My fingers were itching to reach out and twine themselves between Enzo’s. The entire walk to his place, all I wanted was to reach out and hold his hand, a gesture so intimate, and on the same hand so commonplace, yet it was still difficult for me to do. As a gay man, there was an added layer of complexity to hand-holding. It wasn’t so much if the other person was receptive to some palm-on-palm action than it was about the people around you; were they the type to lash out at seeing two men holding hands, or would it be okay, a sign of progressing times? There was no way of knowing for sure—that was the shitty part. We could have been in the most liberal city around and there still could be someone who would fight over seeing two guys holding hands.

Imagine, how fragile did your own masculinity have to be to be offended by what me and my (incredibly hot and hung Italian) lover did?

“Hand-holding?” Enzo asked after I brought up the issue. We were two blocks away from his penthouse. It was getting late into the evening, but the Manhattan streets were still packed. People walked with headphones blaring, others with grocery bags in hand, others wearing their suits and ties as they speed walked toward the subway before they missed their train. The buildings stretched out toward the dark blue and purple sky. Cabs competed with Ubers as they honked and dodged each other on the roads.

“Yeah, what are your thoughts on it?”

“I think it’s important, but also depends on who’s comfortable with what. My last relationship, there wasn’t much hand-holding. Even in private, he wasn’t the type to display his affection. Who knows. Maybe that was a sign of what was coming.” He shook his head, his gaze dropping to the ground.

A little flag went up in my head, marking a question. Enzo hadn’t talked to me about his past relationships. I had no idea who he’d been with or why they’d broken up. I wanted to, especially since it seemed like there had been a heavy history there. “What happened?” I asked simply. As the words left my mouth, my hand gravitated toward Enzo’s with barely even a thought, our fingers locking together.

He unfurled like a flower. “It was bad. Really bad. I had a hard time trusting people after what Ryan did to me. We were dating for a few months and things felt right, but I hadn’t realized he was stealing from me until the third month.”

“Fuck,” I said. My hand gave a gentle squeeze.

“That wasn’t the worst of it. The day before I figured out he was robbing me from right under my nose, we were having sex and he—well, I didn’t realize, but he slipped off the condom midway and finished without saying anything. Inside. Cazzo. When I found that out, I almost knocked him out. I couldn’t explain it, but I felt so angry and so damn betrayed. We hadn’t been tested together yet, and we’d never talked about barebacking, either. I kicked him out that night, and then the next morning, I see my case of watches is open. Sure enough, one of them is missing. I looked around and realize little things that I normally wouldn’t have really noticed are gone. Rings, bracelets, even some shoes. I mean, you haven’t seen my shoe closet, but it’s big, so he made sure to take the ones hiding in the corner, shoes I hadn’t worn in years but were definitely worth good money.”

I could hardly believe what Enzo was telling me. What that monster of a man did to him would be enough to shatter anyone’s trust beyond repair. But Enzo still allowed me in. He still opened himself up to me. It made me even more aware of how precious Enzo’s trust was. A delicate gem that needed to be cherished.

“Still not the worst.” We were reaching his building now. It was tall and felt historic, with a grand entrance and a bellhop on standby regardless of the hour. “He, uhm, called me a week later. He told me he got tested and that he was positive.”

The world screeched to a halt. “Oh no,” I said, a knot of pure dread forming in my chest.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I got tested and I’m negative. Turned out his was a false positive. But regardless, it was one of the hardest times of my entire life.” Enzo swallowed, his gaze dropping. I squeezed his hand a little harder. “We were never really sure for a full three months since that’s how long it could take to show up on tests. I barely got any sleep. I drove myself sick with anxiety. It was brutal, and all from a cazzo shithead who couldn’t be honest with me. I stopped dating for a while after that.” We walked through the golden sliding glass doors and into a large lobby decorated in an eclectic mix of old-fashioned New York glamour mixed with modernized touches throughout.

“I’m so sorry you ever had to go through that,” I said, feeling like anything I said wouldn’t really be enough. “He never deserved you. Not in the slightest. You deserve to be treated like a king. Admired like one. Loved like one. Enzo, I swear, I’d never betray your trust. Not like that, not in any kind of way.”

We were in the elevator, the mirrored wall giving me a glimpse of Enzo’s eyes, which he had kept aimed away from me. Enzo looked at me as the doors shut. “Thank you, Zane. I trust you. I never thought I’d find someone who’d piece me back together, but here you are. Chiodo scaccia chiodo.”

