LAUNDROMAT -- R
[title] Laundromat
[author] kissontheneck
[pairing] Cookleta
[beta] N/A
[rating] R
[word count] 5853
[summary] The boys air some dirty laundry.
[disclaimer] Surely, I have nothing to do with either of these fine young men, no matter how much I wish I did.
[warnings] Forward!Cook. UnexplainablyWilling!Archie. Things move too fast for real life, honestly. LOL.
[author's notes] For clionona , who will be utterly surprised to be sure. The thing is, I started writing this just coming up on a million years ago. And I was writing it for her birthday. Then I forgot about it -- both her birthday and this story. Then I was browsing my half-finished fics and I found this. So like, yeah. The majority of this was already written, I think I changed four sentences and wrote the last paragraph today and that was it. Ha ha! Anyway, it was always meant for you, Clio, so I hope you like it! Happy birthday! :D
LAUNDROMAT
“Why are we here at one in the morning?”
“Because it’s a twenty-four hour laundromat, Archie.”
“Riiight. Implying it is also open at one in the afternoon as well.”
“Shush, you’re ruining it.”
The fluorescent lights hummed above the two boys, alone except for the faint sound of a television on at the other end of the room. It was laundry day, as the Idols had come to regard their supposed days off, except that both David Cook and David Archuleta had missed the usual taking over of a laundromat by the herd of ten people and their clothing earlier in the day due to interview schedules and naps.
“If a place is open twenty-four hours, it’s begging for you to be there at one in the morning,” Cook went on, now hauling up a basket of wretchedly dirty clothing onto the counter in front of him. “And no one else is here. As much as I like staking out an empty washer in a packed laundromat as much as the next guy, I’ll take this instead.”
David laughed softly to himself. “You can’t sneak bras into Michael’s laundry this way though,” he pointed out, heaving up his own load of laundry to be done.
Cook laughed at the memory of doing so in the last city. “You’ve got a point there, I suppose. Though Brooke wasn’t very happy about that.”
Cook dug into his pocket for the sea of quarters jangling against his thigh and poured them out onto the countertop. David’s eyes went wide as the mountain of coins spread out before him. In response, he reached into his own jacket pocket and extracted two perfectly tight rolls of quarters and set them on the counter next to his belongings.
“Show off,” Cook smirked.
“It’s sort of creepy in here,” David said as he fumbled with the latching mechanism on the washer he had chosen to use. “Just the buzzing of the lights… I feel like I’m in the awkward beginning of a horror movie.”
Cook laughed maniacally. “Yes, Archuleta, you’ve figured me out… I’m here to suck your blood!” He grasped David by the shoulders and mocked biting his shoulder. David laughed awkwardly and squirmed out of his companion’s grasp. He didn’t know exactly what it was, but he felt particularly self-conscious when he was alone with Cook, and especially when Cook touched him. And Cook touched him all the time, making it even more difficult to bear. He didn’t want to come off looking like he was repulsed by his friend - no, it was quite the opposite. But that feeling… there was something about that feeling.
“Oh, damn it.” David was pulled from his thoughts by Cook’s groan. “I left the jeans I wanted to wash in the hotel. Damn it.”
“Well, just go get them.”
“And leave you here alone?” Cook gave a sideways grin. “You’ll be eaten alive by vampires.”
“I’m… I’ll be fine.” David didn’t want to admit that while he generally didn’t believe in such absurdities, he could still get freaked out by the talk of them. He swallowed hard.
“Nope,” Cook said definitively, “I’ll just wash these.”
David was not sure what he meant until the rough, guitar string-toughened hands went straight for their owner’s belt and started to undo the buckle. David’s eyes went wide before he quickly turned away. He was definitely not used to people being so bold in front of him.
Cook peeled off his tight fitting jeans and dropped them into the pool of water filling his washing machine. David snuck a glance back to his friend, to assess the situation in which he currently found himself. The tails of Cook’s white button-up shirt hung well below the particularly delicate areas of Cook’s body, and David felt a small sigh of relief. Shoot, it wasn’t like he hadn’t been in boys’ locker rooms before or anything. He needn’t be embarrassed. Cook needed clean jeans, he just happened to also be wearing them.
David busied himself sorting through his own laundry. He became suddenly aware that he had a lot of boxers to wash and tried to hide them amongst his normal clothing of t-shirts and church pants. It was silly really, to be so embarrassed about boxer shorts when Cook was standing right next to him without pants on, yet he felt his cheeks flush anyway. He dumped a mess of clothing into his machine and then reached blindly behind him for one of his rolls of quarters.
“Whoa, hey,” Cook jumped behind him. “I didn’t know you felt that way about me, Archie.”
David whirled around in horror as he realized he had not, in fact, reached back anywhere near the counter with his belongings on it. No, he had, in fact, swept his hand very lightly, but still very tangibly, across Cook’s back side.
“Ohmygosh,” David gasped. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.” His hands clapped tightly over his mouth.
Cook laughed. “It’s okay, Archie, it was an accident.” David swore he saw Cook’s eyes sweep him over, but that only made the heat in his face increase, so he tried to pretend he had imagined that. “That is, it was, wasn’t it?”
“Whuh? Uh, yes. I… I needed these.” He jerkily snatched up the quarters and fumbled to peel the paper on the roll, trying very diligently to concentrate on George Washington’s profile staring up at him from the coin on the end. Regardless, he still felt Cook’s gaze linger on him for a moment longer before he went back to his own laundry.
How embarrassing, David thought to himself. He could barely feel the coins between his fingers as he plunked too many of them into the slot on the machine. Oops, he thought. Guess I’ll get the extra rinse cycle then. He closed his eyes briefly as he very consciously took a deep breath. Why was he feeling so anxious all of a sudden? And why was his heart pounding in such a way that was beyond normal uneasiness? Why was it more like elation than agony?
“Hey, you got enough laundry soap to share with me? I’m clearly losing my brain because I forgot that too.”
David swallowed hard and breathed in and out again before answering. “Yeah, yeah, go ahead.” He couldn’t seem to move his arms.
The breeze of Cook’s presence swept across David’s back as Cook reached around him to grab the bottle of detergent. Millimeters from himself, Cook’s body arched around his and in fact, the fabric of their shirts brushed one another. David sucked in air suddenly and then quickly bit his lip to try to hide it.
“You okay, Arch?” Cook asked, paused now in mid-reach, still very close to David.
David closed his eyes and nodded. He couldn’t open his mouth to talk as he was slow to realize that he was not okay. Not only was this anxiety starting to make his stomach swim, he became quite shocked to discover that the boxer shorts he was currently wearing were tightening up on him, as if he’d accidentally washed them in hot water.
“You don’t look so good,” Cook said now, losing his grip on the laundry soap bottle. He put his hand on David’s shoulder.
No. No, no, no, no, David thought. Don’t… please don’t.
The other hand went to the other shoulder and Cook turned David to face him.
Oh God. Oh God, don’t notice. Don’t. Notice. Dead puppies. Think of dead puppies…
Cook looked David in the eyes and David felt a sharp jolt go through them like fire, electrifying his spine, abdomen, hips… followed by Cook’s heated gaze which seemed to chase right on the heels of that feeling. Cook’s eyes finally landed - David knew because he could feel it - just below David’s belt buckle. Cook’s mouth contorted slightly before he bit his lower lip.
