Cody felt around the mattress for his cell phone. Still
foggy with sleep, he had almost forgotten he wasn’t in his own room as he
registered his hand had closed around his phone on the wrong side of the bed
and a shower in the adjoining bathroom came on.
Blinking
awake and stretching, he also registered that his body ached in several
pleasant places that hadn’t been touched in a while. Hell, he couldn’t remember
the last time he’d been fucked in so many different positions—or fucked at all.
Could it really have been years? Being home hadn’t led to celibacy, by any
means, but he hadn’t been with a man, especially one who’d been able to take
his time, in long enough he’d almost forgotten how much he enjoyed that feeling
of still being full the next morning.
The
night had been wild. One phone conversation with his dad had made him grumbly
and feeling the need to do anything but sit in the room and let his bad mood
ruin his vacation. He’d gone down to the hotel restaurant, and after eating his
feelings, he’d wandered out onto the cold deck, enjoying the chilly, salty
breeze rolling off the Atlantic.
Fuck
his dad and his brother’s “Could have been you” text messages with
photos of Hawaiian tropical scenes and the boat they’d be having their
Thanksgiving dinner on. Cody regretted nothing. His family could wallow in
splendor all they wanted; he loved the cold, and he loved the Outer Banks this
time of year. Sure, he enjoyed the beach in the summer as much as anyone, and
Hawaii would be a nice trip. One day. When he could do it for himself.
But there was something magical about the windy, deserted beaches and having
the warm, ocean-front hotel to yourself—at a steeply discounted price since it
wasn’t peak tourist season.
Or so
he’d thought. He caught movement in his periphery and noticed a man stretched
out on one of the few outdoor chaise lounges, looking up at the stars in a sky
that was surprisingly clear after a stretch of cloudy, gray days. Almost every
night since he’d arrived, Cody had come out on the deck, and since all the
outdoor seating had been moved to corners and chained down for the off-season,
he’d always been the only one crazy enough to brave the night air. It was November
in North Carolina, so it’s not like it was freezing in general, but even
with the sun high in the sky the heavy wind off the ocean was…bracing.
The
guy sat up, and in the lights coming from the glass doors and windows of the
hotel, it was plain to see he was hot. Like hot. He was definitely older
than Cody, probably in his thirties, with dark hair shorn close to his scalp
and a big, broad body. When the man stood and stretched out the kinks, Cody had
to look away because he definitely had been staring as all six-plus-feet of the
guy unfolded. Cody was no shrimp at an even six-feet-tall, and he hit the gym
enough to have some nice definition. But this guy was… Cody would say that guy
wouldn’t have trouble manhandling Cody in some fun ways.
Cody
picked up the takeout cup of tea he’d carried outside, because the guy noticed
him suddenly with a quiet “Oh.”
“Hi.
Sorry. Didn’t see you there,” Cody said. “Just came out for some air.”
“Don’t
worry about it. I think I fell asleep.” The guy grumbled something about being
old, but the majority of what he said to himself was carried off on the noisy
wind.
“I
envy you if you can sleep in this. It’s so quiet here that people walking down
the hall sometimes wakes me.”
The
guy gave a cute grin and said, “You’d be surprised what I can sleep through. I
love it out here, in the cold, though. Don’t get it much where I’ve been.
Thought I was the only one who braved it.”
Cody
smiled in return. “Funny, I was thinking that exact thing.” The guy leaned
against the deck railing on the opposite side of the stairs to the beach from
where Cody perched, and they both stared out at the ocean quietly for a long
while. Cody cast a few side glances the guy’s way, consciously trying to avoid
being obvious but enthralled by the guy. This was the south, after all, and the
guy screamed blue-collar with the kind of muscles you got from hard work. He
wore baggy jeans, a hunter green fleece pullover, and work boots, all of which
were effortlessly attractive on his large frame. Cody knew well that none of
those things meant someone was straight any more than his skinny jeans, pea
coat, and carefully groomed hair meant that he was not straight.
On
about his third subtle glance toward the man, he’d caught the man giving him
the same glance though. No. Surely not. Wishful thinking maybe. The guy was
probably wondering why Cody hadn’t fucked off already. There was a fine line
between hanging around because you paid to stay in this hotel, too, and staying
to check out a straight man who would toss you down the steps because he’d
caught you looking at his big, muscly butt in those outdated carpenter jeans.
