Page 40 of Catch Me (Becoming Us #4)

Travis

It was depressing that it was our last full day together, but I’d already determined that I wouldn’t be pathetic about it.

When Tessa woke me up at five tomorrow, I’d be doing the same to him so that we had as much time together as possible.

And I was going to take Roman to breakfast in the morning if he’d let me.

When I walked into the kitchen this morning, he was already up, and he’d even admitted that he was waiting for me to get out of bed, so at least I wasn’t the only one.

“Where do you think Sen and Kai will get married?” I asked.

He threw the baseball, better than he had the first time on the field. I could imagine him being really good when he was in high school.

“I don’t really know them,” he replied. “But they seem like the type of people who would choose somewhere classy. Not pretentious; just timeless.”

“Hm. I can see that. West will for sure get married on a football field.”

“Tilian will have a communal bong station and someone who passes out joints instead of a flower girl. ”

I laughed, bending at the waist for a second. It was too easy to picture that. “Would you participate?”

“Maybe, just to be supportive. It’s not something I give a shit about.”

“Yeah, same.”

“If you smoked, you’d get fat from eating more tacos than you already do.”

“Fuck you,” I said before I threw the ball.

He whistled for Tessa to come over, then threw it across the yard for her. Tossing my glove to the ground, I jogged over to him. He watched me, half wary and half curious. His expressions had become a little more open during his time here, and I prided myself on my growing ability to read him.

“Do you dance?” I asked when I reached him.

He snorted and shook his head. “Not at all.”

His nose wrinkled when I held my hand out. I shook it and gave him an exasperated look. With a sigh, he took it and let me pull him closer.

“I’m sure this is premature,” I said as I put my other hand on the small of his back, “but maybe you’ll help me practice so that I don’t embarrass myself when the wedding rolls around.”

“Maybe you won’t have a date, in which case you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Thanks for that. If I don’t have a date, I can scope out all of the singles on the guest list. Knowing Sen, he’ll have a couple names to give me. He’s desperate to demolish my self-imposed bachelor status.”

“In the interest of Sen not setting you up, I’m gonna say no to helping you practice.”

“That’s rude. Unless you’re jealous of a hypothetical future man. I like that idea.”

He ducked his head, but I caught his smile. Not wanting him to hide it from me, I took his chin and tilted it up. Moving my fingers to cup the side of his jaw, I leaned in to kiss him.

“I might miss you when you leave tomorrow,” I said.

“Really?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’ll be peaceful.”

“Oh, it will be, but there’s something about you that I like. ”

“My abs.”

“They’re definitely a bonus. I may or may not have drooled over your calves in the tent too.”

He laughed and dropped his face onto my shoulder. I held him close and gripped his hand again as I began to sway with him. Surprisingly, he didn’t complain about dancing with me.

“You also smell good,” I went on.

“Mm. Anything else?”

“When I get you to smile and laugh, it feels like an accomplishment because you have a personal vendetta against those things. I really like your hair. I bet it’d be really nice if you grew it out.

” Moving my hand upward, I felt the soft waves.

“Hearing you talk about art and watching you draw have become two of my favorite things.”

He lifted his head and met my eyes. “They have?”

The intensity I saw in his expression made my movements falter. “Why else would I always want to see what you’re working on?”

“Because you’re polite.”

It was impossible not to frown. “I love being able to experience you creating things. Your mind is fascinating, Roman, and the way you can turn the world into art blows me away. If you let me, I’d watch every time you pick up that tablet.”

“You can.”

My heart was going to explode. He used to make it a point to shut off his screen when I came around.

“If you’re in the mood now...” I trailed off.

“I’m always in the mood to draw.”

“Right. You have no life.”

He rolled his eyes before he let go of my hand and headed toward the house. Tessa followed him, and when she dropped the ball on the deck, I sighed. I hadn’t been paying attention to her, so she’d shredded the thing. Dogs were perpetual toddlers.

When I stepped inside, I saw Roman sitting on the island. Instead of his tablet, he had an actual sketchpad in his hands. It was strange to see, but it made him look like an honest to god artist, and I was into it.

“I’ve never seen you draw with a pencil,” I noted .

He didn’t look up from the paper when he smiled. “For anything important, I draw it on paper. Nothing can beat that. I just upload the sketch and finish it digitally.”

“Huh. That’s cool. What are you gonna draw?”

He gave me an incredulous look, then jerked his chin toward the cabinet opposite him.

“How am I gonna watch you if I’m your subject?” I asked.

“From afar.”

“Fine, but I demand an up close and personal session at some point.”

His eyes rolled again, but he didn’t respond. With a huff, I leaned against the counter. After a second, I stripped out of my shirt and tossed it at him, which drew his eyes to me.

“Ever drawn a nude model?”

His teeth rolled over his lower lip. “Yes.”

I hummed thoughtfully as I popped open the button on my jeans. “Bet I can do it better.”

He studiously moved his pencil across the paper, only sparing me brief glances. I kept one hand on the counter behind me so that my back was arched slightly, and I noticed his eyes going to my hips every once in a while.

Slowly, I unzipped my pants and let them slide a little further down.

My thumb tucked into the waistband of my briefs, and even though he was managing to stay pretty concentrated, I was getting turned on by my own antics.

