Chapter 18
Make the Grade
Edge
I grunted and pulled myself up in a pull-up. Once I had my chin above the bar, I lifted my knees to my chest, working in a brutal crunch, before I lowered myself back down, toes dangling above the floor. I was on my twentieth rep of the muscle-straining exercise, when Bash walked into the gym.
Someone was playing Eminem’s new album at top volume, but it felt like the entire world went silent the second he walked into the room. I watched him in the mirror across from me as his dark eyes surveyed the expansive room. There were a couple of guys from the baseball team working out with the free weights, and all of the treadmills and elliptical machines were full. But he didn’t have a problem zeroing in on where I was struggling to pull myself back up, so I could finish the fifty reps I’d set out to do.
His gaze caught mine in the reflective glass and I saw the trepidation flash across his face. But it was gone in a blink, and replaced with an expression of determination and resolve. He sidestepped a guy hefting a medicine ball and narrowly missed plowing into a guy bending over to change the weights on one of the heavy-duty leg machines. It took him a minute to navigate the obstacle-laden gym floor. I was on rep thirty when he finally stopped in front of me. I waited for him to say something, but he watched me count up to rep forty before he even opened his mouth.
When he did, his voice came out higher than normal with a little squeak on the back end. “Can we talk when you’re done?” His eyes tracked the sweat I could feel rolling down my bare chest. When I did another rep, pulling my abs tight and groaning at the strain, he looked like he was going to swallow his tongue.
“We can talk now.” I huffed out a breath and turned my head to wipe the sweat beading up on my forehead onto my bicep. I heard Bash swear softly, and bit back a grin of satisfaction. He deserved a bit of torture for ignoring me all week. There was no reason to make this easy on him, when I felt like I’d been cut off from everything that mattered to me all week.
He crossed his arms over his chest and regarded me thoughtfully. It was going to be a struggle to hit fifty. My arms felt like they were on fire and my abs were screaming at me that they’d had enough, but I was determined, and I wasn’t going to quit when things got hard. That was something I needed Bash to know.
“My mom called.” He blurted the words out so suddenly, I wasn’t sure what to do with them. I lifted an eyebrow in question, and huffed and puffed my way through rep forty-one. “She told me I should try and seduce you for the photo-op and the story. She was very excited about what the press would do if they caught wind of Alexander Darby’s son hanging out with a hoodlum like me.”
I scowled and almost let go of the bar. But I knew if I did, I would never pull myself back up to finish my workout. “My dad would never let the story get out. I’ve been out of the closet since I was twelve, and no one has ever managed to confirm my sexuality. There are no pictures, no stories in the gossip mags. That’s why Dad insists on keeping me at this school year-round. I’m locked away like Rapunzel most of the time. I agree to stay so he doesn’t fuck with my trust fund when I graduate.”
Bash shook his head, his eyes following me closely as I muscled my chin back up to the bar. “That’s not the point.”
I grunted and had to swing my legs a little to get my knees up to my chest. These last few reps were going to kill me. “What is the point then, Bash?” What was the point of any of it, if it was so easy for him to walk away when things got complicated?
He sighed and lifted his hand to plow it through his unruly hair. The dark roots were almost as long as the bleached-out ends. It was scruffy and unkempt, but it was growing on me.
“The point is,” he took a step closer to me, fingers reaching out to drift over my tense abs. He sighed at the contact and once again, I had to struggle to hold onto the bar above my head. “I came after you even though my mom thinks it’s a good idea. Anything she supports is bound to end up a tragedy with multiple casualties. I want to be with you, even though it’s never going to be easy. And despite the fact people are going to constantly be up in our business once this gets out. I missed you this week.”
I swore and jerked myself up over the bar, which dragged his fingers along my clenching stomach muscles and down across the front of my thin nylon shorts. The barely-there caress had my dick responding instantly. Even when I was pissed at him, I couldn’t resist the pull of this boy. “I missed you, too, but I’m not the one who left. All I’ve done this week was try to bring you back. I didn’t kiss him, Bash, and I think you know why I couldn’t exactly push him away.”
