Forget Me Not (The Unforgettable Duet Book 1)

by Brooke Blaine

Reid pursed his lips, but didn’t resist as I led us toward the uneven path of bricks that had faded to a dull yellow. “You seem to be quite the rule breaker. Sneaking into old parks, sneaking into hospital rooms…”

  I let out a loud belly laugh. “You’re not complaining, are you?”

  “Not about the last one.”

  “Well, you wanted to know more about me.” I stopped and gestured around.

  “You’re trying to tell me you’re obsessed with The Wizard of Oz?”

  “No,” I said with a snort.

  “Yeah, right. It was the ruby-red slippers that did it, right? That’s what sucked you in? Or maybe you just like the creepy vibe of abandoned places.”

  “Bingo. But I don’t think of it as creepy. It’s more…”

  “Spooky?”

  “I was gonna say charming.”

  “Charmingly spooky?”

  I shook my head. “I think it’s kind of romantic.” I motioned up at the trees that rose tall on either side of us, their branches stark and severe, unlike the last time I’d been up this way, surrounded by the lush greenery of summer. Or the time before that, near Halloween, when the leaves had been changing and littered the ground. “Oh. Well…it’s nice any other time of the year, I suppose. I guess winter makes it take on a different feel. I didn’t think about that.”

  Reid came to stand in front of me and grabbed a hold of my jacket lapels. “I think it’s awesome. Do I get a private tour?”

  “Mhmm,” I said, as I zeroed in on his lips, and I couldn’t resist leaning forward for a taste. He leaned into me, deepening the kiss, but before my cock could sit up and take notice, Reid pulled away and let go of my jacket. Then he took a hold of my hand again.

  “Off to see the Wizard, are we?” he said with a grin, as we set out on the yellow brick road, careful to bypass the bricks that protruded up at an angle. The last thing we needed was another ER visit but for a sprained ankle. “Maybe he can help me relocate my brain…”

  “Why do you think we’re here?”

  He knocked into me, pushing me off the path into the grass as he shook his head. “Smart-ass.”

  As we strolled through, I pointed out the sights, which I’d looked up online after my first visit. The shack with a rusted bicycle lying against the front had been Dorothy’s family home, and the field in the back had served as a petting zoo for park guests when it was open. Farther down, there was a costume shop for kids and adults to dress up as their favorite characters from the movie. And then up in the distance on a hill, a towering castle with spires that represented the Emerald City.

  “This is amazing,” Reid said. “How did you ever find this place?”

  “One of the guys at work dated a girl once who was obsessed with The Wizard of Oz and knew about this place. He’d mentioned it in passing one time, so I made the drive up.”

  As we neared the Emerald City, the forest opened up to a large area that had been cleared out for families to picnic, and I led us over to a patch that hadn’t been overrun with weeds. The fence that had run along the perimeter was long gone, giving us a magnificent view of the hills below.

  After spreading out the blanket I’d brought for us to sit on, I set out the lunch containers and drinks I’d packed that morning, and we ate our sandwiches while taking in the view.

  When he was finished, Reid wiped off his hands and gave me a sly smile. “First date with Ollie: a creepy old park.”

  “Hey, rude. And how do you consider this our first date?”

  “First away date.”

  “Mhmm. First creepy away date,” I muttered, pretending to pout.

  “Actually”—he slid closer to me and kissed my jaw—“this is pretty damn cool. I like that you brought me somewhere unexpected.”

  “I like the unexpected.”

  Reid leaned back on one hand and twined his fingers with mine.

  “Sometimes on my days off, I like to just get in my car and go,” I said. “Drive somewhere I’ve never been or get lost and try to find my way out. Discover cool abandoned parks like this, or spots I’ve never been to. There’s so much beauty and interesting places people will never see because they’re too afraid to go off the beaten path.” I rubbed my thumb across his. “Plus it gets me away from the majority of the human race.”

  “You don’t seem too antisocial,” he teased.

  “Nah, but it’s nice to unwind sometimes. My job is stressful, and when it gets to be too much, I like being able to escape and clear my head.”

