“Touché,” she replies, pointing at him like he made an excellent point.

  “Shall we go with the alien spawn then?” I ask.

  “Are you calling your sister an alien again?” Mom inquires, entering the kitchen with a little bit more vigor than Isla but still looking dead on her feet.

  “If the probe fits,” Isla says, making us all laugh.

  Mom pours a cup of coffee for herself, then pours the rest into a travel thermos to keep warm so she can start another pot.

  “Are you enjoying yourself so far?” Mom checks with Gabe when she joins us.

  “So far, it’s been a great visit,” he tells her with a genuine smile.

  “I’m glad,” she replies, beaming at him. “If you need anything, please let me know. I want you to feel like this is your home too.”

  “Is it sad to say this already feels more like home than my parents’ house ever did?” he asks her quietly.

  With how my mom’s face flinches the tiniest amount, it’s obvious to me that Gabe’s words are breaking her heart, but she does a good job of covering it up and not clueing him into how she’s affected.

  “Of course not. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” She places her hand on Gabe’s, and he stares at it for a minute. “Just know that you are loved and welcome here.”

  He offers her the slightest smile. “Could I have another one of those mom hugs?” he requests, and she moves in to wrap her arms around him without missing a beat.

  Seeing him so at ease with my family warms my heart, but it also makes me slightly murderous. How dare his family hurt him so deeply. The two people who are supposed to love you unconditionally from the day you are born until the day you die are your parents, and his didn’t do that. I know there is a special place in hell for people like them.

  “Now, who’s ready for some breakfast?” Mom asks, and we all shoot up our hands. She shakes her head with a big smile. “I’ll make lots.”

  While Mom cooks, the rest of us sit at the table, catching up on things we’ve missed over the past few months. We laugh a ton, and it feels so good it makes me want to pray to whichever deity will listen to grant me a draft from Michigan.

  I already miss my family like crazy just being away at school. I don’t want to move even farther away from them. I also don’t want to move away from Gabe. Maybe I could talk him into following me once he graduates, but that would mean leaving him behind for a year. That option isn’t ideal. I could go a few days without seeing him. We already do that. But months? I don’t think my heart could take that kind of distance. Or my dick if I’m being honest.

  “We’re going to start gingerbread houses in about an hour,” Mom tells us as we’re cleaning up. “And, Marigold, I want you to participate! No more holing up in your room all alone. You know what Christmas means to this family.”

  Marigold sighs dramatically but nods. “Whatever,” she grumbles under her breath while walking out of the kitchen.

  “How come the youngest is always the most mouthy?” Dad asks with a look of pure confusion on his face.

  “Probably because they learn it from the older siblings,” I tell him, and he sighs.

  “So, what you’re saying is I’m fucked since she had you three as role models?”

  I laugh but nod and pat him on the shoulder. “Sorry, old man, but you’re going to have your hands full with that one, and you’ve still got four more years before she goes off to college.”

  He groans. “Don’t remind me.”

  “Do you mind if I sneak away to have a shower?” Gabe asks.

  “Let me show you where everything is,” I insist, although I have ulterior motives for helping him.

  Once he grabs a change of clothes, I show him to the bathroom, locking the door behind me.

  “We can’t have shower sex,” Gabe whispers, and I shrug.

  “We’re just conserving water, baby. My parents should be thanking me,” I tell him, taking small steps toward him, bringing a hand to his face, and leaning in for a kiss.

  “I’ll never be able to show my face without being the shade of a tomato,” he argues.

  I pout as I step back. “Is this a hard pass for you?” I question, and he nods with a frown.

  “For now, anyway. Maybe one day I’ll be more adventurous. I’m sorry.”

  I shake my head. “No. You don’t have any reason to be sorry. I promise I’ll always respect your boundaries. But know that the moment I get you alone in my bedroom again, I’m fucking your brains out.”

