Page 10

Clouds blocked any chance of moonlight when Cody followed Jugs out the employee access door in the back of Bulk & Beyond. The breeze had picked up since he’d arrived, and empty fast food containers and chip bags lay pressed against the tires of his truck. The single LED light on a pole flickered with each gust of wind.

“You heading right home?” Jugs asked.

“Where else would I be going?”

“Well, you said Lucia had more she wanted to talk with you about,” Jugs said. “Didn’t know if you were planning to go by the sheriff’s office.”

“Hell, I’m tired and dirty. I just want to go home.”

“And see your brother and his family?”

“Son of a…” Cody blew out a breath. The thought of a house full of people made him want to sleep in the truck there behind the store. “You’re an ass, you know that?”

“Me? I was just trying to get you ready for what you’re going to find at home.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Drive safe, Bonker.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“See you,” Jugs called over his shoulder and laughed.

“Jerk.”

As he pulled out of the parking lot and turned toward home, he thought about the conversation with Shanice. She’d pretty much laid it all out for him. He was a good worker, but he needed to show up on time and stop slacking off when he was on the clock. She let him know she’d given him more than a few chances lately, and now she was going to have to document his performance issues, starting with the broken items he’d returned to the shelf in the backroom.

The longer he worked at Bulk & Beyond, the better their monster cases looked.

He left Harriettville city limits, Route 118 curving and straightening in the wash of his headlights. The night looked darker and deeper between the trees, a void that seemed to swallow the light itself, matching the hollow feeling expanding in his chest. Cody's knuckles whitened on the steering wheel as he wondered about the identity of the witch they'd seen out in the woods.

He had to admit, this latest threat made him nervous in a way that burrowed beneath his usual grumpy bravado. Witches were different from anything they'd gone up against before—not mindless monsters to be dispatched, but thinking, feeling beings making informed choices. A witch was a person with extraordinary power that could be used for good or evil depending on their intentions. It was like holding a loaded gun: it could be used to protect or destroy. Plus, witches looked like everybody else, which made tracking them down all that more difficult. They could be anyone from the barista who made his coffee to the mailman to the neighbor who always waved. So many possibilities amped up his paranoia.

Adding to it all was the fact his grandmother maybe, possibly had also been a witch. This revelation churned within him. Each memory of her now cut differently, refracting light from angles he'd never noticed before. She'd been a constant in his life, a strong guiding force in the man he’d become. But to find out she'd hidden some side of herself from him and the rest of her family had pretty much upended everything he thought he knew about her and himself. The betrayal stung, yet it mingled with a strange sense of kinship that left him confused and hurting. Was her secret shameful or simply private? Was it protection or deception? The questions circled round and round with no way to find a true answer.

He guessed his own family might think the same about him and the "sudden" announcement of his bisexuality. A short, bitter laugh echoed in the truck. What a pair they made—grandmother and grandson, each carrying truths that reshaped family narratives. The irony of how he'd demanded honesty from others while understanding intimately why someone might keep parts of themselves hidden away wasn’t lost on him. His anger at her secrets softened slightly as he remembered the fear in his own heart before coming out, the terror of rejection that had kept him silent for so long.

Good job, Universe, on showing him the other side of the coin.

Unfortunately, all he had to go on to figure out if she had been a witch was memories of her. And the clearest of those were from the last few years when her swiftly evaporating mental state had engulfed her. Those final days haunted him still.

Cody had been with her when she'd passed. It had been early in the morning, around four-thirty, that witching hour when the world feels suspended between yesterday and tomorrow. He'd dragged the recliner she usually occupied over next to the bed and had fallen into an exhausted doze, waking with a sudden start sometime later. When he thought back on it, he guessed it had been a change in her breathing that had brought him around—or perhaps something more intangible, some deeper connection.

Her face had been pale, her parchment-thin skin stretched over cheekbones that had once been rosy with health. Her mouth hung wide open, giving her a graceless look that went against everything she had been in life. She would have hated looking like that. Her eyes remained closed, and her face was pinched as if she were focusing hard on some mental task. Cody had reached for her hand then, its frailty shocking—delicate bones beneath paper-thin skin, cold despite the room's warmth. He'd told her that it was okay to let go, voice breaking on words he wasn't sure he meant, tears hot against his cheeks as his throat constricted with grief.

