have the piece done by your anniversary if I have to work on it day-and-night. Now I gotta go; Jason’s waiting. See you later,” he got out of the car and departed with a last wave.
Travis waved back and drove away. He had to go back to the dorms and soothe his boyfriend’s nerves. He hadn’t missed any of Jeremy’s reactions tonight; his boyfriend had been seething with jealousy. But that was a chance he’d had to take in introducing Byron to his lover, since the sculptor had needed to actually look at Jeremy up-close-and-personal. He hoped that Jeremy wouldn’t be too hurt or upset, and that his fit of pique wouldn’t last too long. He didn’t want their anniversary party spoiled because Jeremy was still furious at him. He wanted the whole thing to be perfect – and it couldn’t very well be if one of the guests-of-honor was angry at the other one. He’d do his best to smooth things over with Jeremy in the coming days, while keeping the secret of the gift he intended to give his boyfriend for their anniversary.
Travis turned the knob and walked into the dorm room he shared with Jeremy, warily looking around. His boyfriend was sitting at the computer they shared, his back rigid and his eyes locked on the screen. His shoulders tensed visibly when he heard the door open, but he didn’t look around. “Hey, Jeremy,” Travis said softly.
A grunt. His lover was still concentrating on the computer screen. The artist hesitated, then said: “I dropped Byron off at home.”
“Great,” Jeremy said acidly.
Travis sighed, but went on: “His boyfriend Jason was waiting up for him. They had some studying to do together.”
Silence. But now he had his lover’s attention. Jeremy turned away from his computer. “Boyfriend?” he repeated. “He has a boyfriend?”
“Yeah,” Travis drawled, concealing a smile at the way that the librarian was perking up. “They’re pretty serious, too. Byron wants to take Jason home next week to meet his traditional parents. He’s worried that they might not approve.”
Jeremy snorted, relaxing in his chair. “So it would bother them if he brought home a…what is he Indian? Guy? I mean, one way or another he’s bringing home another GUY.”
“True,” Travis agreed with his sleepy smile. “I’ve always been glad that my family accepted the way I am pretty much from the start. I don’t know what I would have done if they hadn’t. Especially after I met you,” he added, looking into Jeremy’s eyes so that the other man could see just how Travis felt about him.
Jeremy rose slowly from his chair. “Your family is pretty weird,” he said, although not scornfully. “But that’s only what you can expect from a group of aliens.”
Travis only smiled again as Jeremy paced toward him. The librarian shook his head, pulling off his t-shirt over his head. “Hmm, it’s a good thing that I like alien love,” he went on. “Those tentacles really do it for me.”
Travis chuckled, happy to see his Jeremy back in a good mood again. He watched appreciatively as Jeremy shucked off his jeans. “You know, Stretch, I really can’t believe that we’ve been together almost a year. You’d think that I’d be SO over dating a guy from outer space.”
Travis cocked his head lazily. “Aliens have advantages,” he pointed out.
Jeremy snorted. “Yeah, that second dick…oh, wait, that was that other alien guy I dated,” he teased as he began to walk toward Travis buck naked.
Travis only stood there and let his lover begin to undress him. He knew that Jeremy liked to do that, and he didn’t mind indulging this particular fetish. Fingers deftly undid the buttons of his black jeans and began to slide them down his long, long legs. “If you were any taller, Longshanks, you could get a job as a telephone pole to make extra money.”
Travis didn’t reply, partially because Jeremy’s slim hand had wrapped around his cock even as he spoke. The librarian bent his head and extended his tongue. Rolling his eyes up, he watched the artist’s face as he licked lightly at the tip of it. He liked the way that Travis’s face twisted as he tormented the taller man a bit. “Jeremy…” he moaned.
Opening his mouth, he sank down further and began to go to town on his lover’s cock. His hands splayed over Travis’s hips. Hands tangled in his hair, stroking and caressing it. He’d come to like this habit of Travis’s very much. It made him suck even harder; enjoying the sounds he drew from the artist’s throat. He knew to the very moment when his lover was almost past the point of no return…and when he sensed its arrival, he drew back with a last insouciant lick at the leaking tip.
“Jeremy!” Travis protested. “Please!”
