“Yeah, that’s it. Keep it going. Oh God!”
And so Nathan kept it going. Driving his hips again and again, kissing Rory all the while. Rory’s legs and arms were wrapped tight around him, pulling him inside, like the two of them were no longer separate integers. Like they’d been added together to make the most perfect prime number. Indivisible by anything but themselves.
And when Rory came, filling the space between them, the spasms of his body sent Nathan spiralling into bliss, fractals blooming under his eyelids.
They lay there for a long time, still joined, the sweat cooling on their bodies.
Eventually Rory stirred underneath him. “Thank you, Einstein. I needed that.”
“Me too, Heisenberg.”
Their mouths found each other again, and if Nathan could only spend the rest of his life in bed with this man, he knew he could be happy.
Rory understood him. And for some reason, Rory didn’t seem to find him wanting.
He laid his head back down on Rory’s chest and sighed. The real world would intrude soon enough, no doubt, but for now, this was just about perfect.
Epilogue
“Do you think it’s really him?” Rory squinted at the monitor. “Couldn’t he have faked it with Photoshop or something?”
“I doubt it, but I suppose it’s possible.” Nathan enlarged the photo so that Rory could get a better look at the writing on the piece of paper that had been held up for the camera. “If so he’s done a really good job. You’d never know.”
I want Einstein and Heisenberg back, the paper said. Just to illustrate how much BigMan wanted them back, he’d propped it up behind one of the most enormous erections Rory had ever seen, and he’d watched his fair share of porn. More than his fair share, truth be told.
“He’s really missing us,” Nathan said, with a hint of smugness. “I’ve been getting messages every day for the last month.”
“What I don’t get is why a bloke with a knob like that can’t go out and score on his own. Why does he need the internet to get his rocks off?”
“I think he must live somewhere isolated. Maybe he’s out on the arctic tundra or the middle of the desert.”
“Or perhaps he’s married and deeply in the closet.”
“Could be.” Nathan shrugged. “Or maybe he just gets more of a kick from being a voyeur.”
“So, you want to give him what he’s after?” Rory darted a quick glance at Nathan, trying not to give away how much he’d enjoy getting back online. Not that sex with his boyfriend was in any way dull—it was bloody fantastic, thank you very much—but the added extra thrill of a stranger watching them had been pretty intense.
“Not a chance. The man’s a controlling bastard. I was thinking I should probably resign from the site so he can’t pester me anymore.”
“Fair point.” Rory kept his disappointment to himself, because Nathan was right. And besides, Rory really enjoyed bottoming for him, and had no burning desire to switch things up again the way he knew BigMan would have demanded.
But then again, what was Nathan going to do for money? BigMan had been putting him through uni. Although come to think of it, in the last month they hadn’t spent a single night in Nathan’s poky bedsit. They were only here now so that Nathan could fetch some fresh clothes.
And it had been working fine, hadn’t it? Nathan even got on all right with Rory’s mates. Well, with Ben and Sylvie anyway, and Rory could always go out with the lads while Nathan was busy studying. Yeah, it was all pretty sweet, so what the fuck was Rory waiting for?
“Umm, Natey-boy, I was wondering…”
“Yes?”
Bugger, why was it so hard to ask things when he cared this deeply about the answer? “Okay, you’ve just said you’re thinking of giving up the cam modelling, so you’re going to need to make some money if you want to carry on living here.”
“Yes, I’ve been pondering that, but I still haven’t thought of anything else that brings a similar financial return for time and effort expended.” Nathan frowned in that endearing way he had. “What do you think I should do?”
“I’m not suggesting you do anything. Well, I am. What I’m suggesting is you move in with me. You could just give me something towards the bills and food then. Be cheaper for both of us.”
Nathan stared blankly. “You want me to move in so we can both save money?”
Was Nathan winding him up? No, that wasn’t his style. He just wanted to make sure he was totally clear what Rory was asking. Okay, radical honesty time. “I want you to move in because I love you, and I can’t imagine wanting to spend my life with anyone else.”
“Oh.” Nathan pulled his thinking face. “Okay then.”
“Okay, you’ll move in?”
“Yes. I will. Thank you.” Nathan smiled and squeezed his hand.
Rory had hoped for more, but at least it was better than being lectured about how love was merely some kind of mental imbalance. No, hormonal imbalance. That’s what Nathan had said. Well, Rory didn’t give a monkey’s how unbalanced he was himself, but he wasn’t about to force Nathan into saying something he didn’t mean. He’d have to put up with what he had, which come to think about it was quite a bit.
His boyfriend was moving in with him.
The enormity of it suddenly hit him. All these years without getting into any kind of long-term commitment, and here he was, practically married. To a man with emotional constipation, no less.
“What are you thinking about?” Nathan asked.
“Just wondering where we’re going to put your stuff.”
“Are you lying to me?”
Rory sighed. “Not exactly. I’m just… I don’t really want to talk about what I’m feeling. It isn’t fair on you.”
“Oh.” Nathan was thinking so hard, his forehead squeezed up into lines. “But you look upset and I can’t work out why. Do you not want me to move in after all? Maybe it’s too soon.”
