Leo
The phone buzzes next to my head; waking me from a shallow, uncomfortable sleep. With bleary eyes, I look at the time. 5:00 a.m. Who the hell is texting me at 5 a.m.? I’m dead tired. I didn’t sleep a wink last night. Combo of a new place, sleeping on the floor, and being so exhausted I went past tired to awake again. My body aches in places I didn’t know it could ache. Me and Ky busted ass moving every single thing we own across town and into this new apartment over the weekend. Told her it was because our old apartment was so bad, but that’s only partly true. Really I just can’t wait to be able to see Angel every day. Pretty sure she’s on to me, I’m about as subtle as a brick through a glass window.
I check the text. Bolting upright from the floor, all traces of tiredness are gone in a flash. I gawk open mouthed at my phone and rub my eyes to make sure I’m not still dreaming. It’s a positively sinful photo from Angel. He’s lying in bed on his side, tired eyes gazing into the camera and teeth biting that plump lower lip. Covered by fluffy blankets and surrounded by a million pillows, he’s hugging a deep blue velvet one that has ‘Bitch Please’ stitched on it in silver thread. One half of his face is buried into the pillow, his hair a sleep tousled halo around his head. He’s rumpled and sleepy and adorable. I’m slightly light headed when all the blood drains from my brain right down to my cock. A second text pops up.
I need to stop and take some steadying breaths before I continue texting. Just the suggestion of being in a nest of cosiness, with him wrapped up in my arms, makes my heart race. The things we could do and the sounds he’d make. Lord help me. My face and chest are flushed with the thought of it, and I throw off the blankets to cool myself down. I better change the subject before I nut in my boxers like an overeager teenager.
While my brain is on standby, all thinking completely hijacked by my other head, my phone buzzes again. It’s a video. Curiosity burns through me. What’s he sending me now? After that picture, I’m almost afraid for my blood pressure to watch it. I take another deep steadying breath, and with shaky hands, tap to start the video. Angel is close up to the phone camera, setting it on something to keep it upright. Once he’s set it up where he wants it, he backs into the room away from the camera. I think he’s in his bedroom? There’s soft grey morning light filtering in from the window, landing on the light green wall next to him. The wall is covered in a chaotic patchwork of differently sized framed artwork and photos. He speaks quietly, bent over and looking directly into the camera.
His voice is a bit husky, and with a sleepy smile he says, “Mornin’ handsome. Yes, I do yoga every day, right after I wake up. I’ll prove it to you.” He straightens up and steps his bare feet onto a yoga mat lying on the floor. He’s wearing the smallest softest looking sleep shorts imaginable, and a slouchy, oversized, cotton sweater that distractingly slips off his shoulder. My god, that shoulder, I want to bite it. I want to breathe in his decadent scent from the gentle curve of his neck. Humming quietly to himself and breathing deep even breaths, he does a series of movements one after the other transitioning smoothly between them. His body flows gracefully, like water. I’m holding my breath, heartbeat at a gallop. My already perked up cock is painfully hard now and I’m enthralled, I cannot pry my eyes away from him. He finishes the poses he’s doing, turns and gives the camera a shy smile, and a wave. “See ya later today, I’ve got to finish getting ready. Go back to sleep, sorry I woke you so early. Bye.” He steps back over to the camera and the video stops.
My brain has melted and dribbled out my ears. I watch the video again. I watch it for a third time. I very much want to beat myself off while I watch this video, but that feels disrespectful to Angel. I don’t think that was his intent on sending it to me, and it’d be a pretty shitty thing to do without his permission. Gotta get up and have a cold shower, cause I don’t have the willpower to resist if I keep laying here, and post nut clarity is gonna slap me like a real bitch. I haul myself up from the floor, untangling from the blankets, and shuffle to the bathroom. I think Angel really is tryin’ to kill me.
Standing over the sink eating my cereal, I’m a million miles away - possibly sleeping on my feet with my eyes open - when Ky punches me in the shoulder. The bowl goes flying out of my hand and crashes into the sink, milk flying everywhere. I turn and glare at her.
