Read Sweaters & Cigarettes for Free Online Page B

set up.”
    He adds that last part with narrowed eyes,
which gives it some kind of joking sarcasm, but there’s some seriousness
underneath, and Theo tenses up. The prospect of Max pinning him down and
ripping his clothes off is simultaneously terrifying and extremely arousing,
and for a moment, he just sits there, unsure how to react. It doesn’t help that
they’re sitting on a bed, on Max's bed, and Theo swallows hard. Max
sighs.
    “See,” he says. “Now I’ve freaked you out
again.”
    Theo shakes his head jerkily.
    “No,” he says, sounding so much less
composed than a moment ago. “No, I just…”
    He looks down, and exhales.
    “Okay, maybe a little bit, yeah.”
    Max sighs again.
    “I’m sorry,” he says, and this time, it almost
sounds like he means it. “I’m just not used to…”
    He seems to hesitate, deliberating, and
Theo looks up at him again.
    “I’m not used to showing restraint,” Max
says, with an expression that says he’s fully aware of how stupid that sounds.
“But you’ve asked me to, so I will.”
    His eyes scan Theo’s face, gaze wandering
down along his mouth and his throat, down over his body.
    “Even though looking at you does things to
me.”
    He murmurs the words, his voice low, and
Theo shivers slightly at its gravelly tone. Seriously, how can Max talk like
this? It makes Theo feel so immensely uncomfortable and turned-on, all at the
same time.
    And on some level, he appreciates Max
trying, when he really doesn’t have to. He doesn’t have to show restraint; he
could just pick someone else, instead of Theo, and skip that part altogether.
    “Well, if it helps,” Theo hears himself
say, and Max looks up at him. “It’s mutual.”
    He swallows hard, can’t believe the words
coming out of his mouth.
    “Looking at you does things to me, too.”
    The words hang in the air. Theo has never
talked like this before, has never said anything like that to another person,
in his life. It’s just so straight-forward, and inappropriate on so many
levels.
    Max doesn’t seem to think so, though. Or
maybe he does, and that’s why hearing it from Theo’s mouth makes him tense up a
bit, blue eyes suddenly completely fixed on Theo’s green ones. He looks at him
like he wants to eat him alive, and suddenly, Theo feels like that’s what he
wants, more than anything in the world. But he doesn’t say anything.
    Instead, he wonders what, exactly, his own
expression looks like, since it makes Max react this way.
    He wonders what it is that makes Max
suddenly lean forward and kiss him, any thought of restraint seemingly gone
from his mind.
    It doesn’t start off slow, or soft. It
doesn’t escalate, transforming from a relatively innocent kiss into something
more heated. No, instead, Max's mouth rams into Theo’s, pushing them both back
down onto the bed, Theo’s hands gripping onto Max's shirt, as Max's fingers dig
into his hair. His other hand is against Theo’s shoulder, firmly pressing him
down into the sheets. Theo groans in surprise, but closes his eyes and grabs a
fistful of black, thin fabric in one hand, the other trailing up underneath
Max's shirt, touching his skin. He feels Max tense up above him.
    There’s no restraint, whatsoever.
    Theo isn’t used to this, though. He’s not
used to someone just attacking him like this, body pressing down against
his, grinding against him. But even though it’s unfamiliar and just a little
bit scary, feeling Max's weight on top of him, black hair brushing against his
forehead as Max leans into him, it’s thrilling. He likes this. He likes the way
Max groans against his mouth, as Theo moves both his hands up underneath his
long-sleeved t-shirt, feeling his skin.
    Max moves a bit then, getting up on his
knees. He grabs the back of his shirt, blue eyes on Theo, and pulls it over his
head, messing up his hair in the process. Just the sight of it makes Theo tense
up in the best way, but as Max throws the shirt aside, he feels his eyes