(no subject)
Yay, finished!
Title: Some Assembly Required--2/End
Pairing/Characters: C/Z, Mr. and Mrs. Connor
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Don't own!
Synopsis: A crack!fickish romp wherein Zeke learns about the dangers of frugality.
Part 1
"Aren't we gonna get your computer first?"
Zeke turned back to Casey, who was motioning the the 'Best Buy' they'd just passed. "Why? You wanna carry it around for me? Cos' I ain't--"
"We can bring it back to the car?" Casey said.
"Or... we can roam around having fun first and make the computer our last stop. Does that or does that not make sense...?" Zeke asked. For a moment, Casey looked conflicted but eventually rolled his eyes and kept walking with Zeke, who smiled. "So, where to first?"
"I dunno."
"Didn't give it any thought on the ride here, huh? Yea, it's a titch overwhelming..." Zeke looked around at the array of shops, a whole two floors with a food-court-basement below. "...I ain't a huge mall-rat, but there're some good spots here."
"Can we at least walk a little faster?" Casey asked.
"Why? It's not even two in the afternoon, and this joint's open 'til ten on Saturdays," Zeke replied.
Casey cocked an eyebrow. "We are not spending eight hours here."
"Maybe not. But you... are spending fifty dollars here, boy." Zeke winked and nudged Casey's arm. The boy groaned; Zeke mimicked it, adding more drama before chuckling and saying, "C'mon, lighten up."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Free country."
"What... did you do to my dad?"
Zeke stopped--had to, as Casey was now parking his adorable ass at the corner of the glass railing overlooking the second floor. "'Do'?" Zeke said. "Nothing. I just ran into him at the plaza on Pine."
"Where in the plaza?" Casey sounded suspicious; he even narrowed his eyes as if he knew something was up.
"If I tell you, you can't run off to find out where they are to rat him out to Mom--"
"I KNEW it. He was at McDonald's again, wasn't he?"
Zeke stilled and raised his eyebrows. "How'd you know?"
"Well, he doesn't know that I know, but after school a few months ago, I went down to Pine Plaza to go to Walgreen's. They were having a sale on spiral notebooks, two for a dollar..."
Zeke almost drifted off... this again...
"...And there he was, leaning on the car talking on his cell while shoving chicken nuggets in his mouth. At two-thirty in the feckin' afternoon!"
"Okay. So?"
"'So'? The rule of the house has always been not to eat too close to dinner--and I ain't stupid, Zeke," Casey said, pausing a moment to take a deep breath. "I've found 'evidence' in the car, when he thinks he's thrown everything away. So I know that wasn't some random thing, grabbing a quick bite after Mom packed him enough lunch to feed an army. I wouldn't be surprised if he throws it away."
"He has. I saw him do it myself," Zeke brashly replied. Casey's eyebrows rose.
"Ohhh... I was right. Good. Very good. Glad he's so damned wasteful," he said.
"And you're just itching to run around to try and find your mom so you can tell on him, aren't you?" Zeke said. When all Casey did was stare back at him, Zeke moved in closer. "No one's saying your mom's cooking sucks. Myself? I didn't dig last night's dinner, but big deal. It had its good points. The biscuits were sex. But if I was your dad, eating MY weight in beans and rice every damned night? He's a fuckin' saint, Casey, sorry."
"That's... really rude," Casey said.
"What's really rude is insisting that someone come home from work and eat the same damned thing every day just cos' they're outvoted--or too chicken-shit to say 'boo' about it," Zeke said before stepping away. "Fifty bucks. Let's figure it out."
For a moment, Zeke worried that he'd crossed a line and Casey would run off to the car, refusing to do anything until the mall closed. He was surprised when Casey let out a hot, angry breath but followed Zeke. He didn't look his way and he set a cold, mean expression ahead of him, but it was progress. Maybe.
~*~
It'd been a full fifteen minutes before they spoke again, and it was just Casey saying, "I'll be down there," while pointing to the far side of the CVS they'd stopped at. It wasn't a fun-filled boutique, but Zeke needed razors. He took a page from his own book; instead of getting the four pack of cheap Bic shavers, he picked out the brand he'd seen in a commercial on TV, which had involved overdramatic music, a team of scientists from the future and a man who ended up getting a promotion because of the super-fantastic-amazing product somehow. It cost twice the amount that the Bics did and it probably sucked balls, but he'd give it a try.
His decision made, he made his way down the middle aisle and looked down each row. He finally spotted Casey bending down to a lower shelf in the housewares aisle. Housewares? Zeke frowned and walked over, just in time to see Casey take out a sponge. "Casey?" Zeke said.
"Yea?"
"Sponges?"
"I'm just checking. We have a few under the sink, but it wouldn't hurt to get more. The one we're using now is getting ratty," Casey said in a distant voice as he plucked another brand of sponge from the top shelf. He looked between the choices; Zeke realized what he was doing with a groan.
"You're comparing prices. Aren't you," he stated blankly.
"AND quality. If it makes you happy, I'm choosing the more expensive one," Casey said.
Zeke had to smirk as he leaned in to look at the price-stickers. "Yea, eighteen-cents extra. Wild. I just totally jizzed my pants."
"Jerk," Casey spat as he rolled his eyes, tossed the cheaper choice back to the bottom shelf and stalked off.
~*~
Casey shook his head briskly. "No. No, that's insane."
"It's not insane, it's lemonade."
"ONE lemon, two cents worth of sugar if that, water and ice. They're making over two dollars and fifty cents profit per serving!"
Had Zeke been in love with this pile of neurotic problems? 'You are, shut the fuck up,' he thought as he turned back to the now-stopped Casey. "You don't have to make it. The six-and-a-quarter salaried worker does."
"See? Zeke, can't you see what I'm saying..." Casey drifted off.
"Yea, I can. I'm not stupid. If I suddenly want fresh lemonade, my first instinct isn't to drive all the way to the mall, expend the gas to roam around looking for a spot, walk until my feet hurt to the lemonade shop, wait in line for a half an hour so I can enjoy something I could've gotten in half the time with a fuckton less money," Zeke said. He moved his head and face down to get eye-level with Casey while wearing a sickeningly-sweet smile. "The point is that we're here, we're shopping, and I am so fucking thirsty I could slice your carotid and quench myself THAT way."
Casey pursed his lips then made a tiny nod. "Fine. Get your lemonade, I'll wait at the bench for you."
"You don't want one?"
"Pfft, no."
"'K, suit yourself."
Zeke left Casey to it and made his way to the small line going to the 'Lenny's Lemons' booth. As he pictured himself sipping from a tall, ice-cold cup full of lemonade, his eyes fell upon an interesting variation listed on the menu. It wasn't long before he was being smiled at and asked, "Hello, Sir; how can I help you?" by one of the youngest mall-workers Zeke had ever seen.
"Yeeea... what's..." He pointed to the large picture advertising a new drink. "...the 'Lemon Cream Yum-tini?"
"Ooh, it's MY fave, actually; lemonade with blueberries, crushed ice, sugar blended together with vanilla syrup," the girl replied.
"Yea. That."
"Small or large?"
"Cement mixer."
The girl giggled and went to make it. Zeke watched the process; this was something he could make at home, easy, but he wouldn't have known about it if he hadn't decided to drop in. He probably wouldn't have even thought it up. After the girl finished with the blender, capped the drink and brought it over, she rang him in. "Three-fifty-eight," she said.
Zeke handed over the cash, got his change and thanked the girl. On his way back to Casey, he stuck the straw in his mouth, took a sip... 'Oh sweet Jesus,' he thought as the flavors smacked into his tongue and throat...
"Thought you were getting lemonade," Casey said upon his return.
"Glad I changed my mind," he murmured.
"Why, what is it?"
"A lemon cream..." He shot a glance back to the stand. "...Yum-tini."
"Ah, fancy words. That's how they get you," Casey replied.
"Yup. I fell hook, line and sinker, and like fuck if I'm sharing this religious experience with a heathen like you," Zeke said with a wink.
"Hmm. I'm crying inside. What's the blue shit?"
"Blueberries."
Casey blinked wildly. "Blueberries?"
"Yea. Why... you like blueberries?" Zeke asked.
"Well, yea." Casey looked as if he was riiiight on that edge, but he went from staring at the transparent cup to clearing his throat and shrugging. "There's a blueberry farm at the edge of town, almost NO one knows about it. A buck a pint. I can eat blueberries 'til I burst after just one visit."
"Ah, but you're not thinking ahead," Zeke said in a mischievous tone. "That's actually pretty wasteful."
"Hah, yea? Says the one who just spent HOW much money on ice and fruit?"
"Ah, but after eating blueberries, as you say, ''til you burst', lands you in a heap of shit. Literally." Zeke held up his free hand and mimed counting. "So, calculating the cost of the toilet paper you use... and the exact amount of Pepto you'll need to feel like a functioning human being again--"
Casey smacked his fingers and grunted. "You're a jerk," he said. Before Zeke could worry, he saw the smile Casey was desperately trying to fight, eventually losing.
~*~
Though Casey hadn't spent any of his money--besides the extra-expensive sponge--Zeke had gotten Casey to meet him halfway. It'd been easy to see the sudden long look Casey had given to the mannequin in the 'H&M' window, and if Zeke were to be completely honest with the boy, he was dying to see how that absolutely sexy thin, gray fabric, v-necked with buttons shirt looked on him.
"It's that I don't... need it," Casey had said in a strained voice.
"It was on sale."
"Over fourteen bucks isn't 'sale' to me."
"It'd look hot on you."
No matter how casual Zeke had tried sounding, Casey had still barked out a lone laugh and given him an incredulous expression. "Hot? Me? Does not compute, does not compute..." he said in a robot voice.
"You're hot," Zeke said, adding a shrug real quick.
"How exactly am I 'hot'? And what kinda judge can you be on how hot me, a guy, is?"
Zeke gave up trying to encourage and went straight to 'evade'. "Okay, put it on a list of possibilities. See if there's something else you want more, and if you don't, you come back and try it on."
"Yea. Okay," Casey said without pause.
"Whoa. You agreed with me," Zeke said with mock amazement.
Casey chuckled and shrugged, saying, "Yea? That made sense. It's a good compromise." The boy sighed and his smile softened. "Look, yea, I'm a pain in the ass with this stuff. But it doesn't mean that I won't listen to reason... sometimes."
~*~
"Window-shop. ANOTHER reasonable compromise. C'mon."
"That's not 'window-shopping', it's a well-laid trap."
Zeke sighed and kept walking to the 'Godiva' shop, where an aproned girl was demonstrating something at the front of the shop near the entrance. It was something wonderful, Zeke knew it. "Wanna hear a secret?" Zeke turned to Casey to ask. When Casey smirked and shrugged, Zeke leaned in and whispered, "I turn into a chick around chocolate."
Casey chuckled and gave Zeke an odd look. "A chick, huh?"
"On the rag, emotional, weepy and sucking back chocolate any way I can get it," Zeke said. "Do you like chocolate?"
"Sure, love it."
Zeke cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "Liar."
