Straight Up

by J. S. Finley

  After grabbing the keys for the place, he headed to the store and bought enough food for the six of them for a few days. They’d have to come back into town to pick up a few more items if they didn’t catch enough fish. He had faith in them, but would happily come back here if fishing didn’t pan out.

  When he came out of the store, he noticed a few snowflakes drifting lazily from the sky. They were supposed to get some snow, but based on how slowly the flakes were falling, he doubted there would be any accumulation. He hoped it continued to snow for a little while longer so the trees would be dusted with white powder. He wanted the rest of the guys to enjoy the view. Everyone else was arriving after four.

  The cabin wasn’t in town, but just outside Pigeon Forge, a quaint, almost idyllic little town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The biggest difference in this place from the cities where he’d lived was the abundance of tall trees here. Atlanta had some trees, but nothing like this.

  His excitement increased the closer he got to the house they were renting, but he couldn’t see the place. He slowed, turning down a winding path, hoping it was the correct address. Trees blocked his view, and for a moment, he thought he’d taken a wrong turn. Then the trees opened up, revealing the house. He took his foot off the accelerator, marveling at the view. The place was amazing.

  The cabin sat on the edge of a hill, and a valley opened up below. The view left him in awe. He could see for miles, and the lush landscape was striking.

  Jake stepped out of his truck and grabbed a couple of grocery bags as he made his way to the front door.

  “Hey honey, I’m home,” he shouted to the empty cabin as he entered. He stopped a few steps into the place. It was beautiful.

  Jake made his way to the kitchen to drop a few of the grocery bags before standing in the center of the room to look around. This place had his current apartment beat by a landslide.

  The cabin was a country mansion. Huge couches sat in the den, facing the fireplace, which had a TV hanging over it. He wanted to take a nap on the couch, but first, he had to unload the groceries and his bags. It took three more trips to get everything from his truck. He put away the food, stopping every few minutes to stare at the amazing blueish-green mountains out the windows. After he finished with the groceries, he wandered around the den, excited his friends would be sitting on these couches by the end of the day. He found a restroom off the main room and freshened up before searching the rooms on the main floor. There was one bedroom on this level along with another sitting room. Hanging out at this house was going to be amazing. After finishing inside, he stepped out onto the patio and shivered in the cold. He flipped up one edge of the cover on the hot tub and smiled to himself. The water felt perfect.

  Once back inside, he headed upstairs and found three bedrooms. Two of the bedrooms upstairs had king beds. The bedroom downstairs and one on the second floor had doubles. They’d make sharing the bedrooms work somehow. Lane and Thomas were best friends and were willing to share one of the rooms, which meant Mike and Brent were going to have to share a room or he and Clay. They were planning on drawing straws to see who won the honor once they all arrived.

  The view from the top left bedroom was amazing. He could see for miles to the east. The air was crisp, and the clouds blanketing the sky were dark, but the place looked amazing. He could only imagine how beautiful it looked when the sun was shining.

  He wished he could live in a place like this full time. Of course, he would probably never get any work done because he’d be sitting at this window staring at this view all day long. He was exhausted from waking so early and driving here, so he stretched out on the bed and watched the world outside. A few flakes of snow still drifted slowly to the ground. It was pretty, but nothing strong enough to worry about roads closing. Thoughts of the guys filled his head. He was looking forward to hanging out with everyone, but he wanted to see Brent the most.

  At some point, he drifted off to sleep. When he woke, it was dark. He made his way back to the kitchen and realized it was after five. The guys should have already arrived. He stepped out the front door and paused. Thick snow covered the ground, suppressing the sound. He felt totally alone. He was about to turn back to the house when headlights from a vehicle illuminated the wall of trees close by. Maybe the guys had made it. A big truck, similar to his, pulled up and parked close. The door opened and Brent hopped out.

  “Whoo boy, are you ever a sight for sore eyes.”

  His heart expanded and he moved to the truck. “Hey, man, it’s good to see you.” The statement was genuine, but fear still tugged at the back of his mind. What if Brent hadn’t forgiven him?

