Lilith Duvalier One Night Contract (Romance on the Go)

Evernight Publishing

www.evernightpublishing.com

ISBN: 978-1-77130-329-3

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor: Melissa Hosack

WARNING:

The

unauthorized

reproduction or distribution of this
copyrighted work is illegal. No part of
this book may be used or reproduced
electronically or in print without written
permission, except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names,
characters, and places are fictitious. Any
resemblance to actual events, locales,

organizations, or persons, living or
dead, is entirely coincidental.

ONE NIGHT CONTRACT

Romance on the Go

Lilith Duvalier

“You’re seriously wearing going

to wear that to Jenny’s party?” Jaden
demanded, appearing suddenly out of the
bathroom.

Rye, who had been hunting for

his phone in the living room, jumped at
the suddenness of his roommate’s
accusing tone.

Jaden stormed into the living

room. He was wearing jeans that looked
like they had been painted onto his
slender legs and a shirt that was
somehow not like a normal shirt, but Rye
couldn’t put his finger on why. It hung
strangely over Jaden’s willowy frame.
And there was something else about
Jaden that was odd. Rye squinted at him
for a moment, trying to figure it out.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Dude, are you wearing eye

shadow?” Rye demanded.

Jaden shrugged. “It’s just a little

shimmer. I thought it was cute. Definitely
cuter than that dishrag of a shirt you’re
wearing.” Jaden trailed his eyes
pointedly down Rye’s chest.

“I don’t think Jenny and Michael

will turn me away at the door for
wearing a totally clean t-shirt that
doesn’t even have any holes in it.”

Jaden pursed his lips and tilted

his head, looking at Rye in the same way
he did when he came home and the
dishes were piling out of the sink, or if
he was playing video games.

He extended one finger and

drove it into Rye’s arm, right where the
armpit turned into the shoulder. One of
Jaden’s perfectly manicured fingernails
poked into Rye’s skin. “Except this
one,”

Jaden

told

him,

somehow

managing to make a sneer sound
affectionate. “You do realize it’s alright
to throw clothes away, right? There

aren’t any starving children in Africa
who need the rest of your raggedy t-
shirt?”

“But if I throw this away I have

to buy new clothes,” Rye pointed out.
“Which requires money. And effort. And
possibly even leaving the apartment.”
He shuddered with partially fake
revulsion.

“Horrors,” Jaden huffed. “You

know, I’d buy you clothes if you gave me
money.” He leaned back against the wall
that sort of divided the apartment kitchen
from the living room and crossed his
arms over his chest in the same way a
model in a magazine might. Jaden
somehow always managed to look like
he was waiting for someone to

photograph him.

“Yeah… I’m not letting the guy

wearing goddamn glitter on his face pick
out my clothes,” Rye replied, turning
away from Jaden and going back to
hunting for his phone in the couch.

“Jeans that actually fit and a nice

cardigan on those shoulders?” Jaden
responded. “I could have girls buying
you drinks. Let me supervise your next
hair-cut and I could have them chasing
you down the street.”

Rye ignored him. Much to

Jaden’s annoyance, Rye knew he looked
good. He was tall and built like a house,
with slightly curly hay-blond hair and
big blue eyes. He was every inch the
Iowa farm boy, except for the crazy

liberal streak he’d developed back when
they were in college.

“Or I’d just look too well

dressed to be straight and I’d have guys
chasing me in the street,” he teased.

Jaden pursed his lips.
“Which happens to me plenty

anyway, even with my hair and
insufficient jeans, I’ll have you know.”
Rye’s fingers finally hit plastic and he
pulled his phone out of the couch. There
was a Cheerio stuck to it.

Jaden quirked an eyebrow at

him. “Yes. I’m sure you are just beating
the men off with a stick.”

Rye didn’t usually rise to things

like that, but it had been a long day and
neither of them were stoked for this

party. Their friend Jenny had passed the
bar, and while they were both ready to
do the lawyer boogie for her, parties
with their college friends were starting
to get hard on both of them. Everyone
around them was getting great jobs or
heading out for great grad schools or
getting married.

They were living in a teeny

apartment in a shady neighborhood near
the highway, in no small part because
they had been each other’s only single
friends back when everyone had been
scrambling to get out of one lease and
into another. And Rye was well aware
that he was even starting to fall behind
his best friend.

Jaden had just put in his two

weeks notice at the call center to start a
graphic design job downtown. He was
basically just a Photoshop-Drone, and he
was making so little money that he was
considering applying for food stamps,
but at least it was upward momentum.
Rye was still working at the sporting
goods store for minimum wage and
would already be on food stamps if he
hadn’t gotten a modest inheritance from
his grandfather.

He stuck his tongue out at Jaden.

“The barista at the Java Hut asked me if
you were my boyfriend a couple days
ago. And when I said no, he asked me
out. So hah! I don’t need a cardigan to
have it going on.” Rye flicked the sticky
Cheerio off his phone and jammed it in

his pocket. “He seemed pretty pissed
when I told him I was straight. Ready to
go?”

Jaden didn’t answer right away.

He pulled his bottom lip into his mouth
and chewed it for a moment before
letting it go. “Grady from the Java Hut
asked you out?” he asked.

“Uh… is Grady the guy with the

gaged ears?”

“Yeah… the cute one. With the

nice smile. And the nice arms. That I’ve
kind of got a crush on.”

Rye instantly felt like crap. He

hadn’t known that, and he never would
have said anything to Jaden about it if he
had.

“So… I guess ‘straight-acting’ is

his type then,” Jaden said it like it was
no big thing, but Rye could tell by the
way his eyes hardened a little and the
way he started pretending to clean his
immaculate nails that he was bothered
by the stupid barista’s misguided taste.

Rye

shrugged

helplessly,

searching for words and feeling bad for
accidentally hurting his friend’s feelings.
He thought he knew Jaden pretty well,
but every once in a while he missed
something. For all that they did have in
common, like being into hockey and
liking the same books and TV shows and
just generally being able to have hours
of

conversation

about

absolutely

freaking nothing, sometimes Rye wasn’t
totally sure how to interact with Jaden.

Every once in a while, their experiences
were just a little too different.

“That’s annoying,” Jaden said.

“And he’s not exactly butch himself.”

“Well. Sucks to be him, I guess,”

Rye said.

Jaden didn’t perk up at all. He

was still upset.

Rye checked the time on his

phone and tucked it into his pocket.
“So…we’ve got almost ten minutes
before we have to get to the bus stop. Do
you want to pick out a shirt that won’t
shame me in front of all our friends?”

Jaden took a deep breath and

blew it out with a raspberry before
slapping on an almost sincere smile that
told Rye he’d made some sort of step

toward fixing things. “We’ll see what I
can salvage from your travesty of a
wardrobe.”

****

“Why should I give you this

tequila?” Rye demanded.

“Because I passed the BAR,

bitch!” Jenny howled into Rye’s ear,
stumbling into him as she tried to snatch
the bottle away from him.

“You know, I expect a better

argument from the girl who keeps saying
she’s going to be the youngest Attorney
General ever,” Rye teased. He barely
had to extend his arms to keep the
tequila bottle out of Jenny’s reach.

Jenny’s “Gonna Be a Lawyer”

party was turning out to be a hell of a

good time. It was a fun throwback to
college parties, when they’d all been
young and immature enough to spend an
entire Friday afternoon and evening
drinking, grilling, drinking, playing
music loud enough to make their ears
bleed, and of course, drinking.

“It was a good enough reason for

a party,” Jaden announced, appearing in
the doorway between the kitchen and the
dining room. “So it’s a good enough
reason for a shot.”

Jenny abandoned her illogical

attempt to snatch the tequila out of Rye’s
hands by reaching behind his back.
Instead she planted herself beside Jaden
in an unexpected united front. “Listen to
your roommate, Rye,” she scolded him.

“Have a shot with us!”

