Page 33 of Crossed Sticks

“Fuck off, hockey dude. I’ve got us covered. You want to be Guinevere?”

A jolt of excitement shot from my balls up my spine. Did he understand how much I wanted to be his Guinevere tonight? Instead of asking that, I drew on my years of experience as anathlete and shot back, “Eat shit, Moretti. You’d be toast without Lancelot.”

My Lancelot was a blur of elegant swordsmanship, loyal to his Arthur and protective to a fault. Together, we weaved through a crowd of goblins and ogres, our laughter ringing out in the noisy arcade. All at once, a sobering realization struck. This wasn’t a text message or FaceTime call; it was real. Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere were digital stand-ins for Luca and me. Could we make things work for a while? My body tingled as I considered the possibility.

When Arthur and Lancelot inevitably bit the dust, we made our way into the Vintage Room and lost ourselves in an old game we both loved,Galaga. We took turns streaking through space in our starfighters, calling out shrill warnings and loud cheers as we struggled to save Earth from the aliens.

“How did you get so fucking good at this game?” Luca watched intently as I repelled another wave of attacking ships.

“My brother and I had one of these in our basement.” I twisted in place as I manned the controls. “Parents bought it… when a… place went out of business.”

I gyrated wildly, grunting and yelling as if I were actually piloting a starfighter. I could feel Luca’s gaze on me, and a rush of heat left me breathless. I didn’t want to blow it if he was impressed by my skills, so I focused, holding out for several minutes before the alien fighters finally got me. “Goddamn fucking aliens,” I said. “They’ll kill us all.”

It was Luca’s turn to play, but instead of taking the joystick, he leaned so close his breath tickled my ear. His lips made contact as he trailed feathery kisses along my jawline, then nuzzled my neck, making me shudder. My thoughts exploded into a fireworks display as I imagined his playful kisses were a way to claim me. Reality mixed with imagination, making me unsure of what was happening.

He rubbed his stiff cock against the side of my thigh, grunting as he sucked my throat. We were in a corner where no one could see us behind the machine, and nearby conversations covered our soft sounds. Right then, I was his as surely as Guinevere ever belonged to Arthur.

I groaned when he pressed against my thigh again, and then nibbled my ear before covering my lips with his. Fire shot through me when he licked into my mouth. Drawing away, he whispered, “You are the hottest thing God ever made. I can’t wait to get you home because I’m going to fuck you all night. You in?”

A wave of euphoria made me lightheaded. “Fuck yeah.”

“Let’s go find something to eat then, because we’ll need all the strength we can get.”

10/

luca

Harper demolishedhis burger with such efficiency I wondered if he was trying to break a record. Maybe hockey players were more cutthroat than I thought, and he was used to swallowing his food whole before someone else could steal it. He stayed on the north side of good manners, but there was unbridled passion in the way he savored each bite. My mind went wild at the way his eyes narrowed in pleasure, and his moans teased my dick into an erection in about five seconds flat.

When he popped the last bite into his mouth, I smiled. “You liked it?”

He swallowed and gave me a crooked grin. “You couldn’t tell? You’ve done some damage yourself.”

“At least I’ve got a bite or two left.”

He leaned across the table and lowered his voice. “I took you at your word when you said we’ll need all the strength we can get. I hope you aren’t going to bail now that you saw how much I like meat.”

I lowered my volume to match his. “You wantmymeat, Harper? Will you like having it in your mouth as much as you did that burger?”

His cheeks flamed, but he didn’t flinch from my stare. “Even more. But what I’m really looking forward to is having it in my ass.” A flicker of uncertainty in his eyes took me by surprise, and he added, “You weren’t kidding about that, were you?”

I shook my head, confused about why he’d wonder if I was serious about fucking him. “I would never kid about it. And now that I know you’re a hockey player, I want to do it even more. I want to give you something you’ll never forget. I can’t wait to see you come apart on my dick, totally lose your shit and spray your jizz all over the room.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Knowing I did that to you will push me over the edge, and I’ll fucking fill you up.”

“Holy shit. Please.” His voice quavered as the color in his cheeks deepened, and the tops of his ears tinged with crimson. His shallow breaths and the hungry look in his eyes confirmed that Harper wasn’t getting much of what he needed. There was good news for him, though. I was about to give him all he could handle.

At home, in the elevator, I pushed the button for the eighth floor.

Harper raised an eyebrow. “You live up there?”

I shook my head. “I want to show you something you may not have found yet. Have you been to the roof garden?”

“No. I haven’t heard about it.”

“There’s never anyone there, and it’s nice at night.”

When the elevator doors opened, I led him down a hallway to an unmarked door and opened it with my key fob. I nodded for him to go first, then followed him upstairs. When we stepped out onto the roof, he took several steps before stopping and makinga 360. “Holy shit, this is beautiful.” After glancing around, he turned his attention to a row of rose bushes, leaning over to smell the flowers.

We lived in a repurposed warehouse that had been transformed into so-called luxury apartments, with a rooftop garden as the crowning jewel. A metal barricade, carefully designed not to obscure the view, encircled the perimeter. Benches provided places to sit, and bright flowers—roses, astilbe, and many others I couldn’t name—covered every surface. Soft garden lights cast a serene glow.

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