Switch Pitching (Off the Bench #1)

18. James

18

JAMES

Rewind six hours, and if anyone told me I’d make out with my best friend, I’d say one thing: “Fuck off, that’s ridiculous. I’m straight .”

I’d say the same to any suggestion of the events that followed said make-out session.

That I’d kiss Ethan again? Fuck off.

That I’d rut against his dick? Fuck off.

That I’d ask him to take out said dick, and then jerk him until he’s within seconds of coming all over his abs? Fuck off.

That I’d like any of that?

Fuck. Right. Off.

But tonight is full of surprises, apparently, because not only did I do all that, and enjoy it, now my dick is out, and Ethan is about to blow me.

What the hell has gotten into?—

I don’t get to finish that thought because Ethan is engulfing my length, and holy shit, he’s making my head spin. My hand closes into a fist around the back of his hair as his throat clenches around the tip of my cock, sending waves of ecstasy pulsating out from my core.

This is ridiculous. It’s like I’m getting blown for the first time all over again. What Ethan is doing with his tongue along the underside of my shaft is like nothing I’ve ever felt before, and it’s enough to make me forget that the best head of my life is coming from a guy.

Surely the fact that Ethan, my best friend, my teammate, a literal-fucking-dude, is the one blowing me should make my erection deflate, right?

Nope. I’m still rock hard as Ethan works his warm, talented mouth along me, saturating my cock and making me squirm like I’m being exorcised. Because that’s what it feels like. Ethan is wresting my release out, every flick of his tongue along my shaft dragging me closer and closer to the edge, every firm twist of his hand making me lose my mind just a bit more.

“Don’t stop,” I whisper. “Whatever you do, don’t stop. This is fucking insane.”

But then he does.

Ethan releases my dick with a crisp pop, and it slaps against my stomach. The feeling of his mouth is gone, and I’m left wanting, no, craving it back.

And then he returns, planting teasing, frustratingly gentle kisses along my shaft. My breath catches in my throat, waiting for Ethan to take me into his mouth again.

When he circles the tip with his tongue, I glance down and see Ethan looking up at me, his green eyes hooded with lust. I slam my own eyes shut and grit my teeth. This is too much.

“Come on,” I plead through a breathless sigh. “Give it to me. Please.”

Without a word, Ethan complies, relaxing his jaw and taking me all the way back until the short, trimmed hairs at the base of my cock brush against his upper lip.

My shaft starts to pulse, and my balls tighten as the pressure in my core starts to build steadily. Heat radiates out from my groin all throughout my body as I inch closer and closer to the point of no return.

“Ethan.” I cry out as he starts to fondle my balls. “I’m gonna?—”

My muscles clench as the first burst of my release rips out of me, shooting into Ethan’s soft mouth. I let out a strangled yell, my body melting into the mattress, the force of my orgasm burning through every vein, every capillary. Ethan’s throat gently squeezes my dick, caressing the last of my load out of me.

This post-orgasm high is high , and I’m floating without a care in the world. My brain is out of commission, and my breaths are heavy. For some reason, I find myself smiling, no, laughing, and I cover my face so Ethan doesn’t get the wrong idea.

The last thing I want is for Ethan to think that I’m laughing at him.

His voice cuts through the foggy blur in my head. “James,” he calls out.

Slowly, I bring my arms down and meet his intense gaze.

“Are you okay?” he asks, with an edge to his voice.

He isn’t trying to be funny, but I burst into full-on laughter. I can’t help it.

“Jesus fuck,” I sputter. “That was fucking wild, holy shit.”

“Are you okay, though?”

I close my eyes. “Oh yeah. Doing great,” I say, latching onto a pillow and hugging it tight.

Calm, quiet darkness floods my mind, and I try to fight off the looming tiredness. Falling asleep after mind-blowing sex is a dick move, but it’s no use. I sink into the mattress and just like that, it’s lights out for me.

Gasping, I jolt upright.

This isn’t my room.

Of course it isn’t.

I know I didn’t have anything to drink yesterday, but my head is spinning.

Yeah.

Last night was interesting. Awesome, for sure, but I don’t know what to make of it.

Until last night, I’ve been completely sure of myself and my identity. I always thought of myself as straight. Like, I’m definitely into girls and I rolled with that without even giving dudes a second thought. I’ve been tight with guys in the past, but I don’t remember ever wanting to maul them like I did with Ethan last night.

And I really, really want to maul him again. Last night was easily some of the hottest sex I’ve ever had. Nothing compares to the head that Ethan gave me. Talk about explosive, holy crap. Just thinking about his mouth closing around my dick is making me hard again. He unlocked things that I didn’t know I was capable of experiencing.