“You okay?” he asked again, this time in a lower voice, quieter. He looked David in the eye again, head still cocked forward slightly.
David wished he would disappear. What was he supposed to do now? Something otherworldly in embarrassment was happening to him and… and Cook wasn’t even being decent enough to back off and give him some space for a few minutes. He felt like he was suffocating, and responded appropriately when he suddenly let out a rush of a breath, followed by the inability to suck back in anymore air.
“Hey, hey, kiddo, calm down.” Cook stepped an inch closer, about five feet too far, David felt. “It’s okay, don’t freak out on me here. It’s just me, Cookie. You’ve got nothing to freak out about here.” Cook’s hands made it to David’s and he gripped them both tightly in his. He licked his lips.
“I’m… I… I’m sorry,” David said, now backing up against the washing machine.
Cook again stepped closer, this time right into David’s personal space, too close for there to be any question of his purpose there. He took up one of David’s hands and kissed the top of it, gently across the knuckles, now caressing the other hand as well.
David completely froze. This petrified moment in his life was suddenly making him feel sick to his stomach, nervous, scared to death and strangely, very slightly aroused. Well, at least his body apparently felt that way, even if his brain still had to catch up to it. Usually when he felt this way, he simultaneously felt like going for a run. A long, full-out, lung-expanding run. Running seemed like a really good idea at the moment, actually.
Cook was staring at him now, lips slightly apart and David thought he was going to say something. When he didn’t, David thought maybe he was supposed to say something and he rolled his eyes up to the ceiling as if he might find the words written there waiting for him to say them. This immediately resulted in the sudden mixed sensation of surprise and - was it delight? - as his lips were suddenly trapped under the pressure of two others pressing fiercely against his. Rolling his eyes back down, they met with Cook’s, as he hadn’t closed them, and David felt his piercing stare pin him down in his spot. He wasn’t thinking fast enough to do anything, and after several seconds, Cook’s eyes drooped closed as he pressed his lips harder against David’s.
The kiss ended and Cook pulled back to arm’s length and licked his lips again. David tried to force himself to breathe.
“Um… are you okay, Arch? I…” Cook rubbed the back of his own neck with his hand and glanced away momentarily. “I… I’m sorry, I… I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.”
David felt immense guilt at his friend’s shame and tried desperately to remedy the feeling. “Oh, no, Cook, it’s… it’s okay.” The words found themselves out without David even thinking about them first. Yet, he didn’t regret them. It had been okay. It had somehow even been a relief. He didn’t know how, but it was a relief.
Cook looked at him again with eyes like sparkling diamonds. “Really?” he mouthed, barely audible. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Can I kiss you again?”
“Yes.”
This time the kiss was reciprocated and both boys dared to put their hands on one another. Cook swept David up around the waist and David, still a bit timid, gently rested his hands on Cook’s shoulders. Those amazing, firm shoulders, David caught himself thinking of them as.
“Um,” David fumbled as they drew away from each other only enough to be able to talk. “I should start my washer.” He could feel Cook breathing on him and he awkwardly reached his hand behind him in hopes of hitting the start button on the machine, though to no avail.
“Here, I’ll get it,” Cook smirked. He leaned forward to press the button with his thumb, this time allowing his body to press into David’s and David, still with his mixed feelings of fear and delight, held his breath as he realized that Cook too had a growing issue similar to his, though not exactly completely protected by pants anymore, of course. David looked at the ceiling again and bit his lip.
“Cook?” he managed to say.
“Yeah?”
“I, uh… I never kissed anyone with my same name before.”
Cook laughed infectiously and David couldn’t help but smile and laugh himself.
“You’re so funny, Archie.”
“I didn’t mean to be.”
“That makes it even better.”
They looked at one another a moment longer before Cook put his hand on David’s thigh and said, “You really okay with this, David?”
“Yeah,” David said, actually fairly sure of himself. “What… what made you do that?”
Cook looked down at his hands as if he’d suddenly become the shyest person on earth.
“I, uh… well, I’ve thought you were pretty cute for awhile. I mean, that sounds weird. But of course I never thought you’d possibly - you’re a kid and pure as the driven snow and… But then I saw you were… you…” Cook ran his hand through his hair now, coughing slightly. “And shit, Archie, you’re seventeen. I should back away from you right now before I feel more like a dirty old man.”
David looked at his companion the way a dog looks at a human when being talked to in an excitable tone. “No, don’t,” he surprised himself by saying. “I mean, don’t, um… don’t run away.”
The infectious smile was back and Cook squeezed David’s hand too. “I should start my laundry too,” he commented, grabbing the laundry soap again. He turned now to add it to his washer before closing the lid and starting his machine as well. David watched him the whole time, and this time, when he watched Cook bend over to pick up a sock he had dropped, he didn’t feel quite as strange about his eyes being glued to his back side the whole time, and in fact, he downright liked it.
It was nearing two o’clock now and David realized they were going to be there all night now. He seemed to remember laundromat washers and especially the dryers taking ages to do their jobs. Cook had tried to tell him that that was because in a laundromat you’re literally sitting there waiting for it to be over when at home you can “set it and forget it” as Cook had also said. David was unsure that he agreed with this philosophy - he still swore it took longer than it should.
Cook finished shoving last minute clothes into the already filling machine and then turned back to David, wry smile on his face. “Well, now what?”
David suddenly longed for another kiss from Cook, but he didn’t want to say that. Something in his eyes must have been saying the same thing though, because Cook found his way back to David’s personal space and he kissed the boy as he pulled him closer to himself. David found himself clutching Cook’s tie that he was still wearing with both hands, gripping it as if he were hanging on for dear life, as if he didn’t want Cook to get away. David could feel the smile cross Cook’s lips before he said, “Mmm, a little possessive, are we?”
“Well, no, I -“
“Shh. Two can play at that game.” David saw a glint of naughtiness in Cook’s eyes before he found himself being suddenly wrapped up in Cook’s grasp and picked up off the floor. He kicked his feet playfully as he laughed. “Oh, my gosh, what are you doing?”
No verbal answer came, but rather David found himself hoisted up suddenly onto the washing machine and the vision of the sign that he had read earlier on the wall directly behind him flashed through his head: “Please do not sit on folding tables or washing machines. Thank you.”
David opened his mouth to say something, but Cook wasn’t going to have it. He was already tugging at David’s shoes to get them off and David was doing little to fight it except giggle like a little girl.
“Now Archie,” Cook said, his hands tracing up David’s thighs now, “don’t you think you need to wash those pants too? They’re your best pair.”
Though completely aware that the attention was quickly going back to his midsection, David was also suddenly aware of how long he’d felt like he was suffocating in these pants. So when Cook’s callused fingers found their way to undoing his belt buckle, he did nothing more than look down over the top of Cook’s head and watch him.
“I feel so tall up here,” he laughed. “I always feel so small standing next to… well, anyone. Except Ryan.”
Cook laughed as he made quick work of the button and zipper of David’s pants and began tugging at them fervently.
“Come on, help me out here, Archie. Lift that cute ass of yours.” David obeyed and before he knew it the pants were on the floor and Cook had pulled David closer to him so that he was wedged in between David’s knees.
“Damn, boy,” Cook breathed into David’s belly. “You may be small in stature, but you sure are packing down here.”
