Chapter 19 #2
Reality would come crashing in soon enough in the form of pre-season tours with their respective clubs, in the form of commuting and keeping two sets of clothes in different places, of away games and promo obligations. This, now, was their time.
They’d make the most of it.
This early in the morning, they were nearly alone on the countryside roads, hardly any cars around. Heat already crept up on the rolling hills of the Luberon, their ambling run taking them past vineyards and olive groves, lavender fields already past the peak of their bloom.
With Alex under strict doctor’s orders to only gradually increase the strain on his ankle, they took it easy and walked the last five minutes back to the villa, tucked away behind oaks and pine trees.
They stripped their clothes off by the private pool and used the outdoor shower, naked bodies pressing together under the thin trickle of water.
God, Lee wouldn’t mind dedicating the rest of forever to mapping the muscles of Alex’s back.
Then again, he had plans—sunlight and a private pool at their disposal, hours until the others would get here.
Yes.
Alex seemed to agree because he paused to simply smile at Lee, wide enough to make his dimples pop, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “So. Come here often?”
It probably wasn’t healthy, the way fondness crashed over Lee. “Can’t say I do, but for you, I might make it a habit.”
“Amazing,” Alex said, taking one step towards the pool and tugging Lee along.
Lee agreed, although he wasn’t sure he and Alex were referring to the same thing. “What’s amazing?”
“How that was a terrible line, but somehow, I still want you to fuck me.”
Lee exhaled around the flutter of heat in his stomach. Fuck yes. “And they say romance is dead,” he drawled.
Laughing, eyes bright, Alex tumbled them into the water. They came back up together, clinging to each other, wetness clumping Alex’s lashes. Lee pushed Alex up against the side of the pool to kiss him, water sloshing around them, minutes slipping away.
“How’s your ankle?” Lee remembered to ask eventually—this had been Alex’s first proper run, and if they still needed to be careful, Lee wanted to know now rather than once he had, say, his dick in Alex’s ass. He planned to make this a pleasant experience, after all.
“My ankle?” Mischief edged Alex’s grin as he reached for Lee’s hand and guided it towards his cock. “It’s fine. Here, why don’t you check?”
“That’s not your ankle,” Lee said even as he ran light fingers along Alex’s erection.
“Oh, really?” Alex tilted his head, widening his eyes. “I guess I was never that good at biology.”
Lee clasped Alex’s cock in a loose grasp, rubbed his thumb over the head, and waited for Alex’s gaze to refocus. “Thought you aced your A levels?”
“Ah, but it’s been a while.”
“All I hear are excuses.”
“All I hear—”
Whatever else Alex might have said got cut short when Lee moved back in to kiss him, sliding his free hand around to cup Alex’s ass.
Alex dug his fingers into Lee’s back to pull him closer, sunshine flitting through Lee’s vision, the taste of chlorine on his lips.
He could have easily lost himself in the moment, in Alex. But.
He broke their kiss and pulled back for a smile. “How about moving this onto dry land?”
“I hope that means you’re planning to have your wicked way with me,” Alex said.
“That’s exactly what it means.”
“Excellent.” With that, Alex twisted free to hoist himself out of the pool, Lee’s attention momentarily caught by the swell of Alex’s ass. God bless the invention of squats.
Alex glanced over his shoulder, gloriously naked, wetness glistening on his skin. “Coming?”
“Not quite yet.”
Warmth shone in Alex’s laugh. “Well, then get a move on.”
Since Alex had a point, Lee did. They moved over to the garden sofa, Lee unfolding a blanket he’d left out before their run, along with lube and condoms.
“You’ve made preparations?” Alex sounded amused and so, so fond as he stretched out on the blanket, draping one of his legs over the backrest before he beckoned Lee closer. As if Lee could resist.
He settled between Alex’s thighs. “What can I say? I’m a planner.”
Sunlight and summer tangled in Alex’s eyes, his smile sweet. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“I love you,” Lee said.
“But I know that.”
Lee poked Alex’s stomach, and Alex laughed.
