Chapter 31

They were both lying in silence, trying to catch their breath. Once it had steadied, Aleksandr could finally ask the question that had been bothering him from the moment they started their date. “I hope you don’t have to go now? Will you stay with me longer? It would be nice to spend more time together.”
 
Mika, being on cloud nine this entire time thanks to Aleksandr, considered teasing him a little bit, but then changed his mind and decided that it’s better to be honest and serious now. He can always do some teasing later.

„And what did you think? That I’ll get up and leave you alone the moment we finish? Nope, that’s not going to happen. You’re not getting rid of me that fast. I don’t plan on going anywhere. Brace yourself, as you’ll have to stick with me forever,” he laughed, and Aleksandr joined in.

They held each other in a tight embrace, their eyes closed. Aleksandr listened to Mika’s heartbeat, while Mika buried his nose into Aleksandr’s hair, inhaling his intoxicating scent. His fingers wandered on Aleksandr’s back, as if he was a traveler discovering an unknown land.

Aleksandr broke the silence first. “You really meant what you said earlier?”
 
“Yes,” Mika confirmed.

“…Every word?” Mika heard uncertainty in Aleksandr’s voice.

„Mhm,” Mika let out a short, agreeable hum. Then he asked, “Which word got your attention?”

Aleksandr lifted his head, his eyes catching Mika's dreamy gaze. “You said forever.”

Mika smiled and answered, clearly taking his time, “Yes…I did say it.”

“Are you for real about this?”

“What, you don’t believe me?”

Aleksandr sighed heavily, then put his head back on Mika’s chest. “No. It’s just… a promise one should be careful about making.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Mika said with confidence in his voice. He was more than sure that his words were real. That was what he meant was true. But then he realized that it might not be enough for Aleksandr. His hands stopped moving. “ Wait, are you worried I said it in the heat of the moment?”

“It might be, I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking how serious you are about it.”

“If I say I’m very serious and I truly, like 100%, mean it? Does my confession scare you?”
 
“No. Not at all. It’s quite the opposite, but… I just wasn’t sure how you feel about all of this.”

How am I feeling? Well, that’s a good question.
 
Mika lifted Aleksandr’s chin and asked him to look up. Only when their eyes met did he continue, “Aleksandr, I will be honest, because I think that’s the best I can do in this situation. All of this… it feels like a dream, seriously. I’ve been in a few relationships, but I never jumped into the deep water so quickly. You get my point?” It was hard to find the right words to explain what they were going through together, even for Mika, who had dated in the past.
 
“I think so…”
 
“Up until now, until I met you, I was taking my time getting to know another person. Like you know, meeting with them and talking about various things, or going on dates. Then moving more into intimate situations. There was some process, some…uhm, rules?”

“Was it more of a “step by step?”

“Yes, you can say that. But with you…hah, everything is different.” Mika ran his fingers through Aleksandr’s dark hair. How can someone look so beautiful even after sweating for hours?

“Is it bad?”
 
“No, absolutely not!” Mika exclaimed, cupping Aleksandr’s cheeks. The last thing he wanted to happen after their steamy time was to create any misunderstanding. “Sorry, my bad, I might have better picked my words. Please, don’t think about it this way. It’s just…different. But different doesn’t mean wrong,” he paused, gathering his thoughts. “I guess what I am trying to say is that even though all of this is new to me, I enjoy it. I don’t want it to end. I want it to last forever.”

“We think alike. It’s nice,” Aleksandr replied, smiling brightly. It was the kind of sincere smile that Mika hadn’t often seen on the faces of his previous boyfriends. Aleksandr’s smile spoke louder than any words.  

“Thanks for telling me this.”

“You didn’t know? I thought I made it obvious by…you know…my actions,” Aleksandr explained, his tone surprised. He was more than sure that everything he had done so far was more than enough to show Mika how serious he was about them.

Mika let out a small laugh. “Yes, you made. But hearing it out loud changes a lot.”

“I see…” Lost in thought, Aleksandr replayed all their interactions in his mind. He tried to remember what they did and how he talked while being with Mika. In the end, he gave up.

His mind was too tired and refused to think about anything else other than being right here and now with Mika. Aleksandr opened his mouth and was just about to say something when—
 
Bzzzzzz…Bzzzzz…

—the doorbell rang.

Chapter 32

They both hold their breaths. Silence fell across the room as they looked at each other, blinking in confusion.

“You’re not gonna open?” Mika asked, perplexed, his tone hushed.
 
Aleksandr checked the time on his wristwatch. “It’s 6 a.m. Maybe someone is coming back from a party and mistook the doors.”
 
Mika gave him a look that said, “You think so?” when they heard a doorbell for a second time.
 
“I don’t think someone is drunk; you'd better check it.”

As much as he didn’t want to leave Mika’s side, Aleksandr was curious who was so impatient. He had never experienced such a situation before, so part of him wanted to know the answer to this question. 

