FIC: POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME
Title: Pour Some Sugar on Me
Pairing: Kris/Adam
Word Count: Around 4000
Rating: PG
Summary: The one where there's a birthday road trip, an unlikely stripper and cupcake kisses in the dark.
Author's Note: I've had this fic sitting around since the beginning of this year and totally forgot about it. But my writing partner peacockcock read it and said I should post it, and I'm her bitch so here you go.
I'm flying without a beta and the title comes from the Def Leppard song.
Adam has a lot of plans for his 29th birthday. He’s going to have it at Tommy’s new bar, a hole-in-the-wall that serves unbelievably potent alcohol mixes that are guaranteed to make anyone see stars after just two shots. Alisan’s band is going to play, and Brad’s in charge of the guest list, as always. Cassidy’s all set to design a fierce leather outfit for Adam and Danielle has said that as Adam’s best friend, she’s giving him those gorgeous but very, very pricey YSL snakeskin boots that he’s been eyeing for months.
It’s going to be his best birthday ever.
What’s not in those plans is that on the day that he’s supposed to be throwing the wildest party in all of West Hollywood, he’s stuck in Little Rock, Arkansas. And instead of downing Tommy’s signature Cherry Smut cocktail, he’s having meetings with a panicky Arkansas Children’s Hospital board of trustees on top of yelling at the contractor they’ve hired to construct the hospital’s new wing. A series of small problems snowballed into a two-week delay that has Adam, the project’s architect, feeling on edge. It also sucks that he won’t be able to fly back to LA on his birthday weekend; if he wants to have the new wing opened as scheduled, he’ll have to stay put and start micro-managing, fuck his life.
It isn’t that he hates Little Rock: he finds the place rather charming and there are a lot of cute Southern boys to look at too. It’s just that if he wants to have the party to end all parties, this is definitely not the place to be.
But apparently, the universe wants to mess with Adam’s view of the world because as birthdays come, his 29th in Arkansas is definitely shaping up to be a memorable one.
It starts when Kris, the ACH project engineer, drags him to the parking lot as soon as the last of their meetings is finished. Protesting is futile - he really wants to go home and drown himself in a bottle of wine - but Adam gets stupidly excited when Kris leads him to Allison’s red Mustang. He’s in love with that car; he has begged and begged and begged but Allison won’t let him drive it. She has said that she’s sorry but she loves the car more than she loves Adam.
“It’s your birthday, man. You should have fun so no driving for you until you can go really fast,” Kris winks and tells him as he drives out of the parking lot. Adam’s practically bopping in the passenger seat; he seriously can’t wait until Kris takes him to a freeway. Kris has apparently promised to walk Allison’s dog for a month so Adam can have the car on his birthday. Allison’s dog Rufus is a hellion so Kris’s sacrifice is very much appreciated.
When he says so, Kris laughs and says, “don’t think for a second that I’m going to walk that dog by myself, Adam. You’re going to have to pay your dues.” Oddly enough, Adam doesn’t mind it at all.
Adam figures that Kris will just drive around Little Rock with the Mustang’s top down and maybe end with dinner and drinks, so he’s surprised when Kris starts to drive out of the city until they’re on a nearly deserted road. He doesn’t have an idea where they’re going but if he’s being honest, he kind of likes the mystery and the spontaneity of Kris kidnapping him.
It’s one of the reasons why he had become fast friends with Kris. When they first met, Adam hadn’t really seen what they could possibly have in common, aside from the fact that they’re pretty passionate about the project they’re both working on. But as the months passed by, he has found himself enjoying Kris’s company immensely, their personalities totally in sync with each other. In fact, they’ve started hanging out more after work and their conversations have become some of Adam’s favourite things in the world.
Adam thrives on the surprising, the unexpected. He loves contrasts and dichotomy and out-of-the-box. His friends are all interesting because being with them makes Adam feel like he’s still discovering little treasures every now and then. He feels the same way with Kris even if they’ve only been friends for a relatively short time; beneath the plaid shirts lie a wicked sense of humor and an element of surprise that’s just a lot of fun to unravel.
For one, he doesn’t expect to be flagged down by a police officer while they’re having an innocent drive. For indecent exposure. Simply because Adam’s head’s bobbing up and down on the direction of Kris’s crotch. Shirtless and with just his underwear on, Adam sits on the Mustang’s passenger seat while Kris, just in a wifebeater and boxers, tries to explain to the cop.
“See, Officer, the sunblock rolled out of Adam’s lap and onto my foot, and he needs it - the sunblock, not my foot. Ummm, he’s really a redhead and his freckles go crazy when he gets under the sun…”
The cop raises an eyebrow and looks pointedly at their clothes. Or rather the lack of it.
“Oh, we were having smoothies earlier but there was a small raccoon. It ran across the road right in front of us. And I could not run over the raccoon, of course not Ma’am, so I stepped on the brakes and the smoothies ended up on our clothes.” Kris lamely points at the clothes at the backseat. “It was just all very, errr, sticky.”
Adam sees the corners of the cop’s mouth twitch which turns into a loud chuckle when Kris says, “I swear Ma’am, Adam’s not giving me a blowjob.”
