by Carol Lynne
“You need that surgery, don’t you?”
“Yeah. Either that or give up football.” Bobby turned his head to the side and rested his cheek on the cool metal desktop.
“What does Chet say?”
Bobby bit his bottom lip. “I haven’t told him. He thinks I’m getting better.” He knew he had to tell his mom all of it or the guilt would eat him alive. “Here’s the thing. All I have to do is step on that field in my first game and the scholarship is mine regardless, that’s the deal I worked out with Coach Nelson. So, I figured, I’d fake my way through a couple of games and take my chances that the surgery would fix any damage I do.”
“But…” Ellen prompted when Bobby didn’t continue.
“I like these people. And I can’t help but feel that I’m cheating my way through college.”
“That’s because in a way you are. I can’t tell you what to do, Bobby Ray, but you know I can’t send you any more money than I already do. Believe me, I wish I could, but it’s just not there. That’s why the scholarship is so important.”
“I know.” Chase’s face kept popping up in his guilt-ridden mind. “I guess it’s something I’ll have to think about.”
“I’m sorry that I can’t do more for you, baby.”
“Don’t be sorry, Mom. I’m twenty-two. I should be able to figure this out on my own.”
“You’re still my baby, don’t forget that. Call me anytime.”
“I will. Thanks.” Bobby hung up the phone and groaned in frustration. After talking to Chase, Bobby had sat down and figured out the cost of the credit hours he needed to graduate. They were more than he could pay for even with a good job. He was pretty sure Chet would let him live at his house, but that wasn’t the way Bobby wanted to get there.
Leaning back in the chair, Bobby decided to play it day by day until the moment came when he couldn’t take his decision back.
* * * *
“Chet?”
“I’m in here,” Chet answered, putting the finishing touches on one of his most recent model aeroplanes.
Dressed only in a loosely-tied robe, Bobby stepped into the guest room and grinned. “What’s that? Playing with toys on the sly?”
Chet held up the plane. “It’s a Cessna 182 radio-controlled plane. I’m not sure I would consider it a toy. It took hours to complete and a hell of a lot of money.”
Bobby separated his robe and straddled Chet’s lap. “You can really fly that thing?”
“Sure, as long as I’ve put it together right.” Chet slipped his hands inside the robe and ran his palms down Bobby’s back. There was something so warm and peaceful about the man in his arms. Chet sighed and rested his forehead against Bobby’s shoulder. While he knew he could seduce Bobby into going back to bed for a while, Chet found he rather liked just holding the man he’d fallen in love with.
“This is so cool. Why didn’t I know you did this?”
Chet had come to realise in the last several weeks that he and Bobby actually knew very little about each other outside of football. It didn’t diminish Chet’s feelings in any way. On the contrary, Chet found it exciting to discover new sides to Bobby, and he hoped Bobby felt the same. “I hadn’t worked on this one for a couple of months, but I found it while cleaning the garage the other day and decided to finish it. You want to go out to the airstrip with me to see if she flies?”
“Hell yeah,” Bobby said.
Within minutes Chet had the plane loaded in the back of his SUV along with his trusty four channel radio. He grabbed a blanket out of the linen closet and a few supplies from the bedroom and they were ready. “I thought maybe we’d have a picnic. Ya know, make a day of it. Feel like stopping by the deli and picking up a couple of sandwiches on the way?”
Bobby reached over and tickled the skin on Chet’s neck with his fingertips. “Sure, I guess, although I’ve never been to a picnic at the airport.”
Chet laughed and reached over to squeeze Bobby’s upper thigh. “We’re not going to the airport. We’re going to the airstrip. It’s a big field out in the middle of nowhere with a small dirt track on it. Perfect for flying and privacy.” He moved his hand further up Bobby’s leg to brush the back of his hand against the front of Bobby’s gym shorts. “I found it a couple of years ago and asked the owner if I could fly from it occasionally.”
Bobby pushed his shorts down far enough for the head of his cock to peek out over the waistband. “I can take them off if you want?”