Sighing, I run a hand through my hair while trying to make sense of everything. My heart races as I grapple with the weight of what all this means, while my core burns with the memory of last night’s sex.

I grew up in Toronto. My parents were supportive of everyone, and I always knew that not being straight was a thing. I have a ton of gay friends. Given all that, why is now the first time I’m realizing any kind of attraction to dudes? Do I actually like guys, or is it just Ethan?

Having sex with another dude doesn’t make me gay, but having sex with another dude and liking it might disqualify me from being straight.

Ethan grunts next to me, which snaps me out of my spiral. He’s turned away from me, still asleep, but I’m unable to resist sliding closer.

I place a hand on Ethan’s shoulder and trace down the muscles of his wide back, settling my hands in the center of his waist and giving him a gentle scratch. He lets out a heavy, content sigh. He’s so cute.

Ethan stirs and rolls onto his back, giving me a full view of his athletic torso. Mindlessly, I rest my head on his pecs and nuzzle the thin layer of hair below my cheek. Ethan mumbles something in his sleep, his voice low and husky. His long eyelashes flicker and then he blinks a few times while fixing his tired gaze on me.

“Hey,” he mumbles.

“Morning.”

There’s a gentle peace between us and I’m torn about breaking it, but I have to say something. “So, uh, about last night…” I start, pushing myself up.

Ethan’s ears blush red. It’s adorable. Just like everything else he does. Fuck. My mind is racing again.

I think over my words as much as I can before continuing. “It felt great. I definitely need to figure some stuff out, but last night was hot .”

Relief fills me when I see his pretty mouth curve into a soft smile.

“Yeah, it was,” he says. The edges of his eyes crinkle a bit and it’s so endearing that it makes me want to kiss him. So I do.

Our lips brush together with comfortable pressure, completely different from the hungry make-out session we had last night. Ethan closes his eyes as he pushes himself up to press into my mouth, and I’m still beaming wider than I ever have before when he drops back down.

We lie there for a few more minutes, our fingers intertwined and enjoying each other’s company. After a while, Ethan swings his legs over the side of the bed to go to the bathroom, and I find myself checking him out as he stretches. My dick stirs as I drag my eyes from his strong back through the taper into that tight waist. As soon as my eyes land on his full, muscular ass, Ethan decides to turn around.

“You checking me out, James?” he asks, a hint of humorous accusation in his voice.

I open my mouth to admit guilt, but I can’t get the words out. They’re stuck in my throat. I try again, but I can’t because Ethan’s thick semi is swinging around right in front of me. Expecting my brain to work when faced with this visual is entirely unrealistic.

“Yuh,” I manage, my eyes still fixed on his hefty half-hard dick, the light pink tip exposed just enough to tease me. I savor the sight of Ethan for way too long before I realize that I’m biting my lip. God, that’s gotta look creepy as hell.

Ethan laughs. “Are you ogling me for real right now? Never thought I’d see that happen.”

Ethan’s jacked thighs walk him into the bathroom before I can reply, and I’m left alone lying in Ethan’s bed: stupefied, impossibly horny, and confused about a guy making me impossibly horny.

I’m drifting off to sleep again right as Ethan walks out of the bathroom wearing blue sweatpants and a black t-shirt. Opening my eyes, I blink a few times to wake myself up. Ethan watches me with a soft expression as he settles in the doorway, his arms crossed in a way that bunches his pecs together.

“You good?” he asks.

I nod, trying to find my bearings. “Yeah, I’m still processing everything.” I sit up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. “And I’m still half-asleep.”

Ethan watches me carefully as if he can sense the storm going on in my head. “You don’t have to figure yourself out today,” he says, walking over and sitting next to me on the bed. “Take it one step at a time, okay?”

His hair is still a little wet from the shower, and he’s wearing his usual smile that’s subtle but manages to light up the room. God, he’s hot. Wait. Huh? I mean, of course he’s hot. I knew that. Why else would he make me horny? And again, he’s a dude who’s making me horny .

I’m definitely not straight, that’s for sure.

Softly, Ethan claps a hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “Come on, I’m starving. Let’s make some breakfast.”

I glance down at myself under the covers. “At least let me put on some pants first.”

Ethan stands up, heading toward the bedroom door. “Take your time, but also don’t. I’m gonna try to make eggs and I’ll eat yours if you take too long.”

And then he’s gone. I retrieve my shorts from the floor and go to the closet to grab some clothes before I’m reminded that this isn’t my room. Right. I’m not in my room because I had sex with Ethan in his room, and I spent the night tangled up with him. What is going on with me?

