Chapter Sixteen
Malcolm
I knelt in the garden, yanking out weed after weed and throwing them to the grass behind me. Gunner stood off to the side, smoking a cigarette and eyeing me while I worked.
Back when I was growing up, gardening in my family’s backyards was one of the only real escapes I was allowed. Sure, I had to keep everything neat and tidy, and I always conformed to my mother’s plan for the season. But gardening was inherently dirty in a way I appreciated, and the long hours I spent digging around in the weeds gave me some relief from the sterile, strict environment inside their house.
Most of Maddox’s plants were overgrown or ruined from neglect, and I knew I could spend a solid week out there without getting things back in order. Having something to do with my hands, however, felt a lot nicer than sitting around and worrying about when I’d make it back to Seattle. So long as I was back by Sunday, I could still make my obligatory family dinner and show up at work the next morning.
Gunner finished his cigarette. Unlike before, he didn’t throw the butt to the ground and forget about it. Instead, he stubbed it out carefully, shoving the burnt end in his pocket afterward. He crossed over to join me, plopping down on the grass.
“Guess what?” he said, dropping his voice a little.
I turned over my shoulder, smiling to see that devilish look back in his eyes. Part of me was scared of what he would say next.Guess what? I figured out how to break into the workshop, so let’s burn some metal. Guess what? We can probably make off with Maddox’s motorcycle when we leave here.Guess what? I’m going to fuck you senseless in the woods now.
Okay, maybe there were some things I wanted him to say.
“What?” I asked, tossing a knotty, overgrown beet to the ground.
“Maddox is gay.”
I pulled my hands from the dirt and spun to face him properly. There was a chill in the air, but with the sun out again, the puddles from the rain were already drying up. “Wait, he’s gay? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. He told me about his ex-boyfriend when we were working on the chainsaw.”
“Well, I guess that makes sense,” I said. “He didn’t really seem thrown off by the fact that we were… you know… when he found us.”
“The fact that I was burying my tongue deep inside you?” he asked, grinning.
I felt my cheeks warm and turned back to the garden. “Or whatever.”
“It’s probably why he’s letting us stick around in the first place,” Gunner said. “He’s probably thanking his lucky stars that we were waiting on his couch when he got back home. A guy Maddox’s age, all worn out and serious, he’s got to see us and think something special fell in his lap.”
I pushed my glasses back, using the back of my hand to wipe some sweat from my forehead. “You think he’s attracted to us or something?”
“Fuck yeah I do,” he said. “Who wouldn’t be? Between my muscles and your cute ass, he’s probably inside right now, jerking himself off in the bathroom and thinking about how hot I looked rimming you.”
I grabbed some of the weeds, tossing them at him and laughing despite myself. “He is not!” I said. “Just because he’s gay and older doesn’t mean he’s into us. He probably prefers guys his own age anyway.”
“Most guys his age aren’t as hot as Maddox is,” Gunner pointed out. “Trust me. I’ve had my fair share of fun with older men. I know what I’m talking about. Maddox takes care of himself. Even with those wrinkles around his eyes and with how faded his tattoos are, you know he’s got the kind of energy to go all night.” He licked his teeth, still grinning at me. “Did you see how thick his cock looked in those jeans?”
“Gunner!” I said, still feeling the heat rise to my cheeks… and a few other parts of my body, too.
Gunner wasn’t wrong. I had noticed how sexy Maddox was from the first minute he walked in. I could even buy into the idea that Maddox thought we were sexy. It would explain the way he always had that half-smile on his face when he was bossing us around and his willingness to show us around the property and play host.
But I was just settling into the fantasy I had developed with Gunner. The house in the mountains felt like our little secret, a place I could push myself to take new risks. I felt free here in a way I had never felt free before. If Gunner was going to switch his attention to Maddox, what would that mean for the special connection that was growing between us?
He might think a dweeby librarian like me was fun for a quick thrill, but I could never hold my own against a man like Maddox.
“Oh, it’s like that,” Gunner said, spinning his lighter in his hand. “You just watch. By the time this evening rolls around, Maddox is going to be pulling every card he has to try to seduce us.”
“Now I know you’re talking nonsense,” I said and turned away, returning to the weeds. My hands were a little shaky, but I didn’t want him to see how much that bothered me.
Gunner leapt forward, grabbing me by the side and pulling me to the grass with a quick, easy laugh. I laughed along despite myself, the warm crash of his body sending tingles along my skin. As he wrestled me onto my back, I squirmed beneath him and felt the cool grass against my skin.
Gunner pulled himself on top of me, sitting with his knees on either side of my hips. Our crotches were only a couple of inches apart, and my cock started hardening instantly. Still grinning, Gunner leaned forward, took my face in his hands, and planted a long, deep kiss on my lips.
My eyelids fluttered as our tongues met, softly at first. When I started whimpering and clawing at his back, he bit down on my bottom lip, tugging back for a second before releasing it with a pop.