Jaden smiled at her and she

leaned into his side companionably.

Rye laughed and surrendered the

tequila. He grabbed three shot glasses
from the rather impressive array that
Jenny had set out on the sideboard.

“Whoa! Hey!” Jenny’s fiancé,

Michael, stumbled into the kitchen, his
huge, former line-backer shoulders
knocking into Jaden, accidently checking
him into the doorframe. A complicated
motion of his wrist somehow kept him
from spilling his drink. “You’re not
doing shots without me are you?”
Michael demanded.

“Not anymore!” Jenny yelled,

grabbing another shot glass. She swatted

Rye’s arm. “Hand me that lime, bitch.”

“Okay,” Jaden cut in, finally

stepping all the way into the kitchen,
committing to the crazy. “No. Hand me
that lime. When you’re so drunk you’re
calling everyone bitch you’re too drunk
to use a knife. You don’t want to be the
first Attorney General with no fingers.”

Jenny shrugged amiably and held

the lime out to Jaden. “Fair enough. Cut
up this lime, bitch.”

Jaden caught Rye’s gaze and

rolled eyes. He set his own drink,
something pink and in a real glass when
everyone else was Red Solo Cup-ing it,
down on the counter. Somehow, he had
even wound up with a little paper drink
umbrella and a maraschino cherry. Jaden

did that sometimes.

It mystified Rye, who had started

writing it off as some sort of gay super
power that his roommate must have
learned from an ancient but fabulous
sensei on a well-decorated mountaintop
somewhere.

Michael laughed and wrapped

his arm around Jenny, gently pulling one
stray curl back from her face and
pressing a kiss to her temple as they both
watched Jaden slice up the lime, grab
the salt, and set up four shots.

It gave Rye a little bit of a pang.

It had been a long time since he’d had
someone to do things like that with. Not
that he never saw any action. He’d had a
one night stand with one of new hires at

the store a couple months ago. He’d also
been set up with Jenny and Michael’s
friend, Natalie, a girl that had gone to
college with all of them. Unlike other
girls, she didn’t mind that he didn’t have
a real job, but she had wanted to do
unspeakable things to him.

He had yet to tell anyone, even

Jaden, he’d gotten a blowjob from a big
bearded guy in the bathroom of a gay
club when they had all accidentally had
a guy’s night at a gay bar.

He was a little embarrassed

about that. He was twenty-nine. Bi-
curiousness was for college. Getting
blown in public restrooms while
completely, utterly wasted was for total
whores.

He didn’t even have the excuse

of trying to solve once and for all if
men’s more intimate knowledge of the
penis really did make them inherently
better at giving head. He’d solved that
eternal question already during his
actual bi-curious phase in college when
more than one party had ended in a
blowjob or hand job from someone
much less female than the girl he’d
actually gone to flirt with.

If Rye was totally honest with

himself, a little bit of sexual adventure
here and there really didn’t make up for
the fact that he hadn’t had a real
girlfriend since Vicky, which had been
years ago.

He really missed little things like

a sweet temple kiss. Already knowing
how someone liked to be touched, and
not just in bed. He missed knowing how
they liked to lean against you during a
movie, where they liked to tuck their
hand when you were walking down the
street at night. The exact way they
smiled before they leaned in to kiss you.

“Rye?” Jaden said. From his

tone it was obvious that he was
repeating himself and annoyed with Rye
about it. “Here.”

Rye grabbed the lime Jaden was

holding out to him and set up his shot.

Jenny

thrust

her

lime

triumphantly into the air. “To me passing
the bar,” she crowed.

“Bitches!” Michael punctuated.

Rye shook his head at how

stupidly cute they were together and took
his shot.

“So!” Michael shouted, clapping

his hands together in a gleeful manner
that never boded well for either Rye or
Jaden. “Mopey boys. It’s a party. Let’s
get you laid!”

Jaden pointedly grabbed his

drink and took a deep gulp from it,
holding the umbrella down with his
index finger to keep it from falling out of
the glass. “Look. I love you guys,” he
said, cupping his hand around Michael’s
bicep in a way that managed to be both
affectionate and condescending. “But
you are really terrible at ‘Let’s get
Jaden laid’.”

“And at ‘Let’s get Rye laid’,”

Rye chimed in.

“It is a miracle that you found

each other,” Jaden continued. “I’m going
to say this one more time, and then I will
start scratching eyes out— Just because
the guy in your cooking-class-book-club-
next-cube-over-from-you-at-the-law-
library-that-day is gay does not mean
that he is my type or that you should give
him a method of contacting me.”

“And just because that girl from

aforesaid boring-almost-married-couple
activities is hot, doesn’t mean she’s my
type,” Rye chimed in.

“Natalie is hot, though,” Michael

pointed out.

“Yeah, super hot,” Jenny agreed.

“Crazy

hot,”

Jaden

added,

adjusting the umbrella in his drink.

Jenny

and

Michael

looked

askance at him.

“What? I’m gay, I’m not blind. I

once saw a guy take a header down like
three flights of stairs in the library
because he was still staring at her chest
when he took the first step.”

Jenny snorted.
Jaden held a hand up. “It’s not

funny. I had to call the paramedics. It
was almost death by breasts. It’s too bad
she scared you so badly,” he said
offhandedly to Rye.

Rye’s stomach tightened in

embarrassment. He’d known there was a
reason he never should have told Jaden

about that.

“Scared you?” Michael laughed.

“How? The only weight to her was hair
and boobs.”

“She wanted to—”
“Jaden, remember who has the

key to the place with all your hair
products in it before you finish that
sentence.” Rye actually waved a finger
at him as he spoke.

Jaden looked at it sourly and

took another gulp of his drink.

“What did she want to do?”

Jenny demanded with wide, drunk,
fascinated eyes.

“I’ll put it like this. She wanted

to put—”

“I swear to god, Jaden…”

“Put some cinnamon in his

vanilla.” He held his hands out in a
placating manner. “That’s all I’m
saying.”

“”What

does

that mean?”

Michael asked in a tone so similar to the
one Jenny had used that it was creepy.

“Jaden, shut your mouth.”
“No. Hey, no, Rye,” Michael

whined, reaching out to Rye’s chest and
running his fingers down it, pawing at
him like a huge puppy. “Hey, come on.
Safe space. You’re among friends.”

“Nosy,

nosy

friends,”

Rye

lamented.

“As my present for passing the

bar, you should tell me,” Jenny declared,
pointing her finger at him commandingly.

“No. It was violating. Like this

conversation. New topic.”

Michael perked up suddenly.

“We set Damian up with Natalie, too!”
He thrust his hand up into a superhero
pose. “To the living room!”
Jenny grabbed her fiancé’s hand and they
hurtled unsteadily toward the living
room, giggling.

Rye sidled closer to Jaden. “If

Damian tells them, I am going to beat
you up like it’s the first day of Junior
High,” he threatened.

“Hate crime, much?” Jaden

replied, smirking.

“It’s actually a domestic. Cause

we live together. You get off easier for
that.”

“You get in less trouble for

hurting someone you know? That’s
depressing as fuck. And don’t worry,
Damian won’t tell them about Natalie’s
little kink. He’s sober cabbing. And he
actually let her do it to him. He has more
shame.”
“Is that why he doesn’t drink ginger ale
anymore?” Rye laughed, leaning against
the counter next to Jaden.

“Or order ginger chicken or eat

ginger snaps? Yeah. You want a good
time, you sneak Damian a ginger snap.”
Jaden chuckled. “Poor bastard.”

“She was hot, though.”
“Concussion causing hot,” Jaden

agreed. He lifted his glass and drained
it.

Rye realized, including the shots,

Jaden’s drinks since they’d gotten here
in the afternoon had hit double digits.
“Dude, you alright?”

“Sure? Why?”
“You just dropped that whole

glass in like fifteen minutes.”

