by Gavin Atlas
Joseph realized the truth of that. Clearly Cody had no shortcomings, but his poses had left one last strand of demureness. The realization formed a ball of need in Joseph’s stomach. Now he was the predator. Now he wanted more.
“Okay, maybe now I want to see everything.”
Cody lit up. Joseph knew his reaction was exactly what Cody was going for. “I’ll let you when you’re done shooting. You’re special to me. Not the camera.”
No. That’s not it. Your plot is to drive me insane. “Okay, I like that. And you’re right. I did want to go slow. Maybe after lunch and after Hoover Dam. And if, by then, if I feel the time is right.” Joseph almost smirked when he saw Cody’s face fall. But there was also a risk of playing this game of manipulation too well and end up pissing him off. After all, Cody was the one being honest about what he wanted.
Cody’s plotting-scheming-lust-filled expression returned. Joseph found it adorable.
“By the way, we’re still in school.” Cody dug into the nightstand and produced a folded piece of paper. He leaned forward and handed it to Joseph. “Just so you know, sir, if passing notes in class gets me in trouble, it’s been established our school believes in corporal punishment.”
“It’s been established?”
“Just now.”
Joseph bit his lip not to burst out laughing. Cody is so crazy. He opened the note. It read:
Psst. Hi, Joseph. I seriously want you. Do you want me?
Yes
Yes
The note had been laser-printed. How far in advance had Cody planned this seduction scene?
“Gee, I have so many options.” Joseph refolded the note and put it in his wallet.
“Wait, you didn’t check off one of the boxes and let me see what it said.”
“I want to keep it as a souvenir of how much you make me smile.”
“Oh. Okay.” Cody looked down. Could it be he was actually blushing? Wait, where did the jockstrap go? While Joseph had been distracted by the note, somehow it had vanished.
No. No, no, no. He did not attack young men he’d spent less than an hour with. He had to stop taking photos, he thought, as his finger hit the shutter several times, and delay.
Then there was the new problem. Joseph was certain the wet spot would be visible in about thirty seconds. He reasoned he was not exactly small so his erection had to have been noticeable. He was an adult, right? No shame whatsoever in a wet spot. Curse these beige pants.
“Hey, you know what? I’d better check in so they don’t give away my room. I’ll be—”
“Why not stay here with me?”
Joseph nodded at the second bed. “You’re sharing the room with another dancer, aren’t you?”
“He found somewhere else to stay.”
Joseph shook his head. “Uh oh. Cody, what did you do?”
Cody stretched and furrowed his brow as if he could barely remember. “I believe I traded him to an oil sheikh in exchange for the step ladder.”
God, that pose. Joseph snapped Cody mid-stretch then gave him a pointed look. “So…really?”
Cody huffed and relented. “You noticed the air spray? That’s Ozium. Do you know what that’s for?”
“No, what’s it for?” Liar. Joseph scolded himself. He taught at a college known for rowdy dorms. Of course, he knew. “My roommate has some weed with him. I don’t smoke, but I’m not a prude. I wasn’t going to object until I saw he had way more than a quarter ounce. I’m not up for that risk. I told him to find another room.”
Joseph nodded.
“And the idiot smoked in here after I unpacked, so everything I have reeks of pot and Ozium.” Cody ran his hands along the jock’s waistband. “Except for what was still boxed up new.”
Joseph felt a twinge of guilt. He was certain they both knew what the other was thinking. Cody predicted Joseph would go with the assumption a “bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks” would lie to hide his own drug habit, so coming straight out with the state of his street clothes would have been suspicious. The silliness about a downpour was cute, though, and through all their time on Skype, Joseph knew Cody had a “tell”. When he was honest about something that wasn’t easy for him, Cody looked down and to the right and mumbled. He rarely looked back up until Joseph spoke. Poor sweet boy. He looked so vulnerable.
That thought made the wet spot wetter. “Okay, buddy. In case the oil sheikh feels you cheated him, I’ll hurry back to punch him out for you. But I’d better make sure they don’t give away my room.” He didn’t waste time packing up his camera. He placed it on the bureau and turned to give Cody a quick salute.
Cody winked. “You sure I can’t get you to stay?”
“Hey, don’t worry about the Ozium odor. You don’t have to stress with me. We can stay in, maybe order room service. So put on some clothes, bad boy,” Joseph said, wishing he could have stopped himself from smiling, a show of pleasure and approval that would almost guarantee Cody wouldn’t be any more dressed when he came back. He wheeled his luggage out and closed the door behind him. Yes, it locked automatically. No, it wouldn’t be locked upon his return.
He sighed and made a mental list. First, calm down. Second, check in. Third, change underwear. Four, pound Cody senseless. No, that’s not four. Four, find out where to get Cody’s clothes cleaned today. Five, figure out if you’re up to letting Cody stay in your room tonight. Then Joseph’s Twitter feed stopped him in the middle of the hallway. Cody had posted, Las Vegas—my favorite man is in you. As if you couldn’t tell.
Much sooner than he’d originally planned, Joseph returned to Cody’s room. Thanks to that text, his hard-on hadn’t abated. At all. All he could think about was how often Cody said Joseph’s lap was his favorite of all to sit in.
Cody didn’t answer the door, even when Joseph hollered for him. Again, it was open.
He was sleeping, or more likely, pretending to sleep, a mischief demon in an angel disguise. Joseph could feel hunger in his jaw, a need to kiss, nip, and caress every inch of Cody’s body. As he picked up his camera to take a photo, Cody stirred.
There was one more flag Randolph had raised. Might as well be as honest as possible even though Cody’s new pose made it hard to talk. Instead it made Joseph climb the ladder to capture the angle.
