Moments in Time (18 page)

“But would it stop her from getting hurt? That’s all I want.”

“Agreed. Maybe Dex and Maggie are just friends who are a little too touchy-feely. That could be all that’s going on.”

Peals of Maggie’s laughter sounded as Dex tossed her into a wave and dove in after her. They came up kissing again. It looked more than “touchy-feely” to me when they wound up on the sand together, still attached at the mouth.

“You don’t think Wendy will feel really stupid if we don’t say anything and she finds out?” Maybe I was projecting. I’d feel like an asshole if Tanner were hooking up with some guy and I was the last to know of all my friends. I didn’t even want to imagine how bad that would make me feel. I didn’t want that for Wendy.

“I know you want to play knight in shining armor here, but I’m asking you not to. I don’t know exactly what their friends-with-benefits rules are for the summer. Let’s not make trouble where there may not be any, okay?”

“Okay.” Benefit of the doubt. I could do that. Although my doubts got stronger with each rolling wave.

They were still kissing. You might roughhouse with your friend or wrestle around, but kissing was a step beyond that. I hoped it was just the power of Tanner’s drinks making their judgment a little shaky. By morning, when they were both sober, they’d have to see that even an FWB thing wouldn’t work while they were housemates. Not with Wendy visiting every weekend and everyone under the same roof.

Warm arms wound around me, behind my back, up to my neck. Tanner’s lips hovered in front of mine. “Let’s say we forget about them. We can go the long way back, through the tall grass, behind the dunes.”

He kissed me, soft at first, then deeper. I forgot there was anyone else in the world, let alone on the same beach.

When Tanner pulled back, the grin on his face had my full attention, except for the part of me that was focused a bit lower. “It’s very quiet back there. Super private. We could look at the stars.”

I knew stargazing wasn’t his top priority. And I was hard from the mere suggestion that we sneak off together. Hell, yeah. Dunes, tall grass, sand in all the wrong places? Sounded perfect to me.

I’
D NEVER thought about the fact that I hadn’t lived with any woman other than my mother, until I moved into a house inhabited by three of them. At first I’d thought it was mostly a difference of more attention to decor and way more products in the bathroom, but the longer I lived in the house, the more I realized it was everything. The TV shows recorded on the DVR, the types of snacks in the kitchen, and the magazines. I’d never seen so many magazines. Fashion. Beauty. Gossip. I didn’t realize people even still read magazines.

Part of the suck factor of Tanner working at Oz while I worked at Dorothy’s was that our shifts didn’t match up. Even when I worked dinner, I was home several hours before him. I couldn’t hang out at Oz until my birthday, which was still a few weeks away, so that left me with time on my hands on more nights than I would have liked. Spending time alone was risky. It was too tempting to check e-mails. Or worse, answer them. Both my brothers were still sending regular messages, and there was nothing I wanted to say to either of them. Not yet, at least.

Most nights I’d take walks on the beach. It was peaceful by the water. I loved the sound of the waves rolling in and out. Before I’d moved to Fire Island, I’d never been to the beach at night. We’d taken day trips when I was a kid but always headed home before it got dark. I loved the soft, cool feel of the sand under my feet.

Other nights I’d just hang in the living room watching TV with whoever was home. One night a magazine headline caught my attention. “Manscaping: Boner Bonsai.” I laughed but had to admit I was curious. Between sharing a bathroom in a coed house and living on the beach, I’d seen more half-dressed bodies in the past few weeks than I had in my life. It was clear that lots of guys had had work done, so to speak. Smooth waxed chests were everywhere, and the low-riding board shorts usually showed enough to indicate that they weren’t growing any dense shrubbery down below either.

No one else was in the room, so I picked up the magazine. Makeup ads. Perfume ads. Then there was the article. A guy with a shocked look on his face as a girl ripped a wax strip off his hairy stomach. That looked scary as hell.

“Care for the hair down there….” Okay. I read four pages of quips and suggestions for grooming.

I knew Tanner trimmed. I loved the way his body looked. Loved the line of silky dark hair pointing from his waist to my favorite part of his body. The neat patch of short dark hair atop his cock. His balls were smooth and hairless, although I didn’t know if they were that way naturally or not.

