Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2018 18:35:30 -0500
From: a4f tales <a4ftales@gmail.com>
Subject: "The Stragglers"

Here's a story taken from my Tumblr, at
talesfromunderthemattress.tumblr.com. You can find this one, and the pic
that inspired it, here:
talesfromunderthemattress.tumblr.com/post/168983153041/

You can also find a whole lot more of my stories here on Nifty - look for
'a4f101' in the Prolific Authors listing.

This story is purely a work of adult erotic fantasy, copyright me 2018. I
own it and all legal rights to it. **That means you cannot repost,
reformat, or reproduce this story anywhere without my express permission.**

If you're under the age of majority in your jurisdiction, please come back
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*****

By Friday afternoon, campus was like a ghost town. It had been emptying out
steadily for days, slowly at first, then real quick all of a sudden by
Thursday, as everybody finished up with finals and got on the road home for
the holidays as soon as they could. Not Aiden, though. His last final was
one of the ones that got pushed back to Friday afternoon, the last of the
last, thanks to losing a couple of class days to snow at the end of
November. His classmates had been pissed about that, but Aiden hadn't
minded. The gym wasn't as crowded, lines at the dining hall were shorter,
and the halls of the dorms were a lot quieter.

Now, Aiden was one of the last ones, one of the few stragglers left, and he
was kind of loving it. He unlocked his dorm room door, tossed his phone and
keys on the bed, and took in the sight of the half-empty room with a
smile. His roommate had headed home late on Wednesday, and already it was
almost like he'd never been there, nothing left of him but the vague
imprint of his body on the stripped-down mattress across from Aiden's
bed. It was quiet in here. Quiet on the whole floor, in fact. First real
quiet Aiden had experienced in months. For the first time in forever, he
had a space of his own, privacy to do as he pleased, and it was almost as
good as a vacation.

As soon as those two important words registered, "quiet" and "privacy",
Aiden knew what he wanted to do, more than anything. Kind of celebrate the
end of finals, the end of semester, a release of the pent-up stress he'd
been experiencing lately. His cock started to tingle into wakefulness
inside his jeans as he ran his hand over it, feeling it stirring, smiling
to himself as he tugged his belt open and kicked off his boots.

He could take his time jerking off now, just lay out on top of the covers,
sprawled across his bed, completely naked in the daylight, feeling on his
body as he stroked on his cock. He had a pretty nice cock, he thought, and
he didn't get nearly enough chances to admire it lately. There was always
that tension in his belly, that risk that his roommate might come through
the door at any minute, and catch him with his dick in his hand. Made it
hard to really enjoy a good session of alone-time. Not now, though. Now, he
didn't have to stifle his noises, his grunts of pleasure, the soft wet
*schwick-schwick-schwick* of his lubed fist gliding up and down the length
of his cock, his lusty moans as he took himself up to the brink, then
backed off, tugging on his fat young balls to hold off the wave of his
orgasm, so he could build right back up again. Yeah, Aiden thought - now
this was luxury.

As he got deeper into his stroke, pinching his stiff nip, feeling up the
pump he'd gotten at the gym this morning, luxuriating in the quiet peace,
he got to thinking about where else it'd be quiet on the floor. Another
place he could really go to town on himself, and not get busted. He grinned
to himself, and backed the pace of his hand down to a slow maintenance
stroke, tuning his ears to the hall, listening for the sounds of other
people. Grinned wider as his ears registered the complete silence.

*Yeah bro,* he thought. *Let's do it.*

Aiden swung his legs off the bed, found his sweats and T-shirt from his
workout this morning, then tugged them on, his cock making an obscene tent
in his grey sweatpants. He grinned at it in his mirror, tugging on the
long, hard arc of it, making it throb some more. Then he grabbed his towel
and his shower bag and his keys, and headed down the hall to the bathrooms,
letting his cock bulge lead the way, a big wicked smile on his face the
whole time.

* * * * *

There was another guy in the shower room. Aiden found himself first
surprised, and then a little irked. He was positive everybody else had gone
home, and he was the only one still around. He'd been looking forward to
having the bathroom all to himself, and especially the chance to take a
long, hot shower, and stroke out a long, hot load along with
it. Goddammit. Well, he was here now, and he might as well go ahead. Maybe
the other dude would finish up, and he'd get his shot - or his shots -
after all.

He'd been showering with other guys for years, playing sports back in
school, so that wasn't such a big deal - and besides, the stalls here were
at least individual, with curtains to give you some privacy. Keep it quiet
enough, and you could rub one out in here even when dudes were using the
other showers. Aiden had been a little scared to do that the first time,
but also excited to do it too. Really excited, in fact. The first time he
heard the telltale grunts of a dude trying to stroke one out while keeping
quiet from one of the other stalls, he'd been surprised to find his own
cock suddenly thickening up in his hand, and ever since, he'd kind of
gotten into the habit of doing it. Every dude had some idea about how to
keep it quiet when you wanted to get off - every dude learned how to do
that at home, growing up. Aiden had found it weirdly hot to try doing it
with another guy showering the next stall over. Almost like a challenge,
seeing how quietly you could get off. Maybe seeing if you could hear
another guy doing it too. Maybe seeing if you could time it out to shoot
your load at the same time as the other guy, listening for the sounds of
his orgasm as you stroked your way towards your own.

Aiden couldn't see who the other dude was, just heard the sounds of the
water. He set down his shower kit on the shelf over the sink, making sure
the other guy heard him, because it seemed like the polite thing to do. The
dude might have been in the middle of something, or maybe he was planning
on being in the middle of something - like, say, a long, soapy stroke
session, when he thought nobody else was around. Aiden's cock started to
plump up in his sweats as soon as he started thinking that, but he tried to
ignore it as he reached into an empty stall a couple down from the other
dude, turned the water on, and slipped out of his clothes, letting his
still mostly hard cock lead the way into the stall.

"Hello?" he heard a voice call out after a minute.

"What's up," he called back.

"Shit... thought it was just me here," the other guy said, and he tried to
place the voice, but with all the water noises and stuff, it was hard to
do. Could have been any one of a dozen guys on the floor - and it had to be
one of the guys from this floor, you needed a keycard to access it.

