by Carol Lynne
“I like it. Locky’s nice.” Bobby glanced at Chet. “He made me feel welcome.”
Just how welcome, Chet wondered to himself. As soon as Bobby disappeared down the hall with Locky, Chet fought the urge to run after them. Maybe it was their earlier conversation, but since learning Bobby had a thing for older men instead of guys his own age, Chet doubted he’d ever feel comfortable having Bobby around his single friends. “So you like Locky?”
“Yeah, like I told you, he’s nice.” Bobby reached over and punched Chet playfully on the arm. “Jealous?”
“Maybe. Although I know I have no right to be,” Chet admitted.
“Well don’t be. I didn’t transfer my senior year to pick up on Locky.” Bobby was silent for a moment before slapping the seat beside him. “Shit. Are you already involved with someone?”
“No.” The elephant in the front seat was suddenly too big to handle. Chet had done everything he could to get Bobby out of his system, but if it hadn’t happened in three years with several states between them, he doubted it was possible.
He found a shady spot to park two houses down from Demitri’s and pulled up to the kerb. Shutting the engine off, Chet unbuckled his seat belt and turned to face Bobby. “I can’t coach you at practice and fuck you at night. It’s not right. It’s not who I am. I’m not saying I don’t want you because I think we both know that’d be a damn lie, but my job means a lot to me.” Chet reached out and cupped Bobby’s face. “But the future you’ve worked so hard for means more and I can’t take the risk.”
Bobby’s eyes drifted shut as he turned his head to place a kiss on Chet’s palm. “What if I didn’t play ball? Would you still feel the same way?”
“If you’re asking whether my feelings would be the same if you weren’t the Bobby Ray Sikes every pro scout’s been following for years, the answer would be yes. But you’re not that person, Bobby. You have a gift, and I can’t let my feelings get in the way of what you were born to do.” Although Chet was confident in his own feelings, Bobby was still young. He had a lot of living to do before he’d be ready to make a life-altering decision like the one he seemed to be contemplating. He dropped his hand and pulled the key from the ignition.
“I’m glad you and every other football fan in the nation have my future all mapped out for me. Otherwise I might be stuck doing what I want to do instead of what I’m supposed to do.”
It was remarks like that that reminded Chet of Bobby’s youth. He was grateful when he saw another car pull up behind him. “Locky’s here. We’d better drop this for now and join the party.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Bobby mumbled as he opened the door.
* * * *
After a short introduction, Bobby took a seat next to Dane in the shade. He gestured to the open book on Dane’s lap. “What’re you reading?”
Dane held up his book. “Ancient Native Tribes of the Southeast United States. My professor, Magnus Sofokleous, wrote it.”
Bobby couldn’t imagine bringing a boring book to a barbecue. He wondered just how much Dane really wanted to be there. “Not to sound stupid or anything, but is that archaeology?”
Dane pushed his small horn-rimmed glasses up and shook his head. “Actually, it’s anthropology, the study of humans and how they developed over time. Archaeology is the study of material artefacts.”
“Oh, okay.” Bobby nodded. “I’m working towards a degree in social work. Some people say it’s an easy degree, but I like the courses. I figure if I can help people and enjoy doing it, I’m ahead of the game.”
Dane looked at Bobby over his glasses for a moment. “Yeah, I can see you doing that.” He marked his place then shut his book and set it carefully in the leather messenger bag beside his chair. “As you can tell, I’m not real comfortable with people. When I was eight my mom signed me up for soccer. I guess she thought I’d come out of my shell if I was part of a team, but it didn’t really work. I like to play, and I guess I’m pretty good at it, but I do it more for physical exercise than anything else. ‘Course now I have a pool, so I just stick to swimming most days.” Dane blushed. “Sorry. I guess you didn’t ask me about soccer, did you?”
Although Dane was obviously intelligent, Bobby got the idea he was more than a little socially awkward. “That’s okay. It’s all part of getting to know someone.”
