Chapter 31
Chapter thirty-one
Duncan
What’s under that kilt Rhys?
"If you play an eight right now we're screwed." Caroline says to Felix who is sitting to my left. She's down to one card, so is Emmett. Rhys has two left and for being a newcomer, he's caught on to the game pretty quickly.
With so many of us playing I shuffled up two decks.
"C'mon Cap, be a good teammate and volley up the assist." I say as my thumb rubs along the blue nine in my hand. Then I'll be down to two cards, one wild and one yellow skip card.
Felix makes a show of looking through his hand. He's clearly losing this round with a full fan of options but I know my captain, he's a team player and he's here to boost up his guys whenever he can.
My teammates might be groaning but all I hear is the heavens singing as he drops a blue eight on the pile.
I slap my nine down and stand up. With a dramatic throat clear I ask the room, "What do you call a guy with a rubber toe?"
Aiden just tosses his hand down to the table. The rest of the group tries to think it through and I am buzzing with excitement to tell them this one.
"Bouncy something" Caroline tries.
"Give up?" They all start reaching for their cards before I even get to deliver the punchline. "They call him, Roberto."
"Fuck you." Johnny says before he chuckles.
Rhys has been pretty quiet throughout the game but I think he's just focused on getting the hang of it. He shakes his head a little as he examines his cards and I can't help but like how intense he is. He smirks along with everyone else as they pick up their cards.
Next to me Emmett plays a three which gives him two extra turns because of the Rule of Threes. He switches to a yellow three and then plays a yellow two before yelling "brUNO!"
Everyone leans in and we mentally strategize without knowing anything about what the other players are holding.
Rhys is next.
"Okay, so I have a yellow two here," he plays it, "and that means I laid down a double so I get to play two more cards."
We all watch as he lays down a wild card and says, "Green and brUNO!"
Then he triumphantly drops a green six onto the pile and stands with his hands over his head.
My cards get tossed into the air as I jump up to hug him. Everyone folds and begrudgingly congratulates Rhys.
"Beginners' luck." Emmett grumbles. "We'll get you next time."
The group disperses leaving Rhys and I alone on the sofa. "You look cute in a skirt."
"Kilt." He grumbles and I smirk.
"Potato, po-tah-to." I lean back and stretch out my legs. "What’s a guy gotta do to get invited under the kilt?"
Rhys’s eyes fly to mine and then he looks frantically around the room. "Shhh."
"C’mon no one is paying attention."
"That’s fine but I still don’t want anyone to know. I think the girls figured it out and Felix was giving me eyes earlier when you started talking about my parent’s home."
"Because he wants to become the exclusive party planner for it."
"What about Emmett trying to figure out how you knew this about my house?" Rhys’s eyes are wide as he runs through the interactions.
"Wait," I turn to him. "You’re really upset?"
"Yeah Duncan."
"Oh, okay, sorry. It’ll be fine." I assure him. "You wanna head out?"
"Kinda. But you can stay with your friends if you want."
"Nah, I wanna be with you." I admit and it’s the truth. It was fun to be with the whole group. I couldn’t have asked for Rhys to fit in better with my friends. He was a natural.
He played the game, albeit a little stiffly, but he was involved. He added some commentary and was open when asked any questions.
I’m feeling proud of him for branching out.
He deserves a reward.
And, frankly, I do too for keeping my hands off of him all night.
He’s wearing a fucking kilt.
"Call us a car, Charming." I whisper as I slide a finger under the hem of his kilt and drag it from the outside of his knee in. His legs twitch to close and I press the inside of his knee to keep them open.
"I had the car wait for me." He says through a swallow.
"Great, then let’s go."
"Like, leave together?"
"Yeah, everyone knows I don’t drive so you having a car service is perfect."
"Is that why your car broke down in Scotland? You don’t know how to drive?"
"I know how to drive, I just chose not to." I say with a lift of my chin.
"Okay."
We say goodbye to everyone and follow Rhys outside. He has another large SUV waiting for him. We climb in and I slide right next to him. "Does your driver have an NDA?"
"Yes, w-why?"
"I can’t wait until we’re home."
I watch Rhys’s eyes widen as I slide over on the bench seat. I’m like trained to be turned on when I’m near him. And while it was fun to party with everyone tonight, his proximity has been a constant tease since he arrived.
I run my hands up his legs and when I reach his boxers I tisk. "You’re not supposed to wear anything underneath a kilt, Charming."
"I’m more comfortable with something on." He explains and I lower my head to his thigh. I push the plaid up his leg and hook my fingers into the top of his boxers. He lifts his hips for me and lets me tug them down, his cock already tenting the fabric above it.
Rhys starts to pull it up to his waist but I stop him. "No, I want to get under this."
"Fuck, alright." He says as the car takes a turn and he slaps his hand to the window to keep himself upright.
With my head in his lap I burrow under his kilt and take his hardening dick into my mouth. "Fuck, fuck." He curses as his hand comes to hold my head with a layer of wool between us.
It won’t be a long drive to Rhys’s house so I pick up my pace. His cock grows stiffer with each pass of my lips along his length. I pause for a moment to lick my lips and wet them again when Rhys taps my shoulder.
"Here." He says as he hands me a lip balm.
"Thank you." I say as I swipe it on. Mmmm, cherry.
