Rosh raised an eyebrow. “I’m just waiting for you to make a fool of yourself.”
Guri stepped back away from Tayrym, his face growing warm. Though the new player didn’t seem to notice his embarrassment as he exchanged greetings with the other team.
“Okay, let’s play.” Guri was far more confident on the field, playing kickball, than when around Tayrym. Especially with his friends scrutinizing his every move to save for fodder to tease him later.
Guri tried hard to pass the ball, make it a team effort rather than just him singlehandedly scoring against the other team. But each time he’d kick the ball to Tayrym, his teammate would either kick it right back to him or be an easy target for Dunn to steal the ball away. He refused to give up, though. He wanted Tayrym to feel welcome and come back to play again. Dribbling the ball down the field, Guri spotted his teammate in the perfect position for a goal. With Rosh in the net, Coop and Dunn focused on him, but left a nice space between them. Guri faked a shot on goal, to which Dunn tried to block, but instead kicked the ball to his teammate. No one expected it, not even Tayrym.
Guri’s teammate leaned forward as if about to run toward him. When Tayrym noticed the ball right at his feet, his eyes grew wide. He lifted his foot back like he was going to kick the ball, but when he went to connect with it, his foot went into the air. His body followed him up until gravity pulled him back down. Flat on his back. He had kicked the ball but sent it flying in the wrong direction.
Guri rushed to his side then dropped to his knees. “Are you okay? Is anything broken? Banged up?”
“Just my pride.” Tay gave him a wide, toothy smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Goal!”
Guri glanced up to see Dunn dancing around the field, arms up in the air.
“Not fair,” he shouted. “We were in a time out. I have an injured player.” Play should have stopped the instant Tayrym fell.
“That didn’t stop you when Coop fell earlier in the game.” Rosh grabbed the ball from Dunn then stood over Guri. “Funny how the rules change when Tay falls down.”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry.” Tayrym pushed himself to his feet and brushed off his pants. “I should get going anyway. Thank you for letting me play. Sorry that I messed up that goal.”
“No.” Guri sprinted across the field after him, surprised at how fast the other could walk. “Tay, wait. You didn’t mess anything up.”
His former classmate stopped and slowly turned around. “You don’t have to be nice. I know I’m not good at kickball.”
Guri hooked a finger under Tayrym’s chin and lifted his gaze from the ground to meet his. “When I asked you if you played, I never asked if you were any good. I just wanted you on my team.”
Tayrym’s forehead wrinkled. “Why? It hasn’t been that long since we went to school together. I wasn’t good then, either.”
“Yet, I always picked you back then.” Digging the toe of his boot into the dirt, Guri sighed. “I missed having you on my team.” He’d always thought he was obvious, but maybe Tayrym didn’t get it. Or he wasn’t like him as Guri had suspected. But he didn’t want to come right out and ask. Even with Queen Lalia ruling, there was still a lot of stigma from families and the community if one was different than they were supposed to be. Guri couldn’t risk coming out to Tay unless he knew for sure.
“You forgot this back on the field.” Sol slapped Guri’s shirt against his bare back.
He winced and arched his back. “Why do you have to be like that?” He grabbed his shirt from the man he lived with.
“Because I can.” Sol rested a hand on Guri’s shoulder and squeezed. “I’ll see you at home. Good luck.”
Luck? He needed more than luck in this situation. He needed the entire universe to work in his favor.
“I should go, too.” Tayrym pulled at the hem of his shirt, still unsure why Guri had asked him to stay behind when all the other players had left.
“Please, don’t.” Guri gripped his arm. “Not yet.”
With the other’s hold on him, Tayrym swallowed his nerves. “Why? What do you want?” His skin beaded with sweat from his crush’s touch, and his legs felt as if the bones in them had disappeared. He didn’t know if he could handle being around Guri much longer without passing out.
“To catch up.” Guri squeezed his arm before he let go. “It’s been too long since we last talked.”
Tayrym huffed out a deep breath, trying to figure out what he was missing. “We barely talked when we went to school together. You don’t know enough about me or I you to catch up.”
