Page 73 of Beyond the Hedge Maze

Jesse grabbed Oliver’s hips and turned him around so that his back was pressed up against Jesse’s front. Reaching around him, Jesse grabbed the bottle of shampoo off the shelf fixed to the back wall and poured some directly onto Oliver’s head, using his fingers to massage the soap into Oliver’s scalp.

Oliver closed his eyes and let himself relax, leaning back and resting nearly his full weight onto Jesse. When it was time to rinse out the shampoo, Oliver was no more than jelly, wobbling unsteadily before Jesse wrapped a strong arm around his waist to keep him upright. He briefly turned, tipping his head back and letting the suds from the shampoo run down his back. When the suds ran clear, he went back to leaning his weight against Jesse.

He rolled his neck from side to side to release more tension from the day, and Jesse quickly took advantage, his lips trailing a path down Oliver’s neck. Oliver softly moaned while Jesse’s hands continued to wander. Even with how exhausted he was, he wanted to soak in this moment, pliable under the hands of this man that he loved. He could feel Jesse’s cock hardening against his back as his own thickened.

Jesse’s voice was low in his ear. “Can I take care of that?”

Oliver nodded, and Jesse reached around him again for the body wash that sat alongside the shampoo. He lathered the thick liquid between his palms, then ran his hands up and down Oliver’s sides, his arms, and across his chest, like he knew to take his time. That Oliver needed him to take care of him.

When Jesse finally took Oliver’s cock in hand, he audibly sighed. An heady exhale, a release of worry, not for forever, but at least for the rest of the night. Jesse’s strokes were slow and measured. Every other pass, he’d run the palm of his hand over the head of Oliver’s cock and bring it back down with a little more pressure. It was rhythmic in a way, how Jesse worked him over, the sweet words whispered into the side of Oliver’s neck, melodic. Oliver shuddered through his release, grateful that Jesse was supporting him.

After he caught his breath, Oliver turned in Jesse’s arms. He yawned, his eyes scrunching closed, completely relaxed. He was close enough to see the details of Jesse’s face even without his glasses. His eyelashes were dark, eyes warm, water dripping down his cheeks. And Oliver decided to tell Jesse exactly what he was thinking. “I love you.”

Jesse used both hands to swipe Oliver’s hair off of his forehead and settled them on the sides of his face. He tilted Oliver’s head up and kissed him, a barely there press of their lips before he responded, “I love you, too.” They kissed again, and when Oliver reached for him to return the favor, Jesse’s erection unattended, Jesse lightly stopped him. “Don’t worry about it. Why don’t you go to bed? I’m going to finish washing up.”

“Are you sure?” He yawned again, and Jesse rolled his eyes.

“Yes, cariño. I’ll be right there.”

Oliver left the warm steam-filled bathroom for his bedroom. He got dressed, throwing on a soft and worn t-shirt with a pair of pajama pants, then crawled into bed. He was almost asleep when Jesse finally emerged. His cheeks were flushed, a towel wrapped around his waist, not at all embarrassed that he had obviously finished himself off in the shower.

Oliver let his eyes wander, appreciating that this man was all his, that he was crawling into his bed, would wake up with him in the morning, and would hopefully continue to do so every morning after.

In the midst of Oliver’s noticeable ogling, Jesse started to laugh, the whites of his teeth contrasting against his tan skin.

“What are you laughing at?”

Jesse gestured to the pink shirt Oliver had put on for bed. “Spice Girls? Really? Didn’t think they’d be quite to your taste.”

Jesse grabbed a pair of Oliver’s boxers from the dresser on the other side of the room and slid them on. He flipped off the light and scrambled to join Oliver in bed. The room was already beginning to grow chilly again, and just to spite him for making fun of his shirt, Oliver pressed his cold toes against Jesse’s leg.

“Firstly, this shirt is vintage. Secondly, don’t you ever disrespect Mel C in our home ever again.”

Jesse was beaming, undeterred by Oliver’s cold feet. “Our home?”

“Well, you said you were staying right? It doesn’t have to be…”

“Nope. You already said it. No takes backs. Our home.”

Oliver lifted Jesse’s arm and put himself under it, settling his head on Jesse’s chest. “You’re an idiot.”

“I’m your idiot.” A kiss was pressed into Oliver’s wet hair. “Wow, if only I could go back in time and tell fifteen-year-old Jesse that we’d be living in a castle with the cute, blue-eyed artist boy. He’d have come in his pants.” The laugh that escaped Oliver’s mouth quickly turned into a yawn, and Jesse tugged up the quilt past Oliver’s shoulders. “Okay, you, go to sleep. We’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

“We’ve got more than a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

“One day at a time, cariño.”

Chapter 29

Jesse

Present

Jesse swiped the back of his hand over his brow and collapsed onto the grass. He closed his eyes and patted the ground around him, looking for the water bottle that fell out of his hands when he hit the ground. Never in his life had he been so appreciative of the cool, wet, October air of England.

The light darkened behind his lids as a large shadow fell over his body. The water bottle he had been looking for was dropped harshly onto his abdomen. “You’re out of shape.”

He kicked his foot out in front of him, trying to reach his provoker. “Shut the fuck up. I’m not out of shape, you’re just in stupid shape.”