Love Unwrapped

by Hayden Hunt

  And I usually spend a lot of time making sure my private life does not spill over into my public life. It had definitely been out of character for me to spill about my personal problems to a constituent.

  Then again, when I had answered Gene’s question honestly, I hadn’t really been expecting to come into the shelter anymore. I hadn’t thought he’d even see me.

  And I definitely hadn’t expected him to recognize me. I am very rarely recognized out in public. The reality is, people just don’t pay that much attention to who they vote for in their state legislature. Hell, most people don’t even bother voting to begin with. So, this was an odd situation for me.

  But, he did seem like a nice kid. I didn’t really expect for him to tell anyone about what I’d said. At least, not to tell anyone who mattered, nobody in the press. It might be a funny story to tell to family and friends.

  Though, let’s be honest, even if word did get out that my ex had cheated on me, it wouldn’t exactly be news. I wasn’t famous enough for that. Maybe if I tried to run for Congress, or something, people would start caring about me.

  But, I don’t think my career was headed that way, anyway. I like where I am. I enjoy working for my state. I like being able to travel only a few hours for work. It’s a good set up for me, overall. The money isn’t bad, either.

  I got all of Cody’s things set up in my living room as I impatiently waited for Gene to arrive. I also turned on some Christmas music, because, why not? I was in the mood.

  An hour later, my doorbell rang, and I excitedly went to answer it. Sure enough, it was Gene with Cody in hand.

  “Mind if I come in?” he asked.

  “Yes, of course, no problem!” I said, excitedly.

  I knew there would be no problem with my house inspection. My home is immaculate. After I’d bought it, I had poured a lot of money into renovations so that it would be exactly as I wanted it to be. It was my pride and joy.

  ‘Wow, beautiful place you have here,” Gene commented as he looked around.

  “Thank you!” I said, as I went to open the door to Cody’s carrier.

  He immediately leaped out at me, excitedly jumping toward me and licking my face. I swear, I’m in love. He is so positively perfect.

  “Hi, buddy!” I cooed as I rubbed his back vigorously.

  “Aw, you two are so cute!” Gene chimed in. “I can tell he’s going be very happy living with you.”

  “Thank you!” I said, standing up. “That really means a lot.”

  He nodded toward the tree. “I see the decorations aren’t quite up yet, huh?”

  “No, not yet, I got a little distracted this evening going to get toys for Cody here. Though, I’m definitely finishing it tonight!”

  “Aw, how fun. I bet it’s a blast to decorate a place this gorgeous,” he smiled.

  I couldn’t be sure, but I almost got the feeling that he wanted to help me. I mean, he did say earlier that he really loved decorating, right? And I certainly understood that better than anyone.

  He glanced down at his watch. “Oh, I should probably leave you two alone now. I don’t want to intrude on your first night together, and I think it’s pretty obvious there’s no need for me to inspect the rest of the house,” he laughed. “You two have a very merry Christmas.”

  “Thanks, you too!” I answered, chickening out on inviting him to stay longer.

  But, as he stepped toward the door, I was kicking myself. I didn’t really want to decorate alone, either. Obviously, I had initially planned to decorate with my ex-boyfriend, and decorating with a stranger isn’t quite the same thing, but it seems better than nothing. And, Gene genuinely seems like a good guy.

  “Hey,” I stopped him, “would you like to stay and help me decorate?”

  I could see from the grin on his face that this was, indeed, what he wanted to do.

  “That would be fantastic! Thanks!”

  “Awesome!” I smiled back, feeling myself get more excited about it based on his enthusiasm. “Can I get you something to drink? I have a single serve coffee machine, hot chocolate, tea, sparkling water…”

  “Oh, I’m fine,” he said politely.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? Because I was going to make myself a hot chocolate with some peppermint liquer. It’s kind of a Christmas tradition of mine. Are you sure you don’t want some?”

  “Well, if you’re going to make some anyway, then, sure, that’d be great!”

  “Awesome!” I stopped for a moment. “You are 21, right?”

