His mind was a riot of thoughts, and his chest tight with emotion. There was so much going on Alex nearly forgot about coming, but Matt remembered for him. He reached between their bodies, grabbing Alex’s dick and stroking, once, twice, making him moan with the next thrust.
“Do it,” Matt urged in a voice gravelly with sex. “Let me hear you come while I’m loving you like this.”
Alex turned his head, looking up at him, wondering if Matt really heard what he just said. Matt met his gaze evenly, his crystalline eyes stark with the intensity and honesty that made Matt so amazingly unique.
Alex closed his eyes against the clash of emotions and pleasure once more and reached between their straining bodies. He jerked himself off while Matt fucked him, both of them yielding to the passion that surged up between them so easily, raging and boiling into something impossible to defy.
His knuckles brushed Matt’s hard stomach as his hand moved faster, and Matt fucked him harder and harder until they were both shaking and mindless from the rising pleasure threatening to completely consume both of them. Then it crashed over Alex, stealing his breath and smothering him with the ecstasy. He jerked underneath Matt, his back arching as his dick pulsed in his hand and his ass clenched around Matt’s cock to the rhythm of the bliss surging through his bloodstream.
He pulled Matt over the threshold with him, and it made his thrusts faster and crueler, but Alex was already so far gone all it did was fuel the fire. For something that started out sweet and slow, the end was messy and violent, leaving both of them covered in sweat and gasping for breath once the pleasure crested and started to recede.
Alex wrapped his arms around Matt. Neither of them cared about Alex’s hand still sticky with his cum. Matt held him too, both of them still connected and sweaty, shaking in the aftermath.
“I wanna make this real, Matty,” Alex said once he found the ability to speak again. His thoughts were fractured, and his voice was still raspy with the pleasure. “Like…boyfriends,
not
rent boys. Okay?”
Matt didn’t give him a speech about a doomed future together or laugh at Alex who probably could have put it in a better, far sexier, and less desperate way.
He just lifted his head and regarded Alex, his eyes glimmering in the dimness of the room. Both of them were still breathing heavily while Matt studied his face as if searching for some sort of indication that Alex was actually being serious. Then without looking away he reached up to brush Alex’s damp hair off his forehead and smiled. “Okay.”
“Yeah?” Alex asked, still fighting for breath.
“Oh yeah,” Matt assured him, his smile growing broader. “I’d much rather be your boyfriend than your rent boy.”
Chapter Eleven
October 2006
“I think Will told me he loved me last night.”
Alex threw his fins into a growing pile of diving supplies by his closet and turned to arch an eyebrow at Holly who was sitting cross-legged on his bed. “You
think
?”
She winced. “He was sort of distracted at the time.”
Alex held up his hands and turned back to his closet. “Spare me the details.”
“Come on, Alex,” Holly whined. “Who else do I have to talk to about this?”
“At least fifteen female friends who don’t have a conflict of interest.” Alex dug into the back of his closet and pulled out his speargun as he reminded her, “Will is my brother.”
“Yeah, but you’re my best friend, and if Will loves me, that’s a major deal breaker,” Holly said pleadingly. “I need your advice.”
“Deal breaker how?”
“Like,” Holly paused, as if choosing her words wisely. “A move to New York kinda deal breaker. I think I’d go with him if he asked.”
Alex gave her a look of disbelief. “You’d
hate
New York.”
“Would you move to Atlanta with Matt if you thought he loved you?” Holly’s eyes were wide as she studied Alex.
Alex dropped the rest of his gear, then leaned back against the wall next to his closet. He folded his arms and looked out the window to the beach. “I dunno.”
“Yeah, you do,” Holly said skeptically, making it obvious she saw right through him. “You’d go, wouldn’t you? You’d leave Mirabella behind and never look back.”
Alex rubbed a hand against the back of his neck as he considered her question. For a long moment, he tried to imagine living his life without Matt, and the ache in his heart had him giving Holly a grudging nod. “If he asked, I’d probably go, yeah.”
“What do I do, Alex?” Holly asked him imploringly. “How do I find out if he meant it?”
Against his better judgment, Alex asked, “What were you doing when he said it?”
“I was, you know—” Holly opened her mouth and made a gesture with her hand that made it very obvious what she was doing at the time of Will’s confession.
