Why was Tony so hesitant to leave him? It didn’t make any sense.
“Tony! We’re going,” Kyle called upstairs.
Tony glanced at the door and then at Max and slowly got up.
“Good luck,” Max said.
“Yeah. We’ll kick their asses, don’t worry. Don’t have too much fun without us.”
“Can’t guarantee that.” Max grinned.
“And call me if you need anything.”
“Tony!”
Tony patted the doorjamb. “See ya, then.”
The front door slammed, and Max waited until the ambulance had left the driveway, then dialed Rick. They’d have the whole night and most of tomorrow together. He couldn’t wait. Rick had classes until nine in the evening, and Max counted down the minutes until they got to be together again. It was kind of scary how strong his feelings were for Rick. To the point that he’d caught himself wondering what it would be like if his friends did know about them. He’d see Sian and Kyle together, or Tony with his latest conquest, out in the open and not having to hide. Not being able to share with his friends and Tony that he might be falling in love for the very first time was constantly getting harder, but the thought of how they might react still terrified him. They’d never look at him in the same way again.
“IT’S WEIRD being here with it so quiet,” Rick said after he had kissed Max hello.
“Oh yeah. I forgot you haven’t been here since the party. God. That was nearly six weeks ago. I can’t believe it’s been so long. Come on down to the kitchen. Are you hungry?”
“Starving. I didn’t get a chance to eat dinner before the last class like I normally do.”
Max jogged downstairs and into the kitchen. “What do you want? I could make more bean burritos like the ones we had the other day. Or I could do”—he rummaged in the refrigerator—“chicken taco salad. Or cheeseburgers and homemade fries?”
“I don’t have a fight for a couple of weeks, so maybe the burger?”
“Good choice.” Max removed the ingredients and stacked them on the counter. “Do you want a beer or a soda?”
“What are you having?”
“Mm, soda probably.”
“Okay, I’ll have one too.”
Max handed him a can and opened one for himself.
“Art was asking whether you’d be coming back to class.”
“Really? What did you tell him?”
Max diced an onion and then opened the packet of ground beef and tipped it into a bowl with an egg, the onion, and some seasoning while Rick watched.
“I told him you’d decided to take private lessons for a while to get you started.”
“What the hell? He’ll be expecting me to come back to the class.”
“I also said you were more interested in learning the silat and kali systems. I don’t teach much of that in class, so he was quite impressed with your decision, actually.”
Max snorted a laugh. “You make it sound as though I know what I’m talking about. I almost feel obliged to return the favor and teach you how to cook.”
“Almost?” Rick came up behind him and slid his arms around Max’s waist, kissing him on the neck.
“You start doing that and you won’t get any food or a cooking lesson.”
Rick laughed and rested his head on Max’s shoulder, as Max squished the ingredients in the bowl to make patties, which he laid on a baking sheet.
“I didn’t realize burgers were that easy to make.”
“Yeah, they don’t take long.” Max reached across to the sink and washed his hands before slicing the potatoes into thick fries, which he then threw into a bowl of cold water. “Can you pass me the oil?”
“Sure.” Rick let go of him and went to grab it from the opposite counter, and Max took out the pan he used for deep frying. “Are we still going to book the flights to London today?”
“Yeah. Is that okay?”
“Of course. It’s not hard. Shouldn’t take long. I brought my passport, so we should have everything we need.”
“Why do you need your passport?”
“You have to put the number in when you make the booking.”
“The number? Well, how the hell am I supposed to get those for the others? It’s a good thing we all had to get passports for the gigs in Toronto.”
Max added the oil to the pan. It wouldn’t take long to heat up, so he fished the fries out of the water and dried them with a cloth.
“You’re going to need to tell them,” Rick said and sat at the table. “How long were you planning to leave it before saying anything, anyway?”