Guri pushed his tongue into his cheek, making the skin stick out. “Things were different at school. Maybe I wanted to get to know you but didn’t know how.”
Or maybe he didn’t want to be seen talking to the clumsy, awkward kid in the class. Even as an adult, Tayrym still resembled that kid. But he hoped Defender training would change all that, make him more confident, athletic, everything Guri was. And he wasn’t. “I don’t understand why.”
With the twitch of his head and the way he twisted his shirt in his hands, Guri seemed nervous for the first time, ever. Tayrym understood the feeling. But why? Maybe he was asking the wrong questions to figure out his crush’s reason for talking to him. “So, you and Sol live together?”
Guri furrowed his brows, relaxing his grip on his shirt. “Um, yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck, somehow managing to bring Tayrym’s attention back to his muscular chest and biceps. “He took me in after my family died in the Erebus attack. Hakon lived with us, too, until he got married.”
Living with teachers for the past five Galactic years? He never would have guessed that about Guri. Not that his crush was a bad student, but his attitude toward the teachers while in class must have gotten him in trouble once he arrived at home. “And you’re friends, then?”
Guri laughed and smacked his thigh. “That’s funny. He tries to act like my father but ends up being more like an older brother. Hakon was the same way. Makes me sometimes wish I lived with the other three, but it would be even worse with them.”
“Really?” Tayrym doubted Coop and the other two he lived with would be as concerned with being a father-figure to Guri. Not from what he’d observed. After all, Guri and Coop had been best friends in school. Their bond, how touchy they’d been, had often resulted in Tayrym leaving school jealous.
“Never mind.” Guri tugged on his arm, walking deeper into the woods. Away from the well-worn paths. “I want to know about you. Tell me, what’s with you and the princess? I always see the two of you together.”
“Gwenodyn?” Tayrym stumbled trying to keep up. When had Guri seen them together when Tayrym hadn’t seen the other except on the field for weeks? “Um.... We’re friends?”
“Just friends?” Raising his eyebrows, Guri stopped and crossed his arms. “You don’t sound so sure.”
“Well, yeah, she is my friend.” Tayrym shifted from one foot to the other, his cheeks warming. “My best friend, actually. We grew up together.”
“But, you want something more with her.” Frowning, Guri took a step back.
“No!” Tayrym shook his head. “No, no, no. Just friends. I don’t want anything more.” His heart raced. Fornax! Had he said to much?
“Why not? She’s really pretty.”
Tayrym tried to read the other’s hard expression, but he couldn’t. Was Guri interested in Gwenodyn? The thought felt like a punch to the gut. Rolling one hand in the other, he tried to ignore the burning in his cheeks and ears. “She’s um...not my type.”
“Really?” Hands behind his back, Guri gave him a smug smile. “So, what is your type then? Who is your type?”
Tayrym gulped, trying to swallow down his nerves, yet it didn’t help. With his crush right in front of him, he could easily confess his feelings and hope they would be returned, beginning a wonderful and long relationship. But what if his feelings weren’t returned? Or worse, if Guri was setting him up? Planned to expose him fo
r being homosexual? To have him sent away like his brother had been? Even though the queen already knew, she might still enforce the rule if enough people found out and objected. And, of course, they’d object.
Guri licked the corner of his mouth, Tayrym unable to avoid staring at his lips, waiting for him to do it again. The other stepped forward, well into Tayrym’s personal bubble. “Am I your ideal type, Tay?”
Tayrym’s breath caught in his throat. He couldn’t think, only stand there while Guri moved dangerously close. Then the other’s lips were on his, plying and pleading, everything Tayrym had ever dreamed of. Yet, he couldn’t react, his entire body unresponsive to how much he longed to be an active participant in the kissing and touching.
Just as fast as it started, the kiss was over, a frown etched on Guri’s face. “I’m sorry.” He pushed his cheek out with his tongue again. “I guess I interpreted you wrong.” He glanced behind him. “I...I’ve got to go.” He jogged away, heading toward the path back to the village.
As much as Tayrym’s heart screamed at him to chase after Guri, he still couldn’t move. The guy he’d crushed on for the last Galactic year had kissed him. And now.... Now, he was letting him run away?
