Hot and Cold Potato

Linc got the idea about proposing at Halloween. Some friends at the station had organized a party, and Avery had been beside himself trying to come up with a costume for both of them. Honestly, Linc would have been happy enough to put on a superhero shirt and call it a night, but Avery pored over the internet looking for inspiration. He’d wanted to go as Fred and Daphne from Scooby Doo, but Linc had refused to wear the wig. Platinum blond wasn’t his thing, and in the end, what Avery really wanted was to be Daphne. He was more than happy to let Linc play Shaggy, which really only required a stretched-out T-shirt and the sense that Linc hadn’t slept in days. Easy peasy.

What Linc hadn’t been prepared for was Avery’s legs in that costume.

Avery’s legs in the purple mini dress were perfection, even in pink tights. Linc had trailed behind him all night, just to watch the shape of his calves and the bunch of his thighs as he’d walked through the room. He touched Avery every chance he got, letting everyone at the party know that this stunning person was his, and he’d barely let Avery get through the door of the apartment before he’d peeled the tights off with his teeth and fucked them both senseless. 

“I love you,” he’d said as he drifted off.

Avery purred against his chest. “Love you too.”

But Linc had woken up on the first day of November feeling like “I love you” wasn’t quite enough. Sure, Avery didn’t doubt him. They’d been in Atlanta for over a year. Everyone important knew Linc was gay and that Avery was his boyfriend. But Linc wanted more. Wanted to know Avery would be there every morning from now on. He got the same twist of adrenaline in his stomach when he thought about it as he had when he’d first wanted to come out for Avery. The difference now was he didn’t fear the sensation anymore.

Buying a ring was easy. He bought a simple stainless steel one. Not because he didn’t want Avery to have something nice, but because he figured they could pick out matching wedding bands together. The point wasn’t the engagement ring, it was the engagement.

Which was turning out to be harder to orchestrate than Linc expected. Their duelling work schedules were always going to complicate things, not to mention Avery’s company was in the process of wooing new investors, which kept Avery busy as he made sure all their financial information was accurate and up to date.

And there was the issue of Avery himself. Linc had no doubt he’d say yes, but if Linc orchestrated something elaborate, a hike up a mountain to watch the sunset or a trip to Disney World, Avery—in his mid-proposal excitement—would just as likely fall off a cliff or get squashed by a monorail, which really wasn’t the happy memory Linc was trying to build.

He thought about doing it at Thanksgiving, when they were with family, but he chickened out at the last minute. He wanted a proposal that was just for the two of them. Wanted to give Avery the excitement of calling his aunt and uncle to share their good news.

But the weeks were marching on, and Christmas was coming. They were headed to Wilmington to spend Christmas Day with Linc’s sisters, then Avery was carrying on to Seacroft to visit Theo and Brenda, while Linc came back to Atlanta to work. He didn’t know why, but Linc wanted them to be engaged by the time they went their separate ways, even if that separation was only for a few days.

So one morning, he just decided to go for it. It was a Sunday. Lazy. He woke up with his dick in Avery’s mouth—truly Linc’s favorite way to wake up—and somehow, he knew.

“I’m going to take a shower.” Avery kissed him as Linc waited for his brain to unscramble from the orgasm.

But when the water started running, he knew it was time. He pulled himself out of bed, slipped on a worn pair of jeans and a soft T-shirt, and went to the kitchen. Breakfast. He’d make breakfast, and propose over waffles and bacon. Nothing fancy, very little chance of injury unless Avery got so excited he dumped a cup of coffee on himself.

He was setting the last plate on the table when Avery entered the kitchen. His hair was dark auburn from his shower, and his T-shirt was freckled with water droplets at his shoulders.

“You made breakfast!” he said with a big smile.

“I did. Have a seat.” Linc’s heart thumped nervously in his chest. No reason to be nervous. Avery would say yes, and there would be kissing and maybe another blow job or two. A perfect Sunday morning.

