Next to Me

by Veronica Cochrane

I WOKE up the next morning with some gorgeous, strong arms around my waist and a hard cock poking me in the back. I couldn’t remember the last time a guy had spent the night with me, so the novelty of this feeling was very welcome.

  I shifted slightly so I could turn over and see his sleeping face. His features were completely relaxed—his eyelashes fanning delicately across his high cheekbones and his untamed hair cascading down the pillow behind him. I had never seen such a stunning vision.

  I rolled over fully so I was lying with my head on his chest; his arms seemed unwilling to let go of their grip on me. His sleepy warmth and masculine scent were so enticing. I slowly started running my fingers up and down his body, memorizing him through touch. His chest was toned and sexy. He kept himself in shape, with definition in his pecs and shoulders but not overly built up. He had a light spattering of hair on his chest, enough to know it was natural and he wasn’t vain enough to wax it. I had always been insanely attracted to a man’s arms, and fuck if his weren’t absolutely flawless. His biceps turned me on immediately, radiating strength and control. His forearms were powerful from years of playing his guitars. My thoughts immediately morphed to a dirty fantasy of him pleasuring himself, stroking his thick cock with all the muscles in his arms flexing and moving together to fuel his hand’s frantic movements.

  I made my way down his torso with my fingertips when he stirred, found a resting spot for my palm on his lickable hip bone, and made small circles over his smooth skin with my thumb.

  “Mmm,” he hummed, stirring against me. “Good morning, gorgeous.” Carter’s gravelly morning voice rumbled sweetly. “Did you sleep well?”

  “So well,” I said, gazing up at him from my position on his comfortable chest.

  I continued grazing his skin with my thumb, moving closer and closer to his very awake cock. He purred his approval, his head back against the pillows.

  I shifted my weight, sinking down his bigger body. I kissed him along his side as I moved farther south. His breathing hitched when he realized where this was going. I ran my fingers across his full balls, enjoying the feeling of their heavy weight in my hand. When I kissed his hip, he gasped at my light morning stubble abrading the sensitive skin there.

  His quivering thighs opened for me, letting me sink my body between them. I leisurely stroked my way across his hip toward his cock, which was fully engorged, the skin tight and red and the vein running down it pulsing with want. His dick was the ideal size. Average length, from my admittedly limited firsthand experience, with a little additional girth for the perfect stretch when and if we ever took that next step. I buried my nose in the nest of soft curls that framed his cock, enjoying his musky scent. From the back of my throat, I made an involuntary noise of pleasure, getting off on this as much as he was.

  I looked up at his beautiful face. His eyes were shut and his mouth slightly open, his expression one of pure bliss. He ran his hand through my hair gently, fingers entangled in the messy strands. I caressed his inner thighs, toying with the coarse hair and teasing closer and closer to his groin.

  I mouthed around his throbbing length, increasing the anticipation by letting him feel the moisture from my breath. His panting was growing labored, the gasps and cries sounding needier with each second. After teasing us both to the point of insanity, I couldn’t wait another second. I lightly swirled my tongue against the head of his cock, groaning into it as his flavor burst onto my taste buds. Fuck, he tasted so good.

  “Holy shit!” Carter exclaimed, arching halfway into the air.

  I chuckled. Holding his hips down against the mattress, I assaulted him with my mouth. I licked and sucked, pulling out every trick I knew to bring him the maximum amount of pleasure. The noises he was making were driving me wild. Fuck, I’d never had any man so turned on beneath me when I’d done this before. It was making me all sorts of confident in my rusty abilities, causing me to push aside my stubborn gag reflex and suck him into a vacuum as if my life depended upon it. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed doing this.

  “Chase. Baby, fuck. Chase. Fuck!” He was nearly incoherent, grasping at my head, my shoulders, the bedsheets. Anything he could reach. “I’m gonna… oh fuck. I’m gonna. Oh God….” His whole body convulsed, and his come pulsed down my throat. I swallowed around him, drinking down every drop.