His fingers drifted back over my skin, tracing my abs as they rippled with my movements. He let out a breathy sigh, eyes snapping up to mine as his teeth dug into his lower lip. “I was scared.” He took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve been scared of you from the start because you were bossy and determined and refused to take no for an answer. I’ve never had anyone invested in me the way you’ve been since I got here, and it terrified me because I knew you could hurt me without even trying.” He cocked his head to the side and watched as I powered through the last few reps and dropped to the floor in front of him.
I was breathing hard, but it had more to do with Bash and this conversation than it did with exertion. I reached for the towel hanging off the side of the metal structure and wiped down my face and chest. I could have sworn Bash let out a subdued growl at the motion, but when I looked back at him, his eyes were steady on mine and glittering with sincerity. “It never occurred to me that I could hurt you, Edge. I’ve never mattered to anyone enough to have that kind of impact on their life. I didn’t realize I was doing to you exactly what I was afraid of you doing to me.” His grin was lopsided and totally endearing. “Truth is, I probably never would’ve seen it that way if Mac didn’t point it out.”
I watched him silently for a minute, and he squirmed under the scrutiny. Finally, once he was suitably on edge, I snapped the towel out and wrapped it around his neck. I used the ends to pull him toward me, until we were pressed together chest to chest. I didn’t care that we were in a haven of testosterone and manly men. I didn’t care that I was still mad at him and unsure where we went from here. I didn’t care that he was spot-on about how difficult our relationship was going to be for our families. Mine would do everything they could to keep him hidden, and his would do whatever they could to shove me into the spotlight. It was a recipe for disaster, but none of it mattered when compared to how right he felt pressed against me.
“Things with Cutter aren’t exactly resolved. I’m trying to keep our friendship intact, and I’m trying to keep you.” He was right about us not being easy, and it had nothing to do with how different we looked on the outside. Because the truth was, his loneliness on the inside was an exact mirror of mine.
“I’m not going anywhere, Edge.” His forehead dropped so that it was resting against my throat. My Adam’s apple bobbed up and down at the contact. “I’m right where I want to be.”
That’s what I’d been waiting for him to say. I needed to hear that he wanted to be with me, that he was willing to fight for his place there, because I wasn’t giving up my place next to him for anything… or anyone.
I dropped the towel and ran my fingers through his wild hair. I pulled back so I could kiss the end of his nose and took a step back. “I’m sweaty and gross. I can smell myself. I need a shower, then we can continue this conversation somewhere more appropriate.”
The free-weight guys were starting to stare and mumble in agitation. I didn’t normally care about things like that, but there were more of them than there were of us, and I wasn’t about to put Bash in any unnecessary danger. I found my shirt where I’d tossed it before my workout and pulled it on over my head. The material stuck to my sweaty back, causing me to cringe.
Bash offered a jerky nod and let me pull him by the hand out of the gym. He still had the towel wrapped around his neck, and the relief that I hadn’t made him sweat was evident in every line of his body. Normally, I would have hopped into the shower in the locker room, but things were going to get indecent as soon as we were alone, so there was no point in making that pit stop.
It took us ten minutes to make it across the estate and to the floor where my dorm was. Neither of us had much to say on the walk, but he did grab my hand once we hit the elevator and didn’t let go. Even when we walked into the room and encountered a sullen-looking Cutter sprawled across the couch. He took one look at our clasped hands and got up in a huff. He retreated to his room without a word. I felt Bash stiffen, but instead of letting go, his hand tightened around mine.
I tugged him in the direction of my room, stripping my shirt off and kicking off my sneakers as I went. His eyes widened as he took in the king-sized bed and expertly decorated interior. He let go of my hand, threw himself face-down on the chevron-patterned comforter, and started waving his arms and legs like he was making a snow angel.