David blushed and laughed awkwardly. “What?”
“Oh, Davey, Davey. I don’t even have your boxers off yet and I’m completely intimidated by what I can tell is in there.”
“Well, I never thought I was…”
“Oh you are, kiddo. You are.”
David felt like his face was going to catch on fire. It may well have, actually, he couldn’t really feel it anymore. He leaned forward so that Cook’s forehead touched his chest.
“Wait, what? Did you say boxers off?? We’re in a public place!”
Cook looked up and smiled roguishly. “It’s two in the morning, Archie.” He bent down and kissed David on the thigh before biting playfully at the fabric of his boxers.
“David!”
“Oh, okay, we’ll leave them on… for now. But that doesn’t mean I ain’t exploring here.” With that statement, Cook’s hand snaked up across David’s hip and traced the waistband of his boxers before cupping his fingertips underneath the edge and tickling David’s waist. David squirmed, but laughed. Cook’s hand disappeared beneath the cloth now and David suddenly experienced the sensation of the first time anyone other than he had gripped his penis in the same fashion. Though even he hadn’t done what Cook was about to - he always went running instead. Cook squeezed gently and David jumped a little, nearly kicking Cook in the ribcage.
“Hey, easy now, big boy,” Cook said laughing. “No kicking.”
“Sorry.” David hesitated before continuing. “Cook, I never…”
“Shh, I know.”
“No, Cook, I don’t think you do.”
“What is it, Archie?” Cook squeezed tighter and massaged his hand up David’s shaft now, slowly and deliberately.
“I’ve never… I’ve never even…”
Cook finally got it. “Oh.” Cook paused his stroking and looked David in the eye. “You’ve never masturbated even.”
“No, sir,” David replied, wriggling again in response to the chilling feeling skipping across his entire groin region. “I’m not… supposed to.”
“You want me to stop?” Cook said seriously. “I’ll stop.”
David did not want him to stop, but he was definitely conflicted. All the other times he’d ever had a feeling even remotely similar to this one, he’d been alone. He’d been watching MTV or a movie or something and he’d just get up, put on his running shoes and go. And it worked. It had always worked. But he’d never had to deal with peeling someone off his body first. Peeling someone off his body that he sort of didn’t want to peel off.
“No, don’t stop,” he couldn’t believe he found himself saying.
Cook smiled and again pressed his fingers into David. He licked his lips hungrily before saying, “You want me to do it, or… you want something else?”
“Won’t that be… messy?”
“We’re in a laundromat, Arch.”
“Right.”
David noticed that Cook was continuously licking his lips and running his tongue along his teeth now. Something about this tiny detail was alluring to David, and he longed for that tongue - that mouth - to be on him somehow. He just didn’t know how.
Cook used his free hand to slip David’s shirt up, and he pushed his pokey face into David’s stomach. David gasped when Cook teased his tongue across David’s skin before settling his lips around David’s navel and sucking gently.
“Oh, my gosh.”
Cook breathed out a laugh against David’s olive skin. “David, David, David,” he whispered. And then, David felt Cook’s tongue on his belly again, snaking downward as Cook tugged at his boxers, pushing David so as to be able to pull them down far enough to let just enough of David out of them. Cook stroked another second before pushing David’s cock fully into his mouth.
David’s next utterances were just that - utterances. He strove to form words, but his tongue couldn’t move to shape them, his lips lax and trembling. David had gone to such measures during his teen years to keep himself pure like he was supposed to. To keep lustful thoughts from his mind, to not even touch himself. And now, right now, a mouth - a man’s mouth - was on him. On that part that was supposed to be saved for his wedding day, that part that wasn’t supposed to be touched in this way even by his wife. But he didn’t push Cook away. This feeling, though foreign, and out of his control, and insane, and intense beyond belief - he wanted it still. His resistance to temptation was already beyond its limit, and he simultaneously felt guilt and freedom.
Cook ran his tongue across the tip of David’s shaft, giving another small suck on the end of it before looking up at David and saying, “You should do it.”
David gulped hard. “W-w-what?”
“You haven’t done it before, and you should. I want to watch you.”
“Oh, no. No, no, no.” David shook his head weakly. “That’s - I can’t.”
“Pleeease?” Cook gave his best puppy dog eyes. His hand was on David’s thigh, and he pushed out his thumb to lightly caress David’s erection.
“No, I -“
Cook grabbed David’s left hand and wrapped his fingers around David’s as if he were going to teach a three year old how to write their name. He pushed David’s hand over his cock and forced him to grip it tightly, pushing David’s hand back and forth against the tight flesh. David’s mouth dropped open in surprise and amazement at how much he actually enjoyed the feeling of both their hands on himself.
David watched in near horror as Cook continued to guide this first experience. Horror because it was so surreal, so severely powerful, that David didn’t know what to do. So he watched Cook, who worked intensely on his new project, trying to force David’s fingers tighter around himself, and he began talking as if to himself.
“Grip it, David, fuck. You’re going to fucking love it, just do it.”
David’s hands fumbled below Cook’s, but he did finally get them to work together and he squeezed his fingers into his cock. And Cook was right. The feeling was amazing. Why was it again that he’d never done this before? As if being awakened, his own hand moved on its own, like he didn’t need to will it, his brain didn’t need to think it into action. It just moved, and he wasn’t aware when Cook’s hand released his exactly, for he was falling into a euphoric dream state and his eyes drooped closed and his mouth fell open.
He heard Cook’s gentle laugh of enjoyment before feeling Cook’s forehead against his chest. He tried to look down through the small slits of his nearly closed eyes, and while he couldn’t see everything, he was sure Cook was watching him closely as he continued to push himself closer to… well, he didn’t even know what.
The wash cycle changed, and the machine rumbled beneath David’s body, disrupting his rhythm and causing him to push slightly into Cook. Again, Cook laughed gently and pressed both of his hands against David’s ass, saying, “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” He grabbed large handfuls of David and squeezed tightly, sending another flood of adrenaline up David’s spine and through his hips and legs. Still, David’s hand worked on its own, and David felt he was coming to some sort of end, quickly and suddenly. His body bucked against Cook’s as if totally out of his control.
“Fuck, Archie, you’re almost there, I can tell.” Cook lightly kissed David’s chest, but didn’t seem to want to draw his eyes from the scene directly before his eyes.
David squeezed his eyes tightly and grunted oddly as the tingling sensation building in his pelvic region continued to escalate, and he made several sounds now that embarrassed him. His hips too were now moving on their own, pushing desperately between his fingers, his hand tightening against the beast before them.
“Come on, Archie. Come on, you can do it. Fuck, come on.” David only realized at this point that Cook was pressing his own lower half against the side of the washer, and was breathing just as heavily as he. Then as if taken by surprise - for he was now observing Cook’s actions - his hand was suddenly wet with thick substance and his entire body shook convulsively as a feeling like no other - that could never be described with words - radiated through his hips and cock and entire body, and he let out an anguished yelp as he emptied himself against Cook’s chest in ecstasy.
“Oh, my God, Archie… oh, my God.” Cook’s mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water, and he lamely tried to bite at David’s shirt.
“Oh, my gosh, Dave, I… I’m sorry.” He pushed back on Cook’s shoulders to observe the damage he had done. “Oh, gosh, your shirt.”
