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therumjournalsTitle: 46th and Pine: A West Philadelphia Love Story
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
therumjournals
Word Count: This chapter - 5,700 (Total - 35,500)
Previous: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3
(Header details at the Master Post)
Zach checked his phone, picked his beer up off the bar, and resumed staring at the door. A crowd of hipster kids pushed their way into Fuego, followed by a couple of aging hippies, but no Chris. He pounded his beer, ordered another one, and was leaning on the bar trying to look nonchalant when Brendan tapped him on the shoulder and gestured toward the door.
“J. Crew’s here,” he said, and Zach was about to get indignant at the nickname when he turned to see Chris stumble in wearing a long-sleeved navy polo shirt and khakis.
“Zachy!” he said exuberantly, falling heavily against Zach’s side.
“Whoa, hey buddy, you alright there?”
“I’m fine,” Chris said, and Zach recoiled at the stale beer and vodka fumes wafting off of him. “Totally fine. Ge’ me a drink.”
Zach’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he held Chris upright with one arm while he tugged it out of the pocket of his jeans. He looked at the screen, which informed him that he was getting a call from…Chris. He looked at Chris, then back at the phone, and answered. “Hello?”
“Zach?”
“Yeah?”
“Hey mate, it’s Karl. Is Chris with you?”
“Um.” He glanced at Chris who was swaying a little and working to keep his eyes open. “Physically, yes.”
Karl chuckled. “Thank god. He went stumbling out of here without his phone. I shouldn’t have let him leave, but he looked like he was going to get violent with anyone who tried to keep him away from you.” Zach raised an eyebrow and looked at Chris again. Chris grinned dopily back at him.
“It’s no problem, man. I’ve got him. Thanks for looking out.”
“Yeah. Thanks, Zach.”
Zach slid the phone back in his pocket and stood from his bar stool. He cupped Chris’s face in his hands. “Hey baby boy, let’s get you away from people.”
“Don’t demasculate me,” Chris slurred, poking him in the chest.
“I would never do that. Come on.” He slung Chris’s arm around his shoulders and half carried him out of the bar and down the steps into the chilly night air.
**
“Chris.”
“Mmmff.”
“Hey, babe. You gotta get up. You have class.”
“Fuck you,” Chris mumbled, turning onto his stomach and pulling a pillow over his head.
“Hey, that’s not nice. Come on, Chris, you’re gonna be pissed if you miss Literature for Pretentious Assholes, or whatever.”
“What days’it?”
“It’s Wednesday.”
Chris cracked an eye open and glared at Zach with it. “I don’t have class ‘til 1:00.”
“I know. It’s 12:15 and you’re at my house. And you reek of alcoholism. So come on. Get up and take a shower.”
“My head.”
“Here.” Zach handed him a glass of water. Chris scowled at it.
“What is this, some kind of homeopathic remedy?”
“It’s to take these, idiot,” Zach said, pressing two Advils into his hand. Chris swallowed them down and let his head drop back onto the pillow.
“I hate you.”
“Aww, that’s sweet. I love you, too. Now get your ass out of my bed, I don’t want to be responsible for you misinterpreting the theme of public memory in War and Peace.”
“That was last semester, dumbass,” Chris grumbled as he let Zach lift him to his feet and push him toward the door. “And anyway, how do you know about that?” He furrowed his brow as Zach pushed a towel into his hands.
“I read your paper. Now go.” He gave Chris a light shove out of the bedroom, and listened until he heard the shower.
*
“Zach, you don’t have to walk me to class, I’m going.”
“I’m not walking you to class. I’m walking with you. I enjoy your company. Most of the time.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means this grumpy hungover thing you’ve got going leaves something to be desired. As does the shitfaced frat boy act you were so admirably pulling off last night.”
Chris didn’t respond, staring at his feet as they walked.
“Hey.” Zach reached for his hand and Chris let him take it. “You gonna tell me what was going on yesterday, or what?”
Chris shrugged.
“Chris, it’s me. Come on. What’s up?”
“I had an appointment with the career counselor,” Chris mumbled.
“Ah.”
“Yeah.”
“What’d he say?”
“She said… I should have gotten a summer internship, I should sign up for on-campus recruiting, I could apply to grad school but only if that’s really what I want and not just to avoid the real world, blahdy blahdy blah, I have no fucking idea, I’m screwed, and I want to kill myself.”
“Drama queen.”
Chris looked up at Zach with a grin. “Wanna be my sugar daddy?”
“Wanna live on oatmeal and beans?”
Chris made a face.
“Well, what do you want to do?”
Chris gave him a disbelieving look. “Why do you think I drank myself into a stupor last night? I don’t know what I want, that’s the problem! It’s not as easy as, ‘I want to be a painter, so I’m going to paint, la la la, fuck the man’.”
“I’m an artist, Chris. Not a painter.”
“What the fuck ever, you know what I mean.”
“You like writing. Why don’t you write a book?”
“Uh huh. You try telling that to a Penn career counselor.”
“Why don’t you look around for jobs at, like, theater companies or something.”
“Oh yeah? You don’t happen to know, say, fifty other people with actual experience in the arts applying for the same thing?”
“Fine, Chris. I’m just trying to help, but if you’re going to be all pessimistic about it…”
They came to a stop outside Fisher-Bennett Hall. Chris leaned against a low wall and slid his hands around Zach’s waist. “I’m sorry. I just, I hate thinking about it, and I know I have to, but I don’t want to. I want to think about you. And make out with you, and fuck you-“
“Chris, stop it,” Zach said, blushing.
“Stop it?”
“Stop now, resume later.” He kissed Chris on the cheek. “Go to class.”
“Fine. I’m coming over later, though.”
“You’d better.”
***
“Chris, get your ass out here. You gotta come see this, someone made a hipster snowman.”
“Of course they did.”
“Come on, Noah wants to romp around with you in the snow.”
“Oh, Noah does? I’m sure. Look, just let me finish up a few things, and then I’ll meet you out there, okay? I promise.”
Zach was shivering by the time Chris showed up, and he wanted to be pissed, but it was partly his fault for only wearing a light hoodie under his peacoat, and then Chris was there wrapping his strong, warm arms around Zach, and he couldn’t quite bring himself to care anymore about the snow soaking into his jeans.
“Miss me?” Chris asked, warm puffs of breath hitting Zach’s cheek between kisses.
“Hell yes. What were you doing anyway?”
“Future stuff,” Chris said, and he snaked his leg around to trip Zach into a snow drift, falling down with him. He pressed his warm lips to Zach’s mouth, eased it open with his tongue, because this was what they did now, when they talked about the future. They kissed, so they couldn’t talk, and they threw themselves into the present and tried not to think about anything beyond their hands on each others’ skin.
Chris threaded his fingers into Zach’s hair, damp and cold against the back of his neck where it stuck out from under his hat. Zach shivered and pulled Chris onto him until he completely covered Zach’s body.
“You’re cold.”
“Yeah, no shit,” Zach said, his teeth chattering through his smile.
“I have an idea of how to warm you up.” Chris scrambled to his feet and offered Zach a hand.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yep. Hot chocolate. Blankets.”
“Oh. I was thinking more along the lines of nakedness and physical exertion.”
“Well, yeah. That much was implied.”
***
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. There’s a free poetry reading at the Green Line Cafe on Thursday night. You wanna go?”
Chris paused in cutting up the mushrooms and looked at Zach with an eyebrow raised. “Zach, sometimes you are so adorable I can barely stand it.”
“What?”
“Thursday is St. Patrick’s Day,” Chris said patiently.
“So?”
“SO?”
“Oh god, Chris, don’t tell me you’re one of those.”
“Do you even know me?”
“Right. Of course you are.”
“You’re coming out with me.”
