by Kelex
Those kisses were amazing. Benji hungered for more of them… a million wouldn’t be enough. They both searched the other’s body with their hands… exploring every inch they could reach.
But it still came down to that driving cock within him. Mac’s shaft bound them as one, their bodies a communion of two souls.
And when Mac came for the second time, it was deep within him once more. Their eyes were locked on one another as he came, his heat filling Benji again.
When it was over and they lay panting beside one another, Benji wasn’t sure it hadn’t all been a dream. It felt too damned good to have been real.
“That was amazing,” Mac said, pressing a kiss to Benji’s shoulder.
Benji grinned. “Yes… it was.”
Mac slowly pulled out, and Benji immediately missed the feel of the thick impalement. “Did I hurt you?”
“Not in the least.” Benji turned slightly, wincing. He was a bit sore.
Mac massaged him gently, his hand sliding down one arm before reaching his chest. “You’re amazing.”
“Me? You did most of the work.”
Mac grinned. “Yeah, but had you not nursed me from the brink of death, where would we be?”
Benji laughed, capturing Mac’s gaze. He lifted a hand to Mac’s face, feeling the stubble from the man’s jaw against his palm. “Thank you.”
“For?”
“Giving me the courage to finally come out to my friends,” Benji answered.
“Me? I did that?”
“I’ve never wanted a man as much as I do you,” Benji admitted.
Mac kissed him again before pulling back. “How did your friends take it?”
“I’ve only told Jesse so far. I plan to tell the other guys soon,” Benji said. “Jesse usually has a Labor Day cookout, and I thought I could tell them all then.”
“Two more weeks,” Mac said. “You can keep it a secret that long?”
“I’ve kept it for twenty or so years. I think two more weeks won’t kill me.”
Mac smiled.
“Is it assuming too much to ask you to be there with me?” Benji asked.
Mac’s face grew serious. “Just try keeping me away.”
Benji grinned.
Mac kissed his shoulder again before smiling back. “I like you very, very much, Benjamin McGill.”
Benji frowned. “How do you know my last name?”
“Your name… is on your mailbox. But had it not been, I would’ve tracked it down.”
“Oh?”
“I was doing my best to get close to you,” Mac admitted.
“What?”
“I might even have lied about my water being off.”
Benji’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“Oh, I knew I wanted you from the moment I saw you the day I moved in,” Mac said.
Benji laughed. “Same.”
Mac kissed him. “Seems we both got what we wanted.”
Benji nodded. “Guess so.”
Mac drew him into his arms before they both drifted off to sleep.
* * * *
The following evening…
Benji heard a knock on the door. He opened it to see Mac standing there, Chinese take-out bag in hand.
“Hungry?”
Benji smiled. “Famished.”
He didn’t know what to expect when Mac had left that morning for a shift at the gym. Would he see him again soon? Of course he would—they were neighbors—but how much was too much? How soon was too soon?
Mac took the guesswork out, luckily.
He stepped back and let Mac inside. The man deposited the bag on the island and began pulling out containers. “I hope I’m not assuming or intruding. But I’ve been starving all day and I figured I owed you a meal after you took care of me so well.”
“Thank you,” Benji said, his voice low.
Mac smiled. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I got a few things. The same pork moo-shoo stuff you had the other night. And some spicier stuff.”
“I think we both know I can’t do spicy.”
“Nothing here is as hot as that. I doubt my body could handle it today,” he said. “Baby steps.”
He opened up one container and used the chopsticks to offer Benji a taste. Benji took the bite and chewed. “Oh, that is good.”
“You missed a bit,” Mac said before leaning in for a kiss.
Benji liked the taste of that even better.
Mac grinned as he pulled away. He pulled a few more containers out and one of the fortune cookies fell out and landed close to Benji.
He took it in his hand and tossed it up before catching it. A smile played over his face. “My fortune… from the other night. I suppose it was true after all.”
Mac frowned. “Oh yeah… the one who you like, likes you… right?”
“Uh-huh,” Benji answered. “What did yours say?”
Mac reached back for his wallet and fished the tiny scrap out. He sat it on the counter and slid it closer to Benji.
Love thy neighbor. Just don’t get caught.
Benji laughed out loud.
Mac walked closer and drew Benji closer. “You don’t mind me just stopping in, do you?”
“I don’t mind it at all,” Benji said as he lifted his gaze to Mac’s. “I’m glad you’re here. I wasn’t sure if I should give you some space… which would be hard when we’re just across the hall.”
“I don’t want space,” Mac said. “I like you. A lot. And I want to know you. And I think you feel the same way I do.”
Benji nodded, growing a little solemn. “I do.”
Mac pressed a gentle kiss to his lips before lifting his head. “So would it be a problem if we got caught?”
Benji’s smile faded a little. He still hadn’t come clean to al his friends. He would. It just hadn’t happened yet.
A frown crossed Mac’s face.
“I haven’t come out to all my friends yet. Just Jesse. The thought of facing the rest? It scares the hell out of me.”
“If they’re true friends… they’ll accept you for who you are.”
“I think they’ll be okay. The not knowing is hard. And right now, they’re all having their own dramas… and I don’t want to add more BS to the mix.”
“Your sexuality isn’t BS,” Mac said, pulling away. He moved back to the containers and took a bite of something. He chewed a moment, looking as if he chewed on more than food. He wanted to say something…
“What is it?” Benji asked.
Mac swallowed and licked his lips. “I just don’t want to have to hide who I am to be with you. You deserve to come out when and if you’re ready. I won’t force you… but eventually… I want to live my life free. I hid for a long time while I served. I won’t go back to hiding.”
Benji moved closer. “I’m going to tell them. I just need to find the right time… the right place…and maybe… maybe you can be there with me for moral support?”
