Page 27 of Merry Cherry Christmas
Max was silent for long enough that Jeremy lifted the phone away from his face to make sure they hadn’t been disconnected. Had he said something wrong? “Um, hello?”
“I’m here.” He was silent again before asking, “Do you trust me?”
Jeremy frowned at the serious tone. He didn’t have to think about it. “Yes. You helped me after I fell when you could have just laughed like everyone else. But I could tell you were different. I knew I was safe with you.”
Max exhaled loudly. “That’s… Thank you.” He half-laughed. “Honestly, that’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said about me.”
“Oh! Well, it’s true. I knew you’d take care of me. And you’ve been so great.” Resting back against his pillows, Jeremy looked at Doug’s almost-empty side of the room, the streetlights slanting a golden glow across the bare wall through the blinds. “I feel like I finally have a friend here.”
“You do. A hundred and ten percent. I like you. You’re cool.”
I’m cool! He tried to sound like he actually was, since Jeremy knew he was extremely uncool and was usually okay with that. “Thanks. You too.”
“Look—” Max exhaled noisily. “No pressure, okay? But do you want me to help you? With this whole sex thing.”
Jeremy opened and closed his mouth. Did Max mean what he thought he meant? “Uh…” How could he be expected to make words when his brain was dribbling out of his ears?
“I’ll show you the basics. Friends with benefits. No big deal.”
Friends. With. Benefits. This was definitely a thing people did. “You’d do that for me?”
“Sure.” Max chuckled. “It would be for me too. I could use the stress release. You’d be doing me a favor. If you’re into it, we can have fun. Like I said, no pressure. I just thought if you’re comfortable with me, it could be the perfect way to get your feet wet. Not to mention your dick.”
Jeremy choked out a laugh. “Um, I, uh…”
“We can go slow.”
“But I’m a neurotic mess.”
“You’re adorable. Trust me.”
And he did. He really did. Yeah, he’d only known Max a few days, but… Flashes of memory played out—Max’s strong arm secure around him as they slid their way to res, Max’s encouraging smile dimpling his cheeks, the furrow between his brows as he listened to Jeremy talk about his parents, the warm press of his hand on Jeremy’s cheek as he leaned down to give him his first kiss.
“I do,” Jeremy said, reminding himself sternly that the kiss didn’t mean anything. Friends with benefits, that was all. “I trust you. I want…” I want you. God, he did.
He let himself admit that he wanted Max Pimenta more than he’d ever wanted anyone, including Canucks player Brock Boeser, who’d gotten him interested in hockey. Well, in watching Brock Boeser play hockey, at least. But forget him. Because Max Pimenta was sexy and sweet and real. Jeremy was listening to him breathe.
Screwing up his courage, he said, “I want you to teach me.” His throat was dry. “Please,” he added hoarsely.
“Okay.” Max sounded hoarse himself. He cleared his throat. “We can experiment. For science.”
“Right. It’s kind of our duty or something. Should I ask you what’s the dirtiest thing you’ve ever thought of doing with a guy?” Jeremy had meant it as a joke, but he wasn’t sure it had come out that way. At all.
“Mmm.” And wow, that one, drawn-out syllable made Jeremy so hot. Max said, “You want to start with phone sex? It’s not that different from jerking off alone.”
Heart thumping and balls tingling, Jeremy had to beg to differ. “Oh my God,” he whispered.
Max chuckled. “You’re by yourself. No one can see you. I can’t see you. I bet you could get hard in no time.”
“Duh. I’ve been hard for, like, ten minutes.” Holy shit. He just said that out loud.
Now Max laughed, and Jeremy loved that sound. Max asked, “What did the trick?”
“I’m not telling!” His face was so hot that he knew he was bright red. But Max was right—no one could see him.
The laughter was gone from Max’s low voice. “Tell me.”
A shiver raced down Jeremy’s spine, and he rubbed his dick through his flannel PJ bottoms. Was he really doing this? Was he actually going to have phone sex?
“Jeremy—”
“When you mentioned dick pics,” he blurted before Max could give him another out, which he could tell he was going to do from the gentle way Max had said his name.
“Mmm. It made you hard? To think about seeing my dick?”
“Uh-huh.”
“You’re touching yourself now, aren’t you?”
Jeremy actually looked down, his hand freezing where he rubbed himself through his PJs. “Yes.”
“You naked?”
He shook his head before realizing Max couldn’t see him. And shit, there really was something exciting about that—hearing Max’s gravelly voice in his ear but being completely alone. Safe. He answered, “No.”
