Chapter Four

Lovegame

Adam tried not to fidget as the three other people on the elevator stared at him, not even bothering to hide it; their stares were accusing. How dare he come to this place, to their haven? He gritted his teeth and stared straight ahead, pretending not to notice, even as he kept that pleasant grin glued to his face. Why, oh why did Joe have to live on the tenth floor? The "calming" elevator music only succeeded in irritating him even further. He didn't want to give the assholes any more satisfaction, so he resisted the urge to tap his foot impatiently. He didn't want to seem like a diva.

When the door finally opened to the tenth floor, he practically leaped out, not looking back to see their reactions. He'd been around people who didn't like him before, but he'd always been with a friend at the time, or his bodyguard. It was kinda strange getting that hateful vibe in such a nice, sunny place. The walls were made completely of stone, with a nice earthy orange glow. He could still sense the good mojo in this place, even after the way those people had acted.

He shrugged it off, and, after turning a corner, he pulled out the slip of paper with Joe's room number on it. 607. Adam stuffed the scrap of paper back into his pocket with almost as much difficulty as he'd had in getting it out (leather was both a curse and a gift).

Adam found the room in less than two minutes, but ended up spending another three minutes standing down at the other end of the hallway, trying to see his reflection in the glass window. He ran his fingers through his hair a few times, smudged his eyeliner just a tad and applied a little more lip gloss. There! That was as good as it was gonna get. He somehow managed to fit his lip gloss into his pocket as well. Why hadn't he brought a fucking jacket?

He stood in front of 607 for a few more moments, trying to ignore the little jitters his heart was making, though it wasn't entirely unpleasant. Adam took a deep breath before reaching out and knocking softly (but without hesitation) on the polished redwood door. It took all of Adam's willpower not to laugh, when he heard a small thud and then a muttered curse from the other side of the door. "I'm coming!"
All of about five seconds later, the door was flung open and Joe stood there, panting slightly but grinning, brown eyes wide and staring up eagerly at him. "Hi!" Adam couldn't help but smile at just how truly happy Joe was to see him. He stepped forward, hugging Joe easily and was (admittedly) almost giddy when Joe hugged him back without hesitation. After a several moments they pulled away (grinning like idiots) and Joe stepped aside so that Adam could enter.

The first thing that went through Adam's mind as he looked around Joe's condo was shock, and not only because it was spacious, and sunny. No. That wasn't it. There were boxes piled up everywhere. He'd really meant what he'd said about being too lazy. Interpreting the look on Adam's face correctly, Joe said a bit sheepishly, while rubbing the back of his neck, "Yeah, I haven't gotten much done."

Adam turned to Joe, giving him a lopsided smile. "I'll say. I don't even know where to start."

Joe shrugged. "Well, we could start in here I guess."

Adam nodded, looking around thoughtfully. 'I'm assuming that by "here", you mean the living room, because of the couch. But there's a box where the T.V. should be." He quirked an eyebrow at Joe. "Was that intentional?"

Joe chuckled a bit, rubbing the back of his neck again, "Actually it was. I'm not getting my new T.V. till tomorrow or the day after. I'm gonna be too busy to actually sit down and watch it for a while unfortunately."

"Wow. That sucks."

Joe laughed at the expression on Adam's face. His eyebrows were raised, lips almost pouting. "You know Adam, you don't have to help me with all of this. You should probably be at home relaxing. I know how tiring it all is."

Adam contemplated it for a second. Joe was probably right, but there was no way in hell that he was leaving. Besides, he'd spent so long this morning making sure that he looked extra nice for him. "Okay, how 'bout this. I'll just sit down and unpack, being semi-lazy, while you can go around putting everything away."

"You just wanna get a good look at all my stuff don't you?"

"Of course. You know, you can tell a lot about a person by their stuff. It'll be a chance for me to pick you're brain without having to waste any excess energy on words, since that's what you're so worried about." He stuck out his tongue playfully at Joe to show that he was just kidding. "So we gonna get started then?" He didn't wait for Joe to say anything, he just went and plopped down on the couch Indian style, looking up at him expectantly. Joe didn't say anything, just gazing at Adam, a strange look on his face.

"Um... Joe? Hey, ya there?" He snapped his fingers a few times, worried.

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, I'm good." Adam didn't believe him, he looked shy again. "Do you want anything to drink Adam, before we get started?"