  Reid nodded as he looked out over the hills. “I think I like that too. A brain break.”

  “A brain break?” I chuckled. “I think you’ve had enough of those, wouldn’t you say?”

  His jaw dropped and then he began to laugh. “Oh, touché, touché. I’ll have to get you back for that one.”

  “Promise?”

  Reid’s head whipped in my direction, and two seconds later he pushed me back onto the blanket and put his hand on my chest to hold me in place.

  “What the—” I started, but Reid moved on top of me, straddling my waist, and then he bent down and kissed me, effectively shutting me up.

  “Please tell me this is your way of getting me back,” I murmured against his lips, and as I leaned up for more, he sat back.

  “Actually, yes.” His weight on my stomach disappeared as he moved off me and took a swig of his water like he hadn’t just attacked me.

  “Wow.” I sat up and shook my head, in a daze. “You’re a fucking evil tease.”

  “How was that for a brain break?”

  “You’ve proven your point. And cut off my circulation,” I said, shifting my growing erection so I could actually sit.

  Reid’s nostrils flared as he looked down, and he started toward me again, but I held a hand up.

  “Whoa, boy. Give me a few minutes to calm down.”

  “Maybe I can help,” he suggested, but then I saw the devilish twinkle in his eyes. “I could give you a hand…?”

  “Fuuuck, that’s not helping. Talk about something else,” I said, as I lay back on the blanket to stretch out.

  “Something other than the massive python in your pants?”

  I let out a strangled laugh. “Yes, other than that.”

  “I’m assuming you don’t want to talk about mine, either?”

  “Reid.”

  “Okay, okay.” He laughed again before growing quiet. “There is something I’ve been meaning to ask you, but you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

  “Now that doesn’t sound like the man who demanded to know ‘everything’ about me.”

  “I was trying to give you an out, but you’re right. You have to tell me.”

  I chuckled as I moved to my side and propped myself up on my elbow to prepare for whatever he had coming my way. “Go ahead. Shoot.”

  “Okay.” He clasped his hands in his lap. “When did you know you were gay?”

  “That’s it?”

  “What? That’s a pretty personal question.”

  “The way you made it sound, I thought you were asking for vault-type stuff.”

  “Oh, that sounds juicy. Can I have the vault stuff too?”

  “Maybe one day if you ask nicely,” I said, winking. “And to answer your question, I think I’ve always known. I don’t remember a moment where it was ever a flashbulb moment for me. It just always was.”

  “And your family knew?”

  “They knew. They sat me down for ‘the talk,’ you know the one, and man. My dad handled it like a champ.” I ran my hand along the stubble on my cheek as I thought back. “I don’t think he’d ever known a gay man in his life, but he never got embarrassed or held back from telling me exactly what to expect and how to stay safe. I don’t think I ever respected him more than I did then. Sometimes it can be hard in a conservative town to be someone outside the majority box, but I never felt anything other than pride when he looked at me. That goes for my mom, too.”

  “They sound like goo
d people to me.”

  “Yeah,” I said, nodding. “The best.”

  Reid looked down at his fidgeting hands. “I haven’t told my family about you yet.”

  “I figured as much.”

  “Does that upset you?”

  “No,” I answered. “That’s your call. I’ll never pressure you to do anything you aren’t ready to do. I mean, you may wake up tomorrow and decide you don’t want to do this. And that would be okay.” Wrong. It would hurt like a motherfucker. “You’ve had a shit-ton’s worth happen over the last few months, and you’re allowed to take things at whatever pace you’re comfortable with.”

  Reid lay down on his side and mimicked my pose, propped up on his elbow. “Ollie?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I don’t ever see changing my mind about you.”

  His words melted my heart, but I wasn’t foolish enough to believe them—not yet.

  “Can I ask you another question?”

  “No. Yes.”

  “How do you… Um. I mean, how does it work when you…” A blush hit his cheeks as he struggled to say whatever he was curious about. “Like do you…or does someone… Ah, shit. I don’t know what I’m trying to say—”

  “Are you asking me if I’m a top or a bottom?”

