Through half-closed eyes he saw Echo reach and turn the stove off, and, almost in the same moment, flick the blinds closed. Then Echo was kissing him, his mouth, his neck, his collarbone, and Peri could no longer think, all he could do was feel. The world was hot and wet and soft and hard. It felt like blissing out on the edge of the sun.
Everything zoomed sharply into focus as Echo gently pressed Peri’s back against the wall next to the window and, keeping a hand to Peri’s chest, sank down on his knees in front of him. When he dragged Peri’s leggings down with his teeth and licked a stripe all the way up Peri’s inner thigh to the place Peri really wanted Echo to touch him, Peri’s brain whited out for a second.
He watched Echo swallow him deep, panted and keened at the heavy feel of Echo’s face pressed between his legs, his warm mouth sucking noisily. He could orgasm just from thinking about Echo doing this to him. And thinking was nowhere near as intense as reality. Reality was a full body experience. Reality made his fingertips tingle, made his hyper sensitive skin feel like it was being struck by hot rain. The blissful sensations inside him grew and grew until they were suddenly so big, they eclipsed even his sense of self. For a blinding bright moment, Peri was at one with everything—nothing was separate. His body was white light. Stars exploded behind his eyelids. The heat of them pouring out of him and into Echo’s mouth in powerful jerky waves.
When he came back to himself, he found his legs had buckled and he’d slid down the wall. Echo lay sprawled between his legs licking and kissing him very, very gently, his hand moving lazily up and down inside his open trousers.
Echo said something, but Peri just smiled at him, his brain was still too fuzzy and blown apart for him to try to make sense of the words. He knew Echo didn’t mind, knew Echo understood when he didn’t always hear him right, when he was slow at things. Echo loved him and Peri could feel it, as real and solid as the floor beneath his legs, the roof above them keeping the rain out.
He loved the feel of Echo’s mouth on him after. Loved how Echo liked to take care of him after sex, and in the middle of it, like now.
“I love it when you come so hard like that. I love that it’s from something I’m doing to you,” Echo said, and this time the words didn’t dart out of Peri’s reach. “I think being this turned on might actually kill me one day.”
Peri’s grin grew so big it felt like it took over his whole face. He knew being turned on wouldn’t kill Echo really. Knew the words meant Echo was close to his own star-soaked bliss, could see Echo had stopped stroking and was gripping the base of himself like he did when he was really close to orgasm and was trying to hold on to it.
“Can I lick your arsehole?” Echo panted a little as he spoke, his eyes never leaving Peri’s.
The words were like a jolt. They made Peri’s skin goosebump up all over.
“I want to taste you when I come,” Echo half-moaned, half-whispered.
Peri wriggled out of his leggings and pants, pulled his sweatshirt off over his head, then lifted himself so he was kneeling over Echo’s face. Leaning forwards, he bent low, breathed Echo’s wonderful musky scent deep, then gently poked his tongue in Echo’s slit and swallowed the slick, salty fluid around it. Echo shuddered beneath him as Peri nuzzled and kissed all that silky hardness. Peri loved doing this so much.
His whole body shook as he felt Echo spread him apart, gasped at the first touch of his tongue. The long, flat lick of it, all the way from his testicles to the base of his spine.
Echo’s groan vibrated all the way through him. Bottom to top. And Peri gasped as so much sensation sent him spiralling. He was going to come again like this. He didn’t always even need to be touched to come. But being touched like this made his orgasms more intense somehow.
In his mouth, he felt Echo grow even harder, felt the pause in him, then the tremble, knew Echo was right then falling over his own edge into blissfulness. That they could do this together, feel it, be so close to know such rare and secret things about one another made Peri gasp.
“I love you,” he heard Echo say breathlessly over and over between licks and kisses, and being held so safely in that love, Peri pushed back against Echo’s tongue and let go.
Two
Echo
Echo’s phone rang as he and Peri were curling up around one another in bed. Sex had made them both sleepy. With his arms around Peri, he turned his head and glanced at the screen. He wouldn’t’ve answered a call from many people right then, but Lucky was one of the people he’d have stayed awake all night for. Lucky had cared for him when he couldn’t take care of himself. She’d been there for him when Marsha had died. And now she was travelling the world with her little girl, and writing for a popular travel blog under a pseudonym, earning just enough money to live off.
He kissed Peri’s ear. “It’s Lucky,” he whispered, before answering the call and putting it on speakerphone so Peri could hear. “Hey, Lucky, how are you?”
“Hey yourself! I’m good but, wow, tired. Glad to be settling into a chalet rather than a hotel room for once. There’s so much room! Which is good, as I’m making this one my longest stop for over a year. How are you both doing?”
“We’re good.” He glanced at Peri and smiled. “Really good…Um, I thought you were going to Iceland and staying at a spa for a few days?”
“No, I skipped it. I was a bit travelled out, so I came to Lapland early. Oh my god, you have to see this place! It’s Christmas on steroids. I am sending you all the pictures when I have internet sorted. I’m sorry my signal is so rubbish I can’t skype you both.”
“How is Annouska?” Peri asked slowly, snuggling close, his head on Echo’s chest.
Peri always asked after Lucky’s little girl. And every time he did, Echo was reminded of the happy glow Peri had had holding her in his arms when they’d visited Lucky in hospital a few weeks after she’d given birth. Peri would make a wonderful dad one day. Though the thought of ever being a parent still mostly terrified Echo.
“She’s getting bloody heavy. But I’m sure she’s going to take her first step any day now. She had a whale of a time falling on her face in the snow this afternoon. Oh, and there are even reindeer in the paddock behind the chalet! I’ll send you all the pictures as soon as I can.”
Echo hugged Peri closer. “It sounds amazing.”
“Also, the food here…I’ve had Christmas dinner twice already and we only arrived yesterday evening!”
Echo’s stomach rumbled.
Peri glanced up at him, then sat up and signed, I’ll be back. I forgot something. I was making you a surprise before we…he stopped and grinned. “Bye, Lucky,” he said as he climbed backwards off the bed.
“Bye Peri sweetheart.”
Lucky always called him that and the endearment made Peri light up every time. His bond with Lucky was quiet and very sweet.
Echo waited until Peri was out of the room before whispering, “Listen, I’m thinking about organising something for Peri. On Christmas Eve.”
“Like what?” Lucky whispered back.
“Like a sort of dance…? He’s never been to a proper one. I mean obviously not a huge thing, just, I don’t know, something magical for him. What do you think? It’d just be with our closest friends. They never did that sort of thing at the school he was at, and when we watch TV shows and films, he’s all wide eyed if they have any kind of Christmas dances. He just loves Christmas, the cosiness, the lights, the spending time with people and giving presents, all of it. And he loves surprises.”