Burn 2

"Zack, your so beautiful." Brian smiled at me over his newspaper as I walked by, towel wrapped around my waist. I turned ot look at him and my cheeks burned.
"I know" I said, grinning at him before heading ot the closet, foraging for clean clothes. I pulled out something random and dropped my towel. I heard Brian make a sound but I kept my back turned, smiling to myself. He hated it when I was a tease...
Before I had a chance to pull my sweatpants on, however, Brian was there, hands wrapped aroud me nad chin on my shoulder. I turned my head to look into his gorgeous brown eyes. His tan hands roamed up and down my torso and he sighed.
"I love you" he said simply.
"I love you too, babe" I replied, grabbing his hands and squeezing them.
He turned me in his arms and looked at me face to face. "I don't think you really know how much, though." his eyes were serious as he ran his fingers over my cheeks. "Like, more than anything in the world. No one could ever make me feel as complete as you do, baby."
I nuzzled my face into the crook of his neck and smiled, wrapping my arms around him.
"I swear I'll never hurt you. Your the love of my life, Zachary Baker."
The sun lanced through the window directly into my eyelids, burning away the image in my head. I groaned, flopping an arm over my face. God, my neck was so stiff, my head was pounding...I propped myself up on one arm slowly and squinted around. Something warm was on my side... My heart nearly stopped.
Jacoby had stayed all night with me. His head was tilted back, jaw slack and eyes closed peacefully. I caught my breath and slowly settled myself back down, but not before I had roused the sleeping beauty above me. He grunted and his fingers twisted in my shirt as he stretched, eyes finally opening and swiveling until they fell on me. He smiled sleepily, running a hand through his hair and yawning.
"Hey, sleep well?" he asked, voice deep with sleep. I think I had to force my lungs to take a breath as I looked up at him.
"Yeah, awesomely." I said. I propped myself up again, which made my head throb. I groaned and he pushed me down back into his lap, running a hand up and down my side. I shivered, his touch making me feel something I hadn't in four years.
"Gimme a few minutes and I'll go make some coffee. I'd do it now but I'm way to comfortable to get up." I noted the suggestive tone in his voice and smiled, slowly rolling over so I was looking up at him and his hand was on my stomach. He glanced down at me from the corner of his eye and I felt the butterflies start their horrible flapping.
"Trust me, I can wait for coffee." I replied, giving him a look. He covered my face with his hand and chuckled. His skin smelled like ciggarettes and just... him. I took a deep breath before lifting his hand from my face and lacing my fingers through his.
"Thanks for staying with me. I needed it."
He gave my hand a squeeze. "No problem. I've known you long enough to know that you were a wreck last night. It's the least I could do."
I had been to Jacoby's house before, we'd hung out plenty of times. I'd known him since we were kids, in the same grade and whatever. And yes, I had always known how gorgeous he was, I'd had a secret crush on him for years.  But Brian...well before now he had been my world, so I didn't see anything past that. But now I could see things with perfect clarity. My chest still hurt to think about Brian, and I know it would for a long time, but the few days I had been without him had already made me see things that had been right in front of me all along.
The butterflies had a resurgance as Jacoby gently set me down on the couch and stood, making his way tiredly into the kitchen. His usually tidily touseld hair was a complete wreck, which made my tummy go even wilder. I heard a small ruckus in the kichen followed by a muttered curse, but a few minutes later I could smell the fresh grounds brewing. He came back into the living room, eyes still half closed with sleep. He gave me a smile and plopped unceremoniously onto the couch beside me.
I knew it was a bit much but I couldn't stop myself, I crawled closer and rested my head back on his leg. His hand traced a line up my shoulder and came to rest on my hair, his fingers tangling in it and toying with it absently.
"So, feel any better this morning? I see you didn't even use the trash can. Either you have a stomach of steel or my lap is the best pillow ever."
I laughed softly. "I think it was the second one."