  “Uh… I don’t know what that means.”

  No shit, Ollie, of course he doesn’t. “It basically means do I like to fuck or do I like to be fucked.”

  “Oh.” His blush deepened. “Then, yes, that’s what I meant.”

  “I thought so. And you don’t have to feel shy about asking. That’s a normal question and pretty important when you’re getting to know someone you may want to be with that way. Truthfully, my preference is that I like to bottom—that’s being fucked—but I would switch and top someone I cared about.”

  Reid nodded and stayed quiet for a long time, but after a minute passed and he still didn’t say anything, I said, “Is that too much to take in?”

  “Huh? Oh, no, no. I was…filing that away for later.”

  “Okay. And just so you know, there’s no rush here, okay? I want to spend time with you, in whatever form that takes.”

  He reached out for me and ran his hand up my arm. “Thank you for bringing me here. For showing me this part of you.”

  “Better to know what you’re getting yourself into now.”

  “Trust me, I’m not complaining. Not even close.” Reid bit down on the inside of his cheek and seemed to debate with himself. “What if…I wanted more? Would that be okay?”

  Fuck yes, I wanted to say, but I forced myself to temper my reaction. “I think I could handle that.”

  “Yeah?” He moved his hand over my shoulder, up my neck, and then back down, but this time he trailed his fingers down my chest. I took in a shaky breath as my stomach tightened beneath his touch, and when he reached the edge of my shirt, his eyes flicked up to mine.

  “May I?” he asked.

  When I nodded, his hand disappeared beneath the fabric, and my skin tingled where his fingers skimmed over my abs and the space between my pecs. Then his thumb brushed across my hardened nipple, and I sucked in a breath and had to bite down on my lip to keep from moaning.

  He scooted closer, until our bodies were aligned, and then pushed his knee between my thighs, opening them so our legs tangled and he could wrap his arm around my waist. As I sealed our lips together, his hips began to rock against mine, and the friction of our pants rubbing against our erections, the feel of his moving with mine, and the knowledge that it was me and my body that had caused this reaction in Reid… I wanted to fucking explode. I couldn’t get enough, and I knew I wouldn’t last long if we kept going.

  Reid was the first to break away, breathing hard, and though I didn’t want to stop, I also didn’t want his first experience with me to be on a patch of dirt. I wanted us to be able to take our time, and I wanted to lick and suck and kiss every inch of his lean body—

  “Ollie.” Reid’s voice was husky and filled with need. “Can we…”

  “Yes?”

  “Can we go back to your place?” I didn’t miss the way his hips shifted as he laid out his request, or the way my heart rate went up another notch. “I want to…”

  Oh fuck. As his hand squeezed my ass, pressing us closer, Reid didn’t even have to finish his sentence. I could feel his pulse beneath my fingers, racing as fast as mine. I knew exactly what he wanted. What I wanted, too. How the hell I was supposed to drive us home with the raging erection I was now sporting, I didn’t know, because I was harder than I’d ever been, and it was all for him.

  “Yes,” I whispered, then kissed him again, deep and eager, letting him know I was up—in more ways than one—for whatever he wanted to do.

  After we untwined ourselves from each other and got to our feet, Reid helped me throw everything in the backpack, and when I saw the evidence of his arousal pressed firmly against his pants, I had to tell myself to stop and think of something, anything else before I blew my load in my jeans without him even touching me.

  And…shit. He wanted to touch me. The same way I wanted to touch him. I could see it in his stare and feel it in the vibration between us.

  I only prayed I could get us home before combusting.

  Chapter Twelve

  I WHITE-KNUCKLED the wheel the entire drive home, and the silence between us nearly drove me crazy. Reid was quiet, and he was never quiet, which would’ve worried me if I hadn’t seen his fists clenched in his lap as he tried not to look at me.

  I barely remembered getting out of the car or unlocking the front door, but everything became clear as glass as soon as the door slammed shut behind us.

