Wish Candle (Vignette) (Patreon)

“Erykah?”  Jeff kicked his shoes off and draped his carefully-hung work clothes over the back of a chair.   His baggy tshirt, whose sleeves and sides had been cut off, clung damp and heavy with sweat to his solid pecs and flat stomach.  After spending all day in dress clothes and a tie he felt like someone being freed from a straight jacket in his loose gym clothes.  “We’re not a thing anymore,” he said, shaking his head quickly back and forth and pulling a six-pack out of the fridge.  He and Dylan had just wrapped up their evening crossfit class and they were ready to relax and watch the game.  

“Really?  She seemed fun,” Dylan said, not at all surprised.  His friend went through women faster than anyone else he knew.  He understood why.  Dylan wasn’t gay, but he had no problem admitting that Jeff was objectively attractive.  He was a little on the short side at 5’9”, but this only made him seem less threatening.  Then throw in jet black hair, olive skin, a brooding, handsome face, and a killer body.  They both worked hard at staying in shape, but Jeff took it to another level.  His friend looked like he was cut from stone, with broad, round shoulders, and sculpted pecs that were covered in a light coating of the same raven hairs that were always perfectly styled on his head.  Bulging biceps and triceps gave him a matching set of strong arms that strained noticeably against all of his fitted dress shirts.  What didn’t strain against his fitted shirts was his washboard stomach that tapered alluringly to a tight, trim waistline.  His tiny waist only made the perky bubble butt all the more noticeable as it fought against whatever tried to contain it.  His quads were slabs of toned muscles, leaving his thighs wide and strong without being bulky.  Dylan did his best not to look at it, but he’d seen Jeff’s exposed package enough to know an average cock and furry balls were stuffed into his friend’s tiny boxer briefs.  Not that Jeff needed a monster rod.  His looks and body were more than enough to get anyone he wanted in his bed.  

Unfortunately his attitude usually drove them out just as quickly.  Jeff knew just how good looking he was.  He wasn’t aggressively an asshole, but to him women were interchangeable.  If one didn’t hold his interest, he could just as easily find another.  “Fun and crazy.  Girl was into some weeeeeiiiiiiiirrrrd shit.  And she hit the roof when she found out I was also hittin’ Tiff at the same time.”  

“Imagine that,” Dylan said flatly.  He didn’t approve of his friend’s behavior, but he also knew it was pointless to try and change at this point.  

“Whatever dude,” he said defensively.  “We never said we were exclusive.  I’m only 26, man, I can’t be tied down like that.”  Jeff peeled out of the damp tshirt and tossed it aside before flopping down on the couch opposite Dylan.  His gym shorts rode up as he spread his legs and his solid thighs spread against the couch.  He draped one arm behind his head, flexing with the motion.  His position also drew attention to his firm chest and impressive abs.  Even when he was just with one of his buddies he couldn’t stop showing off.  

Dylan shrugged, looking at the TV instead of the other man.  “It’s your life…do what you want.  But that shit’s gonna come back to bite you sooner or later.”  

*****

Jeff’s sleep was restless that night.  He kept waking up, thinking he heard a woman’s voice.  It sounded familiar, but far away.  He couldn’t make out what was being said.  Whatever it was had a chant-like, repetitive quality.  Instead of being hypnotic, the droning filled him with dread.  

When the alarm on his phone buzzed, Jeff woke covered in sweat.  He’d kicked all of his coverings free as if he’d been thrashing in his sleep.  “Ugg…that was the worst night’s sleep I’ve had in a minute,” he groaned.  He sniffed, wondering if the strange, pungent smell in the room was coming from him.  “Fuck…I should’a showered after all last night.”  Jeff rolled out of bed and stretched, scratching at the trail of hair leading down his abs as he peeled out of his clinging boxer briefs and stumbled sleepily into the bathroom.  He cranked the shower on and took a piss while the water warmed, trying to clear his head.  He couldn’t remember anything about his dreams, other than that they were unpleasant.  As soon as he stepped into the shower he tried to forget it all together by thinking about his last night with Tiff.  His eager cock shot to attention at the thought of the buxom blonde and he started pumping in and out of his hand.  His bubble cheeks flexed with the motion while his other hand kneaded and tugged at his balls.  He grunted and sprayed quickly.  For all his impressive looks, Jeff had never been that good in bed.  He didn’t have to be.  As far as he was concerned, as long as he was getting off that was all that mattered.  The women got to see him naked, so he considered that a fair trade.  Feeling satisfied, he went about the rest of his morning as usual and headed out for work.  

