This is the second to last installment of this fic. Easily will be the first one to be wrapped up so quickly by me.
Regretfully, Tala had to go back home and then struggle to fend off Bryan's advances, who seemed overly eager to be stripped naked and driven through town again. His first day back was incredibly stressful, given Bryan's brazen approaches, and then his bitch fit when Tala told him he was tired. They had a verbal spat, Bryan stormed out and after waiting around for an hour Tala called Ray.
When Ray picked up, his voice was hushed and nervous as he informed Tala that Bryan had shown up with a temper upon him and Ray was actually worried about how forcefully he had grabbed and kissed him. Immediately on alert, Tala asked if he should drive over. Ray simply told him that would worsen things before hanging up.
He did drive over, though. He stopped a block away and kept his phone's ringer volume turned the highest it would go for the entire night, alert for any calls or texts from Ray. There came none.
…
When they spoke the next afternoon, Ray's voice was lack-lustre as he informed Tala about the bitch fit Bryan had thrown about Ray's prudishness. He sounded shaken at that. The man must have actually believed Bryan was supportive of his needs.
When Tala told Ray all he had had to do was drop a text because he had stayed a block away the entire night, the Chinese sniffed a few tears away and thanked him. Tala put his own head in his hands.
…
It had been a week since then. Bryan and Tala were no longer talking to each other. Their co-existence was silent and out of necessity. During this time, Ray had given in to Bryan's pestering and given him head. Tala was furious about that.
Mariah came up with a brilliant idea around then. For her birthday, that was in two days, she decided to throw a house party and made sure to get in touch with Ray and invite him to it. They no longer cared if it looked absurd. They needed to gauge Ray's feelings towards Tala from his reactions to the redhead and then reveal the deal ASAP.
When Tala found out what they had done, he couldn't judge how he should react at all.
Everything worked out in his favour though, when Ray called him the evening of the day he received Mariah's invitation and asked him if he would mind accompanying him to Lee's sister's birthday party. The Chinese mentioned how back then, Mariah had revealed the truth of his relationship with her brother to anyone who bothered mentioning it to her, despite being Lee's sister. Tala felt incredibly proud of her at that.
"I would love to come along but are you sure you wanna go? Lee would definitely be there."
"Tala, trust me when I say, a, I am over Lee Wong, b, I have only gotten hotter since I dumped him. Sure I wanna go? I have been desperate for an opportunity to bump into him and force him to acknowledge what a huge mistake it was to let me go. His face full of regrets is the closure I need and I want you by my side when I get to see it."
Tala chuckled. "Aye aye, captain."
"Uh, yeah well, about that… I don't just want you to come. I want you to come pretending to be my boyfriend."
Tala was stunned at that. The first thought that raced through his head was why Ray hadn't just asked Bryan to go with him but he didn't voice it out loud, half-afraid Ray would decide that was the better option after all. Amidst all that turmoil, his witty come back was lost and replaced by a nervous sounding 'sure'.
…
When he put effort into it, Ray cleaned up well.
He was wearing a white button-down with sleeves rolled up to the elbows with a navy blue vest and dark jeans. He had slicked his hair into a half-pony and left out a few strands to frame his face. When he smiled, his cheeks only appeared even chubbier that day for some reason.
As soon as he buckled himself into Tala's passenger seat, he started babbling about how excited he was to see Mariah again. Tala listened with a half-smile as he started the car and put it into gear. He had let his hair down tonight, something he rarely ever did and had been expecting for it to be the first thing Ray would notice and comment on. Admittedly, he was just a tad disappointed.
Knowing full well where Mariah lived, Tala didn't have to wait for Ray to stop talking in order to tell him her address. He didn't bother asking either because in fifteen minutes it'd become obvious they knew each other, so he didn't see the point. Underestimating Ray's thick-headedness, he was pretty surprised to see that the Chinese, busy regaling Tala with stories from when he used to be tight with Mariah and Lee, didn't even notice that they had reached their destination without him having to tell the Russian where it was.
Excitedly unbuckling himself, he was ready to jump out of the car when Tala reached over and slammed his hand on to the door handle, making Ray start and turn to the redhead. They were super close. Tala didn't want to move away and Ray didn't seem especially uncomfortable.
