Page 14

Chapter Fourteen

RIVER

After the best weekend of my life, weeks pass by in a drunken haze of hot sex with Nate. We fuck any chance we get. Make excuses to escape from our teammates and have the house all to ourselves.

Each morning, Nate wakes me up with a smile and his hand or mouth on my cock. If our housemates hear us, they don’t say anything. Even Waters hasn’t opened his mouth. Not a single wisecrack about us being homos since Spencer Brooks fixed his grade.

I’m always tense going home for school breaks. Knowing my dad will be there, passing his judgment on me, makes my stomach turn. Nate knows it and gets on his knees between my thighs. He stares at me like a hunter ready to attack.

“I love how you taste,” Nate says before wrapping his lips around my cock. “Just relax for me, okay? Let me take care of you.”

Nate knows how worried I am about facing my dad. He senses my emotions before I feel them. If I had the choice, I would stay on campus until graduation—anything to avoid the judgy looks and annoying words of wisdom. But I miss my mom too much.

“Eyes on me,” Nate says, popping his mouth off my cock, spit dripping from his lip. “Get out of that head and focus on me.”

Smiling, I run my fingers through his short, blond hair. “I don’t deserve you.”

“Yes, you do.”

Nate curls his hand around my shaft and sucks me from top to bottom. A soft moan slips past my lips as he deepthroats me. I have to be quiet. Our teammates are home, some sleeping off pre-holiday hangovers.

Parker and Monroe are in the kitchen cooking us a massive feast. The smell of bacon wafts up the stairs, clinging to the air. It’s our tradition. Before we leave campus, my housemates come together for one final meal.

Sometimes, I wonder if I could tell them the truth. Waters hinted that they all know. However, no one else has mentioned it. I want to shout it from the rooftops now that Nate has been my boyfriend for almost a month.

But I’m scared.

Once the truth is out there, I can’t take it back. Everyone will know we’re gay. That we fuck each other. That we are in love and hiding our secret under their roof.

At this early hour, we can pretend to be in our own world. So, I ignore the nagging thoughts and lose myself to the feel of Nate’s warm tongue on my skin. Head tipped back on the pillow, I stare at the ceiling and moan.

“Stay with me, Riv,” he whispers, drawing my attention back to his face. “I want to watch you come.”

That’s all it takes for me to push his head down, gagging him with my long length. Nate takes me like a pro. He sucks cock as if he’s been doing it for years.

Of course, he’s good at this.

When it comes to sex, Nate is a fucking god. Women worshiped at his feet, on hands and knees, begging for more. And now, I understand why.

I come quicker than expected, cum rocketing out of me and into Nate’s mouth. He sucks me harder, holding me in a vise until he gets the last drop.

“You needed that,” Nate says, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “You were so tense.”

He climbs on top of me, his hard cock flush against our stomachs. Our lips are inches apart, so close we could kiss. But we just stare into each other’s eyes.

“I love you,” he says, then clears his throat. “I mean, I’m in love with you. On some level, I think I have been for a long time.”

“I love you, too.” I sit up on my elbows and kiss him. “Thank you for taking a chance on me.”

Nate shakes his head, blond strands falling before his golden-brown eyes. “You’re the one who saved me. Without you… I don’t know where I would be. Probably dead or strung out. I was so lost when we met. And you… You pulled me out of the depths of my darkness. Being your friend gave me hope. And for that, I will be forever grateful.”

His words hang between us, sending a crackle of energy down my arms. After years of obsessing over what Nate and I could be, my waiting has paid off.

“You’re enough,” I tell Nate because he needs to hear it. Otherwise, the doubt and fear creep into his head. “You will always be enough for me.”

He captures my moans with his mouth, rocking his hips to create some friction. My spent cock lays between us, and with everyone home, we can’t have sex. So Nate ruts against me, using my body until he comes on my stomach.

He steals his lips from mine, his breathing labored. “Don’t move.”

Nate slides off the bed and grabs a towel from the back of his door. Kneeling beside me, he takes his time cleaning me up. He never did this with women. Yet, every time we’re together, he pampers me.

“Take a shower with me.” He hops off the mattress and extends his hand. “I’m not done with you.”

I hesitate because anyone can see us enter the bathroom together. But it wouldn’t be the first time. Our teammates are so used to our unusual behavior that they don’t even blink. Maybe they would be more accepting of us than I think.

“What are you thinking about?” Nate asks, staring at me with genuine concern.

“Wondering what our teammates would say if they knew.”

He shrugs. “They already do.”

“Not for sure.”

“Does it matter?”

I sling my legs off the mattress, pressing my feet to the cold, wooden floor. “I hate keeping secrets from people I care about. I just?—”

“You’re scared,” he finishes for me. “I get it. If I were in your position, I would be, too. You have a lot to lose.”

“I would feel better if I already had a deal with a team locked down.”

A frown pulls at Nate’s mouth. “Now that I have you… I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t,” I promise. “No matter where I am, a part of me will always be with you. Whatever distance separates us will only be temporary.”

“I know.” He scrubs a hand at his jaw and sighs. “But I hate being apart from you.”

Nate gets legitimate withdrawal whenever we’re separated. Over the years, we have never spent more than one week away from each other. Even then, we talked on the phone and texted dozens of times daily.

“You can come with me,” I tell him. “Travel the country and the world with me.”

“Yeah?” Nate cocks his head to the side, licking his lips. “But I have law school in the fall.”

“They have law schools in other states. You’re not stuck here.”

Nate drops to the bed beside me and takes my hand in his, eyes on my face. “I would follow you anywhere.”

Tears prick my eyes. “We’ll know more after the meetings. The Rangers and the Islanders are within driving distance of Kingston University.”

“True, but the Stars are a plane ride away… and so are the Kings.”

“I want to play for one of my home teams.” I pat his hand to ease his concern. “I won’t be that far away.”

“This is your career, Riv. Do what makes you happy. Choose the right team for you , not what your dad or I want.”

“The Islanders play on Long Island. We could still see each other when I’m playing at home.”

Nate rests his forehead against mine. “Whatever you decide, I will support you.”