He swiftly rose from the bed and quickly put his underwear on. He looked around for something to wear on top, but as nothing was available within reach and he heard a doorbell for the third time, he picked up Mika’s T-shirt and asked if he could borrow it for a moment. Mika nodded.

Mika couldn’t hear what the conversation was about, as Aleksandr had closed the door behind him. He was dying to know what it was all about.

A moment paused when he saw Aleksandr opening the door, his face red like a beetroot.

Mika sat on the bed, unable to hide his anticipation. “What? What happened?” Mika urged him to answer.

But Aleksandr couldn’t say a word. Instead, he covered his mouth with his hands. It took Mika a moment to realize that he was trying to suppress the laugh.

Is he really not gonna tell me? Mika thought, his eyes fixed on Aleksandr who looked like he was having the best time of his life.
 
“Neighbor…” The word he said was barely audible and Mika couldn’t get the meaning.
 
“Who? Can’t hear you, speak louder.”
 
“The neighbor came…”

“Okay… and?”

When Aleksandr was finally able to calm down, he said the sentence that Mika wasn’t expecting to hear. “The neighbor came and said that while he understands we’re young, he kindly asks if next time we could be a bit quieter, as the moans woke up his wife and they couldn’t fall asleep hearing us the entire time behind the wall.”
 
Mika quickly picked up a pillow from the floor to cover his face. They were now both laughing – Aleksandr leaning against the wall, Mika rolling over in the bed, trying to suppress the sound.
 
Some time has passed before they finally calmed down. Mika’s eyes landed on Aleksandr who was leaning against the wall. Aleksandr, who has made his body shake in pleasure and made him come several times. Aleksandr who was drenched in sweat, wearing his T-shirt. This was beyond Mika’s imagination.

Aleksandr noticed that Mika was taking his time, scanning him from head to toe, so he asked him if something was wrong. “Nope, everything is fine.”
 
“You sure?” Aleksandr smirked. “You look like a predator, ready to jump on his prey at any moment.”
 
Mika put on the most innocent smile while replying, “Ohh, if only I had some energy left in my body, I would have jumped on you, that’s for sure, and…” he paused, putting the pillow away, his arms open wide, ready to embrace Aleksandr.
 
“Go on,” Aleksandr encouraged him, coming closer and brushing his hair back.
 
“… I would eat you cause you look so sexy right now.”

“Am I?” he said playfully while taking the end of the T-shirt and wiping off sweat mixed with the tears after laughing off his face. Aleksandr knew that by doing so, he would show a little bit of his skin. And he was right, Mika was looking exactly at that spot – the perfect abs, most likely shaped by hours of workout.
 
Once he got closer to the bed and took all of the clothes off, throwing them on the floor, Mika immediately hugged him tightly and buried his face into his chest. He closed his eyes, his nose inhaling Aleksandr’s scent. All of this was new to him, yet it felt so familiar. Almost like they have been together for such a long time or have known each other forever.

Mika’s hands went down, squeezing Aleksandr’s ass. “Yes, you’re. You’re sexier right now than when you have your usual clothes on. Although I always enjoyed looking at your forearms.”

The remark dumbfounded Aleksandr. He tenderly grasped Mika’s cheeks and made him look up, right into his eyes. “My forearms?”
 
Mika locked eyes with him, his hands now gently caressing Aleksandr’s back. “Yes, your forearms. Have you never thought that they can make someone go crazy?”
 
Aleksandr shook his head in denial, a visible blush on his face, which returned to his normal color after laughing. He never considered he could be seen as ‘sexy’ by someone, so the mere thought of it sounded awkward.
 
“It’s true. Every time you were rolling up the sleeves of your dress shirt all I could think about was how damn hot you look,” Mika said, gazing now at Aleksandr’s forearms. He then gripped them and, after showering both of them with kisses, he gave a small bite on the left one.
 
“Ouch! Why did you do that?” Aleksandr asked, shocked as Mika’s bite made him feel an impulse throughout his entire body.
 
Mika didn’t have any answer for that. He didn’t know why he did that. That was an impulse. An urge he felt which he decided to follow without giving it a second thought. Was it because he wanted to mark what was his and send a signal to others, ‘he’s taken’? Only when he looked at Aleksandr’s forearm, which now had a sign of a small bite, did he realize what he had done.
 
“Sorry,” he replied hurriedly, hiding his face again in Aleksandr’s chest. Whenever he did that, a comforting warmth spread through his body. He felt so safe.
 
Aleksandr took some time to look at Mika’s bite. “I’ve never had anyone leave any marks on me. You’re my first.”
 
“You’re…not angry?” Mika murmured.
 
“No, don’t worry about it. It wasn’t that strong, so I think it will fade soon,” he said, rubbing the spot where Mika had bitten him. Then he placed a gentle kiss on Mika’s head.
 
Mika sized the opportunity, and the moment he heard he was forgiven this little act of impulsiveness, he lay down on a bed, pulling Aleksandr so he was on top of him again.

“Would you get mad if I say that… you look beautiful now?” Mika asked Aleksandr.