  Reid dove for my mouth at the same time I reached for him, and we devoured each other as we tried to kick off our shoes. We stumbled together down the hall, our lips not leaving each other for longer than it took to remove our shirts. Bursting into my bedroom, we fell into the door, Reid’s hands in my hair and mine holding him against me.

  I heard his pants fall to the floor, and then he reached for mine. When he unbuttoned my jeans, my eyes flew open, and I realized what I’d been about to let happen.

  “Wait, wait, wait,” I said, grabbing his wrists and pushing him back a little. “I don’t want”—deep breath—“to rush this.”

  “If you’re worried I’m gonna change my mind—”

  “No.” I struggled for more air, trying to calm my fucking libido down. “It’s not that.”

  Reid’s forehead puckered. “Wait, have you changed your mind?”

  “God, no.” I lowered his hand to the front of my jeans, where my cock twitched as soon as he came into contact. “Trust me. Fuck no, I haven’t. But I want you too much for this to be over in the next five minutes.”

  When I let go of him, he backed up, his calves bumping into the bedframe. He turned to look at what he’d run into, and at the sight of my king-size bed, he said, “Oh God.” He looked back at me, then back at the bed, then me again. “You’re right. You are. Shit.”

  He rubbed his stomach like he was going to be sick, and I hoped like hell he wasn’t thinking this was all a mistake now that reality was setting in.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Why do I feel nervous all of a sudden?”

  “Are you upset?”

  “No. Not upset.”

  “Scared?”

  “Um… I don’t think so.”

  “Anxious?”

  He swallowed. “Y-yes, I think maybe that.”

  I took a step toward him. “How do you feel now?”

  “Like…I want you to come closer.”

  Another step. “And now?”

  I was near enough that Reid reached out and placed his hand against my stomach. “I don’t think it’s nerves I’m feeling anymore.”

  I covered his hand with mine. “Reid?”

  “Yes?”

  “Get on the bed.”

  His eyes widened slightly, but then he did as he was told and
scooted back onto the mattress, clad in only a pair of dark grey boxer briefs. I kept my jeans on for the moment, because I needed that barrier if I was gonna even attempt to take things slowly. Climbing onto the mattress, I reveled in how Reid tracked me, with lust swirling behind those brown eyes. He lifted up on his knees when I did, and I took his face between my hands.

  “You can stop this at any time,” I said, because a tiny sliver still held me back until I heard the words I needed to hear coming out of his mouth.

  “I don’t want to stop.”

  Bringing his face to mine, I sucked on his bottom lip, and when he moaned, I pushed my tongue inside the hot, wet heat of his mouth.

  If this was all I’d ever have, our mouths fused together and nothing else, I knew I’d still die a happy man. But Reid’s appetite seemed to fully match mine, because he lowered himself to his back, and pulled me down with him.

  Stretching out beside him, I trailed my fingertips down between his pecs, then over his stomach, and I could see the way his body trembled under my touch. “Are you still nervous?”

  “Not because of you.”

  I smiled. “You’ll tell me if it’s too much?” Farther down I went, my fingers sneaking beneath the band of his boxer briefs to sweep over the smooth skin there that led to soft curls that I knew would be as dark as the hair on his head.

  Reid’s breath hitched. “It won’t be. Trust me.” His erection strained, thick and hard against the thin material, and I captured his lips in a kiss before moving my hand to cup him.

  He gasped against my mouth as I stroked him through the fabric, his kisses turning hungry, and then he broke away just enough to say, “That feels…so good.” When he arched his back, it sent his hips bucking up into my hand, greedy and eager. This was where I wanted him, desperate for more.

  But he wasn’t the only one needing more.

  I lifted up, settling on my knees, and then took a hold of his waistband with both hands. As I peeled the boxer briefs down his body slowly, I savored the sight of seeing him naked and beneath me for the first time.

  He was fucking perfect.

  Rich brown, close-cropped curls surrounded his flushed cock, the engorged length pointing toward its owner, who watched me with ravenous eyes.