Across town, a candle was lit.  

*****

At exactly 10:17am, Jeff’s morning stopped being normal.  He’d gotten up from his desk to go pick something up off the printer.  This required him to leave his cube and walk to the other side of the office floor.  He made it to the printer, but as he turned to walk back towards his desk something suddenly felt different.  He stopped, unable to put his finger on it.  Then he looked down.  

“Wha…what…what the hell?!”  Jeff’s shirt was gone.  He still had his bright, striped tie around his neck, but now it was nestled in the patch of wiry hairs between his bare, bulging pecs.  

“You okay?”  

Jeff blushed when he looked back up and saw one of his coworkers giving him a concerned look.  She was a middle aged sales rep that he’d flirt with when he needed help with a customer, but he never intended to parade around shirtless in front of her.  “Uh…I…uh…excuse me,” he said, darting towards the bathroom.  He locked himself in one of the stalls, hyperventilating.  “What the fuck…what the fuck…what the fuck…” he stammered over and over again as he poked unbelievingly at his bare torso.  He didn’t understand how one second he could have a shirt on, but then it could be gone the next.  His first thought was that he’d left without one, but he told himself that wasn’t possible because he’d been at work for hours.  He’d had a meeting with ten other people first thing.  Even if he’d made it past security and through the lobby, surely one of them would have said something.  He leaned against the wall, feeling nauseous and dizzy.  

His phone buzzed in his pocket.  It was a text from his cubicle-mate, Bill.  

“You okay?  Sharon said you looked rough and bolted to the bathroom?”  

Jeff fumbled with his phone to unlock it and things only got worse.  The screen opened to his facebook page, the last thing he was looking at.  He started to minimize the app when his hands started shaking so hard he almost dropped the phone.  He’d just changed his profile pic to one of him and the guys from their night out the week before.  They’d gone to a ritzy bar to celebrate their friend Todd’s promotion.  In the picture he could see Todd, Dylan, Reed and himself.  His three friends were dressed to the nines as he remembered, but he was now shirtless.  He still had on the tight pants and a bow-tie around his neck, but no shirt.  All Jeff could do was stare at the picture while his brain refused to accept what it saw.  He gasped and nearly hit the floor when he pulled up the rest of his photos and saw they’d undergone a similar change.  Even his throwback high school photos featured a shirtless version of himself.  

“Jeff?  You in here?”  Jeff heard Bill come in but couldn’t get his mouth to respond.  “Is that you in there?”  

“Uh…yeah…” Jeff finally managed, his voice cracking.  

“Thought I’d check on you when I didn’t get a text back.  You okay, man?”  

“I…uh…don’t know?”  

“Are you sick?  Did something happen to someone?  You sound rough.”  Not knowing what else to do, Jeff swung the door open.  He saw the shocked look on Bill’s face and waited for the older man to point out his bare torso.  “Jesus, Jeff…you look like shit.”  

Jeff just blinked, sure he’d misheard the other man.  “Is…does anything seem weird, or, uh, abnormal this morning?”  Jeff nodded down at his exposed chest as he asked.  

“You mean with you?  No, man, everything’s been normal.”  

Jeff’s heart started racing.  “So I wear this all the time?”  

Bill cocked an eyebrow, confused.  “I mean, that tie’s a little much, but yeah.”  He looked Jeff up and down.  “Is this like a quiz?  Are those new pants or something?”  

