Cocky

by Sean Ashcroft

Danny moved a hand to Eliot’s ass, holding him in place as he gave a few hard, short thrusts into him, his knee protesting with each one until, finally, he came, the release of pressure so forceful he saw stars behind his closed eyelids. His hips came up clear off the bed, jerking hard into Eliot, the spike of pain from his knee amplifying the pleasure of his orgasm.

  Aftershocks sparked all over his skin as he settled back down, everywhere he was touching Eliot, until he was too exhausted and oversensitive to move anymore. All he could do was gasp for breath and wait for the world to stop spinning.

  Eliot collapsed on top of him, panting heavily. Danny grunted at taking the extra weight, but Eliot was a long way from being too heavy for him, and he wouldn’t have traded having Eliot on top of him for anything.

  For a few moments, the sound of their breathing was the only thing in the room.

  That was nice. Peaceful. It made Danny feel as though they were the only two people in the world, just for the handful of seconds it took for Eliot to recover and roll off him, flopping onto the mattress.

  “Did I hurt you?” he asked a moment later.

  “No,” Danny responded. “Wouldn’t really have cared if you did.”

  Eliot laughed softly at that. “All the same, I’d rather not. I’m dying for you to bend me over the back of your couch, and you can’t do that until you’ve recovered.”

  Despite having just come, a faint jolt of arousal stirred in Danny’s stomach. He liked the sound of that.

  He liked that Eliot was planning on a future, too. Even if the only thing he was planning was more sex.

  “Now there’s an incentive,” he said.

  Eliot laughed again. Danny knew he’d never get tired of that sound. He wanted Eliot’s laughter in his life all the time.

  “You want breakfast?” Eliot asked after another few moments.

  Danny’s stomach growled before he got a chance to answer for himself. “Uh, apparently.”

  Eliot rolled out of bed, standing and stretching luxuriantly, yawning. Danny couldn’t take his eyes off him, but then, he could rarely take his eyes off Eliot when he was in the room.

  Danny didn’t think anyone who’d ever met Eliot had avoided falling in love with him.

  “Pancakes okay?” he asked, disappearing into the bathroom to clean up.

  “Pancakes would be awesome,” Danny called after him. “Have I mentioned lately that you’re the best boyfriend ever?”

  Eliot strode back into the room, offering Danny a wet face towel to clean himself up with. He leaned in and kissed him as he handed it over, making a soft, happy sound as their lips connected.

  “Not nearly often enough,” Eliot teased. “But I still love you.”

  “Love you too,” Danny said as Eliot turned to go, still deliciously naked. If Eliot never wanted to wear clothes in the house again, that was okay with Danny.

  He still wasn’t sure exactly how he’d gotten so lucky, but he was sure that he was never letting Eliot go.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “Yeah, mom, he’s right here,” Danny said into the phone, smiling over at Eliot.

  It had been a nice surprise to learn that Danny and his mom were still on good terms, even now that he’d come out. Eliot had been afraid that Danny’s family would be more like his. Not violent or abusive, but quietly refusing to accept who he really was. That was why he’d wanted to get away in the first place.

  As it turned out, that had worked out well for Eliot.

  Danny had told him earlier that his mom had claimed they’d always known. Whether or not that was true, at least she was happy to accept her son for who he was.

  “Well, he’s… maybe an inch shorter than I am. Dark hair, kinda needs a trim…”

  “It does not,” Eliot said, tucking a stray lock behind his ear. Danny chuckled.

  “Bluest eyes you’ve ever seen. You’re gonna want to feed him when you meet him.” Danny grinned, pacing the living room while Eliot pretended to work instead of watching him.

  It was difficult not to watch Danny while he was in nothing but his underwear.

  Besides that, it was good to see him up and about. His physical therapy was really working, and they’d gone on more walks together in the last week than Eliot had gone on in his entire life. It had been nice, though.

  The commute into work was worth it to live out here, with access to stuff like parks and walking trails. Not that Eliot would ever admit that those were things he liked or wanted. He had an aloof urbanite image to keep up.