"What? I do," Casey replied.
"You've never HAD chocolate."
"Yes I have! The hell, Tyler..."
"You ever eaten Godiva's chocolate?" Zeke asked. When Casey shook his head, Zeke smacked his lips. "Then you've never had chocolate."
"Then I guess I'll never have chocolate, cos' like hell if I'm spending eight Hershey bars' worth of cash for one stupid truffle," Casey said.
"C'mon. Window shop," Zeke said, grabbing Casey by the shoulder of his jacket and dragging him over. Casey went, groaning the whole way. Once at the demonstration, Zeke's eyes flared wide before narrowing. "And what... are these, fair maiden?"
The girl looked up, blushed and smiled. "These... are Godiva's famous fruit-cups," she said while bringing a spoonful of melted chocolate to drizzle over the little chocolate shells filled with fresh raspberries, blackberries and...
"Blueberries, Casey. Where do you get your blueberries, do you know? Cos' there's this field out at the edge of town, only a buck a--"
Zeke was cut off by a slap to the back from Casey. Though the girl shot a confused expression between them she said, "Hmm, dunno. I DO know that I'll probably die with one of these in my mouth. It's an experience."
"How much is that 'experience' worth?" Zeke asked.
"Three-ninety-nine plus tax."
"Of for fuck's sake..." Casey blurted. Zeke shot him a look then turned back to the worker.
"Don't mind him. I'll take two."
"Milk or dark?" the girl asked while getting a small box ready.
"Milk, and don't bother with the box. Just give 'em," Zeke replied with a wink.
With a nod and giggle, she grabbed a piece of wax paper, took two of the still-warm chocolates and handed them over. Zeke gave her a ten, catching sight of Casey's nostrils flaring as she made his change. "Thanks, boys. Enjoy," she told them.
"I will, thanks," Zeke said.
"Eight and change. That's what you just did," Casey didn't waste any time harping on Zeke, but as if he cared. Zeke went to a bench and sat down, looking into his hand.
"Oh god, I almost can't eat 'em. It's so... pretty," he said, touching the raspberry on top with a gentle fingertip.
"Can we head to the bathroom?"
"Gotta take a piss?"
"No, I just wanna check to see if you still have your dick attached to your body or not."
Zeke couldn't help the chuckle-fit. "Aw, ain't you a prick? Here."
Casey gave the chocolate Zeke was handing over a disapproving look. "It's too much, Zeke. Really. I'll feel... dirty."
"Feeling dirty can be awesome. C'mon." Zeke lifted the chocolate to Casey's chin, edging it closer and closer to his mouth. "C'mon, just a little bite. C'mooon..."
"Are you seriously feeding me chocolates in the middle of a crowded mall, thus making everyone think we're fucki--" Casey was cut off by Zeke giving the chocolate a nudge, causing the lip of the cup to go into Casey's mouth.
He shuddered. Casey actually shuddered then stilled in an instant, eyes darting down to look at Zeke's hand and the lustful sweet-treat it held. Casey sniffed then opened his lips wider, letting half of the confection inside. With a satisfied grin, Zeke watched as Casey sank his teeth into the warm chocolate and cool fruit and took off a piece to eat. Zeke stared at Casey as he stayed still--he wasn't chewing. The chocolate-experience was sitting on the boy's tongue, being rolled around gently to enjoy the taste properly. Casey's hands met and fingers folded together, his thumbs running over each other as he sank into bliss. Feeling like he'd won the lottery, Zeke popped the other half into his mouth and closed his eyes. Finely-tuned, expertly made chocolate spread over his tongue and along his teeth, inside of his cheek...
"Oh... I feel it," he whispered. "Don't lie to me, Casey. Don't you dare motherfucking lie to me."
"No. N-No, this is good."
"How good?"
"It..." Casey paused to moan, swallow a little then run his tongue over his lower lip. "...It almost makes me mad at how good it is."
An odd expression. "How so?" Zeke asked next.
"Like--I wanna taste that all the time, but I'd go bankrupt."
Zeke gave in, swallowed the remnants of his chocolate and laughed. "You GOT fifty bucks. Well, after the sponge, but that was what, a dollar?"
"Ninety-eight cents."
"You kept the receipt, right?"
Casey's dreamy expression faded and he rolled his eyes. "Yea. Can't believe my dad, 'I wanna SEE what you spent, Son!'"
"Mmm. How proud would he be... if you went up to him with a receipt showing that you spent fifteen bucks or more on chocolate?" Zeke said, not realizing that he'd leaned in to whisper it directly into the boy's ear. It took Casey turning to him slowly, their faces mere inches apart for Zeke to sit back in his spot. Casey wore a muted smile before turning to look at the shop.
"Um... well, I'll... two." Casey nodded and stood. "I'll get two. I think I'm gonna go back to H&M and get that shirt. Maybe... the jeans that were with it on the mannequin."
"That's my boy," Zeke said with another wide grin, not caring in the slightest as to how that sounded.
~*~
"I dunno, the jeans are a bit tight..."
Zeke's jeans felt tight, too, watching the just-emerged-from-the-changing-room Casey turn to check his back in the full length mirror next to where Zeke sat. The way the shirt was pinched at Casey's sides, the small tease of flesh where the top's buttons were undone... "I like it," he said in a blurt.
"Yea? I'm not used to tight jeans, though. I'll feel like everyone's staring at my ass," Casey said.
'They will,' Zeke said, now picturing himself beating up oglers with a baseball bat. Casey sighed and turned to Zeke with a quirky grin.
"Should I just say 'fuck it' and put this shit in my closet?"
All Zeke could do now was nod. Trying to talk would make him look like a caveman-idiot, never mind the fact that drool had pooled in his mouth. One word and his front would be soaked. Casey shrugged and hopped back to the changing room.
"'K, back in a sec," he said.
Zeke nodded and fought to swallow the river of spit. Once he felt safe enough, he opened his mouth and let a shaky breath escape. His eyes were planted on the slatted door, where Casey was taking the clothes off. Eyes darted down to the floor, where he could see Casey's feet. There it was--denim dropped, being kicked off, showing off that gorgeous little body to no one. What a waste.
This was it--Zeke had had it. He was going over to that door, knocking and telling Casey that they needed to make out, right then and there.
"Hey, Zeke!"
The young man whipped around, finding Mr. Connor standing there with a big grin on his face. "OH. Hey," he said.
"Is Casey trying on clothes? Please say he is," Mr. Connor said.
"Y-Yea. He's buying... an outfit," Zeke said.
"Awe-some." Mr. Connor grinned and nodded behind him. "The missus is trying to look interested in the dress section. I gotta say, this place screams 'sexy'."
'You have no idea,' Zeke thought as Casey came out, fully dressed in his old clothing, new outfit draped over his arm.
"Oh, hi, Dad," he said.
"Good to see you using that money wisely," Mr. Connor replied, still grinning. "I'll want those receipts, though."
"I know, geez..."
Zeke cleared his throat and stood. "So, uh--after this, how much cash is left?" he asked the boy.
"Fifteen and some change," Casey replied. He turned back to his father, cocking an eyebrow. "I DID make sure this stuff was on sale, so don't get TOO excited. I'm not going that hog-wild."
"Fine by me, as long as it's something you like," Mr. Connor said just as his wife arrived, holding up a dress.
"It's nice, but TOO slinky... oh. Hi, boys," she said.
"Hey Mom," Casey said. "Everything okay?"
"Well... I guess. I might get this dress, but it seems a bit expensive."
Zeke caught a look at the dangling price-tag and wanted to groan. Not only was the original price at an easy twenty-eight dollars, a good price for a boutique that didn't have a bright red 'K' involved, but it had a yellow '40%' sticker over the bar-code. He sighed as mother and son bantered about their 'torment', giving Mr. Connor looks. The man seemed pleased however as he put a hand on Mrs. Connor's shoulder.
"Go try it on, buttercup. I can't wait to see you in it," he said.
"Fine, fine. Bye, boys, have fun."
Casey sighed and walked out from the dressing room's main entrance, Zeke following. As Casey went on and on about how he had 'NO idea how to spend the rest of this cash,' Zeke stared away at Casey's ass. It was hidden by baggy denim, but he could still make out its shape. 'Fuck, I want that on my dick,' he thought with such a suddenness, he almost blundered into a tall rack of earrings.
~*~
This was it--THE test. If they got through this last task unscathed, Casey was well on his way to the world of stupid-spending. It'd been a wonder that Zeke managed to get him into this place without needing to stick him with a tranquilizer shot to begin with. But after opening 'Applebee's menu, Casey's eyes went wide and he shot them up to look at Zeke.
"Zeke... let's go to McD's."
"Why? Have you ever had their fajita bur... no, dumb question--"
"It's WAY too expensive!" Casey said in an urgent hiss.
"Here we go," their waitress, 'Hermy' if her nametag was right, said as she placed two glasses on the table. "Your peach iced tea..." she shoved the giant glass of sweet-fruity delight to Zeke. "And your water with lemon."
Zeke sighed as Casey nodded curtly but cordially to the girl as he took his drink. 'Little steps...' he reminded himself.
"Need a few more minutes?" Hermy asked.
"Yea, just a little longer, thanks," Zeke said.
The girl smiled and went on her way to her next table. Zeke sighed and resumed looking over the menu. "Yea. Appetizer platter, definitely," he said, pointing to the picture. Casey leaned in to look.
"That isn't an appetizer. That's a buffet," he said.
"It's meant to share, doofus. So we'll share it," Zeke replied.
"Fine. That'll be it for me."
Zeke smirked and shook his head slowly. "Ohh no, boy. Pick something worth at LEAST twelve bucks. I already said I'd cover the tip," he said.
"I don't see why... I mean, this, it's--food," Casey said. "I'll admit it; you and dad, you're right, I should have more fun with money. But seriously, I don't feel comfortable buying a meal me or Mom could've made for pennies."
"Because you and your mom didn't have to make it."
"It takes minutes in some cases. Those biscuits you loved so much? Flour, heavy cream, salt, baking powder and butter on the burner."
Sighing, Zeke opened his menu again and looked over the choices. "Casey--when was the last time you had steak?" he asked.
Casey sniffed and frowned. "Steak? Why steak, when ground beef has the same exact--"
"Oh for Chrissake, Casey... 'why steak?' Because it's fucking delicious," Zeke interrupted. "Okay, when HAVE you had steak? Ever?"
"Yea, a couple times. And okay, it's good, but nothing I'd jump off a bridge for," Casey replied.
Zeke sat back, regarding Casey a moment. "Who made the steak?"
"Mom. And she wasn't thrilled about it. Dad brought a few home, swearing they were cheap, on sale, whatever. They were... okay," Casey said.
The puzzle pieces were starting to fit. Zeke nodded quick and looked back at the steak choices. "You're getting the nine-ounce sirloin. It comes with sides, I suggest the garlic mashed potatoes."
"If it's over twelve bucks--"
"Ten-ninety-nine. Even the tax is covered," Zeke said with a shit-eating grin. Casey sighed but held up his hands in surrender.
