Chapter Six
Emery
Isprinted past the tree line and into the woods, laughing hysterically. "Come on, you know you want to," I called. It really was a terrible hat and I was feeling feisty to boot. I held the hat out and waved it at him. "Bet you can’t get it."
The next thing I knew, Mason was running straight at me.
I scream-laughed and took off running, my heart racing.
I didn’t know why he put up with me, to be honest, but what I knew was that we loved each other—as best friends—and he tolerated my shenanigans with grace.
And sometimes he pulled his own tricks on me, too.
I darted through the trees in a zigzag pattern, trying to keep ahead of him.
It didn’t take long for a stitch in my side to remind me I wasn’t in running shape anymore, and I ducked behind a large tree trunk to hide, chest heaving, trying hard to contain the sounds of my heavy breathing.
When I didn’t hear anything for a bit, I crouched to the ground, my back against the tree trunk, and waited.
Mason would find me eventually and he’d probably kick my ass once he did.
I let my eyes flutter closed and a second later, I was being tackled to the ground, Mason shouting triumphantly.
"Ah-hah, motherfucker!"
My shoulder crashed into the forest floor, my side immediately getting wet from the damp pine needles, the scents of the forest invading my nostrils.
I hit the ground with a hard exhale. I rolled to my back and tried to fight him off me, but Mason had the advantage of physical labor building his muscles and being much stronger than I was.
He snatched the baseball hat from my hand and shoved it on his head.
While he was distracted putting his hat on, I shoved him off and flipped us, knocking him to the ground and putting myself on top. I dipped low, bracketing his shoulders by pressing my hands into the dirt, and grinned. "Who’s laughing now?"
Mason’s gaze locked onto mine, our chests heaving with exertion, and the only sounds around us were the wind whistling through the trees and our harsh breathing.
He swallowed and I caught sight of his Adam’s apple bobbing.
The movement was mesmerizing and it felt impossible to move for a long moment.
Mason didn’t blink. He looked into my eyes, his hair falling across his forehead, his own eyes dark as his hand came up and cupped the back of my neck. The next thing I knew, he was pulling me down to him and pressing our lips together.
I inhaled sharply through my nose, the scents of the forest mingling with Mason’s scent, rich and intoxicating.
His lips parted and as they did, I let mine do the same, his tongue sliding against mine and into my mouth.
A groan escaped me, the sensation of our mouths moving together almost too much to handle.
Mason moved his free hand to press onto my back and urged me closer.
I moved willingly, rocking my hips down and drawing a soft hum from him.
The sound he made seemed to snap me out of my daze and I pulled back. We were both breathing heavily again, for a very different reason. Between us, the hard line of my erection pressed against his. Mason’s eyes were wide.
"I’m sorry," he said, still pinned to the ground beneath me. "I didn’t mean…"
After a second of silence, I nodded and climbed off him, adjusting myself as discreetly as I could. Mason’s erection was evident through his jeans. I tried not to look as I held out a hand and hauled him to his feet.
We were both soaked and filthy from the tussle, but still, I fruitlessly brushed my hands against my jeans and tried to dust off my shirt. We stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds before Mason spoke again.
"I’m really sorry."
I held up a hand. "Don’t worry about it. Really."
He nodded. "Guess we should get back to the fire. Shouldn’t really have left it alone this long anyway."
"Yeah… Good point." I rubbed the back of my neck anxiously and nodded. We walked back to the cabin without speaking and the only sound around us was the cracking of twigs as we moved through the woods. I didn’t know what to do with my hands, so I shoved them in my pockets, afraid I’d do something stupid if I didn’t keep them to myself.
As we made our way back to the cabin I replayed the moment in my mind.
Mason had kissed me. And what’s more, I’d liked it.
I wanted it to happen again… at least, I thought I did.
I tried not to panic, tried to keep my breathing even and my thoughts calm, but one question ran through my mind. What did it mean that I wanted more, that I’d gotten hard from kissing my best friend? And he had gotten hard too.