Chet brushed his thumb over the tip, gathering a drop of pre-cum, before sucking it into his mouth. It was hard enough to concentrate on driving with the taste of Bobby coating his tongue. No way could he function responsibly if his little sex machine was naked from the waist down. “Hold that thought until we get to the airstrip.”
Chet pulled in front of a small deli he’d found soon after he’d arrived in town. “Coming or staying?”
Bobby glanced down at his hard cock. “What do you think?”
Laughing, Chet gave Bobby’s cock one last squeeze before climbing out of the SUV. It was building up to be a fantastic Sunday afternoon.
* * * *
Naked, Bobby lay on his back and watched the aeroplane as it soared through the sky. Chet stood a few feet away, equally naked, with a huge smile plastered to his face. Bobby’s gaze alternated between watching the tricks Chet was able to perform with his plane and watching the man who had captured his heart so long ago.
Lust for the like-minded man might have been what had initially driven him into Chet’s arms, but Bobby knew his feelings had grown far beyond an eighteen-year-old’s curiosity. For three years while playing football under another head coach, Bobby dreamed of someday playing for Chet. Now that he had the chance, Bobby wasn’t sure he wanted it.
Chet made a noise of jubilation. “Did you see that one?”
Bobby looked away from Chet’s half-hard cock to his face. “Nope. Sorry, I was distracted.”
Chet took his attention off the plane and glanced down at Bobby. Within seconds, Chet’s cock started to harden. “Give me a minute and we’ll see what we can do about that distraction problem you seem to be having.”
Bobby got to his feet. “I have another idea.” He moved to kneel in front of Chet, the soft field grass cushioning his knees. With Chet still flying the plane, Bobby wrapped his hand around the base of Chet’s cock and licked his way from root to crown. The sun-warmed skin felt heavenly against Bobby’s tongue, but he craved the fluid forming at the slit.
Chet thrust his hips forward when Bobby enveloped the head of his cock with his mouth. “Shit. I gotta get this thing on the ground.”
Bobby continued to work his way up and down Chet’s length as Chet tried to land the plane safely. The moment the plane was on the ground, Chet stepped back, pulling his cock free of Bobby’s mouth. “Blanket,” he growled.
Bobby wiped his mouth as Chet helped him stand. “I like it out here,” he whispered against Chet’s lips.
“Me, too.” Without releasing his hold on Bobby, Chet walked them towards the blanket.
Bobby eased down and reached for the lube as Chet rolled on a condom. “Are you ever going to fuck me without one of those things?”
“Not until I’m sure,” Chet answered.
“Sure of what? I’m clean. I’ve already told you that.”
Chet shook his head and knelt between Bobby’s legs. “It’s not about being disease-free for me. It’s about committing my heart one hundred per cent to one person. Unfortunately, in this state I can’t legally marry that one special someone, but I can give him something no one else has ever had.”
Although Chet’s words were beautiful, it hurt Bobby to know Chet still didn’t believe enough in him to know he was that one special person. “I can be that person for you.”
Chet took the lube out of Bobby’s hand and coated his fingers. “We’ll have a better idea if that’s true or not after football season’s over.”
Bobby was spread wide open with C
het’s fingers working his asshole and still Chet looked at him as a player instead of an equal. Closing his eyes, Bobby tried to calm his racing heart. It was no use. His anger bubbled up and exploded.
“Damn you.” Bobby pushed Chet and scrambled out from under him. He stood and grabbed his shorts and underwear.
“What the hell’d I do?” Chet asked, getting to his feet.
“Just take me home,” Bobby said, stuffing his feet into his sneakers. He bent and picked up the sack of lunch trash and his shirt before heading to the SUV.
“Dammit, Bobby!” Chet yelled.
He opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat. The SUV was hotter than hell, but no way would he go back and ask Chet for the keys so he could roll down the windows. He mopped at his face with his T-shirt and stared straight ahead. The back of the vehicle opened and Chet set the plane inside before slamming the lift gate closed hard enough to make the entire SUV shake.
