Starting from Zero (Starting from 1)

I breathed a sigh of relief when he tentatively bumped my fist with his and then pulled me into a bro hug.

“I gotta get back to work. Some of us still have a job,” he said with a lopsided smile before stepping aside. “I’ll see you at practice tomorrow. Oh, and Jus…”

“Yeah?”

“You owe me two blueberry, two strawberry, and two honey yogurts. And buy the right brand.”

“I didn’t eat six yogurts.” I scowled.

“I’m charging interest.”

I shivered when a cool breeze swept through the alley, reminding me that I still had to grab my T-shirt and jacket from the break room. Fuck. I sucked in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. It should have felt better, right? It was good to get old shit off your chest. It helped you breathe easier. Or so I heard. I couldn’t seem to swallow enough air at the moment. I felt dizzy, off-kilter, and completely overwhelmed. I pulled my cell from my pocket when it buzzed and pressed Call instead of reading the new message.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

Gray’s soft laughter soothed me. It crept through the connection and wrapped me in a light veil that seemed to protect me from my self-destructive thoughts.

“Did you read my text?”

“No. What did it say?”

“It was poetry. To paraphrase, ‘Come over when you’re off work. I’ll be waiting with two fingers in my ass, ready to go’…or something like that,” he said.

I smiled. “That’s so dirty…and kind of romantic.”

Gray hummed. “If you want romance, I can turn on Barry White too.”

“And stick your fingers in your ass? I might swoon.”

“Don’t swoon until after you get here. When are you off work?”

“Now. I quit.”

“You quit?” he repeated. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. It’s just been a weird night. I, um…I miss you.” I winced. What the fuck was that? He was fifteen minutes away in the Hills. I didn’t miss him.

Gray didn’t reply right away. When he did, his voice sounded gravelly and thick with emotion. “I’m here. Come over, baby.”

Our exchange grounded me. I felt a little less alone and unsure knowing he was somewhere waiting for me.

9

Justin

Fifteen minutes later, I entered the security code he’d given me for the front door and climbed the stairs two at a time and found him exactly where he said he’d be. Naked in bed, on his knees, fingering his hole.

“Wow,” I gulped, tearing off my clothes as quickly as possible. “You have no idea how fucking hot you look.”

Gray glanced over his shoulder and offered a sex-hazed lopsided smile. “So do you. C’mere. Let me suck you, Jus.”

I set my precum-slicked cock on his bottom lip and kicked off my shoes as he swallowed me whole. My adrenaline level was already off the charts, and the sight of Gray on his knees, sucking and licking me from base to tip as he fondled my balls was nearly enough to push me over the edge.

“Are you ready for me?”

Gray straightened quickly and shoved his tongue in my mouth in response before turning around to present his ass to me. I stepped out of my jeans, rolled a condom on and added lube. Then I lined my cock up with his entrance and pushed into him from behind.

“Oh, my God.” He groaned loudly as he stroked himself.

“You okay? ’Cause I need to fuck you hard.”

“Do it. Fuck me, Jus.”

Gray was as strung-out, horny, and demanding as I was. He bucked backward and urged me on with nasty commands to go harder and deeper. He loved it when I pulled his hair and smacked his ass. And when I slipped a finger in his hole alongside my dick as I reached around to jack him, he tumbled into ecstasy, crying out my name as his orgasm pulled him under. He shuddered beneath me, but I didn’t stop moving. I couldn’t. I pistoned my hips wildly and then gripped his shoulders before coming a moment later.

When I could breathe again, I cleaned up in the master bathroom and brought my lover a towel. Gray wiped the mess of sweat and cum from his junk and the sheets before flopping onto his back. I curled up beside him and propped myself on my elbow.

“Can I tell you something disgusting?”

Gray chuckled. “Sure. Why not?”

“I was just thinking how hot it would be to come in your ass. I’d love to pull out of you and see my cum drip—”

“That is hot. Graphic, but hot,” he agreed.

“We should get tested. I mean…if you wanted to. I haven’t been with anyone but you in months. And that’s the way I want it to be.”

Gray bit his bottom lip, then pulled me close and kissed me. “Me too.”

“How old were you the first time you had sex with a guy?”

“Twenty.”

“Top or bottom?”

“I don’t think we had anal sex the first time but—”