A half dozen slow breaths later, the space between each growing longer, until everything had simply stopped. And she was gone. The room had seemed to hold its breath with him. The early morning stillness became heavier, more final. He remembered feeling her absence immediately, a tangible void where her presence had been, as if a massive stone in the foundation of his very being had cracked and shifted, throwing the rest of his world off balance.

It was still hard for him to believe sometimes. In quiet moments, he'd catch himself thinking of something to tell her or a part of her care he needed to follow up on. Then reality would crash back with stunning force, leaving him breathless with loss. He supposed when his family finally all left town, and he and Demmy got back into whatever kind of routine their lives would take going forward, it would start to feel real. The free time he would have that used to be spent at Parson's Pines would be a gaping wound he would struggle to fill at first. And now that he wouldn’t have to worry about her condition and try to figure out the best level of care she could afford, the quiet in his thoughts would be deafening.

Before he realized it, Cody had passed the Welcome to Parson’s Hollow sign. The Hollow Leg bar came up on his left, gravel lot filled with a mix of pickups and older model cars. A couple of men were heading toward the door, the neon beer signs in the blacked out windows casting them into silhouettes. One was about half a foot taller than the other, and the similarity between he and Demmy stirred something within him. An ache for the way things used to be. A stubborn hope they would both be around to share their lives together, whatever that looked like, for many more years. The need to see Demmy again, even if it meant being smothered by family members.

A couple of miles later, he turned into their surprisingly empty driveway. Demmy had parked his truck up behind the house, leaving Cody plenty of room. But Grant’s big SUV wasn’t there. He parked high enough up in the driveway to allow room for Grant to park behind him, then he got out and walked between their vehicles, trailing his hand along the bed of Demmy’s truck. Trevor wasn’t in his shelter at the side of the garage. He was most likely off pillaging or foraging or whatever a raccoon did at night in a small town, so Cody let himself in through the side door.

The light over the stove was on, giving him enough light to see as he unlaced his work boots and kicked them off on the stairway landing. He set them aside then climbed the two steps into the narrow kitchen, the linoleum cool under his sock-covered feet.

“Demmy?”

“Back here.” Cody relaxed a bit at the sound of his voice, normal and calm.

Cody walked through the house, noting the lack of suitcases and backpacks, the fold out bed hidden beneath the couch cushions even though it was after ten-thirty at night. He stopped and leaned in the door to their bedroom, needing a moment to understand what he was seeing.

Demmy lay stretched out on the bed. The muted light from the small lamp on top of the chest of drawers touched the hairs scattered across his bare chest, making them gleam like gold. A sheet covered him from the waist down, but Cody could see he had an erection. Despite the long day, his own cock stirred with sudden interest.

“What’s all this?” Cody asked, afraid to step into the room in case this was a dream and he might wake himself up.

“Grant and Mac took the kids to stay with Roman and Madison at their Airbnb,” Demmy said. “Mac suggested it, and Grant made it happen. I think he even called your brother by his actual name instead of Romes.”

“Really?” Cody approached the bed, then stopped and made a face. “You changed the sheets, right?”

Demmy scowled. “Of course I changed the sheets. Gross.”

“Double gross. I had to ask.”

“Did you though?”

Cody leaned down and kissed the hard pink nub of his exposed nipple. “Yeah, you know I did.” He kissed Demmy’s mouth next, lingering. Demmy’s lips were soft and warm. “Think you can wait long enough for me to get a quick shower?”

Demmy sighed dramatically and turned away. “I’ll try.” He looked back with an embarrassed smile. “I’ve been lying here for a while. I texted Jugs earlier and asked him to let me know when you’d left work.”

“I wondered why he was asking me so many questions.” Cody kissed the long length of Demmy’s cock through the sheet. “You keep thinking those good thoughts.”

He’d never showered so fast in his life.

After drying off, he dropped the towel on the floor and walked back to their bedroom, naked and hard. Demmy had pulled the sheet down and now lay stroking himself, eyes locked on Cody’s dick as he moved toward the bed.

"I've been thinking about you all day," Cody confessed, stretching out beside him. Demmy’s face was flushed, his eyes dark with desire, and Cody felt a surge of possessive pride at the sight. "About having you all to myself again."

"Show me," Demmy challenged, a glint in his eye.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Cody began to work his way down his body. He took his time, paying special attention to the spots he knew drove Demmy crazy—the hollow of his throat, the sensitive skin just below his collarbone, the ridge of his hip bones.

By the time Cody reached Demmy's cock, they were both breathing hard, anticipation building between them like an electric current. Cody looked up the length of Demmy's body, maintaining eye contact as he took him into his mouth.