I hand it back to him and find my lips almost gliding now and I’m able to go even faster.
"Shit, Duncan, shit. I’m close."
"Mmm." I hum around him before I swallow. He tilts forward, crushing my head into his cock with his chest.
I pride myself on gagging gracefully and pulling off with a lewd pop to take a deep breath. "Fuck my mouth, Charming."
Can he hear me from under the fabric?
My tongue runs around his tip for a moment before his hands hold my head in place and he thrusts up. Fuck. Yes.
There is nothing hotter than when he takes what he wants.
Roughly, Rhys drives his dick down my throat, over and over, holding me immobile. With a final shove, I gag around him, he doesn’t let up so I gag again.
Only then does he pull back and loosens his hold on me.
"I’m about to come." He says gruffly so I focus my attention at his tip. Circling, licking, sucking. Pushing my tongue along his slit. Flicking it on that spot just under his tip that drives every man insane.
"Duncan, Dunc!" He shouts and I open my mouth while he shoots his release along my tongue. I swallow and move forward to softly suck him again and I milk more from his beautiful cock.
The car slows and I emerge from under the kilt to find a gloriously disheveled Rhys Reid.
"I can’t believe you just did that." He pants.
"I can’t believe you aren’t already begging to suck my cock." The car slows to a stop at his house.
He laughs. "Of course I am. But, I’ll admit a Ginger Ale Can wasn’t exactly sexy."
"I beg to differ." I say as I follow him out of the back seat and up to the door.
"How so?"
"A refreshing ginger ale? The way it coats your tongue, your throat, the way you just crave it in your mouth."
"I get it now."
"Do you? I could keep going."
Rhys closes the door, locks it, and presses my shoulders into the back of the door. "You’re not going anywhere."
***
Rhys sighs against my side. We’re naked and sated, sitting together in bed.
It’s my new favorite state.
"The school set a date for the end of semester showcase." Rhys’s breath tangles with my chest hair.
"When is it?" I lean over and pull my phone off the nightstand and pull up my calendar.
Rhys gives me the date and the time and I enter it. Miraculously we don’t have a game and we’re in town. It’ll be a busy week with Teamsgiving, Felix’s annual Thanksgiving Day feast, and a few weekend games before a roach trip for the first two weeks of December.
Rhys got to experience a Felix part tonight, but Teamsgiving is another level.
Felix goes all out. Well Andre prepares everything and Felix reheats it to the precise instructions.
Which, after having Andre put me in my place over how poorly outfitted my kitchen was I’d follow his directions to the letter.
Pinky promise.
Memories of past Teamsgivings fill the space behind my eyelids but in each I envision Rhys with me.
He got along great with everyone tonight. He jumped right into the BrUNO game. And, I could tell everyone adored him.
Would it be so bad to invite him to Teamsgiving?
"And, then, well my work at the school will be done." Rhys says to my chest.
My stomach sinks. I had conveniently put the fact he’s moving back to Nashville from my mind.
I clear my throat. "Do you go home to Scotland for Christmas?"
"Usually, yeah. This year, Zara got me a spot in a New Year’s Eve special so I’ll be back by then."
I can only nod. I don’t know how to navigate this.
This connection with Rhys has sort of snuck up on me. It was never a combustion. A match strike.
Instead it’s been like a slowly simmering pot, always ready to boil over but returning to simmering after.
Holy shit, did I just think through a cooking analogy?
I don’t know who I am anymore.
Especially in these in-between moments.
Rhys and I are still simmering, there is still a current of electricity running through us, but it is the opposite of dangerous.
It’s comforting, like stepping into a fully warmed up shower after a long practice.
It’s grounding like a hug from your grandmother.
It’s nice.
Nice?
Fuck, I was under his kilt less than an hour ago. There’s nothing nice about that.
An exhale leaves my chest and I run my hand up through my hair. I hear Rhys swallow thickly like maybe he’s sinking into these feelings too.
"Did you have a good time tonight?" I ask.
"Yeah it was fun. Your friends are great."
"And Felix throws a good party." I feel so lame setting myself up like this but I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. "He hosts a Thanksgiving party too. We call it Teamsgiving."
"That’s nice."
Nice.
Shit.
"It’s actually the week of your showcase."
"Cool."
I beg the ceiling for answers. For a how-to-ask-your-fuck-buddy-to-come-with-you-to-Teamsgiving tutorial but it’s blank.
The awkwardness is crushing me. My body feels itchy but on the inside, like I need to get up and shake my arms and legs out.
My fingers drum on my stomach and Rhys sighs and rolls over.
The tattoos that trail along his exposed arm transfix me and the twitching feeling evaporates.
I trace an intricate design of a mountain range in front of music bars, the sun, the moon floating in the piece as notes, from his shoulder down his tricep and watch the way his back rises and falls with this breath.
"Tonight was perfect." I whisper. Rhys’s breath stutters but he doesn’t roll over, knowing I need to say this to the space between us. "Thank you for coming."
We’re both silent for a moment. More words, confessions, are on the tip of my tongue but I don’t want to say anything to him that I can’t take back in a month.
"I’d like to see the man who doesn’t come while getting sucked off under his kilt in the back of a car."
My head falls forward and I rest it between his shoulder blades. A quiet laugh, a press of lips to his warm skin. "What are friends for?"