Life in Suspension - 4. Chapter 4 - Truth and Lust.

Chris was gone when I woke up the next morning, my dad was too. Both left me text messages explaining they had left for Chris’ first therapy session and reminded me Corey would be picking me up to take me to school.

I had just gotten out of the shower when I heard a knock at the door, I wrapped a towel around my waist and grabbed a second, and started drying my hair as I padded down to the living room and opened the door with a silent yawn.

“Uh, good morning,” Corey said bashfully as he stood on the front porch.

“Hey,” I said, offering him a small smile and nodding my head for him to follow me. I paused as I reached the bottom of the stairs and looked back as I heard Corey close the front door. “Something wrong?” I asked as Corey fidgeted in place.

“Maybe I should wait down here.” He said quickly.

“Down here? Why? It’s not like we haven’t seen each other naked before.”

“It’s different.”

“How?”

He finally raised his eyes to look at me, “That was school, this is here. Your home. It’s intimate.”

“Oh for crying out loud. Come on lug-head.” I insisted and he reluctantly followed me up. “Dude, chill for real,” I said as I entered my room and I went to my dresser to dig for a pair of boxers and some socks.

He heeded my advice and relaxed a little. I finished drying my hair as he opened my closet door and did a slow look inside. “You don’t have much variety in clothing do you?” Corey asked from my closet as he peered inside, looking at what was hanging.

“Not, really no.”

He absently pulled out a dark blue and white plaid shirt that was buried in the back, along with a basic white tee and a pair of pants that had the same deep blue in the shirt, and held them up.

“I haven’t worn that shirt in a while,” I commented as I slipped on boxers underneath my towel before ditching it.

“You should.” He said simply.

“Why?” I asked as I sat and put on the pair of socks.

“It goes well with your eyes.” He said as he laid the clothes next to me on the bed.

“Are you giving me fashion advice now?” I asked with a grin.

“It’s what friends do isn’t it?” He said as he went through my collection of watch bands for the smartwatch I rarely wore. He pulled out a gold magnetic band and pulled the watch off its charger and swapped the wrist bands, as I put on the jeans and the white tee he handed me.

Corey turned and looked at me with a frown as I stuffed my phone in my back pocket and grabbed my bag.

“What?” I asked.

He wordlessly pulled the bag out of my hands, setting it on my bed, then grabbed the shirt and opened it so I could put it on, “Just wear it without the buttons.” And I did as he asked, slipping it on, he straightened it out then grabbed my wrist and slapped my watch on it.

“Perfect.” He stated simply.

“You’re weird sometimes, you know that right?” I commented as I grabbed my bag.

“How so?” He queried as he cocked his head to the side.

“You are so simple with words sometimes, yet you seem to convey much more than what the words you speak mean.” That comment earned me a half smile and a glimmer from his eyes.

“I know.” He replied as he looked around my room, “You ready?”

“Yeah let’s go. And thank you for picking me up, and for last night. Sorry, I fell asleep on you.”

“It’s what friends do,” said again just as simply, but with a conveyance that seemed to mean so much more.

Corey wasn’t a person of many words despite all his attempts at communication with me before this point. The car ride to school was pretty quiet but I could feel he was a happy presence that seemed to enjoy being in my company. If you thought about it I guess I could have done worse, with a complete chatterbox but I already had one of those and she was waiting for us at the steps as we walked from the student lot.

“Whoa, wait a minute, what's this?” Jess called out from her perch off to the side.

“Some shit went down last night, and this is the result,” I said just as simply as Corey probably would have.

“What kind of shit,” Jess asked with a little bit of venom in her voice as she eyed Corey.

I let out a sigh and took a deep breath.

“Corey tried talking to me yesterday after school and made me mad because he knew about my mom and still said what he said. I was about to kick his ass when Chris pulled me away and then we got into it in the car. Chris finally lost his shit, causing him to break down on the side of the road which required an ambulance and a trip to the ER. My dad took me home rather than have me trigger Chris again, and Corey saw all of it so was waiting for me there. I was so mad when I saw him, I kicked his ass in the front yard, cried a whole bunch and he stayed with me until I stopped crying like a little bitch. Then we talked and he apologized and we’re friends now.” I said quickly without taking a breath until I was done.

“Wait, you kicked his ass?” Jess asked to clarify.

