Safe Harbor (Pine Cove Book 1)

by HJ Welch

  But he didn’t close his eyes.

  Robin played out Dair’s own personal fantasy, swallowing him down while he jerked off. It was a thousand times better than it had been in his head. Quiet sounds filled the room: Dair’s stifled gasps, Robin’s little gulps, and the slide and slap of his hand stroking his prick.

  Dair carded his fingers through Robin’s thick hair, feeling his head bobbing under his palm as he took Dair’s length in further and further. He wasn’t the most confident at deep throating. He tried once or twice, then backed off. But Dair wasn’t that surprised, given his established uncertainties. What he lacked in skill he made up for in enthusiasm, though, and Dair fucking loved it.

  “Oh, shit, Robin,” he hissed suddenly, digging his heels into the mattress. “I’m gonna come. I-”

  Robin sucked harder and rubbed him with his tongue, coaxing Dair’s second orgasm from him in less than twelve hours. Dair covered his mouth and swallowed his shout as his climax burst from him. His vision swam and he shivered as Robin drank down everything he’d spent, just like he’d promised. Then he crawled up Dair’s body, straddling his hips and hovering over him on his right hand as he finished himself off with his left. Until the moment his orgasm hit, he and Dair locked eyes. Dair felt the ripple through Robin’s body as he came hard and fast over Dair’s stomach.

  That was something he’d not experienced before. Well, sort of last night, but they’d come together and smeared it between them. Watching Robin blow his load over his abs made Dair feel like he’d been painted or marked. Claimed.

  He was Robin’s now.

  Robin, who was trembling above him, his eyes still closed from his high. Dair cupped his hand against his face, gently pulling him down for a kiss.

  “Jesus Christ, you’re a hot little minx. That was – wow, Robin. Just wow.”

  Robin grinned drunkenly and flopped beside him. When he saw the mess he’d made, he gave a little ‘oh’ sound and reached over for a few tissues. Dair stroked his hair while Robin took his turn to care for Dair.

  “That’s better,” he said happily, dropping the wet tissues by the side of the bed, probably where Dair had left his ones. Without being asked, Robin cuddled up against Dair’s side. Dair pulled the comforter over them again and kissed Robin’s temple.

  “You have no idea.” He chuckled. “It’s been a while.”

  Robin looked up at him with wide eyes. Then he smiled again and rested his head on Dair’s chest.

  They dozed a little while together, lying entangled and sweaty and perfect in the damp bed.

  After a time, Dair found his mind was being pulled in two directions. On the one hand, he wanted to get out there and be with Robin genuinely. After the charade they’d put on, he wanted to try the real thing on for size. When he introduced himself as Robin’s boyfriend to people, he wanted to feel like that was something they might actually be working toward now.

  On the other hand, he didn’t want to leave their little bubble. In Robin’s bedroom, they were safe. Nothing could go wrong.

  But what did he really have to fear? They were facing an unknown, but that was what life was made of.

  In this room, what had changed between them could be written off as fantasy. But once they went out into the real world, other people would see it too. It would become fact. Solid.

  That was what Dair wanted. He kissed Robin’s head firmly and squeezed him tight. “Do you want to take the first shower, gorgeous?”

  Robin angled himself to grin at him. “You eager to get going?”

  Dair nodded. “I am.”

  In more ways than one.

  18

  ROBIN

  NOTHING HAD CHANGED.

  And yet everything was different.

  During the day, Robin and Dair took Smudge for a walk in the park before going to Sunny’s for lunch. They wandered around town where Robin pointed out places he used to hang around as a kid, and Dair showed him a couple of the shops where he’d bought his new clothes. He had the jeans on again with a tightly fitted T-shirt that showed off his body. They held hands and talked with people that remembered Robin from his school days and made each other laugh with silly little jokes.

  The only thing that wasn’t the same was that every time Robin looked at Dair, he remembered what it was like to kiss those lips, to touch that hair.

  To see his expression when he came.

  Out in the bright sunshine, it didn’t seem possible that Robin had uttered those devilish, filthy things to Dair. But then Dair would catch his eye with a positively smoldering look, and it would all come flooding back.

