Wip Wednesday snippet ^-^
It’s only a few miles until he reaches the outskirts of town, and a smile he doesn’t fear slips onto his face when he spots the GS. Andrew is leaning on the hood, a cigarette in his mouth as the breeze tousles blond locks. He knows Andrew heard his approach, but he doesn’t flick his eyes away from the treeline until Neil is standing right in front of him.
“The GS kind of defeats the purpose of this, don’t you think?” Neil scuffs a shoe towards the shiny black beast behind them. No one in town has a car that nice except the priest.
“And what would you propose.” He takes a drag of his cigarette, blowing smoke rudely into Neil’s face.
Neil shrugs, “You could steal Aaron’s bike?”
Andrew runs his eyes over Neil’s body, a long slow crawl that has heat pooling beneath his skin. “You sweat enough for the two of us.”
Neil scoffs, plucking the cigarette from his lips and taking his own drag. Andrew steals it back just as quickly, throwing it to the ground and tugging firmly at Neil’s stretched out collar, dragging him towards the forest. Neil stumbles before righting himself, easily falling into step, only then does Andrew let go. Neil keeps his eyes on Andrew’s profile, on the sunlight catching in already bright hair, on the slightly crooked line of his nose from one too many breaks.
“You’re going to trip,” Andrew says, still facing forward.
Neil hums in agreement, “Probably.” He doesn’t look away; it means he catches the slight blush of Andrew’s ears, the near nonexistent roll of his eyes.
Neil falls to the forest floor only once, but he doesn’t regret it, even with the way Andrew’s face loudly proclaims, “I told you so.” Neil rolls his eyes, swiping halfheartedly at the new stains on his jeans.
When he looks up, Andrew’s hand is at eye level. He freezes, a stark contrast to the warmth flooding his chest. It takes a long few moments for Neil to place his hand in Andrew’s, but he never once wavers at Neil’s hesitation. A shiver runs down his spine as his callouses meet Andrew’s own.
Andrew pulls him up easily, so effortless Neil feels dumb with it. He rocks forward with the momentum, swaying just far enough into Andrew to enjoy the full solid weight of him. He doesn’t push his luck, ignoring the twinge of loss as he forces himself to pull away near immediately.
Andrew drops his hand like he couldn’t care less, like his body heat doesn’t unravel Neil in each instant of connection. He hooks a finger in Neil’s belt loop instead, and Neil is overcome with an unfamiliar feeling. He ducks his head, as if he can dodge the blooming of emotion in his chest. When he finally looks up again, Andrew is unruffled, a balm to the heat burning his insides.
Neil watches where he’s going this time, filling the air with talk about the math grade he got back yesterday, how annoying the soccer team coach has been since he caught sight of Neil running the track, the increase in extra shifts his mother is taking. Andrew nods along, listening, nearly huffing out a laugh when Neil describes his encounter with an idiotic cyclist earlier in the week.
Andrew is quick once they settle on the floor of the old mill, grabbing at Neil’s jaw with a strong grip. Neil doesn’t fight it, quite the opposite. He melts into the ease with which Andrew holds him.
“Off.”
It is not a question. Neil brings his hands up before pausing, taking in the dirt and mud still covering them, “You do it.” He tries to ignore his heart crawling into his throat, but he’s sure Andrew can feel the uptick in his pulse.
There’s a narrowing of his eyes, Neil is familiar with this look by now, the one that says Andrew is looking for honesty on the face of a liar. He must find it because his free hand reaches for Neil’s eyes. He’s careful as he takes off the first contact, slow as he lets Neil blink away the immediate watering of his eye. He blinks rapidly for a few moments, before gesturing with a small nod for Andrew to repeat the process. He doesn’t breathe until both of the contacts have been flicked uncaring to the floor, vulnerability draping over his skin like an itch he can’t scratch.
