Taste Test: A Day at the Beach Read online

  "Hey. Can you make it back up to your room?"

  Matt nodded, and Adam gave him one last kiss before tugging him up, wrapping an arm around him. About halfway up the boardwalk, Matt seemed to come out of his daze and Adam watched, amused, as he blinked and stumbled.

  "Sorry," Matt said.

  "What for?"

  "For acting like a swooning teenager."

  "I'll take it as a compliment."

  Once they were inside the room, Adam grabbed Matt's hand and dragged him out onto the balcony. He didn't want to do this on a random bed with a pastel seashell pattern. He wanted to be outside, under the stars, and this was as close as they could get. "You mind being out here?"

  "Exhibitionist?"

  Adam laughed. "If you like."

  They were lucky. Matt's balcony had padded chaise lounge chairs instead of the flimsy white ones furnished by most of the condos, and Adam grabbed Matt by the shoulders and guided him back onto the lounge chair, crawling around behind him.

  Matt shivered when Adam tugged him closer, and Adam nearly came. He'd never been with anyone, male or female, who reacted like Matt did. "How far do you want to take this?" Adam asked, nuzzling Matt's neck.

  "As far as you want."

  "Condoms?"

  "I bought some before I came out to the pool." Matt disappeared and returned with condoms and lube, letting the sack fall to the floor next to them as he crawled back onto the lounge chair.

  "Hoping you'd find me willing?"

  "Yeah." Matt's pale cheeks turned pink. "I didn't have any with me," he said, threading his fingers through Adam's again. "I usually wait until I'm seeing someone for that."

  "You sure you want to do this, then?" Adam didn't sleep around a lot now, but he'd had his share of flings in the past.

  "Yes." Matt's grip on Adam's fingers tightened. "You better not back out on me now."

  "You don't have to worry about that. You're probably going to have to kick me out," Adam said, and his words seemed to calm Matt, who relaxed back into him, letting Adam feel all of his weight.

  He lifted Matt's shirt, laying his palm flat on Matt's stomach, which quivered, the defined muscles of his abs warm under Adam's hand. Matt arched his back, bringing his mouth closer to Adam's. Adam trailed his hand down, rubbing over the bulge in Matt's jeans.

  "Oh, God," Matt breathed, writhing.

  "You like that?" Adam couldn't stop himself from smiling at Matt's reactions.

  "Yeah. It's, uh." Matt stammered before getting the words out. "It's been a while."

  "Nothing wrong with that." Adam savored the feel of Matt's erection through the denim. Adam was twenty-seven years old, and he'd had one serious boyfriend, and before that, plenty of sex, but he'd never been this attracted to someone before. He had no idea if Matt was interested in seeing him after tonight, but he intended to find out.

  Adam's phone buzzed, interrupting his train of thought, and his pleasure at having his hands all over Matt. He ignored it, and then it buzzed again.

  Matt stopped moving against him and pulled away. "I know you said you were single, but you're not really married, are you?"

  "No."

  "Are you with someone then? In a relationship?"

  "No. Why would you ask that?"

  "Your cell phone keeps ringing…"

  "Ah. That was probably my brother. Or my sister-in-law. Here, I'll let you listen to the message."

  "You don't have to do that." Matt looked away. "I shouldn't be so nosy."

  "Nah. Here, after you listen, you won't have any doubt that I've been telling the truth about my pushy family." Adam didn't mind Matt's questions. He'd been lied to before, and he understood the caution. He felt his mouth quirk into a smile. "And maybe I'll have your sympathy, too."

  Adam held the phone up, turning the volume to the highest level so Matt could hear his brother's voice. "Adam. Hey, man, I uh, don't wanna mind your business, but we were worried about you. You stepped out and didn't come back."

  Matt shrugged. "That doesn't sound so bad."

  "No. But there were two more calls before that," Adam said as he hit delete. He punched the callback button, waiting for his brother to pick up. "John. Sorry I disappeared. I'm fine, and I'll see you in the morning." He didn't wait for his brother to answer, but hung up and dropped the phone next to the lounge chair, not caring when it clattered against the gray tile. "I hope you don't mind. I didn't mean to invite myself to spend the night."

  "I'm glad you did."

  "Well then, now we can get back to what we were doing."

  "Mmm, yes," Matt said, grinding back onto him.

  Adam went straight for Matt's button this time, popping it open and shoving his hand inside.

  Matt wiggled back, fitting himself into Adam. "Oh, God. If you don't stop…"

  Adam avoided Matt's erection, touching his hipbones. "If it's okay, I'd like you naked first."

  Matt nodded and lifted his hips, letting Adam push his jeans down. He kicked them off and leaned forward to yank his t-shirt off. "You, too," he said, turning to pull at Adam's shorts.

  Adam managed to get his shorts and shirt off quickly and leaned back against the cushions, reaching for Matt. He sighed when Matt's bare back made contact with his chest. "Next time I'll undress you," he said, hoping that they'd have a next time.

  Matt settled into him. "Sounds good. We'll go slow."

