“How’s that song go? I think you’re supposed to take your clothes off now.” Nate nipped Lucas’s earlobe.
Gripped by an insane impulse, Lucas peeled off his T-shirt, hooking it through one of his belt loops. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Nate’s expression suddenly grow serious, his eyes dark with desire as he descended on Lucas’s mouth, kissing him thoroughly.
Catching his breath, Lucas turned back to the dance floor as Nate moved in even closer, his hands drifting upward, caressing Lucas’s chest. Nate raked his short nails through the sprinkling of chest hair before teasing Lucas’s nipples, one and then the other. As he sucked at the juncture of Lucas’s neck and shoulder, adrenaline sang in Lucas’s veins.
When Nate’s hand deftly unzipped Lucas’s jeans and slipped inside, Lucas glanced around furtively. Bold eyes were on them from all sides, and he found to his shock that being watched sent a bolt of excitement straight to his cock.
As Nate stroked him, he whispered in his ear, “You like that? Like being the center of attention?”
Lucas nodded, licking his lips. He watched the dancers below, arms and legs and torsos slithering through a sea of smoke and glitter. He was a real gay man. He’d always felt like an imposter somehow, but now look at him. He was at a gay club being wilder than he’d ever imagined. He didn’t need a drink to feel intoxicated.
Nate tightened his fist around Lucas’s cock. Then his free hand squeezed down the back of Lucas’s briefs, finger touching his hole. Lucas shivered and gasped, his eyes closing. Nate stroked him faster, the tip of his finger dancing around Lucas’s pucker.
With the deafening music, Lucas didn’t try to bite back his moans of pleasure, and as Nate pushed his finger inside him and crooked it just so, Lucas came with a cry that sounded like it echoed on every side of the club.
Nate supported him, wrapping his arms around Lucas as he kissed his cheek. “I knew you’d be a screamer if you got the chance.”
Clinging to the railing, Lucas blinked down at where his semen splattered the glass. He could still feel the heat of anonymous gazes on him, and knew he was blushing furiously. “Holy shit. I can’t believe I just did that.”
He should have been horrified, but it was exciting to be so free. To be surrounded by hundreds of people like him, where he could kiss Nate and not be afraid. More than kiss! He repeated, “Holy shit.”
Glasses bumping Lucas’s head, Nate kissed his neck as he tucked Lucas back in and zipped him up. “Maybe this’ll be a new Christmas tradition?” he shouted as a new song that sounded just like the last one came on, and everyone cheered.
Lucas laughed. “I don’t think so.” He glanced around, the high of his orgasm wearing off. Fortunately the spectators had moved on. “I wouldn’t want to come here too often. Sorry, I’m super lame.”
Nate turned him around and brushed back Lucas’s sweaty hair. He leaned in close, looping his arms around Lucas’s waist. “You want to know a secret? I’m not a huge clubber either. My friends love it, so I end up going with them sometimes. I figured you should have the experience and judge for yourself. It’s all right, but I’d really rather be home playing the new Dead of Winter expansion pack.”
Lucas brightened. “The zombie game? I’ve always wanted to try it, but my dad couldn’t concentrate enough, and I haven’t had any friends, so…”
“So what do you say we blow this joint and head home?” He waggled his eyebrows. “Where we can blow each other too.”
“I’d say merry Christmas to me.”
With a grin, Nate took his hand and led the way, Lucas practically floating behind.
Chapter Seven
Late the next afternoon after countless hours spent trying to survive the zombie apocalypse—punctuated by blow jobs and make-out sessions—Lucas and Nate squeezed into the back of the Kramer SUV for a trip to visit Mrs. Kramer’s sister. Lucas sat in the middle, and Sam took up so much room to his right that Lucas had no choice but to lean against Nate, their knees pressing particularly firmly.
Nate’s cousin Rachel opened the door at the ranch-style house, greeting them—especially Lucas—enthusiastically. The house was smaller than the Kramers’, but just as stylishly decorated. Most of the family from the first night of Hanukkah was there, and after lighting the shamash and the menorah’s six candles just before sunset, the children began a game of dreidel on the carpet.
Lucas sat on the couch, watching the kids spin the four-sided top, making bets with chocolate coins wrapped in gold. Depending on how the dreidel fell, the players sometimes gained more coins or added another to the pot, and on some spins nothing happened at all.