Cook looked up, his eyes droopy and sensual. “Do not even worry about it, kid.” He tugged at his tie until it fell to the floor, then started to work unbuttoning his shirt, flicking it off his shoulders and ultimately swiping it against David’s hand and elsewhere as a towel. He flung the shirt into the pile of clothes still waiting to be laundered and then slipped his hands up around David’s neck, pulling him forward into a strong kiss.
David sputtered words against Cook’s lips. “Did you… did you also…”
Cook groaned against the words, “No. It’s okay. That was… an experience in itself.”
Another wave of guilt hit David like a freight train. “No, it’s… it’s not fair.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Cook repeated, licking his lips and gently pressing them against David’s briefly. “As long as you were pleased… which I think you were…”
“Yes.”
Lost in their conversation, they almost missed the sound of the front door creaking open, and a humming figure sweeping in, singing along badly to some terrible pop song on his iPod. Cook’s eyes went wide, but not nearly as wide as David’s, as he uttered a curse before ducking down between the rows of machines, hand so tight on David’s wrist that David fell forward off the washer, tumbling against Cook into a tangled mess of arms and legs on the floor. Both struggled to slow their breathing, and both looked at one another in shock, amazement and disbelief. Cook strained to hold back a laugh, and while David was absolutely more horrified than he had been in his entire life, he couldn’t help but crack a smile back at his companion.
The sounds of coins falling rang through the air, and David realized their guest was using the change machine near the front of the laundromat. He held his breath, head dangerously close to Cook’s chest where he could hear Cook’s heart racing. Their new friend burst out into a particularly horrible chorus of song, and while David was straining to tell what he was doing, his lips were suddenly caught again by Cook’s, Cook’s hand slipping around his waist at the same time.
“Oh, my gosh, what are you doing?” David whispered in panic. “Are you insane?”
“Yes,” came the breathy answer. “Absolutely.”
Cook’s washing machine - the one they were currently propped up against - buzzed in signal of the end of its cycle. The humming guest seemed to freeze in his tracks and the room grew deathly silent. David felt like his pounding heart could have been heard a mile away.
A pause, some shuffling, David’s face contorted in horror, and again Cook stifled laughter. Then, what seemed like an eternity later, the bad singing resumed and the sound of the door creaking open and then closed again cut the tension in David’s heart. Cook’s radiant laugh filled the space as he relaxed fully against the washing machine, eyes squeezed shut and hand on his stomach.
“Shh, Cook,” David hissed. “How do you know he-“
“He just wanted change,” Cook said, continuing to laugh. “Oooh, man. That was awesome.”
“You really are insane.”
“Yes, I am. And this insane mother fucker wants the absolutely beautiful being before him to kiss him again, if he doesn’t mind.”
David glared at Cook, wondering if this was what drunk people acted like. He hadn’t tasted any alcohol on Cook’s lips (not that he’d know what that would taste like anyway), but he was starting to become really suspicious. He didn’t have time to consider it any further, for Cook had immediately hooked a hand at the nape of David’s neck and pulled him forward in yet another impassioned kiss. As if unable to make decisions for himself any longer, David melted against the scruffy face and found his hands slipping against Cook’s torso, gently gripping at the sides. He breathed in Cook’s scent, a musky, sweaty smell, and before he knew it, found his hands tickling across Cook’s hips before meeting at the spot where his underwear met his waist.
Cook breathed out heavily and moaned softly. David suddenly felt adventurous and crept one hand to grab Cook’s still pulsing erection, causing Cook’s eyes to flutter open wide and for him to stare at David in disbelief.
“Archie,” he breathed.
“It’s not fair,” David said, kissing Cook on the stomach. “And I learned to always play fair.”
It was Cook’s turn to be stunned silent as David, now having had a crash course in what felt good to a man, fumbled somewhat with Cook’s cock. Cook grinned as he slowly closed his eyes, allowing David to take his time, experiment, and most importantly, not be judged. He groaned in encouragement as David gently stroked his hand against Cook, and even put his hand on David’s back, trailing his callused fingers up his neck to land softly in David’s hair. But the touch was lost when David suddenly, to Cook’s even greater surprise, moved down to capture his cock in his mouth, attempting to take the whole thing at once. David instantly sputtered and choked and bolted upright, straining to breathe. Cook opened his eyes long enough to make sure he was okay and said, “You’re jumping the gun there, don’t you think, Archuleta?”
David coughed into the crook of his arm, not only because he had almost choked himself to death, but because the taste in his mouth was… strange. He wasn’t really fond of it, and he felt ashamed that this was supposed to be something that was pleasing. He couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to keep at it until the completion of the task, and decided he’d have to work his way up to that later. It was probably an acquired taste, as people say.
“Don’t worry about that,” Cook reassured, again closing his eyes. “You don’t have to do anything, remember?”
But David was not giving up that easily. He again gripped Cook with his hand and began the steady rhythm of strokes as he laid his head down on Cook’s chest. Cook’s hand again found its way to caressing David’s hair, and David felt great comfort in this, considering he was lying on the cold floor of a laundromat, which, if he had taken a moment to think about it, was probably one of the most disgusting places in the world to be splayed out half-naked.
Cook remained patient with David, coaching at the right times, remaining quiet at others in order to allow David to find his own way. When he came it wasn’t explosive. There weren’t fireworks or earthquakes, the ground didn’t open up and swallow him, and he didn’t lose his mind to delirium. He did however, grunt appropriately, pepper the air with a few finely chosen curses and press his fingers tightly into David’s shoulder, uttering words of satisfaction and assurance. And even given its lack of earth-shattering elation, David felt okay about it too as he used a dirty t-shirt to clean up Cook and kissed him deliberately and with a different pulse in his heart.
“Sorry,” David said, nuzzling his nose on Cook’s prickly cheek.
“I don’t know what for,” Cook replied, dragging his hand across David’s back. David shivered and tightened his arm around Cook’s middle.
“You obviously didn’t enjoy that as much as I enjoyed mine.” David had to choke out the words. He wasn’t used to talking about such delicate subjects.
“It was perfect,” Cook whispered, clutching the younger’s slender body closer to his. “You’re freezing.”
“I’m not,” David replied, though he shook again. “I feel so exposed.”
Cook let the comment hang in the air before saying, “It’s like that.”
Another beat of time passed before Cook pushed himself up into a sitting position and hugged David close to him. Then he pushed him to arm’s length and looked straight into his hazel eyes.
“Doing okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t you dare hold back on me.”
“I’m not.”
“Don’t ever hold back on me, you hear me?”
“I won’t.”
“You better not. You’re freezing and I know it. Get up, let’s get your pants back on you.”
“I was going to wash them.”
“Well, let’s dry the first load first, so you can at least wear something.”
“Can we put them together in one dryer? It’ll save time.”
“I don’t know, Arch. My personals tumbling around with yours? That’s a huge step.”
David looked at Cook like he was crazy and Cook burst out laughing. David regarded him a moment, now paying special attention to the fact that he loved Cook’s smile, that the squint of his eyes when he laughed did things to his heart. This night had taken a turn that he never expected in a million years, and even though it was a little bit crazy and a little bit frightening, it was also more than a little bit exhilarating.
Cook was still chuckling when David leaned his temple against his companion’s shoulder and breathed out happily.