"What's wrong?"
Tala sighed, and regretfully pulled away. "Need to address a few things here."
Ray's face turned to follow him. "Like what?"
"Like why you asked me to pretend to be your boyfriend when you have got a perfectly real one sitting at home."
Ray rolled his eyes. "Have you paid any mind at all to anything I have been telling you these past five months?"
At risk of sounding stupid, "What do you mean?"
Ray twisted his torso around to be facing Tala fully and put on a sarcastic tone for good measure. "What I mean is that Bryan would go berserk the moment I mention Lee. He won't even wait to hear the rest of it, or be appeased by the fact that I am actually trying to make a point of my relationship here! Leading him in here, totally unaware would be just as bad, Tala."
"… And you mean to tell me there was no way you could've worked around that?" Tala raised a brow. Yes, Bryan would pitch a fit but it was nothing that couldn't be weathered out. Honestly, though he was glad for it, he found the situation pretty fucking weird.
A sigh fell out of his 'boyfriend'. "Look, I just wanted to have one good, non-complicated, fun night with an attractive boy by my side who could help me forget the shit show that my love life is right now."
Tala couldn't see a way to be as nonchalant about it as Ray. "You are treading into dangerous territory here."
Smirking a little, Ray said. "Don't I know that?" Before taking himself out of the car.
Tala couldn't deny the slight sting of pain that produced. Now that he had actually grown into the feelings he had led Ray to believe he had, it became obvious to him that Ray knew. He knew Tala liked him, and yet he would do this, whatever this was. Couldn't he see it would hurt Tala to be tantalized with what he desperately wanted like this, for one night of fake touches and proximity? Or was he honestly willing to let Tala's heart be messed with like that?
… or maybe, Ray actually liked Tala more than he let himself believe.
A bittersweet smile on his lips again, he got out of the car and walked over to Ray. The Chinese looked at him with a soft, tangible, loving grin that had Tala marveling at how good an actor he was. Before he realized, that was how Ray always smiled at him.
Mood considerably lifted, he walked on, excited once again about introducing Ray to all his friends, especially Kai, since he knew how that fucker worried. He had a feeling the two would get along though.
A hand snaked into his, and the redhead, in turn, pulled his companion closer to him. Sharing one final look, they headed over to Mariah's house. They could clearly see the dark pink-tinged light overflowing out of the ridiculously decorated windows (somebody in the Wong household had thought it was a good idea to stick baby pictures of Mariah on the panes). The whole house seemed to vibrate with the thrumming of an upbeat guitar so they probably had Johnny's playlist hooked on. They were a fair few people dilly-dallying on the porch with cups in hand and Tala felt a smug smile wash across his features when one of the two girls standing right beside the door gave the two of them an appreciative glance. He subtly nudged Ray, who looked up and gave the girl a dashing smile, before looping his arm through the redhead's.
"Are you ready?" Tala asked.
"Yes.", Ray answered before opening the door and immediately exposing them to an onslaught of loud music and the musky, heavy scent that clings to parties. The house was packed with bodies and though the outside appeared gaudy, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves in there. Quickly whipping out his phone, Tala snapped Mariah a picture of the side of Ray's face, knowing if there was an app she would be checking frequently at her own party, it would be Snapchat.
Stepping in, the two of them subconsciously drew as close to each other as they possibly could, hands gripping tighter. Now that they were in the lion's den, Ray's excited smile had turned a tad nervous.
"I haven't seen her for years so we have to find her, right now!" Ray leaned closer and screamed into the Russian man's ear who only nodded and dragged Ray into the kitchen, where the alcohol was, and Kai definitely would be, as some sort of reference point.
He wasn't wrong, and after all these years of being best friends with the bloke, he'd be pretty ashamed if he were. The slate-haired man was indeed leaning against a wall in a desolate corner, staring broodily into his glass of whiskey, effectively conveying to all the merry drunkards around him that he was not to be bothered.
Marching over to him, Tala finally loosened his hold on Ray, now that they were in the safe space of a radius of six meters around Kai that had been demarcated as turbulent territory for all outsiders in their school days.
"You could look a little happier."
