Save of the Game (8 page)

“How is this better advice?” Lane shouted from the background. “I told him to start with a hand job. You’re jumping ahead.”

“Ignore him.” Jared sighed. “Anyway, what I meant was, it doesn’t mean you’ve been lying to yourself for years or anything.”

Riley nodded. That made sense. “It takes me a long time to be attracted to people. Probably why I’ve never been that good with hookups or whatever.”

“How about Ethan?”

“Oh, he doesn’t know either,” Riley said immediately, then realized how that sounded. “I mean, he’s never been with a guy before either.” Riley cleared his throat. “The kissing is fine. I think it’s the part where we both got. Umm. Into it?” Riley’s face was flaming. “Fuck man. I never talk about this shit.”

“Nah. I get it. But he was into it. Yeah?”

“Yeah. But he seemed kind of jumpy. He kind of freaked out when we were both, uh… obviously enjoying it?” Riley walked into the kitchen. This conversation made him wish he liked hard liquor, but it wasn’t at the level of awkward where drinking Ethan’s whiskey seemed like a good idea. Maybe if Lane got back on the line, Riley would consider it.

“You mean you both got hard, and he freaked out?”

Riley resisted the urge to giggle wildly. “Yeah. So we stopped.”

“Because you liked it, or because it was weird?”

“Both.” Riley thought about that and grabbed himself a Coke. Their fridge had a sharp distinction between the Coke and Pepsi, with the coconut water in between like a demilitarized zone. “For me, anyway. I don’t know about him, and I guess that’s my problem.”

“Only one way to find out.”

“What’s that?” Riley asked, hearing the rain start up outside. “Get him drunk?”

“Sure. Or you could… you know. Just ask him,” Jared suggested, a smile in his voice. “My only word of advice? Watch out when it’s your teammate. I’ve seen this go bad a few times.”

“You have?”

“Yeah. I mean, come on. This is a sport played by a bunch of guys who hang around each other and compete all the time. You tell me you don’t think sex gets mixed up with that, and I’ll make you talk to Lane about feelings again.”

“Please don’t,” Riley said, and Jared laughed, even though he probably hadn’t really been kidding.

“It sounds to me like someone needs to take charge of this whole thing,” Jared said, which Riley already knew. Maybe he just needed to hear someone else say it. “Trust me on this one. I had to do that with Courtnall here, and he already knew he wanted my dick.”

In the background Lane said something that Riley couldn’t make out, but whatever it was, it made Jared laugh.

“Thanks,” Riley said. He thought about it for a minute. “Could we pretend we never talked about this, though?”

“Duh.” Jared’s droll voice turned sympathetic. “Good luck, Riley. I think you’ll have your hands full. Like I do.”

“If you’re lucky,” Lane called out, and then, because he was Lane, “I mean, hopefully he’ll be hung or whatever. Like I am.”

“Please make him stop talking,” said Riley. “Thanks, Shore.”

“Already on it and no problem. Later, Hunter.”

Riley ended the call, then went to his bedroom and sat down at his desk. He flipped open his laptop and unbuttoned his jeans with one hand. Research. That’s what he needed to do.

Suddenly the sky gave a loud
boom
of thunder, and the power went out. Luckily he had a folder of downloaded video files and a fully charged battery to keep him entertained.

THE POWER
was still out when Ethan got home a few hours later. He was soaking wet, and Riley could see the tattoos through the thin white shirt he was wearing. Riley wanted to shove him against a wall and do all those things he’d been learning about until his laptop battery died.

Ethan changed clothes, and they ate sandwiches in the darkened living room. They didn’t have any candles. Riley had a safety flare in the Honda, but that didn’t seem like a good replacement for a candle.

The lack of distraction meant the tension between them was the only thing they had to focus on, and it made Riley quiet and Ethan fidgety. Not that that was a huge difference in their normal behaviors, but the charged atmosphere made everything seem much more pronounced.

Riley took the remains of their dinner into the kitchen, then went back into the living room. He was supposed to be in charge here. Right.

“Is your laptop charged? We could watch a movie or something,” Ethan suggested. “You know. On Netflix.”

“It’s not. I was using it when the power went out, and the battery’s dead. Also, dude, you need the Internet for Netflix. And power for the Internet. It’s not magic.”

“Oh yeah. Right.” Ethan pushed up to his feet and rocked back on his heels. His gaze darted around like he was desperate to find something to focus on. He was tense, and his wiry frame was fairly vibrating with energy.

