A Touch of Lightning

by Kit Fortier

  "Fox," Jake ground out breathlessly. "I'm gonna come."

  That only made Fox writhe more, like a man possessed. His movements were hypnotic-like a paper boat adrift on the waves of the ocean. Jake was enthralled. Fox squeezed tight on him, drawing out more pleasure. Heat and pressure wound tight around the base of Jake's spine. It radiated warmth up and down his sweat-slicked body.

  Then the coil snapped.

  Jake cried out, his climax echoed in the night air. It was primal-like he had claimed Fox altogether. Fox slammed his mouth down over Jake's, drinking his sound down as he continued to milk Jake's dick. His essence deep inside Fox made him frantic as he pawed at the man on top of him, who hadn't stopped his assault on his mouth. Jake's release dribbled out Fox as they ground together. Suddenly, Jake was drinking Fox's moans as hot release splattered all over Jake's chest. Fox continued to assault the other man's mouth. He ran his hands all over Jake's chest, smearing his own release into the thick pelt of Jake's body hair.

  Fox pulled back, his eyes unfocused. He sucked on one of his fingers that was slick with his release as he stared at Jake. Jake reached up, desperate to touch Fox's face, and he let him, only to take his hand and guide Jake's fingers to his mouth. He gave Jake's hand worshipful treatment. Fox sucked each one gently, kissing his palm with moistened lips.

  Jake's heart thudded. He took Fox in, the sweat, the desire, the night sky. It was as close to perfect as he could allow himself to believe--a moment he would commit to memory.

  Fox didn't stop undulating. He wasn't as desperate as moments before, but he was definitely stoking the furnace of Jake's desire.

  "Talk to me, Jake."

  Fox's voice seemed alien to Jake. It had a hypnotic quality-like the tone of a deep meditation bell.

  Jake's mouth opened, but no words came out. Fox kept grinding. Jake was still speechless.

  "What do you want me to do for you?" Fox asked as he kissed the sides of Jake's face, his eyes predatory, like a beast enjoying the terror of its prey. Fox licked him, tasted him.

  Jake looked deep into the bright green of Fox's eyes, lost to the post-coital haze that would not dissipate. Not with Fox pressing on, continuing his assault. He was alive, as if Fox shocked him to life, and words escaped him.

  *** Fox

  Fox's brain was on fire. The feel of Jake's release warming the deepest parts of him only kept him wanting more. The taste of Jake's sweat on his tongue was tangy, soothing but maddening all at once.

  He may have been on the receiving end, but here, Fox took what he wanted. What he wanted was Jake's pleasure. His want. His sweat--Him. And there he was, a man who claimed him, and one he wanted to claim in return.

  Jake groaned beneath him. Fox undulated like a cobra weaving and bobbing. Fox stared into Jake's eyes, unwilling to stop pulling pleasure from him.

  "Fox."

  Fox nodded at his willing captive.

  "Baby."

  Fox smiled.

  "I need you. Come with me."

  *** Jake

  Fox froze. He was still all over. The silence was resounding. Jake was only comforted by the sound of Fox's breathing. Panic began to wriggle its way into Jake's heart.

  Fox pulled off of Jake but laid down over him, his ear pressed above Jake's heart.

  Jake reached over and pulled the second blanket over the both of them.

  "You okay?"

  Fox nodded. But he didn't look up.

  "I do, you know. I can't explain it, but I need you."

  Fox breathed in deeply and let out his breath in a long sigh. He got to his hands and kissed Jake with quiet desperation. His gloriously green eyes were glassy.

  Jake shook his head. "Baby, I don't want to be the reason you cry," he said, wiping Fox's tears away.

  Fox hiccupped. A little laugh bubbled out of him.

  "I'm a mess."

  Jake took Fox's face so that he couldn't look away.

  "One, stop doing that. Two, messes make us who we are. Three, I'm… I'm in love with you."

  Another laugh burst from Fox, ending with a shy smile.

  "You don't have to say it back."

  Fox didn't reply. He simply leaned in and kissed Jake again. Gently. Lovingly.

  "I do."

  "You do what?" Jake said, looking confused.

