“Why would I ask you about—oh.” Zach’s expression sobered. “Did he… force you into anything?”
“No,” Lucas said. “I’m just embarrassed that I did anything with him at all. I wish I could take it back.”
“He’s such a dick. That day in class when he asked you out—I nearly lost it. I was out of my mind with jealousy.”
“You were? I thought you hated me.”
“What? Why would you think that?”
“I didn’t know you were gay. I thought you were mad because you caught me staring at the pool.”
Zach grinned. “No, that didn’t make me mad. Quite the opposite. The only person I was angry at was myself, for not having the courage to ask you out.”
“Did you draw that picture?” Lucas asked in a small voice.
“What picture?”
“Someone threw a wadded up piece of paper at me in Mr. Rose’s class a couple weeks ago. I saw you looking at me.”
“No, Donovan did that. What was it?”
That was back when Donovan supposedly liked him. He should have known. How could he have been so blind? Was he so desperate to find someone that he overlooked the warning signs? Would that happen with Zach too?
Lucas shook his head. “Nothing. He was just playing a joke, I guess.”
“He is a joke. If he pulls that shit again, he’ll have to answer to me.”
Lucas’s heart swelled. There was no mistaking how Zach felt about him. Lucas pushed his fear aside, picked up his pen and the blank slip of paper, and then smiled as a question popped into his head.
Zach watched Lucas carefully as he crumpled the paper and tossed it into his pile. “I won’t ask about Donovan. Not tonight, anyway.”
They continued, adding several more questions to their piles before Zach’s mom came downstairs. Introductions were brief. She managed a smile but didn’t seem interested in making small talk. She merely told Zach to lock up once she’d gone.
“Come on,” Zach said. “Let’s get some drinks and go upstairs.”
He scooped up his folded papers, shoving them into his pocket.
Lucas did the same, and before he knew it, he was sitting on the edge of Zach’s bed. He bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing. He could tell the room had only recently been tidied. The hamper bulged with clothing. Stacks of papers and other odds and ends sat piled high on the desk. The edges of shoes, mismatched and facing different directions, poked out from under the bed.
“I like your room,” Lucas said, unable to suppress a wide grin.
Zach eyed him suspiciously. “What’s so funny?”
“Oh, nothing.” He kicked off his shoes and pulled his legs onto the comforter. “Just a little worried about what’s lurking under your bed.” Lucas peered dramatically over the edge. “If my shoes suddenly go missing, I may scream like a girl.”
Zach flashed a wicked grin. “I know another way to make you scream like a girl.”
The mischievous look on Zach’s face warned Lucas of impending danger.
He tucked his elbows tightly against his sides and braced himself as Zach lunged, grabbed Lucas’s waist, and dug in his thumbs.
“Help! Stop!” Lucas laughed as his legs flailed helplessly. “Can’t! Breathe!”
Zach didn’t tickle him for long, but they were both out of breath and laughing when he finally stopped.
“God,” Lucas said. “I nearly peed my pants.”
“Good to know. I’ll try harder next time.”
“You wouldn’t think it was so funny if you were the one being tickled.”
“Try me.”
Lucas licked his lips. He leaned forward and tentatively grabbed Zach’s sides. He dug his fingers into warm, firm flesh and started tickling, but Zach merely looked at him with a goofy grin.
“That’s it?” Zach said.
“Jerk. You’re not even ticklish, are you?”
“You give up too easily. You just gotta find the right spot.”
“Cover your eyes.”
Lucas had a plan. As soon as Zach lifted his arms to cover his eyes, Lucas went in for the kill, attacking his armpits.
Zach let out a maniacal laugh and wrapped his arms around Lucas, then flipped him over.
Lucas’s heart pounded as Zach brought their faces close together.
“Kiss me,” Lucas whispered, and Zach dove in.
It was all heat and want, the tangle of tongues driving Lucas to thrust his hips up involuntarily. Meeting nothing but air, he released a frustrated whimper. As Zach moved from his lips to place openmouthed kisses along his jaw and down his neck, Lucas felt a hand on his inner thigh and moaned.
