Chapter Five

Lance was kissing him. Looking back on it, Keith would never be able to figure out how he didn't freeze up in shock but instead responded to the kiss. Lance was kissing him like it was the most natural thing to do in the world and Keith wanted to match it, so he started to respond back, pressed his own lips back against Lance's, slid his own tongue against Lance's, brought his own hands up against Lance's jaw, feeling the start of stubble there and that's when he moaned. Then Lance groaned moved a hand behind his neck and deepened the kiss and Keith was sure he would've crawled onto Lance's lap, if a cleared throat behind them hadn't reminded him they were in a restaurant.

"Lance," a deep male voice was saying.

Keith sprung back so fast, he nearly toppled out of the booth, he was sure he was as red as the shirt Lance had on, he looked down at the french fries wondering if he was more turned on or mortified. He couldn't seem to think in terms other than sexual arousal or embarrassed.

"Oh, hey, Benjamin," Lance said, sounding to Keith's ears amazingly nonchalant. "What's up?"

"I came out to see how you and your date are doing? I see quite well," Benjamin said in a teasing tone.

"Uh, yeah we're great, right Keith," Lance said, grabbing Keith's fidgety hand away from the fries with one hand, and pulling his own meal across the table to where he was now sitting. Keith couldn't check his smile when he realized Lance had no intention of moving.

"Also, you two are on a two beer limit, so that's it for the underaged drinking, you're going to get me arrested someday, kid. Have you seen Katie today?"

"Briefly," Lance said, putting Keith's hand down under the table, high up on Lance's thigh. "Didn't have time to chat."

Benjamin nodded. "Tell her to call her father, he misses her."

"Gotcha, on with the guilt trip, as soon as possible."

"And are you going to introduce to me, or continue being rude?"

"Oh!" Keith almost laughed, when Lance sat up straighter, and gave this weird sort of lopsided smile at him, Keith found he really liked that smile. "Keith Kogane, this is Benjamin Jeremiah, the roommates dad and owner of Dovetails."

"Keith it's a honor to actually meet one of Lance's dates, for once," Benjamin said pointedly then added as he walked away. "Maybe this is one you'll bring to the wedding?"

Lance nearly choked the fry he put in his mouth. Keith watched in bemusement because invited to a wedding, if he'd had something in his mouth he'd have choked too, he was too worried about getting through this date let alone what happened after it. Keith grabbed Lance's beer from the other side of the table, "Here."

"Thanks, man, I...knew there was a reason I didn't bring dates here," Lance muttered. "Sorry, about him, interrupting." Lance grabbed Keith's hand again. "That wasn't a mistake right? Kissing you, you seemed to be thinking too much and it seemed the right move but I don't know, people say sometimes I make too bold a move and push people too far and that's never good either so if it was mistake just tell me and I can back off and go back across the table..."

Keith leaned forward and kissed him just to shut him up, he liked listening to Lance talk but he was just babbling. Babbling nervously, which meant he was nervous too, they were both nervous, Keith felt suddenly really unnervous. Also, their last kiss had been interrupted.

Lance's last words were swallowed by Keith's lips, but beside that Lance didn't miss a beat in kissing him back, thoroughly, and slowly, he slowed down the kiss that Keith found himself hissing a bit, wanting the intensity back and Lance laughed into his mouth, pulling away slightly for breath. "Bossy aren't you," he laughed.

"Maybe," Keith said.

Lance kissed him again but pulled back way too quickly. "We, really can't do this here," he pointed out, groaning a bit in frustration as he pulled back from Keith.

Keith went from turned on, focused solely on Lance and himself, to remembering the entire deck full of restaurant patrons around them and turned beet red again, he was sure. "I don't do these things," Keith muttered, sticking cold french fries into his mouth and making a face. "Our food is cold."

"Very, want me to get it heated back up, or do you want to just forget it?"

Keith was about to say just forget it when his stomach rumbled loud enough to re-embarrass him and make Lance laugh. "Heated up it is, I'm hungry too," Lance said and he grabbed their plates. "Don't move, and if any guys come over here tell them you're taken," he said with a wink.

Keith nodded and shook his head at the same time, as he tried to figure out when exactly his world had gotten tipped upside down, and he also watched Lance's ass move until he walked around a corner. Then with nothing to look at it, he looked out at the ocean, and unconsciously matched his breathing to the waves, calming himself down.

