Page 38

Zeph rattled on about the sand yachting as they walked up the hill. Jack was glad Zeph had enjoyed it.

“I wish I’d had a chance to take a picture of you when you nearly tipped over,” Zeph said.

“I don’t really want close up pictures of me on any device. Even your phone. Sorry.”

“Right. Sorry. I forgot. Have you sand yachted before? You went so fast!”

“No, it was my first time.”

Zeph whined. “I should have known you’d be one of those guys who’s annoyingly good at absolutely everything. Is there anything you can’t do? Scuba dive? Ski? Skydive?”

When Jack didn’t answer, Zeph stumbled to a halt. “You’re joking.”

Jack tugged Zeph’s arm to get him moving. “You can skate brilliantly.”

“Yes, but you could skate too.”

“There’s plenty I can’t do.”

“Rock climbing? Kayaking? Piloting a plane? Paragliding? Parkour?” Zeph looked at him. “Oh for fuck’s sake, seriously? You can do all those? I’m not going to mention anything else.”

“I’m sure you’ll find something I can’t do.”

“Right! Probably when you’re old and grey and you can’t knit.”

Jack laughed but an ache set up in his chest. Would he live long enough to be old and grey?

“Did Thomas teach you to do those things? Is that what being home-schooled is like? Factors and geometry before lunch, downhill skiing after?”

“Either Thomas or someone else.”

“What happened if you didn’t want to do something? Like skydiving?”

“There hasn’t been anything yet I wasn’t prepared to try.”

“I’m not sure I could jump out of a plane.”

“I bet you could.”

“Please don’t book it as a surprise.” Zeph shuddered. “In fact, run all surprises past me first.”

“Which means they’re not a surprise.”

“Exactly.”

Zeph began stripping the moment they were inside their rental. Jack leaned back against the door and watched. By the time Zeph reached the rear of the property, he wore only his boxers.

“There’s no one else around, is there?” Zeph asked.

“If we don’t count the voyeurs in the International Space Station.”

“Ha.” Zeph peeled down his boxers and kicked them aside.

Jack stared at his tight backside and felt his pulse jump.

“Done ogling?” Zeph asked. “I can see you in the glass.”

“No.”

Zeph laughed, wriggled his arse and pulled open the door. “And the water is definitely hot?”

“You’ll find out when you pull the cover off. Don’t dive in.”

By the time Jack had stripped and gathered beers and towels, Zeph was in the tub, leaning back in the bubbling water, his head resting against the padded side. Jack climbed up and handed Zeph a beer before he stepped in.

“Holy shit!” Jack yelped. “Cooking yourself?” He gingerly lowered himself down next to him.

“It’s years since I’ve been in a hot tub.” Zeph put the beer down, climbed onto Jack’s lap and straddled him.

Jack slid his hands down Zeph’s back and pulled him close. “Limited shenanigans.”

“Fine.” Zeph leaned in, resting his head on Jack’s shoulder. “I like being naked with you.”

Jack put his beer with Zeph’s, then dragged his fingers up and down Zeph’s back, moving from the crease of his arse up to his neck to play with the hair at the back of his neck.

“I feel…safe,” Zeph whispered. “That sounds like the wrong word but it’s not. I don’t think I’ve ever been comfortable naked but I am with you.” He slid his hand over Jack’s chest and caressed his nipple, before bending to suck it.

Jack swallowed hard. He’d spent so long touch-starved but hadn’t realised. The only guys he’d been with had been as emotionally unavailable as him. They wanted the same thing. To come hard and leave quickly. And that had been enough.

It had.

But not now. Feeling Zeph nestled against him, his mouth roaming his neck, their cocks lodged together made Jack feel content. Not safe but maybe getting there.

But emotional attachment was dangerous. It made Jack vulnerable. Zeph too, though Zeph wouldn’t see it that way. At that moment, Jack didn’t care. They were both hard. It seemed impossible to be this close to Zeph when they were naked, and not be hard.

“I can hear you thinking,” Zeph said.

Jack pressed his face into Zeph’s hair. “And what am I thinking?”

“I have no idea. I only said I can hear you thinking.”

Jack was still stroking Zeph’s back but he was also scratching now and Zeph was writhing against him, arching his back and groaning.

“Something else you’re really good at. You can keep doing that for a few hours.” Zeph gave an elongated moan.

“Are you part cat?”

“That was a moan not a purr. Anyway, you’re the one who’s scratching.”

Jack dug his fingers into a knot in Zeph’s shoulder, pushing and pressing until it unravelled.

“That feels soooo good.”

Jack tried not to think about Türkiye and the last time he’d done this.