"Yeah, me too," Aiden chuckled.

"You have a late final too?" the other guy said.

"Yeah, Anthro, didn't get done `til like 3," Aiden said as he squeezed out
some body wash and started lazily soaping up his chest. His pecs were
feeling full and tight from the workout this morning. Sensitive. Already,
his nips were starting to stiffen up from the attention, and his cock was
too, after he'd abruptly held off his load. He really wanted to bust this
nut now. Except this other dude was in here too. But then again...

"Western Civ here," the guy said. "I got done by lunch, but didn't feel
like heading home yet. Figured I'd chill, enjoy the quiet."

"Same, bro," Aiden said, dipping his head under the spray as he fondled his
chest, his other hand idly soaping his treasure trail, working lower,
watching his cock slowly engorging, stretching upright. Brushing the backs
of his knuckles against the curve of the shaft, smiling to himself as he
watched himself growing again. Eager to take it in his soapy hand, and take
the slow ride he'd been looking forward to. Just as soon as this other
rando got the fuck out of here.

They fell into quiet, just the sounds of the water on the tile, splashing
as its course over their bodies changed as they washed. Aiden was looking
down at his cock as he soaped his bush, feeling the tingle under his skin,
when he heard the quiet sounds coming from the other stall. A kind of
rhythm to the splashing of the water, like it was hitting a moving
target. Like a moving forearm. A stroking forearm, maybe. He cocked his
head, frowning, listening closer. Then he heard a kind of raggedy, quiet
exhale of breath, and he started smiling to himself. The other dude was
stroking off.

That was kinda weird, because they'd like had a mini-conversation and
everything. There wasn't any question - the dude knew Aiden was here. It
felt a little bit like the guy was breaking some kind of unspoken
agreement, acknowledging it was just the two of them in here, but going
ahead with his dick in his hand anyway. Like a bro code violation, maybe.

*Dude, you jack off in here when there's other dudes showering all the
time,* he thought. *You know you're not the only one who does it, either.*

The whole time he was thinking this, Aiden was soaping his thickening cock,
growing in his slick hand, and as the rhythmic splashing picked up pace, he
found himself starting to stroke too. Soon enough, he was hard as fuck, his
hand full of cock, as he watched his fist slide the lather up and down the
gleaming length of it, just like the other guy was doing, and listened to
the quiet, but unmistakable noises coming from two stalls down.

The other guy let out a raggedy, panting kind of breath, the kind you do
when you're getting close, and that just spurred Aiden on even more,
picking up the pace on his soapy cocklength. He found himself kind of
mentally cheering the dude on, thinking shit like *Yeah, go for it bro, get
that nut*, which was a weird thing to think, but not the first time he'd
thought that, listening to another guy jackin' it in here. And it was hot
as hell, too, making his own cock throb and thrum as he picked up the
pace. Even hotter, as he started to try and picture what this other dude
looked like, which of his floormates he might be, what his cock looked
like, what his hand looked like all soaped up and stroking along the length
of it...

Another raggedy *huff-huff* of breath from the other stall, the splashing
getting a little faster. *Fuck, he doesn't even care,* Aiden thought, *he's
gonna bust any second now, and he knows I'm right here...* His own strokes
got faster and faster, his thumb and forefinger pinching his tingling nip,
trying to play catch-up without even thinking about it, just following his
instincts and his cock and the fast-approaching feeling building up in his
balls and the base of his piece.

Aiden could hear the dude's strained whisper, just a little louder than the
drum of the water - "Aw fuck!" - and he swore he could just about hear the
guy's load, shooting out of his cock, down onto the tile floor of the
stall, into the swirling water, circling into the drain with the soap
bubbles. He grunted, maybe a little louder than he'd planned on letting
out, and focused on the upper stretch of his cock, fast, slick strokes, his
thumb working that spot right under the head, stroking over the tingling
soapy flesh of his helmet, faster and faster, biting his lip, pinching his
stiff tit, his breath getting raggedy now, wondering what the dude's cock
looked like as it shot, how big his load was, reaching down to touch that
spot between his balls and his hole now as he pictured the guy shooting his
cum, then he was gasping again, feeling it coming, feeling himself coming,
and he swore he heard the dude chuckle at the noise, but it was too late to
stop now, fuck, fuck, "Oh *fuck!*"

Aiden's cum hit the wall in front of him, where countless loads had
probably splattered before, all these decades this dorm had stood, all the
horny young dudes who'd come in here, and cum in here, maybe generations of
cumloads before his. He wondered if the other dude could hear the thick,
wet splats - Aiden had always been a pretty big shooter, and he'd noticed
his loads getting bigger since he'd gotten to college, maybe something to
do with being 18 and basically a man now. He started to blush, as his
breath slowed, his cock softening slowly in his soapy fist, shivering all
over in a post-orgasmic aftershock. He thought about that soft, knowing
chuckle from the other dude's stall, right before he shot off. Started
blushing harder. Wondered how long it would take the guy to finish up
showering, and if he could just wait him out in here.

He heard the water in the other stall shut off, and breathed a silent sigh
of relief, then focused on very slowly, carefully washing himself,
listening to the sounds of the guy at the sink, the water running
there. Aiden stayed under the spray until he was pretty sure he was on his
own, his face flushed from the heat of the water, the afterglow of his hard
cum, and the sudden shame of being caught out like he'd just been. Once he
was sure he couldn't hear anything outside, he shut the water off, and
slowly swiped his towel over his body, before knotting it round his waist
and drawing the curtain back.

The bathroom was empty, just the faint traces of the other guy's deodorant
lingering in the steamy air, as Aiden stepped out of his stall. He wasn't
sure if he was relieved, or disappointed. At the very least, he'd hoped to
catch a glimpse of the mystery dude, this random guy he'd just stroked
along with, so he could put a face to the sound of the guy's load, or
something. But it was just him now, alone as he dried himself off.

The hall outside was silent again as Aiden made his way back to his room,
and he wondered if he'd ever know who his mystery stroke buddy was.

