The Hidden Life Read Free Page A

be who he loved. Despite the violent contact sport he played day in and day out, Colin was by far the kindest, friendliest, most gentle-hearted person I’d ever met. Genuine to the core, he was human gold. And I craved every ounce of him.
    “Sounds great, man,” I murmured as I dropped down to my knees next to him and helped unpack the sleeping bags, assortment of board games, and pantry-full of snacks he’d lugged up here sometime earlier. Knowing he was just as troubled by the thought of us moving in different directions in our life as I was soothed some of my anxiety.
    I reached in the box to grab a can of Easy Cheese, the same kind we used to squirt directly into our mouths, much to our mothers’ disapproval, at the same time he did. Our fingers brushed over each other’s and a shock of electricity jolted up my arm, through my chest, and settled directly between my legs.
    My eyes shot up from where they were focused inside the box to meet his bewildered expression, neither of us moving our hands as the stimulating charge continued to buzz everywhere our skin touched. A blaze flickered deep in his eyes as he swallowed hard, drawing my attention down to his throat. His pulse beat fast and furiously under the pale flesh of his neck, matching the pace of my own heart threatening to take flight inside my ribcage.
    “Colin,” I breathed, unconsciously leaning in toward him until only a couple of inches separated our faces. “I need to talk to you about something.”
    “Seth, don’t do this,” he hissed. His voice was low and full of caution, but he didn’t retreat.
    This wasn’t at all how I envisioned the scene playing out, but I decided to take advantage of the opportunity that had presented itself and press my luck. The worst he could do was punch me and tell me to go fuck myself.
    Scooting forward a tiny bit, the tip of my nose brushed against his as I whispered, “Why not? Did you think I didn’t know? Tell me right now you don’t want to kiss me.”
    His nostrils flared as his heated gaze fell to my lips, but he said nothing.
    “Am I wrong? When you close your eyes at night, you don’t fantasize about—”
    His mouth crashed down onto mine before I could finish my thought, capturing me in an intense, savage kiss. Impulsively, my hands flew to his chest — pawing, grasping, squeezing — as my lips parted, granting him full access to whatever he wanted. The box was hastily shoved out of the way, supplies flying across the wood-plank floor, and the space between our bodies disappeared as Colin grabbed the back of my neck and yanked me to him. Bruising yet soothing, his demanding kisses stole my breath. And my heart.
    As our tongues dueled for control, feverishly twining around one another, I instinctively ground my hips against his and rubbed our thick cocks together beneath our shorts. A guttural moan escaped his mouth, causing him to lean back and break the kiss.
    “Seth, I didn’t bring you up here for this. I… I wasn’t…” He rested his forehead on mine, his wild eyes searching, pleading. “You’ve got to be sure before we go any further. It’s not worth losing you.”
    Dropping one of my hands to the bulge straining behind his zipper, I stroked up and down the length of his shaft, never once breaking eye contact with him. Then, with a wicked grin, I nipped at his bottom lip and murmured, “I’ve never been more sure about anything.”

 
    “I love us
    for the way
    our eyes make
    love
    to each other’s
    soul.”
    -Christopher Poindexter
    Seth
     
    I DOUBLE CHECKED that my apartment was locked up tight then raced out to my car, threw my overnight bag in the trunk, and jumped in the driver’s seat. Already leaving over an hour later than I’d planned, I zigzagged my way around the side streets surrounding Northwestern University, streets that had become my stomping ground for the previous three-and-a-half years while earning my undergraduate degree, and onto the interstate that led