Homecoming Hearts Series Collection

by HJ Welch

  “I’m so sorry,” Trent growled. “I should never have freaked out. My head’s a mess. You deserve much better than that.”

  “Shh, shh,” Ashby said. Normally it was him, the emotionally excitable one, being consoled by whichever alpha male he’d picked to cry on. Soothing Trent didn’t feel like an imbalance of power, though. It felt right. Like Trent really did trust him. “I’ll stay. We can talk. I…I don’t want to let you go either.”

  Trent cradled his face with his large hands and rested their foreheads together, taking several breaths in and out that gradually slowed down, getting deeper. Ashby rested his hands on Trent’s chest, just under the open leather jacket he loved so much. He could feel Trent’s heartbeat through the cotton of his T-shirt.

  “Come here,” he said softly. He took hold of Trent’s hands and walked the short distance back to his bed. He swept the few items of clothing loitering there to the floor and placed his phone carefully on the dresser. He sat down, pulling Trent with him, until they were laying down together.

  Trent wrapped Ashby in his arms and kissed his hair. He certainly wasn’t being hesitant to put his hands on a guy again. To put his hands on Ashby.

  When Ashby had been moping, he hadn’t bothered to turn on any lights as the evening faded into night. He was glad now, as it gave them a certain amount of intimacy as they held one another in the growing darkness. Trent inhaled deeply, rubbing his nose against Ashby’s hair. Ashby finally felt some of the tension easing from his many muscles.

  Ashby brushed his fingertips over Trent’s jawline. “We could talk,” he said, trying to be reasonable. “But I’m quite desperate to kiss you. And if I kiss you, I think I might have to encourage you to take off your clothes. Just for a little while.” He licked his lips and was pleased when Trent responded to his smile with one of his own. “I’m trying very hard to be a grownup about this,” he said sincerely. “But certain parts of me aren’t agreeing with my brain.”

  The truth was he knew Trent was shit at talking. It seemed logical to Ashby that he’d be able to communicate his feelings better to Ashby by touch. Also, Ashby was turned on to all hell and only had so much self-discipline.

  “We can talk afterwards?” he suggested.

  Trent leaned in and nuzzled his nose against Ashby’s. Ashby’s heart was going to beat right out of his chest. Blood was thumping in his ears. He hadn’t honestly let himself believe for the past twenty-four hours that he was ever going to get another chance at this.

  “Talk later,” Trent murmured before his lips met Ashby’s.

  The hunger from their first night together was a distant memory, as was the playfulness of their brief morning tryst. Every kiss now was filled with tenderness. They undressed slowly, stopping after every garment to touch and caress and kiss. While they were still in their underwear, Trent encouraged Ashby to stand for a moment so he could pull the bedsheets back and snuggle them both under side-by-side.

  When they finally lost their boxers, all Ashby could feel was Trent’s hot skin covering every inch of his body. His breath was cool and his mouth tasted minty where he’d obviously brushed his teeth before coming over. It was a small but thoughtful act that made Ashby smile.

  “What?” Trent asked as their bodies rubbed together. He already had his hand around both their cocks, creating delicious pressure as they slid together, lubricated with precum. He definitely wasn’t holding back when it came to acknowledging he was in bed with a guy again.

  Ashby smiled wider and kissed his cheek, loving the way his stubble scratched against his jaw. “I’m just so glad you’re here.”

  “Me too,” Trent said.

  Ashby shimmied his hips. “Get on top of me,” he suggested.

  He wanted to feel Trent’s weight pressing down on him. Trent complied, lying lengthways over him, grinning as he took their cocks back in hand. Good. As sweet as this was, Ashby wanted them to bloody well have fun while they were shagging. If they were going to have a go at being together, he didn’t want it to start all weepy.

  He gripped the back of Trent’s head and the side of his throat. “I want you to make me come like you did last time,” he rasped, then bit his lip and fluttered his eyelashes. “Make me forget my own name.”

  Trent leaned down and also gave Ashby’s lip a nip, running the flesh slowly between his teeth. “No problem.”

  Before Ashby could do anything else, Trent disappeared below the sheets, kissing his way down Ashby’s stomach. He’d started doing that the morning after the wedding, but then he’d come back up again and jerked Ashby off instead. This time, he kept going.