♥
[author] kissontheneck
[pairing] Cookleta
[beta] N/A
[rating] R
[word count] 5853
[summary] The boys air some dirty laundry.
[disclaimer] Surely, I have nothing to do with either of these fine young men, no matter how much I wish I did.
[warnings] Forward!Cook. UnexplainablyWilling!Archie. Things move too fast for real life, honestly. LOL.
[author's notes] For clionona , who will be utterly surprised to be sure. The thing is, I started writing this just coming up on a million years ago. And I was writing it for her birthday. Then I forgot about it -- both her birthday and this story. Then I was browsing my half-finished fics and I found this. So like, yeah. The majority of this was already written, I think I changed four sentences and wrote the last paragraph today and that was it. Ha ha! Anyway, it was always meant for you, Clio, so I hope you like it! Happy birthday! :D
LAUNDROMAT
“Why are we here at one in the morning?”
“Because it’s a twenty-four hour laundromat, Archie.”
“Riiight. Implying it is also open at one in the afternoon as well.”
“Shush, you’re ruining it.”
The fluorescent lights hummed above the two boys, alone except for the faint sound of a television on at the other end of the room. It was laundry day, as the Idols had come to regard their supposed days off, except that both David Cook and David Archuleta had missed the usual taking over of a laundromat by the herd of ten people and their clothing earlier in the day due to interview schedules and naps.
“If a place is open twenty-four hours, it’s begging for you to be there at one in the morning,” Cook went on, now hauling up a basket of wretchedly dirty clothing onto the counter in front of him. “And no one else is here. As much as I like staking out an empty washer in a packed laundromat as much as the next guy, I’ll take this instead.”
David laughed softly to himself. “You can’t sneak bras into Michael’s laundry this way though,” he pointed out, heaving up his own load of laundry to be done.
Cook laughed at the memory of doing so in the last city. “You’ve got a point there, I suppose. Though Brooke wasn’t very happy about that.”
Cook dug into his pocket for the sea of quarters jangling against his thigh and poured them out onto the countertop. David’s eyes went wide as the mountain of coins spread out before him. In response, he reached into his own jacket pocket and extracted two perfectly tight rolls of quarters and set them on the counter next to his belongings.
“Show off,” Cook smirked.
“It’s sort of creepy in here,” David said as he fumbled with the latching mechanism on the washer he had chosen to use. “Just the buzzing of the lights… I feel like I’m in the awkward beginning of a horror movie.”
Cook laughed maniacally. “Yes, Archuleta, you’ve figured me out… I’m here to suck your blood!” He grasped David by the shoulders and mocked biting his shoulder. David laughed awkwardly and squirmed out of his companion’s grasp. He didn’t know exactly what it was, but he felt particularly self-conscious when he was alone with Cook, and especially when Cook touched him. And Cook touched him all the time, making it even more difficult to bear. He didn’t want to come off looking like he was repulsed by his friend - no, it was quite the opposite. But that feeling… there was something about that feeling.
“Oh, damn it.” David was pulled from his thoughts by Cook’s groan. “I left the jeans I wanted to wash in the hotel. Damn it.”
“Well, just go get them.”
“And leave you here alone?” Cook gave a sideways grin. “You’ll be eaten alive by vampires.”
“I’m… I’ll be fine.” David didn’t want to admit that while he generally didn’t believe in such absurdities, he could still get freaked out by the talk of them. He swallowed hard.
“Nope,” Cook said definitively, “I’ll just wash these.”
David was not sure what he meant until the rough, guitar string-toughened hands went straight for their owner’s belt and started to undo the buckle. David’s eyes went wide before he quickly turned away. He was definitely not used to people being so bold in front of him.
Cook peeled off his tight fitting jeans and dropped them into the pool of water filling his washing machine. David snuck a glance back to his friend, to assess the situation in which he currently found himself. The tails of Cook’s white button-up shirt hung well below the particularly delicate areas of Cook’s body, and David felt a small sigh of relief. Shoot, it wasn’t like he hadn’t been in boys’ locker rooms before or anything. He needn’t be embarrassed. Cook needed clean jeans, he just happened to also be wearing them.
David busied himself sorting through his own laundry. He became suddenly aware that he had a lot of boxers to wash and tried to hide them amongst his normal clothing of t-shirts and church pants. It was silly really, to be so embarrassed about boxer shorts when Cook was standing right next to him without pants on, yet he felt his cheeks flush anyway. He dumped a mess of clothing into his machine and then reached blindly behind him for one of his rolls of quarters.
“Whoa, hey,” Cook jumped behind him. “I didn’t know you felt that way about me, Archie.”
David whirled around in horror as he realized he had not, in fact, reached back anywhere near the counter with his belongings on it. No, he had, in fact, swept his hand very lightly, but still very tangibly, across Cook’s back side.
“Ohmygosh,” David gasped. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.” His hands clapped tightly over his mouth.
Cook laughed. “It’s okay, Archie, it was an accident.” David swore he saw Cook’s eyes sweep him over, but that only made the heat in his face increase, so he tried to pretend he had imagined that. “That is, it was, wasn’t it?”
“Whuh? Uh, yes. I… I needed these.” He jerkily snatched up the quarters and fumbled to peel the paper on the roll, trying very diligently to concentrate on George Washington’s profile staring up at him from the coin on the end. Regardless, he still felt Cook’s gaze linger on him for a moment longer before he went back to his own laundry.
How embarrassing, David thought to himself. He could barely feel the coins between his fingers as he plunked too many of them into the slot on the machine. Oops, he thought. Guess I’ll get the extra rinse cycle then. He closed his eyes briefly as he very consciously took a deep breath. Why was he feeling so anxious all of a sudden? And why was his heart pounding in such a way that was beyond normal uneasiness? Why was it more like elation than agony?
“Hey, you got enough laundry soap to share with me? I’m clearly losing my brain because I forgot that too.”
David swallowed hard and breathed in and out again before answering. “Yeah, yeah, go ahead.” He couldn’t seem to move his arms.
The breeze of Cook’s presence swept across David’s back as Cook reached around him to grab the bottle of detergent. Millimeters from himself, Cook’s body arched around his and in fact, the fabric of their shirts brushed one another. David sucked in air suddenly and then quickly bit his lip to try to hide it.
“You okay, Arch?” Cook asked, paused now in mid-reach, still very close to David.
David closed his eyes and nodded. He couldn’t open his mouth to talk as he was slow to realize that he was not okay. Not only was this anxiety starting to make his stomach swim, he became quite shocked to discover that the boxer shorts he was currently wearing were tightening up on him, as if he’d accidentally washed them in hot water.
“You don’t look so good,” Cook said now, losing his grip on the laundry soap bottle. He put his hand on David’s shoulder.
No. No, no, no, no, David thought. Don’t… please don’t.
The other hand went to the other shoulder and Cook turned David to face him.
Oh God. Oh God, don’t notice. Don’t. Notice. Dead puppies. Think of dead puppies…
Cook looked David in the eyes and David felt a sharp jolt go through them like fire, electrifying his spine, abdomen, hips… followed by Cook’s heated gaze which seemed to chase right on the heels of that feeling. Cook’s eyes finally landed - David knew because he could feel it - just below David’s belt buckle. Cook’s mouth contorted slightly before he bit his lower lip.