“Yeah,” Corey said as he lifted his shirt. I looked too and I guess my fists did more damage than I thought because he had more than one small bruise along his chest and sides.

“Damn,” Jess said as Corey pulled his shirt back down.

“Shit Corey, I’m sorry I didn’t know I hit that hard.”

“It’s fine. It doesn't hurt.”

“Still…”

“Nate, I said it’s fine. Trust me please.” Corey repeated seriously.

“Well okay then, I guess I’m all caught up. I’ll just say this,” Jess said as she looked at Corey. “If you hurt him I’m going to use that spoon I had saved for Jackson Hunter on your balls instead. Got it?”

“If I do, I’ll hand you the spoon,” Corey said mischievously.

“Then we’re all good.” And just like that a switch flipped in Jessica as she took her normal spot beside me as we entered the building. “Nice shirt by the way. It brings out your eyes.” Jess commented, I didn’t see it but I heard the snicker from Corey who walked on my other side.

It was really strange how quickly we settled into whatever this was we developed. Today was the one-week anniversary of the day I took Corey down and yelled at him as I left the office that day. If you had told me he would end up being a friend, I would have slapped you.

Instead of following behind at a safe distance, like he did yesterday, he fell into pace beside me. I only had a couple of classes with Corey, one of them being P.E. but unlike Jess who sought me out sporadically during the day, Corey managed to catch up with me between every single class. We didn’t talk, except for a few off-handed comments about classes and homework.

Thankfully, we didn’t have any more issues at lunch. A few people, however, took notice when Corey sat with me and Jess at lunch. No doubt, this would circulate as the next piece of gossip to go around the building, at this point, it was whatever.

After we were done eating, and Jess was done siphoning the details from last night from us, I pulled out the book Corey had given me the other day, while he pulled out the next book in the series ‘Magic’s Promise’, and we spent the rest of the lunch period in comfortable silence.

Jess just sat there looking at us funny until the bell rang.

My next class was P.E. On the way I pulled out my phone and swiped my way into Instagram and checked my messages, then tapped the conversation I had left on read from Corey and finally typed a reply.

natesfate_1022: im officially responding to your last message so you can now message me further.

I immediately heard a notification chime behind me as Corey found his place on my side. I didn’t look as he checked his phone, but I was brought to a sudden abrupt stop as Corey quickly shoved me into a quick hug.

“I figured you would enjoy that,” I said as he let go and continued to the gym and its locker rooms.

I was a little apprehensive as I stepped into the locker room, Corey grabbed his stuff from his locker and changed next to me, just as calmly and collectively as always, despite the looks we were getting.

“Hey Andrews, you’re standing a little too close to Harris. You a homo or something?” A random moron called out from across the room.

So much for not being angry, yep it flared right up as soon as the idiot opened his mouth.

Corey stood there in his blue boxer briefs, as he grabbed his shorts not even bothering to look at the guy taunting him. “Why, you want to suck it or something?” He quipped back grabbing his junk.

“What did you say?”

“You heard me,” Corey replied as he changed into his standard black shorts, leaving his torso bare.

“Man, you’re so lucky I don’t beat your ass for that.” The random moron spat.

“James, do you honestly think I care?” Corey said as he held his arms open to display the marks on his torso I left the other night.

People went silent with that and went back to change.

Corey continued, “By the way Nathan caused the bruises so you all may want to think twice about going after the firecracker. He’s the real deal.” He looked at me with a Mona Lisa smile and pulled his hat out of his bag, slipping it into its normal backward position on his head.

“You didn’t have to say anything,” I said quietly as we left the locker room for roll call.

“Yes, I did. People need to know. You are not a pushover.”

I didn’t reply to that immediately. Class in the gym today ended up being a free day, meaning we could pretty much do whatever we wanted as long as it was physically active and didn’t cause problems.

I looked at Corey and then glanced toward the field and the track. The early afternoon was absolutely beautiful outside with a bright blue sky and a few spotty clouds, to provide the occasional shade, with a lovely breeze, and I just didn’t want to spend it inside.

“Track?” I asked looking back at Corey and he gave me an affirming nod. This was almost routine for us, at this point as we had done this a few times before. Just like before Corey held my pace after we completed our warm-up stretches.

“Is it cool if we talk a little?” I asked Corey, causing him to blink and look at me strangely, “what?” I asked

“Usually it’s me trying to get you to talk.” He commented as we started the first turn.

