Chapter 2 #2
Walking through a hotel lobby with a hard-on was never fun, but Dom still made it back to the car in record time.
Coop pulled the earbuds out as soon as Dom’s ass hit the fractured leather driver’s seat.
“So where to?” Dom asked, resisting the urge to adjust himself.
“Since you’re the local, I figure you know the best spots. ”
“How do you feel about go-karts?”
His answer was going to get him made fun of, Dom had no doubt. “I have no real feelings about them because I’ve never actually driven one.”
Coop’s exaggerated shock made him look like an outraged kid. “What rock did you grow up under?”
“Hey now. Don’t mock my hometown rock. I drove a stock car on an actual NASCAR track once.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. My dad knew a guy. Me and my two older siblings. We couldn’t go over forty, but whatever.”
For some reason, that left Coop in a kind of giggle-snort fit that was insanely appealing.
Everything about Coop was appealing, from his thickly lashed green eyes to the small scar on his chin, and especially the faint hint of dimples when he smiled.
“So you want to do go-karts?” Dom asked once Coop got control of himself.
“I thought you didn’t like riding in cars. ”
“Real cars. Go-karts have rubber bumpers and are almost impossible to crash.”
“Sort of like bumper cars at a fair?”
“Yeah, but with wheels and a longer track. I know a guy who manages one. He can get us in for free.”
Dom grinned. “A cheap date. I like it. Point the way.”
“Go back out to the light and head south. All the way down past First Street.”
With traffic the drive would take about ten minutes. Dom was crazy curious about Coop, but he wasn’t sure how personal the guy wanted to get. Family was definitely off-limits as a topic of conversation.
Coop helped him out by asking, “So how many instruments do you actually play?”
“How many do I play? Or how many do I play well?”
“Seriously? I know you’re a fucking prodigy on the violin, and seem to know your way around a Yamaha.”
“I love strings. Violin is absolutely my first love, but I’m really good with the piano and classical guitar.”
“I’m more of a bass man, myself.”
“Yeah? You play anything else, or just lure guys in with your voice?”
Coop laughed, but didn’t answer. “So what do you play, but not well?”
“Flute, trumpet, cello, a little on the French horn, and a few notes on the mellaphone.”
“Damn. When did you find time to go to school and sleep?”
Dark memories from high school tried slithering into the front of Dom’s mind from the far recesses to which they’d been banished.
This was why he didn’t get friendly with hookups.
His thoughts inevitably turned back to the worst seven months of his life.
He hummed a few notes from k. d. lang’s “Calling All Angels” to chase away the blackness. That was his song.
Coop was giving him a funny look, but whatever.
“I love music,” Dom said, once everything was back on an even keel. His wood was gone, too, and that was okay. He had no doubt he’d get it back later. “I was lucky because my parents encouraged me to try different instruments and see what I loved most.”
“You were lucky. Mine were okay with music as a hobby, but not as a profession.”
“That sucks.”
“It is what it is. I’m doing what I love anyway, so fuck them.”
Dom winced at the bitter words. He adored his parents, and his siblings, and they’d only ever loved him back. A small part of him wanted to make this better for Coop, but he didn’t know how. Or understand why. After tonight, he’d most likely never see the guy again, so no sense in getting attached.
Except he kind of wanted to get attached, which was a problem since Dom lived two-plus hours away.
“So you play bass and keyboard, and you have an amazing voice,” Dom said. “Anything else I don’t know about?”
“I have a pretty cute ass, too.”
The flirty remark made Dom’s dick twitch with interest. “Is that your personal opinion, or is this coming from a secondary source?”
“Both.” Coop’s lazy smile, combined with his very open appraisal of Dom’s body, kind of made Dom want to skip the go-karts and find a private place so he could nail Coop’s cute ass. “You want to find out for yourself?”
“Oh, I am definitely finding out for myself.”
Coop’s gentle laughter sent excited shivers down Dom’s spine.
The go-kart track was on the west side of town, tucked in behind a bunch of chain stores.
Bright lights all around the perimeter and in various places inside of the fenced-in area made it practically daylight.
Half a dozen karts were racing around the far side of the track.
The humid air had lost the scent of the ocean, replaced by burnt rubber and gasoline.
Coop took the lead, man-hugging a guy their age that he introduced as Gray.
Gray set them both up with helmets and karts, then showed Dom how to run the thing.