* * * * *

*Maybe you should head home today,* he thought as he lay in bed Saturday
morning, another load of cum cooling on his torso and his hand from another
slow, deep, intensely pleasurable stroke session. He looked at the cum on
his fist, shining on the sides of his thumb and his forefinger, and slowly
brought them up to lick them clean, the salty, bleachy, mineral taste of
his load making him grin. Another little luxury it was hard to indulge in
with your roommate a few feet away, or apt to come through the door at any
minute.

Aiden thought about the drive. It wasn't that long, a few hours if the
weather held. He'd have to go back to being quiet when he jacked off,
tolerate the sounds of people making noise and moving around close by,
cooped up in the bedroom that had never really felt like his. His bedroom
had gone with the old house, years ago, when his parents had split. Heading
back meant just kind of hanging out, him and his stepdad and stepsisters
tolerating each other while his mother fussed around them all, everybody
forcing themselves to be all cheerful and shit for the duration. Biding his
time until he packed his car up again and headed back here at the start of
January.

Aiden decided he wasn't going home today. Instead, he wiped the cum off his
stomach with the old sock he'd dedicated to that task, slipped his sweats
and sneakers on, and headed to the gym.

The Rec Center was dead, and Aiden had the run of the equipment, making
good use of it as he pushed through his lower-body workout. He was just
starting his cool-down stretches when a guy he sort of recognized came in
from the indoor running track, fit and leaner than him, blond, more of a
track build to Aiden's former baseballer's frame. Aiden tried to think
where he knew him from, mentally snapping his fingers, until he recognized
him as Joey's roommate, from down the hall. He couldn't think of his name,
but they had a kind of nodding acquaintance, lifting their chins when they
saw each other on the Quad or in the halls. The guy looked over in Aiden's
direction, looking surprised to see somebody besides the front desk guy
there, and gave him the upward-chin nod and a smile of recognition. He
changed course, heading in Aiden's direction, tugging his earbuds out, when
Aiden suddenly put two and two together.

*It's the fuckin' shower guy,* he thought, his guts twisting up all of a
sudden. *Shit, what's his name...*

"Hey," the dude said. "You're Brody's roomie, right?"

"Yeah," Aiden said, hoping his blush could be played off as a post-workout
flush. "Aiden. And you're Joey's roommate, yeah?"

"Yup - Cooper," the guy said, sticking out his hand, and of course, the
first thing Aiden did was think about what Cooper had been doing with that
hand in the shower yesterday. But he didn't want to be a douche, so he put
his own out, and the two of them shook. "You're a straggler too, huh?"

Aiden nodded, smiling in spite of his roiling thoughts. "Yeah. I was gonna
head home today, but I might stick around another day, see what
happens. It's nice and quiet, y'know?"

"I hear that, man," Cooper said. "I was gonna go get some lunch - you wanna
come with, if you're done?"

"Sure," Aiden said before he even thought about it.

The dining hall was closed, and so was the food court in the Student
Center, so they headed over to College Street, where the fast food places
and slice joints would still be open. Campus was nearly silent, almost
eerie, like they'd woken up in some kind of post-apocalyptic world where
everyone else had died or disappeared or been abducted by aliens in the
night. The illusion lasted until they reached the end of the Commons, where
the Hoover Building stood, like the last fortification against the real
world, and Aiden felt a little bit of disappointment as they stepped onto
the sidewalk on College and saw the few cars driving past, the lights of
Bellucci's and Wing Zone and the C-Mart.

Slice Kings took the Wildcat Card, so they used up some of their remaining
balances to grab a few slices and a drink. They had the whole place to
themselves, pretty much, sitting there chewing on their pizza, and Aiden
was thinking about what it might take to just stay here, camp out in his
dorm room until January, live in his own little world for a couple weeks
and skip Christmas altogether.

They got to talking, two dudes who sort of knew each other in passing, but
had been thrown together by circumstance, no rush to be anywhere, just a
couple guys getting to know each other better. Two dudes who had stroked a
load out in the communal showers at the same time, and they both knew it,
but it seemed like Aiden was the only one who was holding onto that
thought. Cooper didn't seem at all fazed about yesterday, about the two of
them stroking their loads out together in the showers.

*Not together, that would be...* Aiden found himself thinking. That would
be... *what*, exactly? And shit, even as he thought that, he could feel his
cock tingling inside his jeans again.

Cooper was easygoing, funny, and Aiden felt a little bit sorry he hadn't
made the effort to get to know him better this past semester. Seemed like
the kind of guy who could be a bro, and that had been one of the big things
Aiden had struggled with, his first semester as a college man - how to make
new friends you could truly hang with.

It wasn't the first time Aiden had found himself wondering about another
dude. Sure, he wondered about the guys in the other showers sometimes,
especially when he had a hand full of his soapy cock, picturing them doing
the same. But he'd never really been in a situation like this, sitting
across from another dude one-on-one, with the knowledge that they'd both
been jackin' it in the same space not so long ago sitting there unspoken in
the air between them. The fact that Cooper wasn't being all sly or cutesy
about it just made it more confusing for Aiden. On one level, they were
just a couple of guys in a similar circumstance, two guys just hanging back
late at the end of semester, in no rush to head home. A couple of
acquaintances eating pizza in a little college town. But fuck if it didn't
feel like... not a date, exactly, but definitely there was that shared,
unspoken kind of intimacy between them, even if neither one of them seemed
to want to acknowledge it.

"So you're in no rush to head home either, huh?" Aiden said.

"Nah," Cooper shrugged. "My folks are in Europe until Wednesday, so I'd
just be kicking around the apartment by myself anyway. It's funny - my mom
loves the Christmas markets over there, but we're not super-Christmasy in
general. We don't make a big deal out of it or anything."

"Lucky you," Aiden said. "I think I grew out of it years ago. It's cool to
go back and see my friends, I guess..."

"But sometimes you'd rather have the alone time, right?" Cooper said,
picking up Aiden's line of thought perfectly, and he found himself
returning Cooper's smile, and feeling a weird little tingle in the pit of
his stomach that he wasn't sure he'd ever felt before.

"Exactly," Aiden said, as Cooper fixed him with that easy smile and a kind
of assessing look.