  Adam ran his hands up and down Matt's arms, over his shoulders, across his back. He wanted to touch him all over. He couldn't see much in the moonlight, but from what he could tell, there were no tan lines on Matt's back, just smooth, creamy skin. He sucked on the back of his neck, low enough for a T-shirt to hide, licking and nipping the skin when Matt's head dropped forward. Dentist, he thought. Professional. Can't show up with a hickey at his conference.

  "Fuck," Matt said under his breath.

  Adam barely heard him over the crash of the waves. "What is it?"

  "Nothing."

  "Tell me." Adam licked his ear.

  "I was surprised. No one's ever touched me like this."

  "I find that hard to believe."

  "I don't mean that I'm inexperienced. But the women I've been with lie down and wait for me to entertain them, and the guys have always just wanted to fuck." He rubbed his hand over his eyes. "God, I can't believe I'm saying all this shit. I need to shut the fuck up."

  "I think it's nice."

  "That I'm rambling instead of getting on with it?"

  "Yes. It's cute."

  "Oh, God." Matt groaned. "I don't want to be cute."

  "You're sexy, too."

  "Enough talking."

  Adam laughed. He had Matt against him, naked finally, and he was just fine with shutting the hell up. He wrapped his hand around Matt's erection, not gripping yet, just letting his fingers encircle it. He grabbed the lube with his other hand and uncapped it, smearing it all over Matt's cock, stroking up and down.

  "Adam, I'm going to…" Matt trailed off, squirming.

  "I want to see you come," Adam said, leaning forward to watch Matt. He watched the way Matt shifted, the way his abs tightened, listened to him gasp as he shuddered and came.

  Matt rested against him for a minute, limp and pliant, before turning and kissing him on the mouth. He crept down Adam's body, licking Adam's cock. When Matt closed his fingers around the base, Adam was done, shooting all over Matt's face.

  Matt closed his eyes and licked his lips before wiping his face off with his hand, then snuggled back into Adam. "I don't even know where you live."

  "Knoxville." The night was cooler, and now they were both wet and sticky, but Adam didn't want to move. He wrapped his arms around Matt's chest.

  "Really?" Matt sounded hopeful, but hesitant, like he didn't want to assume.

  "Yep." Adam smiled into Matt's hair. He couldn't believe it, but Matt really seemed interested in him, beyond a few random hook-ups. "And that's not far away from where you are."

  "You know where I live?" />
  "Yeah. At the risk of sounding like a stalker, I checked out your license plate. I wanted to know."

  "I'm glad you looked."

  "Although I'd still want to be here right now, no matter where you were from." Adam laughed. "Now I'm the one who needs to shut up." He motioned toward the beach. "Look at all those goobers out there chasing crabs."

  "Have you ever done it?" Matt asked.

  "Sure. When I was a kid."

  "I haven't."

  "Got a flashlight?"

  "Just put new batteries in it."

  "Well then, let's go." Adam stood up, taking Matt's hand.

  "You might want to put some clothes on first."

  "And deny the crabs a view?" Adam did his best mock-horrified expression, twisting his mouth. "You prude!"

  "I don't want anyone else looking at you," Matt said, his cheeks coloring again. "Not even the crabs."

  "Same goes for you." Adam kissed the back of his neck, grabbed his shorts, and handed Matt his jeans. "Come on. Let's get out there and make all those shellfish jealous."

  Surf’s Up

  by Zoe Nichols

  “Dude, check out those waves!”

  Shane Wood looked up from his book at the shout then let his breath out in an envious sigh as a flurry of surfers made a rush to the unusually snappy water. Clad in trunks in a rainbow of colors, the golden-haired, sun-kissed gods rushed down the small sandy cliff and into the water with their surfboards, shouting and playing. Shane dropped his book and set back on his elbows to enjoy the show.

  As happy as seals, they frolicked in the waves, throwing out good-natured insults and growling in competition as they each sought to ride the biggest and baddest waves. Shane felt every bit of his thirty-two years as he watched their lithe bodies shoot through the frothy blue waves. Man, when had he gotten old? There was a time when he would have been out there, churning up the waves with the rest of them, blowing past those little boys and owning the water.

  Shane glanced back at his book, a bouncy love tale he’d been pretty into, especially on this warm summer day. He’d brought the book out to the beach on a whim, tired of looking at the waves from his Newport house. Now, it seemed dull and foolish. As dull as he’d become since the day he’d broken his kneecap in a surf competition. That was when he’d learned what being middle-aged really meant. Shane growled at the fluffy golden sand surrounding him.

  “What the hell am I doing here?” he asked it. “It’s like I want to resurrect the memories and make myself feel even worse.”

  He closed his eyes, his left knee faintly throbbing as if reacting to the thought. Goddamn self-pity. He was drowning in it all over again. A year later and Shane still missed the waves, still craved the sensation of power he only got when he was shredding a monster six-footer. He swore, finally turning his gaze away from the surfers. They were no longer fun to watch, just a taunting reminder of everything he’d lost.