"You could have appeared a little sooner." Kai looked up at that, eyes immediately going to Ray and taking him in, making the latter draw closer to his 'boyfriend'.
Turning to Ray (he seemed a little surprised but seemed to have chalked Tala's familiarity with Kai down to them being some sort of mutual acquaintances, and this ultimately being a chance meeting), Tala introduced them. "Ray, this is Kai, my best friend and Kai this is Ray and well, you know who he is."
Visibly unsure and hesitant, Ray bravely stuck his hand out for Kai to shake. "Hey."
Kai narrowed his eyes. Tala subtly stepped on his toes. Kai shook Ray's hand.
"Don't let him phase you. He looks all broody and gloomy and creepy but he is actually pretty chill. You just have to give him time, and overlook everything he does to you prior to the point that he deems you his friend."
That got Ray to smile. "Oh well, I bet he's not all that bad."
In response, Kai straightened up, towering over the two. "Not when I am not stuck with random strangers all stupidly intent on making drunken fools of themselves in the name of socializing."
Ray's grin got broader. "Big party animal, huh?" Kai grunted. "Well, that's one way to put it."
"Where's Mariah, Kai?" Tala cut in before the conversation could continue.
Looking up behind Tala's shoulder, the red-eyed male raised a brow. "Give it three seconds."
Tala frowned. "What?"
He didn't get a chance to say much else as immediately later, he was glomped from behind by someone wearing a very familiar scent, Dare by Guess to be precise. Turning around, Tala couldn't help but smile as he hugged the pink-haired girl properly. Dropping a kiss atop her head, he pulled himself away from her, subtly reminding her to lavish some of her ardent attention on the open-mouthed spectator of their little greeting.
With a bright smile and a half squeal, Mariah glomped Ray next, who still looked stunned, with his eyes growing larger with every passing second. Tala heard a snicker and turned to throw a half-hearted glare at Kai as he tried to hold his own smirk. Ray's face looked comical and when he brought his arms up to hug Mariah, it was out of pure instinct.
He shook himself out of his daze, and a smile slowly unfurled on his features. "Long time, Mariah.", he whispered fervently and the pinkette nodded in his chest. Ray raised his eyes to Tala next. "Why didn't you tell me you knew each other?"
"Just a little surprise." Tala shrugged.
"Oh well,", Ray dismissed it and immediately turned back to Mariah, both talking a mile a minute in a rush to tell each other everything about the past few years. Tala could make out Queen being mentioned, cueing Ray to look up at the redhead with questioning eyes. Tala nodded, and a smiling Ray proceeded to introduce them as boyfriends.
…
They had a good time, Ray quickly earned Kai's approval as a tolerable companion and the three spent quite a lot of time together, with Queen by their side, given how Mariah was busy playing the bubbly birthday girl-cum-attentive host. They hadn't caught sight of Lee yet, but his sister had previously informed them that he was indeed, present.
Currently, Ray was cheering Kai on as he and Tala engaged in a fierce drinking battle. Queen was at his own side, with sarcastic comments about how Kai's face looked redder than usual (which was true. Tala had a higher tolerance for liquor than anyone they knew), and how Tala would definitely win. They had asked the other two to compete with them, but Ray and Queen had quickly done some eye-to-eye discussion and declined the offer.
Now on their sixth vodka shot, not including all the other drinks they had had before, both were feeling slightly tipsy but were unwilling to give up. Tala couldn't give up because it was bad enough Ray was betting on his opponent to win, he just couldn't bear losing in front of his crush. Kai won't give up because when did Kai ever give up?
As they downed another shot, Tala threw his head back at the bitter taste that he could never get used to. He didn't even like vodka.
Ray was watching him, though. His mouth was singing praises of their slate-haired companion but the golden eyes never once strayed from Tala, nor did the smirk falter. Though it confused him what the Chinese found so amusing, that particular expression on his face made thrills erupt in the Russian's stomach. The party raged on around them, unmindful of the turmoil in Tala's gut, all caused by that one little smirk. It was almost a promise, that if only they got drunk enough, if only…
Tala smiled back at Ray and his lowered inhibitions were to be blamed for if it came out more tender than it usually did. For a second, it seemed as if the latter would get up and move to him before something shifted in his eyes and he tore his gaze away, smirk gone without a trace.