"Mmkay."
~*~
"I can't eat it by myself."
"Then you should've gotten it as a meal, instead of going for the sliders and fries on TOP of it. Anyway--twelve bucks. I can't contribute for my end of eating it."
Zeke sucked his lower lip between his teeth, pulled the giant appetizer platter between them and gave Casey a hard look. "Sometimes... when you go out to dinner with someone, you can share. I'm sharing with you, I got it for BOTH of us."
"But you don't have to," Casey said.
"I KNOW that." Zeke fiddled with a mozzarella stick, dipping it into the sauce and bringing it up to his lips. Before taking a bite, he said, "There might be times when you're broke, but I wanna go out, have fun--eat out. My wanting that means I pay for it all. You don't have to take it, but I'd enjoy it."
Casey took a deep breath then finally unfolded his arms. "Okay. I'll have some. SOME. Otherwise, you're taking some of this stuff home in a doggy bag."
Success. Sort of. Zeke smiled and chomped into the stick. "Mmm," he hummed, loving the cheesy-breaded flavor exploding in his mouth. He watched Casey take a tortilla chip and move it to the dip provided.
"What is this, anyway?" Casey asked.
"Guacamole."
"What's that?"
It was hard not to laugh out loud. "Avocado, tomatoes, onions and spices," Zeke replied.
~*~
Hermy returned with their dinners just in time.
"Let me get this outta the way for you guys," she said as she grabbed the large, empty appetizer tray. Casey made a small belch while wearing a guilty look; Zeke knew why.
"Too good to resist, huh?" Zeke said.
"I guess," Casey tried shrugging casually, even if he still hadn't managed to wipe all the avocado off of his lips and chin.
"You loved it," Zeke replied with a wink just as his main dish was placed in front of him. The small grouping of little, greasy burgers made him lick his lips. "Never had these before."
"They're mini-burgers. Nothing spe..."
Zeke looked up, wondering why Casey had stopped speaking so suddenly. The reason sat in front of the boy, apparently; the hot, steaming steak with fluffy mashed potatoes was being stared at with awe. 'Oh, he's done for,' Zeke thought as Hermy stepped back with a smile.
"Have a good dinner, guys," she said.
"Thanks," Zeke replied. Now left alone with their meals, Zeke raised his freshly-refilled tea towards Casey. "To eating-out."
Casey blinked a moment then put his water up to clink the glasses together. "Yea, I guess."
''I guess' nothing,' Zeke thought as he took a sip, put the glass down then started in on his first little burger. Casey had been wrong--big surprise--as the restaurant-styled dish was better than every other burger Zeke had ever enjoyed. The grease of it made his fingers and lips glisten as he ate, the meat thin but flavorful. "Mmhmm, hits the fuckin' spot," he said between chews. He looked at Casey, who was slicing into the steak with slow, careful movements. It was as if he thought the slab of meat was going to jump up and bite him in the face with how apprehensive he looked, but soon enough, a bite had been cut and Casey drew it to his lips.
A camera would've been good to have. Casey chewed very, very slowly, his eyes bugging out a little. "How's it?" Zeke asked.
Casey suddenly dropped his fork and covered his mouth. "Oh god," he murmured.
"What?"
"It's..." Casey gave Zeke a panicked look and let his hand fall away for him to say, "...Mom can't cook steak."
"Hmm, that good, huh?" Zeke said with a smile.
"This isn't funny! She... oh god, Zeke..."
"Try a bite of this." Zeke went to hand Casey the last bite of his first burger, but the boy shook his head briskly.
"No, I can't," he said.
"Why not?"
"Just looking at it says Mom can't cook burgers, either."
Zeke sighed and didn't insist. He popped the bite into his mouth and shrugged. "She just needs to try new shit, that's all. She's stuck to a standard for decades," he said.
"Oh Christ. Dad. Poor Dad," Casey said as he next moved onto the potatoes.
FI-nally, it hit. Zeke nodded. "Your mom is awesome, Casey. I wish I had one like her. But that doesn't mean she can't throw a spring of basil into a dish from time to time," he said.
"Or some garlic into mashed potatoes."
Zeke looked back to Casey, finding him taking another heaping forkful of potato into his mouth. "Yup," he said.
Casey was outright moaning now as he ate, giving into another flavor-filled passion. 'Applebee's' wasn't anywhere near high-class; Zeke wondered what the kid would do if faced with a fifty-dollar lobster dinner in an expensive, Parisian-style restaurant. If Casey was getting orgasmic over a chain-diner's potatoes... 'He sounds so sweet,' Zeke thought as Casey made a soft sound of food-love. He needed to focus on dinner and make stupid conversation, lest he grab the back of Casey's neck and pull him into a hard, hot kiss, right there in front of everyone. The sporty, backwards-capped college guys at the nearby bar would tell stories for weeks.
~*~
"Wait..." Casey said as they pulled into the Connor's driveway. "...Didn't we go to the mall for a computer?"
Zeke shrugged and smirked. "Another time. Today--was YOUR day."
Casey smiled back, got out of the car and went to the backseat where his bags sat. The clothing, chocolates and stupid sponge were brought out and carried to the porch, Zeke following. Now inside the house, Casey said, "C'mon, let's go to my room, put this stuff away then find more pervs online."
"Yea, okay," Zeke said, though he really wanted to BE a perv, no internet needed. His eyes kept darting around in trying to avoid staring at Casey's gorgeous little backside which was only about a foot away from Zeke's face in climbing up the stairs. They reached the second floor, where Zeke breathed a sigh of relief in returning to their usual heights. Then again, it only reminded him of how he towered over the boy, how he could just snatch him up, grab at him, DO things...
Casey, dutiful as ever, went straight to his closet with the new clothes. The shirt was hung up and placed inside, while the jeans were brought over to the bureau. "I really did have fun, I'll admit it," Casey said. He turned to look at Zeke over his shoulder, wearing a wide grin. "And y'know... I COULD make that steak. Maybe with some cheese and stuff on top."
"Yea, y'could," Zeke mumbled as he sat on a beanbag chair.
"And like HELL if I can't whip up those potatoes. Cooked garlic, spices... mmm," Casey said. "I'll hafta look up recipes online. It'll be fun."
Recipes, potatoes... who cared? Zeke threw a foot up onto his knee and stared ahead at Casey's computer. "So..."
The phone in the hall started ringing then. Casey frowned and hopped-to, rushing out to answer it. "Hello?" Long pause. "Oh. Yea, okay, cool. Yea... sure. No, I'm good, yea. When will you be home?"
Zeke sat up a little, watching Casey's shadow pace against the hall's wall. The boy then hummed. "'K, I'll tell 'im. Have fun."
"What's up?" Zeke asked upon Casey's return.
"Well... Dad convinced Mom, somehow, that they're staying at 'Moonlight Lounge's' hotel tonight."
"Oooh..." Zeke said with a burst of chuckles.
"Shut up, man... ew," Casey said, though he chuckled bashfully as well. "N'aw, they deserve it. And they said that I can keep you another night."
'Keep you'... oh, Casey already had him without knowing it. Zeke smiled and looked away. "Yea, a'right."
"Maybe we can--yea! I'm gonna look up omelet recipes!"
Zeke watched as Casey rushed to the computer, flicked the screensaver away and began an online search. He sat up and put his arms over his knees, hands clasped between them as Casey went on and on, going over ingredient listings, whatever else...
~*~
The entire house was full of cozy-family warmth, but the bathroom was especially fluffy and welcoming. Mrs. Connor had a thing for puffy toilet lid covers with matching rugs for the bottom of the pot and bathmat. The shower held two curtains, one a see-through plastic with a flower design, the other a pale green that offered privacy. Food blunders or no, the woman knew how to make a home.
After relieving himself, Casey knocked on the door. "Done yet, Old Faithful?"
Zeke rolled his eyes. "Yea."
Casey entered the room wearing a smile and loose pajama pants--nothing more. Zeke swallowed hard and turned away from the shirtless young man quick; his toothbrush was plucked from the sink where he'd left it the night before. Not his toothbrush, per se, as he hadn't bothered bringing one, but Mrs. Connor had dug one out for him. "You can keep it here for when you have another sleepover," she'd told him with a wide, happy smile. If she'd known how wonderful it felt, knowing he had something as simple and silly as a toothbrush sitting in their home...
"So," Casey said as he set up his toothbrush. Zeke took the paste when he was finished and tried understanding Casey's foam-filled speech. "If ya wamt mah beda danigh, ya kin have id."
"Yer bed-a?" Zeke said while brushing himself.
"Mm-hurm," Casey replied.
Zeke wasn't planning on it, for the same reasons as he'd given the night before. He turned away to look at the curtained window, seeing shadows of tree branches rustling in the wind. he certainly wasn't going to focus any attention on Casey's exposed flesh, even if he'd seen it already. There was something to the lighting of the bathroom that made stark contrast out of everything... after a few moments of brushing, Zeke grunted and leaned down to spit into the sink at the same exact time he heard a liquid-filled gurgling from behind. Before he could stand up straight, he felt something lukewarm splash over the back of his head and neck, then a gasp.
"OH! Fuck! I..."
Zeke stayed still a moment; he raised a hand to touch his hair and found it soaked. "Casey, did you just..."
"Well--the hell! I was gargling!" Casey retorted. "Not MY fault you dove into the sink at the same time I spit!"
Zeke rolled his tongue around the inside of his cheek as he dared to stand. The action made spit-laced rivulets of gargle-water go down his back. He shivered and half-glared, half-smiled. "You just spit on me. All OVER me."
"I didn't mean to!" Casey said in a petulant voice. "You... you should be more careful the next time."
"Is that how it's gonna be?" Zeke said. Before Casey could answer, an evil grin crossed his lips; he reached for the cup next to the toothbrushes, turned the water on and filled it.
"Zeke... what're..." Casey said, but when Zeke slugged back a large mouthful and turned to Casey, cheeks puffed out with as much water as they could hold, the boy backed away fast. "NO! Don't, it was an accident!!"
Zeke hmm-hmm'ed as he jetted after the now retreating young man. He almost managed to slam his bedroom door in Zeke's liquid-filled face, but Zeke threw his body into it before it could shut closed. Casey yelped and jumped back as Zeke advanced, water at the ready. "P-Please, Zeke--don't spit at me," Casey pleaded in the sweetest voice ever.
"Mmm?" Zeke took slow steps toward Casey, whose back eventually met the wall. Trapped, Casey made a wide-eyed, fearful expression; it only grew when Zeke got inches in front of his face, both hands framing the boy's shoulders to get close. God, he smelled good.
"Zeke, it's me... Casey... your friend. Remember?" Casey said, much like someone trying to convince a murderous madman to spare their life. The batting lashes, parted lips--who COULD spit all over that? Zeke thought it over a moment before swallowing, gasping and sighing--but he stayed in his spot, staring Casey down.
"You owe me, boy," he said.
Casey made a weak smile then darted his eyes down. They moved up slowly until they met Zeke's. "You're um... kinda... close."