“I was doing some research,” Riley said, stepping closer.
It’s like being in goal. Show no fear. But maybe stop with the clichés before this turns into a motivational sports-movie montage.

“For what?” Ethan didn’t take a step back, but his eyes were very wide.

“Come on.” Riley reached out and took his arm. “I’ll show you.”

“Riley—” Ethan resisted for half a second, then gave him that wild grin that Riley liked so much. “Okay. Yeah. But you’re not holding my hand on the way to the bedroom. Veto.”

He hadn’t been planning on it, but Riley suddenly wanted to do it just because Ethan said not to. Who knew he was so contrary?
Your job is to keep people from scoring goals.
Most people would think that was pretty contrary.

When they were standing in Riley’s darkened room, Ethan went to shut the door.

“Who’s going to walk in on us?” Riley asked, amused. “My roommate?”

“Shut up, Hunter,” Ethan muttered, looking a little sheepish. “You close the door when you make out. Okay? It’s just a rule. You clearly didn’t grow up with two sisters who didn’t knock.”

The idea of Madison walking in on him doing anything was foreign to Riley, namely because he was pretty sure she’d never once come to his bedroom at home. He sure as hell didn’t go to hers—except once when she was sick and the cook sent him up with chicken soup because she was busy preparing for one of his mother’s dinner parties.

“You can close it if you want,” Riley said, moving closer. He was trying not to be nervous, but every time he got close to Ethan, it was like playing his first game all over again.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind if it’s closed or open. I mean, it’s not like—” He stopped and expelled a breath. “I’m talking too much. What the hell? I never get nervous making out. Remember that girl I brought home? Sierra? I was not nervous about that. I was kind of drunk, though. Do we have any whiskey? I could use some. Just a little. Because too much and I won’t be very—why am I still talking?”

“I’m not sure.” Riley pushed him gently toward the bed. “I could give you something else to do with your…. God. I can’t say that,” he muttered, blushing hotly. “Let’s both just stop talking.”

“Good plan,” Ethan agreed solemnly and climbed on the bed.

Riley stretched out on his side next to him, and they started kissing. It was slow and unhurried for about four seconds, and then it wasn’t.

“We’re pretty good at this part,” Ethan told him, making Riley laugh against his mouth. “Don’t you think so?”

“Yeah,” Riley agreed. His hands moved slowly down Ethan’s chest, and he almost lost his nerve at the last minute and stopped at his waist. But then he took Ethan’s shirt off, which had to count for something. Progress.

Riley wished they had more light, so he could look at Ethan’s tattoos—which he was generally interested in. But at the moment, they would just be a distraction.

“Aren’t you going to take
your
shirt off?” Ethan asked, his voice low and husky in a way that made Riley a little dizzy.

“No,” he answered, shifting closer. Ethan’s skin was so
warm
. “You are.”

“Mine’s already off, though.” Ethan huffed a laugh. “You mean I’ll take
your
shirt off. Right. Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Riley held his arms up while Ethan tugged his shirt off, and then they went back to kissing.

Ethan was definitely a good kisser, but he was being way too gentle. That wasn’t their thing at all.

Take charge. Right.

Riley bit him on the mouth. “Bet I can pin you in ten seconds or less.”

“Ow. Fuck you. No way. I’m scrappy.” Ethan crossed his arms over his chest and smirked up at him. “Try it.”

They tussled for a few seconds before Riley got Ethan on his back with his wrists pinned. “Told you,” he said smugly. That time Ethan didn’t kiss him like he was trying to be careful.

His blood rushed hot from their scuffle and from the way Ethan kissed him—like he was trying to throw punches with his mouth. It made Riley a lot more bold, even if he forgot some of the stuff he’d been researching all afternoon. He shifted so his thigh was between Ethan’s legs and lowered on top of him very slowly.

Ethan pulled his mouth away and immediately put his hands on Riley’s shoulders. “This is the part that I—” Ethan expelled a shaky breath. “Sorry. Of course I’m turned on. That’s the point. Right?”

Riley nodded. He carefully pressed his thigh against Ethan’s erection, and Ethan bucked up again like he had on the couch the other night. Riley liked that a lot, so he did it again.

“Should we stop?” Ethan kissed him messily, practically rubbing against Riley’s thigh.

Riley rocked down against him, and his own cock rubbed up against Ethan’s hip. He stared at Ethan, breathing hard. “Why would we do that?”

