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Chapter eleven

Lessons in Lust

Josh

“I can’t wait,” I tell my best friend. “I need to have sex now .”

JR gives me the side-eye. “I heard porn streaming in your room all morning. Don’t you think you’ve researched enough for one day?”

“No,” I growl in frustration. “I can’t get Karma out of my mind! I’m obsessed with the thought of having sex with him, but I don’t know how to make the first move. How did you get the professor to have sex with you the first time?”

My buddy’s cheeks turn a fiery red. “It was… complicated.”

Ugh. So much for JR ‘helping me get laid’. I need to find someone who can give me advice. Somebody who knows how to seduce a man.

There’s a knock on the door to our apartment.

Instant manifestation!

When I open the door, Ruby saunters into our living room, a bottle of wine in each hand. He gives me a wink and JR a leer. “Hey, bitches.”

Simon strolls in after him, carrying a tray of homemade vegan jalapeno poppers. (The businessman’s talents in the bedroom aren’t the only reason he’s known as Sigh-Moan.) “We came to hear about your date, darling boy.”

“And to make sure Karma kept his hands to himself.” Professor Fletcher frowns at me as he waltzes past carrying a leather briefcase.

JR kisses his partner before making a beeline to the kitchen, his eyes locked on the food in Simon’s hands. As my unlikely group of friends pass the appetizers around, they ask about my evening with Karma.

“It was magical .“ I let out a happy sigh before sharing all of the blissful details. The way Karma looked… our moonlit walk in the park… how we talked and held hands and kissed. “It was everything I dreamed it would be and more. His kisses drove me out of my mind.”

“And then what happened?” Ruby uncorks a bottle of wine with a pop.

“He walked me home,” I say.

Ruby and Simon lean forward. “And then?”

“He asked if he could see me again, and that was it.” I was left on the doorstep with one final kiss, so horny I couldn’t see straight.

JR turns to the professor. “That’s good, right?”

“Hmph,” Fletcher grunts. “He acted like a gentleman. I’ll admit, I’m impressed.”

”A gentleman? “ Ruby wrinkles his nose. “But what about the sex?”

Right? I’ve been asking myself that same question ever since Karma dropped me off at the door. My horniness level is through the roof—I’m going to die if I don’t get some relief.

“I have to agree with Ruby.” Simon pours the stylist a glass of wine. “It’s rude to light Josh’s fire and then not put out the flames.”

They understand. I’m burning .

“What’s the hurry?” Fletcher asks as he accepts a glass of wine from his best friend. “There’s no need for them to rush into bed.”

Of course Dr. Cock-Block would say that. “But, Professor! I need to have sex as soon as possible. It’s literally all I can think about.”

JR nods as he swallows another popper. “He’s got porn streaming in his room twenty-four/seven.”

Way to keep it to yourself, buddy . Ugh. Nothing seems able to satisfy me. Even my fleshjack isn’t doing the trick. There’s only one thing that I need.

Karma.

In my bed.

Now .

“Don’t worry,” Simon tells me. “We’ll teach you how to seduce your man. Won’t we, Ruby?”

“It’ll be our mission in life,” he swears.

As we gather around our small kitchen island, my friends help me devise a plan of attack. JR thinks I should tempt Karma by making him his favorite meal. Ruby says I should offer him a blow job. Fletcher suggests going to the library together because ‘there’s nothing sexier than being smart’ .

None of those things is going to work.

Simon takes a sip of wine, then says, “What we need to do is determine Karma’s lust language.”

His what?

Ruby lets out a squeal, clapping his hands together. “Of course, Sigh-Moan! You’re a genius.”

“What the heck is a lust language? “ JR looks back and forth between the two men.

Thank god I’m not the only one who’s clueless.

“It’s the primary way a person gives and receives temptation, the way they feel most erotic.” Simon runs a finger along the rim of his glass. “Take ‘words of tantilization’, for instance.”

“Y’know, like ‘Oh my god, you’re cock is so big’ ,“ Ruby tells us, “or ‘I want you to come on my— ”

JR chokes on a jalapeno, and Fletcher thumps him on the back.

“Maybe we should start with ‘quality e-time’.” Simon leans a hip against the counter, swirling his glass of wine. “You can learn a lot about a person by following that approach.”

“Quality time.” Fletcher nods, the arrogant look on his face even more pronounced than usual. “Like my suggestion of going to the library together.”

His best friend shakes his head. “I said ‘e-time’ , Tommy, which involves electronic activities. A little sexting… a few dick pics… some late-night GNOC…”

“Get Naked On Cam,” Ruby translates.