  The snow came down heavy as he grabbed Brent’s bag from his hand. He wanted to pull Brent into a hug, but he felt awkward.

  “Holy crap, the drive was bad.” Brent slung his other pack over his shoulder and followed Jake to the front door of the cabin they would share for the week.

  “How bad?” Jake surveyed the lawn and the thick coat of snow on his truck.

  “I only got through because of this big hunk of metal. I hope you already got food because no one is going to make it back up here before the sun comes out tomorrow.”

  “Wow, it must be bad. Lucky for us, I stopped by on the way up.”

  They stepped inside and Brent whistled. “My God, this place is nice.”

  Jake couldn’t stop the smile or the good feelings bubbling up inside, nor did he want to. It felt right being with Brent. “Lane did a good job arranging it.”

  “He did a great job. This is sweet.” Brent moved deeper into the house then turned, his smile wide. “I have beer and some other beverages in the truck. Let me go back out and get it.”

  “I can help you.”

  “Come on, I’m hungry and need a beer after the drive.”

  Jake followed Brent outside and noticed the truck’s windshield already had a dusting of snow. They’d only been inside for a minute, maybe two.

  “The snow is really coming down.” Jake swiped at the thick powder on his truck.

  “Yeah, it’s going to get worse tonight. I think it’ll clear up tomorrow morning.”

  Brent gave him two cases of beer and grabbed a couple of bags of liquor bottles from the back seat. It was slick walking in, and Brent almost slipped but stayed upright. They were laughing when they made it inside the warmth of the cabin.

  Brent shed his jacket, and Jake stole a glance before heading into the kitchen. There was a perfect spot on the counter to store the alcohol. While he was pulling out the bottles of liquor, Brent broke open a case of beer, putting some in the refrigerator. He set the unopened case on the back porch.

  Brent popped a can of beer open, taking a long drink before sighing. He wiped the back of his hand over his mouth and shook his head.

  “It’s good seeing you, Jake.”

  His heart sped up. “Same here.”

  A weird feeling twisted through him, and he shoved it away, not wanting to dwell on his guilt. He’d had a hell of a time getting rid of the remorse after he got out of the military. Food was a cure for the blues so he moved to the refrigerator and pulled out some ground beef and a bowl from the cabinet.

  “I’ll make us some hamburgers. Do you want to cut the tomato and onion? I picked up lettuce and cheese too.”

  “Sure.” Brent had finished his first beer and was on his second.

  “Lots of snow on the road?” Jake asked.

  Brent nodded before taking a swig of beer. “And wrecks. My God, people are stupid. They don’t understand you can’t go fifty-five on those curvy roads when it’s snowy and icy. Really, stupid people.”

  “I’m glad you made it.”

  Brent pulled out the vegetables and held up a beer. “Are you ready for your second?”

  “No, I’m still working on this one.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  Silence descended between them as they worked. It wasn’t entirely comfortable either. Brent was the only guy from their crew he’d
ever gotten in a fistfight with, and the fight had been stupid. He wasn’t sure if saying anything about it would be a good idea or not.

  He’d turned on the stovetop grill, letting it warm as he made the patties. The grill felt hot enough, so he placed the first burger on the metal grates, sighing at the sizzling sound. It only took a few minutes for the meat to be ready to flip and he turned them expertly, focusing all his attention on cooking. When he spun to search for a plate to put the finished burgers on, he noticed Brent staring at him. The look made him freeze for a second as worry over their past filled him.

  Brent turned away and moved to the patio door, staring out into the dark night. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The place was supposed to be full of men talking and laughing to cover over those awkward moments like this.

  “Medium okay with you?” Jake asked.

  “Sure, sounds good.” Brent hadn’t even turned to talk.

  Jake was worried he’d damaged their relationship too much. This was awkward. He felt off, out of sorts and it was his own doing. He should have tried to work this out with Brent before now.

