Page 16

SIXTEEN

Noah

Boyfriends.

That there was monumental. For Brody. For me. For the Railers. For our families.

Families. Team. Shit.

“You know,” I said as my hands began a slow roam over his lean frame. “I really want to take you to bed right now.”

“I like the sound of that,” he replied before leaning in for a kiss. The man was temptation personified, but there were two pressing issues, and they weren’t our dicks straining against our zippers. Well, they were that too, but our pricks were going to have to chill for a few minutes. “But, we should call our families. Prepare them for the media frenzy that is going to strike. I need to call my agent too, and the Railers.”

He ran his fingers through my hair, combing the curls out, then watching as they bounced back. “I know that you’re right, but bed sounds so much better.”

“We’ll get there. I promise. After our calls, we will turn off our phones for the rest of the day and not leave my bed until tomorrow.”

He smiled and nodded. I tapped his phone, slid off his lap, and sat beside him as he brought up his contacts. Within seconds, he was connected. Sitting at his side, I could only hear his side of the conversation, but things seemed chill. It soon became obvious they’d discussed this scenario beforehand, which made me happy. Knowing he had his brother always at his side eased my concern for him. His pretty eyes moved to me then.

“They want to say hello,” he said, holding his phone out, then twisting his wrist to bring me into the frame. I was not ready for this, but the sight of three smiling faces erased my worry.

“Hey, so, yeah, I’m Noah,” I opened with, and they all waved back.

“My dad says that you have diabetes too. Is that right?” Avery blurted out as kids do.

Her mom and dad winced. I chuckled. “Yeah, that’s right, I do. I was diagnosed when I was like thirteen, so a little older than you. But it’s not slowing us down, is it?”

“Nope!” She popped her P loudly. “I’m going to sign up for softball in the spring. I have a good arm Dad says, and Mom said I’m a slugger. I hit the ball really hard last night. It flew over our fence and into the neighbor’s yard. He’s really grumpy and has a big dog that my dad likes to call Hercules for some reason, but that’s not the dog’s name at all. His name is Brutus, and he likes to eat pickles. I know that because sometimes Brutus will sniff at a hole under our fence, and I sneak him pickles that Mom gives me in my lunches because I don’t really like pickles all that much. So, I leave them in my lunch box or sometimes trade them with Connie Langley, she’s my best friend in the world, for her celery. I love celery! Do you like celery?”

All the adults laughed. “As a matter of fact, I love celery,” I told her as Brody beamed like a lighthouse. It was clear how much he adored his family. “Sometimes, we’ll have to share some celery and talk sports.”

“Yay! I would love that.”

And off she ran singing about veggies. “So that’s our Avery,” Logan chuckled. “It’s nice to meet you, Noah. And before anyone asks, yes, we got the ball back, but we had to promise the dog a gherkin for fair trade.”

That broke us all up. Brody talked to his brother for a bit longer, as I made the first call I needed to make. I called my fathers. My sisters would be third. Railers would be next, but I wanted to warn them all. Kind of like those sirens that go off along coastal areas to warn about an impending tsunami. That was what these calls were—an advance emergency social media alert. Although I imagine the media already had it.

I called Dad, as he was less prone to being all “I know people” than Pops. Also, Pops would want to speak to Brody, and that wasn’t what this was about. So, when Dad picked up, with a smile and rosy cheeks, I drew in a deep breath.

“Noah, this is unusual. I thought you kids would sooner die than make a call. Text or death, I think is what Margo has on one of her tees?”

“Yeah it is, but this is big. Can you get Pops into this?” I leaned back on the sofa, drew my knees up, and rubbed a nervous hand over the discoloration on my calf. Brody stayed tight to my side, his call now over.

“Sure,” Dad replied warily. His parent sense had been activated. “Stan! Can you come over here, please?”

Pops arrived with a dog in his arms, Misty, a little pug mix they’d adopted about a year ago. She’d fit right in with the other five dogs and Mittens. That mansion was more like a kennel than an elite estate, but Pops loved animals, and Dad loved Pops, so it was animal central.

“Hello, Noah, we are making party plans. I am thinking fish cake,” Pops exclaimed as he settled beside Dad. His dark hair, now peppered with silver, was cut short, as he liked it.