Wordlessly, Kai slid their glasses across the table towards Queen to refill. He had grown quieter as the game proceeded, probably because he knew that if he spoke now, he would definitely slur his words.
"Alright, that's about enough." Ray intervened, quickly snatching the bottle of vodka from Queen's hands.
With an effort, Tala kept his voice from breaking. "I am good to go."
Ray frowned. "No, you are not. We have to drive home, remember?"
Kai looked about ready to protest along with Tala but Ray folded his arms across his chest and glared down at the two with a raised brow. Were they sober they would have stopped to admire the ferocity of it, but in their slightly intoxicated states all they did was scoff at him. Tala reached out for the bottle, but Ray swung away and tipped it empty down his throat, turning back to them with an ugly gag, followed by a victorious smirk.
"There's an open bar here." Kai raised a brow.
"Guys please! If you lose your shit and start puking and fainting everywhere, we won't even be able to enjoy the party!"
"What is there to enjoy? Don't you dare be expecting us to go out there and shake our butts." Okay, so Kai wasn't slurring but now he didn't look all that inclined to stop talking either. "And please, I haven't puked since…" and he lost himself trying to recall when was the last time he puked.
Seeing arguing with Kai for the hopeless endeavor it was, Ray turned to Tala with his demanding kitty eyes. Truth be told, even if he didn't employ them, there was nothing Tala could deny Ray.
"Alright, kitten." He smiled and was relieved to see the Chinese smile back.
"Ray?" The moment the voice reached his ears, Tala decided it was downright detestable. "Ray Kon?"
Ray whipped his head up and immediately loped his hand in Tala's.
Though they had never met Lee, given the hatred the siblings had for each other, Tala had often seen pictures of him. The lad must not be photogenic, because the real-life version of him could almost pass for handsome. The neon lights around them weren't especially flattering either, but he had a fine, broad build, something Tala could see Ray being attracted to. A strong jaw added character to his face. His hazel eyes were trained on the Chinese, who had yet to say a word.
"Aren't you Ray Kon?" Lee asked, from his position behind the couch Kai and Queen occupied. Neither of them turned to greet him, but the girl was scowling and the guy was watching the two in front of him with barely contained tension.
"Yes." Ray replied, and just to be petty. "You are?"
Lee got knocked down a peg then, as his eyes roamed over his ex-flame. Slightly offended, he frowned. "I am Lee, don't you remember me?"
Ray raised a brow. "Not in the best of lights, no." Tala felt himself smirk as he drew closer to him, quite obviously tucking his head under the Russian's jaw.
A sheepish sigh escaped Lee. "We were kids Ray, I was being stupid. It's been years, come on." He took a step towards where they were sitting before stopping himself and surveying Tala. "Introduce me to your friend, maybe?"
"He isn't a friend, he's my boyfriend. Tala, douchebag. Douchebag, Tala." Lee frowned again as he recognized the name, but given how little he ever wanted to do with Mariah after she had spilled the beans on exactly what he had done to Ray, Tala could safely bet his life the elder won't know who they were. Instead he gave the Russian another look-over before addressing Ray.
"It's nice to see you again. You, you look great." He took a sip of his drink and tried for a charming smile.
"I know." Ray simply replied.
Something soft permeated the older man's expression and the very insides of Tala screamed at him to pull Ray right into his lap.
"You haven't changed at all. I remember all those times I tried to give you compliments and you always replied with 'I know'."
"No, I have actually. I am not who I used to be at all, but I don't think you deserve to get to know anything new about me." Tala noticed Ray's voice getting tighter and he turned around to take in his rigid posture and his flared nostrils. No matter what he believed, it was obvious Lee's presence still affected him.
"Come on, Ray. Let's not do this here, alright? If you want, we can talk later. Maybe catch breakfast tomorrow or something?"
Tala rolled his eyes at the audacity of this man. "I don't think you heard him earlier, dude. He has a boyfriend now, back off." He smiled at Lee, and this time didn't stop himself from actually pulling Ray onto his lap.