  “Oh my fuck,” he muttered to the ceiling when he was finally empty.

  Carter’s pulse worked overtime even as his body went slack with release. My cock was impossibly stiff between my legs. It would take no more than a stroke or two to finish it off after the unbelievably sexy show Carter had put on. He opened his eyes, and a lazy smile bloomed across his face.

  “Come here,” he said, grasping me.

  I went to him willingly, straddled him and sat lightly on his chest. He reached for my aching shaft.

  “Not… gonna… last,” I managed to gasp when his hand closed around me.

  He hummed in response. “Tell me how you like it,” he said, starting to jerk me, his other hand on my ass to steady me.

  “Faster…,” I breathed. “Touch the head. Yes, like that!”

  My body was writhing on top of his. Carter’s grip on my cock tightened just enough, and he picked up the pace. He was way too good at this for never having had sex with a partner before. A second later, he started executing an impossibly good curved stroke at the top, hitting all the nerve endings in the crown. That was all it took to set me off. I cried out as my come erupted over his eager hand. He kept caressing me through it, drawing out my pleasure.

  Never breaking eye contact, Carter slowly brought his come-covered hand to his mouth. He swirled his index finger between his lips, tasting my release. I groaned. If I hadn’t just gotten off, that would have been enough on its own to send me over the edge.

  “Come here,” he said, bringing my head down to his for a scorching kiss, and we savored each other as our tongues met.

  Chase

  CARTER’S footsteps made their way down the short hall as I finished throwing pancakes and bacon onto both of our plates.

  “This smells amazing, baby. Thank you,” he mumbled against my neck, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.

  He kissed me in the goose-bumps-inducing spot behind my ear.

  “Mmm,” I sighed happily, but when he didn’t stop kissing up and down my neck, I said, “Better eat them before they get cold.”

  He gave my earlobe one last nibble before letting me go, then pulled out two barstools from under the counter. We ate together in a companionable silence. Food had been the last thing on our minds the night before, and I hadn’t realized how famished I was until I started stuffing my face.

  “So what do you want to do with your first day off?” I asked him when we were clearing our plates into the sink.

  “I was thinking I’d like to take you out on a date.” His response came so fast, I suspected he had already been thinking about it before I asked. “What’s your idea of a perfect date?”

  I was a little stunned and couldn’t form words at first. Nobody had ever asked me that before. The few dates I’d been on were some combination of drinks, dinner, or coffee, with the assumption that we would be going back to one or the other’s place afterward. A date? With Carter? I had no idea what that would look like.

  “Um…?” My brain wasn’t functioning, and nothing jumped out at me immediately. “I don’t know?”

  “I was thinking about skating,” he said, thankfully taking the pressure off me. “You know, like we used to do on the pond behind your parents’ property when we were little?”

  “That sounds… perfect.” I was awed by his suggestion. A thoughtful idea and one that would remind us of our childhood. I was almost afraid to say anything more for fear of breaking the moment.

  Carter gently stroked my chin between his thumb and index finger, lifting my face while he covered my mouth with his. “Perfect,” he echoed against my lips.

  We finished cleaning up after breakfast,
working together seamlessly, stealing touches and kisses whenever we got close enough to make contact. I had never seen this sweet, tender side of him before. It made me even happier that we hadn’t gotten together when we were kids, because I’m sure he wouldn’t have been like this at sixteen, and I was a total sucker for romance.

  Once the kitchen was taken care of, I had to start getting ready for the couple of music lessons I had to teach that afternoon. I thought about calling to cancel, work being the last thing I wanted to focus on today, but Carter encouraged me to keep the appointments. Most of the young students I tutored were only available on Saturdays, and they didn’t deserve to fall behind because their teacher was finally getting some.

  “Do what you have to. I’ll check in with my place for a bit, maybe take a nap. I want to pick you up properly for our date tonight, make it everything you deserve. I want to make things easier for you, not disrupt your life,” he said when I protested his leaving.