~~.~~

Lance let himself into the kitchen, walked up to a microwaved and pushed in both their plates. He hit a few buttons and then watched as the plates went around in circles. Then he felt warm hands circle him from behind and start to ruck up his shirt, "Who is he?" a male voice asked.

The voice attached to the hands shocked him, he'd expected it to be Penny, flirting with him like she always does, not him, especially not him, not here. He grabbed on of the hands and twisted himself away and out of the hold. "What are you doing here?"

"Benjamin was hiring, I need extra cash," Griffin said, smiling he leaned in and kissed Lance before Lance realized what he was doing.

Lance shoved him off. "What the hell?"

"Hey," Griffin held up his hands. "Rumor mill is saying it's a first date, didn't know it was a FIRST DATE, all capital letters. Who is he?"

Lance turned back to the food, it was still spinning around. "Guy from the Academy, great pilot, almost as good as me."

"Whoa, major compliment from the arrogant flyboy. He hot, where is he sitting, let me peek..."

Lance grabbed Griffin's arm. "No, you can't peek on my date, you can't meet my date either. No way. He, no. No meeting a pal I've fucked around with on the first date."

Griffin leaned against the wall and eyed Lance, Lance stared back, trying not to feel studied by the older man, Griffin was about ten years older than him, pushing thirty. He was always around when Lance called him, even if it was just for advice, or a favor. He just a good guy, helpful and yeah a fun date, good in the sack - like he'd told Keith when he'd walked himself out of the closet earlier in the day, to let Keith knew they were on the same team. But there were times when Lance didn't understand Griffin at all. No matter how good of friend he thought he was.

"You like this one."

"I like all the guys I see," Lance hedged.

"See? See? Lance you don't see guys, you get laid. Sometimes you see them a time or two after that. Now and again like with us, you make friends and see them as more than a piece a meat. But, yeah see... you're really dating this one. This is actually a first date."

Lance rolled his eyes but he jumped with the microwave beeped behind him. "Of course it's a first date, it the first time we've gone out."

"You fucking him tonight?"

"No," slipped out Lance's mouth so fast, he didn't have time to stop it.

Griffin started laughing. "My oh my, I'm getting a look. Give me one of those plates, come on their hot, you'll drop one if you carry both."

"No, no way, he knows we've done it," Lance heard himself yell.

"So?" Griffin said, walking off anyway, "Where too?"

Lance sighed and prayed Keith wouldn't recognized Griffin and his tattoo as being the hot bartender from Riff's. He walked out, holding Keith's plate, with the crazy pattern he'd been making of his fries out of nervousness. He looked at it and grinned, as he walked. It was damn hot that he was making someone so hot so nervous. It was bizarre to him someone so hot was admitting to him to be so inexperienced. He sure as hell didn't kiss like he was inexperienced, Lance was just thinking he'd been kissing the wrong guys.

"That's my plate," Lance said, when Griffin put the plate down in front of Keith.

"Oh sorry," Griffin started to move it across the table.

"No, right next to him, man," Lance said.

Keith was staring at Griffin, then at his arm were the gothic lion was roaring, and then back at Griffin. Keith then turned red, like he'd been doing most the night, only this time it scared Lance. He then looked at Lance wide eyed. Lance mouthed, "I didn't know he'd be here." And hoped that would appease Keith, he really hoped this didn't screw things up for him, tonight was going well. He then pushed past Griffin who was dawdling by the table, and put Keith's plate down for him. "Thanks for the assist, Griff," he said, using the nickname he knew Griffin hated to give him a clue.

Griffin's eyebrow rose but he shook his head. "I'm Griffin, I've seen you before, you must come into Riff's."

"Uh, yeah, usually Thursdays."

"Right, one of the quiet crowd, unlike this rabble-rouser," he winked at Lance.

Lance sat down, slid around the booth so he was next to Keith again, slid his arm around Keith's shoulders and picked up his burger with his free hand. "Bye, now."

Griffin gave him this look that made Lance feel like he'd really hurt him for a second, but then it was gone and there was a large smile. "Catch you kids, around," he said as he walked away.

"I had no idea he'd started working here," Lance said, as soon as he swallowed. "None, if I had I would have taken us to... Riff's," he laughed.