“Don’t you have any clothes in the car? The sun’s still up and you’re going to cause accidents with the both of you looking like that.”
“I have clothes!” Adam loudly says, reaching for his backpack on the floor. He always carries an extra set of clothes with him because he works in a construction site and things can get dirty over there anytime.
“Good. Put them on.” The cop then looks over at Kris who blushes.
“Ummm, I don’t have extra clothes with me.” When Adam rolls his eyes, Kris says, “hey I didn’t know this was going to happen. I was just planning to drive around until I don’t know, tomorrow morning so you know, I don’t have extra clothes!”
Adam sighs. Kris is really a hopeless sort of guy. But… wait what, drive around until the next morning?
“You’re thinking of spending the night with him…”
Adam cuts in because Kris’s face looks like it’s going to catch fire with the way he’s blushing. “It’s my birthday, Ma’am. Kris kind of kidnapped me. In a totally good way.”
“Oh, happy birthday, honey. OK, zip those pants up. There you go.” She turns her attention back to Kris. “You don’t have clothes when you’re spending the night with him?”
Kris swallows and flails his hands a bit. “We weren’t planning on doing anything fancy! Whatever.”
“Oh, Allison’s overnight bag’s here! Let’s see. Kris, I think this shirt will fit you just fine.” Adam holds up a small black shirt with Hello Kitty sitting around the chest area. “And there are sweatpants here.”
“There’s no way I’m going to fit in those pants, Adam.”
“Unless you want to wear this plaid skirt, I think you’re going to have to make do.” Adam grins when Kris scowls. “What? The skirt can double as a kilt, just saying. And it’s plaid!”
“Shut up. I don’t even know why I do things for you.” Kris puts on the black shirt and the sweatpants. They’re both so threadbare which makes Adam think that Allison probably wears them to bed.
“I think that’s better, Mr. Allen.” The cop’s biting her lip and trying hard not to laugh when Kris finishes putting the clothes on. The shirt’s so tight around his chest and the pants are really kind of riding up his crotch area. “Next time that you’re thinking of going away with your boyfriend, be prepared, ok?”
“We’re not boyfriends,” Kris mutters. When the cop raises her eyebrow, he says, “I’m sorry, Officer Sosa. I promise not to drive around naked anymore.”
With a smile, she nods and walks back to the police car, leaving Adam and Kris to laugh helplessly. Adam sits back and stares at Kris whose face is still scrunched up in laughter. He looks utterly adorable in his stupid Hello Kitty shirt, hair sticking up on every end, just looking a little bit like he’s glowing with the amber sky behind him.
“Did you even plan this?” Adam finds himself asking when Kris stops laughing long enough to rev the engine.
“To be honest? Not really.” Kris looks sheepish. “It’s just that I saw your face when you came in this morning and I don’t know… I know that you’re supposed to have that wild and crazy birthday party back in LA, and I just wanted to somehow make this day fun because you missed that.”
Adam’s heart melts a bit and he gives Kris a soft smile, he’s so damn touched. “Thank you.”
Kris rubs the back of his neck and says, “it’s no big deal. Besides, we don’t have exciting places here. Not the kind that you’re used to, anyway. I just wanted to take you on a drive for a change of scenery. Do you want to go back to the city?”
“But you said we’re driving until tomorrow morning.” He pouts. “I want to drive until tomorrow morning.”
“OK, geez, driving now. See? Away from Little Rock? Lose the pout.”
“Yay!” Adam raised his hands into the air and let the wind whip on his face. He has no idea where they’re going or what they’re doing but he’s pretty sure that he’s going to have one of his best birthdays ever.
“Um, Kris?”
“Yeah?” Kris is looking at the almost-deserted highway in front of them.
Adam grins and whines. “Can I drive now?”
:::::
“I wanted to be a stripper when I was about ten.” Adam sighs wistfully. “Look at those boots.” He points to Lorena’s thigh-high black studded leather boots.
Lorena’s the star of The Red Flamingo, a strip bar at the side of the road somewhere in the middle of Arkansas. They’ve already been driving for two hours after the sun had completely set and Adam wants some alcohol before dinner. And that’s how they end up stopping on the huge lot beside a rundown motel and a strip bar.
“Why didn’t you become a stripper then?” Kris asks in between of stuffing fries into his mouth. “You would’ve made a killing, man.” At Adam’s curious expression, he shrugs. “I saw your moves at the hospital’s year-end party. That’s the proof right there.”
Adam grins. “I don’t really know why I ever thought that I’ll become a better architect than a stripper. Is it too late to try and live my dreams?”
Kris nods solemnly. “Don’t you think you’re too old for a career change?”
“How dare you!” he gasps and glares at Kris, whose teasing eyes are twinkling. “And shut up, you’re just jealous.”
“Really?”
“Really.” Adam smirks and crosses his arms across his chest. “Just because you can’t make a career out of being a stripper doesn’t mean that I can’t.”
“Woah, woah, hold on for second right there.” Kris holds his hands up. “Are you telling me that I don’t have what it takes to earn good money from stripping?”
“Yes, I am telling you exactly that.”
“I’ve got moves you haven’t seen, Lambert.”