Cody
laughed at himself for assuming, again, that those were the only options here.
But he’d been having such weird luck lately, he didn’t put anything past the
universe at this point. He decided he should definitely go inside, though, at
least until the guy went somewhere else.
But.
He looked back toward the guy again, and he was giving that cute grin, one much
too shy for a guy that size. It turned him from smoking hot to pretty fucking
adorable, and Cody had to stop himself from staring again. “I’ll just, uh…” He pointed
toward the indoors. He grabbed up his to-go cup, but the guy said, “I was just
going to go…stretch my legs a little. You don’t have to go.”
Cody
tilted his head, wondering if that was an invitation. Even if it had been, he’d
been silent, unable to think of a response too long, so the guy’s smile morphed
into a slight grimace, and he gave a little two-finger salute before clunking
quickly down the stairs.
Cody
watched for a little while, still able to make out the guy’s silhouette in the
bright full moon’s light as he slowly loped down the beach until he was too far
to be seen. Cody shook his head. Wishful thinking. Or he’d just blown it.
Whatever. He was off his game anyway, after that annoying conversation with his
dad.
What
else was new? And he hadn’t tried to pick up or been picked up by a man in long
enough that he was rusty on the subtleties that dance required outside of a
hookup app or a specifically LGBT space.
He
didn’t stay outside much longer since he seemed determined to beat himself up
over letting his shitty mood and his family situation ruin yet another facet of
his vacation. He made his way back inside and pulled up to the bar in the
dining room. All that was left at that point in the evening was a single
bartender and the one waitress who’d taken care of him for dinner earlier.
They’d been in a corner together, playing on their phones and gossiping until
the waitress noticed him and nodded in his direction. The bartender smiled and,
tucking his phone in his back pocket, came around to ask Cody “Hey, man, what
can I get you?”
He
held up his paper cup, removing the lid. “Can I just get a refill on hot tea?”
Because this was the south and you had to clarify, even in the winter.
“Sure
thing. English Breakfast, Sleepy Time, or just the Lipton black tea?”
“Lipton’s
fine.”
“No
problem,” the bartender replied, pulling a sugar caddy and a bowl of creamers
from under his bar. When he came back with a cup full of hot water with a bag
steeping, they settled up and Cody went to stand. “You can hang here if you
want. Despite how it looks, we’re open for another three hours.”
Cody
glanced at the empty dining room. Half the room’s chairs were up on the tables
and behind a rope, but the booths and tables nearest the bar were still open.
“Yikes. Three hours?”
The
bartender laughed. He was closer to Cody’s age, maybe twenty-five at the
oldest, and his laugh made his face scrunch up in a really cute way. “You know
how it goes on the off-season. But they pay us hourly, so I don’t mind. You
just holler if you need anything.”
Cody
smiled and waved him off. He sat, sipping his tea, warming up after his time
outdoors. He wasn’t ready to go back to his room just yet, so he watched the headlines
on a cable news channel on the TV behind the bar. He occasionally glanced at
the bottles that lined that wall, as well, and was annoyed how much his shitty
mood made him want to get lost in something other than his sugary hot tea. But
no. Even his dad being an asshole wasn’t worth backsliding.
Pulling
out his phone, he rolled his eyes at yet another photo of his brother and
sister-in-law on jet skis. His brother didn’t mean to be an ass. He was
nowhere near as bad as their dad. But he was obliviously insensitive sometimes.
He definitely didn’t understand letting pride get in the way of their dad
paying for the family to go to Oahu for Thanksgiving. And he had been loud about
how dumb he’d thought Cody was being.
No.
Cody let his dad shame him into a lot of things; his pride had taken a big
enough hit just moving home last year instead of going…anywhere else like he’d
planned. No, he still had some pride, and now that he had survived and done
well in his first year at his first adult job, he was clinging to the
independence he finally felt again.
A
person settling into the barstool next to him had him locking his phone and
putting it down. No way was he going to sit and whine with a stranger to
witness. But he blinked, felt his brows go up when he saw the sexy/adorable
older guy from earlier taking the place next to him.
