Page 18 of A Surprise for the Holidays
“If I knew the timer was counting down on my career, I’d probably be the same,” Bailey said softly. “Soccer’s been my whole life since I was a kid. I reckon you were the same, right?” AJ nodded, and Bailey continued. “The adrenaline rush from a game is addictive. Being a part of a team is comforting. Having that taken away…” he trailed off and blew out a breath, shaking his head. He’d taken down his ever-present man bun earlier, and the light brown waves of hair flowed over his shoulders, swaying with the movement of his head. AJ’s fingers itched to see if it was as silken as it looked. “So, yeah, mate. I get it. But…you’re still in the game. I know you’re not playing, but you’re teaching us stuff that’s helping us win.” He smirked. “When your striker gets his head out of his arse and listens, anyway.”
AJ couldn’t explain what spurred him to lean forward, cupping Bailey’s strong jaw with one of his own beefy palms and placing his lips upon the younger man’s.
But, even so, the kiss wasperfect.
It was tentative and sweet, and he felt the moment that Bailey’s rigid shock melted away. His striker made a surprised, pleased sound at the back of his throat before kissing him back, opening his lips, silently encouraging AJ to do the same. Then their tongues met, slow and exploratory, and fireworks burst in AJ’s brain at how good and right it felt to be doing this.
To be doing this with Bailey Peters.
In that moment, Bailey wasn’t his subordinate. He wasn’t the cocky young player he’d spent weeks trying to tame. Instead, he was the man who had taken pity on him when his life had unravelled. He was the friend AJ had begrudgingly made when he’d felt lonely and lost. He was his daughter’s second favourite person in the entire world, and possibly AJ’s now as well.
He was a safe space. Ava’s safe space. AJ’s safe space.
And his kisses were intoxicating.
Chapter 12
Bailey
Somehow, Bailey found himself in AJ’s bed, the kisses on the couch having heated up quickly. He had vague recollections of pulling the older man off the couch and kissing him as they felt and bumped their way down the hallway and into the primary suite.
Clothes had also been shed, strewn across the pale grey carpet of AJ’s bedroom floor.
Am I dreaming?Bailey wondered as his coach reclaimed his lips, bringing their naked bodies flush against each other, lying on their sides in the middle of the big, plush mattress.
Where Bailey himself had a waxed chest and back, AJ was every bit the hairy bear of a man he had assumed he’d be. His skin was warm, his stomach soft and yielding even as his arms and chest were firm and muscled. He was even hotter in reality than he had been in Bailey’s ongoing fantasies.
AJ slung one of his legs over Bailey’s hip and shifted until their cocks were aligned, rubbing together, the movement aided by the precum Bailey knew he was leaking like crazy. He moaned into AJ’s mouth and gripped at AJ’s butt with his free hand — the other one trapped underneath him.
“This…this okay?” AJ panted against his lips, his accent roughened with the same desperate need coursing through Bailey’s body.
With all the control he could muster, Bailey leaned back so he could look the older man in the eye. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that question? I’ve done this before. With men, I mean.”
A sound that could only be described as a possessive growl came from the back of AJ’s throat, gruff and irritated. “I don’t want to think of you bein’ with other men right now.”
The twitching of his cock against Bailey’s said otherwise, but he wisely let the subject drop. “What I meant was…I didn’t think you had.”
For all that AJ had expressed his support of all sexualities and genders, Bailey still thought it would be justifiable if his coach freaked out about suddenly kissing and taking another man to his bed.
“Fooled around a bit at the Academy,” AJ admitted. “Would’ve been about fifteen. Enjoyed it back then, but then I started meeting girls and…” he trailed off.
“Soccer’s a notoriously homophobic sport,” Bailey filled in the silence softly. Though he lamented the loss of the frantic, heated kissing, this discussion had to happen if things were going to move forward. “It was worse in your heyday, too.”
“Yeah,” AJ’s expression twisted. “It wasn’t a conscious choice, though. Being with women. It was just…the done thing. And I liked it, so I figured the Academy stuff was just randy teenager shit, helpin’ each other out until we could really get our dicks wet. I never felt like I wasn’t bein’ true to myself, or like I was missin’ out until…”
Bailey tensed, watching as an uncharacteristic blush stole over AJ’s bearded cheeks and ran down his neck, kissing the tops of his shoulders. Fuck, he needed the older man to finish that sentence!
“Until…?” he prompted gently, smoothing his hand down AJ’s flank in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture, but made the other man shiver beneath his palm.
AJ swallowed roughly, closing his eyes and murmuring, “Until I finally noticed you.”
Yeah, I definitely hit my head or something,Bailey thought to himself as he tried to process the confession. He couldn’t find the right words to respond, his excitement and joy and the sheer bewilderment of the situation making it hard to even think.
So, he just followed his instincts and slammed his lips against AJ’s, swallowing the older man’s surprised moan. This time, as Bailey led their kissing, it was possessive and desperate.
How many weeks had he fantasised about doing this? How many showers had he taken, jerking himself off while thinking about having his coach on top of him, under him, in him, and every other way he could imagine? And now AJ had admitted that he was just as attracted to him and his brain and heart felt like they were about to explode.
And so did his cock.
