by Mia Terry
“Are any of your many missed calls today of thrilling significance?” Rhys asked.
“The work ones are getting blocked, they know I’m on holiday. But the significant remainder is from the boys as the curiosity is getting the better of them.”
“The boys? Don’t tell me Luke is communicating via text.”
“I’ll be sure to pass on your opinion of his old man status,” Ollie said, with a quirk of his mouth and a decidedly sexier wink. “But to be fair, most of the texts are from Jai and Kris. Nosy bastards. Partly with questions about my day, but they are mainly letting me know that rather than going out tonight, Jai is cooking, and an orgy is unlikely. You’re invited.”
“Invited by them or you?” Rhys asked.
“Both.” Ollie’s smile looked sincere. “Come on. Jai is a good cook, and you’ll save me from the perianal single-guy’s role of being the fifth man.”
Rhys knew they both probably needed space, but he wasn’t willing to give up the way Ollie had made him feel today just yet. “Fine, but with no booze on the table there better be a dessert.”
* * *
Two hours later and Rhys felt slightly awkward walking into Ollie’s friends’ cabin; he felt very much the hanger-on. They had made a pit stop into Ollie’s cabin, so Ollie could change out of his borrowed sweats. Ollie looked gorgeous back in his own jeans with a long-sleeved t-shirt, but Rhys had liked the look of Ollie in Rhys’s clothes. He found he missed seeing that particular intimacy on Ollie’s rangy body.
“Look who finally turned up,” was Jai’s greeting as he left the kitchen bench and kissed each of them warmly on the cheek.
In fact, Rhys was a little shocked by how warmly he was greeted by all the men. Both Kris and Billy followed Jai’s lead and he even got a bro-hug from Luke.
“Sorry I was missing-in-action today,” Ollie was explaining. “There was a near-drowning at the beach where we were surfing and Baywatch here performed a rescue, so we spent the day recovering.”
Kris’s hand was immediately on Ollie’s shoulder. “Babe that’s awful. Is the person alright?”
Ollie had held it together so well today that Rhys was surprised to hear the slight crack in his voice, as he replied, “We heard he was doing better this afternoon so that was great news.”
Even with Kris next to Ollie, Rhys couldn’t resist touching the man. He put his hand on his back and stroked gently. “While Ollie is blaming the whole rescue on me, he is being far too modest. Without him, I’d never had even been able to get the guy out of the water, let alone the fact that he was performing CPR with me until the lifesavers arrived.”
“Sounds serious,” said Luke, from where they were all crowded around the bench. “Those kinds of incidents can be really shocking. Are you sure you are both okay?”
Rhys realized that, as a first responder, Luke must see life-or-death scenes on a regular basis, so he appreciated the care he could hear in the serious man’s voice.
“Yeah, it was pretty harrowing,” Rhys responded truthfully. “I have seen one or two guys knocked out before at pro-surfing events, but there were always professional lifesavers on jet-skis ready to help. Today was a little different and I can’t honestly say how I’d be feeling if the outcome hadn’t been a positive one.”
Luke nodded. “Even a good eventual outcome doesn’t mean it wasn’t traumatic so if either of you need to talk about it, I’m around. Or,” he said, with a smile at his boyfriend who was standing next to him. “Jai’s had good practice at giving advice in these situations, though he definitely isn’t allowed to comfort you the same way he comforts me.”
As Jai jokingly hit his boyfriend on the shoulder, it surprised Rhys to find Ollie’s hand circling his own. Rhys felt he should feel a little awkward with such a public display of affection in front of their keen-eyed audience, but instead he felt such an overwhelming sense of comfort in the touch and the gesture. So, he hung on even as they moved to the dining table where Jai had set up miles of cheeses, olives, and biscuits.
“What about you guys?” he asked, once they all got settled around the bench seating of the large table. “What did you get up to?”
“Nothing as exciting as you guys,” Kris replied. “We woke up ridiculously late, had a very lazy morning in bed and then went into town for some grocery shopping before we hung around the pool again.”
