Risky Business

I stand up and brush my shirt off. The condo smells like the ocean, and none of us has yet to shower. Matthew looks back at me and flicks his eyes towards the corner of the room. I comply by walking there and making sure that I focus on my surroundings. Casey walks over and sits on the couch where I had just been to put another body between Jake and me.

Matthew opens the door for Jake, who saunters in. Jake is wearing a baggy hoodie and shorts, but his body still fills it out generously at the top.

“So, how are you gonna explain the cancellation?” Jake interrogates Matthew.

"I already have." Matthew has become calm again.

“And, what did you say?"

“I told them that Cameron was not quite ready and that we would rather introduce him to a few guys at a time so that we do not overwhelm him.”

Jake sets his jaw, looking to press further, but realising he cannot. He goes ahead anyway: “And Cameron? How do you think that he is going to become a part of this frat without my approval?”

I can’t tell if I would be happy or not with this revelation.

“You do not have the final say,” Matthew casually notes.

“I have a big part in it.” Jake switches to the defensive.

“I think you’re overestimating your importance again,” Matthew scoffs. “We don’t get along. Why would you give me a reason to capitalise off of that?”

Jake’s eyes narrow, and he approaches Matthew. “You really seem to be the one overstepping.”

“Hey, now,” Casey interjects. “Calm down, you two.”

Jake side-eyes Casey, and then looks at me. He walks over to me, and Casey doesn’t stop his advance. Jake then leans against the thick window sill and puts his arm around my back. I shudder.

Matthew furrows his eyebrows, and a frown forms on his face.

"Remember who owns you now,” Jake threatens.

Casey’s phone rings and his expression mellows out. “I gotta take this,” he announces. “I gotta go.”

Matthew stares at Jake while he rubs my shoulder. Casey steps out of the room, and almost immediately Jake lets go of me. I let out an audible sigh, but Matthew does not let his guard down. Matthew’s body is tense, and his breathing hikes as Jake approaches him.

Jake firmly grasps Matthew’s neck, and his eyes widen as he begins to struggle. Matthew manages enough strength to rip Jake’s hand off him and create some distance. Matthew comes off the wall, ready to be aggressive towards Jake, but he finds himself locked and straining against Jake’s body. Jake manoeuvres himself around and behind Matthew, grabbing his massive body. Matthew grunts as Jake forces him down to his knees. Matthew’s downset eyes meet mine while Jake overpowers him. Jake pushes him down onto the hard, tile floor, and Matthew's face hits the ground only about a metre in front of me.

Shocked by how quickly Jake pinned Matthew’s gigantic body, I don’t act when I know I should. Jake puts his knee down on Matthew’s neck while Matthew struggles to get any kind of leeway with Jake.

“You know I’m stronger than you.” Jake begins taunting Matthew. "Now that Casey is gone, I don’t have to worry about making that known.”

Matthew struggles against Jake, but cannot get loose. I finally get out of my head enough to help Matthew. When I begin to act, Matthew stops me.

”Don’t,” Matthew practically begs.

Jake grins. I can tell that Matthew cannot breathe. I take a moment to contemplate before throwing my body at Jake, knocking him off of Matthew’s neck. Matthew struggles to catch his breath and stays spread on the ground. Jake quickly reorients himself. He easily overpowers me and slams me into the carpeted floor of the bedroom, just past the doorway. I let out a loud grunt since I get winded from the impact. Using my shock and subsequent slowness to his advantage, Jake straddles my body to keep me down. Jake peels off his hoodie and throws it onto the bed behind me. I look over at Matthew slowly getting up. Jake leans into me and I can feel his bulge throbbing against my lower abs.

“Don’t fucking test me,” Jake threatens.

I tremble and flinch as he spits in my face. Jake stands up off of me and turns back to Matthew, who has begun to stand. Jake steps down on his back, which folds him back down to the floor. He groans in pain while Jake asserts himself over both of us.

I rub the back of my head and try to gain composure. Jake steps down on Matthew’s back, keeping the giant in submission. Casey walks in the door and begins to say something before he takes the situation in its entirety.

“Jake, get off of him,” Casey demands.

Jake takes his foot off of Matthew, and Casey comes to my aid. He lifts me with his strong arm. Matthew pushes himself up onto his knees, but he winces severely.

Casey takes a knee next to him and rubs his back. “You okay, big guy?” He mumbles.

“Yeah,” he mutters. Casey helps him back up to his feet slowly, and Matthew tends to his throat by rubbing it for a while. He winces again and gives Jake a mean look.

