Strange Ch. 02: The Threshold

Part Two: The Threshold

The next afternoon, David's phone buzzed on the kitchen counter while he was brewing coffee.

- James: Hey. Still thinking about last night. That whole conversation has been going around and around in my head. Are you free later at all? -

David smiled faintly, but waited a few minutes before replying.

- Always free for you. Come by around 7? I'll make dinner -

- James: (blushing smiley) Okay. See you then -

James arrived right on time, wearing a simple grey t-shirt and jeans, hands tucked in his pockets as David opened the door. The apartment smelled of roasted vegetables and herbs. David greeted him with a warm hug, the kind they'd shared a hundred times, then stepped back to let him in. He ducked into the kitchen, returning to set two plates on the low table in front of the couch.

"My, you do look... preoccupied James."

James gave a sheepish laugh and sat down. "Guilty. I almost didn't text. I kept thinking maybe I'd overshared and you'd think I was weird."

David handed him a glass of wine and settled beside him. "Don't be ridiculous. I wish you'd felt able to tell me things like this before now. Honesty between friends is not weird. That's what friends are for right?." He paused, letting the silence sit companionably. "Eat first. Then we can talk more."

They ate and chatted about safer topics; work, a mutual friend, but it was hard going with the obvious undercurrent hovering at the edges of the conversation. When it became undeniable there was no room for small talk tonight, David gave a small smile and changed tack. "So what's been really on your mind?"

James took a sip, eyes on the glass rather than his friend. "To be honest, everything. Your questions. How you seemed to get it, so much that you actually got me admit it out loud. I kept imagining it happening... " he trailed off.

David was still struggling to adapt to the idea that his best friend seemed to be suggesting adding a whole new aspect to their relationship. His favourite kink at that. Almost unconsciously, he shifted his tone to the one he used when talking to the submissive young guys who found him online.

"Alright. Last night you mentioned the nipple stuff being the trigger. How does that work exactly? What does it feel when someone finds that particular trigger?"

James's cheeks warmed. He shifted, crossing one leg over the other. "It's... like I've been found out. Someone's fingers just circling. Just enough that you can't ignore it. Your body reacts whether you want it to or not. Even with clothes on, it's not a normal thing that just happens, and yet I let it. And if they comment on it, how I react, it makes it ten times worse. Or better. In my fantasies it's a little of both."

"Do you ever touch yourself that way, imagining what they'd say?"

"Damn David... this is something I've never told anyone. I can barely even admit it to myself."

"It's ok, you've told me this much already." David said softly.

" Well, yes. I... tease and... I get this inner voice in my head... "

"Inner voice..? What does it say?"

"It depends on the fantasy. But things like 'take your shirt off...' or 'just let it happen' or...." he swallowed hard and looked down at his feet, "or 'do as you're told' "

David tried to keep the surprise from his face. Or was it vindication?

"Interesting. Shall I see if I understand what you mean?" he asked quietly, voice steady but still a little conflicted about what he was about to do. He gestured to James's chest. James hesitated, the reality of the moment pressing on him too. They were just two friends talking after all, but this was an entirely new kind of conversation. Without waiting for an answer, David put his hands on James' chest, his fingertips just under the outline of the nipples pressing clearly from beneath the thin grey t-shirt.

'No going back now' thought James.

Without moving his hands, David let his fingertips brush lightly over James' left nipple, tracing the edge in slow circles. "Like this?"

A small inhale. James nodded. "Yeah... ohh..." he moaned. David continued making tiny circles with his fingers, fascinated at his friend's very obvious and immediate reaction. This only intensified when he began doing the same with his other hand. He suddenly found himself thinking of James as 'boy' in a way he'd done many times before with others.

And now this particular and very familiar boy was letting his head roll back, as the barest of touches seemed to light him up in a way David had never seen before.

"Then maybe a little tweak..." David obliged, tweaking between thumb and forefinger with careful pressure, all the while watching James's face.

"And in the fantasy is it just one person, while you're trying to keep a normal conversation?

Or are others watching?"

"Both get to me," James admitted, voice breathy. His nipples had stiffened visibly under his shirt. "Right now it feels sort of private, but the idea of it happening out of the blue in front of others while I try act normally... that's intense."

David continued the slow teasing. "From your reaction, I can see why you fantasised about this. Do you feel good, or embarrassed?"

"Both," James murmured. "I keep thinking about how Mark looked on stage, trying so hard to be cool while that drag played with him"

David's hands stayed active, his touches light. "Good. It seems like you don't want me to stop either." James's gave a deep slow breath, as if to calm himself.

"If I said stop it would feel like I'm chickening out after I'm the one who brought it up."

David smiled faintly, approving. He gave one last tug to each nipple, then dropped his hands, before gently grabbing the hem of James' shirt and pulling it up. The boy exhaled shakily as David tugged the t-shirt up and off entirely, setting it aside. He was pleasantly surprised to see the treasure trail on James' belly, and for the first time ever he was able to admire his friend's nicely defined chest, crowned with two pink, hard nipples.