“No, that’s not it. For God’s sake.” Rory’s brain flailed, trying to come up with an acceptable alternative to pleading for Nathan to declare his undying love. Like that was ever going to happen. Okay, sex. Maybe that was a safer topic. “I was just a bit disappointed we won’t be doing any more cam stuff. It was fun, having someone watching. But you’re right. BigMan is a total prick and I don’t want to have to do what he wants.”
Now Nathan was studying him intently. “You really want to perform again? I didn’t think you were all that into it.”
“Oh, trust me, I was into it. I just didn’t think you were, so I kept it to myself. You know, so as not to pressure you into having to bottom again for BigDick.”
“BigMan.”
“Whatever. Same difference. I don’t like you having to do something you’re not into. It would be so much better if we could do whatever we wanted, but still have people watching.”
Nathan leaned forward in his computer chair and grabbed the mouse. “It’s funny you should say that, because I stumbled across this place the other day.”
The computer screen filled with thumbnail sized video feeds, with a banner at the top proclaiming the site to be the biggest collection of free sex cams in the world. The majority of the feeds were of solo performers—most of them women—but there were some couples as well.
“You stumbled across this? What were you looking for? How come I never chance on stuff like this when I’m browsing?”
“I was looking for an alternative site to make money on. Somewhere I could do what I wanted but still pay the bills.”
“But this place says it’s free.”
“It is, ostensibly, but that hides a whole layer of micro transactions. You can make your money all kinds of ways. The site lets people tip you, and you can set certain tip levels to do certain things. You can even sell your used underwear. Look at this woman, for instance.” Nathan clicked through into one of the rooms and Rory braced himself for naked pussy. Instead, all he could see was a cute, twenty-something woman in a mini-dress painting her toenai
ls. The sound came through, and she was talking about her recent holiday to Greece of all things.
“This really isn’t all that sexy. Surely no one wants to watch this. I mean, you’re literally watching paint dry.”
“You’d be surprised. Look at how many are in the room. She’s one of their most popular performers. What she does is chats to all the punters and waits until her regulars have tipped her up to a certain level, then she starts undressing and doing stuff.”
“Stuff?”
Nathan looked awkward. “Stuff. You know. With dildos and what have you.”
“So you’re suggesting we sit around painting our toenails?”
“No, we’re a couple. Couples are always more popular. We could do whatever we wanted for free, and then decide what we’re going to keep back for the money. It could be fun. You can even make a game of it. They’ve got this bingo-type game app where you can set certain token amounts for certain sex acts, but it’s all randomised so the tippers don’t know what they’re going to get.” Nathan was really warming to this.
“I can see you’ve done quite a bit of research on this, haven’t you?”
“A man has to make a living somehow.”
Rory pointed up at the top of the screen where he’d just noticed it showed they were logged in with the username Einstein’sPeepShow. “And you’ve already set up an account.”
“I thought… I thought you might be interested. Are you? Because it doesn’t matter if you’re not. I can do it by myself. Or not at all, if you don’t want me to. I could go out and get a job somewhere. In a shop or something.” Nathan didn’t even wince then, which was touching because Rory knew full well exactly what Nathan thought about having to get a real job.
“Nah, that’s okay. You need to concentrate on your studies.”
Nathan visibly relaxed, then scrunched up his forehead again. “So are you saying we can do this? The live show? Would you enjoy it?”
“Hmm, let’s see. Snogging my boyfriend and teasing all the viewers to get them to tip us, so we can have sex. Oh, all right then. If I have to.”
Nathan grinned cheekily. “We could start it right now, if you like.” He turned and started fiddling with the web cam, then froze. “Oh, hang on. We’ve got to send them some documents before we can get accept any tips. Need to prove we’re legal and so on.”
“Aww, so you’re saying this would be a freebie?”
“If you’re up for that.”
Rory grabbed Nathan’s hand and guided it to his swelling knob. “I think I will be very soon.”
“Excellent. I’ll just set up our room.”
Rory watched while Nathan tapped away at the keyboard, looking adorably geeky when he pushed his glasses up his nose and frowned.
Life was a strange thing. Who’d have thought, just a couple of months ago, that he’d be about to broadcast a live sex show to the world with his soon-to-be-live-in boyfriend? There was only one thing missing to make it perfect, but he’d just have to learn to live without it. Nathan wouldn’t be Nathan without his beliefs in the power of science and rationality.
Eventually Nathan swivelled round in his chair and started fiddling with the web cam. “Right. I think we’re ready. Just need to do a quick sound check before we start broadcasting.” He cleared his throat. “Uh, testing, testing, one two three. Right, that’s fine. Do you want to come and check what I’ve written on our profile?”
“You sound nervous.”
“Maybe I am. Yes, okay, I definitely am.”
“We really don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
Nathan shot him an exasperated look. “Just read the profile, Heisenberg.”
“Okay, okay.” The top of the screen was a live feed of their faces staring at the screen, and down at the bottom was a paragraph of writing. Rory read through Nathan’s little blurb, a smile slowly growing on his face, until it split into a beam.
