Chapter 10
TEN
Cam
Returning to Pennsylvania in early November was a rude shot in the gonads after a month in Greece.
Sure, the temps in Patras had been slightly cooler than in summer, but I’d take mid-sixties over four any damn time.
Still, it was good to be home. For four weeks, I’d been surrounded by beautiful Greek men and women.
Stunningly gorgeous people seeking fun times with a rich jock.
Yanni had about screwed himself into a coma by the time we’d gotten to his parents’ house.
I, on the other hand, had been playing the part of a celibate monk.
Brother Cameron. That was me. All because I was too hung up on Jari.
We had been texting a lot. Day by day, I could feel his defenses lowering, his openness coming to the fore, his sweet sense of humor bubbling up like ginger ale over ice.
I was smitten. Totally. I knew the signs.
The smile when his text rolled in, the flutter in my gut when he sent me a stupid GIF, the worry over his darker, quieter times.
Even now, stateside and at home, sitting on the sofa with a Railers/Raptors game about to start, I was so happy.
I’d text him after the game, the first I’d been able to watch since I’d left the States, to either congratulate him or offer some sympathy on a loss.
Even old battle horses like me got down after losing a game. That truly never went away.
Curled up on the couch, my bags still unpacked, my ass dragging, a bag of nacho cheese chips and a can of white birch beer at hand, I turned on the game. The first period was about to start. The anthem was about over, and the announcers were coming back on air.
“Special thanks to the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire’s Station Two songbird, Ilinia Trochi, for that beautiful rendition of our nation’s anthem. Tonight’s goalie matchup is brought to you by Fiat, and it looks to be a good one.”
“It sure does, Brian. In net for the Railers is—oh man, listen to that.” I sat up, nacho cheese dust on my fingers, as the fans at the rink started to boo someone.
The camera left the Raptors’ goalie and fell on Jari, taking the ice.
“That’s too bad. I’ll be honest here, Dave, I see no similarity between father and son. In personality or skills on the ice.”
“Me either, Brian. I’ve spoken to the young man several times, and he’s always polite. Perhaps the best way for Lankinen Junior to win over the fans of this great city is to come out tonight against a very aggressive Arizona team and show them what he’s got.”
“Yeah, you show them, Jari,” I mumbled around a mouthful of chips.
And show them he did. When his line was first on the ice, the center shuffled it to Jari, who wound up and took a shot from center ice that bounced off the goalie, over his shoulder, and back into the net.
Eight seconds was all it took. Eight damn seconds and BANG!
The fans who had been heckling Jari suddenly thought he was fantastic.
Cheers and hoots rang out, the goal horn sounded, and the red light began to spin.
I leapt up with a yell, dumping my bag of chips all over the couch and carpet.
After a rather goofy celebration dance—I blame the butt wiggle on severe jet lag—I cleaned up my mess, then enjoyed a strong game from the Railers.
They won by two goals, and feeling happy, I texted Jari.
Cam: Hey, you rock! Great goal! I want to take you on a date. When are you free next?
I hit Send, feeling like I could conquer the world.
Then I fell asleep before the stars of the game were announced.
An hour later, the buzzing of my phone somehow managed to wriggle into my sleep.
Blinking into consciousness, I wiped at my dry lips with one hand as I pawed around on the couch with my other.
Jari: Are you serious?
Cam: About what?
Jari: A date.
Oh. Oh shit. Well, yeah, I was serious. Being exhausted may have lowered my inhibitions, but it didn’t make me feel something I wasn’t already feeling.
Cam: Yes, very much so. Are you feeling a certain way about that?
Those three dots undulated for what felt like a century, and I started typing because I couldn’t wait.
Cam: It can just be dinner. Nowhere public. Maybe here. A picnic?
Jari: It’s four degrees out.
Cam: Inside picnic. No ants. LOL!
Five minutes of sheer agony dragged by before he replied.
Jari: Free tomorrow night.
Cam: Cool. Say around six? I will pin my house, and we’ll do it here.
Jari: Okay.
I chucked my phone on the table and then promptly fell back to sleep with a wide grin on my face.
Jari was prompt, and I made myself walk slowly to my front door and lazily open it as if I hadn’t been preparing for an indoor picnic all day. Snow blew in with the handsome hockey player, whipping about in the foyer until I slammed the door shut on Old Man Winter.
Jari shook the snow from his dark hair before his gaze touched me. “Wow, you got tan.”