  His minty breath was hot and tingly against the fleshy part of Ashby’s tummy as he trailed his mouth down toward his cock. Ashby groaned as Trent dug his fingers into his arse cheek with one hand and gripped the base of his prick with the other. He wasted no time wrapping his lips around the tip and sucking firmly, his teeth sheathed as if he’d done this dozens of times before.

  “Trent,” Ashby moaned as he tried not to writhe and thrust too much. “Holy fuck, yes. Like that.”

  He thought Trent would just suck him for a few seconds like he had last time, then come back up so they could frot. But he got stuck in, bobbing his head up and down, working Ashby’s cock with his tongue and lips. His hand left Ashby’s arse and began massaging his balls and stroking his taint.

  “Fuck, shit,” Ashby garbled. “Trent, I’m going to come if you keep that up. No, I’m serious, ngh!” Trent didn’t let up. In fact, he increased his pace, working harder and sending Ashby crazy. “Trent, I’m not kidding, oh my god.”

  Ashby was spurting his load down Trent’s throat hard and fast. His body was a quivering wreck as his orgasm rippled through him, lifting him high and snatching his breath away.

  He covered his face with his hands. “Oh no,” he moaned shakily. “I tried to warn you. I’m so sorry.”

  He felt Trent crawl up his body. Then strong hands were prying his fingers away from his eyes. Ashby blinked and saw Trent grinning. “I wanted to,” he said, his voice husky from Ashby’s cock working its way down his throat. Ashby blushed but couldn’t help but be delighted as Trent kissed him. Ashby tasted his own intimate flavor.

  “I can,” Ashby said vaguely, gesturing down to Trent’s hardon. He absolutely wanted to return the favor, but he was exhausted.

  Luckily, Trent just grinned at him some more. “Can I come on you?” he asked, already taking himself in hand and stroking leisurely.

  “Oh fuck, yes,” Ashby said, nodding. He normally hated guys trying to mark him. It made him feel like a dirty beast, nothing but a bit of property. But he wanted Trent to claim him.

  Trent bent down and kissed him as he began jerking off. Ashby moaned and kissed down his throat, running his hands up and down his chest and arms as Trent gnashed his teeth, obviously close. “You’re so beautiful,” Trent murmured, gasping. “Ashby!”

  He shuddered as he found his release, hot, thick cum shooting up Ashby’s chest. Some even hit his chin and hair. Ashby couldn’t help but giggle as Trent groaned and took several breaths as his climax passed.

  “Feel better?” Ashby asked.

  Trent smiled sleepily and leaned down to kiss the cum from Ashby’s face. Then he slowly kissed down his neck and chest, lapping up his own mess from Ashby’s body.

  “Fuck, that’s hot,” Ashby whimpered. He was so tired, but he couldn’t stop watching Trent as he carefully cleaned Ashby with his tongue and lips, swallowing down his own seed. Ashby hummed and ran his fingers through Trent’s thick hair while he worked.

  When Trent was done, he flopped down beside Ashby and flung his arm over him. Ashby wriggled until they were cuddled together better.

  “Talk in the morning,” Trent grunted. He picked up Ashby’s hand and kissed the palm. “Promise. Won’t go shower.”

  Ashby managed a weak chuckle. “In the morning.”

  As he slipped fully into unconsciousness, Ashby couldn’t help but feel the small
est bit hopeful.

  24

  Trent

  Trent was excessively used to waking up in unusual beds. He moved around so much (and slept around so much) he was familiar with that lurch of disorientation. Ordinarily, it took him no time at all to get his head together and figure out what he had to do. Was he due somewhere for work? What time zone was he in? Did he want to wake the girl or let her sleep? Was he looking to leave as soon as he could or hang around? Did he even remember her name?

  He remembered Ashby’s name.

  Sex was definitely not the problem here. Another night with Ashby had convinced Trent he had no hang-ups whatsoever about being with this gorgeous person. Just because he hadn’t felt like putting another cock in his mouth before didn’t stop him from wanting Ashby’s. Like how girls had different pussies and breasts, probably. Just because they came in different shapes and sizes didn’t make them any less desirable.