Sighing, Max said, “I’ve never had any involvement in the running of the band. It was always Lee and now Tony. I guess I just want to prove to Tony and Kyle, and myself, that I could do all this other stuff if I had to… and maybe I want to someday.”
Rick smiled and took a gulp of his soda. “Then we’ll find a way to do it. Do you know where they keep their passports?”
“I know where Sian keeps hers and Kyle’s. She’s super organized. I called Craig to book her time off work so she can come. He promised to not say anything to her, so that’s good. I haven’t got a clue with Tony, though.” Max carefully lowered the fries into the oil. He was going to triple cook them so they were extra crispy. “I think we’re gonna have to search his room.”
AFTER THEY’D eaten, Max took Rick upstairs. Luckily Tony had left his door open, as Max could never remember his code.
“I feel like I’m intruding,” Rick said.
“He’s not exactly a private person. Don’t worry about it.”
Tony’s room was a mess. Cosmetics and drumsticks littered the surfaces. Clothes and magazines were strewn across the unmade bed, and Max narrowly avoided tripping over Tony’s hockey skates, which were in the middle of the floor without the blade guards on them. That could’ve hurt. “Watch your feet,” Max said and picked his way over to the dresser. “If you were Tony, where would you keep important stuff?”
Rick frowned. “I dunno… in the bedside cabinet maybe?”
“You check there. I’ll look through the dresser.”
As Max was rummaging through one of the drawers, Rick suddenly gasped.
“What is it? Did you find it?” Max spun around, and Rick looked stunned.
“I’m officially scarred for life.”
“What? What is it?”
After making his way across the room, Max slid an arm around Rick and crouched down to look inside the cabinet. Inside was a clear Fleshlight next to a massive bottle of lube and the superhero porn DVD Tony had bought the other week.
“I guess that’ll teach us for looking through his stuff,” Max said and shuddered. “We found what we were looking for, though.” Tony’s passport was tucked between the lube bottle and the side of the cabinet. Max gingerly reached in and grabbed it, then wiped it on his pants.
Getting Sian’s and Kyle’s passports was far less traumatic. After collecting what they needed, they sat on Max’s bed with his laptop. Rick had his back to the wall, and Max sat between his legs with Rick watching over his shoulder. “My credit card is gonna take a hammering,” Max said as they were entering the details for the flights, with Rick showing him what he needed to do. “Okay, so that’s everyone done. We need to book a hotel, and I guess we should sort out shipping for our gear as well. I hope they can do it at such short notice.”
“Do you know what company to use?”
“Yeah. Pete gave me what I needed. He’s done this before when he toured with his band years ago. They went all over the world. Luckily, the company they used is still going strong. I wouldn’t have a clue who to use otherwise. I also arranged with Pete for us to record our album in a couple of weeks. Gives us some time to get the tracks perfect. Hopefully we’ll get some sales off the back of these gigs in London.”
When they were done organizing everything, Max placed his laptop to one side and relaxed back against Rick, closing his eyes when Rick kissed his head. It w
as nice being able to relax like this, in his own room, on his own bed, without any risk of interruptions.
“Can I use your laptop a minute?” Rick asked.
“Sure.” Rick’s torso flexed beneath him as he reached for it.
“I thought I recognized that website logo.”
“What’s that?” Max asked, half opening his eyes. Oh no! A naked man was on his laptop screen, jacking himself. “Give me that.” He tried to grab the laptop, but Rick held it out of reach.
“It’s okay. I look at this site sometimes too.”
“You do?” Max turned around on his knees to try to reach for it to turn it off. How mortifying. The next thing he knew, Rick had used some ninja move on him and Max was lying on his back with Rick straddling him. Rick moved Max’s hand onto his groin. He was semihard. Max raised an eyebrow. The shock of Rick discovering his secret was suddenly full of possibilities.
“We could watch it together? That could be fun. What do you think?” Rick leaned down and whispered, “I bet I can last longer than you can.”