“I know. I just don’t know much about you other than you play football and basketball.” I said as he thought about it for a moment.

“It’s just me and my mom.” He said as he licked his lips and frowned. “Before I say more, I just don’t want you to feel sorry for me. Okay?”

I gave him a quiet nod of agreement.

“My parents divorced when I was young because of me.” He said without much emotion behind it. “I was diagnosed with Aspergers when I was young, and it was rough on my parents. I wasn’t normal, I either didn’t talk or I talked too much, I didn’t like to be touched. I would do things on impulse and terrorize people when they tried to stop me. Eventually, it just got to be too much for their relationship.”

I stayed quiet, this didn’t need commentary for me. I gave Corey the space and time he needed to tell me this himself.

“My mom was adamant about helping me. She chose me over him and they just couldn’t find common ground anymore. Maybe they never had it to begin with. Either way, she got me the help I needed to understand the things I couldn’t. And we worked through them, and learned from them. We moved here in the 8th grade because I was at the point where she thought I progressed far enough that I had a shot at you know, being normal.”

“Damn, “ I commented. “I had no idea.”

“Nobody does. It’s still hard for me to form friendships. I don’t fit in well. You commented once on how I talk and how it’s simple yet conveys more. That’s part of the reason why. I don’t pick up easily on social queues. I understand direct approaches.”

“Is that maybe why you said that thing about my mom? Because of a need to fit in?” I asked carefully.

“Yeah, something like that. It’s not an excuse though Nathan. My mom worked hard to help me understand empathy, and what other people feel when I say things I shouldn’t. And I knew as I said it that I hurt you badly before you dragged me to the ground. I could just feel it radiating off. I knew it was wrong. My mom raised me better.”

“I understand, and mine did too. I don’t pity you or feel sorry for you, just so you know Corey. It does help me understand where you are coming from though and that helps put things into perspective.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” I continued. “You speak without much emotional inflection, it’s almost simplistic, and when you do show emotion it surprises the hell out of me at how strong it is. You kicked my ass in Call of Duty with a broken controller so you obviously memorized every map in the game. And you fidget when you’re nervous.”

“I only fidget when I’m around you.” Corey corrected, I shot him a glance.

“Really?”

“Yeah. You’re the only person I thought I could understand without thinking about it too much. When you say something you mean it, you do what you say and say what you mean. I’m attracted to that. I feel comfortable when I’m next to you and I like that feeling because I don’t have to try to guess what you are trying to tell me. But you also make me nervous sometimes and I don’t know why.”

I pondered that for a moment as we paced ourselves forward. Besides my anger issues, there wasn’t much for Corey to be afraid of, well I had an idea but I didn’t want to test it.

“Are you actually friends with those guys you were hanging out with?” I asked, breaking the silence, as we lapped around the track.

“No. My mom doesn’t want me anywhere around them. I don’t want to be around them either.”

“Isn’t that kind of hard? You play football and stuff.”

Corey bit his bottom lip and looked at me, “I’m quitting football. The guys are just mean and I’d rather try for basketball soon, at least those guys are friendly.”

That made me stop in my tracks and Corey did as well. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Corey said, as serious as he looked. “I don’t need to play football to get into college. My parents built up a fund, and I’m smart like you. I can get the rest through scholarships.”

“How come you aren’t in any of my AP classes then?” I asked incredulously as we started walking down the track at a slower pace.

“Because I’m a year ahead of you in those classes.” He said almost sheepishly. “Only in AP though. I still have to come back next year to finish all those ‘required extras.’”

“Still,” I replied. “You’re going to have an easy senior year.”

“More time to help you with yours then yes?”

“Because that’s what friends do?” I ventured, and Corey rewarded me with one of those rare warm smiles he could produce.

“You’re a lot different than what I thought Corey. So if anything I’m sorry for judging you. It seems like you worked hard to get where you are and I can’t imagine it was easy. If anything, let’s just make sure we’re both honest with each other about things okay? I still have my anger issues I need to work on, and I don’t want you to get the wrong idea when I do blow up.” I said looking up at him.

“Okay,” he said with finality.

We didn’t have any issues in the locker room after class or in the showers. Corey of course took up residence next to me but otherwise carried on his routine just as he always had without much fanfare or concern for what was going on around him.

