by Zane Menzy
The fire still raged on despite the party’s weakening atmosphere. He scanned the horde of party animals still mauling away at the night; he recognized most who were left, but he couldn’t spot either of his two favorite people—Tess and Liam.
He spotted a familiar face, floating above the crowd, it was Skippy. The tall beanpole of a lad was standing talking to Tess’s friend Cherry Hutchins. The fun-loving redhead’s real name was Cherise, but she had christened herself Cherry in pursuit of a sexier image.
Although Cherry was a close friend of Tess, Keegan was privy to the secret that his girlfriend didn’t trust the flame-haired vixen much. Cherry was well-known for her flirty behavior and wandering tastes. Skippy was no doubt hoping her hunger tonight would devour him whole.
Keegan waved to get Skippy’s attention and wandered over to join the pair. He could hear Cherry’s raspy voice rattling on at high-speed, telling Skippy about her holiday to Bali. Skippy nodded along dutifully, his gaze lowered to her tits, probably not listening to a word she was saying.
“Hey, Skip, have you seen Tess?”
Skippy shook his head as if bringing his mind out of the gutter before looking across at Keegan. “Nar, can’t say I have. Well, not since that dude caught on fire.”
“Oh my god. Wasn’t that intense!” Cherry blurted. “Like… whoa, super fucking intense.” She took a sip of her drink, watering her pouty lips.
“Is the guy all right?” Skippy asked.
Keegan nodded. “Yeah, he’s fine. We ran some cold water over his leg and now he is just resting up at the house. He shouldn’t be left with too nasty a battle scar I hope.”
“Fuck, he was lucky your uncle was here,” Skippy said.
Keegan was about to correct him that Damon was most definitely not his uncle but before he could, he realized Damon was nowhere in sight. “Have you seen him?”
Skippy shook his head.
“Is your uncle the hero who put the fire out?” Cherry stared at Keegan with an excited grin.
Keegan couldn’t be bothered educating her either on his real link to Damon. “Yeah, that’s him.”
“Wow, he is sooooo sexy,” Cherry said. “Maybe there’s hope for you yet, Keegan.” She giggled.
“Gee thanks,” he mumbled back.
Cherry rubbed his shoulder. “Oh, I’m only joking, silly. You know I think you’re pretty. If you weren’t with Tess then you’d have to watch out.” She took another sip on her drink while batting her eyelids.
Keegan laughed. “Aww shucks. Thanks, Cherry.” He turned to face Skippy again. “What about Liam? Is he still around or did he head to town?”
“Last I saw him, he was tripping over himself, trying to take a piss down by the creek.” Skippy chuckled to himself, his face glowing from the funny memory. “Honestly, Keegan, he is so fucked off his face. I hope he hasn’t gone to town ‘cos they won’t let him in any of the bars.” Skippy followed his comment up with a bulging of his eyes, a sly indicator to Keegan to skedaddle and leave him alone to work his magic with Cherry.
“Cool, thanks. Anyway, I better go find Tess.” Keegan gave Skippy a sly grin which Skippy returned with a nod of the head, grateful for Keegan getting the hint.
Keegan plodded through the field and looked up towards the vast starry night, the air certainly carried a vibe. It had a memorable feel for what he was sure would end up a memorable night. The further away from the fire he got the darker the land became, the moon shone above but not full enough to grant his eyes any decent night vision. He scanned the paddock for any sign of Tess or Liam.
Where the hell are you both?
He decided to go look for Tess back up at the house, maybe she had gone looking for him. It seemed a logical possibility, after all she must have been just as keen to gift him the present as he was to receive it. Keegan heaved his impatient legs back up towards the house, beginning to feel like a yoyo going back and forth. His mum was seated back in the same chair, another full glass of wine in her hand, her face flushed with a boozy glow.
“Hey, Mum, have you seen Tess at all?” Keegan asked.
She shook her head a little too fast, nearly spilling her glass. “Sorry, love. I haven’t seen anyone since you came up last.”
Keegan’s grandfather glared at her “That wine must be doing the trick, Marie.” He grinned at Keegan.
“What are you on about, Dad?” Keegan’s mum’s forehead crinkled in confusion.
