After The Snap (28 page)

After the kiss Colby rolled off him and stretched out on his left side. They snuggled together and drifted off. He woke at some point in the middle of the night and stumbled to the bathroom to take a piss. When he came back into the bedroom, Colby was on his side facing him. He watched Colby for a while, his insides twisting as he thought of having Colby with him all of the time. This was what he wanted more than anything, and he was going to work hard to keep it.

The next morning, he woke smiling. He’d won the game and that had felt amazing after the Monday night loss. Then he remembered that Colby was here and he jumped up, his head spinning a little as he moved to the door. Then he heard talking and slowed, grabbing a pair of shorts, pulling them on before opening the door.

Colby was seated at the table, his computer open. He smiled when he saw Seth but continued speaking to whoever had called.

“Sure, that’s great in practice, but the four-seventy doesn’t account for that type of installment. We need to push back to engineering to provide us with a case study or proof that it will benefit the customer. I’m not going to assume with this. We’ve been burned in the past.”

Seth poured himself some juice and a big glass of water before heading to the bathroom. By the time Colby joined him, he was done with his shower and had consumed both beverages.

“Do you have practice today?” Colby asked.

“No, I do have to go in for a bit, but that’s just to stop by and get a look at my therapy session schedule for the week. I need to make sure my equipment is clean and take care of a few odd items. No practice though. What are you doing today?”

“I was going to look for a place to live.”

“Wait, I thought you were going to be here.” Seth pulled on his underwear as confusion swam through him.

“What about the lease, my name—”

“I own the place. They aren’t apartments, they’re condos. There is no lease.”

“Okay, so you own, but what if—”

“Do you want to live with me?” Seth had to know. What if Colby didn’t feel the same as he did?

“Seth, you know I care about you. I—I like being here, but what if you start hating me? What if you decide you don’t want me here? I can’t—I can’t do that again. When I found out that Neil wasn’t as committed as I was and I had to move out, it was scary. I was homeless and had to find a place. I moved into a shitty apartment and had to live in a crappy place for months. I don’t want to do that here.”

“I’m not going to cheat.”

“Okay, but what if you realize after a few weeks that I’m not exciting enough, or cute enough. What if you find someone else and you’re done with me?”

Seth held out his hand. “Come here.”

Colby hesitated for just a second before moving close, allowing Seth to envelop him in a hug. “I don’t know how to assure you that I’m not going to find someone else. Don’t you get that you’re sexy, sweet, smart, and everything I want in a guy?”

“But you don’t really know me.”

“No, I don’t, and you don’t know me.”

Colby leaned back and shook his head. “That’s what scares me. We hardly know each other and now we’re going to live together. With Neil I knew him before we moved in.”

“But still he cheated,” Seth shot back quickly.

“What does that mean?” Colby’s brows were lifted, his lips pursed together.

“Nothing, everything,” Seth said. “I’m not going to cheat. I’m not going to leave you. I’m not going to get bored with you. I can’t explain it. I want someone in my life and that someone is you.”

“I’m scared.” Colby’s brows were bunched, his teeth sunk into his lower lip. Worry filled his eyes as he stared at Seth.

“I can’t make any guarantees, but I can promise you this. If you decide to leave me, if you want out, I’ll move out and allow you to stay here until you find a place to live.”

“But this is your place. Where will you live?”

“Colby, I don’t want you to worry about where you’ll live if you decide this isn’t working. I want you to understand that I’m not going to screw you over.”

Colby looked down at the floor, his head staying down for a long moment before he looked up again. His eyes were bright with moisture and Seth’s emotions grew almost too big. He felt for Colby, wished he could take away the man’s pain. Colby was too special to treat badly, ever. But the bastard who had cheated on him hadn’t seen it, and now Seth would have to make sure Colby never forgot how great he was.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Because I care about you,” Seth whispered.

Colby lifted up on his toes, his lips close to Seth’s. He lowered, pressing his mouth to Colby’s in a soft brush that made his heart ache. When he pulled back he saw something in Colby’s eyes that made his whole body heat. He knew sex wasn’t the answer for everything, but he wanted to feel Colby’s body pressed against his as they explored their passion fully.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Seth had made love to him. There wasn’t any other way to describe what they’d done. He was still stretched out on the bed, his body recovering as Seth stepped out of the bathroom.

“I want you to go with me,” Seth said.

“That’s not wise.” Colby sat up, letting the covers drop around his legs.

“I want you with me.”

“Seth, you have to stay in the closet at work. If I show up with you, someone will figure it out.”

“We’ll introduce you as a friend.” Seth fell to the mattress and tugged Colby close, his lips trailing down Colby’s neck to his shoulder.

“Are you kidding me?”

“What?” Seth asked.

“I’m very gay. The guys on the team who may have suspicions will know if they see me with you.”

“I want to spend time with you. You just got here and I freaking miss you. I know that seems odd since we’ve only been together a few times, but dammit, I like being with you.”

“Let’s compromise. You drop me at a coffee shop around the corner and then when you’re done come get me. We can go out for lunch.”