“Uhm, like fish-shaped or fish-flavored? Because I’m not sure the human guests would like fish-flavored cake.”

“No, shaped. Not flavor. I am making salmon cake for Mittens. Not really cake, but salmon that I will cut into cake shape then top with candles,” Pops clarified.

“Oh cool. So uhm, I have something to tell you both.” I turned the phone. Brody smiled at my fathers. “Pops, you already met Brody, and I’m assuming you ran right home and told Dad all about us.”

“Yes, of course. I am no for keeping secrets from my beloved,” Pops stated.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, sort of, Brody,” Dad said, as he and Pops exchanged looks.

“I know this isn’t the way you’d want to meet him, and I promise to bring him to Mittens’ party for a real introduction, but for now… well, I wanted to let you know that Brody just came out on his Instagram account.”

“Oh,” they both said at once. “That’s big news. Thank you for telling us before the poop hit the fan.”

“Dad, seriously, you can say shit in front of me,” I teased.

“Force of habit,” Dad replied with a shrug. “Do you want me to pass this along to your sisters and aunt?”

“Yeah, please.” I exhaled. “I have to call Coach next.”

“Yes, you must let team know. Tell them to bring Layton in to handle the publics relations. He is old hand at making slurry into borscht. What?” Pops asked when Dad shot him an eww face. “Is old saying. Like picking sow ear and knitting it into handbag.”

Brody was confused. I gave his thigh a pat. He’d learn how to decipher Pops-speak.

“Despite the slurry into soup comment, Stan’s right. Layton is the VP of Communications now. He and the PR team have handled several players coming out over the years. The team will close ranks. This is going to be pretty big, Noah. Everyone knows who Brody is, and him announcing that he’s gay?—”

“Bi, he’s bi like me,” I slid in.

“Sorry, him announcing that he’s bi will bring down a firestorm of press and opinions, both good and bad. Are you two sure you’re ready for this?” Dad asked.

“Yeah, we’re sure. It’s out there now. His agent knows, and his family are behind us.”

I glanced over to see Brody nodding.

“Good, good. That will make things much easier for him. Also, Brody, if you need anyone to talk to about being a queer athlete in a macho sport, Stan and I are always here. We’ve been through this ourselves.”

“Yes,” Pops stuck his face in front of the phone so now all we could see was his nose. “We are old hands at being queer. Also, I know people.”

Dad tugged the phone from in front of Pops’ face. “Ignore the last comment. Just know that we’re here if you need us. You’ll get through this fine, son. We love you.”

“I love you guys, too.”

The screen went blank after Pops made the dog on his lap wave goodbye.

“They’re quite nice,” Brody said as we took a moment to catch our breath.

“Yeah, I am really lucky.” I leaned into his side, dropped my head to his shoulder, and took three cleansing exhalations. “Okay, so now, I call my agent and the team. These should be fun.”

They were not fun calls. Not fun at all. My agent was super pissy about us springing this on him, which I got, but yelling out of the window of his Manhattan office wasn’t going to do anything other than scare the pigeons. After his meltdown, Mike said he would meet me with the team whenever the Railers wished.

The call to Coach was less dramatic than the call to Mike, but no easier. Coach was cool about it all—he’d ridden in more than one player-induced rodeo in his time—and set things into motion for a meeting with the GM, my agent, me, and Layton Foxx as soon as it could be arranged. I suspected I might be asked to chill at home—which would cut into my playing time—and not to speak to the press—which was fine with me—until the powers that be could organize a united front. I thanked him for his understanding and hung up as the wheels in the Railers organization began clacking away behind the scenes.

“Okay, that was not the worst thing in the world,” I confessed as we sat on the sofa, my hand on Brody’s thigh, his arm around my shoulder. “Tomorrow morning is going to be a hellscape.”

“Do we unplug from the world for the rest of today?” Brody asked with hope in his voice, his phone in his hand.

“We do.” I held up my iPhone. “On the count of three. One, two, three.”

We turned off both of our phones, then I slid over his thighs, settling my ass on his lap, and took his face between my hands.