Tayrym snapped out of his trance, racing through prickly vegetation and over fallen branches in an attempt to catch up. “Guri! Wait!”
The other slowed, but didn’t stop. Tayrym finally caught up and yanked his arm, trying to swing him around. When Guri turned, Tayrym ducked, expecting a punch in the face. Not the first time the other had punched a guy for grabbing him. But instead of a fist, Tayrym saw a tear trail down Guri’s cheek, from his wide, fear-filled eyes to his pouty bottom lip. “Please don’t tell anyone I did that.”
Tayrym stepped back, not understanding the other’s request. “What? Why?”
Guri focused on the hole he was digging in the ground with the toe of his boot. “You know Queen Lalia well. I don’t want to be sent away. I thought you were the same as me, but I was wrong. Can we please just forget it ever happened?”
All this time, he’d worried about the same thing, kept his feelings hidden from his crush while Guri battled with the same fears. A giggle escaped as a wave of relief swept through Tayrym.
“This isn’t funny.” Guri clenched his fists. “My life’s on the line. I don’t want to die out there. I don’t want to end up like your brother. We’ve all heard the rumors.”
Mention of Myar sobered him quickly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed.” He rolled his shoulders back. “It’s just, the reason I didn’t kiss you back. I thought you were trying to set me up, would claim I initiated it and have me sent away.”
“So.” Guri ran a hand through his hair, moving it off his forehead. A far more attractive style in Tayrym’s opinion. “You wanted to kiss me back?”
“That depends. If you’re setting me up, then no. How could you do such a thing?” Tayrym gulped, his palms sweaty. “But, if you kissed me because you actually like me—”
Guri clenched the front of Tayrym’s shirt and yanked him behind a large ropral tree. They were chest to chest as his spine hit the trunk. He was trapped, though he didn’t mind, unsure if his crush truly stood in front of him, or if it was an elaborate dream. His heart raced, and he couldn’t avoid the other’s intense stare.
“The second one.” Guri’s lips crashed onto his. This time Tayrym didn’t hold back. He rested his hands on Guri’s waist as they tasted each other for the second time. Yet, Tayrym hungered for more. Their tongues danced with desperate rhythm, and he pulled Guri closer. He couldn’t believe everything he’d dreamed about was finally coming true.
Guri pulled away, leaving Tayrym gasping for breath and in confusion. Had he done something wrong? Was he a bad kisser? His stomach sank. Or maybe he’d trusted Guri too easily.
Tayrym dared a peek at the other, hoping for an answer regardless of how much it hurt. But the way Guri darted around nearby trees as if looking for something, only led to more confusion.
“Did you hear that?” Guri asked continuing to eye the area around them.
“Hear what?” During their kiss, he hadn’t heard a thing, all sound disappearing except the beating of his own heart. Every other sense had been attuned to the kiss. Nothing else.
“A twig snapped.” He continued to search the woods. “Then leaves rustled, and I heard something run away. Someone was spying on us. I’m sure of it.”
Tayrym’s stomach sank. His dream had finally come true, and someone else had ruined it. Probably Gwenodyn wanting to witness his first kiss so she could tease him. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Guri stiffened and narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t do anything wrong unless you kissed me and didn’t mean it.”
“No, not that.” Tayrym shrugged. “I just don’t want us to get in trouble. Not when I enjoyed that so much.”
Guri returned and cupped Tayrym’s hand in both of his, a shy smile across his lips. “I’ve got to go, but come to my home at sundown. We’re the last one on Ramy Lane.”
As Tayrym nodded, his crush raced through the woods, out of sight in a blink, as if he’d imagined it all.
Chapter Two
“Sol, where are you?” Guri darted through the house, looking for his friend and mentor. Even though it had already been a few Galactic years since he had moved in with Sol and Hakon, he still wasn’t used to all the space they had. More since Hakon got married and moved out.
“In here,” Sol called from his bedroom, a place Guri had already checked not long before.
He rushed inside. “Do you have a shirt I can wear tonight?”
“What?” Sol squinted. “What’s wrong with the one you’re wearing?”