  I wavered. “I could use the money….”

  “Then it’s sorted. Is four o’clock too early for me to come and get you?”

  “Four is good.” I smiled at him.

  “Then it’s a date.” He bopped me on the nose lightly, making me giggle.

  I opened the door for him, stretching to kiss him, his hands full of his bag and his guitar case. I let the kiss linger, both of us delaying being separated, even for a few hours.

  “Have a good day, C. Welcome home.”

  “See you tonight, sweetheart,” he said, already better at this than I was.

  He pecked me once more and then sauntered down the hall toward the elevator.

  Carter

  I CRAWLED into my bed just after noon, hoping to grab a quick nap before I headed back to Chase’s. The soft white linens on my bed were nothing like the cramped bunk on the bus, or even the hotel rooms I had made my home in recently. I was relaxed in a way I hadn’t been in so long, but the two mind-blowing orgasms may have also contributed to that.

  The heavy drapes that covered the floor-to-ceiling windows blocked out the light, making my room feel cozy and warm despite how bright the sunshine was on this cold March morning. It felt like I hadn’t slept in months, which was true enough.

  Life on tour was anything but opulent, and I wanted to sleep for about a week straight to make up for the pure physical exhaustion I felt. It probably hadn’t helped that Chase and I were up far later than we should have been last night. Not that I would have traded that for anything.

  His suggestive words and the sounds he’d made were playing like an unending loop in my mind, leaving me in a constant state of arousal. I’d had no idea at all that it could be like that. I had never had an excessive sex drive; I mean, duh, nobody who sees sex as a consistent essential would have remained a virgin as long as I had. But man, could I see the appeal of getting laid on the regular after the past fourteen hours.

  Not just laid, I corrected. The thought of casual sex made me even more queasy than it had before. What I’d shared with Chase last night—I couldn’t imagine that ever being satisfying as something meaningless between strangers. No, it should be an intense connection with a partner. Someone I could explore for hours, learning every facet of his body and maximizing the ways to turn him on. And honestly, right now that someone had been narrowed down to one perfect man.

  I wanted Chase. In every way that I could have him. However he chose to give himself to me. We hadn’t gotten to the point yet where we needed to have a big sit-down about what we were to each other and where this was going, but I knew what I wanted, and I hoped he was looking for the same thing. It was so new, but it also felt like it had been twenty years in the making. I was not going to fuck it up a second time.

  My mind wandered to future events with him. Us sitting cross-legged under the tree on our first Christmas together, opening gifts. Maybe he was wearing a Santa hat and some fluffy reindeer pajamas. Taking him to Paris and seeing him light up when he got a look at the Eiffel Tower for the first time. Watching him proudly when he walked across the stage to get his diploma from Julliard. I finally drifted off, happier than I could remember being. The future was wide open with possibilities.

  My alarm woke me a while later. My mind was fuzzy, and I could have slept for hours still. I made myself a quick sandwich from the fridge that I’d had stocked for me before I got home and turned on the TV to zone out with some crap cooking show. Soon enough, it was time to get ready.

  I sent a quick text to Chase, asking how his lessons went and making sure the time we agreed on was still good for him. I was in the middle of tying my hair into a bun when my phone dinged with his response. It was a selfie that made my heart stop.

  The top half of his head was peeking out from behind a shower curtain, his hair frothy with shampoo lather, the rest of him hidden in the shower.

  Getting ready now! Cleaning all the important bits. He’d captioned the photo with a smiley face.

  It was ridiculous. I couldn’t see more than his bubbly blond hair, his emerald eyes, and half his nose, but it was the most erotic picture I’d ever seen in my life. Knowing he was naked and wet in the shower, his body hidden only by the light fabric drapery, turned me on so quickly I felt light-headed. My hair tie snapped painfully on my wrist from unconsciously overstretching it while my focus was on much more important matters.

  “Ouch,” I said, shaking my hand to try to lessen the sting.