“What’s that mean?”

Enzo’s eyes were glistening. It made a ball of emotion rise up in my chest. “A new nail drives out an old one. You’re my new, shiny nail. Replacing the rusty piece of shit from before.”

I chuckled and pulled him into me. Our faces were inches apart. I could feel his breath on my lips. Could see his pores, the flecks of yellow gold in his eyes. I could smell his cologne, intoxicating me.

“I love you, Enzo.” The words came out of me before I realized what I was saying. And that was it. Once it was said, it was said. Out in the ether. I was as vulnerable as I’d ever been. Time slowed down. Enzo’s lips curled into a smile, growing wider and wider.

“I love you, too,” he said, his Italian accent coming in thick. Our lips collided then, just like our worlds had on the day we met. I pushed him back on the wall of the elevator, the kiss rocketing up in heat. It felt so good, having said what I’d been feeling for some time now. And it felt even better to hear it said back. To know that Enzo was on the same page as I was.

Ding.

The elevator doors opened. Shit. We never pressed Enzo’s floor.

“Oh dear,” said an older lady holding on to a bright pink leash connected to her yappy Pomeranian. I separated from Enzo, straightening my coat and trying to smile as charmingly as I could, even though I knew my lips were still plump and wet from getting sucked on.

“I’ll, uhm, take the next one.” She stepped back as the doors closed again. I turned to Enzo, and we both started laughing. He pulled his key card out of his wallet and pressed it against the sensor, pushing the button for the penthouse. The second the elevator jerked into movement, our bodies were back on top of each other. This time, it was Enzo who grabbed my hips and locked lips with me, pushing me back so that I could lean on the wall. I could feel Enzo getting hard against me, his dick pushing against mine through our pants as we ground our bodies together while our tongues danced.

I wanted him. So fucking bad. I opened my eyes and glanced at what floor we were on. We had thirty-seven more. My hand went down between us, rubbing over Enzo’s bulge, and I swallowed a moan from him as our kiss burned hot. Fifteen more floors. I stopped kissing him and tilted my head so I could suck on his neck instead. I loved tasting him, and I loved feeling him buck as I sucked on his sensitive flesh. His hand moved to caress the back of my head while another went to squeeze my ass. I pushed against him harder, moving onto a new spot on his neck before I left a mark.

Five floors. I slipped a hand underneath Enzo’s waistband, finding that the naughty boy wasn’t wearing any underwear. I immediately felt his velvety soft length against my hand. I closed my fingers, holding him, stroking him.

Ding.

We tumbled directly into Enzo’s penthouse, our bodies not wanting to separate for even an inch. I wanted all of Enzo, and I didn’t want to wait for him. Not only was there such a relief flooding through me after hearing those three words come from Enzo’s lips, but there was also a flood of endorphins—nature’s aphrodisiac. I was hornier than I’d ever been, and I needed Enzo to know it. My hands dropped down to my pants as I popped open the button and pulled down the zipper. I dropped them down to my ankles, our kiss still smoldering as Enzo steered us toward his couch. Next came my coat. I threw it to the side. Enzo started doing the same, pulling off his clothes and almost tripping on his pants, but I was there to catch him.

“I didn’t know you liked going commando,” I teased, reaching down and cupping Enzo’s balls in my hand.

“I like wearing the least amount of clothes I can get away with.”

“Works for me,” I responded, looking down and admiring Enzo. We laughed and kissed the rest of the way to the couch, both of us fully naked by the time we flopped back onto the soft cushions. My belly became wet with Enzo’s precome as he laid me down and straddled me, rubbing himself on me as we kissed.

“Fuck,” I groaned into a kiss, “you’re getting me soaked.”

“You make me so… wet.” Enzo said that last part in a dramatic tone, like an actress in a cheap soap opera, as he pulled up and batted his eyelashes at me. We both started to laugh. I pulled him back down for a kiss, wanting him to get us both even wetter.

We broke our kiss for a breath. “Sei bellissimo,” Enzo purred as he sat on top of me, his breathtaking eyes pinning me down to the couch. “You’re beautiful. So fucking beautiful.” I didn’t want to tell him I didn’t need the translation for that one. He could keep calling me beautiful all damn night—I wouldn’t stop him.

Another kiss. I couldn’t get enough of him. “You’re addictive,” I said, my turn to take a breath of air. “I can’t get enough of you.”

“Bene,” Enzo said. “There’s plenty of me for you to have, bello.” I noticed how much more pronounced Enzo’s Italian became whenever he was turned on, which, in turn, made me harder than a fucking diamond.