Seemed simple enough. He got it going and followed Coop out onto the main track.
It seemed pretty crash-proof, with bumpers on both the kart and the edges of the track. Wide enough for three karts at a time.
“Ready, set, go!” Coop said, then hit the gas.
He shot off. Dom jammed his own gas. The kart surprised him with the power of the initial lurch, and he belted out a sound that was half fear and half laughter.
Once he figured out how to apply pressure, he started to enjoy himself.
Coop slowed down so Dom could catch up, and they began a high-speed dance around each other.
Dom would lead, then Coop would take over.
Every time he caught a glimpse of Coop’s face, Coop was grinning like a fool.
Dom was having a blast, too. They were probably supposed to have a time limit, but they raced around the track for what felt like hours.
Dom lost himself in the chase, until Coop signaled that they should pull over.
Coop’s eyes were bright, his cheeks flushed, and Dom had never seen someone so completely alive from something as simple as go-kart racing.
Dom pulled off his helmet, grateful to get the heavy thing off and some air on his face.
“So what did you think?” Coop asked. He bounced on his feet like an excited puppy.
“It’s killer, man, I loved it.”
“Sad you waited so long to try it?”
“Nah. Then you wouldn’t have been able to pop my cherry.”
Coop’s eyes widened briefly, then he laughed. “Happy to help.”
On their way back to the car, Dom asked, “Anything else you want to do?”
Coop leered at him. “Anything you want to do?”
Blood started going south, and Dom was glad they’d reached the car, because he didn’t want to be walking through a parking lot with a boner. “Dude, your ass better be ready to cash the check your mouth is writing.”
“Oh, it’s more than ready.”
Dom unlocked his side, climbed in, then reached across to unlock the other door. “You know a place we can go?”
Coop glanced at Dom’s lap, then licked his lips. “Up the highway there’s an old, overgrown drive-in. Great place for parking.”
“Yeah? Been there a few times?”
“No, but one of my roommates has. She told me about it.”
Dom kind of wanted to call bullshit, but Coop had no reason to lie to him. And who cared if Coop was a total slut or pickier than a vegan in a steakhouse. Dom was getting fucking laid tonight, and he was very, very eager to judge Coop’s cute ass for himself.
He would have totally overshot the entrance to the drive-in if Coop hadn’t pointed out the rusty old sign half covered by bushes and wisteria vines.
There wasn’t really a road anymore, mostly narrow tracks through thick underbrush, as if someone had taken a Hummer and plowed through it all to make a path.
Dom kept as much of his attention on the non-road as he could, but Coop decided to distract him by rubbing himself through his shorts.
That simple image got Dom’s own dick straining against his already tight jeans.
He cranked up the air-conditioning, because things were about to get steamy.
The forest finally gave way to a moderately open space that had been mostly overtaken by nature.
The remains of a small shack were off to the right, and the remnants of a movie screen were straight ahead, full of holes where it had fallen apart over time.
The place had a slasher-movie vibe to it that was at once creepy and exciting.
Dom shifted into park, but left the car idling for the air. The last thing he wanted to do was open the windows and end up with mosquito bites all over his ass.
Coop wasted no time curling strong fingers around the back of his neck and hauling him into a kiss.
Dom’s surprise fled the instant their mouths clashed.
Something electric surged between them, so strong he actually gasped.
Coop licked at his parted lips, then slipped his tongue into Dom’s mouth.
He tasted like lime and spice and everything nice, and goddamn he knew how to kiss.
Dom cupped both sides of Coop’s neck, as much to keep him there as for balance, because kissing Coop was a little like falling.
He could have sat there and kissed Coop all night.
Coop pulled away first, his cheeks red and eyes glistening. “Backseat.”
“Yeah.”
Dom was tall and the space between the seats wasn’t huge, so climbing over it had both of them laughing by the time they collapsed on the backseat.
Coop tugged his shirt off, revealing a lightly tanned torso, a nice little happy trail, and a tattoo of a Gerbera daisy on his left pec.
Defined abs, but not super cut, which appealed to Dom a lot.
Meant Coop wasn’t a gym rat. And he loved that Coop had ink.
Coop tugged at Dom’s shirt, and he let Coop pull it off. Coop’s bright smile was worth the reveal. Dom was crazy proud of the tattoo that spanned his abdomen. Coop traced a finger over it, and the touch sent goose bumps across Dom’s shoulders. “What’s it represent?” Coop asked.