Test of Endurance (Up-Ending Tad: A Journey of Erotic Discovery Book 2)

by Kora Knight

  Another almost-kiss brought him back around, this time breezing along the corner of his mouth. Shit, that was hot. Passive-aggressive teasing in its own erotic right. His dick twitched. No, no, no. Not going there. He cleared his throat a second time, hands fidgeting against Scott’s shoulders. “So, um, yeah… I don’t think the camera and weights were the problem. Future massages, on the other hand, should probably be taken off the table. Pardon the uh… pun.”

  Scott exhaled a humorless chuckle. “Seems my hands and your body triggered a snowball effect.”

  Tad could’ve laughed at his choice of words. Had a snowball been anywhere near them before, it would’ve burst into a cloud of steam. Ugh. Tad needed to get some distance from Scott so his brain could actually think. Because, clearly, he was going to need a new plan, some rational way to deal with their sitch. Restlessly, he shifted atop Scott’s cock. “Yeah. Definitely hadn’t seen that shit coming.”

  As if getting the hint, Scott helped him off, setting him further down the table. “Believe it or not, I hadn’t either.” He chuckled softly, sounding almost baffled. “I’d seriously planned on being on my best behavior.” Warm fingers skimmed across Tad’s brow, brushing his bangs to the side. “Looks like while you passed your test, I bombed the hell out of mine.”

  Tad didn’t know what to say. Scott’s confession kind of took him by surprise. Which wasn’t to say he’d thought the guy had planned it, because Tad truly believed he hadn’t. He guessed it was just nice to hear Scott admit that he’d been affected, too. That Tad had gotten to him like he’d gotten to Tad. That this wasn’t some one-sided game.

  He forced a crooked smirk and looked away. “Yeah, dude. You seriously need to work on your game.” But so did Tad, if they ever were going to hang out again. He frowned at that. Maybe this whole thing proved that they shouldn’t. That ‘platonic’ just wasn’t in their cards.

  Scott made an amused sound. “Well, you know the old adage, practice makes perfect.”

  A genuine smile curved Tad’s lips. “Yeah, well, leave my ass out of it. Ain’t no way it could handle your kind of practice.”

  Scott snickered and shoved a towel in Tad’s hands. “You keep talking like that and I’m going to wanna keep you.” Cotton shifted over leather as he slid off the table.

  Tad grunted lightheartedly. “I thought only your roomie was into pets.”

  “Ah, but for you, I’d make the exception.”

  Annoying little fluttery things swirled in Tad’s gut. “Might wanna rethink that,” he muttered. “I’m surprisingly high maintenance.”

  Scott chuckled from across the room. “You know how I feel about easy.”

  “Yeah,” Tad grunted, turning his back. “That I definitely do.”

  Blindly, he fumbled to clean his chest. He was such a jackass, still wearing that mask. The damn thing was like a double-edged sword, helping to ground and keep him sane—similar to last time’s blindfold—but also making it clear what a pussy he was. The one thing he didn’t want Scott to think. But seriously, how could the guy not? So Tad kind of had to wonder; why wasn’t Scott calling him out on his shit? Did he get that Tad was struggling and needed the buffer? Had he sensed earlier that Tad was readying to bolt, and covered his eyes hoping he’d stay?

  Those stupid freaking swirly things made another lap.

  Shit…

  Whatever the case, Tad still felt like a tool.

  Reaching up, he pulled the thing off. Thankfully, Scott was facing away. From the looks of it, he’d already chucked his condom and was working to fix his shorts. Tad glanced down, cringed at his nakedness, then shoved the towel over his crotch. Which, again, was totally ridiculous. Scott, after all, had seen all there was to see. Two times over. A fresh wash of heat doused Tad’s cheeks—just as Scott turned around.

  “Wow,” he chuckled, sauntering over. “And still you manage to blush.”

  Lips twitching, Tad flipped him the bird. “Fuck off. I think I’ve got a medical condition.”

  Scott laughed and took Tad’s chin between his fingers, turning his head left and right. “Mm. Looks serious, too. You want me to break out my doctor’s kit?”

