Loosen Up Read online

  God damn, he looked so sexy. He wore a cocky smile, licking his lips, sunlight slipping through the leaves and throwing a mosaic of light onto his angular face. His bulge made my mouth water and my hole twitch. Knowing he was plugged up too only made this a thousand degrees hotter.

  I looked around and saw no one coming from either end of the trail. I went to Brody and grabbed his hips, pulling him to me as I crushed my lips against his, pushed my cock onto his. I could feel him straining through his shorts, pulsing against me.

  “Fuck,” Brody said. “Can we go back to our hotel now? I need to get your clothes off.” His hands were sliding underneath my shorts, his palms soft against my ass.

  “It’s too far,” I said, a sudden bout of wild lust coming over me. A powerful need struck me hard and fast. I reached my hand into Brody’s shorts and found his cock, feeling a smear of precome streak across my palm as I grabbed him.

  Brody’s eyes were wide, and his mouth formed the shape of an O. He looked around before dropping his head back and closing his eyes as I slowly stroked him and began kissing his neck. My ass tightened around the plug. I could feel it push against my inner walls. It fanned the flames that licked and spread through my insides.

  “Come,” Brody said.

  “I’m trying.”

  He laughed again before grabbing my free hand and starting us down the trail.

  “I think I spotted a… yup, here it is.”

  Brody stopped in front of a lesser-used trail. It was much thinner and way more overgrown than the one we were currently walking on. I knew right off the bat that we’d find some privacy by walking through the branches and bushes. Brody turned to me, his shorts no longer trying to hold him back, the rim of his cock head outlined down by his thigh against the thin fabric.

  “Let’s go,” I said, unable to wait another second. Every step I took moved the plug and sent jolts of shocking pleasure coursing through me.

  We started down the narrow trail, rocks and twigs crunching and snapping under our sneakers. Birds chirped and leaves rustled, but there were no other sounds. No sounds of honking traffic or loud conversations or police sirens. Nearby, a river could be heard trickling over pebbles and around rocks.

  Brody led the way, his ass looking like two basketballs, taunting me every time he had to step over a large branch, stretching the shorts over him.

  The trail began to disappear. That was when we knew we’d gone far enough.

  And we didn’t waste another second.

  Brody and I were on each other like two sex-craved lunatics. Our hands were flying everywhere, our hips were thrusting, our tongues were dueling for space. My toes curled into my sneakers as Brody gripped my bulge through my shorts and squeezed, applying a pressure that was sure to undo me.

  “Drop these shorts,” I said breathlessly, grabbing at the waistband of his shorts. Brody looked around again before pulling his shorts and underwear down, his hard cock bouncing out. I grabbed it, the intense heat passing from his shaft to my palm, filling my body with need. My hole clenched around the plug, making me feel even fuller, making my balls even tighter.

  I gasped. Brody leaned in and sucked on my neck, rutting into my hand.

  I couldn’t take it any longer. I dropped my shorts, exposing myself.

  This was so unlike me. I hated even trying on shoes in public, I felt that weird about taking off clothes. But here, in the relative seclusion of the Vintage Ridge wilderness, with the man of my dreams standing in front of me, hard cock throbbing in the air, it gave me fuel to feed my kinkiest of fires.

  We rubbed ourselves together, kissing and thrusting. The plug pushed against my prostate when I squeezed forward, causing stars to shoot across my vision.

  I opened my legs wider. Brody’s hand moved from my hips, tugged on my balls. I moaned loudly before I snapped my mouth shut, realizing just how quiet it was around us. The sound of nearby running water definitely wasn’t loud enough to cover up the orgasmic shouts that threatened to rip from my throat the more Brody’s hands explored me. He reached between my legs, grabbed the plug. I gasped as he moved it around, his other hand jerking me off slowly.

  I dropped my head back, looking up at the canopy of green leaves, appearing almost translucent underneath the summer sun.

  That’s when I felt Brody’s hand replaced with lips, his warm mouth taking my cock all the way to the back. He looked up at me, his stunning blue eyes meeting mine and taking every ounce of my breath away.