Bobby didn’t even glance Chet’s way when he got behind the wheel and fired up the engine. What good would it do to get into an argument? Bobby knew as long as he played ball, Chet would always see him as a player first and a boyfriend second. He’d been stupid to think he could have both.
Not a word was spoken on the drive home. Chet pulled into the garage, and Bobby immediately got out and headed for his pickup.
“That’s it? You’re not going to say anything?” Chet asked.
Bobby turned his head to the side to yell over his shoulder. “Yeah. Give me a call when football season’s over.”
* * * *
Bobby sat on the deep leather couch in the media room of Dane’s house and stared at the piece of paper in his hand. It had been four days since he’d spoken to Chet. It seemed he wasn’t the only one in the mood to avoid a potential fight. Chet had started passing basic coaching messages through Julian.
The answer to the most important of those messages was in Bobby’s hand. He’d finally done it. He’d sold his soul and values to play one more year of football.
“How’d it go?” Dane asked, hopping over the back of the couch to sit beside Bobby.
Bobby passed him the sheet of paper. “It was a lot easier than I thought.”
Dane whistled and set the paper on the end table. “How’d you get a doctor to sign off on it?”
“I told him about the partial tear but I lied about the dates. I told him I felt a hundred per cent better and my knee seemed to be stable enough for me to return to football. He examined me, made me pee in a cup and dallied with my balls while I coughed.”
“That’s it?”
“Not quite. He put me through a few exercises, but I’ve gotten so good at hiding the pain he had no idea.”
Dane pushed his glasses up on his nose and made a disapproving noise. “Did you tell Coach Sloan?”
“Nope. I thought I’d put the release on his desk tomorrow before practice.”
Dane wrapped his arms around Bobby’s arm and hugged it, fitting his head on Bobby’s shoulder. “I wish you’d go talk to him. You’ve been so miserable the last few days.”
Bobby kissed the top of Dane’s blond head. Even though Dane was older, Bobby couldn’t help but think of the guy like a younger brother. Maybe it was Dane’s naïve nature or the fact that even though he claimed to feel uncomfortable around people, he sure did like physical attention of any kind. Bobby often wondered if Dane received any affection at all when he was a child.
“Have you ever loved someone older?”
“Yeah,” Dane whispered. “Why?”
“Because I’m trying like hell to figure out a way for Chet to see me as a man and not a player or a student.”
Dane moved his head to rest his chin on Bobby’s shoulder. “I don’t know, but if you figure it out would you let me know?”
Bobby grinned and narrowed his eyes. “What’re you keeping from me? You have a crush on someone?”
“No!” Dane tried to pull away, but Bobby saw the lie written all over his friend’s face.
He held on tight and tried to go through everything he knew about Dane. Hell, the man never went out unless it was with him, so who could it be? He thought of the book Dane never seemed to be without. “Is it Professor Sofokleous?”
Dane sucked in a breath and gave up trying to fight Bobby off. He resettled his glasses and stared up at Bobby. “Promise me you won’t say a word to anyone about that. No way am I in his league, and if he found out he’d never let me be his teaching assistant.”
“I’ll keep your secrets if you keep mine.”
* * * *
In the early morning glow of the sun, Bobby finished warming up before turning to Dane. “Okay. The second I take off, start the stopwatch.”
“Got it.”
Bobby got to his feet and shook out his limbs, mindful of twisting his knee. He knew there was no way he could match his usual time of 4.32 in the forty, but he had to know just how off he was before practice. The last thing he wanted was to make a fool of himself in front of the players and coaching staff.
He eyed the finish line and got into position. “Ready?” he asked Dane without looking over.
“Yep.”
Bobby took a deep calming breath before taking off. Each time his left foot hit the synthetic track, he prayed his leg wouldn’t buckle under him. He gave the short forty yard dash everything he had but it cost him. After crossing the line, Bobby immediately slowed and made his way to the soft grass on the interior of the track.
He dropped to the ground, praying he hadn’t done further damage to the ACL. “What was it?”
