Page 26 of Shift Change

So, I waited. Freakout coming in three… two… one…

Nothing. No panic, no backpedaling, no urge to bolt. Instead, I thought about how much I liked the heat of his skin against mine and the steady thud of his heart I could feel where our chests met.

Why am I not losing my shit?Wasn’t this the part where I was supposed to unravel? We were practically fused, rubbing our hard cocks together, and yet—it felt good.Right, even.

“Dog?” His voice was raspy, and he still didn’t move.

I cleared my throat. “I don’t… I’ve never…”

“Me either, but this is fucking amazing.”

I wanted to say yes, it’s goddamn fantastic, but I couldn’t speak. My heart hammered because I had no idea what was about to happen.

“What are you thinking, Dog?”

I was thinking thisshouldhave been weird. Uncomfortable. Something we could joke about later, shake off with a grin, and say, “Well, that was fucking awkward.”

But it wasn’t. It was the opposite of awkward. It felt perfect.

My mind scrambled for an explanation, anything to make sense of the heat pooled low in my gut and the way my whole body was locked down tight, aching for him—waiting for what might happen. Our cocks knew exactly what they wanted, but I was straight.I liked women. IknewI liked women. Straight men didn’t feel like this, wanting—no,needing—anything like this from another man.

Holky shifted again, pressing his cock against mine. It was solid and unyielding, and—what the fuck—I pressed back. There was no denying what he wanted. His eyes were dark with something hot and dangerous, something that said he was as desperate and lost as I was.

Right then, I didn’t give a shit about being straight, about labels, or about what made sense. All I knew was that I needed him desperately.

Braelynn flashed through my mind—tight dress, perfect makeup, all confidence and curves. She’d come on strong, squeezing my dick through my jeans and offering herself for fucking. Yet I’d felt nothing. I’d gotten hard, sure, but it was a mechanical reflex, not need. My body had gone through the motions, but my mind hadn’t been interested.

Now, with Holky, I felteverything. The fire under my skin was real, and my throbbing erection wasn’t an automatic reflex; it was because I wanted him.

I didn’t understand it. I wasn’t sure what it meant, or where it might lead. But maybe that was okay. Maybe not knowing meant I didn’t have to be afraid.

I wanted to stop time, hold on to whatever this was, and let it unfold. For once in my life, I wanted to stop thinking and justfeel.

So I lay there panting, heart pounding, staring into his eyes like a goddamn idiot. The second I moved, the instant this became real,there would be no going back. And I had no idea if either of us was ready for that, not that my body gave one single fuck.

“You’re as hard as I am,” he whispered.

We were so close his breath tickled my lips. The need to kiss him surged again, so sharp it nearly stole my breath, yet I hesitated. What if he didn’t want that? Would it be too much?

The message tone on my cell interrupted my thoughts, but I ignored it. “I sure am. Should we…”

“Do something about it?” He looked like I felt: feverish, lustful, and ready to do anything to satisfy his desire.

I was about ten seconds from blowing my load just from wanting him so much. “Got to.”

“Want to jerk off?” He swallowed hard. “Ever done that with a buddy before?”

I flashed back to eighth grade, the night my best friend, Ben Fornum, slept over. I was in my bed, and he was in a sleeping bag on the floor. The lights were off. We’d been talking about girls, and when things got quiet, we both knew what the other was doing. The air was electric, filled with the sound of rustling fabric. After a minute or two, he grunted softly, and I made a throaty sound while I spurted all over my hand. I wondered if it meant something, if we’d crossed a line, but I was afraid to say anything. Instead, I wiped my hand on the sheet and pretended to be asleep.

“Not really,” I said. “Sort of, back in middle school, but not like you mean.”

“Let’s try it,” Holky whispered. “What do you think?”

My heart thundered so loud and fast I could barely breathe. Would we watch each other? See each other come? What if we squirted some on each other? My throat went dry as dust, but I croaked, “Want to.”

“Me too. Let’s get rid of these damn boxers, and we?—”

Another incoming text interrupted him, and he blinked. “Dog, what time is it?”

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