Adam narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Just water, thank you." Joe came and sat down next to him, giving Adam a bottle of water; he was about to reach for a box, when Adam stopped him. "Before we get started, can I ask you something?" Joe looked a little worried, but nodded. "Why do you keep staring at me like that? I mean, I hope it's for the reason I think it is, and not just cause you're spacing out. I hope that I'm not getting, you know, the wrong impression."
Adam couldn't believe how uncertain he felt. He wasn't used to feeling uncertain about men, and he wasn't liking it much. He just didn't know how to maneuver well around Joe. He didn't know the exact right thing to say. It was still almost inconceivable that he was "hanging out" with a JoBro at all, let alone considering the fact that they just might be heading into a relationship. And (yet again), there was the whole innocence thing. He could see it in Joe's eyes (innocent brown they should've been called). It was a little intimidating, truth be told. He also found it strangely... erotic.

Joe looked down, biting his lip. "No. I don't think I'm giving you the wrong impression," he looked up at Adam, "you're just too cute. As I told you, you're really easy on the eyes. But," Adam watched Joe's facial expression change from one of "duh" to a sort of contemplative look, "it's more than that though, you're eyes are sort of, entrancing. It's hard to look away sometimes, you know?" He refocused on Adam, looking sheepish for the second time that day. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize, honesty is a good thing. And I totally know what you mean, that's exactly why I can't have mirrors in my house anymore."

Joe looked confused for a moment, before bursting out laughing, resting his head on Adam's shoulder. Adam patted his back, laughing too. They ended up laughing for a few minutes, even though it wasn't all that funny. It just felt good.

After a little while, Joe pulled away, wiping his eyes. "Okay. That was freakin' ridiculous."

"So what. Life would be so boring if we weren't allowed to be ridiculous sometimes. Besides, laughing is healthy. It's healthy for the soul too in my humble opinion."

"Mmm.. We should probably get started."

"Yeah. We're a wastin' daylight."

"Nice country accent. You should've sung Ring Of Fire like that."

"I did consider it, but I thought that would've been a little creepy. Besides, it wouldn't have matched my outfit."

Joe fake scoffed. "You could've added a horseshoe to it or something."

"Oh! Why didn't I think of that?!"

They both started laughing again as they each pulled a random box towards them to dig into. But even with the laughter and bantering between them, they could both sense something deeper brewing under the surface.

"Mmm... " Adam gave a small groan as he lay back on the couch, looking around at the now unrecognizable living room. It definitely looked a lot nicer without all the boxes. The walls were a soft orange color (not over-bearing), and there were lots of windows which made it nice and sunny, even with the softer evening light now streaming in. It had taken a little over four semi-tiring hours to finish, but it felt very satisfying. After a rather late lunch all the boxes had been emptied and then pressed flat, Joe was taking them out right then.

In all actuality they'd done more than just the living room. The kitchen opened onto the living room and there was this empty sort of circular space that was for a dining room table, but which Joe had said that he was gonna use for a piano. So Adam had also had to help unpack silverware, plates and glasses too. Not to mention that he'd also just finished filling some bookshelves. The way his arms were aching right now, made Adam wish that Joe had invested in an iPad. But he guessed it was kind of a good thing too. He'd been too lazy to go to the gym this morning, so at least he'd gotten some exercise. Did that even count as exercise?

Adam yawned softly, stretching out on the couch indulgently, before putting his hands under his head and (unable to fight it anymore) letting his eyelids flutter closed.

"Adam... " Adam opened his eyes, sitting up when Joe came back in. "Oh. I hope you weren't sleeping." He came and sat next to Adam tentatively.

"Naw, I'm good. I shouldn't be falling asleep at your place anyways. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night." He tried to stifle another yawn unsuccessfully.

Joe grinned and reached out a hand affectionately (almost absentmindedly) to rub off a bit of smeared eyeliner from Adam's cheek. Adam started a bit, as the unexpected contact sent a pleasant shiver down his spine. "You're not having trouble sleeping are you?"

"No." For some sick reason, Adam enjoyed the note of worry in Joe's voice. Worry over him. It felt nice. "I accidentally stayed up talking to my friend Daniele all night. That happens quite a lot actually. Oh my God! I almost forgot. Do you think you could give me your autograph or something? She made me promise her that I would."

