Revving It Up Box Set Page 9

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  Sebastian placed takeout and his car keys on the kitchen counter, next to Caleb’s laptop. Its screensaver was the only illumination in the area. Sebastian walked toward the bedroom and heard Caleb’s light snoring through the slightly opened door. Sebastian glanced at the time he’d texted Caleb, an hour ago. Caleb hadn’t texted him back. He’d never heard Caleb going to bed at nine-thirty at night.

  Sebastian took Caleb’s favorite beef broccoli from the bag and put it in the fridge. Once he opened the door, he saw some cut short pieces of gauze next to the trashcan. He kept his elbow on the door to give him some light so he could see as he picked up the small remnants of bandaging. Verifying there wasn’t any blood first, he lifted the wastebasket lid off with his foot, and threw the bandage inside.

  Sebastian walked quickly back to the bedroom and checked on Caleb. Caleb lay on his side, his face toward the window. Even with the Venetian blinds tightly closed, moonlight provided ambient lighting in the room. Sebastian drew closer to Caleb and saw that there was bandaged gauze on Caleb’s forehead over his left eyebrow. Sebastian studied Caleb for a second and didn’t see any injuries on Caleb’s exposed chest and arms. Sebastian moved the bed sheet very slowly, ever so slightly, off Caleb’s body to double-check to see if there was anything he should be concerned about. He didn’t want to wake up Caleb.

  As usual, Caleb slept in the nude. Sebastian exhaled, happy that he didn’t see any other bandages. He slowly lowered the sheet and walked out. When he got back to the kitchen, he texted Garrison. Were you with Caleb earlier?

  A couple of seconds had passed before he received a reply. Yeah. Is he asleep? He had a major headache from the surfboard hitting him earlier. Gave him one of my muscle relaxants I still had.

  Sebastian’s heart raced in anger. Did you take him to the doctor? What did the doctor say?

  Sebastian switched to another screen to find out when he’d last texted Caleb. It’d been when Caleb was at the Youngblood racing garage.

  Garrison’s reply text came back. Refused to go to the doctor. We took him home and he said he would be fine. He should be. He has a slight cut on his head and a little bump.

  Sebastian clenched his teeth. His first thought was to call Garrison and chew him out. But he knew right now shouting would probably just wake up Caleb. There’d be time for him to yell at Garrison for not telling him when the accident first happened.

  This is what he hated about the Youngblood family. They kept to themselves. He was about to be married to Caleb, and he still felt he was on the outside. Not only did they treat him differently since he wasn’t raised in stock car racing but Earl, Caleb’s dad, was protective as fuck. So was Joan, Caleb and Garrison’s sister. And Garrison was like a grizzly at times when it came to Caleb and racing.

  Sebastian made Caleb promise that the plans for their wedding, their ceremony, would be entirely up to the two of them. He’d told Caleb he would handle all the minutiae of details and run by the big picture things with Caleb, who he knew didn’t care if the color of the tablecloths matched the napkins, or about place cards and table seating.

  Except in the last few days, Sebastian hadn’t done crap. He’d been pulling back-to-back night and morning shifts at the station for the regular broadcasts, then shooting promo for the upcoming segments to be replayed during the Olympics. He made a silent prayer, thankful that the next day he had his first day off in a while. He needed a break. The fact that he had to work with the insufferable David made it even worse.

  What had I seen in that jackass?

  Sebastian started eating his take out then put his Mei Fun down on the counter, and grazed the laptop while doing so. The screensaver disappeared and email attachments popped up in display. He saw pictures of Caleb in Speedos, with one of the racing cars in the background; Caleb standing, wearing his NASCAR safety suit; Caleb, slathered in oil, sitting on the hood of a Ford Mustang; Caleb in a close up, flashing a bright smile, holding a bottle of a craft beer that he recognized from a local brewery, while holding a surf board; more close-ups of Caleb with designer sunglasses; and then Caleb standing, his naked back to the camera, flexing a bicep as he glanced back to the photographer with a broad smile.

  Sebastian saw the email came from his sister, and she was forwarding some of the best proofs. Caleb hadn’t told him he’d done a photo shoot. But, he had to admit that his man was hot in these photos.