“Let me have you, then,” I said, reaching around and grabbing both of Enzo’s cheeks in my hands, squeezing and spreading them open. “Let me have all of you. I want to be inside of you.” I thrust my hips up, my cock rubbing against Enzo’s crack, adding some emphasis to my sentence.

Enzo smiled down at me and pushed his ass back, rubbing himself on my stiff dick. I could feel his tight hole with my fingers. I circled around the sensitive spot, pressing down and applying pressure as Enzo rocked backward. He showed his appreciation of my touch by spilling more of his precome onto my belly. I used a free hand to run two fingers through the clear liquid before bringing it up to my lips, smiling as I sucked the fingers into my mouth and tasted Enzo on my tongue.

“Cazzo,” Enzo exhaled. He stopped rubbing himself on me and pushed up on the couch. “I’ll be right back,” Enzo said, his tone low as he bent over and started kissing my chest. He sucked a nipple and sent a bolt of pleasure shooting through me before he stood up and disappeared into his hallway.

A few minutes passed and he was back, naked and hard, holding a navy bottle of lube and a black-and-gold wrapper. He looked so sexy standing completely naked, his cock jutting out ahead of him, throbbing gently in the air. I could see it leaking, which drove me wild. And his body, fuck his body was perfect. He had some meat on him (and I wasn’t just talking about the Italian sausage he was packing), which I fucking loved. I never found overly muscled men attractive, which was also why I never went overboard myself at the gym. Enzo was perfect. He had strong arms, a powerful, prideful chest, and a tummy I could bite on when he got close enough.

Fucking perfect.

“Get over here,” I growled.

I was sitting down on Enzo’s couch, my legs out in front of me, my hard cock stiff in the air and leaking from the tip. I grabbed the base and aimed it straight up. Enzo walked toward me, eyeing my cock like it was his last fucking meal. It turned me on to no end. My gaze dropped from his eyes down to his thick cock and tight balls. Saliva collected in my mouth before I swallowed it down.

“Come sit on me.” I practically growled it as a command. Enzo, his hand already lubed up, spread it on his cock before reaching behind himself and lubing his ass. I stroked myself in anticipation.

Enzo dropped down to the floor and settled on his knees between mine. He smiled as he licked from my balls to my tip slowly, sucking on skin as he jerked himself off. The air in the room grew fifteen degrees warmer. Our gazes locked as he opened his mouth and took me in, the warmth and wetness instantly sending me to another world. I let my head drop back and my eyes close as Enzo got to work with his mouth. My hands moved to twine in Enzo’s hair, grabbing enough so that I could push down and shove my cock deeper down his throat. He took it and went down even farther. Saliva was dripping down, sliding down my balls.

“Fuck,” I hissed, “I need to be inside of you.”

Enzo looked up, grinning around my cock before he pulled off it. He got back up on his feet, his cock slick with lube and shining in the light of his living room. He moved forward so that both of his legs were on either side of mine as he reached down and grabbed my cock in his hands. He stroked, spreading the wetness up and down, making me as slick as he was. I reached over to the condom next to the bottle of lube and tore it open in record time, sliding it on as Enzo positioned himself to ride my fucking brains out. He put a knee on the couch before bringing up the other and straddling me. My cock throbbed against his ass. I pushed my hips up, lifting my ass from the couch, and rubbed myself against Enzo, aching to be inside him.

“You’re so big,” Enzo said as he reached behind and grabbed me in his hand. He was looking down at me, his pupils dilated like coals ready to catch fire. He bit his lip as he moved my cock so that it was pushing up against his tight hole. He took a breath before sitting back, opening himself for me, his eyes rolling back as I entered.

It was ecstasy. I wasn’t even halfway inside him and I was already close to coming. He was exactly what my body had been crying out for, begging for, needing. I needed this. Needed him. Enzo sat down farther, wrapping heat around more and more of my cock. My hands held on to his hips as I looked down. Enzo held his balls in one hand, giving me the perfect view of my dick disappearing inside of him.

“Fuck, that’s it, sit on me.” I looked back up to Enzo, our eyes locking, the fire between us ready to incinerate the entire penthouse.

With a moan, Enzo sat, taking in every last inch of me. My head dropped back, my toes curled. I pushed my hips upward, knowing that I was hitting his prostate.

