Catching Feelings Ch. 01

Throwing his backpack on the floor, Jimmy gathered his clothes together and started the shower. He stripped, tossing his dirty clothes at the hamper in the corner. It would be time to wash laundry this weekend again, but he wasn't worried about that. He stopped and checked himself out in the mirror. He was tall and broad-shouldered. Well muscled, with a fair thatch of hair on his chest and stomach. He imagined what Jeremy looked like naked and the erection he had been trying to contain all morning sprang straight up as if it had been waiting.

Jimmy got in the shower and soaped up before giving himself a slow, sensuous stroke. He was imagining what it would be like to make out with Jeremy, figuring he'd probably keep being a tease for as long as possible to make sure Jimmy wasn't going to hurt him like his previous partner. Well, Jimmy was okay with that. He would get through those walls eventually. He worked on prolonging his enjoyment, stroking himself almost to climax, then backing off. The soap provided enough lubrication to make things stretch out for a little bit but it eventually washed off.

As the water started to cool a little, Jimmy decided to finish this up in bed. He hurried up and rinsed the rest of the soap off and went to his bed, closing the door just in case his roomie came back between classes to check on his download. His erection had deflated a bit but it didn't take long to get it back. The thought of Jeremy's hands exploring his body did the trick just nicely.

He lay back on the bed, his cock in hand as he imagined exploring Jeremy's body with his hands and lips. It strangely did not seem all that foreign to him to think about feeling firm muscle under his hands rather than softness. He wondered what dick tasted like, Jeremy's in particular, and then lost it. He had been prolonging his reward for so long that it caught him by surprise and actually shot out, splashing on his abdomen and hand.

He looked at it for a minute and then impulsively licked some off his hand. It tasted kind of salty-sweet, but the texture was kind of slimy. He quickly got up and cracked open his door. His roommate was still gone so he crossed to the bathroom and cleaned up the mess before returning to his room to get dressed.

Meanwhile, once Jeremy had finished up with his classes for the day, he went back to his apartment, which still felt a little foreign and bare. He hadn't done much to try and fill the apartment with personal items, still having those packed up in a couple of boxes near his bedroom. He thought about going through them but then decided against it and went back into the living room, where he pulled out his books to find the math one to put down on the dining table.

He spent a good portion of the afternoon going between writing a paper and making pizza dough. Cooking always calmed him down, and he was good at it, so it seemed a good use of his time. He worked on the paper while he waited for the dough to rise, checking it every once in a while, until it was just right and then he made a sauce and put together a few pizzas to make for tonight: one with pepperoni and sausage, another with green peppers, onion, and mushrooms, and one with ham and pineapple. It gave a good amount of options.

Jeremy picked up his phone to check the time, seeing that Jimmy had texted him while he was distracted with the pizzas: "Hey, just thinking of you and excited about learning some math!"

Jeremy ended up smiling despite the nerves that were plaguing him. Unfortunately, it wasn't the only text he had.

Jasper: "Can we talk?"

He sighed, and put his phone down, mostly wanting to avoid the second text, not the first one. He worked on busying himself until it was time for Jimmy to show up, and then he checked himself in the mirror, deciding that this was as good as it was going to get right now, and sat down on the couch to wait with a book in hand.

Jimmy finished up his Environmental Sociology class and hurried to the address Jeremy had given him. He fired off a quick text to warn him that he was on his way and then walked briskly, following the GPS information. He had brought his math textbook with him so he didn't need to go back to his room. As he hurried across town, he wondered if he was going to be able to talk Jeremy into another kiss.

Jeremy had just pulled the pizzas out and put them on the island, so Jimmy was greeted with the scent of pizza and Jeremy wearing jeans and a soft black t-shirt with no shoes or socks. The shirt showed off the lean muscles of his chest and shoulders and he could just see the faint outline of Jeremy's dick in his jeans.

"Hey, come in," Jeremy said and then moved away from the door, not shutting it until Jimmy was inside and moving toward the living room. Jimmy stopped to remove his shoes and then had a look around the apartment.

It was an open layout concept, with the living room, dining room, and kitchen all within the same area, but nice and big, with a large window along one wall of the kitchen and dining room, letting a good amount of light into the apartment. Everything was done in whites, blacks, and grays, and still looked fairly new and shiny, with almost no personal touches to the place at all. There was a hallway down one side that seemed to lead to two doors, both of which were closed. There were a few boxes scattered about, mostly hidden behind the couch, which was in a nice cream color with a suede fabric.