“Because, man.” Ethan’s voice sounded wild, but he didn’t say anything else.

Riley pulled back a little. “Look. We can stop if you want. I mean, I don’t want to force you to do anything.”

Ethan laughed, though it sounded more like a bark. “I want you to, though,” he muttered and turned his face away.

Riley thought he was turned on before, but it was nothing compared to how he felt hearing Ethan say that. “Umm. Could you maybe say that again?”

“I said, I want you to. I want to keep going, but I… sort of… want….” Ethan closed his eyes. “God, this is embarrassing. The first time I had sex? I couldn’t get the condom on. When the girl tried to help me, I came all over her hand. Luckily I was seventeen, so I just had to wait ten minutes. But still. This is like my curse in life. Embarrassing sex.”

Riley rolled his eyes and kissed him on the side of his neck. “I know you like it when I hold you down. You don’t have to be embarrassed.”

“How do you know that?” Ethan looked up at him, eyes wide, breathing fast. “This is only the third time we’ve done this.”

“Because you liked it the first two times,” said Riley. “I want to hold you down too.”

“I know,” Ethan said smugly. “And I knew that
before
we did this the first time. Aha! Who’s the smart one now, Hunter?”

Riley blinked down at him through a haze of lust and confusion. “How did you know that?”

Ethan’s smirk faded into a sheepish look. “Remember when I borrowed your laptop?”

“You went through my porn folder? Is nothing sacred?” Riley looked up at the ceiling. “Great. Now
I’m
embarrassed.”

“I told you it was a curse,” Ethan muttered, but he moved his hands slowly up Riley’s chest. “I didn’t mean to.”

“You had to have meant to if you saw the ones with the pinning.” Riley’s face was on fire. “That’s a subfolder, man. A
subfolder
.”

“I know. It got me all confused, because the guy looked like me.” Ethan tilted his chin, and his voice turned all sharp and challenging. “That’s why I came in and asked you to kiss me.”

“You didn’t ask. You climbed on me,” Riley reminded him. He started rocking his hips again—less carefully. “Is that what that was about?”

“Yeah. I mean, I get pissed at people who say stupid shit about guys who like guys. Who cares, right? Then I saw that and thought, huh, maybe Riley wants that with me. And I didn’t know what to think, and that made me worried I was a hypocrite or something. And then I just wanted to kiss you.” Now
Ethan
was staring at the ceiling. “So, how’s this compare to all those videos you were watching before I got home?”

Riley gave a helpless laugh. “There was way less talking in the videos.” Riley moved more purposefully and moaned at how good it felt. “I don’t want to stop. But I will if you want me to.”

“I know you would. I don’t want to stop. I just want you to make me take it.” Ethan exhaled slowly. “That wasn’t so bad. There.” He settled back looking pleased with himself. He skimmed his hands down Riley’s sides and settled on his hips. “Do that harder.”

“Okay.” Riley’s eyes were half-closed, and the roar in his ears was so loud, it was almost as if he’d left his windows open and could hear the ocean. “I like how you feel when you move around a lot. And when you—” Riley hissed as Ethan bucked his hips up hard, pulling at Riley’s hips when he did it. “Do that.”

“Hey—” Ethan’s protest was lost in a moan as Riley shifted so they were pressed up against each other. Riley’s cock rubbed up against Ethan’s. “Oh, holy fuck. God bless the Internet.”

Riley put his face in Ethan’s neck and laughed. “Stop. I’m trying to be hot and look like I know what I’m doing.”

“It’s working,” Ethan panted, and Riley watched him as they moved against each other, sparking like matches set to kindling.

Ethan tried to pull against Riley’s grip, but Riley wouldn’t let him, and Ethan moaned loudly. “I think I’m gonna—”

“Yeah,” Riley gasped, hips driving forward harder, even though the friction was starting to turn a little painful. “Me too.”

“Should… maybe it would be easier without our pants on,” Ethan suggested as he twisted beneath Riley. “God. That’s so good, Riley.”

There was no way Riley was going to be able to get his pants off, let alone Ethan’s. “Next time,” Riley said, and that was the last thing he could say in any coherent fashion. They both just went for it, hard and fast.

Ethan was loud when he came, and he wouldn’t stop moving. He twisted and thrashed so much that it threw Riley off his rhythm. He growled in frustration, grabbed Ethan’s shoulders, shoved him down with a harsh “Stay
still
,” and drove hard against Ethan twice more.