Alex smacked a hand over his eyes in horror. “Oh my God! Yuck, Hol! The charades make it worse.”
“You get so weird when I say it out loud,” Holly said, the whine back in her voice. “You never got like this before when I talked about my sex life. Sad though it was, you still were willing to give advice. What difference does it make if it’s Will?”
“It just does,” he said with a wince, his hand still over his eyes. “You two together. It’s so bizarre for me. Totally out of left field. You’re polar opposites. Do you have
any
common interests?”
“We have a few.” Holly let out a devious giggle, before she sobered once more. “Help me with this, Alex. I think I love him.”
“Fine.” Alex dropped his hand and gave Holly an unimpressed look. “You want my honest opinion?”
Holly sat up straighter on the bed. “Yes.”
“It’s really easy to say ‘
I love you
’ when your dick is in someone’s mouth. Any confessions of undying love are inadmissible in court if you’re less than five minutes away from an orgasm. It doesn’t count.”
“Great.” Holly threw up her hands in defeat. “So what do I do now?”
“Ask him.”
She huffed and looked away. “You first.”
“I’d ask Matt if I felt like I really needed to hear it.” Alex didn’t add that Matt tended to say those types of things a lot when they were hot and heavy. “But I certainly wouldn’t cling to anything he said while I was blowing him.”
“You don’t need to hear it?”
“Not really.” Alex shrugged. “We’re committed to each other. We’re not fucking around with other guys, or girls in his case. We like being together. I don’t really need the Hallmark card confirming everything. I’m happier with him than I ever am away from him. What else do I need to know about it?”
“Oh my God.” Holly gave him a wide smile before she let out a girly squeal. “You’re
really
in love with him.”
Alex rolled his eyes and looked away. “Oh shit.”
Holly jumped off the bed and ran to him. She slipped her arms around Alex, squeezing him tight as she rested her head on his chest. “I’m so excited for you.”
“Okay.” Alex gave her a grudging hug back as his cheeks heated.
“Are you gonna say it to him?” Holly asked as she pulled away to look up at him. “And tell him that you’d do anything for him, go anywhere, and—”
“You read too many romance novels.” Alex laughed. “I don’t need to tell him all that crap. It’d probably scare him if I did.”
“I want you to tell him.” Holly poked him in the back to make her point. “He wants to hear it.”
“I don’t think he does.” Alex tried to imagine professing his undying love and devotion; he winced at just the idea of it. That’d be awkward for both of them and completely unnecessary. “Besides he knows.”
Holly frowned. “You think so?”
“Definitely,” Alex said confidently. “He doesn’t need the Hallmark card either.”
“You should tell him,” Holly pressed, obviously unwilling to give up on the idea. “He could want to hear it. You don’t know he doesn’t. Not all guys are as unromantic as you.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure they are. Besides, I probably
have
told him. Blowjob confessions could be genetic.”
Holly jumped back and pointed at him triumphantly. “So it does count!”
“No, it doesn’t.” Alex laughed.
“When’s Matt getting here? I want a second opinion!”
“Oh yeah, cause that won’t make an already awkward situation even more painful. Let’s bring my boyfriend into the loop.”
The front door opened, and Alex had never been so glad to hear it. He slipped away from Holly and walked into the living room to find Will pulling off his shirt and kicking off his shoes at the front door.
“What happened?”
Will shuddered. “That sink in unit three basically exploded on me while I was working on the garbage disposal. I told Grover we’re buying a new one today. I’m officially done fucking with it. The shit hit the ceiling when I flipped the switch. Nasty.”
Alex laughed. “It could’ve been worse—like a toilet. You know what happened to me with unit eight.”
Will held up his hand. “Spare me.”
“I would’ve done the garbage disposal.” Alex grinned as Will leaned over and tugged off his socks. “It’s just like washing dishes at the restaurant.”
“I don’t like doing that either. Why do you think I’ve spent the last seven years working on a law degree, so I don’t have to wash other people’s dishes or fix garbage disposals.”
“So ask next time. I’ll fix it.”
“What do you want?” Will straightened up and frowned at Alex. “You’re being too helpful this morning.”
“I’m always helpful.”
