I grabbed for an extra hold, though the tree proved solid enough to support the additional weight of the boy climbing up to join me. He stopped on a branch just below me, but was standing, so ended up looking down at me. I had a moment to recognise Bran—just as stormy as last time—before he bent his head and kissed me.
Surprised but not unwilling, I responded, and was glad of the hold I had on the tree, for Bran proved to be an exquisite kisser. I couldn’t pinpoint any particular technique that made the difference, and he displayed no delight in the task, and yet I was transported.
Far too soon he lifted his head, and immediately started down. I caught only a brief glimpse of his expression, and thought him grim. Impossible to know what to make of that.
After a moment I took out my phone and resolved the question that had started the entire game: Bran was without doubt the best kisser. Second and third place was much harder to decide, but eventually I put Rin second and Kyou third. Kyou’s kiss had revolved around the risk of getting caught, and not the kiss itself.
Scores entered, I wondered if I would have any chance of more. Had Rin and Kyou deliberately thrown whatever competition had been this week’s decider? Was that the reason Bran seemed almost resentful?
My confusion only increased when I headed to my next class, and immediately heard gossip about the Three Kings going all out before lunch in a basketball match so intense it was the nearest thing to a fist fight.
Curiouser and curiouser.
"Cheshire."
Rin caught me as I slid down from the wall, held my waist for a moment, then lowered me to the ground.
"Thirsty?" he asked, and led me into the summer house when I nodded.
"I was wondering if I’d even see you this week."
"It was a close-run thing."
"Lots of rumours about your basketball game Tuesday. Was that the decider?"
"Yes. I had people ask me about it afterwards, how serious we all were. Bran was determined to win."
"Did he tell you I met him on the weekend?"
Rin paused and looked back at me. "Where?"
"The Art Club had an outing to the Trafala Museum. Me showing up within sight of his house must have looked very strange to him."
"He wasn’t too rude, I hope."
"Not overwhelmingly. I’m surprised the things I said led to him deciding to compete."
"Why, what did you say?"
"I told him I was hoping to use you three as a sleep aid."
That made Rin miss a step, and so I explained, and he laughed.
"How pragmatic. Do you have that much trouble sleeping?"
"I can usually manage it, but there are occasions I have caused myself major problems, and this year is important to me."
"Well, I can at least admit to having thought quite a bit about my part in helping you sleep."
I smiled, then said: "I thought Kyou was the better rower."
"He is. He missed his stroke, and Kyou usually doesn’t do that. He’s livid. As the basketball game demonstrated, we have become more than usually competitive about these challenges. I fully intend to be here next Tuesday as well."
"If you survive today."
"It’s going to push my control to the limits," he agreed calmly. "Let’s go outside."
In the dappled light beneath the one tree allowed to overhang the yard I grabbed one of the patio chairs to hold discarded clothing, and considered him: tall, elegant, wearing the faint, gentle smile that seemed to be his public mask. I reached up, watching his expression, and unknotted his tie, making a tiny production of sliding it loose. The smile didn’t waver. He waited until I’d put the tie to the side, and then deftly followed my lead.
Blazers next, and then a tangible increase in mutual excitement as I began unbuttoning his shirt. No rush, just a steady unveiling. His body type was naturally skinny, and rowing had given him a nice amount of definition, while not adding much bulk.
He took his time with my shirt, working his way upward, each button an opportunity for fingers to brush skin. He treated the cloth as if it was tissue, and slid his hands down my shoulders as he coaxed the sleeves free.
I sat down, the lawn comfortably thick with clover, and gestured for him to do the same, then prosaically took off his shoes and socks.
"Ticklish, Cheshire?"
"A little."
He pulled my laces undone, then slipped off my shoes, placing them neatly beside his. With delicate care he removed first my left sock, then my right. His fingers brushed my instep, the hollow of my ankle, and my heel, but he didn’t attempt to tickle me.
Standing, he held his hands out, and I let him lift me to my feet. He took the lead now, reaching for my pleated skirt, the ease with which he found the clasp suggesting a certain familiarity with the Corascur girls' uniform. I reflected once again that he had the most beautiful eyes, and held his gaze, not looking down as I reached for his belt. Without a fumble I unbuckled it, drew it loose, and dropped it on the chair.
He took a breath as I reached for his waistband button, but remained still as I drew down his fly, taking care where the zip strained over the bulge beneath. I briefly cupped his buttocks as I drew down his trousers, and entertained myself by allowing my shoulder to brush against the front of his dark blue boxer briefs when I straightened.
They were barely taking the strain, completely at odds with the calm expression he still managed to maintain. Smiling faintly, I folded his trousers over the chair, then reached for his briefs and drew them down as well. Remembering some of the things I’d read about Rin on the forums, I watched frankly as his penis, finally free from restraint, moved upward. Large, but thankfully not as shockingly enormous as gossip suggested.
He knelt as I stood up, and looked up at me, then wordlessly hooked his thumbs into the sides of my underpants and drew them down, his hands tracing the entire length of my legs as he did so.
"I’ve been thinking hard on where to put these love bites," he said, gazing up at me.
I didn’t answer immediately, because Rin, naked and aroused and kneeling at my feet, did things to me. I shivered, then forced a prosaic note: "I’ve been thinking that I’ve seen you three running about shirtless."
"Yes, I’ll have to remember my modesty." He rose slowly, and circled me to unhook my bra. He put it down, and then stood still, directly behind me, not quite close enough for any part of us to touch. "Have I mentioned that I think you’re very beautiful?"
"You have now," I said, in an obliging tone.
He laughed softly, and wrapped his arms around me, one crossing my stomach, the other above my breasts, pulling me against him so that his erect penis pushed hard into my back.
"You sound like you don’t believe me, Cheshire. I don’t say things I don’t mean."
"Then I appreciate the compliment."
He bent his head and pressed his lips to the top of my shoulder.
It was both frustrating and delightful. Sunlight, warm arms wrapped around me, mouth hot on my skin, but a set limit to what I could do. As Rin finished one mark and swapped to my other shoulder his hands moved to cover my breasts—not doing anything more than pressing down, but enough to make me shift in return, pushing against him.
His breath burst out in a gasp and he lifted his head. "I am not a devotee to rules, Cheshire. None of us are."
"Thank you for the warning," I said, wondering what he’d do if I suggested we forgot the childish little list. "My turn?"
Twisting in his hold—and not incidentally causing the rigid length of him to scrape across my hip and stomach—I found a spot I’d been thinking about in the hollow of his shoulder, licked it lightly and then fastened my lips on it.