Page 35 of Hidden Plays
He pushed through his shirt and slid it down his washboard abs. “I don’t know. Date for real?” He smirked. “But I’d rather not visit the gay bar for a bit.”
“You don’t have to worry about that.” I edge in closer to him. Was he a cuddler?
Lifting his arm, he wrapped it around my shoulders, tucking me into his side. I was taller than him, but he had at least twenty pounds of muscle more than me. “Good.” He nuzzled the side of my head. “Is it weird that I like how you smell?”
“No, because I enjoy how you smell too.” I turned into him, curling my legs to the side and resting my hand on his wide chest. “The best way for me to know if I like a guy is if I still like the way he smells after sex.” Heat swarmed my cheeks. Why the fuck did I say that?
“Yeah? So, smell me.” He lifted his head and gave me a charming grin.
I sniffed his neck and his hair, the scent sparking heat in my belly. He smelled even sexier after he came. More musky than cinnamon. Oh, hell yes. “I like it.” God, I was in trouble.
“I need to take this slowly, JJ.” His grin waned. “I hope that’s okay with you, since I know you’re a relationship guy, and I don’t want to hurt you or lead you on.”
“What does that mean?” He wasn’t looking for hookups, was he? Clutching the duvet, I studied his face.
“It means I don’t want to jump into anal sex right away.” He cringed. “I’m unsure if I’d ever want to.” He pulled in a breath. “Is that a deal breaker?”
We’re making a new deal? “It’s not, it’s not a deal breaker.” He had no experience with his prostate. I’d change that. “Anything else is on the table though?” I hooked a brow.
He glanced toward my dick. “Yeah. I think I want to try, you know, jerking you off or giving you head.” His cheeks bloomed pink. “I was salivating when you pulled your dick out.”
“Are you shitting me?” I parted my lips. I could have gotten a blowjob before the game? From him? But if he wasn’t sure about touching my dick, he hadn’t been ready.
“No, I’m not. I can’t believe it myself.” Tipping his head back, his gaze rose to the ceiling. “I’d like to keep this between us, if it’s okay with you. I’m not ready to go full-on queer with my friends and family.” His gaze cut to mine. “I need to make sure this isn’t?—”
“A phase?” Crossing my arms over my chest, I ground my teeth. Did I really want to do this? It was dangerous and not something I’d ever considered before.
“That sounds bad.” He grabbed my hand from my chest and kissed my knuckles. “It’s not a phase. I like you, JJ. It’s not much different from when I like a chick, really. I just need time to sort it out.” He wrinkled his brow. “Can you give me that?”
My gaze explored his face, watching me so intently. Could Itrust him? He’d given me no sign I couldn’t. If he just wanted to have sex and then leave, he wouldn’t have confessed all of this. “Yeah, I can give you time.” I just had to be careful of my feelings.
“Good.” He glanced at the ice pack. “I think my knee is frozen solid.” He swiped it off and onto the bed. “Guess I should still text you then.” He quirked his lips.
“Guess so, but now you’ll be an actual boyfriend.” I peered at his knee and the surrounding scars. “Tell me more about your experience with your injury.” There was so much I didn’t know about that time in his life. It had to have changed him.
Leaning against me, he rested his head against mine. “I felt lost afterward. I was told I shouldn’t try to play football again. One critical hit and I might never recover fully.” He huffed a laugh. “Well, as fully as I’m recovered now.” He sighed. “It broke me. I fell into a profound depression and felt lost in life. I even thought about ending it.” Lifting his head, he peeked at me. “My parents got me into therapy. I still go, even now. But it’s over the phone, you know, telehealth.”
“Yeah.” Damn, I had no idea. What if it’d happened to me? My heart ached for him. “I’m sorry, Holden.” He’d played so well that year. “You were a damn good quarterback.” I had to give him that. With a thick swallow, I said, “I guess you deserved the MVP that year.”
“Thank you. You don’t know how much it means to hear you say that.” He kissed my cheek. “Where do we go from here?”
“Uh, the game.” I snickered and crawled to his knee. “Can you bend it? How does it feel?” I touched the cool skin on his kneecap. It hadn’t swollen much, so that was hopeful.
“It stopped aching.” He slowly bent his leg. “Not too bad.” Pointing at his bag in the corner, he asked, “Can you grab me a knee brace from my bag? I want to try standing on it.”
“Sure.” I scrambled off the bed and went to his bag, fishing through it. “There are three compression bandages in here.Which one do you want?” I pulled out one with metal braces on either side of it and held it up.
“That one. Might as well start with the heavy-duty one.” He shimmied to the edge of the bed.
“You need to update the coaching staff about this.” I ambled to him, crouched by his feet and slipped the brace up his leg, my gaze moving to his crotch, the outline of his dick visible through his joggers. My balls heated. Fuck me, I could go again. What was it about him that made me so hot for him? I wasn’t normally like this.
As he set the straps on the brace, he nodded. “Yeah, I know. Let me assess the damage first.” Resting his hands on my shoulders, he stood on his good leg, his dick at face level.
I stared at it, my mouth watering. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me right now?” My cock woke and swelled to half-mast. I could just pull his pants down and give him a little lick.
“Oh, oops.” He freed a stuttered chuckle. “Guess I should be more careful of where my body parts are.”
“Unless you want it.” I peeked at him and cupped his balls, rubbing my thumb across his dick, heavy even when flaccid.