“Fine, I love you too. Now…” Alex’s thighs fell open, one leg still draped over the back of the couch. “If you think you could finally fuck me, that would be splendid. Think I’ve been patiently waiting for about a decade, so…”
“We could also—”
“Do it the other way around, I know.” Alex raised himself up on his elbows to kiss the frown off Lee’s mouth, then fell back onto the blanket.
“We will. But this is—I want this, okay? It’s not…
God, this is going to sound ridiculous, but it’s something I’ve never done before.
And I love the idea of sharing that with you.
Because I love you, and I trust you, and I want this. ”
Jesus.
Lee shook his head, his stupid heart giving a stupid twist in his chest. “Way to make me feel special.”
“You are,” Alex said simply, and that—he just—it wasn’t fair, the way he made Lee feel.
“The reason I waited?” Lee leaned down to rub their noses together, and yeah, that was silly and sentimental. He didn’t care. “I mean, honestly, we could have made it happen at some point while sharing a room for weeks, crazy busy or not. But I wanted it to be… I didn’t want to be your default.”
Confusion creased Alex’s brow. “My default?”
“I didn’t want to be your first just because you didn’t exactly have a range of options.”
“You’re a romantic.” Alex sounded delighted by his realization. It startled a laugh out of Lee, the heaviness of the moment melting away.
“I don’t think anyone has ever accused me of that.”
“It was a compliment.”
“Oh.” Lee considered it, then nodded, his nose dragging over Alex’s cheek. “Good.”
“If that’s quite sorted, maybe we could move things along?” Alex raised his hips to emphasize the point and yes, right.
Right.
Christ, Lee was nervous. Maybe, a little. It wasn’t like Alex would rate the experience on a scale of one to five afterwards, with a detailed assessment of how Lee compared to his previous lovers. Still.
Alex grinned at him. “Are you waiting for an engraved invitation?”
“Shut up,” Lee told him sweetly, and then proceeded to ensure that Alex did by sliding down the sofa so he could get his mouth on Alex’s cock.
As it turned out, Alex could be convinced, although he switched to mumbled obscenities along with Lee’s name.
In the quiet morning air, even Alex’s hushed voice seemed loud, a marked difference from being locked away in their hotel room in Spain.
Lee took his time preparing Alex, liberally coating his fingers with lube, until Alex moved into each touch, gentle gasps and sighs.
“Today, if you will?” he complained eventually, and just for that, Lee dragged it out for another couple of minutes before he removed his fingers and shifted up to kiss Alex, heart twisting a little at how he turned into it immediately, clutching Lee’s shoulders like that was his anchor.
“Roll over?” Lee asked once they drew apart, and Alex grinned, cheeks flushed.
“Finally.”
Lee grinned back. “Oh, excuse me for wanting to make this a pleasant experience for you.”
“Apology accepted.” Alex turned around and reached for a pillow, glancing at Lee over his shoulder. “I got tested, by the way. All negative.”
The view was… ah. Distracting, to say the least. Which was why it took Lee a second to decipher Alex’s meaning. Once he did, he draped himself over Alex’s back and wrapped an arm around him, kissed the nape of his neck.
“Same. Been a while since I did a test, but you’re also the only one I’ve been with since then, so…”
Alex twisted around to meet Lee’s eyes, the gentle smile that played around his mouth at odds with his brisk tone. “Good. Keep it that way.”
“I intend to,” Lee said softly.
“Good,” Alex repeated, much quieter now.
It felt big, the golden morning light spinning out around them and Alex in Lee’s arms, time on their side for once.
When Lee lined himself up, he did so with one hand on Alex’s back, slow and steady, forcing himself to focus on Alex rather than how fucking amazing it felt, tight heat, easy drag, God.
Eyes half-lidded, Alex reached back with one hand to grab Lee’s ass and urge him forward. “Not my first time,” he mumbled, voice deliciously rough around the edges, and hang on, hang on.
“But you just said—”
“Marco bought me a dildo.” Alex followed it up with a bright glance that said he knew exactly what he’d just done because Jesus, images. While Alex had mentioned he’d told Jeff’s brother, he’d left out the bit about Marco apparently turning into a sex toy peddler.