“Says the guy wearing a teenage girl’s sweatpants in public.” Adam chuckles at the put-upon frown on Kris’s face. “What? Are you going to prove me wrong?”
They stare at each other for a full minute, both smirking until Kris holds his hand up to get the waitress’s attention. He orders ten shots of tequila and laughs when Adam raises an eyebrow.
“Do I need to dare you to go up there -” Adam waves towards the stage, “and make us want to throw bills at you?” The tequila arrives and he laughs when Kris puts five shots in front of him after arranging the other 5 beside Adam’s martini glass. “Oh, someone’s feisty.”
“Drink that up. You’re going to need it.” Kris says before downing his first shot, challenging Adam to do the same.
They down all five shots one after the other, eyes locked with each other. They’ve already had a couple of drinks before that so Adam feels all warm and woozy as soon as he puts the last empty shot glass down on the table. Kris is flushed, eyes turning into a darker shade of brown and he won’t stop biting his lips.
They stare at each other for about a minute until Kris gets up and says that he needs to go somewhere. Adam just nods, his vision going blurry on the edges. He’s aware that the insanely happy feeling that he feels bubbling up from his toes comes from crossing the line between tipsy and drunk.
Adam orders another martini and a shot of whiskey for Kris, who’s taking forever. He’s starting to get worried when Lorena finishes her number and the lights are turned off. Suddenly, Pour Some Sugar on Me is blaring on the speakers and Adam just has to watch because hello, best stripper song ever.
That’s when all hell starts to break loose. The bar’s suddenly filled with hoots and surprised laughter while Adam’s reduced into an unmoving mass of WHAT in his chair.
Because right there by the pole is Kris, wearing Allison’s plaid skirt and the white shirt dress and black tie he has worn to the ACH Board of Trustees meeting earlier in the day. He’s shimmying and grinding, eyes bright with mischief as he stares at Adam. His mouth’s quirked into a lopsided smile and Adam just can’t stop staring, his jaw almost dropping to the floor. His eyes grow wider when he sees that Kris is actually wearing Lorena’s studded boots to complete his look.
It isn’t because Kris is particularly good in dancing. He’s actually kind of dorky, all awkward arms and head bops but what he lacks in the moves department, he totally makes up for the expression on his face. He looks like he’s enjoying himself, as if he’s about to collapse in laughter anytime soon. When he holds the pole with his right hand and sticks his ass out before turning into the audience and biting his lower lip, Adam almost falls out of his chair laughing.
The women on the table behind Adam are really kind of loud and they’re waving for Kris to approach them. When Kris - in a move that totally would’ve made the best male strippers jealous, in Adam’s opinion - swings off the stage to saunter around the ladies, the noise in the bar becomes louder.
Kris grabs one of the shot glasses from the tray of a passing waitress and downs it before leaning over his and Adam’s table. Adam sees one of the ladies put a twenty-dollar bill on Kris’s waistband and the others do the same. Adam can’t stop laughing as Kris’s eyes go wide when he sees the bills. But he turns around just the same to give the ladies a wink before walking around the bar.
Kris is back on the stage before the song ends, some of the bills falling to his feet. Adam’s already standing in his chair, hooting like a crazy person. When the song ends, Kris picks up the money on the floor and waves like the adorable motherfucker that he is before walking backstage.
After about ten minutes, Kris is back at their table, wearing the sweatpants and Hello Kitty shirt again.
“Holy shit, I can’t believe you did that!” Adam’s yelling above the noise and lightly punching Kris on the shoulder.
“Hey, don’t hurt the stripper.” Kris is also chuckling as he counts the money he earned. “And I totally proved my point. I got 217 bucks.”
Adam smirks and rolls his eyes. “Whatever. Let’s go spend that money.”
: : : : :
“I can’t believe I totally forgot to take a video,” Adam sighs as he bites on his chicken sandwich. “Or even just a picture!”
“Well, now I feel bad,” Kris deadpans but he laughs when Adam turns to glare at him.
They’re sitting in the car’s backseat with the top down, eating the dinner they’ve picked up after leaving The Red Flamingo. They’re still in the big empty lot because both of them are too drunk to even attempt to drive. Not that Adam minds because the space is quiet and they can see the stars so clearly from where they’re sitting.
Kris is slurping on his drink noisily to annoy Adam. Adam does his best to ignore him and after a few minutes, Kris just settles back into his seat, counting their money.
“You wait right here, I’ll just walk over there and buy something,” Kris mumbles and he points to the small convenience store in the gas station. When Adam nods, he goes out of the car to cross the street.
Adam takes out his phone and goes through his messages. There are a couple of missed calls from his friends in LA, and he sends them all texts saying that he’ll be calling them back in the morning. Danielle’s the first to reply and she sends a picture of her and Brad cradling the YSL boots while lounging in Adam’s bed.
Adam suddenly misses them all and maybe it’s the alcohol, but he feels himself tearing up.
“Oh man, tears?” Kris is standing by the door, pouting a little.
Adam sniffs and wipes his cheeks. “ It’s my birthday. I can do whatever I want.”
Kris settles back into his seat and Adam sees him looking at the picture of Brad and Danielle. “Those are nice boots.”