Nate’s grandfather joined Lucas and began clapping his hands, singing in a low baritone. “Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made you out of clay. Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, with dreidel I shall play.”
The children joined in, and Lucas noted with amusement that Nate, watching the game by the window, sang along too. Nate caught his stare and abruptly stopped singing, his flush visible across the room.
When the game was over, Linda, a shorter, plumper version of her sister, and Mrs. Kramer produced a pile of gifts from the other room. The kids squealed in delight as they tore the paper off video games and what Lucas could only guess were the latest trends in Barbie doll fashion. Nate perched on the arm of the couch beside Lucas to unwrap his gift, and Lucas resisted the urge to lean in close.
“So you get presents on Hanukkah? It has nothing to do with it being Christmas today?”
“No presents traditionally, but I guess the little Jewish kiddies feel left out from the Christmas consumer madness. Adults don’t usually get anything. Since most everyone has Christmas Day off work, it’s convenient for the family to get together again today.”
Nate carefully peeled the paper off a box his parents had given him, revealing a state of the art camera flash that made his eyes widen and a smile split his face.
“Maybe your parents are cooler about the whole photography thing than you think,” Lucas whispered.
Nate snorted. “I wouldn’t go that far. It’s still just my ‘little hobby’ to them.” He got up and hugged his mother and father as Sam let out a surprised gasp.
“Whoa. This is awesome!” He turned around a framed eight by ten black-and-white photograph of himself leaping up to make a basket. Sam grinned and yanked Nate into a bear hug. “Thanks, man. Sorry, I didn’t get you anything.”
“It’s nothing; don’t worry. I just thought you’d like it.” Nate extracted himself from Sam’s embrace as everyone admired the photo. It really was beautiful, capturing Sam in perfect flight.
At dinner—Chinese takeout, which Lucas was told was tradition now—Linda took advantage of the silence while everyone was chewing, telling Nate, “I saw Stephanie Stein’s mother last week at synagogue, and she told me Stephanie’s back on the market. Such a lovely girl!”
Beside Lucas, Nate stared down at his plate, pushing his chow mein around with his fork, and Lucas could feel the tension coming off him in waves. “I’m sure she’s great, but I’m too busy with school right now. Thanks anyway.”
“Too busy!” Linda clucked her tongue. “Your brother’s never been too busy for girls. She’s so pretty! Just take her out to dinner. You’ll like her, you’ll see,” Linda added.
Lucas glanced at Mr. and Mrs. Kramer, who were looking at each other and seemed to be having a telepathic conversation.
Before Nate could reply, Sam spoke up. “Why don’t you guys just leave him alone? He likes doing his own thing.”
That put an immediate end to the discussion, and after a few moments of awkward silence, Mr. Kramer complimented Linda enthusiastically on the sweet and sour chicken balls, everyone echoing his sentiments.
Under the table, Lucas covered Nate’s sock-clad foot with his own. Nate shot him a smile and speared his last chicken ball, putting it onto Lucas’s plate. Lucas smiled back, and as he ate it, he realized Mr. and Mrs. Kramer were watching them, their expressions
seemingly neutral.
Still, Lucas’s face went hot, and he moved his foot away, dropping his gaze to his plate, suddenly very interested in his Peking duck.
As soon as they were inside Nate’s room again, Nate shoved Lucas up against the door and kissed him hard. He pushed Lucas’s legs apart with his knee and rubbed their crotches together as his tongue plundered Lucas’s mouth.
Lucas gasped for a breath, a grin tugging on his lips. “Does ‘The Dreidel Song’ always make you this horny, Nathaniel?”
Nate practically growled, spinning Lucas around and steering him toward the far bed before taking his desk chair and jamming it under the door handle. Lucas waited, growing more and more excited by the lust in Nate’s eyes.
Nate rustled around in one of the desk drawers, not bothering to turn on a light. The curtains were open, and the streetlight cast pale white light and long shadows across the room. When Nate peeled his clothes off, Lucas followed suit, and soon they were both naked and kissing on the tiny bed.
Nate pressed something into his hand, and Lucas realized he was holding a condom. His eyes jerked up to meet Nate’s. “You want…”
Nate’s gaze was steady and direct. “I want you to fuck me.”
