Dreamspinner Press Year Nine Greatest Hits

by Michael Murphy

  “Fuck,” Evan choked, his chin dropping down as his orgasm throbbed through his whole body and his cock spurted out thick ropes of pearly white come over Scott’s chest.

  He fell forward onto his hands, bracing them on Scott’s shoulders, and his asscheeks clenched as the last of his orgasm twitched out of his cock.

  “What,” Scott gasped, “the fuck did you just do?”

  “Huh?” Evan asked, blinking open his eyes to look down at Scott’s incredulous, disgusted expression.

  “Did you just come on me?”

  “Oh,” Evan said, then snorted with laughter.

  “Gross, man.”

  That was it. Evan lost himself in a pile of giggles, unable to stop. He rolled to the side, letting Scott’s cock slip free of his body once again.

  “Shit, you didn’t even come yet,” Evan gasped through his laughter.

  “You’re a horrible human being,” Scott said sourly.

  That was enough to send Evan into another round of giggles.

  “I’m sorry,” Evan said and leaned over to kiss him. “Let me make it up to you.”

  Scott humphed, and Evan took that as his cue. He carefully stripped the condom off Scott’s dick and nestled his knee between both of Scott’s, appreciating the slight burn in his ass now.

  He wasn’t as much of a comer as some guys he’d been with before, so he started the task of licking Scott’s chest clean with the fairly secure knowledge it wouldn’t take long to do.

  “Wait, are you… oh fuck…,” Scott babbled, and Evan licked over one of his nipples.

  “Hmm?”

  “I seriously… fuck… I don’t know what to do with you,” Scott said. He groaned loudly when Evan took a nipple between his teeth and tugged. “This is just… I never had sex like this before.”

  Evan laughed again. He felt so light now, so free, secure in what the two of them were building. “Good,” he murmured and lapped at the dark hairs on Scott’s belly. Scott twitched and squirmed beneath him, which was adorable and perfect. Evan bit down on some of the extra padding on Scott’s hip, love handles, then soothed the mark with his tongue. That part of him was easy to love too.

  “I swear to God and all of the deities, I would sell my granny to Satan for a blow job right now,” Scott said, his fingers tightening in Evan’s hair.

  “Why didn’t you say so?” Evan said. He felt wicked. Alive. “My pleasure.”

  And it was. He was a fan of Scott’s dick, and it fit in his mouth perfectly. With a little work he could get the plump head nudging against the back of his throat, and that was pretty incredible too.

  Scott was loud, moaning when Evan tongued just below the head of his cock and making desperate whines when Evan deep-throated him.

  “Ev, I’m gonna, shit, baby, please,” he babbled, and Evan reached his spare hand to gently pet just under and behind Scott’s balls, and he exploded.

  Turned out Scott was one of those guys who came bucketloads, and Evan felt some of it slipping out of his mouth, running over his chin. He didn’t care, just wiped it away and felt strangely upset that he didn’t catch it all.

  Scott’s fingers were spasming, his chest heaving, and Evan drank in the sight. This was his man. He did this.

  He kissed up Scott’s chest, dragging the comforter with him, and rested his head on Scott’s shoulder. After a second, Scott dragged his fingers through Evan’s hair and pressed a firm kiss to his forehead.

  “Okay?” Evan asked.

  “Fucking wrung out,” Scott said with a laugh. “That was incredible.”

  “Hmm, it was okay,” Evan said, trailing his fingers over Scott’s chest. “Six out of ten.”

  “Hey,” Scott said as he pulled away and punched Evan on the shoulder. “Six? Seriously? That was at least an eight.”

  “I’d give me an eight, yeah. You need some training.”

  While Scott spluttered with indignation, Evan leaned up to kiss him again. “We’ll just have to keep practicing. Lots and lots of practice.”

  Scott hummed into the kiss, apparently over his grossed-out reaction to Evan’s come. He could likely taste himself on Evan’s tongue.

  “I could be okay with lots and lots of practice.”

  “I thought you might say that. I’ll be right back. Just need to, you know. Clean up.”

