by Jerry Cole
“Ahhhh....”
“I’m kidding, dude.” Roman slapped Bryce on the chest and was delighted to feel a hard pec buried underneath. “It’s through there. That’s where the fun begins.” He nodded at a conveyer belt across the floor, the one furthest away. Beside it was a door left half-ajar.
“What’s through there?” Bryce gulped as he eyed the door. He bit into his lip as if nervous just at the thought.
“The age-old enemy.” Roman threw his head back and barked his laughter. “Bryce and the forever battle against law and order – you hate breaking the rules, don’t ya?”
“I do not!” Bryce protested.
“So, you’re just a pansy then?” Roman challenged playfully.
“I just like to know what I’m getting myself in to before I do it. It’s just good planning.” Bryce crossed his arms defiantly and stuck out his chin.
Roman smirked and began to wander toward the half-open door. He’d seen it earlier and was pretty sure he knew where it led. “You see, that’s the difference between you and me, Bryce. I’m more of a fly by the seat of his pants, kind of guy.”
“What does that make me?”
“The guy with a stick up his butt,” Roman joked. He reached the door and spun on his heel to face Bryce. He then indicated toward the door like he was an usher at a stage show. “Well, Mr. Taylor. What do you say?”
Bryce furrowed his brow. Roman could see the wheels turning as he weighed up his options. His eyes flicked around the airport, searching for an authority figure or someone that might stop them. The place was packed now, and not a soul was paying them any mind. As far as Roman was concerned, it was just he and Bryce, alone.
“Come on,” Roman pushed. “Have some backbone.”
That was all it took. One final insult and Bryce clenched his jaw, straightened himself up and powered through the door like his life depended on it. And Roman was only too happy to follow.
As Bryce disappeared through the door, Roman chanced a glance at Bryce’s ass. Even in the loose chinos he was wearing, he could see that it was a nice, round bubble butt. He licked his lips as he stared. Bryce had to be gay. He had to be. The way they were talking, the flirting, all of it! There was just no way.
The door that the two walked through led into the back of the airport and toward the runway. The moment that Bryce saw that this was where they were headed, he tried to turn and head back but Roman grabbed him by the hands and refused to let go.
“Come on!” He cried over the sound of a nearby jet-engine. “Haven’t you always wanted to see what it’s like out there?!” He gave Bryce’s hands a squeeze... and Bryce squeezed them back.
“Not really.” Bryce didn’t try to go through. He held Roman’s hands in his and met his eyes... he was undecided on what to do. But clearly wanted to stay. He was searching for Roman’s approval.
“Come on.” Roman gave him a small tug. “If they find us, I’ll take the blame.”
Bryce pushed his tongue into the side of his mouth, but then allowed himself to be led. Even better, and so much more thrilling, was the fact that he didn’t let go of Roman’s right hand once they started moving. He kept a grip on it like it was a lifeboat... like he trusted Roman with his life.
Roman’s mind was racing. Was now the time to ask if he were gay? And if he was, whether he was seeing anyone? God, he wanted to. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. He had to try something... but when? And how?
The two men spent roughly fifteen minutes on the runway. Even once they breached it, Bryce refused to walk out too far. He claimed he was worried that they might get run over or delay the flight, but it was clear he was more concerned about getting in trouble. Roman might have been frustrated if it wasn’t so darn cute. It really, really was.
“How about a drink instead?” Roman eventually asked once he was done taking pleasure in how freaked out Bryce was behaving. “I feel like that’s more your speed – plus we have four years to catch up on.”
“A drink.” Bryce breathed a sigh of relief. “So long as it’s within the perimeter of the airport.”
“I’ll even let you choose the venue.”
“How chivalrous,” Bryce said sarcastically.
“How long until your flight?” Roman asked.
Bryce checked his watch. “Two and a half more hours.”
“Just enough time to get you good and liquored up.” Roman winked and then pumped his eyebrows.
“I don’t think so,” Bryce chuckled and shook his head nervously. “Just the one.”