Zeke almost let it get to him--the insecurity, bashfulness, even fear--but no. Not this time. Who said he couldn't 'make an entrance'? "Yea. I know," he softly replied.
"You..." Casey paused to swallow, furrow his brow for one nanosecond before his expression evened out, quiet and emotionless. "...You want to be this close?"
"Mmhmm," Zeke immediately hummed in reply. Seeing as Casey hadn't kicked him in the nuts yet, he had hope. "You want me to be this close?"
The sight of parting lips, a tongue darting out to give the lower one a tiny lick... "It's nice," Casey softly replied.
Oh god. Jack-fucking-pot. Zeke's nose twitched from both nerves and mounting excitement. He sniffed it away as he asked, "What would happen if I got closer?"
"Probably what you'd want from it," Casey said.
Zeke raised his eyebrows then finally, finally moved in. With one small cock of the head he aligned his lips to Casey's with the most perfect, expert kiss he could give. Like a key to its lock, Casey immediately melded and let Zeke open his mouth with his. No movie in the world with all the romantic leads in them could make a kiss this sublime, in Zeke's opinion. They didn't need scripts or blocking, just this--just two eager boys that had finally come to the conclusion that they were so totally gay for each other.
For someone who'd claimed to be a virgin... Christ, Casey was either a liar or had gone through many pillows and mirrors with furious practice-sessions. His tongue moved like a warm, solid wave against Zeke's, probing down deep and moving around to savor this lover's kiss. Zeke wasn't a virgin, and HIS experience served him well, made him match every movement Casey made until he needed to take it up a notch. His knees unlocked to allow the last step that closed off the space between them, his body going up against Casey's to pin him to the wall. The boy gasped, jerked then pulled back to stare at Zeke with half-lidded eyes. His hands then lifted and were placed on Zeke's shoulders; they slid down his arms and up again, down... then to Zeke's chest, all to run his palms over the thin t-shirt Zeke wore. Bunching fabric snagged over Zeke's nipples and he hissed. Casey snapped his eyes down to his actions then focused attention to the tented cloth with his thumbs. Blunt nails pressed in, making Zeke jerk and put his forehead to Casey's. While the boy explored Zeke's body, Zeke decided to take it up yet another notch by trailing his fingers down Casey's slim hips to the waist of his pants.
The boy made one tiny tremble as thumbs hooked themselves past it and brought them down, revealing swatches of skin one excruciating inch at a time. When the clothing snagged on the engorged, more-than-likely aching shaft underneath, Zeke snarled and made a more insistent tug. He almost cooed at the way Casey's cock was tugged downward then smacked into the boy's belly. All thought and reason fled as Zeke filled his hand with Casey's balls, pliable, loose skin getting massaged... Casey made a soft ha-ah before shimmying the pants down his legs and kicking them gently away. It left him just as he was made; beautifully naked, open, one big beautiful invitation to flesh-dreamland.
To enjoy this 'dream' further, Casey moved away from the wall and backed Zeke up to the bed, their panting mouths inches apart until Zeke sat in a heap. "Lay down," Casey whispered. He could've said, 'Run outside naked and do the white-boy-two-step in my driveway' and Zeke would be there, so of course, Zeke complied. This made him get a different vantage point, looking up at Casey instead of down. The position let Casey have his way, his first act of business being Zeke's boxers. They were shucked off quickly and his legs opened, giving Casey a full-on view of dark hair and hard, jutting flesh. Zeke stared down at himself, picturing his dick being enveloped in Casey's hot, tight ass. He almost jumped when Casey brought his knees up onto the bed and crawled over Zeke's legs to his groin, where he lowered himself. Now cock-to-cock, sac-to-sac, Zeke snarled and hissed up at Casey, who settled in with squirming thighs and rocking hips.
"You lied," Zeke said. Casey cocked an eyebrow.
"Lied?"
"Mmm. You've done this before."
The intense look Casey had been wearing melted into a bashful smile. "Yea. I have."
'I'll kill the bastard,' Zeke thought, but he fought a sly grin on his face instead. "With who, exactly?"
Casey rolled his tongue around his mouth as he lifted Zeke's shirt up to his neck. As he lowered himself down to start lapping along Zeke's collarbone, he murmured, "This absolutely amazing body... pillow."
Giggles erupted in Zeke's chest, shaking along the tongue-attention it was getting. "A body-pillow?"
"Mmm. Mom got it at K-Mart for me when I was twelve, after appendix surgery. Nice and firm, long... like you." Casey accentuated his words with his hand, which reached down to frame Zeke's dick. Zeke stiffened and stretched his toes out as far as they could go as Casey made one long stroke, balls to tip before sitting up again. "If she'd known how dirty I'd gotten with that thing, she'd have had me committed."
This boy held many, many, lovely secrets. "Show me... what you did to that poor, awesome pillow."
Casey's grin widened as he braced his hands on the mattress, opened his thighs wider to spread over Zeke's hips and groin with as much friction as he could make--and moved, his ass rolling up and down to grind himself against Zeke's body. Zeke stiffened and stilled and let Casey do the work, which was pretty fucking masterful. He dipped his hips to one side with every small movement up, then ground them in a slow, hard circle before lifting up--and again, and again, until Zeke felt mindless with pleasure. He finally couldn't help himself; both hands went up and behind Casey to grab each side of his ass, his fingertips pressing so hard into the skin he'd be leaving bruises--dents. Casey moaned then dropped down, lips and teeth finding a nipple to latch onto. Zeke's eyes rolled to the back of his head and closed. This had to be the most experienced virgin he'd ever met--no awkwardness or uncertainty, just a young man who'd turned a simple pillow into a tool of ultimate self-gratification. Zeke wanted to show Casey what he'd missed out on, however; with both hands, he spread Casey's ass and sneaked a finger to the hot center, finding Casey's stretched anus waiting for his touch. The boy outright mewled and moved his body up to give Zeke more room.
"Your pillow never did this, did it?" Zeke asked directly into the shell of Casey's ear. He nipped and licked at it, making the boy quiver and moan.
"Why do... d-do you think I got so excited over that zucchini?"
The breathy, possible-admittance made Zeke stop everything to laugh out loud. "No, you have NOT--Casey, don't even tell me..."
"NO! I'm fuckin' kidding, Mom would kill me!"
"Why? Because you defiled yourself with a vegetable, or the horror of wasted food??"
Casey lifted himself up on his hands and glare-smirked down at the older boy. "First of all... it's a fruit."
"Oh, my apologies," Zeke said while tittering.
"And secondly... I've always had a thing for phallic imagery. Nothing wrong with fantasizing, is there?"
"Mmm, no. No," Zeke said. Sighing the giggles away, he hoisted Casey up a little then used his hips to guide the boy onto his side. Having a small distance between them was stimulating, the way their cocks brushed up against each other as they settled in making them both hum with pleasure. With Casey's leg snaking itself up onto Zeke's hip, Zeke shimmied closer to let their stomachs meet. He brought a hand down between them to rub their flesh together, tugging at Casey's balls with his fingertips with every deep reach. "You knew early on that long phallic fruits had NOTHING on the real thing and didn't spoil it for yourself. Good boy."
Casey tittered lightly as Zeke kissed the tip of his nose then sighed into yet another kiss, harder and more insistent than their first. The bed creaked and rocked like a boat swaying in the waves, their own personal ocean-of-pleasure moving them together with precise perfection. It was all limbs and clenching toes, Zeke's ass getting kneaded by Casey's feet in order to press him in tight and hot. Minutes stretched into an hour full of nothing but this--two boys exploring each other through hip-curls, grabbing, giggling and moans. For the first time in Zeke's life, he had someone naked that he didn't want to rush into anything with, both figuratively and literally. Parental units being absent or not, there was something to this tangled mess that they were making that just felt right.
And Zeke always preferred handjobs to blowjobs, anyway. Having a mutual masturbation, both hands wrapped into a fist around both dicks was an excruciating pleasure, one that left them spent and passing out moments after their post-coital kiss.
~*~
"What's... this?"
Zeke looked up from the potatoes he'd just finished mixing to find Mrs. Connor walking in. "Hey, Mrs. C.--how was the romantic night out?"
"Oh..." The woman pursed her lips, blushed then made a thin-lipped smile. "...Nothing... you need to know about."
"Ahh..."
"Hey, Mom!" Casey, just hopping out of the pantry said with a chipper smile.
"Hi, honey... are you making supper?"
"Yup. For ALL of us," Casey said, just as his father walked in. Mr. Connor sniffed the air and raised his eyebrows.
"SOME-thing smells good," he said.
"Garlic mashed potatoes with herbed chicken thighs," Casey said.
"Oh. I hope you didn't use the last box of potatoes, though, I'd planned a dinner around it," Mrs. Connor said.
"No, no boxed." Casey went over to the sink, reached down to the garbage disposal's opening and lifted the potato peels Zeke had sent into it. "We went to Stop & Shop, got a ton of good stuff for dinner."
Mrs. Connor blinked with wild wonder and shock. "But... their prices! Honey, it's a bit extravagant there."
"No, not really. I got their flyer from yesterday's paper, marked down all the sales and dove into the coupon-book," Casey said; he then produced a receipt from his pocket, unfolded it and showed it off. "I got ALL of this at the same price we usually spend. See? I know my stuff."
Mr. Connor sucked in his smile as he went to the fridge for a beer, while Mrs. Connor slipped her glasses on, took the paper and inspected it with a wise, watchful eye. "Wow... this is... a good job, honey," she eventually replied.
"But there's more. Me 'n Zeke drove out to Canton to the 'Whole Foods' market, and--"
"Wait, wait--wait." Mrs. Connor put on a stern expression. "If there's ONE place that does not offer low prices, it's that money-vacuum."
"For most groceries? Yea," Casey said. He wore a triumphant grin as he led his mother to the pantry, flicked the light on and waved towards the shelves. The many plastic baggies stuffed with herbs, spices and other staples sat there. "But not THIS stuff. Bought by the pound--and organic. Remember the cardamom you got for pies last Christmas?"
"Oh, that. I don't care HOW good it made them taste, never. Again," Mrs. Connor haltingly replied. "Eight dollars for a half ounce? Insane."
Casey reached over to one of the baggies; a filled-to-the-brim one and presented it to her. "A little over two whole ounces, for five bucks," he said. "And all this, here? I did the math. Where we'd spend about thirty-five dollars, we got it all at less than HALF the price, and the quality WAY outweighs the jarred stuff. Just look at the oregano alone..."
Zeke hummed as he went over to the sinks, trying not to laugh. As Casey introduced his mother to a whole new world of food-shopping, Mr. Connor met Zeke's side, grabbed his opposite shoulder and reeled him in to give Zeke a hard side-hug. "I LOVE you, Zeke Tyler," he hissed out with a chuckle.
All Zeke did was wink and smile, praying that the man wouldn't have a problem with the reason he and Casey planned this feast. Hopefully, Mr. Connor would hold onto the fact that Zeke had all but single-handedly saved him from a lifetime of bland, boring dinners when Casey announced HIS love for Zeke, as well.