“What the fuck, Jake?” Casey interrogates. “I get that you don’t like them but you gotta stop acting like a fucking child.”

Jake shrugs. “Maybe you should pick some better guys to join our frat instead of degrading it with guys you think are cute.”

Jake’s dominance is undeniable, especially since he takes it out in a traditional patriarchal demonstration of physical abuse.

"They need to know their place.” Jake defends his actions. “Mattie hasn’t accepted his place under me in the three years he’s been with us.”

Matthew huffs and approaches Jake, ready to test him again.

“And Cameron,” Jake turns to me, “you’re pathetic. You know you don’t compare to any of us, and you need to learn that this isn’t gonna be like Boston.”

“No fucking shit,” my tone matches Casey’s. “You’re the one that wanted to meet me, and you clearly are just here to cause problems.”

Jake cocks his head and laughs in disbelief. “Do you wanna end up like you were just a few minutes ago?”

Casey walks up to him and presses his chest to Jake’s. “Come on, dude. You gotta stop it.” Casey runs his hands through Jake’s chest hair. “Just leave it, for now, babe.”

I can barely hear them.

“You two are dating?" I ask, shocked.

Matthew looks down at me and rubs my shoulder. Casey mumbles something to Jake, and Jake rests his head on Casey’s shoulder, almost melding into him. He kisses Casey’s neck gently before Casey breaks contact to turn back to me.

“So you’re jealous?” A cocky grin forms on my face.

“Back down,” Casey raises his voice. Jake rests his hand on Casey’s shoulder and moves him gently to the side.

“What did you say?” Jake asks. He gets into my face, and I try to hide my fear. My grin fades, I crease my forehead.

“Come on, Jake,” Matthew pipes up. “This won’t get anywhere.”

Jake raises an arm at Matthew, and Matthew flinches. Jake lets out a quiet laugh and switches his focus back to me. “Now, Cameron. Tell me why the fuck I would be jealous of a boy like you?”

I lean back further into the window, my back pressing against the blinds. Casey grabs Jake’s right hand and pulls him back.

“Get out,” Matthew insists.

“Let’s go have a chat.” Casey directs a half-hearted smile at us and drops his head as he follows Jake out of the condo.

Matthew lets out a long sigh of relief and kicks his shoes off. “I’ve had to deal with this for the last three years. He’s always been stronger than me,” Matthew admits. He walks into the kitchen and fills a cup with water. He takes a long sip and then continues. “He didn’t like me because I was Casey’s first pick, and I still don’t even know if he felt threatened by me, or just didn’t like that Casey spent a lot of time with me while they were talking.

“Now that they’re dating, Jake has exclusive rights to Casey’s attention in any type of way.” Matthew chugs the rest of his water and refills the cup. “Jake doesn’t treat other guys like he has you and me. Yeah, I mean— I guess he can be aggressive a lot, but he’s never been straight up— just abusive. We’ve had our fights, but he’s never put his knee down on my neck like that. And— well, he’s most definitely never tried to drown a guy he met that was to become a part of our frat, not even me.”

I slouch down into the couch and Matthew sits to my left. “How’s your neck?” I ask him.

“It’s fine, it’s just gonna be sore.”

I rest my head on Matthew’s shoulder. He rubs my back and pulls me in closer.

“I’m sorry this is what you have to deal with,” Matthew frowns. He reaches to the side table and clicks on the lamp. Matthew leans back into my body, and this time he kisses me on the forehead. He grabs my jaw gently and lifts my face to his. His lips slowly lock with mine, and Matthew readjusts his body to better hold me. Matthew pushes me down into the couch and climbs on top of me. He pulls my shirt off of my body and he slowly kisses his way down my body.

I try to stifle my moans, but I can’t hold them. He smiles and slides the waistband of my bathing suit down. My semi-hard dick slaps my stomach.

“Someone’s excited.” Matthew begins to jerk me off, and I begin leaking precum almost immediately.

I blush and guide Matthew’s head further down my muscular body with my right hand. He looks into my eyes as he wraps his lips around my cock. I lean my head back and moan, squirming in pleasure. Matthew steadies my thighs as he licks up my shaft, collecting a bead of precum coming from my throbbing dick. Matthew moves back down and gently puts my balls in his mouth, cleaning the salt off of them.

“Not gonna let me rinse the sand off, first?” I tease.

He climbs back up on top of me and grinds his growing bulge against my taint. Matthew rolls off of me and easily scoops me up in his arms. He takes me to the bathroom through a door on the right side of the kitchen. He sets me down on the countertop, shuts the second door to the bedroom, and flicks the light on. I drape my arms over his shoulders when he walks back over to me. I bite Matthew’s neck gently, leaving a small mark. His stubble pokes my cheek, but I continue down to his neck and collarbone.