Jeff couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  There was no way his coworker could be this good of an actor.  And that didn’t explain the photos.  “So the fact that I’m not wearing a shirt isn’t weird at all?”  

Now Bill looked really confused.  “A what?  Shirt?  On you?  No, of course not.  What are you even…where the hell did that come from?”  

“But…I should be wearing a…I mean….people wear shirts to work!  I had a shirt on this morning!”  Even as he said it, Jeff felt a twinge in his brain.  It sounded ridiculous.  

Bill sighed, shaking his head slowly.  “Did you do some weird drug last night?  Too much to drink?”  

“No!  I just…I went to the copier and I had a shirt on, and then…then I…” he trailed off.  Saying it out loud again made even less sense.  He might as well have said he drove to work on an elephant made out of pancakes.  And the longer they spoke, the more he was calming down.  He knew on a cognitive level that it wasn’t normal to be walking around his office shirtless, but it didn’t FEEL wrong.  Already he could feel his desire to flee fading.  “I think I’m going crazy,” he sighed.  

“Too much time in this place’ll do that,” Bill laughed, clapping Jeff on the shoulder.  “You look better.  Did you just have a panic attack or something?”  

“Or something,” Jeff said flatly.  He followed Bill back out of the bathroom, nodding sheepishly at Sharon.  Stepping out onto the busy work floor with no shirt on brought some of the anxiety rushing back.  He spent the rest of the day just waiting for someone to say something, but they never did.  Other than a few people who’d heard about his “freakout” that morning, no one treated him any differently.  

Jeff skipped crossfit that night.  Though the blinding panic had left, his constant sense of unease and embarrassment was exhausting.  The only thing he wanted to do was get home and pray that this was all some crazy fluke.  As soon as he walked in, he knew it wasn’t.  “No…no no no no….” Jeff had pulled off his tie and opened his dresser to pull out an old tshirt, only to find that there weren’t any.  Anywhere.  He scoured his entire apartment and there wasn’t a single shirt to be found.  Worse, it wasn’t just the digital photos that had been altered.  Even the framed, printed photos that hung on the wall now had him shirtless.  

His frantic searching was interrupted by a knocking on his door.  “Dude, THERE you are,” Dylan said, pushing past Jeff into the apartment.  “You didn’t meet me before class, you weren’t at class, and you’re not answering your phone.  Are you dead?”  

Jeff had been so desperate that he’d lost track of time, but Dylan’s arrival gave him a sliver of hope.  “Dylan!  Sorry, it’s been a….long day.”  

Dylan looked over Jeff’s shoulder at the mounds of tossed clothes scattered around his bedroom.  “Someone come over after I left last night?”  

“No, I wish,” Jeff said quickly.  “Look, does anything seem weird about me?”  He spread his arms to emphasize his lack of a shirt.  

Dylan cocked his head.  “Nope…same old jerk who leaves his friend hanging at class.”  

“I mean not having a shirt!”  

“You never have a shirt,” Dylan scoffed.  

Jeff sighed.  “Fuck…you too…” he muttered to himself.  

“Hey!  Fuck YOU too…”

“No, not fuck you…I…” Jeff shook his head, trying to find the right words.  “Listen.  We hung out last night, right?”  

“Yep.”  

“And we went to the gym, right?”  

“Still yep.”  

“And then we came back here, yes?”  

“Three for three.”

“And I had a shirt on.”  

“Aaaand you lost me.  Dude, what is going on with you?”

Jeff stomped his foot in frustration.  “Can I just see your shirt for a second?”  

Dylan actually laughed.  “What?  No!”

“Please!”  Jeff was actually begging.  “I just need to see it for a second.”  

Dylan’s expression changed from confusion to concern.  “I mean, if it’ll calm you down…” the strapping man pulled his loose tshirt off, exposing a torso that was thick with burly muscle.  

Jeff practically snatched it out of Dylan’s hands and managed to lift it to his shoulders, but stopped midway.  He physically couldn’t put it on.  “I….I can’t get it on.”  

