by Riley Hart
Ain’t that some fucking shit?
“Hey!” Gary says when he reaches me, his breathing labored, likely from adrenaline.
“That motherfucker is looking at you.”
“The guy I danced with?” Gary turns to check out the scene, sounding a little more excited than I’d like to hear from him, and then I have the urge to slam my head into a pole because that shit shouldn’t bother me.
“No. He can look at you all he wants. He has the right to look at you, and touch you or whatever the hell else you want to do with him. I’m talking about Peter.” But honestly, I really don’t like the other guy wanting him either. That’s a bit of information I’ll just keep to myself.
“Oh,” Gary says, a hint of disappointment in his voice.
“Did you want that guy looking at you?” I ask him.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Did Peter say something to you?” Jesus. I sound like a Neanderthal all of a sudden. Like I’m going to go over and defend his honor or something. What the fuck is wrong with me?
“What? No. And even if he did, I can handle it myself.”
I know he can. I think Gary can handle a whole lot more than he gives himself credit for. “I know, but it’s still fun to piss him off. I’m your boyfriend. I have the right.”
His eyes go wide, and he looks like he’s going to swallow his own tongue. I’m not sure why he’s freaking out. We’re both in this fake relationship together. He knows I have to play it off for everyone. “Let’s go.” I grab his hand and head toward Peter and Evan. Peter has his eyes firmly on us, fire blazing as Evan leans against a wall with his arms crossed. What a fucking slimeball. I can’t believe Gary was ever with him.
“What the hell are you doing, Travis?” Gary asks as he stumbles along to keep up with me.
“No fucking clue.” Which is the truth. I’ve hated Peter since this shit started, but right now, I’m just angry and confused and pissed about being angry and confused, so I want to stir up shit. No one ever said I’m the most mature guy around.
But the truth is…I want to stick up for Gary. I want Peter to know what he passed up. I want everyone to know how incredible Gary is, Gary included.
“You were here to try and rattle him, and I don’t like it,” I say the second we step up to Peter and Evan.
“Oh fuck,” Gary groans out beside me.
“No, I’m here because we come here often, and there’s a fundraiser. You might not know it since this is your first, but this is what I do. I’m involved in making people’s lives better, but then…I guess you are too. A little rub here and there does a body good.”
“Motherfucker.” I advance on him just as Gary’s arms wrap around me. My chest heaves in and out. My head feels like it’s going to explode, and, Jesus, what the fuck is wrong with me? I feel a tornado of different emotions, the winds picking up and lifting more and more shit for me to feel.
“Let him go, Gary. If he wants to act like a Neanderthal, let him.” It doesn’t escape my attention that Peter just used the same word to describe me as I used about myself.
“Don’t. I’m serious, Travis. He’s just trying to get a rise out of you.” Then softer, Gary says, “Steven and Raymond are here.”
That’s when all the pieces shift into place. Peter wanted to cause problems. Wanted to piss me off or embarrass Gary because he knew Steven and Raymond would be there tonight. Because he doesn’t like the fact that Gary has moved on, and he wants to hurt Gary by hurting me.
And Gary just saved my ass.
The tension in my body loosens, obviously enough for Gary to feel it because he relaxes his hold on me. Looking Peter right in the eye, I say, “You’re not worthy of him. You were never worthy of Gary. He’s a million times the man you are, and a million times the man I am too. I won’t fuck it up like you did, though.” Because he’s my friend. Because I would never hurt him. Even when this charade is over, I want to keep Gary in my life.
Turning my gaze to Evan, I say, “If I were you, I’d run as far and as fast as I could.”
I grab Gary’s hand again, raise it, and kiss his palm. “Come on, baby. And you were fucking incredible out there tonight.”
At first, when I attempt to tug at him, he doesn’t move. It’s as though his feet are rooted to the floor. His pupils are blown wide; as he takes me in their hue darkens.
