Heart and Soul - Chapter 44: Chapter 44

Johnny had ultimately agreed to go out with Lydia for two reasons.
First, because he had never really minded spending time with his sister. Second, because he needed to keep his mind off Carter, his boyfriend, having dinner and spending time with his ex and paper-perfect match, Melanie Jones, with her high GPA, and flawless reputation, and beautiful skin, and gorgeous fucking dark curls.
He didn't want to be jealous. He wasn't the jealous type. Though, as Lydia so kindly reminded him, he had never had anyone to be jealous about before. Let alone a guy who walked their school hallways like a god among his devotees.
Johnny knew Carter was attractive and that people noticed that. He also knew Carter, despite not a natural attention seeker, had a tendency to draw his peers' admiration. As cliche as it may be, guys wanted to be around him and girls tried their luck whenever an opportunity presented.
It wasn't just because he was the quarterback, or the captain of the football team. It wasn't his looks or his personality in its own either. It was the whole picture.
And Johnny knew all this because, as embarrassing as it may be and as much as he'd hate to admit it out loud, he had been among the masses before, feeling exactly the same. Somehow, hearing Carter say he wanted to be with Johnny in that way-label and all-had changed things.
All this attention Carter was used to receiving, which Johnny had always noticed, bothered him now. It was stupid, but it was there. He wanted to be able to pry Carter away from all those curious eyes. Remove his name from the lips of excited, gossiping mouths. And, most of all, pull him away from the girl he'd dated for a full year in the past, so Johnny could keep him to himself.
Luckily, Lydia, however annoying she might be, was a voice of wisdom to balance his insecurities. She convinced him most of his thoughts were unreasonable and borderline stalker-y.
On Saturday, Carter called to ask to come over. Johnny's parents were home, but Carter said it was okay because he just wanted to talk. That's all they could do, since Johnny's parents asked them to keep the door open anyway.
They watched Peaky Blinders for most of the afternoon and, just before he left, Carter casually let slip that he had told Mel about them the night before.
Johnny couldn't quite explain the feeling that brought out in him. He still tried though, when Lydia came into his room afterwards to pull some details out of him.
They texted back and forth all morning, on Sunday. Mostly Johnny's stupid Physics memes, which Carter seemed to find hilarious. And Johnny really couldn't begin to describe the thrill that stirred in his chest.
Carter stopped texting after lunch, which was fine because they didn't have to be constantly communicating. They didn't before. Johnny was never needy before. But around three o'clock, he started to get bored. So he picked up the phone and tried to call Carter. It just rang until Johnny gave up.
A little dismayed, he walked from his desk to his bed, with his reading glasses still on, which he had forgotten were on his face. Still bored, he took a picture of himself, looking every bit the part, and sent it to Carter on Instagram with the caption 'bored out of my mind'.
If Carter wasn't checking his phone, he wouldn't see it, but Johnny didn't care.
Ten minutes of silence later, Johnny called again. This time, Carter answered after two beeps.
"Nice of you to pick up," Johnny mused.
"Sorry, I was in the shower," Carter said from the other side of the line. "What's up?"
Johnny shrugged, even though Carter couldn't see him, realizing this was a petty call. "Not much," he confessed. "Just wanted to hear your voice."
He practically cringed at his own words, as soon as he said them. He was really glad Lydia wasn't there to witness it.
"You're hearing it now," Carter said, and Johnny could practically hear the smile in his voice. It made the whole thing worth it.
"Got any plans today?"
"Catching up on everything I've been leaving behind for school," Carter told him. "Physics has been sacrificed lately to make sure I don't fail my English class."
"If you need any help, I'm all caught up and a little ahead," Johnny offered. He was more than a little ahead on his Physics class. Saying it out loud would sound like bragging though-really lame bragging.
Carter laughed lightly. "Of course you are," he said, but without a single tinge of condescension in his tone. "But I should probably work alone. You just distract me."
That surprised Johnny. "I'm distracting?"
"Highly distracting," Carter confirmed, making Johnny smile. "I can never get anything done around you."
"I'm flattered."
Carter laughed again and Johnny wondered if it would be weird to ask to record that sound so he could play it for himself whenever he liked.
