Chapter Twenty-Three
Nate
Part of me didn’t want Vee to go on, didn’t want to hear his pain, but I knew I could handle it.
Of course I can. He had to go through it. The least I can do is listen and help him carry that weight.
“Then, out of nowhere, the player, the one who had been bothering him the whole game, was all over him and the blade of his skate…” His voice cracked, and I figured he couldn’t say it out loud.
“I’m so fucking sorry, baby.” I covered his chest with a hundred kisses, my tears drenching his sleek feathers.
“I got to him but there was nothing—It’s been ten years, but I still wonder if there was anything I could’ve done.”
“There wasn’t. The articles said it all.
There was no chance he could’ve been saved,” I told him.
“Vee, you were with him. Your face was the last thing he saw, and you made him feel safe and loved. I know you did.” I sniffed.
“It was fucking unfair that he died. No one should die at his age. He should’ve made it to ninety.
At the very least. But you stuck with him until the very end.
Seeing your face one last time would be the only thing I would want at that moment. I’m sure he felt the same, baby.”
Vee didn’t argue with me but buried his face in my hair and wept. I held him for a long time, stroking every part of him I could reach and letting him work his way through the pain. When he eventually calmed down and stopped crying, I sat up and kissed his forehead.
“I can’t promise you I’ll never get injured, Vee, you know that.” Vee sat up, too, and reached out to take my hand.
“I know, Frat Boy.” His eyes dipped to the bruise at my thigh that he hadn’t commented on. He knew how it was when you played hockey. Bruises and injuries were part of the package deal.
“I’ll talk to Jerke and tell him to get neck guards for the team. I’ve been meaning to bring that up for a while. And if he says no, I’ll just buy them myself. I understand if you can’t be with me.”
“I’m not leaving you again, Nate.” Vee huffed.
“I have no clue what’s coming for both of us and maybe that’s for the best.” He let out a genuine laugh.
“I know I can’t shield you like I want to, and I don’t want to come between you and what you love doing.
I’m down to see where this takes us, just living in the moment together.
” Vee raised his head, a soft smile crinkling the corners of his eyes. “Okay, that sounds so soppy.”
I flung my arms around his neck and kissed the side of his beak.
“Soppy or not, it sounds like a plan.” He giggled when I pressed dozens more kisses all over his beak, and it was the best sound I had ever heard. “Thank you for sharing about Linden with me. You can talk about him as much as you want, alright? I wanna know all about him.”
“Yeah, I might do that. Not right now, though. It was good to tell you. But right now, I need something else.” He curled his palm around the back of my neck and guided my mouth on his.
“Baby, we don’t have to...I just want you to feel safe…” I managed to get out between Vee’s hungry kisses.
“You are here. I’m fine,” he groaned into my mouth. “I have no idea how I stayed away from you for so long. I missed you so much. I know it’s strange. We didn’t even get a whole day together.” Vee’s other hand ran down my back.
“Weird, but it was the same for me.” It would have been funny, the two of us gasping out half sentences while our hands grappled with each other, but damn, it was anything but funny to be painfully hard once more.
“I was ready to tell you that you don’t have to stay with me just because you’re attracted to me. I should’ve seen that coming. Should’ve paid more attention to the lore. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not, baby. Never. It felt like having a Vee-shaped hole in my chest,” I blurted out.
Vee pulled away and smirked at me.
“Oh Nate.” He brushed the length of my cheekbone with his thumb. “From now on you’ll have only one Vee-shaped hole, and I can guarantee you’ll never want to get rid of that one.”
I snorted and shook my head at him in mock exasperation. “Seriously?”
“Oh yes, Frat Boy.” His voice was dark with lust. Vee laid me down and brought his dick to my ass.
Fuuuck.
He was careful as he entered me, but I felt no discomfort. My body was a caged animal, climbing the walls in desperate need of some relief.
Vee gave me exactly what I needed. He pushed me to lie on my front again and fucked me so enthusiastically that I was sure my body imprinted on the memory foam.
If that’s not something you’ll remember, I don’t know what will be.
We collapsed in each other’s arms after he had stuffed me to the brim with his release. It was a while before my body stopped shaking and I was able to clamber out of bed so we could have a shower.
“I don’t wanna change you either, Vee,” I muttered into his cushy pecs. “I didn’t say that before, but I really mean it.”
“I’ve been thinking… What do you say we make it official, and if things go well, maybe you can move in with me? It’s pretty close by. Just a quick twenty- minute car ride. Unless you want to stay here...” His nervousness was so fucking adorable.
“Nah, when we move in together, it’s gonna be your house. I’m not attached to this place at all. It was just a quick fix, anyway. And I love your cabin.”
“Me, too. Renting would be silly when I own my house, but I’d do it for you,” he added in a rush.
“Aww, you’re so cute, baby.” I lazily grinned up at him. “It might be your cum in my ass talking, but I’m really looking forward to moving in with you.”