“You okay?” he asked again, this time in a lower voice, quieter. He looked David in the eye again, head still cocked forward slightly.
David wished he would disappear. What was he supposed to do now? Something otherworldly in embarrassment was happening to him and… and Cook wasn’t even being decent enough to back off and give him some space for a few minutes. He felt like he was suffocating, and responded appropriately when he suddenly let out a rush of a breath, followed by the inability to suck back in anymore air.
“Hey, hey, kiddo, calm down.” Cook stepped an inch closer, about five feet too far, David felt. “It’s okay, don’t freak out on me here. It’s just me, Cookie. You’ve got nothing to freak out about here.” Cook’s hands made it to David’s and he gripped them both tightly in his. He licked his lips.
“I’m… I… I’m sorry,” David said, now backing up against the washing machine.
Cook again stepped closer, this time right into David’s personal space, too close for there to be any question of his purpose there. He took up one of David’s hands and kissed the top of it, gently across the knuckles, now caressing the other hand as well.
David completely froze. This petrified moment in his life was suddenly making him feel sick to his stomach, nervous, scared to death and strangely, very slightly aroused. Well, at least his body apparently felt that way, even if his brain still had to catch up to it. Usually when he felt this way, he simultaneously felt like going for a run. A long, full-out, lung-expanding run. Running seemed like a really good idea at the moment, actually.
Cook was staring at him now, lips slightly apart and David thought he was going to say something. When he didn’t, David thought maybe he was supposed to say something and he rolled his eyes up to the ceiling as if he might find the words written there waiting for him to say them. This immediately resulted in the sudden mixed sensation of surprise and - was it delight? - as his lips were suddenly trapped under the pressure of two others pressing fiercely against his. Rolling his eyes back down, they met with Cook’s, as he hadn’t closed them, and David felt his piercing stare pin him down in his spot. He wasn’t thinking fast enough to do anything, and after several seconds, Cook’s eyes drooped closed as he pressed his lips harder against David’s.
The kiss ended and Cook pulled back to arm’s length and licked his lips again. David tried to force himself to breathe.
“Um… are you okay, Arch? I…” Cook rubbed the back of his own neck with his hand and glanced away momentarily. “I… I’m sorry, I… I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.”
David felt immense guilt at his friend’s shame and tried desperately to remedy the feeling. “Oh, no, Cook, it’s… it’s okay.” The words found themselves out without David even thinking about them first. Yet, he didn’t regret them. It had been okay. It had somehow even been a relief. He didn’t know how, but it was a relief.
Cook looked at him again with eyes like sparkling diamonds. “Really?” he mouthed, barely audible. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Can I kiss you again?”
“Yes.”
This time the kiss was reciprocated and both boys dared to put their hands on one another. Cook swept David up around the waist and David, still a bit timid, gently rested his hands on Cook’s shoulders. Those amazing, firm shoulders, David caught himself thinking of them as.
“Um,” David fumbled as they drew away from each other only enough to be able to talk. “I should start my washer.” He could feel Cook breathing on him and he awkwardly reached his hand behind him in hopes of hitting the start button on the machine, though to no avail.
“Here, I’ll get it,” Cook smirked. He leaned forward to press the button with his thumb, this time allowing his body to press into David’s and David, still with his mixed feelings of fear and delight, held his breath as he realized that Cook too had a growing issue similar to his, though not exactly completely protected by pants anymore, of course. David looked at the ceiling again and bit his lip.
“Cook?” he managed to say.
“Yeah?”
“I, uh… I never kissed anyone with my same name before.”
Cook laughed infectiously and David couldn’t help but smile and laugh himself.
“You’re so funny, Archie.”
“I didn’t mean to be.”
“That makes it even better.”
They looked at one another a moment longer before Cook put his hand on David’s thigh and said, “You really okay with this, David?”
“Yeah,” David said, actually fairly sure of himself. “What… what made you do that?”
Cook looked down at his hands as if he’d suddenly become the shyest person on earth.
“I, uh… well, I’ve thought you were pretty cute for awhile. I mean, that sounds weird. But of course I never thought you’d possibly - you’re a kid and pure as the driven snow and… But then I saw you were… you…” Cook ran his hand through his hair now, coughing slightly. “And shit, Archie, you’re seventeen. I should back away from you right now before I feel more like a dirty old man.”
David looked at his companion the way a dog looks at a human when being talked to in an excitable tone. “No, don’t,” he surprised himself by saying. “I mean, don’t, um… don’t run away.”
The infectious smile was back and Cook squeezed David’s hand too. “I should start my laundry too,” he commented, grabbing the laundry soap again. He turned now to add it to his washer before closing the lid and starting his machine as well. David watched him the whole time, and this time, when he watched Cook bend over to pick up a sock he had dropped, he didn’t feel quite as strange about his eyes being glued to his back side the whole time, and in fact, he downright liked it.
It was nearing two o’clock now and David realized they were going to be there all night now. He seemed to remember laundromat washers and especially the dryers taking ages to do their jobs. Cook had tried to tell him that that was because in a laundromat you’re literally sitting there waiting for it to be over when at home you can “set it and forget it” as Cook had also said. David was unsure that he agreed with this philosophy - he still swore it took longer than it should.
Cook finished shoving last minute clothes into the already filling machine and then turned back to David, wry smile on his face. “Well, now what?”
David suddenly longed for another kiss from Cook, but he didn’t want to say that. Something in his eyes must have been saying the same thing though, because Cook found his way back to David’s personal space and he kissed the boy as he pulled him closer to himself. David found himself clutching Cook’s tie that he was still wearing with both hands, gripping it as if he were hanging on for dear life, as if he didn’t want Cook to get away. David could feel the smile cross Cook’s lips before he said, “Mmm, a little possessive, are we?”
“Well, no, I -“
“Shh. Two can play at that game.” David saw a glint of naughtiness in Cook’s eyes before he found himself being suddenly wrapped up in Cook’s grasp and picked up off the floor. He kicked his feet playfully as he laughed. “Oh, my gosh, what are you doing?”
No verbal answer came, but rather David found himself hoisted up suddenly onto the washing machine and the vision of the sign that he had read earlier on the wall directly behind him flashed through his head: “Please do not sit on folding tables or washing machines. Thank you.”
David opened his mouth to say something, but Cook wasn’t going to have it. He was already tugging at David’s shoes to get them off and David was doing little to fight it except giggle like a little girl.
“Now Archie,” Cook said, his hands tracing up David’s thighs now, “don’t you think you need to wash those pants too? They’re your best pair.”
Though completely aware that the attention was quickly going back to his midsection, David was also suddenly aware of how long he’d felt like he was suffocating in these pants. So when Cook’s callused fingers found their way to undoing his belt buckle, he did nothing more than look down over the top of Cook’s head and watch him.
“I feel so tall up here,” he laughed. “I always feel so small standing next to… well, anyone. Except Ryan.”
Cook laughed as he made quick work of the button and zipper of David’s pants and began tugging at them fervently.
“Come on, help me out here, Archie. Lift that cute ass of yours.” David obeyed and before he knew it the pants were on the floor and Cook had pulled David closer to him so that he was wedged in between David’s knees.
“Damn, boy,” Cook breathed into David’s belly. “You may be small in stature, but you sure are packing down here.”