Title: Some Assembly Required--2/End
Pairing/Characters: C/Z, Mr. and Mrs. Connor
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Don't own!
Synopsis: A crack!fickish romp wherein Zeke learns about the dangers of frugality.
Part 1
"Aren't we gonna get your computer first?"
Zeke turned back to Casey, who was motioning the the 'Best Buy' they'd just passed. "Why? You wanna carry it around for me? Cos' I ain't--"
"We can bring it back to the car?" Casey said.
"Or... we can roam around having fun first and make the computer our last stop. Does that or does that not make sense...?" Zeke asked. For a moment, Casey looked conflicted but eventually rolled his eyes and kept walking with Zeke, who smiled. "So, where to first?"
"I dunno."
"Didn't give it any thought on the ride here, huh? Yea, it's a titch overwhelming..." Zeke looked around at the array of shops, a whole two floors with a food-court-basement below. "...I ain't a huge mall-rat, but there're some good spots here."
"Can we at least walk a little faster?" Casey asked.
"Why? It's not even two in the afternoon, and this joint's open 'til ten on Saturdays," Zeke replied.
Casey cocked an eyebrow. "We are not spending eight hours here."
"Maybe not. But you... are spending fifty dollars here, boy." Zeke winked and nudged Casey's arm. The boy groaned; Zeke mimicked it, adding more drama before chuckling and saying, "C'mon, lighten up."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Free country."
"What... did you do to my dad?"
Zeke stopped--had to, as Casey was now parking his adorable ass at the corner of the glass railing overlooking the second floor. "'Do'?" Zeke said. "Nothing. I just ran into him at the plaza on Pine."
"Where in the plaza?" Casey sounded suspicious; he even narrowed his eyes as if he knew something was up.
"If I tell you, you can't run off to find out where they are to rat him out to Mom--"
"I KNEW it. He was at McDonald's again, wasn't he?"
Zeke stilled and raised his eyebrows. "How'd you know?"
"Well, he doesn't know that I know, but after school a few months ago, I went down to Pine Plaza to go to Walgreen's. They were having a sale on spiral notebooks, two for a dollar..."
Zeke almost drifted off... this again...
"...And there he was, leaning on the car talking on his cell while shoving chicken nuggets in his mouth. At two-thirty in the feckin' afternoon!"
"Okay. So?"
"'So'? The rule of the house has always been not to eat too close to dinner--and I ain't stupid, Zeke," Casey said, pausing a moment to take a deep breath. "I've found 'evidence' in the car, when he thinks he's thrown everything away. So I know that wasn't some random thing, grabbing a quick bite after Mom packed him enough lunch to feed an army. I wouldn't be surprised if he throws it away."
"He has. I saw him do it myself," Zeke brashly replied. Casey's eyebrows rose.
"Ohhh... I was right. Good. Very good. Glad he's so damned wasteful," he said.
"And you're just itching to run around to try and find your mom so you can tell on him, aren't you?" Zeke said. When all Casey did was stare back at him, Zeke moved in closer. "No one's saying your mom's cooking sucks. Myself? I didn't dig last night's dinner, but big deal. It had its good points. The biscuits were sex. But if I was your dad, eating MY weight in beans and rice every damned night? He's a fuckin' saint, Casey, sorry."
"That's... really rude," Casey said.
"What's really rude is insisting that someone come home from work and eat the same damned thing every day just cos' they're outvoted--or too chicken-shit to say 'boo' about it," Zeke said before stepping away. "Fifty bucks. Let's figure it out."
For a moment, Zeke worried that he'd crossed a line and Casey would run off to the car, refusing to do anything until the mall closed. He was surprised when Casey let out a hot, angry breath but followed Zeke. He didn't look his way and he set a cold, mean expression ahead of him, but it was progress. Maybe.
~*~
It'd been a full fifteen minutes before they spoke again, and it was just Casey saying, "I'll be down there," while pointing to the far side of the CVS they'd stopped at. It wasn't a fun-filled boutique, but Zeke needed razors. He took a page from his own book; instead of getting the four pack of cheap Bic shavers, he picked out the brand he'd seen in a commercial on TV, which had involved overdramatic music, a team of scientists from the future and a man who ended up getting a promotion because of the super-fantastic-amazing product somehow. It cost twice the amount that the Bics did and it probably sucked balls, but he'd give it a try.
His decision made, he made his way down the middle aisle and looked down each row. He finally spotted Casey bending down to a lower shelf in the housewares aisle. Housewares? Zeke frowned and walked over, just in time to see Casey take out a sponge. "Casey?" Zeke said.
"Yea?"
"Sponges?"
"I'm just checking. We have a few under the sink, but it wouldn't hurt to get more. The one we're using now is getting ratty," Casey said in a distant voice as he plucked another brand of sponge from the top shelf. He looked between the choices; Zeke realized what he was doing with a groan.
"You're comparing prices. Aren't you," he stated blankly.
"AND quality. If it makes you happy, I'm choosing the more expensive one," Casey said.
Zeke had to smirk as he leaned in to look at the price-stickers. "Yea, eighteen-cents extra. Wild. I just totally jizzed my pants."
"Jerk," Casey spat as he rolled his eyes, tossed the cheaper choice back to the bottom shelf and stalked off.
~*~
Casey shook his head briskly. "No. No, that's insane."
"It's not insane, it's lemonade."
"ONE lemon, two cents worth of sugar if that, water and ice. They're making over two dollars and fifty cents profit per serving!"
Had Zeke been in love with this pile of neurotic problems? 'You are, shut the fuck up,' he thought as he turned back to the now-stopped Casey. "You don't have to make it. The six-and-a-quarter salaried worker does."
"See? Zeke, can't you see what I'm saying..." Casey drifted off.
"Yea, I can. I'm not stupid. If I suddenly want fresh lemonade, my first instinct isn't to drive all the way to the mall, expend the gas to roam around looking for a spot, walk until my feet hurt to the lemonade shop, wait in line for a half an hour so I can enjoy something I could've gotten in half the time with a fuckton less money," Zeke said. He moved his head and face down to get eye-level with Casey while wearing a sickeningly-sweet smile. "The point is that we're here, we're shopping, and I am so fucking thirsty I could slice your carotid and quench myself THAT way."
Casey pursed his lips then made a tiny nod. "Fine. Get your lemonade, I'll wait at the bench for you."
"You don't want one?"
"Pfft, no."
"'K, suit yourself."
Zeke left Casey to it and made his way to the small line going to the 'Lenny's Lemons' booth. As he pictured himself sipping from a tall, ice-cold cup full of lemonade, his eyes fell upon an interesting variation listed on the menu. It wasn't long before he was being smiled at and asked, "Hello, Sir; how can I help you?" by one of the youngest mall-workers Zeke had ever seen.
"Yeeea... what's..." He pointed to the large picture advertising a new drink. "...the 'Lemon Cream Yum-tini?"
"Ooh, it's MY fave, actually; lemonade with blueberries, crushed ice, sugar blended together with vanilla syrup," the girl replied.
"Yea. That."
"Small or large?"
"Cement mixer."
The girl giggled and went to make it. Zeke watched the process; this was something he could make at home, easy, but he wouldn't have known about it if he hadn't decided to drop in. He probably wouldn't have even thought it up. After the girl finished with the blender, capped the drink and brought it over, she rang him in. "Three-fifty-eight," she said.
Zeke handed over the cash, got his change and thanked the girl. On his way back to Casey, he stuck the straw in his mouth, took a sip... 'Oh sweet Jesus,' he thought as the flavors smacked into his tongue and throat...
"Thought you were getting lemonade," Casey said upon his return.
"Glad I changed my mind," he murmured.
"Why, what is it?"
"A lemon cream..." He shot a glance back to the stand. "...Yum-tini."
"Ah, fancy words. That's how they get you," Casey replied.
"Yup. I fell hook, line and sinker, and like fuck if I'm sharing this religious experience with a heathen like you," Zeke said with a wink.
"Hmm. I'm crying inside. What's the blue shit?"
"Blueberries."
Casey blinked wildly. "Blueberries?"
"Yea. Why... you like blueberries?" Zeke asked.
"Well, yea." Casey looked as if he was riiiight on that edge, but he went from staring at the transparent cup to clearing his throat and shrugging. "There's a blueberry farm at the edge of town, almost NO one knows about it. A buck a pint. I can eat blueberries 'til I burst after just one visit."
"Ah, but you're not thinking ahead," Zeke said in a mischievous tone. "That's actually pretty wasteful."
"Hah, yea? Says the one who just spent HOW much money on ice and fruit?"
"Ah, but after eating blueberries, as you say, ''til you burst', lands you in a heap of shit. Literally." Zeke held up his free hand and mimed counting. "So, calculating the cost of the toilet paper you use... and the exact amount of Pepto you'll need to feel like a functioning human being again--"
Casey smacked his fingers and grunted. "You're a jerk," he said. Before Zeke could worry, he saw the smile Casey was desperately trying to fight, eventually losing.
~*~
Though Casey hadn't spent any of his money--besides the extra-expensive sponge--Zeke had gotten Casey to meet him halfway. It'd been easy to see the sudden long look Casey had given to the mannequin in the 'H&M' window, and if Zeke were to be completely honest with the boy, he was dying to see how that absolutely sexy thin, gray fabric, v-necked with buttons shirt looked on him.
"It's that I don't... need it," Casey had said in a strained voice.
"It was on sale."
"Over fourteen bucks isn't 'sale' to me."
"It'd look hot on you."
No matter how casual Zeke had tried sounding, Casey had still barked out a lone laugh and given him an incredulous expression. "Hot? Me? Does not compute, does not compute..." he said in a robot voice.
"You're hot," Zeke said, adding a shrug real quick.
"How exactly am I 'hot'? And what kinda judge can you be on how hot me, a guy, is?"
Zeke gave up trying to encourage and went straight to 'evade'. "Okay, put it on a list of possibilities. See if there's something else you want more, and if you don't, you come back and try it on."
"Yea. Okay," Casey said without pause.
"Whoa. You agreed with me," Zeke said with mock amazement.
Casey chuckled and shrugged, saying, "Yea? That made sense. It's a good compromise." The boy sighed and his smile softened. "Look, yea, I'm a pain in the ass with this stuff. But it doesn't mean that I won't listen to reason... sometimes."
~*~
"Window-shop. ANOTHER reasonable compromise. C'mon."
"That's not 'window-shopping', it's a well-laid trap."
Zeke sighed and kept walking to the 'Godiva' shop, where an aproned girl was demonstrating something at the front of the shop near the entrance. It was something wonderful, Zeke knew it. "Wanna hear a secret?" Zeke turned to Casey to ask. When Casey smirked and shrugged, Zeke leaned in and whispered, "I turn into a chick around chocolate."
Casey chuckled and gave Zeke an odd look. "A chick, huh?"
"On the rag, emotional, weepy and sucking back chocolate any way I can get it," Zeke said. "Do you like chocolate?"
"Sure, love it."
Zeke cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "Liar."
