Page 18 of Beyond the Rainbow (Pride Camp 2025 #11)
Alex glanced down at the one in his hand, rolling it between his fingers. Then, finally, his lips curved in the smallest of smiles. “Yeah,” he said. “They’re really cool.”
He watched as Alex traced his thumb over the textured fabric of the hacky sack, his face a little less guarded.
A moment ago, Joshua had wondered if he could reach him, if his initial mistake was beyond repair.
But now, as he looked at Alex—the quiet way he clung to this small, simple offering—Joshua felt realization blossom within himself.
He hadn’t erased his past mistake. But at this moment, a door had opened, and he had been invited to enter. And for now, that was enough.
Colin stepped back into the room. “Aren’t you guys done yet ?” he asked with a quick grin. “Figured you two would wrap things up while I was gone, and I’d just swoop in for the credit.”
“Oh yeah, fat chance,” Joshua shot back. “Alex and I are not giving you credit for our hard work, are we, Alex?”
Alex snickered—a sound lighter than before, like it had slipped out before he could stop it. His grin widened, and without hesitation, he tossed the hacky sack to Colin.
Colin, ever the show-off, lifted a knee and thumped it softly across the room, sending it flying.
Alex let out a breath of laughter, a spark of something unguarded flashing across his face before he leapt to his feet and chased after the ball.
The faint scuff of his sneakers against the floor filled the quiet space, the soft patter of the hacky sack bouncing once before skidding toward the corner.
Joshua saw it, though—and it brought a swift smile to his face.
The way Alex moved without hesitation, the way childlike happiness had momentarily eclipsed cautious hesitancy.
His gaze locked with his husband’s, the love in Colin’s eyes igniting the gratitude in his own. “ Thank you, ” Joshua silently mouthed.
Colin didn’t speak. Instead, he lifted his hand—thumb, index finger, and pinky extended—the silent, unmistakable sign for I love you. Joshua’s chest tightened with emotion. He lifted his hand, returning the gesture.
“Hey, Colin,” Alex chimed in, returning to his spot next to the prize box. “Josh said you can be my best friend too.”
Colin blinked, caught off guard by the trust threaded through those few words. “He did, huh,” he replied, dropping onto the floor beside the boy and giving a casual shrug. “Well, that’s fine by me . I’d never say ‘no’ to having two amazing best friends.”
“OK, you two,” Joshua chimed in, waving the list of events in front of their faces. “Back to work. We need a prize for the Rainbow Relay Race.” He waggled his fingers over the pile of prizes. “So, start picking!”
When Joshua wandered into their bedroom later that night, Colin was sitting up in bed, leaning against the elaborate headboard with a pillow behind his back. He was wearing his reading glasses and peering down at a case file, stopping now and then to scribble a note on the legal pad beside him.
“I’m trying to figure out how to thank you for what you did for me today.
And for that sweet, abused boy. You caught a lot more than a softball with that game of catch.
You caught his heart. And his trust.” He sat down on the bed and reached to pluck the case file from Colin’s hand.
“Can you think of a way I could … you know … show my…” He leaned close to his husband, his voice growing husky, “… appreciation ?”
Colin breathed out a quick laugh. “I have several ideas in that regard,” he murmured.
Joshua set the legal pad and case file on their bedside table and spread out on the bed beside his husband.
“Mm,” he hummed out, then gently removed Colin’s glasses and parked them on top of the case file.
“Well, what’s number one on your idea list?
” He slid his hand underneath Colin’s T-shirt.
“But before you do, maybe you could take this off. I happen to know you think more clearly when you’re bare-chested. ”
Colin was still shaking with soft laughter.
“You’re quite the seductive little Jew tonight, aren’t you?
” He pulled his T-shirt over his head and tossed it, then scooted lower in the bed, drawing Joshua down with him, smiling as he heard Joshua’s soft moan when their bodies pressed close.
“Maybe, my darling boy, you’ve got a few ideas of your own. ”
Joshua’s eyes drifted closed, losing himself in the sensual bliss of Colin’s skin against his own. His lips moved over the soft, curve of his husband’s pectoral. His tongue traced—tasted—as he drew in a long, wavering breath through his nostrils, letting the perfume of Colin’s skin fill his senses.
Colin's laughter changed to a gasp, and then a low moan as the heat of Joshua's breath against his skin ignited a fiery ache in his groin. A sense of comfort filled him, nearly taking his breath. In the quiet of their bedroom, familiar movements and murmured words wove around them like a well-loved melody. They’d been here so many times, and yet every touch, every sound was a gift filled with a joy that was ever fresh and new. His fingers traced the subtle curves and valleys of Joshua’s back, the feeling almost as well-known as his own heartbeat.
“Tell me what you’re thinking, my love?” Colin asked, his voice low and husky.
