by Active Duty- Gay Military Erotic Romance [Cleis MM] (retail) (epub)
Doug produced a cell phone from the pocket of his shorts, and he had Gideon type in his phone number and address.
When Doug got up off the grass, Gideon stood up. His back twinged in protest, and his legs felt crampy and unsteady.
“Do yourself a favor,” Doug said. “Take a long, hot bath instead of a shower. In fact, take all the baths you can before you ship off to Basic. You’ll miss them. Even if you’ve never taken a bath before in your life, you’ll miss not being able to.”
He gave Gideon another quick kiss, and then he jogged off the track in the direction of the parking lot.
Seven o’clock tonight. Gideon actually had a date, and with a private first class at that. He wondered if Doug took his dog tags off when he fucked.
Gideon picked up his backpack with a groan and headed off toward the parking lot at a much slower rate. With any luck, he’d find out about the dog tags tonight.
Doug showed up at five to seven with a pizza box in one hand and a six-pack of beer in the other.
“We can still do a movie,” he said, when Gideon let him into the apartment. “I just haven’t had pizza like this in a while, and I had to drive right by the place on the way here.”
The pizza was from a locally owned Italian restaurant that was one of Gideon’s favorites. Even still in the box, it smelled delicious. His stomach rumbled. It seemed like he’d worked up a pretty good appetite with all the exercise.
“Pepperoni,” Doug said, as he put the box down on the little coffee table in front of Gideon’s sofa. “I figured that was a safe bet.”
“Sounds great.” Gideon sat down on the sofa next to Doug. “So what’s the food like in the Army?”
“Not as bad as you’d think, but not as good as you’d like.” Doug opened the lid of the pizza box and grabbed a slice. A long string of cheese dripped off the end. “Nothing like this, though,” he said, and caught the end of the cheese with his tongue.
Gideon chuckled and grabbed for his own slice of pizza.
“I’ve been wondering,” Doug said, after he finished off a second slice. “Gideon’s kind of an unusual name. Is there a story that goes with that?”
“Not a very interesting one. I was named after the Gideon Bible. Apparently I was conceived in a motel room on prom night.” When Doug raised an eyebrow in surprise, Gideon shrugged. “There’s something to be said about not over-sharing. I could never convince my mom of that.”
Although, to be fair, Gideon’s mom and dad had both been more than supportive when he’d told them he was gay. For a while, he’d thought they were going to be militantly supportive, but he’d finally got them to agree not to march in any gay pride parades on his behalf. He didn’t want to be special because he was gay. He just wanted to be who he was, like everybody else was free to be who they were.
“I was named after General Douglas McArthur,” Doug said. “My dad’s greatest hero.”
Something about the way he said that made it sound like a phrase he’d heard often in his life, and not under happy circumstances.
“So I guess he’s happy you’re in the Army then,” Gideon said.
“I get a Christmas card and a birthday card from him each year, and that’s it.” Doug took a long drink from his beer, then put the can down on the table next to the pizza box. “He didn’t react well when I told him I was gay.” He turned toward Gideon and smiled. “But enough about that. Are you going to want to catch a movie? Or are we…?”
Doug let the end of the sentence trail off, but Gideon knew well enough what he meant. They were both here for sex. The food and drink and conversation had been a happy surprise, as far as Gideon was concerned.
“I think I’m good,” Gideon said. “What do you have in—” Doug didn’t let him finish the sentence. He leaned in and kissed Gideon hard, but unlike the kisses at the park, this one wasn’t quick.
The man knew how to kiss, Gideon had to give him that. Doug kissed with barely banked passion, all hungry lips and thrusting tongue that Gideon sucked eagerly into his mouth. Doug’s hands cupped the sides of Gideon’s head, and his body pushed against Gideon until he was flat on his back on the sofa with Doug on top of him.
By the time the kiss ended, Gideon was as out of breath as he’d been at the track, and his cock was rock hard.
“Wow,” Gideon said. “They teach you that in the Army?”
