Parties Are Overrated

“Not only had he agreed to spend the last night of the bloody decade at a loud party filled with people who seem to really miss college, he got ditched by the woman who talked him into going in the first place.”

Parties are so lame. Who needs ’em?

Rating: Explicit

Eric dodged a giggling girl in cat ears and some frankly terrifying shoes. It was hard to tell if she was weaving because of those, or because of whatever was in the ubiquitous red solo cup. He was definitely too old for this. He was pretty sure they all were, but it was New Year’s Eve, and it had been a very long year. He wasn’t sure where his date was. Dana had talked him into coming to this party, then promptly disappeared. He really should know better. He just needed to get out of the crowd for a few minutes. Dodging a few more people, he made it to a hall that mercifully had a door at the end.

He was walking down the hallway, when suddenly a couple stumbled in front of him. As they hit the opposite wall, he realized the woman was Dana. Not only had he agreed to spend the last night of the bloody decade at a loud party filled with people who seem to really miss college, he got ditched by the woman who talked him into going in the first place. He sighed, then tapped Dana on the shoulder. She pulled her head around, “What the…Eric.” He noted she mostly seemed annoyed at the interruption.

“I’ll just get a Lyft home. Carry on.” With that, he waved in what he hoped was a nonchalant way, then walked to the door. Dana didn’t try to stop him. It was only their fourth date, so it’s not like either of them was very invested.

He opened the door and stepped out onto a deep porch. It was California cold out, which really meant it was 50 at ten o’clock at night. He walked to the rail and rested his forearms on it. He should probably care more about this with Dana, but it was hard when he hadn’t cared that much about her. There was clearly something wrong with him. He blew out a breath and dropped his head.

He heard movement behind him, off to the side. “Eric Jackson, this does not seem like your kind of party,” a raspy deep voice cut through his thoughts in a way that was unexpected. He whirled around.

“Evan? Are you…what?”

Evan Erickson sauntered out of the shadows, which sounded ridiculous now that he had thought it, but that was definitely a saunter. Eric reached behind him to grab the rail. He wasn’t sure why he suddenly felt unsteady. Was his drink stronger than he thought? Evan came to a halt a shade closer than was generally considered polite, but then, he always had stood closer than other people.

Eric stared. He was ten years older with several tattoos, and was his hair purple, but his eyes had not changed. Still pale green, and trained on his with that incredible intensity he always seemed to exude. Eric swallowed, “Hi, Evan.” His treacherous hand made some wave that looked more like jazz hands. What the hell was wrong with him?

“Eric,” Evan said solemnly. “What are you doing at a loud boozy party, all by yourself?”

“How do you know I’m not here with someone,” he said defensively? Why was he feeling this way, it’s ridiculous.

Evan looked him over. “Instinct.” He smirked a little, “Am I wrong?”

Eric slumped a little. “I came with someone, but I won’t be leaving with her.”

Evan looked taken aback, “What?” His eyes sharpened. “You were Dana’s nice guy date.”

What? “What?”

Evan waved, “You know, Dana’s thing where she brings a nice guy to make Teddy…” he trailed off. “You have no idea what I’m talking about.” He stepped back and ran his hands through what was definitely purple hair, then looked back at Eric with a look of unnecessary compassion.

“I met Dana two months ago on Match. I don’t know anyone else here. It seems I was played,” he shrugged. “Oh well, I never expected things to work out in the long run. They never do.”

“Why would you say that?”

“I’m boring. Predictable. A prude.”

Evan’s eyes widened, “I, you have got to be kidding me, you know I would never believe,” but he paused when he got a closer look at Eric’s face. He suddenly looked weary. “This isn’t a joke. You believe this. Why?”

Eric shrugged. “Let’s just say I heard it a lot for a couple years, and there hasn’t really been any evidence since then that it’s not true.” He looked up, feeling suddenly defiant. “Which might be OK. Maybe boring isn’t always bad.”

Suddenly Evan was a lot closer. He had gotten big; his shoulders much broader than Eric remembered. “The thing is, you’re not boring. I would never have been best friends with someone who was capable of being boring. And a prude? That doesn’t sound like the Eric I know.” He crowded Eric back against the rail. “We can confirm that one easily,” he said and bent his head and kissed him. And not a gentle peck, no he dove right in, pulling back slightly to nip at his lower lip. “Let me in,” he whispered.

Eric inhaled sharply, then parted his lips. Even pulled him in with a hand on his back, then licked into his mouth. The touch of his tongue felt electric and made Eric gasp. He grasped Evan’s shoulder and kissed back. He seemed to be incapable of doing otherwise. He had no idea how long they stood there wrapped up in each other, but when Evan pulled back he was gasping for breath, and achingly hard. Evan leaned their foreheads together. “See, not a prude.”

Eric tried to take a deep breath. “But, I’m straight,” Even he could hear how bewildered he sounded. “I mean, not that being not straight is a bad thing, but…” He trailed off, making another stupid movement with his hand.