Zach inched his hand up slowly, kneading Lucas’s leg, and then slipped his fingers inside Lucas’s front pocket. But instead of seeking his dick, he seemed to be digging for something else. Was he trying to tickle him again?
Zach pulled his hand away and propped himself on an elbow. Waving the tiny, folded paper, he said, “Time for Q&A.”
“What?” Lucas said, panting.
“I’ll go first.” He winked at Lucas, then unfolded the paper.
“You’re torturing me on purpose, aren’t you?”
Zach ignored the comment as he read the question aloud. “If you could be an extra in any film, which movie would it be and who would you play?”
Lucas smiled as he remembered writing the question.
Zach thought about it for a minute. “Don’t laugh.”
“Okay.”
“Okay. Have you ever seen Splash?”
Lucas shook his head.
“It’s an ’80s movie about a… mermaid.”
Lucas bit his cheek. “You want to be a mermaid?”
“Don’t laugh. And no, I don’t want to be a mermaid. I want to be a merman. There’s a difference.”
Lucas couldn’t contain his laughter.
“And if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll lock you in my underwater dungeon.”
“You practically are one already, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah. Your turn.”
Lucas stared at Zach’s pocket with wide eyes. Zach was sporting a prominent erection. Was Lucas supposed to reach in there? He glanced at Zach to see that mischievous grin again. Lucas reached over slowly and slipped the tips of his fingers into Zach’s pocket. God, Zach looked sexy with his cock straining against his jeans. As Lucas slid his hand in farther, Zach let out a moan. Lucas was surprised by his own boldness as he ran his thumb along the outline of Zach’s cock, fingers searching for a slip of paper. Zach closed his eyes, and Lucas took advantage of the opportunity to watch his face. Seeing that look of desire, knowing it was for him, made his own dick throb in his jeans.
When Zach opened his eyes, Lucas suddenly felt nervous. Grabbing a slip of paper, he pulled it out quickly. His eyes widened as he read the question. “This must be your sex question.”
“Serves you right for laughing at my last answer.”
Lucas took a deep breath and read the question aloud. “When was the last time you jerked off?”
Zach raised his eyebrows, awaiting an answer.
Lucas blushed and chewed on his bottom lip. “You’re really gonna make me say it?”
“Yep. Shoot.”
“This morning.”
Zach let out another low moan.
“I was thinking about you.”
In one swift motion, Zach rolled on top of Lucas, pinning him to the bed while he aligned their groins. Zach kissed him sloppily as he ground into him.
It was Lucas’s turn to moan. God, it felt good. He bucked his hips, meeting each of Zach’s thrusts. Lucas wrapped his arms around Zach’s broad back, holding on for dear life as he rocketed toward his release.
They were both panting, unable to keep their lips together as they frantically sought more friction. Lucas tried desperately to hold out, not sure if he was supposed to come or not, not wanting to displease Zach if this was only meant to lead up to something more. It was so intense, though, Lucas
didn’t know if he could stand any more. He tried to control his high-pitched noises, but he could only concentrate on so many things at once as he clenched his muscles, trying to maintain control.
“Come for me,” Zach said in a breathy moan. “Let go.”
Lucas cried out, trembling as his orgasm ripped through him. He clung to Zach desperately, recovering from the aftershocks, only vaguely aware that Zach was still grinding against him. When Lucas felt Zach still, his body tensing and stuttering, he knew Zach was coming too.
Zach let out a deep grunt that was the sexiest thing Lucas had ever heard, then went boneless on top of him. They stayed like that for a minute before Zach rolled onto his side, pulling Lucas with him. Zach kissed him gently, then whispered Lucas’s name so sweetly, it made him want to cry. Zach pulled him close, tucking Lucas’s head under his chin.
Lucas was hot and sweaty, and more than a little sticky, but he wouldn’t have budged for the world. He lay there, letting his thoughts wander, until he eventually began to chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” Zach said.
“I was just thinking… how do mermen have sex?”
