by Trina Lane
When Gabe came into the living room Dan, Dom, and Phil were spread out avidly staring at the television. They were all psyched about the new Hawaii Five-O show. Phil had set up their DVR to record the season premiere earlier that week, and tonight it was showtime. Dan and Dom’s hands rose in greeting, and Phil managed to tear his eyes away from the screen long enough to look in Gabe’s direction.
“How were the dusty tombs?”
“Fine, but I’m wiped. I think I’ll hit the sack.”
Gabe made his way back to their bedroom. He flipped on the light sitting on his desk at the foot of his bed. His book bag landed with a thud, and Gabe groaned as the weight left his shoulder. Man, those history books were thick. It didn’t help that his laptop was also in there. He so wanted to collapse face first on his bed, but knew he’d regret it in the morning. So Gabe shucked his T-shirt, kicked off his flip-flops, and stripped his jeans down his legs. He went to flick them away with his toes when Phil walked in.
His best friend caught the flying denim and tossed it on the floor of Gabe’s closet. “Nice catch.”
“Nice cock.”
Gabe had gone sans underwear after practice because he’d forgotten to throw a pair in his gym bag for afterward. He wasn’t shy about nudity. Years of changing in locker rooms had cured Gabe of any modesty, but it was a tad strange of Phil to comment on the attractiveness of his anatomy.
Gabe strode over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of boxer briefs. He preferred to sleep in shorts and wore briefs under his clothes. Maybe it was a decision influenced by years of being stuffed into Speedos. He didn’t like the feel of swinging free when walking around; support was a good thing.
“Are you going to start gabbing? Because I have to warn you, I’m about to pass out.”
“No gabbing. I’ve been thinking―”
“Always dangerous.” Gabe yawned as he pulled back the blanket on his extra-long twin bed.
“Very funny. Why haven’t the two of us ever gotten together?”
Gabe froze and then turned to face his best friend. “Are you serious?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, I wouldn’t exactly turn you away. What are your stats? Six foot two, one seventy five? You’ve got those bright green eyes that stand out against your perpetual tan. Thick, dark hair, whipcord muscles. We’re good mates, and they always say the best lovers were friends first. I know you think I’m flighty, but I also know you like that about me. I’m the yin to your yang.”
Gabe slowly walked toward Phil. He stopped when little more than an inch separated their bodies. Gabe’s hands came up and framed Phil’s face. Phil’s brown eyes flared when Gabe smoothed his thumbs over Phil’s cheekbones. Gabe was a couple inches taller than Phil, but they were close enough in height that when Gabe tilted his head their lips touched with minimal adjustment. The kiss stayed soft for the first several seconds. It was a stalemate, neither of them willing to take the touch any deeper. Phil’s lips felt good against Gabe’s. They were soft, and when Gabe slid his tongue across the seam, he tasted whatever salty snack Phil had been munching on before Gabe came home. Phil opened, and Gabe slid his tongue inside slowly. His tongue teased and moved against Phil’s. When Gabe pulled back, Phil stood right where he had before.
“Well?” he asked.
“Um….”
Gabe pulled Phil into his arms and whispered into his ear, “That’s why, Phil. Other than good friendship, there’s nothing between us. No spark, no flare of lust, no ache of need.”
Phil’s arms came around Gabe’s waist. “You sure don’t kiss like a virgin.”
Gabe’s chuckle was low in the semi-dark room. “Thanks. I think.” He stepped back from Phil. “Best buds, yeah?”
Phil’s bright smile allowed Gabe to see how his friend was able to charm his way into the pants of whomever he desired.
“Good friends are harder to come by than good fucks anyway.”
Gabe crawled into bed and then turned on his side to look at Phil still standing beside Gabe’s desk. “And that, my good friend, is also why.”
Phil frowned. “Sorry. Maybe someday I’ll find a man who’ll inspire me to recite sonnets, but till then….”
Phil started walking toward the door, but Gabe saw the droop of his shoulders. He didn’t want his last comment to hurt his best friend.
“Hey, Phil?”