“I will, Stretch,” he replied, rising to his feet. “After you get me ready. Do a good enough job and I’ll blow your mind all the way back into outer space.” Travis stared at him, then grabbed Jeremy and picked him up bodily. He carried the librarian to the bed and tossed him onto the surface. He wasn’t violent about it, just implacable. He followed Jeremy down, spreading his much longer body over his lover’s. His black eyes gazed down into Jeremy’s as the librarian wound his legs around his boyfriend’s hips.
“I love you, Jeremy,” the artist breathed just before he dipped his head and closed his mouth over his lover’s tenderly.
Their tongues danced together sensually. Jeremy ran his hands down Travis’s back, feeling the long muscles there under the skin. The artist licked a trail from Jeremy’s mouth to his ear. He suckled at it, then nibbled. The librarian moaned breathily, squirming as Travis’s lips ran over his skin. They found every sensitive place, and left several hickies down the length of his neck. He arched his back as Travis mapped his chest with his lips and tongue, finding his nipples and torturing them so pleasurably that he almost lost it. Those skilled artist’s hands sketched a different kind of picture now, leaving a trail of fire as they slid down his stomach and found the rigid length of him.
His tongue followed his hands, swirling a path down to his groin. Jeremy lifted his head and watched as the artist lapped at his stomach and nuzzled the downy pubic hair around his cock. He lifted his hips demandingly, making his lover chuckle a bit. Then, those lovely lips enclosed him, and his head fell back a little as he moaned at the ceiling overhead. Mmm, Travis was good at this! He was on his knees beside the bed, his face buried in Jeremy’s crotch. His long fingers caressed the librarian’s tight balls tenderly in time with his sucking.
His fingers gripped his lover’s long hair as he pushed upward into that warm, wet orifice. But just before he was ready to blow his own load, the artist pulled away. He glared up at Travis, but the artist merely shook his head. “Payback, Jeremy,” he said simply.
The librarian might have been pissed, but he HAD abandoned his lover at the last moment. So instead of yelling and screaming, he merely lifted his legs and grabbed them with his hands. He displayed himself temptingly to his lover’s eyes. “Well then, Stretch, why don’t you find something else to do with your mouth?” he said with a sultry, sloe-eyed look at the artist.
Travis’s black eyes were sleepy but full of lust as spread Jeremy’s cheeks with his hands. He bent his head, and the librarian groaned desperately as his lover’s tongue lapped at him insistently. Oh, God, this was good! Travis was a pro at this, and he rimmed Jeremy with skill until the librarian was quivering and turning to mush on the bed. “Oh fuck, Stringbean, fuck me now!” he screamed wildly when it became too much.
Travis was happy to comply. He slid away from the bed to grab the lube, returning as he squirted some onto his hand and rubbed it all over himself. He moved between Jeremy’s lifted legs. He looked down as he pushed into Jeremy’s body, entranced by the sight. Jeremy moaned and lifted himself to get even more. Travis drove in to the hilt, making his lover give forth a choked sound even as his hands spasmed on his own thighs.
Travis began to move, loving the feel of Jeremy around him. His hands locked over the librarian’s in a strong grip as he thrust into his lover with sure strokes. Their eyes met as he moved, and he watched as Jeremy’s face flushed red and his mouth opened as he struggled to breathe. He was doing that. It made Travis feel strong and masculine, and he flexed his hips and surged in hard. Jeremy jerked, his toes curling. “Oh, fuck,” he moaned. “Shit, harder Stretch!”
He bent down and buried his face in Jeremy’s neck. He bit at the skin lightly as he put even more power into his thrusts. Jeremy’s body rocked with them, and the librarian bit at his shoulder in return almost hard enough to draw blood. He groaned himself, gasping as his hips slapped against Jeremy’s ass on each inward stroke. He was going to come soon; the feel of that tight heat was proving irresistible. “Jeremy,” he said into his lover’s ear. “Ugh, Jeremy…”
The muscles around his cock suddenly clenched hard. “Come on, Stretch,” his lover’s voice growled as Jeremy bit at one of his nipples. “Do it.”