Keith nodded and swallowed his own bite of the cheeseburger. "No, it's okay, it was just...what you said in the elevator was all I could think about once I placed him. I mean, I've already been picturing you naked all night, just not with someone else...I mean.. I... I'm really not a stammerer."

Lance grinned. "You need to relax, chill out, breathe..." Lance said, gripping Keith's shoulder and pulling so they both rested back on the booth. "Listen to the ocean, eat your fries instead of creating a snowflake pattern, though it was kind of pretty, and then we'll go for a walk."

"I was relaxed until I saw him, I was breathing with the tide," Keith said.

"Hmm, okay we'll breath with the tide, and I'm sorry about him. I'd like you to get back to the naked picturing of me... with who then?"

Keith blushed and picked up a fry, but ate it and Lance grinned. "Who said you were with anyone?" Keith winked.

"I bet I was with this hot Japanese dude."

"I'm Chinese too you know,"

"Whatever, I'm just an All-American-Mutt, I'll pant after you either way," Lance said biting into his burger.

Keith burst out laughing.

~~.~~

"You aren't supposed to be in here," Keith whispered, between kisses, between Lance dragging his tongue down his jawline. "I don't think this is a good idea."

"Shh, don't think, no one will know, I'll be gone soon enough. I just want to put you to bed," Lance whispered back, his hand searching for the knob, as his other grabbed Keith's ass, while his mouth found Keith's again.

"Hmm," Keith sighed into the kiss, lost his train of thought again, and he felt his dorm room door open. "How did you?"

"You gave me the key," Lance laughed. "Because your hands are busy?"

"Right," Keith whispered, gripping Lance's ass with one hand, sliding his other hand up Lance's spine, under the red t-shirt. Keith idly wondered where they'd left the black button down, on the motorcycle outside where this epic make out session had started. Or resumed, because it'd started on the beach, or had it started in the restaurant, Keith wasn't sure which start and stop counted. He wanted to just count them all as one continuous amazing kiss.

"Don't wake Sven," Keith muttered, into Lance's ear, kissing it then kissing his jaw, Lance was pulling at his shirt and kicking the door closed. It slammed, making them both jump and Sven snorted in his sleep. Lance laughed into Keith shoulder. "Oops, didn't mean to do that so loud."

"How do you do so much at once, you have me half undressed?"

"It's a talent much like flying, and it only gets better with practice," Lance whispered, kissing Keith on the mouth between words, then he pulled the blue shirt off of him completely and dropped to knees.

"Hey, where is your face, I need your face," Keith said and he wondered if you could get buzzed off of kissing because he'd never felt higher or drunker in his life and he was sure the two beers he had had dissipated out of his system hours ago.

"It's busy," Lance said, as he starting tonguing Keith's abdomen. "I knew your stomach would be amazing, god," Lance whimpered, teasing Keith's bellybutton with his tongue.

"Oh," Keith's hands were in Lance's air. "Uh, oh," Lance was nowhere near where his erection but he was harder by the second, Lance's tongue on his bellybutton, around it, his hands gripping and massaging his ass. "Fuck, that feels," he said a bit too loud.

Sven shot up. "Uh, what, what's wrong!"

Keith froze, Lance turned his head toward Sven, Sven sat up, his eyes open staring. Keith didn't know what to do or say, he was blushing again, he'd must've broken a world record on blushing on this date, and it still wasn't quite over. Sven stared a beat a longer than said. "I am going back to sleep now, I'll pretend this didn't happen," then he went back down onto his back.

Lance shrugged but he stood up, Keith felt light headed and dizzy and suddenly wished he had a single. "I," he let his head fall onto Lance's shoulder, the mood wasn't killed but it was gone.

"You'll see me soon," Lance said, moving the two of them pushing Keith down onto his bed, and falling there with him. He kissed him and then kissed him. "Damn, I don't want to leave."

Keith grinned, and held on tighter. "Okay, then don't," he said even though he knew that was foolish. In fact it was asinine, it could get Lance in a ridiculous amount of trouble due to the pathetic ruling caused by dumb parents with pull.

They kept kissing and touching, Keith was pulling off Lance's shirt, and they were moving closer, wrapping their legs together, fitting as close together to as they could, lips and tongues dragging across the any skin they could get from the chin up. Hands going further, but skimming the more intimate areas, they were saving those for later. Keith didn't know when later was he just knew they were saving them for later.

Sometime during all of this, they both fell asleep.