Phil stopped halfway through the door, one hand braced on the frame. He didn’t look back at Gabe. “Yeah?”
“You know I don’t think less of you, right? To each his own and all that.”
Phil did turn then with a little smile. “Thanks. Now get some sleep. Tomorrow we embark on a quest to find your knight in shining armor.”
Gabe settled down onto his pillow, his brain and body exhausted from the day’s activities. Would he meet someone tomorrow? Was it possible to make a meaningful connection with someone in a meat market? He’d promised Phil he would go, and Gabe made another promise to himself: that he would keep an open mind. He wouldn’t drink, not during training, but he would dance. Social butterfly he was not, but neither was he a hermit. Maybe he would relax at the bar and wait for someone to come to him. It seemed to work in the past.
Gabe had no problem with being friendly. The part he hated was making the initial contact. How Phil was able to walk up to a man, introduce himself and end up laughing over childhood stories within five minutes astounded Gabe.
His eyes got heavy and his breathing slowed. Gabe’s mind drifted, and he was no longer in his apartment but standing on a battlement of Dover Castle in England.
A man in full maille armor strode toward him. The wind coming off the coast whipped around them. The knight clutched a longbow in his gloved fist, and a quiver of arrows was strapped to his back. Gabe couldn’t tear his eyes away from the vision of masculinity. His knight came closer, and Gabe’s breathing accelerated. The knight’s features were hidden in the dark, but Gabe felt no fear. Excitement coursed through his body, he knew this warrior for the crown. He knew every inch of his body beneath the armor. He knew the flavor of the knight’s kisses and the taste of his seed.
“You should not be here,” the knight whispered.
“I had to come. I had to see you again.”
“It’s not safe. The French will attack before dawn. You must get down into the tunnels. If we do not break through, all hope is lost.”
“Give me one last kiss? Should you fall, let it be with my taste on your lips.”
The knight’s arm dragged Gabe against him. Their mouths collided, their tongues thrashed. Gabe’s arms wrapped around the knight’s neck. His maille aventail bit into the flesh of Gabe’s bare arms. His hauberk rubbed against Gabe’s nipples, causing the buds to peak and hunger for more stimulation. His knight pushed Gabe against the wall of the battlement, rubbing their bodies together. Gabe’s hunger grew, and when the knight pulled back, Gabe let out a small whimper.
“Live or die this night, our hearts shall never be torn asunder, my love.”
Chapter 2
THE bass pounded in Gabe’s skull, and the flashing lights gave him a headache. The cranberry juice he drank tasted like it had more sugar than juice in the blend, but at least the scenery was everything Phil had promised. Gabe’s eyes kept shifting from one gyrating body to the next. There were miles of bare skin glistening with sweat in the hot crowded club. They’d been there for a little over an hour. Gabe had been approached by a couple of prospects, but hadn’t been inspired to give up his perch at the bar. One young man who had approached Gabe had been so hyped up on something, his blue eyes had glimmered with whatever drug was coursing through his system.
He looked across the dance floor and sighted a target with possibilities. Tall, broad chest, defined arms bulging beneath the tight short sleeves of his shirt. With the distance that separated them, Gabe couldn’t make out the man’s facial features. He had a bead on the dark head, until the room plunged into a cacophony of black and white lights. In the melee, Gabe lost sight
of his object of interest. When the strobes stopped, Gabe tried to find Phil in the pack of revelers on the dance floor. His friend was freaking with a cute blond. Phil’s hands roamed the thin chest of his dance partner as he ground against the barely legal ass in front of him.
Gabe turned around toward the bar for a refill, and in his peripheral vision he caught a second sighting of the man from the crowd. He was leaning against the bar several feet down, but as Gabe slowly worked up the courage to make an approach, some guy sidled up and swung his arm across the man’s shoulders. The infiltrator leaned in to speak right into the man’s ear. There was clearly an intimate familiarity between the two. Figured. Gabe should have known better than to think a guy like that would be unclaimed.