“Hell no. I still haven’t gotten the smell of frat off me from last time I went out with you.”
“Oh shush. Come on, Zach. It’s my senior year. You’re the most important person in my life….”
“You need someone to watch you so you don’t seriously injure or embarrass yourself…”
Chris broke into a grin. “So you’ll come?”
“The things I do for you,” Zach said, but he smiled as he turned back to the stove.
“And you have to wear green.”
“Cut the fucking mushrooms.”
**
“Zach, where are you?” Chris yelled into the phone.
“I’m finishing something, I’ll be there soon.”
“What?!”
“I’ll be there soon!” Zach yelled back.
“Okaaay. But hurry up. Karl wants you to get here before I get too drunk.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
**
Zach wrinkled his nose at the sight of the crowded Irish bar, packed with drunken college students spilling green beer on each others’ green shirts. He took a deep breath and stepped inside, pushing his way toward the bar, his eyes scanning the crowd for Chris, Karl, Zoe – basically anyone who wasn’t whooping and wearing a backwards white baseball cap. Finally, he spotted Chris, talking animatedly to someone Zach didn’t recognize, a guy who Zach was quick to note was tan, built, and obviously attractive despite the ridiculous foam Guinness hat that he was sporting. Zach ran a hand through his hair self-consciously as he approached them.
The guy was listening intently to Chris, smiling at him, touching him on the arm as he said something, and looking like…well, looking like Zach had better get the hell over there before he got any ideas. A possessive flash surged through Zach, and he came up behind Chris to wrap an arm around his chest.
“Hey bro,” he said huskily into Chris’s ear.
He watched the blush creep up Chris’s cheek as he subtly pulled away. “Zach, hey, you made it! Holy shit,” he said, as he caught sight of the bright green streaks shooting through Zach’s dark hair. Zach could see in his eyes that he wanted to say more, but Chris bit his lip and stopped himself, regaining his composure quickly.
“Zach, this is Eric. Eric, Zach.”
“Hi Zach,” Eric said as they shook hands. “You go to Penn?”
“Uh, no.” He didn’t elaborate.
“Right. Well, nice to meet you, and Chris, I’ll see you around. Email me your resume and I’ll see what I can do, okay?”
“Sure thing, thanks Eric.”
Chris turned to Zach as Eric disappeared into the crowd. “Holy shit, Zach, you look fucking hot as hell.”
Zach grinned. “I had a feeling you wanted to say something like that.”
Chris ran his fingers through Zach’s hair, pulling up a strand of green. “Damn. When did you do this?”
“Today. Summer helped me. You like it? I thought maybe it looked a little like snot.”
“That’s attractive. But seriously, this is ridiculously, unreasonably hot. And are you…are you wearing green lipstick?”
Zach nodded and leaned forward to press a green kiss to Chris’s cheek.
“God. Never change. Never leave my side.”
“You either. So who was that guy? Eric or whatever.”
“Just a guy I used to know. He was a senior when I was a freshman. He’s a consultant now, said he can probably hook me up with a couple interviews.”
“Wait, wait. A senior when you were a freshman? Oh my god, did you make out with him? You did, didn’t you?!”
Chris’s blush was all the answer Zach needed. Zach threw his head back and laughed. “Oh my god. This is priceless.” He glanced around the room, but didn’t see Eric. “I’m actually impressed though. He was kinda hot. Oh my god, did you suck his dick? Tell me.”
“No.”
“No you didn’t suck his dick, or no you won’t tell me?”
“I need another beer.”
**
“So wait,” Zach said, as they navigated into an unoccupied corner, holding massive cups of green beer over their heads. “You want to be a consultant now?”
“I don’t know. I mean, no, not really, but…the career counselor suggested it, and apparently you don’t need any specific background, just good critical thinking and analytical skills. You can make a lot of money…”
Zach curled his lip.
“Look, Zach, I don’t really want to get into it right now, okay? Can we just have a good time tonight and talk about this later?”
Zach grabbed Chris by a belt loop and pulled him close. “I think we can manage that.”
“Good.” Chris took a sip of his beer.
“So how many times did you guys make out?”
“Oh my god,” Chris spluttered, “you have a one-track mind. Why do you care so much anyway?”
“I don’t know. It’s kinda hot to think of geeky little freshman Chris making out with built fratty jocks….”
“You’re letting your daddy kink show, Z. And anyway, how do you know I was a geek?”
Zach raised an eyebrow at him.
“Fine. Your turn. Tell me about someone you hooked up with before me.”
“Chris, please. I was a virgin before I met you.”
Chris rolled his eyes. “Shut up and drink your beer.”
***
The phone rang as Chris gave himself one last, annoyed look in the mirror, and headed out the door.
“Hi Zach,” Chris said.
“Chris,” Zach said sleepily. “Why the fuck aren’t you in my bed?”
Chris smiled and shivered a little. God, he loved this man. “I’m on my way to an interview, actually.”
“What? Really?”
He could tell Zach was sitting up a little in the bed, pictured the sleepy, confused look on his face, and was tempted to scrap the whole thing and get the hell back over there. “Yeah, sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want you to see me looking like a corporate tool. Seriously, you’d cry if you saw me right now, Zach.”
“Shush, I’m sure you look amazing.”
“Fine, I’m a hot corporate tool, but still…”
“Chris…”
“Don’t start, Zach,” Chris sighed wearily. “I know. I don’t know what I’m doing and I don’t want this job, but it doesn’t matter because I’m not going to get it anyway. So don’t lose any sleep over it, okay? In fact, go back to sleep, and I’ll come over after the interview and fuck you wearing nothing but my suit jacket and tie.”
“Mmm, tempting, but in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not really into being fucked by The Man.”
“You’re hilarious. Fine, how ‘bout you fuck me, then, and live out all of your communist fantasies by coming all over my face.”
“I’m hard already just thinking about it.”
“Hold that thought, and I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Okay. Break a leg. Good luck or whatever they say. Show me the money.”
“I hate you.”
“Love you, too.”
**
“Hey, baby.”
Chris could hear his sleepy smile over the phone. “You still in bed, lazybutt?”
“Yep.” Chris pictured Zach stretching, sprawled across the futon, scratching lazily at his chest. “’m waiting for my boyfriend. Can you please tell him to stop sucking Wall Street’s dick and get his fucking sexy ass back here?”
“How about you get your sexy ass out of bed and come meet me in Rittenhouse Square?”
“Hmm, tempting, but no.”
“Come on, Zach, it’s a beautiful day, there are tons of people outside, it’s a glorious cross-section of humanity! Plus I want to put my tongue in your mouth. Come on. And bring a blanket.”
“What about the fucking?” Zach said, his voice going up in a little whine at the end.
“Later. I promise. Come on, do it for my sexy ass.”
He heard Zach grunt as he rolled out of bed. “Ugh, I do everything for that ass,” Zach grumbled.
“See you in a few.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
**
Zach skidded to a brakeless stop in front of the bench that Chris was sitting on and grinned at him, waiting for approval.
“What are you, 13? Show-off.”
Zach waited.
“Alright, that was kinda hot,” Chris admitted, standing up. Zach set his bike down and gave Chris a once over. He reached forward to push the jacket off Chris’s shoulders, dropping it onto the bench. Chris stood tolerantly as Zach unbuttoned his professional blue shirt, loosened his tie, and slid his hands up the back of Chris’s undershirt as he pulled him in for a kiss.
“Mmmm, who’s my sexy professional?” he murmured, kissing Chris’s jaw.
“Not me,” Chris said distractedly, sliding his hands around Zach’s waist.
“How was the interview?”
“Fucking sucked. How the fuck am I supposed to know how many light bulbs there are in New York City? And what the fuck does that have to do with consulting, anyway?”