“Yeah, duh,” Dylan said, grabbing his shirt and pulling it back on.  

“But…I can’t just NOT wear shirts!”  

“Of course you can.  How long have we known each other?  Seventh grade?  In all that time, have you EVER worn a shirt?”  

“Ye…” the word dried up in his throat.  “No…I haven’t, have I?”  

“There it is,” Dylan said cheerfully, slapping him on the back.  He looked at his friend’s awkward expression for a moment, trying to decide if Jeff needed a drink or a doctor.  They decided on the first.  

It had taken some coaxing, but Jeff finally followed Dylan out of his apartment and down the street to their usual dive bar.  Physically, the constant presence of the warm evening air on his exposed skin felt perfectly normal.  Mentally, all he felt was awkward and embarrassed.  Looking at the fully-clothed people around him, all he could think about was how exposed he was.  If anyone else thought about it, they didn’t let it show.  The bartender treated him the same as always, and the hungry looks he got from men and women alike were no different than he usually experienced.  

The drinks helped.  Several of them in, he was back to feeling like his old self.  “Alright man, I gotta head out,” Dylan said, pushing his stool back.  “But it looks like you’ve got a boyfriend,” he said, giving a quick jerk of his head towards a man who’d been checking Jeff out all night.  

“Very funny.”  

Dylan clapped Jeff on the shoulder and turned to leave.  “Hey, he’s cute.  Day you’ve had, getting laid couldn’t hurt.”  

Jeff watched Dylan leave, confused.  His friend hadn’t sounded like he was kidding.  When he turned back around, it was just in time to see the man coming over to take Dylan’s spot.  

“Hey man, so what’s your secret?”  

Jeff intended to brush the stranger off, but decided against it when he got a good look at him.  The man had a shaggy mop of brown hair and a trim beard that highlighted his bright smile.  He looked to be a few years younger and, Jeff noticed as he looked the man up and down, every bit as fit as Jeff.  His outfit was familiar.  Tight, thin tshirt that showed off his huge pecs and large biceps, coupled with tight jeans that showed off his sculpted ass and tiny waist.  Jeff had on the tight jeans, but he didn’t need a tshirt to accentuate his exposed muscles.  

Instead of ignoring him, Jeff smiled back and they started comparing workout notes.  The man bought Jeff another drink, and soon they were chatting away.  When the young man’s hand drifted to Jeff’s thigh, he let it stay.  And when the young man asked if he wanted to leave with him, surprisingly he said yes.  

Jeff’s mind was racing the entire walk back to his apartment.  He kept telling himself he wasn’t really taking a guy home.  When the young man threw himself at him as soon as the door closed, he told himself he was just drunk.  They traded sloppy kisses while Jeff peeled the young man’s shirt off.  He couldn’t believe how good it felt to have another man’s firm, buff body pressed against his own.  He was used to soft and smooth, but the aching cock begging to be freed from his tight pants told him that solid and rough was every bit as good.  

He had the young man’s pants down and wasted no time with the underwear, feeling a rush of insecurity when a significantly larger cock sprang free.  He grabbed it and squeezed, his heart racing.  Jeff hadn’t felt like this since the first time he’d fooled around with a girl.  Now, with this young, naked adonis in his arms, it might as well have been his first time all over again.  

He stroked and tugged on the long cock while the young man worked Jeff’s pants and underwear down.  Grinning, he pulled away and dropped to his knees.  Jeff gasped when his new friend’s lips wrapped around his oozing cock and slid forward.  The scratchy beard on his thighs was entirely foreign but entirely arousing as he looked down at the young stud’s broad shoulders in disbelief.  He actually WAS being blown by a man.  He had no idea why any of this was happening.  He’d never thought about a guy like this in his life.  Not that getting a blowjob from a guy would have been out of the question.  He was content to get off however it happened.  But the intense attraction?  The overwhelming desire to reciprocate?  That was new.  

The young man had barely begun when Jeff spasmed suddenly and sprayed without warning.  He sucked it all down and grinned up at him.  “That was fast.”  

