Jordan closed the door behind him and and slumped against it. It was Friday night, he was pleasantly buzzed, and he'd spent a genuinely enjoyable evening with good friends and  more than a few pretty girls. He should be happy. But all he felt was frustrated. 

Connor didn't look up from his laptop, but shifted to make room for Jordan on the threadbare, puke-green couch. 

"Strike out again? There's leftover pizza, if you want to eat your feelings."

Jordan grabbed a slice and flopped onto the couch. Like magic, a rotund orange tabby materialized on the cushion between them, doing his best impression of a starving waif. Jordan considered it for a second, then caught the warning glint in Connor's green eyes and reconsidered. 

"Sorry, Cheddar," he said indistinctly through a mouthful of pepperoni and cheese. "Vet says you're too fat."

Cheddar stalked away to sulk under the coffee table.

Jordan sighed again.

"Go on, say it."

"Say what?"

"That you told me so."

"Ah. Well. I wasn't going to say it, but... I did tell you."

"I know."

"McDavis isn't going to give you another extension. You were lucky to get this one."

"I know."

"Deadline's tomorrow."

"I know, okay?" Jordan gritted his teeth and ran his fingers through his hair, turning it into a tangled thicket of dark curls. "It's just... I can't focus, lately. Ever since I ended it with Madison. I mean, yeah, she was crazy and toxic as hell..."

"And she cheated on you repeatedly," Connor added helpfully.

"Yeah. That." Jordan's stomach churned at the memory.

"I'm sorry..." Connor began, but Jordan cut him off. 

"Don't get me wrong. I'm never taking her back. But since I dumped her I... I've been in a dry spell. No. It's been a fucking drought. I'm literally dying of thirst."

"It's been two months," Connor said dryly.

"Exactly! It's been forever!" 

Connor decided not to press the point. 

"Can't you just..." Connor mimed a jerking off motion. 

"Dude, I have been! Constantly! I'm going to end up with wrist strain at this rate. It doesn't work if it's just me."

Connor raised one ginger eyebrow. "Doesn't work? Like, it doesn't work? It can't get going? Or it can't finish? Or...?"

"Not like that," Jordan hissed. His face burned. The flush spread down his neck and to the tips of his ears, turning his golden brown skin ruddy. "It works just fine, alright? Nothing wrong with it. But it's like, I don't know, salad for dinner. Half an hour later you're hungry again. And the longer you go, the hungrier you get, until it's all you can think about."

"I thought you liked my salad bowls!" Connor said with mock dismay. "So anyway," he continued, "jacking off is salad. And a steak is... what?  A blow job? Hand job? Going all the way?"

Jordan shrugged. "Doesn't matter, as long as it's with someone else. Can't just be me."

"Sounds like a psychological issue, not a physiological one."

"Sounds like I'm fucked," Jordan groaned. He buried his face in his large hands. 

"If you were fucked, there wouldn't be problem."

Jordan refused to dignify that with a response. 

How am I going to explain this to Mom? 

She'd been so proud. Jordan was the first in the family to go to college. But if he couldn't keep up his grades he'd lose his scholarship. He'd have to go back in disgrace. He could hear them now - relatives and nosey neighbors saying they'd always known he couldn't hack it. That he should never have tried to get above his raising.

Connor snapped his laptop shut and tucked it away. He took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Do what?"

"It's just... You've busted your butt for so long. You don't deserve to fail. And I don't want to break in a new roommate. I only just got you to stop putting your shoes on the coffee table."

"And you finally stopped rearranging my stuff without asking."

"It was only a couple of times," Connor protested, "and it only makes sense to alphabetize. No," he shook his head, "That's not the point. You need to get your grades back on track, which means you need to finish this paper, which means you need someone to get your rocks off. Immediately. We do that and everything else falls into place, right?"

"Ye-es..." Jordan replied slowly. "But where do I find someone? And what do you mean, 'we'?"

Connor didn't reply. He was staring down, refusing to make eye contact. His pale, freckled, skin was flushed bright red. Jordan's brown eyes widened.

"But I'm not even into guys."

I think...

Connor held up his hands. 

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. Just... pretend I'm Emma."

"What? How..." Jordan spluttered.

"Everyone knows about your crush, Jordan," Connor snapped, uncharacteristically sharp. Then, more gently, "You wear your heart your sleeve. Come on, let's just get this over with. Then you can pretend it never happened."

Just when I didn't think the night could get any more humiliating. Did all his friends know about his unrequited feelings? Suddenly, he felt very weary.

Weary, desperate, and still just a little buzzed. And more than a little pent up, if he was being honest. The frustration had been building relentlessly for the past two months. Maybe he should just give it a shot. What do I have to lose?

"Fine. How do we... I mean, what should I..."