  His heart swelled with pride.

  David can’t hold a candle to Caleb. Fuck! How’d I get so lucky?

  He clicked on the photos again, this time inspecting them more closely. He liked the black Speedo that had purple and red crisscross patterns. Caleb smiled in that photo. And as much as he liked Caleb in an even skimpier red Speedo, he didn’t want anyone else to see the goods that were highlighted in it. The lighting and angle didn’t leave much to the imagination.

  That’s all mine.

  Sebastian grabbed a pad of Post-Its from the drawer and made little notes listing the photos he liked and stuck the slips of paper on the laptop.

  He finished his meal and threw away the to-go container. He brushed his teeth in the dark, stripped off his clothes, and slipped into bed. The sheet that had earlier covered Caleb, now barely covered him at all. The only thing shielded were Caleb’s feet, which Sebastian knew intimately. Slowly, Sebastian inched closer to Caleb, who lay on his back, his chest exposed. Sebastian studied the bandage over the left eyebrow. He couldn’t see any bump on the forehead. He heard Caleb’s rhythmic breathing and moved closer, spooning Caleb in the process. Sebastian couldn’t deny it; the photos of Caleb made him horny.

  Shit. It’s been a few days since we fucked.

  Sebastian moved to a nipple and lightly kissed and licked it. Caleb moaned but didn’t open his eyes. Sebastian traced his tongue from Caleb’s nipple down the center to his belly button then followed the treasure trail with his mouth. Caleb’s dick was half-hard. He moved closer, his mouth a mere inches hovering over Caleb’s hardening cock, when hands caressed Sebastian’s hair. Sebastian put his hands over Caleb’s and signaled him.

  Sebastian knew what Caleb wanted, his heart raced just thinking about it, and he didn’t want to disappoint.

  Chapter 5

  Caleb reluctantly opened his eyes, and only because noise in the next room roused him from sleep. He exhaled, more in exasperation than anything else. Their bedroom remained dark, and the sun’s rays hadn’t intruded yet into the room. Caleb glanced at the alarm clock by his side of the bed.

  Fuck! It’s only one a.m.

  When he heard the microwave ding, Caleb closed his eyes and debated whether he should get up. Caleb’s fingers touched his forehead lightly: even through the bandage, the bump on his head he’d gotten surfing still existed. His headache had subsided, and the muscle relaxant had helped the soreness and tightness of his neck.

  Caleb sat up and swung his legs over the bed and headed to the kitchen. He didn’t even consider putting on clothes. Hell, it wasn’t like Sebastian wasn’t used to Caleb walking around naked anyway.

  Caleb, bleary-eyed, caught Sebastian, standing, dressed in a polo, eating Chinese take-out. The only other clothing Sebastian had on was boxer shorts, which hung low on the hips.

  “Hey, babe,” said Sebastian who chewed food as he spoke. “Hope you don’t mind. I’ve eaten most of your favorite broccoli and beef ‘cause I was still kinda hungry. Want some?” Sebastian took the fork he had, and pierced a piece of filleted beef and brought it Caleb’s mouth.

  Caleb didn’t bother denying he was hungry, because he was. He hadn’t eaten dinner at all so he moved closer and took the offered food. Sebastian then captured a broccoli floret, and Caleb ate it after he finished chewing his first bite. “I thought you went to bed. Did you even go to sleep?” Caleb cleared his dry throat. “It’s so frigging early!”

  “I couldn’t sleep. I guess the downside to these weird shifts I’ve been pulling at the TV station is that this is the time lately I
usually head back home.” Sebastian pointed at a stack next to him. “Plus, I was trying to draw up our invite list.” Sebastian handed the take-out container to Caleb as he grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it out with tap water. Once he filled it, he handed the water to Caleb. “Here, drink. Your voice was hoarse.”

  Caleb took the water and food, headed to the couch in the small living room, and placed the beef and broccoli and the glass on the coffee table. Sebastian quickly followed from the kitchen. Caleb plopped himself on the end of the brown leather couch. “So, working on our wedding stuff, huh?”

  “Yeah. I know I’ve been neglectful lately. Sorry.”