“So a friend told me about an interview you and the other Joy Boys did. Something about your ice cream flavor being Birthday Cake?”
Cody rolled his eyes. “Your friend didn’t read the article carefully. We were asked if we were vanilla in bed.” Cody reached for his phone and pulled it off the charger, careful to keep the sheet over his groin. “The guys said stuff like Double Midnight Chocolate or Bubble Gum. I said ‘people look at me like I might be Birthday Cake. Not sinful or decadent, but something sweet and fun that’s likely to be shared among friends at a party.”
“You made that up on the fly?” Cody shrugged and nodded as if to say, “Yeah, sure. What’s the big deal?” He handed Joseph the phone.
“The rest of what I said was ‘when I meet a special guy, I hope to be whatever his favorite flavor is.”
Cody had pulled up the article on his phone. Yep, Randolph hadn’t read it correctly. Or misreported his findings on purpose. “So what flavor do you think is my favorite?”
Cody’s eyes regained the hooded, I-want-you-now gaze. “You? Ambrosia.”
Joseph chuckled. “Actually, I’ve never tried Ambrosia.” Have they even made it since before Cody was born?
Cody smirked. “Here’s your chance, Sir.”
Joseph’s attraction deepened beyond Cody’s looks. The boy’s sense of humor sealed the deal. He wanted to know Cody better in so many ways.
“Do you know Roxborough College?”
Cody shrugged. “Yeah, it’s not that far from Two Street. Don’t tell me you want me to go to school there.”
“No, handsome. What if I go to school there? I’m pretty sure I’m going to take a faculty position.”
“Wait, what? Th
at’s, like, twenty minutes from my house.” Cody’s face lit with amazement, but Joseph’s attention was divided. Cody was never going to pull his jockstrap back up, was he?
“C’mon, please. Now that I know you’re going to be in town, there’s no reason—hey, I know. It’s a celebration. The start of things to come…so to speak.” Instead of pulling his jockstrap the rest of the way up, he lay flat on his stomach. “Please, Joseph. I want you.”
“Not as half as much as I want you.” Joseph pounced on the bed, startling Cody for a moment before he exhaled, thrilled to be pulled into a fierce embrace.
His skin was warm and soft, softer than any other man he’d touched. He kissed Cody’s neck, nipping and nuzzling. He slid farther until his body covered Cody’s and pushed his arms under the boy, hugging him from above.
“I’m not too heavy?”
“You’re perfect.”
“Thank you, I know. But am I too heavy?”
Cody laughed, and the sound made Joseph happy while Cody’s small convulsions aroused him. Joseph growled and made thrusting motions to let Cody know what they’d soon be doing. Cody moaned and arched his back, pressing Joseph’s erection closer to his crack. Dinner, be damned. Doubtless, he’d spend the entire night inside Cody.
Cody knew it, too. He fumbled with a box of condoms, unable to hand them quickly to Joseph since he refused to stop kissing.
This boy, this young man, was what he wanted. His ass, definitely his ass, but his heart and good humor, too. And Cody was offering it, was honestly wanting him to be more than a small part of his life.
As Joseph entered Cody for the first time, he knew every moan and every second of bliss would be more than worth the wait. And yes, indeed, it would be the start of things to come.
Acknowledgments
Thanks so much to J.M. Snyder and JMS Books.
Thanks to all the authors, artists, and editors who have supported me, including Shane Allison, Jill Braden, Kay Brandt, ‘Nathan Burgoine, Dale Chase, Paul Florez-Taylor, Jason Frazier, Jeff Funk, Bill Holden, Kayla Jameth, Alex Jeffers, B.L. Johnston, Selena Kitt, Richard Labonté, Catherine Lundoff, Neil Plakcy, Cindy Potts, Jerry Rosco, Willsin Rowe, D.V. Sadero, Jennie Lee Schade, Cecilia Tan, and Jerry Wheeler
Thanks are also due for the friendship of Juba Arriola-Headley, Dan Barrett, Marcus Brisker, John Chasteen, John Cummings, Oscar DeLeon, Herman Edwards, Jordan Goetz, Lou Goss, Rod Hall, Al Harris, Rick Hull, Curtis Jackson, Steve Jennings, Russ Johnson, Ron King, Russ McDowell, Quentin Mitchell, Devin Parker, Mike Pierce, Harvey Scott, Chris Shelton, Harris Thomas, Robin Vieno, and Keith Walker
Last, John, I love you always.
Publication History
La Playita, Lethe Press (2007), Excessica (2011)
Love and Rockets, Excessica (2010)
The Highest Bidder: Brief Encounters, Cleis Press (2011)
Snapshots of Seduction, Lethe Press (2014)
THE END
ABOUT GAVIN ATLAS
Gavin Atlas has been called the “bottom’s bottom” of gay erotica. His stories are frequently described as “fun, wild sex romps,” although he occasionally delves into romance or, conversely, into darker themes.
His first collection of short fiction hit #1 for six weeks on TLA’s Gay Fiction and Erotica bestseller list. His erotic vampire novella, Slave to Shadows (Excessica Publishing), was an ARe top seller. Though there is a reason why some of his wildest stories about aggressive older tops are set in Richmond, Virginia, Gavin currently lives in Texas with his boyfriend, John.
For more information, visit facebook.com/gavinatlas.
ABOUT JMS BOOKS LLC
JMS Books LLC is a small queer press with competitive royalty rates publishing LGBT romance, erotic romance, and young adult fiction. Visit jms-books.com for our latest releases and submission guidelines!