Page 8 of Through the Fire: Matt & Adam

“I don’t know what’s eating at you, but I need to finish the spaghetti. If you would, I’ve got parmesan cheese in the fridge. Grab it?” Adam stirred the pasta and lowered the temp on the sauce. “When I was a kid, Mom let us loose in the kitchen. She’d only correct if we were going to hurt ourselves or something. I learned about the different spices and how to make food taste better without salt. It’s kind of fun. One of these days, I’ll teach you.”

“You will?” Matt placed the cheese container on the counter.

“Sure.” He set the timer and stirred the pasta once more. “We could do like wine tasting but with different spices and dishes.”

“That would be cool.” Matt eased away from Adam and stood in the doorway. “I can’t cook for shit, so I’ll stand over here out the way. You seem to have everything under control, and I’m not much help.”

He had so much self-doubt. Adam checked the boiling pasta then turned his attention to Matt. Now he understood Matt’s hesitance. His confidence had been blown to hell. By what? Adam wasn’t sure, but he wanted to know. “Before we do anything else besides finish cooking the spaghetti, I want you to open up. Talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“I’m just tired.”

He hated when people lied. “Want to go with that, or do you want time to come up with something better? We’re stuck together for the next day or so. I haven’t seen a radar or news broadcast, but I’m betting the fires and smoke won’t be over for at least another day. Come on.”

“Is—is Nick okay? Have you heard from him?” Matt didn’t look Adam in the eye.

“This isn’t about Nick.” He checked the pasta again and switched off the stove.

“Everything is about Nick,” Matt muttered.

“True. The guy is full of himself.” He dumped the water and pasta into the colander, then glanced back at Matt. “You’re the older brother, but you had to live in his shadow.” He knew Matt’s story so well in that respect. Nick talked about Matt a lot but mostly how Matt wasn’t good enough. Matt never seemed to measure up, and Nick complained. Not that he’d tell Matt yet, but that complaining was most of the reason he and Nick never coupled up.

“What are you talking about?” Matt inched into the kitchen and stirred the sauce. “Ready for this? Or are you a sauce and pasta separate kind of guy?”

“I like it all mixed up.” Like he wanted to be all mixed up with Matt. “Pour it on once I put the pasta back into the pan.” Once the sauce and pasta were mixed, Adam placed the food in a dish. He nodded to the living room. “Take this out there, and I’ll bring plates and sodas.”

“Good deal.” Matt exited the kitchen with the bowl in hand.

Adam peered into the open fridge and used the cool air to clear his thoughts. He wasn’t sure where the pornos came into the mix, but he understood Matt a bit better. The guy lived in the shadow of his younger brother. Didn’t Matt understand he isn’t like Nick? Adam grabbed the two cans of soda and tucked them in the crook of his arm. He picked up the plates and silverware then headed into the living room.

If it took the rest of their time cooped up together, he’d show Matt he was a sexy, sweet guy who deserved to be taken on his own merits. Hell, he wanted Matt to fuck him senseless—after they watched that porno. Maybe they wouldn’t last beyond the confinement, especially if Matt wasn’t excited by Adam’s love of porn, but he was willing to take the chance. He’d fallen in lust with Matt when he heard stories about him when he and Nick were in college. Now that he and Matt were neighbors and confined together, he wasn’t going to squander his chance to be with Matt Holt.

“I turned on the television,” Matt said. “Looks like the fires are getting worse. The smoke isn’t going anywhere either. The governor was just on, complaining about the air quality. He urged us to all stay inside, if at all possible. Good thing the store is closed. We wouldn’t have any business.”

Adam portioned out the pasta then offered a can of soda. “Well, you could find a few things to do. Testing the toys comes to mind. Viewing the videos. Possibly trying on the clothes?”

“We can’t do that.” Matt put one hand up. “Well, that’s not true. If we want to test anything for recommendation purposes, we get the item, but there’s a limit. One per month per person.” His ears burned red. “I’ve taken advantage.”

“Yeah? Got a couple dildos or a vibrator?” Adam asked. He opened his soda can then downed part of the cool liquid.

“Maybe... What would you take for testing purposes?”

“I don’t know.” Adam paused to consider the question. He’d never been to the store, so he wasn’t even sure what they had. What would he want? Hmm... “I’d get a few videos and a butt plug. Yeah, something to use with a friend and something for solo use.”

“You—you like videos?” Matt toyed with his pasta. “I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t a regular at the store who liked watching porn. Most of the guys I’ve dated and my friends probably watch it but not with anyone. When I brought it up to my ex, he squirmed and flipped out. That was the end of that.”

“Oh, I’d watch it with someone. You can only jack off so many times before that gets boring, and I’m not a Fleshlight kind of guy. I want the real thing.” Adam propped his feet on the coffee table and crossed his ankles. “My dream is to find a guy who isn’t afraid to watch porn with me. We don’t have to act everything out. I’m more interested in the getting-horny part and fucking like rabbits afterwards.”

Adam stuffed a bite of pasta into his mouth.Let him chew on that.Would Matt balk? He hoped not. Would Matt catch his not-so-subtle come-on?

Matt paused with the food part way to his mouth. Slowly, he turned to Adam. “A dream guy?”

Adam nodded. “My dream guy. Someone who isn’t afraid to explore my kinks with me and would share his. Know anyone like that?”

“Not Nick?” Matt blurted.

“Nope. He wasn’t cool with my choice of videos. If there weren’t guns and explosions, he wasn’t interested.” Adam moved his feet to the floor and placed both plates on the coffee table. He tapped the lid of Matt’s computer. “I confess I saw what you were watching. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t affect me. It did. Turned me on and made me want to view it with you.”

“You’re nuts. Did the smoke get in here and mess with your head?” Matt dropped the fork and held his head in his hands. “That’s got to be it.”

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