Page 30 of Kiss-Fist (Deaf Hearts #1)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

THOM

I wake up to a violent shaking, my body lurching up and my eyes wide. What the fuck is that? Why is the bed vibrating? Is it an earthquake?

Oh god, it’s the big one this time. We’re dead, and just when I finally found a guy I really like.

I turn and see Robbie slowly waking up, his arms stretching above his head. The shaking stops, and he looks up at me before grinning.

‘What was that?’ I ask, but my hands are slightly off, and I’m not sure I’m clear.

Robbie’s grin grows wider, and he grabs his phone, pulling up an app to show me.

It takes a couple of seconds for me to realize what I’m looking at, especially because I can’t read more than the title.

After a beat, he pulls a small black disc out from under the sheets where his pillow is resting and then he points to the digital clock on his nightstand where it’s attached with a long cord .

Ah, a vibrating alarm clock. That makes sense.

Then I feel a little ridiculous. Why didn’t I consider that? Why did I immediately think I was going to die? It has to be the way that being with him makes me so damn nervous, like the other shoe is about to drop, and all of this is going to get ripped away.

Robbie sits up, and I eye him, his naked body next to mine. I can’t believe he let me sleep with him last night. I was able to cuddle up next to him and hold him, and it was everything.

After we got off again, of course. I mean, can you blame me? He’s fucking sex on a stick. And the thought of him arching against me, our cocks sliding against each other as we frotted, makes me hot all over again. The way he signed my name when he came.

It fucking melted me.

Yeah, I need to at least make it through breakfast before attacking him with my dick. And my lips. And maybe even my ass.

I liked bottoming for him, and I want to do it again.

Maybe this time on all fours.

‘Coffee?’ Robbie asks, shattering my fantasy. It’s probably for the best. I nod, following him out of bed, still completely naked.

Robbie turns to look at me and chokes slightly. His finger points at my dick, and he blushes.

‘What?’

He signs something I don’t know, and then he takes the time to show me the word on his phone. Oh. Naked .

Yes. I like that one. I’ll remember it. I repeat it, and Robbie blushes more. My hand goes to my cock, and I hold it.

He rolls his eyes, and I wink just before a pair of boxers flies at me, landing on my head.

Okay, okay, I get the hint. He doesn’t want me to burn my penis on hot coffee.

You know, just in case I accidentally spill, and considering the first day I ever set eyes on him I had a wet crotch, he probably knows how accident prone I am.

Without another word, I pull them on and follow Robbie and his cute little butt to the kitchen. He rummages around in the cupboards, pulling out two mugs and working on making me a coffee. Only this is a fancy one. Not the shitty pots I make at home.

This is a fucking latte.

He nods to the machine and then signs, ‘Okay?’

‘Yeah.’ Caffeine will be a massive help since I don’t have my meds with me.

He wets his lips, and I can’t help but lean in and place a kiss to his cheek. He leans into me, brushing against my abdomen as he does, and I shiver.

I want his hands on me all the damn time. But not before coffee. I need to focus.

Taking a step back, I wander, looking around his small apartment.

I take in the pictures on his walls, friends, family members, maybe even ex-boyfriends.

Not that I want to think too hard about that.

I move on to a few art pieces, long obvious brushstrokes over canvas in bright colors, a few pottery items. And then my eyes land on something so weird I laugh loudly.

A rooster with a big dick riding a piece of corn .

What the fuck is that about? Probably a fucked-up inside joke.

I want to know the story behind it, I think as Robbie appears beside me, handing me the mug. When he sees what I’m looking at, he makes a choked sound and grabs it off the wall in an attempt to hide it.

When Robbie finally turns back to face me, the rooster and corn hidden behind a framed photo, I’m halfway done with my coffee.

‘Delicious,’ I tell him.

He blushes. I meant it about the latte, but also about him, so I guess his blush is warranted. I point to the place where he hid the weird figurine, and he slaps my hand down. Another laugh erupts out of me, and he rolls his eyes.

I want to know. I want to know everything about him.

Making my way around the room, I point at pictures and learn who everyone is. Mom, Dad, siblings, and cousins. Friends.

Then we come to a photo with Robbie and an obnoxiously good looking guy whom I dislike immediately. They’re a little too cozy in the photo Robbie has up, and yeah. I hate him. Robbie is mine.

‘This?’ I ask.

Robbie rolls his eyes. ‘Rome. Friend.’ But there’s something in his face that tells me there’s more to their story.

My stomach twists with jealousy even though I have no right.

Right now, we’re nothing more than fuck-buddies.

At least, officially. But I want to be more.

I want to be his everything because he is definitely starting to become mine.

Before I can ask how good of friends he and Rome really are, Robbie’s cell phone buzzes, and a light on it flickers brightly. He turns and picks it up, giving a gurgled moan of frustration.

I can’t help but move toward him, letting my hand land on his bare hip, tucking the tips of my fingers beneath the waistband of his boxers. He leans into me, sighing loudly.

My eyes move to his phone screen, and my eyebrows rise. It doesn’t take me long to decipher the text because the guy uses simple, easy words, just like Robbie does.

It’s one of his friends, and they all want to meet up. They want to meet me. Apparently, Robbie has been talking about me.

Shit. Will it be all Deaf people? Will I even know what’s going on? The answer is probably yes, so I can’t figure out why I want to go so badly, but I do. I meant what I’d told Robbie last night: I’m going to show everyone how good I’m going to be to him. And for him.

I’m going to spoil the absolute fuck out of him.

Robbie turns his head slightly and points to his screen. ‘Meet friends?’