  Evan slipped out of bed and stumbled through the dark to the bathroom, then turned on only the shaving light above the mirror. He couldn’t quite deal with the harsh overhead lights yet.

  After a minute or so, Scott came in too and pressed a kiss to Evan’s shoulder. “Need to piss.”

  He did, apparently uncaring that Evan was standing right next to him. Evan finished washing his hands, then went back to the bed, chuckling to himself. It would take a while to finish getting that straight boy “bro” attitude out of Scott. There was a part of him, deep down and very well hidden, that thought some of it was charming. In very small doses.

  It was still too cold to sleep without pajamas, even with his own personal heater curled up behind him, so Evan quickly slipped into Scott’s nightwear. He opened the bedroom door a crack so Princess could get in if she wanted to, and got under the covers. He was already dozing by the time Scott came out of the bathroom and got into bed behind him.

  “Hey, Evan?” Scott asked.

  Evan wriggled back into the now-familiar embrace. “Hmm?”

  “Come here.”

  With a groan, Evan rolled over and accepted Scott’s lips on his own, sweet and easy.

  “You know I love you, right?” Scott whispered. “It feels stupid telling you. I’ve loved you nearly my whole life. It just took me a really long time to figure out what this was. Looking back now I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”

  Evan reached up and brushed Scott’s hair back from his face. “I love you too.”

  Scott kissed him again. “Good.”

  “I was thinking this would probably feel weird, you know? I just had sex, really good sex, with my best friend since I was seven years old. That should be weird, but it’s just… not.”

  “Feels right.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I love you,” Scott said again. “Now that I’ve figured that out, I’m probably going to tell you all the time.”

  “I think,” Evan said, and pressed their lips together again, “I’m okay with that.”

  “Me too.”

  And One Time I Kissed Him First

  Spring 2020

  THE HOUSE was, on a good traffic day, one hour and fifty minutes from Scott’s office. That was a good distance, Scott had insisted, far enough away to mean he was rarely called in on the weekend. It had taken them almost three months to find it, the perfect place where they could start to build their life together.

  Just east of Richmond, the house was a single story with a huge sunroom that brought the beautiful backyard inside. That room became Evan’s studio.

  The previous owners had retired to an assisted living facility and seemed to be delighted that a young gay couple were moving in. After all, one gay couple had grown old together there. The house had good vibes. Or so they insisted.

  The new house, despite being all on one level, was big enough to make Evan fairly confident that they’d live here for a few years at least. It had three bedrooms, meaning Scott could have an “office” (that was really just a space for him to play his PlayStation) and a guest room, just in case his friends from Chicago came to visit.

  Evan quickly got used to working with a cat curled up at his feet. The light was different here. Not in a bad way, though. It came in through the windows in the roof, meaning there was less chance of shadows falling across his easel.

  That first summer, they painted the outside of the house themselves. It had been an ugly, peeling green when they moved in. These days it was a fashionable light gray, with white trim and a porch. They had not built the porch themselves, even after Scott’s dad had insisted it was possible, if the three of them put their mi
nds to it.

  Evan hired a contractor.

  Their world had settled, easy as an exhale. The house, the cat, the jobs… that was all background noise, really. When Evan closed his eyes, he knew Scott was something good. Something permanent. Nothing else mattered.

  “Honey, I’m home!”

  “He thinks he’s funny,” Evan said to Princess, who rose and stretched, her back becoming a fluid slick of silver. She padded in a circle, then settled down on the polished wooden floor.

  “I’m in here,” Evan called.

  A few moments later, he heard Scott walking through the house to the conservatory at the back.

  “Hey. What are you working on?” he asked, resting his head on Evan’s shoulder.

  Evan turned and met Scott’s enthusiastic kiss.

  “Portrait of your sister. She didn’t want one of those pregnancy photo shoots but said she wouldn’t mind me drawing something to go next to her wedding portrait.”

  Scott pointed to the photograph Evan was working from. “Did you have to take a photo to do the portrait, though?”

