First

by K. C. Wells

  There was that word again, the one he never uttered, but nevertheless the word that best fit what they’d done. Tommy stared at his pink cheeks and breathed deeply. Just suck it up and say it.

  “Mike fucked me.”

  Even whispering the words to himself in the quiet little bathroom brought heat to his face—and his groin. For the seventh or eighth time that day, once again his mind took him back to that shower, on his knees, his mouth around Mike’s cock, Mike’s groans of pleasure rebounding off the tiled walls. It had been so… good? Amazing? Hotter ’n’ hell? All of the above? And then, once he’d come, to have Mike hold him under the jets, his hand working Tommy’s dick until he orgasmed, shuddering in Mike’s arms while Mike kissed him through his climax, had been just… bliss. After all that, there was no way he could’ve left without saying something. Tommy had been raised right, and that meant showing appreciation, even for getting laid. It had been as much as he could manage to whisper into Mike’s ear, while the last of his come was washed away by the swirling water, that he’d really, really liked it.

  Mike’s slow smile had been comment enough.

  Just thinking about that shower made his hole clench tight, and he winced. Yeah, everything was still a little… tender. He’d been relieved when Mike hadn’t wanted them to do… “it” again. Much as he’d loved how he felt when they finished, even the thought of taking Mike’s cock inside him again made him tense up.

  Then he’d thought about it. Maybe Mike had stuck to oral for a reason. Maybe Mike had done it because he knew exactly how Tommy was feeling, and he didn’t want to cause him any more discomfort.

  The more time Tommy spent around Mike, the more he liked him.

  The outer door to the apartment banged shut, snapping Tommy to attention.

  “Tommy? You here?”

  “In the bathroom,” Tommy shouted out to Ben, hurriedly collecting himself. He gave the room a quick scan, and satisfied he’d gotten everything, Tommy exited the bathroom and went into the living room, where Ben had flopped down onto the couch and was staring at him with an expectant air. “What?” Tommy kept his features schooled. Like he didn’t know what Ben was after….

  Ben grinned. “So? How was it?”

  Tommy snorted. “As if I’d tell you.”

  Ben pouted, making Tommy snort all the more.

  “An’ you can forget tryin’ to get ’round me with them big puppy dog eyes. I mean it, Ben. I’m not gonna talk ’bout this.”

  “But you did fuck, right? Mike did pop your cherry?”

  “Ben!” Tommy stared back at him, his face and neck hot.

  Ben screwed up his face. “You’re no fun.” Then he gave Tommy a smug glance. “I’m gonna take that as a yes.” He smiled gleefully. “Okay, now we have to find you a nice, hot guy.”

  Everything just… stopped.

  “What d’you mean?” Tommy stood at the end of the couch, hands by his sides, curling into fists.

  Ben frowned. “What do you mean, what do I mean? Now’s the time to find yourself another guy.” He waggled his eyebrows. “You need to get out there an’ sample what’s available.”

  “But why would I do that?” Tommy persisted. “I’m with Mike.”

  Ben stilled. “You’re not ‘with Mike,’” he said, hooking his fingers in the air. “Don’t make it out to be more than it was, okay? It was just sex.”

  Icy fingers picked their way down Tommy’s spine. “An’ what if I want to be with Mike?” he said softly.

  The look of genuine puzzlement on Ben’s face made his heart sink.

  “Why would you wanna do that?” Then he peered intently at Tommy. “An’ never mind what you want—what does Mike want?”

  Tommy couldn’t continue the conversation. “I’m just about done here. I’m gonna go find Bethany an’ say good-bye to her an’ your folks.” Anything rather than try to figure Ben out.

  “Fine,” Ben said with a wave of his hand. “I’ll get my stuff together.”

  “You do that.” Tommy left the living room and went up the stairs into the main house, heading straight for the kitchen. He found Bethany alone in the kitchen, making herself a sandwich, headphones on and be-bopping away to whatever music was playing on her iPhone. He stopped for a second and watched her from the doorway. For all her mature remarks and insights, sometimes he forgot that she was only seventeen.