“Yeah.” Dane looked around before leaning in to whisper, “Not many people take the time to get to know me. It seems I’m not smart enough to hang with the intellectuals and not tough enough to hang with the jocks.” He shrugged. “But that’s okay. I learned at an early age to entertain myself.” He reached down and tapped the messenger bag. “That’s why I bring books everywhere I go.”
Bobby rubbed his jaw. Dane was a puzzle he might enjoy figuring out. “So are you looking for a roommate?”
“Looking? No. But I wouldn’t mind sharing the house with someone. It’s way too big for one person anyway.” Dane pushed up his glasses again. “Oh, unless you’re afraid of dogs. My parents bought me a German shepherd for a graduation present. Ares is supposed to be a guard dog, but he’s a big softy.”
“I like dogs.” Bobby also found he quite liked Dane, despite his quirks. He almost hated to bring up how much living at Dane’s house was going to cost him, but it would be the deciding factor.
“Then we’re good,” Dane said.
“Well, we still need to talk about the money. I get a small housing allowance from my scholarship and my mom tries to send me what she can each month, but I have to be honest, it isn’t much.”
Dane waved his hand. “The money’s not important, so whatever your scholarship pays is fine with me.”
Satisfied he could afford the change in housing, Bobby stuck out his hand. “Then if you’ll have me, I’d love to be your new roomy.”
“Don’t you want to look at the house first?”
“Nope. As long as I’ll be warm in the winter and cool in the summer, I’m good.”
* * * *
From his position on the deck, Chet watched Bobby and Dane. “I need you to do me a favour.”
“Sure,” Julian answered, taking a drink of his iced tea.
“I think something’s going on with Bobby Ray’s conditioning routine. I noticed this morning that he seems thinner than he was three years ago.” Chet turned his attention away from Bobby to look at Julian. “He said he’d been slacking lately, but I think it’s more than that.”
Julian rubbed the back of his neck. By the expression on his face it was obvious he was uncomfortable about something. “Not sure if you noticed, but he’s favouring his left leg.”
Chet nodded. “I noticed. He said it was just sore from riding in the truck for so many hours.”
“Doesn’t make sense. When you’re driving it’s the right leg that takes the workout.”
“See if he’ll talk to you about it. He practically snapped my head off earlier when I asked.”
“I figured with him transferring you’d get that stick out of your ass and tell him how you feel.”
Julian was the closest friend Chet had at NCIU and the only one he’d told about his strange relationship with Bobby. He couldn’t imagine the rest of the faculty finding out he’d fallen in love with a boy straight out of high school. “He may be older now, but he’s still got a future to look forward to. One that I can’t really be a part of, so what’s the point?”
Julian turned in his chair and leaned towards Chet. “The point is you love him. And if that hasn’t gone away in the last three years, I doubt it’s going away now that he’s here. Stop living life afraid of the future and enjoy the now, dude.”
Chet sat back in his chair in an effort to get his friend the hell out of his face. “What if acting on my feelings ruins his future? Do you really think I could live with myself if that happened?”
“So you’re condemning Bobby Ray to a future of not being loved? Do you honestly think he’ll get drafted and give up men? That’s bullshit and you know it. He’ll fi
nd himself in love somewhere along the way, whether it’s with you or not is your choice.”
The thought of Bobby loving and being loved by another man had Chet rethinking the argument he’d held onto for the past three years. “And the college? How would they handle a head coach fucking a player?”
Julian laughed. “I may not be a head coach, but I’ve been fucking Koby since he was a freshman and no one’s had an issue because I’ve never made it one.”
Chet scanned the area. There were several partnerships within his circle of friends that included teacher and student or coach and student. Julian was right. The college administration didn’t get involved in its employees’ personal lives unless they became a problem.
Julian turned serious. “I know your mom was a lot younger than your dad, but you can’t let the fact that it didn’t work cloud your judgement.”
“I’ll think about it,” Chet said in an effort to get Julian to back down. He hated to be reminded of the way his mom had given birth to two children before deciding she was too young to settle down and have a family. “In the meantime, will you find out what’s going on with Bobby’s conditioning routine?”