There’s something in his eyes I can’t read. Shock is there, for sure. But that’s not all and for a brief moment, my stomach drops out, making me feel empty because I don’t think he’s going to go with me. Did I just fuck up worse than I thought?
Or maybe he thinks I’m overplaying it? That I just took this gig a little too far.
He might be right.
Silently, I plead with him. I don’t realize that’s what I’m doing at first, but it is, and then my gut switches and feels too heavy. Even fake relationships are a whole hell of a lot of work.
“Come on,” I say again and this time, he does. Gary walks with me. People are screaming and yelling for whoever is on stage right now. I find a quiet corner, pull Gary into my arms, and nuzzle his neck, so I can easily say, “That was good, huh? I played the protective boyfriend really well back there.” Only for a minute, it hadn’t felt like an act.
His return hold on me slackens slightly. There’s a short pause before he says, “Yeah…yeah you did.”
“Thank you.” Pulling back, I try to smile, but he doesn’t return it. Hooking a finger under his chin, I tilt his head up so he’s looking at me. “Hey, did I screw up? Are we okay?”
“No. You didn’t screw up, and we’re okay.” But his words aren’t real convincing.
“Are you sure? I know I’m acting a little unhinged, but I’m hoping that was a good thing.” How, I don’t know. “That’s what a boyfriend would do, right?” No, no they wouldn’t. And then because my head is a jumble of too much shit, I add something else to the mix. “You really were awesome out there. You had every dick in the building hard.”
“I don’t know about that…” He tries to look away, but I don’t let him.
“Hey. I saw them, not you. People were going crazy for you, and you sure as shit had my dick hard. But then, you always do, Superass. You turned into Sex-God Gary like you do when we’re fucking. I swear to Christ, every man you’re with after this ends is in for such a fucking treat.” For reasons I don’t want to dissect, those words taste bitter on my tongue, so I decide to have Gary’s taste there instead.
I crush my lips to his, don’t go slow as I push my tongue into his mouth. He melts against me as he always does, and I want to savor the feeling, to ingrain it into my body. Kissing him deeper, I hold the sides of his face in my hands, suck on his tongue and grin against his mouth when he nips at my lip.
“Mmm. You’re a good kisser. I’ve never been a huge fan of kissing. I think I appreciate it more now.”
“Somehow, I doubt that.”
“Don’t do that,” I tell him. “I hate it when you do that. Don’t put yourself down. Fuck anyone and everyone who doesn’t see your worth, and you need to start seeing it yourself.”
I have no fucking clue why I’m getting so mushy all of a sudden.
“Come on. Let’s go make an appearance and talk to Steven and Raymond. Oh, and you know I want one of those lap dances, right?”
Gary nods, but something feels a little off with him. I figure he just needs to work through it the way I would, so I hold his hand again because that feels like a boyfriend thing to do, especially after your man grinds his ass on someone else’s cock. I totally should have thought of that shit.
We put our shoes on, what’s left of our clothes, and a bartender gives us some spare shirts left over from a fundraiser before we end up in the middle of the room. Gary’s in front of me, my arms wrapped around him from behind as we watch the rest of the show. Steven and Raymond join us for part of it, tell us how well it’s doing, how impressed they are with us…what a good team we make together.
<
br /> I let my gaze travel to Gary when they say that. I’ve never played real well with others, so I’m not sure I’ve made a good team with anyone before.
We have a few men tallying up money as the show goes along. When it’s over, Miss Laurie Firebomb takes the stage to announce the winner: “Number two! Gary, get your sexy ass up here!”
He doesn’t move. Everyone starts clapping and cheering. I’m laughing as I give him a little shove and swat the sexy ass Miss Firebomb was just talking about. “Go on. Get up there. You deserve it,” I tell him, and damned if that pride doesn’t fill every inch of me again as I watch Gary go.
25
Gary
We have several more shots before leaving Flirt—victory shots provided by Steven and Raymond and some other guys I didn’t even know.