“I learned a lot of tricks in the Army.” Doug nipped at the skin on Gideon’s neck, not enough to hurt, just enough to make him shiver. “Want to see?”
“Looking forward to it.”
“Okay, then.” Doug got to his feet in a smooth, athletic gesture that Gideon’s sore body envied. “On your feet, soldier.”
It took Gideon a little more effort to get off the sofa, but he managed.
“Take that hot bath?” Doug asked.
He had. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken a bath instead of a shower, but soaking in hot water had done wonders for his sore legs. His back was going to take a little longer before it quit being angry at him.
“Great suggestion,” Gideon said. “Thanks.”
“You might need another one later. I intend to teach you what being a hard-bodied Army grunt is all about.”
Gideon blinked. “Are you serious?”
Doug grinned at him. “Nope. I just don’t get to use lines like that too often.” He took Gideon’s hand and squeezed it. “Now where’s your bedroom?”
Gideon had changed the sheets on his bed that afternoon after he got out of the bath, just on the off chance that Doug wanted more action than a blow job on the sofa. He hadn’t had another guy in his bed in a long time, and he’d gotten in the bad habit of washing his sheets only when he remembered, which wasn’t all that often.
“Smells like fabric softener,” Doug said, when he flopped on the bed to pull off his shoes. “You do that just for me?”
“Better than how it normally smells in here.”
“Hey, I normally live around a bunch of sweaty, smelly guys,” Doug said. “Which, by the way, doesn’t hold a candle to what a poopy diaper smells like. Babies, man. I don’t know why anybody would want them.”
By now Doug had both his shoes off and had stripped off his shirt. His upper torso was as well muscled as his legs, with only sparse hair across his chest and a narrow treasure trail leading down past his naval. His dog tags still hung around his neck.
“Why are we talking about babies?” Gideon asked, stripping out of his own clothes.
Doug stood up and unzipped his pants, shucking them and his underwear down his legs in one fell swoop. “Because I babble when I’m nervous, and I’m always nervous when I undress in front of a guy for the first time.”
From where Gideon stood, Doug had nothing to be nervous about. His belly was flat and tight, the notches of his hips looked like something out of a fashion magazine and his cock was thick and heavy and beautifully cut. He could have been a marble statue of a Greek god, had the Greeks actually let their gods be well hung. And well freckled.
“Yeah, I see why you would be,” Gideon said. “You don’t tan at all, do you?”
He smiled to let Doug know it was just a joke, in case Doug was sensitive about his freckles.
“Hey, rubber legs, I’m just glad I’m stationed in North Carolina these days. When I was in Afghanistan, I had a permanent sunburn.”
Gideon made a mental note to ask Doug what it had been like overseas. He wanted to know, just in case that’s where he ended up, but for right now he had other things on his mind.
Like finding out what Doug’s cock tasted like and exactly how big his hard-on would get.
And paying Doug back for teasing him about his legs.
“Rubber legs?” Gideon arched an eyebrow.
“Better than chicken legs. Half the kids coming out of high school have these little sticks for legs. You, on the other hand…”
Doug bent over like he was going to inspect Gideon’s legs up close and personal, which wou
ld have put his head level with Gideon’s cock—not a bad prospect, considering Gideon’s cock was at about half-mast—but then he grabbed Gideon around the waist and straightened up, and Gideon found himself bare-assed in the air over Doug’s shoulder with his head hanging down Doug’s bare back.
“Hey!” Gideon said, laughing in spite of his odd position. “You want to put me down?”
Doug smacked him on the ass with one hand, again not enough to hurt, just enough to send shivers through Gideon’s body. “Just wanted to show you that if you’re going to practice carrying around a lot of weight, there’s better ways to do it.”
“Okay, I get it. Can you put me down?”
This time Doug caressed his ass, his palm smooth on Gideon’s skin. The shiver that coursed through Gideon’s body was more pronounced this time, and he was pretty sure even Doug could feel it.
“That’s one trick I learned,” Doug said, as he dropped Gideon on the bed and crawled in after him. “The smack sensitizes the skin for the caress that follows. Just like this”—Doug nipped Gideon’s neck again—“sensitizes the skin for this.” The soft lick with his tongue produced another shiver.
