Cuba groans into his pillow when he feels vibrations from his phone rumble through his mattress. He opens one eye and jumps to attention when he sees Raph’s name come up on the screen. He breathes for a moment and slides the green button to answer.

“Hey, Puerto Rico.” Raphael speaks before Cuba can say anything. His voice sounds brighter over the phone.

Cuba scoffs. “That’s the first time I’ve heard a joke where a Latin country is used as my name. You’re really clever.”

Raphael’s laugh booms so loudly that Cuba has to pull the phone away from his ear. “Hey, I remember you told me your people are from Puerto Rico, so it’s not just a joke. I’m being sweet and shit.”

“You’re very ‘and shit.’”

Raphael’s laughter claps like a thunderbolt. “You’ve got way too much snark for you own good, Cuba.”

“Yeah? And what are you going to do about it?” Cuba’s stomach lunges forward. If he hadn’t just said them, he wouldn’t have thought he was capable of those words. He bites his lip and listens.

“I want you to come over.”

For a moment, Cuba can’t do anything but breathe and listen to his own heart race, then he speaks. “Give me your address.”

“I want to pick you up.”

Cuba’s teeth plunge so far into his bottom lip that he almost breaks flesh. “Okay.”

After he hangs up the phone, he texts Raphael the address and realizes it’s 6:40 a.m. Looking into the searing sun outside of his window, he wouldn’t be able to tell. He runs into the bathroom—one of two in the house shared by eight people. Cuba looks at his face in the mirror. His weekend beard is in full force. All at once, he thinks of Raphael and all the parts of his body that he might touch in just a few minutes. Cuba swings open the medicine cabinet and pulls out an arm’s length of dental floss.

“Who are they?” a voice says from the open doorway.

Cuba starts and clutches his heart. He knocks down at least four roommates’ beauty products to the floor in the process. After he regains his composure, he looks to the doorway to see all 5’2” of KJ—one of the women in his apartment who assured him she’d be a ghost. Maybe this is what she meant, she’d sneak up on him when he wasn’t paying attention.

She lifts a spoonful of chocolaty kid’s cereal up to her mouth and repeats the question. “They’ve got to be pretty good to have you grooming yourself at this ungodly hour.”

Cuba sighs. “Can anything in this life be done for oneself? You’re up at this ungodly hour,” he says, fitting the floss in between his teeth.

“I’m up at this hour because of sex,” KJ replies through a mouth full of cereal. She then lifts the spoon to scratch at the back of her brown buzzcut. “Just had to kick this guy out. Kept hogging my blanket. My grandma quilted that for me. I ain’t sharing.”

As if he were summoned, a tall Asian man in nothing but boxers comes out of KJ’s room, scratching his ass. “Hey, BJ, you think I could borrow four bucks to catch the BART back home? I’m all the way in San Bruno.”

“Please leave,” KJ says, while Cuba snickers through his wide-open mouth.

“Anyway,” she says, turning back to face Cuba. “I’ve hardly ever seen you get up past 2:00 p.m. on the weekends. You’re doing this for somebody.”

Cuba runs the faucet over his toothbrush. “Fine. I’m going out on a date or something with a guy.”

“What’s his name?” KJ asks.

“Raphael Kapoor,” Cuba says through toothbrushing.

“The VC?”

“Yeah,” Cuba says, spitting, and turning on the shower to let it warm up. “He owns some of Centerfold.”

“Yeah, dude, and half of the San Francisco Spoonbills.”

Cuba looks at KJ with a blank face and she returns a shocked one. “You don’t know the Spoonbills? The basketball team? They just won the national championships?”

“Not really into sports,” says Cuba, running a hand under the shower stream to see if it’s bearable.

KJ shakes her head. “They say the meek shall inherit the earth, Cuba. Stay naïve, it’s beautiful.”

Cuba laugh is distorted, he’s starting to think that KJ will keep speaking to him even if he gets naked.

“Anyway,” KJ mutters as she finally walks away from the bathroom. “Kapoor is fucking loaded, dude. Bring me back a Tesla.”

* * *

Cuba releases a cloud of steam as he steps into the hallway after his shower. He does a double take when he sees Raphael standing on the other side of the front door in a pair of shorts again, talking to KJ. He lifts his head and waves his hand. KJ turns around and sees Cuba.