Jaden looked at his empty glass,

tucked the umbrella behind his ear and
popped the cherry in his mouth. “I guess
I did.”

“So… you okay? You only drink

like this when you’re really upset about
something.”

“I don’t think I’m drunk enough

to have this conversation.” Jaden gave a
little shake of his head that made his
ridiculously sculpted dishwater blond

bangs waver like wheat in a field.

Rye patted his hand against

Jaden’s back. “Well, give it a couple
minutes.”

“Fine. Tell me the truth. Does

this party make you feel like a total
loser?”

Rye shrugged. “Tanya threw up

over the side of the porch like a
freshman at her first kegger…so we
could be doing worse, I guess.”

Jaden opened his mouth like he

was going to say something, but just
chewed thoughtfully at his cherry stem.

“And you just got the fancy job,

so there’s that,” Rye said.

Jaden just nodded. “I suppose.

But I do feel really, truly, tremendously,

egregiously single here amongst the
couples.”

“I thought you liked being single.

You let the stripper from Tanya’s
bachelorette party fuck you across our
kitchen table.” The tequila must have
sunk in. Rye tried not to bring “The
Incident” up anymore after it had been
made clear Jaden could not be made to
feel the shame and contrition that kitchen
sex should cause, especially when it was
committed in the first couple weeks of
moving in together.

“Mmm,” Jaden replied. “Yeah.

That was fun. Until he never called me.”

Rye watched as Jaden grabbed

the tequila bottle off the counter again.
He set his fingertips gently to the crook

of Jaden’s elbow.

Jaden set the bottle back down.

“I’m starting to feel like no one’s willing
t o put up with the effeminate guy
anymore, let alone date one.”

“I put up with you all the time,”

Rye said.

Jaden coughed and pretended to

do some sort of makeup readjustment
thing at the corner of his eye. He leaned
back against Rye’s hand. “I wonder if
it’s time to grow up out of the whole
being fabulous thing.” He huffed, then
stood up. “Ugh. You’re right. I had too
much to drink. Now I’m mopey. We
should be celebrating. Jenny’s a happy
drunken lawyer. Yay.”

His

‘yay’

was

flat

and

emotionless. Rye reached out and put a
hand on Jaden’s stomach to stop him
from getting up. “I know what you mean,
though,” Rye told him, not wanting to
just blow him off entirely. “Being lonely
sucks.”

“Everyone but us is all grown up

and settled and shit. I mean...what are
we?”

“Better looking,” Rye supplied

matter-of-factly.

Jaden finally smiled. His little

laugh was just a touch too loud in the
pause between songs before the bass of
one of Michael’s crappy techno songs
started pounding again. He ducked close
and hugged Rye, then stepped back
quickly as though he hadn’t meant to.

Rye wiped his forehead. The

little

tequila

glow

had

turned

uncomfortable and he felt warm and
over-boozed.

“All

right.

You’re

bumming me out with this. Carver
promised us s’mores. You can’t be
bummed out in the vicinity of s’mores.
Come on.”

****

There had been s’mores. And

they had been awesome. There had also
been more tequila. And that had seemed
awesome at the time. Rye had struck up
a conversation with one of Jenny’s
incredibly hot newly minted lawyer
friends. She’d been friendly and
charmed by him and crossing into handsy

until she found out he worked retail.
Apparently that was a big turn off for a
girl with a law degree. She’d found an
excuse to go talk to someone else.

Rye was pretty sure he was

sobering up, but he was still grateful that
they’d decided to bus back and forth.

“You guys sure you’re okay to

get home?” Michael asked.

“Yeah. The sixteen will take us

straight home. We’ll only end up
walking like four blocks,” Jaden said.
“We’ll be fine.”

Rye finished tying his shoes and

hauled himself up off the floor so that he
was eye level with everyone else.

Michael’s arms were wrapped

around Jenny, who had her face buried

in his neck and was singing something
that sounded slightly like “I’m gonna be
a law-yer, I’m gonna be a law-yer.”
over and over. Michael’s hand was
moving down her back and sneaking
back up her shirt in a way that made
urgent bells go off in Rye’s mind. It was
imperative that he and Jaden leave as
soon as possible. Thank God they hadn’t
planned to get drunk and pass out in
Jenny and Michael’s spare room.

“Later, guys,” Rye said.
Michael reached out and high

fived him. Which was bad enough. Then
there was the wink, and Rye started
scooting Jaden out the door before Jenny
and Michael started going at it right
there in the living room.

“Michael is getting, like, super

laid tonight,” Rye commented.

“Yeah, didn’t you hear? Jenny

passed

the

bar,”

Jaden

replied,

guffawing harshly at his own joke.

Rye laughed, despite the fact that

it wasn’t actually funny, and threw his
arm over Jaden.

And that’s when the bus zipped

past them. They threw themselves away
from each other and bolted, just barely
managing to catch up.

****

Jaden went to wash his face,

closing the bathroom door behind him so
he couldn’t hear Rye bumbling around
and Rye couldn’t see him staring at
himself in the mirror.

The whole thing with Grady

asking Rye out had hit him way too hard.
It wasn’t like he was madly in love with
the guy. It had just been some honest
flirting and a crush. But now it was the
straw that was breaking the pretty,
femmy, obvious camel’s back.

Jaden pulled out his makeup

remover from the medicine cabinet and a
cotton ball from his well organized little
shelves under the sink. He tried to ignore
Rye’s piles of crap on the other side. He
poured a little makeup remover onto a
cotton ball and started to gently remove
his eye makeup.

didn’t

want

overdramatic or anything, but he was
pretty sure he was going to die alone.

The Grady thing may have been a stupid
crush. He probably wouldn’t have even
asked him out in the end, but it still hurt
to know that if he had asked Grady out,
he would have been rejected for exactly
the same reason the last four guys had
rejected him.

Because they weren’t into femmy

guys. They didn’t want to date anyone
who was “too gay”. They wanted a “real
man”. And this desire seemed to have
nothing to do with the niche that they
themselves occupied on the butch to
girly scale.

Cory, the last guy to turn Jaden

down, had been wearing more makeup
than Jaden was currently removing from
his face. Not only had he shot Jaden

down, he had gone on to ask about big,
handsome Rye. The cute nerdy guy from
his book club had also been looking for
a manlier man. Just like the hot musician
on his morning bus had been, and the
hairstylist from his brief attempt at
trolling for dates at fishinthesea.com.
And before those guys there had been
Max from a different coffee shop, who
had seemed to want someone just as
butch as he was.

It was like high school all over

again sometimes, but instead of the big
bully jocks being the reason he had to
hide his light under a bushel, now it was
his fellow urban gays who were telling
him to clean up, stop moving your hands,
lower your voice, and don’t embarrass

us anymore.

He wished someone had warned

him back in college that the real world
was just high school but earlier in the
morning.

And it was getting harder and

harder

(despite

his

mother’s

encouragement) to pretend that being
who he wanted to be and waiting for
someone to love him for him wasn’t just
repeating the same action over and over
again and expecting different results: the
textbook definition of insanity.

There was a light tap at the door.
“Hey, are you almost done, man?

I have to pee like a racehorse!” Rye
called.

“Just a second!” Jaden called

back. He heard Rye clomping away. He
washed his face quickly and patted it
dry. He grabbed his moisturizer off the
counter and made sure the door opened
wide enough for the hinges to creak so
Rye would know he was out of the
bathroom. Then he staggered into his
room to continue to mope about his
general undesirability.

He was just starting to get into

his moping groove when there was
another light knock at his bedroom door.
Jaden huffed. For a guy who was built to
knock in doors, Rye was weirdly shy
about knocking on doors. “Come in!”

Rye stood in the doorway in the

loose-fitting jersey shorts he slept in and
an even rattier t-shirt than the one he’d

attempted to wear to the party. He held
up a water glass. “Brought you this.”

“Thank you,” Jaden replied. He

was weirdly touched by Rye’s silly
gesture.