"Yeah, it's awesome, how quiet it is. You can watch what you want without
earbuds in. Stay up late and not worry about keeping your roommate up. Do
whatever you like."

Cooper leaned in a little, lowering his voice, all confidential, bro to
bro.

"Take long showers, and not worry about anybody else coming in, right?" he
said, that fucking grin of his suddenly knowing, his gaze on Aiden's kind
of direct and deep, making his skin prickle with the blush he knew was
starting to creep up his neck. And there it was, their shared secret, out
in the open.

"Yeah," Aiden said, his voice all quiet, feeling suddenly shy, feeling not
at all like the man he technically was, or was supposed to be,
anyway. Wondering how Cooper seemed to have that quality, but he
didn't. Not yet, anyway.

"But then, sometimes somebody else does come in..." Cooper said, still
smiling, still looking right into Aiden, seemed like.

"Can't always have them all to yourself," Aiden finally said, the words
coming from someplace inside of him.

"That's right," Cooper said. "So you gotta make the best of it, right?"

Aiden nodded, as Cooper sat back again, his smiling gaze still on him. He'd
never experienced this kind of confidence up close, not directed at him. At
first, he didn't know how to take it, or respond to it. But he wasn't
hating it. Not a bit.

"I could do with a shower right about now," Cooper said after a long
minute. "Guess I could've had one at the Rec... but it's not the same, is
it?"

Aiden was shaking his head in agreement before he knew he was doing it,
feeling that tingle working its way from his belly down into his groin,
making his cock wake up again inside his sweats.

"I might head back and take one," Cooper said. "You wanna head back with
me, bro?"

"Yeah," Aiden said, his voice sounding strange and distant to his
ears. "Yeah, that sounds good, bro."

It was a short walk back to the dorms, but when Cooper picked up the pace
into a jog, looking over his shoulder at Aiden with that grin of his, Aiden
found himself stretching his stride to catch up, falling into step with
him, feeling the excitement mounting in his belly. He wasn't sure what to
expect, what was gonna happen next, just that he was ready for whatever it
was going to be.

They were both quiet as Cooper swiped his keycard to access the door to the
fifth floor, and they made their way down the hall.

"Just gonna grab my stuff," Cooper said as they reached his door. "See you
in there?"

"Yeah man," Aiden said, the heat in his belly mixing with his nerves now,
into one big bundle of uncertainty as he headed for his own door. Cooper
grinned at him and slipped inside his room.

When he got inside, Aiden stood in the middle of the room, his nerves
starting to really catch up with him now. He felt rooted to the spot, his
shower stuff all within easy reach, but suddenly like an impossible task. A
couple minutes later, he heard the sound of Cooper's flip-flops passing by
outside, then the noise of the bathroom door opening, and still he couldn't
seem to move.

*The fuck, man,* he thought. *Are you gonna do this or what?*

He thought about Cooper's easy grin, his handsome features, the lean
strength of his runner's fit body. Thought about the sounds he'd made
yesterday, as he'd nutted in the shower while Aiden stroked his own
cock. The soft, knowing chuckle as Aiden got his load too. How he'd
wondered what his mystery stroke buddy had looked like as the guy worked
himself over. Well, know he had the chance to find out. Just him and
Cooper, all alone together, nobody else to know.

Aiden started tugging his clothes off, down to his boxer briefs, and looked
at himself in the long mirror on the closet door. He wondered what Cooper
would think of his body, as he flexed his muscles, testing the fresh pump
from this morning's workout. Aiden liked his body, the way his frame had
filled out the past couple of years from baseball and the gym, the breadth
of his shoulders, the strength in his arms and legs. It was getting to be
more of a man's body, not just a teenager's anymore, and he liked the way
it was changing. He thought Cooper might like it too, if it came to
that. He decided it was time to find out.

Walking down the dead-quiet hall in just his underwear in the middle of the
afternoon was a trip, the kind of thing he'd sometimes imagined doing
during the semester. He'd heard they were pretty loose about that kind of
thing in the jock dorm, and that made him kind of regret not pushing harder
with baseball in his last couple years of high school. But that didn't
matter - he was here now, doing it, not quite strutting down the empty
corridor in his boxer briefs, but with a sneaky kind of grin on his face as
he went, his heart racing a little.

The bathroom was already starting to steam up as he stepped in, towel over
his shoulder, his shower kit in hand. Cooper was in the same shower as
yesterday, the curtain pulled aside, water coursing down over the fine
muscles of his back, the swells of his trim runner's ass. Aiden stood there
and took in the sight, in a way he'd never done before, just admiring
another guy's form, his body. Cooper didn't seem like he'd heard Aiden come
in, but he had to know he was there. Maybe he was just letting Aiden
look. The thought of that made Aiden's cock stir.

"Hey bro," Cooper said, then turned around, soaping his pits, wearing
nothing more than that smile. His cock wasn't hard, but it had that heavy
kind of hang to it, a sheen of soap bubbles down the length of it. He had
just the kind of body Aiden had pictured him having - lean and lithe, all
defined, firm muscles, strong tight legs. Aiden swallowed, blushing as he
looked down. Away from the sight of the dude. "Thought you might've changed
your mind."

"Nah, bro," Aiden said, blushing a little, because for a minute there in
his room, he might have.

Cooper nodded at one of the showers across from him. They were lined up in
an L shape, and the one he was suggesting Aiden take had a clear line of
sight between the two stalls. Aiden swallowed hard as he looked at it, then
back at Cooper. Fuck, this kid was so confident - maybe it was because he
was a New Yorker or something. Whatever, Aiden wished he had more of it,
but it seemed like it was a little bit contagious, too. He nodded, reached
in to turn the water on, and then after a moment's hesitation, stood there
as Cooper watched and slipped his boxer briefs down his thighs. His heart
felt like it was in his mouth as he stood up straight, giving Cooper a
look, which the handsome blond sure did. Shit. He knew he'd been checked
out in the locker room before, and he kinda liked that, being seen that
way. Being admired. But he'd never offered himself up for another guy's
inspection like this. It was scary, and thrilling, and he could feel his
cock starting to rise to the occasion in response. Aiden had nothing at all
to be ashamed of, bodywise, and Cooper definitely seemed to agree, judging
by the approving nod he gave Aiden when their eyes met.

