Thursday, January 30th

The campus greenhouse was long and thin, built along the side of the old, brick, science building, and it could only be accessed through the biology lab by key. A biology lab that wasn’t normally open unless students were meeting.

Of course, Eden hadn’t thought of any of that when he decided to stay after class to collect plant cuttings. He also hadn’t thought that maybe leaving this until the last minute was a bad idea.

Still, he was a generally optimistic person, and it didn’t hurt to try. Even the hallway was dark, but he reached for the door handle anyway and twisted his wrist.

Click.

The room was unlocked, pitch black and empty. It was strange, but he wasn’t about to question it. Flipping on a light, he hurried over to the greenhouse door, hoping his luck would hold.

Click.

The metal door swung open with a small creak, but he hesitated in the entrance. Was it possible someone had forgotten to lock both? Maybe they were just in a hurry and had to rush out. Things like that happened all the time.

Unconvinced, he crept into the long corridor, surrounded on either side by tall planters. There were multiple sections for different ecosystems, each set up to mimic the ideal conditions for that group of plant life. He snuck quietly through the desert, gently cutting leaves and flowers and stuffing them into his bag, then multiple rooms of tropical plants, covered in bright reds, oranges, and yellows. The next section was the last, simulating a rainforest, but as he approached the thin barrier, he heard muffled sounds and halted.

Slowing his breathing, he could hear more clearly – panting and moaning, accompanied by a wet squelching and slapping. He swallowed hard, knowing he should turn around and leave, but both voices were definitely male. Curiosity overwhelmed his already limited rational thought and he peeked through the semi-transparent plastic door. There were large-leafed plants along the floor and he couldn’t see the narrow path past them. And if he couldn’t see, anyone on the other side wouldn’t be able to see him.

He squatted and awkwardly stepped toward a leaf. Palms to the ground to keep his balance, he pressed himself as far as possible against the wood and dirt and clay pots to hide. Moving the green from his vision just enough to catch a glimpse, a breath caught in his throat. A slim, petite body, naked from the waist down, was propped up on elbows and knees, back arched and face pushed into the floor by a large hand. The air was thick and humid, and the man’s pale, exposed skin was covered in a layer of sweat, shining under the heavy rays of sunlight. A jacket covered his head, hiding his identity or hiding him from his partner, but his breathy cries were audible at each thrust of the hips from behind. From the excited way he responded, those cries were from pleasure, not pain.

The other man was clearly visible and still fully clothed, yet somehow not as sweaty. His free hand gripped at the thin waist in front of him, keeping everything steady while he drove himself inside. With a groan, his head fell and he shifted forward, forcing a loud yelp to escape from under the jacket as the small, bent spine curved further under his weight.

Eden swallowed again. His face and chest burned. He never considered himself a pervert, but he was frozen in place, unable to take his eyes away. Not only was the whole thing an obscene turn-on, but the clothed man was one of the most beautiful people he’d ever seen. His dark brown hair and eyes were warm and soft, the light tan skin of his face was covered in a barely noticeable stubble, accenting his sharp, angled features, and his figure was strong but lean. He wasn’t normal student age - late-twenties or maybe even thirty - but for some reason, Eden couldn’t imagine him ever looking older or younger. However he saw the man in his mind, trying to describe the image would never do it justice. Everything about him just fit together perfectly, as if he had been engineered instead of created by nature.

As he stared, the man lifted his head again, but this time those dark brown eyes weren’t on his partner. They pierced into Eden and his heart stopped.

Going into a panic, his mind suddenly blanked and his muscles stiffened. Eden could only gawk wide-eyed through the giant leaf at the stranger’s face. Unexpectedly, the man smiled playfully, not losing his rhythm.

“Enjoying the view?” he teased, barely out of breath.

Eden choked at both the words and the sound. The voice matched the image – soft and low, but not too deep, and there was a mischievous charm in the tone that made his chest tighten until he was sure his lungs would collapse and his breathing would cease.

“Well?” the man asked, his expression not changing and his gaze not shifting.

In another moment of panic, Eden bolted up, rising so quickly he felt dizzy. His cheeks still burned, the heat moving to his ears, but he couldn’t think of a single thing to say. What the hell could someone say in a situation like this? Then he realized the man’s gaze hadn’t stayed locked to his. Following the direction of his eyes, he glanced down at his waist.

What the fuck...

“I guess that answers my question.” The man spit out an amused laugh, his smile widening.

WHAT THE FUCK?

Eden was gone, turning and running in an instant, racing through the greenhouse, the lab classroom, and then the building hallway. He burst into the restroom and into a stall, slamming the door shut behind him.

What is wrong with you?

Nothing. He was a young, healthy, adult male, and that was the hottest thing he’d ever seen. It would be concerning if he hadn’t had this reaction. The problem was that he watched to begin with. He had to spend the next three and a half years at this school. What if he ran into that man? It wasn’t that big of a campus and the likelihood of that happening was probably high.

Ugh, fuck.

He had other more pressing issues to deal with right now. Literally. Leaning up against the pre-fab, metal wall, he unzipped and felt some relief. He took hold of himself, already plenty wet, and quietly slid his hand up and down. Every part of him shook at the touch. Exhaling a long, trembling breath, he thought, At least this won’t take long.

As his strokes rose and fell, he couldn’t keep the picture of that man out of his mind. The casual way he teased and the lighthearted charisma in his tone echoed in his ears, and he had to cover his mouth with his free hand to silence any uncontrollable sounds. Reaching for a handful of toilet paper, he finished quickly, then slouched forward to catch his breath. After a few minutes trying to calm himself, he felt a twitch and groaned.

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

He couldn’t recover that fast if he wanted to, yet here he was, trapped, staring at a public toilet and horny as fuck.

“Fuuuuuuuuuuk!” he growled loudly, then he heard an awkward cough from someone near the restroom sinks.

Fuck.