After I claim my thousand-dollar bar tab prize, everything becomes a bit hazy as my thoughts scramble to make sense of all that happened with Travis. He kept calling me his boyfriend and telling me how special I was. He fucking stood up to Peter for me. But then he said he didn’t care if I’d gone home with the guy I did the lap dance for.
I sure as fuck didn’t expect that. I was kind of hoping it’d make him at least a little bit jealous, but I guess he’d have to feel like I’m more than a fuck buddy for that to happen.
We head back to Metropolis, and soon, the taste of vodka on his tongue and lips mixes with the tequila on mine as Travis pushes me up against the door to his condo.
“God…you were…fucking amazing out there,” he says between kisses. “You made all those other guys, even me, look like fucking amateurs.”
He starts kissing at my throat. I glance around because we’re still in the hall. We need to get into his condo, but I don’t want to stop the feeling his mouth against my flesh stirs.
It all feels so good. Not just this kiss. Tonight. Being with him. And the worst of it, the most unsettling part, is when the thought crosses my mind: Why does it have to be pretend?
Why does he have to be a good guy? Why can’t I keep seeing him as the conceited guy I thought he was when we first started this?
It was so easy then.
But this has gotten so hard because I don’t like that it’s a lie anymore.
His lips return to mine.
I just want a few more. That’s what I keep telling myself. What got me into this mess. I want him. Crave him. I keep thinking that the more we fuck, the less I’ll need it, but the intensity hasn’t waned. It just keeps getting better and better. Because now that he’s someone I like as a person, what was already hot sex has turned into even better sex—something I would never have even thought was possible.
He pulls away and looks into my eyes.
Can’t he see everything that’s going on in my head right now? Can’t he tell how confused I am?
I can’t look at his face without saying, “You’re so beautiful, Travis.”
It’s not a compliment. It’s a realization that nothing I could ever do could make someone like this want a guy like me. Reminds me that Peter couldn’t have settled for me when he could have Evan.
He smirks like he’s proud of himself and kisses me some more. “I don’t fuck ugly,” he says between a kiss.
That’s not what I need to hear right now, and he must sense it because he pulls away again, those hazel eyes shimmering.
He moves his hand to my face, caressing his thumb across my cheek.
“Gary, I don’t know what Peter, or whoever it is, did to fuck you up like this, but I have the hardest time understanding what’s wrong in your head that you can’t see what everyone else sees.”
I know what he’s trying to get at, but I can’t handle a compliment right now. Not from him. Not when I’m so confused about what the hell is even going on between us.
I turn away to avoid those beautiful eyes of his, but he moves his hand to my chin and pulls on it so that I’m forced to look at him again.
“You’re gorgeous, Gary. And I’m not just talking about this hot body that all those guys were drooling over tonight.”
He moves in closer, whispering, “You’ve got everything. Beautiful face. Tight body. That ass…I can’t find any flaws with it.”
I chuckle, and I’m glad he made a joke because I needed it right now.
“But you’re actually a good person, too. I owe you the fucking world for everything you’ve done for me.”
“You helped me out, too.”
“But you didn’t do this just for you. I know that. You never had to say yes to helping with the fundraiser. I don’t like it when people help me because it makes me feel like I owe them something, but you never make me feel like there are conditions. Like you really want to help because you’re a good person. And it’s because you are. Thank you. You’re incredible.”
A powerful sensation sweeps through me as goose bumps prick across my flesh.
“Don’t say that,” I say.
“It’s true, and every time you doubt yourself…or you say something self-deprecating…it fucking…it makes me want to smack you until you get it into your dumb head just how special you really are.”
His lips are on mine in a moment.
Sweet, sensuous kiss.
He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close, pressing me up against the door.
In the back of my mind, I keep replaying the conversation about how he didn’t care if I hooked up with that guy I brought onto the stage, but his words and this kiss…they promise so much. And it’s so easy to get lost in the moment.