Rye shrugged and walked over to

Jaden’s bed. Unlike Rye’s room you
could actually walk across the floor of
Jaden’s room without fear of injury. Or
tetanus.

Rye handed Jaden the glass and

slid over until he was sitting across from
him, one leg folded under him and one
leg hanging off the edge of the bed.

Jaden sucked down the cool

water. He’d needed it more than he’d
thought he did. He had stopped drinking
about an hour earlier than Rye, but his

mouth was sticky with a sour after-
alcohol taste and his throat was dry.

“So…” Rye started. “I feel like I

pissed you off earlier today.”

“You are really touchy feely for

a straight guy.” Jaden sighed. “Or mostly
straight with slight deviations, anyway.”

Rye rolled his eyes at him. “I

seem to recall a party sophomore year
where you got trashed and went most of
the way to third base with Sadie
Tribideau.”

Jaden laughed and playfully

pushed at Rye’s knee. “Yeah. Well.
College is not the real world.”

“I’ve noticed.” Rye sighed. He

took the glass back from Jaden and drank
deeply from it. “Still. Sorry about the

Grady thing. I wouldn’t have said
anything if I’d known you’d get upset.”

Jaden didn’t answer. Rye handed

him the water, and he sipped at it before
handing it back. Rye tipped back the last
of it and then pushed himself up onto his
knees and moved forward to set the
water glass on Jaden’s nightstand. There
was a slight pause where they both
realized that he was leaning almost
entirely over Jaden’s body, hanging over
him by just a couple inches in thin
pajamas. He cleared his throat and
settled back into his previous position
before

chuckling

and

flopping

backwards down onto the bed.

“It was fun to see everyone being

drunk and stupid again,” he said.

“Maybe we should throw a party some
time.”

“And let everyone get drunk in

our cramped apartment?” Jaden asked.

Rye didn’t answer. He just

smacked Jaden on the knee with the back
of his hand.

Jaden scooted a little ways away

from his headboard, second guessed
himself for a second, but then dropped
down onto this back as well. Not next to
Rye, a totally respectable distance away,
but still closer than they would have
ever been if they were sober.

Jaden felt the mattress dip beside

him. He was still feeling somewhat
drunk, but mostly he felt warm and
sluggish. It took him a moment to realize

that the mattress was moving because
Rye was scooting closer. Crossing the
line between oddly close and easily-
excused-by-tequila close, then moving
all

the

way

there-could-be-

consequences close.

“I don’t think you’re effeminate,”

Rye said quietly, patting Jaden’s arm.

“You don’t have to lie to me,”

Jaden said, more snidely than he had
meant to. “It’s not like I’m ashamed. I
wear makeup. I like nice clothes. I
genuinely love show tunes and I’m not
going to pretend to “head bang” to
mediocre guitarists who can barely sing
or listen to “bitches and hos” crap from
misogynist jerks who can’t even play an
instrument.”

Rye snorted. “You’re awesome.

And somebody that’s not a jerk will see
that.” He rolled onto his side and
propped his head up on his elbow.

Now they were definitely too

close.

“I’m in the same boat if it helps,”

he said, sticking out his bright pink
tongue in an expression of juvenile
distaste. “This beautiful girl was
definitely vibing on me at the party until
she found out I was lugging skis and rock
climbing shoes around for minimum
wage. She was gone so fast it was like
she evaporated. I swear there was a clap
from the air knocking back together. Like
with thunder.”

“Yeah, but low-class is gone in a

couple paychecks. My mom has pictures
of me fucking garlanded in all the Pretty
Pretty Princess Jewelry with my sisters
when I was three.”

Rye snorted again and dropped

his face down to cover the laugh. This
time they were so close that his face
pressed down into Jaden’s bare arm.

Rye’s weight had caused Jaden

to slowly drift toward him as he slid
down into the dip that Rye’s body was
creating in his mattress. They were lying
side by side now. Rye smelled good.
Like boy and soap and wood smoke and
just a little like the surf texture sculpting
cream he had convinced Rye to start
using on his hair a couple months ago.

And he was warm.

And he was here.
“Still stings,” Rye said. “To get

totally written off for something out of
your control? I get why you’ve been
pissed all night.”

Jaden was just sober enough to

realize this was starting to feel like the
beginnings of a terrible decision. He
tried to scoot away to a more
appropriate distance, but Rye’s stupid
six-four frame was too heavy, and he
just slid a little closer. “Who cares? She
was just some stupid law school snob.
Do you have any idea what the
unemployment rate for lawyers is right
now? It’s crazy. She’s going to be
working minimum wage too once her
parents get sick of supporting her. Fuck

her.”

“Mmmh,”

Rye

replied.

wriggled like he was trying to burrow
down into Jaden’s bed and get more
comfortable. The movement closed the
all-to-small gap between them.

Jaden felt his arm press into

Rye’s firm chest. His hip pressed to
Rye’s groin, his thigh against Rye’s
thigh. He swallowed hard. It had been a
very long time since he’d lain in his bed
with a man like this. Months. Almost a
year. Longer if you didn’t include the
stripper from Tanya’s bachelorette
party. And that didn’t really count. It had
just been a quick, emotionless fuck. That
guy hadn’t even slept over.

Jaden shifted a little, feeling the

way it pressed his arm into the firmness
of Rye. The cotton of Rye’s worn-out
sleeping shirt was so thin Jaden could
feel the muscles underneath. He was
such a broad guy because he was strong.
He hauled a lot of boxes at the store full
of heavy sporting goods equipment that
Jaden wouldn’t even be able to name. If
he leaned in just a little he could feel the
little divide between Rye’s pecs. He
could see the way the light gleamed
across Rye’s arm, right where his t-shirt
sleeve stopped at the crest of his bicep.

Jaden suddenly felt his own

fingertips brush over that swell of
muscle. He hadn’t even noticed his arm
rising up. He smoothed his hand over
Rye’s arm before he realized what he

was doing and snatched his hand back
like Rye’s skin had burned him.

Rye didn’t react. He just kept

staring dazedly at the headboard.

Jaden realized with something

like horror that he was getting hard.
He’d thought he’d become immune to
Rye’s good looks. Well, maybe not
entirely

immune,

but

certainly

desensitized. It should be hard to find
someone attractive after you’d seen them
throw up on themselves in the shower
due to unexpected food poisoning. But
there was no denying that Rye was a
natural beauty.

Naturally

straight,

Jaden

reminded himself. But somewhere out of
his drunken sleepy mind a fact bubbled

up. Rye had been somewhat less than
straight for a promising spat of
sophomore year, back when Jaden had
actually had a little bit of a crush on him.

But things changed. Like the fact

that they were friends and roommates
now.

Like the way Jaden was setting

his hand on Rye’s oblique fingertips
first, then palm.

Rye blew a raspberry. “We

really should have made more friends
out of college.” He sighed and let his
arm fall, then his head after it.

They were suddenly nearly face

to face, lying together on Jaden’s bed.

And that’s when Jaden tipped his

head up and kissed him.

His hand trembled at Rye’s side

as their lips touched and he knotted his
fingers into Rye’s shirt to keep himself
from running his hands over his body.

Oh…. This was a bad idea. This

was a terrible idea. He wasn’t even that
drunk, he was just that starved for
affection.

Rye tipped his face up into the

kiss. Sweetly. Chastely. Then he
chuckled and pushed forward again. His
mouth fell open against Jaden’s, and
Jaden swallowed an exclamation as he
let his lips part.

Rye tasted like tequila. Just a

little too much like tequila, but it was
just kissing. They could do this a little
longer and still give each other a manly

pat on the back and go to bed. And Jaden
hadn’t done this in so long that it was
impossible to do the responsible thing.
He had to let Rye keep kissing him until
his friend eventually realized he had to
straighten out and go to his own bed.

