Rhys nibbled his Grindr date’s neck, making him moan as his date fished the keys to his apartment out of his skinny jeans. Rhys was amazed he’d received any pings on his Grindr in Galveston, Texas. Even more surprised to find himself in a bar a few hours later.

His date, Jacob, and Rhys had exchanged the usual first date information over a couple beers and a few more cocktails. Jacob worked in accounting for a refrigeration company. Rhys had glossed over the past couple years, letting Jacob know he had just finished college a semester late. His date didn’t need to know all the tragic details.

Rhys’s thoughts snapped back to the present as Jacob finally opened the door to his apartment and seductively pulled Rhys in by his tie. Jacob reached for his cell phone, and with the press of an app all the lights in the apartment came on. Six-foot-tall, blond, just the right amount of stubble — Jacob was everything Rhys liked in a man. Jacob pulled Rhys in close and kissed him again, the taste of strawberry daiquiris still on the accountant’s lips.

“I’ll be waiting in the bedroom. Lube is in the bathroom,” Jacob told him with a grin, biting the bottom of his lip before waltzing further into the sleek apartment. Rhys looked at the kitchen island and the various doors in the apartment. He ran his hands through his hair, wondering where exactly the bathroom was.

Rhys flinched as music started playing, coming out of speakers throughout the apartment. A pounding beat with a pop princess wailing over the rhythm. Rhys looked at the layout of the apartment, figuring the bathroom must be at least some distance from a food prep area. He headed to the door furthest away, pulling it open, only to have several mops, brooms, and cleaning products clatter onto the tiled floors.

“Everything all right?” Jacob called out as Rhys struggled to shove everything back into the closet. “I’m waiting!”

“Yeah, I’m — looking for the bathroom.” Rhys felt mighty embarrassed as he finally slammed the closet door shut.

“Urgh, door to the right of the closet!” Jacob yelled out as Rhys backed away from the door, hoping it would stay closed. He went to the bathroom door, and the lights flicked on automatically as he entered the room. The music was as loud in the bathroom, the mirror shaking slightly with the bass. Rhys realized the whole apartment was wired for sound, blasting out the pop music he didn’t recognize.

Rhys went for the cabinet and looked inside, finding a bottle of strawberry-flavored lube. Someone has a favorite flavor. Rhys closed the door and gave himself a once-over in the mirror. When Rhys put in the effort, he came out looking gorgeous. Rhys touched up his hair one last time before heading toward Jacob in the bedroom.

Rhys entered to find Jacob kneeling on the bed, already completely naked, his thick cock semi-hard. Rhys was happy to see Jacob’s member twitch in anticipation as he entered the room, but felt disappointed he didn’t get to help him undress.

Half the fun of a present was unwrapping it.

He passed Jacob the lube before unbuttoning his own shirt. Jacob leaned back, looking him up and down. Rhys assumed that was a sign for him to continue, hoping that Jacob enjoyed watching him undress. He kicked off his sneakers and pulled off his shirt, exposing his bare chest to Jacob.

Jacob’s cock sprang to attention, and Rhys could practically see his balls tightening. He leaned forward, grabbing Rhys by the neck before kissing him hard, his hard cock rubbing on Rhys’s pelvis. Rhys slid his jeans off, Jacob’s pre-cum already dripping to the root of his own stiffening dick.

Rhys stood by the side of the bed, Jacob still kneeling on the mattress, when Jacob made his move. He grabbed both of their members in his right hand, squirting a healthy dollop of strawberry lube into the thrashing mess. Rhys gasped as Jacob got to work, grabbing the accountant’s shoulders to steady himself as Jacob stared into his eyes.

“You like this, don’t you?” Jacob said, his gaze searing Rhys.

“Yeah, don’t stop!” Rhys pleaded, feeling himself building up.

“You love it! Of course someone like you loves it!” Jacob told him. Rhys looked up at Jacob, trying to figure out what he meant as he jerked them more furiously. “Yeah, I’m gonna come all over your chest!”

Jacob howled as he spurted his hot messy cum all over their chests. Rhys flinched as the hot mess sprayed between their heaving chests. Jacob’s hand slowed to a gentle stroke before he let go entirely, leaving Rhys unfinished.

Jacob chuckled, collapsing backward onto the bed as he breathed heavily. Rhys stood unfulfilled, his jeans around his ankles, covered in rapidly cooling cum.

“Phew, sorry about that, buddy!” Jacob sat up. “Sometimes in the moment, I just say the first thing that comes to mind. Y’know — whatever’ll get me going.” Jacob grabbed a roll of paper towels from a nightstand, scrubbing the cum from his chest. He left the roll on the bed, so Rhys awkwardly leaned over to grab some paper and clean himself.

Jacob then scooched up the bed, pressing a button on his phone to finally stop the pop music from pounding. He then picked up a TV remote, flicking on the device on the opposite wall.

“I’ve got YouTube on here if you wanted to watch Vine videos?” Jacob said as Rhys finished cleaning himself up. Rhys glared at him, amazed he was so unaware at how terrible the sex had been for Rhys.

“Yeah, that’s cool. I’m just gonna head back to mine I think.” Rhys pulled his jeans back up and slid on his sneakers.

“You sure, dude? I’ll probably be ready to go again in, like, an hour. Two tops,” Jacob affirmed as Rhys finished dressing. Jacob rubbed his stubble as Rhys double-checked he had what he came in with: wallet, keys, phone, Chapstick. He’d lost his dignity along the way.