“So you screwed, shopped and got naked,” Ollie teased his friend.
Rhys saved Ollie the ribbing he would have gotten by not pointing out the hypocrisy of that particular taunt, considering the way they themselves spent the afternoon and the two orgasms they had given each other. Yeah, after he’d rimmed Ollie into bliss, it hadn’t taken long for Rhys to come at his feet. Listening to Ollie’s groans had been enough to get him there.
Anyway, Kris didn’t seem the slightest bit perturbed at Ollie’s teasing. “Whatever. It’s the holidays and I’ve got a very hot boyfriend. Not getting off with him would be the tragedy.”
“Luckily that particular tragedy doesn’t seem to be in your future,” Jai said.
“Like you can talk,” Kris retaliated. “We had to delay the shopping trip an extra hour because you and Luke were suddenly not ‘answering the door.’” The quotation marks Kris made in the air were exaggerated enough to get a laugh from everyone, and a fond kiss on his forehead from his affectionate boyfriend.
Normally this would be the time Rhys would be feeling a little sorry for himself for being the single guy in a world full of couples. However, holding Ollie’s hand felt right and made him feel part of the club of happy people, even though he knew his membership was temporary—made that way by Ollie’s scheduled return to Sydney.
Rhys tried to banish that thought as he asked, “What are you guys doing tomorrow?”
“We were going to try out one of the cafés in town for breakfast, but after that, we’re keeping it loose,” Jai replied from where he was still sitting on the lap of his red-faced boyfriend.
“If you were serious about actually coming up to see the farm, tomorrow is the day I spend helping my mum out, so I can give you the tour if you’d like?” He wasn’t sure if Jai had been just randomly enthusiastic or genuine in his interest.
Judging by the wide smile that greeted his invitation, it looked like the interest was genuine. “Really, that would be amazing. Just me or can the others come?”
“Everyone is welcome,” Rhys said, deliberately not looking Ollie’s way. He didn’t want the man to think he was tricking him into meeting his mother. “And I won’t even make you all stay for free labor after.”
“Hey, I for one will be happy to help,” Ollie chimed in despite Rhys’s misgivings. “It’s going to be a few days until I’m ready to go back into the water, so some time in the garden can provide my work-out for the day.”
“Farm, not garden, you idiot,” Kris added. “Well, it will give me a chance to wear that hipster hat I bought today. Now it won’t be the wanker felt hat that I bought on holiday. Instead, it will be my farming hat.”
Kris’s partner Billy just laughed in response to that statement. “Darling you know I love you but I’m not sure that two hours out on the farm can really fix the extent of wankery involved in wearing that hat.”
Everyone laughed, but Jai smiled across the table at Kris. “Wanker or not, in that hat you look hot so who cares.”
“And that’s exactly why you are my best friend. So I’ll actually help you with the rest of the dinner,” Kris replied, getting up to do so.
Rhys wasn’t sure how he felt just sitting there as the two men busied themselves with the final dinner preparations. At one point he offered to help, but he was easily waved away with the comment “that saving a life was enough of a contribution today.”
The tone it was said in was perfectly sincere, not mocking, so he could only accept it. Anyway, there was something surprisingly peaceful about just sitting here while the conversation and preparations moved around him.
Ollie h
adn’t moved from the seat next to him but was chatting with Kris as the other man moved around the kitchen. Their talk ranged into the next rowing season, and Rhys could see there was still no sign Ollie had even hinted to his friend that he might live and work overseas. From what he could tell these were Ollie’s closest friends. What did it say about him that he couldn’t share this basic life dilemma with them? Was he only planning to tell them once he had his plane ticket booked?
Rhys must have had a slightly concerned look on his face, because once he had a virgin cocktail in hand—a surprisingly delicious combination of elderflower, ginger nectar, and soda—Luke jerked his head out to the private deck. Rhys followed, wondering what it was about. He hadn’t spoken much with the country police officer. Luke seemed to let his charming boyfriend do a lot of the talking for both of them.