“I’d be honored,” Mac murmured. He smiled before offering Benji another bite from the open container. And another kiss after he was done. That kiss grew heated, and the food was forgotten.
“How about we put dinner on hold?” Benji asked.
“Agreed,” Mac said before tossing Benji over one shoulder and heading for the bedroom.
He tossed Benji onto the bed, a wicked smile on his face. “You ever been tied to the bed before?”
A shiver raced through Benji. “No.”
“Wanna be?”
Benji nodded, the air sucked from his lungs. “Yesss,” he hissed.
Mac climbed into the bed, pinning him down. “Tonight you’ll be bound for me… at my mercy.”
Benji nodded. “Yesssss.”
Mac grinned. “I knew you were the man for me.”
Epilogue
At the Labor Day BBQ…
Benji grabbed the big bowl of potato salad he’d made and slid from the passenger side of Mac’s car. He smiled at his new boyfriend as he rounded the car, sti
ll feeling like he was walking on air. Mac paused, waiting for him, a soft smile on his lips.
“You ready for this?” Mac asked, his voice low.
Today, Benji would come out to the rest of his friends with Mac at his side. For the last few weeks, he’d laid low, avoiding everyone and spending most of his time at home, with Mac. He’d gotten a text from Jesse saying Hayden had spent some time rehabbing and was home, doing much better—which was a load off his mind.
And he’d heard that Clay had moved back in as Adam’s roommate and was no longer spending his days on Hayden’s couch—so apparently their feud was over.
He sighed, thankful his friends seemed to be in a better place. Maybe they weren’t headed for destruction. But, there was still his coming out. They might all reject him. And that thought terrified him.
As soon as he rounded to the house and eyed the backyard, he stopped. Mac ran into the back of him, nearly knocking the bowl from his hands.
“What’s wrong?” Mac asked.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” he murmured.
His gaze took in the scene. Adam worked the grill while Clay stood beside him, beer in hand. Hayden lounged on a chaise beside the pool, a soda in one hand. He talked to Jesse, who sat on the chaise beside him.
They all looked happy. Smiles crossed their faces.
What he was about to say might change that.
Jesse knew… but Benji had sent him a text asking the guy to keep the news secret. Until he could tell them himself.
Now he wasn’t so sure he had the balls to do it.
Mac moved around and faced him. He took the bowl from Benji’s shaking hands. “You don’t have to do this. Not today. Not until you’re ready.”
Benji met Mac’s stare, seeking to leech off some of his strength.
“I’ve got to do it eventually,” Benji said. “I won’t make you live my lie.” He didn’t want to have to hide Mac, or shy away from touching his own boyfriend. The last weeks spent with Mac had made him realize all he’d missed… all he’d sacrificed by not living honestly.
He had to tell the guys.
If they rejected him, he’d survive. It would be painful and he’d hurt like hell, but he’d survive it.
He had Mac in his corner. And Mac’s friends, Tevan and Julio—who were a couple, Benji had found out over dinner with the guys a few days before. He’d heard their tales of rejection and pain after coming out, and they’d been very supportive of Benji.
“Let’s do this,” Benji said before coaxing Mac along.
They walked into the backyard… and he threaded one hand into Mac’s.
As they neared, Jesse noticed them. His gaze went to their bound hands, and a smile began to cross his lips.
One by one, his other friends noticed his arrival. And one by one, they noticed his hand bound in Mac’s. He let go for a moment to take the bowl and place it on the table.
“Hey, everyone,” he said as he turned back to face them.
The guys all murmured their hellos to both him and Mac. His heart beat like crazy, and he felt half sick to his stomach.
“I have something I need to tell everyone,” Benji announced.
“I think it’s pretty obvious,” Clay said. “You and Mac are a thing.”
Benji sighed. “Can I please do this my way?”
“Sure, go for it,” Clay said.
Benji took a deep breath and felt a reassuring hand from Mac along his back. “I’m bi. And yes, Mac and I are together.”
Quiet spread. Benji searched their faces, seeing shock… but there was something else in their faces he didn’t know how to define.
“Well… if we’re going to start opening up here, I suppose Hayden and I should tell you guys something, too,” Jesse said.
The pair looked to one another for a moment before turning to face everyone.
“Jesse and I are… together… too,” Hayden said.
He threaded one hand into Jesse’s and smiled at him.
Benji was shocked—but not all that shocked. He’d seen the looks… the anger… the jealousy… and he’d wondered. But to actually see them admitting it and coming together? He was stunned.
Adam wrapped an arm over Clay’s shoulder. “Well, I suppose it’s three for three.”
Clay leaned over and pressed his lips to Adam’s.
Now that one—Benji hadn’t seen that one coming. At all.
Benji turned to look at Mac, his eyes wide.
Mac just grinned at him. “Looks like you have nothing to worry about.” Mac drew him close and pressed a kiss to his lips.
Benji turned to look at his friends—and they all started laughing.
“Congratulations,” Clay said to Benji and held up his beer.
He eyed them all, seeing them happy for the first time in months. And now he understood all the turmoil they’d been through.
His very heterosexual friends weren’t so heterosexual after all.
After a round of hugs and congratulations, they got on to enjoying their holiday, their food, their friends, and their lovers.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
International bestselling gay erotica/erotic romance author Kelex lives in Hampton Roads with her twenty-something slacker kidult and two semi-loveable masses of fur who are often found snarling at the mailman or UPS driver—or pooping on the brand new carpet.
When not being a pain in her daughter’s ass, a gardening goddess, the baker of bread, the master of cake disaster, or the drinker of alllllll the coffee, she writes under various pen names all over the erotica and erotic romance genre map.
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