Chapter Thirteen
Trystan
It was four-fucking-a.m. and I was not only out of my comfortable and warm bed, but I was already at the aquarium and I’d been there for nearly twenty minutes. I was exhausted since Dakota and I were up until all hours of the night doing naughty things, then doing more naughty things, and then topping that off with the naughtiest things of all. My entire body felt hungover but it was from a lack of coffee products and food instead of an abundance of alcohol.
I couldn’t be happier.
Dakota was everything I’d fantasized my entire life about, all rolled up into one neat, trim package of lean muscles and chiseled abs. I couldn’t ask for a more adventurous lover, so far willing to try anything but not afraid to call me on something he wasn’t enjoying. He made me laugh and I knew the biggest part of his fun side was still bottled up and trying to hide away—I couldn’t imagine what would become of me when he unleashed that full smile on me.
He was pretty amped after his victory in the pool last night, so when he told me he wanted to be at the pool earlier than the rest of the guys and girls, I knew there was not another place I would rather be than sitting on the edge of the pool watching him slice through the water with a graceful strength that was, quite frankly, making my toes curl with lust. Looking around the empty pool area, I immediately started wondering if I could get a little pool action with my Guppy without getting us expelled or getting him kicked off the swim team. Being kicked out of school wasn’t a huge deterrent for me but getting Dakota kicked off the swim team was a full stop, especially after seeing his excitement last night when his numbers were so incredible. I didn’t think it was the fact that he’d won, but the simple fact that he’d obviously been in a performance slump and was climbing out of it. I wouldn’t dare do anything to jeopardize his gorgeous smile and flirty mood, so no fucking in the pool for me. I would just have to settle for an aggressive case of eye fucking.
His slender neck and long arms were my focus this morning. It was usually his ass and abs…or eyes and lips…or silky hair and pink nipples. Hell, every inch of him was worth my undivided attention and I didn’t know how to live a normal life and pay homage to his body. Oh well, normal life was always overrated so I probably wouldn’t even miss it.
So, back to his slender neck. He needed a thick collar or leather necklace…or a tattoo with my name on it. Any of those would look gorgeous against the pale flesh. No, forget the tattoo, necklaces or collars would be better because I could use it as a grip to hold him in place when fucking his ass or mouth. Yeah, leather against the neck in my fantasy world this morning. Leather cuffs or bunches of leather bracelets decorating his thin wrists. I should buy him something for his wrists. Thick cuffs would mean I could tie him up any time I wanted to but the bracelets kinda fit the swimmer imagine in my head—all sexy surfer boy—without the tan and surf. Fuck it, he was better than surfer boy.
Actually, I might already own the perfect ‘collar’ for him. It was sitting innocently in a drawer back at my apartment. Why hadn’t I thought of it before? The leather necklace had been a gift from my mother and not only had I scoffed at wearing such an item, the damned thing wouldn’t fit around my neck. My father had just shook his head as the form of a silent apology when I’d opened it, but he wouldn’t dare open his mouth and risk the wrath of the woman he still worshipped. He’d given me a look like ‘Son, it’s a shitty gift but if you don’t act like you like it, I’m going to kick your ass.’ Thankfully, I’d been able to fake my way through it but as soon as I’d gotten home, I’d thrown it in a drawer. Somewhere. Where the hell did I put the damned thing?
I barked out an embarrassing yelp when he suddenly shot up through the water and nestled himself right between my legs. Still in the water, he rested his upper weight on my thighs. His eyes dipped and if he wasn’t blind, I was sure he noticed the boner I was sporting since I was smack-ass right in the middle of my leather and Dakota fetish fantasy when he’d snuck up on me.
Licking his luscious lips, he quipped, “Whatcha thinking about, big boy?”
“Whatcha think I’m thinking about, Guppy boy?” I retorted. He knew damned well who made my cock hard. Him. Only him these days.
“My ass?”
He pushed his body closer between my spread legs and I swore that if I was positioned a little differently in my swimming trunks, my cock would be peeking out the end of them right about now. If I was able to keep Dakota in my life, I guess I would have to become accustomed to walking around with my dick hard because that was how I stayed around him.
“Not this morning, Guppy.”
He frowned. No, it was more of a sexy pout and was ridiculously cute.
“Oh. Okay. That was embarrassing,” he muttered as I watched in fascination as his cheeks turned a rosy red.
“Nothing to be embarrassed about. You had about a ninety percent chance of hitting the nail on the head by guessing your ass, but I’m not quite that shallow. I also lust for your cock, lips, nipples, muscles, jawline, and, this morning, I’ve added your neck and arms…mainly your wrists.” I reached out and grabbed both his wrists and practically lifted him out of the water as I brought each of them up to my lips to place a sloppy kiss on them. “In my defense, I started the morning by sitting right over here on the edge of the pool, watching you swim, like the perfect boyfriend should. I admired your technique and how graceful you looked slicing through the water like a fucking machine. I remembered how you totally kicked ass last night, you know, touching the wall first every time, and I gloated because you spent the night in my bed.” I frowned. “Yeah, I think that’s when everything started shifting in a different direction. One minute I’m gloating, and the next minute I’m imaging a collar around your neck and cuffs around your wrists.”