Evan stepped back, removing his hand, leaving the spot where it had been suddenly cold. “I’m not trying to make you change your identity, man. I never have been. I just couldn’t stand hearing you talk about yourself that way.” He ran his hand through his hair again, then smirked. “Also, you still have the prettiest mouth I have ever seen.”

“Uh, thanks.” Eric felt his face get hot. He couldn’t seem to break eye contact. Suddenly the door to the porch slammed open, and a random couple came staggering out, almost running into them. Even had to step in to avoid them. He reached out for Eric’s arm as he did. He looked over his shoulder, then back down. “Want to get out of here?”

“I don’t want you to have to desert your friends,” Erric said. “We should hang out soon though. I’ll give you my number…” He trailed off because Evan was touching his lower lip with his thumb and oh.

“There’s no one here I would rather spend the rest of the decade with.” He pulled his hand back, looking suddenly serious. “No pressure of any sort. We can just hang out and watch tv. I really want a chance to get to know you again.”

Eric felt caught in his gaze. It wasn’t how he had planned to spend the night, but he didn’t want to be here anymore, and he didn’t want to go home by himself. “OK.”

Evan smilled the brilliant smile that had made people fall all over him in high school. “Did you drive?”

“No, I rode with Dana.”

“Great, we can ride together. I’m close.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I don’t know who any of these people are,” Eric complained, gesturing towards the tv with his glass. “Does that make me old? It makes me feel old.” He wasn’t sure he cared. The edible Evan offered was making everything a little hazy. God bless the state of California.

It if does, it makes us old together,” Evan said from where he was sprawled on the other end of the couch. He stretched. “Almost midnight.” He looked over out of the corner of his eye. “You going to be my New Year’s kiss?”

Eric felt himself blush, but tried to stay casual. “Sure. Would hate for you to be deprived because you left that party.” His voice was a little too breathy to really count as casual. Evan didn’t call him on it though. He just faced forward and said, “Cool.” Eric looked at the countdown on the screen. Twelve minutes to go. Twelve minutes to contemplate why the thought of kissing Evan again was filling him with such anticipation. If he was going to be honest, that kiss at the party was the best he had since, well since Janice, and really, that situation was so toxic those weren’t even good memories. That was two years ago now. It wasn’t that the kisses and sex he had since leaving her were bad, but he had basically concluded the sheer madness of that relationship made it good. Maybe not though. That kiss tonight made his toes curl. It was different though. He felt like Evan cared, which was probably crazy, because they hadn’t even spoken since they were teens. He could barely remember why they stopped talking. Not right now anyway. Nothing dramatic had happened. He was interrupted from his thoughts by Evan pulling the glass out of his hand.

“Almost twelve,” Evan said, setting the glass on the coffee table, then offering a hand to pull him to standing. Eric felt a little confused as to why they were standing, but went with it. His confusion must have showed on his face, because Evan chuckled and threw an arm around his shoulders. “Much as I love the idea of crawling on your lap and devouring your mouth, I figured you would prefer to kiss standing up.”

“Oh, um, that makes sense,” Eric said, suddenly unable to get that image out of his head. He was vaguely aware of counting down from ten before Evan was turning him, one arm around his shoulders still, his other hand coming up to his jaw. “Happy New Year,” he whispered, and just like that they were kissing again. Eric had been half convinced it would be awkward, proving that kiss on the porch was a fluke, but it was the easiest thing in the world to part his lips and sink into the heat and softness of Evan’s mouth. He wrapped his arms around Evan’s waist and just let go. If just felt so right, the way his tongue and lips felt, the way their bodies fit together. Evan slid his hand to the back of his neck and his other arm down so his hand was on his hip, pulling their bodies flush. Eric could feel his hardness against his hip as Evan slid a leg between his. He couldn’t help but moan, causing Evan to flex his fingers tighter on his hip. All he could do was hold on and pant when Evan moved his lips to his jaw and down his throat.

He distinctly whined when Evan pulled his mouth away. He forced his eyes open, and looked at Evan. His eyes were burning, but his face was regretful and serious.”God I wish you weren’t high right now.”

Eric struggled to make sense of that. “Why…? What?”

Evan tugged on his lower lip with his thumb again. “I want you so badly, but you’re high and I am not going to be an intoxicated experiment you regret.” He grinned. “You’ll be sober in the morning though.” He kissed Eric swift and hard, then stepped back, leaving him reeling. “I’ll grab something you can sleep in. My couch is terrible for sleep, but my bed is bigger than the ones we used to share on school trips. I’ll leave a toothbrush on the sink,” he called back as he walked down the hall.

Eric just stood there for a minute, trying to calm his breathing and mind, and willing away his erection. He understood and appreciated Evan’s commitment to unimpaired enthusiastic consent, but his dick was not on board with that plan. He was still standing there when Evan came back in the room and laid a hand on his shoulder. “You OK?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry. Just spaced out.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Evan grinned. “Clothes are on the sink.” He turned away and started picking things up off the coffee table. “Go ahead and go to bed. I’ll be in when I finish with these.”

