Chapter 29 - Brave.

My Adventure Pal didn’t stay long. We gave Brian the short story about where the tunnel ended up and why we had to come back overland instead of underground. Except for a few terse yet pertinent questions he was quiet while we told our tale. The whole time, though, he had a virtual death grip on my hand, like he was afraid I’d disappear if he let go for even a second. Any other day and I would have teased him rotten about it, but I could sense how much he needed the contact, so I let it go and just enjoyed the feel of his hand holding mine.

Daph had a shift at the hospital that night, so before long she had to book or she would have been late. Even after she was gone, however, Eggy was still pensive. I started thinking that maybe my dusty clothing was squicking him out or something, so I proposed a shower. From the way Brian jumped at that suggestion, I figured it was the right call.

So I led him into the bathroom and started the water running in the shower. Eggy was strangely passive about the whole thing - not his usual controlling self - which was confusing as shit. I was used to the domineering, OCD, micromanager who liked to be in control of everything within his gleaming tower. I mean, shoot me, but there’s something really hot about the way he sometimes orders me around, even if it’s just complaining about the way I left a dirty spoon on the counter. This more laid back version of my Hermit was a bit confusing.

Even when we got into the shower together, the hot water pelting down and washing away any residual filth left over from my sojourn in the bowels of the City, Brian was still wary and too quiet. I wondered if my insisting on exploring the tunnel - against his explicit wishes - might have been too much. Was he angry at me? I hadn’t thought he was the type to brood about it, but maybe . . . In the end I decided there was no help for it and I just needed to bite the bullet.

“I’m sorry for freaking you out by going back into those tunnels, Eggy,” I finally said, approaching him carefully with the bar of soap held out in front of me as a sort of peace offering. “If it’s any consolation, at least we found the end of the tunnel and I won’t be obsessing about that part of the mystery any more.” Brian simply shrugged and continued to work the soap into a lather with his hands. “And the good news is that we proved the tunnels are at least safe, right?”

“For the moment,” he conceded. “That’s not to say that they’re stable long-term. Hell, you hear about old, forgotten, mine shafts collapsing into sink holes all the time around here. All it takes is a heavy rain and one overloaded semi driving over the top of one of those things and the next thing you know you’ve got a hole

in the road big enough to swallow a VW.”

“Maybe, but . . .”

“No buts. I don’t want you crawling around in those tunnels anymore, Justin. I just . . . I just don’t, okay?”

“I’m done for now. I promise.” And then I leaned in to give him a soapy kiss to seal that vow.

Somehow, though, our agreement hadn’t alleviated the tension completely. Brian was still pensive and our shower ended up being just that - two men getting clean - without any of the usual playfulness. I had a bad feeling about it all. I didn’t like thinking that Eggy was still angry at me about the tunnel thing despite my apology. But what else could I do or say?

As soon as we were both clean, Brian abruptly shut off the water and got out, leaving me to drip dry on my own. I started wondering if this was his subtle way of telling me to get lost. I climbed out of the shower on my own and started to towel myself off, mentally prepared to just get dressed and get the hell out of there, but when I reached over to retrieve my shirt from the laundry hamper where Brian had thrown it, he grabbed my wrist and stopped me.

“You’re not getting dressed again, are you?” he asked nervously, biting at his bottom lip and looking up at me almost shyly from behind his impossibly long lashes.

I was so confused. “I thought, maybe, you were still pissed off at me or something and I should just leave. I mean . . .”

“No. No, I don’t want you to leave,” he interrupted me and then sighed. “Fuck. I fucking suck at this shit . . .” He started pacing around the small confines of his tiny bathroom, making like a caged beast.

Okay, total disconnect here; guess I was getting my signals totally mixed and he hadn’t really wanted me to leave. But whatever was getting my man all riled up, it had to be something big. I could tell Eggy’s breathing was becoming more rapid and there was a little tic at the corner of his mouth that was spasming, all indicating just how agitated he was getting. Something was really bothering my guy and I needed to figure it out fast. I let the shirt fall back into the hamper and turned to take my tongue-tied hermit in hand.