  They’d had sex. Twice. Dair might still have been unsure of his exact label, but he wasn’t straight. And he was still here, with Robin.

  He couldn’t wait to drop this bombshell on Peyton, but he wanted to tell her in person when she arrived in town tomorrow morning. Until then, it was like Robin was walking around with a marvelous secret, which was kind of crazy because in theory, everyone already knew.

  Except they didn’t know anything at all.

  They didn’t know what it felt like to enter the town fair and get their photo taken as a couple with Smudge between them, feeling so complete. They didn’t know the thrill Robin got when Dair touched the small of his back or murmured something in his ear. They didn’t know how a simple, chaste kiss to the corner of the mouth could mean so much.

  They didn’t know because Robin hadn’t had a clue until now himself.

  He’d always thought he’d been in love with Mac, because when you were with someone for a year and a half you were supposed to love them, weren’t you? But he’d never felt as content as he was after one day being with Dair than from after a year and a half as Mac’s boyfriend.

  Not that he was in love with Dair. That was crazy. It took a person ages to fall in love. You had to make sure and really test those feelings.

  Or so he assumed. As he’d recently come to appreciate, he wasn’t sure he’d ever been in love before. How would he know what it felt like?

  Thankfully, Dair seemed to be on the same page about not rushing into anything like labels. They could just explore whatever this was slowly and see if it was really a good fit.

  Robin had to say, though, if they’d had sex twice already and Dair hadn’t made a run for it, that was a pretty good sign.

  Plenty of people stopped to fuss over Smudge, who lapped up the attention, especially once school finished for the day. Kids poured into the first day of the three-day reunion fair during the afternoon. It felt like all of them wanted to say hello to their excitable ball of fluff. When people asked his name or how old he was, Dair would always glance at Robin as he replied. Robin also noticed he didn’t say ‘my dog.’ He said ‘ours.’ Robin supposed he lived with both of them, but he was still touched Dair would include him like that.

  During the summer months, Pine Cove always seemed to have some sort of fair going every weekend. The attractions changed around a bit as did the food stands, but there were always the staple stalls that Robin remembered from his youth.

  He dragged Dair over to buy him a funnel cake from Mrs. Charles. Now her daughter was selling the sweet treats with her, learning the secrets of how she got them so light on the inside but crunchy on the outside. Dair had his sprinkled with powdered sugar and drizzled warm chocolate sauce. Robin got his favorite combo of apple and honey, insisting that Dair try a bite from his wooden fork. When Robin missed a dash of honey on his lip, Dair kissed it off.

  As afternoon started to become evening, Dair spotted a stuffed koala that was almost three feet tall. Lucky for them it was a strongman game, so Dair dragged Robin over to the stall to get it. Robin tried to protest that he didn’t need a koala almost as big as he was, but secretly he was thrilled when Dair hit the mallet onto the reader, sending the lights blinging all the way to the top where it set off a horn. Dair looked like he’d won an Olympic medal as he presented Robin with his prize.

  Of course, that meant Robin had
to carry the damn thing for the rest of the evening, but he didn’t resume his previous protesting. It was one thing to make a fuss of Dair making a big deal over him. But now the deed was done, he cuddled his koala to his chest, relishing in the way people laughed and smiled at him.

  He was hard to miss with his new giant furry friend. There was something about standing next to Dair that meant Robin didn’t mind finally stepping into that spotlight.

  “Oh my god,” Jay cackled by way of a greeting as he approached them. They had agreed to meet at the shooting gallery at eight o’clock, just as the sun was starting to set. He bent double and hooted with laughter. “That is amazing. Dair, please say you won that for him?”

  Dair preened and puffed his chest out like a pigeon. “Only the best for my man,” he said, kissing the top of Robin’s head.

  Jay smiled. No, he smirked. Robin knew that look.

  He did some extremely fast mental gymnastics. Jay was pleased – but specifically pleased with himself. Like seeing Dair kiss Robin made him happy. But he thought they weren’t really dating. Didn’t he?