I found it comforting and hoped maybe I could learn from it. Not that I wasn’t confident, I was but it was always behind a wall of anger I really wanted to try to curb. Come to think of it, I hadn’t been angry once all day, except in the locker room when provoked, and I spent a great deal of time the rest of the day trying to figure out why.

It was the end of the day when Jess made an appearance and she found us at my locker as Corey was with me since he was going to give me a ride home.

“So, are you two a thing yet?” She asked with a smirk as she leaned against the lockers next to Corey.

“Jess! What the hell!” I said as I finished swapping books and slammed the door closed.

She giggled and brushed back her hair which was as red as fire like her personality. “What? I know where this is headed and I thought I’d just save some time before you go dragging it out for months like a grocery store romance novel.”

Corey didn’t respond but I could feel he was gauging my response. “Jess,” I started, “if I end up with anyone I’m sure you’ll be the first to know or to figure it out.”

“I get it you can’t say anything with him standing here. Fine. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” She said with a wave to the hand before she disappeared into the crowd.

“Sorry about her,” I said as we started walking towards the exit.

“Don’t be. She is a force of nature.” Corey said a hint of a grin on his lips.

“That she most certainly is.”

“Do you want to hang out or?” Corey asked as we exited the building.

“Yeah, I just need to check in at home to see what’s going on with Chris,” I said.

“I can drop you at home, you need to change anyway. Wear shorts and stuff like we do in gym.”
“What are you planning?” I asked as we made our way toward the student parking lot.

“It’s a surprise. I think you’ll have fun, and it’s not far from home.”

“Okay let’s do this, just assume for the moment that I can go. I’ll change, put my stuff away and wait for you to pick me up. If I can’t go I’ll send you a message on Insta as soon as I know.”

“Okay.”

Corey did take me home, and left to head back to his house. Chris greeted me in the kitchen as I walked through the door.

“Chris, how was it, how are you, are you okay? I didn’t get to talk to you last night.”

“Whoa, firecracker!” He said as he held up his arms as I rushed him into a hug. “I’m fine Nate, it was a good session this morning, first with me then with me and dad.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t awake when you got home last night,” I said not letting him go.

“I know that’s why I crawled in bed with you short stuff.” He replied as he hugged me back, “I heard you had your own little meltdown.”

“Yeah,” I said solemnly as I let him go. “Corey was here, and I lost it. Ended up giving him the beat down on the lawn, but we worked it out.”

“I’m happy to hear that, dad was going to talk to you tonight to see when to fit you in, maybe later this week if you’re cool with that.”

“I am. I just don’t want what happened yesterday to happen again. You know?” I said as he rubbed my shoulder.

“I do know Nate, and I want things to be good for us. This is my last year before I leave for college and I just want to make sure we all get to spend quality time together you know? Without the dark clouds over our heads.” Chris replied gently.

“I don’t even want to think about you leaving just yet.”

“I know, I know.”

“Were you heading out?” I asked.

“Actually I was, I was going to go hang out with Dan and the guys, they were worried when I didn’t show up yesterday. I can stay if you need me to.”

“No, Corey is coming to pick me up, he wanted to do something after school. I just didn’t want to leave you here by yourself.”

“Really? That’s awesome. Are you guys friends now then?”

“Yeah, despite me leaving bruises on him, which I did apologize for. He stayed with me and we talked. He even got me to eat so yeah we’re friends now.” I explained and offered him some details as to what lug-head and I had talked about. I should really stop calling him that.

“I’m happy you were able to work things out, dude. It makes me feel better knowing you're starting to be in a better place.”

“I know, me too.” My phone beeped an Instagram notification and I pulled it out to check.

therealCIA93_: Im omw, we still on?

I typed a quick reply.

natesfate_1022: still on, changing now.

“I love you Chris, but I gotta change, Corey is on his way.”

“Go, I love you too!”

I grabbed my bag from where I abandoned it and quickly made it up to my room. I stripped down to my boxers, put my smartwatch back on the charging stand then grabbed a clean pair of light blue basketball shorts and a white sleeveless tee. I changed my shoes to an older, more worn and comfortable pair of black Nike Air Max I had in my closet, and thundered down the stairs after making sure I had my phone and my wallet.

“Bye Chris, what are we doing for dinner?” I asked as I stopped at the front door.

“Dad’s staying late at the office to catch up from yesterday and today. He’s still working on that big case he’s been trying to finish. I thought I’d eat with the guys, so maybe you and Corey can get takeout if you want?”