“Mmph, keep going,” he whispers. He slowly begins to press further into my body, spreading my legs apart and gently positioning them around his thick butt. He melds into me, letting me support some of his weight while I take in his scent.

Matthew backs away from me to my displeasure. A drop of precum falls onto the counter. Matthew turns on the shower and waits for the water to warm up before returning to me. Matthew peels his shirt off. A thin coat of blond hair covers his entire body. It thickens out a little bit around his belly button and down below his v-line. Matthew steps out of his shorts and slowly peels off his damp briefs. Matthew’s massive, slightly engorged dick falls out. My eyes widen as he grabs and strokes it a few times to begin getting it hard again. His balls hang low and heavy. He has a trimmed, light brown bush that fills out the base of his shaft. He looks at me and smiles. My mouth is opened slightly in amazement at the size.

“How big?” I can’t help but ask.

“Seven soft,” he states with pride. “Eleven and a half when hard.”

“No fucking way,” I shake my head. “Nah, goddamn.”

He just laughs again and presses his dick against my taint again. He pulls me in for another kiss. I can feel him getting hard again, and I keep catching myself staring at his beautifully sculpted piece of meat.

Matthew can’t stop smiling, and his eyes show more emotion than the rest of him does. He looks down and slaps his dick over mine. He easily outsizes me, and it continues to grow. He slowly jerks it with his right hand and takes my cock in his other. I moan quietly while he massages my tip with his thumb, swirling my precum around my head to lube it up. Matthew puts his thumb in my mouth and I lick my precum off of it. Matthew lifts me off of the counter and guides me to the shower.

“Too hot?” He asks, standing behind me. He rests his chin on my head and rubs the side of my arms. He closes his eyes and lets the hot water wash over him for a few minutes before grabbing the soap. He grabs a washcloth as well and begins to lather my body. He begins at my neck, and slowly moves down my back, gently scrubbing my back with a washcloth. He gets down on his knees and continues working on my back. He slaps my muscular ass and spreads my cheeks. He leans in and kisses my right butt cheek before slowly running his hands down my legs. I close my eyes and wait for his next move, aroused and curious about what his intentions are with me. I feel his face pressed into my ass. Matthew slowly begins to tongue at my hole, and I immediately let out a moan. I use the shower wall to support myself while the new sensation overcomes me.

“Fuck, Cameron,” Matthew moans. “You taste so good.”

I bend over more so that Matthew has better access to my hole, and he starts to get me wet. His jaw flexes while he focuses on my hole.

I can’t hold in my pleasure. “Fuck,” I exhale sharply, “oh, fuck Matt.” I arch my back into him and shift some of my weight as he pulls me back further onto his face.

Matthew stands up. Although disappointed, I don’t complain. He rubs his massive dick against my hole and pulls me into his arms.

“I can’t take that,” I say, honestly.

“I wouldn’t expect you to—“ he trails off. “Yet.”

I pull away from him gently, beginning to reciprocate what he has done for me. I grab the washcloth from his hand, add more soap, then begin rubbing it gently on his chest. His broad pecs rise and fall slowly with each breath. I pinch his left nipple pretty hard, and he grunts.

“Hey!” He blusters, “they’re sensitive.”

“Turn around,” I reply.

I scratch Matthew’s back and lather it with a generous amount of soap. It’s pretty red from the summer sun, and there’s also a bruise forming where Jake had tried to use him as a stepping stool. I poke at it gently before continuing. He has a beautifully round ass covered in a coat of light brown fuzz. Thicker than what’s on his chest, but it’s not bushy. I grab his ass and squeeze it hard. In response, Matthew huffs slightly.

I slowly spread his ass as he did mine, revealing a perfect, tight pink hole surrounded by fuzz. I take a few moments to inhale his body, undeniably manly, before delving into his still somewhat salty hole.

“Oh, shit!” Matthew exclaims, seemingly surprised when my tongue first makes contact.

I press my tongue around his tight hole and listen to the granted reaction. He puts his hands on the back of my head and pushes me deep into his ass. His bubble butt feels suffocating, but it tastes so much better. I hold securely onto his thighs with one arm, but leave the other hand free to gently play with his bull balls. I feel his cock throb, and the warm water helps his balls hang even lower than they were before.

Matthew turns around, and I’m faced with probably the biggest dick I’ve ever seen in my life. He grins at me and slaps it down on my face. The weight of it adds to my uncertainty about the size.

