A Good Enough Reason (25 page)

“Has Mark tried anything else since then?”

“He followed me and Dale. To the theater, and to my house. He took pictures and posted them on Facebook. That’s how everyone knows about us.”

“Do you want me to call your parents?”

Ellis shook his head. “No, not yet. But could you let Dale in? He should be outside.”

Mr. Shea got up and went to open the door. Ellis heard him talk to someone, then the door closed again and a hand landed on Ellis’s shoulder. He looked up and smiled weakly at his boyfriend.

Mr. Shea sat back down. “All right. Ellis, I’m going to need you to write everything down. Write what you remember, details, if there was anyone else there, when and where it happened. Once we have that, we’ll go to the principal with it.”

“Do I write what Mark told me? In the bathroom?”

“Yes, even the parts where he mentioned me. Don’t worry about it.”

“Won’t you have problems?”

“Why? The only relationship we have is a student-teacher one. I’m not worried about this, but I
am
worried about you. Are you eighteen yet?”

Ellis shook his head.

“Then we’re going to have to tell your parents about it.”

Ellis nodded. “I know. What happens after we go to the principal? To Mark, I mean?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure. This doesn’t look like just bullying, Ellis. I don’t think he’ll be arrested because technically he didn’t touch you, but I think you could get a restraining order, and the principal will want to talk to him and to his parents, maybe suggest some counseling.”

Ellis hoped they could do something more concrete than just talk to Mark, because he really didn’t want to see how Mark would react to Ellis reporting him.

Chapter Fifteen

ELLIS HAD
been nervous ever since Dale invited him over to his dad’s apartment. His dad’s
empty
apartment.

Dale’s father was out with Alicia, and that meant Dale and Ellis would be alone for the first time since they’d started dating. Every time they’d seen each other, it’d been either in public or over at Ellis’s house, with at least one member of his family downstairs.

So yeah. He was nervous. He knew he was the one with experience with guys, but Matt had never made his heart beat like it was trying to get out of his chest. Matt had never made Ellis’s hands damp with sweat.

“El? I need to go.”

Ellis nodded at Connor. “Yeah. I’m going.” He looked at the building where Dale’s dad lived and swallowed.

“Do you need me to come and pick you up later?”

“No, Dale’s going to bring me back home.”

“Okay, great.”

Ellis opened the door, but Connor stopped him before he could get out. “Take this.”

Connor pressed something in Ellis’s hand, and Ellis felt himself go red as he cringed at the condom and two small packets of lube. “I don’t need—
why
?”

“Because you’re seventeen, and you’re going to be alone with your boyfriend. I put two packets because I read you need lots of lube.”

“I—why is everyone suddenly interested in my love life?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m interested. I just want you to be fine and have a good time.”

“Okay, I’m going to pretend you didn’t tell me to have a good time, and go. But… thanks. For this.” Ellis held up the condom and lube. “Not that I’ll be needing it, but thanks.”

“Yeah, okay. See you tomorrow.”

Ellis stuck his tongue out and climbed out of his brother’s truck. “Nothing’s gonna happen, but if it does I won’t tell you.”

“Whatever. It’s not like I want details about my brother’s sex life.”

Ellis laughed and waved as Connor drove away. His brother had managed to calm him a bit, but his stomach was still full of butterflies when he walked out of the elevator and knocked on Dale’s front door. Dale opened it and greeted him with a smile before leaning in and kissing him softly.

Ellis was still nervous, but this was them. Dale had never forced him to do anything, and Ellis knew he wouldn’t start now, even though they were alone. He didn’t have to do anything he didn’t want to.

“So, do you want to go to my room?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m kind of curious to see it.”

“It’s nothing much yet. Still a bit bland, but then I haven’t been living here for long.”

Ellis grimaced. “I’m sorry. Your mom still hasn’t come around?”

“She’s trying, but I feel more comfortable here, so…. Anyway, let’s go, huh? And I promise, no porn.”

Ellis blushed and followed Dale along the hallway. He sat on Dale’s bed as Dale disappeared and came back with two cans of soda.

“This okay?”

“Yeah.” Ellis opened his can and drank half of it, then put it down on Dale’s desk. He pressed his palms on his thighs and looked at his fingers, suddenly failing to find something to say. “Why is this so weird? I mean, we’ve been on dates, and we’ve kissed. Why is this…?” Ellis gestured because he didn’t know how to put it into words.