“What was that for ya buttmonkey? I was eatin’ that!” I grab a cloth and wipe up the milk.
“I thought ya heard me, I said your name like a thousand times and I wasn’t bein’ quiet, douchenozzle! And ya weren’t eating it, you were fucked off somewhere in your head, probably daydreamin’ about Chi.” She pauses for a second, a disgusted look taking over her features. Then she turns her head and pretends to vomit. “Oh gross, I hear it now. I get why you still call him Angel.” She does a dramatic full body shudder. “I mean, I love ya dude, and I know we’re from the boonies, but I ain’t into that shit man.” She wanders off and starts searching through half empty boxes. “Where the fuck are all the bowls?” I roll my eyes at her turned back.
“Besides the fact that you’re my sister and that’s all kinds of messed up, I’m also really gay, remember? The bowls are in that box there.” I point at a box across the room on the kitchen table. “Did ya sleep ok last night? Can ya do some unpacking while I’m at work today?” She stops digging through the box and tilts her head to the side, considering.
“True, you are gay… but technically I’ve got the right parts, even if I don’t want ‘em. And yeah, I slept fine. No neighbours fuckin’ or fightin’ through the walls, so that’s a plus.” She goes back to digging through the box. I assess her profile, not sure how to respond. She does this sometimes, referring to her assigned gender with morbid humour. I don’t wanna say the wrong thing, but I also don’t wanna leave it hanging there awkwardly in the air between us. I take the leap.
“Yeah well, you’re still a girl no matter what parts you got and you’re still my little sister, so gross. I don’t even know how we got on this topic. Are ya gonna do some unpackin’ while I’m at work? And don’t blow off studying today, you didn’t do any all weekend.” She rolls her eyes, and sighs heavily, looking to the ceiling in supplication.
“Yes, for fuck’s sake, course I will. To both, before ya go naggin’ me to death, damn mother hen.” Pulling out a bowl in triumph, she sits down at the kitchen island hooking her ankles around the stool legs, and grabs the cereal box. Pouring herself a bowl, she smirks at me with a devious glint in her eye. I don’t trust her as far as I can throw her. She’s up to something, the brat.
I narrow my eyes at her and ask, “What’re ya up to, huh? I can see the gears in your head turnin’ and I don’t like it.”
She puts her hand to her throat in mock surprise, and lets out an indigent shout. “Oy! Ya don’t trust me? I’m hurt!” I purse my lips and wave my hand at her.
“Out with it ya hooligan.” Head down, she grumbles something into her cereal bowl that I can’t make out. “Stop mumblin’ and out with it!” I raise my voice a bit, aggravated with her cagey attitude. She glares up at me and huffs with irritation.
“I was just gonna, maybe, study in the cafe today, that’s all…”
Glaring back at her I reply, “That’s fine, you didn’t need to make a big deal out of it. Just don’t go botherin’ Angel or Autumn. They’ve gotta work, you can’t bug them.” Her lips pull up into a big grin.
“Don’t worry, I won’t Leo. I’ll behave, promise.” She sticks out her little finger for a pinky promise. I’m pretty sure she’s lying, and absolutely will bother them the whole day, but I hook my finger with hers and break into a chuckle.
“Okay, I’m gonna grab a coffee from Angel and get to work or I’ll be late. Meetin’ clients today, so it’ll be a long one. Probably won’t be back till 7 at the earliest. You can get somethin’ delivered for supper if ya want.” I ruffle her hair as I pass her on my way to the door. “See ya later. Be good.”
I pull on my high-vis vest as I’m taking the stairs down to the cafe. I’m irked that I’ve got to work late tonight. That means this will be my only opportunity to see Angel all day. There’s a few people ahead of me in the line, not surprising at 8:45 on a Monday morning. I don’t have to meet the client until 9:30, so I have a bit of time if traffic isn’t terrible. As I’m waiting, I zone out going over my work to-do list in my head, drumming my fingers on the hard hat in my hands. Meet clients, take lumber orders, finish off cabinet install, start stair railings…
There’s a sharp gasp and I whip my head up to see what’s wrong. While lost in my own thoughts, the line crept up to the counter, and I’m standing at the front of the queue now. Angel’s eyes are wide, his eyebrows raised, and his mouth is a little round o. I look around, curious to what startled him, but there’s no one behind me and nothing unusual happening. Beaming at him, I set my hard hat down on the countertop and lean across it to get closer. It’s so good to see him, all the nervous energy in me settling down, at peace. I pitch my voice low, almost a whisper, so that I won’t be overheard.
