52. FRANKIE #2
I sigh into our next kiss and wiggle my hips until his hand wraps firmly around us both.
And then I just hold him. Arms wrapped around his shoulders, hands sifting through his hair, our hips rocking lightly, but his hand doing most of the work.
It’s a soft sex. The beautiful kind. The kind built from warmth and affection, from a place of security and peace. The kind I’ve only ever had with him.
The pressure builds unhurried, coil after coil swirling like a summer breeze inside me.
It settles heavily in my groin. Jackson grunts into my mouth, his fingers flexing tighter.
My pulse picks up as the storm builds in the distance.
I draw back, needing to see him. Our noses bump as our bodies rock with our subtle grinding.
Those blue eyes are a dark gray, storm clouds rolling in.
A single streak of pleasure courses through me.
A warning. Lightning in the distance. My mouth parts, and our lips catch and graze, choppy breaths mingling.
A throaty rumble comes from the back of his throat, the sound skittering down my spine.
Another flash of pleasure lights me up. My thighs clench around his waist, my biceps flexing.
Closer.
His fist tightens, speeds up in time with the pleasure building inside us both.
Even closer.
Our mouths hover, his breath bursting over my skin, and I thrust into his hand. The pressure rises, my balls drawing tight as zaps of bliss shoot down my dick.
Even closer.
“Frankie.” His desperate whisper laced in pleasure-pain spins and swirls around me, setting my skin on fire.
I catch his mouth, our tandem groans melding together to the point I don’t know which one comes from me and which comes from him.
His free hand bites into me, and I yank back on his hair; a death grip I need to keep me from being completely blown away.
It’s a tornado of bliss crashing down upon us, and our only hope is to hold on to each other to survive the storm.
He tenses, everything going still except for his shuttling hand. And then his next words light me up.
“I love you.”
I thrust into him and hold, clenching him to me as my mouth crashes down on his in a bruising kiss. No finesse. No elegance. Just lips trapped together by a force more powerful than all the problems hovering in the shadows of this hotel room.
Love.
I have to believe love will be enough.
I have to.
The alternative isn’t something I can bear.
Jackson’s alarm rings through the small hotel room, and I groan, burying my head under my pillow.
We passed out last night immediately afterward—literally wiped ourselves off with the towels and crashed. I think both of our bodies and minds had reached their limits from lack of sleep and emotional turmoil. I grimace. Ugh. I didn’t even brush my teeth.
The room goes silent, and Jackson shuffles up in the bed until he’s resting against the headboard.
I glance at my own phone. Six a.m. Fuck my life. Jackson hadn’t gotten back to the hotel until just before midnight.
He scrubs a hand down his face. “Sorry.” His voice is thick with sleep. “Chuck wanted me to call him before I head in.”
And now I’m instantly awake. I grab some pillows and stack them behind us so we’re more comfortable while Jackson lifts the phone to his ear.
“Hey, Chuck.”
I lean in, shamelessly trying to eavesdrop, but I can’t make out everything Chuck’s saying.
“Hold up. One sec, Chuck. Let me put you on speaker.” He taps his screen. “All right, there we go. Frankie’s here.”
“Obviously.”
Chuck laughs. “Morning, Frankie.”
“Morning, Adonis.”
A dimple flashes in Jackson’s face as he fights his smile.
“So, you wanted me to call to go over how the meetings went?” Jackson fidgets with the sheets, and I rest my hand atop his. Both support for him and me.
“Yes. I met with the GM. She wants to meet with you today before your game and officially welcome you to the team and give her personal vouch of support. They are extremely excited to have you, Jackson. Berkeley is a young team, and they don’t have the budget that a lot of teams have.
What they do have is an incredibly smart scouting team who saw your talent being shadowed by a full outfield on the Jetties.
I hadn’t even brought up anything personal, and I was getting assurance left and right that they want you for the long haul. ”
I squeeze his arm. One that’s stiff as stone, like his entire body has been petrified. Overwhelm is hitting again.
“That’s amazing news,” I say. “Right, Jackie?”
“Yeah,” he says automatically.
“Now, as for you coming out to the team. The words were barely out of my mouth before she made it vehemently clear that Berkeley is an inclusive franchise and the only thing they do not tolerate is intolerance. She has a meeting set up at five tonight for us with the PR department. They’re here to support you in any way you require. ”
Jackson lets out a slow breath. My heart is threatening to beat right out of my chest. This is good. This is so, so good for him.
“Damn,” he whispers.
“Yes.” Chuck’s smile is evident in the word. “It went really, really well, Jackson. She does want you—the both of you—to be prepared for this to get out. If possible, it’d be great to have Frankie in on the PR meeting. These decisions all affect him as well.”
“Of course. I’ll be there,” I say quickly and shoot Jackson a reassuring smile.
I think he might be a bit in shock. It’s probably best I’m there just to make sure he doesn’t slither onto the floor into a heap of unconsciousness.
“Excellent. The PR meeting is merely a safety net. If things go public, we’ll have a play-by-play plan to handle anything that comes our way. But otherwise…Jackson, it’s in your hands. However you want to handle it with your teammates is up to you.”
He nods, frowning. “I actually told my captain yesterday after the game.”
My eyebrows fly up. I didn’t see that coming.
“How’d that go?” Chuck asks.
“Good. His brother was hitting on me, and it kind of felt like as good a time as any to put that out there.”
I cock my head and squint at him. “When a queer man is hitting on you, it’s the perfect time to let him know you’re gay and available?”
His lips twitch. “That came out wrong. I mentioned that I’m gay and had a boyfriend waiting for me back at my hotel.”
I kiss his cheek. “Much better, dolcezza.”