V: The V in Virtue

Chapter 3-1

V: The V in Virtue

By J.M. Snyder

Despite his playboy good looks and fun-loving personality, Matt diLorenzo had never been the type who’d had a lot of boyfriends. Oh, there were plenty of guys interested in him, to be sure—all throughout his college years, Matt went on plenty of first dates and never spent a Friday night alone. But none of those transient relationships moved past the heavy petting stage, and when Matt grew reluctant to put out, most men’s interest waned. They found other guys—maybe not as attractive as Matt was, or as great to talk to, perhaps, but between the sheets, it didn’t matter. Without fail, Matt always ended up in his bed alone, and no amount of good friends or first dates seemed able to dull that sting.

When he finally found a man he loved, a man worth giving himself to body and soul, he didn’t think it odd or strange that he wanted to spend every waking moment making love to Vic Braunson. Be it in the throes of physical passion or something worlds more intimate, Matt didn’t intend to waste a single second they shared together. It was bad enough they had to be separated during the work day, when Vic drove a bus through the city streets of Richmond and Matt supervised the swimming pool at a local gymnasium, but outside of that, every other moment was theirs, and Matt would see to it no one else infringed upon that time. They only had so many hours in a day, so many days in a year, so many years in a lifetime, to love each other. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. He wanted to rewind time, meet Vic sooner, love him forever. Was that too much to ask?

So, seriously, who’s silly idea had it been to insist the two of them forego any s****l relations in the week separating Christmas from New Year’s Day?

Because for the life of him Matt couldn’t remember agreeing to such a stupid rule, and Vic claimed he had never thought it up, but still there it was—a seven-day sabbatical against all things s****l between the two winter holidays that chafed at Matt like a chastity belt. At the coldest damn time of the year, too, when Matt wanted nothing more than to snuggle up close to his lover beneath the sheets, he had to keep his hands to himself. Well, no, not quite. They could snuggle, and cuddle, and rub together all they wanted. But anything approaching intercourse was off-limits, and where was the fun in lying naked beside a man as sexy as Vic if Matt couldn’t actually do anything with that hot body of his? s**t, if all he needed was warmth beside him while he slept, he might as well bed down with the dog.

As each year they spent together grew to a close, Matt dreaded the holidays more and more. Oh, he loved the festivities and the gifts and the food. But he hated that week without s*x. It reminded him too much of his lonely college days when he had no one in his life and hadn’t known someone as vibrant and as loving as Vic existed in the world, waiting just a few years down the road to step into his life.