Page 57 of Devilry

His eyes light up with excitement, and my chest expands with pride at making him feel the way he does.

Bending down, he grips both arms of the chair, hovering over me. “You're going to get a lot of firsts, Mr. Huxley.”

“First place is all I ever strive for.”

12

Elijah

As usual, when I’m away from Cole, common sense tries to worm its way into my psyche, but this time it isn’t trying to talk me out of seeing him. Instead, it’s a montage of memories, of how every time I take what I want, it’s followed by a series of disasters. Reminders that whatever I want in this life is not mine for the taking. No matter how much I yearn to feel whole, there will always be empty parts that I’ll never know how to fill.

Letting my head roll under the spray of the shower, I try to push the negativity aside and let myself get excited about seeing Cole. As much as I enjoy everything about him, I also love the freedom of being able to talk to a man, ogle a man, and be touched by a man.

It’s the simple pleasures that so many other people take for granted. The things that used to keep me up, imagining all the different ways my life would pan out once I left home. Every night, I would close my bedroom door, climb under the covers, and let myself succumb to the barrage of my desires. With my hand around my dick, my imagination ran wild, conjuring up images of faceless guys getting me off every which way.

I feel myself getting hard as I get lost in the moment. The same movie reel playing in my mind, the strangers’ faces now replaced with Cole’s.

I make a fist around myself, stroking up and down, thinking of him.

His mouth. His hands. His cock.

My movements are frantic as the familiar tingling that runs up from the soles of my feet begins to settle over me. My balls become tight in anticipation, a warning that I’m close. It only takes a few more pumps before my body shudders and I come all over my hands.

As quickly as my release came, it’s gone. The water washing it down, along with all the knots of tension and arousal that frequently battle it out.

After one more quick rinse, I switch the water off and step out into the small but efficient bathroom. Situated between the two rooms, the bathroom has access on either wall, opening up into each of our bedrooms. The water running through the pipes is loud enough to ensure neither of us walk in on one another.

Once I’m dry, I wrap a towel around my waist and rummage through my clothes, searching for something appropriate to wear. Settling on army green, cuffed chinos and a white t-shirt, I search around for my white, low top Chucks and step out into the common room.

“Where are you going?” Aiden asks almost immediately.

“Out,” I stammer.

“Without me?”

“Hey. I know other people,” I quip.

“Seriously, where are you going?”

“You know that research project I told you I was part of? We’re all meeting up to discuss what we’ve got so far and make sure we all stay on track.”

His gaze roams over the length of me before he flicks his eyes back up to mine. “Something is different about you.”

I wave him off and slip my wallet and phone into my pockets.

“You’ve never come home and showered before going to meet people from school,” he presses. He flips his wrist and looks down at his watch. “It’s dinnertime soon. The time people usually meet someone for a date.”

“Please,” I scoff. “Me, on a date? What have you been smoking today?”

“Firstly, don’t act so surprised. I’m not the only guy who’s going to want to tap that ass. Secondly, I’m on to you, Eli. You really are a terrible liar.”

His comment catches me off guard, reminding me how everything about Cole has made me want to be carefree and obvious. A stark contrast to the guy I was growing up.

“Aiden, we don’t have to do this, you know?”

“Do what?”

“Pretend that now we’re no longer walking around on eggshells with one another, I’m actually okay about speaking about myself.”

---