CHAPTER THIRTEEN
We left Derrek’s apartment at the same time so I could spend the morning prepping Bay Window Books for open mic night while he was at another practice session. He held the elevator door open to steal extra seconds together before I slid out and sulked my way to the bus stop.
After what felt like the longest bus ride, I was greeted by the familiar jingle of the bell at Bay Window Books.
“Why are you all making that face?” I asked as I passed some of my usual morning crew, all of them wearing nervous smiles, making my way toward the back room. In my periphery, I could see that there were already some tables and chairs out.
“They’re just excited to see me,” Derrek said as he sauntered out from the back room with folding chairs tucked under either arm. I dropped my bag and bolted toward Derrek as if we hadn’t just spent the night together. He dropped both chairs and lifted me off the ground in a tight hug, the same stupid grin plastered across both our faces.
“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but—”
“Why am I not at the track?” he finished for me, bending to pick up the chairs. Derrek flexed as he stood again and I choked back a laugh when someone muttered a low “holy fuck” under his breath. “Because I didn’t want to be,” he said, smiling as he passed me to set up the chairs. He snaked an arm around one of mine on his way back and led me toward the back room.
“I came to help you work and you’re not even working! Bad boss,” he teased. “Come on, there’s so much to do.”
I squirmed next to him, catching the dark glint in his eyes as he tightened his arm around mine and began walking faster. I tripped over my own feet as Derrek released my arm and I stumbled toward a nearby shelf, hearing the door close behind us.
There was an audible click as Derrek turned the deadbolt and rushed toward me, my grip tightening around the metal bar of a shelf as his hands suddenly made their way up from my navel to my nipples to my neck. He pressed me against his muscular form, growling into my ear as he pushed his hips forward, fitting the swell of his dick firm against my backside.
I hissed out a heated breath, letting go of the shelf to drop my bag. As soon as it hit the ground, Derrek spun me to face him, hunger on his full lips.
“Do you know how hard it was to keep myself off of you last night?” he whispered.
“About as hard as it’ll be right now,” I said. “I can’t here. It’s…work.”
“But you don’t want to go to work out there,” Derrek murmured, his nose tickling my neck as he leaned in, nipping his way up from my throat to my ear.
“N—no,” I practically moaned, fidgeting to unzip my coat and peel it off. “I don’t.”
“So?” he breathed into my ear. “Let me put you to work back here,” he said, lifting his other hand to rest on my shoulder. “And down here,” he commanded, pushing me to my knees in front of him with little resistance.
I traced the outline of his cock with my fingers as I moved to unbutton his jeans. My fingers hovered at his waist and I looked up to see his dark eyes trained on me with a sharp heat, a grin coiling its way across his face. When I grazed my thumb across the outline of his dick, Derrek sucked a deep breath in through his teeth.
“I—really? Here?” I stuttered. Derrek nodded darkly, biting at his lip. I hesitated, running circles around the button of his jeans with a finger. “I don’t know, it’s kind of—”
“You’re talking a lot for a man who should have my dick in his mouth,” he said as he unbuttoned his jeans and tugged them down.
His cock swung out and slapped my cheek as Derrek took a hand and pushed my head toward him. He tangled his fingers in my hair and pulled my head back again.
“Now fucking suck it,” he growled, letting go.
I gripped his thighs with either hand and snaked my tongue out to play with the head of his dick, licking it from the head to the base, lapping at his balls. I took a hand and gave his cock a few slow, heavy pumps before wrapping my lips around it, pushing my head slowly back and forth as I ran my tongue along the length of him.
Derrek grabbed his cock with one hand and slapped it against my tongue, tangling his fingers in my hair again as he held my head and thrust himself into my mouth with hot, heavy force. I could feel the head of his cock tease the back of my throat again and again until I grasped his ass firmly and pushed myself forward, taking all of him at once.
Derrek loosed a deep moan as I pulled him toward me, his knees nearly buckling as his cock began to twitch.
“Fuck—Aiden, oh fuck,” he breathed as his cock throbbed in my mouth, the back of my throat slick with a sticky river of cum. I could feel him buckling in front of me, and I opened my eyes to find his head thrown back and his knees bent as he tried to stay on his feet. I pulled him toward me again, drinking every drop of him before I let him go, and he stumbled backwards, leaning on a stack of boxes to pull his pants back on.
I rose to my feet and walked over to Derrek, who was reclining against a stack of boxes with a massive grin plastered across his face. He reached a hand out to brush his thumb across my lips and I caught him as he moved, darting my tongue out to catch a stray shot of cum.
“It’s dumb that you have no idea how hot that is,” Derrek said, and I could feel my cheeks grow hot under the force of his dark brown eyes.
“Shut up,” I said playfully, reaching for the pack of gum in my bag.
Derrek barked a throaty laugh.
“Are you gonna make me shut up?” he asked, nodding his head toward me.
I looked down, the swell of my own hard dick still obvious in my jeans, and swallowed the lump in my throat.