Jaden slipped his tongue into his

Rye’s margarita flavored mouth, thrilling
when Rye touched his own tongue to
Jaden’s, gently, like he was waving
hello.

Rye was all lips and tongue and

hands soft at Jaden’s shoulders. They
slowly crept up to Jaden’s collarbone
and then his neck, fingertips light and
relaxed.

Jaden clenched his fingers tighter

and tighter into Rye’s t-shirt to keep his

hands from wandering over the other
man’s body. He was completely hard
now and fighting not to rock forward
into Rye’s body and break the spell.

Rye’s hands slid down from his

collarbone back to his shoulder and
Jaden

felt

the

mattress

shifting

underneath him. He didn’t realize what
was happening until he felt his ass sink
down into the mattress and felt Rye pull
away from the kiss.

Rye was straddling him, looking

at him with a fond and terribly amused
smile. He arched down and kissed
Jaden’s forehead, then his cheek, then
pulled back, still smiling.

Jaden gulped.
Rye’s face made it completely

clear that they were just playing. This
was going to be some silly drunken
interlude that they might tease each other
about, but there would be a line, and it
wouldn’t be crossed.

Jaden caught his breath. That

was okay. They were both having a
rough time right now. If they just made
out for a little while, just because they
needed some relief and affection, that
was alright. He needed that, too.

Rye leaned down again and

kissed him dirty this time, thrusting his
tongue into Jaden’s mouth.

Jaden’s fingers dug into Rye’s

shoulders, and Rye crushed their mouths
even harder together. A moan of pure,
wordless want bubbled out of him.

Rye echoed it with an amused

little noise, then dropped down onto
him, pressing his large, broad, muscular
body against Jaden’s smaller, slimmer
and –as it turned out– much more active
one.

He felt Rye’s hips press his own

achingly hard cock down against his
body and heard Rye’s little exclamation
of surprise when he felt the hard line of
flesh under the denim.

“Oh,”

Rye

whispered.

paused, then pushed back down with a
light experimental movement, like he
was making sure he really felt what he
thought he had felt.

Jaden let out a thoroughly

undignified whine at the pressure.

“You’re hard,” Rye told him

stupidly.

“Yeah…well…you’re

drunk,”

Jaden replied.

Rye’s chest rose and fell, and all

Jaden could do was watch it. The way
the cotton hugged the distinct muscles.

Then Rye shrugged. “Good

point.” He laid his body down over
Jaden’s, dug his arm under Jaden’s back
and rocked against him again, holding
Jaden’s hips tight to his own.

Jaden pushed up into him, unable

to stop himself, then his mind caught up
to his hormones. He shoved Rye away.
“Stop it. Stop!” he growled.

Rye rocked back up onto his

haunches. “What’s wrong?”

“We can’t do this,” Jaden huffed.

“We are drunk and lonely.”

“Sounds like a good reason to

me,” Rye shrugged.

“And you are straight and we are

going to have to share a living room in
the morning. This is just stupid. Get off
me.”

Rye nodded and moved off of

Jaden’s body. He swept Jaden’s hair
back off his forehead. “Tell you what.
Anything that happens in this bed tonight
is totally wiped from the record the
second either of us gets out of it.” He
brushes Jaden’s hair back again and
grinned. “It’s not like I’ve never done
this before, and I know it’s been a while
for you.”

He scooped his hand under

Jaden’s head, cradling it, and Jaden’s
eyes snapped shut as Rye slid his thumb
over his cheekbone.

“Tonight won’t exist,” Rye said.

His voice was honeyed and persuasive.
“We won’t tell anyone. We won’t talk
about it. It won’t happen again. Just this
once?”

Jaden looked up at him. His

stupid shaggy hair and his stupid open
face.

And his stupid broad shoulders.

And his stupid muscular chest. And his
stupid rounded arms. He lay there,
looking at his friend and listening to the
alarm bells ringing in his mind.

But he nodded.

Rye smiled, set his hands to the

inside of Jaden’s thighs, and pulled
gently.

Jaden watched his legs being

spread apart, and felt the way his
heartbeat started to kick up faster and
faster with every inch of bedspread that
appeared in the divide between his
thighs.

Rye shuffled closer to him,

climbed over one knee, and settled
between Jaden’s now spread legs. He
slipped his fingers underneath Jaden’s
knees and pulled them up.

Jaden watched as Rye edged

forward and dropped his head back
when he felt Rye’s groin touch his ass
and felt the hardness there under the

jeans. He breathed out, closed his eyes,
and silenced the warning that his mind
was still insisting on ringing out by
concentrating on the way Rye touched
him.

Jaden

realized,

Rye’s

fingertips glided from the crook behind
his knees, over his thighs, over his hips,
under his shirt, over the muscles of his
stomach, and all the way up to his
shoulders that he was being surprisingly
careful.

It wasn’t like Jaden had ever

seen Rye with a girl, but he’d always
imagined him as the type of big oaf that
would throw a girl over the edge of a
table or a chair or a couch or something
and fuck her until she screamed. But he

was holding Jaden’s face in his hands
and kissing him like they had all the time
in the world, despite their one night
contract. He was peeling him out of his
clothes like he was an exotic and
expensive fruit that might bruise if he
wasn’t handled carefully.

Jaden laughed at that. It wasn’t

the most flattering analogy.

Rye echoed his laugh, even

though he didn’t know the cause of it,
and started kissing Jaden’s neck. He
kissed right under his jaw, above
Jaden’s pulse point, where Rye must be
able

feel

the

way

was

jackhammering.

Jaden’s

breathing

became

heavier and heavier. Rye’s knee came up

between his legs and pushed hard
against him. Jaden moaned and rolled
his cock down into the pressure,
reveling in it. No one had touched him
like this in so long. Maybe Rye had a
point about both of them just needing
this. A little touch.

Jaden rolled his head to the side

to give Rye better access to his neck and
gasped when Rye’s teeth nipped
carefully at his tendon.

Rye groaned in response and one

of his huge hands wrapped around
Jaden’s hip, the fingers digging hard into
his ass. He thrust Jaden down into the
mattress and pushed his knee more
firmly against Jaden’s crotch as he
sucked at his pulse point.

Jaden was helpless to do

anything but rub against Rye’s knee
while Rye held him down and kept
kissing him until he was flushed and
panting. He scrabbled at Rye’s back,
trying to pull his shirt off him. He was
too turned on to coordinate the
movement into a successful attempt.

Jaden felt a sudden rush of cool

air as Rye pulled away and a harsh tug
as Rye whipped Jaden’s shirt over his
head.

“You look good like this,” Rye

whispered, tapping his fingertips against
Jaden’s cheek. “Flushed. Turned on.
Hot.” Rye’s thumb brushed over Jaden’s
lower lip. “Gonna open your eyes and
tell me how I look?”

“I can’t,” Jaden responded

instantly.

Rye laughed again and set his

hands to Jaden’s now bare stomach.

The bed shifted underneath them

again and the slight red that Jaden could
see, the insides of his eyelids made
visible

because

was

directly

underneath his bedside lamp, went dark.

“There,”

Rye

announced.

“Better?”

Jaden opened his eyes. All he

could make out was the general shape of
Rye above him, silhouetted against the
streetlight pouring in from the windows.

This didn’t seem like nearly as

bad an idea in the dark. “Yeah, better,”
he replied. He threaded his hands into

Rye’s hair and pulled him back into the
kiss.

Rye was as hard as Jaden was

now and, God, it felt good. Jaden had
forgotten just how much he loved the
feeling of a guy hard in his jeans.

Rye’s lips traced down over his

jawline, down his neck, and over his
chest, settling over a nipple, where he
sucked, hard and sudden.

Jaden jolted up against his body

with a strangled cry.

“You really like that, huh?” Rye

replied, his voice husky and rough. He
dropped his face down again, circling
Jaden’s nipple with his tongue in a
slow– way too slow– circle before
suddenly sucking again.