Max caressed him through his jeans. Fuck. He liked that idea. “You’re on.”
“Mind if I take a look at your playlist?”
“That’d be cheating. I think we should pick one together.” Max knew he would probably lose. He was getting hard just thinking about it. He’d definitely lose if Rick picked any of his favorite videos.
“How about this one?” Rick stopped scrolling. He’d stopped on one of a really hot muscular guy with blond hair who was going to be jacking off.
“No way. To make it fair we should pick one where they don’t look like either of us.”
“Mm, somebody wants to win.” Rick kissed him long and hard, and Max almost forgot all about their game. “I know which one we should choose,” Rick murmured as he pulled away. It turned out to be a video that started with three fully clothed dark-haired guys lying on a bed.
“Yeah, looks good to me.” Max shuffled across so he was sitting up next to Rick with his back against the wall, and Rick moved the screen so they could both easily see it. “Have you watched this one before?”
“Yeah, a few times. You?”
“No.”
Rick pressed Play, and Max watched as the three guys began to undress one another as they exchanged brief kisses. “What ones do you usually like?” Rick asked.
“You first.”
Rick shrugged. “A mixture, I guess. Depends on what mood I’m in. I like the ones where you can tell the guys have a good chemistry.”
“Yeah, that’s true. Watching them getting blown is pretty cool. I like those.”
“You’re so gonna lose,” Rick said and laughed as one of the guys dropped to his knees and the other two took turns feeding him their cocks.
Max groaned and rested his head back against the wall, staring at the ceiling fan. He was aching to touch himself, and after one of the guys started moaning, he couldn’t help looking back at the screen. After unzipping his pants, he reached inside and squeezed himself. He glanced across at Rick. His jeans were still fastened, but he was rubbing himself through the material. He looked to be fully hard, though, so it couldn’t have been comfortable.
The two guys getting blown started making out, and the guy kneeling held their cocks together, running his tongue along their lengths and then sucking the tips into his mouth. Max’s cock twitched, and he shoved down his pants so they were out of the way while he stroked himself as slowly as he could.
Rick’s breathing was getting louder, and finally he gave in and removed his jeans and his T-shirt. Fuck, he looked hot. Max watched him as Rick jacked himself by alternating a couple of fast strokes followed by several slower ones. A bead of precome was at his tip, and Max wondered if it would be considered cheating if he licked it away with his tongue.
“How far through do you normally get before you come?” Max asked after a while.
“I try to wait and come at the same time as them.” Rick was watching Max’s hand, so Max sped up his strokes.
“Do you always manage?”
“Sometimes I fast forward.” Rick’s breathing was becoming slightly ragged now, and the slap of his hand as his fist slid up and down his solid length was making Max even harder. Max loosened his grip as he tugged on his balls with his other hand.
“Ugh. That’s a good idea,” Rick said and removed his hand to copy Max, and his cock slapped back against his tight abs. Rick gave him a small smile as he steadied his breathing.
“What does the winner get?” Max asked. He was seriously considering jumping Rick right now.
Rick reached across and kissed him, hot and wet. “I’ll get to watch you come undone as you pleasure yourself. It’ll be so hot that you’ll drive me over the edge, but I’ll hold myself back until you’ve spilled every last drop, and then I’ll come wherever you want.” He trailed his tongue around Max’s ear and then whispered, “Where do you want me to come?”
“Fuck.” Max pushed Rick away and reached for himself again, pumping at a steady pace so he didn’t tip himself over the edge. “That sounds so good. But maybe I want to watch you make yourself come hard first.”
The guys on the screen were fucking now. One guy was standing facing the wall, bracing himself against it while the other two took turns inside him. The guy currently fucking him was slamming into him with every thrust.
“How long until they—?” Max nodded at the screen.
“Not for ages. You want me to fast forward it?”
“Fuck. How do they last so damn long?”