"Fuck," Demmy gasped, his back arching off the bed. His hand came to rest on the back of Cody's head, not pushing, just anchoring himself.

Cody took his time, using every trick he'd learned over the years to tease and please Demmy. He used that knowledge mercilessly, bringing him close to the brink before backing off.

"Jesus, Cody," Demmy moaned, his thighs trembling. "You're killing me here."

Cody pulled off with a wet pop and grinned. "Patience, babe."

"Screw patience," Demmy said, pulling at Cody's shoulders. "Get up here. I want to taste you, too."

Cody had been hoping to hear that. He crawled up the bed and they rearranged themselves, Cody straddling Demmy's chest, facing his feet. The position gave him perfect access to Demmy's cock while putting his own within reach of Demmy's mouth.

The first swipe of Demmy's tongue made Cody close his eyes. He had to pause, forehead resting against Demmy's thigh as he caught his breath, gooseflesh coming up across his back.

"Don't stop," Demmy urged, his breath hot against Cody's sensitive skin as he kissed and licked him. “Keep going.”

Cody resumed his attentions, taking Demmy deep while Demmy did the same to him. The dual sensation was overwhelming—the wet heat of Demmy's mouth around him, the weight and taste of Demmy on his tongue. They found a rhythm, pushing and pulling, giving and taking in equal measure.

It was perfect and messy and desperate, and Cody felt himself getting close embarrassingly quickly. He pulled off, gasping.

"I'm going to come if we keep this up.”

Demmy released him with a final, teasing lick. "Would that be so bad?"

“Never.” He faced him, still straddling his torso so he could lean down for a wet and sloppy kiss. “But I want to be inside you when I come," Cody said, voice rougher than he intended.

The effect was immediate. Demmy’s pupils dilated, nearly swallowing the blue of his iris, and he nodded wordlessly. “I want that, too.”

Cody climbed off and reached for the nightstand, retrieving the lube. His hands were steady despite the urgency thrumming through his veins. He slicked his fingers and pressed one gently against Demmy's entrance. Demmy's breath hitched, his body tensing momentarily before relaxing into the touch. Cody worked him open patiently, adding a second finger, then a third, watching Demmy's face as each moment of pleasure flashed across it. His cock pulsed with the need to be inside him.

"I'm ready," Demmy said after a few minutes, his voice strained. "Please, Cody."

Cody removed his fingers and generously slicked his cock. He got into position between Demmy's spread thighs and aligned himself.

"Look at me," Cody said softly.

Demmy's locked eyes with him as Cody pushed forward slowly, sinking into the tight heat of Demmy's body. They both groaned at the sensation.

"Christ, you feel good," Cody breathed, one hand planted in the middle of Demmy’s chest allowing him to feel his heart racing. He held still once he was fully seated, giving Demmy time to adjust.

"Move," Demmy urged, wrapping his legs around Cody's waist. "Please, Cody, move."

Cody began to thrust, establishing a steady rhythm that had them both gasping. He shifted the angle slightly, searching for the spot that would drive Demmy wild. When Demmy cried out, his back arching off the bed, he knew he’d found it.

"There?" Cody asked with a grin.

"Yes," Demmy gasped. "Right there. Don't stop."

Cody kept up the pace, making sure to hit that spot with each thrust. He reached between them, wrapping his big hand around Demmy's cock, stroking in time with his movements.

The sight of Demmy beneath him, face flushed with pleasure, body taking everything Cody gave him, was the most beautiful thing Cody had ever seen. He'd never tire of it.

"I'm close," Demmy warned, his voice breaking. "So close.”

"Let go. Come for me."

A few more strokes and Demmy was there, his body tensing as his orgasm overtook him. He cried out Cody's name, his release spilling hot over Cody's fist and onto his stomach. The sight of Demmy lost in pleasure, combined with the rhythmic tightening of his body around Cody's cock, was enough to push him over the edge as well.

He came with a shout, hips shaking as waves of pleasure crashed over him. For a moment, everything else fell away—all the work stress, Felicia’s death, the family drama, the constant low-level anxiety that had been his companion for so damn long. There was only this, only Demmy, only the connection between them.

When the last aftershocks had passed, Cody carefully pulled out and collapsed onto the bed beside him. They lay there breathing hard, their bodies cooling in the night air.

After a moment, Cody roused himself enough to grab a washcloth from the bathroom. He cleaned them both up with gentle swipes, then tossed the cloth in the general direction of the hamper.

