Silas and Dirk’s cross-country road trip adventure, day four.
The novelty has worn off. That isn’t to say it isn’t fun – how could driving across the country with your best buddy and college roommate not be fun? – but it’s not new anymore. Driving for a few hours at a time, getting lunch at a diner, switching off, taking a hike, it gets in your system. They’ve driven up from Monterey to Berkeley to Eureka to Crater Lake, with the vague idea of getting up to Eugene tonight, and in that time they’ve grown fully accustomed to life on the road. Pitching a tent outside or leaning the truck seats as far back as they can go, taking a 10mg melatonin pill, and going the fuck to sleep.
It’s getting dark and the elevation is getting higher, though, and it’s beginning to seem like Central Oregon is out of the picture. It’s when they start seeing snow on the side of the road that they begin to question the route. “Dude,” Silas says, rhythmically hitting the steering wheel to the sound of The Clash, “Can you check Google Maps and see how far we are?”
Dirk taps at his phone, waiting for anything to load. “I’m not getting any service.”
“Nothin’?”
“We’re still on the 97. We’ll get there if we just keep driving, then get on the 58.”
“I dunno, man. When was the last time you saw another car?”
Dirk looks out the window. Large evergreens on top of fertile red soil, snow on the highest trees. If they turned the headlights off, it would be pitch black.
“Mmm.”
“Dude.” Silas knocks his shoulder. “We gotta make a plan.”
If he had to be honest, Dirk would say he’s a little too distracted by something else to make getting to Eugene his priority. The leopard hasn’t jerked off in four days now, which makes his body ache after a whole year of jerking off twice a day. He hasn’t even gotten to fondle himself, stretch his legs under the bedsheets and feel the warmth of his paw against his cock. Nothing. He’s half-hard right now with no prompting, no sexual thoughts in his mind. It’s distracting.
“Dirk.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
“I think we should drive for a little longer and either stop at a rest stop or on one of those national forest logging trail things. Worst case scenario just park on the side of the road.”
“Let’s do that.”
“Yeah?”
He nods, prompting Silas to laugh.
“Dude, what’s going on with you?”
“It’s stupid.”
“C’mon. What’s up?”
“No, it’s really stupid. Like it doesn’t even matter. It’s dumb.”
“Please?”
“I dunno,” Dirk grumbles. “I haven’t gotten off in a few days. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
Silas laughs, but it’s not like he doesn’t get it. He and his girlfriend went on a break a few weeks ago, both of them saying they didn’t want to be long-distance over the summer. That meant going from having sex every day to not having sex at all. “Dude.”
“I told you it was stupid.”
“No, I get it. Man’s gotta get off.”
“I guess I’ll… I dunno. We’re probably gonna have to sleep in the car tonight, right?”
“It’s like 30 degrees out.”
“Duuude.” He considers it for a second. “I dunno. Those woods are freaky. I don’t want to go into the woods to jerk off in the pitch black when it’s freezing.”
“You can do it in the car.”
“With you sitting there?”
“I mean. We lived together for a year. I heard you jerking off.”
“Yeah, but we were on opposite sides of a room. You’re right freaking there.”
“I don’t care, man.”
“Ugh.” Dirk presses his head against the window. “Oh my god, I’m so horny I might just say yes.”
“Dude, I really don’t care. We can turn the lights off and I’ll put headphones in.”
“Just like we’re back in the dorms.”
Silas laughs. “Should I find a place to stop?”
“Yeah, I think.”
They pull off onto a side road which is really just cleared trees and packed dirt. They drive down it for a little bit and it seems like it goes on for a while, so they turn back and find a nice place to park. When Silas turns off the headlights, the entire world goes dark.
Dirk steps outside to grab the blankets from the back and is shivering when he steps back in. The blankets are icy cold. “Jesus H,” he says. “Fuckin’ cold out there. No jerking off outside unless you want your nipples to fall off.”
“We’re really in it now,” Silas says. “Middle of the woods, no service. No one for miles. And you’re too concerned about your dick to think about it.”
“Okay, shut up!”
Silas laughs. “You wanna get off now?”
“Ugh. Yes.”
Silas turns off the internal lights of the car. The car fades into pure darkness. Neither of them can see their paws an inch in front of their face.
“I’m putting my headphones in,” Silas says.
“Okay,” Dirk mumbles.
Before Silas can get the music playing, though, he hears the sound of his buddy pulling his shorts down and he freezes up. It didn’t even register to him as an odd thing before – they’re two horny guys living together, of course they’re going to jerk off sometimes – but Dirk is right there, half a foot from him in the dark.
“Dude,” Silas says, “Is your dick out?”
“What do you mean is my dick out, yes it’s out.”
“Really?”
Dirk snorts. “Dude.” He slaps his erection against his thigh a few times just to drive the point home. It’s loud in the silence of the woods.
“Shit.”
“You wanna touch it?” Dirk jokes, but the question does make something flutter inside of Silas’s chest. He hasn’t gotten off in weeks, Silas thinks to himself, so of course he’s gonna be a little weird about it. “Let me jerk off.”
“Okay. Music on now.”
Silas says that, but he doesn’t actually put on any music. He has no idea what compels him to do it – there have been many a night he’s shoved a pillow over his head to block out the sound of Dirk doing whatever, but now he’s trying to hear it.
It’s quiet for a little bit, but soon the sound of Dirk’s breathing grows a little labored. Every so often, Silas can hear the sound of his wrist slapping against his thigh. It’s nothing, really nothing, but Silas can’t ignore it anymore when he gets an erection himself.
“Dude,” he whispers, pulling an earbud out to sell that he was really listening to music.
“Oh my god, man, I’m jerking off. Don’t interrupt.”
“Would you mind if I, um…” Silas swallows. “Would you mind if I jerked off too?”
“Whatever will get you to leave me alone.”
“So that’s fine?”
“Go ahead, man. Keep the music on, though.”
Silas puts the earbud back in and puts The Clash on. He was listening to his buddy jerk off because he hadn’t gotten off in a while, but now that he can focus on himself it doesn’t matter anymore. That’s what he tells himself, anyway, as he pulls his dick out of his pants. He starts massaging the head of his dick and lets out a little moan by accident.
“Oh my god, dude, don’t moan,” Dirk says.
“Sorry. Force of habit.”
“Amber liked you loud?”
“Yes she did.”
The two jerk off in pure silence, pure darkness. They both keep it down, keep it contained within themselves, but the thought of the other there jerking off next to them stays in both of their minds. Dirk finishes first and unknowingly Silas finishes soon after, both trying their best to make no noise, no movement, nothing.
They both clean up at the same time, wiping cum off their dicks with old napkins and throwing them into the trash bag at Silas’s feet. They pull the blankets up, now warmed up from the heat of their bodies. They put the seats back.
“Night, man,” Dirk says.
“Night. Eugene tomorrow,” Silas responds.
“Mmhmm.”
Neither of them go to sleep. They stay up, listening to the sounds of the other breathing.