12

JIMMY

I awoke to the sensation of being wrapped in a cocoon of warmth. I was lying on my side, and from this angle, I couldn’t see a clock, but the room was completely dark, so I assumed it was sometime in the middle of the night. My blanket was pulled up to my chin, but there was an unfamiliar weight settled over my hip, and when I breathed deep, the faint scent of men’s deodorant or maybe body wash—something woodsy that reminded me of TJ—filled my nose. It took me a moment to clear enough fog out of my brain to register that the weight on my hip was an arm draped over me, holding me close, and the reason the scent reminded me of TJ was because it was TJ.

TJ was in my bed and he was holding me.

He stirred in his sleep behind me, and I froze, thinking I’d awoken him, but then he shoved one of his feet between mine and burrowed in closer, his breath tickling the back of my neck. The position of our bodies felt intimate in a way I’d never experienced before, and though I knew I should, I couldn’t bring myself to pull away.

Lulled by the rhythmic pattern of his breathing and the cozy nest we were wrapped up in, I fell back asleep.

* * *

When I woke again, my bed was empty. I opened my eyes blearily, blinking to clear them and squinting against the sunlight streaming through the window. I looked around, noting the absence of TJ in the small space, feeling relieved that I wouldn’t have to confront the person who’d slept in bed with me last night and simultaneously hollow at the loss of his presence. It was an odd combination.

I turned to locate my phone, finding it plugged in on the charger next to my bed. I was fairly certain I hadn’t plugged it in, so I could only assume TJ had done it for me. I swiped the screen, noting I still had an hour to get ready for my first class of the day, and found a text from TJ waiting for me.

TJ

Good morning, sleepyhead. Sorry I had to head out before you woke up, but I figured you needed the sleep. I hope you’re feeling better!

I debated whether to respond. It was actually the best sleep I’d had in a long time. The kind that deserved a thank you. But I didn’t know how to word it in a way that didn’t make it sound sexual. Thank you for last night made it sound like we’d hooked up. Thanks for holding me and Thanks for sleeping with me weren’t much better. In the end, I settled on:

Thanks. I am feeling better

Awkward. Stilted. But it got the job done.

I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling, thinking about the night before. How TJ had very sweetly brought me soup. How he’d patiently listened without judgment to my explanation of my anxiety. The way he’d insisted on putting on one of my comfort movies and then pulled me in to cuddle with him. No one had ever taken care of me like that. Not even Sammy. It made me wonder if there was more to it or if he was just a genuinely nice guy. It seemed a little above and beyond for a roommate or even a friend, but I hadn’t had a lot of male friends, so I wasn’t sure. The idea of him having extra feelings for me seemed pretty unlikely. What would he want with a shy, awkward, anxiety-ridden nerd like me?

My mind jumped to the other highlight of the night when I’d woken with his arm draped over me. To the way it felt to have the heat of his body pressed against me. The tickle of his breath against the back of my neck and how he’d slid his foot between mine. His thigh settling in the cleft of my ass, knee pressed against my taint.

My cock began to fill at the memory, ripples of heat dancing across my skin and lust thrumming in my veins. Hesitantly, I trailed my fingertips down my chest, over my sternum and belly, traveling lower to the waistband of my athletic shorts. I palmed my dick over the fabric, telling myself it was to tame my erection, but I only succeeded in stoking the flames.

Lusting after my roommate was madness. He’d only taken care of me last night because he was a nice guy. What kind of douche would it make me to jerk it to thoughts of him?

And yet…

Even as I thought to pull back, I slid my fingers beneath my waistband and palmed my dick with a groan, rubbing up and down in one long stroke. I threw my head to the side, relishing the jolts of electricity skittering along my oversensitive skin. It felt like I was being ignited from the inside out.

I wasn’t a habitual masturbator. It wasn’t something I did daily like I’d heard some guys did. I’d always felt weirdly self-conscious about it. Which was stupid, since it was a solo activity, so who was to ever know? But right now, at this moment, with my hand wrapped around my cock, surrounded by the lingering scent of the guy who’d slept in my bed last night, there was no stopping it.

I was a live wire ready to ignite. There would be no turning back.

Fully committed, I threw off the covers and lowered my shorts mid-way down my thighs, then took my dick in hand once again, sliding up and down in quick, jerky strokes. My movements were awkward, and without lubrication, it was rough, but it didn’t matter. Nothing short of a freight train barreling through the room could have stopped me at this point.

Frantically, I stroked faster and faster, jaw clenched while beads of sweat popped out on my temple. I whined as each jerky stroke brought me closer and closer yet not close enough until, suddenly, it was there. Cum shot up my chest, landing on my shoulder and nipple as I arched my back, the orgasm tearing through me. More cum landed on my chest and belly as I continued to stroke through it, thrashing my head from one side to the other, lost in ecstasy. My phone buzzed somewhere to my left, but I ignored it as I shot one last time. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, every coiled-tight muscle in my body released, leaving me lying in a puddle of sweat. I was limp, sated, and cum-covered.

My phone buzzed a second time, reminding me I still had an unread text, and I wiped my hand on the sheet, knowing I would have to wash the bedding anyway, before picking the phone up and swiping open to my messages.

TJ

Glad you’re feeling better!

I stared at it a moment, then laughed and laughed. I was definitely feeling “better.”