As they settled for leaning on the wide ledge on the edge of the deck, Luke started. “Just wanted to check-in and see how you’re really going. Something, like dragging a drowned person out of the water and then having to perform CPR, can really stick with you?”
Rhys was taken back by Luke’s directness. He had a lot of caring friends, but most of them would have gone the far more casual “are you okay” to which the only answer was fine. But Luke was looking at him as if he was waiting for a real answer and Rhys didn’t want to blow off his concern and effort.
“I’m doing okayish,” he said. “If the outcome hadn’t been as good, I know I’d be in a lot worse shape. It's funny, I’ve done so much training for this, but it is the first time I’ve had to offer significant assistance and do CPR on an unresponsive person.”
Luke briefly looked away, seemingly fascinated by the admittedly lovely palms that ringed the deck. “Yeah, the training is great for the mechanics, but nothing quite prepares you for the sheer panic when you’re trying to get someone’s heart started. I’ve attended a few drownings in my time in Dungoon, even one child who we lost in a dam, and they never stopped affecting me. It has gotten a lot better since I had Jai in my life, and I’ve been able to talk about things honestly.”
“Hassles it out of you, does he?” asked Rhys, imagining the chatting, caring Jai with the more reserved cop.
“At first,” Luke said, with a wry smile. “Then I realized I was actually lucky that someone cared enough to talk these kinds of days over with me and how much that helped me do my job. So, if you want to talk about it with me, you can. Though you probably should be talking about it with Ollie because he was there too, and he is probably going through the same things that you are.”
“Thank you,” Rhys said sincerely, as Luke handed over his card with his mobile number before they went inside. He knew it had taken real effort for the quiet Luke to reach out to him like that. He hated to think about the horrors Luke might have seen in his job. Byron might not be Dungoon, but it was just small enough that Rhys understood one of the hardest things about being a country cop was having to attend to tragic incidents in a community you were very much part of. Rhys hated to think about how many victims Luke must know as he was called to various scenes. Watching Jai snuggle up to his partner as he came back in to the room, he was very grateful to the universe for putting those two men together.
The dinner was pleasant with the chat general, warm and funny. The couples and friends ganged up on each other and told funny stories. They attempted to include Rhys. He wasn’t allowed to clean up, so ended up sitting on one of the outside pool lounges with Ollie curled up by his side.
“Are you going to stay tonight?” Ollie asked as he leaned into Rhys's arms.
His question was just vague enough that Rhys knew his answer had to be no, even if his growing cock was disagreeing with the decision.
“Nah, you probably need your sleep tonight,” he replied.
“I don’t know about that,” Ollie protested lazily, but didn’t add in enough energy to be really convincing. If Ollie had looked him straight in the eye and told him he’d like it if he’d stay, Rhys knew his willpower wouldn’t have been able to withstand such an appeal. But as much as he wanted Ollie, halfhearted invitations were a hell of a lot easier to turn down.
“I’ve got an early start tomorrow, so I’ll see you with the others if you still want to come out to the farm,” Rhys said, even as he untangled himself from Ollie’s touch.
Fuck, Ollie looked so appealing curled up on the chair, his usually immaculate blonde hair mussed up and even a slight pout marring the perfection of his generally in-control demeanor. Rhys had to get out of there before he started overthinking his exit.
He stooped down and kissed Ollie on the forehead. “Text me and let me know if you aren’t able to make it to the farm tomorrow.”
Rhys knew as exit lines went, it wasn’t the best, but he suddenly felt so unsure about where he sat with Ollie. There were things he wanted to say like “you were so brave today, thank you for being with me” and “that was possibly the best sex of my life.” However, he didn’t know how those words would be received. He didn’t know if it was even appropriate for the surf teacher who Ollie was mucking around with to be crossing those sorts of social boundaries. Instead, he settled for another good-night with Ollie and a round of hugs and kisses when he said his good-byes to Ollie’s friends.
As he drove home, to the place he had created and adored more than any other in the world, he couldn’t remember ever feeling so disappointed to be arriving home.
