| A Matter of Trust |
| Standing in the shower, Jack reflected on the past day�s events. Lennie�s revelation had certainly caught him off guard; it was not something he would have ever guessed. And having just had this case throw them together, revealing HIS secret. God, what a week. He had to admit, he�d enjoyed their little encounter last night. After 15 years of one-night stands, he had gotten somewhat jaded. Wham, bam, thank you man. It was all about release. But this was different. Watching Lennie�s reaction to his first touches had been amazing. What had seemed stale, old hat, was now fresh and exciting again. Definitely exciting. By the time he got home last night, he�d been aching with need. Just from touching him while fully dressed! The memories were having the same effect on him this morning; he found himself eagerly looking forward to the afternoon. He was tempted to lose himself in a fantasy right now, but decided to wait for the reality. He shook himself out of his reverie, shut off the shower, and stepped out. Luckily, the storms had been the typical summer evening variety. This morning the sky was clear � or as clear as New York ever got on a hot summer day. He got dressed and ran down to the newsstand in the lobby to grab a paper and a cup of coffee. It was already hot, but then that was summer in the big city. At least he could get his errands done early before it got unbearable � ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lennie yawned and rolled over to look at the clock. Yeah, he�d slept in. // Making up for last weekend! // he thought with a grin. After that little make-out session with Jack last night, he�d been so relaxed he�d fallen asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. He was still a little embarrassed; creaming his jeans like a teenager. Geez! But with everything else that had happened leading up to it, he had a feeling Jack had been right in not making him think about undressing. Today would be different. They both knew going in what was going on. He realized he didn�t know what to expect when he got to Jack�s this afternoon. It wasn�t like going on a date with a woman where you spent the whole day wondering if you were going to get past first base. The stated reason for getting together was sex. The openness of it was refreshing. And yet a little scary; what happened when you STARTED with sex? Jack wasn�t used to relationships; when they were done, they went their separate ways. Lennie was used to the �normal� pattern. Although he was pretty sure he really didn�t want a �serious� relationship with Jack, he wanted more than just sex. He liked the friendship they�d been forming this past week. He wondered if they could find a middle ground somewhere in there? And then there was the most important question of all � how the hell was he going to kill time until 2 o�clock? He groaned at that thought as he rolled out of bed and headed toward the shower. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The doorbell rang, bringing Jack out of his reverie. Almost unconsciously, he flexed his elbow where the clinic had taken blood this morning, pulling off the wad of gauze taped to his arm. Lennie stood there, smiling nervously. �Hi, Jack.� �Hey, Lennie, come on in.� Jack�s hand gently rested on Lennie�s shoulder as he ushered him into the apartment. He could feel the tension in his friend�s shoulders. �Sit down.� He nodded toward the couch, following Lennie and sitting beside him. �You�re nervous.� Lennie shrugged. �A bit. I guess I wasn�t sure what to expect.� Jack chuckled and again laid his hand on that shoulder. �What do you want?� A deep breath. �I � I�m not sure. I�m not used to just diving into bed �� The arm slipped around Lennie�s back, becoming a gentle hug. �You just want to talk some more?� Lennie looked at Jack, realized he really wasn�t in a rush here, and sighed. �Yeah.� And yet he wanted more, too. He hesitantly laid his hand over Jack�s leg. The arm around his shoulders gave a reassuring squeeze. �Can I ask you a personal question?� �Sure, Lennie.� �What was your first time like?� �Scary as hell. Unlike you, I didn�t have the sense to be scared of getting picked up by a stranger. I went to a bar, probably stood out like I had a neon sign screaming �virgin� around my neck, and went home with the first guy who propositioned me. Let�s just say I�ve learned to be a little more selective since then.� �Did he hurt you?� �Thank god, no. He liked it rough, but not nasty.� �Did he �?� Lennie couldn�t quite ask. Jack smiled. �Did he fuck me? Yeah.� Not surprising that this was something Lennie was afraid of. �Were you scared?� �Yes and no. I wanted it, just maybe not quite so soon.� �Did it hurt?� �At first, yes, but then it felt wonderful. It�s like nothing you�ve ever felt before, Lennie.