Dimmed Lights, page 8
part #3 of On Stage Trilogy Series
Eventually, he ran out of stamina and dropped to sit on the floor with one last half-hearted punch, looking defeated. His breath was dragging, and he didn’t even lift his glassy-eyed gaze from the floor when I dropped down to sit beside him. Leaning back on my arms, I cleared my throat.
“Do tell, what did the punching bag ever do to you for you to treat it that harshly?”
Barely, I was able to catch a small glimpse of a smile on his lips before it disappeared. “I dunno. It looked annoying. What’s with the half-broken mirror?”
“I dunno. It looked annoying,” I mimicked, causing a slight skeptical chuckle to break through Joe’s stoic demeanor. “Okay, I might’ve kicked the bag against it. I’ll replace it sometime.”
He gave me a doubting glance, but ultimately let the subject drop. Instead, he rubbed the back of his head before turning to look at me. “Look, I’m sorry. About earlier. It’s strictly business from now on—”
“Nah, it’s okay. I overreacted. I was…confused.”
“And now? Are you still confused?”
“No. And for the record, I’m sorry too.” I glanced at his lip. It was still a little swollen.
“But–”
“But nothing. Look, after the crash and everything that happened with Min-ho, I haven’t been in a really good place.” It was only half of an excuse. I was a mess on top of being confused about me and Joe, there was no denying it.
“Yeah, I heard about that,” he said, dropping his eyes back to the floor. Shit. “That’s all on me. I’m beating myself over it every goddamn day, to be honest—”
“Aish,” I cursed, cutting him off. This was not where I wanted my lousy little excuse to lead us. “I didn’t mean it like that. It was not your fault. It’s all on Min-ho.”
“I could’ve done a better background check or something,” Joe said, his voice breaking a little at the end. “At the time, we were understaffed—which is not an excuse—but I was settling for anyone that came to me with a decent looking CV. I should’ve been more careful…I—”
Sigh. To think I had to be the one explaining this to Joe, of all people.
“We could continue this the whole day. Yeah, you could’ve done a better background check. I shouldn’t have gotten myself distracted that night,” I said, touching the scars on my cheek. “All of that doesn’t change any goddamn thing.”
“Yeah,” he said, still refusing to look at me. “I’m still sorry, though.”
“I know,” I huffed and bumped his shoulder with mine. Maybe I could cheer him up with a little sparring. “But enough with this deep bullshit. Get up, let’s see if I can beat you this time.”
That finally made him smile, but it was somewhat of a letdown since the smile didn’t reach his normally so sparkly eyes. Nonetheless, he heaved himself up at the same time I did, and we started circling each other, both trying to find the other’s weak spot.
Coffee Incident
The fight turned out to be a huge letdown. Joe's moves were sluggish. I suspected that he didn’t even try. And as hard as I tried to coax something out of him, even a teeny-tiny sparkle of annoyance, he never lost his temper. Ever. Nor did he toss around any suggestive and disturbing comments like he usually did. The bigger surprise, though, was that I was even more annoyed by the lack of flirting than the actual flirting. It drove me nuts.
The only enjoyment I got out of the fight, was Joe’s scent. It engulfed me. It was amazing. Like a forest after a rain, woody but with a little spice…he hadn’t showered after our walk that turned into a bulldozing down the hill, yet he still managed to maintain a fresh aura.
But scent or no scent, I had him on the floor, sitting on top of his chest. He had so many options to get up, but he laid there like a limp dick. When he tapped the floor in a sign of surrender, that too was…lazy.
“You’re not even trying,” I spat, still irked that he kept evading my eyes.
“I’m tired. You won. Now get off. I already tapped out,” he stated, with that annoying fake-disinterested voice and a nonchalant tone that drove me up the walls.
“Ugh, snap out of it and fight me!” I said, grabbing his collar.
He stopped me by grabbing my wrists. “I– I don’t think we should do this any longer. I promised you we’d keep this strictly business…”
Ah, shibal—do I really have to do this?