He did. He shuddered as he came inside of Jeremy, his body bowing. Finally he stilled above the other man, his head hanging. His black eyes opened, seeing the small smile on Jeremy’s face. It was almost a smirk. The librarian loved to make him lose control. Travis slid out of that tight heat reluctantly, then addressed the problem of the hard-on that his lover was still sporting. This didn’t last long, however; he simply knelt down and blew Jeremy for all of five seconds, and then the librarian was shooting into his mouth in a torrent. He swallowed it all, enjoying the taste and the way that Jeremy’s slim body twisted and bucked on the bed as he emptied himself into Travis’s mouth.
Licking his lips, Travis lifted his head. Jeremy was wrung out, lying back on the bed unmoving. He ran a hand over his lover’s stomach. “Shower, Jeremy?” he husked.
“Yeah,” the other man conceded, still not moving. “In a minute.”
Travis got to his feet and bent over, lifting Jeremy bodily from the bed. He carried his smaller lover into the bathroom so that they could take a shower together. He anticipated that they’d clean each other off – then get dirty again almost immediately afterward.
Go to Next Chapter
Chapters 1 2 3
In the Garden of Eden Redux
Chapter 1
Jeremy Adams was a happy man. You couldn’t actually tell that about him, of course; his face had the pinched expression on it of someone suffering from an intestinal disorder. And he scowled at everyone and everything indiscriminately, as though the whole world were to blame for the bad time he was having in his life. He snapped at all of the students who came into the campus library where he worked every day, cutting them to pieces with his scathing wit and razor-sharp tongue. His attitude and demeanor were just the same as they had been a year ago – so looking at him, you wouldn’t imagine for one moment that his life had changed drastically in only one short year.
The reason for this change stood about six-and-a-half feet tall, wore a long black duster and grey eye shadow, and had long mid-brown hair (the black dye had finally worn off) that he wore in a ponytail. A lazy smile often graced a pair of rather sensual lips, and lidded black eyes looked placidly out at the world. This Eighth Wonder of the World (the man who’d actually – somewhat – tamed Jeremy Adams) was called Travis Burke, and was an art student from Wisconsin. He’d doggedly pursued the librarian until Jeremy had given in and they’d become lovers. They shared a dorm room together now, and they were briskly coming up on their one-year anniversary.
Jeremy was really looking forward to celebrating a milestone that he would never have imagined that he’d ever reach – dating someone for an entire year. His happiness could be seen in the black scowl he was directing at a student who was being too loud nearby, and in the way his eyes were narrowed and full of annoyance. The fingers of one of his hands were drumming on the counter as he contemplated righteous retribution against the douche bag currently talking very loudly about some stupid band that he’d just seen in concert. But his glower was diverted when a familiar laughing voice spoke nearby: “Jer! Five more days to go, right?”
A pretty girl came bouncing up to the counter and grinned at him triumphantly. “I cannot believe that you’ve been with Travis for almost a year!” she crowed. “It’s a miracle, come down from God!” She waved her fingers in front of her as he eyed her jaundicedly.
“It’s not a miracle,” he replied sardonically. “It’s more like a freak accident, like a lightning storm setting a firehouse ablaze.”
Jessa giggled, her eyes crinkling up at the corners. “Okay,” she said merrily. “Whatever it is, it’s still fabulous. Congratumalations to both of you.”
“Thank you,” he said dryly. “I’m anticipating candlelight dinners, luxurious bubble baths, and lots of cuddling.”
Jessa folded her arms on the countertop. “That sounds romantic,” she agreed. “And I’ll warn you that you might actually get something like that, since Travis is WAY more romantic than you. I hope your cynical misanthropy can stand that.”
He snorted. “I think I’ll survive. I survived Wisconsin, didn’t I?”
She laughed, remembering his description of the visit he’d paid to his boyfriend’s family last Christmas. How nice they all were, and how creeped out he’d been initially by all of the cocoa drinking, carol singing, and It’s a Wonderful Life watching. But they’d sort of grown on him, and apparently Travis’s whole family liked Jeremy a good deal. Which was, as he’d said, the freakiest thing ever…
“True,” she agreed. “If you could survive the Cleavers, you can handle a little lovey-doveyness on your anniversary. Anyway, Jer, I just came by to drop off these books and ask you what you’re getting Travis for your anniversary.”
He gave her a blank look. “What do you mean?”