"What? I do," Casey replied.
"You've never HAD chocolate."
"Yes I have! The hell, Tyler..."
"You ever eaten Godiva's chocolate?" Zeke asked. When Casey shook his head, Zeke smacked his lips. "Then you've never had chocolate."
"Then I guess I'll never have chocolate, cos' like hell if I'm spending eight Hershey bars' worth of cash for one stupid truffle," Casey said.
"C'mon. Window shop," Zeke said, grabbing Casey by the shoulder of his jacket and dragging him over. Casey went, groaning the whole way. Once at the demonstration, Zeke's eyes flared wide before narrowing. "And what... are these, fair maiden?"
The girl looked up, blushed and smiled. "These... are Godiva's famous fruit-cups," she said while bringing a spoonful of melted chocolate to drizzle over the little chocolate shells filled with fresh raspberries, blackberries and...
"Blueberries, Casey. Where do you get your blueberries, do you know? Cos' there's this field out at the edge of town, only a buck a--"
Zeke was cut off by a slap to the back from Casey. Though the girl shot a confused expression between them she said, "Hmm, dunno. I DO know that I'll probably die with one of these in my mouth. It's an experience."
"How much is that 'experience' worth?" Zeke asked.
"Three-ninety-nine plus tax."
"Of for fuck's sake..." Casey blurted. Zeke shot him a look then turned back to the worker.
"Don't mind him. I'll take two."
"Milk or dark?" the girl asked while getting a small box ready.
"Milk, and don't bother with the box. Just give 'em," Zeke replied with a wink.
With a nod and giggle, she grabbed a piece of wax paper, took two of the still-warm chocolates and handed them over. Zeke gave her a ten, catching sight of Casey's nostrils flaring as she made his change. "Thanks, boys. Enjoy," she told them.
"I will, thanks," Zeke said.
"Eight and change. That's what you just did," Casey didn't waste any time harping on Zeke, but as if he cared. Zeke went to a bench and sat down, looking into his hand.
"Oh god, I almost can't eat 'em. It's so... pretty," he said, touching the raspberry on top with a gentle fingertip.
"Can we head to the bathroom?"
"Gotta take a piss?"
"No, I just wanna check to see if you still have your dick attached to your body or not."
Zeke couldn't help the chuckle-fit. "Aw, ain't you a prick? Here."
Casey gave the chocolate Zeke was handing over a disapproving look. "It's too much, Zeke. Really. I'll feel... dirty."
"Feeling dirty can be awesome. C'mon." Zeke lifted the chocolate to Casey's chin, edging it closer and closer to his mouth. "C'mon, just a little bite. C'mooon..."
"Are you seriously feeding me chocolates in the middle of a crowded mall, thus making everyone think we're fucki--" Casey was cut off by Zeke giving the chocolate a nudge, causing the lip of the cup to go into Casey's mouth.
He shuddered. Casey actually shuddered then stilled in an instant, eyes darting down to look at Zeke's hand and the lustful sweet-treat it held. Casey sniffed then opened his lips wider, letting half of the confection inside. With a satisfied grin, Zeke watched as Casey sank his teeth into the warm chocolate and cool fruit and took off a piece to eat. Zeke stared at Casey as he stayed still--he wasn't chewing. The chocolate-experience was sitting on the boy's tongue, being rolled around gently to enjoy the taste properly. Casey's hands met and fingers folded together, his thumbs running over each other as he sank into bliss. Feeling like he'd won the lottery, Zeke popped the other half into his mouth and closed his eyes. Finely-tuned, expertly made chocolate spread over his tongue and along his teeth, inside of his cheek...
"Oh... I feel it," he whispered. "Don't lie to me, Casey. Don't you dare motherfucking lie to me."
"No. N-No, this is good."
"How good?"
"It..." Casey paused to moan, swallow a little then run his tongue over his lower lip. "...It almost makes me mad at how good it is."
An odd expression. "How so?" Zeke asked next.
"Like--I wanna taste that all the time, but I'd go bankrupt."
Zeke gave in, swallowed the remnants of his chocolate and laughed. "You GOT fifty bucks. Well, after the sponge, but that was what, a dollar?"
"Ninety-eight cents."
"You kept the receipt, right?"
Casey's dreamy expression faded and he rolled his eyes. "Yea. Can't believe my dad, 'I wanna SEE what you spent, Son!'"
"Mmm. How proud would he be... if you went up to him with a receipt showing that you spent fifteen bucks or more on chocolate?" Zeke said, not realizing that he'd leaned in to whisper it directly into the boy's ear. It took Casey turning to him slowly, their faces mere inches apart for Zeke to sit back in his spot. Casey wore a muted smile before turning to look at the shop.
"Um... well, I'll... two." Casey nodded and stood. "I'll get two. I think I'm gonna go back to H&M and get that shirt. Maybe... the jeans that were with it on the mannequin."
"That's my boy," Zeke said with another wide grin, not caring in the slightest as to how that sounded.
~*~
"I dunno, the jeans are a bit tight..."
Zeke's jeans felt tight, too, watching the just-emerged-from-the-changing-room Casey turn to check his back in the full length mirror next to where Zeke sat. The way the shirt was pinched at Casey's sides, the small tease of flesh where the top's buttons were undone... "I like it," he said in a blurt.
"Yea? I'm not used to tight jeans, though. I'll feel like everyone's staring at my ass," Casey said.
'They will,' Zeke said, now picturing himself beating up oglers with a baseball bat. Casey sighed and turned to Zeke with a quirky grin.
"Should I just say 'fuck it' and put this shit in my closet?"
All Zeke could do now was nod. Trying to talk would make him look like a caveman-idiot, never mind the fact that drool had pooled in his mouth. One word and his front would be soaked. Casey shrugged and hopped back to the changing room.
"'K, back in a sec," he said.
Zeke nodded and fought to swallow the river of spit. Once he felt safe enough, he opened his mouth and let a shaky breath escape. His eyes were planted on the slatted door, where Casey was taking the clothes off. Eyes darted down to the floor, where he could see Casey's feet. There it was--denim dropped, being kicked off, showing off that gorgeous little body to no one. What a waste.
This was it--Zeke had had it. He was going over to that door, knocking and telling Casey that they needed to make out, right then and there.
"Hey, Zeke!"
The young man whipped around, finding Mr. Connor standing there with a big grin on his face. "OH. Hey," he said.
"Is Casey trying on clothes? Please say he is," Mr. Connor said.
"Y-Yea. He's buying... an outfit," Zeke said.
"Awe-some." Mr. Connor grinned and nodded behind him. "The missus is trying to look interested in the dress section. I gotta say, this place screams 'sexy'."
'You have no idea,' Zeke thought as Casey came out, fully dressed in his old clothing, new outfit draped over his arm.
"Oh, hi, Dad," he said.
"Good to see you using that money wisely," Mr. Connor replied, still grinning. "I'll want those receipts, though."
"I know, geez..."
Zeke cleared his throat and stood. "So, uh--after this, how much cash is left?" he asked the boy.
"Fifteen and some change," Casey replied. He turned back to his father, cocking an eyebrow. "I DID make sure this stuff was on sale, so don't get TOO excited. I'm not going that hog-wild."
"Fine by me, as long as it's something you like," Mr. Connor said just as his wife arrived, holding up a dress.
"It's nice, but TOO slinky... oh. Hi, boys," she said.
"Hey Mom," Casey said. "Everything okay?"
"Well... I guess. I might get this dress, but it seems a bit expensive."
Zeke caught a look at the dangling price-tag and wanted to groan. Not only was the original price at an easy twenty-eight dollars, a good price for a boutique that didn't have a bright red 'K' involved, but it had a yellow '40%' sticker over the bar-code. He sighed as mother and son bantered about their 'torment', giving Mr. Connor looks. The man seemed pleased however as he put a hand on Mrs. Connor's shoulder.
"Go try it on, buttercup. I can't wait to see you in it," he said.
"Fine, fine. Bye, boys, have fun."
Casey sighed and walked out from the dressing room's main entrance, Zeke following. As Casey went on and on about how he had 'NO idea how to spend the rest of this cash,' Zeke stared away at Casey's ass. It was hidden by baggy denim, but he could still make out its shape. 'Fuck, I want that on my dick,' he thought with such a suddenness, he almost blundered into a tall rack of earrings.
~*~
This was it--THE test. If they got through this last task unscathed, Casey was well on his way to the world of stupid-spending. It'd been a wonder that Zeke managed to get him into this place without needing to stick him with a tranquilizer shot to begin with. But after opening 'Applebee's menu, Casey's eyes went wide and he shot them up to look at Zeke.
"Zeke... let's go to McD's."
"Why? Have you ever had their fajita bur... no, dumb question--"
"It's WAY too expensive!" Casey said in an urgent hiss.
"Here we go," their waitress, 'Hermy' if her nametag was right, said as she placed two glasses on the table. "Your peach iced tea..." she shoved the giant glass of sweet-fruity delight to Zeke. "And your water with lemon."
Zeke sighed as Casey nodded curtly but cordially to the girl as he took his drink. 'Little steps...' he reminded himself.
"Need a few more minutes?" Hermy asked.
"Yea, just a little longer, thanks," Zeke said.
The girl smiled and went on her way to her next table. Zeke sighed and resumed looking over the menu. "Yea. Appetizer platter, definitely," he said, pointing to the picture. Casey leaned in to look.
"That isn't an appetizer. That's a buffet," he said.
"It's meant to share, doofus. So we'll share it," Zeke replied.
"Fine. That'll be it for me."
Zeke smirked and shook his head slowly. "Ohh no, boy. Pick something worth at LEAST twelve bucks. I already said I'd cover the tip," he said.
"I don't see why... I mean, this, it's--food," Casey said. "I'll admit it; you and dad, you're right, I should have more fun with money. But seriously, I don't feel comfortable buying a meal me or Mom could've made for pennies."
"Because you and your mom didn't have to make it."
"It takes minutes in some cases. Those biscuits you loved so much? Flour, heavy cream, salt, baking powder and butter on the burner."
Sighing, Zeke opened his menu again and looked over the choices. "Casey--when was the last time you had steak?" he asked.
Casey sniffed and frowned. "Steak? Why steak, when ground beef has the same exact--"
"Oh for Chrissake, Casey... 'why steak?' Because it's fucking delicious," Zeke interrupted. "Okay, when HAVE you had steak? Ever?"
"Yea, a couple times. And okay, it's good, but nothing I'd jump off a bridge for," Casey replied.
Zeke sat back, regarding Casey a moment. "Who made the steak?"
"Mom. And she wasn't thrilled about it. Dad brought a few home, swearing they were cheap, on sale, whatever. They were... okay," Casey said.
The puzzle pieces were starting to fit. Zeke nodded quick and looked back at the steak choices. "You're getting the nine-ounce sirloin. It comes with sides, I suggest the garlic mashed potatoes."
"If it's over twelve bucks--"
"Ten-ninety-nine. Even the tax is covered," Zeke said with a shit-eating grin. Casey sighed but held up his hands in surrender.
