Another Chance at My Promise

The Real Thing - CHAPTER 17

"Mmm, you're so warm and comfortable," Marcelo sighed as he laid on top of Remi, his head lying on Remi's chest. He was careful not to smoosh him. The two were on Remi's bed as the tv sounded lowly in the background. Remi, with a smile on his face, rubbed the nape of Marcelo's neck. Marcelo hummed, never getting tired of Remi's presence.

"W-What do you wanna do today?"

"Lay in bed with you all day."

"No, we have to do s-something productive."

"Productive, huh? I can think of a lot of productive things," Marcelo began as he planted light kisses on Remi's neck. Remi squirmed and giggled softly. After having their in-depth conversation about Remi's past, Remi grew even more fond of Marcelo. He also felt a lot more comfortable around Marcelo. The conversation put Remi's trust for Marcelo on another level.

Remi placed his hands on Marcelo's shoulders and pushed him back, looking at his face.

"That's not what I m-meant."

"I know, but you're blushing now, so my work here is done."

Remi rolled his eyes playfully and slapped Marcelo's shoulder before sitting up, putting his back against the headboard of his bed.

"What do you wanna d-do?" Remi asked again.

"I'm up for anything. Anything."

"No, Celo. I'm being serious."

"Celo, huh?" Marcelo lead, smiling at the new nickname.

"I wanted t-to try it out again. If you don't l-like it th—"

"No, I like it. It's cute. And only you call me that so it's unique. I just need to come up with one for you," Remi tilted his head when Marcelo said the last part. "Besides twink."

Yep, there it is. Never fails.

"You're never g-gonna let that go," Remi giggled.

"Nope. Never," Marcelo said, turning his nose up and smiling at the sound of Remi's laughter. "What's your middle name."

"Mateo," Remi replied, letting his Costa Rican accent slip through. This surprised Marcelo for sure. He knew that Remi was mixed with something, but he couldn't tell what it was.

"Wait, you're..."

"Costa Rican."

"So you can speak Spanish to me?"

"Yeah, I'm fluent b-because my dads were Costa Rican. Th-That's why I still have my acc-accent."

"I want to hear it again. Say Marcelo."

"Marcelo," Remi said with his accent.

"You have no idea how good that sounded."

"Really?" Marcelo nodded, yes. "I have s-something else. Eres mi novio, Celo."

"Okay, I know you said something with my name in it, but I have no idea what the rest of it was."

"I said, you are my boyfriend, Celo."

"Ahh, gotcha. So, air is mi novo, Teo."

Remi smiled upon hearing Marcelo use his new nickname for him. Teo. That's the first. But he also smiled because of Marcelo's mispronunciation of the words.

"You like that nickname?"

"Yeah, it's n-nice, but it's another r-reason why I smiled."

"Why?"

"Y-You said it way wrong."

"I did?"

"Yeah. It's eres..."

"Eres."

"Mi..."

"Mi."

"Novio."

"Novo."

"N-No," Remi giggled. "Not novo. It's novio."

"Novio."

"Yes. Eres mi novio."

"Eres mi novio."

Remi nodded at Marcelo's success with a smile.

"Hey! You're my little Spanish teacher."

"I can't p-promise to be the best, but I'll try my b-best."

Marcelo analyzed Remi's face as Remi said that. He could tell that what Remi said applied to more than him teaching Marcelo Spanish. What Remi said referred to them, their relationship, their future. Remi would try his best.

Grabbing Remi's hand, Marcelo looked Remi in the eyes and nodded as he said,

"Your best is all that I'll ever need."

------

"We still haven't found anything to do. How about I read to you," Marcelo suggested, looking over all of the books on the shelf that sat in Remi's home library. Remi watched Marcelo from where he was sitting on one of the white bean bags. Marcelo searched the shelves for a few more seconds before picking a book.

It was the book that Remi had been reading at the actual library for a while now. The book that he... borrowed from the library and put in his. The book about the woman whose significant other left her all alone while she was pregnant. Marcelo observed the cream colored book with its teal book spine and angelic font that the title was in. It didn't have a picture, but that's what made the book even more interesting to Remi and mysterious to Marcelo.

"What's this book about?"

"Well, this c-couple... they were deeply in love with each other. But one day, the woman f-found out that she was pregnant, and the man left her all alone with the baby. The woman e-ended up finding another love interest, and they then fall in love with each other. Right a-after, the initial love i-interest, the father of the child, comes back, and it turned into a love tr-triangle type thing."

"So, did they all end up together? What happened with that?"

"I don't know. I haven't finished th-the book just yet."

"Gotcha. Let me know when you do. I want to know the ending."

Remi nodded. He stretched and laid down on the bean bag, curling into a fetal position as Marcelo put the book down and picked up another one. The one that was titled Crave You. Everything was alright until Marcelo flipped the book open to the correct page that Remi was on. He saw certain words that were very explicit when put together. His eyes bulged and he looked up at Remi.

"Teo, why is this so... dirty?"

Remi cocked a brow, confused. Then, the wheels began to turn in his head as he looked at the cover and realized what book it was as well as what page he was on when he stopped reading said book. He flew up and sped over to Marcelo, taking the book out of Marcelo's hands and holding it behind his back with a dark blush on his cheeks.

He was so embarrassed. He felt so exposed. It felt as if all of his dirty secrets were revealed. And technically, they were.

Marcelo's expression soon turned to a smirk. A sly smirk.

"You just read about sex all of the time, don't you?"

"N-No, I don't. I read... other b-books. You just-You—"

"Why only read about it if I can give you the real thing?"

Remi's jaw dropped to the ground. He couldn't believe what he'd heard. Of course Marcelo wasn't shy when it came to these kinds of topics, but he didn't think that Marcelo actually thought of the idea of them... doing it. The farthest that they've gone is Marcelo giving Remi head every now and then. Remi hasn't seen Marcelo's... stuff yet.

Remi gulped and fidgeted. Marcelo was serious. The intensity of Marcelo's look was giving him chills. He squeaked lowly out of slight fear. That seemed to be the last straw for Marcelo because next, Marcelo's lips were on Remi's in a heated kiss. In the midst, Remi dropped his book and placed his hand on Marcelo's bicep to stabilize himself.

Oh. Shit.