The Player's Protégé

by CJane Elliott

  Jerry bit his lip to keep from drooling. “Great job, Roberto. Arlo, you look magnificent.” The haircut had eliminated the shaggy locks that obscured Arlo’s chiseled features. Now his cheekbones and big brown eyes took prominence. He could be a model… or a superhero… or both.

  “If you say so.” Arlo brightened. “Thanks, Roberto.” He rose from the chair. “What do I owe you?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Roberto said easily. “Jerry and I have an arrangement.”

  “You sure?” At Roberto’s nod, Arlo brought out his wallet and handed him a twenty. “Here’s a tip, then. Thanks again.”

  Gracious with service people—noted.

  They made their way to Alekos, Arlo seemingly oblivious to the admiring glances he received from people as they strolled along.

  Once they settled in and had their drinks, Jerry took a sip of his herbal tea. “So let’s see where we’re at with this project.”

  “I’ve got some new clothes and a cool haircut. That’s good, right?” Arlo smiled at him over his coffee cup.

  “That’s….” Jerry was about to say “fabulous,” but modulated it to “a step in the right direction.” It wouldn’t do to gush, even though Arlo’s increased gorgeousness was making Jerry’s head spin.

  Arlo grew serious. “I’ve been thinking about what you were saying.”

  “What’s that? I say a lot of things.”

  “Yeah. You do. This was when you were ragging on me about asking for what I want.”

  “Ragging on you? Please, dear boy. I do not rag. I merely point out, suggest, or otherwise advise.” Jerry chose to ignore Arlo’s skeptical expression. “Anyway, what were you thinking about my wise words regarding the need for you to ask for what you want?”

  “I was thinking you’re right. I need to do that more.”

  “Very good. And why do you think you haven’t up to now?”

  Arlo gazed at the salt shaker as he thought. Finally he said, “I don’t know. I don’t like getting other people upset, so when there’s conflict, I kind of back off. It makes me happy to make other people happy, so usually I don’t mind going along with what they want.”

  “It’s nice that you like to make others happy. But when you don’t keep yourself in that equation, you end up being with a guy for over three years and never getting to top.”

  The color rose in Arlo’s cheeks. He glanced around and then said in a lower voice, “Yeah. And life’s too short for that kind of crap. Maybe if I’d grown a pair and kept asking Jake, I would have gotten more of what I wanted in bed.”

  “I’m sure you would have. Either that or kicked Jake’s selfish ass to the curb way before he ended up cheating on you.”

  Arlo’s blush deepened. “Did Ty tell you about the cheating?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, was it meant to be a secret? Tyrone was pretty pissed off about it, which is probably why he told.”

  “It’s okay, man. It’s kind of embarrassing, though.”

  Jerry felt his indignation at Jake rise. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I know Jake from theater classes, and he’s not all that. In fact he’s not good enough for you—he refused to satisfy you, didn’t listen to what you wanted, and then fucked you over. He’s the loser, not you.”

  “I guess.”

  Arlo said it so humbly that Jerry got angry. “Stop running yourself down. You’re a real catch, Arlo. You’re going to have no problem getting sex partners.”

  “Oh.”

  Jerry took a breath to calm himself. “Is there anything else in your way other than being insecure because Jake dumped you?”

  “I… I feel weird about having no experience. What if I blow it?”

  “I’ll overlook the obvious pun. You do have experience, though. You—” Jerry stopped himself. The coffee shop had filled up. “Let’s go somewhere more private for the rest of this conversation.”

  Arlo hesitated and checked his phone. “I can’t right now. I have my econ group meeting on our final project. But let’s do it soon, and you should come to my place.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I have it to myself for the rest of the school year. My roommate ended up leaving early.”

  “Excellent. How’s tomorrow at four?”

  “Good.” Arlo stood and threw some bills on the table.

  “And Arlo, I want you to think about all the areas of sex you want to experience and haven’t yet. We’ll do some education.”

  Arlo gave a slow and frankly devastating smile. “I’d like that.”

  Jerry followed his sexy trainee out of the coffee shop with the distinct feeling he’d gotten himself in over his head.

  Chapter Four

  “COME ON in.” Arlo wore one of the outfits from their shopping expedition and looked amazing.