Her brows shot up. “I MEAN…a gift,” she said with exaggerated patience. “An anniversary gift? Hello?”
Jeremy looked rather taken aback. She read his expression accurately, and her lips twitched. “You didn’t get Travis anything, did you?” she said in amusement.
He glared at her. “Hell, no! How the fuck was I supposed to know that you get your boyfriend something on your anniversary? I’ve never done this before!” he pointed out in annoyance.
“Again that’s true,” Jessa conceded. “But you’re doing it now, so you have to buy him something. Something personal and romantic, not just whatever you grab off the mark-down rack at the mall. Wonder what he’s getting you?”
He looked perplexed. “Do you think he’s getting me something?” he asked in apprehension.
It was her turn to snort now. “This is Travis Burke we’re talking about here,” she replied. “What do you think?”
“Fuck,” he muttered. “What do I do now?”
She grinned. “Go shopping,” she said. “I’ll take you tomorrow, K? We’ll find something good together.”
Jeremy stared at her. “You want to go shopping with me?”
She shrugged. “What are friends for? Besides, I owe Travis,” she pointed out. “If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have met Brad.”
He had to concede that this was true too. Travis had introduced his friend to another art student named Brad Findley. Jessa and he had hit it off right away, and had been dating for five months now. She grinned again, a twinkle in her eyes. “I’ll come and get you about ten o’clock. Make up some excuse for your long tall drink of water so that he doesn’t know why we’re really going shopping together. I’ll see you then,” she waved and left the library, while he picked up the books she’d brought in. He began to scan them into his computer in a bemused sort of way. He didn’t really understand the intricacies of relationships at all.
A short time later, the subject of him and Jessa’s shopping trip came strolling into the library. Travis Burke smiled lazily as he lifted a hand and walked over to the counter. Jeremy scowled at him in his usual inimitable way. “Hey,” he said. “What’s up?”
“I brought someone to meet you, Jeremy,” Travis replied, turning to a person who’d followed him in – and who Jeremy had missed before this because his boyfriend was so freakishly tall. “Jeremy, this is Byron Nadjami. Byron, this is Jeremy Adams.”
“Hey, Jeremy,” the other young man replied. “Travis has told me all about you.”
Jeremy turned a death look on the newcomer. There were two reasons that he was very, very unhappy right now. One was that Travis hadn’t told him anything about this Byron kid in return – and the other was that the newcomer was fucking gorgeous! He was slender, with light-brown skin and large, liquid dark eyes. His hair was black and slightly curly. His mouth was beautifully-shaped and kissable. His slim hands were graceful-looking, and he displayed a mouthful of white teeth as he smiled at Jeremy in greeting. And so obviously gay, although not in a flaming sort of way.
He turned his dark look on his boyfriend. Travis ignored this glower as he explained: “Byron’s in a couple of my classes. We became friends, and I wanted to bring him to meet you,” he told Jeremy.
“Great,” he growled, “It’s SO nice to meet you, Byron,” he said with a look that should have killed the other man on the spot.
Byron didn’t seem the least bit put out by his hostility. “It’s really awesome to meet you too, Jeremy. I can’t wait to hang out with you guys,” he added.
Jeremy’s head whipped around to meet a pair of sleepy ebony eyes. “Hang out together?” he asked ominously.
Travis nodded happily. “I thought that I, you and Byron could hang out at the pizza parlor tonight,” he told his irate boyfriend.
“Oh, that would be wonderful,” he said coldly. “I can’t wait.”
Both men ignored the sarcasm and loathing in his voice. “Then I’ll see you both later on,” Byron chirped happily. He waved a slender hand at them both. “I have to go; I don’t want to be late for our next class.”
He hurried out of the library with a last dazzlingly white smile for them both. Travis turned back to his boyfriend. He met a pair of blazing blue-grey eyes across the counter. “What’s the matter, Jeremy?” he asked in puzzlement.
“Nothing,” the librarian spat through his teeth. “Nothing at all.”