I was so blond, I didn’t have a ton of hair to worry about. But still. Would he like it better if—

“Whatcha readin’?” Wendy leaned over the back of the couch, right over my shoulder, scaring the shit out of me.

I closed the magazine as fast as I could, but she’d already seen. She climbed over the couch and settled in next to me, then offered me the cup of M&M’s she was munching from. I took a handful, sure I was the same shade as the red ones.

“Thinking of doing some maintenance?”

“Can we not discuss this?”

She snorted. “Do you have any idea how much grooming women do? We’re hair removal experts. What are your plans?”

My jaw twitched, and I popped M&M’s in my mouth to keep the tendons in my neck from snapping. “I don’t have plans.”

“Well, you should. No one wants a mouthful of hair. Especially if a long one gets stuck in your teeth or the back of your throat.”

She made a gagging sound, and I looked around to make sure we didn’t have an audience. Thankfully no one else was around.

“There’s not that much.”

“I didn’t think so. You’re so fair and all. So what are you doing? Just some pruning? Maybe an arrow?”

“He knows the way just fine without directions.”

She giggled. “Don’t use scissors, too pointy and too hard to get it even. Do you have clippers? You know, like for cutting hair?”

I sighed. She wouldn’t leave until we’d talked this out, so I figured I might as well get the advice. “My electric razor has those plastic attachments for different length beards.”

“Perfect. Use one of the shorter ones. You’ll love it. And those keep you from cutting yourself. Just take it off if there’s anywhere you want, you know, a closer shave. And try to hold the skin taut, it makes it less likely to pinch or pull.” I flinched at the thought, and Wendy laughed again. “You’ll do great. Oh, and use a mirror for the parts that are hard to see. It’ll make your life way easier.”

“Thanks.”

She grinned, then hopped up from the couch. “I’m gonna go wake Dex. He’s in a sex coma from this afternoon, but he’s gonna have to get over that.”

“Go get him.”

“You bet I will. I’m only here two days, he’s gotta be a sexual camel the rest of the week. I need to make sure his hump is full.”

She winked at me and practically skipped up the stairs. I didn’t really know what she saw in Dex. I mean, he was nice enough, but he didn’t really do anything. Ever. I’d never seen him go out. He seemed content to read on the hammock, go for a swim, and sit on the deck or in his room strumming random chords on his guitar. The only thing I’d seen him show any real interest in was Maggie. The only time I ever heard him talk was when she was around.

Whatever he had going for him, Maggie seemed to like it too. I’d seen them spending more and more time together since the night they’d made out on the beach. Maybe they had a lot in common. Who knows? Obviously he and Wendy had something going for them or they wouldn’t have lasted two years. I repeated Tanner’s advice in my head.
Stay out of it.

I glanced at the magazine cover again, then at my phone. Tanner wasn’t due home for about an hour. That seemed like enough time. Before I could chicken out, I stood and headed upstairs.

M
ANSCAPING SOUNDED simple enough when I read about it. It seemed a lot more complicated once I was standing naked in our bedroom.

Just trim, don’t shave yourself bare. How hard could that be? I snapped the clipper attachment onto my electric razor and leaned back staring down at my pubes. Combing my fingers through them, I sucked in a breath, flipped the switch, and took a pass at the blond curls. They drifted to the floor around my feet like feathers. Nice and steady. Right side. Left side. My cock got hard from the combination of being held and moved from side to side along with the vibrations of the actual trimmer. I took off the plastic guard and went to work at the hair that climbed the base of the shaft. Zip, Zip. Zip. And it was all gone.

With a Kleenex I swept up the scattered bits of hair on the floor, then ventured toward the full-length mirror inside the closet door. I looked up slowly, not sure what to expect.

I sucked in a deep breath. I’d never really looked at myself naked before. Not more than a passing glance in the mirror after a shower. Standing there, fully erect, dick looking at least two inches longer than usual without the cloud of pubes around it, I couldn’t stop staring.

I propped one foot against the doorframe and got the first-ever view of my asshole. My dick twitched. I ran a finger past it, feeling the fringe of hair.
I can do this.
Bracing against the frame, I turned the razor back on. Holding my breath, I ran the razor gently over the skin.