  He blew me, stroking and coating me in saliva, his hands and lips and tongue working some kind of voodoo over me, unraveling me, making me forget all about how we were still in public.

  “That’s it, Brody, oh God. That’s it.”

  We locked eyes again as he smiled, his mouth still stuffed with my dick. His hands were no longer cupping my balls; instead he was feeling around my plug. I could feel him searching for someth—

  The vibrations almost sent me rocketing to space. He had turned on the plug and continued to blow me, a combination of sensations that was just too much for me.

  “I’m gonna, Brody, oh fuck, I’m goin—oh, Brody!”

  I shouted his name into the air. A couple of birds took flight from nearby branches, and it felt like my spirit went along with it, that was how powerful the orgasm that tore through me was. I grunted and locked my knees, the entire rest of my body spasming as I unloaded down Brody’s throat, my hands finding a perch on Brody’s head, moving down to his shoulders as I slowly began to collapse with the force of the orgasm.

  “Fuuuuck, Jordan. I’m going to come.”

  I looked down, watching with smoldering eyes as Brody stroked himself twice before he started to erupt, shooting his come onto the trail, thick white spurts of his seed spreading across the rocks and dirt.

  Moments after our dual explosions, the two of us began to laugh. It was really the only way to adequately express the euphoria that dripped through my veins like morphine. The sound of pure happiness, immense satisfaction.

  I helped Brody up to his feet and rubbed the dirt off his knees, his cock still dripping down onto the trail. I rubbed the leaking tip and brought my thumb to my lips, tasting him, smiling.

  “Fuck,” Brody said, breathless. He came in for a kiss, our softening dicks rubbing together.

  “I need to catch my breath before we start back.” I looked down the way we had come, still not seeing anyone, thankfully. Behind us, I could hear a babbling river, the sound luring us both.

  “Looks like we can rest over there.” Brody pointed between the trees. I could see the river now, and I could see a couple large, smooth boulders we could at least lean against. I just needed anything to take some of the weight off my legs because I felt like all of my joints had been replaced with Jell-O.

  “These plugs really… they make you see fireworks all right,” I said as we walked, our shorts back on but our boners still both visible.

  “I feel like we have to send Ace and Wilder Christmas cards from now on. And Easter and Fourth of July and whatever other holiday they celebrate. I’m fully in their debt for the rest of my life.”

  I laughed as we walked through the trees, pushing away branches and stepping over a fallen log.

  “For real. This is life changing. No wonder everyone in this town is so damn happy all the time!”

  We sat down next to the stream, leaning back on the boulders, both of us still catching our breaths. I felt euphoric. Maybe it was a mixture of the clean air, the risky public blowjobs, and the plug that still filled me, but I didn’t think I’d ever felt better. It felt like the entire landscape in front of me had been painted onto a canvas by an artist who specialized in the surreal. The crystalline surface of the river rippled and danced under the bright sunlight, reflecting the bank of trees on the other side while still revealing the bed of smooth, multicolored pebbles underneath. Birds sang a chorus of different songs all around us, blending with the soft sound of the flowing water.

  “This is perfe
ct,” I said, my hand finding Brody’s.

  “It really is, eh?”

  “And it’s the complete opposite of the vacation I’d been thinking about these past few months.”

  “Is it better?”

  I looked to Brody and smiled wide. “So much better.” I leaned in for a kiss.

  “Good.” Brody looked back out to the river. “I was worried. I wanted this to be an escape for you, not something to stress you out even more.”

  “Anywhere I go with you is an escape, Brody.” I nudged him with a shoulder and rested my head against his. “I’m sorry for being such a negative Nancy these past few months. I’ve just been getting so worn down from work. And I hear myself, and it sounds crazy to me I can be complaining about things that are so much worse, but… it’s really draining me, Brody. And you’ve been suffering because of it, too. I’m sorry.”