"Close your eyes."

"Why?" But Jordan did as he was told. "This won't make things weird, will it?"

Too late to worry about that.

"It won't be weird unless you make it weird." 

Eyes still shut, Jordan felt the couch cushions shift as Connor moved closer. He felt Connor's weight and warmth against his side.  

"It's pretty simple," Connor said, and Jordan was surprised to feel his breath against his neck. There was a faint scent of soap and something that Jordan couldn't place. "No eye contact. No kissing. No feelings."

Nothing is that simple. This is crazy. What am I even doing?

But it was hard to think over the pounding of his heart. Between his legs, his dick began to stir, longing for the true release it had been denied for so long.

Jordan was completely unprepared for the electric jolt of Connor's feather-light touch against the crotch of his joggers. He gasped. His long-neglected cock twitched, desperate for attention. Almost immediately, Connor pulled his hand away.

No! Jordan smothered a frustrated whimper as his cock strained against the fabric of his pants.

Connor's voice was in his ear again, low and a little shaky. "If you change your mind, at any time, just say the word and I'll stop." His lips barely grazed Jordan's right ear. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to, okay?"

Jordan swallowed. His mouth was too dry to speak, so he just nodded. 

Connor leaned closer, his head resting on Jordan's chest. Jordan felt hands fumbling at his waistband for what felt like an eternity. His cock pulsed with impatience. Finally, it sprang free. The chill autumn air along its length made Jordan suddenly aware that his cock was fully on display - vulnerable and unprotected.

Inexplicably, Jordan longed to open his eyes and see if Connor was actually looking at his exposed nakedness. The idea set off an unsettling fluttering in his chest and deep in his belly. To his embarrassment, Jordan felt little drops of precum starting to ooze down his shaft from his tip. 

What's taking him so long? 

A warm hand wrapped around his cock. The thumb gently rubbed the head, smearing the thick, slippery, fluid down his length. Connor's firm grip began to slide up and down the shaft with long, slow strokes. 

Jordan tried not to moan as another hand dipped back into his waistband and, with a gentle tug, pulled his balls free. They were cupped in Connor's palm. His fingers, curled around the sac, rhythmically massaged and fondled the testicles with a firm pressure that stopped just short of painful. 

Jordan's awareness narrowed down to the sensations of Connor's hand on his body. His hips pumped in time to Connor's strokes. Without thinking, Jordan threw his arm around Connor, clutching him closer. He buried his face in Connor's hair - it was baby-fine and silky, and smelled so good. He'd never noticed before. 

Connor made a surprised sound. His hands faltered.

"Don't stop," Jordan begged between panting breaths. "I'm so close..."

The hands moved again, building pressure and momentum, bringing him tantalizingly close to the precipice, but never quite letting him find release. 

"Harder," he whispered urgently, "faster. I'm almost there."

"You didn't say please..." Connor sounded amused. Smug bastard. But his voice was also shaky and breathless.

Jordan didn't have the bandwidth to process that right now. His whole being was consumed with the need to cum. "Please, you asshole! Please, I need this. I need... nnngh..." 

Jordan's words devolved into incoherent moans as the stroking became firmer and faster. He felt his hips buck furiously, as though he were trying to hate-fuck Connor's fist. The pressure built in his balls as they were kneaded and rolled relentlessly. Just when he couldn't stand it a second longer, Jordan's whole body shuddered and white-hot pleasure surged through his body. Thick, hot, spurts of cum exploded out of him until he was left spent, exhausted empty.

Peppermint, Jordan thought, as he slumped back into the couch, pulling Connor with him. His hair smells like peppermint. And kinda woodsy. Probably his expensive shampoo. His thoughts drifted hazily as Jordan floated in and out of sleep. Every muscle in his body felt like spaghetti; he wasn't sure he'd be able to move again. But at the same time, he felt more rested and energized than he had in a while. 

As the afterglow faded, Jordan was aware again of Connor's body still pressed against his chest, and of his own arms still wrapped around Connor. 

Should I say something? What was he supposed to say? 

It'll only be weird if you make it weird. Yeah, right. Easier said than done. 

Connor sat up suddenly before Jordan could make up his mind. From where he lay, Jordan could only see Connor's back. Without turning to face him, Connor passed Jordan a box of Kleenex from the coffee table.

"You should clean up, and then probably get working on that paper. Let me know if you need me to proofread it." 

Jordan accepted the box. Keep it casual. Don't make it weird. "Thanks for the uh, hand."

That was definitely weird. 

Connor made a noise that might have been a chuckle. He still wouldn't look at Jordan.

"I'm going to go nap for a couple of hours. Call me if you need me."

And just like that, with a soft click of his door, Connor vanished into his room, leaving Jordan alone.