  “Yeah, he’s a journalist,” Danny explained. “He works for a magazine.”

  Eliot smirked as he waited for Danny to have to tell his mother which magazine.

  “Uh. It’s called, umm. Cocky,” he said quietly, a blush creeping up his cheeks. Eliot chuckled.

  “No, he’s laughing at me,” Danny said. “You two are gonna get along great.”

  Eliot laughed again. He liked the idea of meeting Danny’s mom.

  He was happier right now than he ever had been.

  “Fourth of July?” Danny looked to Eliot, one eyebrow raised. “You wanna know if we can come to you?” he asked, clearly directing the question at Eliot.

  That seemed soon. Terrifyingly soon, for a moment.

  But this was what Eliot wanted. And yeah, it would be nerve-wracking to meet Danny’s mom, especially because he got along well with her, but it would be okay. He knew he was important to Danny, too.

  Eliot nodded, smiling at Danny even as his heart raced at the thought.

  “That looked like a yes.” Danny grinned. Eliot knew immediately that it was the right answer, that going to see his mom would make Danny happy.

  All he wanted in the world right now was to make Danny happy.

  “Yeah, uh, he’s looking forward to meeting you, too,” Danny assured his mother. “Just, y’know, be gentle with him. I’d like to take him back home in one piece.”

  “Mom,” Danny said after a pause, blushing bright red. “You can’t say things like that!”

  Eliot laughed again, fear melting away. He already liked Danny’s mom based on what Danny had said about her, and he’d probably work up the courage to talk to her before they met in person, anyway. It’d be nice to get out of LA for a few days.

  Not that Eliot hadn’t come to love it here, but sometimes it was a little much.

  Although, less so now that he had someone else to share it with.

  “Yeah, I love you too, mom,” Danny said, smiling fondly. “I’ll give your love to Eliot as well. Okay, bye.”

  Danny hung up, then walked over to the couch and flopped down next to Eliot, spreading his arms out along the back with an exhausted sigh.

  He’d been on his feet a lot more today than he had been before, so it made sense that he was starting to wear out. Still, he was making great progress, and Eliot was proud of him.

  It was probably time Eliot moved out, but they hadn’t discussed it yet. His lease had expired a week after he’d moved in with Danny, and since he hadn’t needed anywhere else to go, he hadn’t bothered to ask for a renewal. All three of his kitchen appliances were in Danny’s garage, and the rest of his stuff had slowly made its way into the house.

  Eliot had gotten the impression that neither of them wanted him to leave. He was happy to go along with that.

  “I’m sorry for springing that on you. She’s never gotten to meet someone I was bringing home before, she’s kinda excited.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Eliot said. “Your mom sounds sweet. I do actually want to meet your family. I mean, I’m terrified, but I think it’s important.”

  “Well, it is, because you’re family too,” Danny said. “Or, uh. I want to think of you as part of my family? If that’s okay?”

  Eliot’s heart skipped. He had to take a moment to remember to breathe.

  “Yes,” he said. “I mean, that’s okay. Better than okay. I want you to think of me as family.” He looked down at his lap, chewing on his lip.

/>   “You okay?” Danny asked softly, dropping a hand onto Eliot’s back, between his shoulder blades.

  Eliot nodded. Tears had sprung up in his eyes. He didn’t expect to be so overwhelmed by the idea of being part of Danny’s family. “I… these are happy tears, promise. I’ve been so alone since I moved out here and I just… want to be with you. So much. Even when I am with you, I almost can’t deal with how happy it makes me.”

  “Oh,” Danny said softly, pulling Eliot into a sideways hug and kissing the top of his head. “I feel like that, too. Sometimes I watch you working in your own little world and I can’t handle how glad I am that you’re in my life. Right up until now that kinda seemed a little too clingy.”

  Eliot sniffed, wiping his eyes, and then chuckled. “I guess we’re both idiots.”