"Mmkay."
~*~
"I can't eat it by myself."
"Then you should've gotten it as a meal, instead of going for the sliders and fries on TOP of it. Anyway--twelve bucks. I can't contribute for my end of eating it."
Zeke sucked his lower lip between his teeth, pulled the giant appetizer platter between them and gave Casey a hard look. "Sometimes... when you go out to dinner with someone, you can share. I'm sharing with you, I got it for BOTH of us."
"But you don't have to," Casey said.
"I KNOW that." Zeke fiddled with a mozzarella stick, dipping it into the sauce and bringing it up to his lips. Before taking a bite, he said, "There might be times when you're broke, but I wanna go out, have fun--eat out. My wanting that means I pay for it all. You don't have to take it, but I'd enjoy it."
Casey took a deep breath then finally unfolded his arms. "Okay. I'll have some. SOME. Otherwise, you're taking some of this stuff home in a doggy bag."
Success. Sort of. Zeke smiled and chomped into the stick. "Mmm," he hummed, loving the cheesy-breaded flavor exploding in his mouth. He watched Casey take a tortilla chip and move it to the dip provided.
"What is this, anyway?" Casey asked.
"Guacamole."
"What's that?"
It was hard not to laugh out loud. "Avocado, tomatoes, onions and spices," Zeke replied.
~*~
Hermy returned with their dinners just in time.
"Let me get this outta the way for you guys," she said as she grabbed the large, empty appetizer tray. Casey made a small belch while wearing a guilty look; Zeke knew why.
"Too good to resist, huh?" Zeke said.
"I guess," Casey tried shrugging casually, even if he still hadn't managed to wipe all the avocado off of his lips and chin.
"You loved it," Zeke replied with a wink just as his main dish was placed in front of him. The small grouping of little, greasy burgers made him lick his lips. "Never had these before."
"They're mini-burgers. Nothing spe..."
Zeke looked up, wondering why Casey had stopped speaking so suddenly. The reason sat in front of the boy, apparently; the hot, steaming steak with fluffy mashed potatoes was being stared at with awe. 'Oh, he's done for,' Zeke thought as Hermy stepped back with a smile.
"Have a good dinner, guys," she said.
"Thanks," Zeke replied. Now left alone with their meals, Zeke raised his freshly-refilled tea towards Casey. "To eating-out."
Casey blinked a moment then put his water up to clink the glasses together. "Yea, I guess."
''I guess' nothing,' Zeke thought as he took a sip, put the glass down then started in on his first little burger. Casey had been wrong--big surprise--as the restaurant-styled dish was better than every other burger Zeke had ever enjoyed. The grease of it made his fingers and lips glisten as he ate, the meat thin but flavorful. "Mmhmm, hits the fuckin' spot," he said between chews. He looked at Casey, who was slicing into the steak with slow, careful movements. It was as if he thought the slab of meat was going to jump up and bite him in the face with how apprehensive he looked, but soon enough, a bite had been cut and Casey drew it to his lips.
A camera would've been good to have. Casey chewed very, very slowly, his eyes bugging out a little. "How's it?" Zeke asked.
Casey suddenly dropped his fork and covered his mouth. "Oh god," he murmured.
"What?"
"It's..." Casey gave Zeke a panicked look and let his hand fall away for him to say, "...Mom can't cook steak."
"Hmm, that good, huh?" Zeke said with a smile.
"This isn't funny! She... oh god, Zeke..."
"Try a bite of this." Zeke went to hand Casey the last bite of his first burger, but the boy shook his head briskly.
"No, I can't," he said.
"Why not?"
"Just looking at it says Mom can't cook burgers, either."
Zeke sighed and didn't insist. He popped the bite into his mouth and shrugged. "She just needs to try new shit, that's all. She's stuck to a standard for decades," he said.
"Oh Christ. Dad. Poor Dad," Casey said as he next moved onto the potatoes.
FI-nally, it hit. Zeke nodded. "Your mom is awesome, Casey. I wish I had one like her. But that doesn't mean she can't throw a spring of basil into a dish from time to time," he said.
"Or some garlic into mashed potatoes."
Zeke looked back to Casey, finding him taking another heaping forkful of potato into his mouth. "Yup," he said.
Casey was outright moaning now as he ate, giving into another flavor-filled passion. 'Applebee's' wasn't anywhere near high-class; Zeke wondered what the kid would do if faced with a fifty-dollar lobster dinner in an expensive, Parisian-style restaurant. If Casey was getting orgasmic over a chain-diner's potatoes... 'He sounds so sweet,' Zeke thought as Casey made a soft sound of food-love. He needed to focus on dinner and make stupid conversation, lest he grab the back of Casey's neck and pull him into a hard, hot kiss, right there in front of everyone. The sporty, backwards-capped college guys at the nearby bar would tell stories for weeks.
~*~
"Wait..." Casey said as they pulled into the Connor's driveway. "...Didn't we go to the mall for a computer?"
Zeke shrugged and smirked. "Another time. Today--was YOUR day."
Casey smiled back, got out of the car and went to the backseat where his bags sat. The clothing, chocolates and stupid sponge were brought out and carried to the porch, Zeke following. Now inside the house, Casey said, "C'mon, let's go to my room, put this stuff away then find more pervs online."
"Yea, okay," Zeke said, though he really wanted to BE a perv, no internet needed. His eyes kept darting around in trying to avoid staring at Casey's gorgeous little backside which was only about a foot away from Zeke's face in climbing up the stairs. They reached the second floor, where Zeke breathed a sigh of relief in returning to their usual heights. Then again, it only reminded him of how he towered over the boy, how he could just snatch him up, grab at him, DO things...
Casey, dutiful as ever, went straight to his closet with the new clothes. The shirt was hung up and placed inside, while the jeans were brought over to the bureau. "I really did have fun, I'll admit it," Casey said. He turned to look at Zeke over his shoulder, wearing a wide grin. "And y'know... I COULD make that steak. Maybe with some cheese and stuff on top."
"Yea, y'could," Zeke mumbled as he sat on a beanbag chair.
"And like HELL if I can't whip up those potatoes. Cooked garlic, spices... mmm," Casey said. "I'll hafta look up recipes online. It'll be fun."
Recipes, potatoes... who cared? Zeke threw a foot up onto his knee and stared ahead at Casey's computer. "So..."
The phone in the hall started ringing then. Casey frowned and hopped-to, rushing out to answer it. "Hello?" Long pause. "Oh. Yea, okay, cool. Yea... sure. No, I'm good, yea. When will you be home?"
Zeke sat up a little, watching Casey's shadow pace against the hall's wall. The boy then hummed. "'K, I'll tell 'im. Have fun."
"What's up?" Zeke asked upon Casey's return.
"Well... Dad convinced Mom, somehow, that they're staying at 'Moonlight Lounge's' hotel tonight."
"Oooh..." Zeke said with a burst of chuckles.
"Shut up, man... ew," Casey said, though he chuckled bashfully as well. "N'aw, they deserve it. And they said that I can keep you another night."
'Keep you'... oh, Casey already had him without knowing it. Zeke smiled and looked away. "Yea, a'right."
"Maybe we can--yea! I'm gonna look up omelet recipes!"
Zeke watched as Casey rushed to the computer, flicked the screensaver away and began an online search. He sat up and put his arms over his knees, hands clasped between them as Casey went on and on, going over ingredient listings, whatever else...
~*~
The entire house was full of cozy-family warmth, but the bathroom was especially fluffy and welcoming. Mrs. Connor had a thing for puffy toilet lid covers with matching rugs for the bottom of the pot and bathmat. The shower held two curtains, one a see-through plastic with a flower design, the other a pale green that offered privacy. Food blunders or no, the woman knew how to make a home.
After relieving himself, Casey knocked on the door. "Done yet, Old Faithful?"
Zeke rolled his eyes. "Yea."
Casey entered the room wearing a smile and loose pajama pants--nothing more. Zeke swallowed hard and turned away from the shirtless young man quick; his toothbrush was plucked from the sink where he'd left it the night before. Not his toothbrush, per se, as he hadn't bothered bringing one, but Mrs. Connor had dug one out for him. "You can keep it here for when you have another sleepover," she'd told him with a wide, happy smile. If she'd known how wonderful it felt, knowing he had something as simple and silly as a toothbrush sitting in their home...
"So," Casey said as he set up his toothbrush. Zeke took the paste when he was finished and tried understanding Casey's foam-filled speech. "If ya wamt mah beda danigh, ya kin have id."
"Yer bed-a?" Zeke said while brushing himself.
"Mm-hurm," Casey replied.
Zeke wasn't planning on it, for the same reasons as he'd given the night before. He turned away to look at the curtained window, seeing shadows of tree branches rustling in the wind. he certainly wasn't going to focus any attention on Casey's exposed flesh, even if he'd seen it already. There was something to the lighting of the bathroom that made stark contrast out of everything... after a few moments of brushing, Zeke grunted and leaned down to spit into the sink at the same exact time he heard a liquid-filled gurgling from behind. Before he could stand up straight, he felt something lukewarm splash over the back of his head and neck, then a gasp.
"OH! Fuck! I..."
Zeke stayed still a moment; he raised a hand to touch his hair and found it soaked. "Casey, did you just..."
"Well--the hell! I was gargling!" Casey retorted. "Not MY fault you dove into the sink at the same time I spit!"
Zeke rolled his tongue around the inside of his cheek as he dared to stand. The action made spit-laced rivulets of gargle-water go down his back. He shivered and half-glared, half-smiled. "You just spit on me. All OVER me."
"I didn't mean to!" Casey said in a petulant voice. "You... you should be more careful the next time."
"Is that how it's gonna be?" Zeke said. Before Casey could answer, an evil grin crossed his lips; he reached for the cup next to the toothbrushes, turned the water on and filled it.
"Zeke... what're..." Casey said, but when Zeke slugged back a large mouthful and turned to Casey, cheeks puffed out with as much water as they could hold, the boy backed away fast. "NO! Don't, it was an accident!!"
Zeke hmm-hmm'ed as he jetted after the now retreating young man. He almost managed to slam his bedroom door in Zeke's liquid-filled face, but Zeke threw his body into it before it could shut closed. Casey yelped and jumped back as Zeke advanced, water at the ready. "P-Please, Zeke--don't spit at me," Casey pleaded in the sweetest voice ever.
"Mmm?" Zeke took slow steps toward Casey, whose back eventually met the wall. Trapped, Casey made a wide-eyed, fearful expression; it only grew when Zeke got inches in front of his face, both hands framing the boy's shoulders to get close. God, he smelled good.
"Zeke, it's me... Casey... your friend. Remember?" Casey said, much like someone trying to convince a murderous madman to spare their life. The batting lashes, parted lips--who COULD spit all over that? Zeke thought it over a moment before swallowing, gasping and sighing--but he stayed in his spot, staring Casey down.
"You owe me, boy," he said.
Casey made a weak smile then darted his eyes down. They moved up slowly until they met Zeke's. "You're um... kinda... close."
