I’m relieved that joke hit better. I don’t know that I’m gonna make it through this if we have to be deadly serious throughout.
I set my bag on the desk, taking a few deep breaths as Alexei, on his knees by the air mattress, fishes through his bag. He retrieves some leaves and salt and creates a circle around the pentagram, connecting the points.
“Go ahead and take off your clothes,” he instructs, “then get in the circle before I close it off.”
“Don’t you need to take off your clothes too?”
He glances himself over before snickering. “Fuck. Yeah. I’m sorry. I’ve got, like, fifty things running through my head.”
It’s kind of adorable seeing him all flustered like this.
As he sets pouches on the mattress, I grab my bag and set it down on the side of the bed. We stand face-to-face, just looking at each other for a few moments, until I accept this will be awkward as hell and remove my jacket. This seems to get Alexei moving too, and we both strip down. Alexei removes his shirt, revealing the scar on his abdomen, near his hip. I noticed it at the ’80s party, and it looks like somethinghe would’ve had for years, but I don’t remember him having it last year.
I pile my clothes on my shoes, while Alexei’s neater, folding his and placing them on the side of the mattress. Maybe just trying to buy more time.
While he’s bent over, my gaze gravitates to that bitable ass, and my dick lengthens even more.
That has to be the sildenafil, right?
He glances over his shoulder, and I don’t bother to look away.
“You checking out my ass again?”
“Would it be so terrible if I was?”
He laughs before his gaze lowers and his jaw drops.
I glance at my now fully erect cock, sticking out straight forward. When I look back at him, he’s spinning toward me, his eyes wide. “Jesus, that pill’s definitely working. God, that’s a fat cock.”
“Usually when I hear that, it sounds a lot more like a compliment, and sexier.”
But his expression’s twisted up with concern.
“You’ve seen my dick before, right? In the showers?”
“It doesn’t look like that when you get out of a shower.”
“No, that’s not how dicks work.”
He chuckles nervously. “You’re right. I’m being weird.” He shakes his head, pulling his gaze away, but then taking another quick glance and biting his lip.
“Hey, man.” I take his arm and wait for his gaze to meet mine again. “We’re not gonna go faster than you’re comfortable with. Or do anything you aren’t comfortable with. We’lltalk our way through this. Just be honest and open with me.”
His expression relaxes.
I know he’s not as concerned about me as he is about having to do this at all—a reminder that better it be me than some asshole stranger who could’ve treated him like garbage. Just used him for his body.
I pull up the comforter and slide under, positioning the pillow under my head as Alexei closes off the circle with leaves and salt. He crawls across the mattress, staying on top, as though to keep himself as far away from my dick as possible until he’s ready for it.
“We should probably discuss limits and things,” he says.
“Wait. Is that all you needed to do to prep the spell?”
“Yeah. This one’s fairly easy. Next time there’s a little more to it. I was thinking we could do it on the twelfth of this month. There’s a full moon, and Preston’s mentioned that this stuff works better then. So I don’t know, I’m just guessing, but hoping it’ll help whatever it is that it needs to help. That is, if you’re even free then. I mean, I hope you are—”
“Alexei, you’re rambling. But, yes, this is something I’ll make time for. You tell me when and where, and I’ll be there.”
He takes a deep breath, nodding before glancing my body over. “So like, no kissing obviously.”