As the questions swirled in my mind, a terrifying thought dawned on me. It was almost bedtime and we only had one bed fit for use still. It hadn’t been a problem the previous two nights, but with the kiss… would things be different?
Mason stood near the fire and stripped his muddy, wet shirt off. He didn’t speak for a long time, and I stood there, staring into the flames, waiting for something to happen.
"Guess we should turn in soon."
I nodded and swallowed hard. "Guess so." Crickets chirped in the distance and the fire crackled steadily.
"You want to get us a bucket to douse this thing with?"
"Sure thing." I did as he’d asked, filling a five-gallon bucket with water to kill the fire.
The awkwardness was palpable between us, and as I returned with the bucket, sloshing water as I carried it, Mason remained silent.
Once the flames fizzled out and the fire pit was dark and silent again, I turned to him.
“I—”
"We should get to bed. I can put up my tent. I’ll sleep there tonight."
I swallowed hard and rubbed the back of my neck, wondering what his reaction was telling me. Was he freaking out like I was? Had he liked it as much as I had? Maybe he just needed space, which was probably a good idea. I needed some time to figure out what it all meant. "Yeah, okay. You want help?"
He answered in a rush. "No. I’ve got it."
"Okay. Good night then."
"Night."
Inside the cabin, by the glow of a battery-powered lantern, I stripped down and changed into clean shorts before crawling into bed and turning off the light.
I lay there, staring into the darkness for a long time, for what felt like hours, replaying the kiss in my mind.
As I remembered the hard press of his mouth on mine, his firm body under me, the heat of his tongue in my mouth, my cock started to thicken.
I remembered his hands on my body, the soft groans we both made, the hard line of his cock against my body.
Soon, I was fully hard and aching to be touched.
Tentatively, I reached under the sheets and slid my hand under the elastic waistband of my shorts.
I let my fingertips graze the base of my cock and it twitched with desire.
I grasped my shaft and stroked slowly, dragging my thumb across the slit to smear precum over the crown and I let out an involuntary moan.
I slid my hand up and down my cock, slowly at first, but it wasn’t long until I needed more.
I shoved my shorts down and pushed the blanket aside before closing my eyes tightly and letting the kiss play over in my mind again.
Instead of stopping at the kiss, my mind unreeled a whole fantasy—me kissing Mason’s throat, scraping my teeth on his skin, his back arching as he let out a low, rumbling groan.
I hissed as the pleasure built in my balls, my body tensing as the orgasm drew closer. The only sounds I could hear were my own harsh breathing and the pounding of blood in my ears. My hips bucked and rocked as I chased the pleasure, and I brought my free hand to my chest and tweaked a nipple.
"Fuck," I hissed. "God." I wanted more. I imagined touching his cock, wondering what it would feel like to hold another man’s erection in my hand. I couldn’t hold back any longer, and as my orgasm ripped through me, I moaned his name. "Mason."
My cock released spurt after spurt of thick, hot cum on my chest and stomach and I swore and said his name again. "Fuck, Mason." My voice came out broken, like a sob.
"Did you—oh, shit." Mason’s voice cut through the lust-soaked fog and reached my ears, my eyelids flying open when it registered.
He stood at the doorway to the bedroom, gaze on my body, his eyes darker than usual.
He was holding up his own lantern, which cast shadows in every direction as the light swung gently from its handle.
"Jesus," I said, scrambling to cover myself with the sheet and attempting not to get it covered in cum at the same time. "What are you doing in here?"
"I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.
I just… I was coming inside to ask if I could use your tent and I heard you say my name.
I thought you heard me come in and were calling me for something.
" He was rambling, his voice shaky. Even in the darkness, I spotted a bulge in his shorts.
"Sorry. I’ll give you some privacy to clean up. " He turned his back to me.
In a hurry, I got out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. I cleaned myself quickly with a towel and when I was done, I rushed back into the bedroom and dove under the covers. Mason hadn’t moved an inch.