by Susan Laine
Charlie’s smile widened into a genuine expression of joy and gratitude. “Love you too.”
The briefest pang of regret sent shivers up and down Will’s spine—because he realized a part of him wouldn’t have minded Charlie murmuring those words in his ear like a lover.
Shrugging off the unnerving thoughts of hopeless loves, Will gently bumped Charlie with his shoulder. Maybe the next best thing…? “You know, we could make a deal. That if we’re both still single when we’re, oh, say thirty or forty, we’ll get together then.”
Charlie chuckled. “Think we’ll still be friends then?”
“I know it.”
“Then we will. ’Cause you know everything.”
Will made a tsk tsk sound at the back of his throat. “Yeah, right. I’m a fucking god.”
Charlie smirked. “Yup. Sleeping with boys and girls? A fucking god indeed.” Then he let out a small sigh. “Um, even though we’re not exchanging, like, BJs… do you wanna finish what we started? Hand jobs?”
Will had decided long ago that Charlie would be his friend forever—and now Will figured that perhaps Charlie might even be a friend with benefits. “Sure. Just call me the little engine that could.”
Charlie laughed. “Oh, are we doing train jokes now? Good thing you didn’t lose your train of thought or we’d end up on the wrong track.”
Will’s stomach hurt from all the cackling, but he couldn’t stop, not even when tears rained down his cheeks. “Monorail jokes make for the best one-liners.”
“At least we didn’t get sidetracked,” Charlie murmured between giggles—while his hand snuck back underneath Will’s underwear to grip his dick.
Will grinned and leaned in. “No, heaven forbid.”
They kissed, soft and sweet. As their hunger grew, their tongues met, their lips sealed, and their breaths mingled. Charlie had a firm hold of Will’s dick, and Will returned the favor by stroking Charlie’s cock. Their rhythms were soon in sync.
They stayed close. Will couldn’t believe how wonderful kissing his best friend felt. As if their lips were meant to touch. Yet the urge didn’t feel oppressive. He could do it or not. The desire didn’t demand; it gave. Will was grateful for the realization.
“Did you know it was once illegal to sleep on a train?” Will muttered, remembering a little fact he’d read this past week before the trip. He wanted to impress his best friend. Charlie shook his head, so Will added with a drawl, “It was also once illegal to kiss on a train.”
Charlie quirked an eyebrow. “Wow, that’s two reasons to boot us off the train right there.” He glanced at his tablet on the bed beside them. “And I had so much fun planned.”
“Oh? Such as?” Will didn’t stop tugging Charlie’s cock, loving the catch in Charlie’s tone, the reddening of his cheeks, the quickening of his pulse visible on his jugular.
Charlie winked. “Train movies, of course. Duh. Downloaded all the best, like Strangers on a Train, North By Northwest, Money Train, Under Siege 2, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Night Train, Death Train—”
Will chortled half hysterically. “Geez, one-track mind, eh?”
Charlie kissed him silent. His teased the seam of Will’s lips with the tip of his tongue until Will opened up for him. They kissed leisurely and deeply, savoring each other as if there was no rush, as if there were no more questions.
As they pulled apart for a breather, Will again glanced at the door.
The closed entrance disturbed Will’s concentration.
Especially now that sounds had renewed his cause to fret.
Noisy laughter and several pairs of stomping feet caught his attention as they passed their room suite. Inebriated bachelors or rowdy sports lovers? Or just basic passengers trying to have fun and communicate over the din of the train?
Everyday clamor, nothing special.
Charlie frowned. “Are you still worried about someone stumbling in here?” His soft voice suggested he empathized and felt slight trepidation too.
Will nodded, fidgeting. It was an irrational fear, but he remained unable to shake the unpleasant sensation. “You sure you locked the door…?”
“Yes,” Charlie said. This time his firm tone showed he was trying to set Will’s mind at ease—or his own. Charlie gripped Will’s chin and turned him toward him, locking gazes with him. “Stop letting stupid things bother you and just focus on me.”
