14. Cyrus

14

CYRUS

N ico and I lay in bed for the rest of the morning, lazing about and enjoying each other’s embrace. It was the ideal way to spend the weekend, just the two of us with no one else to bother us and nothing to worry about.

I stroked his hair and massaged his shoulders, kissed the back of his neck, everything two lovers did when they were, well, in love. I was falling for him, as much as I knew it would only hurt me in the long run. Nico didn’t share my feelings and he’d been clear about that from the beginning. Nothing outside of my feelings had changed, but the worst part was that I didn’t even care. I was too consumed by love right now to care one bit about the future.

Nico, of course, only had eyes for my cock. He liked me well enough, I was convinced of that much, but his love didn’t extend beyond the flesh. He practically begged me to let him try blowing me again that evening, but I declined.

“We can have sex again tomorrow,” I told him. “You need to pace yourself, my dear fellow. Even two humans can’t possibly have sex all the time.”

“They can try,” Nico insisted.

“And unless they wish to fail, it’s best not to tempt fate.”

That seemed to quell his desires for a little while. We spent the day talking about every little thing we could think of, and each hour that flew by, I found myself admiring my lover more and more. The sun set lower and lower yet we continued to talk well into the evening, even after the birds had all gone to bed, the frogs tired of croaking, and a warm spring rain started up.

“My first-ever boyfriend cheated on me,” Nico told me as I rubbed up and down along his thigh absentmindedly while we lounged on the couch.

We’d managed to move from the bedroom to the living room at some point during the afternoon, but somehow we’d still landed back in each other’s arms. It was difficult to pry Nico away from me, and even more difficult still considering I didn’t want to.

“I’m terribly sorry,” I murmured. “That must have been difficult for you.”

“It was. I had a hard time trusting my partners for a long time after that, and it led to some pretty messy breakups.”

“When did you start trusting people again?”

“When I met my last boyfriend, Cade. He was a wonderful man and he reminded me how much good there still was in life.”

“What happened to him? I mean, why are you not still together?”

Nico sighed. “Cade determined that he wasn’t interested in men after all. It broke my heart, but I couldn’t force him not to be true to himself. He’s married to a beautiful woman now and they have a kid. We still keep in touch sometimes, but we’re both busy and we’ve kind of moved on from that period in our lives.”

“That’s not too tragic of an ending, is it?” I traced a finger along his hip bone.

“No, I guess not. It could have been worse, although I don’t think I could love anyone else again like I loved him – not that I want to. Love is overrated anyway.”

My fingers lingered on the meaty part of his thigh. “Is it?” I asked, hoping the shakiness in my voice didn’t betray my disagreement.

“Eh, it’s all right for some people – not me, though. I think it’s more fun to move from guy to guy and experience a whole range of personalities and –“ his hand cupped my knee, fingers tightening with surprising strength –“bodies. But I’ve said enough. Now it’s your turn. What happened to all your men of the past?”

I stopped caressing his leg entirely. “I…haven’t dated much, to tell you the truth. I used the library’s matchmaking services because I have such trouble finding dates on my own.”

Nico furrowed his brow, looking back at me with a level of concern I couldn’t help but find endearing. “Why? You’re such a catch.”

“Thank you.”I chuckled. “Not everyone feels that way, though.”

“Well, they’re plain wrong. I can’t imagine someone turning down the chance to date an orc. It’s heaven on earth.”

“You flatter me, really. I did date one man for a year or so – a human, like you, although he was a little closer to my size.”

“A year is a long time. What happened?”

“He didn’t like some of my quirks. That happens in long-term relationships, as I’m sure you’re aware. Things you don’t believe will bother you at first chip away at you over time and eventually become too annoying to ignore.”

Nico sat up, turning till he was sitting in a way that he could see my face. “Let me get this straight: he didn’t like some things about you, so you broke up?”

“That’s right.”

“And what annoyed you about him?”

I shook my head and shrugged. “Nothing. I liked him a great deal. We had fun together, and for a time, it felt like we were the perfect match.”

“Well, He missed out then because you’re a real catch.”

“Maybe to you, but not to him. After he left, I thought I would never find someone who loved me again, and I’m sorry to admit that I think that’s true.”

Nio grabbed the side of my face, wrapping his fingers behind my neck. “Don’t you ever say that again, Cyrus P. Cartwright. You’re a wonderful man and completely deserving of love. Anyone who tells you differently has no right.”

I smiled sadly. “But how can it be wrong when the fact is, I’ve yet to find anyone who loves me – and I mean truly loves me?”

Nico fell silent. He couldn’t say those words, especially not after his loveless rant. I didn’t want him to either, not if he didn’t mean them.

“Well,” I said after a long and painful bout of silence, “I think it’s time for us to go to bed if we want to have any energy reserved for tomorrow.” I moved his hand away from my face and got up, stretching for a moment before leaving him on the couch to mull over our conversation.

“Are we doing anything tonight?” he called back hopefully, just as I was about to close the bedroom door behind me to get changed into pajamas.

“No, my dear fellow. Tonight we shall enjoy our sleep.”