“Hi Angel. The picture you sent? And that video?” I purr low in my throat. “So. Damn. Sexy. I was distracted all mornin.” His breath hitches, his wide eyes darting between mine and my lips. One of his curls has escaped his bandana, so I reach up and tuck it behind his ear, my finger caressing his jaw as I pull away.
He bites down on his lip, a blush creeping up his cheeks, and croaks, “H-hi.” He clears his throat and tries again. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to distract you. I was just teasing you a bit because you said you wanted to see me first thing and you didn’t know I wake up at 5 most days. And, you didn’t believe me when I said I do yoga. I know I’m not skinny and flexible and strong like most people who do yoga, but I do it more for balance and centering than anything else.” He’s fiddling with his fingers and looking down. I reach out again and lift his chin with my finger.
“So. Damn. Sexy. Thanks for sending them to me. And, I believed you, it just blew my mind thinkin’ of ya in all those bendy positions.” I wiggle my eyebrows at him and go on, changing the subject because he seems a bit self conscious. “Can I get a coffee to go? I gotta get to work. Ky was gonna come down and study in the cafe later, that okay?” He nods his head and turns to make the coffee.
Glancing at me from the corner of his eye he says, “Yeah, that’s fine, I don’t mind. We offer free wifi for customers, so she can study down here if it doesn’t distract her.” He pauses, clears his throat again, then asks, “So, um, what do you do for work anyway?”
I glance down, inspecting myself. I’m wearing my usual work clothes, a t-shirt covered with a hi-vis vest, varnish-stained jeans, a tool belt low on my hips and beat up steel toe boots. My hard hat is still sitting on the counter top. Turnabout is fair play, so I can’t help but tease him a little bit. I smirk at him, raising an eyebrow.
“Can’t ya guess?”
He shakes his head at me, chuckling and rolling his eyes. “I assume some sort of construction work? But how should I know? Maybe you’re the drummer for a Village People tribute band?”
My smile broadens, he’s got a great sense of humour. “The second one, how’d ya know?”
He’s outright laughing now. I love it, it’s the best sound I’ve ever heard. He’s so beautiful when he laughs, his face just lights up. My pulse quickens and I wish for the thousandth time that I could stay with him all day. Setting down the finished cup of coffee, he leans over and swats my arm.
“Jerk. It was a legitimate question! I didn't want to assume anything.”
I grab his hand and bring it up to my lips, kissing his knuckles. “You’re right Angel, I’m bein’ a jerk. Forgive me?” I press small soft kisses to his palm and inner wrist between words. “I’m a carpenter-joiner. I do bespoke woodwork and install it in rich folks houses for a contracting firm.”
He breathes out a sigh and places his hand on the side of my face, teasing his fingers through my short beard. “Oh.” he whispers. I don’t think he realises that he’s swaying closer to me. I wish I could capture his lips with mine and kiss him silly. But I won’t. Yet. When I kiss him, I want to savour it. I want to take my time until he comes entirely undone. And since I actually need to keep my job, I give his palm one last kiss and force myself to straighten up.
Grabbing the coffee off the countertop, I smile and ask, “ How much do I owe ya? As much as I don’t wanna, I’ve gotta go.”
He peeks up at me from under his long lashes, sticks his lower lip out and full on pouts. “Okay, I guess I’ll see you later? Don’t worry about the coffee. Hope you have a good day.”
I bark out a laugh at his adorableness, raising my hand and covering my eyes. “Oh Angel, you gotta stop. Put away the big guns or I’ll never be able to leave.” He laughs and we wave goodbye to each other as I back out the door.
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