Page 95 of Pride High 3: Yellow

Ricky swallowed. “Do you like her?”

Diego studied him before taking another swig and setting the bottle aside. Then he pushed away from the desk. “Why? You wanna dance with me instead?”

Ricky bit down on his bottom lip and nodded as his boyfriend came closer. “I think I do.”

Diego tilted his head toward the radio. “Kind of a weird song.”

“Alive” by Pearl Jam.

“We can make it work,” Ricky said as Diego took him into his arms.

They swayed together, Ricky nestling up against the reassuring warmth of his strong torso. The arms around him tightened protectively. He felt like weeping, mostly because he’d missed this incredibly over the past five weeks.

Ricky squirmed free when a faster song began to play. He went to the desk and turned off the radio, the silence deafening when he turned around, but he knew how to fill it.

“I love you,” Ricky said. “For real.”

Diego never seemed to be afraid of anything, but he sure looked scared now. His eyes wavered with panic before a scowl brought them under control. Then he glared at the floor. “I don’t think I know how anymore.”

“That’s okay,” Ricky said with a tight throat. “I just wanted you to know how I feel.”

Diego looked up again, his gaze intense. “You matter to me though. Just about more than anyone else in this fucked-up world.”

“Really?” Ricky’s heart swelled. He ran to Diego and threw his arms around his neck, laughing happily. “That’s even better than love!”

“Yeah?” Diego asked, seeming cautiously optimistic.

“Yes. I love Batman, but he doesn’tmatterto me, you know?”

“You’re just wearing his pajamas.”

“Hey, if they made Diego Gomez PJs, I’d be wearing those instead. Although I guess the jumpsuit you loaned me would work.”

“Coveralls,” Diego murmured. “And you did look cute in them.”

“I’ll put them on if you wear yours too,” Ricky offered.

“I’d need to get undressed first.”

Ricky stared at him. Nobody knew where he was. Nothing would interrupt them. They had hours and hours to do whatever they wanted. He’d even remembered to set the alarm on his Casio calculator watch to alert him when it was time to go home. He smiled and tugged on the sleeves of Diego’s leather jacket. His boyfriend shrugged it off. Ricky folded the jacket and placed it carefully on the desk, knowing how much it meant to him. Then he turned around.

Diego wore a white muscle shirt, which made his brown skin appear even darker. Ricky walked over and placed a palm on a rounded shoulder, letting his hand slide down to the impressive bicep, which got even bigger when Diego flexed.

“You like that?” he asked, cinnamon eyes trained on him.

Ricky nodded happily. “Would it be weird if I kissed it?”

Diego snorted. “Yeah, but don’t let that stop you.”

Ricky pressed his lips to the bulging muscle, his hand wrapping around the thick forearm, which he kissed next. Diego’s hand cupped his neck and pulled him in for a real kiss, their tongues twisting together. Ricky felt around until he located the hem of the muscle shirt, pulling it upward before Diego took over. He saw black wisps of armpit hair as the shirt went over his head and was tossed aside. Ricky’s eyes moved to the strong chest.

“Wanna kiss these too?” Diego asked, making his pecs bounce.

“I just want to touch them!” Ricky said eagerly. He gasped in admiration when sliding his hand across the meaty firmness, and delighted in squeezing them. He looked up to see Diego grinning, like he was amused, although when Ricky looked down, he saw that the inside lining of one of Diego’s pockets was now sticking out.

“Wow,” he breathed.

“Yeah,” Diego replied. He took Ricky’s hand and moved it to his belt. “Remember where we left off?”