I didn’t know if he’d actually do it, but the idea of him drawing me naked was exciting.

Since he took pride in his art, I imagined he’d be very detailed.

When I let my pants fall, his eyes locked on me. I stepped out of them, leaving me in only my briefs. His gaze lowered to my very obvious boner, and his lips parted.

“Draw me like one of your French girls,” I said.

“Fuck.”

“No, just draw.”

When he tried to do that, his hand shook. He gripped the pencil tighter and focused on the paper, but it only lasted a few seconds before he was staring at me again.

“You’re not being very productive,” I noted.

“Touch yourself.”

My brows rose, then my lips curled upward. “Really? ”

He just nodded. Keeping my briefs on, I pulled my cock out and simply held it in my hand. He took measured breaths as he made strokes on the paper.

After remaining still for a few minutes, I stroked myself once. When I looked at him, he was staring at my cock. Shaking his head, he set the pad down.

“I need a break.”

“Are you...” I trailed off, watching him drop his feet to the floor. I expected him to walk away, but he marched straight up to me until our lips collided.

My hand was still on my cock, which had become fully erect, but I tucked it away to make sure he wouldn’t feel overwhelmed or think there were any expectations. His fingers tangled in my hair to hold me to him while he kissed me hungrily.

He pulled back long enough to remove his shirt, then he was on me again. When he backed up, he pulled me with him, guiding us into the hallway. I tried to ask what he was doing, but he didn’t give me a chance to get the words out.

Once we reached the back wall, I grabbed onto his hips and pushed him against it, which gave me an opportunity to pause things. “What are you doing?”

He captured my lips again, then took a breath without moving back. “I want you. Before I leave. Tonight.”

“As in . . .”

“All of you. Everything.”

“Are you sure?” He nodded and I tightened my grip on him. “We shouldn’t.”

“I couldn’t care less.”

My heart raced as I considered it. “My room.”

“Why?”

“Do you have lube and condoms in yours?”

The nervous look on his face made me hesitate, but he turned and backed me up in that direction. We’d barely made it into my room when he shoved me against the wall and kissed me with a new level of confidence that made blood rush to my cock.

Suddenly, I remembered what Tilian said when I was on the phone with Sen. I pulled back and put my hand on Roman’s chest.

“Do you bottom?”

“Um . . . Once. ”

I chewed on the inside of my cheek for a second. “Only once?”

“You’re gonna think this is stupid.”

Holding onto his sides, I pushed him backward until he was sitting on the bed. “Tell me.”

“It’s easier to justify it if I don’t.”

“Ah. It feels less gay if you top.”

He just shrugged. I considered what to say to avoid freaking him out. He went for my briefs, but I grabbed his wrists.

“I don’t really bottom.”

His eyes widened. “Oh.”

“If that dynamic doesn’t work for you . . .”

“Fuck.”

I released his wrists, trying to hide my disappointment. This happened sometimes when you weren’t vers. It was a part of life. This one was different, and I hadn’t really thought about it up until now.

“If you’re gay, why don’t you bottom?”

Sitting beside him, I laughed a little. “Gay means you’re attracted to and have sex with men. Not everyone enjoys things the same way. It’s okay that you don’t want to.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“You didn’t really say anything aside from ‘fuck,’” I pointed out.

He sighed, which made me turn toward him.

“When I did it,” he started, “I came so hard that I couldn’t even look at him for weeks.”

I wanted to ask who, but I already suspected the answer to that, and it was kind of awkward.

“After that, I refused to do it ever again. I couldn’t deal with what it meant.”

“All it meant was that you like various kinds of sex. So...” I moved my hands to his legs. “Are you into the idea or not?”

Instead of answering, he slammed his mouth against mine in a way that felt violent. Gripping underneath his thighs, I pulled him forward so that his legs were on either side of me, then I backed up.

“Roman.”

He diverted to my neck, and I dropped my head back. My fingers dug into his legs as my desire built.

“Roman,” I repeated more firmly.

“What?” he asked, sounding annoyed .

“I need clear consent here. Do you want to do this?”

“Depends. Do you know what you’re doing?”

I pushed my fingers through his hair and tipped his head back to kiss his throat. “Seriously?”

“Mhm.”

“Yes, Roman, I know what the fuck I’m doing.” I brushed my nose across his cheek. “I’ll take care of you.” My lips trailed over his earlobe, making his breath catch. “You’re safe with me.”

“I want this, Travis.”

I unbuttoned his pants, then thrust my hands into the back of them to grab his ass. “I don’t hook up,” I said, feeling the need to reiterate if we were going to do this.

“That’s not what I want. I told you it’s more than that.”

“No going back to who you were?”

“No.”

“Can I take you out?”

“Yes.”

“I want to visit you in Chicago when you get back.”

“You do?”

“Mhm.” Using my grip on his ass, I rocked him against me. “Get to know you, learn your favorite foods, you come see me, I go see you.”

“Fuck, I said yes.”

He gasped when I moved my hips upward. “Promise me.”

“I promise.”

“Alright, get on your knees.”

His eyes widened. “Just like that, huh?”

“I told you I’ll take care of you. I’m gonna make sure that when we’re done, you’ll never be able to question whether you like getting fucked in the ass.”