“What the fuck is consulting, anyway?”
“Fuck if I know.”
“What did you say? For the answer about the light bulbs?”
“I don’t even remember. I think I may have quoted Edith Wharton.”
Zach winced. “Yikes.”
“I know. Whatever. Come on, let’s lie down on the grass and surreptitiously grope each other.”
They set the blanket down across the grass and flopped down on it. They alternated between making out and people-watching, and Chris had to convince Zach that yes, it would be obvious if he rubbed off against Chris’s leg right here in the middle of the lawn. Chris was sprawled across Zach’s lap in his debauched business attire, refusing Zach’s request to recite improvisational love poetry, when they heard a voice call from across the grass.
“Zachary Quinto? No fucking way!”
Zach looked over and his face split into a grin. He stood excitedly and yanked Chris up by the hand. “Annie! Holy shit!”
“Hey girl!”
Chris watched with amusement as Zach jogged across the lawn to embrace his friend. Annie was about a foot shorter than Zach, but solidly built, and for a minute it looked like she might actually tackle him to the ground in her enthusiasm.
When she let him go, Zach tugged her over by the wrist.
“Chris, this Annie, my best friend from Sarah Lawrence. At least, I thought she was my friend, until she ran off to New York City and stopped calling me.”
“You don’t call me!” Annie exclaimed, punching him in the shoulder. Chris winced.
“Whatever, bitch,” Zach said, his eyes twinkling. “Anyway, Annie, this is Chris. My boyfriend,” he said, drawing out the word and winking.
“Nice to meet you,” Chris said, shaking her hand.
“Shit, Zach, no wonder you don’t call,” Annie said.
“Right?” Zach slid an arm around Chris’s waist, looking like he was going to burst from pride. “So what the fuck are you doing in Philly, anyway?”
Now it was Annie’s turn to blush. “Oh, I, uh…I kinda met a guy. Online. We’ve been kind of seeing each other for a little while and he’s visiting some friends here, so…” She gestured across the grass to a group of people sitting in a circle.
“Look at you blushing, oh my god, you loooooove him!” Zach cooed.
“Fuck you, Quinto.”
“You have an interesting relationship with your friends, Zach, did anyone ever tell you that?” Chris asked with a grin.
“Fuck you, Pine.” Chris laughed. “So Annie, are you gonna introduce me to this guy, or what?”
“Yeah, yeah. Wait here, I’ll go get him.”
Zach nudged Chris with his elbow as they watched her walk across the grass. “So, you said you wanted to meet someone I hooked up with.” He nodded toward Annie.
“What?! You had sex with her?”
“No, no, we just made out every once in a while. When we were drunk. Until she got a girlfriend.”
“She’s bi?”
“I guess? She calls herself pansexual.”
Chris raised his eyebrows. “Pansexual? Is that a thing?”
“Sure it is.”
“Are you pansexual?”
“What do you think?”
“I think you’re terrified of the vageen.”
“You are correct.”
“Thank god.”
“Says the straight boy.”
“Yeah, that’s me. Totally straight. Totally not thinking about you drilling me in the ass right now.”
“Jesus, Chris,” Zach choked, turning to give Chris a fake hug so he could adjust himself as Annie came walking back toward them. Her boyfriend was tall and thin, with a friendly, crooked smile, and he was twirling a pink hula hoop expertly around one arm.
“Jay, this is Quinto. The one I was telling you about. Zach, this is Jay.”
“Hey, man,” Jay said, handing Zach the hula hoop and raising an eyebrow expectantly. Chris raised an eyebrow too, when he noticed the gleam of excitement in Zach’s eye. Zach was excited about a pink hula hoop. This had to be interesting.
Chris took a step back and Zach blushed a little as he took the hoop, stepped into it, and started it spinning around his hips. He fell into an easy rhythm, talking to Annie and Jay as he kept the hoop going without a second thought. Which was all well and good, and yeah, a little hot, until Zach caught his eye, grinned, and raised his arms up over his head. His shirt rode up, exposing the indent of his hipbones, his thin waist, the dark trail of hair leading down past his navel. Chris flushed a little, his mouth suddenly dry. Then Zach did something, a thrust of his pelvis and a shimmy of his hips that sent the hula hoop spiraling up, around his stomach to his chest, and Chris wasn’t sure whether he wanted to watch forever or jump him and tear his clothes off right there in the middle of the green.
“Jesus, Zach, is there a reason you never told me about this particular talent?” Chris said, gaping.
“I had to ease you into my awesomeness,” Zach said, ducking his head so the hula hoop spun out around one arm to his wrist.
“He used to do this on the quad at school,” Annie said. “Used to gather quite a crowd.”
“I’d imagine,” Chris said, glancing around to where a small crowd was forming right now, watching as Zach smoothly transferred the hula hoop to his other arm, then down around his neck. He gestured for Chris to come closer, grabbed him by the wrist and turned him so Chris’s back was tight against his front. He gripped Chris by the waist, getting him used to the rhythm as they moved in tandem to keep the hula hoop moving around them.
“Fuck,” Chris murmured, caught up in the movement, Zach’s pelvis pressed against his ass.
“Did Zach ever tell you that he had dreads for a semester?” Annie asked.
Chris smiled. “Hell yeah he did. What was my reaction when you showed me that picture, Zach?”
Zach chuckled in his ear. “Spontaneous orgasm, I believe,” he told Annie.
Chris reached an arm up and back, pressing his fingers into Zach’s hair. “I fucking love this hair,” he said. Zach’s hips stuttered and the hula hoop fell to their feet, and Zach wrapped both arms around Chris’s chest and kissed him on the cheek as they heard scattered applause from the small crowd of observers.
“What do you want to do now?” Zach murmured seductively.
Chris turned to look at him. “I want you to take me in those bushes over there so I can help you with the substantial problem that’s currently poking me in the ass.”
“Mmmm,” Zach hummed thoughtfully. “Tempting. Second choice?”
“Second choice?” Chris turned around and wrapped his arms around Zach’s shoulders so he could whisper in his hear. “Why don’t you take me home and fuck me senseless, you gorgeous bitch.”
“Your use of the word bitch offends my feminist sensibilities,” Zach said, his voice a low growl.
Chris scraped his teeth along the edge of Zach’s ear. “That’s why you have to own it.”
Zach straightened and took a step away, shaking the tingle of desire from his limbs. “Well, Annie, it was awesome to run into you, but I have to take Chris home and do unspeakable things to him for a while. Wanna get dinner?”
Annie laughed. “Sure, baby. Give me a call.” She winked at Chris. “Have fun. Don’t tire him out too much.”
Chris raised his hands. “I have no control over the situation,” he said, his eyes wide and innocent.
“Okay, you two can bond over my sexual prowess later,” Zach said, grabbing Chris by the wrist.
“Nice to meet you, Annie!” Chris yelled as Zach dragged him away.
***
“Okay, is this better?” Chris asked, slicing into the tempeh.
Summer looked over his shoulder. “Yeah, that’s better. Cut it like that.”
Rachel slid a glass of wine across the counter to him as he resumed cutting the tempeh into chunks. When he was finished, Summer showed him how to make the sauce. “Keep stirring it until it thickens. You want it really thick.”
“Yeah I do,” Chris said, winking.
“Then why are you with Quinto?” Harvest asked with a smirk, leaning against the doorway and taking a hit off a joint.
“Shut the fuck up, Harvest,” Chris said playfully, making grabby hands for the joint. Harvest handed it to him and he took a long pull.
“Chris! You’re not stirring!”
Chris rolled his eyes and let Summer take the wooden spoon from his hand and stir the pan. He shrugged and hopped up on the counter. “So when’s Zach getting back, anyway? Not that I’m not enjoying this quality time with you all.”
