The Resolution

by Raleigh Ruebins

  But instead, I found that he wanted to tease me as he taught me what to do.

  “Like this,” he said softly, pressing a kiss to the inside of my thigh. I tried to relax, to just watch him, but with every move he made, I found myself more impatient. He was dragging his tongue down the inside of my thigh now, his fingers gripping my legs, pushing them apart until he was perched between them. I knew there would be little marks along the inside of my thigh the next day.

  It was something I never thought I’d look down and see. A man… a beautiful man, between my legs. I kept checking in with myself, as if I were testing myself to see if I was still enjoying it, and every single time, it was still true.

  And when he made his way to my cock, gently running his tongue along my tip, I almost wanted to scream.

  “Oh wow,” I whispered, shuddering slightly.

  “Just like that,” he said back, looking up at me. “I always start slow… ease someone into it, instead of just going hard and fast.”

  He ran his tongue in a few small circles across my tip again, and it was so exactly what I wanted and yet nowhere near enough. My hips started to buck involuntarily and he chuckled gently, still just swirling his tongue across.

  “I guess this is the part where you torture a guy,” I said, and he nodded.

  “Pretty much,” he said. “Am I torturing you?”

  I swallowed hard. “You are,” I said. “Give me more.”

  “Beg me for it,” he said quickly.

  “Oh God,” I said, groaning. “Please.”

  “Please what?” he asked. He was off my cock completely now, hovering above again, stroking his fingertips along my thighs.

  “Please… please take me in your mouth.”

  He hummed.

  “I want it so badly,” I said.

  “You want another guy to suck your cock?”

  “I do,” I said, realizing how desperate I sounded.

  He dipped low, dragging his tongue all the way from my balls up to the base of my cock, then following the underside all the way to the tip.

  “Oh Jesus Christ,” I called out, reaching down to grasp him at his shoulders. I heard him laugh again and he finally took the tip of my cock in his mouth, giving it a good suck.

  Shudders rippled through me again. He was finally taking mercy on me, and I could feel every motion of his tongue. I knew that I was not going to last long with his mouth on me--he had given up on teasing now and was moving up and down at a fast pace. My hips began to buck again, like I was fucking into his mouth, and he placed a strong hand on my thigh, pinning me down.

  And God, that feeling of being pinned down somehow turned me on even more than bucking my hips had. I was really doing it now: I was being blown by another man, and I was fairly sure it was the best blow job I had ever gotten. His tongue was wild against me, and the tight ring of his lips was unrelenting.

  All at once I had a realization, and then a fear: I was going to come, sooner rather than later. But I didn’t want this to end. I had started the night wanting a fast, anonymous hookup, but now that he was on top of me, sucking me better than I’d ever had before, all I wanted was to have this again.

  “I need this all the fucking time,” I uttered, knowing that it was probably unwise. But it only seemed to spur him on further. He hummed with pleasure, reaching down to put a warm palm against my balls as he took me as deep as he could in his mouth. And as he worked over me in a quick, tight rhythm I knew I was done for.

  I wanted to come in his mouth. I wanted him specifically--not just any random person. I liked that he was a guy--loved it even--and I wasn’t just thinking of him as a pair of lips with a tongue.

  He was taking care of me. And that somehow felt transcendent.

  “I’m so fucking close--oh God--” I managed to say as he kept his pace, and the room around me started to dissolve into nothing. And then I did it, for the first time, I came for him, letting out the longest moan I think I ever had as I let go inside of his mouth. My whole world was reduced to nothing but him: his lips, his mouth, his tongue, his strong arms holding me down. That beautiful, soft hair and slightly rough stubble. His assertive sweetness.

  I could come for him forever.

  “You’re so good--you’re so good--” I kept repeating, barely feeling like I was even forming the words myself. After a minute he pulled off me, lying down beside me, just watching as I came back down to Earth.

  “Was it a good lesson?” he asked, and I just breathed deep, nodding.