  He waited another few minutes before pulling the meat from the grill. The delicious aroma wafted through the room, and he realized he was much hungrier than he’d first thought. Brent grabbed a patty, placing it on his plate. The man was close, which made goosebumps rise on Jake’s arms. No question, Brent still affected him.

  “I heated up some vegetables in the microwave and found a bag of chips.”

  “Thanks.” Jake fixed his own burger and served some broccoli for himself.

  They settled at the table, and Brent took his first bite, moaning as he chewed. He swallowed then put down his burger, wiping his hands.

  “What have you been up to?”

  Brent’s question threw him; it shouldn’t have, but he felt off being here alone with the man. His emotions were too prickly to relax with Brent because he was having thoughts of the man, which would only lead to trouble.

  “Working. It seems that’s all I do these days, but I’m okay with it. School was difficult. I tell ya, I was so happy when Lane suggested we do this.”

  “Yeah.” Brent took another bite of his burger.

  Jake ate some of the vegetables and chips, hoping he and Brent had found a way to get through the night without it becoming too uncomfortable. The food was good and they ate mostly in silence, each of them paying serious attention to what was on their plates.

  When Brent was almost done with his burger he glanced up, their gazes connecting. “Where are you living now?”

  “I’m still in Atlanta.”

  “I thought so. I’m in Tampa but looking to move. I thought the sun and surf would be fun, but it’s a little too hot, and I never have the time to drive out of the city to find the surf.”

  “Atlanta isn’t perfect, but I’m happy for now.”

  “Dating anyone?” Brent’s gaze caught his for a fraction of a second.

  He forced himself not to get too excited. Instead, he shook his head and thought of the conversation he’d had with Chris and Will not too long ago. His cheeks heated. “No. I tried for a while, but nothing worked out.”

  Brent took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. The heater kicked on, but nothing else filled the silence. Jake wished the other guys were here to make it less awkward.

  “How about you? Dating anyone?” Jake didn’t want Brent to have a serious relationship. It was selfish and stupid.

  “No, nothing serious. I haven’t found anyone I want to be with longer than a few hours a month.”

  Jake threw back his head and laughed. After almost a minute he’d recovered enough to speak. “I don’t remember you having high standards back in the military.”

  Brent laughed. “Yeah, I would fuck just about anyone, but things change.”

  “Yeah, they do.” Jake stood and began cleaning the table, putting away the condiments and cheese. Brent helped him, and they had the dishes washed and the whole kitchen clean in no time.

  His phone pinged and so did Brent’s. They both looked at the message, then their gazes met, and they cracked up.

  “Mike and Lane are stuck in a hotel together in Nashville. Oh, that’s too funny,” Jake said.

  The phone buzzed again, and he and Brent read the incoming texts. “Thomas and Clay are still in Charlotte. They’ll try to make it as soon as the weather clears.”

  Jake sent a text, telling the other guys he and Brent would be waiting. When he glanced up he caught another weird look in Brent’s eyes. He guessed they needed to talk about what had happened. He’d wanted them to be over it, but he figured they still needed to discuss it.

  “Want to watch a movie?” Brent asked.

  “You brought something to watch?” Jake asked.

  Brent’s lips curved into a smile. “Sure did. Whole hard drive full of movies. Let me go get it and the cords to hook it up.”

  “It’s not porn, right?”

  Brent roared with laughter as he moved to his bags. Jake questioned what his laughter meant. Was Brent going to pull out some nasty porn or would they be watching a regular movie with a plot?

  8

  Brent’s heart squeezed as he opened his bag. Jake had no clue. It would serve the guy right if he had brought porn. But then Jake would know. Hell, they would all know after this weekend since he’d been planning on telling them…possibly telling them.

  Now he was here alone with Jake, he’d lost his nerve. Jake and he weren’t close anymore and it showed. At the moment, he didn’t feel comfortable talking about his sexuality with Jake.

