Chapter Five - Jeff's a Tease
After a few minutes, Nick has gathered together an outfit he thinks will fit Jeff. Their sizes weren't too dissimilar, but Jeff's growth spurt a few months ago had changed things.
When Nick finds some clothes Jeff will fit into, he gathers them up along with his own, grabs his towel and walks down the hall.
He knocks on the door and sticks his head in. "Jeff? It's me."
"Come on in."
"I'm just going to put them on the counter." He says, trying not to dwell on the fact that only a flimsy piece of plastic is separating him from his very naked boyfriend.
"Thanks. Could you hand me a towel?"
Nick wordlessly grabs a dry towel from under the sink and steps toward the shower, inching it in on the side he knew would be the driest. He feels Jeff take the towel, and he steps back.
A few seconds later, Jeff steps out, wrapped in the towel. He smiles at Nick. "All yours. Do you mind if I change in here, or would you be more comfortable if I took my things into your room?" he asks.
Nick hesitates. "If you don't mind, I don't think my mom would like it if she heard us talking with the shower running."
Jeff nods, chuckling. "Sure thing. See you in a while then." He grabs his loaner clothes, opening the door and silently making his way down the hall to Nick's room.
Nick sighs deeply and strips the rest of his clothes before stepping under the warm stream from the shower. He takes only a minute to wash his hair; he didn't need to do anything else really. He revels in the warm water feeling for a while longer, before remembering Jeff was waiting for him. He shuts off the faucet and steps out onto the mat, grabbing another towel and drying himself off.
He dresses and throws his and Jeff's wet clothes in the sink before making his way down the hall to his room.
He knocks before entering, asking if Jeff is done changing.
"Yeah, come on in." Nick opens the door and finds Jeff standing next to his bookcase, looking at a picture of him and Katie. "When was this?"
"Uh, last summer. We went to Pennsylvania to visit my aunt."
"That's right." Jeff mumbles to himself, before putting the photo down and walking over to Nick, smiling mischievously.
Nick grins back, but asks "What?"
"Have I ever told you how hot you look with your hair wet?" he asks lowly, stepping close to him and squeezing his hips in his large hands, letting his breath ghost over Nick's neck. Nick shivers.
"No." he whispers. He almost bites his lip to keep from whining breathlessly. But instead he gasps as Jeff lets his bottom lip come in contact with Nick's top one; feather light. Nick closes his eyes, and lifts his chin up a minuscule amount, wanting more.
Jeff smirks and moves further away, not letting Nick kiss him. Nick actually does whine this time, and steps closer. Jeff holds him back by his waist, but does come slightly closer. He lets his lips touch Nick's, close enough to feel, but far enough to know it's not a kiss.
Just as Nick believes Jeff is finally going to cease the torture, the blonde whispers "We better go downstairs." He steps away slowly, then crosses the room to Nick's door, leaving the brunette cold and confused.
Nick opens his eyes, blinks, then realizes what just happened. He whirls around, seeing Jeff standing at the top of the stairs, watching him amusedly. He glares at him, turning bright red. "Tease!" he hisses loudly, and Jeff nearly doubles over with silent laughter.
Nick marches over to his tease of a boyfriend and hits him lightly on the arm. "Don't do that! Especially when right before we have to go see other people!"
Jeff snickers. "Sorry. But you're too cute when you blush."
Of course, this only made Nick blush even more, and Jeff laughs longer. Nick glares at him, and Jeff looks pleading. "Oh, come on, don't be mad. I'll make it up to you later."
Nick hesitates, thinking about the offer. "Ok. But it better be worth it."
Jeff grins and whispers "Don't worry. It will." He intentionally lets Nick 'catch him' glancing not-so-briefly at his lips, making the brunette swallow audibly.
"Ready to go downstairs?" Nick asks a second later, clearing his throat.
Jeff smirks and nods, following him down the stairs and into the dining room after collecting their wet clothes from the bathroom.
"Oh, there you two are, I was about to come get you." Mrs. Duval says busily as they walk in to the very crowded, loud dining room. "Go ahead and grab a piece. I'll put these in." she takes their wet clothes. Don't wander too far, presents are in a few minutes." She says quietly, not wanting to start a riot.
It seemed like everyone was trying to cram into the tight space, all talking over each other, naturally with the kids talking the loudest. "Stay here, I'll get you some." Nick tells Jeff, who nods and takes a step backwards, out of the thick crowd.
Nick makes his way across the room to the cake. He reaches over his little sister and dishes out two good sized pieces for him and Jeff then weaves around the kids and parents back to where he left Jeff. When he looks up for the blonde boy, he is nowhere in sight. Nick sighs and cranes his neck, looking back in the room for him, when a voice comes from behind him.
"Right here."
Nick spins around to see Jeff holding two sodas. "Sorry I left, I figured we could use something to drink with our cake."
"Oh, yeah, good idea. Uh," he looks back at the crowd, then asks "Do you want to eat outside?"
Jeff smiles. "As long as we're not going swimming."
Nick laughs and leads the way, letting Jeff open the door for him. "Ok, I promise."