Page 2 of Friendly Skies
Luis laughed, then grabbed at his stomach and curled up again. “I know enough to stay away,” he groaned. “And no shrimp has ever made me feel like I’m trying to crawl out of my skin from the inside. Fucking Andrés. Fucking mierda.”
Darius rubbed Luis’ back in what he hoped was a comfort. He wanted to ask how his friend had ended up taking something, but knowing the way Andrés operated, it was likely Luis didn’t know. Andrés had probably dropped it into whatever Luis hadbeen drinking. Why? Darius didn’t have a clue. Humiliation, maybe, if Luis did something outrageous while stoned? And then what? Blackmail to get Luis to sell for him? Or maybe it was just some stupid family rivalry shit, and Luis was just too perfect not to mess around with. He didn’t want to think about other reasons Andrés might want to fuck Luis up.
As far as Darius was concerned, Luis was perfect. He was sweet and smart, funny, and athletic in a non-jock way that Darius adored. Since Darius had started putting on height, first the middle school basketball coach, and then the high school one had tried to get him to sign up, but that wasn’t going to happen. Darius wanted nothing to do with the jocks and had loved tagging along to Luis’ gymnastics classes. Just as he now loved watching Luis on the high school cheer squad. Just as he loved Luis. He wasn’t going to jeopardize Luis’ safety or his own by putting them on the jocks’ radar. Besides, he wanted an academic scholarship to UCLA and wasn’t going to risk his grades or his body just because he happened to be taller than most of the guys in his high school, which was more than ninety percent Hispanic.
Darius tucked his chin over Luis’ shoulder. “If it’s Molly, you’ll be okay. Jamal does it all the time. Says the first half hour or so sucks, but then it’s like his brain explodes, and everything’s amazing.”
Looking over his shoulder, Luis nodded. “Feels fucking awful right now. Stay with me, okay? I don’t need my mom finding out.”
“Yeah. Of course. I’ll take care of you.”
“Thanks.” Luis snuggled against him again, and Darius resumed rubbing Luis’ back.
That he was gay hadn’t been a huge aha moment for Darius. The knowledge had always kind of been there, but it wasn’t until his eleventh birthday that he became conscious of whatit meant and that not everyone was like him. Luis was staying overnight, and Darius’ parents had given them permission to stay up, eat junk food, and watch whatever movies they wanted. It was duringChronicles of Riddickthat Darius realized he was checking out Vin Diesel while Luis was into Jada Pinkett Smith.
Only after Darius became more familiar with getting erections—and getting rid of them—did he realize that some of his reaction that night had been due to the way he and Luis were tangled up beneath a blanket and that he was in love with his best friend. Luis, for all the ribbing he took for being the only boy in his gymnastics classes, didn’t seem to notice. He never gave the slightest hint that he might be anything other than straight. So, Darius had no choice but to pretend his feelings were merely platonic.
“Doing any better?” Darius asked, and pressed his thumb along the edge of Luis’ shoulder blade.
“A bit.” Luis arched against Darius’ hand. “That feels really good.”
Luis stretched, and Darius bit his lower lip at the roll of Luis’ body alongside his own. “Luis,” he whispered and tried to pull his hips back. If Luis kept rubbing against him like that, he was going to get hard. But Luis didn’t stop.
“Touch me,” he said.
“I am.” Darius’ heart pounded in his chest, and he suddenly wanted to be anyplace but where he was.
“No, Dar.” Luis rolled over so they were face-to-face. “Like really touch me.” He took hold of Darius’ hand and ran his fingers alongside Darius’, outlining each digit, then dragging the tips of his fingers across Darius’ palm. He smiled. “It feels amazing. Like I’ve never…I don’t know, touched anything before.” Luis shifted his shoulders and rolled his hips. “And the music…” He moved his body with the beat playing in the backyard, laying his head back on his pillow. It exposed histhroat, and Darius found himself fighting against his desire to kiss the skin under Luis’ chin. “God, the music is incredible.”
Darius sat up and swung his feet off the bed. “That’s the Molly kicking in,” he said.
“It’s awesome.” Luis waved his hands in the air. “It’s like every part of my body is lit up at the same time. Where are you going?”
Luis grabbed him and pulled him back down onto the bed, then tangled their legs together. His body moved from side to side in time with the music.
“I want to go dance,” Luis said.
“Probably not a good idea, chico, if you don’t want your mom to see you high.”
That seemed to sober Luis for a moment. He stopped writhing but tightened his legs around Darius’ thighs and rolled on top of him.Damn, he’s strong, Darius thought. It wasn’t like he didn’t know how hard Luis worked on the cheer squad or that Luis’ arms and legs were beautifully muscled and powerful. Of course he knew. But it was one thing to watch Luis during practices and games and another to feel those muscles tighten around him, to feel the power in them, their firmness, their warmth.
Fuck. Darius needed to think about anything other than how many times he had dreamed of lying beneath Luis like this, of how much he longed to raise his chin and close the distance between their mouths. He needed to get up, needed to get away before he did something he couldn’t take back.
“Luis—”
“Oh my God, feel that,” Luis said. He pushed himself up, still straddling Darius, their groins dangerously aligned, and rocked forward. “That.”
Yeah.That. Darius thought his head was going to explode as he felt Luis’ erection rub against his own. If the way his body reacted was even a shadow of what Luis was feeling because ofthe X…Darius didn’t even want to think about it. He needed to regain control before they did something they would both regret.
Darius sat up as well, pushing Luis back so he could free his legs. Even though his body was protesting, his mind was made up. This couldn’t go anywhere.
Once Darius was standing, Luis flopped back onto his bed and stared at some spot in the air, his head nodding to the beat of the DJ’s music. “I feel like I’ve never listened to music before,” he said. “Like there’s notes I’ve never heard before. It’s so cool. And I can hear everyone talking outside, and it’s like they’re part of the music, too.”
Without warning, Luis popped up to his feet and held out his hand to Darius. “Come dance with me, cariño.”
The endearment kept Darius motionless as Luis approached him with a wicked grin. Luis, who had never called him anything other than “bro” or “chico,” took hold of his hand and pulled him close, swaying to the salsa beat with a sexy roll of his hips that made Darius bite back a groan.
“Luis—”