I let out a sigh while grabbing a random green sweater from Ethan’s closet and slip it on. It’s too big, but it’s incredibly cozy. Bunching my fists around the fabric, I bring the collar up to my nose and sigh. It’s soft and it smells like Ethan. Then I freeze. I’m sniffing Ethan’s sweater so furtively, it’s like I’m taking a drag off a cigarette.

I get why people steal their hookups’ clothes now, but I never thought that I’d be the one to do it. Before I give myself even more things to overthink, I decide to join Ethan in the kitchen. He’s got his back turned away from me as he hums to himself, watching the frying pan. I take a seat on a barstool, and I find myself checking him out. Again. Broad shoulders, v-taper, and that incredible ass. My eyes always go to the same places, but I’m not getting bored.

Maybe Ethan’s so hot that everyone’s attracted to him, even if they’re not into men.

Nope. That doesn’t make any sense at all.

Ethan turns around and smirks, so I raise an eyebrow in confusion.

“It was bound to happen one of these days, it’s a rite of passage for any athlete.”

“What does that mean?”

Ethan laughs. “We had sex and you’re wearing my college baseball hoodie. With my name and number on the back.”

I dash to the hallway mirror and groan. Out of all the sweaters I could’ve picked, I grabbed the one that screams “trophy”.

“I know where you live, so don’t steal it.” Ethan’s voice carries from the kitchen, and I slink back to find him huddled over the stove, frantically flipping the eggs that are starting to burn.

Half-laughing and half-having a crisis, I put my elbows down on the counter and bury my forehead in my hands. Ethan dumps the eggs onto two plates and pours some coffee for both of us.

“How do you know if you’re gay?” I ask.

Ethan chokes as he cuts his sip of coffee short. “Say again?”

“Like, how do I know if I’m into men?”

Recovering, Ethan shuffles in his seat and thinks. “Physically or emotionally?” he asks.

“Either? I don’t know. I’m kinda new to this.”

“Okay, let’s start with the basics. How did you first realize that you’re attracted to women?”

I’m not sure how to answer. “Well, I got crushes when I was younger, like, I wanted to be friends with a girl, but it felt… more. What was it like for you?”

Ethan pauses.

“So,” he starts. “Crushes were definitely a thing, and I had a hard time telling the difference between wanting to be friends with someone and liking them more than that. I can tell the difference now because I know what to look for, but it was confusing for me back then.”

Huh. That kinda hits close to home. I’ve had intense friendships before, but they never felt romantic. I think. Maybe I didn’t realize or let myself go there.

I fumble for the right words. “I’m attracted to you, but I don’t know if it’s you or if I’m actually into men.”

Ethan leans back. “Do you find other guys attractive?”

Sure, I can tell when a guy is hot, but has that ever spilled over into actual attraction?

“I don’t know,” I say.

“You don’t have to figure it out right away. This stuff takes time.”

That makes sense, but I want to figure this out now . My curiosity can’t be killed that easily. Maybe it’s contextual, but how can I tell if I react physically to guys in general ?

Then it clicks.

“I have to run an experiment.”

Ethan tilts his head, prompting me to elaborate.

“I need to watch dude porn.”

Ethan doubles over in laughter. There are actual tears in his eyes as he pulls himself upright and steadies himself on the counter.

“If you end up getting hard to a video of dudes fucking, that’s a decent sign that you’re into guys.”

That’ll be the kind of conclusive evidence I need. I fix Ethan with an intent expression. “Alright, show me some porn.”

“Dude, I’m not gonna pull up porn for you. Go search for some yourself.”

That’s so unhelpful. “But I don’t know what to look for,” I whine.

Muttering to himself, Ethan pulls out his phone and taps at it, his fingers clicking against the screen a little louder than usual. Without a word, he hands it to me and gestures toward the first-floor bathroom. I don’t need to step out, though, because the first few seconds of the video are all the confirmation I need. On the screen is a solo clip of an attractive guy reclined on a bed, lazily stroking his thick cock.

My dick stiffens. This guy is stocky, with black hair and intense eyes. He’s got a gentle face, and his body is muscular but not super lean. In other words, he’s not like Ethan, but I still react to what I’m seeing.

I shut the phone off and hand it back. “Um, I think I’m bi.”

Ethan lets out a laugh. “You don’t have to put a label on yourself yet. That’s kinda fast, to be honest, although the timeline might be different when you’re older.”

He’s right about that. It’s clear I need to do a lot more thinking, but I know one thing is true. I like guys too. Especially Ethan.