David blushed and laughed awkwardly. “What?”
“Oh, Davey, Davey. I don’t even have your boxers off yet and I’m completely intimidated by what I can tell is in there.”
“Well, I never thought I was…”
“Oh you are, kiddo. You are.”
David felt like his face was going to catch on fire. It may well have, actually, he couldn’t really feel it anymore. He leaned forward so that Cook’s forehead touched his chest.
“Wait, what? Did you say boxers off?? We’re in a public place!”
Cook looked up and smiled roguishly. “It’s two in the morning, Archie.” He bent down and kissed David on the thigh before biting playfully at the fabric of his boxers.
“David!”
“Oh, okay, we’ll leave them on… for now. But that doesn’t mean I ain’t exploring here.” With that statement, Cook’s hand snaked up across David’s hip and traced the waistband of his boxers before cupping his fingertips underneath the edge and tickling David’s waist. David squirmed, but laughed. Cook’s hand disappeared beneath the cloth now and David suddenly experienced the sensation of the first time anyone other than he had gripped his penis in the same fashion. Though even he hadn’t done what Cook was about to - he always went running instead. Cook squeezed gently and David jumped a little, nearly kicking Cook in the ribcage.
“Hey, easy now, big boy,” Cook said laughing. “No kicking.”
“Sorry.” David hesitated before continuing. “Cook, I never…”
“Shh, I know.”
“No, Cook, I don’t think you do.”
“What is it, Archie?” Cook squeezed tighter and massaged his hand up David’s shaft now, slowly and deliberately.
“I’ve never… I’ve never even…”
Cook finally got it. “Oh.” Cook paused his stroking and looked David in the eye. “You’ve never masturbated even.”
“No, sir,” David replied, wriggling again in response to the chilling feeling skipping across his entire groin region. “I’m not… supposed to.”
“You want me to stop?” Cook said seriously. “I’ll stop.”
David did not want him to stop, but he was definitely conflicted. All the other times he’d ever had a feeling even remotely similar to this one, he’d been alone. He’d been watching MTV or a movie or something and he’d just get up, put on his running shoes and go. And it worked. It had always worked. But he’d never had to deal with peeling someone off his body first. Peeling someone off his body that he sort of didn’t want to peel off.
“No, don’t stop,” he couldn’t believe he found himself saying.
Cook smiled and again pressed his fingers into David. He licked his lips hungrily before saying, “You want me to do it, or… you want something else?”
“Won’t that be… messy?”
“We’re in a laundromat, Arch.”
“Right.”
David noticed that Cook was continuously licking his lips and running his tongue along his teeth now. Something about this tiny detail was alluring to David, and he longed for that tongue - that mouth - to be on him somehow. He just didn’t know how.
Cook used his free hand to slip David’s shirt up, and he pushed his pokey face into David’s stomach. David gasped when Cook teased his tongue across David’s skin before settling his lips around David’s navel and sucking gently.
“Oh, my gosh.”
Cook breathed out a laugh against David’s olive skin. “David, David, David,” he whispered. And then, David felt Cook’s tongue on his belly again, snaking downward as Cook tugged at his boxers, pushing David so as to be able to pull them down far enough to let just enough of David out of them. Cook stroked another second before pushing David’s cock fully into his mouth.
David’s next utterances were just that - utterances. He strove to form words, but his tongue couldn’t move to shape them, his lips lax and trembling. David had gone to such measures during his teen years to keep himself pure like he was supposed to. To keep lustful thoughts from his mind, to not even touch himself. And now, right now, a mouth - a man’s mouth - was on him. On that part that was supposed to be saved for his wedding day, that part that wasn’t supposed to be touched in this way even by his wife. But he didn’t push Cook away. This feeling, though foreign, and out of his control, and insane, and intense beyond belief - he wanted it still. His resistance to temptation was already beyond its limit, and he simultaneously felt guilt and freedom.
Cook ran his tongue across the tip of David’s shaft, giving another small suck on the end of it before looking up at David and saying, “You should do it.”
David gulped hard. “W-w-what?”
“You haven’t done it before, and you should. I want to watch you.”
“Oh, no. No, no, no.” David shook his head weakly. “That’s - I can’t.”
“Pleeease?” Cook gave his best puppy dog eyes. His hand was on David’s thigh, and he pushed out his thumb to lightly caress David’s erection.
“No, I -“
Cook grabbed David’s left hand and wrapped his fingers around David’s as if he were going to teach a three year old how to write their name. He pushed David’s hand over his cock and forced him to grip it tightly, pushing David’s hand back and forth against the tight flesh. David’s mouth dropped open in surprise and amazement at how much he actually enjoyed the feeling of both their hands on himself.
David watched in near horror as Cook continued to guide this first experience. Horror because it was so surreal, so severely powerful, that David didn’t know what to do. So he watched Cook, who worked intensely on his new project, trying to force David’s fingers tighter around himself, and he began talking as if to himself.
“Grip it, David, fuck. You’re going to fucking love it, just do it.”
David’s hands fumbled below Cook’s, but he did finally get them to work together and he squeezed his fingers into his cock. And Cook was right. The feeling was amazing. Why was it again that he’d never done this before? As if being awakened, his own hand moved on its own, like he didn’t need to will it, his brain didn’t need to think it into action. It just moved, and he wasn’t aware when Cook’s hand released his exactly, for he was falling into a euphoric dream state and his eyes drooped closed and his mouth fell open.
He heard Cook’s gentle laugh of enjoyment before feeling Cook’s forehead against his chest. He tried to look down through the small slits of his nearly closed eyes, and while he couldn’t see everything, he was sure Cook was watching him closely as he continued to push himself closer to… well, he didn’t even know what.
The wash cycle changed, and the machine rumbled beneath David’s body, disrupting his rhythm and causing him to push slightly into Cook. Again, Cook laughed gently and pressed both of his hands against David’s ass, saying, “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” He grabbed large handfuls of David and squeezed tightly, sending another flood of adrenaline up David’s spine and through his hips and legs. Still, David’s hand worked on its own, and David felt he was coming to some sort of end, quickly and suddenly. His body bucked against Cook’s as if totally out of his control.
“Fuck, Archie, you’re almost there, I can tell.” Cook lightly kissed David’s chest, but didn’t seem to want to draw his eyes from the scene directly before his eyes.
David squeezed his eyes tightly and grunted oddly as the tingling sensation building in his pelvic region continued to escalate, and he made several sounds now that embarrassed him. His hips too were now moving on their own, pushing desperately between his fingers, his hand tightening against the beast before them.
“Come on, Archie. Come on, you can do it. Fuck, come on.” David only realized at this point that Cook was pressing his own lower half against the side of the washer, and was breathing just as heavily as he. Then as if taken by surprise - for he was now observing Cook’s actions - his hand was suddenly wet with thick substance and his entire body shook convulsively as a feeling like no other - that could never be described with words - radiated through his hips and cock and entire body, and he let out an anguished yelp as he emptied himself against Cook’s chest in ecstasy.
“Oh, my God, Archie… oh, my God.” Cook’s mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water, and he lamely tried to bite at David’s shirt.
“Oh, my gosh, Dave, I… I’m sorry.” He pushed back on Cook’s shoulders to observe the damage he had done. “Oh, gosh, your shirt.”