  “Nice threads.” Threads? Jesus, Helstrom.

  “Yeah. I have an excellent personal shopper.” Arlo flashed him a smile.

  Jerry returned his smile with an arched eyebrow. Arlo was progressing well on the flirting front, which was interesting, given Jerry hadn’t even mentioned flirting to him. “The hair is great, by the way.”

  “Thanks to you and Roberto.”

  With the nagging sense that Arlo needed way less “coaching” to be a player than they’d all believed, Jerry followed him into his modest apartment and eyed the spread on the coffee table—hummus, rice crackers, dates, and olives. Nice. The wine was even decent, though Jerry preferred white to red. Some jazz played in the background. It appeared Arlo didn’t need any advice on setting up a seduction scene either.

  They settled on the couch.

  “Wine?” Arlo picked up the bottle. At Jerry’s assent, he poured each of them a glass. “Help yourself to whatever.”

  “Excellent.” Jerry took a sip and then set down his glass. “This is very nice, Arlo. You do know how to set up a romantic scene.”

  Arlo blushed.

  “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. You look fabulous, the wine and munchies are on point, and the music adds to the ambience. That’s all I’m saying.” And he had no idea why he was saying any of it. “Okay, enough Queer Eye realness. Let’s talk about you and sex.”

  “Yeah. Okay.”

  “Now as I recall, you said you feel weird about having no experience, at least in those areas that you’d like to explore.”

  “Right.” Arlo scooped up some hummus with a rice cracker and popped it into his mouth.

  “And to be specific, you’d like to try topping, but you feel held back by having never done it before.”

  Arlo swallowed and nodded. “Yeah.”

  As he bit into a date, Jerry had a thought—a sudden, delicious, and sinful thought. No. He chewed the date and savored its sticky sweetness. Why not? Who better than you to give the boy some practical sexual instruction? It doesn’t have to mean anything, and when you’re done with him, he’ll be an awesome top. Jerry squirmed as he tried to beat back his desire with a shred of common sense.

  “Umm, Jerry? Are you okay?”

  “Yes.” He was about to say that the guys on Grindr would happily accommodate a cute but inexperienced top and that he could give some… verbal pointers, but his evil side took the floor. “Here’s the thing, Arlo. I can tell you about being a top. I can describe it and give you some good info. But it’s like they say about riding a bicycle.” He stopped, a part of himself unable to believe what he was actually going to propose.

  “Uh… so, what do they say?”

  “That until you hop on and ride, all the descriptions in the world are just that—descriptions.” He stopped once more and struggled as his higher or saner self told him not to go there. Fuck off, Mr. Horny retorted. “So, I’m going to propose that I show you how to top through having you top me.”

  Arlo flushed the brightest red Jerry had seen so far. “You’d do that?” His voice sounded strangled.

  “Oh yes.” Jerry’s cheeks warmed, and his own voice was unacceptably husky. “That is,” h
e continued more nonchalantly, “it seems the most practical and fastest way to get you over your hump, as it were. Once you see that you can top just fine, then we’ll unleash you on Grindr and all those grateful bottoms.”

  “Okay, sure. If you say so.” Arlo cast him a sideward glance from under his eyelashes.

  Jerry took a casual sip from his wineglass, belied by the slight shaking of his hand. “So let’s set a few ground rules. This is for strictly educational purposes. There will be no kissing, nothing like that.”

  “No kissing?”

  “Well, not on the lips, capisce? No outwardly romantic gestures. Believe me, that’s not what your typical Grindr hookup will be looking for. So we’re going to keep it to the vibe of a hot but anonymous encounter.”

  “Oh.”

  Jerry thought he detected a trace of disappointment in Arlo’s voice, but it might have been his imagination. “This has nothing to do with feelings, except in the physical sense, right? You said you wanted to get laid. I mean, I don’t need to go on with this lecture. We’re guys, right?” What was he babbling about? He shoved a rice cracker in his mouth to keep from talking the point into the ground.

  “Yeah. Just sex. I’m catching up and… thanks, Jerry, for being willing to show me.” Arlo’s eyes were kind again, and he was doing that thing—being so nice and humble.