"Missed," Demmy mumbled, a smile in his voice.

"Close enough," Cody replied, settling back down and pulling Demmy against his chest. "I'll get it later."

They lay in comfortable silence, Cody tracing idle patterns on Demmy's skin. In these quiet moments after, Cody often found himself marveling at how lucky he was. Of all the turns his life had taken—some good, many bad—finding his way to Demmy was the one thing he'd never regret.

"What are you thinking about?" Demmy asked, his voice soft in the dimly lit room.

"You. Us. How we've made it through all the shit thrown at us."

"Don't jinx it. We're not through this latest patch of shit yet."

"No," Cody agreed. "But we will be. We always are."

Demmy turned in his arms, kissing him. "Yeah. We always are."

They settled back into silence, limbs tangled together, heartbeats gradually syncing. Demmy pressed himself against Cody’s side, arm across his belly. He dipped his head to breathe in the smell from Cody’s armpit, then gently bit his nipple before resting his cheek on Cody’s chest.

“Do I still smell the same?”

“Yep. Like clean sweat and fresh laundry and all man.”

“Glad you like it,” Cody said, kissing the top of Demmy’s head. “Don’t think I could change it.”

“Don’t you dare.”

They lay quiet together for a while, then Cody said, “Lucia came by the store tonight.”

Demmy lifted his head. Cool air rushed to replace the warmth of their contact, and Cody felt a tiny ache at the change.

“Oh?” Demmy supported his head with one hand and ran the fingers of his other through the hair in the center of Cody’s chest. “What’d she want? Did she take you in for questioning again?”

“Surprisingly, no. She was asking about Tracey.”

“Oh yeah?” Demmy sat up, the sheet piling in his lap. The lamplight gave a golden hue to his pale skin. “Oliver and I talked with her today.”

Cody turned to look at him, surprised. “You did? Where? She wasn’t at the library when I went by.”

“I know. Oliver was waiting by my truck after you dropped me off. We went to the library to see if she’d come into work. When we arrived a bunch of people were running out of the library.”

“What? Why?”

“Heath was going on some kind of rampage. Even that older man who works there had evacuated. We could tell something is definitely wrong with Heath.”

“Oh, yeah, Lucia mentioned a couple of deputies had been dispatched to the library for something.”

“Yep, they were heading that way as we left.”

“Think the witch has possessed him or something?” Cody asked.

“Well, after we left the library, Oliver had the idea to stop in at Drives Rite and see if we could find out anything about Rita.”

“The woman whose body was found out in the woods?” Cody said.

“Yeah, Rita Haines.” Demmy shook his head and laid on his back. “The owner recognized me and kicked us out pretty quick.”

“Ugh. Was it bad?” Cody rolled on his side and traced a finger down Demmy’s arm.

“It was all right. No worse than I expected.”

“Sorry.”

Demmy smiled and touched the side of his face. “Not your fault.”

“Well, it kind of is. I killed Phil.”

“You stopped an already deceased Phil from turning me into a zombie. There’s a difference.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Anyway,” Demmy said, giving his forehead a gentle flick. “When we got back in Oliver’s car at the garage, there was a note on the windshield telling us to meet someone at Margie’s right now.”

“Oh, shit. Did you go?”

“We did.”

“It could have been a trap from the witch.”

Demmy shook his head. “It was written on a book catalog card from the library.”

“Tracey?”

“Yep. She was in our booth in the back, wearing a hat and sunglasses.”

“Is she okay?”

“Physically, yes. But she’s scared.”

“What’s going on?”

“She only stayed a few minutes. And she was talking really fast because she was amped up on caffeine and kept looking around, jumping at every little sound. She and Rita have known each other a couple of years. Both of them have been interested in Wiccan studies.”

Cody grunted. “I knew Tracey was a witch.”

“She’s Wiccan, it’s different.”

“Yeah, yeah. Go on.”

“They realized sometime late last year that another witch had come to town, and this new arrival had a lot of power. They were doing research, trying to figure out if this was a threat. They pulled Clarabell into it as well.”

“Of course they did.”

“I don’t know all the details, but Tracey, Rita, and Heath went to that spot out in the woods, the one we found today with the stones. They discovered the witch already there, and something happened. Rita was killed, and Tracey thinks Heath was possessed by a demon.”

Cody sat up. “A demon? Like a fucking demon from Hell?”