Avery poured a ridiculous amount of syrup on his waffles. “This looks so good.”

“Wanted to do something nice.” Linc hovered at the edge of the table. 

Avery glanced up at him, pulling on the neck of his T-shirt. “Something wrong?”

“No.” He forced a smile. He’d had a speech planned, but the words were inconveniently nowhere to be found. His brain was a big empty void. Linc patted the ring box, tucked into the back pocket of his jeans, while Avery stuffed a giant piece of waffle into his mouth, then grinned up at him with a gleaming trickle of syrup on his chin.

Go big or go home.

Linc dropped to one knee. Avery stopped chewing almost immediately, eyes wide. “What are you doing?”

“Red. Everything changed the day I met you.”

“Linc?” Avery’s voice wobbled.

“I could have never guessed what was going to happen the day we got called to your place.”

“Oh my God.” Avery wiggled in his chair.

“But every time I saw you, every day I get to spend with you—”

“Linc, I—” He cleared his throat.

“Tells me that we are great together. You make me brave. You make me stronger.”

“Hoo boy. Something’s—I think—” Avery tugged at the sleeves of his T-shirt, flapping his hands in front of his face.

Linc didn’t feel much calmer. Every word of his proposal was getting harder and harder to push out, as his throat went tight with emotion. “I love you so much, Red.”

“Oh my God, I—” Avery shivered.

He pulled the box out of his back pocket and held it up, open so Avery could see the band inside. “Avery, will you marry me?”

The kitchen went silent for a second that felt like a lifetime. Avery’s face was as red as his hair, and he was practically squirming in his seat, tugging on his clothes like he couldn’t sit still.

The longer the silence went on, the louder the inside of Linc’s head got.

“Avery?” He swallowed hard. “Did you—”

Avery hopped up suddenly. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but all that came out was a strangled whine. “Shoot. Oh my God. Shoot. I’m really sorry.” Then he yanked off his T-shirt, flung it at Linc’s face and ran out of the kitchen so fast Linc didn’t even have time to uncover his eyes before the bathroom door slammed shut.

He gaped for a long time, waiting for Avery to come back out and say he was only joking. Instead, the water came back on, roaring through the showerhead.

Linc frowned. “Avery?” On shaky legs, he stumbled up the hall, but he got no answer when he knocked on the bathroom door. Inside, he could hear Avery groaning, but the sound came in short hiccuppy bursts.

Shit, was he crying?

Whatever was going on, and even if Avery said he didn’t want to get married, or it was too soon, or any number of other reasons, Linc needed to know he was okay.

He pushed open the door. “Red? What’s going on?”

The water cut off abruptly, and Avery tumbled out of the shower. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He flung himself at Linc, wrapping him up in a tight hug, even as the water from his dripping body soaked through Linc’s clothes.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Avery said again. “You were so great and I ruined everything.”

“Red.” Linc pushed him back so they could see each other. “I don’t understand what just happened.”

“I don’t either.” Avery shook his head miserably. “You were saying such nice things and then suddenly I was cold but I was sweating. I thought it might be a migraine, but it was my body, not my head. And then it was getting worse, and I know you were trying to do something special, but then it started burning and I couldn’t—” Defeated, he clenched his hands under his arms. “I’m sorry. I spoiled it, didn’t I?”

Linc sighed, worry smothering his disappointment. He pressed a hand to Avery’s forehead, but it was impossible to diagnose a fever while he was still flushed from the shower.

“Did the shower help?”

Avery clenched his fists under his armpits. “I think so.”

“Do you think you’re getting sick?”

“I don’t know. I felt fine when I woke up this morning.”

Certainly Linc had no complaints with the enthusiasm in his blow job. If Avery had been feeling under the weather, he’d hidden it well.

“And when you took a shower?”

“Yeah. Felt fine there too. Washed my hair, washed me.” 

“And you were okay when you got dressed?”