“He should be back in half an hour or so,” Rachel said, glancing at her watch. “So, Chris. What are you doing after graduation?” She tried to make it sound like an innocent question, but Chris saw Summer and Harvest watching him and he ran a hand over his eyes.
“Fuck, you guys, not you, too.”
“Come on, Chris, you have to have some idea!”
“I don’t!”
“Are you staying in Philly, at least?”
“Argh, I don’t know! I don’t know. Believe me, Zach will know as soon as I do.”
“You’re our friend, too, Chris,” Summer said, and for once it wasn’t accompanied by a lewd comment.
“Thanks.” Chris tipped his head back against the cabinets with a light smack. “I just wish things could stay like this, you know? This-” he gestured to the kitchen, his friends, the joint, the pan of tempeh cooking on the stove, “-is perfect.”
The front door opened and Zach walked in, stooping down to pet Noah before striding toward the kitchen. “Oh my god, something smells delicious,” he said. He paused in the doorway. “Oooh, something looks delicious, too,” he said, grinning and looking at Chris. He walked over and Chris slid off the counter and into his arms. Chris rested his chin on Zach’s shoulder and smiled ruefully at the others, saying quietly, “Now it really is perfect.”
***
Chris shifted the bag of dirt on his shoulder as he attempted to open the door without dropping the cardboard box he was carrying. He was relieved when Zach saved him the trouble by opening it from the inside.
“Hey, you! What’s in the bag?”
“Dirt.”
“Dirt?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry, it’s organic. I thought I could get you guys started on your garden. Come on, let’s plant shit.”
Zach shrugged, took the cardboard box of plants and seeds out of Chris’s hands, and started for the back yard.
In the yard, Chris grabbed a trowel and started jamming it into the existing soil along the edge of the back fence as Zach looked on, amused. Zach glanced through the box of seeds and starter plants that Chris had picked up from somewhere, admiring his choices. When he looked up again, Chris had churned up half the row of soil and he was scowling as he thrust the spade violently back into the earth. Dirty streaks of sweat slid down his temples and his blue eyes flashed with…something.
“Hey, is everything okay, Chris?” Zach asked, standing up from the steps and walking toward him.
“Yeah,” Chris said, panting from the exertion. He stood up and wiped an arm across his forehead. “Everything’s fine. It’s fine. Grab that dirt for me?” Zach picked up the bag and started pouring the fresh dirt down the row, as Chris continued to dig. When they reached the end of the row, Chris stood, panting, and leaned back heavily against the fence, his eyes closed. Zach looked at him curiously, then dropped the bag of dirt and stepped closer.
“Hey,” he said softly, setting a hand gently on Chris’s waist. “What’s wrong?”
Chris opened his eyes, but he turned his head to the side, looking away from Zach.
“I got into grad school,” he said quietly. “Berkeley.”
Zach felt as though the air had been sucked from his lungs.
“I got a partial scholarship,” Chris continued, still not looking at him. “And they invited me to participate in a playwriting workshop over the summer.”
Zach found his breath again, slid a hand up to Chris’s jaw, to pull him forcefully until he was looking into Zach’s eyes. Zach ran his thumb across Chris’s cheekbone, leaving a streak of dirt beneath his eye. “You’re amazing.”
Chris swallowed, lowered his eyes.
“You are Chris, listen to me. You are fucking amazing.” Chris looked at him again, his eyes stormy, and Zach felt the twitch of his jaw beneath his palm as he fought to find the words he wanted to say to Zach.
“Zach…”
Zach covered Chris’s mouth with his and Chris kissed him back, hard, pouring everything into it, and their teeth clashed together but it didn’t matter. Zach’s hands were warm on his face and he clutched at the back of Zach’s shirt as Zach kept him pressed against the fence. Zach ground their hips together and Chris squirmed against him, hard and desperate. He let Zach plunder his mouth, sucking at his tongue, biting at his lower lip and he moaned, sliding his hands down to Zach’s ass.
Zach kissed away from his mouth, licking and sucking at Chris’s neck, salty and gritty under his tongue. Chris tipped his head back to let Zach scrape his teeth along his collarbone, and he moved his hands from Zach’s ass up into his hair. Zach felt the dirt on Chris’s hands against his scalp, and he rubbed his forehead against Chris’s sweaty neck and chest, relishing the smell of earth that he found there. He heard Chris say his name and he didn’t want to hear the rest, lifted his head to cut him off with a kiss, then slid his fingers into Chris’s waistband to pull him away from the fence, stepping backwards, tugging him down until they were on the ground. Chris straddled him, pressed him back into the grass. He leaned back on his heels and ground his palm into the bulge in his jeans, biting his lip as sweat slid down his temple.
“Fuck, Chris,” Zach said, bucking his hips in the air, groaning at the friction of his cock against the fabric. Chris moved his hand to Zach’s crotch, rubbed his hand hard over Zach’s fly as he leaned over, planting one hand on the ground beside Zach’s head.
“Yeah, Zach,” he panted, pressing his own erection into Zach’s thigh, sliding against him, and it felt so fucking good. Zach’s eyes were closed, his lips parted as he arched into Chris’s hand. “Ungh, fuck, Chris, fuck, don’t stop.” Chris didn’t even realize he had stopped, but he had both hands on the ground now as he rutted faster against Zach’s thigh, grunting with exertion and heat and the climax building in his groin. He slowed down, ground into Zach in long, hard strokes as he moved his hand over Zach’s cock again. Zach grabbed his wrist, held him there, bucked up against his palm until he shuddered. Chris slipped the tips of his fingers into Zach’s waistband so he could feel the hot slickness spilling into Zach’s boxers, and he groaned and came hard in his own pants, thrusting shortly against Zach’s leg until the last wave of pleasure swept through him and he collapsed onto Zach’s chest, drained.
They kissed lazily, tasting dirt on their tongues, their hands leaving trails of soil across their t-shirts and skin. Zach inhaled deeply, letting the scent of grass and sweat keep him in the moment. He could have stayed there forever, would have held Chris to him there on the ground until the sun went down, longer even, but eventually Chris sat up a little, sniffed at his shoulder, and wrinkled his nose.
“Shower?”
Zach nodded, took hold of Chris’s hand as they stood up together, and clung to him as they made their way upstairs. They stripped and dropped their dirty clothes on the floor and stepped into the shower.
Zach ran his hands up Chris's back, working up a lather with the soap. Dirty streaks slid down across his skin and Zach wiped them away. He rested his hands on Chris's shoulders and asked, "So are you planning to go?" Chris didn't say anything, didn't turn, and Zach pressed his thumbs into Chris neck, massaging him, then slid them down across his chest to hold him tightly. He kissed Chris on the temple. "You should go, Chris. You shouldn't let this opportunity go by." Chris turned in his arms, wrapped soapy hands in his hair and pulled him close for a long, hard kiss. Zach kissed him back with urgency, and Chris reached between them, curled his fist around Zach's half hard cock and jerked him fast, sucking on his tongue until he came with a grunt over Chris's stomach. They stood, breathing, as the water poured over them, washing them clean.
They didn't talk about Berkeley again for a week.
Continue to Chapter 5
Author:
therumjournalsWord Count: This chapter - 5,700 (Total - 35,500)
Previous: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3
(Header details at the Master Post)
Zach checked his phone, picked his beer up off the bar, and resumed staring at the door. A crowd of hipster kids pushed their way into Fuego, followed by a couple of aging hippies, but no Chris. He pounded his beer, ordered another one, and was leaning on the bar trying to look nonchalant when Brendan tapped him on the shoulder and gestured toward the door.
“J. Crew’s here,” he said, and Zach was about to get indignant at the nickname when he turned to see Chris stumble in wearing a long-sleeved navy polo shirt and khakis.