If Zeph kept wriggling against him, Jack was going to have to get out of the tub. He hadn’t read all the owner’s instructions about the Airbnb, but he was pretty sure messing up the hot tub wasn’t a good idea.

“Don’t drown me,” Zeph said and slid under the water.

The moment Zeph’s lips settled around his cock, Jack’s lungs locked.

Zeph’s mouth felt even hotter than the water and the sensation of his tongue curling around the head, then dipping into the slit was setting fire to Jack’s balls.

Zeph popped up for air, grinned, then dipped down again.

Jack couldn’t keep his eyes open. Zeph had taken his balls into his mouth and Jack widened his legs to give him better access.

So much for limited shenanigans. When he felt a finger push against the entrance to his body, Jack struggled to breathe. No one had ever… Oh fuck.

Zeph came up for air again, and this time Jack threaded the fingers of one hand in his hair to push him down.

He wanted more… He needed more… But Zeph knew.

His mouth, lips and tongue worked magic, sparks drifting across Jack’s eyelids.

He was bucking into Zeph’s suction now, holding tight to his head, as every cell in his body raced towards orgasm.

“Fuck! Fuuuck!”

Release rolled over and through him, a rogue wave grabbing him and transporting him up the beach.

He emptied himself into Zeph’s mouth, each fierce ejaculation as satisfying as the last as he shuddered with pleasure.

Why didn’t it last longer? Why did something that did this to your body not last just a little longer?

Zeph erupted from the water like some desperate sea creature, gasping for air. “Did you not hear the don’t drown me ?” But he was laughing as he coughed.

Jack pulled him close. “I can hold my breath for two minutes and fifteen seconds. Can you come that fast?”

It appeared he could.

They set off early the next morning. Jack was keen to get all the way to the next place, one of Thomas’s houses.

Jack had always intended they’d stay there but wanted Zeph to think he’d had a hand in choosing.

If they didn’t make the progress he’d hoped for, they’d find a place to spend the night, but the less of a trail they left, the better.

Jack drove the first leg and pulled in for breakfast a little after nine.

They sat at a table outside a café, the car parked metres away, and consumed black coffees and flaky croissants.

Zeph’s face had definitely tanned from the time they spent on the beach yesterday.

It made his eyes look even more beautiful.

Jack blinked and gave himself a mental shake.

“Mind if I WhatsApp Martin?” Zeph asked.

“Go ahead. Just…” Jack tried not to mind, though he was anxious about how much Zeph would tell him.

“I know.” Zeph made the call. “Hi.”

“Hi, Zeph! Are you in France?”

“Just stopped for breakfast. We went sand yachting yesterday. It was brilliant.”

“Did you wear helmets?”

“Yes, we wore helmets. And we found some fossils for my collection.”

Martin laughed. “You’re carrying rocks home? Not sure there’s any room left on your windowsill.”

“I’ll make room.”

“Where are you heading today?”

Jack shook his head and Zeph nodded.

“Not sure where we’ll end up. We’re driving down the west coast.”

“Paulo wants to know what you did with your tuxedos.”

“We brought them with us. We’re planning a very upmarket picnic on the beach.”

“Right.” Martin laughed. “What was the ball like? Did you take pictures?”

“I’ll send some. One of the best nights ever.

” Zeph looked at Jack as he spoke. “Winter in summer. Fake snow swirling in the courtyards. Fairy lights everywhere. The college buildings illuminated in a spectacular light show. The Bridge of Sighs looked amazing. The food was spectacular and I did— I’ll never forget a moment of it. ”

“That’s great. I’m glad you had such a good time.”

“I need to go now. Finish my coffee before it gets cold. Why does coffee taste better in France? And croissants? I’ll call again in a few days.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too. And Paulo. Bye.”

He put his phone away. “I almost told him I’d ice skated at the ball.”

Jack narrowed his brow. “Weren’t you supposed to ice skate?”

Zeph winced. “Skating was fine. Jumping not fine. I told you Alice had pushed me down an embankment… Well, I broke my pelvis, my leg, wrenched my arm and along with cuts and bruises, I…um…fractured my skull.”

Jack gaped at him.

“I’m fine,” Zeph said. “I could have skated after a couple of months and it’s been years.”

“But you didn’t just skate, you jumped.”

“I probably shouldn’t have done that but I was okay. Nothing is going to stop me doing what I want to do. Apart from acute fear.”

“And me.”

Zeph smiled but Jack was serious.

Zeph drove for a couple of hours before Jack took over again.

They stopped for lunch, then called in at a Carrefour supermarket to get essentials, including a cooler bag and ice to transport butter, cheese and yoghurt.

Bordeaux was a nightmare. An accident on the ring road held them up but Jack was confident they wouldn’t need to find somewhere to stay overnight.