“They’re not ‘nice’,” Adam huffed. “They’re fucking exquisite!”
“Yeah well, they’re nice too,” Kris insists. “Who’s that? You should’ve let your boyfriend come here…”
Adam cuts him off. “That’s Brad and Danielle, my best friends.” He sighs wistfully. “ And I don’t have a boyfriend who would surprise me on my birthday.”
Kris looks at him thoughtfully for a minute before saying, with a small smile on his face, “I bought something with our money.”
“That sounds very domestic. Are you really going to support me now with your new stripping gig?”
“If you’re good, sure.” Kris then holds up the small box he’s got on the seat between them and says, “Happy birthday, Adam.”
Adam finds himself tearing up again and Kris starts to laugh at him. “Come on, this is nothing. Stop crying!”
Adam opens the box and finds one chocolate cupcake with rainbow sprinkles and a whole lot of pink frosting on it. He just stares at it for a few minutes, completely speechless.
Kris clears his throat and says, “um, I was supposed to buy you some twinkies since we don’t have a cake but the girl at the convenience store had these cupcakes. I offered to buy a couple but she said she made them for her boyfriend. And I told her how it was your birthday so she said I could buy one. Oh and yeah, she says happy birthday.”
“You wanted to buy me twinkies?”
“Well, it’s your birthday. People should always have cake on their birthdays.”
Adam just looks at Kris who’s nodding like what he’s saying is of utmost importance. From the flickering light of the lamppost not far from where they are, Adam can see Kris smiling softly at him and he feels his heart attempting to jump out of his chest.
He takes out the cupcake from the box and looks at it closely. “Take my picture with the cupcake.”
Kris takes Adam’s phone and snaps a picture of Adam kissing the cupcake. Kris laughs and points at Adam’s lips where there’s a bit of frosting.
“Now we take a picture of us with my cake, since you’re my only guest and all,” Adam says, scooting closer to where Kris is sitting. Kris leans against him and they take a few pictures of themselves making dorky faces while Adam holds the cupcake in front of them.
Adam then holds the cupcake out to Kris. “Now you have to take one with it too.”
Kris shakes his head, his nose squinching as he tries hard not to crack up. “It’s your cupcake, Adam.”
“But it’s my birthday and I want a picture of you and my cupcake!”
“Do we really have to resort to whining?”
“Yes,” Adam makes his eyes bigger.
Kris sighs, “the things I do for you.”
Adam squeals and kisses his cupcake before handing it over to Kris. He can feel the frosting on his lips again but he doesn’t lick them away. He wants to make Kris laugh while he takes the picture.
Kris looks at him before saying, “no, you hold the cupcake. I’ll hold the phone.” When Adam starts to protest, Kris just rolls his eyes and ignores him, as he sets the phone to take a picture.
Kris starts counting from one, two, and then at three, he quickly leans over and kisses the frosting off Adam’s lips. Adam’s breath gets stuck in his throat and he barely registers the click from the camera as Kris’s tongue licks his lips clean.
He’s still staring wide-eyed when Kris pulls back. Kris is already checking the picture in Adam’s phone and he looks completely relaxed. But a few seconds after the shock has worn off, Adam notices that Kris’s hands are slightly trembling.
He reaches over to hold Kris’s hand and says, “you’re being very sneaky tonight.”
“I wanted to know if the cupcake tastes good. But it’s yours and you should eat all of it so I figured…”
Adam raises an eyebrow and purrs. “Really?”
Kris nods, his face serious. “Really.”
They look at each other, the corner of Adam’s mouth twitching upward when he sees the way that Kris’s eyes twinkled. He then reaches over and takes the phone from Kris.
Adam smiles when he sees their picture. His eyes are opened wide and his mouth is slightly parted in surprise as Kris kisses him. Kris’s eyes are closed but his lips look soft as they pressed against Adam’s, his tongue slightly peeking out to lick on the frosting.
Adam’s still looking at the picture when he says, “hey Kris?”
“Hmmm?”
“This is probably the most fun birthday I’ve ever had.”
“Yeah?” Kris bites his lip and Adam thinks he’s trying to hold back the grin from taking over his face.
Adam looks up from his phone and smiles at Kris as he reaches over to tug him closer. “Definitely.”
: : : : :
Adam’s first thought when he wakes up the following morning is crap, my freckles are going to take over my body and eat it. He squints against the harsh sunlight hitting his face and groans when he feels the pounding at the back of his head. There’s a heavy weight resting on his side and he lifts his shoulder a little, grimacing when his neck cricks from sleeping too long in an awkward position.
But then he looks beside him and sees Kris sleeping, and Adam just has to kiss the top of his head. Adam’s shoulders shake silently in laughter when he takes in the dried frosting and rainbow sprinkles at the tip of Kris’s nose. Kris’s face is upturned towards the sun and his mouth is slightly open, so Adam just leans in and steals a kiss.
Adam takes out his phone, carefully moving so as not to wake Kris, then sees Danielle and Brad’s picture with his new boots. He smiles before snapping a picture of himself with Kris still half-sprawled on him and sends it to his LA friends. The caption reads, “Look what I got last night!!! Best birthday ever!!!”