“How impossibly perfect you are,” Joshua murmured against Colin’s skin, his lips brushing over his heartbeat.
Colin’s fingers traced lazy patterns over Joshua’s back, his touch familiar, grounding. “You’re the only thing that keeps me sane,” he murmured, voice low and steady.
Joshua lifted his head, meeting Colin’s gaze with a quiet intensity that sent hot desire flooding through him. “And you,” Joshua whispered, “are the only thing that makes the insanity worth it.”
Colin smiled, brushing a kiss over Joshua’s forehead. His lips lingered, pressing into the soft warmth of his skin. “I’m so damn grateful for us,” he murmured.
Joshua’s breath caught as Colin’s strong arms tightened around him, rolling them until he was beneath him, the weight of Colin’s body pressing him down, anchoring him in a way that made his pulse pound.
A desperate moan escaped his lips as their bodies met, heat surging between them, every inch of skin-to-skin contact igniting something deep, primal.
Colin’s mouth found his, claiming him in a kiss that was all heat and hunger, their tongues tangling, breaths coming fast. “I need you,” Colin rasped against his lips, his voice rough with desire.
“I need to be inside you, Josh. I need to feel you all around me.” His hands skimmed down Joshua’s body, reverent and greedy at once, fingers tracing over heated skin before reaching for the bottle beside them.
Joshua arched into his touch, his legs spreading in silent invitation, a needy whimper escaping as Colin slicked his fingers and pressed one inside, slow but insistent. “Yes,” Joshua gasped, his body clenching around the intrusion, pleasure already curling through his limbs. “More.”
Colin groaned, pressing another finger in, stretching him with a patience that made Joshua shudder. His lips never left Joshua’s skin—his mouth mapped a path over his throat, his collarbone, biting down gently before soothing each mark with his tongue.
“Go slow,” Joshua murmured, voice trembling, his nails digging into Colin’s shoulders. “Make it last. Stay with me. Stay forever.”
Colin exhaled sharply, his forehead pressed to Joshua’s, their ragged breaths mingling.
“Forever, my love,” he swore, his voice raw, desperate.
He slowly withdrew his fingers, then, with aching slowness, he pushed inside with his rigid erection, a strangled groan breaking from his lips as Joshua’s body clenched around him, drawing him deeper.
Joshua gasped, his back arching, fingers digging into Colin’s shoulders. “Ah … god, yes,” he whispered, his voice shaking. His legs tightened around Colin’s waist, holding him there, urging him on.
Colin’s control frayed, the heat between them searing and impossible to contain.
He rocked into him, slow and deep, forcing himself to savor every pulse, every shudder, every sound Joshua made beneath him.
But Joshua was all frenzied movement beneath him, hands roaming, nails raking down his back, his body demanding more, demanding everything.
“Oh, god, baby,” Colin rasped, his voice wrecked. “I can’t … I can’t hold back …”
Joshua’s fingers tangled in Colin’s hair, yanking his head up, their eyes locking. His lips were kiss-swollen, his expression utterly wrecked with need. “Don’t,” he panted. “Take me. Take me!”
Colin groaned, capturing his mouth in a bruising, devouring kiss, his hips thrusting forward, finding that perfect rhythm to send Joshua spiraling. His body bowed, a strangled cry broke from his throat, and Colin swallowed it, kissing him harder, deeper, until they were both mindless with pleasure.
“Colin,” Joshua gasped, his voice breaking as Colin’s hand slid between them, wrapping around his aching length.
“Yes, my darling one,” Colin murmured, his voice molten. His grip was firm, his strokes precise, in perfect sync with every thrust. “Now,” he whispered. “Come for me, Josh. Please. ”
Joshua shattered, a cry torn from his lips as his body seized around Colin, pulling him under, dragging him into the fire with him. Colin let go, pleasure slamming through him like a tidal wave, leaving him wrecked, breathless, completely undone.
They clung to each other, bodies trembling, hearts hammering in unison. Colin pressed his lips to Joshua’s temple, his breath still unsteady. “You’re everything,” he whispered. “ Everything .”
Joshua’s arms tightened around him, holding him close. “My beloved, so are you .”
Colin moaned softly, nestling against him. “I don’t ever want to move.”
“Well, you know my answer to that .”
Colin sighed out a long, moaning breath, then pressed a soft kiss to Joshua’s lips. “However, my darling …”
“You have to pee.”
Colin winced and shot him a sheepish look, his eyebrows lifting in silent apology.
Joshua gave a soft laugh and ran his fingertips across Colin’s forehead. “Thank you for today, my yedid . It meant the world to me.”
“You know why…” Colin began, then hesitated. “You know why I feel the way I do.”
“Yes. Because Alex reminds you of me.”
Colin nodded.
“Then know this, my love. You didn’t just save him today—you saved me, too.”