His Tiny Sun

Chapter 17 - Near-Spoken Words

CHAPTER 17

Near-Spoken Words

That was fast.

Jonah perked up as the apartment building door opened, but his smile was short-lived; the person who appeared before him wasn’t Alan.

Jonah put his phone into his pocket and crossed his arms, nonchalantly leaning against the building wall while he glared at Eric—who glared right back.

Eric held his disheveled head high and squared his shoulders as he stepped toward Jonah. “He’s too good for you.”

“That’s for him to decide.”

“If I ever find out that you hurt him—”

“—More than you already have?”

A strong emotion flashed across Eric’s features—something like guilt.

Good.

“It was an accident,” Eric hissed.

“You keep telling yourself that.”

Eric took another step forward. The bastard had no sense of self-preservation. “I don’t trust you.”

“To what? Keep Alan safe from you?”

“I know what you’re trying to do,” Eric snarled.

Jonah lifted an eyebrow. “Enlighten me.”

“You won’t get away with it,” Eric continued, pretending not to have heard. “I’ll be watching you.”

Jonah smirked. “Suit yourself.”

“And if I ever find out that you’ve been using him…” Eric took another step forward as he let his attempt at a threat settle between them.

Jonah held his obnoxious stare with detached disinterest, but the tension in the air was getting difficult to ignore. Usually, at this point, one of them would have shoved the other against the nearest surface, and then their tongues in each other’s mouths. Today, however, Jonah felt an irresistible urge to punch Eric in the face. Well, deep down, he’d always had that urge; he just had another way to release his tension then, allowing him to momentarily ignore it.

The building door opened again. This time, a tiny sun walked out with a tiny gasp. Jonah kept staring into Eric’s eyes as he snatched Alan’s wrist and pulled him closer, then kissed him right there in front of his asshole friend.

Eric huffed as he spun on his heel and walked away. “Coward.”

Jonah jerked his head up. “You fph—” A palm was hastily pressed against his mouth, preventing him from hurling his full repertoire of insults at Eric. Jonah looked at Alan, his fury deflating as his gaze was met with the most heart-wrenching pleading eyes he’d ever seen.

“Please,” Alan mouthed silently.

Jonah nodded, prompting Alan to remove his hand. Even if Eric drove him up the wall, Jonah could never say no to those eyes. At the end of the day, it was Alan who would have to deal with…

Fury rose in Jonah’s chest once more. He wrapped his arms around Alan and hugged him tight to conceal the emotions he knew would be written all over his face. It was obvious now; Eric had used Alan as an outlet for the resentment he still had for Jonah. He used Alan—who had a far too gentle heart, who forgave way too easily, who could barely defend himself—as a punching bag.

You’re the fucking coward , Jonah said with his eyes as Eric glared at him one last time before starting his car.

Eric’s tires squealed against the asphalt as he exited the parking lot like the maniac he was, leaving tire marks on the ground. “Are you sure you’re safe with him?” Jonah asked, forcing his voice to sound calm.

“Yes. I promise.”

Jonah disliked how easily that word flowed out of Alan’s mouth. To what extent had he been enabling Eric’s violence?

Although Jonah hated to admit it, the fact that Alan had instantly forgiven him for breaking his heart on the night of the viewing party didn’t bode well.

“I’m happy you stayed,” Alan said.

Jonah exhaled a long breath. “Of course I stayed.” He pulled away and cupped Alan’s cheek, then bent down to give him the softest of kisses.

“Do you have to leave right away?” Alan asked after returning the kiss. “Because…he’ll be gone for at least tw o hours…so if you want, maybe we could…”

Jonah’s pulse quickened.

“…watch the episode we missed on Saturday?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

Alan made a tiny little happy squeak, then took Jonah’s hand and led him to the same door Jonah had promised himself he’d never enter again, the same stairs he’d promised himself he’d never climb again, and the same apartment he’d promised himself he’d never see again. Jonah didn’t like the feeling of dread that wouldn’t leave his stomach—this couldn’t end well—but at the same time, he didn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.

They took off their shoes, then Alan ran in the direction of what Jonah assumed was his bedroom, before slowing down and pressing his hand to his forehead. “I’ll be right back,” he said as he completed the remaining distance at a calmer pace.

Jonah walked to the sofa—which was just a few feet from the door. Alan reappeared with a brilliant smile and a big, fluffy cat print blanket that reminded Jonah of the hoodie Alan was wearing the day they first met. Jonah sat down and spread his legs, patting the seat between his thighs with a smile.