Doug pressed Gideon back against the sheets as he moved his way down Gideon’s body, nipping the skin and following each gentle nip with a soft lick or kiss. When he got to Gideon’s nipples, the nips were followed by sucking that shot shivers of excitement straight through to Gideon’s cock.
By the time Doug had worked his way down to Gideon’s navel, Gideon thought he might come before Doug even got to his cock.
“You’re driving me nuts, here,” he said. “I want to taste you.”
“And I want to feel the inside of you,” Doug said. “You got any lube?”
“Nightstand drawer. Condoms are in there, too.”
While Doug reached over to grab the supplies, Gideon shifted around on the bed until Doug’s cock was in his face. It looked as hard and needy as his own cock felt. He wrapped his lips around it and took it deep in his throat, and was rewarded when Doug’s body shuddered in response.
“Slow down,” Doug said. “I want to fuck you, not come in your mouth. That work for you?”
Gideon let the thick cock fall from his mouth. “Yeah. Oh, yeah, that definitely works for me.”
He hadn’t been fucked in a long time. Usually he was the one doing the fucking, but he had no objections to another guy’s cock inside him. Especially when the guy knew what he was doing, which, by the way Doug was playing with his ass, was definitely the case here.
Not only was Doug finger-fucking him like a pro, he was sucking on Gideon’s balls and pressing the fingers of his other hand in just the right spot to make Gideon see stars behind his closed eyelids. Gideon couldn’t help himself. He grabbed Doug’s balls and started kneading, and took Doug’s cock back in his mouth. He felt like he was going to come any second, and he wanted to make Doug come, too.
“God, you’re a vacuum cleaner,” Doug said with a groan.
He jerked his hips away from Gideon, and the next thing Gideon knew, he was on his back with his feet up in the air on Doug’s shoulders. He watched as Doug rolled a condom on his own cock, still wet from Gideon’s mouth.
“You ready?” Doug asked.
Gideon nodded. He was more than ready. He was so ready he felt like he might fly apart.
Doug didn’t thrust in hard, but took it slow, adjusting both their bodies until Gideon arched his back and cried out. “Oh god, yes,” Gideon said. “Right there.”
“Hang on,” Doug said, his voice tight with tension and need. “Here we go.”
Doug took two more easy thrusts to let Gideon get used to his girth, and then he starting pounding away in earnest.
Gideon couldn’t remember the last time he’d been fucked like that. Maybe he’d never been fucked like that. Doug kept hitting the right spot inside him over and over and over again until Gideon felt like he was nothing but sensation and need and the tight, hot feeling of an incipient orgasm that would be the best of his life if it ever got there. He realized at some point that Doug had a tight grip around the base of his balls, and he wondered if that was another trick Doug had learned in the Army.
He wanted to come so bad. He opened his eyes to look at Doug. That muscular, freckled chest was glistening with sweat, the dog tags bouncing around his neck, and Doug’s face was flushed with effort, but still he kept pounding into Gideon.
“I need to come,” Gideon told him. “You’ve got to let me come.”
Doug grinned at him. “That’s all you had to say.” He let go of Gideon’s balls and wrapped his fist around Gideon’s cock.
Three solid strokes later, Gideon came. His entire body seemed to clench as he grunted his way through the most intense orgasm of his life. He was dimly aware that Doug had quit thrusting and instead had buried his cock as deep inside Gideon as he could get.
“Shit,” Gideon said, once his brain started working again. “Holy shit.”
“Yeah.”
Gideon felt Doug slide out of him, and he dropped his legs off Doug’s shoulders. He watched as Doug tied off the condom and threw it in the wastebasket next to the bed.
“That was pretty incredible,” Gideon said, as Doug flopped down on the bed next to him. “I think you’re right. I am going to need another bath.”
“Me, too. You gave me a workout.” Doug leaned over and kissed Gideon on the shoulder.
“My tub’s pretty big,” Gideon said. “If you want to share, that is.”