Aiden didn't draw the curtain behind him, just stepped into the shower,
letting the hot water course over his gym-fatigued muscles. He could
practically feel the weight of Cooper's gaze on his back, traveling down
over his ass, and when Aiden reflexively tightened his glutes, he was
pretty sure he heard some kind of appreciative noise coming from the other
dude. Aiden smiled to himself, in spite of the nerves tightening his chest
and his stomach, and started to wash, aware of himself and the way he must
look, aware of Cooper, and Cooper's gaze more than ever now. He decided he
liked the idea of it, and the feeling of it even more.

He knew the sounds Cooper made when he jerked off now - the change in the
sound of the water, the soft sigh as he took himself on hand, and Aiden's
cock responded accordingly. He listened for a minute, eyes closed,
picturing Cooper stroking himself, as he reached down for his own
fast-rising cock and gave it a slick-handed stroke to help it along the
way. In a matter of seconds, he was full-blown hard, and he let out a
little sigh as he savored the feeling of his cock, all hard and hot and
slick in his hand. He hoped Cooper had heard his sigh. Wanted his new buddy
to know he was playing along, too.

The two of them stood there like that, two guys stroking in their showers,
knowing each other was doing it. Wanting each other to know they were doing
it. Aiden was starting to get a little lost in it, in the pleasure coursing
through his cock and his groin, his eyes closed, listening to Cooper's
jacking-off sounds, and his own like a harmony. He'd just about decided to
open his eyes, turn around, and see if Cooper had decided to do the same,
when he heard Cooper's voice.

"Hey bro?"

"Yeah?" Aiden replied, trying to keep his voice steady, collected,
confident.

"I'm strokin' over here, bro," Cooper said, and Aiden swore he could hear
the smile in his voice.

"Yeah bro?" Aiden said after a second. He opened his eyes, looked down at
the soapy hardness of his cock in his hand, and smiled, feeling a whole new
level of thrill deep down in his guts and his loins.

"How `bout you?" Cooper said. Aiden waited a couple beats, giving himself
two or three slow, up-down strokes, before replying.

"Yeah bro," he said, his voice a little husky and thick now. "Yeah, me
too."

He waited another second, then slowly turned, fisting his cock, and saw
Cooper in his shower, facing him, that playful smile on his face as he
stroked himself, looking Aiden over. The guy nodded, and Aiden smiled back.

The two of them stood there, slowly handling themselves across from each
other, the air between them getting heady with steam and mist from their
showers. Aiden watched as Cooper reached up with his free hand to touch his
nip, then thumb it, just like Aiden himself liked to do. Cooper caught him
watching, and gave him a lazy grin, nodding as Aiden mirrored him, reaching
up to touch his own tingling nip, feeling it stiffen and thrill to his
touch. Aiden let out a soft little moan at the sensation, and Cooper nodded
approvingly.

"Yeah bro," the runner said. "Go for it, dude."

Usually when he jacked off in the shower, it was kind of a balance between
doing it as quickly and efficiently as possible, and listening out for the
sound of one of the other guys doing it, secretly trying to make his own
pleasure last with the other guy's. Those rare times he was on his own, he
liked to take his time, and he took that course now, him and Cooper
matching each other's pace, as much showing each other as they were
stroking themselves, sharing the experience, two fit, healthy, horny young
dudes enjoying the natural pleasures every man had enjoyed since ancient
times, and enjoying them together.

Aiden had watched dudes stroking off on cam before, clips of them
pleasuring themselves on Tumblr, and man, he'd always found it crazy hot to
see a guy handling himself like that. He liked to see their technique, the
little extra ways every guy tried to enhance his experience, playing with
their tits, their balls, their taint. Different ways they stroked. He liked
to try those new techniques out as he stroked along, see if they worked for
him too, and he did that now, going between watching himself and watching
Cooper, watching the ways Cooper switched up his hands, touched himself,
explored his fit, lean runner's body as he showed Aiden how he liked to
pleasure himself. He tried to show Cooper the same thing, the way he liked
to rub his thumb up and down the space where his groin met his thigh, how
he liked to curl his fingers into his bush and stroke his fingers in the
hair, against the sensitive skin underneath, on the delta of flesh above
his cock.

It was getting hard not to cum, as Aiden got all caught up in the
experience - the pleasure of his hands on his own flesh, the hot sight of
Cooper doing the same, the friendly intimacy in the air between them as
they smiled and grunted and nodded at each other, each encouraging the
other on in his self-pleasure. Aiden stopped stroking and reached down to
tug on his balls - nice hefty balls, he'd always thought, especially now -
and Cooper gave him a knowing smile, and did the same. That really brought
home to Aiden how they were playing along together, really playing *with*
each other, in a way, and the realization hit his loins like a warm,
tingling wave.

"Hey bro?" Cooper said, and Aiden nearly jumped at hearing the sound of his
voice after all these minutes of heady silence between them. He looked up
at the handsome runner.

"You want some company?" Cooper asked, his smile still all friendly and
playful, but maybe not quite as confident. Maybe he wasn't as experienced
at this game as he'd seemed. Something about that was incredibly relatable
to Aiden, and after a slow moment, his guts tightening up in anticipation
and nerves again, he nodded.

Cooper ducked under his showerhead to rinse the soap off his tight body,
then shut it off, swiping the water off his face, stepped out of his stall,
and walked across the tile towards Aiden's, his hard, handsome blond-haired
cock leading the way as Aiden watched nervously. He stepped back to make
room, swallowing hard, and his cock never lost a degree of stiffness as
Cooper smiled at him, hesitated a moment outside the stall, then stepped in
with him.

The water from the shower formed a curtain between them as they looked at
each other, like each of them was waiting for the other to make the first
move. Then Cooper smiled and took his cock in hand, gave it a slow stroke,
inviting Aiden to join him, and he did, slowly returning Cooper's smile
with his own.