A moment of self-doubt about my recent resolution flashed through my mind, but only briefly. Then I forced my wrists off his grip and pinned his hands to the floor on top of his head. Ignoring the look of surprise on Joe’s face, I smashed my lips against his.
He totally froze under me when our lips touched. Solid. Much like I had at first when we kissed earlier…I wondered if he had felt as weird then. But refusing to give up, I kept kissing him. First on his lips but soon moved on to his stubbed jawline, his neck…none of it had any effect.
Frustrated, I sucked his lower lip and bit it. Hard. That finally caused some kind of reaction—letting out a growl, he spun us around and pinned me below him so suddenly that I gasped, and my head was a little wobbly for a moment. Then, when I recovered enough to notice what happened, a grin tugged my lips up. There was a smirk on Joe’s lips as well as he loomed over me, those weird dark golden eyes studying me.
Finally, he looked like himself.
“Fucking tease,” Joe said, before burying his face to the nook of my neck.
My quiet reminder of not leaving any marks was ignored completely, and I couldn’t focus for shit anyway since his whole body pressed against mine. His short stubble scratched my collarbone as his slick lips roamed on my neck. It was a sensory overload. One that made my heart race and pants too tight.
I savored every shiver that he caused to run down my spine. Because who knew how long this was going to last? Not long, that’s for sure. This much desire was going to burn to its end sooner rather than later. There was no way this magnitude of passion would survive even a hint of an actual relationship.
So I made a wavering deal with myself to let me enjoy it while it lasted, right when his lips finally found back to mine. Eagerly, I answered his kiss with matching enthusiasm, pulling him even tighter against me. His impressive bulge pressed against my equally aroused but not even nearly as notable length through the layers of sweatpants.
A breathless whine escaped my lips when his tongue brushed against them.
Letting out that sound, however, was a mistake. Because right at that exact second, Joe decided he had had enough and retreated. The sudden loss of his warm body on top of me, made my whole body shiver uncontrollably. This time, that shiver wasn’t a pleasant feeling…at all.
I heaved myself to a half-sitting position, leaning against my arms. Joe was now on his knees, not that far away from me…yet it felt like there was an invisible wall built between us in a nanosecond.
“If we go any further than this, I’m gonna end up fucking you senseless right here on the gross gym floor. No one wants that.”
“As if I’d even put out for you,” I muttered out of habit, though my entire thought process was more in line with, “Maybe I want that.”
Joe only let out a dry laugh and flashed me a cocky grin as he stood up. “Trust me, shortie, at this rate I’m gonna find myself in your bedroom sooner rather than later.”
“Hmph, keep on dreaming,” I said, although a bit relieved that he seemed to have gotten his usual spirit back.
I stood up, brushed my clothes to straighten them and headed to the main house. Joe jogged past me, smacking my ass on his way. For the first time, I found it more amusing than irritating, so I only raised one eyebrow at him. He flashed me another grin before disappearing upstairs. Shortly after, I heard the shower turn on.
An annoying smile, that I couldn’t erase from my face however hard I tried, lit up my whole face when I brewed us some coffee and munched the salad Joe had left me. I blame the stupid grin on the relief over the fact that Joe was back to his usual annoying self. Mostly because that annoying Joe was way easier to handle than the brooding one.
Everything else went back to normal too, or to this thing that was our normal. Eventually Joe came down the stairs, wearing one of those too-tight t-shirts emphasizing his…arms…and some jeans. He started preparing dinner. Looked like it was going to take a while to get done too.
Occasionally, he tried to disturb me with his comments, but it was way easier to ignore them now that I had gotten used to them. Instead of giving in and letting myself get agitated over his comments, I decided to go through the schedule for the next couple of days. With the coffee mug in tow, I hopped on the couch with the phone.
