Apple Blossom Creek Part 2
Kris wasn’t sure how his mother had gotten him to invite Adam to Lucky 7's where Kris was both the pre-game show and half-time entertainment. He was even less sure why Adam had agreed, since Kris knew he didn’t like football. He didn’t want to even think about Adam maybe wanting to spend time with him, because that way lay madness.
Luckily Kris didn’t have too much time to dwell on it because he had to be at Your Music Shop that afternoon. Kris and the owner, Steve, had first met when Kris had gone in looking for some new picks and other items. On one of his subsequent visits they’d got to talking about Kris giving music lessons and Steve needing to pull in more business. Together they came up with the idea of Kris playing there one afternoon a week - Steve would hopefully get more walk-ins drawn in by the free live music , and Kris would get people interested in paying to take lessons.
Kris normally enjoyed his afternoons at Steve’s shop, but today he was distracted no matter how much he tried not to think about Adam. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Adam, but the more time he spent in the other man’s company, the more chance he had for doing something stupid and making a fool out of himself.
Kris was actually glad when six o’clock rolled around, yet he dreaded going home. Kris usually wore a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers when he played at Lucky 7's, but tonight he found himself digging through his drawers for a nicer top, and checking his hair in the mirror before heading out.
Kris hated to cook, especially when it was only for himself, and his mother always made more than just the two of them could eat, so when he didn’t have other plans Kris often ate with his parents. Tonight, however, Kris would be eating at Lucky 7's, hanging out at the bar before he took the stage. Sharing that with Adam without the buffer of his parents was going to be a test.
Kris pulled his SUV into his parent’s driveway so Adam didn’t have to walk through the snow. It felt oddly like he was picking up a date. Adam came out the front door before Kris reached the steps. He wore jeans and a t-shirt, a black leather jacket and black combat boots. His eyes were lined with black and his hair was down.
“Hey,” Kris said, hoping he didn’t sound as breathless as he felt.
“Hi,” Adam said, and his smile set the butterflies in Kris’ belly fluttering.
“Well, let’s go,” Kris said, resisting the urge to open the door for Adam.
Kris had driven with Adam before, but the interior of the vehicle felt smaller this time. However, as awkward as Kris felt when he’d been imagining the evening ahead, he quickly fell into an easy conversation with Adam.
At Lucky 7's Kris settled Adam at the bar, and then carried his guitar to the office. When he returned there was a beer at his place, Adam had a drink in his hand, and two bar menus lay in front of them.
Kris slid onto the stool next to Adam and pushed the menu away - he didn’t need it because he always got the same thing. He picked up his beer and tipped the bottle in Adam’s direction. Adam touched his glass to the bottle and they both drank.
“Hungry?” Kris indicated the menu in front of Adam.
“Do they have any salads?”
Kris laughed.
“Or fruit?”
Kris gestured for Paul, who was tending bar this Monday, and ordered his usual burger and fries, then looked at Adam expectantly.
Adam groaned and ordered the same. “I feel my waistline expanding as we sit here.”
Kris patted Adam’s shoulder. “Just wait ‘til the game starts. Wings.”
~*~*~*~
From the moment Kris took the stage Adam was mesmerized. He’d known about the viola lessons, and he’d surmised guitar when he’d seen Billy’s case, and Kim and Neil had spoken freely about Kris’ gigs at various bars (not to mention weddings and dances), and he’d even heard Kris sing in the car, but Kris Allen on a stage was a different animal altogether.
It didn’t hurt - or help - that Kris went all fluid when he got lost in the music. Adam didn’t think he was the only one to notice (or appreciate) the way Kris moved his hips. It was nearly enough to make a man forget all his good intentions.
It was going on one o’clock in the morning before they left the bar, and Adam had a new appreciation for football. Or at least for Kris’ enjoyment of the game. Or maybe just the way he leaned against Adam when he explained some of the finer points.
Kris pulled the SUV into his driveway and then swore. “I meant to pull in over there so you didn’t have to walk through the snow.”
Adam placed his hand on Kris’ arm before he could shift the vehicle into reverse. “That’s sweet, but I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive, thank you.”
