LOTF: Before and After

Phase 3: Chapter 53

Jack remembered the last time he ventured into this particular territory with Ralph. His hand wandered the inside of Ralph's upper thigh, causing the boy to spasm as the arousal intensified, and he continued to lose control of himself.

"More" Ralph had demanded a number of months earlier, long before their breakup.

"You're getting ahead of yourself" Jack had decided. "I'll tell you when, okay?"

"But—please" Ralph pleaded, whining eagerly, laying his hand on top of Jack's on his trembling thigh in an attempt to get him to keep it there.

"Shhh" Jack whispered in his ear, "I'll tell you when."

"Do it again."

"Listen to me, you're not ready."

"But I want you" Ralph pleaded.

"And you have me. I want you too, Ralph, and I'll teach you how to do it when it's time, okay?"

Presently, Jack caressed Ralph's thigh as he started to act upon his decision to take that leap of faith they'd been slowly building up to between now and then.

"You ready?" he asked Ralph only a few minutes ago. Jack wasn't exactly convinced, but he did know they were ready to try. Tomorrow, he'd be in Dalton in preparation for school the next day. Tonight was all they had.

"You alright?" Jack whispered to Ralph as he stroked the antsy boy's leg atop his pyjama bottoms.

"Mhm hm" Ralph agreed as well as he could. His heart was trying to pound its way out of his chest, his skin was overheating, his body was aching for Jack's riveting touch to consume him.

"You promise me you'll tell me if that changes, alright?" Jack softly directed him.

"But why would—"

"Just promise me" he abruptly cut Ralph off.

"Promise" Ralph whispered weakly as he pushed down on Jack's back to close the gap between them that Jack had created.

Jack let up and allowed himself to return to the act. He started kissing Ralph's face again as the boy lit up in a soft fit of giggles. Ralph dug his nails into Jack's bare back; the feeling of his skin peeling from his body sending a wave of bliss through him from head to toe. The sound of Ralph's gentle laughter was equally as alluring, not helping to ground Jack at all.

Strong-headed and determined, Jack pushed on anyway, kissing Ralph's face as he increased the pressure on the boy's leg. He felt Ralph flinch at the pressure, but his body quickly recovered. Jack brought both his hands back to the waistband of Ralph's pyjamas, tugging on it for a moment or two. Then, he daringly pushed a hand beneath it off to Ralph's side, pushing slowly back down to his leg. He stroked Ralph's bare, upper thigh under his pyjama bottoms as the boy's breathing became heavy and quick. He was squirming a little beneath Jack, in that second phase of hesitance and urgency. But Jack pressed on, moving to kiss Ralph's neck, though focusing more on his hand on top of the other's trembling leg.

"It's okay" Jack whispered softly in an attempt to calm the spiraling boy as he continued to apply the pressure and motion to his thigh. "You're okay."

To his surprise, Ralph nodded and almost instantly stopped squirming. Jack's simple words were enough to comfort Ralph. Though it was less about words and more about trust. Ralph trusted Jack, deeply and completely, and there was not much he could've done to change that in this heated moment.

Jack began to trace little circles across and around Ralph's bare leg, and the younger boy started to whimper and groan a little. He continued to scrape intensely at Jack's back. The blond was certain that he was bleeding in at least a couple different places on his back and that of his neck. But he was more aroused by it than he was concerned. He diverted his attention back to Ralph's body, allowing his hand to wander up Ralph's leg a little until he found the edge of the leg hole of his briefs.