Puzzle Me This (5 page)

“I knew there was a reason I bought those earplugs,” Alex said.

Chapter 4

L
UKE
knew it was setting a dangerous precedent not to go home that night, but he really liked holding Alex and he felt… good there. It felt right. So when Alex invited, Luke followed him into the bedroom and stayed. When he woke up, it was early morning. Alex was already awake, looking out the window at a dismal downpour, his eyes vacant.

“Gee, that rain looks treacherous. Guess Trevor will have to wait ’til it clears,” Luke said dryly. He pulled Alex’s back against his chest.

“Muddy ground, accidents happen,” Alex agreed. “Best not to risk it.” Even though he was joking, his smile was sad.

“What are you thinking about?”

It took a moment for Alex to answer. “I was thinking about Billy.”

“The kid? The goat?”

Alex chuckled. “No, Billy Smith. He’s in my Wheels and Meals group. We get together once a month at someone’s house and have a potluck.”

“Sounds like a scream. So what about Billy Smith from Wheels and Meals?”

Alex hesitated to answer. He was playing his fingers over Luke’s forearm as it lay against his waist. Luke told himself it was silly to feel jealous, but he could tell there was something about this story that bothered Alex.

“Billy is a really sweet kid. He’s twenty and he has cerebral palsy. He hasn’t got it that bad yet, but he’s a little twisted to one side and has tremors. The thing is, he really likes me. Imagines himself in love with me, in fact. But I could just never find him attractive.”

“So? You’re allowed.”

“I know.” Alex sighed deeply. “But… I hurt him. I figure someday my payback will come, you know? Karma. It’s a bitch.”

“Hey. What do you mean?” Luke pressed softly.

Alex shifted his head to meet Luke’s eyes. “He wasn’t good enough for me, right? And I’m not good enough for… a lot of people. It’s all like a hundred-layer cake, isn’t it? This guy over here is at tier twenty, and this other guy is at tier fifteen, and ne’er the twain shall meet. And sometimes a tier twenty might dabble with a tier eighteen for a bit, but the tier eighteen is in for it eventually. Because that’s how it works. Everyone wants something better than themselves or at least the equivalent. It’s human nature.”

“What are you talking about?” Luke said, getting a little bit angry at what the closed-off look in Alex’s eyes was implying. He sat up.

“Look, it’s at least ten points off for the chair. I know that,” Alex insisted.

“Jesus Christ.”

Alex pinched his lips together so hard they were white, as if trying to take the words back. “Sorry… I. Don’t listen to me. I can’t help it. You know, logic puzzle guy. I think about these things.”

Luke huffed.

“You’re just so… attractive and smart. You could date anyone.” Alex’s expression was sad and shut-off and goddamn resigned. “Like that guy you brought home that one night. The biker. He was hot.”

Something twisted in Luke’s chest. “That’s why you stopped sending me puzzles, isn’t it?”

Alex shrugged. “You could have anyone.”

The idea that Alex had been watching out his window, saw him with that meaningless one-night stand, and had, in that moment, given up trying to contact him, that they might never have connected…. Well, that just really sucked. And Luke didn’t like the darkness dragging Alex down. He responded the only way he knew how—with humor.

“Are you
kidding
me? I think you need a new eyeglass prescription. I am a total computer-science nerd.”

“I thought we’d established that we’re both nerds. Besides, your hair alone could win you a prince.” Alex tugged on Luke’s long yellow locks.

“It’s true, I do have righteous hair,” Luke agreed archly. “But half of that is down to product. And anyway, look at you!” Luke waved his hand at Alex’s upper body. The sheet was down to his waist and the glory that was a mature twink’s iron-pumped, smooth-skinned, chiseled-abs torso was arrayed in all its glory. “I’m like Stan the Stick Man compared to you! You have a rack!”

Alex looked down at himself. “I do not have a rack. Women have racks.”

“
You
have a rack, Alex. Let’s be honest here. And let’s not forget
this
force of nature.” Luke squeezed the sizeable bulge under the sheet. “You’ve got at least two inches in length and a good inch circumference on my admittedly impressive member. It’s a well-known fact that in the gay world every inch counts as a tier level, so that’s three tiers on me right there.”

Alex was trying hard to hang on to his sour face, but he was fighting with giggles now. “You are
insane
.”

