Between the Pipes

by Stephanin Hecht

  Trey curled his fingers into the front of Wade’s shirt, using the other man’s warmth and soothing words to anchor him. “How did you know I’d need you?”

  “Wade and I figured out that you were hiding somebody here. It didn’t take me long to surmise it was Brock,” Devon cut in.

  “What were you thinking? You know what he’s like,” Chad added.

  “He told me this time was different,” Trey defended, knowing how naïve he probably sounded. Then he noticed something else that made him let out a loud gasp of outrage. “Fuck! The bastard took my TV!” He glanced around, noting several items were also missing. “And my laptop and Wii.”

  Pulling away from Wade, he rushed into the kitchen only to find the betrayal was complete. “He took my iPad, too. I’m going to kill him!”

  Devon came in after him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Calm down, Trey.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. You’re place hasn’t been tagged by bad poetry, flooded and then stripped bare. It looks like one of Charlie Sheen’s hotel rooms.”

  Trey realized that his voice had taken on a hysterical edge, but he was too far gone to pull it back. Brock’s betrayal piled on top of the message left in the bathroom, just became too much. Trey let out a jagged sob before pressing his lips together to hold in any other cries.

  Devon ran a soothing hand down Trey’s back. “It’ll be okay. Chad and I will take care of you.”

  “No,” Wade declared from the doorway.

  His face set in stone, he came over and took Trey in his arms. “I’m the only one who takes care of him now.” When it looked as if Devon would argue, Wade cut him off. “You and Chad have done a great job so far, but now Trey belongs to me.”

  Shock coursed through Trey’s body, followed by a warm feeling as the significance of Wade’s words sunk in. Not wanting to dare to believe that it could be true, Trey tilted his head back so he could stare up at Wade. The love and tenderness he saw in Wade’s dark eyes took Trey’s breath away.

  Chad took a step closer. “Are you okay with that, Trey?”

  Still looking up at Wade, Trey nodded. “Strangely enough, all of a sudden I’ve never felt better.”

  Wade took him home that night. While Devon and Chad easily let that one slide by uncommented on, they still insisted on staying behind to clean up the apartment. Not that it really mattered to Trey since he never planned on going back there again. He knew that if he were to ever step into that bathroom, all those horrible feelings would come crashing down on him.

  As they walked inside, Wade asked, “Are you hungry?”

  Trey shook his head. “I’m just really tired.”

  Wade held out a hand. “Come on then, let’s go to bed.”

  Trey allowed himself to be led to the master bedroom. Once they got there, Wade stripped Trey and then himself down to their underwear before pulling Trey into bed. It seemed like the most natural thing to do as Trey snuggled into Wade’s side, his cheek resting on the older man’s chest. For the longest time, they stayed that way, the only movement was when Wade began to slowly stroke Trey’s hair.

  “My mom killed my dad,” Trey blurted.

  Wade’s hand only faltered for second. “I figured as much.”

  Trey jerked in shock. “How did you know? We’ve always been so careful not to give anything away.”

  “Yeah, but the few times you have spoken of her, I could tell how fiercely protective you were of her.”

  Trey nibbled on his bottom lip as he debated how much he should tell. While he trusted Wade implacably, the secret wasn’t entirely his alone to share so he decided to go with just part of the story. “It happened the day my dad found out that the story of me being gay was going to hit the papers.”

  A slight tremor went down Trey’s spine as he recalled that horrible feeling he got as his father had looked at him in pure loathing and disgust.

  “What did he do to you?” Wade urged gently.

  “He picked up a hockey stick. At first he just used it to hit me, but then he did…other stuff—” Trey broke off, shame making it impossible to continue.

  Wade made a soft cooing noise as he kissed Trey on top of the head. “That’s okay, you don’t have to say it aloud.”

  Trey squeezed his eyes together, surprised when the movement knocked some tears loose. “Does it make you think less of me?”

  “Never. Ever. Could I think less of you for something like that. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Wade declared, punctuating each word with a kiss to Trey’s face.

