Baklava Mornings, Ch. 6
“Kevin, Kevin, Kevin!” Joe is giggling madly, batting at his lover’s hands as he tickles him. “Stop! Stop! I can’t breathe!” When Kevin’s fingers still against his ribs, he sighs contently and pulls him down for a kiss. “I’m happy. Are you happy?”
It’s April. The winter snow has melted, though the Midwestern climate often means unpredictable bouts of cold weather until about mid-May. Sleet is pinging off the window, but they can’t be bothered to care, since they’re currently wrapped up in each other’s arms in Joe’s bed, kissing slowly and enjoying their Saturday. “I’m happy.” Kevin presses his lips to his neck. “I’m so incredibly happy.”
“Good!” Joe clings to him, tipping his head slightly to the side, his eyes closed. “May I say something?”
“You don’t have to ask my permission.”
“I know. It’s just something we’ve never talked about before.”
“Okay.” Kevin props himself up on his elbows over him, curls a strand of Joe’s hair around his finger. “I’m all ears.”
Joe smiles, cups his face and pulls him down to kiss him firmly, murmuring something against his mouth.
Kevin laughs, pulls away. “You know, it’s sort of hard to understand you when your tongue’s in my mouth.”
Joe blushes. “I love you.” Silence. A great deal of inward panic floods through him, and he swallows to hide it. “Hello? You in there?”
Kevin kisses him in a way he has only a few times before: passionately, almost frantically, like he doesn’t even want to think just yet. Joe curls his arms around his shoulders, holding him down against him. They end up naked and, when Kevin presses into him, he almost doesn’t hear the whispered “I love you too” against his ear. He holds him tighter, nuzzles his neck and knows what Kevin meant by so incredibly happy.
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A couple weeks later, Kevin gets the news that Mrs. Jones has decided she is going to resume her position as English teacher come autumn which means, essentially, that he’s out of a job. He’s kicking himself because he knows that he probably should have seen this coming, but that doesn’t help him decide what he’s going to do. The school district offered him a position as a substitute which, but the idea of teaching snotty grade school kids and the middle school prepubescent twits does not sound fun.
Still, he’s not sure if he has any other options. His lease isn’t anywhere close to up, and he can’t afford to buy his way out of the contract. And beyond that, there’s Joe. Finding another job would possibly mean leaving town, and he knows he’s unwilling to leave the boy, now that they’ve finally made that jump from dating to being an established couple.
They don’t say “I love you” often, but it comes at sweet times, like when they’re curled up together on the couch or walking through town holding hands. They never say it as a hello or a goodbye; Kevin thinks that makes it sound too much like some standard greeting, and Joe agrees that it seems to cheapen the words. But the fact that they can say them to each other, and the fact that Joe’s face lights up when he hears it, makes Kevin feel secure and safe and happy with their relationship, and he doesn’t want to lose it now.
Joe snaps his fingers in front of Kevin’s face, grinning and sliding his Danish across the counter toward him on a small plate. “Strawberry this morning, space captain.”
“Space captain?”
“Yeah. Cause you were spacing out.”
Kevin rolls his eyes at the bad joke, sipping his coffee. “Sorry. End of the school year is soon. I was thinking about all the finals I’m going to have to grade…”
“Cheer up, buttercup!” Joe squishes his lover’s face between his hands, leans across the counter to kiss him. “After finals are graded, it’s summertime! Remember: we’re going camping for the weekend after you finish up? You, me and the great outdoors? You have that to look forward to.”
Kevin smiles. “That’s true. I’ll keep that in mind while I’m reading everyone’s twelve-page papers on… whatever they’re writing about.” He laughs. “Hopefully, some student will have something insightful to say about something we’ve read this semester.”
“Odds are one of them has to like reading.” Joe laughs. “No more stressing please. Eat that Danish. It’s going to be the best you’ve ever had.”
“You say that every week.”
“And have I ever been wrong?” He winks at him, and Kevin just laughs.
That night, Kevin pauses in the doorway of his bathroom to watch Joe sleep for a moment. His lover is naked, tangled up in the sheets, his legs curled and his hand resting on the pillow next to his cheek. He is beautiful, and Kevin is so desperately in love. He wants to spend his whole life kissing him, loving him, worshipping him and everything he is and wants from his life. He knows he couldn’t leave if he wanted to, but he doesn’t know if he will be able to remain here without a more steadily-paying job than a substitute teaching position. He knows he’s going to have to figure it out soon.
For now, though, he crawls onto the bed, kissing Joe’s shoulder. When he wakes up and rolls over toward him with a sleepy smile, he presses their mouths together, lets his own trail down his chest, smiling at the soft moan he pulls from him when he licks at his nipple. Joe’s fingers curl into his hair when he reaches his cock, and he pulls him into his mouth, sucks slowly, bobbing his head. He likes sucking him off most when Joe is half-awake, because he seems to treat it almost like he’s dreaming, letting out quiet little whimpers and rocking his hips lightly, and when he comes, he whispers out Kevin’s name.
Kevin crawls back up beside him, smiling down at Joe when he reaches up to toy lazily with one of Kevin’s curls. “I love you.” He murmurs and kisses the baker, who murmurs it back and curls his arm around his neck. “Can I talk to you about something?”
“Mmm. Now?” Joe snuggles up close to him when he lies back down.