Will chuckled, the door and possible intruders forgotten. “You’re such a charmer.”
Charlie snorted and kissed Will. His touch reignited Will’s libido and roused his desire. A slick heat in the form of a clever tongue entered Will’s mouth and tangled with his. Shivers ran up and down his skin like tendrils of fire.
“Even if this is, like, the only time we ever do this,” Charlie whispered, “I just want you to know that you’ve really helped me.”
Will cupped Charlie’s balls, jiggled them against his palms, and dragged them gently. “Oh? How so?”
Charlie’s cheeks turned ruddier. “Last night, when I finally managed to get some shut-eye, I saw myself getting thrown off a moving train. But there was water, and you caught me.”
“You even dream about trains now? Wow. You really know how to stick to a theme.” Will wasn’t sure how to interpret that particular dream, probably because he didn’t live inside Charlie’s head. But he was glad to hear there’d been a happy ending. “But cool.”
“Even though this whole thing started as my problem,” Charlie mused, “you still made it your problem too, and then helped me solve it.”
Will was surprised to hear that. “Really? You think you’ve figured things out?”
Charlie hesitated briefly, his hand on Will’s prick stopping. “I think… I might be bisexual. At least that’s what I’m starting with. I mean, you’re not dressed like a girl now, and I’m really hot for you. But… I’m also pretty sure I’m not, like, in love with you. You’re my best friend, and that’s awesome. Heck, we could be soul mates or whatever, but that doesn’t mean we need to fuck. And I do love you. Just not like that. So yeah, going with bi right now.”
Will suspected Charlie still had a ways to go to come to terms with his sexual identity and orientation. But for now, he seemed calmer and happier to have at least one term he felt comfortable with. And Will had helped in some small fashion, and that meant a lot.
“Anyway….” Charlie bit his lower lip with a smug grin. “I wanna bring this train to station. You ready?”
Will chuckled. “Why not? I’d be loco not to have a motive to finish this.”
Charlie laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Will loved the sight. Joy and love were the best ways to solve issues of a sensual nature.
Together they brought each other closer to the edge. They kissed, sharing the love of friends with an evolving relationship, and stroked each other’s cocks. Without more to say, they relished each other’s dicks, the hot, hard flesh to hold, the sticky substance of precome coating their fingers, the salty and bitter odor of male juices intensifying as it floated through the air.
Finally they came within a heartbeat of each other, groaning and jerking as they spilled their seed, making a mess of their underwear.
“Thanks, babe,” Charlie murmured in between heated kisses. “Let’s hit the shower.”
“We’ll never fit together,” Will complained as he pried himself up, following his best friend to the tiny enclosure.
Charlie chuckled. “Of course not, but we’ll have fun trying to squeeze in there anyway.”
Fun and games didn’t define their relationship, Will thought with a smile. But perhaps it did describe an aspect of their friendship. Regardless, they were good. It was all good. The future would be good too. Confident at heart, Will allowed Charlie to manhandle him against the wall and spray him with warm water.
An unbidden memory of the last time Charlie had soaked Will rose to the forefront of his mind. He shuddered as he relived the painful moment, how he’d sat drenched and wretched in the tub for a go
od fifteen minutes after Charlie left, hugging himself and wishing he could either turn back time or read minds.
Will shook his head, half to rid himself of the memory, half to get water out of his eyes. This was different. Both he and Charlie were different. Everything had changed. The past was a closed chapter. The future was an unopened book.
And showers were still a pretty damn good thing. With and without Charlie. As he got thoroughly doused, too late did Will remember he still wore his soiled underwear. “Damn, I just wet myself.”
It was only when Charlie barked out a dirty laugh that Will got what he’d unintentionally implied. He chimed in, happier than he remembered being in a long time.
Yeah, it was all good.
Chapter 12
“CARY GRANT was gay too, wasn’t he?” Will asked as they cuddled side by side on the seat turned up back into a couch again. They were watching movies on Charlie’s tablet, and the ending credits of Strangers on a Train popped up on the screen.