Guri pulled at the edge of his shirt. “Tay has already seen me in this, and the rest of my clothes seem so plain compared to yours.” He’d become so used to being outfitted in drab garments as a child that when wearing bright colors previously reserved for royalty had become the norm, he’d refused. A decision he regretted.
Sol shook his head. “I don’t think it’s going to matter what you wear. This is Hemera, not Yarwa.”
“Yes, but it’s Tayrym. He’s used to being around royalty. For once, I want to wear something a little less dull.” Guri dropped to his knees, hands folded together in front of him. “Please. I’m begging you to lend me a shirt.”
“Fine.” Sol got up from his desk and went to his closet. He picked out a button-up shirt with a printed pattern of black, white, and green ropral leaves on it and tossed it to Guri. “For your Tay Tay.”
“Thank you,” he said before hurrying to his room to change. The shirt wasn’t too extravagant, but definitely a step up from his usual dowdy clothing. Though it was a little tight around his chest and arms, he didn’t think he would rip it. He just filled it out better than Sol. All he had to do was wait for Tayrym. If he showed up.
When he was much younger, Guri never had to worry about friends. Those his own age begged to hang out with him. Younger children followed him everywhere like they were his pet tibbars. Even villagers older than him made a point of saying hello and engaging him in conversation. That’s how he’d met Sol and Hakon.
But when he’d found himself attracted to his friends the way he was supposed to be to those of the opposite sex, he began to distance himself from others. Everyone on Hemera knew those who lusted after the same sex were sent beyond the borders of the kingdom and told never to return. He’d heard that had happened to Tayrym’s brother, but the last Erebus attack had occurred only day cycles later, so many believed it to be only a rumor.
But Guri decided it best if no one ever found out about his abnormal desires. Though when Sol and Hakon had invited him to live with them, he was finally able to be himself with just a few people. Having lost their own families during the Erebus attack, they desperately clung to anything familiar during the recovery of the surviving population. Through them, Guri had met another group of survivors, all older than him as well. Coop was close
st to his age, quickly becoming his best friend as they attended school together as soon as Queen Lalia had one built. Coop had shared that Tayrym’s brother, Myar, had been friends with Coop’s housemates, Dunn and Rosh. With Sol and Hakon, too. And all four had tried to hide him away when leaders of the council discovered his aberrant behavior. It was then Guri had confronted Sol, needing to know the truth.
But the information his housemate shared was more than Guri had guessed. Sol confessed to having been in a relationship with Myar, missing him every single day, and blaming himself for his disappearance, not knowing if he was still alive somewhere, or if he had passed. In trying to comfort his brokenhearted housemate, Guri had shared his secret, also revealing the guy from his class on whom he crushed so hard. He and Sol had formed a bond that night and become much closer, Guri finally able to relate to the distant Sol. So even though his housemate gave him a hard time, Sol knew how much this night meant to him, how long he’d waited for it to happen.
Glancing outside, he searched for Tayrym but couldn’t see him. His view of the road was limited to two houses down. Only a sliver of light could be seen in the sky, the sun a few minutes from disappearing for the day cycle. If Tayrym didn’t show up soon, Guri would spend the rest of the night wallowing in self-pity, blaming himself for going against societal norms and daring to find happiness and maybe even love.
He’d expected too much from Tayrym. Attracted to men or not, the other had possibly witnessed his brother being taken from their home and cast out of the kingdom for that very reason. And if that was the case, Guri couldn’t blame him for being cautious, hiding his true feelings.
Guri waited until darkness enveloped the road. Then even longer until his chest felt like it would collapse from his disappointment. He closed the curtain and trudged away from the window. Tayrym wasn’t coming. Not tonight. Probably not ever. They’d shared a mind-numbing kiss, and that was all. He didn’t know if savoring that memory would keep the pain fresh or help soften it. Chest heavy, Guri turned around and headed toward the stairs. He unbuttoned Sol’s shirt, no longer needing it. Leaning against the entranceway of his housemate’s bedroom, Guri swallowed hard. His eyes burned with the threat of tears, and he bit his bottom lip to keep it from trembling.
Tayrym (Galactic Defenders Book 4) Page 2