He chuckled, but his expression took on a more serious look. "Zack, if you want to talk about anything, I'm here. I think I kind of get the gist of whats going down, so if you need a place to stay for a few days, your welcome to stay here as long as you need."
"Thanks, but I don't want to be a hassle."
He gave me a stern look. "I don't think theres any possible way you could be a hassle, Zack."
I felt the red creep into my cheeks and hid my face in his leg. "Shut up."
He chuckled and touseled my hair just as the alarm on the coffee machine went off. He made to stand up and I followed suit, grabbing his arm for support. The world spun for a moment until I felt Jacoby grip my waist and everything went right again.
"I think I'm still fucking drunk."
"How much did you drink last night?" He asked.
"A lot. Like, a lot a lot."
"No kidding" he said, then he leaned into me a rested his face on my shoulder, inhaling deeply. My heart thudded so hard I'm surprised he didn't hear it. "Hmm...Guinnes and Jack. Good choice, but not wonder you were so fucked up. Liquor before beer." I laughed as he pulled away and led me to the kitchen. He pulled out a chair for me and sat me down while he fetched mugs, sugar, and milk.
He grabbed the whole pot of coffee and poured our cups, then sat it in the center of the table on a coaster. He pulled out a chair for himself and sat across from me.
I busied myself sweetening my cup while he sipped at his, still black. His eyes were trained on me, expression unreadable.
"I wish I could help you make the hurt go away, Zack. You have no idea how sad you look right now."
My heart picked up again. He was concerned about me...
"It's not a big deal, I'm okay. It's not important."
"Yes it is, to me."
"Why?"
"Because," he said, setting his cup down and leaning foward. "I want to know whether to beat the piss out of Brian, or just come over there and kiss you. I need to know how long I should wait until I can ask you to be mine."
I felt my jaw drop and I did nothing to fix it. The butterflies took over my entire body, my skin tingling.
"Coby... I had no idea..."
"That I have been after you my whole life?" he finished my sentence, leaning back in his chair and smiling. "Zack, I wanted you before Brian even knew he loved you. I just didn't think you felt the same."
I stared at him, unbelieving. "So, this whole time I could have saved myself a lot of heartache?"
He laughed, picking up his mug and taking a sip. "Yep, if thats how you want to put it."
I stood then, my hangover gone before I even took a drink of my coffee. "Well, if you want to beat the fuck out of him, I guess you can, but you don't have to wait for me." I put my hands on his shoulders and he looked up at me, mouth cocked in a gorgeous half smile. His hands rested around my thighs as I leaned down and rested my forehead on his. "I'm pretty sure I'm already over him"
His lips parted as I pressed foward just a bit more and brushed my lips to his. Electricity jolted through my entire body, holding me in place. One of Jacoby's hands reached around me and pulled me foward onto his lap, stradling him.He pressed his lips to mine more roughly, every pent up feeling I now knew he had hitting me like a freight train. The pure passion in his actions was nearly overwhelming.
I sighed against his lips and his grip grew tigter, forcing me even closer to him. The kiss grew more intense, his lips parting just enough to let my tongue dart in. This coaxed a groan from him and I shivered, feeling something creep into the pit of my stomach.
But as quickly as it had begun, he pulled away, eyes opening and staring into mine. I began to protest but he shushed me with a kiss.
"Zack,as much as I want to keep going, I really don't want to be your rebound. Now that I know you feel the same, I can wait until your really ready. I want this to be real."
I sighed, nuzzling my face into his cheek. "I know." I knew the feelings I had right now were true, but he was right. He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face into my shoulder.
"You can still stay here, though. Just having you here for one night made everything feel so right. I can't imagine you leaving."
I smiled. "Okay, if you insist."
He laughed and pulled away. "Alright, drag your ass to the shower, you smell like a fucking bar."
I made a mock angry face and he helped me stand up. He cupped my cheek in his hand and kissed me again, then led me upstairs to the bathroom. I smiled at him then shut the door, leaning back against it and running a hand through my hair. Well, my week just got a hell of a lot better.