  Ohh…

  Jay had left them all alone last night. The crafty little shit.

  Robin huffed, half-proud that his brother sometimes knew what was best for him better than he did, but half-mad that he’d been played.

  “Get over here,” Robin said, narrowing his eyes at his twin. “I promised to kick your ass.”

  “Yeah, yeah, tough guy. You’re all talk. If I win, I get the koala.”

  “No deal,” Dair growled in a surprisingly hurt voice.

  Robin threw his head back and laughed. “Relax, baby. I got this.”

  Jay knew it. That was why he’d made the empty threat about the koala. Robin let him go first with the toy rifle, where he wildly missed all the pictures of goldfish traveling across on the conveyor at the back of the stall.

  “It’s a fix,” he cried dramatically, winking at the guy running the stall. The guy shook his head and grinned as he reloaded the gun, then offered it to Robin.

  Robin tingled with anticipation and tried not to look at Dair, who was standing to the side with Smudge and the koala, watching on.

  Then he fired.

  One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

  He snapped down a moving goldfish picture with each shot.

  “Fuck!” Dair cried.

  Robin flushed with pride. It had always been a quirky talent of his. His grandpa had taught him to knock tin cans off their back fence with a BB gun as a kid. He’d also destroyed Jay and all their friends when they’d gone paintballing for their fourteenth birthday.

  He glanced at Dair, unable to hide his massive grin. “Beginner’s luck?” he joked.

  “Oh, shut up!” Jay grabbed Robin around the neck and ruffled his hair, then kissed his cheek. “All right, show-off. Pick your prize and I’ll catch you later.”

  Robin raised his eyes at him. “Oh, you’re not hanging around?”

  Jay shook his head and winked at Dair. “You guys don’t need a third wheel. Besides, I have places to be, people to see.”

  “What people?” Robin demanded as his bullshit meter went off. This wasn’t just Jay leaving them alone again. This was something more. Who was he meeting?

  But Jay just waved at them, walking backward with a grin.

  Dair soon caught Robin’s attention again with a hand on his hip. “You’re a real crack shot,” he marveled. “No wonder you always beat me at Modern Warfare. That was awesome. What prize are you going to pick?”

  A couple of teenage girls were playing the game now with surprisingly loud battle cries. Robin stepped to the side of them and looked around at the stuffed animals and plastic toys the stall had to offer.

  Then he saw it.

  “Oh! Excuse me, sir, may I take this one?”

  The old guy smiled at him, his tanned skin crinkling with leathery laughter lines. “Sure, son. You win it for your boyfriend?”

  Sometimes, Robin forgot just how awesome this town was.

  “Yes, sir.” He bashfully accepted his prize, then turned around to swap Dair his koala for the little tank he’d just won him. “Look,” Robin said excitedly pointing at the top. “There’s even a mini you inside!”

  Dair smiled down at the silly toy, accepting a bag from the stall owner to put it in. “Aw, hon. I love it.” He touched the dog tags around his neck, hidden under his shirt. Robin hadn’t expected him to appreciate such a trivial thing that much. He couldn’t help but feel proud that he’d picked something of such value. Unsure how to express that in words, he got on his tiptoes and kissed Dair’s cheek. Dair hugged him in return, looking at the tank a little longer before slipping it into the bag.

  As they walked away from the shooting gallery, Smudge whined and began tugging on his leash. They both recognized what that meant. “Uh-oh,” said Dair, looking around. This part of the fair was on the parking lot by the green. “Okay, if I take him that way past the Ferris wheel, I know there’s a poop bin right there. It’s a bit far, but better than carrying poop around.”

  Robin cackled and rolled his eyes. “Way to kill the mood, Smudgy!”

  Smudge barked up at him and wagged his tail, then went back to doing his ‘I need the potty’ dance.

  “Here,” Robin said. “Give me your tank, and I’ll meet you at the benches by the pizza stand we passed earlier. I assume you’ll need feeding soon?”

