by J. M. Snyder
Fifteen minutes later, the Ferris wheel stopped, and Vic stepped into the empty bucket at the bottom of the ride. Taking a seat on one side, he untangled the shopping bags from his fingers and deposited them in one corner. Matt climbed in as well and sat across from him, their knees bumping together in the close confines of the car. The ride attendant closed the door behind them and latched it, then stepped back as the ride started. They only moved one space--while they dangled a few feet off the ground, the ride stopped again to let the next bucket empty. Vic groaned as Billy and his brother clambered into the car right behind them.
Glancing over his shoulder, Matt saw the two boys, who sat on the same side of the car and stared openly at Vic. With a grin, Matt teased, "You've got a fan club." Then he patted the seat beside him. "What are you doing all the way over there? I thought we were going to cuddle. Unless you plan to use this new power of yours..."
Without a word, Vic moved over to the seat beside Matt. As he draped an arm around Matt's shoulders, he glared at the boys behind them. Directly into Billy's mind, he thought, ::You saw nothing back there.::
The little boy gasped. "Oh my gosh, Brandon--he's telepathic, too! He's like all the X-Men rolled into one!"
Matt cozied up to him. "You should just quit while you're ahead," he murmured. "Forget about him already, will you? Concentrate on me."
That was the best idea Vic had heard all day.
* * * *
The Ferris wheel offered an amazing view--on one side, the ocean seemed to stretch out forever, and on the other, they overlooked the whole island. Matt pointed out Vic's car, a tiny brown pinprick parked in front of the small gray box that was their motel. A stiff wind off the sea whipped his laughter away, and his earlier excitement bubbled over as he recognized landmarks and places he had visited as a kid. "We'll have to go there," he kept telling Vic as he reeled off restaurants and stores and attractions he remembered from his youth. "You'll love their pizza. Oh, and the Hereford Lighthouse. We're going there tomorrow. Oh, and that place has the best ice cream. We can go there tonight."
Vic savored the ride for two reasons: he was off his feet for the first time all day, and he was with Matt. His lover's shirt was warm from the sun and Vic rubbed a smooth spot between Matt's shoulder blades, enjoying the moment alone. The next time Matt leaned across him to get a look at the beach far below, Vic took the opportunity to kiss the corner of his mouth, which curved into a sensual grin. Matt's gaze shifted his way, finally, and the hand on Vic's knee drifted north to cup his crotch. "Is someone feeling neglected?" Matt purred.
"This had been your idea," Vic reminded him.
With a faint jolt, the Ferris wheel halted. Vic felt it stop beneath his feet and buttocks, then the bucket began to swing slightly in the breeze. They were miles above the boardwalk and very much alone. If they were ever going to steal a few moments, this was the time.
Matt settled back into the seat, once again in the span of Vic's embrace. Resting his head on Vic's shoulder, he leaned back, eyes hooded, lips pursed. A hint of pink tongue darted out to lick his top lip, a sexy gesture that spiked Vic's libido. "So," Matt sighed. "Kiss me already, will you?"
Vic obliged. Leaning into his lover, he touched Matt's cheek with the back of his hand; his fingers glancing over soft skin still smooth from Matt's morning shave. With the gentlest nudge, Vic turned his lover's face up to him until their lips met. Matt licked out, tasting Vic, then his hands fisted in Vic's shirt and he pulled his lover to him, demanding. His mouth parted, letting Vic in. ::Can you imagine...::
The thought dissolved into a randy image of Vic kneeling on the seat, nude, hands gripping the steel bars of the Ferris wheel bucket and his ass bared to the air. Matt sat on the seat behind him, also naked, his hands on Vic's hips, his hard cock jutting from the curls at his crotch to poke between Vic's buttocks. As Vic sat back on Matt's dick, the bucket rocked gently with the movements of their lovemaking, and though in reality they were both still clothed, Vic's jeans bit into a sudden erection. As they kissed, Matt asked, ::Now wouldn't that be fun?::
He pressed Matt back against the bars that hemmed them in. ::Oh, sweet Lord, yes.::
The bucket above them creaked; their own car rocked gently in the steady wind. But the noise seemed incongruent with the breeze--metal squealed, and from far away, a thin voice cried out. "Sit down! You're rocking the car, Billy. Listen to me--I said sit down."
And then, urgently, "Billy!"
Vic sat back, a scowl already darkening his face. Damn kids, interrupting them. Lying against the railing, a dazed look on his face, Matt murmured, "We're going back to the room after this. I need a piece of you--"
"Billy!"