“I don’t like the idea of hiding you.”

“Last night you said you weren’t ready to come out,” Colby said.

“I know what I said, but—” Seth pulled away, his gaze on Colby as he shook his head. “I don’t want to let you go.”

“I don’t want you to regret coming out.”

“You’re much more important than football.”

Colby laughed and went up on his knees, leaning his forehead against Seth’s. “When did you decide that?”

“Last night as I was watching you sleep.”

“Listen, how about we just take it slow. I’ll hang out with you today, but I won’t go to the field house with you. We can be friends in public, but we need to make sure you’re not in danger of being discovered. That means you have to behave when we’re in public,” Colby said.

Seth nodded slowly. “I’m okay with that, for now. Go get dressed and we’ll head out. You can sit at the coffee shop and I’ll go to the field house. Then we’ll eat lunch together.”

Colby hopped up and ran into the bathroom. Seth smiled after him before moving to the kitchen. He cleaned their dishes and straightened up a bit before Colby finished in the shower. It was amazing and weird hanging out with Colby. He dropped by the Chargers practice facility and talked to a couple of coaches before texting Colby to tell him that he was heading out to pick him up. Though they didn’t kiss, didn’t hold hands, didn’t hug or cuddle each other, it was the best day he’d ever spent.

He and Colby arranged for his boxes to be placed in storage for six months. It took some arguing, but Seth paid the bill and convinced Colby he needed to save his money if things didn’t work out. Of course he had no intension of things not working. They would make it. There wasn’t another option.

Having Colby in his bed and in his life made him feel like he had everything. They seemed to connect on a level that he’d never connected with anyone else. The next morning Colby headed to work and he headed to practice. He was on top of the world until he exited the practice facility and saw Channing headed his way.

Seth didn’t stop as he walked to his car. Each step brought a new wave of anger that ripped through him. He’d trusted Channing and yes, he took responsibility for having sex with the guy when he should have told him to go to hell. He’d allowed Channing to push him up against that locker and fuck him. At the time, he’d been okay with it, but had he known Channing was married, he wouldn’t have agreed so easily.

“Seth, wait up.”

His heart squeezed as he stopped walking, not because he felt anything for Channing, but he knew this could throw off things with Colby. He would have to tell Colby that Channing was in town.

“I thought we could go grab some dinner tonight,” Channing said.

“How long have you been here waiting for me?” Seth asked.

“Not long. I called and asked when you’d be finished with practice.”

He knew some of the guys had problems with girls trying to find out when they were done with practice, and the person answering the phones knew not to give out those details to girls when they called. But Channing was his old coach and the guys answering the phone wouldn’t see anything wrong with passing on the information.

“I have plans for the evening.”

“Come on, you know I’ll make it worth your time.”

Seth shook his head. “No. There isn’t anything you could do that would make it worth my time.”

“Don’t be that way. You know you want me.”

“You’re assuming too much. I don’t want you.”

Channing move close, his eyes flashing with anger. “Don’t do this.”

“Or what? Your career is over if you say anything, or did you forget what you did? I was young, a virgin, and you had sex with me in the locker room.”

Maybe Seth had taken it too far, but he wasn’t going to allow Channing to bully him into going to dinner, or getting together, or doing anything to damage his and Colby’s relationship.

“Don’t threaten me, I made you and I can unmake you.”

“No Channing, you didn’t make me. And no, you can’t unmake me. Go home, find some other guy to fuck and leave me alone.”

Channing’s face turned red and he stepped even closer. “No one leaves me. Never.”

“I talked to Scott Wester. Just leave me alone, Channing.”

Seth opened the door to his car and slid in behind the wheel. Channing had just moved out of the way when he pulled out of the space and took off. Maybe he’d been wrong to call Channing on his lies, but what could the man really do? He wasn’t on his team and Channing had as much to lose if not more than Seth. Who knows if Channing had sex with underage guys? Not everyone who showed up at the university was eighteen. Hell, he’d been seventeen when he’d arrived at Florida.

Anger blossomed and by the time he was at his place, he was seething. Before he stepped out of his car, he blew out a huge breath and shook his head. He couldn’t allow Channing to ruin what he had with Colby. The few days they’d actually spent together wasn’t long enough for them to overcome any problems Channing caused. Colby already felt insecure about their relationship. He couldn’t imagine how Colby would feel if Channing tried to cause problems.

Seth cleaned his practice gear and started a load of clothes. He vacuumed the floor after dusting. By the time Colby arrived home from work, he had dinner made. The door closed and he expected to see Colby stepping into the room but he didn’t hear anything. Seth leaned out of the kitchen and looked down the hall. Colby was standing with his back against the door, tears leaking out of his eyes.

“Hey, what’s up?” Seth tossed the kitchen towel he was drying his hands with on the floor and stepped into the entryway.

“Sorry, I just…Neil called. He wants me to drop the charges.”

“Come here.” Seth held open his arms and when Colby drew close he wrapped him tight and held him.

Colby blew out a breath and leaned back, his eyes were bright with moisture. “Thank you.”

“Babe, I’ll support you with whatever you want to do.”