"I should get dressed now."
"Get dressed?" Johnny repeated. "Going somewhere to study?"
"No, I mean... Like, put clothes on."
The teasing smile on Johnny's lips dropped and he gulped. "Are you naked right now?"
"Yeah..."
Johnny physically winced. "Now who's distracting who?" He mumbled.
"I told you I was in the shower just now," Carter said, voice charged with humor.
"Yeah, but I thought..." Johnny trailed off. He didn't know what he had thought. Be he knew what he hadn't thought about-Carter naked, in his room, talking to Johnny on the phone. And now that image was very much in his head.
"Shit, now I can't stop picturing you without any clothes on."
"What's wrong with that?" Carter taunted. "I've been told it's a nice sight."
Johnny rolled his eyes, but there was a familiar, unquenchable kind of heat already growing in the depths of his stomach.
"I don't doubt," he murmured. "Even if I haven't had the privilege yet," he added, lowly.
"Is that you asking nicely?"
He wasn't expecting Carter to say that. And he certainly didn't expect himself to reply with, "Is that you offering?"
There was a beat of silence before...
"Hold on."
Carter's side of the line went silent after that, with the exception of some crinkling sounds of movement.
"What're you doing?" Johnny asked, a little uneasy, unsure if Carter was listening to him.
"Check your phone," Carter's voice replied, after a moment.
Without knowing what to expect, but definitely expecting something, Johnny pulled the phone away from his face to check the notification bar. Carter had replied to his photo on Instagram with another picture of his own.
Johnny nearly dropped the phone when he opened it.
He barely had the presence of mind to screenshot it, but he was glad he remembered to do that. Carter had just sent him a picture of himself, from neck to hip, with only the edge of a white towel hanging from the end of a delectable V-line. Above that, it was all flawlessly lined six pack and a taunt, smooth chest, culminating into a pair of perfectly carved shoulders. It was mouth-watering.
"Fuck," Johnny whispered into the phone, regaining his voice. Almost. "You can't just do this to me and then say you have to go study."
"Why not?"
"Because now I'm the one who's not going to get anything done all day," he complained. That heat in his stomach was starting to spread to other parts of his body. Critical parts.
"Can't do anything about that."
"Well..." Johnny mused. "You could... Just not all the way from over there."
Carter took a second. Like he was genuinely pondering. "I can't come over."
"I know," Johnny mumbled. "My parents are home anyway."
"I wish I could be with you now, though," Carter said, a little huskily.
It was like adding fuel to the fire starting to lick Johnny's insides.
"Yeah?" He breathed.
"Yeah." Carter let out a small laugh, sounding weak and a little helpless. "I always wish I could be with you. It's kind of embarrassing," he confessed.
Johnny bit his lip.
It was sweet. Carter often did that. Throw in sweet nothings and gentle everythings whenever the mood was heating up. Johnny wasn't sure he even knew the effect that had. Somehow, it was turn on. Because it was so Carter. And Johnny was starting to believe everything that boy did turned him on. Which was a whole problem on its own.
"You know, I was never really into drugs and this is exactly why."
Johnny laughed. "Are you saying I'm like a drug?" He couldn't even explain why that got him so worked up. It was embarrassingly cheesy-or it should have felt like it. He wasn't sure if Carter even had an idea what he was doing now, the state his words were leaving Johnny in.
"Kinda."
"Jesus," Johnny breathed, in a sigh that sort of melted into a whine. "You need to go before this conversation takes a drastic turn."
"Would that be so bad?"
Johnny wanted to cry out loud. "You don't know what you're implying," he murmured.
"I'm not that dumb," Carter said simply.
That stirred something inside Johnny. He did know.
"What're you doing right now?" Carter asked smoothly.
"Nothing much. Just sitting on my bed, losing my shit over a shirtless photo of my really hot boyfriend," Johnny answered honestly, trying to adjust himself inside his jeans.
Carter laughed. "Bet he's a really nice guy too," he mused.
Johnny smiled to himself, rolling his eyes. "He is. Which makes him even more irresistible," he muttered. "It would be annoying if it wasn't so damn cute."