“Why—why don’t you come and get it then,” I wavered.
“No,” Derrek said flatly.
“I—what do you mean, no?”
“I don’t have to come and get it. You’re going to take care of it yourself. Now.”
Carefully, I tucked a hand under my shirt and pulled it slowly up my body, running the tips of my fingers over my abs as I trailed up toward my nipples. I unzipped my jeans with my other hand, biting gently on my lower lip.
Derrek watched in silence, his lips twitching as he fought the almost manic smile pulling at them.
I dropped my shirt and unbuttoned my jeans, pulling everything down to my knees. My dick swung out from my boxer-briefs, and I began pumping with slow, meaningful strokes while my other hand switched from nipple to nipple. Derrek loosed a low, feral moan, stroking his own already-hard-again dick where he leaned in front of me.
Derrek reached a hand up under his shirt, too, a deep rumble originating from his throat the harder he stroked, and I dropped to my knees in front of him, shuddering at how close I was to finishing. He stood over me and I opened my mouth, ready to drink his second load as it spattered across my cheek, stray shots of cum slamming into my neck and chest.
My cock twitched in my hand as I shot across the floor, both of us breathing heavily as Derrek leaned forward, licked his load from my cheek and kissed me, his tongue powerful against mine.
We looked at each other nose-to-nose, Derrek bent uncomfortably over me as I knelt in front of him, and we began to laugh. His hand fell from the back of my head as he stood up straight and stretched, and my legs shook as I wobbled my way to my feet.
My eyes darted around the room to find something we could clean up with, but Derrek was already walking back toward me with a gym bag, a towel visible through the open zipper.
“Oh my god, did you plan this?” I asked, catching the towel he arced toward me.
“What can I say, I never know if I’ll be able to control myself around you,” he said.
I snorted, busying myself with the towel. “Want some bread for all that cheese?”
“Only if you’re the one serving,” he said, grinning as I rolled my eyes. “They were for the gym.”
It took us a few minutes to compose ourselves, and I refused to leave until I’d found a mop and bucket in the back corner to clean the floor. I’d have to give it a proper cleaning later. As we made our way out with more chairs in hand, a familiar voice made me stop cold.
“…I’ll just grab some chairs until he gets here.”
I didn’t think Oliver would still be willing to help set up after our talk. Derrek unlocked the door seconds before I saw the handle turn and took a step back to avoid being knocked off his feet. Oliver stumbled forward, and I caught one of the chairs Derrek dropped to help steady him.
“Thanks, A—oh. Who are you?” Oliver said before darting his eyes from Derrek to me and back again. “Oh. Oh.”
He turned to leave, but stopped suddenly in the doorway and spun to face me, his mouth looking for the right words. Failing to find them, Oliver pushed past us and began to pace. Derrek and I looked at each other. It wasn’t exactly how I’d hoped they’d meet, and Derrek seemed at a loss about what to do. He put down the chair under his other arm and closed the door again, waving me to follow him.
“Olly…this is Derrek,” I said, and Derrek lifted his hand in a small wave.
“Ah, Oliver,” Derrek said. “The best friend.”
“No—uh, I mean yes—um, I guess—hey,” Olly sputtered, arms hanging numbly at his sides. “Shouldn’t you be, like, in a car or something?” he said roughly. Derrek couldn’t hide his slight wince, and I moved to put myself between them.
“Derrek skipped out on his racing stuff to surprise me,” I said, watching Derrek’s body language soften as he moved to stand taller, offering Oliver a warm smile. Olly did his best to smile back, but it was the closest thing to a gentle grimace I’d ever seen on his face.
He unfolded one of the chairs and took a seat.
“I always help you set up,” he said, the barest hint of a crack in his voice.
“I…I mean, I wasn’t sure if you were gonna after we talked, so—”
“Remember when I said I wanted things to be back to normal between us eventually?” Olly interrupted.
“Yeah…” I drawled.
“This is me trying to keep things normal between us, doing the things I always do.” He crossed his legs up on his chair and slumped forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “How exactly do you expect me to deal with things if I can’t be around to deal with them?”
I opened my mouth to speak up, but Olly was right.
“I, uh, I guess you got enough space then?” I asked hesitantly, and Oliver narrowed his eyes at me.
“Should I leave you two alone?” Derrek interjected, hands stuffed in his pockets.
“No,” Olly and I said in unison as we turned our heads toward Derrek. We looked at each other, my chest burning. The glint in Oliver’s eye as we quickly broke our quiet stare spoke volumes.
He was trying.
It might not be right away, but things were going to be fine between us after all.
Oliver stood up and shuffled from foot to foot before walking over to me. I rushed forward to hug him, but he planted a hand firmly on my chest to keep me at a distance.
“Sorry,” he said. “I’m not there yet.”
“Okay,” I said, a little defeated. “I’m glad you’re here, though.”
Oliver folded his chair and picked it up, stopping in front of Derrek.