“Because we’re alone. It’s kind of expected we’ll have sex for the first time.”

Ellis was glad he wasn’t drinking because he would’ve spat everything. “Y-yeah?”

“Not that we have to. We can do or not do whatever we want. Just, you know. Yeah.”

Ellis smiled and looked around. This room was neater than the room Dale had at his mom’s house. It might be because most of his stuff was still in boxes from what Ellis could see, but it was obvious Dale had made an effort. The books on the desk were neatly stacked, the pens were all in the pen holder, the bed was made, and while the hamper was about to burst, there were no dirty clothes around the room. The laces of a shoe poked from under the bed, but the shoe itself wasn’t visible.

“This is nice.”

Dale scratched his head. “I haven’t had the time to unpack yet, but I’m slowly getting there.”

“Do you need help?”

“I want to say yes because I hate to unpack, but I’m not sure what you’d find in the boxes, so I’m going to say no, thank you.”

Ellis laughed and toed his shoes off. He pushed them under the bed with his foot and moved toward the middle of the mattress. He crossed his legs and put his elbows on his knees, leaning his chin on his joined hands. “So.”

Dale smiled and mirrored Ellis’s position, sitting in front of him, so close their noses almost touched. Ellis went crossed-eyed and Dale laughed.

He leaned forward to kiss Ellis, but he put too much enthusiasm behind it, and Ellis fell backward, Dale in tow. Dale sprawled on top of him while Ellis laughed.

“Not funny.”

“It was!”

“You know what’s funny?” Dale asked with a wicked glint in his eyes.

It made Ellis wary right away. “Uh, no. What?”

“Tickles.”

“Oh, no. We’re not five, Dale.”

Dale wiggled his fingers above Ellis’s face. “We don’t have to be five to enjoy tickles.”

The hands disappeared, and Dale ran his fingers along Ellis’s sides. Ellis pressed his elbows against his sides as hard as he could, but Dale found the weak spots without any problem.

They were both breathless and laughing when Dale finally stopped, only after Ellis had cried out uncle twice.

“I admit this wasn’t what I expected when you invited me over.”

They were both on their backs on the bed, their heads turned so they could watch each other, their hands twined between them.

Dale arched a brow. “What were you expecting? To find me naked and waiting for you with a bottle of lube in hand?”

Ellis blushed. “Not exactly.”

“But that’s not far from what you thought.”

“I didn’t expect to find you naked, but yeah. More or less.”

“El, we haven’t even talked about having sex yet.”

“Do we have to do it now? It’s kind of….”

“Embarrassing, yeah. I get it, but I think we should get it out of the way as soon as possible, because while I might not be exactly ready to, uh, bottom for you, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to do anything more than holding your hand.”

“You’ll bottom for me?” Ellis blurted out. That wasn’t what he had wanted to say, but it was out now, and he waited for Dale to answer without looking at him in the eyes.

“Yeah, I guess. I’ve never tried it, obviously, but I don’t expect you to do anything I haven’t at least tried once, so…. I’m not ready yet.”

“Me either. I mean, I’m not ready to bottom. Or to top. It’s scary.”

“Kinda.”

“But we can do other things.”

“As long as nothing gets inside anything for now, yeah.”

“Well, there was this thing I wanted to try.”

Dale’s eyes lit up with interest. “What was it?”

Ellis launched himself on his boyfriend and buried his hands in Dale’s armpits. He wiggled his fingers, and Dale yelped and tried to wriggle away.

Ellis pressed himself on top of Dale, trying to block him from escaping the tickle war, but he froze when he felt the prominent erection poking his hip.

Dale mirrored him and stopped moving. His cheeks were flushed, and he was still smiling like a loon. How could Ellis resist?

He leaned down and kissed Dale, letting his legs slide to either side until he was straddling his boyfriend. Dale was breathless when Ellis finally let him go. “So, what are you up to?” Ellis arched a brow, and Dale laughed. “Okay, I didn’t actually do that on purpose, but I can work with it. What I meant is, what are you up to doing and not doing?”

Ellis swallowed and decided to take the initiative. He sat up and took his T-shirt off, letting it fall wherever. Dale’s eyes widened, but he gave Ellis a grin, so Ellis took it as a good sign and not as an oh-my-God-you’re-so-ugly reaction.