  Something about Ashby had unlocked a corner of Trent’s desire he hadn’t been aware existed before. He realized how glad he was for that as he stroked back his sleeping lover’s blond hair.

  Ashby hummed and squirmed a little against Trent. The sun was up and the morning light was spilling through the windows where they hadn’t pulled the curtains. Ashby blinked his pretty teal eyes and looked around before settling them on Trent.

  “Morning, gorgeous,” Trent said.

  Ashby’s face split into a warm smile. “Hi,” he said softly.

  Guilt and worry threatened to creep around Trent’s heart. But he took a slow breath and concentrated on not panicking. Everything was fine between them. Although he did feel the need to apologize again.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, chewing on his lip.

  Ashby frowned. “For what?”

  “Messing you around,” Trent said. He shrugged and moved more onto his side so he could see Ashby properly. He was trailing his fingers over the back of Ashby’s arm lying between them.

  Ashby tutted. “Stop apologizing,” he said briskly. “I get you freaked out. It’s a lot to take on.”

  It was Trent’s turn to frown. “It shouldn’t be, though,” he said. “It’s the twenty-first century. I like you, big deal. I shouldn’t have noped out on you like I did.”

  Ashby moved his hand and linked it with Trent’s, stopping him from moving around. Ashby kissed the fingers through his own, then held Trent’s hand up to his heart. “You’re reassessing a big part of your identity,” he said seriously. “I’m not going to tell you it didn’t hurt, that I wasn’t worried. But I understand.”

  “You do?” Trent asked dubiously.

  “It’s the commitment thing, right?”

  Trent frowned. He had said something about that last night, hadn’t he? But Ashby lifted both their hands so he could touch a finger above Trent’s heart.

  “Mr. Bulletproof,” he said, lowering their hands back down.

  Trent raised his eyebrows. “You spotted that, huh?” he said, looking down at the tattoo. He’d never allowed himself to think much about why he’d got that specific ink, other than it had felt right.

  “Don’t worry,” Ashby said with a little laugh. “I’m not asking you to marry me.”

  The words didn’t send the usual jolt of panic down Trent’s insides. But it also wasn’t really what had been bothering him, although that was what he’d said last night. Fuck, his thoughts were such a mess.

  “I want to try and commit to this,” he said honestly, refusing to allow his mind to wander off into the infinite ‘what ifs’ that might conjure up for the future. “We can take it slow, day by day.”

  “So…it’s the queer thing?” Ashby said.

  “Kind of,” Trent said. “I wish I could keep it simple. But it’s not.”

  Ashby bit his lip. “If you were freaked out by cocks, I think that might have come up last night.”

  Trent grinned and made himself be mature and not quip about other things coming instead. “I was just thinking that,” he agreed. “But…” He sighed. This was the thorny part he’d been coming to the conclusion about, gradually. But he didn’t know how to phase it. “It’s only…your cock. I’ve not been attracted to another guy like this before.”

  Ashby snuggled up closer to him. “It doesn’t bother me if you don’t want to put a name to how you’re feeling,” he said. “I mean about…not being as straight as you thought you were. I’m happy being the ‘special’ one who turned your head.” He fluttered his lashes. “But did you want to talk about some of the available words out there? It might help.”

  Trent rubbed his thumb against the back of Ashby’s hand. “The guys have talked to me enough about their labels,” he said. “Gay, bi, pan, demi. I get all those the way they describe it for them. But…I don’t know.” He bit his lip, unsure if he should say what was floating about in his brain.

  “Yes, you do,” said Ashby. He had a slight devilment to his tone. “I mean, I think you really do know. Say it however best you can. I’m pretty hard to shock.”

  Trent wasn’t convinced. “I’m worried what I want to say is going to come across as offensive. But I don’t mean it like that, at all.”

  Ashby considered him seriously for a second. “Well,” he said. “If I’m offended, we can talk through why. I’m a grownup, I promise. Despite evidence to the contrary.”

  The small joke helped to ease Trent’s anxieties a little. “Okay,” he said after a few moments. “I guess…I guess I feel like I’m attracted to you because you’re…well, you’re not, um…”

  “Very masculine?” Ashby suggested. His tone was bright and he didn’t sound pissed off at all.

