Gerard’s laughter starts as a wheeze, building into a full-body convulsion that threatens to shake the couch apart. Drew isn’t far behind, his cackles echoing off the walls loud enough to wake the dead.
“Oh myGod,” Gerard gasps, tears streaming down his face. “Oliver—your shorts—did you?—”
“Shut up.”
“THE STAIN,” Drew howls, clutching his stomach. “IT’S—IT’S RIGHT THERE!”
“I said, shut up!”
“Did you have a good time at the picnic, Captain?” Gerard manages between wheezes. “A really,reallygood time?”
I flip them both off with feeling, one middle finger per laughing hyena, and bolt for the stairs. Their laughter follows me up, growing louder when I stumble on the third step and have to catch myself on the railing.
“Use protection next time!” Drew shouts after me.
“I hate you both!”
“Love you too, Ollie!” Gerard hollers.
My bedroom door crashes shut behind me, and the silence that follows is blissful. I lean against the door, catching my breath, and wait for my heart rate to return to something approaching normal.
It doesn’t. But at least I’m alone now.
I strip off my shirt first, tossing it toward the hamper in the corner. Then I tackle the shorts—the treacherous, incriminating, stain-broadcasting shorts—peeling them down my legs and kicking them away with more force than strictly necessary. My Fruit of the Looms follow, equally ruined, equally damning.
Evidence disposed of. Crime scene cleaned.
I’m about to collapse onto my bed when I catch my reflection in the full-length mirror mounted on the back of my door.
I pause.
I’ve never been shy about my body. Hockey has given me the kind of physique that turns heads—broad shoulders, a defined chest, arms thick with muscle. My legs are my best asset, built for power and speed, and my ass…well. Ryan seemed to appreciate my ass plenty tonight.
But now I’m looking at myself differently. Not with the critical eye of an athlete assessing his conditioning, but with the wondering gaze of someone imagining how he’ll appear to another person. To Ryan.
Where will he touch first?
I trace the thought across my skin, cataloging possibilities. My chest, maybe, with its light dusting of dark hair that trails down toward my navel. My shoulders, broad enough to dwarf his smaller frame. My stomach, where the muscles flex and shift with every breath.
Lower.
My cock stirs at the thought, beginning its inevitable rise to attention. I watch it happen in the mirror, the thickening length,the way it curves slightly to the left as it hardens. Ryan’s never seen me like this. Ryan’s never seenanyonelike this.
What will his face look like the first time he sees my cock dripping with precome? Sees my balls rolling because he’s staring at them with lust and need.
The questions send another pulse of blood southward, and I’m fully hard now, my erection jutting out from my body. I could take care of it. It would be easy—I’m still keyed up from earlier, still buzzing with the memory of Ryan’s hands on my ass, his body shuddering beneath mine, the sound of my name torn from his throat.
But no. I don’t want to get off again tonight. Not alone, anyway. What happened with Ryan was special—our first time experiencing pleasure together, even if it was through layers of clothing—and I want to hold on to that. Let it be enough. Let it carry me through until the next time.
I tear my gaze away from the mirror and cross to my bed, flopping face-first onto the mattress without bothering to pull back the covers. The cool sheets feel good against my overheated skin, and I let out a long breath, willing my body to calm.
I close my eyes and let the exhaustion wash over me. The events of the evening replay behind my eyelids: the picnic, the sandwiches, Ryan singing along to the radio in my Jeep with a voice that made the angels sing.
The way he looked at me under the stars. The way he tasted when I kissed him. The way his body felt moving against mine.
Sleep tugs at the edges of my consciousness, and I let it pull me under. My erection throbs once, twice beneath me, then begins to subside as relaxation overtakes arousal.
I fall asleep with a smile on my face.
