Page 74 of For All It's Worth
“How’s that working out for you?” Charlie voiced aloud the thought we seemed to share, the drawl of sarcasm heavy in his tone.
“I…uh…put it on mute after a couple of days. There were a lot of messages.” I’d bet on quite a bit more than a lot.Jesus.
It was my turn to groan. “You put down that you were questioning your sexuality, didn’t you? That you wanted something either no strings or low key, right?”
Finally cluing into where the problem came from, Henry covered his face with his hands. His shoulders started to shake. At first, I thought he was crying, but soon little puffs of laughter were audible. Tears streamed down his face and I couldn’t help but grin at Charlie and shake my head.
“Dude, if you need help then all you need to do is ask, but really all you need is a couple of gay friends to test some theories on you.”
That stopped Henry cold. “Test me? How d’you mean?”
I looked to Charlie for help, unable to articulate the ideas I was having and needing his support. We’d played this game before with curious college friends. He gave me a gentle smile, showing me he was on board with what I was thinking of doing. It was only a kiss, after all.
“I think what Max is suggesting is something simple. Like a kiss. Maybe see if you have a type. Nothing too wild. He’s not suggesting you have sex with one of your friends. Right?” He glanced at me and I nodded empathetically. “You can tell a lot about a kiss.”
Henry looked stunned. “You can?”
Charlie and I both nodded and I gazed at him to check if what I was about to do was going to upset him. Inside, I was a mix of bravado and fear. I knew that I could be about to make a really big mistake, but I couldn’t back out now.
Charlie winked and I let out a relieved breath. This didn’t mean anything, I was just helping out a friend.
Pushing Henry back onto the sofa, I clambered into his lap facing him.
“What?” He managed to get out as I leaned in.
“Relax,” I interrupted, “We’re just testing out some theories unless you’re really uncomfortable with it. If you’re worried about Charlie, then don’t. Charlie’s okay with it, aren’t you babe?” I turned around a little so I could look him straight in the eye without leaving Henry’s lap.
“As long as I get a turn too, I don’t mind at all. This is kinda hot, actually.”
“See?” I turned back to face Henry, leaning in a little closer, “If you don’t want this, I’ll stop right now, but if you’re at all curious, then this is something safe. We won’t hurt you or push you to do anything you don’t want to.”
He thought it over quickly and there was no faking the interest and heat in his eyes. Henry was into the idea of kissing me and my boyfriend.
I got a thrill every time that I thought of Charlie holding that title. His place in my life was far more permanent than something as fleeting as a boyfriend, but it was too soon to think of things like that.
My knees were starting to ache from sitting in this position so I prompted Henry a little, “So?”
He answered by leaning forward to meet my lips. Unprepared, it was just a tiny brush of lips and not a real kiss, so I reached out and placed a hand at the back of his neck so I could control it better.
Our lips met a second time. Henry’s lips were full, warm and so soft against mine. We kissed close-mouthed for a few seconds before his tongue probed against my lips and I opened to it, allowing it to explore my mouth. I took control again, my tongue twining with his, taking the kiss even deeper. Instinctively, I rocked against Henry and his growing arousal and he released a moan against my mouth.
The noise shocked me and I pulled back quickly like I’d been electrocuted and I moved off Henry’s lap, glancing at Charlie for reassurance that I hadn’t ruined everything between us.
Charlie looked at me with lust in his gaze and adjusted himself. “That was hot and clearly Henry was into it.”
We both looked at a shell-shocked Henry as he also adjusted himself. “Damn! That was something else.”
I couldn’t hold in the laugh that escaped me. Henry and Charlie smiled at me and then looked at each other. I saw the interest there, though more on Henry’s side. Charlie just seemed curious, which was a relief. I was willing to bet it was more of a game to him, but there was a trickle of unease at how willing Henry was to kiss Charlie. Henry led this time, shuffling closer to Charlie and bracketing his face with his hands, pulling Charlie closer until their lips met.
They were striking together. These large men locked in an intimate embrace and their kiss quickly escalated into something passionate where Henry and I were more exploratory and tender. Henry cupped Charlie’s throat as he dominated the kiss and Charlie had given himself up to it. Small sounds of pleasure escaped from them both.
It was Charlie that broke the kiss. He pulled back and then dropped a quick, chaste kiss to Henry’s lips so that it didn’t look like a rejection. His eyes flitted to mine, and I saw worry there.
Henry slumped back in his seat and I cursed myself for starting this experiment. All I wanted to do was take Charlie to his room and get inside him, show him that he belonged to me. Unfortunately, we had to help our friend through his identity crisis.
“You okay?” Charlie asked him.
Henry let out a deep breath, “Yeah. I guess there’s no question. I’m into guys.”
