Deleted Scenes
From The Positions of Love Book 10: Lotus Position
These scenes are cut from the beginning of the story. Believe it or not, the summer vacation in this story wasn't the original plot. I wanted a story set in September, and the only "event" I could think of to include in the story was Richmond's Pride weekend.
When I first began this story, in December of 2007, I was out of town for a three-day conference and had come down with a horrible bout of bronchitis. I had just finished writing 50k words for NaNoWriMo (the first nine stories in The Positions of Love series) and felt like a junkie coming down from a bad trip. I was congested, exhausted both physically and mentally, and really needed a break from the boys.
The first scene was the original opening to the story. If you've read the other books in the series, you'll recognize this ... I "reclaimed" it for a scene in Book 11: The Arc Position. I like scenes where one character is gently woken by his lover, because I think they show a vulnerability you don't get in any other situation.
The second scene was written in July 2008, when I restarted the story with the idea of Vic and Matt going to Wildwood, New Jersey, for a summer vacation. However, this scene not only made the story too long, but I felt it made the trip begin on a sour note, and I didn't want that, so I cut this bit out and just replaced it with a few lines to sum up their road trip.
Deleted Scene # 1
Vic Braunson woke to kisses.
Soft, fluttering, ticklish over his lower belly. He lay on his back in his bed, the covers still tucked in around him, warm from his own body heat. But the arm stretched out on his lover Matt diLorenzo's side of the bed was empty, though he felt Matty's presence in his dreaming mind. They shared a connection deeper than lust, deeper than desire -- a love so swift, so sure, that it still managed to take Vic's breath away when he let it. Even in sleep, their thoughts twined together in an intimate embrace, like one of the convoluted positions in the copy of the Kama Sutra Matt gave Vic for Christmas. Through that link, Vic could feel Matt beside him. The lips that massaged the trembling skin below his navel belonged to his lover.
With a soft moan, Vic rolled onto his side. A strong hand rubbed over his hip, around his buttock, between the cheeks of his ass to pet the achingly tender flesh hidden below his balls. Vic moaned again, spreading his legs wide to allow his lover entry to his most secret spaces. A warm, pliant tongue rimmed his navel, then trailed down the faint stubble of hair he shaved to lick at his hairless pubic mound. It found the base of his penis, which had begun to stiffen beneath the faint ministrations; Vic's hands fisted in the pillow as that tongue swirled up the length of his cock. He hardened at the touch, Matt's saliva cooling along his shaft, and when Matt reached the tip of Vic's dick, he took it into his mouth to give it a long, suckling kiss. All pretense of sleep fell away as Vic gasped and thrust further into his lover. ::God.::
Matt's breathy chuckle hummed through Vic's cock. ::Naptime's over, lover boy.:: The thought passed between them easily, Matt too busy stimulating Vic to pause and speak. ::I thought I'd wake you up.::
Vic moaned as he moved against the bed, pressing the contours of his body to the mattress, aroused. "Oh, I'm up," he assured his lover. "What time is it?"
"Two." Beneath the covers, Matt climbed over Vic's side and slid into place behind him. Their bodies molded together perfectly. As his arms came up around Vic's middle, Matt breathed on the back of his lover's neck, sending shivers of delight down Vic's spine. "We still have a little while to go."
The pleasure roiling through him made it difficult for Vic to concentrate. "Two," he murmured. He couldn't wrap his mind around that. Waking up came hard to Vic, and Matt liked to tease him before he was fully alert, which only added to the confusion that clouded his thoughts. He felt his lover nodd against his back and he asked, "In the morning?"
Matt laughed. "In the afternoon, silly."
He nipped at the folds of shaved skin at Vic's nape while his hands did delicious things to Vic's belly, rubbing lazy patterns into his skin. For a moment, Vic savored his lover's body on his, the roaming hands, the hot mouth, the hard cock pressed against his buttocks as if begging for entry. One of Matt's knees was raised over Vic's hip, a heavy, welcome weight. All he had to do was spread his legs just a little farther apart, let his lover in ...
But wait.
Two in the afternoon? That bothered Vic. What day was it?
Picking up on his discomfort, Matt kissed behind Vic's ear and whispered, "It's Saturday. We're meeting Roxie and her friend for dinner, then going to Pride downtown. Remember?"
With a groan, Vic buried his head in his pillow. Yes, he remembered now. A gay pride event wasn't exactly his idea of a good time, but Roxie had mentioned it to Matt a few weeks ago, and once his lover latched onto the idea, nothing Vic could say or do would shake it. They were going. Fortunately, Vic didn't think it was a large affair -- just some vendors and a couple bands at the Farmer's Market down by the river, that was about it. And if it made Matt happy, it was worth the hour or two they'd spend socializing.
A hand trailed down his stomach to grasp at his erection. "You remember," Matt purred against his ear. When Vic nodded, Matt took his earlobe between his teeth and ran his tongue around behind the gold hoops Vic wore. His fingers squeezed Vic's cock gently, then slipped lower to cup his balls. "If you're not in a rush to get ready, maybe we can take care of this."
"I'm in no rush," Vic assured him as he thrust into his lover's hand.
Deleted Scene # 2
Wildwood was a six hour road trip from Richmond. Though Matt was eager to get their vacation underway as soon as possible, he knew his lover wouldn't be fit to interact with the human race until an hour or so after he'd had his morning cup of coffee. Vic simply wasn't a morning person. So Matt left him at the dining room table to stew in his java and packed up Vic's old Toyota with their luggage, maps, and a lunch they could eat somewhere along the way. Matt's empty gym bag went into the car, as well -- when he had been younger, he always brought home more knick-knacks and souvenirs than he could manage, and though it'd been years since he last visited the island, he suspected he'd still buy a couple things he'd need to make room for on the ride home. If nothing else, they could use the bag to store their dirty laundry.
