Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 1

mumbled and actually went as far as to let out a small laughter, low and rusty but laughter nonetheless, before he picked up his head and opened his eyes. Casey avoided those eyes when he moved to untie Jared. He no longer had any desire to have Jared held down, or even have Jared this close to him, because it was getting too hard to have it this way, like a fracture of what he really wanted.
    "What was the occasion anyways?" Jared asked and turned his head to take a look over his shoulder, but Casey kept his eyes on the ropes and opened the knots as fast as he could with his shaky fingers. "Must've been something really good for you guys to hit the town and actually celebrate. What was it? Is there a wholesale on some curtains or leather couches or something?"
    The hint of acknowledgement towards Casey's fixation for high quality furniture was just too little too late, and he ignored the question completely by pulling off the ropes and dropping them on the floor before standing back up. Jared didn't even seem to notice his lack of an answer when he stretched his arms and rubbed one wrist at a time, keeping his eyes on Casey.
    "Probably a sale at Bloomingdale's, since Lynn was so worked up over whatever it was that was going on."
    Whatever it was that was going on.
    Casey stood still for a moment, still ignoring Jared's eyes and kept his stare on the floor before he took a step towards the islet he had in his kitchen, picking up the box of ice cream on his way towards the table, towards the sink, ready to lean over and vomit the little he'd had for dinner last night.
    "Wasn't a sale," he muttered after he got far enough from Jared, headed for the sink and tossed the box out of his hand before quickly rinsing his hands to get rid of any traces of ice cream or sperm. Or Jared. Casey placed his hands against the roster kitchen sink slowly, consciously, and took a breath. In and out. In and out.
    "Oh yeah? Then what was it?"
    Casey stared at little droplets of water in the sink, morning light pouring through the shades in the windows and dazzling those small drops. Bright and pretty. What was it? What had he made plans for and what had he reminded Jared of at least two or three times in the past two weeks?
    He could hear Jared stand up from the chair, could hear him roam through the kitchen like he always did, with familiarity and ease, but it was too familiar now. Too easy. Too much of him taking up Casey's space, sucking off the air in the room up to a point where Casey wanted him to just leave. But instead of saying anything like that he turned just enough to see Jared and made his words travel through the air with a-matter-of-fact-tone to them.
    "It was my birthday."
    ****
    During their months of sex and occasional dinners and movie-nights Jared had heard a complaining tone in Casey's voice way too many times for it to pass his radar anymore, but what he heard now wasn't complaining. Nor was it self-pity or anger or disappointment. It was something far more irritating and terrifying because Jared had no fucking clue what it was. But the meaning of those words sank in anyway, echoing with a hollow thump when he suddenly remembered the plans Casey had made and the reason for those plans and all the reminding Casey had done during the past couple of weeks just to make sure Jared wouldn't forget.
    But he had.
    "Oh shit… Case, I'm-"
    "Can you please not call me that?" Casey cut off and turned to face the cabinet above the sink. His whole form was tense when he leaned against the edge of the sink with his hands, now with his head bowed and eyes shut, every inch of his upper body bare and completely displaying the thrill of the night before. One might think that after orgasming for god knows how many times during the past ten hours or so and spilling in Casey's mouth just minutes ago, it would be impossible for Jared to get hard this soon. But no, it wasn't, not when he had his eyes on the marks spread all over Casey. Bite marks and small bruises, from Jared's teeth and his fingers, his hands on Casey's body molding it into something else completely, something so foreign even Jared had no idea what the hell had happened in Casey's bed last night.
    "Are you fucking kidding me?" Casey's voice more than his words, the utter disbelief and shades of disgust tripping through every line was what snatched Jared's eyes from the body to the eyes.
    "What?"
    "You're thinking about sex, aren't you?"
    Well, duh.
    His face must've worn