12. The Spa

Logan

With news of a storm coming, Logan and Hunter headed to the main lodge, each step cushioned by a thick bed of snow. Staring up into the clear sky made the idea of a storm amusing, but as Logan’s gaze drifted further into the distance, he watched the dark, looming clouds swallowing up the sky.

Despite Logan’s probing, Hunter, as usual when upset about something, remained stoic. Now, almost twenty minutes into this walk without a word uttered, he needed to say something, anything.

“So, last night was pretty crazy right?” The words came out more desperate than he intended. Hunter didn’t reply, instead quickened his pace.

Whatever. Logan didn’t push it further.

Further up the path, he noticed Mr. Richardson wearing much of the same clothes he’d worn the day before. Logan waved, and he waved back.

“There’s a storm coming,” Mr. Richardson said, each breath visible in the brisk morning air. “You boys better get the boarding done now before we’re grounded for days.” His stern blue eyes fell on Hunter. “Your mother isn’t feeling great, so I had to cancel our massage. Logan, we offered them to your folks but they’re busy, so if you boys want them …”

Logan glanced at Hunter, knowing it was something he’d enjoy. “Yes, absolutely. My body is killing me after yesterday.” He clutched his shoulder, rolling it forward.

Mr. Richardson’s stare never left Hunter, and Hunter refused to meet his gaze. “Wonderful, it’s in twenty minutes. I’ll call reception and let them know about the switch.” With that, he walked off.

Hunter

Hunter undressed in the lavish locker room. The heated marble floors made him almost sigh with each step, hoping the smell of chestnuts blended with vanilla would melt away the festering tension.

“Why are we doing this?” Hunter asked, his eyes fixed on Logan’s bare, toned upper body.

Logan laughed at the question. “What are you talking about? It’s a free massage, why wouldn’t we?”

All Hunter could do was shrug. The words he wanted to say, longed to say, stifled in his throat.

After leaving the locker room, a tanned woman guided them to the co-ed steam room, where people basked in the misty air. The sight of an old woman, topless and strolling about, caused Logan to break out into a fit of muffled laughter.

“Dude, shut up,” Hunter said, having to face away to hide his own chuckle.

Five minutes went by, and they dried off, before guided to a room where champagne and chocolate strawberries awaited them.

“Man, your folks sure know how to live,” Logan said, indulging himself with strawberry after strawberry. “Can’t wait to tell Mom what she passed on.”

Before Hunter could respond, a smooth, rich voice came from behind. “Mr. Richardson.” The man wore neatly pressed beige scrubs. “Please, right this way.”

They were led down an ambient corridor to a grand, open room with floor-to-ceiling windows that boasted a breathtaking view of the mountains. In the room were two beds, outlined by a heart of blood-red rose petals.

“My god,” Logan said, in awe, speaking just loud enough for an echo to repeat his words.

Fidgeting with his fingers, Hunter turned to the masseuse, his face flushed. “All this for a sports massage?”

“Mr. Richardson, you’re booked for the Ultra-Deluxe Romantic Getaway Spa Package. It includes a sauna, ninety-minute deep tissue or Swedish massage, full body scrub and body wrap, manicure, and pedicure,” the man said, in a calm, even tone with his hands pressed in a prayer motion at his chest.

“Can we skip the manicure and pedicure?” Hunter asked.

“Would you like to do a deluxe facial or an aromatherapy sound bath instead?”

“Facial!” Logan whispered to Hunter, making him laugh.

“We’ll do the facials,” Hunter informed the man, suppressing a chortle.

They were instructed to get naked and wait under the sheets for the masseuses to join them. Logan’s robe hit the floor, and his round ass cheeks commanded Hunter’s gaze. He whipped his head over his shoulder and Hunter averted his eyes.

“How do you not get hard from a massage? I’ve only ever had Coach massage me and even those get weird sometimes,” Logan said.

Hunter laughed at his candor, thinking of how their coach massaged him once freshman year. Hunter got so hard, he never let Coach touch him again. “Try not to think about it,” he said, getting under the sheet in his underwear, taking them off, and tossing them onto his pile of clothes.

“You think they’ll be guys or girls?” Logan whispered as he climbed onto the table and Hunter turned his head in the other direction.

