Jacob was a nice boy. His mother was proud of him and his father never had reason to complain. He was blonde hair and blue eyes and sang like an angel in his church choir. He’d done normal high school things like playing football and going to the prom. He was a virgin and didn’t have much interest in the opposite sex but this wasn’t a sign of worry. Jacob knew he wasn’t gay because he learned in school that it was normal and quite common to have feelings for the same sex. This led him to believe everyone had those thoughts and just didn’t talk about them. Once, when he thought he might have those feelings a little more than others, he tried talking to his mother. She was very understanding and reassured him that it was a confusing time, he was a late bloomer, and that those feelings would go away.

Jacob graduated high school on a sunny day in June. His life up until that point had been blessedly free of drama and conflict. He knew that the time ahead would have to be harder because life couldn’t always be easy and orderly.

Like the day Jacob was unceremoniously shoved in a hotel supply closet with a complete stranger.

“Shit! What the hell is going on? What the fuck are they doing? This is bullshit. Wait… wait, shh, be quiet. I think I hear them saying something.”

Being quiet was no problem for Jacob since he wasn’t saying anything in the first place.

“…to stay in your rooms until the proper authorities release you.” The voice outside said.

“What the fuck is that about? I am fucking freaking out. Fuck. We’re not even in our rooms, they shoved us in a fucking closet.” The stranger reached for the doorknob.

“Wait, you probably shouldn’t open the door,” said Jacob, speaking for the first time. “They were saying there were bomb threats on the news this morning. Maybe they found something.”

“Shit, you’re kidding me. Are you saying we could die in here? That it’s a possibility? This fucking sucks shit on so many levels.”

Jacob took a good look at the person he was stuck in the closet with and didn’t really know what to think. The stranger was wearing nothing but a skirt made of what looked like fruity loops. He was also covered in oil and pastel colored confetti. He looked athletic and decadent and perfect, even though slightly crazy. If you overlooked the fruity loops, he looked like a sex god. Maybe even sex itself.

The stranger turned around, sighed dramatically and leaned against the door. Looking at Jacob for the first time, he smiled and said, “Hi, I’m Sex.”

“What?” Jacob worried that he’d said that sex god part out loud. He looked like a stunned animal.

“Short for Sexton. Or you could call me Sexty although that’s not shorter than Sexton. I prefer Sex or Sexton actually. I know. What were my parents thinking, right? It’s worse because my last name starts with an ‘M’ so my initials are S&M. It’s funny, but it’s really not when you have to live with it.”

“Okay.” Jacob couldn’t think of one other thing to say to that and Sexton just stared at him expectantly.

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“What’s yours?”

“My what?” Jacob looked confused.

“Your name.” Sexton said with an amused smile.

“Oh… I’m, um, Jacob.” Jacob relaxed a bit.

“You’re hot.”

“What?” Jacob was back to looking like a stunned animal.

“You’re sweating and your face is flushed. You know, there’s no air conditioning in here and you’re wearing that suit. You should at least take off the jacket.”

Jacob didn’t say anything, but did take of his jacket and loosened his tie some.

Jacob took a minute to think about what had happened to cause him to be in the situation he was in now. He had left his hotel room and was walking down a busy hallway, when policemen started herding people into their rooms. He didn’t know why they wouldn’t just let them leave the hotel if it was a bomb threat. Didn’t they normally empty buildings for that? He and Sexton happened to be in front of the closet door when a policeman asked them to move inside and stay there. Jacob was too startled to think of telling the policeman that this wasn’t his room. He guessed Sexton was, too. He figured the policeman wasn’t aware that it was a closet he was shoving them into, but was probably too busy to be bothered anyway. He hoped it wouldn’t be too long before they released them.

“Why are you wearing a suit, anyway? It’s the middle of July. Its way too fucking hot for a suit”

“It’s, um, for this church thing.”

“Oh. Sounds fascinating.” Sexton said with an amused smile. “What’s the ‘church thing’ for?”

“Oh, It’s a seminar for new college students. How to avoid peer pressure, temptation. Stuff like that.” Jacob hadn’t wanted to go to the seminar. His mom thought it would be a good experience for him to go into the city by himself for the first time as an adult. He wondered if she’d still think it was a good idea now.

“Oh, like drugs and stuff.”

“Yeah.”

“Where are you going to go to college?”

“Wilmur Christian College. It’s, um, small. Mainly just liberal arts.”

“Do they have a big drug problem at Wilmur Christian College?” Sexton asked trying not to laugh.