Dane took off his glasses and wiped his eyes before resettling them. Instead of announcing the results, Dane carried the stopwatch over and handed it to Bobby. “I think it’s pretty accurate.”
Bobby stared at the watch in disbelief. 5.29. He’d run a faster time than that in high school. Still, in the grand scheme of things, it was better than he’d thought it would be. Bobby looked up at Dane. “Could you tell?”
“That you were hurting? No.”
Satisfied that he could participate in basic drills at practice, Bobby stood and took the bottle of water Dane held out. “I’m going to jog around once.”
“Want some company or is this a thinking thing?”
Bless his friend for already understanding him. “Thanks, but it’s one of those thinking things.” He took off down the track at a slow jog. Truth be told, his knee was feeling much better. Given time, it could possibly heal without surgery. Unfortunately, using the knee in everyday life was nothing like the rigorous workout it would receive on the football field.
Bobby was halfway around the track when he thought of giving the doctor’s release to Chet. He’d gone over their fight hundreds of times and realised he’d made more of Chet’s statement than he should have. Of course Chet would see him as a player. Coaching was the man’s profession, and Bobby Ray was his top recruit.
By the time he reached Dane again, he’d kicked his own ass several times. “Can I borrow your phone?”
Dane grinned and passed it over. “I’ll be in the car.”
“Thanks.” Although it wasn’t yet seven o’clock, Bobby hoped Chet would be awake.
“Dane? What’s happened?” Chet answered, fear in his voice.
“It’s not Dane, it’s me.”
“Are you okay?”
“No. Can I come by and talk to you?” Bobby hoped he hadn’t screwed up what they’d started to build.
“Sure. I don’t have to go in until ten.”
Bobby heard the bedding rustle and wanted to tell Chet to stay where he was, but the problems they needed to work out couldn’t be fixed with sex. “I’ll have Dane drop me by if you can give me a lift back to the house before you go to work?”
“I can do that.”
There was something in Chet’s voice that made Bobby uneasy. Maybe Chet had already washed his hands of the whole situation. Bobby prayed that wasn’t the case. “Okay. Thanks. I’ll be there in ten
minutes.”
Bobby hung up the phone, feeling only slightly better than he had before the call. Football be damned. There were some things more important than a fucking game.
Chapter Six
By the time the doorbell rang, Chet was dressed and had a pot of coffee brewing. As he made his way to the door he realised he was more nervous than the night Bobby drove into town for the first time.
Opening the door, Chet’s chest tightened. Please don’t tell me it’s over. He stepped back and gestured towards the kitchen. “Want a cup of coffee?”
“Sure.” Bobby waved to Dane. His roommate gave him a thumb’s up before pulling out of the driveway.
“Afraid I wouldn’t let you in?” Chet asked, walking towards the kitchen.
“Something like that,” Bobby mumbled after shutting the front door. “I know I overreacted, and I’m sorry.”
The apology right off the bat surprised Chet. He stopped and turned to face Bobby. “It’s a hard thing we’re trying to do. I’m fourteen years older than you are, and I haven’t managed to figure out how to do it.” He wanted to pull Bobby into his arms and tell him it would be okay, but he knew they needed to talk. “Have a seat.”
Bobby sat at the kitchen island while Chet filled two cups. He added sugar to both cups before sitting one in front of Bobby. “Your call surprised me. What’re you doing up so early?”
Bobby fidgeted on the stool, finally taking a sip of the coffee before finally answering. “Dane was timing my forty yard dash.”
“Really. And how did you do?”
“Not great, 5.29.”
Bobby was right, 5.29 wasn’t nearly what he’d been clocked at in the past. “What about the pain level? Do you think it’s something you can build on?”
Bobby shrugged. “Without surgery? I don’t know.”
Chet opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out for several moments. “Surgery?” He narrowed his eyes at the star running back. “Exactly what’s wrong with your knee?” He had a sneaking suspicion he knew, but he needed to hear it from Bobby.