The oak table in the dining room already had Jeremy's math book out, along with some notebooks and pencils, and the pizzas were lined up to cool on the island. It occurred to Jeremy now that this was an awful lot of effort to go to for something that wasn't a date or anything, but he liked to keep busy when he had anxious energy.

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked, trying to slow the suddenly anxious beating of his heart.

Jimmy paused while putting his own book and notebook on the table. "Yes I would, thank you!" He continued by sitting on the chair next to where Jeremy's book was placed. He was impressed with the apartment, guessing Jeremy's family must be loaded. He didn't really lose his mind over wealth like some people did, figuring that people were people no matter their socioeconomic background.

Jeremy came back with a glass with soda in it, as well as a glass for himself, and set them down on the table. Jeremy seemed embarrassed by his look over of the apartment, like he didn't particularly like the way his family threw around their wealth. Jimmy thanked him and half-stood, offering Jeremy a kiss.

Jeremy seemed a little surprised, but quickly recovered and accepted the kiss. He was still angry with himself for giving in to this guy so easily, but the anger seemed to be getting less hot each time. He considered it might be time to just let go and see where the chips fall later.

Jimmy sensed the hesitation and decided to be blunt. "Jeremy, I think I've been assuming some things about us. I'm sorry for that. Would it be okay if we... dated?"

Jeremy hesitated, then sat down in the chair and looked up at Jimmy. "Like, actually going on dates, in public, kind of dating, or..."

"Well, it'd be hard to squeeze back into the closet after the other night." Jimmy said as he sat down as well. "I kinda didn't spend any time there at all."

Jeremy nodded his head. "That's true, though there is a difference between people knowing you kissed a guy, versus them knowing you're dating and likely fucking a guy."

Jimmy gave that some thought. "I don't suppose, after what you've been through, you'd be happy with a closeted relationship, so yeah, public dates and holding hands, and all that romantic stuff."

"Yeah, the closeted thing sucks enough as it is, having to pretend to just be friends in public," Jeremy admitted. "It's a lot worse when things come to light and it's all turned around on you. Makes one a little gun shy about secrets."

"I bet," Jimmy said in sympathy. "I can't promise this won't be some college thing that won't eventually blow up in your face. We are only twenty, after all. But I'm as serious as I ever was with any of the girls I've dated. I want to give it a shot and see what happens."

Jeremy bit his lower lip, considering that. "Alright, you make a good point. I suppose spending all of my time being terrified of getting into the same situation isn't exactly healthy. I'm happy to give it a try, because despite my fear, I really like you."

Jimmy smiled and reached for the bottom of his shirt as if he was going to strip on the spot, stopping when Jeremy reacted and laughing.

"That's not going to help you with learning math," Jeremy joked.

Jimmy nodded, opening his book and scooting a little closer to Jeremy. "Let's start with quadratic equations. I get that they are balanced but the x's and y's have me all confused."

Jeremy picked up his pencil and started explaining it all to Jimmy. He was good at explaining the material in a way that made it easier for him to understand, able to change his tactics when he saw what ways didn't work for Jimmy. He seemed to have quite a passion for equations, math, and science, and it was easy to get swept up in it while he was teaching.

Jimmy had a decent grasp of the sciences, but it soon became apparent that he was a physical learner. When Jeremy learned that he was a sociology major, he laughed. Jimmy explained that Sociology was an abstract concept that he didn't struggle with because it didn't intersect with reality the way math did. Math represented, for the most part up until Calculus, tangible ideas.

Jeremy told Jimmy that he had originally wanted to go into psychology or a science like astronomy, but his parents wanted him to go down the same path as his father, which meant politics, and thus, the Political Science major. It was much more sour for him after the most recent scandal though. You didn't end up in scandals as a counselor for LGBTQ+ youth unless you do something truly terrible.

Jimmy saw his point. "But consider that you would have the opportunity to affect real change on the landscape of the country," he pointed out.

"If I even got elected that is," Jeremy groaned. "You have a more likely chance of being elected with a wife and children, than being married to a man. So either I'm looking at a major uphill battle, or a miserable marriage just to fit in with a crowd I detest."

"Unless you consider that the world is changing whether our country wants it to or not," Jimmy disputed.

Jeremy chuckled and raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure you shouldn't be the politician? Or maybe a lawyer."

"I just like to argue," Jimmy said, putting his hand tentatively on Jeremy's leg.

Jeremy chuckled at that. "Oh, you'll love Chloe then. I mean, once she stops threatening you, that is. Because she will for a while. Ethan is far more easy going though." He smiled at the gesture Jimmy made, and put his hand over Jimmy's.

"I think I've absorbed as much math as I'm going to tonight," Jimmy said. "Also that pizza was delicious! Thank you for being such an amazing tutor. However shall I repay you?"