“I can’t believe we wasted all that time in my room when you had this in here. I’m an idiot.” He flipped over onto his back and grinned up at me as I stood over him.
I lifted an eyebrow. “I didn’t mind the smaller bed. It forced you to cuddle next to me all night long.”
His eyes skimmed over my mostly naked form, his tongue darting out to slick across his lower lip. I loved the way his dark eyes glittered when he was turned on. “That had nothing to do with the size of the bed, pretty boy.”
I smirked at him, stripping out of my nylon shorts. I was left in nothing but a tight, form-fitting, black jock that left nothing to the imagination. Bash’s eyes widened comically and his jaw actually dropped.
“Holy shit. Thank God I didn’t know that’s what you had on when I tracked you down. We would have caused a scandal in the gym when I jumped you in front of everyone and sucked you off in front of all those mirrors.”
Now that was an image I was going to keep on hand for future reference. “Let’s revisit that at some point.” I waved at the big bed. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be back in a minute.” The smile he flashed at me was downright devilish, so I reciprocated by dropping the tight, barely-there underwear to the floor before sauntering to the ensuite.
It was the shortest shower in history. I did the bare minimum to make myself presentable, wiping the sweat off and scrubbing my body down with rough strokes. My dick was already hard. It had been since Bash’s wayward caress when I was doing pull-ups. It swelled even more at the thought of finally having Bash in my space. This was the first time he’d integrated his life with mine in an obvious way. I wanted to roll from one side of that massive bed to the other with him. Not only that, he finally admitted this was where he wanted to be, and I believed him.
I hastily wrapped a towel around my waist, pushed my wet hair off my forehead, jammed a toothbrush in my mouth for a quick scrub, and made my way back to my boyfriend. Oh, we hadn’t had the define-the-relationship talk yet; but Bash was mine, and I was his. We were boyfriends whether he wanted to admit it or not.
I stumbled to a stop the second I entered the bedroom.
Even though my shower was quick, it had been enough time for Bash to get naked and find my stash of supplies. The condom and bottle of lube were tossed carelessly on the bed next to where he was perched on all fours, ass in the air as he fingered himself open for me. The sight was uninhibited and so fucking hot, I lost my ability to think. I moved toward him like he was a magnet and I was an iron pole. Well, I felt like I had one jutting out in front of me—my dick had never been harder.
“Impatient.” I breathed the word out as I stepped up to the end of the bed. I slapped a hand on one of his perfectly taut ass cheeks and shivered at the sound. Goosebumps ran up his spine, and I used my fingertips to chase them as his hips thrust back in my direction.
He bit out a strangled sound and looked at me with wide eyes over his shoulder. “You looked so hot in the gym. I wanted to pull your shorts down and gag on your dick every time you pulled yourself up to that bar. Plus, I’ve never had makeup sex. I didn’t want to wait any longer than necessary.”
His long eyelashes fluttered softly, and heat crawled up his neck under all his ink. He caught the tip of his tongue between his teeth and rocked back with more force onto his shiny fingers.
I smacked the other side of his ass and watched as the skin turned pink from my hand. I rubbed the spot and asked with a laugh, “Were we fighting?” I wasn’t aware I had anything to apologize for.
He moaned and his pretty eyes fluttered closed. I dropped the towel and lifted a hand to stroke my throbbing length. “Close.” I wasn’t sure if he meant he was close, or if our miscommunication was close to a fight. Either way, this time when I slapped his ass, I used my rigid dick. I pushed his fingers out of the way, keeping him spread open so I could watch his stretched hole flutter and spasm, searching for something to close around. I pushed my hips forward, rubbing my shaft through his slick channel, stilling when the tip of my cock caught on his waiting opening. We were going to have to have a talk about being exclusive soon. I’d never been with anyone long enough to fuck without protection, but he wasn’t going anywhere. And I desperately wanted to be inside him, to feel that heat, with nothing between us.