“Eggy, stop.” I grabbed hold of him on his next pass and took both his hands in my own, pulling him around till he was facing me. “I’m not leaving, okay?”

He nodded his head and I could see his body relax a little at those words, but he was still tightly wound.

“Let’s go to bed,” I suggested. It was barely starting to get dark outside and I wasn’t even remotely tired, but I wanted - no, I needed - to have my man as close to me as possible right then. Something wasn’t right with him and I wasn’t going anywhere until I knew what was wrong.

Brian gave me a quick, tight-lipped smile and turned before making his way towards the bedroom. I watched him walking away, bare except for the towel wrapped around his waist, and I felt myself staring at those beautiful muscles in his back. Fuck, he was gorgeous. Once we were in the bedroom I watched as he put on a clean pair of boxers. I went to do the same, but as soon as he saw what I was doing he reached over and stopped me.

“Huh?” I could feel my nose scrunch up in confusion, but he just shook his head.

He sat on the bed and scooted back until his back was against the headboard. “Leave them off.”

I nodded silently and went to drop my briefs onto the floor, but caught myself in time and laid them on the back of the chair next to the bed. I then turned around and climbed atop the mattress next to him. Why was I so fucking nervous? Something in Brian had changed but I couldn’t figure out what it was; I only knew that he seemed to have come to some decision and afterwards most of that nervous tension I’d been sensing had dissipated.

“Lay down,” he ordered.

I did as I was told, keeping my eyes on his the whole time. I could hear him breathing loudly through his nose, something I noticed he did when he was excited. He then turned himself so that he was laying on his side and leaning slightly over me.

“I . . . damn it. I . . .” He cleared his throat and took a deep breath while he struggled to find his words.

I placed my hand on his bicep and smiled up at him, giving him one of my best toothy grins. He smiled a little in return and then I felt him lean across me and open the drawer on the bedside table. I didn’t even think to look at what he was doing, I was too happy having his chest brush across my face and couldn’t help myself as I peppered his skin with small, butterfly-soft kisses. Once he’d retrieved whatever he was looking for, he moved away from me slightly.

“What’s the matter?” I asked  

Brian then leaned forward and pressed a small kiss against my lips. “Nothing’s the matter.”

“Okay . . .” It was then that I noticed what he was clutching so tightly in his hand - one of the flavored condoms I’d been using when I blew him - and I raised one questioning eyebrow.

He must have seen my surprise because he shook his head. “Now, don’t be getting any wild ideas,” he said solemnly “As much as I want to fuck you into the mattress,” he groaned softly, “I’m not ready for that yet.” It broke my heart hearing how angry he sounded with himself when he said that. If only he could see just how far he had already come; sometimes it seemed he was too busy listening to his doubts to see how much progress he’d made.

“I swear, I wasn’t having any such ideas,” I said as seriously as I could. “My brain would never allow me such impure thoughts.”

He burst out laughing and the tension in the room went down another half a notch.

Once we’d stopped laughing, I could sense his eyes on me and I felt myself shiver.

He then handed me a coffee flavored condom. “Put this on; slip it on your dick.”

I did as I was told, my eyes never leaving his. The tension in the room had shot back up, but this time it was comprised of a delicious sexual frisson, not that sick, futile nervousness. Once the condom was on, I waited patiently for my next instruction. I could feel Brian doing something behind me and suddenly his hand was on my chest and he’d pushed me down against the stack of pillows he’d been arranging. As my back hit the bed, I let out a whoosh of air.

“This time I’m going to suck YOU off, Justin,” Eggy announced, so matter-of-factly, that I almost forgot to inhale again.

Just hearing him say those words caused my dick to stand at attention. I couldn’t believe that, after all this time, my cock would finally be where it had always wanted to be; inside Brian’s hot mouth. Fuck, I could feel myself leaking just thinking about it. I watched as he moved down the bed, spreading my legs and situating himself between them, then gently stroking my hips for a few moments as though he was getting himself accustomed to my skin. After another minute or two, he wriggled down the bed so that he could lay at full length, propped up on his arms. He looked up at me from under his lashes, an almost bashful look on his face, and carefully wrapped his hand around my dick. His grip firmed, he gave a few quick pumps to get my cock primed, then he brought his head down and I could feel him breathing me in as he prepared himself.

