Light My Fire Chapter 8
LIGHT MY FIRE
Ship: Adam/Kris from American Idol
Plot: Adam teasing Kris during the AI show and tour.
Notes: No Drake or Katy exist in this story. Danny is somewhat of a douche. Written upon request as a turnabout from my last story, Playing with Fire, in which Kris teased Adam.
Style: Humor/Dialogue generally.
Rating: NC-17 probably eventually
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7
Chapter 8: Rages, then smoulders
Do you want to watch?
Do you want to watch?
Do you want to watch?
Squeak
Squeak
Squeak
Do you want to watch?
Do you want to watch?
Do you want to watch?
Kris looked down at his sneakers as they left the ballroom. Why was the memory of Adam's voice louder than the sound of his sneakers?
Do you want to watch?
Do you want to watch?
Do you want to watch?
He would not, he would not, look in the general direction of Adam's...legs. No, he would not. Oh yeah...he would.
Do you want to watch?
Do you want to watch?
Do you want to watch?
Would Adam draw down his zipper slowly or would he rush through it? Was he wearing underwear today? Or --
"Kris? Earth to Kris?" Adam repeated, lightly touching Kris on his shoulder.
"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Were you talking to me?" Kris asked, hiding his chagrin in defensiveness.
"Okay, no need to get all DeNiro on me," Adam laughed. He looked down at Kris and kept smiling as he saw the slight blush on Kris' cheekbones and the slight bulge in his jeans. Slight? Well, that was a challenge. "What were you thinking about?"
"Nothing. Nothing. Not about sex." As the words left his mouth, Kris groaned silently. Adam was gonna pick up on that mistake. He surrendered and looked over at Adam and had to smile at the look of, well, happiness on Adam's face and the warmth he felt inside at seeing it and knowing he was the cause. He didn't know that he'd ever made anyone happy before, just by being around. And he was sure he'd never felt happiness just by walking and talking with someone or even more... sappy, he decided, anticipating talking with someone. Lookit that night when he'd hung around outside the bathroom door, needing his nightly fix of Adam before he could sleep. He ran his hand through his hair, feeling a little overwhelmed before Adam started talking again and then he felt something, as usual, as always, both calm and needy stir deep within him just at the sound of Adam's voice.
"I wasn't talking about sex. So...Surrrrrre, neither were you." Adam elbowed Kris, who had ben looking a little overwhelmed before he began smiling again. "And hey, who cares? C'mon, we're guys. What is it the studies say? We think about sex every thirty seconds?"
"What were you talking about?" Kris countered. He might change the topic of the conversation, which would be good or Adam would just keep right on plowing ahead, which was... even better. Adam was so focused. What would it be like to have that focus on you in, say, the shower or...
Adam watched the tell-tale flush crawl up Kris' neck. It was so about sex. "So. Are you going to accept my offer of watching me jerk off?" Adam teased.
"Maybe." Kris kept looking down at his sneakers, knowing Adam would steer him in the right direction if he veered off course. "Yeah, maybe I will."
"Yeah, right." Adam scoffed, knowing it would incite Kris to protest. "You nearly choked on your own tonsils when I suggested it."
"There were people around!" Kris protested, hiding his smile by turning his head away.
"No one heard."
"Your voice carries, Lambert. All that thee-a-taa training." Kris looked back at Adam, hoping he had succeeded in hiding his grin.
"Which also taught me how to pitch my voice for the audience. And that audience heard nothing." Adam shook his head at Kris' vain effort at masking his amusement. "I was whispering. If my voice seemed loud, it was only because my suggestion was reverberating around in your head."
"Yeah, like a good idea in the echo chamber of Gokey's brain," Kris agreed, looking up at Adam with a grin, knowing Adam would never allow the redirect and waiting to see what Adam would try next.
Adam rolled his eyes. "Nice try, Allen. But the reality is..." He slid his hand around Kris' bicep and pulled him to a halt. Bending down, he whispered, "My voice is going to echo in your ears for a while. Do you want to watch? Do you want to watch?" Adam's voice dropped with each repetition, until he saw Kris involuntarily shiver, then he dropped it even lower, "Do you want to watch?"
"Sheesh!" Kris finally exploded in frustration, giving Adam a shove. Instantly, he reached out and grabbed Adam's arm.
