With a sigh, Sam pushed his way in front of him. "He means take some time to be alone or whatever," Sam said getting a little embarrassed as he looked between them. "We'll have fun with Danny and Lenny. You make sure to have fun too." Sam had a more low key way of putting it, but he obviously had the same idea as Rico.
As they all went off and he and Rob waved to them, Julian was kind of at a loss. "Where are we supposed to go?" he wondered.
Rob gave him a confident grin. "We'll go for a drive and see where the road takes us," he said decisively and took Julian's hand.
Julian wondered if he was going to take charge of their outing. He didn't mind since he had no idea what they could do together out here. Doing things on the spur of the moment wasn't his strong suit anyway. He just couldn't say no to a chance to be alone with Rob for a while.
With Rob behind the wheel, they drove past the school fence and got on the river road. Knowing Julian didn't want to go too far in case Danny needed them, Rob picked a spot by the riverside. They went over a small hill, then down and found themselves in a valley with birch trees all around.
"Did you know this was here?" Julian asked as he got out of the car and admired the spot where the river flowed by gently and birch trees dropped yellow leaves on the ground.
"No. Just luck," Rob said as he got out and let his green eyes travel up from the white bark of the trees to the yellow canopies above.
Soft earth and dry leaves under their feet, they walked around with their hands clasped and their fingers entwined. The path led them to the top of the hill. Coming out from among the trees into a clearing overlooking the river, they were greeted with brilliant sunshine and the brass and copper of autumn reflected in the river's flow.
"The back seat is clear. Just reminding you," Rob said after they had been looking at the view for a while.
They had transferred Danny's car seat to Wyatt's car. Julian had to laugh, but he wasn't sure he was brave enough to do anything in the back seat in the middle of the day. He could hardly believe he was even out here with Rob like this, and he couldn't help asking himself what it meant, if anything.
Rob noticed his hesitation and pointed his thumb back the way they came. "I made sure to pick a nice, secluded spot."
It was true that Julian couldn't see the car clearly among the trees, and with every moment, he was tempted more and more to give in. Then he noticed something in the distance and he frowned.
"What is it?" Rob asked noticing the shift in his mood right away.
Julian had seen a familiar sight across the river. It reminded him that they hadn't gone that far from the town. "That's the cemetery," Julian said thinking of the slab of expensive, black marble that marked his grandfather's grave. "I keep thinking I should pay my grandfather's grave a visit, but then I remember how he tried to kill everything in me that made me who I was."
"He didn't," Rob said and took him by the shoulders gently so he could gaze into his eyes.
"I'm not so sure. I think I would be a much better big brother to Danny if I hadn't fallen under my grandfather's influence."
Rob denied it. "No way. You're the perfect big brother, and Danny adores you."
"He's a sweet boy. I think he overlooks my faults," Julian said, thinking of Danny with love.
"You don't have any faults," Rob said too sharply and Julian raised an eyebrow at him. For a moment, Rob looked like he was about to take it back, but he didn't. "Am I supposed to hide how much I like you?"
Now Julian got flustered and looked away. He had to say something, but he couldn't get the words out. This was his grandfather's stamp on him. He just couldn't express his emotions.
"I will restrain myself if you want me to. I don't have to share every one of my thoughts and feelings with you," Rob said, and Julian took a quick, painful breath. But then Rob's voice got thick and low and he took Julian's hand and kissed it. "I won't tell you how fast my heart beats because of you, or how happy I am just to look at you."
For too long Julian just felt stunned, ready to lose himself in Rob's green eyes, but then he found his voice, a little bit at least.
"Don't hold back with me," Julian finally told him in a single exhaled breath. Those words had rushed headlong out of him before he could stop them. He was dying to hear more, to feel everything Rob felt.
"OK," Rob said simply and smiled, but Julian was too uncertain and hopeful, wondering what might happen next.
"I never know what the next step should be," Julian confessed.
"We kiss and then go back to the car so I can suck you boneless," Rob said in a gravelly voice. Slowly he leaned in, leaving plenty of time for Julian to stop him. The tension seemed to stretch on forever like endless falling. Then their lips met, touching, caressing.
Rob's hands gripped him hard by the arms pulled him in for a deeper kiss full of heat and longing. And Julian responded, showing him what he couldn't put into words, answering with his own heat.
He was clutching Rob by the back of his neck and around the waist. Rob's arms were around him too. They were locked together kissing like they wouldn't stop for anything. But they did, and Julian held onto fistfuls of Rob's jacked and just breathed.
"Let's get into that back seat before I do something indecent to you right here," Rob told him in a rough voice and they hurried off to the car.
Hot for each other, impatient for naked skin under their hands and mouths, they kissed and groped their way under each other's clothes. Pushing Rob's jacket off his shoulders, Julian fumbled with his fly and got the same treatment from Rob.