  Dair grinned. “Yes, please. Someone’s been working up my appetite.” His smile was pure sin as he leaned down to kiss Robin on the mouth. But then Smudge yanked him away. “Okay, all right, Mr. Poopy Butt! We’ll go!”

  Robin laughed as he watched small little Smudge drag a much bigger Dair away.

  He kept smiling as he weaved his way back over to the pizza stall where there were a ton of picnic benches. As luck would have it, he spied a family just leaving one, so he dashed over just in time for him and his koala to claim it.

  It was almost fully dark now. Fairy lights were strung up everywhere, and all the refreshment stands glowed and flashed in all kinds of colors. Robin spied the pizza place he’d had in mind, but there were also tacos, corn dogs, vegan falafel – oh! Thai!

  “Wow. You’re really fooling everyone, aren’t you?”

  Ice rushed through Robin. He snapped his head around just in time to see Mac drop down on the bench beside him. His face was like thunder.

  “W-what?” Robin didn’t care if it was childlike – he hugged his koala to his side. While he had both his legs over the bench, Mac was straddling it, facing Robin side-on.

  Mac sneered and shook his head. “Oh, I heard your snobby brother and that soldier of yours after the game last night.”

  “Marine,” Robin corrected automatically. “Heard them-?”

  “How your little relationship is a joke. You’re just pretending so I’ll stay away from you or some shit. What the actual fuck?”

  Panic flared through Robin, even though they were surrounded by people. “Mac, I-”

  “How could you do this to me?” Mac’s face crumbled, his blue eyes shining as tears pooled, waiting to fall. “Robin, I know we weren’t perfect, but I was so looking forward to seeing you again and starting over. And you pull this immature crap? Are you still seventeen or what?”

  Cold sweat had sprung all over Robin’s skin, but then he remembered the current situation. “Look, I don’t know what you heard,” he said, licking his lips, “but Dair and I are for real.”

  “Don’t give me that!” Mac snapped, slapping the wooden table top. “I heard him with my own ears! He made it sound like I was some sort of fucking threat and he was your damn bodyguard. What the hell have you told him?”

  “Mac,” Robin said firmly, despite the fact he was trembling. He looked his ex dead in the eye, trying not to flinch away. “Dair might have come here as a friend, but it’s real between us now. Things changed. And I didn’t do this to hurt you. It was just a stupid idea between a couple of buddies.”

  “Yeah, y
ou’re right. It was stupid,” Mac growled. “And I’m hurt anyway. God, I bet you thought you were so clever. I know I wasn’t perfect, Robin, but I’m trying. I’ve changed so much. Friends tell me all the time I’m like a different person.”

  What friends? Robin wanted to ask. But that was nasty, and it wasn’t like he was Mr. Popular. Instead, he took a deep breath and tried to organize his frantic thoughts.

  “I’m sorry, Mac. But this wasn’t about you.” At least, not entirely. “I’m really sorry you heard whatever it was you heard. But like I said, Dair and I are more than friends now. The situation changed.”

  “Oh, he decided to have a test run with a gay boy, did he?”

  Robin flinched. “Jesus, no. It’s not like that at all.” He looked around. Where the hell was Dair, anyway? Not that Robin needed rescuing, but some backup wouldn’t hurt right about now.

  Mac scoffed. “Oh, so he’s not straight?”

  Robin opened his mouth. But what should he say? Dair had suggested he was maybe bi or pan, but he wasn’t totally sure. It wasn’t Robin’s place to out him, either.

  Mac took his hesitation as confirmation and laughed sadly. “Oh, Robin,” he said with sympathy. “You know what straight guys are like. They all want to scratch that itch and try a cock just once, just to see what it’s like. Especially Army guys, Jesus. A hole’s a hole to them.”

  “We didn’t-” Robin went to argue but then immediately bit his tongue. The damage was done, though.

  Mac sighed impatiently. “Of course you didn’t do anal. I see some things haven’t changed. Please tell me you didn’t blabber at him, at least.”

  Heat flamed in Robin’s cheeks and tears stung the back of his eyes, though he refused to let them spill. Mac’s words from ten years ago blared in his mind, as loud as if he was shouting them right there and then.