  I very much expected he was. He was baby-faced, but not quite that baby-faced. Still, I had to ask. Because that would actually be very unprofessional of me, to give alcohol to a minor, yikes.

  He laughed. “Yes, of course, I’m actually 27.”

  “Oh, wow, so I’m quite a bit off, then.”

  He may not be baby-faced enough for twenty-one, but he definitely was too-baby faced for twenty-seven, so I was surprised.

  “Oh, don’t worry, I get that all the time. I know, I look young.”

  And he did, but he was also incredibly cute. He had a unique face with a tight jaw line. I could see dark brown shaggy hair poking out from his beanie. Brunettes were my favorite.

  Okay, calm down, Eli. I told myself. You don’t need to be analyzing how he looks. You got out of a relationship literally earlier today.

  That was all true of course, and I did feel a little grimy thinking about how attractive Gene was, just getting out of a three-year relationship. But, fuck it, I can’t help noticing when someone is good-looking. And are there really any rules about how long you have to wait after a long-term relationship to look at other guys? Or, more specifically, is there a rule for when your ex cheated and betrayed you?

  I feel like, whatever the rule is, it becomes null and void when you’re dating a cheating, lying bastard. I had no obligation to stay loyal to him anymore.

  Regardless, though, I know nothing was going to go anywhere with Gene. It was just fun to look. And it would be fun to decorate with him tonight, I’m sure.

  I made us some hot chocolate, poured in the liquer, and then handed it to him.

  “Thank you!” he said. “So, where do we begin?”

  “I was thinking the tree…” I said, slowly. “I’ve got a bunch of ornaments if you want to go through them?”

  “Yeah, let’s do it!” he said, ready to go.

  For a moment, when I saw how excited he’d been I had asked him to stay, I’d almost thought maybe he wanted to stay because of me. But, now, I’m thinking this boy really is just into decorating, based on how fast he’s getting started on it.

  As much as I love decorating, this boy was kicking my ass. First of all, he was like, the king of ornament placement. Like he had some kind of genius for factoring in where ornaments are already placed and putting them in perfectly to get rid of the empty space. My tree looked better than it ever had.

  “You’re, like, really fucking good at this, you know,” I told him, as I grabbed a candy cane and put it on the tree.

  “Thanks!” he said happily. “You know, I actually used to want to be an interior designer once upon a time. Obviously that fell through a little bit, but I still just really love this kind of thing.”

  “Speaking of which, how did you get involved with the rescue?” I asked.

  “Well, I actually first started working there when I was still in high school. When I turned 18, they offered me an assistant management position, and I’ve just been climbing up the ranks ever since. I really love it, you know? I mean, I also hate it some days, too, but mostly I love it.”

  “Why do you hate it’?” I asked.

  “Oh, you know, you just see a lot of awful shit happen to animals working there. There are a lot of animals that get abused, and it’s a little hard to come to terms with. I also see people be great and compassionate, so, it’s one of those situations where you just need to take the good with the bad.”

  I nodded. “I totally understand t
hat. Honestly, it was a little depressing for me to even be there today. All those animals without homes… you definitely have to have a big heart to put yourself through that pain everyday for the good of the animals.”

  He sighed, “Not going to lie, it’s hard. But that’s what I always tell myself. At the end of the day, someone needs to do this job. If nobody does, the animals will suffer for it. And I’ve seen so many people come and go in this job that I know, if I decide to leave, the shelter might not be all that stable. There was a reason they promoted at only eighteen. Even at the higher management levels, the turnover is awful. People just can’t handle it, and I can’t blame them.”

  “Yeah, neither can I. But thank you for sticking with it. Really, you’re doing our community a giant favor and we certainly owe you.”

  I could see him beginning to blush a little. “Why, thank you, that means a lot, coming from you.”

  I sense a little bit of chemistry here, but I’m not sure if it’s in my head, and I didn’t want to make a move that was unwanted, so I continued to keep to myself as I finished my hot chocolate.