“Yep. I’ve got an idea, but first I need to find Koby.” Julian stood and started to walk off but stopped and turned back to Chet. “One word of advice. You’ll have to learn to separate your love life from your job as his coach. In love you’re both equal. Don’t treat him at home like you’d treat him on the field.”
For Chet, the statement drew an image of him fucking Bobby on the fifty yard line. “I should hope not.”
* * * *
Dane shouldered his messenger bag and handed Bobby a slip of paper. “Here’s the address. Just come by with your stuff later this evening or in the morning, either way is fine with me.”
“You’re leaving?” Bobby asked.
“Yeah. I really just came to meet you. I don’t really know anyone else here except Coach Aaron and Demitri.”
Bobby stood and held out his hand. “Thanks for everything you’re doing for me.”
Dane shook Bobby’s hand and smiled. “Actually, I’m looking forward to having someone else in the house to talk to besides Ares.”
Bobby released Dane’s hand and watched him walk away.
“Is that going to work out?” Koby asked, striding up with Julian at his side.
“I hope so. Locky, at BK House, said I could still hang out there if I wanted to, so I figured it’d be easier this way. No sense in pissing off the coach before practice starts.”
“You’re right about that, although Coach Sloan’s a great guy to play for.” Koby plopped down in the grass in front of Bobby’s chair. “I came over to ask if you wanted to go running with Julian and me in the morning? We usually get out around six before the traffic starts and go three or four miles depending on what we did the night before.”
Any other time, Bobby would be jumping at the chance to run with the two men, but he knew his knee wasn’t up to the exertion. “Thanks, but I’ve still got to get settled in at Dane’s.”
“Okay, maybe the next day then. Like I said, we run every morning.” Julian cleared his throat and Koby grinned. “Well, except for Sundays. That’s kind of our day to sleep in.”
“Actually, I haven’t been doing a lot of running lately. I’ve been focusing more on exercises.” Shit. Bobby bit his bottom lip. He could tell by Julian’s expression he didn’t buy the excuse. Bobby knew he was going to have to come clean with the team trainer sooner or later, but he’d hoped to at least start practices first.
“Why don’t you come into the weight room Monday morning and we’ll work up a conditioning schedule?” Julian asked, speaking for the first time since he’d sat down.
With practice starting on Wednesday, Bobby knew he couldn’t refuse. “Sure.”
Julian stood and pulled Koby to his feet. “Good. I’ll block off ten to noon for you.”
“Great,” Bobby replied, trying to plaster an enthusiastic smile on his face. As soon as Julian and Koby left, Bobby closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of the chair. He was so screwed.
* * * *
“I’m not used to seeing you like that,” Bobby said from the passenger seat on the way home.
“Like what?” Chet asked. After his conversation with Julian, Chet began to feel more comfortable with his feelings for Bobby. He still hadn’t worked out how to successfully straddle the line between coach and lover, but he was on the way.
“Laughing. Happy.” Bobby scratched a fresh mosquito bite on his arm. “Is it just being around me that makes you grouchy?”
“You don’t make me grouchy. You make me want things I thought I couldn’t have,” he tried to explain. He pulled around Bobby’s beat-up truck at the end of the driveway and pushed the automatic garage door opener.
“What you thought you couldn’t have? As in past tense?” Bobby released his seatbelt as Chet pulled into the garage.
A discussion between them was three years overdue and the last thing Chet wanted was to hold it in the damn garage. “Let’s go inside.” He’d never been much of a talker when it came to his feelings. The bits of information Julian knew were probably the most he’d ever opened up to anyone. As he climbed out of the SUV and unlocked the door to the house, Chet tried to organise his thoughts. He didn’t have a clue how to even start.
The moment they were inside, Chet did what he’d been dying to do for years. He pressed Bobby against the door and kissed him. He’d held himself back for too long to be coy. Chet pushed his tongue past Bobby’s lips to the warmth inside.