“Open your mouth,” he says. His voice is commanding, but still gentle.

Matthew rests the swollen tip against my lips and slowly pushes the head inside. It feels like my jaw is going to unhinge, but he takes it slow enough for me to accommodate what I can. He puts one of his massive hands on the back of my head and gently guides me down on it, thrusting slightly deeper every time. I gag loudly, and he pulls out to give me time to get some air.

“Only halfway there,” he smiles.

“I can’t fit it all,” I remark.

“You’ll get used to it,” he coos.

He pushes his dick back in my mouth, and slowly tries to push further, but meets resistance. I gag again, but this time Matthew holds my head firm on his dick while I try to pull away. I look up at him and his eyes are determined. My body flexes while I try to pull off, but Matthew easily overpowers me. I do my best to relax my throat, but his cock stretches my mouth to its limit. He finally pulls out and I breathe heavily, putting my hands down on the shower floor for support.

“I’m not ready,” I complain.

Matthew nods and lifts me back up to my feet. He washes his legs and feet and then does mine. Matthew shuts off the water and reaches for a towel that hangs on a metal bar over the toilet. He dries himself, but I help him with his back and hair. He opens the shower curtain and steps out, he somewhat disappears into the steam that has accumulated in the room. I dry off quickly and hop out to follow him into the main room where Jake and Casey are talking.

Jake looks me up and down before he looks me in the eyes. “Have fun?” He teases us.

“Yeah, we did.” Matthew grabs my shoulder and pulls me into his side. He smiles at Jake, although it’s superficial. He lets go of me and grabs his bag. He pulls out a fresh change of clothes and slips into them quickly. Matthew walks into the kitchen and I sit at the glass table across from the door, situated against a wall that contains the bedroom

“There are drinks in the fridge,” Casey says.

Matt changes course, heading for the fridge. He grabs a beer and throws it up in the air, then he catches it and secures it in his large hands.

“I’ll be out here looking at the lights,” Matt says, opening the door to the balcony. The door slams behind him.

I pull out my phone and scroll through my messages. There are a few from my mom. I type off a quick reply to let her know that I’m doing alright, even at the eventual risk of her being right about how I should not have come here. My mind races around my experience with Jake, but I know that Matthew will try to protect me as best as possible. After seeing what happened today, though, I’m not sure that his vows of protection are going to help much. I look up from my phone, and Jake is staring right at me. Casey’s eyes fix on the television. I try to ignore Jake, but his eyes pierce through my psyche. His eyes soften, and then he looks back over to Casey. He leans his head against Casey’s shoulder and closes his eyes. His body relaxes. I can’t help but look at his beautiful body, and sculpted face. It’s cliché, but he really could be a Greek god with his killer jaw and cheekbone combination. Everything about him is domineering, but Casey does a damn good job at controlling that. Casey whispers something into Jake’s left ear, and then he proceeds to go outside on the Balcony with Matt. The wind creates a slight whistle as the door shuts behind him.

Jake’s eyes soften, he sighs, he stands. He approaches me. I tense up instinctually. He offers me his hand, but I shake my head.

“Up,” he ushers, albeit his voice is calm.

I reject his hand again and stand instead according to my own will.

“Grab your wallet and key card, we’re going for a walk.”

Does he know how to be nicer? Or is this all I’m getting from him? It beats being drowned.

Jake doesn’t bother for a shirt. To be honest, though, I don’t mind the decision to go without one either. I follow him out of the condo, and he walks briskly down the hall. It’s musty and weirdly lit. I put my mask on out of concerns of— well, Florida, and because it blocks the smell. We get into the elevator and Jake gives me a weird look.

“Take that shit off,” he demands. “You shouldn't be worried about a cold.”

What he just said gets under my skin more than his other remarks, out of its pure ignorance. “I will when we get outside.”

Jake rolls his eyes. “No one cares about the virus here.”

“One out of the two of us does.” My comment is risky, but he just rolls his eyes again and doesn’t reply.

We walk out of the building, and I remove my mask. The humid air hits my face. There’s a strong breeze coming in from the ocean about thirty miles to our east. The feeling of the wind against my face is calming, which lowers the nervousness that has built up around Jake. Jake and I walk together on the sidewalk next to the condo. A siren blares in the distance, adding to the unsettling weather. I look up at our balcony and see Matthew and Casey sitting together. I wave up to Matt but he doesn’t notice. We continue walking towards the exit of the entire condominium complex, and I follow Jake’s lead, guarding myself hesitantly and proceeding with care. He gets to be a few paces ahead of me before he says anything.