  "I do have to say it. I know it. I'm in love with you too, Jake."

  A warmth Jake hadn't known since the first time he heard Ben say his first word blossomed inside him. He gently shifted Fox onto his side.

  "Look at what you're missing," Jake said, waving at the night sky that had unfolded above them.

  Fox propped his head up on an elbow as he faced Jake.

  "I'm looking at everything right now."

  Jake looked at Fox and snorted, grinning. "That's not corny at all."

  Fox laughed. "Well remembered." Jake laughed. Fox laid down so that he was face up, like Jake.

  *** Fox

  Thousands of stars pierced the veil of the night's sky. It was breathtaking, but a scene Fox was more than passing familiar with. But he breathed it in as he held Jake's hand. A thrum wove its way between him and Jake when their hands connected.

  "Fox."

  Fox turned his head to look at Jake. He got lost in those silvery pools glistening in the light of the campfire.

  "Come with me. Leave this place." Jake took a shaky breath. "Come with me."

  A pregnant pause unfurled itself between them.

  But Fox had already given it thought.

  There was the lodge here, sure. But if he hired the right people, the property would continue to thrive.

  There was school-but school wouldn't necessarily teach him about the wild.

  There was Dad. Would Dad understand? Would it be expected?

  Fox looked down where Jake brush his thumb against his own. Jake was waiting for an answer.

  "Okay."

  The smile Jake gave sealed the deal. Fox would follow Jake to the ends of the earth.

  "You know, the night's still young," Fox grinned, waggling his eyebrows.

  "Man-that'll be three times today," Jake grumbled.

  "I count five."

  "Five," Jake laughed. "How is it you're not firing blanks?"

  "Can't help it," Fox said. "You brought me out of a cold snap, and I've got some time to make up for," he smirked.

  Jake laughed. "How old are you, like, twenty-four?"

  "Twenty-five."

  Jake waved Fox's reply off, playfully sarcastic. "Yeah, you're still in that hair trigger phase."

  Fox snickered. "And what about you? Talking like you're fifty-five or something." He baited Jake, and smirked when he saw Jake sputtering. Like Fox predicted, he took it.

  "I just turned forty-one, jackass."

  "Oh? When was your birthday?"

  "Last week."

  "Holy shit! That's great--I guess I should give you a present then," Fox said with less than innocent intent heating his words.

  Jake gave Fox a serious look.

  "If we're going to do it again, I want you to take me. But for now, baby, let's hold off another day. This old man has to recharge."

  Fox nestled into Jake. He breathed in deeply-taking in the scent of night, of soil, of pine, of the man beneath him.

  9. Meet the Parent

  *** Jake

  Sunlight peered over the edge of the truck bed, gently casting a soft glow on Fox's sleeping face. A desperate pang of guilt began to simmer for what he would eventually have to do. But now was not about him. Now was for Fox.

  Jake brought his hand up to meet Fox's chin, tracing it lightly. His roaming fingertips drifted over Fox's lips, slightly open. Jake laughed inwardly when he realized he was the victim of yet another sleep-drool event. His other hand grazed the skin of Fox's strong, athletic back. He was a work of Grecian art, a relaxed and unafraid David. He was a permutation of Jake's usual fare--while Fox had a smaller form, he was in no way lithe or bird-like.

  Fox had a form cu
t for the All-American Boy Next Door. Who happened to play America's Favorite past time. Who, in his youth, made the highest ranks of the Boy Scouts of America.

  Jake grinned. Fox was definitely someone to be proud of, and to trust in.

  "I hear you laughing, you know," Fox said.

  "Really?"

  "Yeah. What were you laughing about?"

  "I was thinking about All-American stuff."

  "Like what?"

  "Like mom and apple pie." Jake yelped, as Fox plucked a hair from his chest. "Not cool, baby, not cool."

  "Tell me what you were thinking of."

  "You. How you are definitely worthy."

  Fox was quiet. Jake continued to trace shapes over Fox's back.

  "Don't make me cry again, Jake."

  "Not on your life."

  Fox slowly rose off of Jake's chest. "Oh shit, I did it again, didn't I?"

  "Yep."

  "Why didn't you say something?" Fox admonished, lightly.