I’m embarrassed to say that, at that particular moment, I wanted nothing more than to grab my dick in one hand and his head in the other and shove my coffee flavored cock as deep into his mouth as it would go. Of course, I knew I couldn’t do that. We weren’t anywhere close to being ready for something like that. I knew I couldn’t rush things; I had to wait for Brian to make the next move. And if I was being honest, I probably needed those few seconds to calm myself down as much as Brian needed the time to work out how he was going to proceed, so it was a good thing I was able to restrain myself. All in good time, right?

“Ready?” I wasn’t sure if he was talking to himself or asking me, but I was definitely ready for this moment - I had been since the moment I’d first set eyes on him.

Then came the moment I’d been waiting for; Brian leaned down and I watched with squinty eyes as he took my sheathed cock into his mouth. FUCK! My whole body was vibrating and I knew if I didn’t try and calm down a little, this would be over before it had really started.

The feel of his hair tickling against my hips as he began to bob up and down, alongside the feel of his tongue swirling around the tip of my cock for a few seconds before he swallowed me down completely, was like some kind of sensory overload. Maybe my brain was short circuiting? Not that I cared when it felt so good. So good. I mean, really, really, REALLY good.

Without warning, my hips began to lift off the bed almost of their own volition. I could hear myself making some sort of wild animal noise that I knew I would be embarrassed about later, not that I could help it. The more my hips moved, the more he worked his tongue into my slit. Then he swallowed me deeper and it felt like my entire cock was being massaged by his constricting throat muscles. My eyes fluttered closed and I kept them tightly shut so I could concentrate on the sensations he was evoking. Which is probably why I was so surprised when, out of nowhere, I felt a stinging slap to my thigh. Okay, if I’m being honest, that not-so-gentle love tap turned me on so fucking much I almost shot right then. I was right on the edge and ready to pop, I just needed a little more . . .

Without thinking about what I was doing, I adjusted my legs, reached down, and began playing with my hole, circling it gently with one finger, feeling it pulse and open with the need to be filled, while Brian continue to suckle at my over-happy dick. Then, suddenly, Brian stopped moving and my cock slipped out of his mouth with a pop. I groaned loudly at the loss of contact and opened my eyes to see what was wrong. The look on his face was so hot and his eyes were dark and staring, but he wasn’t looking at my dick, he was fixated on my wayward finger which had just made entry into my ass. Fuck, I’d probably taken it too far . . . I started to panic and began to pull my finger out, when I suddenly felt his hand gripping my wrist.

“Shit, Brian. I’m sorry . . . I wasn’t think . . .”

He shook his head and growled like some sort of hungry bear before pushing my finger back into my spasming hole, guiding me like a puppet-master, moving my finger in and out, hard and fast and deep. His eyes never once left my hole. It was as though he was hypnotized by what he was seeing. And, almost like magic, he seemed to know just when I needed more, pulling my hand out slightly, flicking at my middle finger till I’d moved it next to the first, and then watching as I inserted it alongside my index finger. Brian groaned loudly at the sight but then went back to giving my dick the attention it so desperately craved.

This time, however, he wasn’t just sucking me to death, he was simultaneously finger fucking me like I’d never been fingered before. Yes, it was my own finger inside of me, but he was the one controlling every movement and, if I closed my eyes, I could imagine it was him inside of me, pushing and stretching my hole. I felt my orgasm building up quickly, but like the greedy fuck I am, I still needed more. It didn’t matter that my cock was hitting the back of his throat, or that he was pushing two fingers in and out of me like his life depended on it, I needed more. And somehow he knew this too, helping by manipulating my hand so I could insert a third finger. His hand was still wrapped tightly around my wrist, and never too near my probing fingers, but I didn’t care. I loved that it was him who was controlling the movements and the speed - it gave me a little insight into what he’d be like when the time came for us to fuck for real. Judging by the way he was working my fingers, my ass was going to be sore for days, but I couldn't care less by that point. I was so far gone. So aroused. So fucking turned on by this crazy, unpredictable, amazing man, that I wanted to scream and cry and then maybe just melt into a puddle at his feet.

