Page 23 of Something Like Winter

“O-kay.”

Tim winced inwardly. Had he really said that? Brody used to give him hell after noticing in the shower room that Tim was uncut. For a while he called Tim “the Frenchman” because he claimed that only the French were uncircumcised. Tim did a little research and found that most of Europe didn’t circumcise. Of course Brody only gave him more hell for this, eventually referring to it as the European standard.

“Uh, anyway,” Tim said, changing tactics, “we got into an argument and she’s gone.”

“Sorry?” Ben said, sounding anything but.

“So you want to come over?” The phone line was silent. This wasn’t going well. “Maybe you and I can pick up where she left off.”

“I’ll be right there!” The line clicked and went dead.

Tim grinned. That was more like it! Ben was on his way over and… Man! Was he really going to go through with this? If he was, he was going to do it right. Tim hurried to the bathroom as fast as his crutches would allow, brushing his teeth, spraying on cologne, and trying to fix his hair before he gave up. He considered waiting by the door until he realized how pathetic that would seem, so he returned to the couch in the den.

You can kiss me, if you want,said the ghost in Tim’s mind, but this time he had an answer.Hell yeah I’m going to kiss you!

Tim heard the front door open. His loose fitting jogging shorts—easy to get on over his cast—doing nothing to hide his anticipation. But maybe that was okay. This is what they both wanted, right?

He looked up to find Ben standing in the doorway. He appeared uncertain too, but when their eyes locked, Tim guided his gaze downward. When he looked back up again, Ben’s expression was just as lustful as his own.

“C’mere,” Tim invited.

Ben came to him, sat next to him on the couch. One of them would have to make the first move. Ben took the initiative, reaching his hand toward Tim’s crotch, but Tim caught his wrist and stopped him.

“What’s the rush?” He used his grip on Ben’s wrist to pull him closer. Hungry, Tim put his other hand on the back of Ben’s neck and drew him in. He saw the expression of surprise on Ben’s face just before their lips met, the kiss clumsy. Then they tried again. Tim put all of himself into that kiss, capturing Ben’s lips with his own over and over again, holding Ben’s head in both his hands now as he let his tongue slip inside.

This was good. Not so different from kissing a girl, but somehow better, somehow right. Tim never wanted to stop, but then Ben’s hand found his chest, feeling his muscles and reminding Tim of what his body needed. He stopped their kiss long enough to strip off his shirt, grinning cockily as Ben looked him over with admiration. Then he put Ben’s hands on those muscles, tingling where Ben’s palm moved across his skin. Tim stole a few more kisses, but Ben’s hand was moving lower and lower.

Tim squirmed, and Ben went for it, grabbing his cock through the shorts.

“Wow!” he said.

That sounded good! Tim had no idea how he stacked up to other guys. Everyone snuck sly peeks in the showers, doing a little covert comparison, but no one walked around hard. None of them could really tell what anyone else was packing, but Ben seemed impressed and intent onunpacking. The elastic band of Tim’s shorts was pulled down, causing him to tense and sit up.

Ben was staring at Tim’s dick. Then he pulled the foreskin down experimentally before moving it back up again.

“The European standard?” Ben inquired.

Oh, man. What if itwasan issue? “It’s normal over there,” Tim explained.

“It’s gorgeous.”

To prove it, Ben took it into his mouth, and Tim collapsed into pleasure. This wasn’t his first blowjob, not by far, but Benny-boy knew his stuff! Tim usually prided himself on lasting a long time, being able to run the marathon until his partner was satisfied, but in Ben’s hands and mouth, he was helpless. His hips started bucking of their own accord, and he couldn’t stop moaning. Then he came like a frothing horse across the finish line. Ben kept him in his mouth. No girl had ever swallowed, and oh man, did it feel good. Too good!

“No more, no more, stop!” Tim pleaded. He had to pull Ben off before he would let up. Then Tim tried to catch his breath. “Fuck, that was good,” he panted. Ben looked proud, but something a little unsure flickered on his face.

Oh. Right. What about him?

Tim had spent all his time fantasizing about kissing Ben, maybe getting blown by him. But he hadn’t taken it further. He needed time to figure this out. “Man. I have to take a piss.”

“That’s cool.”

Neither of them made eye contact as Tim pulled up his shorts, fumbled with the crutches, and left the room. Tim stared at himself in the bathroom mirror, his hair twice as messy now, his silver eyes glazed over like he was on drugs. The sex had been freaking incredible, but it had also been selfish. Poor Ben was sitting out there, probably with an erection so hard it threatened to tear through his shorts.

And the idea was kind of exciting.

Tim grinned at his reflection. Why the hell not? He was in this deep already. Tim flushed the toilet, just for appearances, and headed back to the den. Ben licked his lips nervously and stood when he entered.

“I guess I should get back,” he said