Lee stilled his hips, just breathing, breathing. “And you’re telling me now?”
“Thought it might drive home the point that I’m not a fragile flower.”
Oh, fine. If that was how Alex wanted it? Lee could take a hint. He shifted back a little before he pushed back in, one smooth glide that made Alex exhale in a rush, head dropping forward.
“Good?” Lee asked, flush against Alex’s ass, hands on Alex’s waist, and oh God, yes, it was—it was so good. But this wasn’t about Lee. Or, no, it was—but not primarily, not in this very moment.
Alex adjusted his position just slightly, spreading his thighs further. “Do that again.”
Well, who was Lee to deny him?
“This?” Lee asked and followed it up with a roll of his hips. Alex moved with him, moved into it—deeper, and Lee didn’t quite succeed in stifling a groan.
“This,” Alex confirmed, sounding just a hint smug.
Okay then. All right.
This time, Lee didn’t hold back—held onto Alex’s waist for a thrust, and then another, Alex meeting him each time. This, yes, and they found a rhythm, sweet curl of heat in Lee’s stomach but not yet, not like this. He wanted to see Alex.
Alex made an offended little noise when Lee pulled out, all protest immediately forgotten when Lee drew him up into a kiss. They pressed together, Alex’s fingers digging into Lee’s biceps, open mouths and harsh breaths, cicadas humming in the nearby grass.
“On your back,” Lee said, only to move right back in for another kiss.
It took some maneuvering so Alex had space to roll over, a pillow under him that would need a wash after.
Who the fuck cared, though? Not Lee, that was for sure.
All he cared about was the way he fit against Alex just perfectly, how Alex’s body welcomed him right back in.
The brightness in Alex’s eyes and Alex biting his lip as he started working his own cock.
It wasn’t all new, maybe just a natural extension of what had come before—but it felt different out here in the light, no need to be quiet because there was no one else around.
Just them.
By now, Lee was familiar with the way Alex’s breathing sped up as he got close, hips rising off the pillow to move into every one of Lee’s thrusts.
Lee picked up the pace. And oh, it was glorious—watching Alex’s eyes lose focus, his breath coming out in short little gasps, lids sliding shut as he came apart.
Lee drank in the sight and didn’t realize how close he was himself until his own orgasm hit just seconds after, washing over him, pulling him under.
He held onto Alex as his pulse steadied, draped half over Alex’s chest, awkwardly twisted yet unwilling to move just yet even though he might be crushing Alex.
“I love you.” He shaped the words against Alex’s throat.
“Thought nothing counts that’s said in the afterglow?” A smile rang bright in Alex’s voice as he slung one arm around Lee’s back, shifting slightly under him into a more comfortable position.
Lee let his lips catch on slightly sweaty skin. “This counts.”
“You can’t just change the rules as you see fit.”
“Who says I can’t?” Lee raised his head to grin down at Alex, taking in the flushed skin and messy hair. God, he was pretty. Resulting awkwardness aside, Lee had been one hundred per cent right all those years ago.
“I do.” Alex grinned back. “But I love you anyway.”
“Oh, good.” Lee aimed for a lofty tone and probably missed by a country mile.
He didn’t care—didn’t care about anything except the light in Alex’s eyes and the brightness of the day, how they had another six just like this before reality would scoop them up and spit them out in different locations for their pre-season training.
“I mean, given you’re kind of stuck with me and all. ”
“You say that like it’s a threat.”
“I guess that depends on your perspective.” Move, right. Lee should, except Alex still had an arm wrapped around him and also, Lee didn’t want to.
Alex made a considering noise. “From where I stand—”
“You’re looking pretty horizontal to me.”
“—it sounds like a promise. Worse blokes to be stuck with, after all.”
“Wow, pretty and funny. I must have hit the jackpot.”
Laughing softly, Alex reached up to cup Lee’s cheek. “Do lines like that ever work for you?”
“As a matter of fact…” Lee paused to send Alex a meaningful look. “They do indeed.” And then, because he had no doubt that Alex was about to come up with another smartass comment, he preempted all further words by covering Alex’s mouth with his own.
Reality could wait.