by Susan Laine
“Sage, you are my best friend.” Piper wanted nothing more than to console his dearest and closest friend, though he felt ashamed at having kept Sage in the dark about his problems. “I was embarrassed about it, and a wreck. I wanted to deal with it alone. I know I didn’t need to, but… I just couldn’t handle everyone finding out. Or… your pity.”
“My—what?” Piper started at Sage’s suddenly very angry voice. The handsome face had twisted with fury, enough to make Piper feel a bit scared. Sage kept opening and closing his mouth as if he had a ton of stuff he wanted off his chest but was too mad to phrase it properly. His skin got red blotches all over as his rage built and built.
The main thing Piper noticed was that Sage’s hand no longer covered his.
Then Sage got up, paced for a moment, and then left the room entirely. Piper heard the water start running in the bathroom. After some splashing, the faucet was turned off, and then silence hung in the air, tension rising.
When Sage finally came back, his skin was no longer as red, but it was wet. He must have washed his face, Piper concluded.
Piper was well aware he had blundered big time, but he didn’t know how to fix it.
Sage sat back on the blanket but this time kept his distance. Piper’s heart sank.
“You want to eat something before you go?”
“I… I’m not hungry.”
“I’ve had drinks, so I can’t drive you. I’ll call you a cab.” Sage started to get up again.
“I don’t want to go yet.” Piper’s plea made Sage stop in midmotion. Then Sage fell back down on the floor, sighing. “Besides, I haven’t won our game yet. Unless you want to forfeit.”
He admitted it was a desperate ploy, but Sage was the most important person in the world to him. Piper had hurt him, and though he himself was still wounded also, maybe if he mended their broken relationship, he could repair his own sense of self too.
At the moment, that plan was all he had.
“YOU still want to play?” Sage was incredulous, but he kept his focus on Piper, who sat in place, at first frozen, and then nervously shifting.
Piper licked his full lips and nodded. “I do.”
He looked so beautiful, Sage thought. An ethereal angel, all elegance and grace. His short, slicked dark hair had a silvery tint to it, giving him a halo in any light. His green eyes were so light they appeared almost translucent, like tropical waters. Piper appeared lean, even thin, but he had fiercely powerful muscles in his legs, midsection, and arms. He was a ballet dancer after all, and that was grueling work.
“Truth or dare?” Piper said suddenly, surprising Sage. “It is my turn.”
Sage wasn’t exactly tired of the game, but he longed to get to the point of the evening’s diversion. “Truth.”
Piper quirked an eyebrow. “What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you?”
Sage was curious as to where Piper was going with this line of inquiry. “You mean apart from my best friend accusing me of not understanding what he’s going through? That all I’m capable of feeling for you is pity?” Piper opened his mouth to speak, but Sage waved a hand to stop him. “Never mind. Worst thing…. When I slipped on the wet tiles at the Olympics, hit my head and busted my ankle, and then found out my professional swimming career had washed down the drain while I’d been stuck in the hospital with brain swelling.”
Piper was worrying his lower lip so hard Sage was certain he’d draw blood soon. His eyes grew moist, and he dipped his gaze. “I’m sorry, Sage.”
Sage shrugged. “Accidents happen. It’s life. You just gotta accept it as a change and move on. I mean, it’s not like the hard wet floor conspired to destroy my dream of that gold medal and any hope of a future swimming career. If you lose your dreams, you find new ones.”
“It’s that easy, is it?” Bitterness emanated in waves from Piper, who was clearly wallowing in self-pity and living his current life still stuck in the past: a month ago, to be exact.
“It can be. You have to make an effort for it to work.” From the way Piper clenched his jaw, Sage saw that he was going to argue, so he beat him to it. “My turn. Truth or dare?”
Piper looked like he was about ready to punch someone or cry his eyes out but remained undecided. “Truth.”
Sage didn’t hesitate now that he had his opening. “If I gave you an alternative to what you’ve lost, would you take it or continue on like this, wrapped in a hell of your own making, being pissed at the world, and not letting anyone get close to you ever again?”