"Would you prefer an asshole?" Carter asked. "Like a bad boy kind of guy." Johnny was surprised to note he only sounded half-joking.
"No... I like my lovable loyal idiot," he said.
"Can't be an idiot if he's with you," Carter shot back. "Must've done something right."
Johnny didn't even try to conceal the stupid grin that took over his face. Fuck it. It wasn't like anyone could see him anyway.
"Oh, he did," Johnny mused. "He does everything right. He's like Mr Perfect. With the perfect smile, and the perfect manners, and the perfect fucking abs."
Carter let out a quiet laugh. "They've looked better," he told Johnny. "I've been slacking off since I started spending almost every minute with you."
"If that's how you look when you slack off, I don't think I ever want you to see me under my shirt," Johnny joked. Kind of.
"Already did. No complaints."
"Shut up," Johnny mumbled, rolling his eyes again.
"It's true though," Carter insisted. "You're not the only one with a sexy boyfriend."
Johnny breathed in sharply. "Jesus. I was just starting to calm down and you go and say that?"
"My boyfriend is sexy," Carter repeated. "And really smart... which only makes him hotter..." he continued, with soft rasp to his tone that was very much working for Johnny. "And he's probably the funniest guy I've ever met... Which I also happen to find really attractive."
"I want to say stop, but I kinda really want you to keep going."
Carter continued, evenly. "He's got this really cute habit of biting his lip when he's nervous, or when he remembers something funny to say and he's thinking whether he should... And it kinda drives me nuts when he does that..."
Johnny bit his lip, the fire fully ignited within. He lowered his head a little, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks.
"Another thing that makes me crazy is when he dips is head, when he's embarrassed over a compliment..." Carter whispered. Johnny gulped. "Or when he blushes, because it's not easy to make him blush."
"Carter," Johnny moaned quietly. He moved his hand to adjust himself beneath his jeans again, but ended up lingering there.
"And his eyes are out of this fucking world," Carter continued. "My favorite part of his body. One look and I'm putting in his hands... He could literally ask anything of me and I'd do it."
"Fuck."
That last one had sent a shiver down Johnny's spine, which poured straight into his groin. He couldn't resist it. He slipped his hand inside.
"And the noises he makes when he likes something I do to him..." Carter whispered wistfully. "Sometimes I think I could get off on that alone."
"Oh, my God, Carter," Johnny breathed. He could hear how desperate he sounded, which meant Carter probably could too from the other side. Johnny didn't care.
"There's this spot close to his jaw, right below his ear... One of my favorites, because he always falls apart when kiss him there."
Johnny let his body sink down the bed, one hand holding the phone while the other was... well, busy. He let his lips part breathlessly.
"I wish I could do it right now," Carter whispered, sounding a little winded himself. "I wish I could touch you right now."
"You have no idea what you're doing to me."
There was a moment of silence. Johnny half-expected Carter to hang up, or act confused, as he realized the situation he had created. That didn't happen.
"Tell me," Carter husked, voice strained.
"I never wanted to touch you more," Johnny whined under his breath. And with the picture Carter had sent him in his head, as well as his words and the memory of moments where they had been able to actually touch each other, Johnny let go, quieting himself into a pillow.
Once he came down from the unexpected high, Johnny could hear Carter's heavy breathing from the other side. He waited a couple of seconds, but the other boy didn't say anything.
"You still there?"
"Yeah, just... Fuck," Carter said. "I had never done that. Never thought it could be so hot. You're so hot."
Johnny smiled. With one hand, he reached for a tissue from his nightstand to clean up.
"Are you okay, champ?"
"Yeah. I kinda need another shower though. A cold one."
"Or you could just..."
"Can't," Carter said. "Study."
"Isn't your family going to have questions if you take another shower?"
"Good point," Carter agreed. "I'll just count on my English homework to cool me down again."
Johnny cocked his head. "Thought you were going to study Physics."
Carter let out a laugh. "Can't do that now, can I? I'll think of you."
It honestly shouldn't have had the effect it did, but just that little nothing made Johnny's heart quiver in his chest.
"You should go before I start getting horny again," he said. "It's seriously not okay how easily you can get me worked up."
"Yeah, well. Now you know what it feels like to be me around you."