He pressed against me, wrapping his fist around his own erection, the slick sound of his flesh moving up and down had me gritting my teeth to keep it together. I rode his crack for a few minutes, dropping small kisses along his spine and across his tattooed shoulders as I went. I caught his mouth in a bruising kiss when he turned his head to look at me. His eyes seemed out of focus and I could tell he was close, his head start while I was in the shower had gotten him ramped up.
“Want you.” He panted the words out. “So close. Need you. Want to come with you.” His hips pressed insistently back into mine.
I grunted at the force, and blindly reached for the condom next to the hand he was using to hold himself up from the bed. I covered myself and popped open the lube so I could slick my cock up. Soon, I was just as shiny and slippery as he was. Bash’s head had fallen forward, his forehead touching the comforter as he fucked his fist and pushed his butt back in the air, searching for me.
There was no way to resist that invitation, or him. I grabbed ahold of his hips and pressed forward, lining myself up with his pretty, pink opening. I gasped something out that was supposed to be his name as his body tugged on my rigid flesh. The grasping, greedy pull of his body around mine had every muscle locking, and my dick throbbing in time to my racing heart. Every single time I entered him, it felt like the first time. There was always something special, and different about sinking into his body, being as close to him as possible.
I had every intention of going slow, of making this feeling last for as long as I could. Bash was having none of it. He was close. As soon as I had the head of my cock inside of him, he pushed back hard, grunting at the inevitable stretch and burn as he took me in all the way to the root. My hips smacked against his ass, and I felt his body move under the force of his jacking fist. It was a sensory overload, all of it good, and I was having a hard time catching my breath.
“Ugh. Move, Edge. Make me come.” He wiggled his ass enticingly and I felt his body clench down on mine. “So fucking close. So fucking good.” The words were garbled and hardly coherent. He was lost in his own pleasure and I loved seeing him like this.
I reached forward and grabbed a handful of his messy hair. The two-tone strands slid through my fingers until I tightened my hold on them. I anchored myself with a hand in his hair and one on his hip and started to sling my hips purposely against his. Our skin made obscene smacking sounds and the scent of sex permeated the room. His low sounds, mixed with my short grunts and growls, was the sexiest soundtrack imaginable.
I was glad he was already poised on the brink, because I wasn’t going to last long enough to take care of him. I had no clue if I was even close to hitting his prostate. I was just thrusting and hammering away with no finesse or skill. It was all raw emotion and unbridled passion. The drag of his skin against mine, the clasp of his tight channel around my cock, the sweat turning his tattoos into watercolors all over his skin, it was too much.
“Gonna come.” I don’t know how I got the words out, but I did. I let go of his hip and placed a hand on the bed next to him. Bent over like that, it changed the angle of my cock inside him. That was all it took to push him over the edge.
Bash threw his head back, practically howling as he erupted in a rush all over my comforter. I followed shortly after. Dick twitching contentedly after I filled the condom and pounded him relentlessly. I collapsed on his back, taking us in a sweaty tangle of arms and legs to the bed. I ran my fingers through his hair and brushed my lips over his flushed cheek.
I needed another shower—a real one this time. I also needed him to know this was where I wanted to be, too. “I like being close to you. I like when there is no space between us. This last week sucked.”
He hummed softly and wiggled a little bit so he could get room to breathe. I sucked in a breath through my teeth and let it out in a whispered rush. “I want to do that for you, let you get as close as possible. I want to be with you like that.”
He blinked up at me like he didn’t recognize me, and then he reached up and put his hands on my shoulders so he could roll us over. His midnight black eyebrows raised, the corner of his mouth tipped up. “You gonna let me at that perfect ass of yours, pretty boy?”
I snorted and lifted my hands to grab his face between my palms. “That’s only something I’m willing to consider with my boyfriend.”
Awareness and something velvet soft lit in the center of his obsidian eyes. “Then you absolutely can consider it with me, Edge.”
Hell, yeah. That was one way to define the relationship.