Jaden bucked up into him again

and suddenly both of Rye’s hands were
at his waist, holding him down while he
sucked at Jaden’s nipple with a totally
random intensity, hard, then soft, then
softer, then a little too hard. He used his
teeth on the quickly hardening bud, then
lapped at it gently while Jaden caught
his breath, then sucked suddenly again.
He pulled back with a wet smacking
noise and dropped to Jaden’s other
nipple, starting teeth first.

This was one of the benefits of

someone who knew you over a random
one night stand. Jaden had confessed to
Rye before that having his nipples
abused like this really turned him on and
had been surprised when Rye said it did

absolutely nothing for him.

But this was like torture. He had

one hand knotted into Rye’s hair, holding
on for dear life while Rye sucked and bit
and licked his ever-more-sensitive skin,
getting him so riled up that he couldn’t
stop the insistent motion of his hips into
up into the brick wall strength of Rye’s
hands. He could feel the way his cock
was starting to smear wetly against the
cotton of his underwear, while Rye’s
hard cock rubbed against his ass. But he
couldn’t reach Rye in a way that let him
get any friction for himself. He was just
squirming pointlessly while he got more
and more desperate for some kind of
attention to his cock. Anything at all
would be a relief compared to this.

He pulled one hand out of Rye’s

hair and shoved it between their bodies,
pulling the button on his jeans open so
hard he was surprised it didn’t rip right
off. He unzipped his fly in one harsh
motion and groaned in relief when his
cock sprung free.

“Good idea,” Rye said. He

released Jaden’s hips and moved away
again to tug Jaden out of his jeans.

Jaden sat up, grabbed the button

at Rye’s waist, and twisted it open. He
fumbled with the zipper for a second
before slipping his hand right into the fly
of Rye’s boxers and fishing out his cock.

‘Thick’ was the only word that

came to mind and he swirled his palm
quickly over the precome already spread

over the head of Rye’s cock and stroked
down hard and fast. He’d see Rye naked,
but never hard. The unexpected way
Rye’s cock filled his grip made him
buck up into his friend’s body again.

“Ahh…yeah…”

Rye

panted

before continuing. “Off, off, off.” He
stuck his fingers under the waistband of
Jaden’s boxers and yanked them down
hard and fast, shimmying out of his own
as he pulled Jaden’s down over his
ankles.

He moved back down against

Jaden’s body again, and Jaden dropped
his cock so he could feel the way their
skin dragged together. He moaned and
reached out for the nightstand, trying to
scrabble for the lube inside. The angle

was completely wrong; he couldn’t
reach it. “Rye? Oh my God, Rye?”

“Mmmm?” Rye replied, sucking

hard at his neck again as their cocks slid
against each other.

“Get the lube out of my

nightstand.”

Rye ‘mmmhd’ again but didn’t

move for the nightstand. He moved up
Jaden’s body just a little, kissed his ear,
then traced his tongue around it.

“Do you want me to fuck you,

Jaden?” he asked.

His voice was pure sex, and

Jaden almost cried out “God, yes!”
immediately, but thankfully he had some
of his wits about him. They could be
drunk and horny and agree that tonight

existed in some sort of safe blank space
that couldn’t screw up their friendship,
but that was bullshit. They were going to
remember this in the morning, and some
kissing could be written off, some
grinding could be negotiated around, but
if Jaden let Rye– who would probably
be mostly straight again in the morning–
fuck him, there would be consequences.

“How drunk are you?” Jaden

demanded.

“Not whiskey-dick drunk, man.”

Rye rubbed his cock against him as
evidence. “Sober enough to fuck you.
Sober enough to make you scream.”

That almost melted Jaden’s

resolve, but he tapped some previously
unknown well of strength. “No…we

shouldn’t,” he managed. He deserved
some sort of fucking sainthood for
forcing those words out with Rye still
running his big thick cock back and forth
against his body while he sucked on his
neck, but he had said it. Jaden sucked in
another steadying breath and continued,
“But it’ll make this better. Get it, ge–oh
God!”

Rye had grabbed Jaden’s calves

and pulled his legs up and around his
back, shoving their cocks even more
firmly together and making stars burst
behind Jaden’s eyes.

“Get the lube, Rye. Get the

lube,” he whined. He whined again
when the friction stopped and Rye
hunted for the lube in the dark.

After a few moments Rye let out

a frustrated grunt, thrust his arms under
Jaden, and hauled him up. “You find it. I
don’t know what I’m looking for.”

Jaden

picked

the

small

cylindrical tube out of his drawer easily,
snapped the cap open and dumped the
lube into his palm. He reached between
their bodies and slicked Rye’s cock
quickly. Then he did his own. He shoved
his hips forward and took both of them
in his grip. His hand barely fit around
their cocks.

“Oh God yeah,” Rye grit out.

“Just like that, baby, just like that.”

Jaden could feel himself getting

close to the edge already and it would
be too embarrassing to pop this fast. He

loosened his grip a little bit and sucked
in deep breaths, panting them back out
against Rye’s face as the larger man
hauled him up a little higher and kissed
him passionately.

Jaden slowed his stroking a little

bit more, teasing Rye and giving himself
a chance to walk back from the ledge a
little bit more. It had been so long that he
was oversensitive, and on top of that
Rye was, for all his faults, mind-
numbingly hot and enticingly eager.

“Smells good,” Rye chuckled,

rocking his cock up into Jaden’s grip,
still holding Jaden up with his arms
wrapped around the other man’s back
and Jaden’s legs on either side of his
body.

“It’s piña colada flavored,”

Jaden responded, not thinking.

Rye laughed, not an aroused

chuckle this time, but an actual laugh.
“Fancy flavored lube. This is what I
love about you, Jaden. I guess good old
astro-glide isn’t sophisticated enough.”

Jaden laughed in response. “I

have kiwi, banana, and vanilla too.”

“How authentic do you think they

are?” Rye asked.

“What?”
Rye’s

arms

his

back

disappeared and Jaden fell hard and fast
back into his pillows with a fwump.

“I mean,” Rye growled, already

kissing down Jaden’s stomach. “How
close to the real flavor do you think it

is?” He swiped his tongue through the
groove between Jaden’s groin and his
hip, and Jaden gasped.

“Umm…I guess…I didn’t really

think about— Ahh!”

His cock was already in Rye’s

mouth. Rye’s hand was tight around the
base and his mouth was experimentally
moving up and down.

He could feel Rye’s full bottom

lip dragging across the underside of his
cock. He hadn’t been ready for this and
just barely kept himself from jerking up
into the warmth.

“Yeah, that’s a decent piña

colada,” Rye laughed.

Jaden clenched his hand around

Rye’s shoulder, nails digging into the

skin. “You have to hold me down if
you’re going to do this,” he panted. “Or
I’ll…”

“Yeah…okay,” Rye agreed. “I

know what you mean. I’ve done this a
couple times.” He sounded weirdly
proud of himself as he said it, and Jaden
felt the hard edge of Rye’s forearm dig
into the muscles of his lower stomach,
pinning him to the bed as Rye tried to
work Jaden’s cock further into his
mouth.

When he said “a couple times” it

was clear that it really was only once or
twice at the most. His technique was
competent, but not spectacular, which
was probably all you could expect from
a guy who liked it when women blew

him.

But he was eager. He couldn’t

get Jaden’s cock all the way into his
mouth, but the movement over what he
could reach was good, and he made up
for what he couldn’t reach with the
strong steady movement of his hand.
Jaden dug his fingers into Rye’s hair and
held on, a little too tight, a little too
much like he was steering, but it made
Rye moan when Jaden tightened his grip,
made him suck a little harder when he
pulled his head down.

Rye’s inexperience was also

obvious when he didn’t catch onto the
universal signal for “I’m about to come
in your mouth”. Jaden tugged at his hair
in one hard, upward movement and

moaned.