“Yep. Which would explain a lot about what’s going on with him.”

“Fuck me,” Cody said, then he shivered and laid back down again. “What the hell can stop a demon from Hell?”

“That’s what we need to figure out.”

Cody sighed. He felt more tired at that moment, it seemed, than he had his entire life. “I knew you’d say ‘we’.”

“Yeah, I did. But Tracey and Clarabell have already done a lot of research on this.”

“Research that got Rita killed and Heath possessed. Perfect. Great researching, team!”

Demmy laughed quietly and rolled onto his side. He ran his fingers through the hair in the center of Cody’s chest again and leaned in to kiss his shoulder. “I know it’s a lot, especially with everything else going on.”

“Yeah,” Cody said. “But that isn’t surprising.” He turned his head and puckered his lips and Demmy moved up to give him a soft kiss on the mouth. “And we’re just hearing about it because we were unemployed and my grandmother wasn’t doing well?”

“Pretty much,” Demmy said. “Until they knew more, they didn’t want to pull us into it.”

“That’s what Clarabell said.” Cody shook his head. “Did Tracey give you any idea what can be done?”

“No. Just said Clarabell is digging into the books and the history of the town.”

“Good ol’ Parson Stone. He’d be so proud.” Cody rolled onto his side so they faced each other. “So, how long are Grant and his family gone for?”

Demmy smiled. “The whole night.”

“Yeah? I’ve got the day off tomorrow. What do you say we act like teenagers and fuck all night?”

Even in the dim glow of the lamp across the room, Cody was able to see Demmy’s pupils widen at the idea. With deft movements, Demmy lifted the sheet and got up. Cody moved onto his back and Demmy straddled him. He pressed his taint against Cody’s swiftly hardening cock, and he ground against it as he leaned in for a slow, deep kiss.

Cody smiled and reached up to frame Demmy’s face between his hands. Sometimes he still felt nervous, like the dumb teenager he’d been all those years ago. Now and then he wished he could truly get inside Demmy’s head and see what he was thinking, understand how he felt. Really, truly know for sure he was making Demmy happy.

“I don’t think teenage me would have been able to keep up with the sex drive of teenage you,” Demmy said.

Cody gripped his hips, pulling him more firmly against his now full erection. “I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. If I’d been smart back in high school, we would have started fooling around back then. I would have come to your house with my backpack full of textbooks to make it look good. I would have talked with your folks for a bit, gotten them relaxed enough to feel like they could leave us alone while they went out and ran errands for hours. Then we would have sat on the floor of your bedroom, our books open between us but ignored as we talked and laughed. I would have made a few subtle moves to see if you were open to me taking things further.”

“Yeah?” Demmy kissed him. “What kinds of subtle moves?”

“Oh, maybe something like shifting my position and accidentally pressing my foot against yours. Then I’d bump my knee against yours and just let it stay there. Maybe start a fake wrestling match.”

“I jerked off so often thinking about our wrestling matches.” Demmy kissed him, pushing his tongue into Cody’s mouth and grinding against him.

“I’d start casual,” Cody said between kisses. “Grabbing you in more and more intimate spots. Then I’d pin you down and look deep in your eyes. Depending on how you looked back at me, I might lean down, real slow, as if I was going to kiss you. See how you reacted.”

Demmy had been fully erect since Cody had started talking. Pre-cum dribbled in a long stream onto Cody’s belly. Now Demmy pinned Cody’s hands to either side and hovered above him. His pupils had widened again, and he licked his lips as he stared into Cody’s eyes. “Like this?”

He slowly closed the distance between them. Cody’s heart raced. Sweat prickled across his palms and scalp. His cock throbbed impatiently, trapped beneath Demmy’s body. When he was just shy of delivering another kiss, Demmy stopped. His breath was warm against Cody’s face, smelling of toothpaste even after their first round of sex.

“This close?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Demmy’s hands felt like branding irons on his wrists. He closed his fingers into loose fists and licked his lips with anticipation. But Demmy just remained there, achingly close, nearly kissing him. “Like that. If you didn’t push me away or ask me what the hell I was doing, I’d dip down and give you a very light, very quick kiss.”

“Like this?”

Demmy’s lips brushed his. Cody’s cock jumped, and his toes curled. His brain practically shorted out. When Demmy pulled back and smiled down at him, Cody let out his breath.

“Yeah. Like that.”

“I wouldn’t have stood a chance against that,” Demmy said. “I would have put my legs up in seconds.”

