The Book of Firsts

Twelve

I didn’t have to wait out the weekend to get news, since Kyou posted a picture on the school’s unofficial forums of a wan Rin sitting on a hospital bed, still somehow managing to look elegant. The caption read: "No concussion, hairline fracture to forearm."

The forums also obliged me with a photo of Kyou with a distinct red tinge to only one side of his face and throat. By Monday, my matching flush had faded to the point that I was no longer concerned about my photograph being circulated in turn, and listened without comment in Home Room to the gossip continuing to rage about the accident. The problem being that the Drama Club insisted that their props were stored carefully, and someone had moved them.

All the school could talk of now was The Vendetta, though they couldn’t decide if the target was Rin or the Three Kings. It had been very educational reading the speculation as to why anyone would have a vendetta against Rin—most theories focused on rejection or a rival—but so far there was little in the way of proof.

Given his injuries, Rin was the last person I expected to be waiting for me Tuesday morning. He was sitting at the café table, drinking tea and reading from his tablet, and smiled at me when I dropped down beside him.

"Thirsty, Cheshire?"

The question was blatant teasing, but I ignored dual meanings and simply nodded and sat opposite him, pouring myself a cup. I sipped, finding a light, faintly floral green tea, and studied Rin. A slimline sky-blue cast bound his right arm. A suggestion of pallor made all the more obvious a dull purple line that crossed his left temple, pointing to a lightly blackened eye. It emphasised his ethereal look, but made me wonder if we should postpone. And yet, something in the way he was looking at me made me hesitate to propose that. His very calm expression for some reason made me remember rumours of his lightning temper.

"Do you have any suggestion for what I should do if you pass out?" I asked finally.

His expression darkened before he summoned an amused look and said lightly: "Don’t let me end up looking like Kyou?"

I was right: Rin was in a stinkingly bad mood, but hiding it.

"He looked very funny, didn’t he?" I said, calmly. "So did I, but thankfully I managed to get a taxi without anyone seeing me. The taxi driver kept staring at me in the rear-view mirror. You look sick to death of talking about who wants to drop things on your head, so I won’t ask. Tell me about the school trip instead. Not that student council president speech, but gossipy things that you’re not supposed to admit to."

He looked at me a moment, then put his cup down. "If you want to chat, come sit over here." He indicated the café table between us.

Since today’s challenge was oral, I wondered whether I should take my underpants off first, but compromised by slipping off my shoes after moving the cups and teapot to my chair. Rin moved his seat closer in after I sat down, and pushing between my legs so my knees were on either side of his shoulders. His face was almost pressed into my diaphragm, but he looked unaffected, simply reaching up and unbuttoning my shirt with his left hand.

Not wanting to end up naked while he remained dressed, I slipped off his tie and undid what buttons I could reach of his shirt. That had the effect of mashing my chest into his face, and as I tried to reach for the lower buttons, he made a sound low in his throat and pushed my bra up, immediately engulfing a breast.

I bit his earlobe, and he bit me in return, and we engaged in an entertaining little wrestle of nibbles, kissing and sucking while trying to remove clothing. I was worried about hurting him, so took care drawing off his shirt, and managed to hide any reaction when I glimpsed great patches of purple across his back. Turning, I placed his shirt on the chair we were using to hold our clothes and looked down at him. I had only underpants and socks left, while he was fully dressed from the waist down, and would have to stand up if I wanted to get anything else off him.

Rin tilted his head, looking at me through those long lashes. "Would you call yourself a mere dabbler in yoga, Cheshire, or a devotee?"

"Journeyman. Mind the table doesn’t tip."

I lifted myself on one hand as he held the table with the other, and drew off my underpants. I set myself back down, then smiled, rested my feet carefully on his shoulders, and once I was sure I wasn’t pressing on a sore spot, leaned back down to kiss him.

Rin’s response was quite forceful, so I knew I’d successfully distracted him from his bad mood. I could feel his cast pressing against my back as he clasped me close, but then began to lower me as he worked his kisses down my throat, my chest, my stomach. When he started licking my inner thigh I lay back, trying to control my breathing. It really was a very small table to be doing this on, and my shoulders and head weren’t supported. I was glad I’d remembered to take a shower first, even though I’d thought that today would most likely be Bran.

