Better Than People (Garnet Run 1)

Simon nodded, eyes fixed on Jack’s mouth.

Jack pulled him in, Simon’s hands on his shoulders, Simon’s face to his. And Jack kissed him. Jack kissed him with all the reassurance and desire he could possibly transmit.

He felt Simon’s gasp, felt the shudder that ran through him when Jack touched his tongue with his own, and he made himself a promise that whenever the time was right, he would see Simon dissolve into gasps and shudders and screams.

Simon pressed closer to him and Jack brushed his fingers down Simon’s throat. Simon made a shocked sound of pleasure that tore through Jack, sent his mind racing in a dozen directions at once as he imagined all the things they could do.

Jack slid his tongue against Simon’s, slick and hot, tasting him. Simon gasped again and Jack groaned.

Then Simon hiccoughed.

Simon jerked away so quickly Jack almost fell forward off the bench. He clapped his hands over his mouth and his eyes were huge. He hiccoughed again.

“Hey,” Jack said, reaching out a hand. “You okay?”

Simon rolled his eyes and Jack could recognize his look of mortification by now, even with his hands covering half his face. He scrambled to his feet, face turning red again.

“Simon, hey. It’s no big deal. C’mere.”

Simon groaned, and this time it was not in pleasure. He was about to bolt, Jack could tell. He struggled to his feet as Simon ran through the bedroom door.

“Simon, dammit, don’t make me run after you when I can’t run! Fucking fuck,” he muttered at his leg. He grabbed his crutches and made his way to the living room as quickly as he could.

“Seriously, you promised your grandmother!”

But when he rounded the corner of the living room, Simon wasn’t pulling on his coat and shoes to leave. He was standing in the corner, face pressed to the wood, arms wrapped around himself.

“You look like the goddamn Blair Witch.”

Simon snorted, which could have been a laugh or an angry exhalation.

“Okay, okay, come on. Tell me what the big deal is, please. You hiccoughed. It’s not the end of the world. Hell, I burped in a girl’s mouth once.”

And, okay, he hadn’t quite meant to admit that, but anything to underline how little this mattered.

Simon shook his head, clearly not reassured.

When Jack got to him, he slid a hand up his spine. Simon didn’t move away, so he rested his palm on the back of Simon’s neck. He could feel his flush.

“Hey. You just embarrassed or is something really wrong? Cuz you’re scaring me a little. Been a while since someone’s actually hidden in a corner just to get away from me. And that was during dodgeball.”

Simon slumped.

“Just emb-barrassed,” he choked out.

“Okay.” Jack rubbed Simon’s neck and into his hair.

Slowly, Simon relaxed. He muttered something Jack couldn’t make out.

“What’s that?”

“Can’t believe I r-ruined it.”

“You didn’t ruin anything,” Jack said. “Hell, kiss me again right now and pretend it never happened, if you want to.”

“Can’t,” Simon said, peeking at Jack.

“Can’t kiss me again?”

Simon shook his head. “Can’t pret-t-tend.”

Jack was running his fingers through Simon’s hair, entranced by how soft it was.

“Yeah, how come?”

“C-cuz,” Simon said.

“Oh. Well, that clears things up,” Jack joked, giving Simon’s neck a little squeeze.

Simon snorted and elbowed him.

Jack steered him around by the shoulder, wanting to see his face.

“What’s up, darlin’?” he said. “Because why?”

“B-b-bec-cause. It was my f-f-f-first k-k-k-k—”

Simon made an exasperated face at himself and Jack felt like his heart stopped.

“Your first kiss?”

Simon nodded miserably.

Jack felt like his dick went from zero to oh god in the space of that one movement. He wasn’t sure why that did it for him and he didn’t, quite frankly, care to interrogate it. He just knew that the idea that he’d been sweet Simon Burke’s first kiss set him on fire.

“Oh, fuck,” he groaned, and dropped his head to Simon’s shoulder. “That’s just—I, wow.”

Simon stiffened and Jack lifted his head to find Simon looking uncertain.

“No, sorry, I—Fuck, that’s so... I’m honored.”

He cupped Simon’s face and watched the relief relax his jaw and brow.

“Can I be your second kiss too?” Jack said, brushing Simon’s mouth with his thumb. “Please.”

Simon blinked.

“I promise I won’t burp,” Jack said very seriously, and was rewarded with a tiny smile.

Simon nodded and Jack felt like he’d been given a great gift.

“Thank you,” he breathed, and he kissed Simon. Gently at first—slowly. Then he slanted his mouth over Simon’s and deepened the kiss. The taste of Simon was delicious and the tentative way he touched his tongue to Jack’s made him wild.

When Simon started to breathe heavily, Jack eased off, weaning himself of that gorgeous mouth with gentle kisses to his lips, cheekbones, temple.

They stood together, breathing hard, and Simon reached out a tentative hand to touch Jack’s mouth.

Eyes burning and lips swollen, Simon said, “Wow.”

Chapter Seven

Simon

Simon replayed the kiss in his mind a hundred times. Hell, make it a thousand. That night, after the storm had blown through and he’d made his way home, he lay in bed, shut his eyes tight, and went over every detail he could remember. It turned out he could remember enough to make his heart race, his dick go hard, and his breath come short just thinking about it.