“We just had that rusty haired boy here grabbing beer from the fridge. Oh what’s his name… Tim…Todd.” Keegan’s grandfather looked up at the ceiling as if searching for the answer.
“Tony,” Keegan said.
“That’s the one,” his grandfather said, and looked at his daughter. “He just walked out five minutes ago you dopey bird.” His words came out soft and well-meaning.
Keegan’s mum went to laugh but it came out as a snort. “Oh gosh, so he did.” She picked up the bottle of wine and read its label. “I must get this again, it certainly works,” she joked.
Keegan laughed at his mum’s pissed state but internally he sighed in impatience. “So no sign of Tess at all then, Pop?”
The old man shook his head. He ran a hand through his wispy white hair. “Good luck finding her, son. The way she looks tonight you’ll lose her if you don’t hold on to her.”
Keegan grinned at his grandfather. “You’re probably right.” He walked to the kitchen sink and poured himself a glass of water. He looked up at the time on the microwave and saw it had just gotten past midnight. Well, it turns out I don’t lose the big V on my birthday after all. This seemed a shame ‘till he realized that on the other side of the world his day of days, December 3, was still going on.
He only drank half the glass of water, tipping the rest down the drain. The sight of the cold water trickling away, reminded him of the stranger asleep in the blue room. Keegan walked through to the hallway and went to check on Garth. The bedroom door was open and the tendrils of light from the hallway illuminated the room just enough for Keegan to see the skinny Garth spread out on the bed, laying on his stomach, arse pointing upwards—as if he were waiting, wanting to be taken. Keegan let out a frustrated breath that’s source stemmed from his ever increasing blue balls. I have got to find Tess, pronto! The sexual hunger sizzled through his bones something chronic.
He crossed the hall, deciding to quickly use the loo before he picked up on his Tess hunting mission. The smell of green apple toilet cleaner snuck up his nostrils, its strong fragrance dominated the tiny room. Keegan unzipped his shorts and released his cock, a steady stream of pee began emptying from him as he groaned out loud at the instant blessing of bladder relief. The sound of splashing in the bowl echoed around him ‘till his dick decided it could leak no more. As the last drips left his body he heard a noise coming from outside. He zipped up his fly and stood still, trying to listen for the sound. The noise—a mumbled giggle—rippled again from outside the toilet room’s small window that looked out to the backyard of the property. Keegan turned off the light and leaned forward, resting his hands on the window sill, curious to have a look at what was going on out there.
At first he couldn’t see a thing while his eyes adjusted to the dark shapes outside. He could see the edge of the porch and the pool in the distance. This time the giggle fused into a panting sigh. Keegan’s eyes chased the noise to the far left of the yard. There, beneath overgrown shrubbery and tall trees was a blonde girl in a white dress, sitting down on a garden seat with her back turned.
Tess! What the fuck?
Tess’s blonde hair flailed as she shook her head in jolted motions, her voice quivering in a foreign tone. Keegan worried if something was wrong, she looked like she was having a seizure. He raised his hand to pound on the window and call out, but just before his knuckles could rack across the glass, he saw a shirtless male stand up from between her legs. A strip of moonlight streaked through the gaps of the garden’s trees, landing across the man’s strong physique. The m
an laughed to himself before speaking in a familiar voice. “Fuck, those virgin juices taste good.”
Mother fucker!
Keegan clasped a hand to his mouth, halting a shocked shriek from departing his lips as he watched Damon kneel back down between Tess’s legs. He didn’t have to have a frontal view to know what was happening. Tess immediately resumed her orgasmic sighing, letting Keegan know just how deep Damon’s tongue was inside her.
You fucking cunt, she’s mine!
Keegan felt his knees get weak, his heart hammering in his chest. A cold sweat broke out over his body. He shook his head and muttered softly, “fuck, fuck, fuck.” Tess let out an even louder groan that cut Keegan’s pride raw. He raced out of the toilet and thumped through the hallway escaping out a side door to the garage, desperate to not be seen by his family and escape the front row seat to Tess’s infidelity. The garage doors were open and Keegan bolted out into the night air, running to the end of the driveway and turned left onto the country road.