Pairing: Kris/Adam
Word Count: Around 4000
Rating: PG
Summary: The one where there's a birthday road trip, an unlikely stripper and cupcake kisses in the dark.
Author's Note: I've had this fic sitting around since the beginning of this year and totally forgot about it. But my writing partner peacockcock read it and said I should post it, and I'm her bitch so here you go.
I'm flying without a beta and the title comes from the Def Leppard song.
Adam has a lot of plans for his 29th birthday. He’s going to have it at Tommy’s new bar, a hole-in-the-wall that serves unbelievably potent alcohol mixes that are guaranteed to make anyone see stars after just two shots. Alisan’s band is going to play, and Brad’s in charge of the guest list, as always. Cassidy’s all set to design a fierce leather outfit for Adam and Danielle has said that as Adam’s best friend, she’s giving him those gorgeous but very, very pricey YSL snakeskin boots that he’s been eyeing for months.
It’s going to be his best birthday ever.
What’s not in those plans is that on the day that he’s supposed to be throwing the wildest party in all of West Hollywood, he’s stuck in Little Rock, Arkansas. And instead of downing Tommy’s signature Cherry Smut cocktail, he’s having meetings with a panicky Arkansas Children’s Hospital board of trustees on top of yelling at the contractor they’ve hired to construct the hospital’s new wing. A series of small problems snowballed into a two-week delay that has Adam, the project’s architect, feeling on edge. It also sucks that he won’t be able to fly back to LA on his birthday weekend; if he wants to have the new wing opened as scheduled, he’ll have to stay put and start micro-managing, fuck his life.
It isn’t that he hates Little Rock: he finds the place rather charming and there are a lot of cute Southern boys to look at too. It’s just that if he wants to have the party to end all parties, this is definitely not the place to be.
But apparently, the universe wants to mess with Adam’s view of the world because as birthdays come, his 29th in Arkansas is definitely shaping up to be a memorable one.
It starts when Kris, the ACH project engineer, drags him to the parking lot as soon as the last of their meetings is finished. Protesting is futile - he really wants to go home and drown himself in a bottle of wine - but Adam gets stupidly excited when Kris leads him to Allison’s red Mustang. He’s in love with that car; he has begged and begged and begged but Allison won’t let him drive it. She has said that she’s sorry but she loves the car more than she loves Adam.
“It’s your birthday, man. You should have fun so no driving for you until you can go really fast,” Kris winks and tells him as he drives out of the parking lot. Adam’s practically bopping in the passenger seat; he seriously can’t wait until Kris takes him to a freeway. Kris has apparently promised to walk Allison’s dog for a month so Adam can have the car on his birthday. Allison’s dog Rufus is a hellion so Kris’s sacrifice is very much appreciated.
When he says so, Kris laughs and says, “don’t think for a second that I’m going to walk that dog by myself, Adam. You’re going to have to pay your dues.” Oddly enough, Adam doesn’t mind it at all.
Adam figures that Kris will just drive around Little Rock with the Mustang’s top down and maybe end with dinner and drinks, so he’s surprised when Kris starts to drive out of the city until they’re on a nearly deserted road. He doesn’t have an idea where they’re going but if he’s being honest, he kind of likes the mystery and the spontaneity of Kris kidnapping him.
It’s one of the reasons why he had become fast friends with Kris. When they first met, Adam hadn’t really seen what they could possibly have in common, aside from the fact that they’re pretty passionate about the project they’re both working on. But as the months passed by, he has found himself enjoying Kris’s company immensely, their personalities totally in sync with each other. In fact, they’ve started hanging out more after work and their conversations have become some of Adam’s favourite things in the world.
Adam thrives on the surprising, the unexpected. He loves contrasts and dichotomy and out-of-the-box. His friends are all interesting because being with them makes Adam feel like he’s still discovering little treasures every now and then. He feels the same way with Kris even if they’ve only been friends for a relatively short time; beneath the plaid shirts lie a wicked sense of humor and an element of surprise that’s just a lot of fun to unravel.
For one, he doesn’t expect to be flagged down by a police officer while they’re having an innocent drive. For indecent exposure. Simply because Adam’s head’s bobbing up and down on the direction of Kris’s crotch. Shirtless and with just his underwear on, Adam sits on the Mustang’s passenger seat while Kris, just in a wifebeater and boxers, tries to explain to the cop.
“See, Officer, the sunblock rolled out of Adam’s lap and onto my foot, and he needs it - the sunblock, not my foot. Ummm, he’s really a redhead and his freckles go crazy when he gets under the sun…”
The cop raises an eyebrow and looks pointedly at their clothes. Or rather the lack of it.
“Oh, we were having smoothies earlier but there was a small raccoon. It ran across the road right in front of us. And I could not run over the raccoon, of course not Ma’am, so I stepped on the brakes and the smoothies ended up on our clothes.” Kris lamely points at the clothes at the backseat. “It was just all very, errr, sticky.”
Adam sees the corners of the cop’s mouth twitch which turns into a loud chuckle when Kris says, “I swear Ma’am, Adam’s not giving me a blowjob.”