Kris put the vehicle into park and turned off the engine. They got out of the car and met at the back.
“It’s getting warmer,” Kris said, raising his face to the sky as if he could read the forecast in the stars.
“Seriously?” Adam said, pulling his jacket tighter around him.
Kris smiled at Adam’s tone, and Adam was filled with a warmth that had nothing to do with the weather.
“The snow’s going to start melting and get all wet and heavy. You know what we should do before that happens?”
Adam raised his eyebrows.
“Make snow angels!”
“Snow angels?”
“Yeah. Haven’t you ever made snow angels?”
“No, I . . . .”
“It’s easy, watch.”
Kris found a spot he deemed acceptable and laid down on his back, legs together, arms down to his sides. He moved his arms through the snow until they were up above his head. At the same time he spread his legs out wide and brought them back together. After a few times of this Kris sat up and pushed himself to his feet. He stood next to Adam and they both studied Kris’ handiwork. Adam had to admit that it did look like an angel.
“Your turn,” Kris said excitedly.
“What? Oh, no . . . ,” Adam said, stopping when Kris pouted at him. Adam shook his head. There was no way he was going to lie down in the cold, wet snow. Did he mention that it was cold?
Kris looked up at Adam through his lashes.
“Oh, for . . . What do I do?”
Kris gave Adam a satisfied smile. “Just lay down.”
Adam followed Kris’ instruction and laid down in the snow the way Kris had done. Kris waved his arms around like a spaz. Adam rolled his eyes and moved his arms through the snow to create the wings of his angel.
Kris knelt just outside Adam’s wingspan. He put his hand in Adam’s and straightened his arm. “Now do it.”
Adam prayed that Kris didn’t look down at his legs because there was no hiding the swelling at his groin. To keep Kris’ attention right where it was Adam scooped up snow with his fingers and flicked it at Kris’ face.
Kris jerked back, startled, and then his eyes widened and he gave Adam a look that said he was impressed with Adam’s balls, and that simultaneously promised retribution. Adam’s laugher as he rolled away from Kris held a healthy dose of fear.
Kris dove for him and they rolled around in the snow, wrestling for the top. Adam thought he may have gotten more snow down his neck than if he just would have let Kris shove a handful down there. When they finished rolling Adam was on the bottom, Kris’ ass comfortably nestled against Adam’s groin. They were both red-faced and breathing hard through their laughter.
Kris stopped laughing and just smiled at Adam, the corners of his eyes crinkling up in that way that made Adam’s insides stir. The cold snow had deflated the earlier evidence of Adam’s interest, but it came back with a vengeance now, and there was no way Kris could miss it.
Up close Adam could see when Kris’ eyes went dark. He lowered his head slowly enough to broadcast his intent, giving Adam time to stop him if he wanted to. Adam thought maybe he should want to, but Kris’ thighs were warm and firm beneath his hands and Adam couldn’t deny that he’d wondered what it would be like to kiss Kris.
Finally Kris’ lips touched his. They were cold and a little dry, and then he felt the wet warmth of Kris’ tongue sliding across his lips. Adam parted his lips and met Kris’ tongue with his own. Adam moaned and slid his hand to the back of Kris’ head, and sucked Kris tongue into his mouth. The taste of him was like a drug, and Adam couldn’t get enough of it.
Kris groaned and rocked his hips into Adam’s, and it was like a splash of ice water. Adam broke the kiss and pushed on Kris’ shoulder. Kris sat up and the hand Adam hadn’t even realized he’d moved fell off of Kris’ ass. Kris’ lips were wet and swollen, and Adam wanted nothing more than to pull him back down into another kiss.
Instead he forced himself to gently say, “We shouldn’t do this.”
If Adam’s own reaction was any indication, Kris’ brain was still offline from the kiss. He frowned in confusion, but then Adam saw the understanding cross his face before his expression went blank.
“Oh.”
Kris pushed to his feet and Adam felt the loss of his body heat as the cold from the snow rushed in.
“Sorry,” Kris said as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked anywhere but at Adam. “I’ll just, uh, go in now.”
“Kris,” Adam said, but Kris ignored him.