“Yeah, well, we haven’t gotten to the worst of it yet… you haven’t seen my feet!”

Alex propped himself up to look down the bed, where Luke’s legs were tangled in the sheets. “Well, come on, then. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

“First you must don the protective goggles,” Luke said seriously.

“Luke!”

“Very well. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Luke whipped back the sheet to show his naked toes.

Alex stared. “They
are
a bit hobbit-like.”

“Told you.”

“But they’re certainly not worth a chair. At least you can cover them up most of the time.”

“Ah, but you haven’t seen me
eat
with them.”

Alex gasped and nearly choked. “God, no! Okay, you’re right, you win. You
are
at a lower tier than me.”

“Actually, I can’t eat with them,” Luke admitted. “I can hold a fork with my toes, at least I could once, but I’m not flexible enough to get it to my mouth. I tried when I was twelve. I’d just seen
Freaks.
”

“You have
no
filter. None.” Alex fell back onto the pillow and covered his face with his hands, gasping with laughter.

“That’s true. It’s a design flaw. Dings me at least two tiers.”

Alex’s hands stayed over his face, his shoulders shaking. At first, Luke thought he was still laughing, but when it didn’t stop, he realized something was wrong.

“Hey, Alex?” he asked softly, trying to pull his hands away. “Everything okay?”

Alex wiped his eyes, which were red and wet. He took a deep, shaky breath. “You’re so goddamn nice to me. I can’t figure out where you came from,” he said earnestly.

“Um… I’m the guy you seduced using crossword puzzles? You should really have that memory of yours tested.” Luke gently tapped on Alex’s forehead.

“Are you ever serious? What I’m trying to say is, I… I don’t want to get used to you.”

Luke nodded thoughtfully. “Okay.”

Alex sighed. “What a stupid thing to say. What does that even mean?”

“Listen, I like you and you like me, and I’m
particularly
fond of having sex with you, so why don’t we just see how it goes?”

“Yeah,” Alex agreed, taking a calming breath. He smiled. “What were you just saying about sex?” He pulled Luke down into a kiss. His mouth was hot and salty from the tears, and he kissed with a desperate passion that had Luke hard in about five seconds.

“Are you ready
again
? You slut.” Luke teased as he broke away to nuzzle into Alex’s neck.

“Mmm. Said the man whose hard-on is poking me in the stomach.”

“Oh, I’m
definitely
a slut.”

“Good. Because there’s an excess three inches over here with your name on it.”

“
Mine,
” Luke growled, rolling Alex onto his back.

Chapter 5

S
EPTEMBER
and October went by quickly. At first, Luke tried to play it a little cool, he really did. But Alex’s face would light up so goddamn sweetly when he came over, and Luke soon stopped pretending Alex’s apartment wasn’t exactly where he wanted to be. Alex had never been to his place because he was on the upper level, and steep concrete steps were the only way to get there. Besides, Alex’s apartment was outfitted with everything he needed to get by—an extrawide shower with bars, a low counter and sink in the kitchen, and pull-down cabinets. It became routine that Luke would work all day at his own place and then spend the night at Alex’s. He started bringing Trevor along so the poor dog didn’t have to be alone. Trevor accepted the rug next to Alex’s bed as his spot with only a few doggie grumbles.

Sometimes Alex would cook something simple like spaghetti, and sometimes Luke would pick up take-out. As the fall progressed, it got dark earlier and earlier, so they didn’t get out much. Sometimes they read—Alex preferred real books, while Luke was always on his iPad. Sometimes they played games. And sometimes they watched movies, alternating between Alex’s collection and Luke’s.

Most of the time, they never made it all the way through whatever it was they were doing. Because when Alex was sitting on the couch with Luke, he was just so cute and solid and warm, and it was impossible for Luke not to touch him, to put an arm around his shoulders or a hand on his leg or run fingers through his hair. That would inevitably spark a slow burn in a pair of brown eyes. Alex would stroke Luke’s hand with a finger, or turn to kiss his cheek and linger, exhaling softly. And then Luke would be right there, totally turned on, and he’d have to taste Alex’s mouth. And then one or both of them would moan and that, as they say, was that.