"I'm fine, Kris. I'm not made of porcelain. You didn't need to save me like I'm a klutz." Adam raised his eyebrows. Well, well. Kris was getting frustrated enough to get physically aggressive. Well, life was good.
"Sorry. It was automatic. I know you're not a klutz. Damn, anyone who can dance like that..." Kris waved with one hand in the direction of Adam's hips while keeping his other on Adam's forearm as they continued walking.
"But if you want an excuse to keep holding on to me..." Adam sighed melodramatically. "I won't resist. I'll have something sweet to write in my diary. Dear Diary: Today the cutest boy made the lamest excuse to hold on to me. Does he like me? Does he really really like me? Or like me like me? Should I ask Allison in study hall if she can pass him a note or--"
"Okay, prom queen." Kris grinned when Adam burst out laughing. Then dropping his own voice, he said softly, "You know, maybe I will take you up on that offer."
Adam felt his heart stutter for a second. He took in a deep breath and looked down and caught his breath again at the heat in Kris' eyes. "Well, keep in mind that you'd have to do it too."
"I didn't make that offer!"
"Oh, I think that offer was implied when you borrowed from my lube stash." Adam kept his voice low. "So, I think we should watch each other. After all, I need... inspiration and I'm sure you'd provide plenty..." He dropped his gaze down Kris' body. Yessss, the bulge wasn't so slight any more. "Of incentive."
Kris knew there was probably a witty comeback. Somewhere. But not in his brain. Not now. With Adam looking down at him with a small smile on his lips and oh day-um, that look in his eyes that always... always ignited a slow burn deep inside.
Kris gulped, then licked his lip. Why oh why was Adam always able to surprise him? Well. he could turn it around too. "You know, the only reason I'd be at all interested in watching you would be to win the bet."
"What bet?" Adam asked absently, as he watched Kris lick his lower lip.
"I wanna see if your pubes are really blue."
Adam blinked, then began to laugh. "Maybe you're the one who should be the subject of that bet, what with you playing with my products in the shower."
Kris began to laugh. Again, he thought. Or rather, as always. How Adam could take the most embarrassing moment and just make it a shared amusing memory never ceased to amaze him. He nodded. "Hey, I've got it figured out though. You wouldn't dye your pubes blue. Because--"
"That might make the other guy laugh and who--"
"Wants to have their genitals laughed at?" Kris finished.
They looked at each other and grinned. Adam held up one finger. "However, all bets are off on Halloween."
They stopped as they turned a corner and two of the show's handlers stood, as if waiting for them.
"Hi, Kris. Adam. What are you two talking about?" The handler named Maggie asked.
"Halloween," they answered in unison.
"It's a little early for that..." The other handler, Doug, argued.
Adam shrugged. "Never too early. It's my favorite holiday. Major costume and make up opportunity, so it's never too early to start planning."
"I see." Maggie nodded. "Adam, I believe Ricky Minor wants you to call him and Kris? We need to talk to you about a small issue."
"Issue?" Kris echoed, looking up at Adam in confusion.
Adam took a step forward. "Is there some problem? Can I help?"
"No." Maggie shook her head.
"Kris, do you want me to come with you?" Adam offered.
"I'm fine." Kris touched Adam's arm and shook his head "But, thanks."
"What was that about?" Maggie asked as she led the way to another wing.
Kris crossed his arms over his chest. "Adam is protective--"
"You're a grown man. Is that necessary?" Doug scoffed.
"He knows that and--"
"Doesn't that bug you?" Doug pressed.
"No, of course not. I'm protective too, so I--" Kris broke off as they entered one of the forty gazillion rooms that seemed to have no purpose in the mansion. "Get it. I get him. He gets me."
"You two have something in common then." Maggie pointed to one of the plush chairs.
"We have tons in common," Kris corrected as he sat down. "We have the same sense of humor, the same values, the same love of music. We have lots in common. I know that seems odd to certain people, but it is what it is. Is there some problem getting permission for the song I chose this week?"
"No." Maggie looked at her hands, then over at Doug sitting next to her. "It has come to our attention that there might be an... issue in your rooming with Adam."
"An...issue. Like what? He takes up more than his share of the bathroom vanity with all his hair crap?" Kris forced a smile to his lips, then gave up. He was no good at pretending. He wasn't even mildly amused; he didn't want to be pleasant. He had an idea that in a minute he was going to be feeling that new urge to throw something. He swore that frustration had become his middle name since starting this show.
