“I’m glad.” Without breaking eye contact, Ben reached down with one hand, and after a quick tug on Alexei’s dick, there was a quiet click of the lube opening. “Then tell me what feels especially good. I want to know, and it turns me on.”
“I’ll try,” Alexei said honestly. He thought he was getting better. At trying things.
They were kissing again then, and Alexei thought maybe Ben was kissing him so hard as a distraction from what he was doing with his hands, as his knuckles traced down Alexei’s side, his palms caressing Alexei’s hips, then farther, farther, pushing Alexei’s legs apart, until Ben pressed gently against him with a warm, wet finger, making small circles, going no farther.
“That feels good,” Alexei breathed, and it did. It felt safe.
Alexei ran his fingernails up Ben’s back, and Ben purred. That felt good, too, making Ben produce noises like that. That actually felt the best.
Ben pulled his lips away, forehead resting on Alexei’s.
“Your fingernails were so clean, the day I met you in Idyllwild,” Alexei said.
Ben’s finger never stopped its circling motion, but a puff of laughter hit Alexei’s cheeks.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Alexei swallowed. “It’s so hard to keep your fingers clean on the trail. I was impressed.”
“Huh. I just thought,This hot guy is hot.But, thank you?”
“And I loved your smile. Still love your smile. And your eyes. And that small gap between your teeth.”
Ben dipped his head, nipping at Alexei’s neck. “I hate the gap between my teeth,” he said, but Alexei could tell from the quiet laugh inside the words that he was pleased. He moved his mouth to Alexei’s nipples, and Alexei lost words again for a bit.
Until a minute later, when he said, “I trust you, Ben.”
Ben did pause then. He looked at Alexei. Alexei looked back.
And when Ben whispered, “I trust you, too, Alexei,” Alexei felt everything inside him turn to caramel.
“I’m going to go a little deeper now,” Ben said a beat later, “if you want to lift your hips a bit.” Alexei tried not to clench when he felt Ben’s finger move inside him, slowly, slowly. It wasn’t as good as the gentle circles, but it was okay. He distracted himself with more kisses until he felt Ben push in another finger, and he broke away to suck in a breath, to concentrate on letting his body relax and adjust.
“Okay?” Ben asked.
“Yeah,” Alexei breathed.
Ben dropped his mouth to Alexei’s ear.
“Did your swipe-right do this? Did he go slow enough?”
He had told Ben a little about the swipe-rights last night. About the last time he’d attempted this.
“No.”
Ben was silent a moment, starting to shift his fingers inside Alexei, drawing them out, pushing them back in, and seriously, sex was so strange.
“Did he hurt you?”
“A little,” Alexei admitted.
“Motherfucker,” Ben gritted out, low and quiet.
“This doesn’t hurt,” Alexei said quickly, because who cared about that guy, because this truly was starting to feel better than okay. “That feels good, Ben.”
He felt Ben smile against his neck. But it was followed by a pause, a huff of air against his collarbone.
“I wish—” Ben started. “I wish you hadn’t swiped right on those guys.”
