Page 26 of Saddle Studs
Benny fellonto me in a tangle of long limbs and hearty laughs. We playfully splashed back into the water. I put a hand out and braced myself against the rocky floor of the creek. The crystalline water was refreshingly cool. I tussled with Benny for a moment, pushing him back, our splashes and laughter scaring away a large cardinal that had dropped by for a drink. It streaked away like a bright red comet flying back toward the sky.
The wrestling between Benny and I turned more relaxed. At one point we were simply embracing. Neither of us were trying to hide the effect this kind of physical contact had on us. Part of me wondered if I should be embarrassed by this, but that part was quickly silenced.
Benny was my friend. He used to be mybestfriend. If there was anyone on this earth I could explore this part of my map with, it’d be him.
Benny looked up at me. He grinned and kicked a leg between mine, twisting his foot around my ankle and dropping us both sideways into the water. His hard cock pressed against mine. Thunderous bolts of electricity shot through me.
I swam backward and put some distance between Benny and me. He rose up out of the water, his black hair dripping wet, his chest rising and falling with his breath. He ran a hand through his hair and shook it out. The moment slowed, as if a film editor had pressed a button on their keyboard to make sure the audience took in all of Benny’s majesty.
That’s the only way I could describe him—majestic.
The motherfucker was absolutely dreamy. All that time riding horses and working around the ranch made sure his muscles were ready to be featured on the cover ofMen’s Healthfor any month of the year. He had big biceps made even sexier by his tattoos, strong and rounded shoulders, a chest that I wanted to suck on, abs that should have been illegal, and that thick cock of his I found myself wanting to play with for hours.
Slowly but surely, the map inside of my soul began to defog.
I didn’t want to wrestle anymore. I’d done enough of that with myself.
That didn’t mean I wanted this to stop, though.
I licked my lips. Instead of going for another water tackle, I steeled myself and pushed forward in the water, grabbing Benny’s head in my hands and slamming our lips together. I could hear—fuck, I couldtaste—Benny’s surprise as his mouth opened and let me in.
The reaction was instant. A chemical explosion that rivaled a nuclear meltdown. My body came undone. My world split in half, and all I wanted to do was keep falling into the cool waters of Benny Adams and his perfect kiss.
For years, I’d allow myself, very briefly, to wonder how this moment would feel. These thoughts would sneak in, creeping through the backdoor of my psyche when my defenses were at their lowest—just before bed, while I was drunk, after I smoked a blunt. How would kissing another man feel? Would I enjoy it? Would it turn me off? I’d think back to the time Benny and I hadfirst kissed, how he had initiated that and how I had fucked it all up. All because I was scared. Absolutely fucking terrified… and of what?
Of being myself. Of being happy.
Of this.
“Fuck, Benny.” I still held his head in my hands, resting my forehead against his. I shut my eyes. Allowed myself to drift in the pure bliss of this moment. Our bodies pressed together, the water creating a silky soft blanket that hid nothing. If I were thinking with the correct head, I’d probably worry that someone else had decided today was the perfect day for a dip in the creek. Years ago—hell,weeksago—that idea may have scared the absolute living shit out of me.
Now? I couldn’t care less. All I could focus on was Benny’s hard, wet, perfect body against mine. I focused on what I wanted to do to him, and what I wanted him to do to me.
“I take it this means I win the wrestling match?” Benny teasingly asked.
I chuckled, kissing him soft and slow, just lips and no tongue. Over and over again. “Yes.” I loved his taste. Loved his lips. Fucking hell, I couldn’t stop kissing him. There was a difference for sure, kissing him as opposed to kissing a girl, but it wasn’t a bad difference at all. A little scratchier with the beard, a lot more carnal with our stiff cocks rubbing together. “You win.”
“Good,” Benny answered in between more kisses, his smile growing wider and wider. “What do I win then?”
“A ticket to doing whatever it is you want.”
“Hmm, really?”
“Yup,” I said, kissing him. How could this feel so natural when I’d been so apprehensive about it in the first place?
His hands slipped down to my hips. He was warm against my skin, a contrast to the cooler waters. “Anything?” He moved between us, his fingers ghosting over my sensitive cock.
“Anything,” I affirmed before moving in for another kiss.
He listened, his fingers wrapping around my length. I groaned into the kiss, letting every muscle in my body relax. He gripped my cock just right, gently stroking it, rubbing my tip against his. He matched my moan with another. I felt like I’d caught fire, an impossibility given how we were surrounded by water.
Yet that’s who Benny was. An infinite expanse of possibilities, each one sweeter than the last. No matter which way our conversation drifted or how our day ended, I’d be assured I’d be a happy man. That’s the effect Benny had on me.
Unexplainable. Infinite. Blissful.
Benny broke from our kiss, his hand gripping the base of my cock. I ran a thumb along his jaw line. Had I ever been so close to my best friend?
Could I call him that? Did I have to earn that title again?