Eric shrugged, then headed off to get ready for bed. When he got into the bedroom it took him a minute to figure out which side of the bed he should get in on. He chose the one with less stuff on the nightstand. He expected to lie awake, but he fell asleep almost immediately.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eric woke up feeling very warm and very relaxed. He wasn’t sure where he was, but he was comfortable, and someone was lightly kissing the back of his neck. It took a second or two for the stubble to register. What the fuck? He must have stiffened or made a noise, because the kissing stopped, but the arm across his waist stayed in place.

“Morning,” Evan said in that sinfully deep voice of his. Oh right, last night he had kissed Evan. Memory flooded in. Oh right, last night Evan’s restraint was the only reason they hadn’t done more than kiss.

He relaxed, leaning back into what was definitely a man’s chest. “Morning,” he said, twisting his head around and meeting Evan’s gaze. Fantasy novels were always going on about emerald eyes, but Evan’s were actually the color of peridots, and focused straight on him.

Evan flattened his hand on Eric’s abs. “I’d like to kiss you,” he said. Eric drew a breath and just nodded. He wasn’t sure he could speak, but damn did he want. Evan pulled back a little, rolling him onto his back. Moving his hand from Eric’s waist to near his shoulder, he leaned over and brought their lips together. Eric was halfway convinced he was remembering their earlier kisses through the veil of alcohol and weed, but this was just as electric, for all it was more lazy. He gasped, but Evan just kept things light and playful, gentle movements and nibbles. The stubble was definitely a new experience, but it just added to the sensations. He moaned and got a hand in Evan’s hair. “More.” Evan took a sharp breath, then angled his head and licked right in. Soon Eric felt like he was drowning in the best possible way. It was all lips and teeth and tongues and trying to breathe. Evan’s hair was soft and it felt like he was anchored by that touch and Evan’s mouth.

“I want to touch you,” Evan pulled back and said, his face flushed and lips red. “Please let me touch you.”

Eric felt his dick twitch inside his sweatpants. “God yes.”

Evan grinned. He sat up and tugged Eric’s pants down, taking his underwear with them. He paused and just looked at Eric’s hard dick when it came into view. “Evan,” Eric said, trying to not sound like he was whining. It totally sounded like he was whining.

Evan grinned again. “I’ve wanted this about as long as I have known I was queer. You can wait a minute.”

Eric huffed and looked up at the ceiling, which meant he wasn’t expecting it when Evan wrapped his hand around him. He sucked in a breath. His hand was just so much larger than a woman’s, and lightly callused. He started to wonder what Evan did, but that thought flew straight out of his head when he tightened his hand and stroked up, twisting his hand over the head, then sliding back own. “Oh fuck.”

“Yeah?” He wasn’t even looking and he could hear Evan’s grin, and this time it was smug. He did it again and Eric scrabbled for something to hold onto. He ended up with one hand full of sheet, and the other on Evan’s forearm. He wasn’t sure how he was still breathing. Evan shifted and he could feel his hard cock pressing into his hop, and it made him even hotter.

He sucked in a breath. “I want…can I touch you?”

This time it was Evan who took a sharp breath. “Yes,” he said, and pulled back. Eric managed not to whine when he took his hand away to get his pants off. He pulled off his shirt too, got Eric naked, then pulled him on top of him. Eric ended up sitting on his thighs, hands on his shoulders, staring down at a muscled chest covered in colorful ink he really wanted to inspect more closely. Later. He sat back on his heels, feeling Evans thighs between his, and reached for what was objectively a very nice dick. He closed his hand around it and Evan sighed. “Just…do what you like,” he said, as if reading Eric’s mind. So, he did. From Evan’s difficulty breathing he felt like he was doing a decent job, and he definitely liked the way it felt to have a cock in his hand. Suddenly Evan covered his hand and lunged up, getting a hand on his shoulder. “Come and kiss me,” he said, pulling him down. Eric let go to keep some sort of balance and went. He ended up folded on top of Evan, dicks rubbing against each other, which felt amazing.The kiss was positively filthy, both of them gasping and frantic. Evan reached a hand between them, and wrapped it around both of them, and Eric suddenly couldn’t do anything but rest his forehead on Evan’s and try not to die. His hips were out of control and he was so hard and suddenly he was coming harder than he had since he was a teenager, unable to keep from shouting. Beneath him Evan shuddered, gasped out “Fuck,” then fell back, dropping his hand. Somehow Eric managed to fall to the side, instead of flat on top of Evan. They both breathed heavily.

After a minute, Evan rested his hand on Eric’s shoulder. “How do you feel?”

Eric snorted, and turned his head so he could meet Evan’s eyes. “Pretty sure I’m not straight.”

Evan looked at him seriously. “How do you feel about that?”

Eric grinned. “Pretty damn good.”