Jeremy was sulking. He sat back in his chair with his arms folded, glowering at the two other men seated at the round table. Travis was chatting with that Byron kid while they ate pizza. He didn’t know or care about the artists they were discussing. Neither of them seemed particularly bothered by his fuming silence. And did he…fuck, yeah, that Byron kid had just touched Travis’s arm! Jeremy saw a red mist rising in front of his eyes. ‘Take your hands off of my boyfriend, you fucking beauty queen!’ he screamed in his own head.
He tried to take deep breaths and calm down a little. Travis wouldn’t cheat on him. Of course not. And the artist loved him. He’d told Jeremy that enough times. What did he have to worry about? His eyes came to rest on Byron, and he began to catalog the things he had to worry about. Gorgeous, nice, mellifluous voice, charming, personable. Byron Nadjami wasn’t a fucked-up, misanthropic, surly, hate-filled, skinny loser like he was. Why wouldn’t Travis go for someone better than him? Hell, if HE were in the artist’s place he’d definitely want to ditch someone like Jeremy in favor of a better model!
He resisted the urge to stick his fork forcefully through one of those liquid dark eyes, and turned his scowl on the uneaten piece of pizza on his plate. This sucked. Here they were coming up on their first-year anniversary in five fucking days, and in sight of the finish line Travis had to haul in this other kid to mess it all up! But what if…? What if he’d deliberately brought Byron along today to meet Jeremy, because he wanted his soon-to-be old boyfriend to meet his new one? His replacement? Shit, Travis wouldn’t be that cruel, would he? Not normally, but who knew? He’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop for almost a year now. Had it finally happened? Was this the end?
Outside the pizza parlor, Travis turned to Jeremy apologetically. “Jeremy, I have to take Byron home, okay? He lives in town and doesn’t have a car. I’ll see you in a bit, all right?”
Visions of his boyfriend being alone with Byron were dancing in his head. His shoulders tightened, and he spat: “Sure. See you later.”
Byron smiled at him. “Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys tonight, Jeremy. I had fun.”
Since he’d barely said a word to either of them, this statement made Jeremy glower at the other boy furiously. But Byron seemed undeterred by his extended bad mood. Then he stood there and watched the two of them walk toward Jeremy’s car, and a deep, desperate misery began to well up in his breast. Jeremy turned around and began to march away, refusing to look back. If this was it, then he wasn’t going to damn well act like a baby about it. He could survive this. He would. He’d (sort of) had a life before Travis had walked into his library, he could have one again…
Travis turned onto the street where Byron lived. “Here we are,” he drawled. He glanced at the other art student. “Is Jason going to be waiting up for you?”
“Of course,” Byron laughed, his eyes sparkling. “He doesn’t like the fact that I was out with you. He gets really jealous,” he added happily.
Travis chuckled. “So does poor Jeremy. Did you see him? I thought he was going to go over the table at you at least once tonight.”
Byron nodded sympathetically. “You’ll have your hands full there. I’m sorry, but I had to meet him in person…”
“I know,” Travis replied. “Hopefully he won’t be too mad at me. I just wanted him to have an awesome anniversary gift, and you are the best sculptor I’ve ever seen…”
“Thanks. I’ll get right to work on that piece for you. I need the money anyway. Jason and I are going home together so that he can meet my parents,” he grimaced. “I’m not sure how well their going to take the fact that I’m dating a white guy, but I have to try…I want them all to get along.”
“Good luck,” Travis said sympathetically. “I hope it all works out for you.”
“Thanks again, Travis. I’ll have the piece done by your anniversary if I have to work on it day-and-night. Now I gotta go; Jason’s waiting. See you later,” he got out of the car and departed with a last wave.
Travis waved back and drove away. He had to go back to the dorms and soothe his boyfriend’s nerves. He hadn’t missed any of Jeremy’s reactions tonight; his boyfriend had been seething with jealousy. But that was a chance he’d had to take in introducing Byron to his lover, since the sculptor had needed to actually look at Jeremy up-close-and-personal. He hoped that Jeremy wouldn’t be too hurt or upset, and that his fit of pique wouldn’t last too long. He didn’t want their anniversary party spoiled because Jeremy was still furious at him. He wanted the whole thing to be perfect – and it couldn’t very well be if one of the guests-of-honor was angry at the other one. He’d do his best to smooth things over with Jeremy in the coming days, while keeping the secret of the gift he intended to give his boyfriend for their anniversary.
