Chapter 13

They scrubbed each other’s backs and scuffled around a bit, recalling those old days in the locker room and the horseplay a bunch of teenagers indulged in. They’d been careful then to keep it asexual, maybe a few sly remarks but no touching and nothing that would get anyone labeled a queer, a fag or any other rude and hurtful term.

Bud realized suddenly those crude, insulting words of long ago carried no impact anymore. It didn’t matter what anyone else might think or say about them. This was strictly between him and Jesse, and nobody else’s opinion meant a rat’s ass. Except LuAnne’s, but she certainly hadn’t complained last night. In fact she’d seemed to enjoy watching the two of them and claimed it made her even hotter.

He reached out and put his hands on Jesse’s shoulders, feeling the slick wet heat beneath his palms. “I’d like to suck you,” he said. “I’ve thought about it a hundred times and never dared to offer, but I’m not afraid anymore.”