  Shane rose to his feet and was stretching out the kinks from lying in the same spot for so long when his knee suddenly gave out. He swore, automatically bracing himself as he fell onto his hands and knees. He caught his breath, trying to stand again when the sand beneath his hands slid sideways and he lost his balance, rolling right over the sand cliff.

  “Hey, watch it!” someone shouted, but Shane kept tumbling until, with a thud, his back smacked against something hard and unyielding. Groaning on impact, the breath whooshed out of him and he slumped on his side.

  “Oh, fuck,” he grunted, opening his eyes to find the world spinning dizzily around him in a burst of colors. Someone ran toward him and the vibration in the ground made his back throb even more. Christ, his knee was screaming at him like a mother! He’d never live this day down.

  “Oh, shit, are you okay, man?” The same voice from earlier sounded closer and rife with concern.

  Just great, Shane thought as he gingerly turned his head to look for the source of the voice, the whole beach probably saw me perform a live circus act.

  Today was just not his freaking day… Oh, hello! Shane’s dazed brown gaze collided with a pair of worried eyes as blue as the ocean and surrounded by long blond hair. He took in the boyish features, the soft pink mouth currently being destroyed by bright white teeth, and the honey-hued skin.

  Okay. So maybe the day wasn’t too bad.

  “Hey.” That soft mouth was moving, Shane noted. “Are you okay?”

  Oh. He wanted an answer. “Yeah,” Shane mumbled even as his back throbbed sharply. He ground his teeth together to keep from groaning at the pain. The sand rubbed harshly against his bare chest and through the thin material of his trunks. “I’ll be fine.” When I can get up, anyway.

  As if the boy heard his thoughts, he shook his head. “You don’t look so fine,” he said gently. “You look out of breath and dizzy.” Right on both counts, Shane thought ruefully. “You’re just lucky I grabbed my board before it fell on you.”

  Board? Shane glanced around and caught a flash of something long and yellow behind his boy savior. Ah. That must have been what he hit. Figures. Karma dealing him yet another bitch slap.

  He came to the beach, he ended up hurt.

  One of these days, he was going to learn his lesson. But apparently, he thought as he forced himself onto his knees, his body aching as he did, not without getting a few extra bruises. On his knees, he was irritated to find himself almost out of breath. The tumble had taken out more from him than he’d thought.

  A hand landed on his shoulder, bracing against him while he swayed. Shane blinked up, shoving his dark hair from his sight and found the boy holding out a slim hand. He also got a world-class view of a gorgeously built body, packed with taut muscles and clad only in a pair of black and white trunks.

  “Come on, take my hand and I’ll help you up,” the boy murmured, holding out his other hand.

  The ego in him wanted to tell the kid off, hating any charity. God, he’d had enough of charity. From his friends to his family. Fuck charity! But he could feel how weak his knee was -- another drop was more than possible. He’d taken enough of a beating, he thought. He accepted the offer and was faintly astonished at the strength in the hand as, with the boy’s help, he struggled to his feet, towering over his slender savior.

  His knee wobbled dangerously and he automatically braced his hand against the nearest thing he could, which just happened to be the boy’s broad shoulder. The skin was warm and supple beneath his fingers and Shane found himself massaging it as he steadied. The boy’s sigh was strong enough to vibrate through Shane’s fingers.

  He looked down and found the boy flushed, his breathing erratic. Beneath his fingertips, the skin had gone from warm to hot. Well, hell, the boy was turned on. Working on instinct, Shane tugged on the boy’s hand and with a gasp, he stumbled forward, his body colliding gently with Shane’s, bare chest to bare chest.

  Heat exploded between them, all but welding them together. It was natural to tug the boy closer until they were almost breathing the same air. It was completely right to rub against him, his own breathing turning choppy.

  “What’s your name, boy wonder?” Shane whispered, skating his fingers down the boy’s slender back. His pains were fading beneath a flood of white-hot need. Nothing like horniness to cancel out everything else.

  “Lucas Hart,” the boy said, his voice just as low, his body arching into Shane’s touch. His cock eagerly thrust against Shane through the thin trunks. “Mmm.” Lucas whimpered when Shane’s questing hand brushed the swell of his ass. He thrust back into Shane’s palm, wiggling, his hands curling into balls against Shane’s chest.

  Eager, Shane thought, his mouth watering. So fucking eager. His own cock wept against his trunks, making the black material moist and sticky. But he was well aware of where they were, too aware. This party was getting personal and didn’t need bystanders.

  “Here’s the deal, sweetheart,” Shane murmured, reluctantly moving his hands from Lucas’ sweet little ass to rest safely on his should
ers. “I’m gonna need someone to help me get my broken ass home. And then we can play. My hero deserves a reward, right?”

  Lucas’ mouth pulled into a sexy smirk that just begged to be kissed. “My daddy told me to never go home with strangers,” he purred, one long finger running up to toy with Shane’s nipple. Shane grunted as sensation pulsed through him at the contact, his nipple beading into a tight bud. The boy licked his lips and in a slow, bold move, ran his tongue over it. Shane’s hands flexed on the boy’s shoulders and he groaned, wishing for just a little privacy so he could retaliate.