Zeke almost let it get to him--the insecurity, bashfulness, even fear--but no. Not this time. Who said he couldn't 'make an entrance'? "Yea. I know," he softly replied.
"You..." Casey paused to swallow, furrow his brow for one nanosecond before his expression evened out, quiet and emotionless. "...You want to be this close?"
"Mmhmm," Zeke immediately hummed in reply. Seeing as Casey hadn't kicked him in the nuts yet, he had hope. "You want me to be this close?"
The sight of parting lips, a tongue darting out to give the lower one a tiny lick... "It's nice," Casey softly replied.
Oh god. Jack-fucking-pot. Zeke's nose twitched from both nerves and mounting excitement. He sniffed it away as he asked, "What would happen if I got closer?"
"Probably what you'd want from it," Casey said.
Zeke raised his eyebrows then finally, finally moved in. With one small cock of the head he aligned his lips to Casey's with the most perfect, expert kiss he could give. Like a key to its lock, Casey immediately melded and let Zeke open his mouth with his. No movie in the world with all the romantic leads in them could make a kiss this sublime, in Zeke's opinion. They didn't need scripts or blocking, just this--just two eager boys that had finally come to the conclusion that they were so totally gay for each other.
For someone who'd claimed to be a virgin... Christ, Casey was either a liar or had gone through many pillows and mirrors with furious practice-sessions. His tongue moved like a warm, solid wave against Zeke's, probing down deep and moving around to savor this lover's kiss. Zeke wasn't a virgin, and HIS experience served him well, made him match every movement Casey made until he needed to take it up a notch. His knees unlocked to allow the last step that closed off the space between them, his body going up against Casey's to pin him to the wall. The boy gasped, jerked then pulled back to stare at Zeke with half-lidded eyes. His hands then lifted and were placed on Zeke's shoulders; they slid down his arms and up again, down... then to Zeke's chest, all to run his palms over the thin t-shirt Zeke wore. Bunching fabric snagged over Zeke's nipples and he hissed. Casey snapped his eyes down to his actions then focused attention to the tented cloth with his thumbs. Blunt nails pressed in, making Zeke jerk and put his forehead to Casey's. While the boy explored Zeke's body, Zeke decided to take it up yet another notch by trailing his fingers down Casey's slim hips to the waist of his pants.
The boy made one tiny tremble as thumbs hooked themselves past it and brought them down, revealing swatches of skin one excruciating inch at a time. When the clothing snagged on the engorged, more-than-likely aching shaft underneath, Zeke snarled and made a more insistent tug. He almost cooed at the way Casey's cock was tugged downward then smacked into the boy's belly. All thought and reason fled as Zeke filled his hand with Casey's balls, pliable, loose skin getting massaged... Casey made a soft ha-ah before shimmying the pants down his legs and kicking them gently away. It left him just as he was made; beautifully naked, open, one big beautiful invitation to flesh-dreamland.
To enjoy this 'dream' further, Casey moved away from the wall and backed Zeke up to the bed, their panting mouths inches apart until Zeke sat in a heap. "Lay down," Casey whispered. He could've said, 'Run outside naked and do the white-boy-two-step in my driveway' and Zeke would be there, so of course, Zeke complied. This made him get a different vantage point, looking up at Casey instead of down. The position let Casey have his way, his first act of business being Zeke's boxers. They were shucked off quickly and his legs opened, giving Casey a full-on view of dark hair and hard, jutting flesh. Zeke stared down at himself, picturing his dick being enveloped in Casey's hot, tight ass. He almost jumped when Casey brought his knees up onto the bed and crawled over Zeke's legs to his groin, where he lowered himself. Now cock-to-cock, sac-to-sac, Zeke snarled and hissed up at Casey, who settled in with squirming thighs and rocking hips.
"You lied," Zeke said. Casey cocked an eyebrow.
"Lied?"
"Mmm. You've done this before."
The intense look Casey had been wearing melted into a bashful smile. "Yea. I have."
'I'll kill the bastard,' Zeke thought, but he fought a sly grin on his face instead. "With who, exactly?"
Casey rolled his tongue around his mouth as he lifted Zeke's shirt up to his neck. As he lowered himself down to start lapping along Zeke's collarbone, he murmured, "This absolutely amazing body... pillow."
Giggles erupted in Zeke's chest, shaking along the tongue-attention it was getting. "A body-pillow?"
"Mmm. Mom got it at K-Mart for me when I was twelve, after appendix surgery. Nice and firm, long... like you." Casey accentuated his words with his hand, which reached down to frame Zeke's dick. Zeke stiffened and stretched his toes out as far as they could go as Casey made one long stroke, balls to tip before sitting up again. "If she'd known how dirty I'd gotten with that thing, she'd have had me committed."
This boy held many, many, lovely secrets. "Show me... what you did to that poor, awesome pillow."
Casey's grin widened as he braced his hands on the mattress, opened his thighs wider to spread over Zeke's hips and groin with as much friction as he could make--and moved, his ass rolling up and down to grind himself against Zeke's body. Zeke stiffened and stilled and let Casey do the work, which was pretty fucking masterful. He dipped his hips to one side with every small movement up, then ground them in a slow, hard circle before lifting up--and again, and again, until Zeke felt mindless with pleasure. He finally couldn't help himself; both hands went up and behind Casey to grab each side of his ass, his fingertips pressing so hard into the skin he'd be leaving bruises--dents. Casey moaned then dropped down, lips and teeth finding a nipple to latch onto. Zeke's eyes rolled to the back of his head and closed. This had to be the most experienced virgin he'd ever met--no awkwardness or uncertainty, just a young man who'd turned a simple pillow into a tool of ultimate self-gratification. Zeke wanted to show Casey what he'd missed out on, however; with both hands, he spread Casey's ass and sneaked a finger to the hot center, finding Casey's stretched anus waiting for his touch. The boy outright mewled and moved his body up to give Zeke more room.
"Your pillow never did this, did it?" Zeke asked directly into the shell of Casey's ear. He nipped and licked at it, making the boy quiver and moan.
"Why do... d-do you think I got so excited over that zucchini?"
The breathy, possible-admittance made Zeke stop everything to laugh out loud. "No, you have NOT--Casey, don't even tell me..."
"NO! I'm fuckin' kidding, Mom would kill me!"
"Why? Because you defiled yourself with a vegetable, or the horror of wasted food??"
Casey lifted himself up on his hands and glare-smirked down at the older boy. "First of all... it's a fruit."
"Oh, my apologies," Zeke said while tittering.
"And secondly... I've always had a thing for phallic imagery. Nothing wrong with fantasizing, is there?"
"Mmm, no. No," Zeke said. Sighing the giggles away, he hoisted Casey up a little then used his hips to guide the boy onto his side. Having a small distance between them was stimulating, the way their cocks brushed up against each other as they settled in making them both hum with pleasure. With Casey's leg snaking itself up onto Zeke's hip, Zeke shimmied closer to let their stomachs meet. He brought a hand down between them to rub their flesh together, tugging at Casey's balls with his fingertips with every deep reach. "You knew early on that long phallic fruits had NOTHING on the real thing and didn't spoil it for yourself. Good boy."
Casey tittered lightly as Zeke kissed the tip of his nose then sighed into yet another kiss, harder and more insistent than their first. The bed creaked and rocked like a boat swaying in the waves, their own personal ocean-of-pleasure moving them together with precise perfection. It was all limbs and clenching toes, Zeke's ass getting kneaded by Casey's feet in order to press him in tight and hot. Minutes stretched into an hour full of nothing but this--two boys exploring each other through hip-curls, grabbing, giggling and moans. For the first time in Zeke's life, he had someone naked that he didn't want to rush into anything with, both figuratively and literally. Parental units being absent or not, there was something to this tangled mess that they were making that just felt right.
And Zeke always preferred handjobs to blowjobs, anyway. Having a mutual masturbation, both hands wrapped into a fist around both dicks was an excruciating pleasure, one that left them spent and passing out moments after their post-coital kiss.
~*~
"What's... this?"
Zeke looked up from the potatoes he'd just finished mixing to find Mrs. Connor walking in. "Hey, Mrs. C.--how was the romantic night out?"
"Oh..." The woman pursed her lips, blushed then made a thin-lipped smile. "...Nothing... you need to know about."
"Ahh..."
"Hey, Mom!" Casey, just hopping out of the pantry said with a chipper smile.
"Hi, honey... are you making supper?"
"Yup. For ALL of us," Casey said, just as his father walked in. Mr. Connor sniffed the air and raised his eyebrows.
"SOME-thing smells good," he said.
"Garlic mashed potatoes with herbed chicken thighs," Casey said.
"Oh. I hope you didn't use the last box of potatoes, though, I'd planned a dinner around it," Mrs. Connor said.
"No, no boxed." Casey went over to the sink, reached down to the garbage disposal's opening and lifted the potato peels Zeke had sent into it. "We went to Stop & Shop, got a ton of good stuff for dinner."
Mrs. Connor blinked with wild wonder and shock. "But... their prices! Honey, it's a bit extravagant there."
"No, not really. I got their flyer from yesterday's paper, marked down all the sales and dove into the coupon-book," Casey said; he then produced a receipt from his pocket, unfolded it and showed it off. "I got ALL of this at the same price we usually spend. See? I know my stuff."
Mr. Connor sucked in his smile as he went to the fridge for a beer, while Mrs. Connor slipped her glasses on, took the paper and inspected it with a wise, watchful eye. "Wow... this is... a good job, honey," she eventually replied.
"But there's more. Me 'n Zeke drove out to Canton to the 'Whole Foods' market, and--"
"Wait, wait--wait." Mrs. Connor put on a stern expression. "If there's ONE place that does not offer low prices, it's that money-vacuum."
"For most groceries? Yea," Casey said. He wore a triumphant grin as he led his mother to the pantry, flicked the light on and waved towards the shelves. The many plastic baggies stuffed with herbs, spices and other staples sat there. "But not THIS stuff. Bought by the pound--and organic. Remember the cardamom you got for pies last Christmas?"
"Oh, that. I don't care HOW good it made them taste, never. Again," Mrs. Connor haltingly replied. "Eight dollars for a half ounce? Insane."
Casey reached over to one of the baggies; a filled-to-the-brim one and presented it to her. "A little over two whole ounces, for five bucks," he said. "And all this, here? I did the math. Where we'd spend about thirty-five dollars, we got it all at less than HALF the price, and the quality WAY outweighs the jarred stuff. Just look at the oregano alone..."
Zeke hummed as he went over to the sinks, trying not to laugh. As Casey introduced his mother to a whole new world of food-shopping, Mr. Connor met Zeke's side, grabbed his opposite shoulder and reeled him in to give Zeke a hard side-hug. "I LOVE you, Zeke Tyler," he hissed out with a chuckle.
All Zeke did was wink and smile, praying that the man wouldn't have a problem with the reason he and Casey planned this feast. Hopefully, Mr. Connor would hold onto the fact that Zeke had all but single-handedly saved him from a lifetime of bland, boring dinners when Casey announced HIS love for Zeke, as well.