  Tad knocked his hand away. “Dude,” he laughed. “You are such a perv.” Sliding off the table, he snagged a clean towel and wrapped it around his waist.

  Scott chuckled. “You like my kind of perv.”

  Tad couldn’t argue with that so he didn’t even try. And wasn’t that disheartening as hell. Since when did he have a penchant for a particular kind of perv? Since Scott, that’s when. Swiping up his duffle, he made his way to the door. Ironically, he needed to get dressed in private.

  “Tad, hold up.” Scott’s soft timbre sent his stomach into a jig. So low and reserved, with a hint of… something.

  Tad turned around. “Yeah.”

  Scott stopped in front of him. “Listen. I’m… I’m sorry about…” He dragged a hand over his crown of spikes and ruefully glanced away. “I know you didn’t come here looking for sex. And honest to god, I really hadn’t meant to pursue you like that.” Frowning, he rubbed his nape. “So anyway… Yeah… I just hope we’re still cool.” He crossed his arms and looked back at Tad. And whoa, did his big eyes look contrite; all puppy doggish and oozing with guilt.

  Those fluttery things froze and dropped like lead.

  Huh. Seemed a part of Tad didn’t want Scott to feel bad, would rather have what happened make him smile. Tad’s brows dipped low. Okay, what kind of pansy-ass sentiment was that? He looked at Scott. He was watching him intently, clearly waiting for a reply. But what could Tad really say? It’s okay, dude, shit happens? Don’t sweat it, big guy?

  Eyeing the door, he went with indifferent. “Yeah, man. It was pretty crazy. But uh, yeah… Everything’s cool.” Fuck, he did not want to be having this conversation. It was making things entirely too real—in a way he didn’t know how to deal with. He turned back to the door. “I’m… gonna go get dressed.”

  Scott shook his head. “You stay put. I’ll head out and give you some privacy.”

  The second he was gone, Tad threw on his clothes as fast as humanly possible. Which wasn’t really that speedy considering his state. Or rather, the state of his ass. Why must Scott’s prick be so freaking huge? Maybe the guy took some kind of dick steroid.

  Fingering-combing his hair, he shouldered his duffle and headed out into the gym. Scott was sitting at a nearby desk, feet propped as he talked on the phone.

  “Don’t worry,” he chuckled. “You’ve got plenty of time…” Another laugh. “Woman. Relax. I’ll get you in that size five dress with a couple weeks to spare.” His eyes shifted over and locked with Tad’s.

  Tad lifted his chin in a silent ‘See you around’ and headed for the stairs. Perfect. He could bolt while Scott was occupied elsewhere.

  Behind him, a chair squeaked as feet hit the ground. “Yes, Janis. I swear it. Now go celebrate or something. I’ll see you first thing on Monday.”

  Tad winced and casually quickened his pace.

  “In such a hurry,” Scott observed, directly behind him.

  Shit. Tad glanced over his shoulder, then turned around. “No, I just… saw you on the phone… and figured—”

  “You don’t have to leave,” Scott interrupted. “We could hang out. I’ve got beer.”

  Mmm. Beer. Yet another commonality.

  Tempted to accept, Tad met his eyes. As always, they held the craziest warmth; so peaceful and yet so intense. God, they made it hard to look away. But Tad managed and quickly shook his head, afraid he might change his mind. “Nah, man. I gotta work in the morning.”

  Scott looked kind of bummed. “Then at least let me walk you to the door.”

  They reached the foyer with few words exchanged. Tad hefted his duffle strap higher on his shoulder as Scott unlocked the bolt. And then the guy’s gaze was back on his. “You gonna be back? Doing an abs video next.”

  Despite the legitimate invite, there was no missing Scott’s underlyi
ng tone. He was still genuinely worried that he’d fucked things up. But even though Tad wasn’t blaming him at all, he still didn’t have an answer. There were a lot of determining factors to consider. Like, did Tad have the balls to come back? Or better yet, the strength to stay away?

  One more disconcerting rumination.