"Yeah, no, I got that. It was just a harmless offer, between friends-"
"You aren't his friend. You aren't his anything." Tala cut him off, effectively silencing his trap with the sort of scowl he didn't often display.
"Honestly, why are you being so insecure?", Lee frowned.
Tala scoffed. "Stop deluding yourself. I am just stating what he is too courteous to say, get the fuck away from him." Lee refused to budge. "I don't wanna cause a scene here Lee, so really, leave."
Finally, Lee tuned back into his surroundings and seemed to realize Tala wasn't going to back off and let him say another word to Ray. What expression Ray himself was wearing, Tala couldn't be sure but he guessed it was nothing encouraging, given how the older Wong rolled his eyes and marched off.
A heartbeat later, Ray had turned himself and thrown his arms around the Russian's neck. Tightening his hold around Ray's midriff, Tala dared to brush a kiss against his temple.
"I wanted to rub it in his face, make him feel stupid but I don't know what happened. I don't ever wanna see him again." Ray whispered against his neck.
"It's alright. He's probably feeling stupid right about now and you don't have to see him again. We can leave right now if you want to."
Ray nodded against him. "If you don't mind." He pulled away. "I just need to go use the restroom."
"Alright. I am waiting right here."
…
When Ray returned from the washroom, a ridiculous 37 minutes later, he was seething and his face and collar were wet. His hair had been pulled out of its ponytail and the frown on his head was humongous.
Immediately, Tala was out of his seat. He met Ray on the threshold of the room, and gently tugged the visibly enraged man to the side, so as to avoid blocking the entryway for other guests. "What happened?"
For a second, it seemed like Ray might actually bite his face off before he visibly exhaled and rested his head on Tala's shoulder instead. "Nothing.", he mumbled.
Tala smiled. "Doesn't seem like 'nothing' to me."
"Just… Lee." Ray shifted closer so that his lips were brushing the base of Tala's neck and the redhead held back a shiver.
"Did he corner you up there? What did he say?"
"Bullshit things. It doesn't matter." Tala wrapped his arms around Ray and the now familiar feeling of want hit him again.
"What bullshit things?"
"Tried to apologize in the worst way possible, made it seem like it only happened because we were immature little kids, almost as if any part of this was any of my faults. Then he cornered me against the wall and tried to kiss me. I punched his jaw and locked him in the washroom."
"It was not your fault and he is an asshole for trying to pull that shit."
"I know." Ray lifted his head and stepped closer to Tala so that their chests brushed together. To say the redhead was confused at this point was an understatement. Ray had been completely out of character for the entire night. He stood too close and kept on saying suggestive things. Tala didn't know how to work around this. Had he been as emotionally unattached as he was in the beginning, he would have whisked the Chinese to the nearest broom closet by this point but now that he had those pesky little things called emotions raining on his parade, he felt ridiculously out of his depth.
"Honestly, it seems like that one punch was the closure I needed after all. I feel angry of course, but its a good anger, not the sort of anger that takes out of me."
Tala didn't quite know what to say to that. "That's good. Let's go get ice cream somewhere?"
"No, I don't wanna leave anymore. Why should I? It's my friend's birthday and I am seeing her after years! It will be like handing Lee another victory over me if I leave and I don't wanna let him hold a second more of my life from here on."
Tala couldn't keep himself from reaching up and stroking the black hair at that.
"Well hellooooooo!" A loud whistle was directed at them and Tala turned to glare at the pink-haired birthday girl. "There's someone locked in the bathroom the floor above, but it sounded like Lee so I had them stick on a paper that reads do not open." Mariah burst out in giggles at that. She was obviously well beyond drunk. Slightly swaying, she pointed a finger at Ray. Growing frighteningly serious, frighteningly fast she muttered, "I know it was you." before bursting out into giggles again.
"Yes, yes.", Ray smiled as Mariah latched onto his arm.
Blinking owlishly at the two males, she made a motion for them to lean closer. When both of them had their ears placed next to her mouth, she made a weird gurgling noise and started laughing again.
Straightening, Tala cast a worried look at Mariah. "Do you think we ought to put her to bed?"
"No way! It's her own party!" Ray laughed before looping an arm around her waist. It was quite possibly the alcohol that had started hitting him. "And one hell of a party it's going to be."
