Everything Nice by Mari Carr

oh-so-sensitive nerve endings, and Alex feared that after all his years of waiting he’d embarrass himself in an instant.
    “Fuck,” he gritted out, pushing back, silently begging for more of Charlie’s rough loving.
    “God damn , you feel good! I can’t, I won’t…” One of Charlie’s hands ventured around and gripped Alex’s erection. “I’m not coming alone,” he added, working his fist against the turgid flesh.
    “Jesus, man! You’re killing me,” Alex panted, fighting against his imminent orgasm. His balls tightened and he knew he wouldn’t make it much longer.
    “Oh God,” Charlie said, thrusting harder, faster, working Alex’s cock with the same vigor he was using to pound inside his ass. “Now!” he demanded, and Alex gave himself up to the climax, semen shooting from the end of his cock in great spurts that he watched slide down the side of Charlie’s desk.
    Above him, he could hear Charlie’s own cries of release and he felt the pulsing of his thick cock as he came inside him.
    For several moments neither of them moved. Charlie, still lodged within him, held him caged tightly against the desk as both of them gasped for breath.
    Finally Charlie stood, pulling free, and Alex instantly missed the fullness, the closeness.
    He heard Charlie pull up his pants, heard the rasping sound of the zipper. He forced himself upright, his shirt falling to cover his now-soft cock. For a second he struggled to turn around, to face Charlie after the fact. What was his friend feeling? Remorse, regret, relief?
    Turning slowly, he looked behind him, surprised to see Charlie grinning at him a bit self-consciously.
    “Okay?” Alex asked, his voice rough, tight.
    “Yeah,” he answered a bit breathlessly. “But somebody’s gonna have to clean off that desk.”
    Alex laughed and shook his head. “Sorry, buddy. I’m just the kitchen help. It’s your desk.”
    Charlie chuckled and nodded, but his grin faded quickly. “Allie,” he said softly.
    Alex was confused by his response. “What about her?”
    “She won’t understand this. I never meant to hurt her, to cheat on her.”
    Alex reared back at Charlie’s words. “Cheat on her? Jesus, Charlie, what the hell are you talking about? This wasn’t cheating .”
    Charlie turned away from him and walked toward the couch in his office, sinking down slowly, heavily, as if weighted down by the pressure of the world on his shoulders.
    “She’ll understand. Hell, if I know that woman, the only thing she’ll be pissed about is that we didn’t wait for her,” Alex said, crossing the room and sitting down beside his friend, his lover. He reached over and pulled Charlie to him, overwhelmed by the constant need to kiss his friend, touch him. He wondered if that need would ever abate.
    As their lips parted, they leaned forward, resting their foreheads together, breathing in each other’s air and basking in their newfound closeness.
    “I hope you’re right,” Charlie said.
    Alex laughed softly. “I’m always right,” he teased. “I’ve known for years how good it would be between all of us.”
    Charlie pulled back and looked at him. “Years?”
    Alex silently chastised himself. He was feeling so giddy, so relieved, that he found everything he’d been holding back for a lifetime come bubbling to the top. “I’ve always wanted you.”
    Charlie shook his head. “Shit, Alex. I keep sitting here waiting for the strangeness to creep in. Waiting for the ‘what the fuck have I done’ feeling to sink in. It’s not coming.”
    Reaching down, Alex grasped Charlie’s hand. “I hope to God it never comes.”
    Charlie leaned his head back against the couch, squeezing Alex’s hand in his as he closed his eyes. “Christ. Me too. Fact of the matter is I’m already thinking I’d really like to do that again.”
    Alex laughed at his friend’s admission but before they could say more, the bell that hung over the front door rang in the foyer and he glanced at his