I tested the area with a light pass of my fingertips. Smooth. Then I gave my cock a stroke. Just one stroke. I wanted to see what I looked like touching myself.

Only I didn’t stop at one stroke. One became two, which became three, and before I knew it, I was watching myself jerk off. When the door to our room opened, I nearly fell into the closet before I realized it was only Tanner. I still hid behind the partially closed closet door.

The grin on his face told me he had already guessed what I’d been doing. He tugged off his shirt and tossed it onto the bed, then came up behind me. His nose ruffled through the hair at the back of my head, and he kissed my neck.

“I missed you.” He ran his fingers down my back, hard enough I’m sure they left red trails.

My cock stiffened more. “Yeah?”

“Uh-huh. So, how’s your night been?” Tanner asked.

I could hear the smile in his voice. “Boring?”

“Definitely not boring. Hot.” His hands slid around my waist as he pressed himself against my back. He was still wearing his shorts, but I could clearly feel how hard he was. Warm fingers stroked my shaft, and he leaned to the side to watch in the mirror. “Do you have any idea how fucking hot you look jerking off in a mirror. First off, you’re watching yourself, which is sexy as fuck. Second, there are two of you. Which is probably the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”

I swallowed hard. I loved when he told me he thought I was sexy. It wasn’t how I thought of myself. My cheeks flushed, and this time instead of just feeling it, I could see it too.

“Jesus.” My hand went to my face.

“So warm.” Tanner’s lips grazed my cheek. “I love it when you blush.”

His hands trailed down my neck, and he followed the path with his lips. “First your cheeks turn red, then it spreads down to your neck. Then when you’re really excited, like when you’re getting ready to come, your neck gets redder and your whole chest turns pink.”

“Really? Every time?” I had no clue.

“Yep. That’s part of how I know you’re about to come.”

The fact that he knew that, that he paid close enough attention to know that, made me blush harder. It also warmed me in a way I couldn’t quite explain. He cared enough to notice those things.
He loves me.

Tanner brushed his fingertips over my newly trimmed bush. I held my breath, waiting for a reaction. “Nice. Less between us now.”

I swallowed hard, trying not to pant.

His hand swept under my balls. “Didn’t trim these yet, I see.”

“Ran out of time.”

“You want some help?” He kissed his way down my chest.

With Tanner down on his knees in front of my erection, he could help with anything he wanted. “Sure. If you want.”

“Give me the clippers.” He blew into the blade and turned it on, then tested it against his hand. “Yeah, let’s not use this. Give me a sec.”

He got up and walked over to his dresser, rooted around, and came back with a different razor. At least I thought that was what it was. It was silver and cylindrical and looked like a saltshaker. “This works better. Stay really still, okay? You trust me?”

I nodded. Nervousness coursed through my body, but I did trust him. He’d never hurt me on purpose.

The sound made me more anxious than anything else, so I concentrated on Tanner. The intent expression on his face. The shadows the dark wings of his eyelashes cast on his beautifully sculpted cheeks. The way his tongue kept flicking out and wetting his lips. He wanted my cock in his mouth, I could tell. I needed it to be there as much as he did.

The razor wasn’t off for more than two seconds before he had one of my balls in his mouth, then the other, then licked up my shaft like it was a goddamned Popsicle. I stared down at him, then met his gaze.

“Don’t watch here,” he said. “Watch in the mirror. Stroke yourself while I suck your balls.”

That was an offer that was impossible to turn down. My fingers glided back and forth as I watched in the mirror. Watched myself. Watched Tanner. When I got closer, he stood and stripped, then came up alongside me, pulling me into a kiss—a kiss we could see in the mirror with our eyes open. He rubbed his cock against my hip, then moved behind me, rubbing himself against my ass.

I spread my legs wider, and he slipped a hand between them, stroking my balls and my ass. Then he switched his fingers out with his cock. Wetness made me jump. Not lube, just precome from his erection. He didn’t press in, just massaged the head of his dick back and forth over my taint and hole until I was so hot and bothered I could barely breathe.