Rye sunk further down Jaden’s

shaft, and hummed in victory when his
lips finally reached his fist. The
vibration sent Jaden over the edge and
he pulsed up into the hot wetness of
Rye’s mouth, continuing to try and jerk
upward even when Rye coughed and
pulled back, wiping at his mouth.

Jaden laughed at him, then

laughed even harder when he kept
coughing. He reached out and set his
hands at Rye’s jaw. “I’m sorry. I’m
sorry,” he said, still chuckling. “Are you
alright?”

“Yeah… I was…. You know,

concentrating. I love that held in moan
sound you make when I run my tongue

around the head of your cock.” He
coughed again. “I’ve never swallowed
before, but…you know. I probably owed
somebody one at this point.”

“I appreciate it,” Jaden said,

pulling Rye up by his jaw and kissing
him. His face was sticky with spit and
come. Jaden wiped his palm across
Rye’s face and pulled him down into a
kiss, enjoying the way that he felt so
warm and heavy against his body.

Now that he had come he was

completely exhausted. He was fading out
as he tried to keep his focus on Rye, and
even the feeling of Rye’s still hard cock
moving back and forth in the dip
between his groin and his hip wasn’t
keeping him awake.

“Jaden? Jaden, don’t fall asleep

on me yet,” Rye insisted.

Jaden pulled back out of the kiss

and shook his head hard, trying to shake
himself out of his post orgasm stupor. “I
won’t. I promise. Roll over.”

He pushed half heartedly at

Rye’s shoulder and Rye went willingly
onto his back, folding his arms behind
his head as soon as his ass hit the duvet.

Jaden grinned. Time to show the

straight boy what a blowjob really was.

He was too tired to tease,

especially as the feeling of fading
alcohol met the wave of satisfaction in
his own body, so he just went for it. He
licked a stripe up the underside of Rye’s
throbbing cock, tucked his lips over his

teeth and sunk down over the head,
pumping up and down and making sure
to drag his lip against that particularly
sensitive part of the underside. He
adjusted his jaw a little. Rye was bigger
than he was used to, but he still had a
few skills to show off. He took Rye’s
balls in his hand, massaging them gently
as he moved further and further down
Rye’s shaft.

Rye’s legs moved further and

further apart as Jaden carefully relaxed
his throat and kept going. It took some
carefully slow pumping up and down
over Rye’s thick shaft. He had to hold
his breath just a little too long, but,
despite the slight burn in his lungs, Jaden
almost smirked to himself when he felt

his lips his touch Rye’s groin. He set his
hands over Rye’s hips and pushed him
down hard. Then he swallowed, pulsing
the muscles of his throat around the head
of Rye’s cock.

Rye yelled his name and Jaden

pulled up fast, gulping breath.

“Fuuuucck, fuck, fuck,” Rye

muttered.

Jaden rocked up to kiss him,

congratulating himself on the way Rye’s
hips seemed to have gone totally beyond
his control. The spit wet head of his
cock was thrusting up against Jaden’s
stomach as he kissed hot and begging
Rye. “I’m good at this, Rye,” Jaden told
him. “Try to hold still, I’ll give you what
you want.”

And thank God he was so good

at this, Jaden couldn’t help thinking as he
set his mouth back to Rye’s cock. He
couldn’t use his hands because he had to
place both his forearms on Rye’s groin
and lean down, using most of his upper
body weight to hold big, broad Rye
down and keep him from trying to fuck
up into his mouth like he was trying to
ram down heaven’s gates. Jaden worked
his way down to the base and sucked,
increasing the pressure until he pulled
off with a dirty pop. Then he sucked just
the head until Rye’s legs spasmed before
really going to town on him. He had Rye
yammering and squirming and swearing
by the time he pulled up to the top of the
larger man’s cock, flattened his tongue

and worked hard and fast over all the hot
buttons he’d discovered on his friend in
the last twenty minutes.

Rye screamed as he came and he

was panting and incoherent when Jaden
came up to kiss him. He was mostly
unresponsive for a minute before
grabbing Jaden suddenly by the hair at
the back of his head and hauling him
down into a kiss. “Holy fucking shit,
man,” he gasped. “I think you shorted my
fucking brain out. Fuck. Fuck!”

Jaden laughed and kept kissing

him until Rye’s kissing grew distracted
and Jaden felt like every part of his own
body was growing steadily heavier.

Rye made a soft, half asleep

noise and pulled out of the kiss.

Jaden rolled off of him and

settled down beside him, the doubt about
whether or not this had been a good idea
already edging into his happy, well
fucked fog of satisfaction.

It was ameliorated when the

mattress shifted beside him and, with
another sleepy sort of grunt, Rye threw
an arm around him and tugged him close.

****

Rye woke up with empty arms

and a headache. There was a sweet,
sticky smell in his nose, and a sticky
feeling between his legs when he moved.
It took him a second before he realized
that he was in Jaden’s room.

And then the night before came

flooding back. Jaden’s gloom lifting a

little. His breath hot against Rye’s neck.
His strong, slender arms wrapped
around Rye’s back. His waxed chest
weirdly smooth and flat against Rye’s.

His fucking amazing mouth

wrapped around Rye’s cock.

And the soft noises he made in

his sleep.

Rye threw his arm over his face

to block the light and kept searching his
memory. Jaden freaking out, worrying
that no one liked him because he was too
gay. Rye getting shot down because
some girl didn’t like him for not being
successful enough. How badly he had
just wanted to feel good for a little
while. How badly he’d wanted to make
Jaden feel good.

Rye groaned. He’d told Jaden

that it would just be a one night thing.
That they’d get each other off and never
speak about it again. That the bed was
Vegas- anything that happened there
stayed there.

Fuck, he was such a jerk when he

was drunk.

And Jaden was gone, out of the

bed and out in the world where last night
had never happened.

And Rye was laying here alone

starting to think that maybe one night
wasn’t enough. Maybe he hadn’t just
been drunk last night, he’d been drunk
and honest.

He was sick of always feeling

less-than, and Jaden didn’t make him

feel like that. Jaden made him feel like
he was a slob and a philistine
sometimes, but never made him feel like
that was all he was.

And laying here in Jaden’s bed,

remembering a night that had definitely
happened, Rye couldn’t face losing that
without a fight. He strained his ears, to
see if he could hear Jaden moving
around the apartment. Nothing. But that
didn’t mean he wasn’t out there.

Rye couldn’t stay in this bed all

day, but there were a couple things he
could do. He grabbed one of Jaden’s
pillows and tucked it under his arm. It
didn’t count as leaving the bed if he
brought part of it with him. He staggered
to the bathroom, knocked back four

ibuprofens, relieved himself, wiped
away the rest of the lube with a wet
washcloth, and poured himself a glass of
water. He settled back down into
Jaden’s bed to wait for him to come
home.

He fell asleep as the sun started

to really shine in Jaden’s windows, and
woke up as the sun was clearly starting
to set. He could hear Jaden clanking
around in the kitchen. He grabbed his
pillow and went out to talk to him.

Jaden was making something that

smelled like peppers and hamburger and
cream sauce. He looked up at Rye, then
instantly returned his gaze to his supper,
which Rye realized now was just fancy
shit on a shingle. Jaden must be

exhausted if he was throwing together
such an easy dinner.

Jaden’s supper may have been

hangover rib-stick, but his face was very
precisely made up. Rye could see an
artificially lightened bruise on Jaden’s
neck and felt a flush of embarrassment.
He’d been drunk enough to leave
hickies.

“How did you sleep?” he asked.

Jaden’s tone was detached, almost
clinical.

“Fine. You?”
“I never sleep that well after I’ve

been drinking,” Jaden answered.

“Where have you been all day?”
“Errands,”

Jaden

answered

instantly. “Treated myself to lunch,

hadn’t celebrated the new job quite yet.”

“By yourself?”
“Yes,” Jaden answered, just a

little too tersely.