  I took a quick photo of myself naked from the waist up in the bathroom mirror. After pulling my hair back with one hand and purposely flexing a little more than I had to as payback, I sent it through quickly with a text saying Getting ready too, with a smirking emoji.

  He responded immediately with an emoji of eyes popping out of his head and then followed up by texting Well played, with a face sticking out its tongue.

  I mentally congratulated myself, laughing as I tied off my hair and spritzed a small amount of aftershave on my stubbled cheeks because I knew he liked the smell. Finishing up in the bathroom, I found a pair of jeans loose enough to skate in and paired them with a mint-green button-down with pale, shimmery vertical stripes and a long black wool coat from the back of my closet. I stepped into my worn boots, stuffed a pair of black leather gloves in my pocket, and headed for the door. A quick stop at a florist for a bouquet of vibrant lilacs and lavender and I was on my way to see my guy.

  Chase

  I OPENED my door for the second time in two days to Carter surprising the hell out of me. The first time, his presence alone had been a shock. This time he had flowers for me.

  Nobody in my life had ever given me flowers. Growing up taking music lessons, we’d had a recital at the end of each year. All the girls always got bouquets from their families, but I never did. I remember being envious of their beautiful arrangements and being quietly disappointed every time I wasn’t acknowledged in the same way.

  But Carter had brought me lavender and lilacs, and I’m sure my face lit up for him like he’d given me the moon and the stars and the sun all at the same time.

  I beamed, accepting the bouquet he held out to me. “You brought me flowers?”

  “You always wanted some, remember? You told me that one year after your piano recital.”

  “I can’t believe you remembered that. That must have been more than ten years ago,” I said, astounded by his thoughtfulness.

  “I remember everything about you, baby. And from tonight on, I want to make up all the time we lost and show you how much you mean to me.”

  I blushed and fought the sudden moisture in my eyes.

  “I thought you started doing that last night.” I had to sass him; his sincere words were too much for me to handle.

  He chuckled. “Well, that too.”

  I put the beautiful blooms in a drinking glass in my kitchen with care, since I didn’t even own a vase for them to go in. He took the opportunity when my hands were busy to wrap his arms around me and kiss me hello properly.

  We headed of
f for Rockefeller Center before we got too carried away and skipped the date entirely. He got a couple of funny stares on the subway and the subsequent walk—that confused look of recognition but failure to place where from. I was disconcerted, but C was used to it, I guess, simply turning his head to talk to me or keeping his chin down so they couldn’t see his features as clearly. For the most part it worked. He had worn his hair up too, his long locks being one of his most recognizable trademarks, so we were basically left alone until we got to the rink.

  We made our way slowly through the line up to the skate-rental desk. The perky Miss Clairol number twelve blond twink behind the counter squeaked when we got to the front of the line, recognizing Carter immediately. Carter quickly leaned in over the counter. He slid the guy a healthy amount of money and whispered something to him sternly. The guy nodded, mimed zipping his lips, and turned to pick up two pairs of skates off the shelf, swapping them for our shoes.

  We walked to the benches and sat side by side, and I asked Carter what the clerk had said.

  “He knew who I was, and I didn’t want to ruin our date. So I told him I would take a photo with him on our way out if he kept his trap shut for a couple of hours until we’re done.” Carter looked guilty. “I’m sorry, baby. I wanted today to be about us, but that’s going to happen from time to time. Does it bother you?”

  “No,” I said truthfully. “I mean, does it ever get unsafe or uncomfortable for you?”

  “For the most part it’s okay, and I don’t mind it. There’s the occasional person who takes it too far and tries to grab me or something. I’m a big enough guy that I can generally keep control of the situation, but at shows there’s security just in case. I hate when they come up to me at a restaurant or something and interrupt my meal.”

  I made a noise in acknowledgment.

  “I keep my nose clean, so there’s nothing too terrible they could find out about me. I get concerned sometimes that they’ll eventually start bugging my family or people who didn’t sign up for this life. Like you,” he said, looking at me questioningly.