They both laughed, and Zach pinched him playfully.
Lucas responded by squeezing Zach into a tight hug. “I don’t want to go home yet,” he said.
“You’re not going anywhere. It’s not even close to your curfew yet.”
Lucas remembered the way Donovan had rushed him out as soon as they’d finished messing around. He was relieved Zach wasn’t like that. Only now did he fully realize how stupid he’d been, letting Donovan treat him that way. He and Zach hadn’t even touched each other under clothes, and it had felt ten times better than it had when Donovan’s mouth was on him.
“Besides, you’ve got more questions to answer.” Zach rolled Lucas onto his back and reached into his pocket.
Lucas scrunched up his nose. “Eww, I’m squicky.”
“Me too. We can clean up in a minute.”
Zach read the question he’d picked from Lucas’s pocket and started laughing. “Is this your sex question?”
“I don’t know. What does it say?”
“It says, ‘Do you really shave your entire body?’”
Lucas blushed. “Well, you said not to go for the obvious. And seeing as I still don’t know the answer, I’d say it’s not obvious.”
Zach sat up and smiled. “Do you want me to show you or tell you?”
Lucas opened his mouth and then closed it, not trusting himself to speak.
“Well, I obviously don’t shave my head. No point. Swim caps are made to reduce drag in the water. But I keep it short anyway.”
Zach grabbed the hem of his shirt and tugged it off before tossing it on the floor.
Lucas gulped. Was Zach going to get naked? Lucas had trouble catching his breath at the sight of Zach’s bare torso. It was completely smooth. He’d seen it before, of course, but somehow this felt different. It was so much more intimate.
Zach lifted his arms, exposing his armpits. “Pit hair’s the first to go,” he explained, and then reached out an arm toward Lucas. Turning it over, he pointed to the underside of his forearm. “Feel right here.”
Lucas, his heart pounding in his chest, moved his fingers across Zach’s forearm, feeling soft, fine hairs. “I never shave here. This is where your arm catches the water. You want to grip the water, not let it slip past you.”
Zach, still kneeling beside him, started to unbutton his fly. Lucas watched his fingers in awe, the anticipation of what was to come causing his heart to thump wildly. Zach lifted himself enough to slide his jeans down past his hips and off his legs. Lucas’s gaze traveled down and then back up those long, smooth limbs before settling on his briefs, where a large, wet patch of fabric hugged the outline of his still-hard cock. “I only do a full-body shave right before an important meet. You lose the advantage otherwise.”
“It doesn’t help you in practice?”
“Most people think swimmers shave down to get rid of their hair, to reduce drag. That’s true to some extent, but the real benefit is getting rid of the top layer of dead skin. When your body hits the water after a fresh shave, there’s no feeling like it in the world. Your skin is more sensitive, and you have a heightened feel for the water. It can give you an edge in competition. You feel invincible. But if you do it regularly, you lose the effect.”
“So you just shaved then?”
“Yeah, feel,” Zach said as he grabbed hold of Lucas’s hand and guided it along his shin.
Lucas groaned. Touching Zach like this was heaven. The mere sight of Zach without his shirt had been enough to make him hard. Touching him sent spikes of pleasure surging through his chest and down to his groin.
Lucas let his gaze fall back to the wet spot on Zach’s briefs. “Do you shave there too?”
The sound of the front door slamming interrupted them. Zach jumped off the bed and tugged his pants back on, then changed his mind and kicked them off. He pulled off his briefs and used them to wipe himself before grabbing a pair a pants from the top of his hamper and slipping them on instead.
Lucas sat with his mouth gaping open as he tried to process what he’d just seen. Zach’s cock. Completely smooth and standing at attention.
“It’s okay. Just be cool,” Zach said. He slipped his T-shirt over his head and kicked his dirty clothes aside.
“Zach!”
“Up here, Mom.”
Zach opened his top dresser drawer and tossed a clean pair of briefs to Lucas, who sat frozen in place.
The underwear hit him square in the face before he realized he was supposed to catch it.
“You can clean up in my bathroom,” he said in a hushed voice, nodding toward the bathroom door.