To Jonah’s surprise, Alan’s smile turned sheepish at his invitation. Alan’s advances the previous night couldn’t have been clearer, yet he was shy at the prospect of cuddling to watch TV?

Alan dropped the blanket on the sofa next to him, then took the remote and sat down exactly where Jonah wanted him.

Jonah wrapped his arms around Alan’s waist and pulled him against his chest, the top of his head barely reaching Jonah’s chin. It was like Alan had been built specifically to be in his arms. A perfect fit. “Are you sure you wanna watch this? Maybe you should take a nap instead.”

Alan nodded. “I’m sure. I’ll rest after.”

Jonah inhaled the delightful scent of his shampoo while Alan spread the blanket over them both, and turned on the TV. “How’s your head?”

“I’m okay. I promise,” Alan said as he took out his phone, giving Jonah a clear view of the mark he had on his hand. Jonah had been meaning to ask Alan about it when he noticed he’d removed his bandage the previous night, but Alan already had enough on his mind at the time, so he’d decided to wait.

And then they had breakfast with Jonah’s mom, delaying it further. And then he drove Alan here for his talk with Eric. And now they were cuddling and about to watch TV…

God, how could so many things happen in such a short span of time?

Alan cast the first episode of season seven on the screen, then melted in Jonah’s embrace with a big smile on his face. He slid his arms underneath the blanket and reached for Jonah’s hand, stroking it softly before interlocking their fingers together.

Jonah found himself barely registering the episode’s events, distracted as he was by the warmth that spread to every inch of his body. How could he focus on anything apart from the beautiful man he was holding close? Cuddling wasn’t something Jonah had done a lot in his life, but now that he had a soft, kind, gentle soul nested safely in his embrace, he felt a strong desire to never let go.

Moreover, Alan’s passionate reactions to the episode’s events turned out to be far more entertaining than the show itself.

Sean hadn’t lied, Jonah found out, after twenty minutes of cuddles, caresses, and head kisses that ended with a gigantic gasp from Alan.

John died at the end.

Alan twisted his upper body and gave Jonah a horrified pout. “You’re not reacting?”

“I already knew.”

“Really? How come?”

“Sean told me,” Jonah said, making Alan display an indignant frown. “I had it coming,” he specified.

Alan’s frown dissipated and a smile slowly stretched across his lips. “I have no trouble believing that.”

“Hey! You’re supposed to take my side.”

Alan shifted to face Jonah and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. “Only if you deserve it.”

“I deserve everything ,” Jonah declared, looking deep into Alan’s eyes. “And so do you.”

Alan bit his lower lip with another one of his sheepish smiles. “You’re a charmer,M onsieur Delamare.”

“You lied to me, I see.”

“Huh? ”

“You said you only knew four French words. That makes it five.”

Alan giggled as he caressed the back of Jonah’s neck with his thumb. “Soon, I’ll know many more.”

“Oh?”

“I decided to take French classes over the summer.”

Jonah pulled him closer and kissed him. “I should stop you before it’s too late.”

“Too late?” Alan asked, kissing him back.

“If you learn French, then me and my mom can’t say mean things about you while you’re in the room.”

“Hey!”

Jonah plunged his tongue into Alan’s gaping mouth and smiled against his lips as Alan wasted no time greeting it with his own. Alan’s lithe body melted against his chest with a delicious moan, sparking a dangerous fire within Jonah’s lower abdomen.

Jonah brought his legs closer together just as Alan shifted to straddle him. Alan kissed Jonah back with steadily increasing hunger that did nothing to distract Jonah from the way Alan ever so slightly moved his hips, causing a soft friction that nearly made him lose his mind.

Jonah’s urge to strip Alan naked and kiss every single inch of that beautiful skin became nearly unbearable. Eric would be coming back home soon, though, and Jonah sure as hell wouldn’t risk his first time with Alan getting ruined by him.

We could make it quick , he mused, his cock throbbing for attention.

No.

No matter how tempting it was to stick his hand down Alan’s pants and make him produce more of those delicious sounds, Alan deserved better than a rushed handjob. Jonah wanted to take his time. He wanted to look into those gorgeous eyes while Alan writhed with pleasure and begged for more. He wanted to make him feel beautiful. Make him feel wanted. Make him feel lov—

Shit.

“I should go,” Jonah murmured as they caught their breaths, his heart racing with confused flutters.

“Aww,” Alan pouted, then sighed. “I’ll miss you.”

I’ll miss you too , Jonah thought to himself, fighting his desire to bring Alan home and …

No. Not now. Not yet.