  "Because it was cute," Jake grinned.

  "Do you want me to clean it off?" Fox offered.

  "Yeah, let's do that. Hey, help me out of the truck," Jake said. He held back on what he had in mind. There was something to be said about the element of surprise.

  Fox hopped out of the bed and offered his hand, effectively pulling Jake up and out. Jake kissed Fox sweetly, and then suddenly threw him over his shoulder.

  "Hey!"

  Jake trundled down past the firepit, Fox complaining loudly the whole way.

  "Put me down, you big ox!"

  "Ox? I'm more like a bear, don't you think?"

  "Put me down you big dumb bear!"

  Jake hissed. "Ooh, that's not cool, Foxy." He reached the short cliff leading into the water. With gentle ease, Jake put Fox down in front of him, holding him close from behind as he stared out over the water.

  "That's better. What were you thinking?"

  "I was thinking about this," Jake spun Fox around and took command of his mouth. Their tongues danced against each other. Both of their lengths stiffened between them.

  "I was thinking," Jake said, kissing Fox even more.

  "Yeah?" Fox said breathlessly, whimpering as Jake kissed his chin, his ear, his neck.

  "You get me wet," Jake offered, never stopping his assault on Fox's sensitive zones.

  "Ungh," Fox groaned as Jake ground into him, their straining dicks.

  "I get you wet."

  With a playful shove, the look of surprise on Fox's face was coupled with a shocked, "Hey, what--!" He fell backwards in a shallow arc into the water. Jake watched him splash and find his bearings as he came up for air.

  "You fucker! I'm gonna make you pay for this!" Fox said, along with a string of other ungentlemanly utterances.

  "You better," Jake laughed. He stepped back a few paces, lunging forward and tucking his legs to his chest as best he could. "Cannonball!"

  "No, wait--" Fox exclaimed, but was too late as he got another unexpected blast of water, this one in his face.

  Jake breached the surface and wiped water off his face to find Fox still sputtering. He waited until Fox found his breath before swimming around meet him, face to face.

  "Shithead," Fox grumbled.

  "Yeah," Jake replied. "Sorry, not sorry."

  Fox's dour face came around to a kind smile. "Well, this kinda saves us the trouble of having to shower off."

  "I figured it'd be a start. Wake us and freshen us up a bit."

  "What do you want to do today?"

  "Let's go into town, get some provisions."

  Fox nodded and started the swim back to the camp. "When do we leave?" he asked, calling over his shoulder.

  "I wish never," Jake replied under his breath, ruefully.

  Fox had the campfire started as Jake climbed up the ladder. Jake found him patting himself off with a towel and flipping through his phone.

  "Hey Jake?"

  "Hm?"

  "Dad asked me to pick up some groceries from the market and deliver them to Robinson Park. They're having a cookout there. Want to come?"

  "Sure," Jake said. "Is the cookout for the public?"

  "Yeah. Summer barbecue kinda thing. It's a way to get a lot of people together that they'd be interested in. City hall meetings are kinda boring like that," Fox said.

  "I don't have to dress up, do I?"

  Fox snickered. "Well, if you go looking like that, all naked and sopping wet, I might have to fight the little old ladies off with a baseball bat."

  Jake grinned, stepping in behind Fox and tugging him close.

  "Aw, my hero slugger." Jake rubbed his rough stubble over Fox's shoulder and the back of his neck.

  "You're getting me wet again!" Fox cried.

  "I should hope so," Jake growled in his ear.

  Fox moaned as Jake's hands wandered up and down Fox's torso. "Shit, baby," he moaned as Jake licked and worried his way up and down both sides of Fox's neck, his earlobes.

  "Do we have time for a round in broad daylight?"

  Jake turned around, his dick reaching up and out obscenely. "Fuck yeah."

  *** Fox

  Fox grinned to himself as they drove back to Moorcroft, paper bags full of groceries in the back seat. His free hand was in Jake's lap, idly thumb wrestling with him as he drove. The round in broad daylight turned out to be a round and a half. Both he and Jake achieved climax together, and Jake pulling another one out of Fox's firm, slick body.

