All the Wrong Choices

It wasn't completely devoid of social relationships either. I'd enjoyed a couple flings with guys that I'd met online. No matter how awkward any meeting was, I always remembered that I'd done far worse. Not everything had to make sense all at once.

I leaned on the wooden railing of the deck, overlooking the steep hill to the lake below. Trees towered over my head in the darkness. The creatures of the night were roaring with life all around us. I felt so at ease here. I wished I could be a kid again, if only just to live at my parents house. It always felt like home.

"No, I swear to God," I heard Britt say. "If we'd have been thirty seconds earlier, we'd have been in that pileup."

"I don't know why you guys drove the whole way up here anyway," my mother said. "I told you I have those frequent flyer miles. I'm sure there's a way you could use them."

I looked back at my family lounging in the deck chairs. Aside from my sister's story about her near death experience on the interstate, they seemed so at ease. Dad was already passed out in his chair. It was starting to get late.

"Yeah, Mom, then our plane would blow an engine or something," Britt chuckled. "I'm telling you, traveling just doesn't fit me very well."

"Well, you're coming for Christmas," Mom told her. "I don't care what kind of work Mister Hotshot in there has going on. I'll drive up there and get you myself."

I shook my head and smiled, turning from the railing.

"I'm headed to bed," I announced. I pointed toward Dad. "Not planning on sleeping with the mosquitos."

My mother and sister snickered, careful not to wake the snoring behemoth beside them.

"Hey," Britt said, "could you tell Nick to bring us another bottle of wine, sir?"

I shrugged. "If I see him. He might have passed out in the bathroom. If I don't see him, I'm going straight to bed. I'm exhausted."

"Oh, well, thank you so much for the help," Britt teased.

"Good night, sweetie," my mother said.

I leaned down to hug her. "Night mom. Happy birthday."

"Night doofus," I heard Britt call as I walked up the path.

The hill always seemed steeper at the end of the night. I remembered when I had to be carried to bed up this same hill to the house. My parents' house glowed ahead. I found my way to the back porch and headed through the door.

My old room was the guest bedroom now, but it had a bed in it. That was all that I could think of at the moment. I kicked off my shoes and headed for the stairs. I couldn't wait to get out of my clothes.

I climbed the stairs and made my way into my old room, beginning to empty my pockets out on the nightstand. I peeled my shirt off, squirmed out of my pants, and tossed them onto my luggage in the floor. I saw the time when I plugged my cell phone into the wall. It was later than I thought. I was pulling the sheets aside when I heard a peck on the bedroom door.

I turned to see Nick in the threshold. I could tell he had changed clothes, choosing a tank top and a thin pair of sweat pants.

"Hey, man," Nick greeted me when his usual grin.

I was caught a little off guard, standing there only in my underwear. I shook the feeling away.

"Hey, Nick," I said. "Oh, Britt was asking for another bottle of wine if you were going back down to the overlook."

Nick scoffed. His smile widened when he stepped into the room. I tensed, but tried to ignore the feelings. It had been years. I'd barely seen him since then.

"They can put away some wine, can't they?" Nick said.

"Weekend isn't over yet," I pointed out.

"By the way," he said, "your aunt... Dorothy?"

"Dolores," I corrected him grinning.

Nick shook his head. "Why did you guys not warn me? That lady was all over me today. You know she wanted me to feed her one of those cheesecake bites at the cookout?"

I nodded. "She's newly single, I think. Again."

I pulled the sheets aside and sat on the edge of the bed, making my intentions clear. I'd seen the guy at Christmas for the past few years. The memories were still there, though. Even if he and Britt were engaged, I was on my guard.

"Getting ready for the big hiking extravaganza?" Nick said.

"I'm just beat," I said. "Jet lag and too much to eat today. I think Mom finds more and more friends to invite every year."

I rubbed my neck, trying to stare at the floor. My eyes had already seen it. Nick stood with his arms crossed, saying something about the people he'd met at the cookout. I nodded along wearily. The outline of his cock was plainly visible through the loose fabric of his sweats. I wished I hadn't seen. The shape of the bulbous tip was right there.

I kept staring. I wasn't sure at what point Nick noticed, but he did. The room fell silent. It seemed like ages before my eyes finally lifted to meet his. I couldn't read his face but I could see he knew. Nick stared back at me. I didn't breathe. For all I knew, Nick might have changed since he and Britt had gotten engaged. In any case, he'd seen me staring right at his crotch.

I hoped that he'd turn and leave. I couldn't believe that a single stupid moment had brought everything rushing back.

Instead, Nick smiled and hung his head. He stepped slowly over toward the bed. My eyes darted from the door, to his face, and down to the thing that wobbled in his pants with every step. This was not happening.

Nick stuck his thumbs behind the waistband of his sweats and gently pulled them down. The half erect cock appeared, drooping over the lip of the waistband. Nick scooped out the pile of his balls and set it all out in display. The sight took my breath. Nick was completely smooth now. My tongue wiggled restlessly behind my lips.

I looked up at him. I recognized the grin that started to form at the corner of his lips. A familiar glimmer shone back at me from his blue eyes.

No. Not here. Not tonight. After this long? A single instant had brought it all back? Britt was engaged to him. I was going to be at the wedding. My own family had just gotten used to the idea that I slept with men. I couldn't fuck all of that up. Not like this. I couldn't do that to Britt again. Even if she never knew what we'd done, I couldn't make it worse.

I grabbed him in my fingers. I leaned in and opened my mouth. The cock slid over my tongue.

It still felt so good.