He got his refill, and after a couple swallows decided to hit the dance floor. Why waste the opportunity to have a little fun? Gabe weaved his way into the crowd. Bodies rubbed against him, and he closed in on an attractive guy who was dancing alone. Feeling a little bold, Gabe snagged the waistband of the guy’s jeans and pulled so their bodies collided. He wrapped his arm around the trim waist of his partner, and a pair of long arms wrapped around his neck. Their hips moved to the beat, and Gabe found himself smiling for the first time all evening. Gabe’s hand slid up his partner’s arm then down his back. The smooth skin felt nice, and he closed the gap between their bodies. Gabe looked over the shoulder of his dance partner to see Phil, who’d moved on to someone new, smiling at him. Gabe’s gaze worked its way back to the man in his arms when a flash of blue laser cut a swath across the dance floor, and a red light swung from the ceiling to land directly on the man from the bar. He stood with his feet braced apart and arms crossed, staring directly at Gabe. In the lights Gabe could have sworn the man looked like a swimmer Gabe knew, but that was impossible. Nonetheless, Gabe’s cock inflated faster than the Goodyear blimp at the intense scrutiny of such a virile man.
He jerked his eyes away from man across the dance floor when a hand, obviously not one of his own since they were accounted for, cupped the bulge behind his jeans.
“Let me help you with this?”
Gabe’s fingers threaded through those trying to take his measurements and lifted the hand back up to a safer zone.
“Appreciate the offer, but no thanks.”
“Come on. I give great head, ask anyone here.”
“If that’s true then I hardly want to go where everyone has gone before.”
His dance partner stepped away, and his fists landed on a pair of canted hips. Eyes of indeterminate color glared at him.
“What’s your problem?”
Gabe barely heard the guy’s voice over the music. He raised his, hoping it would carry but not broadcast to others packed around them.
“Look, I came here for a few dances and to unwind. I’m not looking to hook up.”
“Well, I am. Can’t believe I wasted my time with a cock tease. Fucker.”
The thin man spun and huffed off, presumably to find another target. Gabe ran his hand over his hair in disgust. This had been a bad idea. He worked his way back toward the restrooms. As the hallway got deeper Gabe heard some distinctive moans, a few gasps, and at least one “fuck me.” What he would find when he actually got to the bathroom was anyone’s guess, but there was no hope for it. When you had to go, you had to go.
Gabe took care of business, thankful that the restroom hadn’t been the den of inequity that he’d feared. Gabe pushed the door open and stepped back into the dark hallway. He’d only taken a couple steps when a hulking shadow slammed into him.
The side of his face and palms hit the wall. Gabe pushed against the partition and tried to buck against the unknown mass.
“That’s it, pretty. You’re hot for it tonight. That little boy should’ve known you needed a real man to crank your engines.”
“Get the fuck off me!”
He knew there were others in the hallway, but not one person attempted to intervene. Gabe increased his struggles when the distinct weight of a hard cock pushed against his ass.
“That’s it. Fight me, baby. It only makes it hotter.”
Rancid alcohol breath wafted toward Gabe’s nose, and he nearly gagged.
“Hey!”
Gabe used the break in his attacker’s attention to push away from the wall. He whipped his head to the left as someone wrenched the amorous asshole away from Gabe’s back. A deep voice sliced through the dark hallway, and the low throb of the music still pounded away a mere thirty feet from them.
“The man said to fuck off. I believe that translates into ‘he’s not interested’.”
Gabe couldn’t see more than the outline of his savior, but at that moment he couldn’t care less if it was the freakin’ Easter Bunny. The hulk straightened. Gabe saw that he had a shaved head and lots of muscles.
“Who the fuck are you?” the hulk exclaimed.
“Doesn’t matter,” the savior responded.
“You his boyfriend?”
“Nope, just a concerned citizen.”
The hulk looked like he was trying to decide between starting a brawl or finding another unsuspecting victim. He jerked as if he were about to attack Gabe’s savior, but the other man didn’t budge. Feet braced wide, arms crossed, the darkened features stood resolute.
“Fuck it.” The hulk turned to stare at Gabe. “You’re probably a lousy lay anyway.”