  “The best I’ve ever had,” I said. I glanced down and saw that he was still hard as ever underneath his pants, and realized that I’d been neglecting him completely.

  “Your turn,” I said.

  “You don’t have to,” he said, shaking his head. “I know you already came… you’re probably kind of done with me.”

  I furrowed my brow. “What?” I asked. “Not at all, I… I want to give you what you gave me.”

  He watched me closely. “But… you’re straight,” he said. “You’re not, like, all grossed out by what you just did?”

  “Grossed out? Quite the opposite,” I said. My hands were already at his pants, pulling his zipper down. “I need to use my new skills, after all.”

  He laughed softly, genuine surprise on his face that I wanted to reciprocate the gesture. It almost made me sad, thinking that he expected me to just drop him cold afterward. I wanted to take care of him like he had for me.

  And, yes, I was probably a little too eager. Within moments I’d pulled his pants down, and I was staring at his cock.

  His fucking beautiful cock.

  It was like mine, but also different: smoother, somehow, and slightly paler. He had a bead of precum at his tip just like I had, and when I swirled my fingertip through it, he gripped his hands against my head.

  “I have to let you know, sometimes I… I come too fast,” he said, worry in his voice. “It’s kind of why I’m so good at blowing people… I have to make up for it somehow.”

  “You come too fast?” I asked, dipping low and flicking my tongue across the head of his cock.

  “Fuck,” he hissed, looking down at me, panicked. “Yes. Like, really fast. I’m warning you.”

  “That is so fucking hot,” I said. I ran my tongue from his balls all the way to his tip, just like he’d shown me, and I reveled in his intense reaction. He was so responsive, his whole body tensing up at my touch.

  And then I couldn’t wait any longer. I took him in my mouth, one of my hands gripped around his base. It was so much less strange than I would have imagined--it felt good, actually, to hold him in my mouth. He fit so naturally, and it was something I could picture myself doing all the time.

  He moaned and gripped my head as I worked my mouth over him. And sure enough, after about a minute, he was panicking, bucking his hips just like I’d done.

  “Oh God--you’re gonna make me--I’m so sorry, I’m gonna come--”

  He really hadn’t been kidding. I had barely been sucking him off for a minute before he was losing control, writhing under me, and then there it was, he was coming in my mouth, spilling into me with abandon.

  I should have been shocked, but instead it was just hot.

  I loved that he came quick. That he was so responsive and intense as he came. He gripped against me, not letting go for a long while, as he panted underneath me.

  “I’m so sorry, it was so quick, oh God,” he was muttering.

  I pulled off. “Sorry? Don’t be sorry, that was one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen.”

  “Are you sure?” he said, his eyes blown wide.

  I lay down next to him, stretching out, turning on my side to watch him. The sex was fully over now, and the hookup was done, but I still felt a sense of intimacy rolling through me.

  “I guess you got your wish,” he said softly, gazing up at me. He had a thin sheen of sweat on him, and his skin was gorgeous.

  “Hmm?”

  “Your wish. To hook up w
ith someone on New Year’s.”

  “I think I got all that and more,” I said, pulling him close.

  Just then, we heard the countdown of the crowd downstairs--it was nearly midnight, and we were up here, naked together.

  When the crowd counted down to one, I leaned over, meeting him in a deep kiss.

  “Thank you,” I said, holding him close. “This… meant more to me than you could know.”

  And it was true. Because for the last long while, I hadn’t once thought of Bethany. She hadn’t been in my mind at all, really. It was as if he’d cracked open a side of me that had been long dormant.

  I felt free, again. Like I had a chance.

  “We should probably get back downstairs,” he said. “My manager is pretty lax, but even he probably is wondering where I’ve been.”

  I had been scared of when he would say it. I didn’t want our moment to end.

  “I know you’re right,” I said softly, running one hand through his hair. “But I just have to ask… what’s your name?”