“Classic rule follower.” Another wink.
Roman would make a move on Bryce, that much he was now sure of. And with the added fuel of liquor now into the mix, there was no chance that he wasn’t going to at least try. It was the perfect chance, really.
Even if it failed, and even if Bryce turned out to be straight, Roman really didn’t care. He’d spent the last four years of his life wondering what it would be like if he was to bump into the man that literally changed his life, and truth be told, it had more than lived up to expectations. To go any further than what had already happened would be a dream come true.
Roman wasn’t the kind of guy who believed in fate. But this had to be it. He just wished he knew what was going on in Bryce’s big, beautiful head right now. Maybe a few drinks would help to clear that up.
Chapter Seven
This time, Amy the waitress didn’t bother coming over to get Bryce’s drink order. In fact, this time, when Bryce went to the bar to order for himself and Roman, she sent a different bartender to serve them. It seemed she had finally gotten the message. Although what the message was supposed to be, Bryce wasn’t too sure. Seriously, he wasn’t. As far as he was concerned, he was just having a drink with an old friend and nothing more.
“It’s a shame you’re moving away.” Bryce and Roman sat down the back of the bar, as out of sight as was possible. This wasn’t done on purpose either. It was just the seat that Bryce had naturally gravitated toward.
“And why is that?” Roman opened his throat and swallowed about half the schooner of beer in one gulp. Bryce eyed the half-empty glass with surprise. “It’s a talent of mine,” Roman joked. “Opening up the throat, I mean.” He then smiled and blinked innocently.
Bryce felt himself flushing and gave his head a shake. “I was saying...” he drifted off for a moment as his eyes moved to that half empty beer, swallowed so damn easily. “... You’re moving. It’s a shame, is all. I would have said we could catch up again after the holidays.”
This time, Roman actually looked a little upset. “Yeah, bummer. And truth be told, I can’t see me coming back here anytime soon.”
“What about for your family?”
“What family?” It was a cold, harsh tone that suggested Roman was done with that line of questioning. Bryce didn’t push.
“I guess we’ll just have to get it all in now, won’t we.” He had ordered a beer too but had only managed one sip so far. He held his glass up to cheers Roman.
“All of it.” Roman cheered back.
Bryce was a good-looking guy. He knew this about himself. Fuck, he’d been told it by enough drunken girls at campus parties to start to get the picture. He was also reasonably confident, comfortable in his own skin and on the quick march toward a successful and fulfilling career. Yet despite all of this, his experience in all things sexual was close to zero.
He’d just never had the time or the inclination. Rarely, if ever, had Bryce found himself drinking at a party or a nightclub and been in the mood to hit on the women there. He had always assumed that it was because he was too concerned about his studies, or he was tired, or he wasn’t into those girls in particular. But he also knew that was all just a lie.
Sitting here with Roman, Bryce couldn’t help but flirt. It wasn’t even something he was trying to do! It just sort of happened...
“So, the last four years?” Bryce tried to get the conversation back on track. “What have you been doing?
Tell me everything.”
“Really?” Roman frowned. He then picked up his beer and swallowed the rest in one long gulp. “That’s what you want to talk about right now?”
“Um, yeah... I think?” Why was Bryce nervous? He shouldn’t have been, but he was.
“How about... ex-lovers. Come on, what’s your number?” Roman winked and leaned over the table. He rested his chin in his hands and looked up at Bryce.
“Huh?” Bryce balked as he felt his face suddenly become very hot. “That’s not... I don’t really... a few.”
“Sounds real. Me, personally, I’ve had ten —”
“Ten!” Bryce balked.
“Correct. And that’s just counting the times my dick actually went inside said person. Not counting that... who the fuck can count,” he laughed and shrugged it off.
“Right... yeah it gets... it gets blurry.” Bryce was back on his beer, chugging it for all his life was worth. He could feel something happening here, and he wasn’t sure what it was.