Lucas gulped. Merry Christmas indeed.
After putting his glasses on the side table, Nate kneeled and popped the lid off a tube of lubricant. He reached his hand behind himself. Lucas realized he was lubing himself up, and his cock twitched in anticipation. They were really going to do it.
He was going to fuck another man.
Nate fingered himself, his pale chest gleaming in the streetlight. A small smile graced his lips, and Lucas took a deep, calming breath, his pulse racing. He tore open the foil package, rolling the condom down over his cock. With a slick hand, Nate stroked Lucas’s shaft, and Lucas tried to keep his cool.
When Nate got on his hands and knees, Lucas almost lost it, but he clambered up behind him, reaching out and holding Nate by the hips. He positioned the head of his cock at Nate’s hole, taking another breath. This was it. He’d seen enough porn to know what he was doing, right?
“Fuck me,” Nate gritted out.
Heart thumping, Lucas squeezed inside him, moving into the tight, incredible heat inch by inch. Nate pushed back, squeezing his muscles and establishing a rhythm. Lucas began thrusting in and pulling almost all the way out, pleasure shooting through his cock. After a tentative start, he felt like he got the hang of it, grabbing one of Nate’s shoulders for better leverage as he worked his ass.
Nate grunted and breathed heavily, and their skin grew slippery with sweat as Lucas pumped into him. “Harder,” Nate demanded.
Lucas pistoned his hips forcefully into Nate’s tight heat, panting for air and biting his lip to stop from crying out. He was inside another man. He was inside Nate; he was fucking Nate. He never wanted it to end. He wanted to stay inside him forever, locked together in abandon and bliss.
Of course, he was about to shoot his load. Shaking, he stopped moving for a moment, willing his body to obey him as he sucked in air. Sweat dampened his brow. When he felt back in control, he rocked his hips forward again, plunging in and out of Nate’s ass.
Reaching back, Nate took Lucas’s hand and placed it on his cock as they writhed together. Lucas stroked him rapidly, jerking Nate’s cock in tandem with the almost manic thrusting of his hips. Nate squeezed down with his ass, and then he was shaking as he came.
The pressure and heat on his cock was intense, and with a cry, Lucas shot into the condom, closing his eyes as the orgasm rocked his body. He collapsed on top of Nate, both of them breathing hard, skin slick. After a minute, he reluctantly pulled out and stood on quivering legs.
After he disposed of the condom, wrapping it in almost an arm’s length of toilet paper just in case Mrs. Kramer was the nosy type, Lucas returned to the bedroom. He hovered at the foot of Nate’s bed, not sure what to do. Nate was sprawled on his stomach even though it had to be wet, taking up the whole space.
Lucas suddenly felt very exposed, and he quickly put on his T-shirt and pajama bottoms. Turning to Nate, he sat on the side of his mattress and waited. Nate’s eyes were closed, so apparently he was just going to sleep now? Was Lucas being creepy sitting there watching him? He’d just been inside Nate’s body. Surely that meant something?
Eyes still closed, Nate crooked his finger. “C’mere.”
Lucas knelt beside Nate’s bed. He cleared his throat. “I guess we should get some sleep.”
Opening his eyes, Nate reached his hand behind Lucas’s head and pulled him close for a long, slow kiss. “That was amazing.” A rush of pride made Lucas smile, and Nate tapped him on the nose affectionately. “You’re a natural.”
Saying thanks would sound kind of stupid, so Lucas just kissed Nate again before climbing into the other bed. They were only a couple of feet apart, but Lucas yearned to press against Nate’s warm body and fall asleep holding him.
Stop it. This doesn’t mean anything. It’s just sex. A holiday fling. That’s all.
Still, as his eyes grew heavy, Lucas couldn’t help but wish.
The next day dawned bright and sunny, so Mrs. Kramer declared it a perfect time to visit the Bronx Zoo. Lucas hadn’t expected the zoo to be so sprawling or state of the art, and the only thing that could have made wandering the exhibits better would have been holding Nate’s hand.
He longed to touch him all the time and considered dragging him into a bathroom stall after lunch for a quick grope. Mr. Kramer put a kibosh on that by coming to the bathroom too. Nate had winked teasingly at Lucas just briefly at the urinals, so apparently Lucas needed to do a better job of hiding his sexual frustration.