“Not like this,” Will said skeptically. “You should be laughing your ass off right now and calling me a freak.”
“Can Matt borrow your gear?” Alex gave Will his most winning little-brother grin. “Please.”
“No.” Will brushed past him, completely unmoved by Alex’s charm.
“Oh, come on,” Alex whined. “You’re not using it today—unless you wanna come fishing with us. Grouper season is almost over.”
“Working today,” Will said dismissively as he walked down the hallway. “I’ll go Sunday with you.”
“I work Sunday.” Alex sulked, because he would like to go fishing with his brother. “I hate that we work different schedules.”
“You get off at two. We’ll go after. I’ll get a boat off Teddy and get it ready. You and Holly can just meet me at the docks after your shifts.” Will pulled at the button to his jeans. “What’s your deal? Are you gonna follow me into the shower?”
“Can Matt please borrow your gear?” Alex folded his arms over his chest. “I’ve already got the boat from Teddy. I can’t take him out without gear.”
“No fucking way,” Will said with a laugh of disbelief. “I do not loan my gear to rich, stuck-up pricks who can afford their own.”
Alex’s back stiffened in defensiveness. “He’s my friend, Will. So stop saying shit about him, or I swear to God I’ll lay you out the next time you do. I don’t cut down all your buddies from school even if I have
nothing
in common with them.”
Will stood there giving him a look that made it obvious Holly’s undying love conversation had left its mark. That little confession was odd, but Alex refused to back down. He was tired of pretending Matt was anything less than the reason Alex looked forward to waking up in the morning.
“Can he borrow your gear?” Alex repeated once more. “I think you owe it to me considering the circumstances. Not only am I paying for a house I rarely sleep in to give you two space, but you’re fucking my—”
“Take the gear.” Will waved him off, clearly desperate to avoid that particular conversation. “But
not
Dad’s fifty-inch Riffe. Take the smaller speargun.”
“We’re heading to the plane wreck on the north end. The Biller gun’s perfect.”
“Fine.” Will’s tone that clearly said it rubbed him the wrong way to loan out his gear to anyone, but especially Matt. “If he breaks it—”
“He won’t. But if he does, I’m sure he’ll replace anything damaged with newer, more expensive gear.”
“Then have fun babysitting. I doubt Tarrington knows what the fuck he’s doing.” Will walked past him toward the bathroom down the hall and called out, “No one’s going to be out on the water on a Monday. Be safe.”
“I always am.”
Alex went to Will’s closet that was so much more organized than his and found Will’s gear easily. He gathered it up before heading back to his room where he discovered Holly curled up on his bed despite the fact she slept in Will’s bed now.
“Just ask him.” Alex started putting his and Will’s gear together next to the bait cooler and other supplies, making sure he had everything he needed from the house. “Put yourself out of this misery.”
Holly rolled onto her side and propped her head on her hand. “What if he says no.”
“I highly doubt he will.”
Holly raised her eyebrows hopefully. “How do you know?”
“’Cause he puts up with hearing my shit all the time. That has to be true love. Trust me, I’ve tested it for you. I use it to my advantage on a daily basis. I even got him to loan Matt his gear for the day.”
“Wow, that is amazing.” Holly laughed. “How’d you manage that?”
“I just told you, I played the Holly card.” Alex gave her a grin. “It’s my new favorite ploy to manipulate my brother.”
“Alex, that’s not—”
“Ah, nope. You were my friend first. That means you can’t take his side on everything just because he’s got some skills I never want to hear about.”
“You got to stop torturing him with all that,” Holly went on as if she didn’t hear him. “It really stresses him out. He thinks you’re mad at him for stealing your girlfriend.”
“He knows you weren’t my girlfriend. Hell, you cried over that guy in Key West for a full week, and all I did was sit there and rub your back. Obviously not something a boyfriend would do.”
“Well, he thinks we were
something
.” Holly sat up and folded her arms over her chest. “When are you gonna tell him?”
“Soon. I am doing it, Holly. I’m so tired of hearing his crap about Matt. I want Will to know what he means to me.”
Holly beamed and said in a singsong voice, “You love him.”
Alex turned to look past his bedroom door when he heard a honk. “There’s Matt. Help me carry the gear?”