Page 2 of Whirlwind

Chapter 1

Taylor

Taylor ducked behind one of the cars he’d worked on that morning, then eased slowly around it. He knew he was being creepy, but at least in the garage there were plenty of excuses. He might be looking for a tool or checking someone’s tires. He inched closer.

Julio stood there in the driveway where anyone could see him. A slim, blond man with pretty lips rested a hand on his shoulder, then moved it seductively down over his chest. With the industrial fan running Taylor couldn’t make out their words, but the movements said enough.

Julio, of course, was the perfect specimen of rugged masculinity. His rough mechanic’s pants were just tight enough to give a sense of his muscular thighs, and his arms bulged under the up-turned shirt sleeves of his garage shirt. His bronzed skin seemed to shine, the thin sunlight catching on the rich dark hair of his arms.

Even though he was short, a result of his Mexican heritage, he held his body with visible power and control. He said something to the twink, who looked down, and then looked up flirtatiously under his eyelids even though he was taller than Julio.

Julio gave the twink a stare like he was going to eat him alive, and the man looked like he was ready to offer himself up on a platter.

Not a man, though. Julio would probably call him a boy. As in, get on your knees, boy. They’d barely talked about it in their decade of friendship, but Taylor knew that Julio liked to frequent a certain club. He had a pretty good idea of what he did there, too. It involved handcuffs and whips.

But while they never talked about it, Taylor had spent a lot of time “researching” it online. With his hand on his dick. Julio, ever-confident Julio, would probably be more than happy to talk about it.

But Taylor was too shy to ask, and too nervous that he would give himself away. He’d shut down any sexual conversations with Julio as soon as they started.

Julio probably thought he was a prude, but really the idea of Julio with a whip in his hand brought blood rushing to Taylor’s cock. Images of Julio standing over him, making him feel small, filled his dreams.

Today, with the pretty little boy practically making out with his best friend in the driveway, the idea just made him feel nauseous.

There was no way that Julio would ever look at him with that hungry gaze. No way that Julio would look at his broad shoulders, pot belly, and dirty brown hair and see anything worth touching. And especially, no chance that Julio would see his demented little secret as anything but disgusting.

Taylor had been caught trying on his mother’s dress exactly once in his teen-aged years, and that was enough to last a lifetime. He’d bluffed that it was a joke, that some of the other guys were doing it, but his parents had never looked at him the same way again.

He’d been strongly encouraged to play football the following year, and he’d acquiesced mostly to get them off his back. He wasn’t particularly good at it, but even warming the bench seemed to do the trick.

The only good part about football had been that he got to take the late bus home. Because that’s where he’d met Julio. Confident, self-assured Julio who was half his size, but had won enough fights that no one thought twice about messing with him for being openly gay.

He was in the photography club and on the wrestling team, he had blue hair and a pierced ear, and the cutting remarks that fell from his mouth when someone tried to give him shit were legendary.

Taylor had been drawn toward him like a moth to a flame. After a few days of maneuvering, he managed to sit next to the sexy spitfire on the bus.

He’d drawn up his courage to strike up a conversation and been shocked to find that they had a lot in common. And that Julio was willing to listen to him talk about it. And invite him over to play video games after school. And help him with his essays in exchange for some tips in physics.

They’d quickly become best friends, and then business partners, taking over the garage when Taylor’s father died. Technically, Taylor owned the garage and Julio was the employee, but they worked together well as a team. Taylor did all the bookkeeping and Julio did the marketing and most of the conversations with customers, using his bubbly personality and winning smile to keep them coming back.

Taylor gave both of them the same salary, which seemed only fair since they really did the same amount of work. Taylor lived above the garage, so he was saving up to buy a beautiful house someday. Maybe with a dog and… He tried not to let those thoughts go too far. It was depressing.

Julio was using his to pay for college, which was taking him six years instead of four since he was working full time. He still had another year to finish his business degree, which had given Taylor a sense of comfort until a few weeks ago when Julio casually mentioned that he’d be taking an internship in the fall.

Taylor had tried to be positive, but inside he was quaking. If Julio worked at the garage part time next year, it made it much more real that in the following year he’d be leaving. Even if he didn’t move to another city, they wouldn’t see each other every day. And then what would he do?

Right now, they spent most of their days together, and many evenings too, watching movies or hanging out with friends at a bar. Taylor always told himself it was enough. Because he seemed to have used up all his courage in that one conversation on the bus ten years ago.

Julio knew that he was gay, though. He’d confessed one night after far too much cheap booze, but nothing ever came of it. Julio didn’t pin him down and kiss him until he couldn’t breathe. He didn’t pull his bulky frame onto his lap and hold him tenderly. Instead, he joked with him about picking up guys together. And started flirting with Taylor shamelessly and meaninglessly the next day.

At last, the little twink turned to leave, looking coyly over his shoulder. Julio smacked his ass. Taylor’s stomach turned. He’d never be able to pull off that coy look.

He’d felt Julio’s strong hand on his ass before, though. Twice. But only in friendship. “Of course, you’re hot. Get out there and find yourself a man.” Slap. He’d relived the memories late at night, the pleasure-pain of the slap and the searing pain of Julio’s disinterest.

The implications were pretty clear in Taylor’s head. Julio wasn’t interested. Moreover, Taylor was a big guy, so he should be the dominant one in the relationship, the top. It was the last thing he wanted. So he’d stood by the bar, week after week, watching Julio dance with the twink of the day.

He’d stopped going out to the gay dance clubs with Julio a few years ago because it just hurt too much. So now when Julio went out clubbing—or to the other club—Taylor stayed at home and tried to pretend that he was happy.

Julio was still standing in the driveway, watching the twink’s perky butt as he sashayed away. Then he turned to Taylor, looking smug.