“Look, man, about last night—”
Jaden huffed in annoyance.

“Nothing

happened

last

night,

remember? We’re out of bed, and back
to the real world. One night contract.”
Rye held up the pillow, like a shield.

“What are you doing with that?”
“It’s my pass. Like in countries

where travel is really restricted and you
have to have the correct papers to cross
certain borders?”

“Are you seriously claiming to

be some sort of ambassador from my
bed?”

“This pillow is proof of my

diplomatic immunity,” Rye said. He
grinned.

Jaden barely echoed. “Yeah,

well, I didn’t bring anything out of my
bed with me. I’ve crossed the border
and I don’t have a passport back to last
night.”

“The patrols will accept that

hickey as proof,” Rye told him.

Jaden slapped a hand over his

neck. “You’re an animal when you’ve
been drinking. I have bruises the size of
chocolate coins all over my chest and
fingerprint-sized bruises all over my
ass.”

Rye stepped a little closer. “Do

you want a few more?”

Jaden looked at him and pursed

his lips. Usually that look resulted in
Jaden yelling at him forever, but he just
shrugged and pulled a plate down from
the counter. “You look like shit. Eat
something.” He plucked a couple pieces
of toast from the toaster dropped them on
the plate and slopped the fancy SOS
over the toast. “And go put that pillow
back.”

“No,” Rye said stubbornly.
They ate in total silence. Rye

took their dishes to the sink when they
were both done and leaned back against
it.

Jaden stood up and faced him.

“You’re serious about not letting this go
aren’t you?”

“Yes.”
“Look, I know it was a good

blow job, I made sure of it, but this is
insane. You’re not gay—”

“And you’re too cut and dry,”

Rye countered. “Couldn’t I have just
realized I want to be with you? That I
don’t want to go out and get reamed by
people who want me to be all of these
things because what I actually am isn’t
good enough? That I like the way you
make me feel good? That I like the way I
make you feel good?”

“It’s

going

complicated than that,” Jaden huffed.

“I know that. I’m not stupid. It’s

not going to be a walk in the park. I get
it. Tomorrow, there are going to be

consequences. Next week there will be
more consequences. Problems, and
roadblocks and troubles. Oh my. But
tonight it’s simple. I want you.” He
crossed the kitchen, looped the pillow
around Jaden, and used it to pull him
closer.

Jaden let him.
“Come

on,

Jaden,”

Rye

whispered. “Don’t I make you feel
good?” He felt Jaden lean backward
against the pillow, trusting Rye to hold
him up, and Jaden’s serious look finally
started to fade away.

“Your blowjob technique could

use a little work,” he said, one side of
his mouth quirking upward.

“I just need practice,” Rye

answered.

Jaden finally laughed. He set his

hands at the back of Rye’s neck and
pulled him into a kiss.

It was better than it was last

night. Jaden was wiry and just a little
bony in his arms, but his lips were soft.
He really was a good kisser.

“Rye?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah?”
“Do you know how to fuck a

man?” Jaden asked, his voice a low
growl that when straight to Rye’s cock.

“Teach me.”
Jaden pushed forward, forcing

Rye back toward his room.

Rye tripped over his own feet as

he tried to walk backward and gasped as

he felt his back slap into Jaden’s ajar
door and bust it open.

Jaden clawed Rye’s shirt off his

body.

Rye heard the crash as his shirt

hit something and knocked it off a shelf,
then felt the impact as his calves hit the
edge of the bed.

Jaden fell on top of him and

dropped to his neck, sucking hard.

“Vengeance

hickey?

Really,

man?”

Jaden laughed, then in a husky

voice, responded, “Get up against the
headboard and take your pants off.”

Rye obeyed instantly, shucking

his clothes and moving at the same time,
cursing loudly when he got tied up

around the ankles in his jeans and
struggled to kick them off for several
moments while Jaden stripped.

The room was orange and dim

with the light of the setting sun and Rye
watched the way the trim muscles moved
under Jaden’s skin as he worked his way
out of his own clothes.

He threw one tight leg over

Rye’s body and fished a container of
lube out of the nightstand. He clicked the
cap open and waved it under Rye’s
nose. “Kiwi,” he laughed, pouring a
little over his fingers. “We’re going to
skip the hard part, start you out easy.
Kiss me and I’ll tell you when I’m
ready.”

Jaden as forceful as this was a

turn on. Rye was used to Jaden bossing
him around a little bit, but Jaden shoving
him around and taking the lead like this
was way hotter than he could have
expected. Rye kissed him, sliding his
tongue into his mouth and smiling at all
the hot little noises Jaden made while he
moved.

“Ahh, yeah,” Jaden gasped

suddenly, after they’d been kissing for a
few minutes. He dropped his head down
to Rye’s shoulder with a gasp and a
growl.

Rye felt his friend’s entire body

stutter and jerk. And that’s when he
realized what Jaden was probably
doing. “Oh, man,” he gulped. “Jaden, are
you...What are you doing?”

“Getting myself ready,” Jaden

responded. “Getting myself open.”

“Does that feel good?” Rye

asked him, feeling Jaden’s sweat wipe
across his own skin as Jaden turned his
head to kiss his neck.

“Yeah, it feels good, Rye. Feels

so good.”

“Ohhhhh God. Please tell me

you’re ready. Please, please tell me
you’re ready.”

“Wait,” Jaden panted. “Almost

there, Almost.” His fingers dug harder
into Rye’s shoulder, so hard it hurt. He
kept his face buried in Rye’s neck.

Rye grabbed his own cock,

squeezing it at the base to take the edge
off and trying not to hear the wet noises

that were almost audible over Jaden’s
gasping.

Jaden bucked forward, whining

when the motion brushed their cocks
together. “Okay, okay. I’m ready. But let
me steer.”

“Steer away, baby.”
Jaden pushed forward and kissed

him, slow this time. “Don’t call me
baby.” He pulled back and lifted himself
up.

Jaden’s slick hand wrapped

around Rye’s cock and Rye groaned as
he felt Jaden swipe the throbbing,
oversensitive head of his cock through
his cheeks. Rye felt himself slip into
Jaden’s hot, tight body and let his head
drop backward into the headboard with

a crack.

Jaden pushed back harder against

Rye’s cock, sliding down steadily until
the soft skin of Jaden’s ass touched his
groin.

“Oh, wow, Jaden,” Rye gulped,

sucking in air and trying to hold himself
back from thrusting into the perfect grip
of Jaden’s muscles.

“Back at you,” Jaden panted. He

set his hands to the headboard on either
side of Rye’s head. He kissed him and
lifted himself up slowly.

Rye distantly heard the way his

groan

became

and

animalistic as Jaden slid further and
further up his shaft and he slammed his
head back into headboard again as Jaden

worked his way back down.

“Can I… Can I…” Rye struggled

to get words up.

“Don’t move yet. I’ll tell you

when.” Jaden’s voice was harsh and low
as he rode him, leveraging himself
against the headboard so he could
control the achingly slow movement.

“I don’t think I can stop myself,”

Rye gasped as Jaden sank all the way
down to his hips again, grinding down to
bring him in even deeper. “Jaden,
please.”

Jaden lifted himself up a little

ways and squeezed himself around Rye.

Rye howled.
“Alright,” Jaden panted. “Come

on.”

Rye thrust up hard and fast as

Jaden rocked down. It only took them a
few thrusts to set a rhythm, moving
together like they’d done this a million
times before. Rye was breathing so hard
that his lungs burned. The air filled with
the sounds of their heaving breaths and
slapping skin.

Jaden was muttering nonsense

and curse words into his ear, pushing
back onto him with a louder moan each
time. “Stroke me,” he demanded.

Rye felt like the command went

straight to his hands. He grabbed Jaden
around the hips and slipped down his
body, circling one hand around his
surprisingly long cock and stroking him
off hard and fast. Faster than he was