“Yeah, I think so.” Charlie snuggled closer to Will, relishing the feel of his best friend’s strong, warm body next to his.
He felt more comfortable with himself now that he’d had sort-of sex with Will. He wasn’t 100 percent certain he really was bi or if he was actually gay. He still found girls hot too, so bi seemed more likely.
Nonetheless, accepting the thought that maybe he wasn’t just straight eased the tension that had tied his stomach in knots and messed up his brain with confused rage. His head still remained muddled about all the possibilities of the sexual spectrum, but he had his best friend to stay with him and keep him company while he figured shit out.
Charlie turned to look at Will, who munched on snacks from the restaurant car and watched the credits with a glassy gaze. Charlie knew he truly and deeply loved Will and always would—but as a beloved friend, not as a lover. Perhaps one day they would find each other at the right time and at the right place and realize they were meant to be.
That they were soul mates.
But for now Charlie had things sorted out. This had been a journey of self-discovery. Will had stood by his side and lain beside him in bed the entire time. A friend, a lover, a confidant, an advisor. No one else would or could ever understand the bond they shared, the path they’d traveled together, the life they’d forged as one.
It was Charlie’s turn to stand by Will’s side.
“So if you’re sexually fluid, is there someone you’re interested in? Like a dude?”
Will faced him, raising an eyebrow. He smiled enigmatically. “Maybe.”
“C’mon, man. I tell you everything. Who is it?”
Will hedged, his cheeks pinking. “Skylar.”
Charlie frowned. “Who the eff is that?” Then he noticed the gender-neutral name. “Is that a boy or a girl?”
“She’s trans.”
“Oh.” Charlie shrugged. “Cool. What do you like about her?”
“I saw her outside school one day at the park when I was taking pictures of trees and stuff. She suggested the arboretum. I asked her if she’d be my tour guide, and she said yes. We walked for over two hours there.”
“When was this?”
“Last month. Remember? When you were at the Hamptons visiting your grandparents that one weekend.”
“Oh yeah. And while I was away, you had an affair to remember. You slut.”
Will chuckled. “I asked her out again. She wavered. Took me a while to get it out of her. I told her it was fine that she’s trans and that I was fluid. So… once we get back from this trip, I’m gonna ask her out for a real date.”
Charlie was impressed with his best friend. “Nice. Where you gonna take her?”
“Well, I was thinking….” As Will went on to describe several options he’d come up with, Charlie understood their friendship really had evolved. Perhaps they’d continue to be friends with a little sensuality on the side. Nothing wrong with that arrangement, at least not as long as they were both still single, Will not yet with Skylar and Charlie no longer with Ashley.
More importantly, though, they’d entered the train as two straight boys, but they’d exit as two young men more in touch with their sexuality, identities, and friendship.
LUNCHTIME HAD all but passed, but they decided to head to the dining car regardless to spend time with their friends in a relaxed setting. Charlie cleaned up and changed clothes. “The lodge has a laundry machine, right?”
“A laundry service, I think,” Will replied, standing in front of the mirror. Then he turned to Charlie and spread his arms. “Well? How do I look?”
Charlie checked Will out from head to toe. “Tasty,” he leered.
Will rolled his eyes. “Shut up. Perv.” But his pink cheeks told Charlie Will was flattered.
To Charlie’s surprise, he really adored the flushed look on Will, like he’d just been fucked through the mattress. Charlie’s heart skipped a beat. The evocative image stirred a responding beat in his groin, his cock rising to the occasion. He had to surreptitiously readjust his package or die of blue balls. Could it be that he longed for round two with Will—despite all his assertions to the contrary?
When his heart sent a twinge of yearning for Will’s embrace, his lips, his smile, the mere sparkle in his eyes, Charlie had to concede to the possibility that, if not now, one day his feelings for his best friend might… evolve.
Would likely evolve, mature, and deepen. Maybe even morph into… forever love?
In a split second, Charlie also realized he didn’t mind that idea one damn bit. The future looked bright and promising. “I notice you’re not wearing high heels. Just the guyliner and lipstick,” Charlie noted.
