Page 21 of Starfish and Coffee
“But people think you two have been fucking since high school. And you don’t bother to correct them.”
Alex’s gaze was still trained on the ocean, the ebb and flow of the waves against the shore a gentle lull luring him into a false sense of security. “It’s just easier that way.” His voice was a whisper of lust and fear. “The truth’s a little too complicated for this town to handle.”
“And what’s the truth?”
Alex turned to Matt with a glare. “Why don’t we talk aboutyourtruth? What’s your deal, Matty? Why the fuck do you think I owe you an explanation for anything?”
Matt stared back at him, confident and fearless. “What do you want to hear? That I’ve been jerking myself raw thinking about you for the past three days?”
Alex’s breath caught. His dick swelled, his palms grew sweaty, and he fought for a way to suck in oxygen past the white-hot rush of lust. Even still, he couldn’t help but gape at Matt’s bluntness.
“You don’t just admit shit like that,” Alex said furiously, even if Matt was only guilty of answering honestly. “What if I was George or Daryl? What if this was all just some sick trick? We’re not exactly on the same side of the fence! How’d you know this wasn’t just some sorta set up? Shit like that gets guys killed!”
Matt frowned at Alex’s outburst. “That seems overly paranoid.”
“You don’t admit it unless you’re sure,” Alex reiterated, all the while berating himself for his rock-hard dick because Matt was too bold for his own good. Getting mixed up with him was begging for trouble. “Just ’cause you’re used to getting what you want doesn’t make you exempt from the rules. Redneck assholes don’t give a shit how much money you got. They’ll beat your ass just as easily—probably more so. Bicurious 101, you make sure the guy is gay first! Always.”
Alex said it because like it or not, the two of them had become friends. Matt wasn’t perfect, but Alex certainly didn’t want him to get his head bashed in. Just thinking about it caused an adrenaline shot of fear to mix with the lust, making him light-headed from the combination.
“Are you?” Matt’s simple question cut through the tension in the air, his voice low with something that made every hair on Alex’s body stand on end.
“Am I what?” Alex asked, still trying to think past the dread and lust and booze all pounding through his bloodstream.
“Gay?”
Matt’s voice hitched as he said it. The fear of the moment had obviously caught up with him, the realization that he’d just set himself up for something so socially taboo he’d lose everything if it ever got out. Alex had never experienced that feeling. Not his first time, nor any of the encounters after. He’d known he was gay since he was old enough to know what it meant. There was no shocking moment when something that had been nothing but a forbidden fantasy suddenly became startlingly visceral and real.
This was always supposed to be Alex’s reality.
Alex answered him by setting the whiskey in the sand and then leaning over. Matt had asked for it, but he still jerked in shock when Alex cupped his cheek, softly, like a lover instead of a friend. He met Matt’s eyes, seeing the light orbs grow wide and terrified as the reflection of the flames danced in them.
Knowing Matt was two seconds away from freaking out, Alex pushed his hand into Matt’s hair, held him there, and kissed him. Matt’s entire body was tense, but he didn’t shove Alex away. Seeing that as a good sign, he licked at Matt’s lips, needing more than the chaste press of lips against lips.
With a guttural groan that went straight to Alex’s cock, Matt surprised him by opening for more, and Alex pushed in, eager to taste all of him. The heady flavor of whiskey on both their tongues only served to fuel the flames. The smell of Matt’s expensive cologne that still clung to his skin even after working all day, the sweat and sea salt on both of them: it was all perfect and masculine. Alex was never more grateful to be born gay than he was right then.
All the yearning chose that moment to surge to the forefront of Alex’s consciousness, and he found himself taking Matt’s mouth like he was made to own it. Fingers tight in Matt’s hair, he kissed him hot and hard, in a way no woman would.
MATT WAS OVERWHELMED. All his breath seemed to be trapped inside his chest. His entire body was tight in a way it’d never been before. It was as if Alex had just pulled the cap off a lifetime of frustration, and it was all boiling under the surface, begging for release. It was so intense, Matt felt like he was already half insane with it, and he needed an outlet.
He opened wider to the onslaught of Alex’s mouth, letting him push his tongue in over and over, but all it did was make the tension more unbearable. He grasped Alex’s biceps, feeling hard muscles under his fingers. Everything about this was different and foreign, which was why he couldn’t understand being harder and more turned on than he’d been in his entire life. He was literally about to blow just from the feel of Alex tongue fucking his mouth and pulling his hair.
Their small pants and groans blended together because they were fueled by the same hard-driving need for more. It was like being in a car with no brakes. No one to say enough is enough is enough. It was bizarre and amazing and such a sexually-charged situation Matt felt something in him change from the force of his need, like a man destined to be an addict taking his first hit.
Then Matt found himself tense with anticipation as Alex stopped kissing him long enough to crawl over him. Breathing ragged, Matt looked up at Alex as he straddled him, seeing the dance of fire illuminate Alex’s handsome face in the night. He was breathless too, his bare chest heaving as he studied Matt for one hot moment.
Alex groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. He let his head hang low as he continued to breathe in sharp, hard pants of desire, then pleaded, “Tell me to stop, Matty.”
With a shock, Matt realizedhewas the brakes. He was supposed to panic and stop this before it went too far.
Fuck that!
Matt reached up and fisted Alex’s light hair. He tugged him down, being more forceful than he’d dare with a girl. It made everything hotter, the sheer durability of Alex, the thought that he was probably dirty and kinky and didn’t think cum was nasty. He was strong. Handjobs probably didn’t make his arm tired. He wasn’t going to bitch when Matt accidently pulled his hair. He wasn’t going to get tired of sex. He was going to want as much of it as Matt—maybe more, because Alex’s nose flared from Matt’s bold mood. The lust pulsing off him was palpable as he let Matt jerk him closer until they were breathing into each other’s mouths. The pull was magnetic. They kissed again, and Matt wasn’t even sure who made the final move to bring them back together.
With only need against need, they were lost quickly, tongues brushing, teeth clashing as they swallowed each other’s harsh pants and moans for more. The longer it went on, the more aggressive Alex got. Which, Matt had to admit, was sort of nice.
For the first time in his life, Matt wasn’t expected to be authoritative and in charge. He could just stop thinking and enjoy the moment. He did just that, letting Alex take over the kiss, but he gave as good as he got.
Alex may have set the pace, but Matt met him step for step until the two of them were plastered together, bare, muscular chests pressed tightly, hot and sticky with sweat. Matt’s hips had started moving, blindly seeking release from the coiling pressure that had his dick painfully hard and his balls tight with the need to come.