Looked like our schedule was going to be packed. We were starting out preparations for the Billboards as well as the world tour. Jiwoo had announced all the dates and venues had been successfully arranged. Some of the arenas we were supposed to tour had been upgraded to stadiums. Wildly enough, we were more popular than ever. That, or people just wanted to witness the scandal-ridden group with their own two eyes instead of only reading about it on the gossip pages on the internet.
I was immersed in my phone, reserving some time slots for my own things—like doing social media and stuff now that Minjae was no longer in charge of that—when the phone buzzed in my hand and nearly made me spill the coffee all over myself. It was a text from Hana—my sister.
My sister the cop. To think that out of the offsprings of Mrs. Cho Da-hee, the two of us ended up on the opposite sides of the law. To see what on earth she wanted to talk about with me, I tapped the text open.
I’m so gonna kill you, little shit. Be warned.
Ah, it was Hana indeed. I guessed this had something to do with her hunk of a work partner who might or might’ve not let into the secret a while back, that Hana had the hots for him. I chuckled.
Surely I’m innocent, but continue, I typed and hit send, an amused smile lingering on my lips as I waited for the reply. This was going to be golden. I was sure it had something to do with the hunk. And suddenly, I was dying to know.
Sang-cheol asked me out on a date. Now it’s all awkward and weird at work. It’s your fault.
How is it weird? You said yes, right? Or was she an utter moron?
Obvs I said no, you idiot! We work together! she replied, almost instantly.
So? I see no problem. Now be a good little wifey to him and say yes.
AARRGGHH how are you so dense? I’m so done with you playing a fucking cupid!
I’m not– I started to type, but something warm and wet touched the side of my neck.
I jumped up, startled. Not to even mention the fact that I spilled the coffee all over my crotch and the phone flew out of my hand. Joe laughed hysterically behind me. The fucker had licked my neck. Could one be any more dog-like? I could practically see his imaginary tail wagging.
“What are you doing,” I asked, glad my coffee had already cooled off—otherwise it would have burned my dick off or something. And I still liked my dick, thank you very much.
“I’m bored,” Joe managed to say through his chuckles before he lost it completely. He could hardly look in my direction without doubling over and laughing so hard his eyes watered. Taking a deep breath, I ignored him. Instead, I picked up the phone from the floor and set it on the side table before circling the couch calmly.
I proceeded to toss the rest of the coffee that was left in my mug directly at Joe as a revenge. He gasped, and I turned around as nonchalantly as I could. My aim was to get the mug to the dishwasher before heading upstairs to take another fucking shower for the day.
Unfortunately, Joe had other ideas. He tossed his now wet t-shirt aside and grabbed my waist before I managed to take two steps in the kitchen's direction. Then, he dragged me back to the couch, ignoring my struggling completely. I stood no chance whatsoever against him, so he sat on the couch and pulled me down to sit on his lap. Though I was struggling the whole time, boy I did not miss the fact that my back touched his hot—and very naked—chest.
In a flash, both Hana and the coffee incident were completely forgotten. My heart stopped once again when his slick and skillful lips found the nook of my neck from behind.
Whatever this man did to me…particularly my heart… it couldn’t be healthy.
Joe played me like…like…I don’t know. A fucking guitar or something. And he had certainly mastered the art. I was so gone.
With the second kiss that landed on my nape, my heart got electrocuted back to life. As Joe’s hands sneaked under my shirt, my body no longer jerked around because I struggled to get away…rather it was this warm jolt of pleasure that surged through my body.
The rest of my defenses crumbled down if they ever even existed in the first place. As he continued where he had left off with his lips on my neck, his fingers also brushed across my chest, before settling on my waist.
It was unfair, really. The fact that he had this sixth sense of figuring out my weak spots when even I didn’t have the slightest clue myself. I didn’t stand a chance against the guy, and most likely never had.