It was a quiet ninety minutes. Two women masseuses came in to work their bodies.

The man returned to the room at the end of their session. “As part of the romantic getaway package, before we start your body treatment, you will now enjoy some private time in our specialized jet tub for two where you will be provided complimentary hors d’oeuvres while overlooking the stunning Aspen Mountains.”

“Nice, sounds awesome,” Logan said from his massage table.

They each received a new set of white robes before being escorted to another room with a shower on the far side and a two-person jet tub near a large window.

Thirty minutes. If Hunter could make it through the next thirty minutes, naked, in a room with Logan, he’d never have to endure this kind of temptation ever again—he’d make sure of it. Logan was the first to remove his robe and hang it on the wall, and Hunter soon followed suit. They had seen each other naked so many times—nothing about this time made things any different.

Hunter went straight to the tub and slowly eased his way in on the left side, his muscles melting away in the steamy water.

“This place is ridiculous. You’ve been here before and never told me how sick it was.” Logan walked alongside the window. The snow fell in large, heavy flakes that stuck to the window. He leaned up against the glass with both hands. “Think anyone can see me?” He laughed.

Hunter’s dick throbbed watching Logan’s plump, bare ass flexing back and forth. “We’re pretty high up,” Hunter said, trying to tuck his erection between his legs but it only made it worse.

“What if someone had binoculars?”

“Would you get in the tub already?!” Hunter snapped and then chuckled. “Shit, you’re giving me anxiety just pacing around.”

Soon Logan’s body dipped into the water, almost in slow motion. “I needed this.”

Nothing but the sound of the jets bubbling the water filled the room as they took in the view before Logan broke the silence. “I’m glad we did this.”

“Me too. Your parents would’ve loved this.”

“I know, right? They missed out big time,” Logan said, rolling his head around, trying to stretch his neck. “That massage was on point. How was yours?”

Hunter touched his right shoulder. “It was alright. I wish they did my traps and back more. They spent thirty minutes on my legs.”

“I mean, I’d rub it for you, but I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

Hunter’s mouth went dry. If Logan touched him right now, he wouldn’t be able to control himself. “That wouldn’t make me feel uncomfortable.”

“Then, what’s your deal? What’s up with you?”

Hunter stared straight ahead out the window. “I don’t know. There’s nothing up.”

“Are you not into it anymore? I mean, if you’re not into it, just say so.”

“No, it’s not that. I’m into it. Probably more than I should be,” Hunter said. Silence dominated the room again. A pressure rose from Hunter’s stomach to his chest and slowly up his throat. “What are we going to do, Lo?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll go back to your girlfriend, and I’ll go back to fucking random chicks, and we hook up in secret and pretend nothing is happening? For how long?” Hunter asked, facing Logan but looking down at the water near his chest.

“I don’t have a girlfriend anymore,” Logan said, shrugging.

“Whatever, you’ve broken up before.”

“Dude, you’re fucking my sister.”

Hunter almost scoffed, but managed to suppress it. “Not anymore. She’s too wild for me.”

Logan winced, pursing his lips. “I don’t want to know … So, what do you want?”

“What?”

“What is it you want? If you could have it any way you want,” Logan asked. His shaggy, wet hair stuck to his forehead, and green eyes almost looked magical through the steam.

Hunter looked back out the window as the words formed in his head but didn’t quite reach his mouth. “Uhm, I don’t know.”

“Is it Stacy?”

Hunter’s face pinched in, and he shook his head. “No way.”

“Do you want me?” Logan asked, looking over at Hunter, his voice barely a whisper.

Hunter felt Logan’s heavy stare on him and caved his shoulders in. He worried his mouth could lie but his face never could, not to Logan anyway. “Not in any way that works out.”

“What does that mean?” Logan pushed off the side of the tub and floated over to Hunter’s lap, his face coming between Hunter’s stare and the window. “Hunter, talk to me. Tell me what you want!”

Please, don’t do this.Hunter’s heart tightened in his chest. It took him long enough to know what he wanted, but he didn’t dare say it. It was too weird. But Logan wouldn’t let up. He sucked in the steam through his clenched teeth before releasing it again. “I want you, okay? I want you so fucking much … But it doesn’t work.” The thought of looking up at Logan terrified him.