“Will you?”

“Of course. I want you to feel safe though. If that means going ahead with it, then I’ll support you through it all. If it means you drop the charges and ignore him, then that’s what you should do.”

“I don’t know why he attacked me. If I knew, maybe I’d understand and not want to press charges, but I don’t understand it. Even tonight, when I asked him why, he couldn’t give a good reason.”

“Do you want a drink before dinner?”

Colby looked up, his gaze connecting with Seth’s. “You made dinner?”

“Yeah, is that okay?”

“Oh my God, no one has ever made dinner for me. Not like this. You made me food?”

The corners of Seth’s lips curved up. “I hope you like it.”

Colby pressed him against the wall, his lips covering Seth’s in a scorching kiss that left him breathless and hard. They separated, his head spinning as he stared at his man.

“Later, after we eat, we can explore that deeper.”

“You bet,” Colby said.

Seth had already set the table and he asked Colby to take a seat. When he placed the food on the table he knew he had to say something about Channing stopping by.

“My old coach came to see me today.”

“The jerk who took advantage of you?”

Seth paused before he took a seat. “I don’t really think of him that way.”

“He shouldn’t have fucked you like that. When we went to my hotel room together, both of us knew what was going to happen. When Channing found you in the locker room, you were at a disadvantage.”

Seth didn’t like hearing what Colby was saying. “It wasn’t like I was helpless.”

“He was your coach, your superior. You don’t have sex with people who are under your charge. You don’t do it in the military, you don’t do it in jobs, and you certainly don’t do it in college sports.”

Seth settled in his seat and picked up his fork before setting it back down. “I’ve never really thought about how uneven the relationship was. I knew it was off, but God, I guess I just wanted something. I was impressed with him, and he offered me something I’d never had.”

“You aren’t to blame. You’ve told him to leave you alone, and now he should.”

“I hope he does. I really don’t want him to cause problems between us.”

“Babe, he won’t.”

“He wanted me to have sex with him today.”

Colby’s eyes grew wide as he sat back. “Whoa, did he say that?”

“He said he would make it worth my while.”

Colby shook his head. “I’m sorry he showed up.”

Seth huffed out a laugh. “It’s funny, both of us have issues with our exes. Let’s eat, and then we can spend the night holding each other.”

Colby shot him a lopsided smile as his eyes filled with heat. “What did you make us? It smells delicious.”

“It’s chicken with mushrooms, broccoli, and a ginger sauce. I have wild rice along with some sweet potato. It may not be what you’re used to eating, but I can only afford to eat burgers and fries once or twice a week.”

“It sounds great.”

They ate in silence for a while before Colby glanced up and met his gaze. Seth stood and moved to the seat next to Colby.

“I want to be closer to you.”

“I like you close.”

“Do you think Neil will try to cause you any problems?” Seth asked.

“I don’t think he can. He lives in Atlanta and he doesn’t know where I’m living out here. He won’t be able to find me so what can he do?”

“Call your work and be an ass?” Seth suggested.

“No, he wouldn’t do that. I don’t think he would. He’s a jerk, but I think he just wants this to die out so he doesn’t lose his job or something like that.” Colby took a bite of his food and swallowed. “What about Channing?”

Seth swallowed and thought about what Channing would do if he knew Seth was basically living with Colby. “He would be pissed if he knew you were living here.”

“What do you think he would do?”

Seth shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Colby took another bite and then another, moaning after he swallowed. “You’re an excellent chef. I think you could do well if you lose your day job.”

“People like gay chefs.”

“They do.”

Seth chuckled and reached out, caressing Colby’s leg. “Maybe I could be a naked chef.”

“I don’t know about that. You’re way to alluring to be walking around naked. I think people wouldn’t be able to keep their hands off you.”

“So you think I’m sexy.”

“Seth, you’re so fucking sexy it’s dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

“I risk losing my heart,” Colby said.

“I think mine is already gone.”

Colby set his fork down and turned to face Seth. He placed one hand on Seth’s cheek before leaning in to brush their lips gently together. Colby didn’t pull away, instead he leaned his forehead against Seth’s.

“I’ll help you clean up out here, then let’s shower and head to bed. Are you okay with that?” Colby asked.

Seth nodded, not trusting his voice. Spending time with Colby was near magical. They’d spent Sunday evening together, most of Monday, and now they were together again. He wanted even more. What would Colby do when he had his break from football? It wasn’t as long as everyone imagined. He had to watch games, study plays, workout, have meetings, do some team bonding, and fix any problems that cropped up during the year. He’d have a few months to relax, but taking it easy for too long would make him soft and that’s the last thing he could afford.

After making love to Colby, he stretched out and listened to Colby’s breathing even out. His chest tightened as he lay there thinking about what having Colby in his life would mean. They got along well, though they hadn’t been together that long. What made love real anyway? What he’d had with Channing hadn’t been love. The man had taken advantage of their situation, but Seth didn’t really feel like he’d been taken advantage of. He’d wanted to have sex, and Channing had impressed him. Now, about a year later, it was still twisted in his mind.