With confident, careful moves, Cody rolled them over on the bed so he was on top. He gently pinned Demmy’s wrists to the mattress and brought his legs in between Demmy’s thighs, nudging them apart. They were both rock hard, both leaking steadily, even after having already come.

“Yeah? You would have let me take your pants off? Those plaid sleep pants you always wore?”

Demmy laughed, eyes shining, the sound bright as a summer day. It made Cody laugh as well, and he released Demmy’s wrists to sit upright. He lifted Demmy’s legs and put them over his shoulders, then leaned in over him again. Demmy’s breathing had quickened. He gripped Cody’s biceps as Cody braced himself above.

“I loved those sleep pants.”

“I loved when you wore those sleep pants.”

Cody dropped his head to give him a long, slow, deep kiss. It felt to Cody as if he and Demmy had suddenly reconnected, as if the kiss had mended something between them that had become slightly frayed without their realizing it, like old wiring hidden within the walls of a house, aged and loosened over the years.

“How would you have done it?” Demmy said between kisses. “Back then, in my bedroom with my parents gone?”

Cody kissed him again, dropping to his elbows, pushing his tongue into Demmy’s mouth and taking control. He let every drop of built up need for comfort and care, sex and intimacy pour into that kiss. Demmy returned his passion, built on it, and wrapped his legs around Cody’s torso, clutching him close.

“I would have done it slow and deep.”

“A lot of kissing?” Demmy asked.

Cody kissed him and shifted position a bit. His cock was so hard it hurt, and he aligned it with Demmy’s hole, still slick with lube. He thought about his previous load still inside him, and his cock jumped with anticipation of delivering another. With slow, steady pressure, Cody entered him, driving himself home.

“I would have kissed you the entire time I entered you.” The lamplight gleamed off their wedding rings as he told Demmy what he would have done with him all those years ago. “I would have kissed you as I drove my big, hard cock into you. I wouldn’t have stopped kissing you the entire time I fucked you, my cock harder than it had ever been. My hips slowly picking up speed as your ass learned to take all of me for the first time. Your legs would have bounced against my strong shoulders, and the smell of my sweat would have filled your room, lingering for you to breathe in long after I’d had to go back home. I would have been amped up, overrun with hormones, and it wouldn’t have been long before I filled you with my cum, marked you as mine all those years ago so no one else would ever have you.”

“Always yours,” Demmy gasped. “My heart and my body have always belonged to you.”

“I’m almost there,” Cody said.

“Come inside me. Fill me up again.” Demmy pulled him down into a kiss and Cody grunted into his mouth as he came inside him.

“Keep fucking me,” Demmy begged, hand furiously stroking himself. “I’m so close. Fuck me.”

Cody sat upright and grabbed Demmy’s ankles as he kept his hips moving. He watched his cock move in and out, marveled at the way Demmy’s body accepted the full length and girth of him, muscles clamped around him as Demmy came. The first shot was a long, white arc that splashed across Demmy’s left cheek, surprising them both. Each pulse that followed was weaker, but still impressive for the second round in the space of an hour.

When he’d finished, Demmy lay sprawled beneath him, eyes closed, head turned to the side. A relaxed and satisfied smile curled the corners of his lips, red and bruised from the force of their kisses. Cody eased out of him, cock still half-interested in another round. He stretched out beside Demmy and ran his fingers through the puddles of cum. Then he leaned in to lick clean the spot he’d hit himself in the cheek. Strong and salty.

“Impressive shooting for your second time of the night,” Cody said.

Demmy opened his eyes and smiled. “You bring out the best in me.”

Cody smirked and kissed him. “You were pretty damn good before you met me.”

“We met when we were five.”

“Right, exactly. You were a model four-year-old.”

Demmy laughed and rolled onto his side, pressing up against him. They kissed gently, softly, and Demmy moved a lock of hair off Cody’s sweaty forehead.

“That was extremely, amazingly hot,” Demmy said.

“Yeah it was.” Cody tried to fight back a yawn, but it got the better of him. He smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. Been a long day.”

Demmy turned his head away and yawned as well. “It really has. How about we shower and sleep in our own bed?”

“That sounds like heaven.” Cody rolled off the mattress and reached back to help Demmy up. “If you wash my back, I’ll wash yours.”

“Would that have been something you offered me after gym class?”

“Absolutely. But Coach Burnett might have been jealous.”

Demmy smiled over his shoulder. “Coach Burnett would have had to get in line.”