…
Well, it was a hell of a party, quite literally for Kai.
The Russian had never been a party animal and three hours after midnight, he decided five hours of socializing was enough for the month or so. He had attempted escaping the house a grand total of six times now, only to be intercepted by a pink-faced Ray every single time, who was extremely sharp when it came to detecting Kai's attempts to leave.
Now the bastard was passed out on the couch.
Tala, on the other hand, had had fun. It was only the closest ones remaining now, most guests had gone home. Mariah was cuddled in a corner of the same couch as Kai with Queen, both the girls blissfully asleep. Her younger cousin Kevin was smoking the last of their blunts by their feet. Michael and Johnny were talking in slow, hushed whispers about… diarrhea, of all things and another couple Tala vaguely recognized as Julia and Robert, Mariah's dance school friends, were making out in the corner. Ray was sitting next to him on the bean bag they had squeezed themselves in, half draped onto Tala and his breathing was soft, never breaking the silence of the night.
They had played drinking games after Mariah had insisted on kissing every single one of them. Truth or dare, drunk charades, cards against humanity and a failed attempt at strip poker later, they were all exhausted from laughing and drinking. Lee's constant banging against the bathroom door had stopped sometime around half an hour past one and they had heard his motorbike coming to life, suggesting the older Wong had left the house somehow.
The highlight of the night for Tala was when Mariah had dared him to kiss Kai, and Ray in all his tipsy temper had slammed his fist onto the table and glared right into her hazel eyes before growling, "Change the fucking dare."
The Russian's heart had all but burst then, even if it meant he had to endure Mariah, Kai, Johnny and Michael, waggling brows, smirking, nudging and winking at him for the next forty-five minutes in that order.
Abruptly, Ray stood up from next to him and headed towards the kitchen. Assuming he was just going to get another beer, Tala waited for him for some nine minutes before following after him.
He wasn't in the kitchen at all and the door to the Wong's yard, which had been closed the entire night, was now open.
Rolling his eyes, Tala stumbled out towards the yard, and the swimming pool situated in the yard. He was starting to feel woozy himself, despite his legendary alcohol tolerance.
Tala paused for a second when he saw the Chinese. His shirt lay by his feet, (the vest had been discarded earlier in their brief game of strip poker) and he had tied his hair into a messy man bun, displaying a toned back to anyone who bothered to look. The moonlight reflecting back from the pool cast shadows along his fine features, making him appear older than he was. Busy fiddling with his belt buckle, Ray was oblivious to his audience.
Tala stepped out into the yard and Ray immediately turned around. Relaxing upon realizing it was only Tala, the raven-haired man smiled lazily before pulling the belt out of its loops.
"What are you doing?", Tala asked.
Ray dropped the belt beside his shirt and began undoing his jeans. "Going for a swim."
Tala watched in silence as the denim was pushed down the long tanned legs. Ray turned around and blue eyes immediately found his boxer-clad ass. Tala smirked. He was right, Ray had quite the bubble butt.
In a second, the Chinese had dived into the pool. When he resurfaced facing Tala, he slicked his hair back and grinned. "Question is, do you wanna join me?"
Tala raised a brow. After a night of confusion and conflicting emotions, he had come to the conclusion he quite liked this new Ray. Stripping slowly down to his own underwear, milking Ray's hungry gaze to the maximum, Tala dropped his clothes next to Ray's before casually stepping into the pool himself.
Wading closer to the Chinese, he saw Ray stepping back with an ever-widening grin. The closer Tala got, the more Ray receded till he gave a wink and swam away from the Russian. Giving a short, distinctly dog-like bark of laughter, Tala followed with his own sweeping strokes.
They chased each other around the pool for a few minutes before Ray changed tactics and started back floating leisurely. Smirking, Tala waited for him to come closer to where he stood next to the edge of the pool before snatching the tan waist and lifting Ray into his arms, cornering him against the wall.
"What are you playing at, Kon?" He questioned, before finding himself become awfully distracted with the beads of water traveling down the side of his neck, right where Tala supposed his sweet spot would be.
He registered Ray's mouth moving but he couldn't make out the words. The golden-eyed man straightened, pressing their chests together. Tala almost stepped back in surprise, but a pair of tan arms around his neck froze him in place.