"Now, tell me, what happens next?"

"Casual comments. The tension of wondering if they - you - will go any further."

"Because you have already had your little voice tell you it's no longer in your control?" James felt a diabolical thrill run through him, but didn't know what to say.

You look very good like this," David said simply. Having had no previous opportunities to see him this way, It was genuine appreciation. "What comes after the shirt?"

"Shoes," he answered, surprising himself with his honesty.

"Why those?" David asked, his hands returning to map James's shoulders, chest, and belly with light, maddening touches.

James took a deep breath, shuddering slightly. "Because it's not something a friend would normally do. And because of what it implies..."

"Which is?"

"That my pants are coming off completely, somehow. After slowly being undone while talking like this. Making it seem like it's just part of the conversation."

David nodded, silently focussing on another minute of slow, and by now clearly agonisingly erotic nipple teasing. As the boy closed his eyes, David bobbed down to his feet, tugging open his laces. Without saying another word, he pulled his sneakers off, then his socks, tucking them neatly inside and placing everything just out of reach. Looking up at James he really did seem less and less like the guy he'd known for 6 years.

"Stand up for a second." He stayed on his knees as the boy meekly obeyed, reaching up to undo the button of his jeans with deliberate slowness, then easing the zipper down a millimetre at a time. He opened up his pants, revealing a white waistband above a V of surprisingly red underwear underneath.

"Like that?" he asked, fingers tracing just above the waistband, where a dark trail of hair disappeared inside. James's hands flexed at his sides. The bulge was evident, but neither of them commented on it directly. He gave the barest of nods.

David tugged the jeans down inch by inch, guiding them over James's hips and thighs. Finally they dropped at his ankles. He looked up with silent appreciation at the sight of James in his red briefs. Because of course the boy wore briefs, not boxers, just as he'd begun to hope.

"You were right about the shoes though. These jeans are coming off."

James felt another electric jolt at the words, leaning on David's shoulder as he allowed them to be tugged over his ankles and tossed beside the discarded shoes.

James was very conscious of standing in just his briefs in front of his friend and grateful for the lack of eye contact. David stood up, his hands returning to James' chest and resuming their soft, torturous touches.

"Talk to me," David encouraged. "How does this compare to the fantasy, standing there in just your little briefs?"

James swallowed hard and in a low voice answered, "It's different but.... the contrast, you... me like this. The fact I've never been undressed in front of you before. Your hands on my nipples while I'm standing here trying to explain it... it's making my head spin."

David kept his touches light but constant. "Good spin, I hope." He looked down at the very obvious erection bulging behind the bright red fabric. James swallowed hard as David repositioned it through his briefs until it was pointing diagonally upward, then pressed the back of his hand against his now fully had cock. He felt his foreskin pushed back once, twice, inside the briefs, the head of his cock only just stopping short of peeping out from under the waistband.

David's fingers hooked into the elastic. He looked at his friend's face, and seeing no more resistance, peeled the front down slowly, unable to resist taking a peek inside before exposing the base of James' hardon. He stopped with the waistband resting on the root of James' cock, barely covering what was still hidden, then returned one hand to his left nipple, moving in tiny circles, while the other reached around to rest lightly on his ass. James gave a deep sigh.

"Beautiful," David murmured. "Look at you, just standing there. Does it feel good?"

James nodded, breath catching. "Yes. Fuck, yes." David turned him gently around, running his hands over the boys pleasingly round ass.

"You really have a nice ass you know. Those pants you always wear hide it. You shouldn't."

David stood and took a few steps back to admire the now almost naked James, hands somewhat helplessly hanging at his sides. James' heart was pounding with the feeling of such intense, almost clinical examination. They stayed in that moment for a long while, the partially lowered briefs a very obvious reminder of how their friendship had suddenly tilted.

Part of him was desperate for David to finish, remove the last piece of clothing and complete the fantasy. But as his erection gradually subsided, he felt self-consciousness rushing in again.

Finally he asked to dress, and not wanting to push too hard, David acquiesced.

Refusing his usual coffee and after dinner drink, he seemed suddenly in a hurry to go home.

"Text me on Friday," David said at the door, letting his hand rest on the boy's shoulder. The request sounded more than that, and even the familiar hand on the shoulder felt different, almost possessive.

As James walked home, thoughts racing, he could barely believe he'd just let his best friend strip him almost naked. David had been more assertive than he'd expected and, he had to admit, that had been just what he'd needed, perhaps even hoped.

The inner voice he'd so often heard and pushed away, popped suddenly and insistently into his head. "It's a warm night. Take off your shirt for the rest of the walk." This time there was no denying it. He obeyed, just as if the voice had been David's. The cool air on his chest felt almost like a disembodied version of his friend's hands. His nipples tingled and he found himself stiffening again. Quickening his steps, he hurried home.