  “That must have finally been too much for my mother to take. While she’d seen us beat numerous times, he’d never taken things that far. So she defended me the only way she could.” Trey took in a shuddering breath as he remembered all the blood coating the kitchen floor, some of it his father’s, but a good deal of it his own.

  “That’s when Chad and Devon came in and took care of you, just like they always had,” Wade stated.

  A gasp slipped from Trey as he pulled back some. “I never said that.”

  Wade gave him a sad smile. “Babe, it’s my job to figure stuff like this out, remember?”

  Trey nodded, terror making it too hard to speak. Finally he managed to swallow a few times before he croaked, “Are they going to be in trouble?”

  “Don’t worry. I’m never going to breathe a word of this to anyone.”

  Relief swelled through Trey, making a few more tears fall. Damn, when had he turned into such a sappy, weepy boy? “Why would you do that for me?”

  Wade leaned down and pressed their lips together in a kiss that was so soft, emotional and sexy that it milked a whimper from Trey.

  When they broke apart, Wade run his thumb along Trey’s cheekbone. “I’m doing it because I love you, Trey.”

  The air left Trey’s lungs as his head buzzed in shock and a bit of fear, too. “You can’t mean that.”

  “But I do. I love you so much that the thought of living even one day apart from you scares the hell out of me,” Wade admitted.

  Wade? Afraid? Who would have thunk it. That his big, powerful cop who always seemed so self-assured, actually could fear rejection just as much as Trey did. While Trey realized he should probably feel sympathetic, that knowledge gave him a bit of comfort because it let him know that he wasn’t the only sap afraid of taking a chance.

  “I love you, too,” Trey replied, his voice heavy with awe. Trey reached up and stroked the side of Wade’s face.

  They shared another kiss before Trey said, “I want you inside me and by that I mean I want you to make love to me. I don’t want it to be fucking or screwing, I want it to be…”

  Wade finished for him. “You want me to take care of you and show you how much I love you.”

  Trey nodded. “Please.” Wade gave him a hot, open-mouthed kiss that left Trey’s head spinning.

  “Just lie back and let me show you how much I love you,” Wade ordered.

  He did just that, too. First by trailing a rain of hot, soft kisses down Trey’s neck and then sucking first one nipple and then the other until Trey was fisting the sheets as he arched up to meet Wade’s hot mouth. Wade only gave him a wicked smiled before he moved on, his tongue trailing a smooth circle around Trey’s navel.

  Once he reached the waistband of Trey’s boxer-briefs, Wade only lowered them enough so the tip of Trey’s cock popped out. Wade didn’t take it in his mouth, even though Trey begged. Instead, he pressed several soft kisses to the head, his tongue darting out to lap up a bit of pre-cum.

  “Take off your underwear,” Wade ordered as he moved back to take his own boxers off.

  Trey fumbled to obey, letting out a soft whimper when Wade flipped him over on to his stomach. Then Wade did the whole slow torture routine again, this time starting at the nape of Trey’s neck and slowly kissing his way down his spine. By the time Wade reached the crease of Trey’s ass, Trey was letting out keening wails as he humped the mattress.

  “Please,
Wade I need you,” Trey begged.

  When he heard a condom package being opened, Trey swore it was the most blessed sound ever. Wade used a few slicked fingers to get Trey’s hole stretched before he slowly pressed his cock inside.

  “God, Wade! Just like that,” Trey groaned as Wade buried himself fully inside.

  Wade pulled almost all the way out before he sensually slid forward again, his balls slapping softly against Trey’s ass.

  “I meant it, I love you, Trey,” Wade whispered as he set a gentle, loving rhythm.

  “Love you, too,” Trey groaned.

  While it wasn’t the good hard fuck he so often craved, the way Wade touched him as if he were a precious object set Trey’s body aflame more than ever. Halfway through, Wade sat back on his heels, pulling Trey with him so they were pressed chest to back.