Roman eyed Bryce knowingly. He wore a smirk that suggested he was in on a joke that Bryce wasn’t, and the way his eyes worked themselves up and down Bryce’s torso so unapologetically was... unsettling.
Honestly, the amount that Roman had changed in the past few years was beyond impressive. The last time these two had met, Bryce had been the confident outgoing one, and Roman had been the shy, withdrawn, nervous Nelly. Now Roman had all the power here, and he knew it.
“All right.” Roman sighed and lay his hands flat on the table. “Time to get it out there. Are you ready?” He looked earnestly at Bryce, waiting for the response.
“Get what out there?”
Roman rolled his eyes and sighed. “I’m gay – I know, I know, big shocker, right?” He barked a laugh. “But I am, and figured it was worth revealing. Just so you know I’m not a freak. Just horny,” he then joked.
“All right...” Bryce could feel his forehead sweating. He knew what was coming next but prayed it wasn’t.
Roman blinked his eyes expectantly at Bryce. “Well?”
“Well, what?”
Roman rolled his eyes. “Are you gay or straight – speak now or forever hold your cock.” He then did a quick look around the bar as if expecting someone to be eavesdropping. “Don’t worry, no one is listening, and I can keep a secret.”
“I don’t... that’s not really... I’m straight.” Bryce stuttered and stumbled through the line, and although the words came out, he didn’t really believe them.
And by the eager, unphased look on Roman’s face, neither did he. “Oh, really?” he chuckled.
“Yes,” Bryce said more defiantly.
“Okay, Okay.” Roman held his hands up in defense and leaned back in his chair. “And I suppose that if this waitress here – the one that was slobbering all over you, wanted your number?”
“Then I would happily oblige.” Bryce crossed his arms and stuck up his nose as if to make the point. “In fact... I wish I had gotten it to her before.”
“Then you are in luck!” Roman was on his feet and about to wave the waitress over. “I’ll just get her—”
“What are you doing?!” Bryce jumped up, grabbed at Roman and pulled him back down. “Are you fucking crazy?”
“I am. But that’s not really relevant to this here, is it now?” Roman laughed as he tried to wiggle free from Bryce who was still holding him in place.
“I’m not gay.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“You’re obviously implying it.”
“I’m just trying to get you a hot chick’s number. Isn’t that what straight guys are in to? Hot chicks. And pussy. And who the fuck knows.”
“I don’t know – I mean, yes! Obviously, that’s what we...” Roman stopped struggling, so Bryce let him go. He then leaned back and took a deep, calming breath to center himself. “Look. It doesn't matter if I am straight or not. I just don’t want to pick up some waitress at a bar – especially when I’m about to fly out of the city for two weeks. All right.”
Roman’s smile formed up the right side of his face. “Sure thing. Sorry I tried.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Bryce waved him down. “But to make it up... you can get the next round.”
“Oh... I suppose so.”
And so, the two men drank... and then drank a little more... and then a little more after that. They had two- and a-bit whole hours to kill, so what else where they going to do? And as they drank, they rekindled a friendship that had never been that long but had always burned hot.
On Roman’s side, he spoke about the four years since the two had last seen one another. He told Bryce about how those years were the ‘lost years’ where he wandered from job to job, never settling down or knowing what he wanted to do. He also spoke about coming out, learning who he was and being more comfortable in his skin.
And on Bryce’s side, he spoke about his studies and the way they had dictated every other facet of his life. As the booze continued to flow, he moved onto his lack of a love life and how his studies were to blame. He spoke of how he didn’t even know what he liked in a woman, because he was so inexperienced. He spoke... well, he spoke a little too openly and freely, to be fair.
And all the while as the two men spoke and drank, there was an underlying tension hovering between them. At first it was light and almost invisible, like a cool springtime breeze drifting across the bar. But as the hours passed and as the two men opened up it became more a fog, sitting between the two men, choking them, covering them, smothering them until it was impossible to ignore for any longer.
“What are ya thinking about?” Roman asked.