  “Arlo. Babe. You gotta go with your horny side on this, not your sweet side. These guys won’t be looking for sweet.”

  Arlo seemed confused. “What do you mean, ‘sweet side’? I’m just being myself.”

  “That’s the problem. You’re too dang sweet for your own good. But never mind. Like you said, that’s just you. And come to think of it, that’ll probably make you an excellent top, so let’s run with it.” Jerry downed the rest of his wine, thought about pouring himself another, and decided against it. “Okay, next. What do you have in the way of supplies?”

  “Huh?”

  “Lube? Condoms?”

  “Yes to both.”

  “Good. Always use a condom for hooking up. Always. And if you go to another guy’s place, bring your own condoms and lube, just in case.”

  “Okay.”

  “Do you get tested regularly?”

  “I didn’t when I was with Jake.”

  Jerry pressed his lips together and then blew out a breath. “Mistake. I hope you’ve been tested since.”

  Arlo nodded. “I got tested as soon as Jake told me he’d been with others. So far, so good.”

  “Excellent. And you can ask your hookups about their HIV status, but don’t expect all of them to be honest. That’s why condoms are essential. Or PrEP. But I’d say both, because condoms are the only things that prevent STDs.”

  “Yeah. Anything else?”

  They gazed at each other, and Jerry began to get aroused just imagining Arlo inside him. This was not going to be a hardship. At all.

  “Time to get naked.” Jerry winked. Cheesy but he had to keep it light.

  “Uh, right.” Arlo stood. “The bedroom’s down the hall.”

  Jerry followed Arlo’s lanky form into his bedroom, which was messy but not awful. It was a typical guy’s lair—unmade bed, clothes on the floor, along with textbooks and shoes.

  “Sorry ’bout the mess.” Arlo pulled more clothes and books from the bed and threw them in the armchair. Then he faced Jerry. “Clothes off?”

  “That’s the idea.” Jerry slowly unbuttoned his shirt while Arlo did the same. They shucked their pants and underwear, and Arlo eyed Jerry as avidly as Jerry did him, which was fine. Jerry had no hang-ups about his own body.

  Woo boy. Arlo had some muscles on that chest. Jerry let his eyes wander lower. “Very nice.” Arlo was hung, and that prick was going to feel amazing. “Get the lube and condoms and let’s get to work.”

  They settled on the bed. “You know about prepping? Jake did that for you, or did you do it yourself?”

  “At first he did all of it, but after a while, he let me do it.”

  Jerry gave a curt nod. “With hookups, they may want to do it for themselves or be pre-prepped if you’ve already planned to fuck. But I’m going to let you prep me so you have that experience in case you need it.” He spread his legs. “Lube on your index finger.”

  Arlo lubed up, put his other hand on Jerry’s thigh, and probed him gently with his finger. “Like that?”

  “Yes. That’s nice. Keep working it in slowly.”

  “You’re hard. You like it, huh?”

  “Of course, dear boy. I don’t do what I don’t like. And neither should you.”

  Arlo nodded, his expression intent as he worked his finger inside. “I like doing this.”

  Jerry knew he could take his fingers easily but he let Arlo apply himself to the task. Arlo’s fingers were nice and wide on those big hands. Jerry’s gaze strayed to Arlo’s cock. Hard. Good. Arlo was as turned on as Jerry was.

  “Okay. Time for two fingers.” As Arlo slowly withdrew the index finger, Jerry added, “When you’re doing this for someone else, they probably aren’t going to tell you when it’s time to add more. It’s nice to check in with them along the way and then just go with your instinct.”

  Arlo’s middle finger, along with the index finger, provided a welcome stretch and burn as he guided them inside.

  “Mmm. That’s good.”

  “Good.” Arlo’s eyes hung on Jerry’s face, as though he were searching for an answer to life’s mysteries. Jerry was about to make a snarky remark when Arlo grazed his favorite spot.

  “Ah, yes. There.”

  “Here?” Arlo brushed against it again, and a smile lifted the corner of his mouth.

  “God, yes. There.”

  “Okay.” He settled in, moving his fingers in and out, and each contact sent sparks through Jerry. Arlo placed his other hand on Jerry’s chest and played with his nipples, all the while maintaining a close surveillance of Jerry’s face.

