Chapter 04 AXEL
Oliver whips his head around until he spots Sadie. “Shit! You’re still here?”
She laughs. “Sorry, guys. Loving the immediate connection, but I was worried that if I didn’t interrupt, things might get a little too graphic to use any of the images.”
I snort a laugh because that’s probably a fair assessment. I’m not about to apologize though, that kiss was really hot. And so is Oliver.
“Damn, Superstar. Looks like we’ll need to kiss again. This time try to keep things a little more PG though,“
I tease. I know I was the one sending that kiss into the more explicit category, not him, but I couldn’t help myself.
When I agreed to do this, I’d hoped the guy would be attractive, but I was not expecting this. Yeah, he’s obviously crazy fit, the curves of his arm muscles are visible even beneath his fancy shirt, and the way his pants are hugging his thick thighs are leaving very little up to the imagination. But Oliver is also so fucking cute with his blushing, and wide, warm brown eyes. He seemed like he could barely remember how to breathe when he saw me, and the obvious desire in his expression is a fucking rush.
I’m in no hurry for this to end. My hand is still resting on his hip, and I rub my thumb over it to draw his attention back to our connection.
Sadie laughs again. “I’m afraid to say whatever you guys want because of how quickly that first kiss escalated, but yeah, if you’d like to try again, maybe keep in mind that the goal is for a lot of people to see these pictures. Like your family members and young queer kids who might be excited that a professional athlete is proudly kissing another man.”
“Shit,“
Oliver mutters under his breath before chuckling as he turns back to me. “Um. Yeah, I’d like to try again if you do.”
I lick my bottom lip and drag my teeth over it as I stare at his mouth. “Okay.”
He playfully pushes my shoulder, but not hard enough to actually put any space between us. “Fuck, Axel. That look doesn’t make me think you’re going to behave.”
I snort a laugh. “Yeah. That’s probably a fair assumption.“
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, slowly blowing it out. “Okay. I can do this. I’ll be more professional. Sorry, Sadie.”
“You’re good.“
I can hear the smile in her voice, but I can’t bring myself to look away from Oliver as she continues. “I’m starting up again.”
“So, Oliver. What are you doing after this?“
I ask, moving my other hand so I have one resting on each of his hips.
He smiles hesitantly back at me as he slowly places his hands around my neck like we’re going to slow dance or something. “I have the rest of the day off. I’ll probably spend it at home. Nothing exciting.”
“And what would I have to do to get you to include me in those plans? I promise I could make them more exciting,“
I say suggestively.
His eyes go wide again, and I love how innocent he manages to look even after grinding his hard dick into me only moments ago. “Wha—what?”
“Well, we could go back to my apartment if you’d prefer. But my sister will be there, and I’m guessing you live in a little bit nicer of a place than I do. Unless you’re not a very good hockey player. I don’t actually know what sort of salary you’re working with so I shouldn’t assume.”
“I am a very good hockey player, thank you very much,“
he scoffs, though he’s still smiling. Then more quietly, he adds, “I was just surprised you were so boldly suggesting we continue hanging out after this.”
Sadie is still circling us as we chat, snapping away.
I shrug. “I figured it might be easier for you to behave now if you had the promise of some alone time after this.”
His mouth drops open again, this time in a mock-offended expression. “Excuse me, sir, but I don’t think I’m the one who needs help behaving right now.”
“Yeaaah, calling me sir, isn’t exactly going to help that.“
His eyes go impossibly wider as his smile grows. Fuck, it’s adorable how easy it is to get a reaction out of him. “So what do you say? Are we hanging out after this?”
He rolls his lips between his teeth, but the corners of his mouth are still raised like he’s fighting a smile. After a long moment he nods. “Okay. If you behave for the rest of this photoshoot, and we get usable pictures for the charity campaign, then yeah, you can come back to my place after.”
Well, that was easy. I flash what I hope looks like an innocent smile. “Deal. Does that mean I can kiss you again now?”
“I don’t know, Axel. Can you follow the rules?“
he taunts, and damn, him being all shy is fucking adorable, but him teasing me back might be even better.
“One way to find out.“
I smirk as I lean in for a much sweeter kiss than our first. I still bring a hand up to his face, but I cup it more innocently than I did before. Our lips meet, and I refrain from immediately pushing into his mouth, savoring the feel of his soft, full upper lip between my own. I gently lick at the seam between his lips, and he relaxes into me in a way that’s almost as addicting as when he was grinding into me earlier.
Hopefully this kiss looks more innocent for the camera, because it’s still lighting me up in a way that quickly has me fantasizing about some very indecent plans for later.
When I finally force myself to pull back, I’m not really ready to break the connection. But I know I should check in with Sadie and see if she has anything usable. Still, I can’t help but run my thumb over his kiss-swollen bottom lip, a promise of more to come before I call out, “Was that any better?”
Sadie laughs, staring at her camera and shaking her head as she walks closer to us. “I think so?“
She answers like it’s a question before turning her camera toward us.
We shift so that we’re standing next to each other to both see the screen, and I whistle slowly as she flips through a few images. “Damn, we look good. No denying you’re enjoying kissing a man there,“
I tease, bumping Oliver with my elbow.