Jeff felt himself blush.  Even for him, that was quick.  “Sorry….I, uh, I don’t usually…”

“It’s alright,” the young man said, standing and leading Jeff to the disheveled bedroom.  “Just gives us time to get acquainted.”  

Jeff’s stomach fluttered as the man pushed him down on the bed.  He was usually the assertive one, yet here he was, letting someone younger and more hung than him take control.  

“Is this your first time with a guy,” the young man asked with a cocky grin.  

Jeff wanted to lie.  “N…uh, yeah,” he admitted sheepishly.  

“You seemed nervous.  Someone as hot as you wouldn’t be otherwise.  Just relax, stud,” he said, draping himself over Jeff’s prone frame.  The young man worked his mouth over every bit of Jeff that he could.  “You’re so fuckin’ hot,” he gasped, his hands clutching at Jeff’s strong chest.  

“You’re not so bad either,” Jeff breathed heavily.  His hands were just as eagerly drinking in the young man’s sculpted frame.  

“You could do worse for your first time,” the young man sighed.  

The other man’s arrogance turned him on even more.  That was usually his role.  He spun them over so that he was on top and mimicked what had just been done to him.  His tongue took it’s time tasting every inch of the smooth, tight skin and the bulging muscles underneath.  This was the kind of person he’d compete with at the gym.  Better built.  Better hung.  He’d go out of his way to one-up them, to prove that he was better.  Now he felt anything but.  All he wanted was the young man’s approval.  

“Whoa, whoa, it’s not a race,” the young man laughed when Jeff finally swallowed his bulbous cock and began bobbing his head.  “There you go…take it slow.”  

Jeff felt his face burn at being instructed like some newbie virgin, but he did what he was told.  The young man told him when to speed up and slow down, when to use his tongue, and when to grip tighter.  Jeff picked up the rhythm and the instructions trailed off into a series of quiet moans.  He was only dimly concerned about the fact that he had another man’s dick in his mouth for the first time.  It wasn’t at all like he thought it would be.  He’d always wondered why women were so eager to go down on him, but now he was starting to think that he understood.  He breathed deep, drinking in the young stranger’s manly scent, feeling like he was getting the hang of his technique.  But nothing could prepare Jeff for the sudden rush of fluid filling his mouth.  He swallowed as much of it as he could, which still left most of it running out of his mouth.  

“Everyone chokes their first time,” the young man laughed while Jeff sputtered and wiped his dripping chin.  “Good job, though.  You’re a quick study.”  Jeff blushed at the compliment more than the cum dripping down his chin and settled in bed next to the contented young jock.  “Look at you, with your doe eyes,” he laughed as Jeff kept staring.  

“Sorry, I just…I can’t seem to look away.”

The young man rolled onto his side and propped himself up on an elbow so that he was looking down at Jeff.  He used his free hand to stroke through the wiry hairs on Jeff’s broad pecs and toy with the tiny nipples.  “By all means, keep looking.  You look like you’re ready to go again.”  He nodded towards Jeff’s solid, oozing cock.  

Jeff didn’t look away as he reached towards his eager rod.  He wanted the young man to wrap his lips around it again more than anything, but it was clear the young man was just going to watch.  Jeff had never done this before.  He’d been with girls that wanted to watch him do it, but it made him uncomfortable.  They could look at him while he was fucking them.  Jerking off FOR them just made him feel weird.  Now, weird or not, he grabbed and started stroking, never looking away from the perfect young specimen next to him.  

The young man’s laugh when Jeff came moments later sent a wave of humiliation mixing with the pleasure from his second, intense release.  “Well, it’s been fun,” the young man sighed, patting Jeff on his washboard stomach and hopping up from the bed.  “No, don’t get up, I can see myself out.”  He took his time getting dressed, letting the addled Jeff get a final look.  “You’ve got potential, squirt,” he smiled from the doorway.  Jeff barely heard the door click shut before passing out.