“Zachy!” he said exuberantly, falling heavily against Zach’s side.
“Whoa, hey buddy, you alright there?”
“I’m fine,” Chris said, and Zach recoiled at the stale beer and vodka fumes wafting off of him. “Totally fine. Ge’ me a drink.”
Zach’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he held Chris upright with one arm while he tugged it out of the pocket of his jeans. He looked at the screen, which informed him that he was getting a call from…Chris. He looked at Chris, then back at the phone, and answered. “Hello?”
“Zach?”
“Yeah?”
“Hey mate, it’s Karl. Is Chris with you?”
“Um.” He glanced at Chris who was swaying a little and working to keep his eyes open. “Physically, yes.”
Karl chuckled. “Thank god. He went stumbling out of here without his phone. I shouldn’t have let him leave, but he looked like he was going to get violent with anyone who tried to keep him away from you.” Zach raised an eyebrow and looked at Chris again. Chris grinned dopily back at him.
“It’s no problem, man. I’ve got him. Thanks for looking out.”
“Yeah. Thanks, Zach.”
Zach slid the phone back in his pocket and stood from his bar stool. He cupped Chris’s face in his hands. “Hey baby boy, let’s get you away from people.”
“Don’t demasculate me,” Chris slurred, poking him in the chest.
“I would never do that. Come on.” He slung Chris’s arm around his shoulders and half carried him out of the bar and down the steps into the chilly night air.
**
“Chris.”
“Mmmff.”
“Hey, babe. You gotta get up. You have class.”
“Fuck you,” Chris mumbled, turning onto his stomach and pulling a pillow over his head.
“Hey, that’s not nice. Come on, Chris, you’re gonna be pissed if you miss Literature for Pretentious Assholes, or whatever.”
“What days’it?”
“It’s Wednesday.”
Chris cracked an eye open and glared at Zach with it. “I don’t have class ‘til 1:00.”
“I know. It’s 12:15 and you’re at my house. And you reek of alcoholism. So come on. Get up and take a shower.”
“My head.”
“Here.” Zach handed him a glass of water. Chris scowled at it.
“What is this, some kind of homeopathic remedy?”
“It’s to take these, idiot,” Zach said, pressing two Advils into his hand. Chris swallowed them down and let his head drop back onto the pillow.
“I hate you.”
“Aww, that’s sweet. I love you, too. Now get your ass out of my bed, I don’t want to be responsible for you misinterpreting the theme of public memory in War and Peace.”
“That was last semester, dumbass,” Chris grumbled as he let Zach lift him to his feet and push him toward the door. “And anyway, how do you know about that?” He furrowed his brow as Zach pushed a towel into his hands.
“I read your paper. Now go.” He gave Chris a light shove out of the bedroom, and listened until he heard the shower.
*
“Zach, you don’t have to walk me to class, I’m going.”
“I’m not walking you to class. I’m walking with you. I enjoy your company. Most of the time.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means this grumpy hungover thing you’ve got going leaves something to be desired. As does the shitfaced frat boy act you were so admirably pulling off last night.”
Chris didn’t respond, staring at his feet as they walked.
“Hey.” Zach reached for his hand and Chris let him take it. “You gonna tell me what was going on yesterday, or what?”
Chris shrugged.
“Chris, it’s me. Come on. What’s up?”
“I had an appointment with the career counselor,” Chris mumbled.
“Ah.”
“Yeah.”
“What’d he say?”
“She said… I should have gotten a summer internship, I should sign up for on-campus recruiting, I could apply to grad school but only if that’s really what I want and not just to avoid the real world, blahdy blahdy blah, I have no fucking idea, I’m screwed, and I want to kill myself.”
“Drama queen.”
Chris looked up at Zach with a grin. “Wanna be my sugar daddy?”
“Wanna live on oatmeal and beans?”
Chris made a face.
“Well, what do you want to do?”
Chris gave him a disbelieving look. “Why do you think I drank myself into a stupor last night? I don’t know what I want, that’s the problem! It’s not as easy as, ‘I want to be a painter, so I’m going to paint, la la la, fuck the man’.”
“I’m an artist, Chris. Not a painter.”
“What the fuck ever, you know what I mean.”
“You like writing. Why don’t you write a book?”
“Uh huh. You try telling that to a Penn career counselor.”
“Why don’t you look around for jobs at, like, theater companies or something.”
“Oh yeah? You don’t happen to know, say, fifty other people with actual experience in the arts applying for the same thing?”
“Fine, Chris. I’m just trying to help, but if you’re going to be all pessimistic about it…”
They came to a stop outside Fisher-Bennett Hall. Chris leaned against a low wall and slid his hands around Zach’s waist. “I’m sorry. I just, I hate thinking about it, and I know I have to, but I don’t want to. I want to think about you. And make out with you, and fuck you-“
“Chris, stop it,” Zach said, blushing.
“Stop it?”
“Stop now, resume later.” He kissed Chris on the cheek. “Go to class.”
“Fine. I’m coming over later, though.”
“You’d better.”
“Chris, get your ass out here. You gotta come see this, someone made a hipster snowman.”
“Of course they did.”
“Come on, Noah wants to romp around with you in the snow.”
“Oh, Noah does? I’m sure. Look, just let me finish up a few things, and then I’ll meet you out there, okay? I promise.”
Zach was shivering by the time Chris showed up, and he wanted to be pissed, but it was partly his fault for only wearing a light hoodie under his peacoat, and then Chris was there wrapping his strong, warm arms around Zach, and he couldn’t quite bring himself to care anymore about the snow soaking into his jeans.
“Miss me?” Chris asked, warm puffs of breath hitting Zach’s cheek between kisses.
“Hell yes. What were you doing anyway?”
“Future stuff,” Chris said, and he snaked his leg around to trip Zach into a snow drift, falling down with him. He pressed his warm lips to Zach’s mouth, eased it open with his tongue, because this was what they did now, when they talked about the future. They kissed, so they couldn’t talk, and they threw themselves into the present and tried not to think about anything beyond their hands on each others’ skin.
Chris threaded his fingers into Zach’s hair, damp and cold against the back of his neck where it stuck out from under his hat. Zach shivered and pulled Chris onto him until he completely covered Zach’s body.
“You’re cold.”
“Yeah, no shit,” Zach said, his teeth chattering through his smile.
“I have an idea of how to warm you up.” Chris scrambled to his feet and offered Zach a hand.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yep. Hot chocolate. Blankets.”
“Oh. I was thinking more along the lines of nakedness and physical exertion.”
“Well, yeah. That much was implied.”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. There’s a free poetry reading at the Green Line Cafe on Thursday night. You wanna go?”
Chris paused in cutting up the mushrooms and looked at Zach with an eyebrow raised. “Zach, sometimes you are so adorable I can barely stand it.”
“What?”
“Thursday is St. Patrick’s Day,” Chris said patiently.
“So?”
“SO?”
“Oh god, Chris, don’t tell me you’re one of those.”
“Do you even know me?”
“Right. Of course you are.”
“You’re coming out with me.”
“Hell no. I still haven’t gotten the smell of frat off me from last time I went out with you.”
“Oh shush. Come on, Zach. It’s my senior year. You’re the most important person in my life….”
“You need someone to watch you so you don’t seriously injure or embarrass yourself…”
Chris broke into a grin. “So you’ll come?”
“The things I do for you,” Zach said, but he smiled as he turned back to the stove.
“And you have to wear green.”
“Cut the fucking mushrooms.”
**
“Zach, where are you?” Chris yelled into the phone.
“I’m finishing something, I’ll be there soon.”
“What?!”
“I’ll be there soon!” Zach yelled back.