Adam sat up and watched Kris walk over to the SUV and get the guitar case out of the back, and then carry it into his house. Adam sat there in the snow, letting the cold seep into his bones and telling himself that he’d done the right thing.
When he finally got to bed Adam slept poorly, and when he got up it was with a sense of dread. Kris had promised to show him around town that morning and Adam was afraid their first meeting after last night’s kiss (and Adam’s rejection) would be awkward.
Adam took special care with his appearance, and only when he couldn’t put it off any longer went downstairs. Kim was in the kitchen when Adam walked in.
“I thought I heard you,” she said with a smile when she saw Adam. “Hungry?”
Adam really wasn’t because his stomach was still flipping at the prospect of seeing Kris, but he could use some caffeine. “Is that coffee I smell?”
“It is,” Kim said as she pulled down a mug. “Now, I know you don’t like a heavy breakfast, but bacon, eggs, pancakes, whatever, are always on offer . . . .”
“That all sounds amazing,” Adam said, rubbing his stomach, “but I wouldn’t be able to move after I ate all that.”
“Okay,” Kim said as she handed the mug to Adam.
She went through a long list of lighter food items she had on offer. Adam chose yogurt and granola, and took a seat at the island to eat it after he fixed his coffee.
“Oh, this slipped my mind,” Kim said as she slid a note in front of Adam. “Kris called earlier. He had to cancel your plans for this morning because he got called in to substitute.”
“Substitute?” Adam repeated as his stomach twisted unpleasantly at the thought that Kris was avoiding him, despite his own apprehension at the idea of seeing Kris.
“Music class,” Kim said. “They love Kris.”
Adam could see why they would. The relief he felt at not having to see Kris right now wasn’t as great as he’d expected it would be. In fact, he was disappointed. He glanced out the window, where an icicle slowly dripped as it melted. The temperature had risen as Kris had predicted. Adam shivered in the warm kitchen.
I feel the cold without you here, he thought.
Adam’s notebook was in his room, so he asked Kim for a pad of paper. She produced a pad with the B&B’s name splashed across the top, their address, phone number and website across the bottom, along with a pencil. Adam started scribbling the words that were bouncing around in his head fighting to get out. Kim interrupted him only to warm up his coffee and place a bowl of fresh fruit at his elbow.
~*~*~*~
Kris was already headed to the kitchen for fresh beer when he heard the knock at the door. He set the empties in the sink to be rinsed out and crossed the kitchen to the side door. Kris’ breath caught when he opened the door to find Adam standing on the step.
Adam looked uncomfortable as he held out a covered dish. “Your mother sent over supper for you.”
Kris bit his lip, then reached out and took the plate. To buy time he carried it over to the refrigerator and placed it inside. When he turned back around Adam had stepped into the kitchen and closed the door behind him.
Kris didn’t know what to say - he’d been kicking himself all day for being such an idiot; giving in to temptation and kissing Adam had been the stupidest thing he’d done in a long time. He couldn’t even find consolation in the fact that Adam also appeared nervous, because he was probably trying to find a way to smooth things over so the remainder of his stay at the B&B Kris’ parents ran wouldn’t be awkward.
Kris, on the other hand, didn’t think he’d be able to easily forget what it felt like to kiss Adam, to have the other man beneath him. That had been the reason Kris should never have done what he did, kissed Adam, because there was no way it could have been anything more than what it was. As soon as Adam Lambert left to return to his life in LA Kris would be able to begin the process of forgetting that moment of madness.
“Look,” Kris started. He rubbed his hands together and then shoved them into the front pockets of his jeans.
“I’m an idiot,” Adam said.
Kris shook his head, confused. “What?”
Adam took a step forward. “I’m an idiot.” Then another.
“I don’t understand,” Kris said as he watched Adam advance on him.
“Last night . . . .”
“I already apologized for that,” Kris interrupted. “It won’t happen again if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“That’s the thing,” Adam said. “I do want it to happen again. I mean, I wanted it to happen last night, appearances to the contrary notwithstanding.”
“Look, Adam, you don’t have to say that.”
“I’m not saying that!”
Kris raised his eyebrows.