Logan followed Hunter’s eyes with his face. “Why? Why doesn’t it work?”

“Because you’re seeing people, and I’m seeing people and—”

“And we have no control over who we see?” Logan asked.

“I don’t think I can handle us … doing what we’re doing and seeing you with someone else,” Hunter said, his eyes falling to Logan’s chest.

Logan paused and brought his hand to Hunter’s chin, lifting it up, forcing their eyes to meet. “What if … I only wanted to be with you?”

Logan’s words made Hunter’s pulse speed up—it’s all he’d wanted to hear over the past month. The sudden dryness of his mouth muted him. It was too good to be true. He didn’t know what to say or how to react. It was impossible to be together. Two men, together. They couldn’t. “You know we can’t do that.”

Logan dropped his hand from Hunter’s chin and pulled away. “Why not?”

“Because—we’re not gay,” Hunter whispered.

“Is that what you’re worried about? Other people? Labels?”

Hunter shook his head. “You know what I mean. Are we going to be holding hands around campus? Showing up to parties as a couple? That’s weird, man.” Logan sighed and got up to his feet. “Where are you going?”

“I didn’t think you were so narrow-minded,” Logan said, reaching for a nearby towel.

Hunter grabbed Logan’s hand and tugged on it gently. “Wait, please, stay?” It felt nice to feel Logan’s touch again. “What is it you want?”

Logan sat back down in the water beside him. “I already told you. I want you, Hunter.”

“What else?”

“That’s it. Just you, no one else. That’s all I care about. Not other people and what they’ll think. Not any labels—only you,” Logan said.

Hunter fought back tears building behind his eyes. “So, what do we do now?”

“What is it you want? You’re going to have to say it.”

Hunter leaned over, meeting Logan’s face halfway, and gave him a gentle kiss. “You and only you.” He smiled before kissing him again and again.

“So, you’re all mine?” Logan asked between kisses, in a breathy voice touching his hand underwater. “Don’t do that to me again. I felt like I was dying all day yesterday. You hardly looked at me.”

Hunter pouted and extended his arm to Logan, inviting him in. Logan rested his head on Hunter’s shoulder and placed a hand on his chest under the hot water. “I’m sorry.”

“I have to confess something to you,” Logan whispered. “I was playing with your dick for a good twenty minutes before I started sucking on it last night. You were so gone.”

“Fuck, that was so hot, I almost came in your mouth—twice,” Hunter said, aroused at the thought of the previous night.

“You liked it?”

“Loved it,” Hunter said, and kissed the top of Logan’s head. “I’ve come to the shirtless picture of you at the lake more times than I can count.”

Logan laughed. “I walk around naked as much as I can.”

Hunter blushed and shook his head. “You’ve been making it impossible for me. I hate when other people are around.”

“I hate it, too.” He turned his head up and met Hunter’s lips for a peck. “I can get used to being with you like this. Don’t take it away from me again.”

“Are you sure this is what you want? I know it’s what I want, but do you? What if you meet a hot girl or if Andrea wants to get back together?”

Logan raised a hand out of the water and held it to Hunter’s face. “You want me to wear a ring? Cause I will.”

Hunter’s face hardened as he wrapped an arm around Logan’s waist in the water. “It’s more than sexual for me,” he said, surprised by his own words.

Logan pursed his lips, and a soft smile grew on his face. “I feel the same way. It’s weird. When you left the party with Jenna … it really messed with me.”

Hunter chuckled. “Is that why you kissed me in the bathroom?”

Logan’s hand rested lightly on Hunter’s stomach, softly brushing his skin underneath the water. “I wanted you to know you were mine. I couldn’t get you out of my head.”

With a soft stroke, Hunter brushed the hair that fell over Logan’s forehead to the side. Being close enough to Logan to see the hazel specks in his green eyes was bittersweet. How long will it last this time? “Can this stay between us? I don’t want anyone in our business.”

“For sure. Honestly, I wouldn’t know how to handle any of that attention and other people’s reactions.”

“I thought you said you didn’t care what other people thought.”

Logan snuggled into Hunter’s neck and sprinkled light kisses against his skin. “I don’t want to have to deal with it. But I wouldn’t let it stop me from doing what I truly wanted, in my heart. Being with you feels right.”

A knock on the door startled them enough to separate.