“Fantastic, great idea, thanks!.”

“You bet buddy, and have fun!”

Corey picked me up and took us to a nearby park of all places. I gave him a curious glance as he wordlessly parked the car, and got out. I followed him back to the trunk which he opened and pulled out a sports bag. He unzipped it and produced a basketball.

“Really?” I asked, shaking my head. “You know we could have done this at my house. I do have a hoop.”

“This is better.” He said as he pulled out the bag and closed the trunk. We headed over to the area of the park that had the concrete ball courts.

“Do you do this a lot?” I asked

“Yes.”

As I said, a man without many words.

We walked up to a court that already had people playing on it and their game paused as Corey approached them with me slowly leaving a gap behind him. I recognized some of the guys playing and it was clear they knew who I was because of the unsure looks I received from all of them.

Corey gave a hand signal, and one of the guys threw him the ball they were playing with after he stuffed his back into his bag.

“What’s he doing here?” One of the teens said.

Corey remained silent as he put a hand behind my back and guided me to the point guard position. He then held out the ball, “Show them.”

I took the ball and made my shot, and just like in the gym last week it sank into the net without touching the rim.

“Holy shit.” Another voice said from the group, “New game guys and I’m on his team.”

The group got themselves situated, what had been 3 on 3, was now 4 on 4. Corey made sure he was on my team, as well as the guy who spoke up after my initial basket, along with a fourth I didn’t even know.

And the game was on. Corey very quickly set himself up to guard me against the others to allow me to make my shots unhindered and it worked. His prowess actually surprised me considering what he had told me before about his condition, because it was like he was a totally different person. Coach Yates was right, he was good and could be so much better.

I was too short to try any kind of dunk into the net, although a couple of the others could. All their fancy footwork though couldn’t save them from my precision, and I used my lack of height to duck around blocks and speed past obstacles. I totally didn’t even bother keeping score but by the time we worked up a good sweat, it was clear our team had the advantage.

“Damn dude, you’re good. Are you going to play this year?” One of our opponents asked.

“I don’t know,” I said as I tried to catch my breath.

“You should,” Corey said as he approached me.

“Yeah maybe,” I replied, trying to wave it off.

“Well, either way, I’m Max,” the guy who joined our team first said as he extended a hand.

“Yeah, I think we’ve got a couple of classes together, Lit Comp and Biology right?” I asked, listing off a couple of the AP classes we shared as I shook his hand.

Max was a little taller than Corey but not by much. Corey had some mass to him, but Max was lean like me. He had the lithe muscles of someone who played basketball a lot, kind of like my brother did, his short crop light brown hair and damn those eyes, an ice blue, that seemed almost white like snow in the sunlight.

I shook that thought off quickly.

The others introduced themselves but honestly, I wasn’t paying attention. I kind of spaced out for a minute, only to be brought back to Corey shaking my shoulder.

“Oh sorry, what?” I said looking around quickly.

“We’re just going to shoot hoops without an actual game, you still on?” Max asked as he shot me the ball.

“Sure,” I said as I launched it toward the goal and it bounced off the rim.

I deserved that. I got distracted, by pretty eyes and that’s the price I paid.

I got some laughs out of that, Corey gave me an odd look for a moment before we rejoined the others.

We played like that for the next couple of hours, sprinkled with some conversation and a lot of ribbing. I had fun though, a lot of fun. Corey was right because I enjoyed myself and maybe this was something I could do on the regular as well. I kept myself a little guarded I guess, because this was so far out of my comfort zone I wasn’t sure how to handle actually making friends. Corey was an exception of course but these other guys I never talked to much less hung out with. I didn’t know what to make of them yet.

Things wrapped up as the sun started to sink low into the horizon heading for its own dunk of the day. Everyone started packing up and I made my way to Corey’s sports bag where my phone and wallet had been placed as Max ran up to me.

“So Nathan, I just wanted to say, it was cool hanging with you today and maybe we could do it again sometime?” Max asked.

“Uh, sure?” I said. Max asked for my Instagram and I gave it to him as Corey finished with the other guys. I frowned a little and shook it off as Corey got closer.

“Have fun?” He asked.

“Yeah I did, you were right,” I admitted.

He smiled a little, “I knew you would.”

“Max wanted my insta, and asked to hang out again,” I said as I cast a glance at the retreating forms of the others as they left.