  When the grocery clerk asked him, "You're having a good day, aren't you?" from the goofy grin on his face, he had no choice but to nod and say, "Yep!", which earned him a snort from Jake. The cashier looked between them, amused and confused, but she got back to her job.

  Jake pulled out a tablet from his backpack. Fox noticed its late model appearance.

  "Is that how you keep track of where you're going?"

  Jake nodded. "It's been helpful these past couple of years. I'm on a wireless data plan and everything. When there's no signal for GPS, I can still use the maps I saved to navigate."

  "Kinda ruins my image of you as a rough, rugged mountain man, though."

  "Baby, I'll be all the mountain man you'll ever want tonight," Jake replied heatedly.

  Fox shook his head, chuckling. He couldn't believe what he was doing, what he got when Jake walked through his front office door. Jake was incredible, warm, and kind. He was also pretty refined for a man who spent the last seven years was cutting through nature by foot. And what's more, Jake was in love him.

  And bit by bit, he found himself moving from "in love" to just… loving Jake.

  Dozens of people were at the park by the time Fox pulled up. Fox had put his hand on the door handle when Jake stopped him.

  "Is your Dad here?" he asked, a trepidatious look on his face.

  "Yeah, why?"

  "Are you… Do you want to tell him about us?"

  Fox put his hand on Jake's thigh. "I will eventually, big guy. But not now. This is for him to know, not the whole town."

  Fox watched both frustration and relief pass over Jake's face.

  "I wish it didn't matter," he said. "I'd love hold your hand and be close with you, free as we can be."

  Fox smiled. "We'll figure it out, baby." He patted Jake's leg gently. "Come on, we gotta unload this stuff before they eat my truck."

  *** Jake

  Jake and Fox went back and forth between the truck and the shaded, open barbecue-picnic area three times. They dutifully touted a few bags apiece. Fox was indeed greeted by little old ladies. Jake definitely caught their attention too. Both were subjected to death by shameless flirting. They offered their lovely, unmarried, healthy daughters (or nieces), too.

  On the last trip, Jake halted a few yards away from the truck. Fox collided with him from behind.

  "What's up?" Fox asked, coming around to Jake's side. Then he saw.

  A man who was Fox's spitting image stood at the truck. His red hair was not as dark as Fox's, and it held a greying streak a
t each temple. His nose was more rugged, compared to the boy-next-door-ends-in-a-bump nose that Fox had. He was a solid man, not as defined as he was, but definitely imposing. His arms were crossed as he watched Fox, and now Jake, from the short distance.

  He was holding the trash bag.

  "Baby, I think he knows," Jake whispered.

  "How?" Fox's eyebrows touched as he looked over at Jake. He turned his attention back to the man at the truck. "Hi Dad!" he yelled, cheerfully. He hopped up to meet his father, with Jake trailing a yard or two behind.

  "Son," the man said, pulling Fox in for a hug. "I saw your truck and figured you might need help. The only thing I could find was this," he said, handing the plastic bag to Fox, hanging delicately off a finger. Fox took it helpfully.

  "That's just trash from the camp last--" Fox snapped his head up after looking inside the plastic bag.

  "Jake, buddy? Could you toss this for me?" Fox coughed out, red as a Christmas ornament, and Jake sympathized deeply. It's not every day a father finds his son's loaded condoms, or in this case, his loaded condoms, just lying around. It took a few moments for Jake to locate a nearby trash can and dump the tattletale plastic bag. When he did, he trotted back quickly so his man would not be alone for what was to come.

  "Martin Foster," Fox's dad said, a stern note in his voice, when Jake returned. He held out a big hand to Jake, who took it tentatively.

  "Jake Barton," he replied. The man's grip was assertive, but not domineering or pain inducing. To Jake, however, it still said, " I know your banging my boy. I will not hesitate to carve you, gut you, and spread you out over the reservoir if you hurt him ."

  Martin said none of that. But it most certainly did cross Jake's mind.

  "Fox tells me you're his boyfriend."

  Jake could have wet himself in surprise. Fox only smiled at him unhelpfully.

  Jake opted for courage. "He's right, Mr. Foster, I am," he said with conviction.

  The handshake ended firmly, but amicably.