“Cuba, your man just said he can put me on the list to sit courtside at the Spoonbills’ games all fucking season.” KJ lets Raphael inside the house and closes the door behind him. “I knew there would be a perk to letting a boy live with us.” KJ fake dribbles and shoots on the way back to her room.

Raphael walks up to Cuba, who becomes very aware that he’s in nothing but a towel.

“Hey, Raph,” Cuba says, backing up toward his room with every step Raphael takes closer to him.

“I love it when people call me that,” Raphael says. Cuba opens the door to his bedroom and leads him inside. “And I like that your roommate called me your man. I’ve always wanted to be with someone who calls me that. My man.”

Now inside Cuba’s room, Raphael pushes the door closed with his heel. He slips his hands on either side of Cuba’s waist and gets so close that Cuba can feel the heat in his breath—his breath that still smells like nicotine, but also grape bubblegum.

“I thought you were going to take me to your place,” Cuba says.

Raphael’s look is unwavering and loose. “I thought so too. I thought you’d be ready by now.” His eyes follow the trail of water droplets speeding down Cuba’s chest and into the towel around his waist. “I also thought you’d be dressed.”

“Sorry,” Cuba barely chokes out as Raphael’s hands move from his waist to his arms, then up to his shoulders. Finally, Raphael cups Cuba’s face and runs his thumbs across the stubble.

“I want to kiss you so bad,” Raphael says.

Cuba nods so hard he feels like he’s begging, but it doesn’t matter. He wants those lips against his more than anything. “Kiss me.”

“Let’s match first,” Raphael replies. He drops his hands from Cuba’s face and slips of out his jacket, letting it fall to the ground. He crosses his arms at the hem of his shirt and pulls it over his head.

Cuba puts a hand on Raphael’s soft torso and Raphael pushes his body flush against Cuba’s. He kisses his top lip, slowly, giving Cuba free reign over his bottom lip. Cuba takes it into his mouth and sucks it a bit. He wraps his arms around Raphael’s waist and pulls him in more tightly than ever.

“Sit down,” Raphael whispers into Cuba’s lips.

Cuba takes a seat on the edge of the bed. He can feel his cock getting hard underneath the terrycloth towel. Raphael straddles Cuba’s lap and sits down into it. Cuba runs his hands across Raphael’s thighs.

Raphael giggles in that raspy way of his. “You really are a thigh guy, huh?”

Cuba presses his forehead into Raphael’s chest and holds on tighter to his thighs. “I don’t know what it is, I can’t get enough.”

“Maybe it’s because you know what’s between these thighs.”

Cuba doesn’t say anything, but Raphael can feel the heat in his face on his chest.

“Relax,” Raphael says, patting the back of Cuba’s head. “You don’t have to go anywhere near my dick.” Raphael grabs a fistful of Cuba’s curly hair and gently pulls his head back, then kisses him on the neck, letting his tongue work in circles. Cuba melts into it, growing entirely hard under the towel.

“Can I get near yours?” Raphael asks, in between the hickeys he’s leaving on Cuba’s neck.

“What?” Cuba says, only aware of the pleasure he’s feeling.

“Can I get near your dick?”

Cuba pulls away a little and looks Raphael in the eyes. “What do you want to do?”

“Suck your dick,” Raphael says, and flicks his tongue up Cuba’s lips once.

When Cuba reaches forward for more, Raphael jerks back. After a few moments he lets their lips touch for a bit, then swirls his tongue around the inside of Cuba’s mouth. He pulls away to speak.

“I want your balls in my mouth. I’ll start there and lick all the way up to the head of your dick. Do you want me to do that?”

Cuba’s expression is caught between pain and pleasure. He pushes his face back into Raphael’s chest. Raphael can’t help but smile when Cuba puts both of his hands farther up his shorts and touches the junction between his thighs and his waist.

“I want to,” Cuba says. He pulls away and looks up at Raphael. “But … are we moving too fast?” Cuba can feel the entire length of his cock push up against Raphael’s leg.

“I’m not the right person to ask. I’m the one who really wants to get all up under your towel.”

Cuba throws his head back, forgetting that the wall isn’t close behind him. He lies flat on his back, and Raphael crawls up and hovers over him.

