A Rose by Any Other Name

Chapter 33

Writer's Note- I really like this song. It's like, ethereal, ykno?

A note- It has not escaped my attention that as of December 26th we've reached over 5k reads. Wow, who would've thunk?! Thank you all very much for sticking with me through thick and thin!!! I'll do a demographic update next chapter.

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"Let's do something different tonight." Mike told me that Christmas Eve as were getting ready for bed. He was perched on the edge of the bed, fingers lazily stroking my thigh while I was lying on my back, my head propped up on a pillow.

"Like what?" I'd been browsing on my phone since we got back from Mike's parents' Christmas get together. But the casual stroking of his fingers made me put my phone down.

Apparently, most Latinos celebrated on Christmas Eve. During the evening it was just Mike's parents. his grandparents and some aunts, uncles and cousins. Even Mike's sponsor Julio was there. According to Mike that wasn't a lot of people, but I had been overwhelmed. No one called either of us mariposa outright but there were a few moments when I expected the homophobia to jump out.

Altogether though, I'd only been called 'Miguel's special friend' once so I counted the evening a success. By the time we got home it was nice to relax, and get ready for bed, not having to worry about how I was coming across or being interpreted.

Mike regained my attention with his insistent fingers, circling my upper thigh but not moving beyond it.

Instead of coming to bed right away, Mike had taken a long shower and even now his hair was still damp. There was a towel lazily knotted around his waist. He blushed hotly, looking away, "I did what I had to do..." He gestured to his rear, not quite looking at me. The long shower made more sense to me now. God, Mike was hot like this, too. All lowered lashes, and bated breaths.

"Get on your knees." I said quietly, as Mike turned on the bed and bent over, leaning on his forearms. I removed his towel, sucking in a harsh breath and shucking off my own pair of boxers. Mike could be a bit of a show off, muscles flexing across his back as he leaned over slowly, with one languid look over his shoulder at me.

I slipped a hand between his shoulder blades and I hadn't done anything yet but he was already trembling, a fine sheen of sweat shimmering on his skin. I kissed the back of his neck, licking the knob at the top of his spine and he exhaled softly.

I kissed down his back, loving the feel of his warm muscles there. I sculpted my body behind his, talking into Mike's ear from behind. "You're really hot, you know that?"

Mike made an inarticulate noise as I moved away from him and smoothed my hands across the plains of his back, trailing my hands down towards his hips. Mike's body was hot beneath my exploratory fingers, and he was noisy enough that I worried for a moment about my neighbours.

I stroked the nape of Mike's neck as the tops of my thighs lined up against the backs of his. He was breathing heavier now and there was something heady about the idea of someone bigger and stronger than me letting me take control. "Fuck." I said quietly, pulling at the hair at the back of Mike's neck to his responding groan.

That kernel of tension was slowly unfurling somewhere between Mike's groans and my own. There was a crescendo towards our mutual peaks and then that sweet silence prinkled with the sound of satisfaction. Too soon we reached the end and Mike was finally quiet.

I cleaned up that day, going between the bathroom and the bed. By the time I was done Mike was still lying there blissed out. That did wonders for my ego, but in the moment I only laughed. "You were so noisy today."