Fuck, this was wild. He'd never done anything quite like this before. Sure,
maybe in the dark with one or two of his buddies back in high school, each
of them in their own sleeping bag or bed, quiet bonding in the dark,
silent, no words spoken. Never in the light, out in the open like this, in
such a close, shared space. Never acknowledged. Always furtive. Showering
with other guys had always been about looking away, for Aiden, looking
down, denying the reality of your manhood, your cock, and the other guys'
too. Until college, and discovering the secret thrill of getting yourself
off in the showers like he'd been doing all semester long. And now, this -
a whole new ballgame, so to speak.

Up close like this, Aiden couldn't avoid scoping out Cooper's body, his
cock, the way the fine, strong muscles of his arm flexed and bulged as he
stroked himself. Cooper's gaze on him was almost like a touch, ghosting
over his pecs, his abs, his muscles, his cock, and it made Aiden's skin
tingle all over with the thrill of it. And of course, he couldn't avoid
looking up to Cooper's face, and the way his new bud was smiling at him,
seeing him, encouraging him, not more than a foot or so of humid air and
the spray of the shower between them.

Aiden started stroking along with Cooper again, matching his strokes,
getting comfortable with it again. He felt his guts tighten up again as
Cooper switched hands, sliding his left hand up and down himself now as his
right reached slowly through the curtain of water. Cooper looked at him,
the question on his face, and Aiden slowly nodded, just once. The hand
sliding over his hip made him freeze in place, mid-stroke, and he closed
his eyes tight, heart racing again, breath catching in his throat. Cooper's
hand paused in place, letting Aiden get used to his touch, then slipped
further across his wet, warm flesh, up to his side, up and down his hip,
leaving Aiden's skin tingling even more. He jacked his cock slow, real
slow, as Cooper started to explore his flesh a little more, slipping across
his Apollo's belt, and slid over the muscles of Aiden's stomach, almost
rubbing there.

"OK, bro?" Cooper said, his hand moving in a little circle on Aiden's
stomach, asking a question of its own, and Aiden swallowed hard and then
slowly nodded.

"Shit, you got a nice body, bro," Cooper said after a minute, eyes looking
him over up close now as his hand gently explored Aiden's stomach, moving a
little higher, like he was trying not to startle Aiden.

"Thanks man," Aiden said, trying to keep the nervous shake out of his
voice. "Uh... you too."

Cooper smiled up at him at that, and Aiden knew he had permission to touch
him, if he wanted. And he did want. Just... just not yet. One step at a
time.

Aiden started to slowly, tentatively stroke himself again as Cooper rubbed
his stomach, up to the underside of his pecs, his eyes roaming over Aiden's
bigger body, nodding to himself. He'd never experienced anything quite like
this before. It was... it was nice. He looked down at the dude's hand as it
stroked up and down the centerline of his torso, up between the pecs he'd
been working so hard on lately, all the way down to where the hair started
to get thick and dark around his navel. Felt his breath catching in his
throat again, but then the butterflies in his stomach started to ease, as
he gave into the pleasure of the sensations.

Maybe Aiden's cock had faltered a little when Cooper's hand first slipped
across his wet skin, but it was making up for it now, standing hard and
proud and hefty in his hand as he started to stroke himself again, slow and
faltering at first as he got used to the new, added sensations of being
touched by his buddy while he did it. He looked over at Cooper's body, saw
his left hand working his own piece, and yeah - the guy had a good
cock. Not as big as Aiden's, maybe, but nice all the same. When he looked
up Cooper's lean, defined chest, his tight runner's body gleaming with
water and soap, he found Cooper looking at him with that smile - friendly
and inviting and a little playful. It was a good smile. He'd never been
smiled at like that by another guy. It was working.

Aiden's free hand was reaching out to Cooper before he knew it, reaching
out to touch the hard, defined muscles up high on his stomach. Cooper's
shiver and his shuddering sigh surprised Aiden, a little - he'd figured him
for the experienced kind, but maybe not. Maybe this was all a first for him
too. That seemed to encourage Aiden to touch him more, to trace his fingers
up through the little indent between Cooper's flat, firm pecs, smaller than
Aiden's, but more defined. He could feel the dude's heart racing under his
skin, just like Aiden's was, and felt super bonded with him, all of a
sudden. The two of them were literally feeling their way through this
together. Aiden was starting to wish he'd gotten to know this guy better,
sooner.

Aiden took a chance, and trailed his fingers over Cooper's pec, down to his
nipple, all stiff and reddish-pink on his creamy skin. He drew a slow,
halting circle around it, and when Cooper let out a low murmur, Aiden
dragged his wet, soapy fingertips across the stiff nub, making Cooper
shiver.

"Yeah man," Cooper said, his voice husky, smiling as he looked from Aiden's
touching fingers to his face, and then his bigger pec. Slowly, he reached
up and returned the favor, and Aiden was startled to hear the low, deep
grunt that came out of him, sucking in his breath as Cooper's wet
fingertips circled, then closed in on his engorged nip.

They looked at each other near-silently, just the panting of their breaths
as they tweaked and teased each other's stiff nips, and then Cooper brought
his hand down to touch Aiden's stroking forearm. Aiden paused his stroke as
Cooper's fingers trailed through the wet, dark hairs there, tracing over
the muscles, up to the bigger bulge of Aiden's bicep.

"Keep going, bro," Cooper said, low and husky, and Aiden nodded and
continued to stroke, watching Cooper's intent face as he stared at the
working muscles, touching them, feeling them shift and bulge and flex as
Aiden stroked himself.

Cooper looked up at him as his fingers trailed down towards Aiden's wrist,
a mix of nerves and determination in his gaze as he put his palm on Aiden's
wrist and tugged it off of his cock.

"Let me, man," he said, and all Aiden could do was nod and stare down as
Cooper reached to take the thick, wet flesh of his cock in his hand, and
try to control his shudder of pleasure.

"Shit," he grunted as Cooper took over, wrapping his slick hand around the
throb of Aiden's cock, halfway between stroking and admiring it, getting
the feel of him. He'd never had another guy touch his cock before, and
while it was a little different having the grip reversed, there was
immediately no question that another guy handling you was way better than a
girl doing it. After all, who better to handle your cock than somebody who
had one of his own? Cooper's hand on him was assured, knowledgeable, and
once he'd caressed all over the hard young flesh, taking the measure of
Aiden's throbbing piece, Cooper started giving him a slow, skilful stroke.