Travis turned the knob and walked into the dorm room he shared with Jeremy, warily looking around. His boyfriend was sitting at the computer they shared, his back rigid and his eyes locked on the screen. His shoulders tensed visibly when he heard the door open, but he didn’t look around. “Hey, Jeremy,” Travis said softly.
A grunt. His lover was still concentrating on the computer screen. The artist hesitated, then said: “I dropped Byron off at home.”
“Great,” Jeremy said acidly.
Travis sighed, but went on: “His boyfriend Jason was waiting up for him. They had some studying to do together.”
Silence. But now he had his lover’s attention. Jeremy turned away from his computer. “Boyfriend?” he repeated. “He has a boyfriend?”
“Yeah,” Travis drawled, concealing a smile at the way that the librarian was perking up. “They’re pretty serious, too. Byron wants to take Jason home next week to meet his traditional parents. He’s worried that they might not approve.”
Jeremy snorted, relaxing in his chair. “So it would bother them if he brought home a…what is he Indian? Guy? I mean, one way or another he’s bringing home another GUY.”
“True,” Travis agreed with his sleepy smile. “I’ve always been glad that my family accepted the way I am pretty much from the start. I don’t know what I would have done if they hadn’t. Especially after I met you,” he added, looking into Jeremy’s eyes so that the other man could see just how Travis felt about him.
Jeremy rose slowly from his chair. “Your family is pretty weird,” he said, although not scornfully. “But that’s only what you can expect from a group of aliens.”
Travis only smiled again as Jeremy paced toward him. The librarian shook his head, pulling off his t-shirt over his head. “Hmm, it’s a good thing that I like alien love,” he went on. “Those tentacles really do it for me.”
Travis chuckled, happy to see his Jeremy back in a good mood again. He watched appreciatively as Jeremy shucked off his jeans. “You know, Stretch, I really can’t believe that we’ve been together almost a year. You’d think that I’d be SO over dating a guy from outer space.”
Travis cocked his head lazily. “Aliens have advantages,” he pointed out.
Jeremy snorted. “Yeah, that second dick…oh, wait, that was that other alien guy I dated,” he teased as he began to walk toward Travis buck naked.
Travis only stood there and let his lover begin to undress him. He knew that Jeremy liked to do that, and he didn’t mind indulging this particular fetish. Fingers deftly undid the buttons of his black jeans and began to slide them down his long, long legs. “If you were any taller, Longshanks, you could get a job as a telephone pole to make extra money.”
Travis didn’t reply, partially because Jeremy’s slim hand had wrapped around his cock even as he spoke. The librarian bent his head and extended his tongue. Rolling his eyes up, he watched the artist’s face as he licked lightly at the tip of it. He liked the way that Travis’s face twisted as he tormented the taller man a bit. “Jeremy…” he moaned.
Opening his mouth, he sank down further and began to go to town on his lover’s cock. His hands splayed over Travis’s hips. Hands tangled in his hair, stroking and caressing it. He’d come to like this habit of Travis’s very much. It made him suck even harder; enjoying the sounds he drew from the artist’s throat. He knew to the very moment when his lover was almost past the point of no return…and when he sensed its arrival, he drew back with a last insouciant lick at the leaking tip.
“Jeremy!” Travis protested. “Please!”
“I will, Stretch,” he replied, rising to his feet. “After you get me ready. Do a good enough job and I’ll blow your mind all the way back into outer space.” Travis stared at him, then grabbed Jeremy and picked him up bodily. He carried the librarian to the bed and tossed him onto the surface. He wasn’t violent about it, just implacable. He followed Jeremy down, spreading his much longer body over his lover’s. His black eyes gazed down into Jeremy’s as the librarian wound his legs around his boyfriend’s hips.
“I love you, Jeremy,” the artist breathed just before he dipped his head and closed his mouth over his lover’s tenderly.
Their tongues danced together sensually. Jeremy ran his hands down Travis’s back, feeling the long muscles there under the skin. The artist licked a trail from Jeremy’s mouth to his ear. He suckled at it, then nibbled. The librarian moaned breathily, squirming as Travis’s lips ran over his skin. They found every sensitive place, and left several hickies down the length of his neck. He arched his back as Travis mapped his chest with his lips and tongue, finding his nipples and torturing them so pleasurably that he almost lost it. Those skilled artist’s hands sketched a different kind of picture now, leaving a trail of fire as they slid down his stomach and found the rigid length of him.