“Okaaay. But hurry up. Karl wants you to get here before I get too drunk.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
**
Zach wrinkled his nose at the sight of the crowded Irish bar, packed with drunken college students spilling green beer on each others’ green shirts. He took a deep breath and stepped inside, pushing his way toward the bar, his eyes scanning the crowd for Chris, Karl, Zoe – basically anyone who wasn’t whooping and wearing a backwards white baseball cap. Finally, he spotted Chris, talking animatedly to someone Zach didn’t recognize, a guy who Zach was quick to note was tan, built, and obviously attractive despite the ridiculous foam Guinness hat that he was sporting. Zach ran a hand through his hair self-consciously as he approached them.
The guy was listening intently to Chris, smiling at him, touching him on the arm as he said something, and looking like…well, looking like Zach had better get the hell over there before he got any ideas. A possessive flash surged through Zach, and he came up behind Chris to wrap an arm around his chest.
“Hey bro,” he said huskily into Chris’s ear.
He watched the blush creep up Chris’s cheek as he subtly pulled away. “Zach, hey, you made it! Holy shit,” he said, as he caught sight of the bright green streaks shooting through Zach’s dark hair. Zach could see in his eyes that he wanted to say more, but Chris bit his lip and stopped himself, regaining his composure quickly.
“Zach, this is Eric. Eric, Zach.”
“Hi Zach,” Eric said as they shook hands. “You go to Penn?”
“Uh, no.” He didn’t elaborate.
“Right. Well, nice to meet you, and Chris, I’ll see you around. Email me your resume and I’ll see what I can do, okay?”
“Sure thing, thanks Eric.”
Chris turned to Zach as Eric disappeared into the crowd. “Holy shit, Zach, you look fucking hot as hell.”
Zach grinned. “I had a feeling you wanted to say something like that.”
Chris ran his fingers through Zach’s hair, pulling up a strand of green. “Damn. When did you do this?”
“Today. Summer helped me. You like it? I thought maybe it looked a little like snot.”
“That’s attractive. But seriously, this is ridiculously, unreasonably hot. And are you…are you wearing green lipstick?”
Zach nodded and leaned forward to press a green kiss to Chris’s cheek.
“God. Never change. Never leave my side.”
“You either. So who was that guy? Eric or whatever.”
“Just a guy I used to know. He was a senior when I was a freshman. He’s a consultant now, said he can probably hook me up with a couple interviews.”
“Wait, wait. A senior when you were a freshman? Oh my god, did you make out with him? You did, didn’t you?!”
Chris’s blush was all the answer Zach needed. Zach threw his head back and laughed. “Oh my god. This is priceless.” He glanced around the room, but didn’t see Eric. “I’m actually impressed though. He was kinda hot. Oh my god, did you suck his dick? Tell me.”
“No.”
“No you didn’t suck his dick, or no you won’t tell me?”
“I need another beer.”
**
“So wait,” Zach said, as they navigated into an unoccupied corner, holding massive cups of green beer over their heads. “You want to be a consultant now?”
“I don’t know. I mean, no, not really, but…the career counselor suggested it, and apparently you don’t need any specific background, just good critical thinking and analytical skills. You can make a lot of money…”
Zach curled his lip.
“Look, Zach, I don’t really want to get into it right now, okay? Can we just have a good time tonight and talk about this later?”
Zach grabbed Chris by a belt loop and pulled him close. “I think we can manage that.”
“Good.” Chris took a sip of his beer.
“So how many times did you guys make out?”
“Oh my god,” Chris spluttered, “you have a one-track mind. Why do you care so much anyway?”
“I don’t know. It’s kinda hot to think of geeky little freshman Chris making out with built fratty jocks….”
“You’re letting your daddy kink show, Z. And anyway, how do you know I was a geek?”
Zach raised an eyebrow at him.
“Fine. Your turn. Tell me about someone you hooked up with before me.”
“Chris, please. I was a virgin before I met you.”
Chris rolled his eyes. “Shut up and drink your beer.”
The phone rang as Chris gave himself one last, annoyed look in the mirror, and headed out the door.
“Hi Zach,” Chris said.
“Chris,” Zach said sleepily. “Why the fuck aren’t you in my bed?”
Chris smiled and shivered a little. God, he loved this man. “I’m on my way to an interview, actually.”
“What? Really?”
He could tell Zach was sitting up a little in the bed, pictured the sleepy, confused look on his face, and was tempted to scrap the whole thing and get the hell back over there. “Yeah, sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want you to see me looking like a corporate tool. Seriously, you’d cry if you saw me right now, Zach.”
“Shush, I’m sure you look amazing.”
“Fine, I’m a hot corporate tool, but still…”
“Chris…”
“Don’t start, Zach,” Chris sighed wearily. “I know. I don’t know what I’m doing and I don’t want this job, but it doesn’t matter because I’m not going to get it anyway. So don’t lose any sleep over it, okay? In fact, go back to sleep, and I’ll come over after the interview and fuck you wearing nothing but my suit jacket and tie.”
“Mmm, tempting, but in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not really into being fucked by The Man.”
“You’re hilarious. Fine, how ‘bout you fuck me, then, and live out all of your communist fantasies by coming all over my face.”
“I’m hard already just thinking about it.”
“Hold that thought, and I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Okay. Break a leg. Good luck or whatever they say. Show me the money.”
“I hate you.”
“Love you, too.”
**
“Hey, baby.”
Chris could hear his sleepy smile over the phone. “You still in bed, lazybutt?”
“Yep.” Chris pictured Zach stretching, sprawled across the futon, scratching lazily at his chest. “’m waiting for my boyfriend. Can you please tell him to stop sucking Wall Street’s dick and get his fucking sexy ass back here?”
“How about you get your sexy ass out of bed and come meet me in Rittenhouse Square?”
“Hmm, tempting, but no.”
“Come on, Zach, it’s a beautiful day, there are tons of people outside, it’s a glorious cross-section of humanity! Plus I want to put my tongue in your mouth. Come on. And bring a blanket.”
“What about the fucking?” Zach said, his voice going up in a little whine at the end.
“Later. I promise. Come on, do it for my sexy ass.”
He heard Zach grunt as he rolled out of bed. “Ugh, I do everything for that ass,” Zach grumbled.
“See you in a few.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
**
Zach skidded to a brakeless stop in front of the bench that Chris was sitting on and grinned at him, waiting for approval.
“What are you, 13? Show-off.”
Zach waited.
“Alright, that was kinda hot,” Chris admitted, standing up. Zach set his bike down and gave Chris a once over. He reached forward to push the jacket off Chris’s shoulders, dropping it onto the bench. Chris stood tolerantly as Zach unbuttoned his professional blue shirt, loosened his tie, and slid his hands up the back of Chris’s undershirt as he pulled him in for a kiss.
“Mmmm, who’s my sexy professional?” he murmured, kissing Chris’s jaw.
“Not me,” Chris said distractedly, sliding his hands around Zach’s waist.
“How was the interview?”
“Fucking sucked. How the fuck am I supposed to know how many light bulbs there are in New York City? And what the fuck does that have to do with consulting, anyway?”
“What the fuck is consulting, anyway?”
“Fuck if I know.”
“What did you say? For the answer about the light bulbs?”
“I don’t even remember. I think I may have quoted Edith Wharton.”
Zach winced. “Yikes.”
“I know. Whatever. Come on, let’s lie down on the grass and surreptitiously grope each other.”
They set the blanket down across the grass and flopped down on it. They alternated between making out and people-watching, and Chris had to convince Zach that yes, it would be obvious if he rubbed off against Chris’s leg right here in the middle of the lawn. Chris was sprawled across Zach’s lap in his debauched business attire, refusing Zach’s request to recite improvisational love poetry, when they heard a voice call from across the grass.
“Zachary Quinto? No fucking way!”