Aiden's hand fell away from Cooper's tits as he watched the dude work on
him, and he let both hands hang by his sides, unsure what to do, focused on
the pleasure his new bro was giving him. His hands needed something to do,
though, so he played at washing himself, his hips and thighs and stomach,
something that was really more like feeling himself up, while he got
adjusted to this hot new scene.

"You've got a nice cock, bro," Cooper said, and they looked at each other
and grinned.

"Thanks man," Aiden said, blushing but smiling. He looked down at Cooper's
left hand, slowly handling his own cock as he polished Aiden's, and felt
the itch in his palms. Felt that curiosity rising in him that he'd started
to feel lately, this past year especially. Wondering how his teammates'
cocks might feel, if they'd let him touch them like Cooper was now. His
best buds'. The guys who showered at the Rec.

Aiden reached out with his left hand to touch Cooper's long, tight bicep,
feeling the lithe, strong muscle working as the dude stroked on him. That
left his right hand at loose ends, ready to do something, if only he had
the balls like Cooper had.

"If you want to," Cooper said, like he was reading his mind, and when Aiden
looked up at him, blushing hard, all he saw was the dude's understanding
smile, all inviting and knowing and friendly.

"Fuck," Cooper murmured when Aiden took the initiative, and took him in his
hand. *Fuck,* Aiden thought to himself. *I'm touching another dude's
cock. I'm stroking another dude's cock...*

Cooper wasn't as big as him, a little shorter, a little thinner, but a real
fine cock all the same, Aiden savored the ridges and veins, the heat of
him, the pulsing hardness of another guy's cock in his hand for the first
time. Like Cooper had done to him, he explored the length and girth of his
new friend, committing it to memory, before taking a firmer hold of him and
starting to stroke. Lately, part of his jacking routine involved turning
his stroking hand around so the thumb was nearer the base of his cock, like
another guy was doing him, and now that was what he did to Cooper, looking
from the guy's cock to his face, watching the pleasure on his handsome
features as Aiden stroked him, getting more and more into it.

"Feels good," Cooper murmured to him.

"Yeah man," Aiden nodded, smiling. "You're stroking my cock, bro," he
added, blurting it out, blushing, feeling like a dumb kid, but Cooper's
grin just widened as he nodded.

"Fuck yeah, bro," he said. "You're stroking my cock too."

Aiden felt a rush inside him at that, like something had been unlocked
inside of him. He reached up with his free hand to thumb Cooper's nipple,
digging his sharp intake of breath, then pinched it gently between his
fingers like he loved to do to himself. Cooper thrust his cock up into
Aiden's soapy fist at that, and the whole deal made Aiden throb, and return
the thrust, pumping himself up into Cooper's wet fist in reply. They
grinned at each other like a couple of kids and fucked each other's fists,
slowly, experimentally almost at first. Aiden could feel the deep burn in
his loins, letting him know that as hot as this was, if it kept up, he
wouldn't be able to hold off that much longer.

"Feels so good, bro," he half-moaned to Cooper, who nodded eagerly in
reply, and fuck, his lips were parted, and he had this look on his face,
and Aiden had always wondered, always wanted to know, always wanted to...

He didn't hesitate any longer. Aiden leaned in and pressed his lips to
Cooper's, both of them grunting in surprise at the sudden gesture. Cooper's
lips were firm and wet and warm, and after a moment's hesitation, they
parted against Aiden's. Aiden's lips moved with his, his cock throbbing
even harder now in Cooper's slick fist as Cooper pushed into the kiss, his
breath hot and panting across Aiden's parting lips as Aiden's tongue
flicked out, flicked against those unfamiliar lips, another dude's mouth
parting to him, letting him inside, and oh fuck he'd wanted this so bad...

Aiden moaned needfully into Cooper's mouth as Cooper's tongue met his,
moved against his, wet and slippery as they grunted and started to devour
each other, hands teasing each other's nips and cocks, pulling closer
together, their knees bumping and sliding against each other. Cooper let go
of Aiden's chest, reached around his hip and squeezed the meat of his ass,
groping the muscle, pulling Aiden into him. Aiden responded instinctively,
slipping his left arm around the back of Cooper's neck and feeding the dude
his tongue, drawing him in deeper as their tongues wrestled lustily.

When Cooper moaned, low and deep and loud, Aiden froze for an instant, pure
instinct, thinking of how public this space was. But it was their space
now, just the two of them, two new bros experimenting, finding out about
each other, and his insides thrilled to the sexy freedom of being able to
moan right back. The sounds of their kissing, their grunts and moans and
sighs, the wet noises of their hands stroking each other's cocks, faster
and faster echoed off the tiles all around them, amplifying the heat and
intensity and lust of what they were doing together.

Cooper sucked harder on his tongue, so Aiden gave him more, mouths wide,
reaming each other out, hard and hungry, as their fists worked faster and
faster. He could feel sweat starting to bead on his forehead from the steam
and their body heat and the intense energy of what they were doing
together, to each other. He licked his way around Cooper's mouth, Cooper's
tongue chasing his, then pushing into his own mouth and returning the
favor, and Aiden moaned real deep in his chest and reached down for the
hard-carved muscles of the dude's runner's ass, tight and firm and flexing
as Aiden drew him in, their knuckles rubbing each other's stomachs as they
worked faster and harder on each other's throbbing young cocks.

"I'm gonna cum, bro," Cooper moaned as he pulled out of the kiss, his face
flushed and hungry and looking a little awed, almost.

"Yeah bro, cum," Aiden moaned right back. "I'm gonna too. You're gonna make
me cum."

"Makin' each other cum," Cooper panted.

"Yeah bro?" Aiden said. "We gonna make each other nut?"

"Fuck yeah," Cooper said, all lusty and hungry and grinning. "Let's fuckin'
make each other cum, bro."

Cooper pushed his mouth to Aiden's and kissed him, hard and wet and hungry,
jacking his big young piece faster and faster, his fingers digging into the
muscular meat of Aiden's ass, and Aiden growled into his mouth and repaid
the favor. He wanted nothing more than to bring his new buddy off, hard,
take his bro over the finish line. It's what he'd wanted to do for years,
him and a bro, making each other happy. Making each other cum.