On his third trip down to the car, Vic's gravelly thoughts rumbled through Matt's mind like thunder. ::We're only going away for a week,:: he groused. ::You're packing half the apartment.::
::Just the half we'll need,:: Matt joked.
While Matt finished stuffing the car, Vic stumbled into the shower. Through the psychic link they shared, Matt felt his lover's consciousness waken slowly beneath the hot spray. By the time Matt had everything he could possibly think they might want on the trip, Vic was dressed in a rugged pair of dark blue jeans, a white T-shirt hugging his muscled chest to tuck into the waistband. Matt leaned in the doorway of the bathroom as he watched Vic hang up his towels to dry. "That's what I'm talking about," he said with a grin. "Damn, you're hot."
Vic gave him a suffering look and warned, "I'm not looking forward to this long ass drive. I'm behind the wheel all day and the first time I'm on vacation --"
"So give me the keys," Matt replied.
Closing the distance between them, he ran his hands over the smooth fabric of Vic's T-shirt, over his lover's back, around his shoulders. He leaned against Vic and could feel the heat from the shower still radiating from him. Wrapping his arms around Vic's waist, Matt hugged him tight and pressed his nose to Vic's meaty bicep. He breathed in deep his lover's clean, fresh scent. "It's going to be just you and me," he murmured. "I can't wait."
"It's already you and me," Vic pointed out.
"And Roxie," Matt added. "Or Kyle. Or Mrs. K, or that asshole downstairs. No, I'm serious, Vic. It's really going to be just the two of us this week. No cell phones ringing, no shifts you have to pick up, no overtime I have to put in at the pool. No groceries to carry upstairs. No one banging on the floor when we have sex. No one expecting you to save the world."
Vic gave him a sharp look in the mirror. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Matt shrugged, settling himself closer to his lover, but didn't reply. He kissed Vic's shoulder, his lips damp through Vic's T-shirt sleeve, and wished he could take the words back. No super powers, he might as well have said. The thought hung unspoken between them, clouding Vic's brow, worrying Matt.
When Vic turned to him, Matt tried to explain. "Nothing," he said, then, "I don't know. I just ... people sort of know about you here, Vic. They expect you to -- you know what I'm saying. That woman at the police department? She's always hanging around when you're on the scene. It's like ..." He sighed and hugged Vic, wishing he could just shut up. "I'm just saying this will be good for us, to get away from all that."
"All what?" Vic wanted to know. "The powers aren't something we can escape, Matty. Unless you're saying we're not --"
"No!" Matt laughed, a shaky sound, and shook his head as if trying to burrow into Vic's shoulder. "God, no, Vic. Don't even think that. I'm not giving up what we have together just to make the powers go away. Unless ..." A scary thought gripped him, turning his blood cold. "Unless you want --"
Now it was Vic's turn to shake his head, adamant. "Hell no. I love you, Matt. Only you. The powers are a part of that but just a very small part and you know it."
Relief coursed through Matt. He should've never said anything at all. Turning to him, Vic cradled Matt's face in both of his large, warm hands and raised it until Matt looked at him. Then he leaned forward, until their foreheads touched. Eyes locked, Vic let his presence flood into Matt, chasing away the doubt and fear and awkwardness that shouldn't exist between them. ::I'm doing this for you,:: Vic assured him. ::Because I love you.::
::Yes, I know,:: Matt sighed. ::I love you, too.::
Vic's thoughts turned stern. ::And you sold me on the sex in the sand bit,:: he said. It took Matt a moment to catch the hint of humor lacing his lover's gruff voice. ::So you better not hold out on me, Matty. I want a whirlwind summer romance.::
Surprised, Matt laughed. ::We're already together,:: he pointed out. ::I don't think that really counts ...::
::Are you kidding?:: Vic's mouth covered his in a loving kiss. ::That's the best kind.::
* * * *
Vic ended up driving anyway -- it was his car. Every so often, Matt would reach over and massage his lover's shoulders, loosening the tight muscles. Once they got on the interstate, he took Vic's right hand off the gearshift and placed it in his lap, enveloped between his palms. Vic curled his fingers around Matt's as he gave into the rhythm of the road. Matt's excited chatter piqued Vic's own interest. By the time they stopped for a picnic lunch at a rest area along the interstate, he had caught Matt's enthusiasm and began looking forward to the time alone. Matt was right -- this would be just the two of them, far from the cares and worries of their daily lives. Vic had never been to the ocean before; he'd never thought about it, really, but it had never been anything he had wanted to do, a place he wanted to visit. In his mind, he pictured a loving couple holding hands as they walked along the tide line, the sun dipping below the waves. Before Matt came into his life, Vic hadn't had anyone he would consider sharing that scene with. Now he couldn't wait to share that experience.
Matt dozed off after lunch, his head lolled to one side, Vic's hand still caught between his own. As Vic drove, random images surfaced in his mind, scattered, disjointed, as Matt's dreams leaked into his waking thoughts. With his lover's memories as his guide, Vic found himself recognizing landmarks and road signs he had never seen before. The blue signs with white seagulls on them that pointed the way to a local ferry, the Delaware Memorial Bridge that spanned the bay, the green markers counting down the miles to Wildwood. Then the small drawbridge that led onto the island itself, spanning salt marshes whose tall reeds rustled in the breeze off the ocean, the sky that looked almost colorless where it touched the water at the horizon, the large Ferris wheel that stood like an imprint against the edge of the world.
As they crossed the drawbridge, Vic rolled down his window and drew in deep the wharf-like stench of the marsh. Beside him, Matt stirred. With a languid stretch, he squeezed Vic's hand in his and murmured, "We there yet?"