"It's not about his hair products," Maggie prevaricated, looking uncomfortable.
"Oooookay, since that's the only issue I can imagine anyone having with Adam and since I don't care how much space his hair stuff takes up, you tell me what the issue is?" Kris looked from Maggie to Doug.
"As you know from your contracts," Doug pointed out. "There are clauses regarding appropriate behavior."
"I know." Kris crossed his arms again. Adam had never done anything inapprorpriate and well, if he had, it was with my consent, he thought, briefly feeling amusement. So what could this be about?
"And there has been a complaint that your and Adam's relationship is inappropriate."
"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?" Kris gasped as his stomach turned over. He felt like the time he had visited the sulfur springs. Like he was smelling something really bad. Like he wanted to vomit. Take shallow breaths, he told himself. "In what way?"
"Are you going to make me spell it out?" Maggie asked, sighing.
"Hell, yeah." Kris paused, then added slowly. "Ma'am."
Maggie sighed again. "Basically, there are rumors that you and Adam are engaging in homosexual behavior on the premises--"
"And since there has been a complaint made..." Doug spread his hands open as if expecting Kris to fill in the blanks. "Asserting that you might have been led... We wanted to talk to you first."
Kris swallowed hard, fighting down the bile rising from his stomach. Oh god, if they took aim at Adam... portrayed him as some predator? Had Adam thought about that possibility, was that why he was usually so careful to pitch his voice low and to make his teasing comments only around people he trusted and... Who the hell could live like that? Who the hell should live like that?
"Kris," Maggie prompted. "What do you have to say?"
Feeling a wave of anger push him to his feet, Kris snapped, "My mama would slap me hard if I said what I was really thinking in front of a lady. But then again, a lady would have never brought up a stranger's sex life, let alone criticized it."
"Whoa..." Maggie hissed in surprise.
"You know what really torques me off? There is no... sex.. We aren't really, Adam and I don't..." Kris clamped his mouth shut, cursing himself for being so angry that he blurted out intimate details. He glared at Doug. He refused to say one more word about something so intensely private.
"You're not having sex?" Doug asked, arching an eyebrow in disbelief.
"You know what else?" Kris heard his voice grow quieter as his anger grew. "This is bullshit. Did you ask Megan and Anoop if they were getting it on in the music room on the piano? Or the kitchen on the counter?"
"This isn't a game of Clue, Kris," Maggie placated and put a hand on Kris' arm and urged him to sit back down.
"No? It sure feels that way to me! As if you're looking for a culprit and let me guess the culprit would be Adam, leading the good Christian small town boy astray!"
"We do not want Billy Bush leading with that story on Access Hollywood one night," Doug snapped.
"Complete with, let me guess, head-shaking anecdotes from my fellow Christian contestants." Kris squeezed his hands around his knees so hard he knew he'd probably have bruises tomorrow. Only the certainty that Adam would notice and the equal certainty that he would never ever tell Adam about this conversation made him loosen his grip. "But wait -- wouldn't that story fit into the disgusting storyline you're already trying to sell, painting Adam as the sinner and Danny as the saint?"
"That only works if Adam can get to the end of the show," Maggie pointed out. "Okay, let me talk to you on a business basis. First off, let's focus on you. We don't want you distracted."
"And you think Adam is going to distract me? Get real. Adam has done so much for me. He's encouraged me, helped me find more confidence, he's the only one as interested in music as I am--"
"Your sound is radio friendly. You're an attractive, unattached guy whose sexuality is not, at least not yet, seen as threatening." Doug paused. "You have potential we don't want wasted, for lack of a better term."
"And you think that if the world and what is it these days? Is Tiger Beat magazine still in business?" Kris made an expansive gesture with his hand, "If they believed that there was something more than friendship between Adam and I..."
"Exactly." Doug nodded.
Kris shook his head stubbornly. He was an easy-going guy, he knew, until the right buttons were pushed and damn it all to hell, his buttons were pushed so far they were all the way to China. "I don't care and--"
Maggie shook her head. "Well, care about this. Adam. Remember him? We all like Adam. We do. And we care about Adam's potential. Adam is an extremely valuable player to us. We don't want anything to happen -- anything -- that could distract him from the game."
Kris leaned back. He could see their manipulation and was unimpressed. "And you think I'm going to distract him."