  “Uh, yeah,” he nodded, trying to sound convincing. “I’m sure I’ll… be around.”

  Scott’s expression fell. “Ah.”

  Tad’s insides clenched. Geez. Why did it feel like he was breaking up with the guy? Good god, he was losing his ever-loving mind. He stepped onto the porch and headed for the steps. “Alright, man. I’ll… catch you later.”

  “Yeah. See you around.”

  Tad glanced over his shoulder. Scott was still watching him, arms folded, face tight. Gone was his casual, friendly demeanor. Now he looked rigid. Sober. Reserved.

  Tad frowned and turned back, taking the steps down two at a time. Was Scott pissed? He looked like he thought Tad was washing his hands. Of him. Of them. Whatever. But was Tad doing that? He honestly didn’t know. Even if he was, it’d be easier said than done. Scott would be a tough one to steer clear of for long. But shit was complicated between them and Tad wasn’t sure if it was a good complicated or bad. The jury was still out.

  He could feel Scott’s eyes following him as he headed for his Jeep. But this time he didn’t turn around. Wasn’t sure if he should, or even could. Scott had a way of doing that to him. Upending his ass, both literally and figuratively, until he second guessed every inch of his being.

  Climbing into his 4x4, he exhaled heavily. Whether he looked back or not, it didn’t really matter. Things were never going to be the same. At least not for him. Hell, maybe he could stay away longer this time. It’d probably be the wisest choice. Truth be told, he didn’t really trust himself around Scott. Things could easily end up following the same pattern, shifting from innocent to hard core fast. Things he could no longer claim were the byproduct of an hour at the end of Scott’s whip. Things he still didn’t understand.

  Maybe those jocks weren’t as stupid as they looked. Maybe they really did see something Tad himself never had. His shoulders slumped. Because seriously, what kind of guy gets unhinged by another dude? Didn’t exactly sound like a ‘straight’ thing to do. But he wasn’t gay. Or at least he didn’t think he was. There was just something about Scott. Which also didn’t make sense. Either way, shit just didn’t compute. Thing was, in order to fix a problem, one needed to have a solid grasp of what was making it tick. And Tad just wasn’t ‘grasping.’

  Or maybe he was, but just not enough to support his mental weight.

  But it wasn’t like Scott would ever pressure him to figure it out. He wasn’t that kind of guy. Sure he went after what he wanted, but this strange-ass phenomenon between them was hardly a one-way street. Hell, Tad had come back of his own free will, knowing full well what Scott had to offer. Looking back, he supposed some unbeknownst part of him had wanted a second go. Which made it not unreasonable to think that Scott had picked up on his vibe. After all, discerning “body language invites” is what males did best. And if that was the case, of course Scott would’ve given it a shot. Seriously, what guy wouldn’t? And when Tad didn’t stop him, but then accepted his proposition?

  His cheeks flushed for the umpteenth time. Scrubbing his face, he let out a groan. “What have I gotten myself into?” Wary eyes glanced back up at Scott’s house. The guy was gone, the door was shut, and the outside light was off. Tad sighed and looked away. Maybe he should take that as some cosmic sign. The universe telling him it to call it a night. Because, clearly, he wasn’t any good at this shit.

  Firing up his Jeep, he pulled out into the street. Who knew, maybe if he did manage to stay away, his fixation would ultimately fade. Which meant Scott would finally be out of his head and life could get back to simple.

  Did you enjoy

  TEST OF ENDURANCE?

  Consider leaving a review

  Or recommending it to friends!

  Be sure to check back for the

  Continuation of Tad’s journey in:

  SIDELINE SUBMISSION

  VOLUME THREE

  http://koraknight14.wix.com/author

  You can find me on Facebook:

  https://www.facebook.com/authorkoraknight

  Stop by and like my page!

  Or better yet, drop me a message!

  Of course, you can always email me at:

  Koraknight14@gmail.com

  UP-ENDING TAD:

  A JOURNEY OF EROTIC DISCOVERY

  LOSER TAKES ALL

  TEST OF ENDURANCE

  SIDELINE SUBMISSION

  PRIZED POSSESSION