  Bethany whirled around, arms outstretched, and came to an abrupt halt when she caught sight of Tommy. An involuntary “Eek” escaped her, and she turned off the music. “Warn a person, why don’tcha?” She blushed.

  “Sorry, Bethany.” Tommy came fully into the kitchen. “There any coffee left?”

  Bethany shook her head. “I was about to make some tea. Want some?”

  He nodded, and she filled the kettle and set it on the stove to boil. Tommy sat at the table, his mind still reeling from his talk with Ben.

  “You want half my sandwich?”

  He looked up. “Nah, I’m good.”

  Bethany stood with the counter to her back and leaned, tilting her head to one side. “You okay, Tommy?”

  He opened his mouth to tell her he was fine, but that wasn’t what came out. “I just don’t get your brother,” he blurted out.

  Bethany gave him a sympathetic look. “What’s he done now?”

  Tommy hesitated, and Bethany held up her hands.

  “You know what? If you don’t wanna tell me, that’s fine. But I do know what he’s like.”

  Tommy made up his mind and relayed their conversation. Bethany listened, her hands busy making the tea. When he’d finished, she brought over the two mugs and sat down next to him. Bethany regarded him with a speculative glance.

  “Tommy, Ben is a slut. Surely you must know that by now?”

  He stared at her, mouth open, and she laughed. “Go on, then, tell me I’m wrong.”

  Tommy said nothing, although there was plenty he could say. He knew there were nights during the week when Ben didn’t come home. He knew where Ben spent his Saturday nights. He was just too polite to say so.

  “Tommy, just ignore him, okay? Let him live his life the way he wants to. You don’t have to do likewise.” She studied him intently. “If you want to be with Mike, then you go get him, y’hear?”

  He smiled, the tightness in his chest easing. “Thanks, Beth.” Her support meant a lot. Tommy found it difficult to put into words what he was feeling. Ben’s words had disquieted him, making him doubt himself. That last question about what Mike wanted still rang in his ears. And if his classmates knew what he was thinking in that moment, doubtless they’d laugh at him.

  Is it so wrong to think that last night meant something? That it was important?

  Tommy couldn’t help it. His upbringing, his parents’ teachings, all of it led him to one conclusion: he and Mike had shared something that you didn’t just walk away from. He had no way of knowing if Mike wanted this to go any further, but Tommy wanted to see where it led next.

  It was the least he owed Mike.

  MIKE WALKED into Woofs that Sunday afternoon to be greeted by a round of applause from Kevin and Patrick.

  “We were wondering if you were gonna show up for work tonight, or if you’d be too busy with your boy toy,” Kevin said with a leer.

  “Fuck. Off,” Mike said shortly, taking off his leather jacket and stashing it behind the bar. He’d known it was coming, of course. There was no way Kevin would’ve been able to resist.

  Kevin joined him. “Aw, come on. I’ve been dying for you to get here and spill the beans. Did it all go according to plan? Is Tommy a good fuck?” His voice took on a wheedling tone. “Aw, Mikey, play fair. After all, we helped ya get together with Mr. Farm Boy, didn’t we?”

  Mike sighed. “I am gonna say this just once. Tommy is a good kid, and I am not gonna talk about him behind his back. So I will not be sharing details, ya got that?” He didn’t understand why Kevin’s question put his back up. Mike often shared what went on during his scenes.<
br />
  This felt… different.

  Kevin folded his arms across his wide chest and stared at Mike. “Fair enough. Just tell me one thing. Does he know about the porn?”

  Mike shook his head. “No,” he said emphatically. When Kevin pursed his lips, Mike huffed. “Look, if he knew, there’s no way he’d be able to hide that. Trust me.” Mike imagined Tommy would no sooner watch porn than he would swear in church.

  Kevin nodded. “Then you need to tell him.”

  Mike gaped. “Why the fuck would I do that?”

  There was a moment’s silence before Kevin replied. “Ask yourself why you don’t want him to know.”

  That made him stop and think. He’d been in a few relationships that had crashed and burned once his partners had found out about his other career.

  Except I’m not in a relationship with Tommy, am I?

  Damn, that boy just scrambled his circuits.