"If... it doesn't... work out between you two and especially if you two are roommates, then yes, it would be a distraction. And even if it does, this isn't a dating show, it's a singing competition and we don't want Adam to feel pulled in two--"
"You have greatly underestimated Adam's ability to focus. Especially to focus on music. You've also greatly underestimated my patience with bullshit. I'm done with this discussion except for the fact that..." Kris stood up. "I demand to know who complained to you about my relationship with Adam."
Kris stalked down the hallways looking for Adam. He was going to find Adam and take him up on that offer and on his challenge to do it too, hell, he was going to just jump on him and... Where the HELL was he? Kris wondered, fuming as he walked faster and faster until he finally -- after what seemed like an endless trek -- reached the huge foyer.
"There you are!" Allison called out as the contestants milled around. "We've been waiting. Did you get lost again? Or forget that it's time to go clothes shopping?"
Kris stopped when he saw Danny. Danny. Standing there, with that little smug expression on his face. Clenching his fists, he started forward. Someone needed a punch and he was in the mood--
"Hey, Kris!" Allison called out and bopped over to his side. "Is everything okay? You look... red."
"Where is Adam?" Kris asked through stiff lips.
"He's on the phone with Ricky Minor talking about an arrangement."
"Where?"
"In the music room..." Allison peered at Kris' face. "Are you okay? Do you want me to get Adam for you?"
"No. You know he can't stand to be interrupted while he's talking about his music." And now that I think about it, I don't want Adam brought into this mess, Kris decided, by some overt aggression. Because somehow Adam would get blamed. Although, day-um, it would feel good to break Danny's nose.
"Yeah, but--"
Kris turned around and looked for Danny. Bent over tying his sneaker, but as usual so busy talking he wasn't completing the task. "Listen. I'm going to go stand by Danny and I want you to push me. Hard."
Allison took one look into Kris's implacable face and nodded. "Okay. Let's do it. Just pretend you're saying something to me..." she instructed as they walked quickly over to Danny. As Kris muttered a string of curse words under his breath, Allison cried out loudly, "Get out of TOWN, Kris Allen!" and shoved him hard.
"HEY!" Danny yelled as Kris landed on top of him and pushed him to the ground face first. "Ow!!"
Kris rolled around, still on top of Danny, grabbing his shirt in his fists. Leaning in close, he hissed, "I'll give you inappropriate, given that you're writhing around underneath me and--" He froze as a hands grabbed his forearms and tugged him upward. "Don't--" Kris began, then took a breath and... Adam. Adam's scent.
"Kris, did you hit your head? Let's go check it out," Adam said softly but in a carrying voice to the room, as he gently pulled Kris into the music room and around the corner, out of sight. "I don't think everyone figured out that you were ready to pound Danny's face, but I did. So tell me now. What was that about, Kris?"
"Adam..." Kris growled as he launched himself at Adam's chest, his anger and frustration transforming into sexual need. "I want--" Kris wrapped his shaking hands around the back of Adam's neck and tried to pull him down.
"Whoa..." Adam held Kris at arm's length. Kris was tempting enough on any day, but throwing himself at Adam like this? Adam knew he had to resist, it was the right thing to do, but day-um he would be entitled to a year of good karma for resisting this temptation. Hot, aggressive Kris? Years of good karma. "No. I'd love to, but not like this."
"But I wanna--" Kris complained, then shook his head. What the hell had come over him? Feeling the urge to punch Danny and then throwing himself at Adam? Well, the throwing himself at Adam had been a good idea, bad execution though. He shook his head again, then looked up shyly from under his lashes. "Aw, hell... I've never acted like that in my whole life. I just..."
"Kris. I... really want to kiss you too. But..." Adam looked off to the side, then back again with a slightly-sheepish smile. "But call me old-fashioned or romantic, the first time I kiss someone special, I'd like it to be special."
"Me too... Thank you..." Kris felt his heart thump hard against his chest, once, twice, three times, at Adam's words and the soft look in his eyes. He reached up, slowly, and touched Adam's chest, felt his heart thudding too. At the warmth under his hands and meeting his eyes, Kris felt a responding heat flood his body with need. How, he wondered, did Adam's sweetness fill him with as much heat and desire as his teasing sexuality? How was watching the gentleness in his eyes as enticing as watching Adam being the fiercest man on the planet? How, why? He knew the answer. It was... "Adam..." Kris whispered back and slid his arms around Adam and held on tightly.
TBC at
Chapter 9