“I mean, I’m not just saying that. I mean it.”
Kris didn’t know what to think. Adam had made his position perfectly clear the night before, and Kris had made his peace with that. Tried to, at least. Told himself he had to. Except, Adam had kissed him back, however briefly.
Adam curled his hand around the back of Kris’ neck. Kris had been so lost in thought he hadn’t even seen him move closer. He opened his mouth to say something, though he had no idea what that would be. It didn’t matter, because Adam pressed their lips together, stealing Kris’ breath along with any words he might have spoken.
Adam pulled back just far enough so he could see Kris’ face. “I’m going to kiss you again,” he said.
Tonight it was Adam giving Kris an out. Kris knew he should take it, if only to protect his heart, but he didn’t.
“Okay,” Kris said, and then his mouth opened under Adam’s.
This time when they came together there was nothing tentative or gentle about it. Kris’ body slammed into high gear and he was right back there where he’d left off the night before. Kris slid his hand into Adam’ s hair and pressed his hips against Adam.
Adam slipped his hands beneath Kris’ shirt and pressed into Kris when his back hit the sink. Kris pushed Adam’s jacket off one shoulder and moaned, arching into Adam as he splayed one large hand across Kris’ lower back.
“Hey, Kris,” Cale called from the hallway as he made his way to the kitchen, then, “Whoa!” when he reached the doorway.
Kris and Adam immediately broke the kiss, though they didn’t remove their hands from each other, or step apart.
“Shit,” Kris said with a nervous laugh. “I completely forgot you were here.”
“Wonder why,” Cale said wryly. “I wondered what was taking you so long with the beer.”
Kris felt heat that had nothing to do with the way he and Adam were pressed together (well, not everything to do with that) creep up his neck.
“Gonna introduce me?” Cale said as he leaned his shoulder nonchalantly against the doorframe.
“Sorry, uh . . . .” Kris glanced at Adam for direction. He wasn’t sure how he wanted to be introduced.
“Adam,” Adam said.
“You didn’t know his name?” Cale said, incredulous.
“Of course I knew his name!” Kris defended himself, and then smiled at Adam.
When Adam smiled back, Kris had to look away before he did something even more inappropriate in front of Cale.
“Cale, this is Adam; Adam, my supposed friend Cale. We were doing some writing,” Kris explained. “Songs,” he added when Adam looked confused.
“Oh.” Adam nodded. “Nice to meet you, Cale,” Adam said politely, though Kris figured he wished for better timing as much as Kris did.
“Yeah,” Cale said, grinning, “you, too.”
Kris knew he was never going to hear the end of this, but he figured it was worth a try to get Cale onto another subject. “What was it you wanted?”
“Oh, yeah. Kate called. She’s cooking supper.” Cale waggled his eyebrows.
“I take it you’re leaving, then?” Kris said, trying not to sound too relieved.
Cale laughed at Kris’ transparency. “Yeah, you lucked out.”
“Well, enjoy your supper,” Adam said, then looked confused when both Kris and Adam started laughing.
“Kate cooks when she’s feeling romantic,” Kris explained. “Which means that Cale’s gonna get lucky later.”
Cale snorted. “Yeah, well, looks like I’m not the only one. So, anyway, I hate to cut this short, not that you’re gonna miss me, but I’ve got to run.”
“Bye,” Kris said pointedly.
Cale laughed. “Yeah, here’s your coat, what’s your hurry? Don’t bother walking me out.”
The only sound in the kitchen as they listened to Cale’s movements through the house, packing up his guitar, getting his coat on, was their strained breathing. Adam stroked his thumb across Kris’ skin, and Kris couldn’t hold back a little shiver.
When the front door finally closed, Kris said, “Where were we?”
“You were going to show me your bedroom,” Adam said.
Kris’ breath caught. “Oh.”
He surged up and claimed Adam’s mouth as he pushed Adam’s jacket the rest of the way off his shoulders.
~*~*~*~
Adam ignored the niggling warnings that said he was making a mistake getting involved with Kris and decided to just enjoyed the time they had left.