  He smiled. “Daryl,” he said.

  “I’m Keith,” I replied.

  We kissed again--more deeply than I would have expected--before we got up and started to put our clothes back on.

  And right before we left the room, he pulled a small card out of his pocket.

  “You should call me sometime,” he said, winking before he disappeared.

  I looked down at the card.

  Daryl Trenare.

  Wait.

  Wait a moment.

  Trenare was… Marley’s last name.

  “My brother will be bartending at the party!” she had said to me on the phone, but I’d forgotten it completely.

  ...I had just hooked up with my best friend’s brother.

  And you know what? I’d fucking loved it.

  Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed this short story, you can check out my full-length romance novels below:

  A Boyfriend by Christmas

  I hired him to help me get a boyfriend by Christmas, but time was running out.

  Then he said he’d fake it for me.

  Mason: When I searched the Internet looking for confidence tips, I didn’t expect to find a guy who taught confidence for a living. Kade Thompson Confidence Coaching sounded like the worst thing in the world: a brash, tattooed bad boy teaching me how to live my life? Thank you, but no.

  But when I met up with Kade, the night ended with a very steamy bang. He told me that he didn’t do commitment, and would never want a boyfriend of his own… but he offered to come home for Christmas with me and pretend to be mine.

  The thing is… Kade is hot. When we kiss, it’s pretend. When we sleep together, it’s just acting. So why do I suddenly wish it were real?

  Kade: I’ve never helped a man like Mason before. He’s shy, like all my clients, but who in the world keeps an Excel spreadsheet of all their dating failures? But I need Mason--my bank account is running on empty, and I can’t pay my rent.

  When he needed a fake boyfriend, I offered to do it. Given the opportunity to kiss a sexy man, I obviously won’t say no. But when I have to pretend I love Mason, my world is turned upside-down. Why am I enjoying it? And why am I still kissing him when no one else is around?

  A Boyfriend by Christmas is a 67,000-word gay romance about two very different men who seize the day… and each other. It features a cat named Squiggles, snowed-in nights by the fire, and plenty of “just faking it” steamy scenes. It’s the second book set in Mistview Heights, but can be read as a standalone novel.

  Still Yours (Mistview Heights, Book 1)

  He was the first man I kissed--and it ended so quick.

  But ten years later, I’m getting my second chance.

  Adrian: The last time I saw Josh, we had just finished high school. He was whip-smart, funny, and different from anyone I’d ever known. When we kissed, I realized things about myself I’d never known. But then I made a mistake that changed everything, and I didn’t see him for ten years.

  When I inherited my family’s hotel, I was forced to move back home… and find that Josh was working in my own hotel. When I last saw him we were barely older than kids, but now, Josh is every bit a man. He’s sexy and irresistible, and I can’t keep my hands off him.

  One small problem: I’m supposed to be finding a wife, like the wealthy, elite hotel investors expect me to.

  Josh: Seeing Adrian again was like a slap in the face… a fiery-hot, intoxicating one. I shouldn’t like him. I know it’s bad, and I know he’s been living the past ten years as a straight man. But he understands me like nobody else does, and I still remember the taste of his lips, the feel of his hands along my body.

  The last ten years were a whirlwind of partying and drugs, and all I want now is to live a simple, easy life. But Adrian threatens to change that all when he winds up in my bed--and wants me to keep the whole thing secret.

  Adrian has to pick between me and his family legacy, but I can’t wait around forever. Will he be able to save his family’s hotel and still be mine?

  Still Yours is a 85,000-word gay romance about falling in love for the second time. It features a big dysfunctional family, misty fall nights, and steamy scenes in and out of a posh hotel. It’s the first book set in Mistview Heights, but can also be read as a standalone novel.

  Finally Falling (Rose Falls, Book 1)

  I swear, he isn’t my boyfriend. He’s just my best friend.

  At least, he used to be….