  “You know, I think I’m going to have another cup. Do you want any?” I asked.

  “I’m just about done, too, and, yeah, that would be great.”

  I don’t usually have this many sweets, but I really wanted the alcohol. It had been a hell of a day, and I was finding it hard to come out of my shell right now to Gene. I didn’t really want to make small talk while we decorated for the rest of the night.

  As I went into the kitchen, I noticed that Cody was following me! I hadn’t noticed it in the living room, because it had only been a few steps, but now that I had to walk out of the room, my heart melted to see he was coming with me.

  “Oh my god, do you see that?!” I squealed. “He likes me! He totally likes me!”

  “Of course he does! Why wouldn’t he? You’re fantastic.”

  “Oh, stop,” Now I was blushing.

  “No, really! You honestly seem like such a great guy. I have no idea how your ex ever got the balls to cheat on you. If you were mine, I’d never let you go.”

  Okay, there it was, a big enough hint that this wasn’t all just in my head.

  “Ugh, don’t even get me started. He was a pretty fucking selfish guy.”

  “So, why were you with him?” he asked, as I heated up more milk for us.

  “You know, I’ve been asking myself that all day. I used to tell myself that he was sweet, that I was in love with him, that he was a really good guy for me. But, the more I reflect on things he’s done since dumping him, I’m not sure how I ever really thought that. I’m starting to think I just didn’t want to be alone.”

  “Really?” He raised both eyebrows. “Based on your no-fucks-given attitude today, I kind of got the vibe that you’re not the kind of person who minds being alone.”

  I laughed. “I most definitely am. I mean, I was able to have that no-fucks-given attitude today because, ultimately, Josh betrayed me in the worst way. There’s no way I’m going to continue to miss and crave him after finding out that he’s a total liar. But, before him, I definitely felt the sting of loneliness.”

  He keep staring at me as I walked back with his mug of hot chocolate.

  “That’s just so hard for me to believe,” he murmured.

  I laughed. “Really? I’m, like, not a Greek god over here or anything.”

  He laughed, too. “I mean, you are actually really handsome! And I know from when I voted for you, you’re very well-educated, and, obviously, you make great money in the state legislature. You seem like a genuinely nice guy to me. It’s hard for me to imagine a world where a guy like you has a hard time finding a boyfriend.”

  I didn’t even know how to react to this flattery! I wasn’t really one to do too well with compliments.

  “I uh… uh,, thank you,” I stuttered.

  His face sunk. “Oh, gosh, I’m making you uncomfortable, aren’t I?” he asked, in a panic. “I’m so sorry, I don’t meant to be flirting with you but—”

  I chuckled. “No, no, you’re totally fine. I’m not uncomfortable, I’m just honestly caught off-guard by all the compliments. But, really, you’re no bother to me.”

  I started almost chugging this cup of hot chocolate. I needed a little liquid courage – I could feel my social anxiety starting to flare up.

  “Are you sure?” he asked. “Because you totally don’t need to put up with my shit.” He gave a cheeky smile.

  I decided to keep things lighthearted, too. “No, no, by all means, go ahead and keep complimenting me.”

  “Well, I can certainly do that. You make it too easy,” he smiled. “So, can I ask, why politics?”

  “Oh, I don’t know…” I sighed. “I know it’s weird because most kids dream of like being a vet or a doctor, but, for me, I always wanted to be a senator.”

  “Really?!” he chuckled.

  “Don’t laugh! I was a weird child.”

  “What appealed to you, exactly?”

  “I thought of them as like, the heroes of society. The people who make laws that help people. They had all this power to do good in the world. So, I had my heart set on that. Went into policy, got a law degree, did what it took to campaign.”

  “And now you’re one of those heroes!”

  “Not exactly,” I laughed. “I learned that assemblymen aren’t so much heroes as just… eh, men who have a job to do. A job that usually isn’t done very efficiently because of a bunch of red tape. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love my job, but it’s not really what I expected it would be. Honestly, you probably do more good for the world working at the animal shelter than I do in office.” I rolled my eyes.