  He set up the hard drive, happy everything worked the way it should. Jake had started a fire in the fireplace and turned off most of the lights. It was cozy, maybe a little too comfortable, but he didn’t want to draw any attention to his discomfort.

  “What are we watching?” Jake brought over a bottle of tequila and two double old fashion glasses.

  He eyed the bottle, knowing if he drank more than a couple of shots he wouldn’t be able to keep quiet. Jake poured too much in a glass for him and he took his, holding but not drinking the alcohol. It had to be three fingers or more, which was insane. He would be on the floor whimpering in a drunken stupor if he drank it all—well, maybe not on the floor, but close.

  “You okay with the latest Bond flick?” Brent asked.

  “Sure, sounds fun.”

  The movie came on and he relaxed, absently sipping from the glass in his hand, forgetting he wasn’t going to drink the truth serum which would make him take his pants off. When Jake refilled his own glass, he tipped some in for Brent, then he poured more in. Brent couldn’t stop sipping though he knew he should. He was drinking too much, but that was the point of this vacation, right?

  Midway through the movie he hit pause and stumbled to the bathroom. When he got back, Jake was making his way downstairs. Their gazes met and they both burst out laughing.

  Deep in the recesses of his mind he knew he’d had too much tequila. Jake stumbled close and wrapped his arm over Brent’s shoulder, sending desire rushing through him. The rational part of his mind begged him to stop, but the tequila muddled thoughts wanted him to lean in and kiss Jake on the lips, showing him exactly how he felt.

  “I think we might’ve had too much tequila,” Jake slurred.

  Brent tried to not lean in too close but he suspected he failed. “Maybe, looks like bottles gone…half.”

  Jake laughed and he realized he must have messed up his words. They walked to the couch together and dropped to the cushions. Jake hadn’t removed his arm, and they were squished together, legs touching, Jake’s hold tight on him. Brent started the film but couldn’t pay attention to what was happening on screen.

  After a few minutes of sitting together, Jake hopped up and started stripping off his shirt. Brent stopped the movie and stared numbly as Jake tossed his clothes to the floor.

  “What are you doing?” Brent’s heart started beating fast.

  “H
ot tub. Come on.”

  “Maybe we should put on our bathing suits.”

  “Nope. It will be too cold getting out. Come on. I’ll find some towels.” Jake shoved his underwear to the floor and Brent had to blink a few times to make sure he was really seeing what he thought he was. Maybe he’d passed out and was dreaming?

  Brent shook his head and blinked a few more times. Yep, Jake was naked in all his glory. There was no way he could stay soft with Jake prancing around naked. His ass was perfect, and his cock—fuck, his cock was something to be worshiped. He’d seen Jake naked before, but he hadn’t been smashed and they hadn’t been alone.

  Though he should know better, Brent tugged off his shirt then kicked off his shoes. There wasn’t any way this wouldn’t end badly, but he sure as heck wasn’t going to stop, not when he had the chance to do naked hot tubbing with the object of his dirtiest fantasies.

  Jake stepped back into the room and held up two towels. “Hurry up. We need to get out there.”

  Brent popped the top button on his pants and closed his eyes, wondering if he was making a huge mistake. Then Jake was there, helping him shove his pants low.

  “Whoa, what are you doing?” Brent yelled.

  “Hurry up. It’s not like I haven’t seen you before. Strip and get a move on. I want to get out there.”

  He drew in a deep breath, glad when Jake turned away, moved to the patio door, and turned on the porch light.

  “Oh my God, the light is bright,” Jake called over his shoulder before flipping off the lights. He moved to the kitchen and turned on the light over the stove and a set of droplights over the sink, which gave enough light he could see the patio. “Better,” Jake said.

  Brent grabbed a towel and held it over his dick, praying Jake didn’t say anything about his hard-on. Then they were out the door, and his dick deflated a bit from the cold.

  This had to be the dumbest thing he’d ever done, but he felt like a boulder rolling down a hill. There was no stopping him. He and Jake were naked, and he prayed Jake wouldn’t hate him after this night.