"Fuck, bro," Cooper almost whimpered, his body shivering, right on the
brink.

"Yeah dude," Aiden said, his voice deep and husky and sure, in a way he'd
never heard himself sound before. He liked it. A lot. "Cum for me, bro."

Cooper moaned and shook, his cock throbbing harder in Aiden's fist, and
when Aiden ran his thumb over that spot on the underside of his head, that
sensitive spot that always got him shivering inside, Cooper clutched
tighter to him, let out a low wail, and started to cum. His cum shot hot
and thick up Aiden's stomach, over his stroking arm, hot and wet and
searing, like a brand on his skin as he shuddered and shot in Aiden's
embrace. Then, almost without warning, he triggered Aiden off too.

"Fuck, bro!" Aiden gasped, and it was his turn to shake and moan and
squirt, looking down between them to see his cum fountaining out of his
cock, gripped tight in Cooper's soapy fist, shooting over the guy's tight,
defined runner's muscles, pearly streaks over his creamy skin. It was the
hardest cum he'd ever had in his life, even harder than the first time he'd
stuck his finger up his butt and touched that spot inside of himself. His
head dropped to rest on Cooper's shoulders as he shuddered and shot with
him.

The two of them rode it out, the shaking subsiding as their spent young
cocks tingled in each other's hands, their breaths harsh and echoing off
the tile as the water rained down on them from above. Aiden felt weak and
flushed all over, spent, feeling that little stab of remorse he almost
always felt in the afterglow of a load. But it seemed lesser this time,
somehow, even as his head pulled itself back together, reassembling
everything he'd just done. Everything he was feeling about all of it.

After a minute, they pulled apart, revealing the sticky mess pasting both
their stomachs. Cooper looked up at him, all flushed, maybe a little
nervous, like he was worried how Aiden was going to react now, in the
aftermath. Aiden himself wasn't all that sure, but his own smile came
naturally, easily, without any thought, and seeing Cooper match it made him
feel real good inside. They each leaned back and let the hot water course
down their torsos, loosening the slick, yet sticky streaks of their young
loads from their skin. Cooper looked back over at his abandoned shower
stall, like he was about to head back there to finish cleaning up.

"Stay," Aiden said, putting a hand on Cooper's wrist, surprising them both,
but himself most of all. He reached for his body wash and squirted some on
Cooper's stomach, then his own, and smiled encouragingly at him. Wondering
how the tables had turned so quickly, and he'd become the confident,
inviting one. He decided he liked it, this part of himself - liked it a
lot.

Things were easy between them as they toweled off afterwards, and Aiden
loved the hot kind of freedom of not having to hide behind the curtain as
he dried his body off, and being able to look Cooper over as he did the
same. It wasn't until they got out to the empty hall, heading back to their
rooms, that he started to feel a little funny. Confused, maybe. He wasn't
sure what came next, what to say, what to do. He was hoping Cooper would
take the initiative again, but to his surprise, he didn't seem to know
either. They stood in front of Aiden's door, suddenly awkward, and Aiden
realized in the moment just how young and unsure he was. How far he had to
go, still.

"Guess I'll go and get dressed," Cooper said after a long, awkward moment,
looking down the hall towards his room. "That was... that was fun, man."

"Yeah man," Aiden said. "I wish we'd... uh..."

"Yeah," Cooper said, nodding, blushing, but seeming to know just what he
was thinking.

"Well... I'll be around," Cooper said after another long moment. "Get up
with you later?"

Aiden didn't know how to feel, or what to say, so he was glad for the out
Cooper was giving him. He smiled, nodded, reached for his door handle.

"Yeah bro," he said. "For sure."

It was getting gloomier outside, the light starting to fade early, like it
did this time of year. He thought he saw a few stray flakes of snow
starting to fall as he looked out the window, down to his car, all alone in
the parking lot. He unknotted the towel from his waist and let it fall to
the floor, standing there naked, seeing his faint reflection in the glass
as he looked at the world outside, thinking about how young he was, how
little he knew about himself. How much he'd found out, too. How much more
he wanted to discover. What it would take to get there.

Aiden stood there, looking at his naked reflection, at the darkening sky,
the empty campus grounds, until a chill went through his naked body. He was
startled to see how dark it was getting, and realized he must have been
standing there longer than he'd thought. Almost half an hour had passed
like that. He dug through his already packed duffel bag, found clean
underwear and socks and a pair of jeans, and pulled his sweater and boots
on. He was hungry, he realized, really fucking hungry, in fact. He grabbed
his keys and phone, slung his duffel and his backpack over his shoulders
without thinking about it, and made his way down the hall, moving quietly
past Cooper's door. He could hear music playing softly in there as he
paused, and thought about knocking. But then he kept on going, heading to
the stairs down to the parking lot.

The Honda had been sitting for a week at least, and the engine grumbled to
life a little reluctantly, the leather of the seats cold on his back as he
waited for warm air to start blowing out of the vents. He looked up to the
fifth floor, looking for the light in Cooper's room, before he realized he
was on the wrong side of the building. This side of Joseph Hall was dark,
empty, quiet, looming over him as he looked at the clock on the
dashboard. If he kept on it, he could make it back to his mother's house
before it got too late tonight.

The engine settled down into a steady idle, the air from the vents warming
nicely now. Aiden thought about his bed at the house he'd never really
thought of as home, and the couple hundred miles between there and here. He
looked at the little stray flakes of snow starting to fall on the
windshield, and past them, up at the dark windows of the empty dorm. Well,
almost empty. He thought about the easy, inviting way Cooper had smiled at
him, how his lithe body had felt in Aiden's inexperienced arms, the taste
of his lips and his tongue. How the rest of him might taste, too. How much
more of himself there was still to discover.

Aiden decided he wasn't going home today, after all. He shut the engine off
again, grabbed his bags, and headed back to the dorm. He took the stairs up
to the fifth floor three at a time, starting to smile, feeling something
growing inside him, ready to knock on Cooper's door, and find out all the
things that could happen once he went through it.

-- The End --