“Okay.”Disappointment and relief battled for supremacy, and relief won out.Despite that line about fucking, Tyler really had very little idea what he was doing.Starting something now, with his back aching and his head spinning, and about four hours of sleep in the last two days, was probably a bad idea if he was trying to convince Eli to stay more than one night.
Tyler rolled onto his side away from Eli, trying to keep his back straight.
“Do you want help getting those clothes off?”Eli asked softly.
“Nah.”It was cool in the room, with the AC kicked up to sub-arctic levels.And a few layers of clothing between his skin and Eli's might be good, if nothing was going to happen.He forced himself not to curl in a tight ball, as much as he wanted to.Straight spine.And although he'd sworn he wouldn’t act needy or whine at Eli anymore, he couldn't help asking, “Will you sleep in this bed?I mean, just sleeping.”
“Sure.If you want me to.”
“Please.”The word came out a whisper and he wasn't sure if Eli even heard him, but either way, there was a rustling as Eli pulled the covers down, tugging them out from under Tyler.Then Eli stretched out behind him and covered them both.
For a long time, Tyler hovered on the brink of sleep.The ibuprofen kicked in and his body slowly relaxed.But that seemed to just make him more aware of the inches of space between him and Eli.Without being able to see Eli's face, Tyler found that his brain could come up with all kinds of scenarios where Eli was just humoring him, or sorry for him, or...He refused to roll over, but he did push his ass back just enough to brush against Eli's hip.
The little sexy murmur Eli made was reassuring.Tyler didn't even realize until Eli's arm came across his chest that he’d begun shaking again, little fine tremors that came and went.So stupid.Maybe it was neurological, something to do with his back.But the press of Eli's chest against his back and that warm arm around him worked wonders.As Tyler let himself drift in the cool, dark room, he heard Eli's voice, soft in his ear.“Sleep, Ty, I've got you.”
***
Tyler woke to a host of unfamiliar sensations.He wasn't exhausted.His back was barely twinging.And plastered against his ass was a warm, wonderfully male body, all sleep-heavy and relaxed, from the thigh that lined his own to the arm draped around his waist.For a moment he basked in pleasure-drenched happiness, and then the route he'd taken to get here flashed before him and he tensed, and then moaned.
“That wasn't a good sound,” Eli murmured from behind him.“Painful?”
“No.Not that.Just remembering...”
“Yeah.Rough day.”
“The worst.”
Tyler felt the brush of Eli's lips against his neck and then over the rim of his ear.Eli's hand began to stroke soft, warm circles on his chest.Tyler shuddered in response.That wasEli, touching him.Tyler was caught between wanting to return the touch and not moving for fear of making Eli stop.He reached back slowly, and slid his hand down from Eli’s hip, his fingertips brushing from soft cotton boxer-briefs over the hem to the fuzz of fine hair on skin.He lingered, just touching Eli’s thigh, achingly aware of Eli’s breath against his shoulder.
Eli murmured, “Worst means it has to get better from here on out.”
“You could say th-that.”Tyler wasn't sure if he was laughing or crying, but his wobble made Eli tighten the arm across his chest
“Hush,” Eli whispered into his hair.“It's done.It'll be all right.How do you feel?Do you need anything?”
Tyler rolled over in his arms and moved closer, sliding his hand into Eli's curly hair.“Make me forget.Make me feel good.”
Eli responded to Tyler's fervent kiss but when they separated, his expression seemed sad.“Is that what you want me for?”
Tyler almost said yes, as loudly as he could.But something made him hesitate and run his words back through his mind.He paused, and said more slowly, “No.I mean, I do hope you will, um.Yeah.But I need you for...everything.”Damn it, he was an athlete, not a poet.But for Eli, he wanted to say this right.“I just need you.I thought the worst thing in my life was standing up and telling the whole country that I quit the Olympic team.But it's not.The worst thing was before that, when you gave up on me, when you said you were moving out and leaving me to fuck myself up, because you couldn't stand me anymore.”
Eli started the kiss this time, and Tyler was just learning his mouth, his taste, when he pulled back.Tyler whimpered in protest and Eli smiled at him.“I never gave up on you, dummy.I was scared.”
“I'm sorry?”
“It's okay.You're here now.”
Minutes later, Tyler took a breath to ask, “You're not still going on that road trip…are you?”
“Not a chance.”Eli's hands dug into his ass in a satisfying way.
Tyler arched into it.“Are you going to say 'I told you so' a lot?”
“Do I have to?”Eli slid his tongue into the hollow of Tyler's jaw and Tyler shivered, pulling him closer.Their erections brushed between them and Tyler moaned.
Eli nipped his ear and then whispered into it, “And I never wanted you to fuckyourself, up or otherwise.If you want to get fucked, that’s my job.”
“Holy shit.”Tyler’s dickachedand he wanted Eli so bad his vision blurred and if Eli kept saying things like that this was going to be a very short fuck.He slid down the bed enough to put his mouth on Eli's chest, to nuzzle against the soft brown curls there and suck first one nipple and then the other between his lips.He'd only had a couple of boyfriends before, and most of the sex had been quick and fumbling, but he'd been dreaming of this forever.Eli writhed and moaned in a gratifying way as Tyler let himself kiss and taste the smooth tanned skin that had been off limits for so long.But when Tyler brushed his lower on Eli’s stomach, Eli grabbed his head and restrained him.
