Chapter Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Eight
Cyrus
Things changed for us after the beach trip.
Now that we’d had a taste of what it was like to be in a normal relationship, there was this sense of longing that seemed to work its way into every single interaction.
We’d hug a little longer, drag out our kisses, and hold on to our goodbyes until the last possible second.
It was torture, but with just a few weeks left until the triathlon, I tried to remind myself it was only temporary.
Today Reece was doing another open-water swim. After nearly drowning the last time he’d attempted it, I knew he’d be nervous, but I had something up my sleeve that would help.
When I pulled up to his house, he was already sprinting down the driveway toward my car.
“Good morning,” he said with a smile as he slid into the passenger seat. He leaned over the center console and kissed me, the wiry hairs of his beard and mustache tickling my face.
“Good morning, indeed,” I said as he fastened his seat belt. “How are we feeling about today?” I asked, putting the car in drive and starting off toward the lake.
“I’m not gonna lie. I’m nervous. But I watched some videos on ankle flexion, doubled up on my electrolytes, and I’ve been exclusively taking cold showers, so I should be set.”
“Confident and relaxed. Love to see it.”
Reece slid his free hand into mine as he scrolled through his phone with the other. “So, you’ll be at dinner tomorrow, right?”
A few of us had been invited to Atlas and Tegan’s for what we assumed was some sort of wedding party formation. Reece and Tegan had been getting along better as of late, but he was still wary about the strength of their relationship.
Gods, he was fucking cute.
Underneath that tough exterior, he was a sensitive teddy bear, especially when it came to his younger sister.
I smiled and shook my head, using one of my tentacles to nudge his leg.
“Yes, I’ve told you how many times already?
I’ll be there. I was thinking that maybe after, you could spend the night at my place?
Fallon mentioned he and Jimenez are going to the club.
We’ll have the apartment all to ourselves. ”
It was brazen. Stretching our secrecy to its very limits, but I missed falling asleep next to him. Waking up and hearing his grumpy, gravelly voice first thing in the morning.
I held my breath, hoping I didn’t push him too far with my request.
“I’d love to,” he said without missing a beat. I glanced over at him and smiled, and he quietly added, “You better fuck me in that tub.”
I lowered my voice to a soft, sensual purr, the one that drove him wild. “I’ll fuck you anywhere you want, darling. Just say the word.”
“Darling,” he said, and leaned his head against the window, refusing to look at me. “I like it when you call me that.”
I’d bet money his cheeks were flaming.
“Good, because I don’t intend to stop.”
I pulled the car into the empty parking lot at the lake, and we both got out.
“Gods, this was a poor choice,” Reece hissed as he pulled his hoodie up around his neck. “I’m never doing a tri in the fall again.”
I laughed and popped open my trunk, pulled out a garment bag, and held it up for Reece to see. “Well, that’s a shame, considering you have one of these now.”
Reece smiled wide and eagerly unzipped the bag. “You didn’t. A wet suit. Cy, these things aren’t fucking cheap.”
“I know you were planning to buy one closer to the race, but I wanted you to have it. Consider it a gift from trainer to student. I guessed on the size a bit, but I wanted it to be a surprise. Hopefully it fits.”
Reece launched himself at me, threw his arms around my neck, and smacked his lips against mine. If it weren’t for my tentacles catching us, we would have toppled over onto the asphalt.
“I’ll have to give you gifts more often. Speaking of, have you used your present yet?” I wiggled my eyebrows at him. Well, as best as I could wiggle the bumpy crests above my eyes.
He bit his lip and shook his head.
“When you do, I want you to video-call me. I want to see your face while you fuck it and think of me. Will you do that for me?” I purred against his throat.
“Y-yes. Whatever you want.” His voice was practically a whine.
I loved teasing him, loved knowing that my mate yearned for me and wanted to please me.
“That’s my good boy. Now, let’s see if we can get this thing on. Oh, wait. I almost forgot.” I pulled a plastic bag from the trunk and handed it to Reece.
With a confused look, he pulled a spray canister out of the bag. “Is this cooking spray?”
“No,” I snorted. “It’s some fancy spray lube. It prevents chafing and it’s supposed to help with getting your wet suit on.”
He grinned at me and my hearts raced.
“Thank you, Cy. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
My tentacles clenched tight to my arms, and I could feel my face flushing a darker blue. “I want you to do well and I know this is important to you.”
Reece and I walked side by side over to the changing stalls at the entrance to the beach. They were all empty because, as usual, we were the only ones here at the lake on a cool morning.
We crammed inside the stall and Reece immediately began to undress.
“Motherfucker,” he groaned as he pulled his hoodie over his head. His light pink nipples pebbled in the cool morning air, and I had to suppress the urge to pop one into my mouth.
