Page 28 of Pippin & Nacho

“Thanks, man. Now back to blow jobs. Any help you can give, I’ll be eternally grateful.”

“Ugh, okay… BJs.” Stone ran the palms of his hands over his jeans and didn’t look at me again. His face turned blotchy as he gave in to the inevitable embarrassment. “So, it’s not just the… dick you gotta… ugh. You gotta play with the balls and shit. Don’t just start sucking. You gotta lick around it like a popsicle or something, focusing on the most sensitive areas. Think of it as foreplay, like working up to the event. Also, try some… fuck… some rimming… you know…” He ran a hand through his hair, his face turning a brighter red as I was completely engrossed in his instructions while burning red myself.

“I know what rimming is.”

He expelled a loud breath. “Thank fuck… Okay, so you should know the most sensitive areas of the dick, which are the head and right underneath it. Just play around with it and see how Pippin reacts… if he’s the responsive type. Or you can ask him outright what he likes. I mean, Nico is notorious for making me use my words and talking about what I like and don’t like.”

I made mental notes, trying to imagine myself doing all that to Sam. My dick throbbed to life with fantasies of pleasing Sam with my mouth, but I tamed it, not wanting to get hard right now. Talk about humiliating. “Okay. What else?”

“I mean, you can just suck him down and see how deep you can go, but like… Nico, he plays with my nipples and shit, too. He focuses on my entire body before even trying to make me come. Once you start sucking his… dick, use your tongue, and if you can’t take him all the way into your mouth, use your hand at the base, stroking at the same time you’re sucking him… like rhythmically. You can play with the balls with your other hand, too.”

“Got it. This is good stuff, Stone.” I knew how blow jobs worked, but not to the extent Stone explained it. I didn’t want to go down on Sam and have his first time getting sucked down to be lame and boring, or even worse, being unable to make him come… Fucking mortifying.

“Honestly, he’s going to like whatever you do,” he said. “Is that it?”

“Yep, I think I’ve got a clearer picture. I appreciate it, man.”

His body sagged again. “Good… Fuck, please don’t make me talk about that ever again.”

I covered my mouth to stifle an embarrassed laugh because, despite how reluctant and embarrassed Stone was, he’d chosen to help me. He could’ve dumped me onto someone else, but he didn’t. His entire demeanor and reaction to this discussion endeared him to me, and I started to understand what Stix saw in him and why he was so drawn to Stone. For the first time, Stone didn’t make me so nervous to be around him, even with the humiliating subject matter.

We stood in awkward silence before I swallowed down my pride and pulled Stone into a hug, which wasn’t easy, being as huge and broad as he was. Stone went stiff, but he finally relaxed and gave me a bro pat on my back before quickly pulling away.

“Thanks so much, Stone. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your help.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, staring at his feet. “Sure. Uh, I would say anytime, but next time, just ask Nico. He’s way better at this shit than I am.”

“Actually, you’ve been an amazing help. I don’t feel like such a newb going into this.”

“You’re gonna be fine. We were all new at this at one point.”

That hit home for me. Maybe I was worrying about this too much. Stone was right. Sam would be just as unfamiliar as me about sex.

“Thanks again.”

I left quickly, not wanting Stone to feel any more awkward than he already was.

At least I was ready for tonight, as long as Sam was.

Nate moved fluidly around the kitchen, pulling out ingredients for dinner. It was cold outside, and we only had one radiator in the living room and in the bedrooms, but those didn’t reach our kitchen. Once he started cooking, things would warm up.

He wore his favorite pink hoodie and pale gray sweats. I loved when he wore pink. The color looked so good on his tawny skin and dark curls. I loved watching him move around even more. He always had an ease about him that calmed and comforted me. Nate’s butt was adorable, too. It was small, bubbly, and tight. While neither of us was built, we were still strong and taut from skateboarding. A lack of dietary nutrition kept us pretty thin, but we’d put on some good weight since getting off the streets.

Before we found home, if we were lucky, we tried not to miss events when a soup kitchen invited chefs to come together and cook homemade soups. I had tomato soup with garlic bread once, which became my favorite. But meals like that were rare and far between when we didn’t have a home. The worst part of living on the streets wasn’t only living with hunger but also being unclean.

Some people could be friendly and help you out with a couple of bucks, but mostly, they snubbed their noses at us as if they were better, not that we could help it. Nate and I did the best we could. And sometimes people could be cruel, kicking at us or spitting on us, as if we intentionally chose that life or were too lazy to work.

What made it even harder was staying away from cops. The last thing we needed was to get dragged back into the system, which would’ve separated Nate and me.

I stared at Nate’s black athletic socks with holes in the heels. He needed new ones.

We should go to the store to get more. Do I need socks? Probably. We could go sock shopping. Maybe that’s boring. Would Nate find it boring? Probably. We can get other things, though. What else do we need?

Nate turned and glanced at me with a sweet and shy smile on his face, bringing me back to the present with a flopping of my stomach before turning to look in our tiny pantry.

Everything had changed between us. All those smiles he used to give me meant something else now. I saw things I hadn’t noticed before, like hints of interest and touches of love.

Soothing music played in my ears as I sat creepily watching Nate from our tiny and scarred kitchen table that wobbled every time you moved. While it annoyed me sometimes, I was grateful every fucking day we had a rickety table with two chairs in an ancient kitchen where we could make food and eat. The food was cheap and basic, but Nate and I weren’t starving.

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