  You hadn’t talked about the wedding in a while, so—”

  “—Oh, I’m still planning it. We don’t need to spend money on a wedding planner, so don’t give up on me yet.”

  Caleb buried the thought he had earlier while surfing. Now all he wanted to do was suppress the crazy idea that Sebastian didn’t want to go through the wedding.

  Sebastian waved a page he had in his hand. “I wrote down fifteen people we definitely have to invite. Maybe twenty on top of that we really, really should ask to come and maybe another ten who we maybe could ask.”

  Caleb took another bite of beef and scanned the sheet of paper Sebastian handed to him. He recognized all the names. “Cujo and Garr had ideas about our wedding.”

  Sebastian moved from his far end of the sofa to the cushion next to Caleb, so that their thighs touched. Caleb then swung his legs and placed them over Sebastian’s lap. “Oh?” asked Sebastian. “I thought we’d decided we’d make the plans, and no input from our families?”

  “You mean my family,” said Caleb, his voice an octave lower. He threw the fork into the paper food container. “My family’s the overinvolved one. Right? You’ve made that comment before. You think they control too much of what I do in the public eye.”

  “You know, I think they do. When was the last time you talked to your dad about getting a third car? Racing a major?” Sebastian paused. “I know you want to, still. Even though an openly gay NASCAR driver, driving in Daytona, Charlotte, and Indy hasn’t ever happened. Not in the way you are going to do it. Not the way you want to.”

  “I thought we were talking about the wedding?” asked Caleb. He realized his voice had risen slightly after he spoke, so he brought his voice level down to almost whisper level. “They suggested we have a wedding on the Speedway. Make our wedding a public event, covered by the news, tweeted by fans.”

  Sebastian turned his face away for a moment and then spoke. “I hope you didn’t agree to that. Right? I wanted to keep the planning between you and me. I want it to be special, highlighting our personalities.”

  “No, I didn’t agree to any suggestions they had,” whispered Caleb. “I told them I wanted something formal, serious, not a circus-type of atmosphere.” Caleb hesitated and wanted to make sure the next thing he said sounded diplomatically. “You’re going to be joining my family, and me, in yours. I’m sorry if you think my family’s a bit too controlling, but that’s how my family’s been.”

  “I’m sorry I said that about your family.”

  “Again, you’ll be a part of it.” Caleb retorted.

  “Okay. Yes, I get it. But you got to understand, how I was raised, well, we’re just not that close or needy.”

  Caleb exhaled. “It’s a family business, babe, that spills into family dynamics. There’s not a wall where business ends and family begins. You have to know that, okay? As much as it would be nice, in some fashion, to have some separation between racing and life, I’m telling you that’s the unfortunate part of marrying me.”

  Unless I just walk away from racing. Period.

  Caleb wanted to say what he thought aloud. But he held back. They both knew that Caleb was frustrated about not driving any of the majors. He still drove other races, winning lap points, and even second place finishes in Kansas and Richmond last year, and those lap and second place points helped Youngblood Racing for the NASCAR cup points.

  They both sat in silence for a moment before Sebastian spoke. “Let’s just keep it simple for now. Shall we have black tie for the wedding for not?”

  “What’s black tie? Is that like when you wear a tux or something?” Caleb stretched out by sliding down on the couch a little. Out of habit, Sebastian massaged Caleb’s thighs and legs. He didn’t ask if Sebastian was now trying to make up for expressing his frustration about the Youngblood family. “Oh, that feels good,” said Caleb. “Really, the first thing we need to confirm now is the actual wedding date.

  Sebastian kneaded the muscles around Caleb’s knees, pushing on the quadriceps. “We should set a wedding for after the Olympics.” Sebastian paused before he spoke again. “Maybe October?”

  Caleb bit his lip, exhaled then grabbed one of Sebastian’s hands and held on to it. “Hey, look at me.” Caleb waited for Sebastian to stop what he was doing and return Caleb’s gaze before he continued. “I was hoping maybe before you leave for Rio?”

  “What?” Sebastian shook his head. “That’s not enough time. You’re working the 400 in July. Right? Plus, that’s just a few weeks away. There’s no way we can plan a formal ceremony and dinner.”

  Caleb smiled. “Sure we can. Or, we can always elope.”