“Listen,” Raphael says. “I don’t think there’s such thing as moving too fast. You move in the pace that you feel ready for. If you don’t feel ready and you don’t want it to happen yet, then don’t do it.”

Cuba puts both hands up to Raphael’s chest and walks his fingers up to his nipples. He run circles across them and Raphael bites his own lip when Cuba pinches one.

“Suck my dick,” Cuba says, the tension of his body melting away, into the mattress beneath him.

Raphael smiles wide, leans in to kiss him once, and slides off the bed, to his knees, between Cuba’s legs. All Cuba can hear is his own breathing and pounding heart. Raphael pulls at the towel and it falls away, allowing Cuba’s cock to spring straight up.

Cuba grabs the pillows on his bed and tucks them behind his neck. He looks down just as Raphael looks up, and the two stare at each other. Neither moves. The intensity of Cuba’s heartbeat dulls, and he reaches a hand down, running it through Raphael’s thick hair. He nods.

Then, Raphael does exactly what he says he would. He puts his lips to Cuba’s balls and sticks his tongue out. Cuba inhales sharply and lurches away. Just as quickly, he brings his hips back down. Raphael opens his mouth wide and licks Cuba’s balls like they’re melting ice cream on a summer’s day. He holds Cuba’s cock in his left hand and Cuba spreads his legs wider, arching his head back and closing his eyes in pure bliss.

Raphael keeps his tongue flat and rolls it all the way up the Cuba’s shaft to the head. He kisses the tip, so softly that it tickles, making Cuba giggle and open his eyes. Raphael is looking up at him.

“You’re so cute,” Raphael says, and kisses the head of his cock again. Cuba bites his lip. He’s not sure that he wants to be cute right now. He lifts himself upright and steps off the bed.

“Turn around,” he orders Raphael, who smirks, but turns around so that he’s sitting on the floor with his back up against the mattress. Cuba steps over him, puts a hand on the base of his cock, and feeds it into Raphael’s mouth, who takes it without using his hands. Raphael grabs onto Cuba’s balls with one hand and grabs a fistful of his ass with the other to push him towards him.

Slowly, shakily, Cuba thrusts into Raphael’s waiting lips. He quickly learns that he can get his entire cock inside Raph’s eager mouth. Raphael sucks, hard, and Cuba’s rhythm grows more fluid. Unable to stop himself, he moans deeply, like the only outlet for his pleasure is Raphael’s mouth. He can feel Raphael’s tongue every time he moves, and soon, he feels a ripple of pleasure building each time the base of his cock meets Raphael’s lips.

“I’m coming,” he whispers, his legs shaking.

Raphael pops Cuba’s cock out for a moment. “I’m swallowing,” he says, then slides Cuba right back in his mouth.

Cuba can barely move, his legs wobbling beneath him. Raphael grips him tighter and brings his head forward, sucking, holding tightly onto Cuba’s balls. He bobs his head, hot and fast. With a gasping moan, Cuba comes, and Raphael swallows. Cuba’s entire body flushes, then pulses. He moves away from Raphael and falls back on his bed, his chest heaving.

Raphael wipes the corners of his mouth and climbs into bed next to Cuba. He lays a hand on his chest and nuzzles the side of his neck. Cuba turns his head toward him, and Raphael kisses him on the lips, slower than ever, slipping his tongue in just a little. Cuba grabs onto Raphael’s arm and holds him close.

“You make me feel so good,” Cuba says, finally retreating from the kiss.

“That’s because you are good.”

“Then you make me feel actualized,” Cuba says, flashing a grin.

Raphael moves his hand up to the side of Cuba’s face. “You’re really sweet, Cuba. Don’t ever change.”

Cuba rolls his eyes and looks to the ceiling. “You keep saying things like that.”

“And I’m serious. There aren’t very many good people in this world.”

Cuba looks back at Raphael. “What about you?”

Raphael smiles, and this time he’s the one who looks to the ceiling. He sighs. “I don’t care enough to be good to people unless they’re good to me. And I’ve got an arsenal of everyone’s shortcomings ready for them the moment they’re out of my favor.”

“Do you have one for me?”

Raphael turns back to him. “Not yet.”

Cuba shakes his head. “Don’t keep one for me. Just tell me when you notice them.”

“I don’t think I’ll find any.”

“You will.”

Then they just lie there, not wanting to be separated.