The implication was suggestive. Roman was leaning across the table, his free hand just close enough to Bryce’s for the pinky to reach out and touch his own. He stroked it gently, almost like it was by accident. Underneath the table, Roman’s foot was resting itself against Bryce’s leg. Again, it was barely touching, but just enough so that when he moved it up and down, it sent a shiver up Bryce’s spine.
“Just about... how we’re going to kill the last hour...” Bryce didn’t know how to flirt. But something told him he was doing a pretty good job of it right now.
“Oh... I can probably come up with something.” Roman’s foot went from barely touching, to right out stroking Bryce’s thigh.
Bryce could feel himself getting hard; harder than he’d ever been in his life. “Tell me...” On instinct, Bryce moved his hand closer to Roman’s so that it was right on top.
Roman wrapped his hand in Bryce’s and smiled. “I’d rather show you.”
Was Bryce gay? He still didn’t think so. Right now, he preferred not to think about it. After all, he had grown up being told that to be gay was a choice, and only freaks and weirdos would choose such a thing. Real men chose to be straight, because that’s what was right.
But Bryce didn’t want to think about what was right. He wanted to think about what felt good, here and now. The way Roman was stroking his leg, holding his hand, and eyeing him off like a piece of fresh meat was beyond anything that Bryce had ever felt before. It was electrifying.
And it wasn’t even that he found Roman that attractive. The guy was rather shorter and thinner than he was. His dress sense, all black everything, was strange to say the least. And his skin was pale, and his face was a little too long and he was just... well, he was strange! But in the moment, Bryce didn’t really care.
Instead, he allowed for himself to be led by Roman from the bar. They didn’t hold hands on the way out. Instead, Roman stood and indicated for Bryce to follow. Bryce gulped, but did as he was ordered. He tried his best to act inconspicuous as he strolled from the bar, on Roman’s tail. And when he saw that he was being led toward the bathrooms... his heart started belting against his chest.
“Where are you—”
“Not yet,” Roman ordered.
They walked past the men’s bathroom and toward the disabled one. It was three times the size of an
y single bathroom, with a toilet, a rail, a sink and enough floor space for ten men. Roman walked in first and used his head to gesture for Bryce to follow.
Bryce hesitated. This was it. Once he walked into the bathroom there was no going back. If he had been sober, he might have said no. If he was back on campus, he might have said no. If it was anyone else at all, he might have said no. But, since none of these disqualifiers applied, he nodded once and eagerly scurried into the bathroom.
The click of the lock had Bryce spinning back around. He was nervous now, petrified even. And one look at Roman, leaning against the door with his arms crossed and smirking as his eyes moved up and down Bryce’s body, only increased his angst.
“Wh... what do I—”
“Put the toilet seat down – the lid too. Then take your pants off and sit.”
Bryce gulped. He glanced over his shoulder at the toilet; it was a disabled one, with a rail running right next to it, and a white toilet seat lid currently flipped up.
“Well?” Roman pressed.
“I don’t... my pants and... boxers?” Bryce gulped again and suddenly his tongue felt very thick in his mouth... but his cock also felt very hard in his pants. It was impossible how turned on he was.
Roman pushed himself off the door and sauntered toward Bryce. “Stop being a little bitch and take your pants off and sit.” He stopped less than a foot from Bryce; so close that Bryce could smell him, could taste him...
A tight nod and Bryce went for his pants buckle. He kept eye contact with Roman, a deep breath and he undid the buckle with a click. Another deep breath, still looking right into Roman’s dark eyes and he dropped his pants.
Instant relief as his cock sprung forward, pointed straight up. Roman’s eyes flashed down. “Nice.” Then, “Well?” he asked and indicated to the toilet.
“Oh!” Bryce hurried to the toilet, quickly put the seat lid down and then sat his bare butt-cheeks on it.
The toilet seat was cold, but he barely noticed. He was far more concentrated on the way his cock sat upright, out and free, throbbing it was so fucking hard.