Jeremy gave a sly smile. "I could think of a few ways..."

Jimmy smiled happily, the twinkle in his gray eyes infectious. "Do tell!"

Jeremy stood up and took Jimmy's hand, pulling him along away from the table and to the couch, where they sat down. As soon as they were settled, he brought his hand up to rest behind Jimmy's neck and pulled him in to kiss him. Jimmy kissed him back enthusiastically. Jeremy deepened the kiss and pushed Jimmy back against the arm of the couch, practically straddling Jimmy so he could press their bodies together, while his tongue very gently moved along Jimmy's lips. Jimmy opened his mouth and teased Jeremy's tongue back with his own.

"Mmm, you feel so good against me," Jeremy moaned.

Jimmy, all smiles and golden retriever energy, wiggled under him and put his hand back on Jeremy's thigh, this time higher than he had before. Jeremy smiled and captured his lips again, wanting to make sure they went slow but not too slow. There were people that Jeremy had jumped into bed with rather quickly, and while enjoyable, didn't exactly leave him with the feeling that it was amazing sex, and certainly not the best he'd ever had. Perhaps the right recipe, especially if he was doing this with someone with no experience, was to build up the emotional side first a bit while taking the sexual side in steps.

Jimmy enjoyed Jeremy's kisses and the thrill of being close to him. The part of him that wanted to rush forward and do everything at once was definitely active, but he loved that Jeremy wanted to take things slower. He had generally just jumped into bed with his dates before and while it was enjoyable, there was no mystery left after the first few times and he found he lost interest. Of course, he had never felt this way about anyone before either.

He reveled in the electric attraction between them as he kissed Jeremy back, his near hand around Jeremy's back and his far hand wanting desperately to inch higher on his thigh. They continued to kiss for a while until they both had to break away to catch their breath, and Jeremy rested his forehead on Jimmy's.

Panting slightly, Jimmy said, "How am I doing?"

Jeremy grinned. "You're doing great, but honestly, this is the part that's similar to opposite sex relationships. It's the later stuff that veers off course a lot."

"I've been thinking about that, and doing some research, but I'm sure I'm going to be terrible and awkward at first regardless." Jimmy said.

"Well, that depends," Jeremy admitted, looking away. "I don't know what kind of research you've done, but I'll let you know that most of the guys I've been with haven't wanted to be topped. It's too, ah, 'gay' if you catch my drift. So I've done a ton of bottoming, which, also in some ways, makes it not too, too different from straight sex. It just takes more preparation, which you don't, um, have to be the one to do it, it's just usually more fun that way. But I'm getting ahead of myself."

"Oh, I figured there was, like, a rotation or something," Jimmy said. "I wasn't sure how fast you worked, though, so I kind of haven't eaten much today and, well, you know..."

Jeremy chuckled at that. "No, no rotations. Some people only bottom, some people only top, and people like me are vers, or versatile, and do both. We're not having sex tonight, because trust me when I say you aren't ready, but the fact that you thought that through is killing me right now."

"Killing you how?" Jimmy said, sliding his hand up Jeremy's thigh seductively.

"You know what you're doing right now, James," Jeremy groaned, resting his face on Jimmy's shoulder before giving the skin there a light bite.

Jimmy's intake of breath was sharp and his hand stopped moving, then he groaned in pleasure and took his hand away from Jeremy's leg entirely to touch his neck and twine his fingers into his hair. Jeremy smiled against his skin and then let go, moving back a little bit so he could look at Jimmy.

"You should probably get back to your place, since it's late," Jeremy said, though he sounded reluctant. "But we could do something after your next game. Chloe and Ethan want me to do the whole college experience, which means going to the game."

"Do I have to?" Jimmy pouted, putting his hand back on Jeremy's thigh, painfully close to the bulge in his pants.

Jeremy groaned and kissed him again, this time lighter than before, and pulled back way too soon. "Yeah. I'm not going to negatively affect your schooling, but if you're good, then maybe we'll go a little beyond this next time."

"All I have tomorrow is laundry and the game, honestly, but if you're sure..." Jimmy said, considering doing something rash and impulsive.

Jeremy brought his lips up to Jimmy's ear, speaking low. "Trust me, it will be worth it."

Jimmy shivered at both the thought and the feeling of Jeremy's breath on his ear. He leaned closer and whispered back, "Next time, I want to touch it," before getting up stiffly, adjusting himself slightly and reluctantly packing up his book and grabbing a slice to go. He kissed Jeremy at the door and made his way home in the dusky light, his head still swimming and so many thoughts going through his mind.