'Would you let me jerk you off?' That was what McVries had asked him. And though Garraty hadn't given him a definitive answer in the moment, he had his answer now. He pushed himself to walk a little faster until he had caught up with McVries again. When they were shoulder to shoulder, he leaned in a little and said,

"Yeah."

He thought McVries might pretend not to know what he was talking about; rib him, make him spell it out. But when McVries glanced over there was nothing in his face except raw, naked want.

"Yeah?" he said back.

Garraty nodded. His mouth was dry. In anticipation he felt himself twitching in his pants, against the zipper.

By some unspoken agreement they stayed in the middle of the walkers. If they went too far back they'd be close to Stebbins, and Stebbins would definitely say something — loud enough for other people to hear, just to rile shit up. If they went too close to the side of the road — well, it was obvious what would happen then. So they stayed in the middle; unobtrusive, casual. They stayed close like they were having a private conversation. McVries got his hand on top of Garraty's fly. He unzipped him without looking. Embarrassingly, Garraty got fully hard pretty much the second McVries' wrist brushed him over his shorts. He'd been on edge since the girl all the way back at the start of the walk. He let out a sharp, ragged exhale, and McVries gave him his usual slanted smile.

"Keep it together, Ray," he said, and began stroking Garraty through the cotton.

It didn't last long. Warmth built up so fast through his groin and up his spine he was a little alarmed. He stumbled when he felt it starting to peak; he got a warning, but his body was too far gone; he was too far gone to give a shit. He came, spilling liquid heat into his shorts, spurting against McVries' palm, half-doubling up on himself while it shook and roared through him. When he was able to straighten up again — thankfully without incurring a second warning — McVries was watching him. He had an odd expression on his face — it was sort of gentle, a little bit mocking (though Garraty thought that was just his default face, not necessarily anything to be taken personally), and it was sad, too. Garraty did his fly back up, his hands trembling. Then he reached over for McVries' crotch.

McVries gave him a startled look. "You don't have to — "

"Hush, Pete," Garraty said, remarkably calmly considering his clattering overloud heart. He worked McVries' pants open one-handed, far less gracefully or quickly than McVries had done to him, but McVries didn't seem to care. He was breathing shorter and sharper and when Garraty got his hand around him at last his eyelids actually fluttered shut.

"Oh, fuck, Ray," he said quietly. "Oh, fuck."

He didn't last much longer than Garraty had. Garraty felt him pulsing in his hand and put an extra bit of pressure on the head, which was how he liked it, and McVries shuddered all over ("warning, 61!") and came. Garraty felt it rushing against his palm through McVries' shorts, but it didn't disgust him like he'd kind of expected it would. Actually what it made him want to do, embarrassingly, was to lick his hand where McVries could see him do it, or to stick his hand into his own pants and give himself a final rub. He did neither, though; he just withdrew slowly from McVries' pants; wiped his hand on his shirt. McVries did his fly up and for some time the two walked side-by-side in silence. Overhead the birds sang. The sun beat the back of Garraty's neck. Someone bought out after screaming for a while about his knee.

Eventually McVries said, "I think I know what it is. The point to the walk."

"Great," Garraty said. "What is it?"

McVries cracked his knuckles. He stretched his arms above his head. It must have taken him tremendous effort, but Garraty enjoyed watching the flex of his muscles beneath his shirt all the same.

"We didn't know who we were going into it," McVries said. "We joined up so we could figure it out. And whatever sorry son of a bitch wins is gonna have it figured out the best out of all of us."

Garraty glanced sideways at him. "You figured yourself out yet, Pete?"

"I think I'm getting a little closer," McVries said. "But I ain't nowhere near done yet."

He offered Garraty another slanted smile. He knocked their shoulders together companionably.

They walked on, shadows overlapping on the pavement in front of them.