Lucas made it behind the safety of the closed door just in time. Zach’s mom entered the bedroom, and he could hear their conversation clearly.
“Where’s your friend?” she said in a cool tone.
“He’s in the bathroom.”
“What are you two doing up here?”
“You’re home early. Is everything okay?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“I’m not. We’re just hanging out.”
“Mhm. You can hang out downstairs.”
Lucas could hear it in her voice. She wasn’t buying it. He could feel the tension between her and Zach, even from behind the door.
“Tell your friend he can come out now.”
Lucas ran over to the sink and turned on the faucet, hoping to convince her that he was in fact using the bathroom. He quickly changed into Zach’s underwear, which didn’t fit him properly but were dry. There was a small spot on his pants, but his shirt hung low enough to cover it. He glanced around, looking for a place to hide his soiled shorts. Nothing. For a messy guy, Zach’s bathroom was maddeningly tidy. Lucas tossed his boxers behind the shower curtain, then washed his hands and waited quietly by the door for his cue to reenter the bedroom.
Chapter Seventeen
Family Matters
THE knock on the door startled him.
“Lucas?”
Lucas opened the door a crack and peeked out.
“It’s okay. You can come out.”
“Where’s your mom?”
“She’s downstairs.”
Zach hooked his finger in the neck of Lucas’s shirt, pulling him into the room.
“Is she mad?”
“She’s always mad,” he said. “Don’t worry. Come here.”
Zach squished him into a hug.
“Maybe I should go,” Lucas said softly, feeling unsure of himself.
“No, stay. Please.”
Lucas nodded, his head tucked under Zach’s chin.
Zach led him back to the bed, where he adjusted the pillows and hopped up before resting against the headboard. He patted the space next to him.
Lucas hesitated. “Maybe we should go downstairs. Your mom….”
“Come here,” Zach said, patting the bed aga
in, as if he were coaxing a nervous puppy.
Lucas climbed up and sat next to him.
“I’m eighteen years old. She needs to stop pretending I’m a kid.”
“I know, but you don’t need me making trouble for you.”
“What I need right now,” he said, drawing Lucas close, “is to cuddle with my boyfriend.”
Boyfriend? The word made Lucas’s heart soar.
“She’s just being a bitch,” said Zach.
Lucas peered at the door, which sat ajar.
“Relax. It’s okay. She just….” Zach trailed off, searching for the right words.
“Doesn’t approve?”
“Yeah. I mean, she knows I’m gay. She says she’s accepted it, but she kinda freaks out if I say or do anything to remind her of it. She doesn’t want people to know. Most of the time she acts like she doesn’t know either. It’s bullshit.”
“Is that why you’re not out at school?”
“I guess that’s part of it. Or it used to be, anyway. I don’t like people in my business. I never had a reason to come out until now.”
“So you don’t care if people at school know about us?”
“No. I just hope the guys on the team are cool about it. But even if they’re not, I’ll deal with it.”
Lucas didn’t say what he thinking, but he was worried too. Mostly about the guys giving Mason a hard time.
“I’m sure they will be,” Lucas said. “I mean, you’re the best swimmer they’ve got.”
Zach chuckled. “Best flyer, maybe.”
“You never know. There might be someone else on the team who’s gay too. I think David Shelby might be.”
“What?” Zach said, sounding startled. “Why do you think that?”
“Just something Donovan said. I don’t know if it’s true or not. Are you friends with him?”
“No. I’m not. I don’t have that many friends. I’ve got the only person I need right here.” He squeezed Lucas tighter.
They lay like that for a few minutes, and then Zach said, “We never finished our Q&A. I think it’s your turn to pick a question.”
Lucas rested his hand over Zach’s pocket. “You changed your pants.”
“You’re right. And I don’t feel like moving. I’ll pick.” Zach wriggled his hand into Lucas’s pocket and secured a slip of paper. He groaned when he read the question. “Why did you break up with your last boyfriend?”
Play Me, I'm Yours [Library Edition] Page 16