  Brody kissed the top of my head. “It’s okay. I get it, completely. And I don’t think it sounds crazy at all. You’re the only one living inside your body twenty-four seven, and if something’s bothering you, then you’ve got to acknowledge it and tackle it head-on.”

  “You’re right. Totally right.”

  A robin with deep red feathers landed on a branch and puffed out its chest as it began to sing a mesmerizing tune.

  “All right,” I said, clapping my hands on my knees after a few more moments of reflecting. “I’m determined to make things better when we get back home. I’m going to make changes, and I’ll figure those out soon. But right now, I want to figure out where the closest bathroom is before this plug becomes an official part of me.”

  Brody laughed out loud at that, scaring away the robin and a couple other birds. “Let’s go, Jordy.”

  “Doooon’t call me that. Especially not after that earth-shattering orgasm I just had. It ruins the moment.”

  “Why?”

  “You know damn well why.” We both laughed. Only my mom ever called me Jordy, and I one thousand percent did not want to be reminded of her right now, with my ass holding on to a plug and my limbs still weak from a mind-bending orgasm.

  Brody got up onto his feet and offered a hand. I grabbed it and he hoisted me up, pulling me into him. He wrapped his arms around me, and I rested against his chest, hearing the rhythmic beat of his heart. A ticking pulse that matched with mine, reminding me of just how intertwined our lives were and always would be.

  10 Brody Winters

  One Week Later

  “Hey, Willow,” I said, waving and offering a friendly smile as we walked past the candy store, Shannon by the open window and spinning a big bowl of cotton candy. The sweet scent of cooked and fluffed sugar filled the fresh air as we passed. Jordan held my hand in his, the two of us chatting about the breakfast we’d just had.

  We had done plenty of exploring during our stay in Vintage Ridge. We loved walking down the shop-lined streets but also discovered some busier sections of the city, with taller, more modern buildings and quite a bit more people. We had discovered a couple of clubs that all seemed to be busy on the weekend, one of them being EVOQUE, a local gay club Jordan and I had spent the night in, getting trashed and dancing to great music and then getting back to our hotel and ravishing each other. There were large parks and great hiking trails, which we had made very good use of. And the college nearby had thrown a few events we checked out, talking to a few of the students and making a couple of friends, too.

  “I’m going to miss that about this place,” Jordan said. “The food’s been sooo good.”

  “The food, the hiking trails, the people. Everything.”

  “You’re right. I feel like everyone here is so happy. I thought I was more of a big-city kind of guy, but I’m really loving Vintage Ridge.”

  I looked around, taking in a breath. We stood on the corner of a street that led down toward a couple of different hiking trails, away from all the shops and businesses. It really was a beautiful city, with a way of life that made me envious. I could see Jordan and me getting back to our regular grind back home and only hating it even more. There was just something about it here. Maybe it was all the green and the nature that created a backdrop behind all of these family-owned stores, devoid of any big-box stores or chain restaurants. There was a charm and a magic to everything the sun touched, and I knew we were going to have trouble finding that same thing when we went home.

  I checked my watch.

  When we went home in less than twenty-four hours.

  But before we boarded our plane (hopefully the correct one this time), there was something I needed to do. I’d been thinking about it for way too long, even though I’d been sure of what I wanted to do from the second the thought entered my mind.

  “Come, this way.” I tugged on Jordan’s hand. We walked down the street, waving to a few more new friends along the way. It was incredible how quickly word spread about the two lost Canadians who’d traded Miami Beach for Vintage Ridge. I was pretty sure there’d been a rumor that we actually flew in on our own private jet after it had to have an emergency landing.

  That one was too badass to deny.

  “Where are we headed?” Jordan asked. “I thought we were going to Ace and Wilder’s for some coffee?”

  “We’ll see them later.”

  “I left my water bottle at the hotel if we’re going on a hike.”

  I shimmied my shoulder and shook the backpack hanging off them. “I’ve got us covered.”

  Jordan grinned at me and kept walking. We were both wearing black gym shorts and a T-shirt, and we applied plenty of bug spray before heading out of the hotel, so the two of us were ready for a hike.

