Str8te Boys Read online

  “Duke…” Maverick was exasperated. He was still half-erect, having never achieved a release, and now his roommate’s big hard body pressed against his side ensured that he wasn’t going to be able to get back to business until Duke fell asleep. At least he’d had the presence of mind to pull his boxers back up when Duke had come in the room.

  “Sorry, man, were you jerkin’ off?” Duke’s breath was warm against his neck.

  Mav stiffened. “None of your business, roomie.”

  “Hey, it’s no big deal, Mav. Everybody does it.”

  “Duke…” Mav put an extra note of warning in his voice.

  “Fine.” Duke sighed and let it drop. “We’re almost outta here, ya know?” His deep voice was soft and thoughtful in the darkness. “Not long before we walk.”

  “Yeah.” Mav sighed too, his exasperation forgotten in the realization that soon he wouldn’t have his best friend to be exasperated about any more. The thought made him sad—much sadder than he would have expected. Like he was cutting out a part of his heart and leaving it behind.

  “Ya know, I was thinkin’,” Duke continued. “I mean, I know you got accepted to pharm school up in Tallahassee and I’m s’posed to be goin’ to business school to get my MBA but wouldn’t it be great if I got accepted to Tallahassee too? I mean, we could keep rooming together, ya know?”

  “It would be nice,” Mav acknowledged. “But Tallahassee isn’t Cornell. Isn’t that where you’re going?”

  Duke shrugged. “Cornell is mostly my old man’s idea anyway. My mom doesn’t care—told me to go where I want and do whatever makes me happy.”

  “Man, your mom is seriously cool,” Mav said in admiration. He wished his own parents were half as open-minded as his best friend’s mom.

  “Yeah, I know. So whattaya think about what Ev said? About that website?” Duke changed the subject again, his warm breath puffing in Mav’s ear as he shifted his position in bed. “I mean, it sounds like an easy way to earn cash, right?”

  “Well, yeah,” Mav said cautiously. “But it also seems like the kind of thing that could come back and bite you in the ass. Like what if in the future you have a job interview and the guy who’s hiring you has seen your pictures on a gay website?”

  “Then he’s gotta be gay himself or else what is he doing lookin’ at that kinda shit in the first place?” Duke answered promptly. “Hell, he’d probably be more likely to hire you instead of less.”

  “Well…” Mav could scarcely deny his friend’s logic on that point. “But what if your parents saw it?”

  “It would give my old man a heart attack—no question. But that’s a good thing,” Duke said comfortably. “My mom would think it was hilarious and she’s the only one I care about. What about you?”

  “Well, my dad would be upset and my mom would cry,” Mav said, thinking about it. “But I’m sure if I explained they’d get over it.”

  “Explained…?”

  “That I’m not really, uh, gay. You know.” Mav felt his cheeks heating up again as he remembered what had happened between him and Duke earlier. Man, it should be totally strange to be so close to the guy right now. Duke’s head was on his shoulder and one large, warm hand was splayed out on Mav’s chest, right between his nipples. In fact, he did feel a little weird—his cock was hard again and before Duke had gotten under the covers with him, it had been barely half-mast. What was going on?

  Duke blew out a breath. “Well…I wish you’d think about it, man. I just, I know it’s my fault we’re behind on the rent and it’s not fair for me to ask you to help but I sure as hell can’t ask anybody else to do this. I mean, c’n you imagine what Enslow would say if I asked him?”

  Mav snorted laughter. “Yeah. You better not do that.” Richard Enslow was one of the other guys on the USF soccer team—and he just happened to be extremely homophobic. Once when the gay Es had come to congratulate them after a winning match, Duke had actually had to throw a punch in order to keep him from going after them and bashing them. It hadn’t been a pretty sight and Mav was sure Enslow would be the first guy to yell “fag” if the team somehow found out about their unusual sleeping arrangements. Not that they ever would. Enslow was one of the few people who wasn’t welcome at their apartment.

  “So whattaya say? Will you do it?” Duke’s deep voice was hopeful. “I mean, it looks really easy. Just a lot of holdin’ hands and staring deep into each other’s eyes. We could do that much for a few bucks, right?”

  Hell, we were practically doing that much earlier, Mav thought uncomfortably. A helluva lot more than that, in fact. “Well, all right,” he said at last. “But no funny stuff.”

  “Funny like when you kissed me earlier?” Duke’s voice was full of teasing and Mav knew his roommate was just kidding.

  “Hey, I was just doing my best to beat you at gay chicken,” he said, refusing to rise to the bait, even though his heart rate had doubled when his best friend mentioned the weird kiss they’d shared. “And I think it’s clear I’m the new champion, too,” he added. As soon as the words were out of his mouth he knew he’d made a mistake. Why did I say that? There’s no way Duke can pass up a challenge. But it was too late.

  Sure enough, Duke rolled up on his side and looked down at Mav again, his brown eyes gleaming in the darkness. “You challenging me to a rematch, roomie?” he asked softly.

  “Depends,” Mav heard himself say. “Are you talking about a rematch from today…or from the other night?” He held his breath, wondering what Duke would say about that. Would he be confused and ask what Mav was talking about, or would he actually admit he’d been lucid that night, not drunk?

  “Maybe…maybe both,” Duke said at last, after a long silence had passed. “You wanna play?”

  “Maybe,” Mav echoed him. “What are the rules?” His cock was throbbing for release now, aching as it had been the other night when Duke had touched him. In fact, he was suddenly so hot he felt like he was going to burn a hole through the sheets. He didn’t dare ask himself why.

  “I think we should up the risk factor,” Duke murmured in his ear. “Make it like…double dare extreme gay chicken or something like that. You know?”

  “How do we do that?” Mav’s lips felt numb with excitement.

  “Gotta get naked,” Duke decided after a moment of thought. “You wanna do it?”

  “Sure, I guess.” Mav’s casual words belied the turmoil he felt inside. God, shouldn’t be doing this! But he was already skinning out of his boxers and Duke was doing the same beside him.

  “Now what?” he asked, as soon as he was completely naked under the covers.

  “Now…since you’re the champion and I’m the challenger I’ll start,” Duke decided. “I’m gonna touch you. If you give, I win, just like usual. ’K?”

  “Uh-huh.” Mav’s heart was thundering in his ears and his cock was aching. He could feel the warm wetness of precome beading at the slit of his broad head and he could barely breathe he was so turned on. When was the last time he’d been so hot? He couldn’t remember ever feeling this way, feeling like he was going to explode if his friend didn’t touch him soon.

  “Okay.” Duke shifted beside him and suddenly a warm hand was gripping his shaft under the covers. “Too gay for you, buddy?” Duke breathed.

  “Huh-uh. Not really,” Mav managed to whisper. He was trying to hold still, trying not to thrust into his friend’s hand, but it was damn hard not to when every instinct in his body was shouting that he had to thrust, that he needed to come.

  “How about if I do this…” Duke started a slow, sensual stroke along the hard ridge of his cock. “While I do this…” He leaned down and kissed Mav lightly on the mouth.

  Mav parted his lips at once and Duke’s tongue was there, probing delicately, licking hungrily. He groaned, unable to help himself, as the warm pleasure of his friend’s hand on his cock became unbearable. Duke swallowed the soft sound eagerly and stroked harder, more urgently.

  God, can’t believe he