“It sounds like there was more going on, and I think there might be someone to blame that doesn’t include the five-year-old in the crash.”
“You really think so?”
“Sure. For starters, why didn’t the airbags deploy during a head-on collision? And you said you remember a guy running from the scene?”
“Yeah, to get help,” Josh reminded him.
“How do you know? Did he ever come back with help?”
“Uh, I’m not sure.”
“Josh, I’m going to get to the bottom of this, but please say you believe me when I tell you that it’s not your fault your parents were killed in a car crash. Please, tell me you understand that.”
Did he? If that wasn’t true, then could he and Riley… Maybe. Fuck, he needed a break from thinking.
“I’m trying to understand,” was all he could say, and Riley nodded as he cupped Josh’s face in his hands, rubbing away the tears with his thumbs. Josh never felt as safe as he did when Riley held him like this. No one would ever understand him like Riley did.
But could they be more than friends? His body was on board, but was his heart?
Riley was right that he’d never find anyone who treated Josh as well as Riley did, or knew him as well as Riley, or even made him as happy as Riley.
Maybe that was enough?
“What if it doesn’t work? What ifwedon’t work?” he whispered to his best friend.
Riley looked deep into his eyes, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “If it doesn’t work, at least we could say that we tried. Nothing will ever ruin our friendship, Josh. We wouldn’t let it.”
Josh smiled and lunged forward into Riley’s arms, tackling him to the floor and settling atop him with only inches of space between their faces.
“Do you promise? I don’t ever want to lose you,” Josh whispered, knowing Riley would always be honest with him.
“I promise. We won’t lose each other. I’d never stop fighting for you.”
Josh knew, down to the marrow in his bones, that hecould trust Riley with anything, even his heart, so he closed the space between them and pressed his lips against Riley's.
This was where he was meant to be.
19
THEIR KISS STARTED SOFT and sweet, a whispered promise between the two of them that this wouldn’t break them.
Riley already knew it couldn’t. What they had was bigger than the both of them. If soulmates were real, he was certain he was kissing his. And the way this kiss lit him up from inside made him even more certain that this was what he’d been looking for his whole life.
He’d never experienced that “spark” people always talked about when he kissed girlfriends, dates or even one-night stands over the years. It was just… nice. There was nothing electric about it.
Josh’s kisses, on the other hand, were making him feel like his body had been plugged into an electrical socket. Enough adrenaline ran through his veins to power him through a marathon, or one of Tobias’ moreinsane workouts.
This workout would be far more satisfying than any he’d ever done.
Smooshed underneath Josh’s hard body, his hands slowly explored everywhere he could reach. Riley let his tongue slightly graze Josh’s lip, asking for entrance.
Josh welcomed him, their tongues meeting softly between kisses. A soft groan broke the silence, Riley not sure who made the noise because he’d never connected so completely with another person, and then Josh deepened the kiss.
Josh was hard as steel as he lightly rolled his hips against Riley, their hard cocks rubbing against each other through their clothes.
Riley wrapped his legs around Josh, pulling him harder against him, and suddenly they were rolling on the ground wrestling like animals. Clothes were ripped off piece by piece until Riley finally felt the comfort of Josh’s skin against his own. Chest rubbing against chest, legs tangled together, hips grinding in a rhythm that had Riley racing toward his release. Josh couldn’t hold back, either, and they moved together until they were both gripping each other, their spend releasing between their bodies, mixing together across their abs.
The release didn’t stop them from kissing, and they continued moving against each other until their come started to cool and grow sticky between them.