After a volunteer gave them a lesson on lemurs near the end of the afternoon, Lucas and the Kramers wandered through the gift shop. Lucas was drawn to the magnets, and as he plucked a gorilla from the metal holder, he said to Nate, “My dad would—”
The next words lodged in his throat, and Lucas realized he hadn’t thought of his father once all day. His dad had loved collecting silly magnets everywhere they went, covering their fridge from top to bottom.
Like a finger removed from a dam, guilt and grief flooded him, and he blinked back tears, the magnet clattering to the floor. He was only vaguely aware of Nate’s hand on the small of his back, leading him out into the brisk air. He tried to breathe, leaning against the wall of the building.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the Kramers exit the store. Nate drew them away, murmuring, and Lucas willed himself to get a grip. After a few deep breaths, he walked over to them and said, “Sorry. Just had a moment. I’m fine.”
Mrs. Kramer clucked her tongue. “Dear, you don’t need to put on a brave face. We know how hard it must be for you. If you want to talk about it, we’re all here to listen.”
“Why?” Lucas blurted. He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I—thank you. What I mean is, I don’t know why you’re being so nice to me. You don’t even know me.”
Nate said, “Anyone who has the patience to room with Sam and not murder him—”
“Is always welcome in our home,” Mr. Kramer finished, giving Nate a good-natured glare. To Lucas, he added, “It’s been a pleasure getting to know you this week. I hope we’ll be seeing much more of you in the future.”
Lucas felt so stupid for causing a scene, and they were being so nice about it. He smiled weakly. “Thank you again. But Sam will be graduating and…”
Mrs. Kramer smiled. “Well, you and Nathaniel seem to be getting along like gangbusters. Aren’t you?”
Lucas said, “Uh…” Don’t blush. Don’t blush. “Yeah.”
She looked to Nate, who shrugged and nodded at the same time. There was something about her smile and a strange tension in the air that had Lucas’s head whirling.
Does she know?
Before the moment could get any weirder, Mr. Kramer thankfully announced he was getting hungry and it was time to head home. He and Mrs. Kramer kept up a steady st
ream of chatter in the front seat on the drive, their forced cheer evident.
Lucas stared out the window, more aware than ever that no matter how kind the Kramers were to him, his father—his only real family—was gone. Nate was right beside him but out of reach. He didn’t want a relationship; he’d said so, no matter how close Lucas felt to him. After the holidays, Lucas would be on his own again.
The evening passed in a haze—lighting the menorah and then watching another movie, this one about creatures from the deep attacking Earth. Lucas picked at a slice of pizza and told Mrs. Kramer he was fine. When the credits rolled, he excused himself for the night. Nate followed a few minutes later, shutting his bedroom door quietly behind him. Lucas climbed into bed, Nate watching him silently.
“I just want to sleep tonight, okay?” Lucas said. What he actually wanted was to simply be held, but could he ask that of Nate? It was only supposed to be a fling, and as kind as Nate was being, surely cuddling crossed some line.
Nate nodded, and soon he was in his own bed, the lights out. Curling on his side toward the door, Lucas tried to clear his mind, but it was useless. He couldn’t stop thinking of the stupid gorilla magnet. His dad’s magnet collection was piled in a box in some storage unit in Michigan with the rest of the stuff they’d had in their last apartment. Lucas had barely been able to bring anything to school, and when would he have an actual home again?
A sob gripped him, cutting off his breath, and he buried his face in his pillow to stifle the ones that followed. When his father had finally slipped away, Lucas hadn’t cried. The nurses had hugged him and told him to let it out, but he’d insisted he was fine. Now the tears wouldn’t stop.
After a few moments, the mattress dipped, and Nate’s long frame spooned up behind him, his arms snaking out to hold Lucas close. As Lucas wept, Nate caressed his hair, whispering calming words in Hebrew that sounded like a lullaby.
Lucas wasn’t sure how long he cried before his breathing became easier. Nate still soothed him, and soon Lucas wanted more. Needed more. He shifted, and in a tangle of limbs, Nate rolled on top of him on the narrow bed. Lucas pulled Nate’s head down for a kiss, and their tongues wound together as Lucas’s hands roamed over Nate, sliding up beneath his T-shirt.
Gay Romance Holiday Collection Page 6