  “Oh, I’m sure that’s not true!” he answered quickly. “And I think that’s really honorable, that you wanted to go into public service to help people. I really admire that.”

  “Why, thank you. But, you know, that is kind of what you did, too.”

  He thought for a moment. “Yeah, I guess it kind of is… well, I admire the both of us! Look at us, upstanding members of society.”

  “Yeah, look at us.” I said, awkwardly because the way he was looking at me was so overtly flirty that I honestly didn’t know how to react. I swear, I was so bad at getting hit on.

  I didn’t have to be bad at it much longer, though, because, without warning, Gene leaned in and kissed me.

  It was shocking but so nice at the same time! Because, this is what I want to be doing, and now I don’t have to deal with the awkward social tension. We can just move from here.

  Oh, and move from here we did. Seriously, as soon as our lips touched, everything started moving so fast.

  He was tugging at my pants, and I obliged him by unbuttoning them and then reaching for his. Both our pants fell to our ankles as we started grabbing at each others’ boxers, feeling on each other and getting intensely turned on in the process.

  My cock was absolutely rock hard, and, when I touched his, I knew he was in the same boat. He obviously wanted me, though I wondered if it was as badly as I wanted him.

  The question was soon answered when he pulled away from my mouth and got to his knees. Before I even had time to react, he had his mouth sucking on my entire fucking cock.

  I definitely didn’t need a blowjob to get turned on, but I damn well wasn’t going to object. God, his technique was amazing. I’ve never had my dick sucked like this, and I’ve been with a lot of fucking men.

  God, he was so fucking sexy. And I fucking needed this. After everything that shithead Joshua put me through, I needed a release. And I wanted it to be with this man.

  I had to stop him after a few minutes of him sucking me off because I just couldn’t handle it. I was getting way too close to blowing my load, and I didn’t want to do that. At least, not until I was inside of him. I needed to fuck that tight ass.

  I pushed at his shoulders. “Stop, I don’t want to cum yet,” I told him.

  He looked up at me and wiped his mo
uth. “Please tell me you’re a top.”

  I laughed. “I am, bottom?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  Again, we wasted no time. He got on all fours on the couch with his back facing up. My cock was already extremely lubricated by his mouth, but, of course, his asshole wasn’t. So I ran over his tight hole with my tongue and then spit onto it to get it properly lubed up for me. I took a finger and slid it inside him so that he’d be reasonably stretched out to take my cock.

  “Don’t bother!” he insisted. “Just thrust that thing in me!”

  He didn’t have to tell me twice.

  I shoved myself into him and was in immediate ecstasy. I was already so sensitive from the blowjob, and he had the tightest ass I’ve ever been in. It doesn’t get fucking better than this.

  I tried to take it slow as to not cum too fast, but it was hard to do. He was wrapped so tight around my cock, and I felt so good inside him… I wanted nothing more than to come right this very moment.

  But, at the same time, I wanted it to last. I wanted to savor every second that I got to bury myself in this tight ass.

  And, fuck, the way he was moaning underneath me wasn’t helping. He was making the sexiest fucking sounds. It was so hot, but I had to stop it, had to keep myself on the edge of orgasm, so I reached around and covered his mouth as I began to hump him even more furiously. I had to, he was begging for it.

  Even without his noises, though, I couldn’t last. It was all too hot for me.

  I felt my balls tense up against his ass cheeks as I buried my cock to the hilt in him. I screamed out as I began to empty out my load into his warm hole.

  And he moaned, too, once he realized what was happening. “Yes, baby, give me all that fucking cum,” he mumbled, as I shot rope after rope of my jizz into him.

  When I finished it, I pulled out very carefully to try and keep the mess as contained as possible. Of course, that wasn’t going to happen, as I had just let out the fattest load I’ve ever had into him.

  “Oh, shit,” I murmured, “let me get you a towel.”

  I quickly ran to the hall closet and back with something for him to clean off with.