"Sure thing. But," Joe looked at Adam nervously, "you told her that you were comin' over here?"

Adam picked up on the vibe instantly. "Don't worry, she doesn't work for the paparazzi or the media or anything like that. She's my best friend and she wouldn't tell a soul unless I said she could. She's cool."

"I'm sorry Adam. I don't want you to have to get all defensive, I trust you. I don't even know why I should worry about that. The paparazzi most likely already have pictures of us having dinner at Jasmine's." Adam almost pouted just from looking at the grumpy pout on Joe's face. "It really sucks not having a private life, I'm not allowed to just be with you, or anyone else for that matter."

"You're probably much more used to it by now than I am. Besides," Adam leaned in to whisper secretly, "it's not like they can see through walls." Adam laughed a little and reached out to playfully ruffle Joe's short hair. Joe ducked his head a little, mumbling something about how he wasn't a child. Well then... enough of this childish game that they were playing. Time for a little experiment.

Instead of taking his hand away, Adam ran it through Joe's hair and down, curling his fingers gently, but firmly, around the back of Joe's neck, and pulling him forward suddenly, so that their foreheads touched. Joe breath hitched in surprise, and then became slightly labored as Adam used his other hand to run it up Joe's chest, stopping to feel his erratic heartbeat. Adam's pants were tighter than usual at the feel of Joe's hot breath on his face. He couldn't resist a quick glance down at Joe's crotch. It took all of Adam's strength not to reach down and palm the obvious erection. Instead, he looked back up at Joe, grinning evilly, and searching those beautiful brown eyes for any sign of unwillingness... nope, just want. Need.

He took his hand away from Joe's chest, choosing instead to reach up and caress his face, actually enjoying the feeling of the slight stubble, as his other hand gripped the back of Joe's neck harder. Adam leaned forward and nuzzled their noses together for a few seconds, before turning his head slightly to push his lips against Joe's. He felt Joe stiffen for a fraction of a second, and then relax, a small sound of want escaped from him as he wrapped his arms around Adam's neck, kissing back softly; if a little nervously. Adam felt his own heartbeat thudding in his ears as he tilted Joe's head slightly for a better fit, and kissed him again, more firmly and demanding this time.

Adam couldn't help but let out a small sound of surprise deep in his throat, when Joe pushed up against Adam, kissing him back fiercely. Oh, the feisty brat. He was gonna pay sooner or later.

Something almost akin to a growl escaped Adam, and he bit down sharply on Joe's lower lip. Joe broke away from the kiss, gasping. But before he could catch his breath, Adam had gripped his hair and dragged him back in again, wasting no time in sliding his tongue deep inside Joe's mouth. So warm, soft, sweet. He felt a shudder go through Joe's body as he explored his mouth, gliding his tongue along Joe's teeth, the roof of his mouth, his cheeks, before finally coaxing Joe's tongue into action too.

Soon Joe grew braver, and Adam moaned, the hum vibrating between both of their mouths as Joe tried to dominate Adam, pushing his tongue past Adam's teeth this time. But Adam didn't let himself be dominated for long. After less than a minute, he drew Joe's tongue in further, sucking on it, hard. This time it was Joe's turn to moan. He somehow managed to unlatch himself from Adam's mouth, drawing in deep ragged breaths, which were quickly expelled into more moans, when Adam jerked his head back sharply, so that he had access to Joe's delicious throat. He licked it slowly from ear to collorbone a few times, before finding the place where Joe's pulse beat the hardest, and licking and sucking on it for a while, before testing out his reaction to biting. He dug his teeth into Joe's neck gently at first, than a bit harder when he seemed to be enjoying it.

"Ugh... Adam." Joe's hands had a death grip in his hair. "Harder. Bite me harder." Please..." It was practically a whimper.

'Oh my fucking God', Adam thought/moaned to himself, 'this kid is gonna be the death of me'.

Okay. Leather was definitely a curse. At this point Adam was so hard that it would've been painful enough without the tight, confining leather. He had to exercise what little self-control he had and threaded both of his hands into Joe's hair tightly to keep them away from... somewhere else. Sweat was beading on his forehead from the effort of keeping his hands there, as he continued biting and sucking on Joe's neck, neither of them sparing a thought about the hickey that was gonna be left behind.