To make matters worse, my writhing in his grip had another rather disturbing effect too. Apparently the friction of my behind rubbing against his crotch, caused his dick to start bulging. The pure size of it even terrified me—despite the fact that it had once been inside me. Or maybe it was because of that fact that I was a little hesitant…
I couldn’t focus on the size of his dick for long though, as his hands still roamed under my shirt. I couldn’t help but let out a shaky breath as his skillful touches slid on my skin and his lips still worked the magic spot on the side of my neck that drove me absolutely crazy.
“You got me thinking…” Joe muttered against my neck at the same as he distracted me by circling his fingertip around my navel.
My reply was practically a moan, as it seemed to be the only thing my vocal cords were able to compose at that point.
“...that even if you won't let me in your bedroom, yet, we could do other things…” he continued, making my body jerk again while his other hand slid down and started toying with the string of my sweatpants.
I was so out of it, only being able to focus on his hands and especially his cock pressing against my ass, that I could only breathe out a soft, “hmm?”
“I mean, it’s a total waste if we both are left with blue balls, right?” he asked breathily, making a point by grabbing my hips and swaying me against his rock hard bulge. As if I wasn’t aware of the level of arousal around here already.
“Well, I could do something about yours at least, if you let me,” he continued, clearly asking for permission of some sort, and explaining what he was after by moving his other hand closer to the waistband of my pants.
Wanting his hands to move faster, I took whatever little control I had over the whole situation and rolled my ass harder against his bulge. He let out a muffled groan against my neck, but otherwise the effect was the opposite of what I wanted—as his hands stopped completely.
“You have to say you want it. I need to know you’re ready for this. I’m not taking any chances after…whatever happened earlier today,” he said with a strained but firm tone.
He couldn’t be serious, right? As if I’d ever asked him to jerk me off for fuck’s sake. So instead of opening my mouth and risking saying something completely wrong again, I grabbed his wrists and tried to move his hands further. He didn’t even budge.
“Out loud, Chris. Please,” he begged, muffling another groan against the nape of my neck.
Deeply blushed, horny as fuck, dick aching against the coffee-stained, and unnecessary clothing, I swallowed my pride and cleared my throat. If he wanted a proper consent, he’d get proper consent. Asshole.
“Can you please just get to it,” I muttered, the harshness of my voice surprising even myself.
Luckily even though my words weren’t exactly the thing he probably wanted to hear; it was consent. His lips curved into a slight smile against my nape. And finally, after what felt like years, his hands unfroze and found their way back to my waistband.
Agonizingly slowly, Joe pulled one of the strings to loosen up my pants, toying with it for a whole hot minute, driving me even further into insanity. Fortunately, it only took another squirm to rub my ass against his dick, that got him to aim further. My back arched when his hand finally made it under the waistband to rest on top of my bulge. But then he stopped there, completely ignoring my aching dick.
Realizing this fucker clearly teased me for his own pleasure, I tested the theory by grinding my ass against his shaft once more. I was quickly proved right as he gasped almost inaudibly before stroking my dick through the underwear.
Only moving if I did, he kept teasing me to the point I was going to explode and was already leaking pre-cum inside my already coffee-stained boxer briefs. I was a whole, moaning, literal mess. Though a too distracted one to give a single fuck about my reputation at that moment.
One too sudden movement later, Joe’s hands had all but disappeared. I almost growled from frustration. Thankfully, I stopped myself before that by realizing what Joe was after when his hands started to slide my pants down. I raised my hips to help him with the task, and at last, my dick was freed from the prison of the damp clothing.
Joe’s large hand draped around it, covering most of its length all the way from the base to the edge of the glans. He took it extremely slowly as he stroked me, before his thumb circled over the sensitive tip, spreading the leaked precum. My heart beating faster than ever before, I didn’t even try to stay upright on my own and leaned against his chest.
His bulge pressing my ass, paired with his hand working on my cock drove me absolutely mad. In no time, I could already feel the orgasm building, my body squirming in his embrace.
“Fuck, keep rubbing that ass against my cock and I’ll cum too,” Joe groaned to my ear, making me freeze in a sudden shame. Was I a total wanton?
