And you had to admire someone who did their own thing. River’s life sounded wildly different to mine, but I appreciated the gumption of just going for it.
I stepped into the apartment. Outside of the fact that the single-serving bottle of wine we’d left out for him was gone, there wasn’t any sign of River. I figured he must be passed out after the long flight, so I tried to be quiet as I grabbed myself a cold piece of pizza and a beer, then headed to my room.
I crept across the hardwood floor, pushed the door open carefully, and froze.
An identical copy of Kai was fully naked on my bed, his hips jutted in the air as he pumped his hard dick. His face was contorted with a silent moan and his eyes squeezed shut.
Panic.
Kai with long hair.
He looked exactly like Kai with long hair.
I sucked in a breath and pulled the door closed as quickly and quietly as I could, adrenaline surging through my veins. River let out a whine that turned into a grunt, obviously blowing his load, as I carefully released the handle and hurried away.
Holy shit.
Kai with long hair was masturbating in my bed.
And he made that noise…
I shoved the pizza slice in my mouth and bit down hard to bury a scream. River’s warm, bronze skin and taut muscles were burned into my vision. I could still see his long black hair, fanned out behind him, and the sharp lines of his jaw and cheekbones as he threw his mouth open.
Kai and I had lived together for a decade. I’d seen him a million times, and if I hadn’t known River was in the apartment, I would have thought for sure I was looking at Kai in a wig right then.
But Kai never made my body react like it was reacting now.
I stepped into the kitchen, popped the top off my beer, and glugged it down. My dick was hard in my trousers, and that erotic, orgasmic noise that River made was echoing in my ears.
A whimper and a grunt at the same damn time. I didn’t know noises could be that hot.
I heard the door open and almost panicked again, but then I remembered we were in my condo.
And he was doing that in my room.
I cleared my throat loudly to let him know I was there, and the footsteps down the hallway stopped. I took a swig of the beer again, then held the cold bottle to the side of my head, but my heart was still pounding. “Hey, River. That you?” I called.
He came padding down the hall. He’d pulled on a pair of sweatpants that hung low off his hips, and his black T-shirt was cut just high enough at the bottom to dance above his belly button.
Fuck. This was truly disorienting.
I grabbed the edge of the counter. “Hey, you made it,” I said as casually as I could.
“Yeah, you must be Leo.” There was a pink blush glowing beneath his cheeks, but I couldn’t tell if he was embarrassed or just flushed from having jerked off. “Nice to meet you, and thanks so much for having me.”
“No problem. You find everything you need? That room at the end of the hallway on the left is yours.”
River started to respond, then snapped his mouth shut. “Oh, I think I might have put my bags in your room by mistake. Is yours the one with, like, no decorations or anything? It looked like a guest room.”
I chuckled. “Most people think it’s boring,” I said. “I find it relaxing.”
River held up a finger, poising it in a way that made me smile. “Just one minute. Let me move my stuff.” He hurried away and called over his shoulder, “Sorry!”
I gave him time to clean up whatever mess he had made and did my best to compose myself. River obviously didn’t realize I had seen him, which was good, but now I had to hold this awkward thing in my head while I tried to act like a normal person.
I shoved the pizza crust in my mouth and washed it down with the beer. A minute later, River returned. He ran a hand through his silken, shoulder-length hair as he turned the corner into the kitchen, and it struck me how different his gestures and movements were from Kai’s.
Of course they would be different, I scolded myself. They were different people.