“It’s lip gloss. And yeah, no, never wearing those shoes again. They fucking hurt.”
Charlie was baffled. “Where’d you even get them?”
“Ashley lent them to me.”
Charlie snorted. “Guess that explains why she was onto me so fast.”
Will gave him the stink eye. “Wouldn’t me borrowing her stilettos suggest she’s onto me?”
Charlie squeezed past him to open the door. “Whatever. Let’s go. Don’t wanna be late. The others are waiting to see us, though they’ve undoubtedly eaten by now. Hell, we’re probably too late already to get any of the good stuff. The dining car’s still open and the others are still there too, I checked, but—”
Will stopped him with a hand on his arm, his smile and touch comforting. “They won’t be judging you. If they do, well, I’ll still be here for you. And I think so will Ashley. You’re not alone, I promise.”
If Will said it, it had to be true. Charlie believed his best friend’s vow. “Thanks, babe.”
Charlie ambled down the hall toward the dining car while Will closed and locked the door before hurrying after him.
Then Will commented, “Those train songs about going nowhere….”
“Yeah?” Charlie stopped and faced Will with a quizzical expression.
Will giggled. “Who cares? That’s not where we’re headed.” Then he took Charlie’s hand in his once more, his grip firm and warm, solace in a touch. He raised their joined hands up to his heart on purpose. “C’mon… babe… let’s give the others something to gawk at.”
Charlie’s gaze flicked between Will’s wicked eyes and their clasped hands. Then he simply had to laugh. “Choo-choo, all aboard the gravy train to success in love and friendship.”
Will started pulling Charlie toward the dining car, snorting. “God, that was super cheesy.”
As they hurried down the aisle, Charlie didn’t care if he sounded corny, because he felt like he was on board the ride of his life, going down the track to his future with his best friend—and more.
Epilogue
Ten years later
“JESUS, I can’t believe how much time has passed.” Will hugged Charlie, whose knees wobbled at the embrace. Will withdrew and smiled, the gesture so familiar and infectious. “Man, you’ve still got those streaks in your hair. Love i
t. You look good.”
Charlie blushed. “You too.”
And he wasn’t lying. Will’s hazel eyes, complete with smudged guyliner, shone with love and friendship. He’d lost some weight over the years, but he still rocked that fit, athletic look. The painted-on jeans and tight T-shirt did him nothing but sexual favors. In short, Will looked hot.
“So, uh, thanks for agreeing to take this trip with me,” Will blurted, his cheeks reddening too. “I wasn’t sure if your schedule—”
“Nah, I had a window. Fusion and Chill doesn’t go on tour until next month, when we’re headed to the Big Easy for a special charity gig at the Jazz Playhouse.” Charlie waved aside the puffs of smoke hovering around the train station platforms. “Besides, I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
Will giggled. “Still can’t believe the name of your band. Fusion and Chill. So….”
“Cool?”
Will bit his bottom lip, clearly in an effort not to laugh out loud. “Yeah, sure. Whatever.”
Charlie let the unspoken insult slide since it was made by his best friend. “What about you? Last I heard you were on a photo shoot for Outdoor Photographer Magazine at… where was it? Hong Kong?”
“Cambodia. God, it was stunning. One of the most amazing places I’ve ever seen, where you really get a sense of history and passage of time. If you dare to venture off the beaten path.”
“Which you always do,” Charlie hinted, wanting to ask everything all at once.
But Will waved them to hurry ahead to the train door. They grabbed their luggage and moved inside. It only took Charlie a minute to grasp that Will was guiding them up to the second floor. When they stopped in front of a familiar-looking door, Charlie laughed.
“This can’t be the same fucking train, can it?”
“Probably not.” Will smirked. “But I like to pretend it is.”
They shoved their way into the room suite and studied the interior they’d grown used to by now. At least Charlie had, his memories acting as catalyst to relive their train trip. Typically he did this late at night when he started mulling over what might have been.