Rick’s leg was touching Max’s as they sat side by side, and every motion of Rick’s hand as he jerked himself rippled through Max, turning him on even more. He risked a look down as he loosened his grip a little. The head of Rick’s cock was red as he strained to stave off his release. It was then that Max realized Rick was watching him more than the screen. He desperately wanted to touch Rick, to feel how turned on he was for him, but even more than that, he wanted to watch Rick lose control all on his own. There would be plenty of time for them to touch later.
With Rick watching him, Max thrust up into his hand, slowly, deliberately. “God, that feels fucking good.” He shifted his grip so he was holding himself from underneath, to allow Rick an uninterrupted view of his length.
“That’s cheating,” Rick gasped and let go of his cock. He stared back at the screen, breathing hard.
“How much do you want to win?” Max asked. “Are you sure winning is worth all this?”
“You want me to rewind to when those guys were getting blown?”
“That’d definitely be cheating.” Max secretly hoped he would, but that could very well mean the end for him. Watching that had turned him on so fucking much. “Don’t you want to watch these three guys make each other come?” Rick gripped himself as he watched the screen, and Max glanced up to see what had captured his attention. Instead of watching the two of them fucking, the third guy was lining up behind, ready to take them both.
Max and Rick watched in silence for a while, and other than the video, the only sounds were an irregular rhythmic slap as they jerked themselves and their breathing getting deeper and jagged.
Finally, one of the guys on the screen said, “I’m getting close.” In the next shot, the three guys were on the bed. One of them was lying on his back, and the other two were kneeling on either side of his head with their cocks aimed at the guy’s mouth.
They were getting ready to come, the camera going in for a close-up. Was Rick about to go too? He was watching the screen intently, his eyes hooded and his hand now flying over his cock. He was, Max was sure of it, and he couldn’t take his eyes off him. Each time Rick breathed out it became more erratic than the breath before.
“Fuck, I’m coming,” Max heard on the screen, but he didn’t look at it. He desperately tried to hold himself on the edge as he heard the guys on the screen climaxing, and then Rick squeezed his eyes together and yelled out. His hand was moving impossibly fast as thic
k spurts of come coated his chest right up to his neck. His body was still shuddering as Max’s orgasm took hold, and Max was aware of Rick watching him as he kneeled up on shaky legs. He steadied himself by holding Rick’s thigh, and pointed his cock at Rick as his orgasm thundered through him and he coated Rick’s chest with his release.
Max flopped down next to Rick. Once he had caught his breath, he said with a grin, “Looks like I win.”
“I want a rematch.”
“Fine by me.”
“I’m sure you cheated.”
“Hey, you chose the video.”
“Maybe we should see who can come first next time.”
Max laughed and rolled onto his side so he could kiss him. “I’d still beat you.”
They spent the night sharing their favorite clips until Rick had to admit defeat and gave in to sleep. That had been at about three in the morning, and Max lay awake watching him for hours as he slept.
He had had the best time tonight. It was effortless being around Rick, and Max felt as though he could truly be himself when it was just the two of them. He’d never been able to do that around anyone before. It scared him a little—the strength of his feelings, that is. Plus, the sex was incredible. That was definitely a bonus. Max sighed and lay back, hoping that Rick wouldn’t sleep too long. He was ready for another round, and they had the whole morning to themselves.
SEVERAL WEEKS later, Max was wondering whether it had been the best idea to keep the London trip from the others. He was nervous about telling them, but he couldn’t leave it any longer. Today they would be recording their new album, Languid Lunatics, and Tony and Kyle would want to know what the hurry was.
After using Tony’s special body wash and spending enough time in the hot shower that he couldn’t see through the thick steam, Max bounced downstairs.
It was still morning, so none of the others would be up yet. As he reached the kitchen, he wished that wasn’t the case. He was too excited, and not just about recording the album. It had been difficult to keep it secret for so long, but immensely satisfying knowing that he’d coped with arranging everything.
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