He doesn’t respond, seemingly entranced by the images as he stares, his smile and expression full of awe, like he can’t believe what he’s seeing even though it only just happened.
I wrap an arm around him and gently pull him closer to me. “Hey, you okay?”
He automatically wraps his arm around me too, leaning into the embrace. He nods a few times before answering in a tight voice. “Great. Just kind of surreal. I’ve wanted to come out for so long, and seeing these… we look like a real couple.”
“No second thoughts?“
I check, giving him another squeeze. I’m not normally this physically affectionate, but this is obviously a big deal for him, and it’s not like touching him is a hardship.
Oliver holds my gaze as he confidently answers “None.”
We smile at each other for a long moment before the click of Sadie’s camera reminds me that this might not be over. “Awe. That one’s really cute. Okay, so, I’m not really sure what the team is looking for, or how many images they’re hoping to include. Do you guys want to try any classic couple poses? Maybe get a few shots that don’t involve kissing.”
“What’s the fun in that?“
I immediately question, but Oliver squeezes me tighter to him, muttering “behave“
under his breath, and I quickly agree.
She directs me to stand behind Oliver and wrap my hands around his waist while he looks at me over his shoulder. My dick is right there, and his ass barely looks real with how round it is, so I scoot in close enough that I can playfully bump it with my thickening cock, and we end up laughing through most of the pictures.
Next, she has us hold hands and walk around the room. We walk toward her, away from her, and take a small lap around the area with all the extra lighting where they’ve hung the backdrop. I feel really silly until Oliver quietly says, “I’ve never been able to walk around and hold another man’s hand before.”
His admission makes something in my chest ache, and I squeeze his hand a bit tighter. Despite his somewhat shy demeanor, he’s seemed very comfortable during this whole thing. He agreed to hang out after this pretty quickly, too. It’s been easy to forget just how new this all might be for him.
I’ve never felt the need to hide my sexuality. Indiana as a whole might not be the most progressive place in the world, but we were close to the Illinois border and north enough that people would act like we lived in the Chicago suburbs. I’d met plenty of openly gay people growing up, and it didn’t seem like something that I needed to hide or be ashamed of. I had plenty of friends, and my parents had bigger problems than worrying about who I was dating. I never even came out to either of them, but they knew I had a boyfriend in high school before I realized how little I cared to be in a relationship.
I wonder how many times Oliver has wished he could do the things I take for granted. I openly flirt with men all the time without giving it much thought. If I go out to pickup, I don’t worry about being seen in public. I might not have wanted to hold anyone’s hand for the last ten years, but feeling like you can’t do something is obviously different than not wanting to.
I squeeze his hand again. “I’m glad I got to do this with you. And that your team is being supportive.”
His answering smile is so pure and sweet that it almost makes me uncomfortable to be on the receiving end of it. At the end of the day, I know I’m just a nobody that someone who works for the team decided would look good next to this professional hockey player in pictures. Which makes sense because I’m hot, but I’m also a random bartender.
And I might have given him shit about not introducing himself, but my sister has hockey on enough at our apartment that I did recognize him. He’s her favorite player, and he looks like that, so how could I not. I also know he isn’t some no-name rookie riding the bench. Oliver is one of the star players the announcers are always gushing over.
That I’m here with him at all is kind of hard to wrap my mind around. The fact that he’s invited me to go home with him after this is fucking wild.
But I’m not about to get in my head about it. Kissing him was amazing, and he obviously enjoyed it too. He seems like a pretty chill guy, all things considered, so I’m going to stop overthinking this and enjoy my night with him.
Then he’ll tell the world he’s gay, and he’ll probably be dating a movie star this time next month once they find out he’s available. And I’ll go back to my normal life, but I’ll be able to tease my sister about that time I hooked up with her favorite player.
Sounds pretty great to me, actually.
“Okay, guys. These look awesome, and I need to get some quick shots with the other players and the contest winners, so if you’re happy with what we have, I think we can be done here!“
Sadie says, offering us the screen as she flips through some of the recent shots so that we can see them.
“Looks good to me.“
I shrug, looking to Oliver to confirm.
He’s still beaming as he nods. “Thank you so much for today. Sorry if we got a little too into it at first.”
She waves him off. “No worries. I’m excited to see how the campaign goes.”
“Me too,“
he agrees.
“Well, I’m going to let Lottie know I’m ready for the next people, so you’re both free to go. Best of luck with everything!”
We say our goodbyes and leave the makeshift studio. “So did you drive here, or did you want to come with me?“
he asks as we head down the empty hallway.
“Oh, I definitely want to come with you,“
I tease, continuing quickly before he can change his mind. “Does that mean I was good? Do I get a reward?”
He bites his lip, and his cheeks darken as he glances around, probably confirming we’re alone before he responds in an equally flirty tone. “I guess we’ll have to wait until you’re at my place to find out.”
Hell yes. This is going to be so much fun. I’ll send Ivy a text when we’re in the car so she knows not to wait for me after her own pictures are taken, but I know she’ll understand. She was thrilled that I agreed to do the stranger session at all.
I try to suppress my smile so I don’t look too eager, but I don’t think I’m very successful. “Lead the way.”