  Devin:

  From day one, our friendship never made sense. I was happy in the studio with a canvas and a paintbrush, and Russ was the gorgeous star quarterback that everyone loved… including me. But I could never tell him. He was straight. I should have been happy that I got to see a side of him that nobody else did: Russ was sensitive, thoughtful, and affectionate when it was just the two of us. Our friendship didn’t make sense, but it was ours. That’s all that mattered.

  But after college, Russ left Rose Falls without even saying goodbye. I was ripped apart, and everyone could see it.

  But that was eight years ago. Ancient history. It was all in the past… Until suddenly, it wasn’t.

  Russ:

  I’m done running.

  Eight years ago, I was terrified of losing everything because of feelings toward Devin I couldn’t shake. It shouldn’t have been possible—I was straight! So why couldn’t I keep my eyes off my best friend’s lips, his smooth skin, his body after a shower? I thought that leaving would make the confusion go away. But it never did.

  Now that I’m back home, I feel like myself for the first time in my life. I need to make things right with Devin.

  But I hadn’t anticipated falling into bed with him. And even after one scorching night, can Devin ever forgive me for leaving without a trace? Or have I missed my chance?

  Finally Falling is a 68,000-word gay romance about two best friends falling in love. It features a kitten named Pepper, plenty of crunchy fall leaves, and hot 'n' steamy scenes next to a waterfall. It’s the first book set in the small, quirky town of Rose Falls, but can absolutely be read as a standalone novel.

  My Winter Family (Rose Falls, Book 2)

  He’s a family man. I’m a 32-year-old player.

  Why the hell does he want me?

  Emmett:

  At my friend’s wedding, I had one rule: I would not hook up with any of the wedding guests.

  But then I met Ryan, and I broke that rule in minutes.

  It’s not my fault he was hot, flirty, and practically begged me to ravish him. Our connection was instant. I don’t do relationships, though—and when I found out Ryan was keeping a huge secret from me, I vowed to never see him again.

  But this town is small. Before long, Ryan was visiting the coffee shop I work in every day. Why couldn’t I stop thinking about him, stop remembering how his lips felt on me? And in the chill of winter, being with him and his 6-month-old daughter feels like home. It’s scary. And it’s so no
t me. But I can’t help but feel like I’ve found a family.

  Ryan:

  I moved to the small town of Rose Falls to give my baby girl the life I never had. I had no plans to start dating right away, but during my first few weeks in town, Emmett fell into my lap—in every sense of the phrase.

  Emmett was exciting, adventurous, and hot —he made me feel alive again. But he hates commitment. He hates marriage. And he certainly isn’t going to settle down.

  But my heart soars when I see him get along so well with my baby, cook dinner, and curl up on my couch on snowy December nights. I shouldn’t get my hopes up with Emmett. But I love how he feels wrapped in my arms, and I can’t help but want him to be a part of my family.

  -----

  My Winter Family is a 76,000-word gay romance about opening your heart up to love, even when you thought it had frozen over It features a baby named Anna who loves her spaceship-print onesie, plenty of wintertime snow flurries, and guys who get hot and steamy by the fire… and also in a supply closet. It’s the second book set in the small, quirky town of Rose Falls, but can absolutely be read as a standalone novel.

  Champagne Kiss (Rose Falls, Book 3)

  He was sweet and hot, but totally straight.

  ...Until he kissed me on New Year’s Eve.

  Andy:

  Working at the convenience store isn’t exciting. I’m just here to help out my grandmother, take care of the store, and try to stay out of fights with shoplifters. But when Chase, the hot flower delivery guy, walked through our door, my world turned upside down. He was shy, but deeper than anyone I’d ever known.

  So I took a chance. I invited him to a New Year’s Party. It wasn’t a date—he was straight, after all. But then I ended up with his arms wrapped around me, kissing as the clock struck midnight. But I know I can’t get my hopes up for anything real. It’s hot as fire when we’re together, but life keeps pulling us apart.