Zach looked over and his face split into a grin. He stood excitedly and yanked Chris up by the hand. “Annie! Holy shit!”
“Hey girl!”
Chris watched with amusement as Zach jogged across the lawn to embrace his friend. Annie was about a foot shorter than Zach, but solidly built, and for a minute it looked like she might actually tackle him to the ground in her enthusiasm.
When she let him go, Zach tugged her over by the wrist.
“Chris, this Annie, my best friend from Sarah Lawrence. At least, I thought she was my friend, until she ran off to New York City and stopped calling me.”
“You don’t call me!” Annie exclaimed, punching him in the shoulder. Chris winced.
“Whatever, bitch,” Zach said, his eyes twinkling. “Anyway, Annie, this is Chris. My boyfriend,” he said, drawing out the word and winking.
“Nice to meet you,” Chris said, shaking her hand.
“Shit, Zach, no wonder you don’t call,” Annie said.
“Right?” Zach slid an arm around Chris’s waist, looking like he was going to burst from pride. “So what the fuck are you doing in Philly, anyway?”
Now it was Annie’s turn to blush. “Oh, I, uh…I kinda met a guy. Online. We’ve been kind of seeing each other for a little while and he’s visiting some friends here, so…” She gestured across the grass to a group of people sitting in a circle.
“Look at you blushing, oh my god, you loooooove him!” Zach cooed.
“Fuck you, Quinto.”
“You have an interesting relationship with your friends, Zach, did anyone ever tell you that?” Chris asked with a grin.
“Fuck you, Pine.” Chris laughed. “So Annie, are you gonna introduce me to this guy, or what?”
“Yeah, yeah. Wait here, I’ll go get him.”
Zach nudged Chris with his elbow as they watched her walk across the grass. “So, you said you wanted to meet someone I hooked up with.” He nodded toward Annie.
“What?! You had sex with her?”
“No, no, we just made out every once in a while. When we were drunk. Until she got a girlfriend.”
“She’s bi?”
“I guess? She calls herself pansexual.”
Chris raised his eyebrows. “Pansexual? Is that a thing?”
“Sure it is.”
“Are you pansexual?”
“What do you think?”
“I think you’re terrified of the vageen.”
“You are correct.”
“Thank god.”
“Says the straight boy.”
“Yeah, that’s me. Totally straight. Totally not thinking about you drilling me in the ass right now.”
“Jesus, Chris,” Zach choked, turning to give Chris a fake hug so he could adjust himself as Annie came walking back toward them. Her boyfriend was tall and thin, with a friendly, crooked smile, and he was twirling a pink hula hoop expertly around one arm.
“Jay, this is Quinto. The one I was telling you about. Zach, this is Jay.”
“Hey, man,” Jay said, handing Zach the hula hoop and raising an eyebrow expectantly. Chris raised an eyebrow too, when he noticed the gleam of excitement in Zach’s eye. Zach was excited about a pink hula hoop. This had to be interesting.
Chris took a step back and Zach blushed a little as he took the hoop, stepped into it, and started it spinning around his hips. He fell into an easy rhythm, talking to Annie and Jay as he kept the hoop going without a second thought. Which was all well and good, and yeah, a little hot, until Zach caught his eye, grinned, and raised his arms up over his head. His shirt rode up, exposing the indent of his hipbones, his thin waist, the dark trail of hair leading down past his navel. Chris flushed a little, his mouth suddenly dry. Then Zach did something, a thrust of his pelvis and a shimmy of his hips that sent the hula hoop spiraling up, around his stomach to his chest, and Chris wasn’t sure whether he wanted to watch forever or jump him and tear his clothes off right there in the middle of the green.
“Jesus, Zach, is there a reason you never told me about this particular talent?” Chris said, gaping.
“I had to ease you into my awesomeness,” Zach said, ducking his head so the hula hoop spun out around one arm to his wrist.
“He used to do this on the quad at school,” Annie said. “Used to gather quite a crowd.”
“I’d imagine,” Chris said, glancing around to where a small crowd was forming right now, watching as Zach smoothly transferred the hula hoop to his other arm, then down around his neck. He gestured for Chris to come closer, grabbed him by the wrist and turned him so Chris’s back was tight against his front. He gripped Chris by the waist, getting him used to the rhythm as they moved in tandem to keep the hula hoop moving around them.
“Fuck,” Chris murmured, caught up in the movement, Zach’s pelvis pressed against his ass.
“Did Zach ever tell you that he had dreads for a semester?” Annie asked.
Chris smiled. “Hell yeah he did. What was my reaction when you showed me that picture, Zach?”
Zach chuckled in his ear. “Spontaneous orgasm, I believe,” he told Annie.
Chris reached an arm up and back, pressing his fingers into Zach’s hair. “I fucking love this hair,” he said. Zach’s hips stuttered and the hula hoop fell to their feet, and Zach wrapped both arms around Chris’s chest and kissed him on the cheek as they heard scattered applause from the small crowd of observers.
“What do you want to do now?” Zach murmured seductively.
Chris turned to look at him. “I want you to take me in those bushes over there so I can help you with the substantial problem that’s currently poking me in the ass.”
“Mmmm,” Zach hummed thoughtfully. “Tempting. Second choice?”
“Second choice?” Chris turned around and wrapped his arms around Zach’s shoulders so he could whisper in his hear. “Why don’t you take me home and fuck me senseless, you gorgeous bitch.”
“Your use of the word bitch offends my feminist sensibilities,” Zach said, his voice a low growl.
Chris scraped his teeth along the edge of Zach’s ear. “That’s why you have to own it.”
Zach straightened and took a step away, shaking the tingle of desire from his limbs. “Well, Annie, it was awesome to run into you, but I have to take Chris home and do unspeakable things to him for a while. Wanna get dinner?”
Annie laughed. “Sure, baby. Give me a call.” She winked at Chris. “Have fun. Don’t tire him out too much.”
Chris raised his hands. “I have no control over the situation,” he said, his eyes wide and innocent.
“Okay, you two can bond over my sexual prowess later,” Zach said, grabbing Chris by the wrist.
“Nice to meet you, Annie!” Chris yelled as Zach dragged him away.
“Okay, is this better?” Chris asked, slicing into the tempeh.
Summer looked over his shoulder. “Yeah, that’s better. Cut it like that.”
Rachel slid a glass of wine across the counter to him as he resumed cutting the tempeh into chunks. When he was finished, Summer showed him how to make the sauce. “Keep stirring it until it thickens. You want it really thick.”
“Yeah I do,” Chris said, winking.
“Then why are you with Quinto?” Harvest asked with a smirk, leaning against the doorway and taking a hit off a joint.
“Shut the fuck up, Harvest,” Chris said playfully, making grabby hands for the joint. Harvest handed it to him and he took a long pull.
“Chris! You’re not stirring!”
Chris rolled his eyes and let Summer take the wooden spoon from his hand and stir the pan. He shrugged and hopped up on the counter. “So when’s Zach getting back, anyway? Not that I’m not enjoying this quality time with you all.”
“He should be back in half an hour or so,” Rachel said, glancing at her watch. “So, Chris. What are you doing after graduation?” She tried to make it sound like an innocent question, but Chris saw Summer and Harvest watching him and he ran a hand over his eyes.
“Fuck, you guys, not you, too.”
“Come on, Chris, you have to have some idea!”
“I don’t!”
“Are you staying in Philly, at least?”
“Argh, I don’t know! I don’t know. Believe me, Zach will know as soon as I do.”
“You’re our friend, too, Chris,” Summer said, and for once it wasn’t accompanied by a lewd comment.
“Thanks.” Chris tipped his head back against the cabinets with a light smack. “I just wish things could stay like this, you know? This-” he gestured to the kitchen, his friends, the joint, the pan of tempeh cooking on the stove, “-is perfect.”