I press a kiss to his neck and sign, ‘Yes.’ He looks a little surprised, but he grins and leans up on his toes to kiss me properly. I feel a surge of triumph in my chest.

Of course I’ll meet them. I want to. I want to see who he hangs out with, how he communicates with them, and what he’s like around everyone else.

I want to know every part of him.

‘Sure?’ Robbie asks, and I nod, turning him slightly and kissing the chocolate syrup from his lips. He groans into it, and we haphazardly set our mugs down as I lift him up, pushing him against the wall.

For the moment, talk of his friends is forgotten. It’s time to throw him around a room.

“I’m gonna meet Robbie’s friends tonight,” I tell Leaf, feeling dread build up inside of me. It was a good idea at the time, but now I’m freaking out. “I think I made a huge mistake.”

Leaf grins at me, pulling the goggles off his forehead. He’s slightly sweaty and a little mussed, but I haven’t asked him why yet. I showed up in a panic without considering that he might be, you know, busy trying to commit groundhog murder.

And now I’m in a full-blown anxiety attack because I’m going to meet Robbie’s friends. A hearing dude only just starting ASL.

What if they hate me? What if they convince him to divorce me? I mean…break up with me.

Fuck, I’m all jumbled.

“You’ve made a huge mistake. Just like Michael when he burrowed under my cucumbers and ate them like a fiend.” I arch an eyebrow as Leaf huffs. “But you’ll be fine. I bet there will be a hearing person there who will take pity on you and interpret.”

“What? Why would they do that?”

“Because we’re total pushovers with big hearts. We can’t help ourselves.” He scrubs some dirt from his face and walks toward a large box. He wrenches it open and starts pulling wires out.

“What is this? More cameras?”

“Yes. More. I need to know his activities. I need to know where he’s going so I can track the little shit. I even have a map inside.”

“Leaf—” I begin, but he glowers at me.

“Don’t Leaf me. I know what I’m doing. I know what I have to do to survive.”

“But why the goggles, dude?”

“Recon.” A laugh bursts from me, and Leaf pokes me in the chest. “Less laughing and more helping. And maybe if you’re nice, I’ll give you some pointers.”

“Why do I need pointers? Oh shit. I need pointers.”

“You do. It’s not the same as hearing gatherings. There are differences. For instance, they will always stand in a circle to talk for visual ease. And they will congregate near light. Like Michael.”

“Deaf people aren’t groundhogs,” I interject, but Leaf waves me off.

“He loves my lights. Chewed through the wires while he looked into the cameras. He smiled when he did it.”

“Fuck off.”

“I mean it. He’s evil. Anyway, line of sight, circles, light. Oh, they will chat for ages. Lots of catching up with each other. And the goodbyes are never-ending.”

“What? Why?”

“They’re just long. You will start to say goodbye and leave thirty minutes later.”

That pulls a laugh from me. “That doesn’t sound so bad. ”

“It isn’t until you have to say goodbye to ten people. Then you’re hungover and not home until four in the morning, regretting your life choices.”

“Shit.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine. Mostly. Well, probably not, but I can’t wait to hear about it.”

I stare at him as he hands me a few wires and two cameras. The old kind. The ones you find at the thrift shop on discount.

“Seriously? Where did you get these?”

“Side of the road. Some guy said they worked. I couldn’t pass them up.”

“Dude.”

“Do not dude me. I know what I’m doing.”

“I don’t know if you do.”

“I do, and I shall persevere!” He shakes his fist in the air, and part of the wire knocks him in the eye. He blinks wildly and curses. “I need the goggles. Fuck! I should have left them on!”

That makes me bite back a laugh, looking for them before he completely loses his mind. I find them near the box where he discarded them.

When I hand them to him, he thanks me and pulls them on, his hair sticking up at all angles as he does. I don’t even bother to pat it down. It seems best to just let him have this.

“Come with me. Bring the sword.”

“What sword?”

“That one! The groundhog sword. The one to take down the enemy once and for all. ”

I grab the stick that looks like it was snapped off a tree. “This one?”

“Yes. I sharpened it last night over a dirty martini. A very… very dirty martini.” I don’t know what that could possibly mean, but I have a feeling it’s not about vodka and olive juice.

“Leaf, I think you may need to see a therapist.”

Leaf blinks at me behind those goggles. “Why would I do that?”

“Um, because you’re talking about buying TNT on the dark web and getting drunk while sharpening tree branches and calling them swords.”

He blinks again and then laughs. Loudly. It scares the birds, makes them flutter and fly away.

“God, you’re right. I’ve lost it.”

“You have.”

He snorts and rubs his hand over his forehead. “Michael. He’s…oh god, he’s just a rodent.”

“Yeah, man. He’s just a hog in the ground.”

That makes him laugh even louder, his body doubled over as his goggles fog up from unshed tears.

“He is. Oh god. I know. I’ve lost it, but seriously, Thom. You have no idea how bad he is. He really is from hell.”

“I’m sure he is.”

“Like I think he burrowed down there, met Satan, and came up with a plan to torment me.”

“I don’t think Satan is invested in you or groundhogs.”

Leaf stands up and pulls his goggles from his face with an audible schwoop . He wipes at his eyes and sighs.

“Okay, I get it. I get it. I do. I won’t put up the cameras. How about pizza and beer instead? Something a normal person would do.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a plan.”

He grins at me, and then his eyes twinkle. “And then I’ll show you the footage of Michael. I want you to see what I’m talking about, and why I’m going crazy.”

“Yeah, alright,” I say because I like Leaf, and I think he’s going through it. And also because I’m hungry and I want more advice on this Deaf get-together I agreed to.

I need help, and Leaf is the one to give it to me. Groundhog and all.