“Greece does that. It was a little chilly for swimming, but we didn’t let that stop us.
Yanni and I. Swimming. I wasn’t swimming with random men or anything.
Yanni swam with lots of women, but I wasn’t really interested.
In the women. Or the men.” He gave me a wan smile as he unbuttoned his woolen coat.
“I’m sorry. For some reason, I tend to get chatty around you, and no one wants to hear some doofus run on about swimming. ”
“I like to hear you run on.” That confession knocked me back. As did the shy move he put on me, easing in so close I could count the melting snow droplets on his thick lashes. “Your voice is soothing. Is that stupid?”
“Nope, no, not at all.” My mind went blank.
“So, there’s a lot to eat. I grilled some burgers.
About froze my balls off outside flipping patties.
” He chuckled. I really liked that sound.
He needed to do it more often. “I made macaroni salad and some baked beans. There’s a bread pudding for dessert that seems a little too bready. ”
“How is bread pudding too bready?”
We had yet to leave the damn foyer. Why were we just standing here? “I don’t know,” I replied on a gentle exhalation as I tumbled into those expressive eyes of his.
My gaze fell to his lips, then darted back to his eyes.
He gave me an imperceptible nod. I leaned in to peck his cheek, but he turned his head slightly.
The kiss landed on the corner of his mouth.
Then things went a little sideways. Actually, it was less of a slight skid on an icy patch and more like a semi hitting a sheet of ice, then careening through four lanes of traffic to take out a bridge, four traffic lights, and a water tower that then flooded a local feed store.
Within a blink, I had my mouth over his and my hands in that soft, dark brown hair.
Jari was not shy. Not at this moment. He grabbed my hips, yanked me into him, and began to grind against me in sinful ways that made me forget about bread pudding.
I walked him back to the door. His fingers bit into my flesh through my jeans.
His cock, hard as a poker, rolled over mine.
We both grunted at the contact. We made out for hours, days, years, maybe.
Time was inconsequential. Still, someone had to hit the hand brakes here.
Being the older one, I felt it should be me.
I broke the kiss to give us a breather because this was rolling way out of control.
I had to get things back on my side of the road.
“Can I blow you?” I asked, which seemed unlikely to pull anything back from the brink.
“No! Yes. Fuck,” he panted, rising to kiss me again, pulling at my hair and licking deep into my mouth.
I tried to tug away. This was a no. Consent was vital, and I’d misread things, and we’d gotten carried away. He gripped me, but I needed to be sure. “Jari—”
“Please…” he begged. “I need this.”
“Jari—”
“Please!”
I loathed to leave his lips, but he gripped my hair and pushed me down to my knees into a puddle of melted snow, and I buried my face in his crotch.
“That’s… shit… I need…”
“Jari, is this a yes?” I gave him a moment.
“I need this. Please.”
“Jari—”
“Yes! Fuck, yes!”
“I know what you need,” I whispered into denim stretched tight over a fat cock.
With shaking hands, I unzipped his jeans to free his prick.
His cock was slick, long, and veined. I gave the slit a tender lick.
His hips bucked wildly as he twisted his fingers in my hair.
“Easy, easy,” I said, but really didn’t want him to go easy.
I wanted him to use my mouth. I placed a kiss on his hipbone.
He steered my mouth back to his cock. Taking the head between my lips, I tasted the first slick of his release, and moaned as I swallowed him down greedily, working at my fly to get my dick out as he pumped away with a chaotic rhythm that had me tearing up, gagging, and working my cock like a madman.
I should have been ashamed at how fast I came, Jari filling my mouth just a few seconds before I shot a mess all over the Italian tiles.
Gripping his powerful thighs, I sucked him dry, popping off only when my own dick began to get chafed.
Kneeling there in the foyer with wet knees and spunk on my chin, I had no fucking idea what to say to him.
“I think I like your picnics,” he said, not budging an inch but with a gleam in his eye that made me snort in amusement.
Rising slowly, I ran the back of my finger along his whiskery chin. “I think I like having you over for picnics,” I whispered before claiming his lips in a kiss.
He didn’t shift right away, and I waited for him to regret it, because my body didn’t know what came next. This was usually the part where things snapped back into place. Clothes. Distance. Control. Except nothing did.
“Thank you,” he murmured. And maybe we would have talked or something, but the oven timer went off. “That’s the beans.”