  “Elope? You can’t have a formal ceremony that you want, and I want, and also elope! Besides, my mom will be pissed. And, I’m sure Joan would be.”

  “I didn’t get the feeling your mom wanted us to get hitched right away. If it were up to her, we probably wouldn’t get married. At least that’s the feeling I got when I saw her recently.” Caleb massaged his own neck. It had stiffened since he lay on the couch. “I think my family will be perfectly happy if we elope.”

  “Uh-uh.” Sebastian shook his head. “There’s no way we are going to get married with some of our family not being part of it. And, my mom is not opposed to me getting married to you. She knows I love you. She’s just being Mom and worried, that’s all.”

  Caleb swung his legs away from Sebastian’s grasp and scooted closer to Sebastian. He lowered his head so his eyes were inches from Sebastian’s face. “She’s worried that you still have a lot of feelings for Benoit.” Caleb didn’t want to say Sebastian’s ex’s first name. His stomach churned just thinking about that asshat. “Can you blame her? You proposed to him.”

  “Shit,” Sebastian said under his breath. “I thought we were already past this.” Sebastian placed a hand on Caleb’s jaw and moved in for a kiss. “Goddammit, I love you. No one else. I have feelings for no one but you.”

  Caleb kissed Sebastian back, his mouth pressed as Sebastian eagerly accepted the light pressure, allowing Caleb to become the aggressor in their kiss. Caleb stroked Sebastian’s cheek with a thumb as Caleb broke off the tender moment and whispered. “I want to be married to you now, tomorrow, the next day, not months down the line. Don’t be mad that I suggested it.” Caleb stared at Sebastian’s mouth and wanted to kiss him again.

  “I’m not mad. I just never heard you mention it before.” Sebastian paused. Sebastian’s forehead touched Caleb’s, as they maintained their physical intimacy. They kissed again.

  “Okay, lie back.” Sebastian gingerly pushed Caleb’s chest so Caleb could lie back down. Sebastian directed him with his hand to stretch back out on the sofa, so Caleb moved back to his previous position before Sebastian spoke again. “God, I love your legs, and feet.”

  Caleb closed his eyes as Sebastian massaged his feet and calves again. Since they’d moved in together, almost a year before, Sebastian introduced this ritual into their lives, prompted after their strenuous workouts, runs, or surfing. Caleb had always reciprocated with back rubs and massage.

  Sometimes, Sebastian turned the therapeutic touching into foreplay. Caleb hoped Sebastian wanted the latter. “We didn’t finish what we started earlier,” said Caleb, so matter of fact-like.

  “Yeah, you fell asleep.” Sebastian laughed. “I cleaned you up, and nex
t thing I knew you were snoring. I never knew my blowjob could send you back to sleep so quickly.”

  “I’m sorry. That medication Garr gave me made me very groggy.”

  Sebastian stopped for a moment and cocked his head. “Any reason you didn’t text me, or call me about what happened when you went surfing?” asked Sebastian.

  “Not the first time I’ve wiped out. You know it comes with the territory.”

  Sebastian pressed on the sole of one foot, stretching Caleb’s toes in the process. “Still, you could’ve texted.” Sebastian moved his fingers upwards from the heel of one leg and pressed softly into the calf of one leg, then the other.

  “I didn’t want to worry you.”

  Sebastian shook his head. He pressed his fist deep in Caleb’s left calf until Caleb grunted. “Please call me next time. Okay? Or it’ll be painful deep pressure every time.”

  Caleb laughed. “Okay, I get the message.” Sebastian’s fist then turned into soft silky fingers that stroked his legs. Sebastian turned to light, almost caressing movements. Caleb’s dick hardened as Sebastian moved up to his inner thigh. Since he was naked, Caleb couldn’t hide his lengthening erection.

  Sebastian noticed it too. “I see I’m getting the response I wanted.”

  Caleb grabbed his cock, his hand at the base, his fingers over his balls as he took his hand and stroked up to the tip to show off the length and hardness to Sebastian. Then he put his hand back at the base again and waved his dick in front of Sebastian. “You like what you see?”

  “That’s a lot of dick.”

  “Is that why you’re marrying me?”