“Don’t you have any clothes in the car? The sun’s still up and you’re going to cause accidents with the both of you looking like that.”
“I have clothes!” Adam loudly says, reaching for his backpack on the floor. He always carries an extra set of clothes with him because he works in a construction site and things can get dirty over there anytime.
“Good. Put them on.” The cop then looks over at Kris who blushes.
“Ummm, I don’t have extra clothes with me.” When Adam rolls his eyes, Kris says, “hey I didn’t know this was going to happen. I was just planning to drive around until I don’t know, tomorrow morning so you know, I don’t have extra clothes!”
Adam sighs. Kris is really a hopeless sort of guy. But… wait what, drive around until the next morning?
“You’re thinking of spending the night with him…”
Adam cuts in because Kris’s face looks like it’s going to catch fire with the way he’s blushing. “It’s my birthday, Ma’am. Kris kind of kidnapped me. In a totally good way.”
“Oh, happy birthday, honey. OK, zip those pants up. There you go.” She turns her attention back to Kris. “You don’t have clothes when you’re spending the night with him?”
Kris swallows and flails his hands a bit. “We weren’t planning on doing anything fancy! Whatever.”
“Oh, Allison’s overnight bag’s here! Let’s see. Kris, I think this shirt will fit you just fine.” Adam holds up a small black shirt with Hello Kitty sitting around the chest area. “And there are sweatpants here.”
“There’s no way I’m going to fit in those pants, Adam.”
“Unless you want to wear this plaid skirt, I think you’re going to have to make do.” Adam grins when Kris scowls. “What? The skirt can double as a kilt, just saying. And it’s plaid!”
“Shut up. I don’t even know why I do things for you.” Kris puts on the black shirt and the sweatpants. They’re both so threadbare which makes Adam think that Allison probably wears them to bed.
“I think that’s better, Mr. Allen.” The cop’s biting her lip and trying hard not to laugh when Kris finishes putting the clothes on. The shirt’s so tight around his chest and the pants are really kind of riding up his crotch area. “Next time that you’re thinking of going away with your boyfriend, be prepared, ok?”
“We’re not boyfriends,” Kris mutters. When the cop raises her eyebrow, he says, “I’m sorry, Officer Sosa. I promise not to drive around naked anymore.”
With a smile, she nods and walks back to the police car, leaving Adam and Kris to laugh helplessly. Adam sits back and stares at Kris whose face is still scrunched up in laughter. He looks utterly adorable in his stupid Hello Kitty shirt, hair sticking up on every end, just looking a little bit like he’s glowing with the amber sky behind him.
“Did you even plan this?” Adam finds himself asking when Kris stops laughing long enough to rev the engine.
“To be honest? Not really.” Kris looks sheepish. “It’s just that I saw your face when you came in this morning and I don’t know… I know that you’re supposed to have that wild and crazy birthday party back in LA, and I just wanted to somehow make this day fun because you missed that.”
Adam’s heart melts a bit and he gives Kris a soft smile, he’s so damn touched. “Thank you.”
Kris rubs the back of his neck and says, “it’s no big deal. Besides, we don’t have exciting places here. Not the kind that you’re used to, anyway. I just wanted to take you on a drive for a change of scenery. Do you want to go back to the city?”
“But you said we’re driving until tomorrow morning.” He pouts. “I want to drive until tomorrow morning.”
“OK, geez, driving now. See? Away from Little Rock? Lose the pout.”
“Yay!” Adam raised his hands into the air and let the wind whip on his face. He has no idea where they’re going or what they’re doing but he’s pretty sure that he’s going to have one of his best birthdays ever.
“Um, Kris?”
“Yeah?” Kris is looking at the almost-deserted highway in front of them.
Adam grins and whines. “Can I drive now?”
:::::
“I wanted to be a stripper when I was about ten.” Adam sighs wistfully. “Look at those boots.” He points to Lorena’s thigh-high black studded leather boots.
Lorena’s the star of The Red Flamingo, a strip bar at the side of the road somewhere in the middle of Arkansas. They’ve already been driving for two hours after the sun had completely set and Adam wants some alcohol before dinner. And that’s how they end up stopping on the huge lot beside a rundown motel and a strip bar.
“Why didn’t you become a stripper then?” Kris asks in between of stuffing fries into his mouth. “You would’ve made a killing, man.” At Adam’s curious expression, he shrugs. “I saw your moves at the hospital’s year-end party. That’s the proof right there.”
Adam grins. “I don’t really know why I ever thought that I’ll become a better architect than a stripper. Is it too late to try and live my dreams?”
Kris nods solemnly. “Don’t you think you’re too old for a career change?”
“How dare you!” he gasps and glares at Kris, whose teasing eyes are twinkling. “And shut up, you’re just jealous.”
“Really?”
“Really.” Adam smirks and crosses his arms across his chest. “Just because you can’t make a career out of being a stripper doesn’t mean that I can’t.”
“Woah, woah, hold on for second right there.” Kris holds his hands up. “Are you telling me that I don’t have what it takes to earn good money from stripping?”
“Yes, I am telling you exactly that.”
“I’ve got moves you haven’t seen, Lambert.”