When Dale didn’t have any other reaction, Ellis started squirming nervously. What if his boyfriend didn’t like what he was seeing? Dale was used to breasts and curves, and Ellis was seriously lacking both. He was kind of skinny, actually, and he had freckles scattered over his chest and stomach.

He started looking around for his T-shirt, but Dale’s hands on his hips stopped him. “You’re beautiful.”

Ellis’s heart stuttered, and he tried to make the fact that he’d been self-conscious less obvious. “Girls are beautiful. Guys are handsome.”

“Well, you’re both.”

“But I can’t—”

Dale arched his back, and his erection pressed against Ellis’s ass, making him yelp.

“I don’t care what you can or can’t be. I just know I think you’re hot, and so does Little Dale.”

Ellis looked at Dale and laughed. “Little Dale? Seriously?”

“Yup. Now, are we going to make him happy or not?”

“Only if you make Little Ellis happy too.”

“I think I can do that.”

Dale wriggled around and took his T-shirt off, and Ellis couldn’t take his eyes away from the muscles Dale had uncovered. It made him feel self-conscious, but then Dale was kissing him again and every worry flew right out the window.

He put his hands on Dale’s chest and trailed his fingers along his sides before skimming them on the edge of Dale’s jeans.

Dale squeezed Ellis’s waist and flipped them. He pressed Ellis against the mattress with his body and kissed him again, this time more sloppily. Ellis hooked a leg over Dale’s and pushed up, and Dale moved away. “So.”

Ellis shook his head and smiled. “What are
you
up to?”

Dale smirked and reached between them. He palmed Ellis’s cock, making Ellis yelp. “I think I’m up to getting naked.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Dale moved his fingers to Ellis’s belt and quickly unbuckled it. He pushed Ellis’s pants down, then had to get up to actually take them off. He yanked on Ellis’s socks when the pants were off and added them to the growing pile of clothes on the floor. His jeans were next, then his own socks, until they were both clad in only their underwear.

They looked at each other, and Ellis couldn’t help but feel a bit envious at the ease Dale seemed to have with nudity. Dale’s briefs were revealing. They outlined his cock, and it was almost worse than if he were naked, yet he wasn’t reacting, at all. Of course, Dale was used to being naked around other guys, what with him being on the soccer team, but still.

Then Dale pushed his briefs down and stepped out of them, and Ellis stopped thinking about soccer.

“Take yours off, now.”

Ellis didn’t even think about not doing it. He pushed his briefs down and shook them off his feet and onto the floor.

Dale crawled onto the bed again and kissed Ellis’s bellybutton. He left a trail of kisses up Ellis’s chest and teased one nipple before kissing Ellis’s mouth. “What do I do now?” he asked in a whisper.

“Do you have lube?”

Dale’s eyes widened a bit, but he nodded and reached for his nightstand. He dug in the drawer for a moment and handed Ellis a bottle of lube.

Ellis opened it and squirted some on his hand, then put it back on the nightstand. He reached down and slicked himself, then hesitated. Dale arched a brow in question, and Ellis shrugged. He reached for Dale and stroked him, spreading the lube around.

Dale groaned but didn’t move, and Ellis took his hand back. He opened his legs a bit wider and pressed on Dale’s shoulders, hoping his boyfriend would get the hint.

Dale smirked and aligned their bodies, pressing their hips together. They both moaned when they came in contact for the first time, and Ellis’s breath caught.

It was so different than it had been with Matt, not that he’d ever even been completely naked with him.

Dale thrust against Ellis, and every thought left Ellis’s mind. He grabbed at Dale’s shoulders again and tried to pull him even closer.

“Oh fuck,” Dale whispered in a ragged voice. He pumped his hips, and Ellis tried to keep up by clutching at him as his orgasm came closer. His entire body tightened, and he tipped his head backward in the pillow when he came between them. Dale followed soon after, grinding down and grunting.

They kissed breathlessly and sloppily until Dale flopped to the side. “That was….”

“Yeah.”

“What do you think about cuddles?”

Ellis smiled at the ceiling. “There’s a definite lack of them in my life right now.”

“We can’t have that.” Dale wiggled his fingers. “Come here.”