At first Piper looked confused, then mad as hell, and finally at a loss, resigned. “I… I don’t know.”
“You’re not stupid, Piper. You gotta know you can’t go on like this.”
Piper fumbled with his napkin, now torn to shreds. “I’m scared.”
Sage slipped over to sit next to his best friend and hugged him. “I’m with you. Every step of the way. I promise.” Then he added in a serious tone, “But I’m not doing it out of pity, got it?”
Piper embraced him back and buried his face in the nook of Sage’s neck. His warm breath tickled Sage, fanning over his exposed skin. Sage felt more than saw Piper’s nod. “Okay. I’m sorry, Sage. It was stupid of me say that.”
“You’re not stupid, honey. I know you’re hurting, but I’m here for you.”
For a while, Piper was silent. “I let myself ignore that you went through the same thing as I did, losing everything in a hapless accident that could have happened to anyone. And it wouldn’t matter, not really, if we didn’t make a living out of our bodies, our physicality, our sports. Your swimming, my dancing. But those were our careers, our lives. All lost so fast. It’s so unfair.”
Sage understood. It had been a devastating blow three years ago to fall down once and to realize that that had been all it took. One broken ankle and one case of cranial swelling and he was unemployed and dreamless. But he had changed his life. He had accepted the accident and moved on. Yes, he had been mightily pissed, but it just wasn’t in his nature to grumble.
Unless his best friend thought he was having a pity party. That was a whole other ball game.
“I get it, Piper. I do. But what happened, happened. It’s been a month. Time to let go and move on.”
“You like your new… job?” Piper sounded resentful again, but at least he’d had the good grace not to say whatever vehement word he had intended.
“Yeah, I do. Sure, it’s different from swimming, but I really like it.” Since his accident, Sage had trained in organic gardening. His old man had been into gardening back in the day, and his grandfather had been a farmer. One could say tending to nature was in Sage’s blood. “You’ll find something else to fire up your blood, Piper. I know it.”
By then Piper was practically sitting in Sage’s lap, holding onto him. “So… what’s this fabulous alternative you meant for me? Should I start growing potatoes and tomatoes, too?”
Sage chuckled. “Nah. You don’t have the patience, nor the green thumb. Remember that potted plant I gave you last spring? Dead before June.”
“Admit it. You sent it to me to die on purpose,” Piper retorted, exasperated.
“I admit no such thing.” Sage kissed Piper’s temple, and the scent of lavender and mint from his shampoo wafted over him. “So, my solution for you is simple. Swimming.”
Piper backed out of the hug and stared at Sage with a frown. “Swimming?”
“You had a knee injury. When you swim, you can still exercise, but the water takes the weight and stress off your leg, giving you the chance to exercise without worrying about hurting yourself more. Your muscles will remain strong in a healthy environment. What do you think?”
Piper blinked hard, several times. “That’s a hobby. That’s not a job.”
“Piper, sweetie,” Sage said slowly, taking the man’s hands in his own. “When you lost your ability to dance professionally, it wasn’t the loss of a job so much as your dream of grace in motion. Your ability to move in
that elegant way you love. Swimming can give you that back, but you’re right, it’s not a new job. For that, you’re gonna have to put your own thinking cap on.”
Piper looked down, his gaze wandering all over. “You wanna know something?”
“What?”
“When the doctor first told me something was wrong, I thought I had fibromyalgia.”
“What?” Sage was horrified at hearing that.
“My grandfather had it, and that’s why I recognized the symptoms: like fatigue, muscle weakness, palpitations, and poor sleep. Well, I thought I knew them, anyway.”
“Piper….” Sage felt a lump in his throat, fear clouding his mind.
“But I don’t have it,” Piper assured Sage. “They tested me. I’m tired because I stopped drinking so much coffee, and my muscles are weak ’cause I haven’t been able to practice the way I did before, and the palpitations, blood pressure, and lack of sleep are all due to stress.”