  Kevin was looking awfully smug. “Now I got ya thinking. So while you’re doing some reflecting, reflect on this. You’ve been doing porn for a long while now, Mike. Someday, maybe sooner than you think, that boy is gonna see something, hear something, and then that cat is out of its bag. It’s gonna be better if he hears it from you first.”

  Fuck. Much as he didn’t want to think about that, Kevin had a point.

  “Okay,” he said, nodding. “You’re right. I will tell him.” Just not yet.

  Mike liked the way Tommy had looked at him. He had a feeling that just might change once Tommy knew how Mike earned some of his dollars.

  And damn if that thought didn’t make Mike feel sad.

  Chapter Sixteen

  MIKE SWITCHED off the car engine and grabbed his bag from the passenger seat. Instead of getting out of the car, he sat there for a moment, staring up at ManFactory’s exterior. He was still fuming over that little shit’s review of his last scene.

  Not many sites reviewed porn, but there were a few. Most of them just published the stills and the abstract, but a few sites—one in particular—went further. It didn’t matter that most of the industry hated the PornWatch blog. That didn’t stop its one—and only—reviewer from coming out with the most incendiary reviews out there. Oh, they brought in the readers, and they certainly helped bring up his ratings, but the whole blog was kind of the supermarket checkout line tabloid of the gay porn world. That last review had been almost rabid. He’d sounded off about how poor the acting was. The most entertaining thing about it all had been the comments. One guy had actually written, “Er, excuse me? We are talking about porn, right? I don’t know about most of you guys out there, but I’m not watching it for the quality of the acting, and the performers certainly aren’t aiming for Academy awards.”

  Sitting there fuming about it wasn’t going to improve his mood.

  Mike got out of the car, locked it, shouldered his bag, and walked across the parking lot to the main door. It was midday. He’d been ready to leave the house at eight thirty, and Paul’s phone call had caught him halfway out the door. Apparently there’d been a delay and they wanted him later.

  What now? Something else to piss him off, no doubt.

  He pushed open the glass door and walked up to the main desk. Paul glanced up and gave him a nervous smile, blinking rapidly. “Hey, Scott.” He handed over the clipboard. “Tony’s waiting for you in the prep room.”

  That stopped him in his tracks. Tony normally gave him a while to get the paperwork done and talk through the scene before wanting to see him. “Is Troy there too?” Mike knew Troy Rosen of old. Working with him was always a lot of fun, and Mike had been pleased when ManFactory had sent him the e-mail a couple of weeks ago, informing him of their scene together. Troy was a real power bottom and something of a rarity in the industry—his husband was also a porn actor. The couple were often interviewed about their life in the spotlight. Lately they’d been the focus of an online hate campaign, conducted in the full glare of social media. Troy’s husband, Carl, had reached out to their thousands of fans, and they’d received an overwhelming amount of support. They were quickly becoming the most well-known gay couple on the Internet.

  Mike often wondered what their secret was. Both of them working in the industry might’ve had something to do with it, he supposed, but they’d clearly found a way that worked for them. Whatever it was, Mike sure envied them. You only had to look at photos of the couple to see they were in love.

  What I’d give to find someone who looks at me the way they look at each other.

  Paul rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, Scott, there’s been a change. It’s all on the documentation.” The phone rang, cutting short the conversation. Paul took the call, giving Mike an apologetic glance.

  A change? Mike walked through the main area of the studio, skirting the sets where scenes were already being filmed, and into the prep room. Tony was nowhere to be seen. Mike shrugged off his jacket and sat down at the table to read through his notes. One look at the name on the sheet was enough to make him groan out loud.

  “Aww, crap.”

  The sound of someone clearing their throat behind him made him straighten and turn around. Tony Ford stood in the doorway.

  “I take it you’ve read the notes.” His expression was decidedly unhappy. “Look, I know this is short notice, but—”

  Mike didn’t bother trying to hide his disappointment. “Chad Bone? Really?” It was bad enough that in the—almost—four months since he’d arrived at ManFactory, Chad had managed to prove all Mike’s predictions true. Despite his relatively short time at the studio, he’d quickly become one of their most popular actors. It seemed like he was performing in two out of every five scenes that ManFactory put out.