Kevin is quiet, and he feels Joe’s breathing change. He pulls the blankets up around Joe’s shoulders. “No. It can wait till morning.”
It’s April. The winter snow has melted, though the Midwestern climate often means unpredictable bouts of cold weather until about mid-May. Sleet is pinging off the window, but they can’t be bothered to care, since they’re currently wrapped up in each other’s arms in Joe’s bed, kissing slowly and enjoying their Saturday. “I’m happy.” Kevin presses his lips to his neck. “I’m so incredibly happy.”
“Good!” Joe clings to him, tipping his head slightly to the side, his eyes closed. “May I say something?”
“You don’t have to ask my permission.”
“I know. It’s just something we’ve never talked about before.”
“Okay.” Kevin props himself up on his elbows over him, curls a strand of Joe’s hair around his finger. “I’m all ears.”
Joe smiles, cups his face and pulls him down to kiss him firmly, murmuring something against his mouth.
Kevin laughs, pulls away. “You know, it’s sort of hard to understand you when your tongue’s in my mouth.”
Joe blushes. “I love you.” Silence. A great deal of inward panic floods through him, and he swallows to hide it. “Hello? You in there?”
Kevin kisses him in a way he has only a few times before: passionately, almost frantically, like he doesn’t even want to think just yet. Joe curls his arms around his shoulders, holding him down against him. They end up naked and, when Kevin presses into him, he almost doesn’t hear the whispered “I love you too” against his ear. He holds him tighter, nuzzles his neck and knows what Kevin meant by so incredibly happy.
---------
A couple weeks later, Kevin gets the news that Mrs. Jones has decided she is going to resume her position as English teacher come autumn which means, essentially, that he’s out of a job. He’s kicking himself because he knows that he probably should have seen this coming, but that doesn’t help him decide what he’s going to do. The school district offered him a position as a substitute which, but the idea of teaching snotty grade school kids and the middle school prepubescent twits does not sound fun.
Still, he’s not sure if he has any other options. His lease isn’t anywhere close to up, and he can’t afford to buy his way out of the contract. And beyond that, there’s Joe. Finding another job would possibly mean leaving town, and he knows he’s unwilling to leave the boy, now that they’ve finally made that jump from dating to being an established couple.
They don’t say “I love you” often, but it comes at sweet times, like when they’re curled up together on the couch or walking through town holding hands. They never say it as a hello or a goodbye; Kevin thinks that makes it sound too much like some standard greeting, and Joe agrees that it seems to cheapen the words. But the fact that they can say them to each other, and the fact that Joe’s face lights up when he hears it, makes Kevin feel secure and safe and happy with their relationship, and he doesn’t want to lose it now.
Joe snaps his fingers in front of Kevin’s face, grinning and sliding his Danish across the counter toward him on a small plate. “Strawberry this morning, space captain.”
“Space captain?”
“Yeah. Cause you were spacing out.”
Kevin rolls his eyes at the bad joke, sipping his coffee. “Sorry. End of the school year is soon. I was thinking about all the finals I’m going to have to grade…”
“Cheer up, buttercup!” Joe squishes his lover’s face between his hands, leans across the counter to kiss him. “After finals are graded, it’s summertime! Remember: we’re going camping for the weekend after you finish up? You, me and the great outdoors? You have that to look forward to.”
Kevin smiles. “That’s true. I’ll keep that in mind while I’m reading everyone’s twelve-page papers on… whatever they’re writing about.” He laughs. “Hopefully, some student will have something insightful to say about something we’ve read this semester.”
“Odds are one of them has to like reading.” Joe laughs. “No more stressing please. Eat that Danish. It’s going to be the best you’ve ever had.”
“You say that every week.”
“And have I ever been wrong?” He winks at him, and Kevin just laughs.
That night, Kevin pauses in the doorway of his bathroom to watch Joe sleep for a moment. His lover is naked, tangled up in the sheets, his legs curled and his hand resting on the pillow next to his cheek. He is beautiful, and Kevin is so desperately in love. He wants to spend his whole life kissing him, loving him, worshipping him and everything he is and wants from his life. He knows he couldn’t leave if he wanted to, but he doesn’t know if he will be able to remain here without a more steadily-paying job than a substitute teaching position. He knows he’s going to have to figure it out soon.
For now, though, he crawls onto the bed, kissing Joe’s shoulder. When he wakes up and rolls over toward him with a sleepy smile, he presses their mouths together, lets his own trail down his chest, smiling at the soft moan he pulls from him when he licks at his nipple. Joe’s fingers curl into his hair when he reaches his cock, and he pulls him into his mouth, sucks slowly, bobbing his head. He likes sucking him off most when Joe is half-awake, because he seems to treat it almost like he’s dreaming, letting out quiet little whimpers and rocking his hips lightly, and when he comes, he whispers out Kevin’s name.
Kevin crawls back up beside him, smiling down at Joe when he reaches up to toy lazily with one of Kevin’s curls. “I love you.” He murmurs and kisses the baker, who murmurs it back and curls his arm around his neck. “Can I talk to you about something?”
“Mmm. Now?” Joe snuggles up close to him when he lies back down.
Kevin is quiet, and he feels Joe’s breathing change. He pulls the blankets up around Joe’s shoulders. “No. It can wait till morning.”