  “Idiots in love?” Danny asked, ducking his head to catch Eliot’s eye.

  “Idiots in love,” Eliot agreed, leaning in to kiss him, letting his eyes fall closed.

  As long as he had Danny, he didn’t care about being the biggest idiot in the whole goddamn world.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “Hey, you’re famous,” Danny said, grinning as he saw a tiny picture of Eliot pop up in the corner of the news report on Walter’s trial.

  He could still hardly believe that Walter had done everything he was accused of, but he was glad Eliot had been around to figure it out.

  Danny knew now that Walter had been setting him up because he was about to retire. He hadn’t needed a boyfriend—Walter had needed some kind of blackmail material, but he’d panicked when Eliot started looking into him.

  The moment Danny had retired and sat down to look at his finances, it would have become obvious that Walter had been stealing. Walter, obviously, had expected to have more time to come up with a better exit strategy.

  It hurt that a man who’d pretended to be his friend for so long would do what he’d done—not just to Danny, but to his team as well. Danny wasn’t sure he’d ever be completely over that.

  “Oh, jeez,” Eliot looked up from his laptop, which he’d been tapping away on all evening.

  At least he had Eliot, now. If nothing else, Walter had brought them together, even if it had been an accident.

  The whole thing had worked out pretty well for Eliot, too. He was still working at Cocky, under Ben, but with a wider scope than he’d had before. There was other freelance stuff coming in, too. His career was taking off because of the work he’d done exposing Walter’s misdeeds.

  He deserved the recognition. Eliot was the hardest-working person Danny had ever met.

  “I like having a famous boyfriend.” Danny grinned.

  Eliot laughed at that, setting his laptop down and sitting back. Danny let his arm fall from the back of the couch to Eliot’s shoulder, stroking through the fabric of his shirt with his thumb.

  “I wouldn’t know, I’ve never had one,” Eliot teased.

  In some ways, that was true. Danny had stepped back from the limelight the moment he’d announced his retirement, just wanting to be left alone. The shine had worn off playing hockey right around the time he had his second knee reconstruction, and he’d kept playing because it was what he’d always done.

  Now, he had a chance to sit back and assess what he really wanted out of his life. The answers he’d come up with so far were… surprising, but exciting all the same.

  “Hey, umm,” he started, not sure what he wanted to say, exactly. Eliot had been patient with him while he healed, and while he sat around the house complaining about not knowing what he wanted next.

  He knew now, though.

  Eliot turned to look at him, his full attention suddenly on Danny.

  “I just… umm, wanted to say… thank you. For getting me through all this.” He waved at the TV. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  Eliot smiled softly at him. “I love you, too,” he said.

  “I know.” Danny swallowed. “Listen, I, uh. I guess you live here now, but I just wanted to say… I want that to be an official thing. You living here, I mean.”

  “It’s been six months,” Eliot pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

  “I know,” Danny defended, blushing. This was stupid, after all, but not for the reasons he’d thought it would be. “I’m just saying… I want you to stay. Maybe you knew that.”

  “I got the impression.” Eliot turned his head to catch Danny’s lips, his glasses pressing into Danny’s cheek.

  Danny was starting to develop a serious thing for glasses.

  He hummed happily into the kiss, suddenly feeling stupid for being worried that Eliot might not want to stay. He’d stayed through the worst.

  “Yeah, well,” Danny said once they broke off. “Good.”

  Eliot snuggled a little closer to him, yawning widely.

  Danny watched Walter being hounded by reporters on the TV, and smiled to himself. Everything had worked out okay in the end.

  He reached into his pocket to play with the elegant gold ring he’d been carrying around all week. The one that had taken him a month to pick out.

  Later. He could ask later.

  Eliot wasn’t going anywhere.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Ben’s office hadn’t changed since the first day Eliot set foot in it, which was comforting. He’d never been as nervous in his life as he was right now, so familiarity was soothing.