  Jerry was finding it hard to maintain his mentor-like aloofness. “Good,” he gasped and then swallowed. “Excellent. We could do three fingers, but I don’t actually need it, and you… ngh, that’s good…. Let’s move on to the main event.”

  “You sure?” Arlo brushed his sweet spot again while he tweaked a nipple. Then he moistened his lips with his tongue.

  Fuck. “Positive.” When Arlo slowly withdrew his fingers, Jerry grabbed the condom packet to tear it open, but dropped it when Arlo suddenly leaned down and licked his nipple. Arlo brushed Jerry’s seeking fingers away and nabbed the condom as he gave each nipple a gentle bite.

  Hell. Arlo was so in command of this scene that Jerry might as well surrender.

  Arlo sat up to roll on the rubber. “What position do you like?”

  Jerry cleared his throat and grabbed on to his mentor role. “Good question. A good top always checks on what the bottom prefers. As for me, I would like to be on my knees, holding the headboard. And you do with me what you will.” Try as he might, he wasn’t able to get the hoarseness out of his voice. Arlo had gotten him seriously turned on.

  “Okay. Just tell me if I’m doing anything wrong.”

  “Believe me, you’ll be the first to know.”

  “Should I lube up my dick?”

  “Yes. You can never have too much lube for anal. But let me….” Jerry was dying to get his hands on Arlo’s impressive member. He squirted on some lube and caressed Arlo’s condom-clad cock, gently moving up and down, savoring the firm thickness. Yum. Arlo hissed and his eyelids fluttered shut. “Okay. Now, the trick with anal is the one topping has to go very slowly and take his cues from the bottom. Ready?”

  Arlo opened his eyes and flashed him his killer smile. “Oh, yeah.”

  Jerry arranged himself on the bed, knees down, ass out, hands gripping the headboard. “Hop on and ride, cowboy.” He smiled when Arlo chuckled behind him.

  “Yeehaw.”

  Arlo put his arm around his waist, and Jerry could swear he felt Arlo’s hard bicep against his side. That a
lone set his butthole to fluttering. Then Arlo’s blunt head nudged him and signaled Jerry to breathe out and visualize opening up. He pushed back to let Arlo breach him, and Arlo pressed in at a glacial pace, then stopped.

  “Okay?” Arlo’s voice sounded strained. “This is…. Jesus. Amazing.”

  “We’ve only just begun, in the words of Karen Carpenter. Keep going.”

  Arlo kept going, ever so slowly, while Jerry opened to accommodate him. It felt great. It had been a while since Jerry had been fucked, and Arlo filled him beautifully. He continued to murmur encouragement, and Arlo continued to press forward until, finally, Arlo’s cock hit that magical spot.

  “Mmm, yes. That’s the place. Stop.”

  Arlo’s panting was loud in Jerry’s ear. “You feel so good. No wonder Jake was keeping this to himself.”

  “Let’s not bring him into the scene, hmm?”

  “Oh God, you’re right. Sorry. But this is awesome. Let me know when it’s okay to move.”

  Jerry played a bit, squeezed his buttocks and did a slow gyration on Arlo’s dick, which drew a moan out of Arlo. He felt fucking fabulous. Arlo found one of Jerry’s nipples and teased it to a peak, all the while holding himself steady inside. Jerry breathed out, his cock dripping from the stimulation. It was already stacking up to be one of the best fucks ever.

  “Yeah, babe. Time to move. Fuck me.”

  Arlo dropped his hand to Jerry’s waist and took hold. “Excuse me if I’m not good at this.”

  “Banish those words. You’re great.” Jerry was about to say more, but he lost his speech when Arlo pulled back and then moved forward enough to hit his prostate perfectly. And then did it again. And again. And….

  Babbling. Jerry heard incoherent babbling and realized it was coming from his own mouth. Arlo’s cock had launched Jerry into some other universe. With every bang, Jerry spun out on sensation and whimpered or pleaded or uttered some nonsense. Arlo whispered soothing stuff, sustaining his inexorable pace as though he could keep it up all night. Holy fuck, the man was a black belt—he probably could.

  If Jerry didn’t get relief, he was going to burst. “My dick,” he gasped. “Take my—ahhhh.”