� �Are we going to �.?� Jack laid his free hand over Lennie�s. �That�s up to you, Lennie. Probably not today. Maybe never. There are guys out there who only top. If that�s what you want �� �I � I don�t know.� Jack smiled again. �You�re curious. That�s ok, like I said, we�ll take it slow. If and when you�re ready, I�ll be gentle. I promise.� He let go of Lennie�s hand, bringing his up to touch Lennie�s face, leaning in for a kiss. Lennie felt his heart pounding as Jack�s lips pressed against his. One hand held his chin as the arm around his shoulders pulled him close. Jack pulled back and smiled at him, then leaned in again. This time his tongue teased at Lennie�s lips until they opened, letting him in. Lennie moaned as his body reacted in the usual ways, despite the roughness of the face pressed so close to his. His right hand stayed on Jack�s leg, while his left slid around the attorney�s waist. Finally, Jack pulled back, giving Lennie some space. �You liked that?� Lennie nodded, smiling. �Yeah.� Jack grinned at him. �Think we can go for losing some clothes today?� Lennie laughed. �Yeah, I think that would be a good idea.� Jack was wearing a pull-over shirt, so he decided to make things simple by just losing it himself. He tossed it aside, then turned his attention to Lennie, who was unbuttoning his shirt with trembling fingers. �Here, let me do that.� Lennie was more than happy to let Jack finish the task; his eyes were glued to the other man�s body, doing a more thorough evaluation than his brief glimpse last night. Body type much like his own, too tall, too thin, age clearly showing in the sparse gray hair on his chest. Absolutely perfect. �Here, help me with this, will you?� Jack�s voice reclaimed his attention. He leaned to the side to help free the shirt from his slacks, then sighed as Jack�s hands slipped inside. Jack slowly slid his hands up Lennie�s chest, through the thick gray curls. �Mmmm, nice.� He grinned at Lennie, letting his hands slide around his body, pulling them close. Lennie shrugged the shirt off his shoulders and leaned into the embrace, sliding his hands up Jack�s back. They held close for a moment, then leaned back enough for another kiss. Jack let one hand slide down Lennie�s chest, checking the status of things lower down. Lennie moaned as the hand slid over him, finding him more than ready. He let his own hand find Jack�s leg again. Jack let go and leaned back, giving Lennie room to explore. Lennie�s hand began gently caressing his thigh. Jack smiled encouragingly as it came closer and closer to the tight bulge in his pants. He usually wore jeans on the weekend, but had intentionally chosen something lighter, less �in the way� today. Trembling fingers finally found him, brushing hesitantly over his bulge. He sighed softly. �That�s it, Lennie. That feels good.� Lennie couldn�t believe he was doing this at last. He could feel Jack hard beneath the soft cotton twill pants. He let the pressure increase as his fingers traced the length of Jack�s erection. A soft moan told him he was doing something right. He forced his eyes up, saw the expression of pleasure on Jack�s face as his hand got more confident. After a while, Jack�s hand caught his. �You�d better stop, unless you want me doing what you did last night.� Lennie laughed. �Well, we can�t have that.� He let his hand slide up onto Jack�s chest. Jack smiled at him. �You ready to take this to the bedroom?� Lennie swallowed hard and nodded. �Yeah.� They stood up; he followed Jack back to his bedroom. Jack turned to him. �You�re sure?� At the affirming nod, he pulled Lennie into a kiss. Full body contact as long arms wrapped around each other. They could feel each others� desire. Jack let his hands slide down to Lennie�s waist. �Time to lose these?� He asked as his hands found the belt buckle. Another nod and he swiftly undid the buckle and zipper, pushing the pants down to fall around Lennie�s ankles. A few moments later, his own hit the floor. He stepped out of them, naked now except for the boxers, tented over his stiff cock. Lennie just stood there, frozen, his eyes locked on that spot. Jack took his hand. �Come on, Lennie. Let�s get comfortable.� The words brought Lennie back to reality and he kicked off his shoes as he stepped out of his pants. Jack pulled him down onto the bed, lying close, letting his hands roam all over Lennie�s body. Lennie�s eyes kept going to that one spot. Finally he spoke. �I owe you one from yesterday, as I recall?� He forced himself to look into Jack�s eyes. Jack reached out to touch his face. �You don�t owe me anything, Lennie. But if you want to go first, go ahead.� He nodded. �I � I need to touch you �� Jack smiled. �Go right ahead.