“No, probably not.” Jacob replied with a shy, embarassed smile.

“I used to go to church. Up until a few years ago. Not all the time or anything, but my mom liked to go and sometimes I’d go with her. When figured out I was gay, I was going to, you know, stand up for myself and tell everyone to go fuck themselves. Turned out it was a liberal church and they didn’t really care about me gay. Who knew? It’s not like I ever heard them talk about how great being gay is or anything. Not that they weren’t still annoyed, but it was more the fact that I was talking about sex at church in the first place. Because God knows with all he sticks up their asses it made it hard for them to have sex. Still, it was boring so I just quit going.”

“Oh.” Jacob said, still choking on the ‘gay’ part.

“I’m going to start college this year, too. I’m going here in the city. I’m staying with my brother and his wife. That’s why I’m dressed like this.”

“Oh?” Jacob said, not really listening. Instead, he was focusing on the fact that he was alone with a naked sex god that liked men. He knew he should probably be worried about bombs, or going to hell, but the fact that there was even a possibility of sex was too distracting. He’d never been tempted like this before. In fact, he’d never been tempted at all. If he had, maybe things would have been...clearer. But as it was, with everything seeming so surreal, Jacob was having a hard time being pragmatic.

“They own a sex shop. It’s not super sleazy. More like, aimed for couples or whatever. I’m in the erotic day parade they’re having on 6th today. I’m supposed to be there right now. I’m edible.”

“What?” That shocked Jacob out of his daze. He knew now that this was a test. God was testing him.

“It was my sister-in-law’s idea. She’s putting me on the fetish float to represent a food fetish. She thought I’d look good in this edible confetti. See?” Sexton waved his hand across his chest. “It’s all edible. I’m covered in coconut massage oil that doubles as lubricant. I hate coconut but it’s actually pretty good. Then all the confetti is candy flakes that stick to the oil. The skirt is made out of licorice and fruity loops. I even have edible underwear. You can supposedly eat them right off of me.” Sexton then looked up at Jacob through long, lush eyelashes and in a low, husky voice said, “So, are you hungry?”

“Uh.”

Back to a regular tone of voice, Sexton said, “I can take off a few strings of the fruity loops if you’re hungry. I have tons.” Sexton, grabbing the strings in front by his crotch, looked back up at Jacob through those eyelashes, dropped his voice again, licked his lips and said, “Want some?”

“Oh, um...” Jacob backed up against the wall. He couldn’t tell if Sexton was doing that on purpose or not. Either way, it was disconcerting and made Jacob feel hot and dizzy.

Sexton moved towards him, looking truly concerned. “What is it? Are you okay? You look pale and flushed at the same time. Shit, you probably need water. We should see if they’ll let you out of the closet to get some.”

Jacob shook his head. “No, um, I’m okay. I think. I’m just…“

“Stressed. I know. This is a fucked up situation. I can’t believe this shit. And we’re probably going to die anyway. There are probably terrorists running around outside this door as we speak.”

“Yeah, it’s um, the parade is what they said the bomb threats were for. I don’t know.”

“God, that’s so fucked up. What does anyone have against sex? That’s so stupid. That’s how they were born so they could build their bombs and shit. And if I open this door I’ll probably get anthrax.” Sexton turned towards the door and started pounding. “Hello, is anyone there? Let us out! I don’t want to die a fucking virgin!” Sexton snickered, amused at his own dramatics.

“You’re a virgin?” Jacob asked, surprise and suspicion evident on his face.

Sexton gave up pounding on the door and turned back to Jacob. “Oh, I was kind of just kidding there, but actually, yeah. Not by choice, though,” Sexton was quick to add. “Just by lack of opportunity.”

Jacob didn’t say anything, just nodded. He realized that all that sexual innuendo earlier might have been unintended so he relaxed for the first time since being shoved in the closet. That is, until there was a loud boom and the ground shook.

Jacob and Sexton leaped forward and threw their arms around each other. “Oh my god, we’re going to die. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” Sexton was shaking and his face was draining color. His breathing became fast and frantic. Jacob was scared too, but felt compelled to calm Sexton first.

“It’s okay. If that was even a bomb, then it’s over already and we’re fine.”

“You don’t even know how many bombs they have. They could have hundreds. We’re going to die, oh my god, we’re going to fucking die.”