  Trey craned his neck so they could kiss. At the same time, Wade reached around and began to stroke Trey’s cock. The spicy taste of Wade’s mouth, combined with the sensation of his dick being jerked, sent Trey over the edge. Letting out a muffled cry, he came, hot spunk covering his stomach and chest.

  After a few thrusts, Wade stiffened, then moaned Trey’s name. Trey could feel Wade’s cock pulsating as it filled the condom and he yearned for a time when they could make love without the latex barrier between them. He vowed that as soon as possible, he’d have a talk with Wade about getting tested.

  As they both began to breathe normally again, Wade continued to hold and caress Trey. It felt so good that Trey was inclined to let him.

  “Move in with me,” Wade finally said.

  Trey jerked his head to the side so they could lock gazes. “Are you sure about that?”

  “Are you sure you love me?” Wade countered with a grin.

  “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life,” Trey declared.

  It was true, too. So long as he could take comfort in Wade’s arms, Trey knew he was the luckiest man in the world. He also knew at last he’d found his place in the world and it was by Wade’s side.

  Giving Wade a smile, Trey decided to do the bravest thing he’d ever done in his life—believe that someone like him could actually find love. “Okay, let’s do this then. I’ll move in with you.”

  Epilogue

  “Here’s your beer,” Saul said as he took the seat next to Wade.

  Wade accepted the plastic cup, grimacing as he took a sip of the watered-down beverage. Amy came over and claimed the seat on the other side of them. She had a bag of popcorn nearly as big as she was and for once, she wore a Hawks jersey on instead of her usual pantsuit. On the back was Trey’s name and number with the words, My soon to be brother-in-law stenciled on it. Obviously the last part was her own addition.

  “Aren’t you jumping the gun a bit? Gay marriage isn’t even legal in Michigan,” Wade pointed out.

  “Not yet, but it will be soon if I have my say,” she declared around a mouthful of popcorn. “Hey, did you hear Andy had a shut out his last game?”

  Saul smiled. “Really? He must have been so excited.”

  “The other team only had six shots on goal,” Wade felt compelled to point out.

  “Yeah, but they were quality shots,” Amy countered.

  The game started back up. As usual, Wade’s gaze remained fixated on the goaltender…check that, make it his goaltender.

  “So did Trey finally get all his stuff moved in?” Amy asked.

  One of the opposing forwards got too close to Trey’s crease and the crowd let out a collective oooh when Trey took offense and wacked the guy’s calves with the edge of his goalie stick.

  “Yeah, and the insurance company is going to replace most of the stuff Brock stole.”

  “So I take it Trey finally pressed charges against the creep then?”

  “Yeah, the sad thing was before that, Brock wasn’t even in trouble with the law. They hadn’t connected him to the gas station robbery.”

  “And now sticky fingers is wanted for both.” Amy gave a short laugh. “I love karma sometimes.”

  The forward crowded Trey again and once more got whacked for his efforts.

  “I don’t care what happens to Brock, just so long as he stays away from Trey.”

  This time the forward got angry. He dropped his stick, turned around and shoved Trey. The crowd roared its outrage. They weren’t the only ones to take offense. Chad charged the shover and tackled the player, both them dropping to the ice in a pile of fists and anger.

  Another player from the opposing team entered the fray. Trey shouted something Wade couldn’t hear before he entered the fight, taking on the newcomer. When a third member from the other team joined in, nobody was surprised to see Devon coming to his brothers’s defense. Before you could say cluster-fuck, all six players were going at it while the refs stood by helplessly.

  “And the Canton brothers are at it again,” the announcer’s whooped joy of excitement carried through the arena.

  That got the whole crowd going and they were soon chanting, “Cantons! Cantons! Cantons!”

  Amy threw her hands up in disgust. “I swear, are they ever going to change?”

  Wade shared a secretive grin with Saul.

  “Damn, I hope not,” he said.

  About the Author

  Stephani Hecht is a happily married mother of two. Born and raised in Michigan, she loves all things about the state, from the frigid winters to the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. Go Wings! You can usually find her snuggled up to her laptop, creating her next book or gorging on caffeine at her favorite coffee shop.