“I’ve got a lot of driving to do tomorrow, so I need an early start.” Rhys was already heading out of the bedroom.

“Oh, okay, no problem. Take care, Ryan!” Jacob called out as Rhys closed the door to the sleek apartment. He almost slammed the door in anger, but felt too shy to attempt such a daring move.

His shirt clung to the sticky cum residue as Rhys took the elevator down to the bottom floor. He exited the building, stepping out onto the Galveston street. The sun had just set, the concrete still warm from the heat of the day. Rhys pulled out his phone to get him back to ‘his place.’

Back in Tallahassee, Rhys had become used to warm winters, the temperature much the same as Texas, but a lot less muggy and wet. In Texas, the air was becoming crisp with nightfall, nothing that Rhys couldn’t handle. The air smelled of salt, a million times cleaner than the swampy air of Tallahassee.

Rhys slipped on his headphones, putting on his Spotify playlist ‘Highway to Home.’ The all-too-familiar beats of Queen and Depeche Mode filled his ears as he trudged his way further into Galveston, passing the gates of a large theme park closing for the night.

Rhys found himself navigating between several groups of exhausted families leaving the park. The chorus of flip-flops smacking the warm concrete almost drowned out Rhys’s music. Rhys could not help but notice that most of the couples were all led by the standard nuclear family. Father and mother. The occasional single mother struggling with her children, but Rhys knew he would never find a gay family unit. Not in a million years in a state like Texas.

He could have called an Uber and been there in a flash, avoiding the bottleneck of loud children. But he needed the ten-minute walk to decompress, hoping that a bit of sweat would help clean the flecks of cum still stuck to his chest.

Rhys broke through the throng of damp families, finding himself by the sea. The sun was almost swallowed by the horizon. As he walked, he paused by a pier, jutting out into the water.

His parents had met in Galveston, often talking about their epic first date that ended on a pier. Rhys wondered if he’d just passed the same one as he walked back to ‘his place.’

After a few minutes, he turned off into a quiet side street and found his home for the night.

His grandfather’s red Impala gleamed in the street lights of the coastal city, somehow still as shiny as when Rhys was a child. He looked the car over, older than him by a couple decades, still so polished he could see his reflection in the hood.

The car was kept in storage since his grandfather passed away.

Rhys sighed in relief as double-checked the trunk and saw everything was where he had left it. Three boxes. All of his college possessions fit into three boxes. That and his peace lily.

A gift from his mom on his first day of college, the small sturdy plant had been the only companion to stick with him over the last four and a half years.

For Rhys, in that moment, the best part of his grandfather’s red Impala were the seats. Instead of a passenger and driver seat, the manufacturers had basically welded two leather sofas into the car. It looked infinitely more comfortable than sharing a bed with his Grindr date.

As Rhys gently placed his peace lily in the back seat (or back couch, as he liked to think of it), he breathed deep.

In high school he had always been on edge, terrified someone would find out his secret closeted life. Coming out in college had seemed like a safe bet, but most of the men in his dorm took to avoiding him like the plague. Some even joked about it, how they didn’t want to get ‘the AIDS’ from him. They always told him it was friendly banter. Rhys knew otherwise.

Here, in his grandfather’s car, he felt safe. Wrapped up in two tons of steel, he was untouchable. The spicy musk of his grandfather’s aftershave still somehow lingered after all these years.

He fished a jacket out of one of the three boxes, using it as a pillow as he lay down next to the steering wheel. He took off his sneakers and draped his feet over the top of the leather ‘sofa’ before checking his phone. He had one text from his dad, thirteen from his mom. He checked the one from his dad first.

Hey Rhys, glad you picked up gramps’s car no trouble. look forward to seeing u in a few days. She’s been in storage a few years now, so go nice and gentle (like a pier-tier first date!) — talk soon. Your father.

Rhys caught his reflection in his screen, his smile illuminated by the glow from his phone. For as long as Tobias Meadows had owned a phone, he had always signed his texts with his name. Or in Rhys’s case, ‘Your father.’

Rhys skimmed the texts from his mom. There were the usual questions about what food he wanted for his homecoming, even though she always kept a full pantry. The updates on his three brothers and two sisters (the same ones Rhys had already read on Facebook and Instagram). There were a couple that were worth a full read.

Hey, honey! I hope you are having a good day and that picking up Grandpa Louie’s car was not too difficult. We are all looking forward to you coming back home and helping out with Meadows Hardware. Your father is looking to open his 2nd store. He (your father) is thinking about making you an assistant manager, but don’t tell him I told you! ;-)

Hugs and kisses, love you very much, Mom XOXOXOX.

The next three messages were pics of animals she’d found on Facebook, a Labrador puppy, and baby cheetah playing in a zoo park.

Rhys locked his phone, resting it on his chest, and he looked at the ceiling of the Impala. He had a college education, a good job waiting for him, and a loving family that supported him his whole life. Then why did he feel so empty?

Just as he was drifting off, the phone on his chest vibrated. On reflex, he unlocked the screen and was almost blinded by the bright display.

A message from Jacob on his Grindr.

It’s been an hour if you’re up for round 2?

Rhys put his phone on silent before shutting his eyes.

Tomorrow he would rise with the sun and begin his car ride home. Google Maps said it would be twenty-four hours of driving if he went nonstop.

If Rhys was lucky with the traffic and didn’t stop too long for breaks, he could drive twelve hours a day, be home in two.

Maybe then he’d finally feel like he belonged.