Page 11 of Only One Bed: Anthology Vol. 1
No one had set him on fire like Remi. And no one had ever frozen him out in quite the same way either. Both capable of stopping his heart and breath so quickly he’d wondered if it had ever happened.
And God, they had been something, hadn’t they? His skin flushed remembering how Remi’s fingers had felt in his hair. The gasp of the other man as he thrust into Grant, their bodies close until muscle and skin were flush to the other in a way that had him forgetting where he began and Remi ended. It was nothing but a tangle of limbs with Remi’s cock in him, the way he stared at Grant, his gray eyes all fire and need until it was the only thing Grant could focus on. Remi had been his world in those moments, minutes marked by the sting of Remi pulling on his hair until his scalp ached, seconds kept by the slap of skin on skin, breaths and heartbeats in unison until he couldn’t remember if it had been an hour or an eternity since Remi had taken him, claimed his body as his own until the pair of them spiraled up and over the edge of pleasure they had been building together.
He’d loved every second of it. Could still hear Remi’s gasp and shout when he orgasmed, body curling in close to Grant’s as he did. He’d never been far behind, the sight of his lover finding release enough to urge Grant to his own end.
They’d been like that right until the night he’d announced his decision to leave town.
Remi hadn’t wanted to talk that night. He hadn’t wanted to talk any other night either leading up to when Grant had left for school. And when he’d come home Remi had only deigned to speak to him to let him know just how unwelcome Grant was in Plenty.
His skin burned at the memory of Remi’s hands on him, the phantom pang once again reminding Grant that he wished to hell he’d told Remi first and not blurted it out as he had. But things were always easier in hindsight, weren’t they?
After that night Remi hadn’t wanted a damn thing to do with him. He suspected today wouldn’t be much different but Grant fixed an easy smile on his face as he rounded the truck and made his way to the back where Remi was already climbing into the bed of the truck, eyes focused on the goods Grant had ordered.
“Afternoon,” Grant offered, coming to stand at the end of the truck bed. Remi nodded, and offered a grunt in greeting.
“Ah, looks like it’ll rain,” he went on, clearing his throat when Remi turned towards him with a sack of fertilizer over one shoulder. The other man’s eyes lifted to the sky for a second before he shrugged and nodded.
“Suppose so.” Remi tossed the bag onto the ground beside Grant and moved to grab another. “Got your fertilizer. Tower lights too. Be done in a few if you tell me where to put it.”
Grant swallowed at the words. It was Remi’s way of telling him to give him space, to not talk to him, and Grant sighed playing along for the sake of keeping the peace.
“Sure thing. You can bring it in back. Near the orchids.”
“Sounds good.” Remi nodded, his shoulder-length brown hair falling forward into his face when he bent to grab another bag. He tossed that onto the ground beside the first and continued about his work. Even if the other man didn’t want to talk, he hadn’t told him to leave and so Grant watched him work in relative peace, the way he usually did when Remi came round.
The air around them was hot and humid sticking to their skin and if it hadn’t been from the breeze the impending storm was kicking up, it might have been unpleasant, but it wasn’t---certainly wasn’t with the view Grant was afforded by a working Remi, shirt sleeves rolled up and hair free from the knot the man usually wore it in. Remi’s features were sharp and severe, his countenance stern but that wasn’t surprising, not when it came to Grant or anything to do with him. Not as far as Remi was concerned.
Grant sighed and cleared his throat cautioning another glance at the silent man as he worked. Another bag of fertilizer landed beside him and he stepped back and said, “it’s hot out yet. Want a water?” His question was completely innocuous, innocent at best, it was humid and hot, the air holding the heavy feeling that told of an upcoming summer storm. From the feel of it, this one was going to be more than a passing shower. He glanced up at the sky and pretended to be interested in anything else but Remi.
When in doubt, and confronted with a man that made your heart stop, focus on...the weather? He would have scoffed at himself if it wasn’t the only thing he could speak on intelligibly. He much suspected this was why the weather was a favored topic of small talk in the South.
God, he’d give anything to run his hands through that hair again. He knew it was softer than it looked, just like the man it belonged to. He glanced at Remi when he wasn’t even given the normal grunt in response. He’d stopped working and was looking at Grant with a look he couldn’t quite figure out. Not annoyed or angry, but curious? Except that it was gone in a flash and once more the familiar hard look slipped over Remi’s face like a mask.
He pursed his lips. “M’fine.”
“I know but--”
“Don’t need nothing from you. Never have. Never will. Let me work, dammit.”
Grant held up his hands and was unable to stop the startled laugh that puffed free from his lips. “Well, all right then,” he said and shook his head taking a step back and then another, “was tryin’ to be friendly is all.”
“Should know by now I don’t want it.”
“See that now. Make no mistake.” Grant dropped his hands and turned on his heel. He didn’t need this. If Remi was bent on holding a grudge from near back seven years then the man was welcome to it. He had a business to run, and if peace wasn’t on the table then it would just have to be one of those things in life.
Worse things had happened to better people. Not having Remi Wilson would be marked as one of the lesser things to happen in history. Even in a place like Plenty. But even as he thought it Grant bit his lip because from the cold and hollow feel their exchange had left him with, he wasn’t so sure.
The work passed quickly enough, or at least he thought so. Remi was silent as ever as he unloaded the new goods, taking them where they were to go, and Grant did his best to avoid him. If Remi was coming he was going or busying himself in the endless rows of greenery that needed tending to. It should have been relatively simple to give him space but even so the two of them kept meeting eyes, looking up at the wrong times or nearly brushing shoulders as Grant exited to check on the hedges he’d just had delivered, but not had the time to bring in.
They were like two magnets. It was agony.
Always had been.
More so when Remi fixed him with the smoldering gray gaze that Grant knew intimately, though he much preferred when it was directed at him in a more kindly manner. He blew out a deep sigh, watching Remi from the corner of his eye, where he was finishing up the last of his order. The other man was scribbling out an invoice, minutes from leaving, and though he knew he should be happy that the tense time would be over when Remi left, Grant was more morose than anything.
They’d been something; he didn’t know what to call it, but it had been something better than now.
“Remi...hey, listen,” Grant began putting down the shears he held and starting forward. “I don’t know how things got to where they are now but, ah, I just wanted to say that I’m real sorry.”