  Even the dust on the bookshelf and window sill was exactly the same. The same half-full bottle of scotch—well, probably a different bottle of the same brand—sat on the filing cabinet behind the desk. The same worn-out chair slumped under the weight of Ben’s jacket.

  The same Ben stood in the middle of it all, although he seemed completely different to Eliot now. A lot had changed in the past two years, so it was nice to know that a lot had stayed the same, too.

  “So the higher-ups are really happy with our work lately,” Ben said, pacing behind his desk. “They, uh. They want to start a spin-off magazine, give you and me a little more leeway, get into the real hard-hitting journalism game.”

  “Ben,” Eliot said, trying to focus on keeping his breathing under control. Trying not to think about all the people who were about to be staring at him.

  “It’s just that we’ve been making waves, and people are standing up and taking notice. It’s a really exciting opportunity, but I can’t do it without you,” Ben continued, as if Eliot hadn’t spoken.

  “Ben,” Eliot repeated, a little more firmly this time. If they didn’t get moving soon, they were going to be late.

  “I could offer you a hybrid position, a senior editor spot where you’d still get to be on the ground if you wanted to be…”

  “Ben,” Eliot said for a third time, raising his voice a little.

  Ben finally paused and looked up at him.

  “It’s my wedding day,” Eliot said more calmly, fiddling with his cufflinks. “I will do whatever you want me to do next week, when I get back from my honeymoon,” he continued. “But right now, I need you to come and give me away.”

  Despite Ben’s preoccupation with the new magazine, Eliot was glad he had the other man with him today.

  He wanted to marry Danny. He was sure of that. But the thought of getting up in front of a crowd and baring his soul in the particular way a wedding required was making him nervous as hell. More nervous than the first time he’d ever submitted an article and sat around feeling sick all day, sure he was going to be rejected and told to quit while he was ahead.

  More nervous than his interview at Cocky.

  More nervous than when Danny had asked, and he’d forgotten how to speak for a full minute before managing to say yes.

  “Right, obviously, of course.” Ben finally grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and put it on, stuffing his car keys in his pocket. “You look great, by the way.”

  “I always look great,” Eliot said, deadpan.

  “Well, yeah, but…” Ben waved vaguely at him. “You look… bette
r, today. Happy.”

  “I am happy,” Eliot responded, smiling brightly. It wasn’t a surprise that it was showing.

  Every day he’d spent with Danny had seemed happier than the last. They’d had their arguments, and their stressful moments, and all the normal ups and downs of a relationship, but at the end of it all, Eliot was happy.

  He hoped Ben would find that one day. Now that he had it, he couldn’t understand how anyone could live without it.

  “So you’ll come on board once you’re back? That’s a promise?” Ben asked as he held the car door for Eliot.

  “Promise,” Eliot said. He’d go where Ben went. They made a great team, and between the two of them they could do some real good in the world. “What does Marketing want to call it?”

  “Ballsy.” Ben smiled wryly.

  Eliot laughed. “I kinda like that. Ballsy.” He nodded, the name already growing on him. He was past the stage of his life where Cocky was enough, after all. He needed substance more than style these days.

  “I knew you would. That’s why I didn’t argue.”

  “You’re too kind to me.” Eliot grinned.

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m a sucker for a journalist who’s good at their job.”

  “Uh huh,” Eliot said, not believing for a second that there wasn’t more to it. Ben had a soft spot for him, and they’d built a strong friendship over the last two years.

  Other than Danny, there was no one Eliot wanted beside him more today. He wanted to share the happiest day of his life with the man who’d rescued him on the worst.

  The hall was packed by the time they got there, but the drive had calmed Eliot down. He was here to promise Danny that he’d always be here, every day of their lives, no matter what.

  That was an easy promise to make.

  When their cue came, Eliot walked out beside Ben and met Danny in the middle, instantly reaching out to take his hand.

  “Glad you made it,” Danny murmured, just loud enough for Eliot to hear. He looked amazing, but then, he always looked amazing.

  “I wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” Eliot said, linking their fingers together.