“Says the guy wearing a teenage girl’s sweatpants in public.” Adam chuckles at the put-upon frown on Kris’s face. “What? Are you going to prove me wrong?”
They stare at each other for a full minute, both smirking until Kris holds his hand up to get the waitress’s attention. He orders ten shots of tequila and laughs when Adam raises an eyebrow.
“Do I need to dare you to go up there -” Adam waves towards the stage, “and make us want to throw bills at you?” The tequila arrives and he laughs when Kris puts five shots in front of him after arranging the other 5 beside Adam’s martini glass. “Oh, someone’s feisty.”
“Drink that up. You’re going to need it.” Kris says before downing his first shot, challenging Adam to do the same.
They down all five shots one after the other, eyes locked with each other. They’ve already had a couple of drinks before that so Adam feels all warm and woozy as soon as he puts the last empty shot glass down on the table. Kris is flushed, eyes turning into a darker shade of brown and he won’t stop biting his lips.
They stare at each other for about a minute until Kris gets up and says that he needs to go somewhere. Adam just nods, his vision going blurry on the edges. He’s aware that the insanely happy feeling that he feels bubbling up from his toes comes from crossing the line between tipsy and drunk.
Adam orders another martini and a shot of whiskey for Kris, who’s taking forever. He’s starting to get worried when Lorena finishes her number and the lights are turned off. Suddenly, Pour Some Sugar on Me is blaring on the speakers and Adam just has to watch because hello, best stripper song ever.
That’s when all hell starts to break loose. The bar’s suddenly filled with hoots and surprised laughter while Adam’s reduced into an unmoving mass of WHAT in his chair.
Because right there by the pole is Kris, wearing Allison’s plaid skirt and the white shirt dress and black tie he has worn to the ACH Board of Trustees meeting earlier in the day. He’s shimmying and grinding, eyes bright with mischief as he stares at Adam. His mouth’s quirked into a lopsided smile and Adam just can’t stop staring, his jaw almost dropping to the floor. His eyes grow wider when he sees that Kris is actually wearing Lorena’s studded boots to complete his look.
It isn’t because Kris is particularly good in dancing. He’s actually kind of dorky, all awkward arms and head bops but what he lacks in the moves department, he totally makes up for the expression on his face. He looks like he’s enjoying himself, as if he’s about to collapse in laughter anytime soon. When he holds the pole with his right hand and sticks his ass out before turning into the audience and biting his lower lip, Adam almost falls out of his chair laughing.
The women on the table behind Adam are really kind of loud and they’re waving for Kris to approach them. When Kris - in a move that totally would’ve made the best male strippers jealous, in Adam’s opinion - swings off the stage to saunter around the ladies, the noise in the bar becomes louder.
Kris grabs one of the shot glasses from the tray of a passing waitress and downs it before leaning over his and Adam’s table. Adam sees one of the ladies put a twenty-dollar bill on Kris’s waistband and the others do the same. Adam can’t stop laughing as Kris’s eyes go wide when he sees the bills. But he turns around just the same to give the ladies a wink before walking around the bar.
Kris is back on the stage before the song ends, some of the bills falling to his feet. Adam’s already standing in his chair, hooting like a crazy person. When the song ends, Kris picks up the money on the floor and waves like the adorable motherfucker that he is before walking backstage.
After about ten minutes, Kris is back at their table, wearing the sweatpants and Hello Kitty shirt again.
“Holy shit, I can’t believe you did that!” Adam’s yelling above the noise and lightly punching Kris on the shoulder.
“Hey, don’t hurt the stripper.” Kris is also chuckling as he counts the money he earned. “And I totally proved my point. I got 217 bucks.”
Adam smirks and rolls his eyes. “Whatever. Let’s go spend that money.”
: : : : :
“I can’t believe I totally forgot to take a video,” Adam sighs as he bites on his chicken sandwich. “Or even just a picture!”
“Well, now I feel bad,” Kris deadpans but he laughs when Adam turns to glare at him.
They’re sitting in the car’s backseat with the top down, eating the dinner they’ve picked up after leaving The Red Flamingo. They’re still in the big empty lot because both of them are too drunk to even attempt to drive. Not that Adam minds because the space is quiet and they can see the stars so clearly from where they’re sitting.
Kris is slurping on his drink noisily to annoy Adam. Adam does his best to ignore him and after a few minutes, Kris just settles back into his seat, counting their money.
“You wait right here, I’ll just walk over there and buy something,” Kris mumbles and he points to the small convenience store in the gas station. When Adam nods, he goes out of the car to cross the street.
Adam takes out his phone and goes through his messages. There are a couple of missed calls from his friends in LA, and he sends them all texts saying that he’ll be calling them back in the morning. Danielle’s the first to reply and she sends a picture of her and Brad cradling the YSL boots while lounging in Adam’s bed.
Adam suddenly misses them all and maybe it’s the alcohol, but he feels himself tearing up.
“Oh man, tears?” Kris is standing by the door, pouting a little.
Adam sniffs and wipes his cheeks. “ It’s my birthday. I can do whatever I want.”
Kris settles back into his seat and Adam sees him looking at the picture of Brad and Danielle. “Those are nice boots.”