Bobby moaned into the kiss and thrust against him.
Oh, shit. Chet felt the hard ridge of Bobby’s erection as it continued to bump and slide against him. The kiss had already turned sloppy with both of their tongues battling for dominance. It was like a dam had broken and all of Chet’s hidden desires came pouring out. He felt Bobby’s hands on his zipper and reached down to stop him. “We need to talk.”
Bobby shook his head. “Not now.”
Chet attempted to capture Bobby’s hands as he continued to try and unzip Chet’s shorts. “Not here. Not our first time.”
“Get naked. Then I’ll know you’re serious,” Bobby said, pulling off his shirt.
Chet pulled off his shirt and tossed it to the floor then pushed his shorts down to join it. He took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Now you.”
Bobby unzipped his jeans and started to take them off but stopped when they were at mid-thigh.
“What’s wrong?” Chet teased. “I thought you were ready to get naked?”
“I am, but I just realised I need to pee.”
Chet laughed and reached down to pull Bobby’s jeans back up to his hips. “Then I guess you’d better take care of that.” He turned Bobby and nudged him towards the door. “I’ll be in the bedroom.”
He followed Bobby down the hall, trying his best to keep his hands to himself. “Don’t take too long or I might chicken out.”
“Two minutes,” Bobby said, disappearing into the bathroom.
Chet entered his bedroom and shook his head at the state of the unmade bed. He pushed the bedspread to the floor, remaking the bed with just the sheet. By the time Bobby joined him, Chet was starting to have doubts. Bobby was naked except for the bundled jeans in his hands hiding his groin. “Maybe we’re taking things too fast. We should probably talk about a few things first.”
Bobby dropped his jeans to the floor, exposing himself to Chet’s view. “No talking until after you fuck me. I’ve waited too long to screw things up with words.” He climbed onto the bed and rested his clasped hands behind his head.
The little shit’s body was too tempting to ignore, especially after the years spent fantasising about Bobby being naked and in his bed. Chet pulled open the bedside drawer and removed the lube Bobby had used the previous night. “Are you sure massage oil was all you used this for?”
Bobby nodded. “Can you imagine how
pissed you would’ve been if you’d come in here this morning and found my cum all over your sheets?”
Chet lifted one knee to the mattress and trailed his hand down the centre of Bobby’s chest, stopping an inch away from the head of his cock where it rested on his stomach. “I don’t think mad would be the word I’d use.”
“Really? Tell me?” Bobby asked, moving higher so his cock brushed against Chet’s fingers.
“Turned on,” Chet whispered, moving Bobby’s hand to his own cock. “Show me what you would’ve done. Let me see how you like to be touched.”
Bobby’s hand wrapped around his cock just below the head and squeezed. “You like to watch men jack off?”
Chet sat on the bed and poured several drops of lube onto his fingers. “No,” he answered, moving his hand to Bobby’s ass. “But I’d like to watch you do it. I’ve wondered if you touch yourself while thinking about me.”
Bobby moaned when Chet stuck the tip of his finger into his hole. “All the time,” Bobby confessed, moving his hand up and down on his cock. “I had a private dorm room the last two years just so I could come home from practice and jerk off.”
Chet inserted another finger, watching for any sign of discomfort. “And what did you think about when you beat your meat?”
“You fucking me. Usually I had one hand around my dick and my fingers in my ass, just like you’re doing,” Bobby panted as Chet introduced a third finger.
While he had Bobby in a state of excitement, he needed a few answers. “How many men did you let fuck you?”
“Too many and not enough to make me forget you. What about you? How many men have you been with in the last three years?”
“Just one,” he admitted, withdrawing his fingers. He opened the drawer and removed a strip of condoms, tossing them onto the bed after ripping one off.
“Do you still see him?” Bobby asked, uncertainty replacing desire.
“All the time, but not in my bed.” Chet rolled the condom down his aching length and climbed onto the bed between Bobby’s spread thighs.