Cook looked up, his eyes droopy and sensual. “Do not even worry about it, kid.” He tugged at his tie until it fell to the floor, then started to work unbuttoning his shirt, flicking it off his shoulders and ultimately swiping it against David’s hand and elsewhere as a towel. He flung the shirt into the pile of clothes still waiting to be laundered and then slipped his hands up around David’s neck, pulling him forward into a strong kiss.
David sputtered words against Cook’s lips. “Did you… did you also…”
Cook groaned against the words, “No. It’s okay. That was… an experience in itself.”
Another wave of guilt hit David like a freight train. “No, it’s… it’s not fair.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Cook repeated, licking his lips and gently pressing them against David’s briefly. “As long as you were pleased… which I think you were…”
“Yes.”
Lost in their conversation, they almost missed the sound of the front door creaking open, and a humming figure sweeping in, singing along badly to some terrible pop song on his iPod. Cook’s eyes went wide, but not nearly as wide as David’s, as he uttered a curse before ducking down between the rows of machines, hand so tight on David’s wrist that David fell forward off the washer, tumbling against Cook into a tangled mess of arms and legs on the floor. Both struggled to slow their breathing, and both looked at one another in shock, amazement and disbelief. Cook strained to hold back a laugh, and while David was absolutely more horrified than he had been in his entire life, he couldn’t help but crack a smile back at his companion.
The sounds of coins falling rang through the air, and David realized their guest was using the change machine near the front of the laundromat. He held his breath, head dangerously close to Cook’s chest where he could hear Cook’s heart racing. Their new friend burst out into a particularly horrible chorus of song, and while David was straining to tell what he was doing, his lips were suddenly caught again by Cook’s, Cook’s hand slipping around his waist at the same time.
“Oh, my gosh, what are you doing?” David whispered in panic. “Are you insane?”
“Yes,” came the breathy answer. “Absolutely.”
Cook’s washing machine - the one they were currently propped up against - buzzed in signal of the end of its cycle. The humming guest seemed to freeze in his tracks and the room grew deathly silent. David felt like his pounding heart could have been heard a mile away.
A pause, some shuffling, David’s face contorted in horror, and again Cook stifled laughter. Then, what seemed like an eternity later, the bad singing resumed and the sound of the door creaking open and then closed again cut the tension in David’s heart. Cook’s radiant laugh filled the space as he relaxed fully against the washing machine, eyes squeezed shut and hand on his stomach.
“Shh, Cook,” David hissed. “How do you know he-“
“He just wanted change,” Cook said, continuing to laugh. “Oooh, man. That was awesome.”
“You really are insane.”
“Yes, I am. And this insane mother fucker wants the absolutely beautiful being before him to kiss him again, if he doesn’t mind.”
David glared at Cook, wondering if this was what drunk people acted like. He hadn’t tasted any alcohol on Cook’s lips (not that he’d know what that would taste like anyway), but he was starting to become really suspicious. He didn’t have time to consider it any further, for Cook had immediately hooked a hand at the nape of David’s neck and pulled him forward in yet another impassioned kiss. As if unable to make decisions for himself any longer, David melted against the scruffy face and found his hands slipping against Cook’s torso, gently gripping at the sides. He breathed in Cook’s scent, a musky, sweaty smell, and before he knew it, found his hands tickling across Cook’s hips before meeting at the spot where his underwear met his waist.
Cook breathed out heavily and moaned softly. David suddenly felt adventurous and crept one hand to grab Cook’s still pulsing erection, causing Cook’s eyes to flutter open wide and for him to stare at David in disbelief.
“Archie,” he breathed.
“It’s not fair,” David said, kissing Cook on the stomach. “And I learned to always play fair.”
It was Cook’s turn to be stunned silent as David, now having had a crash course in what felt good to a man, fumbled somewhat with Cook’s cock. Cook grinned as he slowly closed his eyes, allowing David to take his time, experiment, and most importantly, not be judged. He groaned in encouragement as David gently stroked his hand against Cook, and even put his hand on David’s back, trailing his callused fingers up his neck to land softly in David’s hair. But the touch was lost when David suddenly, to Cook’s even greater surprise, moved down to capture his cock in his mouth, attempting to take the whole thing at once. David instantly sputtered and choked and bolted upright, straining to breathe. Cook opened his eyes long enough to make sure he was okay and said, “You’re jumping the gun there, don’t you think, Archuleta?”
David coughed into the crook of his arm, not only because he had almost choked himself to death, but because the taste in his mouth was… strange. He wasn’t really fond of it, and he felt ashamed that this was supposed to be something that was pleasing. He couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to keep at it until the completion of the task, and decided he’d have to work his way up to that later. It was probably an acquired taste, as people say.
“Don’t worry about that,” Cook reassured, again closing his eyes. “You don’t have to do anything, remember?”
But David was not giving up that easily. He again gripped Cook with his hand and began the steady rhythm of strokes as he laid his head down on Cook’s chest. Cook’s hand again found its way to caressing David’s hair, and David felt great comfort in this, considering he was lying on the cold floor of a laundromat, which, if he had taken a moment to think about it, was probably one of the most disgusting places in the world to be splayed out half-naked.
Cook remained patient with David, coaching at the right times, remaining quiet at others in order to allow David to find his own way. When he came it wasn’t explosive. There weren’t fireworks or earthquakes, the ground didn’t open up and swallow him, and he didn’t lose his mind to delirium. He did however, grunt appropriately, pepper the air with a few finely chosen curses and press his fingers tightly into David’s shoulder, uttering words of satisfaction and assurance. And even given its lack of earth-shattering elation, David felt okay about it too as he used a dirty t-shirt to clean up Cook and kissed him deliberately and with a different pulse in his heart.
“Sorry,” David said, nuzzling his nose on Cook’s prickly cheek.
“I don’t know what for,” Cook replied, dragging his hand across David’s back. David shivered and tightened his arm around Cook’s middle.
“You obviously didn’t enjoy that as much as I enjoyed mine.” David had to choke out the words. He wasn’t used to talking about such delicate subjects.
“It was perfect,” Cook whispered, clutching the younger’s slender body closer to his. “You’re freezing.”
“I’m not,” David replied, though he shook again. “I feel so exposed.”
Cook let the comment hang in the air before saying, “It’s like that.”
Another beat of time passed before Cook pushed himself up into a sitting position and hugged David close to him. Then he pushed him to arm’s length and looked straight into his hazel eyes.
“Doing okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t you dare hold back on me.”
“I’m not.”
“Don’t ever hold back on me, you hear me?”
“I won’t.”
“You better not. You’re freezing and I know it. Get up, let’s get your pants back on you.”
“I was going to wash them.”
“Well, let’s dry the first load first, so you can at least wear something.”
“Can we put them together in one dryer? It’ll save time.”
“I don’t know, Arch. My personals tumbling around with yours? That’s a huge step.”
David looked at Cook like he was crazy and Cook burst out laughing. David regarded him a moment, now paying special attention to the fact that he loved Cook’s smile, that the squint of his eyes when he laughed did things to his heart. This night had taken a turn that he never expected in a million years, and even though it was a little bit crazy and a little bit frightening, it was also more than a little bit exhilarating.
Cook was still chuckling when David leaned his temple against his companion’s shoulder and breathed out happily.
♥