Yes. My heart races at the thought of seeing Karma naked , even if it’s just on a screen. Does he have tattoos anywhere else on his body? Are his nipples pierced? What if I could watch him wrap a hand around his cock and give it a —

“Physical touch.” Simon interrupts my thoughts. “This lust language is self-explanatory. I find that most men enjoy a full body massage followed by a little light pain play.”

Ruby bounces in his seat. “Spanking!” he squeals.

Ooh, that. Yes, please.

“Which leads me to my favorite lust language,” Simon purrs. “ ‘ Acts of submission’.”

JR erupts into another fit of coughs, and Fletcher thumps him on the back again.

“I really don’t think—,” the professor begins.

Simon cuts him off. “Kneeling. Obeying. Surrendering control. Bondage .“ His sexy purr becomes a feral growl.

Oh my god, I’m about to explode. I’m so horny, not even porn can save me. “I need to find a way to seduce Karma right now . I need something totally foolproof. What should I try first?”

“I know! I know!” Ruby raises his hand as if he were a student in a lecture hall. “The final lust language is ‘receiving gifts’, and everyone knows that a gay man’s favorite gift is—“

“Don’t say blow jobs,” Fletcher warns him.

“Underwear.” The stylist rolls his eyes.

What? Why would I give Karma underwear? What’s seductive about that? “But I don’t even know what size he wears.”

Simon pats the back of my hand. “The underwear is for you.”

“Technically, you’re the gift.“ Ruby nods. “The underwear is the bow that goes on top of your package. No man can resist the perfect pair of undies.”

I still don’t understand. “But, what’s so special about plain old underwear?”

“ Plain? “ Ruby wrinkles his nose. Grabbing my hand, he pulls me out of the kitchen and toward my bedroom. “C’mon, Sweetpea—show me your lingerie drawer. We’ll pick out the perfect pair to tempt that man of yours.”

When we get to my room, I flick on the light, then pause. It’s not everyday that I show someone my underpants. Pulling open the top drawer of my dresser, I reveal identical sets of plain white briefs. “They’re just underwear,” I say. “I’m not sure what’s so sexy about them.”

Ruby gasps. “Sigh-Moan, come here! It’s an emergency!”

Simon strolls into the room a moment later, sipping his glass of white wine. “An underwear emergency?”

The stylist points to the drawer full of simple briefs. Simon gasps, mirroring his horror-struck expression. They pull me quickly back toward the kitchen.

“Dr. Dom, we need your laptop— stat ,“ Ruby tells Professor Fletcher. “Sigh-Moan, I’ll need your Amex card. Hercules, more wine.” He rushes into action, clearing away the empty appetizer tray and making room on the kitchen island. Once he has the professor’s laptop online, Ruby murmurs as he types, “Andrew… Christian… dot com…”

So, that’s what they meant by Andrew Christians before. I gape at the website’s home screen and all of the nearly nude men on it. They’re dressed in the most provocative undergarments imaginable.

“You’ll need a standard set of rainbow trunks and some backless briefs, of course.” The stylist clicks on a pair of each, adding them to the cart.

“Get him the space-themed one.” Simon points to a jockstrap with Explore Uranus on the waistband, and Ruby adds it to the order.

I stare at the wide selection of underwear. “Maybe Karma would like this one?” I point to a floral-patterned thong.

“Tulips on top of your junk?” JR snorts. “That’s exactly where you want Karma’s tulips .”

Oh. That gives the underwear a whole new meaning.

Fletcher points to a tab on the website. “What are Trophy Boys?”

Ruby looks at me, his eyes traveling south. “I don’t think those will fit our little Sweetpea. JR, on the other hand...” He gazes speculatively at the athlete before clicking on the link.

The professor taps his finger on a pair of boxer briefs with what looks like a sock attached to the front. “Add those to the order.”

“Go ahead, Ruby.” Simon gives JR a wicked grin. “Add a few pairs of those in size...?”

“Large, please.” The football player blushes, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ruby licks his lips, casting a glance at JR’s denim-covered bulge. With a longing sigh, he adds the Trophy Boys to the order before continuing on the shopping spree. “What do you think about these leather trunks?”

I shake my head. “Karma and I are both vegan. Ooh, those are pretty.” I point to some white lace panties with scalloped edges, a modest pouch in the front, and a high-cut brazilian back.

The men all turn to look at me.

“Karma’s going to rip those off of you with his teeth,” Simon tells me.

“We’ll get you one in every color,” Ruby says.

Yes! When it comes to seduction, my mentors know what they’re doing. Their ‘lust languages’ may be the perfect plan to get Karma into my bed. Who knows? It could be the key that unlocks Karma’s heart…

As well as the one that unbuttons his pants.