“Now we make love, boyfriend,” I whispered before I slanted my mouth over his.

We made out for a while, taking our time, no rushing. We had all day with zero interruptions. We peeled off each other’s shirts as we tasted and nibbled, fingertips roaming at will over hard muscle. Brody’s chest was firm, covered with a light furring of dark brown hair that thickened into a tempting line as it disappeared into his pants. His mouth on my throat was driving me mad in a very good way. He’d sucked a red mark onto my shoulder as I rocked back and forth, our hard dicks grinding together, our breathing ramping up with each touch and flick of a tongue over sensitive skin.

“Okay, I need more than this. Bedroom?” I asked, leaning back. His eyes were glazed with lust, his lips puffy, and his hair a mess. I loved this tousled Brody. It was so counter to the cover model racer he projected to the world. I’d done that to him. I hoped to do more to the man before this day ended.

“Bedroom,” he agreed as I slid from his lap.

He held out his hand. With a grunt I tugged him to his feet, kissed him, then led him to the bedroom. I wasn’t the tidiest of men, so the bed was still rumpled from sleep. Thankfully, the cleaning lady wasn’t due until tomorrow. “Can I undress you?”

“I’d be offended if you didn’t,” he countered with a snappy wink, but I could sense the underlying anxiety in him.

“Hey, let me put this out there right at the start. You do not have to do a damn thing that you’re not comfortable with, right?” He nodded. “So, if I touch you somewhere or in a certain way that makes you twitchy say so, and we stop. No bickering, no pouting, no guilt-tripping. Consent is key for me. So, you good with me stripping you naked, then showing you a few things that I think you may like, even if they are new?”

“Strip away,” he replied.

I wasted little time in freeing him from his clothing, then capturing his mouth as I pressed him back onto the bed. When we hit the mattress, he rolled us over, kissing a hot, wet path from my mouth to my nipples. He’d discovered how super sensitive they were, so he now spent stupid amounts of time nibbling on them. My hips rolled with each suck and nip, my back arching from the bed. “I love making you hot and needy,” he purred, then blew over a sodden nipple. The shock zipped right to my balls.

“You’re taking too damn long,” I snarled, flipped him to his back and fell on his cock as if it was the first meal I’d had in days. His hips snapped up as he moaned long and low. I loved the feel of his cockhead rubbing the back of my throat. He ran his fingers into my hair, gripping the curls as he began fucking my mouth. I groaned and hummed before popping off to tongue the slit, making sure his sight was locked on me. It was. “Now let’s play.”

“Okay,” he huffed as I slid from between his legs, unzipped then pushed down my pants and briefs, and then, remembered the plug I’d bought was in my carry-on. “One second.”

He blinked in surprise as I raced out, found my bag, then streaked back to my boyfriend. I did like the sound of that. He was resting on his elbows, cock jutting into the air, when I arrived. Those pretty eyes of his rounded when he saw the butt plug.

“If it’s not your thing when we try it that’s cool.” I dug into the nightstand to find the lube. “I really like to play with plugs. Sometimes I leave them in when I’m home just to feel that pressure. This one vibrates. I have a blue one of the same model. That soft vibration deep inside with this nestled beside your prostate is fucking amazing. In my opinion. Your butthole may vary.”

He laid back down, his thighs spread, arms resting out to the sides.

“I trust you.”

I kissed his belly button as I eased myself back onto the bed. “I’ll make you feel good, baby, I promise.” With that I placed the plug beside him, the lube on his belly, and nestled between his legs. His cock had flagged a bit, but as soon as I had the purple head between my lips, I was rewarded with a bit of pre-cum. It took no time for his dick to stiffen again. While I sucked, I fondled his balls, rolling them, letting my fingers explore behind his sac. His breathing was rough now, his hands balling the sheets. I touched the tight furl, and he sucked in a sharp breath. I released his cock, kissed the inside of his thigh, and pulled one of his heavy nuts into my mouth.

“Jesus,” he cried out while I toyed with his hole. He relaxed around the tip of my finger as it pressed the tender skin. I moved to the other ball, laving it while nudging one leg over my shoulder. “Noah, for all… Shit. That is so… I love it.”