“Cazzo, Zane, right there,” he said, his pitch confirming what I thought. I pushed up harder and grabbed on to his hips so I could grind Enzo down. He was making small circles in my lap, hitting that spot of his harder and harder. I could feel him tighten around me.

“Bounce on it, baby.” I was almost growling, my voice deep like my breath. Enzo looked down and used his knees to push himself up before he slowly sat back down, his tight hole taking me with ease. He must have been starving for this. Yearning for it as much as I was.

I started pushing up off the couch, driving myself deeper into Enzo, harder. I started fucking him, watching as his hard cock bounced and slapped on my abs, leaving behind a trail of clear, sticky precome. I grabbed him in my hand as he bounced on my cock. Fuck. I loved feeling that thick dick of his in my hand. The weight of it, the softness, the fact that I couldn’t wrap my fingers around it.

And Enzo’s ass. Holy fuck, that was perfect, too. Everything about the man had my body humming like an exposed live wire. I wanted that ass in my hands. I grabbed his hips again and slowed him to a stop. He came down on me, our lips crushing together, our tongues dueling, all while my cock was buried deep inside Enzo.

Bliss. Pure bliss.

“Come here,” I said when we broke for breath. I lifted him up off my dick and guided him to the arm of the couch, where I bent him over. He instantly stuck his ass out in the air, even giving me a little wiggle. I slapped it, the white skin turning pink in response.

“Ohh, do it again,” Enzo said, looking back at me with a fiery smile. I gave the man what he wanted. My hand pulled up and back down, slapping the other cheek, a little harder this time.

I squirted some more lube on my hand and rubbed it over my cock before I got into position behind Enzo on the couch. “Question for you,” I said, rubbing my cock against his ass. “How would a naive tourist in Italy say ‘you’ve got the best ass I’ve ever seen’?”

Enzo chuckled. “Asking for a friend?”

“Exactly.” I slipped the head of my cock inside.

“Oh,” Enzo moaned. “Hai il miglior culo che abbia mai visto.”

I chuckled. I wasn’t even going to try saying what he said. “Got it,” I said instead, sinking myself deeper into Enzo. With a moan from deep in my chest, I watched myself disappearing inside him. I put a hand on his lower back and another went between his legs, where I could grab on to that meaty cock of his again. I stroked him as I started fucking him, harder, pounding into him from behind. My balls slapped against his ass, and his cock throbbed in my grip. Our sounds became animalistic. Our grunts were synced with every thrust, our moans growing louder and louder. Enzo’s fingers were pale as they held on to the couch. He threw his head back, giving me the perfect angle to suck on his flesh. I thrust inside him, impaling him, before I dipped down so that I could kiss on the back of his neck.

“Proprio qui,” Enzo groaned. “Fuck, right there. Yeah.”

I was getting close to my edge, and judging by how wet my hand was from jerking Enzo off, so was he.

“I’m so fucking close,” I said into Enzo’s ear. I kept driving myself into him, his ass wrapping around my entire length and filling me with an indescribable heat. I had to blow.

“Fuck, come for me, Zane.” Enzo was thrusting his ass back, begging for it.

“Yeah, tell me how much you want it,” I growled, pulling my cock out of Enzo’s tight ass. I stroked myself, my cock still slick with lube and pulsing in my grip as I pressed the head against Enzo’s needy hole.

“Give it to me, Zane. I want it so bad,” Enzo said before he dropped his head and started moaning with his face in a pillow, his ass grinding in the air, telling me how badly he really wanted my come.

“Come here,” I said, grabbing him so that I could have him sitting down on the couch, his hard cock jutting out between those thick thighs, red and wet.

Enzo was smiling as he grabbed my dick and rolled the condom off. He looked up at me while he started to jerk me off.

“Come for me, Zane. I want to feel it all over my face.”

It was all I needed to blow. Looking down into those captivating eyes, seeing his hand wrapped around me, I couldn’t hold it back even if I wanted to. I grabbed my cock from Enzo’s hands, my fist tightening around my shaft as I felt the unstoppable orgasmic wave flood over me, starting at the base of my spine and exploding outward. A jet of my sticky, white come landed smack on Enzo’s forehead. He jerked back, smiling and laughing as he leaned back in, my cock covering him in my seed. I was a twitching, spasming mess by the time the orgasm had finished. And Enzo looked like a fucked-up snowman.

“Holy… shit,” he said, using his fingers to wipe away some of the dripping come before it landed in his eyes. “That was so fucking hot. Cazzo, Zane.”

“Now it’s your turn,” I said, pulling him up to my level so I could lick his face clean.