“You mean you have stress-induced repetitive strain injury? A manageable condition?”
“Yes.” Piper exhaled and then sniffled. “I have been horrible to you for a damn long time, haven’t I?”
Sage smiled. “Nothing that can’t be fixed. Look, I’m not saying you absolutely have to take me up on my suggestion. I’m only asking you to think about it, as an option. I’d love to swim with you, you know, just for fun. Just the two of us.”
For the first time in a quite a while, Piper graced Sage with a sincere, open smile that extended to every part of him. Sage knew he had never seen anything as breathtakingly lovely in his whole life.
“I’d like that too,” Piper said finally, looking a bit bashful.
“So….” Sage feigned nonchalance. “Still wanna play?”
Piper’s green eyes narrowed. “What are you up to?”
“Not telling.” Sage grinned. “It’s your turn to ask.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Now Piper was the one grinning from ear to ear. “Truth or dare?”
Sage thought about it. If he chose truth, Piper might poke at something Sage wasn’t 100 percent sure he wanted to have coming out into the light of day. And if he chose dare, Piper might do the same thing, only with a physical component to it. Yes, this was not a low-risk game anymore. “Truth.”
Piper nodded. “Tell me something you have never told anyone else, not even me. It has to be big and meaningful. A secret you’ve hidden from the world.”
Sage swallowed hard. His instincts had been right on the money on this one. Though their friendship was precious to Sage, his most significant relationship, he was now in a place where he wanted more, needed more, and a watershed event had just broadened his options. That bold frame of mind gave him the courage to reply. “I have this best friend. He’s a great guy. And I have been in love with him for so long that I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t.”
Piper’s jaw was hanging open, and he was staring at Sage wide-eyed, like an owl. For the longest time he said nothing, just gaped. Then he began blinking rapidly, and he closed his mouth with an audible snap. “You… you love me?”
Sage dropped his gaze, knowing he could make a joke of it, laugh and shrug it off, or claim he was talking about someone else. This was his chance to step back.
“Yes.”
Piper looked fragile and frightened. “Like… like a friend?”
“Yes. And no. I do love you like a friend, but… I love you like a… a lover too. More the latter, to be exact.”
Piper’s expression shifted from surprised joy to overwhelming sorrow, and then right back again, over and over. Sage was beginning to believe he had fucked up royally. How could they regain their friendship now, with the declaration of love hanging between them?
Sage started to backpedal. “It’s okay if you don’t feel—”
“No. No.” Piper shook his head, and then in the blink of an eye was clinging to Sage’s shoulders as he wrapped himself around Sage’s body. Once again Piper was sitting in Sage’s lap, only this time it wasn’t for friendly comforting. Sage could feel Piper’s growing arousal. “I love you, too, Sage. So much.”
Closing his eyes in relief, Sage wound his arms around Piper’s slender back, which hid a lot of strength. “You love me? Like a friend?”
“That, yes, and more. You’re the most perfect man I’ve ever met. Smart, funny, beautiful. Whenever I dream about the one who I will love forever, it’s you I see every time.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“Why didn’t you?”
Sage sighed into Piper’s dark hair, glad he could do this without looking at him. “I didn’t want to lose our friendship. My family’s fine, but they had invested so much of their mentality in my swimming career that never took place, they prefer to stay on the sidelines of my life these days. As if the passing thought of my disaster in their heads somehow hurt me. So they don’t know how to behave with me, let alone be anything more than superficially friendly.”
“Oh, God…. My family. I haven’t told them yet about….” Piper’s voice trailed off.
“About what, Piper?” Sage was getting concerned.
“They know I got hurt. But… they don’t know how badly. That I can’t dance anymore.” His voice had gotten very small and sad, and Sage wanted to comfort him, so he tightened his arms around the man.
“You want me to be there with you? When you tell them?”
Piper let out a long breath, the tension in his shoulders easing. “Yes, please. Thank you, Sage.” Then he paused, hesitant. “As my best friend, or as my… lover?”
