Christmas Eve found Vic lying nude on the sofa, on his back, his skin colored by the lights from the Christmas tree. Also naked, Matt had tucked himself into the space between Vic and the back of the couch, held in place by one of his lover’s large arms around his waist. The heat in the small apartment they shared was cranked up pretty high to offset the winter chill outside because neither man wanted to dress just yet. It was late, almost midnight, and Matt couldn’t keep his gaze from drifting to the clock on the DVD player above the TV as the minutes to his self-imposed week of chastity counted down. Absently he picked at the silver ring that pierced Vic’s left n****e. “Let’s do it again.”
Vic didn’t open his eyes. The hand on Matt’s waist drifted up to rub along his ribs, a ticklish to