Neither of them was smirking now and the air between them had thickened considerably. A droplet from one of his own bangs fell forward onto the tip of Ray's nose, slid down the corner of his lips, his chin and neck, to pool into the dip between his collarbones. Tala itched to follow its trail with his own tongue. Ray's skin tingled against his and he felt his partner rise on to his tiptoes and slot their lips together.
As if a switch had been flicked, Tala came to his senses, closed his eyes and immediately overtook the kiss. Pressing Ray back against the wall, he adjusted his legs to be slotted more comfortably against the other's. Tilting his head to the side, Tala kissed Ray fiercely, licking against his lips and dipping his tongue into the readily opened mouth.
Ray moaned encouragingly.
Feeling a frenzy take over him, Tala started roaming his hands across Ray's back, tracing his spine, mapping his shoulder blades and squeezing his ass. He felt hands reach up into his hair and Ray abruptly pulled away.
Stroking his hair gently, Ray smiled. "Your hair looks good left down."
Heat burst in the pit of Tala's stomach and he bit down on Ray's exposed shoulder.
"Owww!" Ray's hands slid down from his hair to his face and forced him to look into confused golden eyes. "Why'd you do that?"
Unable to explain his weird need to just take a bite out of the Chinese man, Tala tried to hide his blush and go back to Ray's neck but his face was forced back up as Ray dug his nails into his cheeks in warning.
Soon though, he started chuckling. "You're a lot like a dog, you know."
Still fighting off embarrassment Tala shook his hands off and started dragging his tongue up Ray's throat. The Chinese shuddered as he laughed harder. "Yep, definitely a dog."
Soon enough, the laughter turned to faint sighs of arousal as Tala continued his assault of the tan flesh, determined to leave so many love bites on Ray that he wouldn't set foot out of his house till they faded.
Their lips found each other again and this time, he let Ray dominate the kiss, set its pace and enter his mouth. They wrestled for a while, even as Tala deliberately kept himself from touching Ray anywhere below his hip bones, mindful of his issues with intimacy. He didn't want his precious kitten to scamper off mere minutes into this.
Biting down on his ear, Tala sure as hell didn't have enough brain cells to spare for the useless activity of being aware of his surroundings so they were surprised out of their minds when a girl's soft giggle sounded a foot away from them. They jumped apart and Tala's hand flew straight to his sternum.
Leering down at them from Ray's left was Julia Fernandez in flesh. Tilting her head, she eyed the two semi-naked men lecherously before commenting, "You do make a hot couple. Ever thought of making a sex tape?"
Ray went frigid next to Tala as soon as the word 'couple' left Julia's mouth.
"Anyways, Hiwatari is up and glaring at everyone but his head obviously hurts too much for him to actually come and find you. So I offered. Hurry back in, before he breaks something. Or someone."
With that Julia skipped back inside, leaving the two in uncomfortable silence.
A second later Ray was moving away and Tala was reaching out for him, only to have his offered hand smacked away.
Ray looked up with tear-filled eyes and a guilt-wracked expression. "I am sorry, Tala I can't do this to him. I can't believe I… I just proved myself to be exactly what he keeps telling me I am."
He felt the stirrings of a much familiar rage at the other man's words. "Are you fucking with me?"
… "What?"
"Who do you think you are, acting all high and mighty after coming on to me like that?! You knew I liked you and yet you did all this, all the time you called me your boyfriend today! All the time somebody told you I looked good with you!-"
"Tala…"
"You can't do this to him?! You didn't seem to have too many qualms just now! What do you think I am?! Just a bloody convenient little worshipper for you to use as you please?! What was this just now, Ray?! Do you honestly care so little about me?!"
The other man was openly crying now. "No, that's not what this is."
"Then what is it, cause I can't figure it out! I have feelings for you and you know that… and yet…"
Tala trailed off because Ray was already moving away from him. Quickly, climbing out of the pool he dressed himself, put on his shoes and pretty much ran away.
In his desperation he didn't notice, it was Tala's shirt he had put on.
…
Oh, Ray. Not the smartest way to deal with your wandering loyalties. Please do review!