He stormed along, passing the row of visitors’ cars lining the grassy verge of his grandparent’s property. “Arrgggggh. You fucking prick!” Keegan screamed. He half expected someone to answer back—no one did.
He didn’t know where he was going, but he needed to get away. Far, far away. His feet thumped the ground in angry stomps, each time one landed his breath poured out unsettled and vexed. He was nearly at the end of the row of cars when he tripped over a lump on the ground and fell face first into the darkness of the ground.
CHAPTER EIGHT:
A Hopeful Glow
“Ough, fuck,” Keegan hissed. He put his fingers delicately up to his nose which burned in pain. “Just what I fucking need,” he moaned to himself, half-expecting his fingers to be covered in blood. They weren’t. He went to scramble to his feet but something from behind grabbed his leg. He flinched in fright at the feel of his bare skin being touched.
Keegan was about to kick at whatever ghastly creature it was grabbing him, but a groggy groan and a drunken, “Hey, man,” let him know it wasn’t a monster—it was Liam.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Keegan asked, his question came out angrier than he meant it to.
“I could ask you the same question,” Liam said. His words slipped out in drunken slurs. He lay flat on his back, his head turned to the side, shooting Keegan a cheeky lip curl.
“Well, I’m on the ground ‘cos you fucking tripped me, idiot. And yourself?”
Liam looked up at the sky, casually folding his arms. “I fell down ‘cos I be suuuuper pissed.” He began laughing like a naughty school kid.
Keegan hoisted himself up with his elbows so he could lean forward. He wiped his hands down the front of his t-shirt. It wasn’t like he needed to look clean anymore, now that his present had been stolen. “So no luck for you tonight then?” Keegan asked.
Liam shook his head. “Nope. But I gave the ground a good pounding when I collapsed I think.”
“You and me both,” Keegan exhaled.
“Double penetration,” Liam sniggered. “We tag teamed mother earth.”
“That’s the one.” Keegan sighed, not in the mood for anything funny.
“Where’s Tess?” Liam asked. Before Keegan could even respond, Liam rolled over on his side and stuck his head between Keegan’s legs and sniffed loudly for show. He retrieved his face and declared, “Can’t smell her on you, guessing it hasn’t happened yet.” He laughed loudly at his own joke.
“It’s happening as we speak. Just not with me,” Keegan said snottily.
Liam’s drunken eyes squinted at him, confused by what he had heard. “What are you on about?”
“She’s being licked out by Damon,” Keegan said as crassly as possible. “I imagine right about now he’s bending her over, giving her a good one.”
“Hold up, hold up.” Liam jostled himself up off the ground, scooting his butt across the dirt to sit beside Keegan. “You’re telling me that Tess and Damon are getting it on?” His breath wafted over Keegan’s face, it tasted of beer and an acidic smell Keegan assumed to be vomit.
“That’s what I’m saying.” Keegan released a frustrated breath. “I was going for a piss and caught them together in the backyard.”
Liam turned his head and looked back at the house in the distance, as if he was trying to see the horny pair going at it. “Fuck. That’s not good,” he whispered.
Keegan’s body felt like a cauldron mixing with emotions, bubbling away inside him. Sadness, disappointment, anger—so much fucking anger. Even though in recent months he had felt himself drifting away from Tess, thanks in part to his heart and cock gravitating towards the very person sitting beside him; it still didn’t stop this moment from hurting.
Liam faced Keegan again. “Are you all right?”
Keegan felt his throat trickle dry, his eyes burn with a stinging sadness that leaked down his dimpled cheeks. He shook his head and began sobbing into his hands. He tried wiping them away, not wanting Liam to see him weak but the tears kept tumbling.
Liam wrapped his arm around Keegan’s back and drew him into him, letting Keegan cry into his shoulder. “It’s okay, buddy,” the words came out sweet and soothing.
Keegan sniffled. “Fuck, I’m so sorry,” his words muffled into Liam’s t-shirt.
“Don’t be sorry. You can cry, I don’t mind.” He gave Keegan a squeeze with his arm, reeling him in closer. He gently lowered them both down to the ground so they were laying down. He reached over with his free hand and placed it in the small of Keegan’s back, pushing gently ‘till Keegan was glued to his side in the fetal position.