The front door opened and Zach walked in, stooping down to pet Noah before striding toward the kitchen. “Oh my god, something smells delicious,” he said. He paused in the doorway. “Oooh, something looks delicious, too,” he said, grinning and looking at Chris. He walked over and Chris slid off the counter and into his arms. Chris rested his chin on Zach’s shoulder and smiled ruefully at the others, saying quietly, “Now it really is perfect.”
Chris shifted the bag of dirt on his shoulder as he attempted to open the door without dropping the cardboard box he was carrying. He was relieved when Zach saved him the trouble by opening it from the inside.
“Hey, you! What’s in the bag?”
“Dirt.”
“Dirt?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry, it’s organic. I thought I could get you guys started on your garden. Come on, let’s plant shit.”
Zach shrugged, took the cardboard box of plants and seeds out of Chris’s hands, and started for the back yard.
In the yard, Chris grabbed a trowel and started jamming it into the existing soil along the edge of the back fence as Zach looked on, amused. Zach glanced through the box of seeds and starter plants that Chris had picked up from somewhere, admiring his choices. When he looked up again, Chris had churned up half the row of soil and he was scowling as he thrust the spade violently back into the earth. Dirty streaks of sweat slid down his temples and his blue eyes flashed with…something.
“Hey, is everything okay, Chris?” Zach asked, standing up from the steps and walking toward him.
“Yeah,” Chris said, panting from the exertion. He stood up and wiped an arm across his forehead. “Everything’s fine. It’s fine. Grab that dirt for me?” Zach picked up the bag and started pouring the fresh dirt down the row, as Chris continued to dig. When they reached the end of the row, Chris stood, panting, and leaned back heavily against the fence, his eyes closed. Zach looked at him curiously, then dropped the bag of dirt and stepped closer.
“Hey,” he said softly, setting a hand gently on Chris’s waist. “What’s wrong?”
Chris opened his eyes, but he turned his head to the side, looking away from Zach.
“I got into grad school,” he said quietly. “Berkeley.”
Zach felt as though the air had been sucked from his lungs.
“I got a partial scholarship,” Chris continued, still not looking at him. “And they invited me to participate in a playwriting workshop over the summer.”
Zach found his breath again, slid a hand up to Chris’s jaw, to pull him forcefully until he was looking into Zach’s eyes. Zach ran his thumb across Chris’s cheekbone, leaving a streak of dirt beneath his eye. “You’re amazing.”
Chris swallowed, lowered his eyes.
“You are Chris, listen to me. You are fucking amazing.” Chris looked at him again, his eyes stormy, and Zach felt the twitch of his jaw beneath his palm as he fought to find the words he wanted to say to Zach.
“Zach…”
Zach covered Chris’s mouth with his and Chris kissed him back, hard, pouring everything into it, and their teeth clashed together but it didn’t matter. Zach’s hands were warm on his face and he clutched at the back of Zach’s shirt as Zach kept him pressed against the fence. Zach ground their hips together and Chris squirmed against him, hard and desperate. He let Zach plunder his mouth, sucking at his tongue, biting at his lower lip and he moaned, sliding his hands down to Zach’s ass.
Zach kissed away from his mouth, licking and sucking at Chris’s neck, salty and gritty under his tongue. Chris tipped his head back to let Zach scrape his teeth along his collarbone, and he moved his hands from Zach’s ass up into his hair. Zach felt the dirt on Chris’s hands against his scalp, and he rubbed his forehead against Chris’s sweaty neck and chest, relishing the smell of earth that he found there. He heard Chris say his name and he didn’t want to hear the rest, lifted his head to cut him off with a kiss, then slid his fingers into Chris’s waistband to pull him away from the fence, stepping backwards, tugging him down until they were on the ground. Chris straddled him, pressed him back into the grass. He leaned back on his heels and ground his palm into the bulge in his jeans, biting his lip as sweat slid down his temple.
“Fuck, Chris,” Zach said, bucking his hips in the air, groaning at the friction of his cock against the fabric. Chris moved his hand to Zach’s crotch, rubbed his hand hard over Zach’s fly as he leaned over, planting one hand on the ground beside Zach’s head.
“Yeah, Zach,” he panted, pressing his own erection into Zach’s thigh, sliding against him, and it felt so fucking good. Zach’s eyes were closed, his lips parted as he arched into Chris’s hand. “Ungh, fuck, Chris, fuck, don’t stop.” Chris didn’t even realize he had stopped, but he had both hands on the ground now as he rutted faster against Zach’s thigh, grunting with exertion and heat and the climax building in his groin. He slowed down, ground into Zach in long, hard strokes as he moved his hand over Zach’s cock again. Zach grabbed his wrist, held him there, bucked up against his palm until he shuddered. Chris slipped the tips of his fingers into Zach’s waistband so he could feel the hot slickness spilling into Zach’s boxers, and he groaned and came hard in his own pants, thrusting shortly against Zach’s leg until the last wave of pleasure swept through him and he collapsed onto Zach’s chest, drained.
They kissed lazily, tasting dirt on their tongues, their hands leaving trails of soil across their t-shirts and skin. Zach inhaled deeply, letting the scent of grass and sweat keep him in the moment. He could have stayed there forever, would have held Chris to him there on the ground until the sun went down, longer even, but eventually Chris sat up a little, sniffed at his shoulder, and wrinkled his nose.
“Shower?”
Zach nodded, took hold of Chris’s hand as they stood up together, and clung to him as they made their way upstairs. They stripped and dropped their dirty clothes on the floor and stepped into the shower.
Zach ran his hands up Chris's back, working up a lather with the soap. Dirty streaks slid down across his skin and Zach wiped them away. He rested his hands on Chris's shoulders and asked, "So are you planning to go?" Chris didn't say anything, didn't turn, and Zach pressed his thumbs into Chris neck, massaging him, then slid them down across his chest to hold him tightly. He kissed Chris on the temple. "You should go, Chris. You shouldn't let this opportunity go by." Chris turned in his arms, wrapped soapy hands in his hair and pulled him close for a long, hard kiss. Zach kissed him back with urgency, and Chris reached between them, curled his fist around Zach's half hard cock and jerked him fast, sucking on his tongue until he came with a grunt over Chris's stomach. They stood, breathing, as the water poured over them, washing them clean.
They didn't talk about Berkeley again for a week.
Continue to Chapter 5
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no subject
Date: 2010-07-08 01:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-08 02:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-08 04:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-08 06:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-08 03:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-11 12:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-09 12:32 am (UTC)And, oh no! Separation! I'm already feeling the angst! :(
no subject
Date: 2010-07-11 12:33 am (UTC)D8 D8 D8 D8
He totally has to go though. ;____;
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Date: 2010-07-11 04:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-12 02:20 am (UTC)“Chris, please. I was a virgin before I met you.”
Chris rolled his eyes. “Shut up and drink your beer.”
LOL.
“Mmm, tempting, but in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not really into being fucked by The Man.”
“You’re hilarious. Fine, how ‘bout you fuck me, then, and live out all of your communist fantasies by coming all over my face.”
Awesome.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-13 12:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-17 05:25 am (UTC)You are amazing at setting the whole tone of each chapter right away. I could feel this through the whole thing. Even during the silly parts I felt an ache knowing something was about to come.
Again, I totally fucking love Zach. That even though it hurts him, he's so proud of Chris and wants that opportunity for him. And Chris, not sure what he wants but stressed over the idea of leaving what he has behind. I've known this situation from experience and you really captured both sides perfectly.
The frotting was gorgeous. Sad and desperate and just beautiful. I feel heartsick for them!
no subject
Date: 2010-10-08 02:28 am (UTC)