He retrieves his keys from his pocket and unlocks the door. We kiss, fondle, and undress each other on the way to the bedroom.
We’ve fucked a lot, but the sensations crawling through me tonight are so much more powerful than ever before.
Soon, we’re naked, my legs pressing into the mattress on either side of his hips.
I feel so safe with him. So comfortable.
Each kiss pulls me further away from all those worries that raced through my mind before as I become engrossed in this experience. In the pleasure. In everything that Travis is.
I kiss down to his chest, offering licks as I crawl down his body, until I’m at his hard cock.
So fucking hard.
I like it when it’s this hard because it makes me feel like he means it when he tells me I’m hot. Or beautiful.
I take it into my mouth, sucking and teasing the tip with my tongue, offering him the pleasure he deserves.
I pull it out for a moment to lick my fingers. I slide two between his cheeks and navigate them into his hole as I open my mouth and take his cock again.
His groan lets me know I’m doing a good job satisfying him.
It’s the only thing that reminds me of how fucked I am.
Fucked for how much I want this. For how much I want him.
I continue pleasuring him until my cock is too hard for me to resist. I pull back, a burning question on my mind. I force it out before I have a moment to second-guess myself: “Do you mind if I top you tonight?”
He tilts his head.
“Never mind.”
“What? No. That’d be great. I’m just surprised you asked.”
“Peter was always weird about it. I’d ask, but he was never all that excited about it.”
He grins. “I’d be happy to take that cock of yours.”
His invitation makes me smile. I fetch a condom and lube from the nightstand before readying myself. After working into him, he smiles before I descend, kissing him as I thrust.
He groans into my mouth so I can hear his pleasure. It makes me even harder.
“Oh, fuck, Gary,” he says, and my name on his lips drives me crazy.
I fuck him as he throws his head back to the pillow, twisting his body as he cries, “Oh, fucking God, Gary!”
I want to keep fucking him like this so he’ll keep saying my name.
As much as we’re enjoying this, I want to take him from behind, so I pull out.
“G
et on your knees,” I instruct.
And his eyes light up with the lamplight coming from his nightstand. They’re excited. Eager.
And so am I.
He gets on his knees, facing the headboard.
Peter was never this adventurous. With Travis, I always feel like he’s game for anything. Totally willing to explore and experiment.
That’s so freeing.
As I work back into him, he tosses his head back, moaning once again, sounding totally uninhibited as he revels in his pleasure.
I wrap my arm around him and caress my fingers through the grooves between his firm muscles—those muscles jacked from all the work we’ve put in for the fundraiser. Leaning forward so that my chest is pressed against his back, I rub my cheek against his. He turns and kisses me. He reaches back and cups the back of my head in his hand.
I feel so close to him. Closer than I’ve ever felt to him before.
These kisses aren’t like the kisses when we were first hooking up. They’re so much more.
This can’t just be in my head. Or can it?
“You feel amazing, Gary.” My name on his lips takes away all my concern.
I just want him right now.
I reach around and grab his hard cock, stroking it, some of the lube from when I was putting on the condom still wet on my hand.
“God, you’re making me so fucking hard. If you keep doing this, I’m gonna fucking blow, Gary…”
I love hearing my name so much, and it keeps me building and climbing. My balls contract. I’m so fucking close.
“You have no idea how fucking amazing you are,” he says before kissing me again, slamming his mouth against mine. It’s not anything like a kiss we’ve shared before. Something more intense that sends the vibrations shaking through me as I erupt in the condom.
I feel his dick pulse, and he curses as he spews on his pillow in front of him.
Our sweat-soaked bodies pressed together, we breathe heavily as we come down from the high. I rub my hand through the sweat on his abs, enjoying the sensation of being so close to him.
We stay here for so long. Too fucking long before he starts to move. I pull out, and he spins around, offering me even more kisses.