The voice rose to a shriek and Vic glanced up to see a round face peering over the railing of the bucket above theirs, mouth open in a perfect O of surprise. It grew larger, wider, until Vic realized the kid wasn't just leaning over the bars anymore but falling.
For one breathless moment, the world seemed to freeze and Billy hung, suspended, in the air. Then gravity kicked in and he dropped, fast. With a whoosh! he fell past them--Vic heard nails scrape against the side of their car, felt it shudder as Billy brushed by. Without thinking, he stood and leaned over the side, reaching for the kid. His cry mingled with Brandon's above. "Billy!"
The kid's scream followed him down.
Energy flared through Vic--it coursed out from the center of his being and raced like wildfire through his veins. He felt his arms lengthen, the bones extending, the muscles stretching. His fingers caught the back of the kid's shirt and Billy's voice cut off in mid-scream, choked as his shirt tightened around his neck.
Behind Vic, Matt's face was buried in his hands. "Oh, God," he muttered. Vic could feel his lover's rapid heartbeat stutter through his own body, Matt's fear adding to Vic's own adrenaline. "Oh shit, oh Christ, oh hell, oh fuck."
For the moment, Vic ignored that. His arms stretched four or five feet in length; his fingers grappled for purchase in Billy's shirt, then found Billy's arms and grabbed hold of the kid. In the bucket beneath theirs, a teenage couple huddled in one corner, lip-locked. Beneath them, a couple of kids pointed at Vic and chattered excitedly amongst themselves. And far below, at the base of the Ferris wheel, a crowd had begun to form.
As carefully as he could, Vic eased Billy into the bucket with the other children. "Did you see that?" they asked one another, and when Billy was dropped into their midst, they huddled around him as if he were a celebrity. "How'd he do that? What happened? Who was that?"
From between his fingers, Matt sighed, "We're fucked."
Even without reading his lover's mind, Vic knew what he was thinking. There went a quiet vacation. Dread curled in the pit of Vic's stomach, and he pulled back, his arms returning to their normal length. With an exhausted sigh, he sank down to the seat beside Matt as the Ferris wheel started again. Their bucket descended with slow precision, carting them to their doom.
* * * *
Incredibly, no one rushed Vic when they climbed off the ride. He got a few odd glances, but there were no reporters hurrying toward him, no police waiting for a statement. Had no one seen a thing? Reaching out with his mind, Vic glanced over the thoughts of those around him and found that most of the people on the ground didn't know what exactly had happened. They had heard Billy's scream, true, but at that height, they hadn't seen anything much. The sun was in their eyes, and the Ferris wheel was so tall, they didn't see the kid fall.
Billy stood to one side of the line, eyes wide, the ring of children around him watching in awe as he recounted his tale. The fall, the catch. But a mother nearby simply shook her head in disbelief. "You kids shouldn't joke about stuff like that."
"It's no joke," Billy assured her. He saw Vic and pointed. "That's the guy who saved me. Ask him."
The woman took one look at Vic's tattooed visage, bald head, and heavy piercings, and promptly snatched two of the kids from Billy's circle of newfound friends. "That's enough," she snapped. "
You're just asking for trouble now."
As she left, Vic stepped up to Billy, Matt at his side. This close, Vic knew he was intimidating, and one by one the other children drifted away. Vic's arms were once again laden down with shopping bags, and Matt held onto his elbow with a death grip, not so much to keep him close but to keep himself from shaking. ::God,:: Matt thought, over and over again. ::If anyone had seen you...::
::They didn't,:: Vic assured him. Aloud, he said to Billy, "No one's going to believe you."
Billy shrugged. "Doesn't matter," he said, frowning up at Vic. "I know what I saw. I know what you did."
Saved your ass, Vic mused, but he kept that thought to himself.
"Vic," Matt murmured. ::I want to leave. Please.::
Vic let Matt pull him away, but they only got a few steps before Billy called out, "Thank you, whoever you are! Your secret's safe with me!"
People turned to look at them, curious now. Some secret. Vic glared ahead and followed Matt back to the motel.
J. M. Snyder
An author of gay erotic/romantic fiction, J. M. Snyder began self-publishing gay erotic fiction in 2002. Since then, Snyder has released several books in trade paperback format and has begun exploring the world of e-publishing, working with both Aspen Mountain Press and Amber Quill Press. Snyder's highly erotic short gay fiction has been published online at Ruthie's Club, Tit-Elation, Sticky Pen, and Amazon Shorts, as well as in anthologies by Aspen Mountain Press and Cleis Press. A full bibliography, as well as free fiction, book excerpts, purchasing information, and exclusive contests, can be found at: http://jmsnyder.net
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