“Shower for one or two?” I asked.
“I’m down for two,” Ethan said.
“Yeah, I like that. But seeing each other naked for the first time is… I was going to say weird, but it’s not really. Different, of course.” But all the years in the seminary with community showers and toilets, I’d seen plenty of nude men of all sizes. And I’d unintentionally caught someone jacking off every now and then. So, in that way, I wasn’t a virgin. However, this was Ethan with his sculpted body and unwavering patience with me.
I extended his arms out at his sides. Starting from his face to his pecs and torso, my gaze dropped to his erect cock and for a flash, I envisioned the crucified Christ in the church, his emerald eyes shining against his cocoa skin. “You’re stunning, baby. A work of art deserving of a museum.”
He inched closer and I released his wrists. “No,” he objected. “If I were on display, then I wouldn’t be able to do this.” Another inch and our erections barely skimmed each other.
Yet, enough to elicit a gasp from me. I remained unmoving, wanting him to touch me more.
“Or this,” he murmured. Starting at my collarbone, he slowly grazed my body with his hands ever so lightly, as if wanting to remember every arc and plane. “Look at us,” he said, lowering his gaze to our cocks, which jerked every time they touched eachother. “I… I don’t know what Divinity made me walk into your church, but they knew I was ready for this even before I did.”
Speech evaded me as he continued to roam my body, his hands now on my back. “May I touch you, Ethan? I won’t do more than just feel your hardness under my fingers.”
“Fuck,Babbo, you can’t say shit like that. I’ll come prematurely again.” But then, the words I was waiting breathlessly for flowed from his lips. “May I kiss you?”
“Please,” I said, encircling my arms around his waist.
Ethan was tentative at first, outlining my lips with his tongue before teasing the seam with the tip. I readily opened for him, savoring the feel of our tongues gliding against each other. His taste was a blend of cheese, corned beef, and beer. But it was also a unique flavor that hinted of earlier coffee, which he might’ve had in the afternoon.
I let Ethan have the lead and he didn’t disappoint in the way his fingers slid into my hair, making my scalp tingle, the scrape of his stubble on my hairless jaw. Holding the back of my head with one hand, he rubbed circles on my lower back that slowly moved south to my ass without ever missing a beat. His tongue continued its exploration for what seemed like long minutes until we couldn’t breathe and had to pull apart.
“Baby, your mouth is sexy.”
“More, in the shower,” Ethan said.
I nodded and then began to undress. As I unbuttoned my shirt while Ethan tugged off his tee, I felt unexpectedly free of remorse or guilt. I was still a priest according to the Church, but I’d lost the intense spiritual connection to God I had when I’d been ordained… when I’d been caught up with the excitement of finally following in God’s path. The glow of my naivete lasted for several years when I gave the clerical life my all. But then I was out in the world long enough to notice what I was missing. Long before Ethan came into my life, I’d felt like I was floatingbetween two worlds—one in which I dwelled as a priest and one in which I vicariously lived as an out gay man.
Ethan appeared when I’d already been standing on the precipice of a world that I knew nothing about from a personal perspective. He intrigued me and I wanted to learn more. Over the past three weeks, I’d discovered enough to know that I liked him. A lot.
And now, there I was, both of us naked. I wasn’t embarrassed by my physique at all. In fact, we were both fit from working out and training at The Ring. His physique was thicker, and he was infinitely more muscular, with ripped abs whereas I was lithe, my body more chiseled. Out of seventeen weight divisions in boxing, I’d be considered welterweight and he was in the light heavyweight. “I’ve showered in communal bathrooms,” I admitted, “but never with one man.”
Ethan’s lips turned up into an understanding smile. “Would you rather we wash separately? Whatever is comfortable for you.”
“No,” I said emphatically. “I want to as long as you have no doubts,” I said, stroking the side of his stubbled jaw.
Ethan opened the door to the large glass-enclosed shower. It had a marble seat on the wall opposite the showerhead. He turned on the faucets and as we waited for the water to get hot, he said, “I like being your first.”
He slid his roughened hands up and down the sides of my torso as he peppered my cleanshaven face with sweet butterfly kisses. But then his mouth landed on my neck, and I angled my head to give him better access. He suckled on the skin at the base of my neck and I moaned. Then very softly, he said, “Jude, open your eyes.”
I hadn’t even realized that I’d closed them. “I’m good,” I said in a breathy tone.
Ethan stepped into the shower, letting the water rain down on him, wetting himself thoroughly. Then he held out his hand as he had earlier and invited me in with him. He maneuvered me under the water, then tipped my head back just enough for me to revel in the surging water pelting my face. I pushed my hair back and stared into green eyes as rivulets of water glistened on the edges of his lashes.
Ethan inched closer until our erections pressed against each other. As opposite as we were in appearance, a study in light and dark, our cocks were equally in contrast. His was thick and straight with a perfectly formed head. Mine was longer, slimmer with an upward curve. I mocked myself because I’d never compared two penises, but it seemed that cataloging our differences somehow made me feel closer to him, knowing none of them mattered. And how we felt inside seemed right somehow.
He took my mouth in a sensual kiss, setting my nerve endings on fire. Before I was ready for him to stop licking and suckling my tongue, he pulled away, much to my whiny displeasure. He merely smiled and reached for the body wash, a foamy blend of musk with sandalwood, a wash that enhanced his natural, masculine scent. I recognized it right away from when he used to enter the confessional. I only just then realized that even if my eyes were closed, I’d know when he was near from his distinctive fragrance. I was used to my coconut and citrus blends, but I liked that we were using his. For that moment in time, I smelled like him.
Ethan turned me around, away from the direct flow of water as he lathered me, sliding his palms over every inch of skin. He alternated the smooth glide of his palms with a kneading action on my shoulders and upper back.
“Hmm,” I moaned in a prolonged expression of pure pleasure. He gradually progressed to my lower back and then his palms seemed to quake against my skin and he stopped.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, pivoting in his arms so I was facing him.
“I’m not ready to invade your hole. If I start kneading your ass cheeks, I might not be able to stop. I’m so turned on, but that’s my lust talking. Emotionally, I need to wait. I’d like to lather your cock instead… thoroughly.”
“Only if you start with my nipples,” I said as I skimmed my fingers over his piercings. “Why did you get them pierced?”