Corey looked away for a moment, and I could tell he was fighting the impulse to fidget.

“Come on Cor, you hungry?”

“What no lug-head?” He asked as he locked his eyes on me with uncertainty.

“I uh, thought maybe I shouldn’t call you that anymore after you know…”

“But I like it.” He said taking a step or two closer till he was right in front of me.

Corey’s closeness and the way he said he liked it caused me to pause for a moment, as something stirred in my chest. I could smell his scent quite well, a light musk that was almost sweet, and I felt something stirring I hadn’t felt before. I resisted the urge to touch him which came from nowhere. Those dark brown eyes stared into me and I felt dizzy.

“Okay, if you insist, lug-head.” God damn he gave me that smile again, what the fuck was going on with me. The way he bit his lower lip almost made me lose it.

I tried to shake it off.

“Uh, do you want to get some takeout? I know a place that has a salad bar and grilled chicken.” I managed to stammer out.

“Okay, let’s go.”

A rush flooded to my head as we walked back to the car, any thoughts about Max suddenly forgotten for some reason. The trip to The Salad Shop was a quick one, and we didn’t waste any time getting our food and leaving. Corey tried to slip me some money, but I paid for both of us just like I said I would.

“Why are you single?” Corey asked on the quiet ride back to my house.

“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked, shaking myself free of the blank stare I probably just had as I got lost in thought again.

“You’re gay, you’re cute. Yet you’re single. I don’t understand.” Corey said as he kept his eyes on the road.

“I guess I just never thought about it, due to the angry me.”

“Are you angry now?” He asked, mirroring a question he asked last week on the track.

“No.”

He didn’t ask me anything else. We arrived at my house and I told him he could set the food up on the coffee table and we’d find something to watch similar like we had the other night. I headed upstairs to drop my wallet and put my phone on the charger.

A notification caught my eye. I swiped on it and unlocked my phone as I turned on my bedside lamp as evening set in.

castermax15: hey just wanted to leave you this - had fun hope to hang soon maybe alone?

Well shit.

It didn’t take a cryptographer to figure out the meaning of that message. I plugged my phone in and stared at the message trying to think of a way to respond that would work for Max as well as myself.

“Do you like Max?” Corey asked, standing at my door, causing me to jump out of my skin.

“Jesus lug-head, you scared the hell out of me!” I yelped. His poker face gave no secrets as he stared me down. “Uhm, I just met him I don’t know.”

The dim light of the room cast him in shadows as he stepped through the door. “Do you like me?”

“I, uh. Yeah, we’re friends remember,” I said, clicking the button to turn my phone's screen off and lock it while it charged. I set it quickly on my nightstand as if it was too hot to hold.

He shook his head, “No. Do you like me?”

My heart was pumping so hard in my chest it hurt. He stepped even closer just like he had at the basketball court, and I could smell him again. The musk, with a hint of sweetness, a combination that shouldn’t exist yet did and completely overpowered me.

“Corey…” I breathed, swallowing hard as my anxiety shot up to new levels.

“Do you like me?” He asked, with his eyes pleading for an answer.

God I just wanted to fucking touch him but my hands wouldn’t move. I wanted to run away but my legs wouldn’t work, what the actual fuck.

His hand reached out and brushed my long locks clear of my brow, and I flinched at the touch.

“Please like me, Nathan.” He almost whispered.

“But… you’re… you’re not-”

“Doesn’t matter.”

The hell it didn’t!

“I… Corey, I…” Great now I couldn’t fucking talk.

What else was I about to lose control of, maybe next on the list was wetting myself.

Corey’s hand brushed against my cheek and I still hadn’t given him an answer.

With one look into his eyes, I could tell he liked me. That poker face slipped and I saw it all. This was too much though. He took a step back though.

“Don’t.” I said quickly, “Please stay. Yes, I like you.”

The tension that admission I made quickly filled the air along with a burning anticipation, neither of us knew how exactly to fulfill. Our heartbeats seemed to pump in sync as our eyes gazed locked with longing. I don’t know who made that first move, but suddenly we were face to face in an embrace. His heady musk filled my nostrils causing my breath to catch in my throat. We leaned forward together, lips almost touching, not sure who should make the first move.