  He laughs, and I let myself out of the bathroom before I can’t control myself any longer. I head straight to my room to take a couple of deep breaths and get my throbbing cock under control. I don’t need my family to see how horny I am for my boyfriend right now. I consider jerking off but decide better of it since I won’t be able to clean up after with Gabe in the bathroom. So, I sit on my bed and focus on breathing and recalling legal terminology from my class. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long for my dick to deflate and my heart to stop racing.

  It’s crazy what Gabe does to me, but I wouldn’t change anything.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  GABRIEL

  Chase’s family is the nicest group of people I’ve ever met, and I’m a little sad when we have to say goodbye. I’m actually going to miss them, especially Hannah. I’ve never met someone who is so easy to talk to. She actually cared what I had to say. Besides my friends and Nana, I’ve never really had anyone like that until Chase.

  “Don’t be a stranger,” Hannah tells me, giving me one last bear hug.

  “I won’t,” I promise her.

  Chase loads up our bags, and after a few more hugs and goodbyes, we’re on our way back to Green Spring.

  “I told you they would love you,” Chase says.

  I nod with an easy smile. “And you were right.”

  “What did you think about them?”

  “They’re amazing,” I tell him with a big grin. “I love how welcoming they are. Your siblings are also hilarious. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.”

  “They’re the best.”

  The drive feels shorter on the way home, and maybe it’s because I don’t have this weight of anxiety in my chest this time.

  “Would you like to spend the night with me?” Chase asks as we pass the ‘Welcome to Green Spring’ sign. “Rio isn’t due back until tomorrow, and Hendo is with his family until who knows when.”

  “So, we’d have the whole place to ourselves?” I inquire.

  “Just you and me, baby.” He winks at me. “So, you can be as loud as you want.”

  My cheeks heat, and my cock hardens in my pants.

  “Let me text the guys so they’re not worried when I don’t show up,” I tell him. “Don’t need them sending out a search party.”

  He chuckles. “It really would be a mood killer to have the cops show up when I’m balls deep inside you.”

  I laugh, but it’s huskier than normal. My cock is now painfully hard as I send off the text, letting my friends know where I’ll be and that I won’t be responding to any messages until tomorrow. Once the message is sent, I put my phone on silent and pocket it.

  “I’m all yours for twenty-four hours,” I tell him. “Anything you can think of to pass the time?”

  The smile he offers me is damn near devilish. “I have a few ideas up my sleeve.”

  “Then take me home, handsome, and let it be known I expect to be thoroughly entertained,” I state, making him laugh.

  “I’ll make sure not to disappoint you,” he assures me.

  When we arrive at his apartment, the instant our bags hit the floor, Chase has me in his arms, smashing his lips to mine.

  “I’ve wanted you so fucking badly these past couple of days,” he says against my lips. “Next time, we should book a hotel room.”

  I chuckle at the insane idea. “There is no way your parents would allow that.”

  “You’re not wrong. Maybe I’ll just have to teach you to be quiet so I don’t have to go so long without your body again.”

  I smile at him and shrug. “We’ll see. Now, I was promised entertainment. Show me what you got, big boy,” I goad him.

  He growls, smashing his lips to mine again. His tongue immediately spears between my lips, dancing with mine. He pushes me up against the wall, thrusting his hips forward, his hard cock pressing into me. I let out a groan of desire and thrust my hips into his leg.

  “Do you feel what you do to me, baby?” he asks, breaking the kiss and nipping at my neck.

  “The same thing you do to me,” I reply breathlessly.

  “I need to be inside you, baby,” he pleads.

  “Then take me,” I tell him, devouring him with a kiss.

  His hands grip my ass tightly, and he hoists me into his arms. My legs instantly wrap around his torso, and I gasp when he thrusts against me.

  “Fuck, I can’t even think straight right now. If I had supplies, I’d fuck you up against this wall. I’d have you screaming and panting for me this instant.” He growls and nips at my neck, causing my cock to throb in the confines of my pants.

  “Too many clothes,” I murmur breathlessly.