He stormed off down the hallway, and Gabe let out a breath. His hands shook, and he shoved them in his pockets to hide the sign of weakness.
“Thank you. You didn’t have to help me,” he said softly.
Gabe’s savior came closer a couple of steps, and the door to the bathroom swung open. The light from inside cut a swath across the man’s features, and Gabe saw that it was the man from the bar and dance floor. Dark wavy hair, chiseled bone structure, and a pair of familiar blue eyes looked back at him.
“Now that’s where you’re wrong, Gabriel.”
Gabe couldn’t believe it. Before him stood Nick Jackson. NCAA and PAC-10 champion, member of the national team, and the school record holder for fifty, one hundred, and two hundred meter backstroke and freestyle. He was on the US team in Beijing and successfully swam in the prelims for the gold medal relay team, thereby earning himself a shiny disc.
Gabe managed to drag his jaw up off the floor and swallowed a few times. “Nick?”
“You remember me?”
Truth is, when Nick was a junior and senior at CAL Gabe had had a bit of a crush on the amazing athlete. It didn’t hurt that Nick was gorgeous and his six-foot-six, two hundred pound body filled out a Speedo like the manufacturers could only have dreamed. The gods had blessed Nick with a good heart as well, and despite all his success, Nick never developed an inflated ego.
“Well, yeah. You only graduated two years ago, and there was that whole national and Olympic champion thing.”
Nick’s face was once again in shadow, and Gabe wished the door to the bathroom would open again so he could see Nick’s features. Gabe heard a soft laugh aimed toward him. The outline of an arm raised, and Gabe took hold of the hand. Nick turned and started walking toward the main club area. The moment they stepped back into the insanity, Gabe squinted because of the flashing lights.
Nick led Gabe over to the bar, and ordered them a couple drinks. Gabe was surprised when Nick handed him a cranberry juice.
“I saw you earlier. Quite frankly I was a little shocked when I recognized you.”
He probably didn’t know Gabe was gay. It’s not like they’d spent any time together outside the pool.
“I didn’t really take this to be your scene. You always seemed like more of a laid-back kinda guy.”
Oh, not the gay thing, then?
“It’s not really. I came with my best friend. He was determined to get me out of the library and pool for a few hours. So what are you doing here?”
Gabe winced at the stupid question. That was pretty obvious. Although he’d never known that Nick was gay, men g
enerally came to these places for a specific purpose.
“It’s my buddy’s birthday. I brought him out to have a good time, but apparently he’s having a very good time because I can’t find him anywhere. That’s why I was searching the hallway. Figured if he’d found a guy to take him home tonight, then I was going to take off.” Nick leaned in, his lips touched the edge of Gabe’s ear. “This isn’t really my scene either.”
Had Gabe read Nick wrong? Was he straight, and only brought his friend here to show his support? But Nick had held Gabe’s hand, and that wasn’t a typical gesture for a straight man, especially one inside a gay club. And those lips against Gabe’s ear definitely busted through the personal space barrier. There was only one way to find out for sure.
“Not gay?”
Nick’s head went back, and the sound of his laughter sent butterflies fluttering around inside Gabe’s stomach. Nick moved in front of Gabe and caged his body back against the bar. Gabe looked up into Nick’s bright eyes but the man was staring at Gabe’s lips. He licked them unconsciously, and although Gabe couldn’t hear the sound through the pulsating music, he felt a rumble in Nick’s chest as their bodies touched.
“Oh I’m gay all right, and you, Flipper, are exactly my type.”
“Flip… Flipper?”
Gabe’s head spun as Nick’s warm breath washed over him. No alcohol soured his scent, and Gabe wanted a real taste. He tilted his head up a fraction. Was he really going to kiss this man? His body wanted to, his mind argued that despite being on the same swim team a couple years ago they hardly knew each other.
Nick’s nose rubbed against Gabe’s. “Uh-huh. I saw you at the championships last year. You have an amazing dolphin kick, and the graceful way you glide under the water reminds me of those lovable sea mammals.”