  No, what made matters worse was the reputation Chad was already gaining in the community. He’d bottomed—twice—and made such a song and dance about it that the company now paid him twice the going rate every time he did it. There was no denying the boy was the proverbial goose, but Mike was certain one of these days it was gonna backfire on ManFactory, and that egg sure wouldn’t be made of gold. That one was gonna stink to high heaven.

  Quickly, Mike scanned the scene notes. “Shit.” Chad was topping.

  “I know you’re not happy about working with Chad,” Tony began, “but—”

  “Not happy?” Mike growled. “I hear the stories, okay? You think you’re doing a good job of keeping a lid on it, Tony, but word gets around. The kid’s a homophobic little asshole and a nightmare to work with.” He fixed Tony with a steely gaze. “Go on, tell me I’m wrong.”

  Tony came into the room and pushed the door shut behind him. “I’m sorry, okay? This wasn’t my decision.” He pulled out a chair and sat down, head in his hands.

  “Huh? But you’re the director.”

  Tony let out a sigh that was so heavy, Mike almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

  “Well, that’s as may be, but it seems the management wants to give Chad a lot of exposure. They’ve been giving him scenes with all the more experienced guys.” He shrugged. “It’s their company. What am I supposed to say?”

  Mike knew he had a point. He dropped the clipboard onto the table and shook his head. “Is he here yet?”

  Tony nodded. “He’s in the shower. Make sure you’re good ’n’ prepared, Scott. Kid’s got a helluva dick on him. We’re talking nine inches. And thick.”

  Mike snorted. “Yeah, I read that in his profile. Wasn’t sure if I believed it or not, but….” He gave a halfhearted smile. “After all, they got me down as six feet tall.”

  Tony barked out a laugh. “Oh, they got it right. Chad’s equipment is very… impressive.” He got up from the table. “I’ll let you get ready, okay? And Scott… play nice, all right?”

  Mike opened his eyes wide. “Why, whatever can you mean?” He attempted a look of pure innocence.

  Tony bit his lip. “Yeah, that’s funny. No, I mean it. You’ve got a reputation around here too, y’know. You’re a shoot-from-the-hip kinda guy. It wouldn’t
do to ruffle anyone’s feathers, if you catch my drift.” He went to the door and paused. “You hearing me?”

  Mike nodded. “I hear ya.” He picked up the clipboard. “Just give me a few minutes to read this thoroughly, and then I’ll be in the shower too.” He arched his eyebrows. “Mustn’t keep His Highness waiting.”

  Tony shook his head. “You’re playing with fire, Scott. Just be careful you don’t get burned.” He exited the room, leaving Mike staring at the door.

  This was not going to be fun.

  “OKAY, LET’S take a break before the penetration scene,” Tony called out.

  Chad was off the bed and onto his iPhone in seconds. Mike watched him walk aimlessly around the studio, eyes down, focused on the screen, thumbs flying as he messaged… whoever. His cock pointed the way, bobbing gently. Not that anyone could miss it.

  Damn, he’s big. Tony hadn’t been kidding. Mike had bitten back a smirk when he’d laid eyes for the first time on a naked Chad. That skinny butt was furless after all, as was the rest of him.

  “I think that’s our next evolutionary step,” Seb, the cameraman, said with a grin.

  “Huh?” Mike got up from the bed and walked to the small couch, where he’d left his bag containing the dildo. A last minute bit of stretching wouldn’t go amiss. Mike lubed up the dildo, the biggest one he had with him, and then lay on his back, knees to his chest, and slid it home. He breathed out, letting his muscles relax. It didn’t help that he’d been tense throughout the scene so far. Okay, so his initial mood had been lousy, but Chad had certainly played his part too.

  Mike closed his eyes, trying to inject a calm he didn’t feel.

  “I said, I think that’s our next evolutionary step,” Seb repeated, crouching next to him. “We’re all gonna have this bend in our necks, just for looking at our phones.” He chuckled. “I think Chad is surgically attached to his.”

  Mike fought hard not to growl at the mention of his name. “Can we talk about something else?” he said through gritted teeth.