  Chase laps at my neck, then nods and sets me down, grabbing my hand as soon as my feet touch the floor.

  “Let’s go to my room. That way, as soon as we’re naked, I can have you.”

  I follow him, practically running to keep up with him. Damn these short legs.

  As soon as we are in his room, his hands and mouth are on me again, and we start to strip out of our clothes.

  We kick out of our shoes at the same time and while we undress, I stumble several times since my brain is foggy with desire. I need to have him inside me now.

  We’ve talked about it a bunch of times, but the moment hasn’t felt right. And with Chase having been gone so much for football, there hasn’t really been time. So, we’ve mostly stuck to blowjobs, hand jobs, and frotting. Now, there is no rush, and we can take our time and do whatever the hell we want.

  And I want…

  … no, I need him inside me tonight.

  I’m desperate to have his cock throbbing inside my tight channel as he fucks me so hard it makes me forget my own name. I’ve never wanted anyone as badly as I want Chase.

  We are a fumbling mess as we rid ourselves of our clothes, both of us desperate to be naked as soon as possible, but at the same time, we don’t want to stop kissing or groping each other, making things more challenging than they would normally be. With Chase’s help, I’m the first one naked, my clothes lying in a pile on the floor. Needing Chase to be, I fumble with his jeans button while he lifts his hand behind his head to pull his shirt off. My fingers are shaky, and it takes me a bit longer to get it open, but as soon as it pops free, I work the fly down, then grab the waistband of his jeans and boxers, pushing them down at the same time. Chase shimmies his hips for me and kicks out of the clothes the instant they hit his ankles. With balance I’m not sure I would possess at this moment, he lifts a foot to remove his sock, then does the same with the other.

  We’re both naked, our breaths heavy with desire. And you’d think we would jump onto the bed to fuck, but we both take a moment to admire each other. Chase stares at me with the same admiration he does every time he sees me naked.

  He leans and kisses me slowly this time, and I melt into him. This man has a way of kissing that tells me without words just how much I mean to him.

  With gentle hands, Chase removes my glasses and places them on the nightstand, making everything a little blurry.

  “I don’t think I’m ever going to get over how fucking perfect you are,” he murmurs, his right hand grazing over my side from my ribs to my hip. “I’ve never felt this way with anyone. It was always just physical in the past, but it’s different with you. I see a future with you, which might seem fucking insane for a twenty-year-old to say, but it’s true. I don’t care that we’ve only known each other for a short time. When you walked into my life, I instantly felt it. I knew there was something special about you, and I was desperate to get to know you better. Even from day one, it was always more than just physical. Sure, I still wanted to fall into bed with you. I am a young guy, after all.”

  I laugh at his silly joke, but it makes breathing a little easier. The emotion of this moment is almost suffocating, but not in a negative way. I’ve never had anyone say such sweet words to me, and it’s a bit overwhelming. But I don’t want him to stop.

  “But I wanted something more than sex with you. I think I even would have settled for friendship because there was this voice in the back of my head screaming that I needed you in my life, in whatever capacity that might be. I’m completely thankful you agreed to more than just friendship.” Even though his face is fuzzy, I can still tell his smile is filled with love. I know for a fact no one has ever looked at me the way he does.

  “You know how nervous I was to take a chance on you,” I tell him, taking a step closer and placing my hand on his neck. My fingers play with his hair a little as I try to find the right words. “I put you in a box because you were a jock. I figured that because we came from two different worlds, there could be no way we’d actually work. There was also this fear that you didn’t really want me. And even if you did, it would only be for a night or two. I didn’t want to risk my heart getting broken. I know now you aren’t the kind of guy I feared you would be.

  “I also figured out along the way that I had a negative view of sports because of my father. It was never really sports that I hated, it was my dad and the way he viewed sports. It was his fucked-up thinking that I hated, and I twisted that negativity and put it onto all sports and anyone who enjoyed them. But you’ve taught me I was wrong. You helped me take so many negative memories from my past and replace them with better ones. I probably won’t ever be as into sports as you are, but I see the joy that you do now. You’ve changed me for the better. There isn’t any way I can ever truly thank you for that.”