But I didn’t have time for any of that right then because, just thinking about us finally fucking - along with the push and pull of his hand on my fingers and his hot, wet mouth making love to my cock - sent me over the edge in probably the most intense orgasm I had ever had. My ass clenched around my fingers so tightly it almost hurt, and my dick emptied itself into the condom at an impressive rate. And while all this was happening Brian continued to play with my dick inside of his mouth until I was completely empty.

“Fuck!” I realized that wasn’t the most eloquent thing to say at a time like that, but I couldn’t find any other appropriate words.

“You never know . . .” Brian replied with a mischievous wink as he climbed up the mattress and laid down next to me. “Maybe sooner than you’d think.” I offered up a happy, sated smile for my emboldened lover and rolled over so I could snuggle closer into his side. “It looks like those happy pills Daphne’s friend made me take are working, otherwise I never would have even dreamed of doing . . . that . . .”

He reached over, pulled a wet wipe out of one of the ubiquitous containers that were everywhere in his place, and handed it over to me so I could cleanse my contaminated fingers. Yeah, good sex was never tidy, but it was nice to see that Brian wasn’t freaking out over the fact, and that he was definitely loosening up a bit finally. When my hands were clean, I stripped off the condom and used another wipe to clean off my cock. And, while I was doing that, I saw Brian doing the same.

“Hey, when did you glove up?” I asked, noting the full condom he tossed in the nearby trash can.

“While you were busy rolling around and moaning,” he informed me, obviously proud of the fact that he’d been the one making me moan. “Can’t believe I shot just from giving someone ELSE a fucking blow job, but what the fuck, right?”

“It’s those flavored condoms,” I teased. “They’ll get you every time.”

That caused the big guy to laugh. I really loved that fucking laugh, too. It was big and bold and uninhibited and far too rare. My Eggy should definitely laugh way more often. And right then and there, I made that my goal for the foreseeable future.

“So . . . Not that I’m complaining or anything, but what brought all this on?” I asked when we were both quiet again.

“No idea. I just . . . I felt like it.” He smiled that sweet, little-boy, smile that always made my heart feel all melty. “I’ve been wanting to try that ever since you brought over those damn condoms - which, by the way, taste horrible. Coffee-flavored my ass. Actually, I’m sure my ass tastes better than that thing - but anyway . . .” Egbert fell silent but I could tell he wasn’t done talking so for once I didn’t immediately pipe up and fill the void with chatter like I normally would have. Eventually he continued, “you and Daphne were gone so long. I was really freaking out, you know? I tried yelling down the tunnel, but I guess you were too far away to hear me. At the end, I was even contemplating heading down the fucking tunnel to come find you - if you can imagine that.” I gave him an extra big squeeze with the hand that I had draped around his waist, silently conveying how proud I was of him for even thinking about such a bold move. “I don’t know if it’s those happy pills, or just the fact that you make me want to do all sorts of shit I haven’t dared to even think about in almost a decade, but for about five minutes that was my plan. I was going to march right down that fucking tunnel and come to your rescue.”

“Awww! Sorry to disappoint you. Next time I’ll make sure to get trapped and await my big, brave savior.”

Eggy slapped my hip playfully. “Bite your fucking tongue, Sunshine.” We both chuckled quietly together before Brian got all serious again and added, “how about you just don’t go down there again, huh? I’m not really as brave as all that; I’d probably panic once I got ten meters into the tunnel and then we’d have to have someone else come save both of us.”

“I think you’re braver than you think,” I asserted with a happy sigh as we both settled even deeper into the pillows. “But I don’t think any future rescues will be necessary. I don’t plan to go back into the tunnels at this point. Now that I know where they go, my curiosity is satisfied . . . well, mostly. I’d still love to know how Peebles managed to build his tunnel all the way to the Duquesne Club without somebody saying something. And also, what happened between Peebles and Billy.”

“You’re a fucking romanitic twat, you know that right?”

“Of course,” I admit. “But that’s why you can’t resist me. Because you desperately need some romance in your life, Eggy.”

And the fact that my brave little recluse didn’t even try to deny this assertion, spoke louder than all the words in the world.