Einstein and Heisenberg want to show the world how much they love each other. In the most graphic way possible.
“I thought you said love was a short-term hormonal imbalance.”
“It is.”
“Oh.” So much for getting his hopes up.
But Nathan had more to say. “That’s not all it is, though. Sometimes it grows into something more, something lasting, and I’m confident this is going to be one of those times.”
As declarations went, it might not be flowery but it was oh-so-perfectly Nathan. Rory’s insides melted. He needed this man in his life, forever.
“Me too, Einstein. Me too.”
Nathan gave him the sweetest smile ever. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Nathan took hold of Rory’s hand, and together they pressed the mouse button.
The readout at the top of the screen changed from private to broadcasting.
Rory kissed the living daylights out of his boyfriend.
The End.
About the Story
Einstein’s Peep Show is the book I never thought I’d get written. Not because of some dramatic reason, like I had to plumb the depths of my soul to pull out a painful and traumatic story—I’m just not that kind of writer. But this is the first story I’ve written since having my second child, and it came after a year-long dry spell.
Okay, so I have every excuse for a dry spell, aka maternity leave. But I’ll admit, the idea of getting back to writing sexy fun stories when my life was awash with dirty nappies and constant nursing was a daunting one. It turns out babies aren’t just cockblockers in real life. Gabriel was just as good at cockblocking my fictional characters! Chronic sleep deprivation just isn’t conducive to writing erotic fiction. Not for me anyway.
But fortunately Gabriel eventually began sleeping through the night (thanks to a few nights of horrendous controlled crying) and my intellect and sanity returned. Well, possibly not my sanity. That went MIA several years ago, and I’m probably better off without it anyway. Don’t all writers need to be a little bit loopy? I mean, you have to actively nurture the voices in your head, not ignore them.
I got my final kick to start writing again at the 2015 UK Meet. I felt like a bit of a fraud being there as an author when I hadn’t written in almost a year, but it turned out that a weekend of hanging out with readers and writers was exactly what I needed to wake up my muse. People asked me what I was writing next, and I needed to say something so I trotted out the vaguely formed idea of a nerdy cam model and his neighbour. It needed work, but people seemed interested and so I hashed out a few titles over canapes. The original working title was Bugger My Neighbour, as suggested by Bruin Fisher. I knew it would never be published under that name, but it was fun to use while I mulled over the proper title.
I also met up with Rach at the UK Meet, who is one of the best people ever for brainstorming story ideas with. After a good session with her I had an idea of where I was headed with this story, and who the two main characters really were.
I had a provisional title, a plot and two characters. That’s all I needed to begin writing again. Just an hour a day while Gabriel was napping, but the word count soon started to climb and I feel like a real writer again rather than an imposter. I began gathering together my fabulous self-publishing team of cover artist (Lou Harper), content editor (JL Merrow), copy editor (Belea Keeney) and publicist (Rachel Maybury) and set deadlines for when I needed to get stuff to them.
And okay, I might not have met all those deadlines, but I’ve learnt an awful lot about how to schedule writing around the demands of a baby/toddler (in short, allow yourself at least twice as long as you think you’ll need) and luckily my team have all been wonderfully understanding. It probably helps that I’m paying them ;-)
So, almost five months after I started writing this novella, I’m finally in the position to hit “publish” and send it out to the world. Am I nervous? Yes, of course. No matter how long I’ve been doing this job, it’s still a scary and exhilarating moment. But I’m hoping Einstein’s Peep Show is the rig
ht kind of fun, smutty romance to please both my existing readers and to pull in some new ones.
And whatever happens, I promise it won’t take me as long to get the next story out to you all.
I’m on a roll now… just so long as that little boy of mine keeps napping!
Happy reading,
Jo x
Josephine Myles
February 2016
About the Author
English through and through, Josephine Myles is addicted to tea and busy cultivating a reputation for eccentricity. She writes gay erotica and romance, but finds the erotica keeps cuddling up to the romance, and the romance keeps corrupting the erotica. Jo blames her rebellious muse but he never listens to her anyway, no matter how much she threatens him with a big stick. She’s beginning to suspect he enjoys it.
Jo publishes regularly with Samhain, and now has over ten novels and novellas under her belt. Her novel Stuff won the 2014 Rainbow Award for Best Bisexual Romance, and her novella Merry Gentlemen won the 2014 Rainbow Award for Best Gay Romantic Comedy. She has also been known to edit anthologies and self-publish on occasion, although she prefers to leave the “boring bits” of the ebook creation process to someone else. She loves to be busy, and is currently having fun trying to work out how she is going to fit in her love of writing, dressmaking and attending cabaret shows in fabulous clothing around the demands of a preteen with special needs and a lively toddler.
Website and blog: http://josephinemyles.com/
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hrQ4s
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/josephine.myles.author
Twitter: @JosephineMyles
Also by Josephine Myles
The Bristol Collection novels:
Junk
Stuff
Scrap
Einstein's Peep Show Page 8