Chapter 9
Ollie woke up from a patchy sleep and still felt tired. Part of his exhaustion was probably due to disappointment in waking up alone, instead of having Rhys’s strong arms wrapped around him. He’d not been able to get a convincing invitation out last night, not been able to whisper that he needed the company. He was so glad the man they’d rescued seemed to be on the road to recovery, but that didn’t stop the thoughts flooding in last night of the panic he’d felt as they swum him in to shore or the personal horror of trying to breathe air into someone who already felt gone. And Ollie couldn’t just lie to himself and pretend it was just platonic company against the stress of the day he wanted, he also felt bloody disappointed that he’d been denied a chance to feel Rhys’s skin against his again. There was a particularly long list of fantasies Ollie had developed in his head about what he’d like to do to Rhys’s beautiful body, and the idea that possibility could go completely unfulfilled was why he was waking up with a stiff dick and a bad mood.
However, last night Rhys seemed to have easily turned his invitation down, and Ollie didn’t even have the prospect of a one-on-one surfing lesson to console him. If he wanted to see Rhys today, he was only going to be one of a group.
As neither his stiff dick nor his bad mood had dissipated by the time he got out of his bed, Ollie got into the shower to deal with at least one of them. The football-team-sized proportions of the shower seemed to mock him, but the sex seating did work for a solo session, so Ollie positioned the large shower head to heat him as he sat on the edge of the shelf with his cock in his hand.
If he didn’t think about how much more fun it would be with Rhys, being in a warm cocoon of water while he played with his balls would not rate too badly. Though thinking of Rhys was kind of the point, or at least inevitable, if he was going to get himself off. So, Ollie dropped his head back against the wall and imagined Rhys here with him. If Rhys had been here Ollie liked to think he would generously grant him this seat before Ollie got on his knees for him. From how Rhys’s body had reacted to Ollie’s worship of his nipples, Ollie could only imagine the kind of reactions he could get through playing with his balls or taking Rhys’s cock in his mouth. Rhys’s cock was wide enough that Ollie’s lips would be stretched, but he imagined the satisfaction in that stretch, the satisfaction in getting Rhys’s hard, strong body to quake under his attentions. Ollie imagined the taste of Rhys’s excitement in his mouth, and Ollie’s own hand tightened around his cock, which was rapidly dampening at the tip with the excitement of its own. The lube provided in the
showers—yeah it was definitely that kind of resort—was silky on his dick and that—along with the very vivid fantasy of being on his knees for Rhys—had him breathing hard and not far off orgasm. Thinking of Rhys’s face as Ollie kneeled before him, thinking of the shudders Ollie could produce if he played with Rhys’s balls while sucking down as much of Rhys as he could, had Ollie shooting at the same time as he imagined the same reaction in Rhys. Ollie’s body shuddered with pleasure, and for a second the fantasy seemed so real he could almost hear Rhys catching his breath in his ear. But when he opened his eyes, he was still solo in the shower, his own dick in hand, and that was enough for him to finish washing up at a decent speed.
The orgasm didn’t help the loneliness, but at least it gave him a slightly hollow glow of wellbeing, so it was a slightly cheered up Ollie who went outside to their private pool in search of the rest of the boys. That all his friends had the distinct look of the well-fucked, was something he tried to hide his very real jealousy about. He settled next to Kris and hooked into the fruit juice and the pastries provided by the resort.
He only managed a few bites before he realized the scrutiny from the men at the table was intense.
“So, he went home last night, did he?” Kris asked when Ollie made slightly reluctant eye contact.
“You guys said good-bye to him, so yeah, he did,” Ollie replied, and knew he was unsuccessful in hiding exactly how bummed out that circumstance had made him.
“Why aren’t you guys fucking like bunnies then?” asked Kris, with an innocent note in his voice which only Kris could manage. “It was pretty obvious last night you’d locked that down. Couldn’t you seal the deal?”
“Apparently not,” said Ollie
“But you’re you,” said Kris, and Ollie supposed that the disbelief in his voice should be flattering. “If you put some effort into seducing the man, I can’t believe you really would have got a refusal.”
