My front door swung wide and Max stepped inside, brow furrowed, curiosity etched on his perfect face. “What’s this about?”
I shrugged and kept playing. “Nothing serious. It’s just been too long since I played. This thing’s been in my truck most of the summer, since you arrived in town for sure, and I decided now was the time to shake some of the dust off.”
He nodded and sat in a chair next to me, watching me play for a long time. “You’re really talented.”
I shrugged and moved my gaze from the strings to Max. “Not all that good. You should’ve heard my granddad. He was the real talent in the family.” After a moment, I remembered our encounter from earlier. “Tell me about the meeting.”
Max brightened. “Oh, right. I talked to Doug. He agreed not to use the letters. He said he trusts me to make the right call.”
I weighed my words carefully. “And you’re good with that?”
He smiled at me, nodding. “I think it’s the best choice for everyone.” For a long moment, Max’s gaze stayed on me. “Jake?”
“Hmm?” I shifted from strumming to picking, trying to tease a tune out that had settled in the back of my mind.
Max moved from the chair to the couch, taking a seat next to me. “I just… I really want to kiss you right now.” His voice was quiet and sincere and his gaze dropped to my lips and back to my eyes. “If you don’t mind.”
I gave him a soft smile. “I don’t mind at all.”
He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine, inhaling deeply before he slid his tongue into my mouth. I stopped playing and dropped my pick somewhere on the floor before sliding my hand along his back and pulling him in close. After a moment, I released Max and used both hands to set my guitar aside before re-focusing on the man in front of me. For the first time in my life, I let myself feel what I wanted to feel, settled deep into the sensation of this man’s mouth against mine, and pulled him onto my lap.
He came along quickly, compliant without protest, but he did make a muffled noise of surprise in the back of his throat, and once he was straddling me, he pulled away, pressing his forehead to mine, his arms bracketing my body, hands pressed to the back of the couch. Any lingering confusion I’d felt disappeared like fog in the sunshine. I wanted him. I knew it the way I knew anything true. I knew I wanted him in the same way I knew I wanted to get up every morning and work with my hands and feel satisfied that I’d done a good job. I knew it as if it were the most obvious thing in my world, and for that moment, it was.
Before he could speak or kiss me again or do anything else, I murmured his name. “Max?”
His response was whispered. “Yeah?”
“I think I’d like to…” I stopped, unsure of how to finish the sentence. What was I supposed to say? To have you fuck me? To have you make love to me? To have sex with you? It all felt wrong.
He frowned. “What?”
I placed my hands on his ass and pulled him in closer, until our chests were flush together. “I think I’m ready.”
The slow smile that crossed Max’s face was magical. He understood, of course he did, and he nodded. “Bedroom.”
My stomach twisted and fluttered, nerves and excitement warring inside me. Max scrambled off my lap and stood, pulling me by the hand until I joined him. I kissed him again, slow and deep, and we began the process of stumbling toward my bedroom, kissing and laughing the whole time.
Finally we made it into the bedroom, the backs of my legs connecting with the mattress. As soon as I could, I lowered myself to sitting on the mattress and pulled Max back on top of me. My cock was hard in my shorts, and as he straddled me again, Max’s own erection, trapped in his jeans, pressed against mine, sending an aching bolt of desire through me. We kissed like that for a long time, bodies roiling together as we chased the sensations and slowly undressed one another. Max’s shirt went first, tossed aside, and I ran my hands along his pecs and abs reverently. He pulled my shirt over my head and dropped kisses along my collarbone and upper chest, leaving a damp trail where he scraped his teeth against my skin before soothing it with another kiss, over and over.
We made quick work of pants, shorts, and underwear, and soon we were lying in bed completely naked, kissing deeply, like there was nothing else in the world that mattered. Our cocks rubbed together, each leaking and hard, each aching to be touched. After a long while, I reached between us and began to stroke us together, drawing a soft moan from Max’s throat.
“Jake, I—” His voice was tight as he put his hand on mine, stopping me. “I guess we should’ve discussed this before but… I’m a top. I don’t… I mean, I’ve never…”
I quieted him with a quick kiss and a soft chuckle. “I’ve never either, but I know what I want.”
“Yeah?”
“I want to feel you inside me.”
The deep groan that tore from his throat let me know he was more than okay with the situation. “Yeah. Okay. Fuck yeah. But we probably shouldn’t, you know, jump right to me fucking you if it’s your first time. You need to be ready.”
I chuckled again. “I’m ready.”
“Not just ready, butready.”
I pressed a finger to his lips. “Max, just because I’ve been single for most of my life doesn’t mean I don’t get myself off. I can take you. I promise.” For emphasis, I reached between us and gripped his cock, stroking him a few times.
He groaned again and kissed me quickly. “Good, because Ireallydon’t want to have to wait.” With that, Max pushed me onto my back and climbed on top, kissing his way down my body, dragging his tongue along my nipples and abs until he reached my leaking, aching cock, which he avoided entirely.
