Page 64 of Candy Hearts
William whipped the underwear off Benji’s legs before falling between them, perfectly slotting into the home Benji made for him as he opened his thighs. As Benji opened his heart for the long beats of time in which their bodies were moving together, and bliss was searing through his sensitive body, and William was breaking apart, piece by piece, in his arms.
William’s orgasm seemed to wash away his reservations, to strip him down to nothing but a wild animal soothed only by Benji’s kiss. Benji reached between their bodies, and it was the easiest thing in the world to follow his valentine off the edge of the cliff, to positively splatter William’s chest with his come.
The attic bedroom came back to Benji in increments, reaching him through hazy eyes and ringing ears. The flicker of the fire in the wood-burning stove. The scent of sweat and sex and cinnamon candles. William’s mouth sucking up kisses along Benji’s stomach. The tick of the heater kicking off. The words they had shared.
“Hey,” Benji whispered.
William lifted his face. His lips were glossy with Benji’s come. Benji pulled William up his body and licked a glob of spunk off his chin. The bright, seaside taste burst on his tongue. William straddled Benji’s stomach. Benji stared at William’s dick, still sheathed in a condom. It was a super fine dick.
William laughed and cupped Benji’s cheek, forcing Benji to look at him. “Go on a date with me.”
“Huh?”
William closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I shouldn’t ask you that while we’re in our current state. My brain just exploded, and if you’re even a smidge as affected, I shouldn’t put you on the spot. Let me get your card.”
“What is happening right now?”
William rolled out of bed, took care of the condom, and waded through their discarded clothes to find his pants. He pulled a card out of the pocket.
Benji sat up. His body felt a little tender and used. He loved it.
William climbed into Benji’s lap and handed the card over. It was purple. On the cover, William had pasted a pale pink heart and inscribed “My Valentine” within the confines of the heart. Benji flipped the card open. On the inside, William had created a unicorn out of different colors of cardstock. The horn was glittery.
Emotions clogged Benji’s throat. In scrolling, pretty cursive, William had written, “A date. Please?”
A date. And maybe that one date would lead to more nights. Nights that would make Benji feel free and courageous and so fucking good.
“Think about it,” William said as he brushed his fingers through Benji’s hair.
Or maybe it wouldn’t. Maybe that date would highlight all the ways Benji and William didn’t fit together. The ways Benji didn’t fit William’s list of hopes and dreams.
* * *
The sun woke William the next morning. Benji was spooned against him, snoring quietly and drooling on William’s forearm.
The attic bedroom was awash with pink and orange filtering through the big wall of windows. William tensed involuntarily. The house was creaking in a way that indicated people were moving around downstairs. Damn it.
His chest was kind of weak with wanting and tenderness after last night. He wasn’t ready to examine it too closely yet. They hadn’t spoken about what they’d done or the words that had slipped out in the moment. Benji hadn’t said yes or no to the date yet. Last night, William had been hopeful, but in the rosy morning light, he worried his hopefulness had been naivety.
He kissed the back of Benji’s neck and tried to move his arm from under Benji without waking him. Benji grabbed William’s hand and cuddled it to his chest.
“Are you holding me cuddle hostage, baby?” William asked when it was clear Benji was awake.
Benji made an adorable noise in the back of his throat. “No… but it’s our last morning.”
“It doesn’t have to be.”
A leaden silence followed William’s words, and unease trilled up the back of his neck.
“Thank you,” Benji said. “For last night. It was … great, I guess. That word doesn’t seem big enough.” There was an air of finality in his voice that made William’s heart race. It felt like they were dancing around something bad.
“It really doesn’t,” William agreed. “I want to see you again, Benji. Soon. You know that, don’t you?”
Benji rolled over in William’s arms and buried his face in William’s chest. “My sister set us up.”
“What?”
“Sasha. She purposefully didn’t tell me the party was postponed. She wanted this, me and you, to happen.”
