“Like…?”
“Well—” Should have seen that coming. Benji liked to dig. “—just about how I feel with certain things.”
“Okay.” He cocked his head and smiled mischievously. “Like…?”
We both laughed. Benji dropped his head, which made it land in the crook of my arm. He still laughed, but even with the laughter died down, he didn’t move his head.
And my arm remained frozen. Scared that even a twitch of a muscle would scare him off, like some rare butterfly landing on my arm.
“I realized I’m fine without always having working electricity or hot water. I realized I’m not a huge fan of an all-veggie diet. I realized I’m fucking pissed off at the amount of deforestation happening and the effect it’s having on these poor animals.” I took a breath, looking up through the glass. “And, I realized, I’m not straight. Not with the way I feel about you.”
The air seemed to get sucked out of the room. I couldn’t tell if Benji was upset or shocked or angry or happy or—
“I feel the same way, about you. I mean, I’ve known I’m gay for years now, but I’ve also just realized that you and me… we’re a really good match. Like really good.”
“Really fucking good,” I said, laughing in agreement. He had moved closer, his body pressing up against me so that I could feel every curve, every ridge, every twitch.
“We just click,” I said, letting my heart speak instead of my brain. “I feel like I have a blast every single time I’m around you. And everything feels so easy. I think that’s the thing about us. Life just doesn’t seem so hard when you’re around.” I looked away from the stars, into the galaxy of Benji’s gaze.
“It’s the same for me,” he said. “I don’t stress about the stupid stuff when you’re around. And we’re always laughing. And you’re always teaching me something. It just flows.”
“It flows.”
“I’ve been waiting for this,” he said, eyes looking into mine.
“Really?” I asked. It was a surprise to me. We’d been flirty through this trip, for sure, but I hadn’t known he felt anything before now.
Like I had.
“Yeah.” He chewed on his bottom lip. “I just figured you were pretty much off-limits. I thought, you know, you were straight. And you’re Mav’s best friend. I always had my eyes on you, but it was more a fantasy than anything else.”
“Damn,” I said, “and I’d been fantasizing about you, too.”
“So much wasted time.”
“Think we can make up for some of it?”
Benji nodded, his smile turning into a wicked grin that lit a bonfire, flames spreading through my veins.
“I think we can try,” I said, teasing him now. Something between us had shifted, and it wasn’t just our erections. This moment felt consequential. Like there’d be absolutely no coming back from this.
And I didn’t care. I knew I didn’t want to come back from this. I wanted it all.
I wanted Benjamin Gold.
Before I knew what was happening, I leaned in and kissed my best friend’s little brother, crashing through a barrier that had no chance of holding the two of us back. We had a magnetic pull that felt undeniable.
The kiss cracked a whip inside me. I pushed my fingers through his hair, directing the kiss into something more, something stronger.
“A velvet midnight,” I said, breathless. The questioning look in his eyes made me motion up through the skylight.
“It’s a velvet midnight. My mom would say that only magic happens on nights that the sky looks like this. Like a velvet sheet of stars from edge to edge.”
“Let’s make some magic, then,” Benji said, his hands coming up to my face and his lips meeting mine again, locking together, bodies twining.
The kiss felt savage. Hungry. Primal.
Benji’s tongue wrapped around mine, lips locked and bodies pressed against each other even tighter. I thrust my hips upward, rubbing myself on him, swallowing the needy moan he gave me. He tasted like strawberries and sex and midnight stars all swirled into a perfect mix. I could smell the dirt and grass and water in the air mixing with Benji’s scent, creating another intoxicating mixture.
“God,” I said into Benji’s mouth, “I need this. You. So bad.” He bit my lip, I sucked on his.
“Me too” was all he could say before our kiss exploded, expanded. I started to suck on his neck, Benji throwing his head back and moaning up into the night sky. My hands slipped under his shirt, feeling his soft skin, the hard rise and fall of the muscles underneath. His heat flowing through my palm matched the inferno that burned inside my own core.
“I need you, baby.” I took his shirt off as I spoke, throwing it into the grass.
Benji responded with another moan, our erections rubbing over the other through our pants. If it got any hotter between us, I didn’t think we’d have any clothes left to go back with.
Better take them all off, then.
I got to work, unzipping my jeans, Benji following my lead. He stood up and kicked off his pants. We were so far off the main trail that I didn’t imagine anyone coming to find us, especially not at this time of night.
I pulled off my pants and threw them in Benji’s pile. Shirt next. Then, the only thing left for either of us was our tented briefs. Benji stood above me, his body shining underneath the moonlight, the flickering candles adding a mesmerizing depth. He looked like an oil painting brought to life.
“Fuck, Rex.” He looked down at me and stroked himself over his briefs, the wet stain growing. The burning want in his eyes drove me wild. He needed me, that much was clear. Now I wanted to show Benji how much I needed him.
I took off my underwear, my hard cock flopping out onto my stomach. I spit in my hand and stroked, looking up at him with love-drunk eyes, my hard dick leaking from how badly I wanted him. I opened my legs a little wider and rubbed my chest, my stomach, my nipples.
Then I moved my hands between my legs, underneath me. Benji watched with his lips half-parted, his cock now out through the leg of his briefs. He stroked harder, pushing aside his briefs. The tip of him glinted wet under the orange candlelight.
I spit in my hand again and brought my fingers down to my hole, rubbing myself for him. He stared with wide, lusty eyes.
“Come down here,” I said, teasing my hole open but wanting something besides my own fingers.
Lucky for me, Benji had exactly what I was looking for.
I reached into the backpack and brought out a pack of lube. We’d both gotten tested after making it official, so I felt we didn’t need condoms tonight. I tore the packet open and poured it on my hand before rubbing it on Benji’s thick, veiny cock. He closed his eyes and moaned as I stroked, admiring the heat that poured off him.
I lay back down and pushed two fingers inside, getting myself ready for him.
“Fuck, Rex, you don’t understand how fucking hot you are.”
“No, no I don’t,” I said, giving a self-deprecating laugh, mixing with a moan as I pulled out.
Benji leaned down, his hands rubbing up and down my body, worshipping every single one of the curves. He squeezed my chest, his fingers twisting around my pebbled nipples. He bent down and licked, taking one between his lips, sucking and rolling, then moving on to the next, making my cock throb with each swirl of his tongue.