  “Um, yeah,” said Trent. “Is that okay?”

  Ashby’s smile was a huge relief. “Of course it is,” he said kindly. “I’m not very masculine. I like being effeminate.” He chewed his lip. “If we’re being honest and talking about labels, I could explain that a bit more. If you like?”

  “Sure,” said Trent. “Go ahead, shoot.” The idea that he wasn’t the only complicated one made him feel a bit better.

  Ashby seemed to think about his words for a moment. “So, you know how you’re not quite straight? Well…I’m not quite a man.”

  Trent couldn’t help but flick his gaze down to where Ashby’s cock was under the covers and think about how he’d sucked it twice now.

  Ashby poked his chest. “Biologically, yes. I’m a guy. And I’m fine with male pronouns and all that. But sometimes, not all the time, I don’t feel like I’m either. Male or female.”

  Trent was very keen on not fucking up and using the wrong words now. He chewed his tongue for a second. “Is that, um, trans?”

  Ashby smiled at him. Relief swirled inside Trent. He so wanted to understand Ashby and have him look at him with pride like that as much as he could.

  “Yes,” Ashby said, becoming more animated. “It comes under the umbrella of trans. I’m nonbinary. You might have heard the term androgynous, but I like nonbinary. Or, more accurately, there are times when I’m happy to feel and present more male. Then there are times, when I feel comfortable and safe, that I love blurring the lines between genders.” He let go of Trent and waved his hand about before linking their fingers again. “I won’t get on my soapbox, I promise. But what I’m trying to explain is that I don’t feel like gender is any more binary than sexuality. Like…you know you’re definitely a man, but you’re now attracted to me. I assume?”

  Trent laughed and kissed him. “Yes, I’m definitely attracted to you.”

  “Right, good, that’s nice,” Ashby said, bouncing a little on the bed. “So, I know I’m always attracted to men. But sometimes I love things that are seen as being for women. Like wearing lacy blouses or heels or painting my nails.”

  “Or makeup?” Trent asked, remembering the wedding.

  Ashby nodded. “Yes. So, I don’t feel I’m a woman trapped in a man’s body, like a trans woman. And I’m not performing as a woman, like a drag queen. I just see gender as this blurry thi
ng that I’d rather not be tied down to.”

  Trent frowned. He wasn’t sure he entirely got it, but he didn’t necessarily have to. As long as Ashby was comfortable in his own skin, he liked Ashby just the way he was. He liked him a lot.

  “So,” he said. “It’s okay that I like you because you’re not entirely male?” He winced. “I’m sorry, that sounds like an insult.”

  Ashby shook his head. “No, it’s not. I think it’s very accurate and, well, no one’s ever said that to me so directly before. It’s oddly validating.”

  “Really?” Trent felt that burst of pride again. Ashby nodded. “So, you’re saying the parts of us that aren’t quite a man and aren’t straight have…overlapped?”

  Ashby’s eyebrows rose. “Ooh, I like that,” he said nodding. “Like those circle graphs that overlap to show, um, science stuff.” He let go of Trent and wriggled his other arm free so he could make two circles with his fingers and created a figure eight with a tiny overlapping area in the middle. “A Venn diagram!”

  Trent touched the space in the center. “We’re the Venn diagram,” he murmured.

  Ashby nodded, clearly pleased. “Does that help?” he asked with genuine concern. He dropped his hands and rubbed Trent’s thigh. “I quite like the sound of that, myself.”

  Trent let out a breath. “I think so,” he said. “It’s…quite a bit to think about. But there’s probably more answers than questions floating around in my head now.” He raised an eyebrow and hugged Ashby to him. “You don’t feel like…I don’t know. Don’t you want to be with a proper gay guy?”

  Ashby pondered his words for a moment. “You know,” he said. “I always go for these hyper masculine alpha dudes. And…I think they’re the type that kind of wish they were straight. But guys like me are the closest they can get to a girlfriend. So…they end up resenting me?” He shrugged. “It’s just a theory, one I’ve only just now considered. But maybe what I needed was a straight dude who likes the girly side of me as well as my cock.”