“Come on, Cameron,” he grumbles.

“Sorry, sorry.”

We walk together along the side of the road for a solid ten or fifteen minutes before we come upon a lit promenade. There’s no one out other than the occasional jogger. A steady flow of cars passes on the boulevard beside us. A few raindrops land in front of us, and Jake seems to pay no mind to the thunder rumbling in the distance. He breaks off of the sidewalk and leads me to the promenade, dotted with benches and string lighting that enhance the stormy atmosphere around us. He sits and pats the bench, indicating that I have to sit next to him. Jake lets out a long sigh and rubs his chest. He turns his head away from me, looking down the lit pathway.

“You need to get to know me,” Jake begins, “and Casey said it would be good if I got to know you.” His demeanour changes, but I cannot make out a solid expression since his face is still turned away from me. “Casey also said that I should try harder to be more accepting of you and Matthew.”

I sit beside him, my lack of words making the situation more awkward for Jake. A wave of confusion and curiosity flows over my body, and I can’t help but question his intentions. Jake looks down to his feet and the sound of rain slowly hitting the leaves is the only thing that is breaking the silence. He leans over and rests his arm on the back of the bench. Jake looks up to the sky and closes his eyes. The breeze ruffles his jet black hair. I want to pull out my phone, but at the same time, I don’t want to anger Jake.

“I’m sorry,” he breaks the silence. “I’m just possessive over Casey.”

I don’t know how to react to the apology, and at the same time, I don’t know how to respond to his admission of being possessive; or of his jealousy.

“Not like you tried to kill me or anything,” I joke.

He sets his jaw and stares blankly at the damp concrete. I realise that it was not the correct time to make a joke. My heart is beating through my chest right now, my mind is foggy.

“Casey is making me do this,” he admits.

“Why else would you be talking to me?”

Jake’s eyes narrow while his breathing intensifies. I misread the situation again, and my snide remarks are undermining the intimacy of this conversation. I feel sympathy for Jake, although I keep fucking up every word possible as if we’re in anything similar to the situation as we were by the park.

“Listen,” he says through gritted teeth. “ I am just trying to make amends. I know I need to get better with my emotions and I see where I fucked up.” Jake’s vulnerability shocks me again. “I’m not good at apologising, I never learned how to apologise and mean it.” I sit quietly this time, deciding that it’s probably best to not respond to him for the sake of both our mental sanities. He removes his arms from the bench, leans forward, and uses his fist to support his chin. The lights above us illuminate and contour every muscle in Jake's back. The rain helps make his body look even more impressive. His skin looks soft, serving as a temptation to my eyes, even if what he has done to me has deterred me. We sit together for a couple more minutes as the rain begins to pick up. The steady amount of raindrops hitting both of us make us considerably wet.

“Well...” Jake rises from the bench and wipes off his shorts. “This is going nowhere fast.”

Without saying another word, Jake walks back in the direction of the condo, leaving me alone in the rain. I turn and watch Jake as he walks away from me. Once he gets to the sidewalk, he picks up his pace, beginning to jog back to the condo. The darkness engulfs his body. Eventually, the bushes that line the sidewalk obscure him from my view.

I sit quietly in the rain. I want to go after Jake to talk, but at the same time, I think that it would be better if we kept some distance until the raw emotions settle down again. I pull out my phone, and a text from Casey reads: “Jake wanted to be more open with you. I hope it’s going well.” I sigh and wallow into the bench.

My mind keeps flashing back to seeing him vulnerable— he showed me his back, his guard was down, and most importantly, he held his anger when I was being a pure dick. Am I not justified, though? I want to say that he doesn’t deserve to treat me like shit and then think I’ll just be happy about making amends. At the same time, I know the dick now, and the side of Jake that I had just seen offered me a look into what our relationship could be. The brain fog that has affected me all afternoon has only gotten worse with the dynamics and the newness of what could very well be a long journey with these four men, and dozens of others. I shudder at the thought of how many more guys like Jake are in the frat. I can understand why Jake is doing what he is. I also understand why he is so defensive over his boyfriend, but I do not want to be lesser than the rest, simply because I am the new one. For a second— or third time— maybe, well— I don’t know. I just know damn well that I’m overwhelmed and conflicted. Maybe my mother and Jake were correct. Am I really cut out for this?

The rain picks up. By this point, I am absolutely drenched. I peel my shirt off of my body, try to wring the water out, and put it down on the bench. I lean over, now facing the ground. I run my hand along the wooden bench before hitting it hard because of my anger. My breathing becomes rapid. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m back on the bottom rung of my life.