One thing was clear: I’d discovered Rin’s area of expertise. Although I was working from a comparison of none, it was hard for me to imagine a better progression from flickering exploration to deep probing to a firm and steady sucking that had me squirming, my feet making involuntary movements, my hands gripping the sides of the tabletop. My only disappointment was that I came far too quickly.

Rin kept sucking for a few more moments, which was exceptionally enjoyable, but then straightened and stood, pulling down his trousers as he did so. He pushed against me, gauging resistance, but then thrust in deep and hard, and began a less cautious motion than last week, only to almost immediately falter. I caught the clear signs of pain on his face before he tried to pick up the rhythm again.

Not sure if it was the bruises or the arm bothering him more, I shifted and partially sat up, putting my hands over his. "My turn now. You might have to give me some feedback—I don’t have any practical experience for this."

"You’ve never?" I’d clearly surprised Rin, who released his hold on my hips.

Sliding my legs down, I sat up, somewhat distracted by what it felt like to do that while he was inside me. "I’ve had one boyfriend, and it took him until a week before I was leaving to get me into bed. We did practice diligently, but most of your list is going to be new to me."

I couldn’t read the expression on his face, but after a moment’s pause he pulled out of me and sat back down. I hopped off the table, and gestured for him to move the chair a little so I could kneel on grass instead of path.

"There’s nothing complicated," he said, a note of amusement entering his voice as I contemplated the oversized mouthful before me. "Lots of licking, especially along the shaft. Cover your teeth with your lips when sucking. You’re not going to be able to get much more than the head in, but you can use your hands as well. Feel free to move your tongue about when sucking, but once you start sucking, I like it best if you don’t let up."

Glancing up at him, I found he’d recovered his faint smile, but with a hint of malice that lent him the air of a dissipated god. Rin really was not at all like the true gentleman image he presented in school. But I found this interesting as well, and leaned down to experimentally give the shaft of his penis a tiny, glancing lick.

It twitched in response, and I blinked, then lightly ran my tongue along one of the veins forming a bulge along the shaft. Another twitch. Deciding now was not the moment to start making comparisons to small animals, I tried poking my tongue at the very base of his penis and then running up the length of it.

"Do that again," Rin said.

I glanced up at him, and saw his eyes were now a mere glimmer beneath heavy lashes. He’d grown very intent, very quickly, and I could hear a shift in his breathing as I obeyed.

"Again, but this time just blow on it."

I obliged, and then followed the next instruction, and the next, and grew very certain that the Simon says challenge was one of Rin’s suggestions. His voice grew huskier the further we went, and I knew he was struggling to hold himself back, even before I did my best to get his penis into my mouth.

As he’d predicted, I couldn’t manage to get much further than the head, but obeyed orders to clasp my hands around the shaft, and rub while I sucked. I choked a little when he came, but recovered, and followed his command to keep sucking as he shrank. That, at least, allowed me to fit more of him in my mouth.

"Come back up here, Cheshire."

I stood up at his gesture, and sat sideways on his lap. He wrapped his unbroken arm around my waist, and began nuzzling my throat, but in a lazy fashion. This went on for a pleasant interlude until he leaned back on the iron chair and then flinched upright, and I remembered the bruises on his back.

Wriggling free, I circled him and contemplated the patches of deep purple. He’d been hit by some heavy stuff, and was lucky to not have broken ribs—or a cracked skull.

"Painkillers wearing off?" I asked. "Want me to make some more tea?"

He sighed, but then said: "Please."

I grabbed my clothes and dressed while the water was boiling. Rin didn’t stay sitting, but put his pants back on and fetched a couple of pill bottles. He also soaked a face towel with the remaining hot water and asked me to hold it on his back. We sat on the couch and drank while I held the towel to his back. He clearly wasn’t inclined to chat, the good mood I’d fostered having dissipated almost completely. Deciding it was a losing game trying to coax him out of the sullens, I left as soon as the towel had grown cold.