“They’re not ‘nice’,” Adam huffed. “They’re fucking exquisite!”
“Yeah well, they’re nice too,” Kris insists. “Who’s that? You should’ve let your boyfriend come here…”
Adam cuts him off. “That’s Brad and Danielle, my best friends.” He sighs wistfully. “ And I don’t have a boyfriend who would surprise me on my birthday.”
Kris looks at him thoughtfully for a minute before saying, with a small smile on his face, “I bought something with our money.”
“That sounds very domestic. Are you really going to support me now with your new stripping gig?”
“If you’re good, sure.” Kris then holds up the small box he’s got on the seat between them and says, “Happy birthday, Adam.”
Adam finds himself tearing up again and Kris starts to laugh at him. “Come on, this is nothing. Stop crying!”
Adam opens the box and finds one chocolate cupcake with rainbow sprinkles and a whole lot of pink frosting on it. He just stares at it for a few minutes, completely speechless.
Kris clears his throat and says, “um, I was supposed to buy you some twinkies since we don’t have a cake but the girl at the convenience store had these cupcakes. I offered to buy a couple but she said she made them for her boyfriend. And I told her how it was your birthday so she said I could buy one. Oh and yeah, she says happy birthday.”
“You wanted to buy me twinkies?”
“Well, it’s your birthday. People should always have cake on their birthdays.”
Adam just looks at Kris who’s nodding like what he’s saying is of utmost importance. From the flickering light of the lamppost not far from where they are, Adam can see Kris smiling softly at him and he feels his heart attempting to jump out of his chest.
He takes out the cupcake from the box and looks at it closely. “Take my picture with the cupcake.”
Kris takes Adam’s phone and snaps a picture of Adam kissing the cupcake. Kris laughs and points at Adam’s lips where there’s a bit of frosting.
“Now we take a picture of us with my cake, since you’re my only guest and all,” Adam says, scooting closer to where Kris is sitting. Kris leans against him and they take a few pictures of themselves making dorky faces while Adam holds the cupcake in front of them.
Adam then holds the cupcake out to Kris. “Now you have to take one with it too.”
Kris shakes his head, his nose squinching as he tries hard not to crack up. “It’s your cupcake, Adam.”
“But it’s my birthday and I want a picture of you and my cupcake!”
“Do we really have to resort to whining?”
“Yes,” Adam makes his eyes bigger.
Kris sighs, “the things I do for you.”
Adam squeals and kisses his cupcake before handing it over to Kris. He can feel the frosting on his lips again but he doesn’t lick them away. He wants to make Kris laugh while he takes the picture.
Kris looks at him before saying, “no, you hold the cupcake. I’ll hold the phone.” When Adam starts to protest, Kris just rolls his eyes and ignores him, as he sets the phone to take a picture.
Kris starts counting from one, two, and then at three, he quickly leans over and kisses the frosting off Adam’s lips. Adam’s breath gets stuck in his throat and he barely registers the click from the camera as Kris’s tongue licks his lips clean.
He’s still staring wide-eyed when Kris pulls back. Kris is already checking the picture in Adam’s phone and he looks completely relaxed. But a few seconds after the shock has worn off, Adam notices that Kris’s hands are slightly trembling.
He reaches over to hold Kris’s hand and says, “you’re being very sneaky tonight.”
“I wanted to know if the cupcake tastes good. But it’s yours and you should eat all of it so I figured…”
Adam raises an eyebrow and purrs. “Really?”
Kris nods, his face serious. “Really.”
They look at each other, the corner of Adam’s mouth twitching upward when he sees the way that Kris’s eyes twinkled. He then reaches over and takes the phone from Kris.
Adam smiles when he sees their picture. His eyes are opened wide and his mouth is slightly parted in surprise as Kris kisses him. Kris’s eyes are closed but his lips look soft as they pressed against Adam’s, his tongue slightly peeking out to lick on the frosting.
Adam’s still looking at the picture when he says, “hey Kris?”
“Hmmm?”
“This is probably the most fun birthday I’ve ever had.”
“Yeah?” Kris bites his lip and Adam thinks he’s trying to hold back the grin from taking over his face.
Adam looks up from his phone and smiles at Kris as he reaches over to tug him closer. “Definitely.”
: : : : :
Adam’s first thought when he wakes up the following morning is crap, my freckles are going to take over my body and eat it. He squints against the harsh sunlight hitting his face and groans when he feels the pounding at the back of his head. There’s a heavy weight resting on his side and he lifts his shoulder a little, grimacing when his neck cricks from sleeping too long in an awkward position.
But then he looks beside him and sees Kris sleeping, and Adam just has to kiss the top of his head. Adam’s shoulders shake silently in laughter when he takes in the dried frosting and rainbow sprinkles at the tip of Kris’s nose. Kris’s face is upturned towards the sun and his mouth is slightly open, so Adam just leans in and steals a kiss.
Adam takes out his phone, carefully moving so as not to wake Kris, then sees Danielle and Brad’s picture with his new boots. He smiles before snapping a picture of himself with Kris still half-sprawled on him and sends it to his LA friends. The caption reads, “Look what I got last night!!! Best birthday ever!!!”