� Lennie let his hand trail slowly down Jack�s chest. It felt like every nerve in his body was working at high volume. The smooth skin was dusted with just a trace of hair, unlike anything he�d ever felt before. And his eyes kept darting further down. Finally, he slipped his hands inside the waistband. Jack obligingly lifted his hips, letting Lennie pull away the boxers, revealing his full glory. Lennie couldn�t stop the sharp intake of breath at the sight. He reached out, let his trembling fingers touch the soft skin. // oh god, I�m really doing this! // Jack let out a soft sigh as Lennie first touched him. Again, he found himself entranced watching Lennie�s face as he discovered that his fantasies could indeed become reality. A single finger traced the length of him, from tip all the way down to his balls. Fingers wrapped lightly around him, feeling the hardness, the heat. Lennie felt his own cock jump as his fingers wrapped around Jack. There was no doubt any more, this turned him on tremendously. Jack�s dick felt good in his hand, warm, solid, very very real. He tore his gaze away and looked up at Jack�s face. A reassuring nod accompanied by a soft moan told him all he needed to know. He intensified things, and was rewarded by the sound of breathing becoming more and more harsh. �Lennie. There�s some lube in the nightstand. It�ll make things easier.� This was something different. Although he guessed if you had lube around for other reasons, you might as well use it here too � . He let go and leaned over Jack to reach the nightstand, found the small bottle there. He looked down in confusion. �Uh, how much?� Jack chuckled. �Here. Let me.� He took the bottle and ran a bead down the length of his erection. �There. That should do it. Just spread it around.� He moaned as Lennie followed his instruction, then began pulling on him in earnest. �Oh, yes, that�s it. That�s good.� He kept up a steady stream of encouragement, punctuated by moans and sighs. �No, don�t slow down now! Oh, yeah, keep going. I�m getting close, Lennie. Real close.� Lennie watched with amazement as Jack came into his hand. He had imagined this moment, and now it was really happening. His own dick felt like it was about to burst as he felt the hot liquid spill over his hand. Jack laid there panting, enjoying the expression on Lennie�s face. �Come here, you.� He reached out and pulled Lennie down beside him, kissed him. Lennie laid his head on Jack�s shoulder, his arm wrapping over Jack�s chest. His right hand was a sticky mess from the lube and Jack�s cum, but neither one of them seemed to care at the moment. They laid there, enjoying the moment of closeness in the afterglow. Jack finally broke the silence. �You did it.� Lennie laughed softly. �Yeah, I did, didn�t I?� �You liked it?� �Jack, I�m so hard right now it hurts. Yeah, that turned me on.� Jack smiled. �So how would you like me to return the favor?� Lennie hesitated. �Blow job?� Jack nodded. �Um, Lennie, there is something we have to talk about before that. Have you even thought about safe sex yet?� Lennie closed his eyes. He had been deliberately avoiding thinking about this. �Not really.� �Lennie, I�ve been active for a long time. I�m careful. I went out and got tested this morning. But it can take up to 6 months to test positive. So I can�t be sure. And I realized something this morning � when a friend is involved, making sure is a hell of a lot more important than with some stranger you�re never going to see again. I know you�re safe now, I could do you today, but I don�t want to teach you bad habits. If we do this, we use a condom. OK?� The sobering conversation had taken the edge off his need. �Yeah, I guess so.� Jack gently caressed his face. �I�m sorry to have to bring reality crashing in, Lennie.� �It�s ok. Um, can I ask you something that�s only sort of related?� �Sure.� �You were with Travers the night he was killed. Does that bother you?� Jack nodded. �Yeah. Last Saturday night after you and Rey interviewed me, I couldn�t sleep. That�s why I got drunk. It�s weird, knowing �� They laid there, just holding each other, for a little while. Finally Jack spoke again. �Did I kill the mood, Lennie?� Lennie shrugged. �You�re going to have to get used to the idea if you�re going to play this game.� �I know.� He took a deep breath. �Jack, could you do me a favor?� �Sure. What?� �Could we go back to �just friends� for the rest of the day? I�m not saying I don�t want this, but I need some time to get my head around it. I don�t want to go home and worry about it alone.� Jack pulled him close, then let go. �Sure. Come on, let�s clean up this mess, then we can see if there�s a ballgame on or something.� Lennie sighed as he got up. �Thanks, Jack.� Continue on to Chapter 7 Send me some Feedback Back to the Story Index Disclaimer: These characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
| Chapter 6 |