“That’s up to you, sweetheart. Either one.” Then it was Sage’s turn to pause. “As long as you and I are good.”
Piper pulled back, smiling, and looked straight into Sage’s eyes. “You and me? We’re A-okay. We’re the best.”
“Together then.”
“Yes, together.”
Then Piper leaned forward and kissed Sage.
And it was the perfect first kiss—as adults, friends, and lovers.
But the first brush of lips was only the beginning. As tentative experimentation gave way to desire, passion overrode their senses. Their heads tilted, and the kiss deepened. Sage was holding Piper so tight he could easily have choked the man to death, but then again, Piper was doing his best to suck Sage’s tongue into his own mouth permanently. Had they not loved each other so and sworn to do one another no harm, they could have gotten seriously injured.
As it was, however, it was only a moment before they had to pull apart or risk suffocation.
In that pause for breath, Sage mumbled, “It’s my turn, isn’t it?”
Piper’s eyes were glazed as he looked at Sage. “Huh?”
Sage grinned. “Truth or dare, my love?”
At the endearment, Piper blushed all over, and the wattage of his smile could have rivaled the sun. “Dare.”
“I dare you to… put your hand in my pants and get busy for a, um, minute?”
Piper chuckled. “Are you sure? I might not stop at the end of that minute.”
“Even better. ’Cause if you fail in your task, I win.”
“What does the winner get?”
“What do you want?”
“Why ask me? You’re the one conspiring to win,” Piper needled mercilessly.
“I’m shocked and outraged at the accusation.” Then Sage gave Piper a once-over, slow and steady, knowing exactly what to say. “But I’m not denying it. Okay, the winner gets—”
“I want to have a say,” Piper cut in, and Sage yielded with a short nod. “If I win, I want you to take me out to dinner at the fanciest restaurant in town—for a week.”
“Done,” Sage agreed. “And if I win, you will marry me.”
PIPER gasped in full-on shock. “W-what…? You’re not serious. Sage, come on!”
“I’m not saying right now, Piper, not today or even tomorrow. But one day, down the line, soon… ish.” Sage was smiling, but Piper had no delusions about the gravity of
the situation. Sage was not joking.
There was only one answer calling out within Piper. “Yes.”
Then he couldn’t hold on anymore, and he pounced on Sage, tipped the man over on his back on the blanket, and climbed on top of him. Despite the intensity of the kiss—wet warmth sliding over his tongue, delving in deep, slick caresses, and soft suction—Piper hadn’t forgotten the game.
Without words, Piper wiggled his hand between their writhing bodies in search of Sage’s elusive fly. He found the top closure and snapped it open. He slid the zipper down and plunged his hand in to discover the treasures beneath the fabric.
His eyes shot open, and Sage chuckled.
Sage wasn’t wearing underwear.
Piper fisted Sage’s considerable half-hard length and gave the shaft a few harsh, dry tugs.
Sage grunted and his hips bucked up. “Oh, yeah….”
Piper giggled, breathless with want. “I’ve heard you make that sound before. Just never with me.”
Sage kissed Piper’s cheek. “And never again with anyone but you.”
It was a sweet promise, and Piper wanted to believe it. I love him, and I’m going to marry him. He made sure to keep his hand plenty busy with the pulsating, heated piece of meat underneath the denim while he kissed Sage to his heart’s content. Sage pushed up Piper’s shirt to reveal skin, and it was distracting Piper from his gaming obligations.
“Ouch!” Sage yanked his head back, licking his lower lip. “You bit me!”
“And you’re trying to make me lose,” Piper shot back, but he smiled to take the accusatory edge off. “I won’t give up that easily.” And he pumped the stiff cock in his hand harder, sharper.
Sage closed his eyes, arched his back, and moaned. “Why… not? You’d love… to lose. I’d make it… worth your while.”
“I’m sure you would, my sweet. Sounds like—” He snickered. “—sage advice.”
