Christmas at Bennett’s (Breakfast at Bennett’s #4.5)

5. Spencer

CHAPTER 5

SPENCER

Spencer had finished Jonah’s gift a week ago and wrapped it up, tucking it carefully under the tree. He’d lifted the Jonah-ban from his workshop, and he’d completed the Christmas tree for the city. It was crafted from recycled metals, all polished up to catch the lights and reflect them. Spencer had spent weeks on it and barely finished it in time for the grand unveiling.

The crowd was suitably impressed, even Jonah, who’d seen it take shape in Spencer’s studio. When he decided to show up.

Spencer slid his hand into Jonah’s, making Jonah look at him. He’d been withdrawn for the past couple of weeks and hardly hung out in the shop with Spencer even after the ban was lifted.

“Are we okay?”

Maybe the middle of town during the Christmas market wasn’t the best place to have this conversation, but Jonah had barely said a word all night. Upon hearing Spencer’s question, his eyes widened.

“Of course we’re okay.” Jonah stopped in his tracks, then realized they were in the way and tugged Spencer toward the tent selling hot chocolate. Dropping Spencer’s hand, Jonah pulled his wallet out and bought two cups with extra whip.

When they received their drinks, Jonah steered them away from the crowd. “Why do you ask?”

“You’ve been quiet tonight. Not just tonight, for the past couple of weeks. You haven’t been in the shop as much. And when I come inside, I get the feeling that I’m always interrupting something.”

Spencer trusted Jonah. He knew it wasn’t like Jonah was cheating on him, but something was going on.

“I’m fine. Now that winter break has started, it’ll be better. I’m probably just tired.” Jonah looked at Spencer with eyes that begged to be believed. The thing was, Jonah was a terrible liar. Spencer didn’t doubt that Jonah was tired, but there was still something he wasn’t telling him.

For now, Spencer wouldn’t push. He tangled their free hands together, hating that they were in gloves and he couldn’t feel Jonah’s skin against his. Leaning in, he kissed Jonah. His nose was cold, but his mouth was warm from the hot chocolate.

“Do you want to do one last lap through the market before I take you home and warm you up?”

“I’d rather just leave.” Jonah offered Spencer a crooked smile. “I am pretty cold.”

Spencer pulled Jonah in for another kiss. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

Their conversation at the market served to only make Spencer more curious about what was bothering Jonah. Spencer couldn’t begin to guess what it was. By the time they got home, though, Jonah was eager to make Spencer live up to his promise to warm him up.

Jonah practically dragged Spencer into their bedroom. It was hard to believe that he’d been a virgin when they started fooling around, initially a way to give Jonah the confidence he needed to get back in the dating pool without the virgin sword dangling above his head. But as soon as Spencer kissed him the first time, touched him the first time, it was all over for him. Jonah was his.

Spencer tore Jonah’s shirt off before he was pulled into a bruising kiss by Jonah, who licked his way into Spencer’s mouth and tangled their tongues together. Spencer wrapped his arms around Jonah and hauled him close, pressing his impossibly hard cock against Jonah’s, making his boyfriend moan in the most deliciously slutty way.

“Need you,” Jonah begged, kissing Spencer again as he fumbled with Spencer’s zipper and tugged at his shirt.

Spencer toyed with Jonah, cupping his ass and grinding their bodies together. He broke away from Jonah’s mouth and kissed his neck instead, relishing the way Jonah melted in his arms. He twitched against Spencer like every kiss was connected straight to his cock.

“Get naked and get on the bed.” Spencer released his hold on Jonah and watched as he stripped out of his clothes, kicking them aside. Jonah crawled onto the bed and looked over his shoulder at Spencer as he lowered himself onto all fours. Reaching behind himself, he gripped one cheek of his ass and pulled it to the side, showing Spencer his hole.

Spencer was naked in two-point-two seconds. “Toss me the lube, babe.” Spencer watched Jonah reach for the nightstand, but when he reached for the lube, he knocked it off instead and it hit the floor before rolling under the bed.

“I’ve got it,” Spencer said, dropping to his knees. He peered under the bed and the bottle of lube wasn’t the only thing he saw. “Jonah… what’s all this?”

“Shit. Fuck. No. Spencer, don’t look at any of it. Please.” The bed squeaked and Jonah dropped down to the floor. He grabbed the lube from under the bed and then pulled at Spencer, making him sit up.

“There’s a soldering iron under the bed. And what looks like a wood burning kit.” What the hell was a soldering iron under the bed for?

“I—” Jonah’s face was cherry red. “I told you not to look.”

His shoulders slumped and he fell back onto his ass. He folded his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs.

“Jonah,” Spencer kept his voice soft. Clearly something was going on here that was upsetting for Jonah, but for the life of him, Spencer couldn’t imagine what. “Talk to me.”

With a sigh, Jonah unfolded himself and dug around under the bed. A soldering iron and a half-finished… something. A beginner wood burning kit and a couple abandoned attempts. A half-carved spoon. An aborted painting.

“What’s all this? I don’t understand why you hid this.”

Jonah picked up the spoon. “You’ve given me so many great things, and you’ve made every single one. And when I look at them, I can feel how much you love me. I wanted to be able to give you something like that, but I don’t know how to do anything. So I’ve been trying to learn. But everything is stupid. And hard. And I’m bad at it.” Jonah dropped the half-carved spoon.

“Jonah, I don’t need you to make me things. I make them for you because I enjoy making things. Did you enjoy any of this?” Spencer asked, not looking at the pile of discarded art and craft attempts.

“No.” Jonah’s voice broke. “And I feel so… dumb for thinking I could make something special for you.” Jonah dashed an errant tear off his cheek.