Sexton was on the verge of panic and hyperventilating. Jacob had no idea what to do. Jacob quickly looked around and ran through his options. He didn’t have a bag for him to breathe in. Should he slap him? Douse him in cleaning liquids? Sexton was getting worse by the second. So, in a rush of movement without even realizing what he was doing before he did it, Jacob kissed Sexton. It wasn’t a long kiss, just long enough for Sexton’s panic to change to shock then change to confused irritation.

“Are you insane?” At least Sexton wasn’t shaking so bad now. “We’re going to die and you want to make out? What is wrong with you?”

“I don’t know! It kind of just happened! You were freaking out. It was either that or hitting you with a mop.” Jacob stood there biting his lower lip, looking contrite. He looked so cute and concerned it made Sexton smile.

“Well I guess it is better than panicking,” said Sexton, looking as if he was contemplating something. Coming to a decision, he said, “Okay.”

“Okay?” Jacob asked, cautiously. He didn’t know if Sexton was forgiving him or giving him permission. He was also wondering if maybe he was going to go to hell now for that kiss. He didn’t have to wonder anything very long because Sexton grabbed Jacob by the front of his shirt, yanked him forward and kissed him.

This kiss was so much longer and nicer without the panic, shock and confusion the last kiss had. It was also heating up very fast. Jacob felt his hands slide up Sexton’s naked back seemingly on their own. His lack of experience made him unprepared for the rush of feeling his body was going through. He felt like fire and electricity and had no way to stop his reactions even if he wanted to. He gave in completely to the feeling, accepting that he was for sure going to hell, but was oddly quite comfortable with that.

Sexton released his grip on Jacob’s shirt and started fumbling with the buttons. The buttons were uncooperative and his fingers were slippery with coconut oil. So, with a frustrated grunt, he just grabbed the shirt and ripped. When he pushed the undershirt up and touched skin, he and Jacob both moaned. Hands were now sliding over naked skin. They touched each other trying to satisfy their need but it only made them hungrier.

Jacob broke their kiss to catch his breath. Sexton, taking advantage of the break, yanked Jacob’s pants open and slipped his hand inside. The touch caused Jacob to gasp, his body to go rigid and his eyes to roll back. Once over the shock, he moved to mimic the action causing Sexton to moan and attach himself to Jacob’s neck. Neither boy cared for the moment that they might die, as long as it didn’t interrupt.

Thirty seconds later, the two boys stood amidst a scattering of fruity loops and shirt buttons trying to catch their breath. Leaning against each other for support, Jacob asked, “Are you still scared?”

“No, my brain has gone through so many emotions today it’s gone catatonic. Are you?”

“No, I feel…” Happy, confused, worried, elated? He didn’t know how to answer. “No, I’m not scared.”

They heard voices in the hallway so Jacob quickly fixed his pants while Sexton arranged the fruity loops remaining on his skirt. Moments later, their door was opened.

“What happened? Was there a bomb?” Sexton asked the policeman.

The policeman looked them over suspiciously, taking in the scene the two boys made and trying to make sense of it. Giving up, but deciding there was no crime, he said, “There was no bomb. There were threats, but it was never about a bomb. The hotel needed to be closed off so authorities could search for suspects and weapons reported to be in the hotel. You can leave now if you want.”

“What was that loud noise, then? The ground shook and everything. That wasn’t a bomb?”

“That was a crane dropping a big metal trash bin in the construction area behind the hotel.” The policeman then walked away, leaving the two boys standing there trying to absorb the information.

“That wasn’t a bomb?” Sexton asked again, to no one in particular.

“I guess not.”

“I can’t believe this shit. You would think they could have at least told us they were looking for people so we wouldn’t be scared out of our minds thinking there were bombs. Pfft. Typical.”

“I can’t believe I lost my virginity in a closet. Outside of marriage. To a guy.”

“Technically, I think you’re still a virgin. That was like, 3rd base or something. If that makes you feel better.” Sexton was beginning to get annoyed.

“Actually, it doesn’t. I think I preferred thinking I lost my virginity. To you, I mean. Not the ‘in the closet’ part,” Jacob said, surprising even himself.

Sexton looked pleased. “Well, we are in a hotel. Which means beds. And private rooms. Not to mention air conditioning.”

“Well, I did miss my meeting and it would make my trip more memorable,” Jacob said, trying to justify agreeing to Sexton.

Sexton snorted. “Yeah, because otherwise this day would be totally forgettable.” Sexton stepped out of the closet, reached one hand back to Jacob. “Come on.”

Jacob grasped Sexton’s hand and finally came out of the closet.