His tongue followed his hands, swirling a path down to his groin. Jeremy lifted his head and watched as the artist lapped at his stomach and nuzzled the downy pubic hair around his cock. He lifted his hips demandingly, making his lover chuckle a bit. Then, those lovely lips enclosed him, and his head fell back a little as he moaned at the ceiling overhead. Mmm, Travis was good at this! He was on his knees beside the bed, his face buried in Jeremy’s crotch. His long fingers caressed the librarian’s tight balls tenderly in time with his sucking.
His fingers gripped his lover’s long hair as he pushed upward into that warm, wet orifice. But just before he was ready to blow his own load, the artist pulled away. He glared up at Travis, but the artist merely shook his head. “Payback, Jeremy,” he said simply.
The librarian might have been pissed, but he HAD abandoned his lover at the last moment. So instead of yelling and screaming, he merely lifted his legs and grabbed them with his hands. He displayed himself temptingly to his lover’s eyes. “Well then, Stretch, why don’t you find something else to do with your mouth?” he said with a sultry, sloe-eyed look at the artist.
Travis’s black eyes were sleepy but full of lust as spread Jeremy’s cheeks with his hands. He bent his head, and the librarian groaned desperately as his lover’s tongue lapped at him insistently. Oh, God, this was good! Travis was a pro at this, and he rimmed Jeremy with skill until the librarian was quivering and turning to mush on the bed. “Oh fuck, Stringbean, fuck me now!” he screamed wildly when it became too much.
Travis was happy to comply. He slid away from the bed to grab the lube, returning as he squirted some onto his hand and rubbed it all over himself. He moved between Jeremy’s lifted legs. He looked down as he pushed into Jeremy’s body, entranced by the sight. Jeremy moaned and lifted himself to get even more. Travis drove in to the hilt, making his lover give forth a choked sound even as his hands spasmed on his own thighs.
Travis began to move, loving the feel of Jeremy around him. His hands locked over the librarian’s in a strong grip as he thrust into his lover with sure strokes. Their eyes met as he moved, and he watched as Jeremy’s face flushed red and his mouth opened as he struggled to breathe. He was doing that. It made Travis feel strong and masculine, and he flexed his hips and surged in hard. Jeremy jerked, his toes curling. “Oh, fuck,” he moaned. “Shit, harder Stretch!”
He bent down and buried his face in Jeremy’s neck. He bit at the skin lightly as he put even more power into his thrusts. Jeremy’s body rocked with them, and the librarian bit at his shoulder in return almost hard enough to draw blood. He groaned himself, gasping as his hips slapped against Jeremy’s ass on each inward stroke. He was going to come soon; the feel of that tight heat was proving irresistible. “Jeremy,” he said into his lover’s ear. “Ugh, Jeremy…”
The muscles around his cock suddenly clenched hard. “Come on, Stretch,” his lover’s voice growled as Jeremy bit at one of his nipples. “Do it.”
He did. He shuddered as he came inside of Jeremy, his body bowing. Finally he stilled above the other man, his head hanging. His black eyes opened, seeing the small smile on Jeremy’s face. It was almost a smirk. The librarian loved to make him lose control. Travis slid out of that tight heat reluctantly, then addressed the problem of the hard-on that his lover was still sporting. This didn’t last long, however; he simply knelt down and blew Jeremy for all of five seconds, and then the librarian was shooting into his mouth in a torrent. He swallowed it all, enjoying the taste and the way that Jeremy’s slim body twisted and bucked on the bed as he emptied himself into Travis’s mouth.
Licking his lips, Travis lifted his head. Jeremy was wrung out, lying back on the bed unmoving. He ran a hand over his lover’s stomach. “Shower, Jeremy?” he husked.
“Yeah,” the other man conceded, still not moving. “In a minute.”
Travis got to his feet and bent over, lifting Jeremy bodily from the bed. He carried his smaller lover into the bathroom so that they could take a shower together. He anticipated that they’d clean each other off – then get dirty again almost immediately afterward.
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