  “Don’t ask,” Evan said with a sigh. “I never win an argument with Lacey at the best of times. I definitely don’t win any arguments with seven-months-pregnant Lacey.”

  “I’m so excited. We’re going to be uncles again!”

  Evan snorted. “I know.”

  He adjusted the shading on Lacey’s very full belly, then set the pencil down. “Do you want to go out for dinner tonight?”

  “Sure,” Scott said, pulling away and pressing a quick kiss to the top of Evan’s head. “I need to get changed first, though. I feel gross.”

  While Scott showered, Evan moved through the house, quickly gathering up things that had been moved from their proper location and returning them. He’d adapted quickly to working from home on his own, but doing it while he lived with someone else was a different challenge. His natural tendency was toward messiness, which Scott hated. Clearing up the clutter was a conscious effort.

  “Hey, Evan!” Scott called from the bedroom. Evan grabbed a sweater from the back of the couch and wandered in to find him naked, fixing his hair in the mirror over their dresser.

  “Yes, darling?”

  “There’s a new Japanese grill place just opened up on the Boardwalk. You wanna go check it out?”

  “Sounds good.”

  While Scott was preening, fixing his hair, Evan went to the closet and changed into one of his nicer Henleys, soft with wear, and a pair of khaki shorts. He’d long since resigned himself to always waiting for his partner to get ready, no matter the occasion. Scott took as long to get dressed for work as he did for a trip to the beach, or a formal event, or just going out for fucking dinner.

  It wasn’t an argument Evan was willing to have anymore. He just accepted it as part of the funny, strange, wonderful man he lived with.

  “Are you ready?”

  Evan looked up from his phone and scowled. Scott was wearing jeans and a plain gray T-shirt, looking better than he had any right to.

  “God, Evan, all I seem to do is wait for you to get ready.”

  “Don’t even think about it,” he growled, poking Scott hard in the stomach as he passed.

  “Ouch!”

  Scott stalked after him.

  “You could have done serious damage to your finger there if my abs were clenched.”

  “I’m sure,” Evan said drily.

  “They’re rock solid.”

  Evan grinned over his shoulder. “Yes, dear.”

  THEY PARKED in a small lot a few streets away from the beach, one that mostly locals used since it wasn’t signposted for tourists. Evan was always a little wary of being too affectionate with his same-sex partner in public. It was 2020 but still the South, and attitudes were far more difficult to change than laws.

  Scott did not have these concerns. He reached for Evan’s hand more often than not, paying no mind to where they were. The grocery store. The mall. Or on the boardwalk at the beach. He seemed completely oblivious to the dirty looks that got thrown in their direction, and if anyone dared to comment on their quietly linked hands, he usually stuck his tongue down Evan’s throat in retaliation.

  It wasn’t Evan’s preferred method of dealing with homophobia, but it sure worked.

  The evening was warm and breezy, the perfect weather to just walk and talk and not think about the rest of the world as it passed them by.

  “Andy!”

  Evan almost startled when Scott called out, and whipped his head quickly around. Their old friend was standing with his arm around a beautiful woman, pointing out at the ocean.

  Andy turned and grinned at both of them, letting his arm slip from around the woman’s shoulders.

  “Well, well, look who it is,” Andy said with a broad smile, then laughed as he pulled first Scott, then Evan into back-pounding hugs. “How are you guys?”

  “Good,” Scott said, grinning too. “It’s been a while.”

  “Too damn long. I don’t come back all that often. Guys, this is my wife, Dianna. Dianna, this is Scott and Evan. We went to high school together.”

  “Nice to meet you,” she said, smiling and tucking her dark hair behind her ear. “Andy has told me absolutely nothing about you.”

  Andy hid his smile in a kiss to the side of her head. “Thanks, darling. So, you guys are still inseparable, then?”

  Scott gave Evan an amused smirk, then quirked his eyebrow as if to say “Should we?”

  Evan shrugged, and Scott’s grin was wicked.

  “Didn’t you know? We’re together,” Scott said.

