Set Aflame (Four Mercenaries 2.50)

Dru didn’t hesitate to pile the stew onto his plate. “Okay, okay! I’m going. Thaaank you.” He grinned at Boar, and when he turned on his heel, Boar couldn’t help but follow the hot pants with his gaze. “Dig in!” he said, turning around to Matt, already flustered.

Matt grabbed a fork and stabbed it into one of the remaining plates before pushing the oversized bite into his mouth so hastily it left a red smear on his cheek. The hum he exuded was music to Boar’s soul. Finally, someone thought he was good for something.

“Is like… everyone gay here?”

Matt shrugged, stuffing his mouth. “A lot of LGBT folks here, yep.”

Boar smiled, both shell-shocked and plain happy to be fitting in somewhere for once. “That’s… nice.”

“You know what’s nice? This food! Maybe with you here, I’ll stop living on Pop Tarts,” Matt said, grinning at Boar with sauce-stained teeth. Boar was about to have a taste himself when a hand snuck into the back pocket of his jeans.

Matt sure was forward, but if Boar was throwing caution to the wind, then… why not? Why shouldn’t he live his life however he pleased? Matt liked him, Matt was pretty great, so it was about time to stop running from any attraction he experienced. What did Boar have to lose? His virginity, that was for sure, but he no longer had a reason to hold onto it.

“I’d kiss you if I hadn’t slept in a park for three days,” Boar whispered, and when he held Matt’s gaze, the green eyes locked on his, immobile, as if his words gave Matt’s life a new focus.

“I’d kiss you if my mouth wasn’t full.”

Boar had to take a deep breath before shovelling down the first spoonful of his meal. He’d been starving, and just yesterday, he’d wondered how to stretch his ten bucks, but here he was, getting his belly full for free.

“We’ve got spare toothbrushes in the bathroom.” Matt’s flame-brows wiggled. “Whenever you’re ready for that shower.”

“I’ll just wash the dishes.”

Matt laughed and waved it off. “I’ll text Dru to do it. He’s got to earn his meal.”

It was fair, Boar supposed, so he was quick to stuff his mouth full. Matt must have had the same idea and wolfed down the whole thing at a record-breaking pace, while never once looking away from Boar. He dreaded what was to come but also couldn’t bear rejecting the attention Matt so readily bestowed on him.

Sink or swim.

He put the plate into the sink, and followed his breakfast with a glass of water.

“Warm. No longer hungry. Time to take care of other needs,” Matt stated, following his example.

“You mean being clean?”

“Among other things.” Matt grinned and grabbed Boar’s hand. By now his touch felt familiar, and the rapport between them—off the charts. As if they’d known each other for years.

As if desiring another man was not only normal but expected.

Matt took him upstairs. He made a stop by one of the closed rooms, but once he emerged with a towel that featured a large marijuana leaf, they soon reached the bathroom. It was communal, with several stalls divided by tiled partitions that didn’t reach all the way to the ceiling. The room needed urgent renovation, since many of the gray-white tiles had cracks, and in the air was a distinct drain smell someone had tried to mask with incense, but Boar didn’t care as long as he could use some soap and water.

Matt put a toothbrush into his mouth before offering another to Boar.

When Boar stood there, dumbstruck, Matt grinned at him, already brushing like a madman, and gestured at Boar to do the same.

Oh. Matt really wanted that kiss.

What would it be like to kiss a grown ass guy like him? Memories of fumbling in the bushes behind church, while fond, didn’t give Boar much idea about what sex would be like. Sure, he’d watched porn, he was no Amish guy, but actually experiencing another man’s touch? So very different from what imagination could supply.

In his fantasies, he was experienced, and they always featured a guy of Dru’s type, who’d moan, and whine in response to Boar’s attentions. The generic vision of a twink never complained, and always looked at Boar as if he were the best fuck of his life. Matt on the other hand? Matt was hot as hellfire, but Boar still searched for his place in the equation the two of them were about to form.

The moment of spitting out the toothpaste felt like a statement, and when he glanced Matt’s way, the other man met his gaze and pulled his top off.

Limbs and faces—some of which Boar recognized as famous murderers—were tattooed all over Matt’s chest, but despite the excitement of having so much flesh revealed for him, he studied the wild green eyes for encouragement.