  I just wasn’t sure if Jordan was ready for how I planned the hike to end, though.

  We reached the start of the trails. There was a signpost stuck into the ground, the trails splitting off into four different directions. Each trail had a name and a difficulty level associated with it. I looked for Otterhead Trail.

  “Oh, we’re going down Otterhead, eh?”

  I nodded. “Why? Can’t handle it?” With a shoulder, I nudged Jordan, who took a step back.

  One step too far. The back of his foot hit a large and inconveniently placed rock, sending him falling back. With catlike reflexes I didn’t even know I had, I reached out and snapped my hand around Jordan’s forearm, stopping him from falling back.

  He got back up onto his feet, and I started apologizing profusely.

  “I can’t believe you just tried to kill me,” Jordan said, giving me a deadpan look before his face cracked into a smile. “Relax, you’ve been so tense since we woke up.”

  “Sorry,” I apologized again.

  “Stop.” Jordan playfully slapped my chest. He lifted his chin, pointing down the trail. “Let’s go.”

  I walked behind him as he started down the path, a little bounce in each of his steps. It was so refreshing to see this side of Jordan. It was the same playful, carefree Jordan I remembered meeting at the Blue Pine shelter for our first date. That was the Jordan I had fallen so damn hard for. The one who wore his heart on his sleeve and spread joy with his laughter.

  I’d missed that Jordan. He’d been beaten down by work and lost some of the light he carried inside him, but seeing him regain it over the week we’d spent in Vintage Ridge was exactly what I wanted.

  We walked down the trail, sticks and gravel crunching under our feet. The sound of chirping birds and chattering squirrels surrounded us as the trees became denser. Otterhead Trail wasn’t the most advanced trail, but it wasn’t the easiest either. My research told me that Otterhead Trail was difficult but paid off with an incredible view by the end of it.

  We trudged along, passing by a couple of early-morning hikers heading back into the city for their breakfast. We waved and smiled to each one as we walked, hand in hand, up the trail.

  “I’ve been thinking, Brody.”

  “About what?”

  “Everything. But mostly my job. What I want to do with my life.”

&n
bsp; “Ah, so you’ve been thinking about the small things.”

  Jordan chuckled. “Exactly…”

  “And?”

  “I want a change, Brody. I need it. I’m done hating my life, hating the eight hours I spend tied down to a desk. You were right when you told me I should quit. I was just scared to hear it. Scared to hear the truth. But I want to change it. And I think that after this trip, I think I feel a little more confident about taking the leap into the unknown. I just… I want to make sure you’re there to catch me if I fall too far.”

  “I’ll always catch you, Jordan. No matter from how high you fall. I’ll always be there to catch you.”

  His hand squeezed mine. The trail twisted up ahead, a large bank of trees blocking the view.

  “And I feel so lucky because of that,” Jordan said.

  “So what are you thinking of doing?”

  “Well.” He looked at me, his expressive whiskey-brown eyes catching a band of morning sun. “I’ll quit my job and… well, I want to open up an animal shelter, like the one we had our first date at. I want to find a nice, quiet city like Vintage Ridge, and I want to open up a place where we could rehabilitate and educate.”

  “So, kinda like what Ace and Wilder are doing?”

  “Kind of… I guess? No? Maybe?” Jordan laughed. It was a loud belly laugh, one I hadn’t really heard come from him in months.

  “You already seem so much happier.”

  “I feel so much happier. I’ve already drafted my resignation letter, wrote it up while you were sleeping last night. I’m ready. I want to start this new chapter.” He looked at me, bright eyes filled with hope. “And I want you to be with me, on every page.”

  And then Jordan did something that surprised the absolute hell out of me.

  He started to drop down on one knee.

  11 Jordan Hampton

  I was so crazy nervous. Somehow I managed to keep a calm and collected exterior going on, but inside, I was a complete and total mess. My heart beat against my ribs at an ungodly rate, with the force of a woman named Sharron slamming on a hotel concierge desk and asking to see the manager.