  “Uh-huh.” Andy frowned. His wife elbowed him in the ribs. “What?”

  Evan reached down and grabbed Scott’s hand, lacing their fingers together. It still took Andy another beat to get it.

  “No shit!” Andy finally exclaimed. “Since fucking when?”

  Evan laughed. “A few years now.”

  “Jesus. You can tell I don’t come back here often. Well, congratulations.”

  “Thanks,” Scott laughed.

  It felt good, having an old friend know about their relationship and be pleased about it too. Andy looked almost completely the same as he had in high school—a little broader now, and he’d grown a fashionable, stubbly beard. His hair was darker too, with less of the old redness streaked through it. Just like when they were kids, he smiled easily and looked comfortable in himself. Evan often thought it was an underrated thing.

  “We need to stop living in such a cave,” Andy murmured. Dianna poked him again.

  “That ‘cave’ is my hometown.”

  “Would you two like to join us for dinner?” Evan asked on an impulse. “We’re going to a new place that just opened up.”

  Andy and Dianna had their own silent exchange, which amused Evan more than it should. Apparently he and Scott weren’t the only ones who had been together long enough to develop that skill.

  “Sure,” Dianna said easily. “I have a dairy allergy, though, so I need to be careful.”

  “It’s a Japanese BBQ grill,” Scott said.

  “Perfect.”

  The restaurant was at the other end of the boardwalk, offering them the chance to exchange the bare-bones outline of the past decade of their lives. Andy and Dianna lived in a small town outside Savannah in Georgia—one house, two dogs, no kids, not yet. They’d met at college in Atlanta, danced around dating each other for years, then got married only six months after making it official. Andy’s parents had retired to Florida, which he seemed almost embarrassed about.

  “Such a cliché,” he groaned. “At least we have an excuse to go to Disney World on the way back from visiting them.”

  “That’s how I convince him to go,” Dianna stage-whispered. “Tell him we can go see Mickey if he behaves himself.”

  The restaurant was busy, though it was Friday evening, but it was still early enough for them to change their reservation from a table for two, to four. It meant they lost their place at
the grill and traded the view for a wide window looking out over the Atlantic.

  “Worth it,” Scott said, looking out at the slowly setting sun.

  “So, how come you guys are back here?” Evan asked, settling back after leaving the server to get their drinks. Scott had thrown his arm over the back of the chair, and it was a comfortable warmth against Evan’s shoulders.

  “We both took a few days vacation. Made it a long weekend,” Andy said. “We needed it. I’ve never brought Dianna up here before, and it seemed like a good opportunity. Sorry I lost touch with you guys after college.”

  “Don’t be,” Scott said, shaking his head. “We all did. It’s what happened.”

  “I thought you were in Chicago.”

  “I was.” Scott nodded. “I worked there for a while until I transferred to DC.”

  “Illinois is cold,” Evan said darkly, preempting Andy’s next question. “I don’t acclimatize well.”

  Dianna laughed. “Me either. So, I have to ask. If you’ve all known each other since you were kids, why did it take you so long to hook up?”

  Scott groaned and tipped his head back as Evan leaned forward.

  “Well….”

  “You’re in for it now, man,” Andy laughed.

  “Hush,” Dianna admonished.

  “I’ve been out since college,” Evan said, ignoring Scott, even when he put his hand on Evan’s knee and squeezed it reassuringly. “No one cared, whatever. This one, however….”

  “It took me a little longer to figure it out,” Scott said.

  “You gonna get hitched?” Andy asked, and the hand on Evan’s knee stilled.

  “Maybe,” Evan said easily. “We live together already. Our life is pretty good.”

  Apparently uncaring of who might see, Scott dropped a kiss on Evan’s shoulder. “Yes, it is,” he said softly.

  THEY ENDED up staying out too late, laughing too loudly, the wine and food enough to prompt them into relaxing. The night was cool by the time they stumbled outside and bid Andy and Dianna good-bye, promising, this time, to stay in touch. For reasons Evan wasn’t able to name, he was fairly sure they would.