The
man glanced at Cody, that cute grin again, and Cody took in his cheeks,
pinkened from the cold. The man rubbed his big hands together to warm them as
he propped his elbows on the bar top. His hair wasn’t as dark as Cody had
thought outside, was actually probably blond when it grew out. His skin was
that golden tone some natural blonds had. Cody figured his first guess about
the guy being in his thirties was close because the guy didn’t have that soft
look guys his age usually had. The man had no baby fat, his features strong,
but still youthful. Cody had to stop himself grinning when he thought DILF.
The man wasn’t wearing a ring, though, and his big green eyes held an
interesting mix of hope, shyness, and a loneliness Cody could absolutely relate
to.
He
also hadn’t broken eye contact with Cody the way straight guys do when they’re
just being friendly. No. He held for a beat, looked off shyly while the man
rubbed the stubble on the back of his head, and then he glanced back. “I don’t
mean to be presumptuous,” the man said.
Cody’s
chest fluttered, and he felt warm in a way that was decidedly not from
his tea or the central heating. But he didn’t want to get ahead of himself. The
man could totally mean what Cody hoped he meant. Boy howdy would that be a much
better distraction than ruining his sobriety. But the guy could also just be
seeking a little human interaction in this ghost town of a hotel.
The
guy was starting to look embarrassed now it’d taken Cody a moment to answer.
But two times in one night? Cody wouldn’t blow this, just in case. So… “No. No,
it’s cool. You can sit here.” He looked down and then back up through his
eyelashes. “If I can buy you a drink.” An oldie, but a goodie as far as being
blunt about his meaning if the guy was interested.
The way the man’s face lit up, his smile
unbearably warm and happy, did funny things to Cody’s insides. He let out his
own breath of relief when the guy exhaled loudly, running his hand over his
smiling face and said, “Oh, thank God.” He seemed to pull himself together.
“Sorry. I don’t normally approach strangers like this. Not in a long time. But
here you are.”
Cody
tried to make light of it. “A port in a storm, they might say.”
The
man studied him, curiosity creeping into his gaze. “No. It’s not because we’re
the only two here. Surely you know how beautiful you are?”
Beautiful?
Now Cody was blushing. And Cody did not blush. The sincerity in the man’s
gaze kept him from scoffing or saying some self-deprecating thing. He chose to
take the words for what they were. Kind. And clearly signaling attraction. “Me?
I haven’t been able to take my eyes off of you since I saw you.” Cody wasn’t
always quite that forward, but he was glad he had been because the soft,
pleased expression on the stranger’s face was worth it.
Doubt
slithered into those smiling green eyes, though. “I’m…a lot older than you.”
That
made Cody smile, and maybe rolling his eyes wouldn’t prove he was super mature,
but he had to say it. “I’m old enough. And if you’re over forty, I’ll eat this
paper cup.”
The
man rolled his eyes in an exaggerated tease. “Old enough, huh? But you’re
right. I’m not quite there yet.” He eyed Cody then nodded toward the to-go cup.
“Not old enough for booze?”
Cody
stiffened but didn’t break eye contact when the man looked back at him. “I’m
old enough. I just don’t drink.” Anymore. But he wanted to get in the guy’s
pants, not marry him. “I also have a degree, salaried job with benefits, and a seven-inch
dick. Anything else you need to know?” Whoops. Sassy Cody came out to play. But
before Cody could even think about feeling dumb for it, he saw the way the
man’s eyes flared. Then the man laughed out loud, and it made Cody want to fuck
him and hug him at the same time.
“Okay,
Mr. Adult.” The man held out a hand as if to shake. “I’m Jase.”
Cody
took his big, work-roughened hand in his, and it was warm and strong. The
thought of that rough hand, that tight grip on his cock. Damn. “Cody. Nice to
meet you.” Cody decided if forward was what got this guy off, then it was time
for a little more of that. Shaking his hand once more for emphasis as he smiled
and looked Jase dead in the eye, he said, “So. You want that drink now, old
man? Or do you want me to go shake other parts of your body now?”
Jase’s
nostrils flared, smile grew mischievous, grip firmer. “Your room or
mine, kid?”