Frottage was a mutual favorite. Luke would lie on top of Alex and squeeze some lube over both of their cocks. The smooth-gliding friction as they slipped against each other’s erection and belly while kissing long and deep, well,
damn
. It was so good it was hard to imagine anything better. Unless it was Alex wrapping one of his strong hands around them both. The sight of their two slippery heads moving in and out of Alex’s fist, the feeling of Alex’s stiff shaft rubbing against his frenulum, was so erotic it always made Luke finish embarrassingly quickly.

One night they sat on either end of the couch and watched each other masturbate. And the next, they took turns masturbating each other, mimicking the moves they’d seen each other use. It was hot as hell.

But nothing could really compare to the way Alex gave head. Alex loved to shove a naked Luke back against the arm of the couch and lie down on his belly between Luke’s legs. He was so beautiful like that. Luke would look down to see Alex’s thick brown hair and broad shoulders glowing in the lamplight, and just the hint of Alex’s delectable white ass farther down. The sight alone could practically stop Luke’s heart. And while Luke was enjoying the scenery, Alex’s mouth ravaged Luke’s cock. Alex was fearless and unrelenting, slipping Luke’s erection into a cheek and down his throat without a trace of gag reflex. If he used a hand at all, it was only to steady Luke at the base. His tongue never stopped stroking and coaxing, even when he sucked hard, and his rhythm and timing were perfect. All Luke could do was stare and try as hard as he could to last more than a couple of minutes.

After one such session, with the face of Obi-Wan Kenobi frozen on the TV midmovie, Luke leaned back his head and tried to still his racing heart. “That’s it. I’m starting a petition to make blowjobs an Olympic event. Because
you
, my friend, would win gold.”

Alex giggled. “I can imagine the corporate sponsors now.”

“How can you
possibly
be that good? I mean, seriously. Was it the English teacher?”

“Um… no.”

There was something loaded in Alex’s tone. Luke looked down at him quizzically. Alex daintily wiped a trace of come from the corner of his mouth and gave him a sly smile.

“What?”

“Remember how you said you tried to eat with your feet when you were twelve, but you weren’t flexible enough?”

“Yeah?”

“Ever try to do anything else at age twelve related to flexibility?”

Luke thought about it. “Uh… yeah. Didn’t work though.”

Alex grinned at him evilly. He held Luke’s softening cock and gave it a wicked lick from base to tip.

“You cannot!” Luke said in disbelief.

“
Oh
, yeah.”

“All the way?”

“Yup. I’m double-jointed—everywhere. I don’t know if it’s related to my birth defect or not. I never quite worked up the nerve to ask my doctor about it.”

“You lucky dog!”

Alex looked smug. “The Lord taketh away and the Lord giveth.”

“Damn, I want to see you do it! That would be so hot!”

Alex shook his head. “Oh, no. That’s, like, a ten-year anniversary reward or something.”

“What?! Are you saying I have to marry you to get to watch you perform autofellatio?”

Luke was teasing, but Alex suddenly looked embarrassed. “Who said anything about marriage? Our first date was August 10th, so you have nine years and nine months to go. At a bare minimum, we both have to still be breathing, and you have to be in my good graces at the time this offer expires.”

“Is this like the tier thing? Can I knock off months with good behavior? Flowers? Trips to Mexico? Unrequited blowjobs?”

Alex tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I’m negotiable.”

“Oh, man,” Luke moaned. “Make a list. Please.”

They lay there content for a few minutes. Luke couldn’t help picturing it. In Technicolor. “Dammit, that is
so
worth the chair,” he finally said.

“It really isn’t. I’d much rather go hiking up Henneman Hill with you and Trevor every morning.”

Luke thought about it some more. “Okay, but it’s
close
.”

“Yeah,” Alex admitted with a satisfied smile. “It is.”

O
N
H
ALLOWEEN
Alex hosted a Wheels and Meals potluck at his apartment and invited Luke. Luke could tell Alex was excited about introducing him to his friends. Alex’s sister was going to be there, and Luke was nervous about meeting her. He rejected his first three costume ideas as being too nerdy and ended up going as a noir detective in an old brown suit, skinny tie, and a fedora he picked up at a thrift shop.

Alex was dressed as a vampire, and he looked so hot when he opened his apartment door, Luke got a little hard. His dark hair was slicked back and his skin whitened. He wore kohl around his eyes and his lips were blood red. His white shirt had a flounced front open almost to his navel, and his pants were tight and black. A red-lined satin cape completed the look.