They slept in Wednesday morning, and Adam tried not to think about the blush and stammer when Kim had caught him sneaking back into the B&B for a change of clothes (he’d already showered with Kris) and asked him if Kris had enjoyed the ziti she’d sent over. Adam wasn’t lying when he said that, yes, Kris had enjoyed it, even if he left out the fact that they’d eaten it cold for breakfast before Adam licking sauce off Kris’ fingers sent them back to bed.
They spent every moment the could together. Adam went with Kris to the adult residence where he played every Wednesday afternoon. He sat in on a music lesson and met Kate when he went to the club where Kris and Cale played together. He went grocery shopping with Kris and finally got his tour of the town. He lay tangled on the couch with Kris watching a movie. He made out with Kris on that same couch at every opportunity, and pressed him down on the kitchen table and christened it in a manner that made Kris blush now every time he walked into the kitchen.
And they talked. About everything. From Adam’s exhausting schedule to the breakup behind Kris coming to visit his parents two years ago and deciding to stay. From their favorite artists to the worst songs they’d ever heard. From the freckles that Adam hated (and Kris apparently loved) to Kris’ hairy feet (that Adam found endearing).
Finally it was Friday night. They were still up at three in the morning, just holding each other on the couch because neither of them wanted the day to end. Wanted to admit that their week together was over.
“Come with me,” Adam blurted out.
Kris lifted his head off Adam’s chest. “What?”
“To LA, come with me,” Adam repeated before he lost his nerve.
“Just pick up and leave?” Kris said skeptically, though Adam thought he heard a hint of hope in his voice.
“Or just to visit,” Adam backpedaled, not wanting to scare Kris off, “see if you like it there.”
Kris plucked at Adam’s shirt. “I don’t know, Adam . . . .”
Adam rubbed Kris’ arm. “Just think about it,” he said, resisting the urge to push Kris by bringing up his music, and the fact the he’d have a better shot of making it big if he was in LA where the music scene was.
“I will,” Kris promised, and then he slid up Adam’s body and kissed him.
They came together that night with a desperation Adam hadn’t felt in a long time.
~*~*~*~
Kris watched Adam pack with a heavy heart. He carried Adam’s bags down to the car, leaving him alone for a few minutes so he could call his mother about his flight.
The drive to the airport was much too short. They held hands the entire way. They put off saying goodbye at the terminal for as long as they could, and when Adam hugged him Kris thought he might never let go. Adam triple-checked that Kris had his number programmed into his phone, and then gave him one last hug and a hard kiss on the lips before leaving him to go through the metal detector where Kris couldn’t follow.
Kris watched until he could no longer see Adam, and then he moved over to the large bank of windows overlooking the tarmac to watch the plane as it sat there while people boarded, then taxied to its spot in line, and then took off. He watched until the plane was nothing more than a tiny black speck in the sky, and then nothing.
The drive home seemed longer than the drive in had been, and much lonelier. Kris thought about Adam the entire way. As soon as he pulled into his driveway Kris pulled out his phone and texted Adam.
He put the phone away and stepped out of the SUV. Kris debated going to his cottage, but he didn’t really want to be alone right now. He walked across the yard to the back door of his parents’ house and let himself in.
His mom looked up from the book she was reading when Kris stepped into the sitting room. “Kris. Did Adam get off okay?”
Kris just nodded, afraid of what might come out if he opened his mouth.
“What about you, you okay?”
Kris shook his head. His mother would have been blind not to have noticed how much time he and Adam had spent together, and he wasn’t surprised that she’d jumped to the correct conclusion that Kris had developed feelings for the other man in just the few days they’d known each other.
Kim patted the cushion beside her. “Come here.”
Kris went over and sat. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and staring at the floor.
“Here.” His mom held out an envelope to him.
Kris took it from her and looked at it - an envelope with the B&B address printed in the corner and Kris’ name scrawled across the front.
“It was in Adam’s room when I went up to clean,” she explained.
Kris’ hands shook as he turned the envelope over and lifted the flap. He wondered what Adam had needed to tell him that he couldn’t say to his face. Kris drew out the single sheet of paper and read it - a ticket reservation with an open date, Little Rock to LA. Kris huffed out a laugh as he refolded it and stuffed it back inside the envelope, because it was that or a sob.