Adam needn't have worried about being the one to lose control. He could hardly believe it when he felt one of Joe's hands slide out of his hair and move down the front of his body, towards Adam's crotch.

No, it wasn't really happening. Joe was gonna stop before he reached that area, right? No, he wasn't stopping! Oh Yes! Yes! Wait... no! Maybe... Adam's thought processes were shut down when Joe's hand traveled down his leg to his knee, then ran back up it, on the inside of his thigh this time. Almost there-

They both started violently when the ring-tone of Adam's iPhone cut through the silence unexpectedly. Joe would've fallen off the couch if Adam hadn't grabbed him.

"Shit!" Adam's hands were shaking as he tried to pry his iPhone out of his pants pocket, his breathing still heavy. He was vaguely aware of Joe getting up and walking to the other end of the room.

"He-Hello," he blurted out breathlessly as he finally got his phone free.

"Hey Adam. Where are you? You said that you were gonna be at your house for the next two days... I'm here and, well, you're obviously not... are you okay? You sound like you were just drowning."

"No... I'm good Neil. I'm at a friends house right now."

"Well, get your ass over here. Mom and Dad are with me too. We wanted to take you out to dinner."

"Um... Oh, okay. I- I'll be there in a bit."

"Are you sure that you're okay Adam?" Neil's voice was full of annoyed, brotherly concern.

"Yeah. I'm doing great actually. So, I'll be there in at least thirty minutes. Okay?" He pressed the disconnect icon before Neil had the chance to reply. Adam shoved his phone back into his pocket, before standing up and walking over to Joe, who's back was turned as he looked out one of the windows.

"Joe," he said softly, "I gotta go. My parents are waiting for me."

Joe didn't say anything, just nodding his head sharply. Adam waited for a few more seconds, but when Joe didn't say anything, Adam turned away, walking towards the door. He felt a mixture of guilt (you again?!), dread for some reason, and (though he'd never admit it) pity for Joe. The poor guy was obviously confused.

Maybe he should've just kept it light instead of getting all hot n' heavy. Though, to be honest, Joe had started it. He probably just needed some time to think.

"Adam."

Adam paused, hand on the doorknob, turning to face him.

Different emotions warred across Joe's face, before finally settling into a a more serene expression as he walked over to Adam, stopping when they were only a few inches apart. Adam felt surprised and relieved when Joe stood up on his tiptoes, planting a soft kiss on his mouth.

Joe pulled back, something like a sigh escaping him. "Can I see you again tomorrow? You're leaving for the UK soon, and I don't know when I'm gonna get to see you again."

"I don't know. I have to see some friends tomorrow too."

"Yeah, my bros are coming tomorrow too, to bring the rest of my stuff. Kevin said that they were gonna get here around seven. So, why don't you come back over at one and leave at three or four?"

There was no way that Adam could say no. The look on his face. Joe looked eager, unsure, a little apprehensive and there was that God damned innocence. He probably didn't realize that he was making Adam melt right now.

"You know what? That sounds good. I'll get here at one and leave at four."

Adam was immediatly happy that he'd said yes. The way Joe's face just lit up. He leaned down and hugged Joe, unable to help himself. There was that giddy feeling again. He kind of really enjoyed it.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then. I have to leave right now though." Adam pulled out of the hug reluctantly and turned around, opening the door.

"Bye."

Adam didn't know whether to frown or pout at the gloominess in Joe's voice. "Bye." He leaned down, planting a quick kiss on Joe's cheek, before heading out the door.

As Adam stepped out of the elevator, he came face to face with one of the women who had been glaring at him earlier on the way up. She was glaring at him again, of course. Adam gave her a huge beaming smile as, this time, he nearly skipped out of the elevator and out of the building, laughing at the shocked look on her face. Nothing could put a damper on his spirits for the rest of the day. He couldn't explain it, but just being around the kid put him in a better mood. He resisted the urge to skip back to his car as well.

OMFG!!!! WOW! That took forever for me to update. Well, I think it did. There ARE some people who only update every couple of months, and I'll dearly try NOT to do that. ;p
Anyways, same thing as before. GIMMEEE REVIEWS!!! XD Yet again. Even if it's ONLY to say "Hi". Just like to know you're reading. I DO take anonymous reviews too.
Also. Tell me what you thought of the make-out scene, I'm kinda worried about that. Hope it was good. "bites nails"