We were here with a purpose, and that purpose wasn’t to fuck in a confined space.
We did that enough at the gym.
“All right, then,” I said when Reece was undressed down to his jammers. “Let me lube you up.”
He put his hands on his hips and laughed. “Can you not say that? The last thing I need is to get a boner while we’re trying to get this on.”
“What?” I said as I sprayed his ankles and calves with the lube. “It isn’t my fault you find me irresistible. Legs up.”
Reece wriggled one foot into the wet suit and then the other.
“Okay, not too bad.” I used my tentacles to pull the tight neoprene over his calves. “Your thighs are going to be the real challenge, though. You could crush a watermelon with these things.”
Reece chuckled and wiggled his hips as we worked the material over his legs with slow tugs.
“Goddess, is this thing fucking tight.” I dramatically wiped my brow with one of my tentacles.
“Will you stop fucking making me laugh?” His body shook with laughter as I continued to wrench the wet suit over it. “We’re trying to do something serious and suddenly you turn into a fucking comedian.”
I reached the bulge at Reece’s crotch and absolutely lost it, bursting into a fit of laughter that had my fins vibrating along my neck.
“Reece!” I huffed. “Control yourself. And here you are giving me shit.”
He blushed and held out his hands. “You were rubbing all over me! I’m sorry. It happens.”
This was the Reece Rollins I loved. The Reece Rollins so few people got to see.
“Come on, we’re almost there.” I sprayed lube around his wrists and neck.
“Wait.” Reece held his hand out. “Let me see that.”
I passed him the lube and he sprayed both of his nipples until the pointed tips glistened.
“Don’t want any chafing.”
“Oh, good thinking, darling. I knew you were more than just a pretty face.”
“Will you stop fucking around and help me,” he said as he shimmied his arms into the wet suit.
“All right, all right.” I rose on my tentacles and gripped the back of the suit, tugging it over the broad expanse of his back. “How’s that?” I asked when I finished pulling up the zipper.
I stepped back, giving Reece space while he flexed his arms and shook out his legs.
“I think it’s perfect. You got the sizing spot-on.”
I stared at his crotch, squinting as I leaned closer. “I don’t know. I think you could have used a bigger size here. I wonder if there’s a cut for men with big dicks.”
“You’re such a horny fuck, you know that?” he said as he stepped past me and out of the changing stall.
“Oh, I know, and you love every minute of it.”
“Pfft,” he huffed as he stomped toward the beach. Even with his back turned to me, I knew he was smiling.
I was definitely a horny fuck, because I followed behind him just far enough away that I could watch the cheeks of his ass flex underneath the wet suit.
Gods, I couldn’t wait to fuck him later.
He put on his swim cap and goggles, and I watched as he did his stretches. When he was finally warmed up, he walked over to me.
“For good luck.” Reece pressed his lips against mine in a quick kiss.
I snaked one of my tentacles around his waist and pulled him closer so we were pressed chest to chest.
“You’re going to do great. I know it.” My tentacle gave his ass a light swat. “Now get in the water.”
He pulled away from me, rushed toward the lake, and dove underneath the water the moment it was deep enough. I tapped my phone and started the timer, watching as Reece began to swim with powerful strokes.
I was nervous, and though I’d offered to join him in the water, he’d insisted on doing this on his own, driving home the fact that on race day I’d have to watch him from the shore.
His form was perfect. Not only was the wet suit keeping him warm, but it was helping with drag and buoyancy. I looked down at my phone as he reached the halfway mark and was shocked.
This was his best time yet—and in an open-water swim.
“Yes, Reece!” I shouted from the beach as he switched directions at the far buoy. I wasn’t sure if he could hear me, but I wasn’t going to speak to him in his head and potentially distract him.
As he got closer to the shore, I scuttled out into the shallow water, ready to congratulate my mate.
“How did I do?” he asked as he rose out of the water, trudging toward me with heavy breaths.
I stopped the timer and rushed forward, almost tackling him as I wrapped my arms around him.
“That was your best time yet.”
“Are you shitting me?” He smiled wide as water dripped down his face and collected in his beard.
“No, look.”
He pulled his goggles up onto his head and I held my phone out for him to see.
“Yes!” he whooped, and gripped me in another tight hug.
“You’ve got this in the bag. I am so proud of you.”
Reece buried his face against my neck. “Thank you, Cy. Thank you for everything,” he mumbled, his cool lips brushing against my skin with each word. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“You could have. Your time just wouldn’t have been as good.”
“Fuck you,” he said with a laugh, and nuzzled against me.
But I knew what he was really trying to say, because I felt it, too.