“Good,” I purred as his ball slid from my lips. “I’m going to lube up a finger.”

“Yeah, okay,” he panted, but his attention never left my face. “I never did like having this done during medical exams.”

“I feel that. But with a lover, this can be so enjoyable. We’ll try it out. See if you like it. If not, we stop. If you do, we’ll add the plug into play.”

“Okay. Okay.” He exhaled through pursed lips as I worked a line of lube around my fingers, then eased my finger back to his hole. His dick was leaking so I licked it clean, watching him watching me. He was so tight, so tense, so I let the finger rest inside him while I blew him. He loved oral sex–that much I knew–so I hollowed my cheeks and sucked like a vacuum cleaner. “Shit, fuck, yeah that is… I love that.”

“Mmmm,” I hummed again, pulling a guttural moan from him. I hooked my finger in more, little by little, while bobbing up and down on his cock. His body opened for me as I crooked my finger. Brody rose from the bed as if possessed. Heels digging into the mattress, hands clawing at the sheets, cock sliding so far into my mouth my nose was buried in his pubes. I loved every fucking second of it because he was experiencing this for the first time with me.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” he shouted, thighs flexing. I pulled back, letting his dick fall from my tender lips, and eased my finger out. “Shit… Noah, that was… do it again?”

“Wanna try the plug?” I asked and got a timid nod. “Any time you want to stop just say so. Yeah?”

“Yeah, just get to it because I’m a sneeze away from blowing a nut,” he pant-laughed as he collapsed back onto the tangled bedding.

“Give this baby a second, and you’ll be coming before you can spell sneeze,” I promised as I slicked up the plug. “Legs wide, breathe, and remember that if?—”

“I know. Just… insert it. God, that sounded clinical! Get it in me!” He squeezed his eyes closed while tossing an arm over his brow. I chuckled, kissed his cockhead, and rubbed the slippery end of the plug around his hole. He sucked in a breath. Kneeling between his legs, I got the prime viewing spot. With his legs spread wide, I could watch as the plug eased into him.

“I’m giving it all to you, Brody,” I whispered, my voice husky as hell.

“Good, yeah, that’s okay… funny, like… I don’t know what but, it’s okay.” He wiggled his ass a little, I pressed the plug in. Then, I turned it on. “Fuck!” His shout echoed off the walls of my bedroom. I sat back on my heels to gauge where he was. His ass rose from the bed as his eyes flared wide. “Oh fuck that is… holy shit. If the… doctor did that… I’d want a prostate… check every… six months. Fuck. Oh shit, that’s?—”

His cock swelled.

“You like it?”

“Yes, fuck yes, Noah I’m…. that… fuck… good!”

I wriggled downward, hands pushing his legs even wider apart to make room for my shoulders.

“I’m going to make it even better,” I bragged as I eased his dick down my throat again. He began to speak in tongues when I sucked his cock. I felt his orgasm pulsing out of him, each spurt coating my throat. I swallowed, grinding my dick into the bed to get some friction. He came and came and came, the tiny plug humming away. I humped the bed like a mad dog, the taste of his cum pushing me over the edge. My balls emptied onto the sheets as I moaned around his prick. He thrust upward several times, then eased out, spunk and spittle coating my lips and chin as we both collapsed into a sticky, breathless heap.

“Good… holy… hell,” Brody gasped, splayed out like a limp noodle under me. I took care in removing the plug, then turning it off. I laid it on the bedding, then dropped small kisses to his spent cock before maneuvering myself up to lie beside him. His gaze fell to me as I spread myself halfway over him. “That was… there are no words.”

“So did you like it?”

“Baby, that was one high-octane ride,” he replied before moving over to tangle his legs with mine. “I loved it. I may never be able to walk again since my legs are now putty.”

I stole a kiss. “I think my foot is in a cum puddle.”

“Wow, that was romantic.” He nipped playfully at my shoulder.

“Want to hear something even more romantic?”

“I’m not sure my romance meter won’t burst, but go ahead and hit me with your glorious, passionate, love talk.”

“Someone has to wash the plug.”

He laughed so hard his eyes watered. I pulled him in close, grinning like the fool falling head over heels that I was. If only this moment could last forever…