“If you hurt him, I will find this exact chair and beat you with it,” he said. Derrek’s eyes widened, his lips a soft ‘O’ on his face. “We have a store to set up.” Oliver marched through the door to the storefront, holding the chair in both hands as Derrek turned to me, concern clear on his face.
“He’s okay, right?”
“He will be,” I said, looking thoughtfully after Olly as he turned the corner. I swore I saw his eyes dart back toward us as he tried his hardest not to turn his head. Derrek rested a heavy hand on my shoulder.
“And you?” he breathed, moving in closer.
I lifted a hand to rest on top of his, our fingers brushing warmly.
“I will be, too,” I said, and I finally felt like it was true.
“Oliver is right, you know,” he said, surprising me.
“About beating you with a chair if you hurt me?”
“Probably yes, but also about having a store to set up.”
He kissed my cheek and I moved my hand to gently touch where the prickle of his stubble scratched at my face. Lifting a chair under either arm, Derrek took three steps before the echo of his ringtone filled the room. He grimaced and turned toward me, sticking his hip out for me to take the phone from his pocket.
A flat, angry voice greeted me before the phone had even reached my ear.
“Is there a reason you’re not here, in your car, proving to me I should stay on as your sponsorship coordinator?” Diana’s voice spat, about as bubbly as the first—and hopefully last—time I’d met her.
“I don’t drive,” I whispered back forcefully, greeted by a brief pause.
“Who are you, the latest fling? Where is Derrek?” she barked.
I rolled my eyes and pushed the phone out to Derrek, who looked confused.
“It’s Beelzebub,” I said trading his phone for the chair under one of his arms. “I think she wants to drag you back to hell in a car. Have fun with that.” I hurried as quickly as I could back to the storefront, not wanting to be around for what would definitely be an awkward exchange.
Curiosity getting the best of me, I immediately handed the chair off to a passing employee and leaned against the wall by the counter, out of Derrek’s sight. Oliver approached from where he was setting up chairs and I lifted a finger to my lips, hoping he’d catch the hint. He squirmed where he stood, uncomfortable that he could just barely make out Derrek’s words from where we stood.
“Are you really threatening to resign, Diana? You know how much money I make you. Nobody drives like me,” he fired off, the grit clear in his voice. “I don’t need to be practicing all day. You don’t need me there for tune-ups and meetings.” I could hear his boots kick against the floor in frustration. I jumped when I heard a heavy fist slam against the side of a box. “Don’t, Diana. Don’t you ever speak like that about him.”
My body shook as a great shiver rocked through my chest. Oliver backed away uncomfortably, busying himself across the room with more setup, and I stepped into the doorway. Derrek looked up at me suddenly, his eyes soft despite the heaviness behind them.
“You’re out of line. We’ll talk about this tomorrow. Goodbye,” he spat, tossing his phone forcefully into his gym bag.
I could feel the heat radiating from Derrek’s body even across the room. His hands were balled into tight fists at his sides, his shoulders practically vibrating. When he saw me take a step forward, Derrek rushed toward me, enveloping me in a tight, comfortable embrace. I wriggled my arms around his waist and listened to his heavy breath on my skin.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured into his neck.
He went rigid in front of me and jerked his head up, clamping his hands on my shoulders.
“For what?” he said, his dark eyes thoughtful. “She’s overstepping. I have to have a talk with her about boundaries. She’ll understand.” He scoffed. “She’ll have to understand. She’s the best in the game, but she needs me, too. I make her piles of money.”
“I just don’t want to be the guy who tanks his boyfriend’s dream job,” I said.
Derrek smiled and leaned in for a kiss, his lips sweet against mine.
“You are the only person I’d give this up for. Besides,” he said, exhaling sharply, “I might only have one race left in me before I whisk you away to some beautiful place. How do you feel about Reykjavik?”
“Oh, because you know so much about it now, thanks to your tourist’s guide?” I joked. His laughter filled the space, the stiffness of his body language evaporating in it, and he kissed me again, slow and deep and strong.
“You guys are gross,” Oliver’s voice said from behind me.
Derrek side-stepped around me and went to stand in front of Oliver in the doorway. They looked at each other, Oliver’s eyes big and bright, Derrek’s a cool, dark stare, before Oliver stuck out a hand.
“I guess I can try to, I don’t know, get to know you. For Aiden,” Oliver said.
“I would like that,” Derrek said, clasping Oliver’s hand in his. “I’ve only heard good things about you.”
He turned to look at me where I was leaning uncomfortably against a shelf, nervously scratching a palm. Derrek turned back to Oliver and said something under his breath that made Olly stand up straighter. The shorter boy nodded, and the two of them turned to look at me.
“So are you gonna make us set up your store for tonight or what,” Olly said.
“Shut up,” I replied, fighting the prickle of tears. “Help me with these chairs.”
I couldn’t fight the deluge any more as thin streams ran down my cheeks, spilling over onto the smile that spread across my face.
There was stuff to work out between us, but if Olly and Derrek could be friends—if he could find a way to work through his emotions—maybe things really would be fine.