Spencer got to his feet and then lifted Jonah up off the floor. Spencer sat on the bed, tugging Jonah into his lap.

“The only thing I need from you is you, Jonah.” Spencer held him tighter, hoping that if he held him hard enough, he could press the sadness right out of him. “Art isn’t you, and that’s okay. I love it, and you don’t. That’s fine. You make me happy, Jonah. Just as you are. And that’s all you ever need to make me. Happy. And you can’t learn that in a tutorial or a class, or a YouTube video. It’s something only you can give me. Something unique to us.”

Jonah sniffled. “You’re just saying that because the wood burning was really awful.”

Spencer grasped Jonah’s chin and turned his head so he could plant a kiss on his mouth. Jonah’s lips tasted of salt. “I know this is important to you, Jonah, but you’re important to me. And I don’t want you doing things that make you unhappy. You give the most thoughtful gifts, and I don’t care that you buy them.”

Jonah took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “What did I do to deserve you?”

“I keep telling you, Jonah. You were yourself, and that’s all I want. It’s all I’ll ever want. You’re sweet and kind and caring, and sexy as hell. And you’re always putting other people first and going out of your way to make sure everyone has whatever they need. Now I’m going to make sure you have what you need.”

Spencer kissed him again. Jonah wound his arms around Spencer’s neck and held on as Spencer lifted him and turned them, setting Jonah on the bed. Spencer let go of him and reached down to the floor for the lube, then returned.

Blanketing Jonah’s body with his, he kissed him until Jonah was writhing and moaning beneath him. This was all Spencer needed. Jonah as Jonah. Not Jonah trying to be something else. Not Jonah making himself sad and sick and withdrawn over something that didn’t matter to Spencer. But it mattered to Jonah, because Spencer mattered to Jonah.

There were still so many things Jonah gave him that Spencer didn’t list. Jonah gave him his heart. His body. His patience. Not all partners would be okay with the amount of time Spencer was in his workshop, but Jonah had simply carved himself out a space there too and made himself at home.

Spencer kissed his way down Jonah’s body. He trailed his mouth down Jonah’s clavicles, dipping his tongue into the divots, smiling when Jonah huffed out a gentle laugh. With every kiss Spencer gave him, Jonah relaxed more, but when Spencer finally worked his way down to Jonah’s cock, his boyfriend was no longer relaxed.

Jonah’s rigid cock stood up, painting a stripe of precum under his belly button. Spencer eased Jonah’s legs apart and slotted himself between them. He dragged a hand down the inside of Jonah’s thigh, smiling at the way Jonah trembled from his touch.

Jonah gave him this too, this naked vulnerability. This trust. Spencer kissed the inside of Jonah’s thigh, his lips inching closer to the base of Jonah’s cock, then licked a stripe up the underside of it.

The room filled with the sound of Jonah’s breathy moan. Delicate fingers slid into Spencer’s hair that had grown down to his shoulders. He’d offered to cut it now and then, but each time Jonah had reiterated how much he loved it. So the hair stayed.

Spencer practically purred as Jonah ran his fingers through the strands. He wrapped his hand around the base of Jonah’s cock and angled it, swirling his tongue around the head in slow circles that had Jonah’s hips gyrating in response. Jonah’s body stiffened, every muscle going rigid when Spencer took his cock all the way into his mouth. The fingers tightened in Spencer’s hair and Jonah’s hips thrust upward, driving his cock into Spencer’s mouth.

Spencer groaned and closed his eyes, letting Jonah fuck his mouth. Jonah was always so careful with him, even though Spencer was the last person who would break from a bit of rough treatment, but the way Jonah cared made Spencer feel precious, like something that was treasured. Another gift Jonah gave him without knowing it.

“Spencer, fuck. Fuck, please.” Jonah’s hips jittered and he pulled his hands free of Spencer’s hair, then dragged him up into a wet and sloppy kiss. All teeth and tongue and breath. Jonah whined and wrapped his legs around Spencer, using his heels to urge Spencer to grind against him.

Sometimes they flipped. Sometimes they’d go for weeks with Jonah only wanting to bottom, and sometimes they didn’t get as far as penetration. Their desperation took over and they found themselves rutting against one another, using nothing more than friction and a bit of saliva as lube.

Spencer loved the intimacy of it. The way Jonah gave himself over to him. The way he could get off with nothing but kissing and grinding and enjoying the feeling of Spencer’s flesh pressed against his own.

Later, Spencer wanted to fuck him. To press Jonah into the mattress and fuck him long and slow until Jonah was mindless and begging to come. Jonah’s hands found Spencer’s hair again and he kept their mouths slanted together, kissing him slower and deeper. Jonah undulated beneath him, and Spencer knew he was getting closer. He pressed more of his weight down onto Jonah… and that’s all it took.

At one time, Jonah had confessed to loving the way Spencer was bigger than him. Solid. Strong. He loved feeling trapped under him, and safe there.

Jonah came with a shout, hips jerking frantically, heels digging into Spencer’s ass still. He’d stopped kissing Spencer because he’d stopped doing anything that wasn’t coming. He wasn't even breathing.

Then suddenly he was moving and breathing again and shoving a hand between them. He scooped the cum off his stomach and wrapped his hand around Spencer’s cock. Jonah’s other hand was still tangled in Spencer’s hair and he held tight, locked eyes with Spencer, and jerked him with his own spend until Spencer shattered, splattering his cum up Jonah’s chest, painting him with it.

Jonah pulled Spencer down and kissed him until they were breathless and stuck together with drying cum.

“All I need for Christmas is you,” Spencer told him, preemptively silencing any protest with a kiss.