Keegan kept crying and trembling; he draped his arm across Liam’ and nuzzled into his chest. Liam said nothing, holding him tight ‘till finally Keegan’s sobs died down to rolling, smooth sighs. Once the raw emotion had evaporated, Keegan felt incredibly vulnerable and embarrassed for his water works.
I just bawled my eyes out in front of you.
He now could fully appreciate Liam’s strong arm underneath him, wrapped around his torso protectively. “Sorry you had to see that,” Keegan whispered into Liam’s armpit. He was still too embarrassed to retrieve his face and look Liam in the eyes.
“I don’t think I’ve never seen you cry before.” Liam sounded stunned.
“And let’s hope you never have to again.” Keegan let out an uneasy laugh.
“I hope so too,” Liam said. “That really fucking hurt.”
“What?” Keegan mumbled. “Am I hurting your arm?”
Liam squeezed him again. “No, fool. You’re not hurting my arm.” He reached for Keegan’s hand, dragging it to the center of his chest. “It hurts my heart seeing you sad like this.”
Wow.
Keegan’s body suddenly tensed up in his friend’s embrace. The words rescued him from any lingering hurt. Although Liam was drunk as a skunk, the words felt honest and the most fucking romantic thing Keegan had ever heard.
I want to kiss you so fucking much right now.
Keegan bit the inside of his mouth, using every bit of strength he had not to plant his lips atop of Liam’s, and slip his tongue inside his best mate’s mouth.
Liam let go of his hand and rested his arm back down by his side. Keegan knew he should probably remove his hand from Liam’s chest and roll away, but he let it sit there, feeling Liam’s heartbeat.
They lay there together, neither saying a word, Liam staring up at the stars in the sky while Keegan basked in what felt like a surreal moment. His happiness had ricocheted back in a stupidly short amount of time. If he had truly loved his girlfriend then surely he wouldn’t bounce back so easily, he thought. Sleeping with Tess was supposed to have cured him of this same-sex crush; a part of him was glad he hadn’t received the remedy—in this moment he didn’t ever want to be cured from such a wonderful affliction.
Keegan’s lips disobeyed him and they ever so gently kissed Liam’s shoulder, he inhaled as he did so—smelling a mash up of woody cologne and Li
am’s sweat which together created a manly musk. Keegan thought he had pecked so discretely Liam would not have noticed, but the next thing he knew, Liam leaned over, kissing the top of his head.
Keegan wasn’t sure what this meant, he felt his cock stiffen in his pants, it twitched forcefully and began pressing hot and firm against Liam’s thigh. Liam didn’t say anything, a sexy silence rolled between them. Keegan willed himself to be brave, he began stroking his fingers in small circles atop of Liam’s chest. Praying this small act could lead to big action.
“That tickles,” Liam said giggling.
“Did you want me to stop?” Keegan asked.
Liam shook his head. “It’s your birthday, you can do what you like remember.”
Keegan lifted his face from the warmth of Liam’s armpit and gazed down at his mate who had his eyes closed. “Are you sure about that?”
Liam opened his eyes, his face looked droopy from his intoxicated state. “You haven’t used your wish yet, so I guess so.”
A hopeful glow streaked through Keegan and he took his chance. “My wish is you.” He grinded his crotch against Liam’s leg, letting his friend know how hard his cock was and exactly who was responsible.
Liam chuckled and his lips curled into a crooked smile. “You can touch me if you want.”
“Thank you,” Keegan whispered, his thumb slowly fumbled with the top button of Liam’s shirt. The button popped through the hole with ease, exposing the pale tip of Liam’s chest. Keegan did the same again with the next button down, slipping his hand inside, feeling the warmth of Liam’s skin beneath his palm. He traced his fingers across to one of Liam’s nipples, gently squeezing it. He looked back at Liam’s face to see how he was reacting. Liam had closed his eyes again but a goofy smile was planted on his lips from the teasing touches. Keegan raked his fingers back across to the center of his friend’s chest. He could feel the scraggly touch of fine hair. Keegan felt like he had stumbled upon a secret. “I didn’t notice you had hair on your chest?”
Liam nodded. “Yeah, it’s just sort of started growing in the last few months.”