Two days ago, Alan was still asking for permission to hold Jonah’s hand, and now they were almost in each other’s pants. They’d already rushed through enough steps as it was; things needed to slow down.

Alan bit his lower lip, the motion pairing arousingly well with his flushed cheeks. “One last kiss?”

Jonah smiled—how could he say no to those eyes? “Alright. But first, I want to know what happened to your hand.” He refused to leave Alan alone with Eric until he was absolutely certain his burn had been caused by an accident, like Alan had claimed.

Alan whined. “I don’t wanna say. It’s embarrassing.”

“If you don’t tell me what happened, I’ll assume it was Eric’s fault.”

“No! I did this to myself, I swear.” He whined again, then mumbled, “I tried to use hot wax, but I warmed it too much, and I dropped the container, and some of it spilled on my hand when I tried to catch it, and then I dropped it again, and it splashed all over the floor, and it was a nightmare to clean up.” He suddenly squeezed his eyes shut as though bracing for a blow, then tentatively opened them again and asked, “You’re not making fun of me?”

Fury sparked in Jonah’s chest. “What? There’s nothing funny about you injuring yourself. Did Eric—”

Alan pressed a kiss on Jonah’s lips. “I get that you’re angry with him, but Eric has been defending me from bullies ever since we were kids. He never let anyone get away with making fun of me, and he would never, ever laugh at my expense.”

Jonah opened his mouth, but Alan put his finger against his lips to shush him. “Yesterday,” Alan continued, “We fought because the last texts you and I exchanged made it look like we’d slept together. He thought I’d been seeing you behind his back, and that I deliberately kept it a secret from him. We both lost our tempers, and we both hurt each other, but it won’t happen again.”

Jonah took a few breaths to calm himself, in hopes of managing not to raise his voice. “He shouldn’t have been reading our texts in the first place.” It failed. “And sowhat if you kept something from him?” he spat out. “It’s your life. What you do is none of his business. He doesn’t own you. And he sure as hell doesn’t own me. ”

“He felt hurt.”

“That’s no reason for him to hurt you back.”

“He didn’t mean what he said!”

Jonah narrowed his eyes. “And just how often does he ‘not mean what he said’ ?”

Alan averted his gaze, his beautiful blue eyes suddenly glistening with tears. “Please…could we…talk about this another time?”

Jonah sighed. Even though he hated putting this discussion on hold, he couldn’t disagree; it simply wasn’t the right moment. Alan had already dealt with far too much since Saturday, and Jonah wanted their moment together to end on a positive note. “Yeah.”

Alan’s gaze found Jonah’s once more, his shoulders visibly relaxing.

“I believe I now owe you a kiss,” Jonah said.

A teasing spark shone in Alan’s eyes as his whole demeanor changed. He gave Jonah an unimpressed look, then said, “You owe me more than one.”

“Really? Since when?”

Alan inched closer and nuzzled Jonah’s nose. “Since I said so.”

Jonah smiled. “Then I guess,” he murmured as he angled his head, “I’ll have to see you again.”

“It seems…” Alan purred against his lips, “…like the only solution.”

“Hmm.” Jonah teased Alan’s lower lip with the tip of his tongue, then groaned as Alan cupped the back of his head and gave him a kiss that lit his whole body on fire. He barely managed to keep his hips steady as their lips and tongues met again and again into a deep, wet, blazing kiss that almost made him question his resolution not to bring Alan back home with him.

Jonah had no idea how Alan could go from adorably shy to alluringly confident in the span of a few seconds, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t like it. He didn’t remember having ever been this aroused before.

Jonah’s heart raced as cupped Alan’s cheek with a sigh, their kiss having left him a hot, breathless mess. God, the effect this man had on him. Alan would be the death of him, there was no doubt about it. “I lo—” Jonah tensed from head to toe as he urgently shut his mouth. “I—I’ ll go now.”

What the fuck.

Alan pouted. “Okay…” Then smiled. “I’m happy you stayed.”

“Me too,” Jonah said with what he hoped was a convincing smile. He pulled Alan into his arms and stared at the blank TV screen for a moment as he gathered the strength he needed to act normal until he set foot outside this cursed apartment.

“I want you to go straight to bed, alright?” Jonah said as he pulled away and looked into Alan’s tired eyes. Although Alan had been lucky to only end up with a superficial injury, the large bandage on his forehead was an effective reminder of the devastating emotions he had to endure. “You need it.”

Alan nodded. “I will.”

“And call me if you need anything. I mean it—anything.”

A slow smile spread on Alan’s lips. “Does needing to hear the sound of your voice count?”