  “You don’t have to thank me,” he assures me, resting his forehead on mine.

  When we first arrived at his apartment, I knew we would end up naked, but I wasn’t planning on baring my soul like this. But it feels right, and Chase’s honest words ease the fear inside me. I’m still not positive we are going to be able to make things work after this school year ends, but I want to try. Because what we are building is worth fighting for.

  “I want you inside me,” I whisper, tilting my chin and smiling when his lips touch mine.

  With gentle hands, he guides me to the bed, and I already know that tonight is going to be different. We aren’t just going to fuck. We’re going to make love, and that’s a first for me. Sex is something we can get from anyone, but this connection, this love, is something that doesn’t come around often. I vow to cherish this moment. Even if we do end up not working out in the long run, I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I will never forget tonight.

  When the back of my thighs hit the bed, Chase helps me lay down. He follows, hovering over me and kissing me gently. His cock sits heavy on mine, but he isn’t grinding into me. He’s taking his time, showing me with his body how much he cares for me.

  I’ve always been a firm believer that actions speak louder than words, and Chase is the prime example of how someone should act in a relationship. He uses all the right words, but he does better than that—he shows me every day what I mean to him, whether it’s holding my hand in public or sending me DoorDash when I’m holed in my room studying. Or, like right now, he’s telling me he loves me, but he’s also using his body to prove it to me. He could easily be rushing this so he can get inside me and fuck me until he comes, but he’s taking his time. I’m not just an easy fuck to him. I’m his boyfriend—the man he loves—and holy shit, does that feel amazing.

  Chase’s lips leave mine, but they don’t leave my body. They trail kisses along my jawline, down my neck, and across my torso. He pauses at my nipple and laps at it before sucking the bud between his lips, his teeth grazing over the sensitive spot, causing my cock to spasm. I’ve never had someone pay my nipples much attention in the past, and I’m quickly learning they are a huge turn-on for me.

  After my attentive quarterback has thoroughly explored my chest, he continues his path downward. Goose bumps erupt all over my body when he tickles my V with his tongue, then blows on the area.

  Chase has always been an unselfish lover, but tonight, he’s really pulling out all the stops.

  When he finally gets to my throbbing cock, I’m expecting him to swallow me down, and I can’t help but jut my hips toward him. To my dismay, he buries his nose in my groin and takes a deep inhale. “Fuck, you smell so good,” he notes.

  I’m not sure how good I smell after spending a couple of hours in the car, but I’ll take his word for it all the same. Who am I to tell him he’s wrong? If he gets off on my scent, I’m not going to complain.

  Just when I think he’s going to blow me, he takes another surprise detour and pushes my legs up. I whimper, but it’s in anticipation of what is to come. My cock throbs, feeling the same build-up I am.

  Oh shit. Is Chase about to do what I think he’s about to do? I had a shower this morning, and I always pay close attention to every inch of my body, so I know I’m clean, but a part of me still wants to protest.

  Chase must notice me tense up because he pauses and looks at me. “Are you okay?” he asks.

  “I’ve never had anyone’s mouth there before,” I confess.

  “You’re telling me I get to be the first person to eat this gorgeous ass?” he questions, and I nod. “Fuck, that turns me on so much, baby. I promise I’ll make you feel so good you’ll be begging for me to rim you every night.” I nibble on my lower lip but slowly dip my chin. “If you hate it, I’ll stop, and if you’re entirely against the idea, I won’t force you to do this,” he assures me.

  “I want to try,” I tell him. “I’m just nervous I won’t taste very good.”

  “Let me be the judge of that, baby.” He runs his cheek up the side of my leg, his stubble tickling me a little. “If you absolutely hate it, tell me, and I’ll stop. I promise.”

 

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