“Think so.” Avery, still somehow naked, wandered up the hall to their bedroom. “I put on my clothes. Deodorant. Couldn’t find clean socks so I—”

“Wait.” Linc sniffed at the faintly medicinal smell in the room. “Say that again?”

Avery frowned. “Well it’s laundry day, so I—”

“No, before that.”

Avery sank to the bad with a heavy sigh. “I got dressed. Put on deodorant.”

Linc’s eyes were on the tube sitting on the dresser. “That deodorant?”

“Yeah.”

“And you said it was cold, but then it started burning?”

“Yeah. God, I’m so embarrassed.” He plucked at the comforter.

“Would you say it was more like a tingling?”

Avery’s face screwed up in a frown. “I guess?”

“And you knew it wasn’t a migraine, because it was your body, not your head, right?”

Avery tucked his hands under his arms again. “Yeah?” He gave Linc a suspicious look.

“Like under your armpits?”

Avery shrank in a little more. “How did you know?”

Linc dropped his head, smothering a laugh. Only Avery. He shouldn’t find it so funny. He could only imagine what the sensation must have been like, but now that the fear something was wrong had subsided, Linc was only left with laughter that bordered on the hysterical.

He tried to hold himself together as he lifted the tube off the dresser. “This isn’t your deodorant.”

Avery waved him off. “We use the same brand. Who cares if it’s yours?”

Linc didn’t. He’d used Avery’s deodorant before if he was out. “Red, this isn’t deodorant at all.”

“What is it?”

If he’d been embarrassed before, Avery was going to die from mortification now. Linc sat next to him on the bed, putting an arm around his shoulder. “It’s one of those hot and cold pain relief sticks.” He’d bought it a few days ago, after he’d wrenched his shoulder trying to force open a stuck door in a fire. At the time, he hadn’t considered how much the tube looked like deodorant, but then again he hadn't considered the possibility that a potential misidentification would interrupt his proposal either.

“Oh.” Avery took the tube from Linc and popped the cap open. The sharp menthol smell filled the room between them. “Ohhh. I thought it smelled kind of—” His eyes went big as he looked up at Linc, before he slumped back, escaping Linc’s grip as he collapsed onto the mattress and mashed his hands over his eyes. “Oh my God, I am the biggest loser on the planet.”

Linc laughed for real as he lay down next to Avery, kissing his bare chest. This close, he could still smell a hint of the stick on Avery’s skin, but it was mostly hidden by the stronger smell of the body wash they kept in the shower. Avery must have scrubbed like hell to get the stuff off. 

“It’s okay, Red.” He kissed the patch of coppery hair between Avery’s nipples.

“It’s not.” Avery sounded on the verge of tears. “You were proposing. You were going to ask me to marry you, and instead I wrecked it because I can’t even read labels.”

Linc smothered his next laugh into Avery’s belly button. “It was perfect.”

“I’m sorry.”

Linc slid down farther. He’d sort of expected blow jobs to happen once the proposing was done, but really, he should have known things wouldn’t go according to plan, and that the end result would be exactly as it needed to be.

“Red, I love you,” he said, looking all the way up Avery’s body, to where Avery was still eyeing him miserably, even while his cock started to perk up. “I don’t care if I got to propose over waffles, or if we wait and I get to do it all over again in five minutes.”

“Five?” Avery squawked indignantly. He ran a hand over his skin until he found his dick, and stroked it until it stood up proudly from the red hair at his groin. “I can go longer than five.”

He did. And then some.

Linc was blissed out and half asleep again, when Avery poked him in the ribs. “Linc?”

“Yeah?”

“Ask me again?”

He sat up, heart thumping hard. His hands shook as he pulled the little box out of his discarded jeans and opened it again, kneeling naked on the mattress, their sheets and blankets having been twisted into a pile on the floor as they’d rolled around. So much for the romantic breakfast, but this situation was pretty much perfect.

“Marry me,” he said. 

Avery’s smile was bright enough to light up the room. “Of course I will.”