“I could do that.” Doug turned over on his side like he had at the track. “When did you say you’re going to MEPS?”
“Two weeks.” Gideon turned toward Doug. “How long’s your leave?”
“Another ten days,” Doug said.
Gideon trailed a finger down Doug’s chest, playing connect the freckles. “Anything else you think I should know about Army life as a not-so-young, gay enlisted man?”
“Yup.” Doug grinned. “A lot of stuff.”
“Sounds like it might take some time to teach me.”
Doug’s grin got wider. “About ten days, I think. You good with that?”
“Yes, sir,” Gideon said with a smile.
READY RESERVE
Logan Zachary
Every July, I returned to active duty to play solider once again for the last two weeks of the month. The reserves met, and I was back to the Army. I threw my duffle bag on the ground as I locked my Honda Civic’s door and headed to the barracks.
Sweat dripped off my brow and burned my eyes as I crossed the parking lot. The first day was always difficult when the guys regrouped. Everyone talked excitedly about their children and wives. Being a single, gay man in the Army should have been better after Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was repealed, but it wasn’t. I was in my midforties and still unmarried, so I tended to worry about how the other guys perceived me. The confirmed bachelor seemed to be an extinct being.
The sun baked down on the asphalt, making waves of heat rise up. I doubted the barracks were air-conditioned, and if they were, the AC would suck. The units tended to give out more noise at night than cool air. If I was lucky, there would be plain fans to circulate the air.
There were always a few nights of camping and sharing a pup tent with another guy. Hopefully, the heat would break, or at least the evenings would cool off.
I opened the door and entered the blast furnace. I saluted the man with the clipboard and gave him my name: Staff Sergeant Thomas Clay reporting for duty.
I found my locker and quickly made my bed. All my gear was stowed and ready for inspection or whatever they had in store for us. Every summer it was the same and different. We were assigned a buddy to spend the two weeks with. We did everything together and shared the living space.
Sometimes we were paired with guys we knew, and sometimes, due to vacations and transfers, we met a new solider. This year I had a new partner, Sergeant Joe Harris. I hoped he wouldn’t be a talker. Telling me his entire life story and
expecting me to spill my guts to him. Whatever happened to loose lips sink ships? I’m sure the Navy wouldn’t share their motto with us. Or showing me picture after picture of his kids, his dog, his wife, his boat, his…
I ran my hand over my new buzz cut. I had gone to the little Korean man at my neighborhood barber shop and told him to scalp me, before the service did. Twelve bucks for a haircut: very cheap for Minneapolis establishments. I always gave him a twenty. A nice tip, and he was always happy to see me.
The sun had bleached my blond to almost white, and my skin was golden brown. I worked construction all summer as I was off my regular teaching job. Three months to either fix my place up or get hired out to fix someone else’s. I wished my teacher’s salary was a big as a pro athlete’s, but the reserves added to my net worth.
Once all was unpacked, I headed over to the mess hall and waited for dinner. Guys milled around, and I recognized a few. I ate quickly and headed out to the night, hoping to catch a cool breeze. But the evening was dead silent, except for the frogs and the crickets that prayed for rain.
Sergeant Harris lay across his upper bunk working on the daily crossword puzzle when I came in for the night. He wore a loose-fitting T-shirt and sweats. Standing, he offered me his hand. “Nice to meet you, Thomas. I hear we’re partners for the next two weeks.”
His hand was warm and firm as he took mine. He shook it with power and authority, but not with pure power to show me how strong he thought he was. His hair was dark brown with a slight curl to it. Blue eyes, even white teeth and what appeared like a muscular body. He topped out at six foot even, five inches taller than me.
“Nice to meet you. You’re a lot taller than I am. Would the bottom bunk work better for you?”
Harris smiled as he let go of my hand. “If you’re fine with this body lying above you all night, I’m fine with it too. I’d hang over the end of the bed above or below you.”
Images flashed through my mind, as I struggled to keep them in check. I yawned and pointed to the bathroom. “I’m about ready to call it a night.” I moved over to my locker to get my toothbrush and paste.