Somehow, our lips finally met, sending an electric shock that ran through both of us. It was soft at first, each of us teasing the other with gentle touches. The softness disappeared as I actually got a taste of him. I liked it, I wanted it, no needed it, and the intensity of the kiss deepened as he flicked his tongue at mine, tangling it with a rope of desire.

I moaned into his mouth as his hands gripped me tightly, kneading and rubbing my back roughly. Corey’s mouth broke away from mine and moved down my chin and along my neck, as he kissed and nibbled at my skin. My whole body flinched as his tongue found a sensitive spot at the base of my jaw. I moaned against him louder as he nibbled and licked the spot, sending me into a frenzy of lust.

I couldn’t take it anymore, I just had to touch him. My hands slipped down to his waist and quickly slipped into the waistband of both his shorts and his boxer briefs, immediately coming into contact with his dick, which was straining against the fabric, the tip slowly releasing his essence. My hands pushed down his shorts and underwear making his dick thwack against his stomach. A hunger filled me and my strength obeyed me this time as I spun Corey around and pushed him onto my bed.

I was on him like a vampire after blood, there was no softness, no gentle caresses, just savage greed as I shoved his dick into my warm wet mouth. Corey made a noise that was half moan half gasp as my tongue pressed against his hot flesh. With no experience, yet running on total instinct my mouth sucked him in halfway, my tongue pressing and flicking against the fleshy shaft as I edged the head of his dick toward my throat.

His hand grabbed the back of my head, gripping my hair as he pulled it up and then pushed it back down. I quickly pushed down my shorts and boxers down mid-thigh and flipped around bringing my body up onto the bed alongside his as my mouth worked him over. I felt his warm wetness as he took my cock into his mouth with no hesitation, and soon both of us overpowered by lust frantically slurped each other back and forth, until we brought each other to the edge, and over it.

His dick twitched in my mouth as mine twitched in his, pumping loads onto our taste buds simultaneously, I quickly swallowed just as he did, greedily taking the fluid as fast as it came until we were both spent.

An audible pop echoed as we finally released each other, gasping for air, sweating profusely locked into the euphoric tangle of our shared orgasm. I followed his movements and pulled up my shorts and boxers to lock away any escaped fluids before it went anywhere, and after a few moments of silence, I shifted my body around to lay next to him, suddenly nervous as the high wore off.

“Corey, I uh…” I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t expect this to happen. He was silent with his thoughts as he lay on his back staring at the ceiling. “Do you hate me now?” I dared to ask, trying to keep the shake out of my voice.

He immediately pulled me to him, wrapping his limbs around me, “No. I like you too.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Do you like Max?” Corey asked again.

“No. I like you, Corey.” I said, silencing his fears.

Slowly we rose to our feet, my hand holding his as we headed back downstairs to our long-forgotten food. We did end up finding a movie as I planned, something we both ended up enjoying as we ate. It was a surreal experience, coming down from that shared orgasmic high. We finished eating and cleaned everything up before my dad got home, he made some small talk with both of us before heading for the shower.

Chris however, the cheeky bastard knew something was up the moment he walked through the door as if he could smell it. He made sure he planted his ass down on the loveseat beside the couch closest to us and probably spent more time casting glances in my direction than at the TV.

Finally, Corey needed to go home, I walked him out to the porch making sure to close the front door before we awkwardly looked at each other in silence.

“Can we do it again?” Corey asked, finally breaking the silence with a simple question voiced in a manner only he could.

“Yes,” I responded, just as simply.

I quickly reached up and pecked him on the lips, “Good night lug-head.”

“Good night firecracker.” He responded with a smile before he turned and headed to his car.

I watched him leave before heading back inside.

As I closed the front door behind me, my eyes caught Chris giving me a shit-eating knowing grin, “So you do like him.”

“Yeah, I do,” I admitted with a wistful smile.

“I knew it!” Chris beamed with excitement.

“Does he like you? Have you done anything? Shit do you need condoms because I’ve got-”

“Chris!” I said with exasperation, “Shut up!” I exclaimed as quietly as I could so Dad wouldn’t hear.

“Sorry! I’m just giddy dude! And you’ve got that glazed over, ‘I just got laid’ look in your eyes.”

“I know, and trust me we will talk about it later okay? I need a shower.” I said as I started for the stairs.

“Make sure it’s a cold one.” Chris shot back at me as I disappeared from view.

The only thought that crossed my mind as I made my way to the shower was, what the fuck was I going to tell Jess.