Page 61 of Out of the Storm

Gary continued to stare at the wall, and the butterflies in his stomach were beating their tiny, paper-thin wings wildly, somehow conjuring enough wind power that it felt as though there was an honest-to-God hurricane in there.

“Turn around,” Jeff said. “Or are you worried about seeing my nipples?”

“Uhm, yeah, kinda.”

“Radio man, you’ve ejaculated onto my stomach.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Sorry. You’re right.” He turned back to face Jeff, only to see him sitting thereplaying with himself, wearing the sexiest smile—one that was oh-so sultry and yet slightly teasingtoo. Gary felt heat bloom on his cheeks. “I won’t ever tire of seeing that.”

“Good. Come here, then.”

Jeff held out his hand, and Gary took a few tentative steps forward. With every step, some of his nervousness faded, and by the time he reached the bed, he was relaxed enough that he could feel himself becoming excited again, the head of his cock now pressing against the slightly rough fabric of the motel towel. Tentatively, Gary took Jeff’s hand and climbed up onto the mattress on his knees, letting Jeff coax him closer.

“Get rid of this,” Jeff said, yanking the towel away and tossing it to the floor, and that bit of playfulness made Gary smile like a lovesick weirdo, his heart swelling with hope. Jeff was becoming more comfortable with him. It was a miracle. “Okay, lie back.”

Gary’s body was buzzing with excited-yet-nervous energy again as he lay back.

“So... I found something interesting in your suitcase,” Jeff said.

Gary raised an eyebrow. “Why were you looking through my suitcase?”

“I wasn’t. It was open.”

Gary looked over at his suitcase. Hehadleft it open. And he’d left the outfit he had picked out earlier right on the floor next to it too. When Gary turned his attention back to Jeff, his eyes flew wide. Because Jeff was holding up a half-empty tube of lubricant.

“Why’d you bring this?” Jeff asked.

“Geez, uhm, not forus. IswearI wasn’t expecting—”

“I’m not mad. I’m curious.”

“I-I wasn’t sure if we’d have separate rooms,” Gary stammered as his stomach twisted and turned and seemingly flipped inside out too. “I, uh, I...”

“Do you like to finger yourself, Gare?”

Gary cringed, shrinking into himself a little. “Yes? Sorry if that’s weird.”

“Are you kidding? It’s perfect.” Jeff held up the tube. “CanIfinger you?”

“Really?!” Gary spluttered, a fresh wave ofwanttraveling straight to his cock. He was too stunned and excited to even try to rein in his enthusiasm this time, though there was still a small part of him—a little voice in the back of his mind—that whispered to be careful. “Um, yes, please, yes. Wow, really? Are you sure?”

Laughing softly, Jeff started unscrewing the cap.

“Yes, really. I’m very sure.”

Seeing Jeff squeeze a blob of lubricant onto one of his hands, worry twisted in Gary’s stomach. Was Jeff feeling pressured into this somehow?

“But won’t you feel too . . . won’t it be . . .”

“I’ll be okay,” Jeff said. “Especially because it’s you, Gare.”

“Are you—”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Jeff said, leveling a look. “I won’t break.”

Embarrassment crept up the back of Gary’s neck, turning his ears warm and making his cheeks flush. Why couldn’t he seem to support Jeff correctly? If only he could stop flubbing every single time he opened his mouth to broach the topic.

“Sorry,” Gary said.

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