“Sweetie?” his mom said, sounding worried.
“He asked me to go with him,” Kris told her.
“Adam?”
“Yeah.”
“To LA?”
“Yeah,” Kris whispered.
“Do you want to?”
“I don’t know,” Kris said, but he recognized the words for the lie they were. He wanted to, but he was afraid.
“What’s the worst that could happen?” his mom asked, understanding Kris’ feelings even though he’d not told her.
“It doesn’t work,” Kris said, putting voice to his greatest fear.
“And what’s the best?”
Kris swallowed hard. “It does.”
~*~*~*~
Adam had thought of nothing but Kris since they’d separated at the airport in Little Rock, so he was extremely happy to be wrapped up in his mother’s, and then Danielle’s, arms after he landed at LAX. They retrieved his bag and managed to get out to the car without being stopped by the paps.
As much as Adam missed Kris, he was glad (for the first time in a while, if he was honest) to be back in LA. He credited Kris for helping him find his balance once again, as much as he blamed him for the one piece of Adam that wished he was back in Apple Blossom Creek.
While Leila and Danielle told him everything he’d missed over the past week, Adam pulled out his cell and checked his messages. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that there were two from Kris.
Let me know when u get in so I know u r safe
And about twenty minutes later,
I miss u
Adam hit the call button without even thinking about it. His breath caught when he heard Kris’ voice.
“Hello. Adam?”
“Kris,” Adam said, and then he couldn’t speak.
“Hey,” Kris said, as if he knew exactly what Adam was going through. “I got the envelope you left me.”
Adam held his breath as he waited to see what else Kris would say.
“I’m afraid.”
“I know, baby. Me, too,” Adam admitted.
“Do you still . . . ?”
“Yes, absolutely!”
“Okay, well.” There was a moment of silence and then Kris said, “I checked flights.”
“You did?” Adam said, stunned.
“There’s one on Monday that still has seats available.”
“There is?”
“I booked it.”
“Really?”
“It gets in at one.”
“Really?”
Kris laughed. “Really. Can you pick me up?”
“Of course!”
“They better not lose my guitar,” Kris said, half teasing, half serious.
“If they do I’ll buy you another one. I’ll buy you ten guitars.”
“I don’t need you to buy me anything, Adam,” Kris said. “I just need . . . .”
“Me, too.”
“So,” Kris said. “You made it back okay.”
“Yeah, my mom and Danielle picked me up.”
Adam had told Kris about his friends and family, and even showed him pictures.
“Okay, well, you probably need to get going.”
“I guess I should,” Adam said reluctantly. It was probably rude to ignore the people who’d just driven to the airport to pick you up, but he didn’t want to let Kris go. “Can I call you later?”
“I wish you would,” Kris said, and Adam wished he was there right now so he could pull him in for a hug and press his nose to Kris’ hair.
“I will, then. So, Monday.”
“Monday,” Kris said, and it sounded like a promise.
“Okay, then. I’m going to hang up now.”
“Okay,” Kris said, and Adam could tell he was grinning.
God, he felt like a twelve year old boy who didn’t want to let his first love go even though he’d just seen him at school and would see him again the next day.
“Okay, so, I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay,” Kris said, softer this time, and Adam’s brain supplied him with the memory of a fucked out, and very agreeable Kris spread out across the bed.
“I hate you right now,” Adam whispered as he tugged at his jeans.
Kris laughed softly, and it slid down Adam’s spine. “No you don’t,” he said, and disconnected the call.
Adam had a smile on his face as he tucked his phone back away. When he looked up, both his mother and Danielle were watching him.
“What?”
“So,” his mom said knowingly, “how’s Kris?”
Adam felt the traitorous blush color his skin. “He’s fine.”
“Good.”
“Hungry?” Danielle asked, grinning. “We were thinking about stopping for something to eat.”
For the first time in too long, he was. “Starving, actually,” Adam said.
Adam grinned to himself. He couldn’t wait to tell them all about Kris. He had a feeling that once he started talking he wasn’t going to be able to stop.
The End