Dakota’s green eyes danced with mischief. “A collar, eh? I thought you’d decided against the BDSM stuff?”
He continued to float in the water, his arms braced on my thighs…his bubble ass barely stuffed into his speedo and only a reach away from my itchy palms. His hair was slicked back with water and long lashes looked even longer with pool water dropping from the edges. He’d worn goggles last night in competition but this morning he’d gone without. He smelled like a hot mix of chlorine and Dakota—his signature scent. For fuck’s sake, I would probably get aroused whenever I came near the smell of chlorine for the remainder of my life.
I shrugged. “I like everything but the rules. I’m sure you’ve noticed I might have an itsy-bitsy problem following other people’s rules. I’m also sure you have noticed that I love tying you up and I can get a bit rough at times, but I guess I have to admit I’m probably more kinky than BDSM. I like my toys. I liked boys. Every now and then, I used to like girls. Now I just like guppies.”
“Whatever,” he said, deflecting me away from anything resembling commitment.
“Alex and Lincoln are into it, but I think they keep everything private now. Lincoln’s too possessive.” I frowned as I realized possessive probably wasn’t the right word—that sounded too negative. Shaking my head, I say, “No, not possessive, I don’t think. More like…greedy. He wants him all to himself. And then after the whole naked sex pic all around campus, I guess they’re both a bit more private than they started out.” I grinned. “Making Alex go to the club that night was the best thing I’ve ever done. He was always such a tight ass, wouldn’t dare consider doing something like BDSM clubbing ‘cause it might give the Bryant legacy a ‘bad name,’ as if his grandfather hadn’t already achieved that feat with Olympic gold results. Anyway, I begged him to go with, Lincoln pretty much dared him to come on stage for a scene which was pretty much him getting a spanking in front of the crowd, and the rest is history. Lust bloomed and love followed. The end.”
“Awww, such a romantic,” he teased but if eyes could purr, he was purring from hearing how Alex and Linc had found true love.
“That’s me,” I confirmed, knowing it would’ve been a bold-faced lie before he’d entered into my life, but now I was running my dad and Alex a tight race in the sappy, love department. Why else would I be in the aquarium at this time of morning?
He hefted his upper body out of the water just enough that he’d raised himself to look me straight in the eye, our lips only inches apart. A snarky grin curled his sexy lips. “I can be romantic, too.” He bragged.
“Can you now?” I asked, liking where this was going, but knowing I wasn’t going to let it go all the way since I was taking the high road this morning and putting his education and swim team activities ahead of my most basic of needs. “I’m going to have to tell you that I’ve yet to see much romance coming from you. From where I’ve been sitting, it’s been all about you running and me chasing.” I grinned. “Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good chase and I fucking love the catch and hold, but I’m not sure it can be classified as romance.”
“Get ready to see romance in action, Tank Matherly,” he whispered right before his puffy lips made contact with mine. I would’ve been lying if I said him calling me by the nickname that the rest of the world had labeled me was pretty damned sexy—it was like he was finally accepting another part of me, one that he’d refused to acknowledge before. After that snippet, all coherent thoughts raced out of my head as blood raced straight to my cock. This boy damned well knew how to kiss. His tongue could be a lethal weapon used to wrestle men into submission with its deadly skill.
When we finally had to come up for air, he took a couple of nibbles on my bottom lip and then asked, “Wanna fuck in the pool?”
Barking out a laugh, I asked, “Is that you being romantic?” I was teasing him, fucking in the pool was definitely in the top five of my most romantic things to do. More than that, him initiating the idea could very well be even more intoxicating than the very act.
“Yep,” he answered with a smack of his lips. “We’ve got about thirty minutes before the others start to arrive, so I figure we could squeeze in a quickie—make some waves in the pool. What do you think? Interested?”
He’d been holding himself up out of the water for a while but the chiseled muscles of his arms weren’t even quivering. His leaner package was deceptively strong but I should have already known that by how well he met me thrust for thrust in the bedroom. Next to me, he might appear delicate, but he was nothing but wiry strength.
“Oh, Guppy, I’m more than interested, but it ain’t gonna happen for either one of us, not here, at least. I’m not going to do anything to risk you getting into trouble. I’m pretty sure your coach already dislikes me. He was giving me the stink eye last night before your meet. Were you two fighting over me being there? Was it the cheerleaders? If it was because of that, he can kiss my ass. You guys need somebody cheering for you.”
Silence followed my response and I was not at all surprised that he still refused to share what his coach’s problem was with me. I figured it would be yet another thing I would have to add to Dakota’s list of secrets. If I dwelled on his lack of being forthcoming with me, I would end up getting pissed, so I forced myself to tuck it away and hoped he would come around in due time. While I didn’t understand his need for all these unanswered questions to be dangling over his head, I also respected his need for privacy. Just because I knew what was in my heart didn’t mean I should expect him to know it, accept it, and just toss away all his inhibitions. I knew it would take time for me to prove I was here for the real deal.
I also knew that I was getting edgy over the other mystery man that kept managing to squeeze between us, if only with his memories. I kept wondering if there was a chance for Dakota to make it more than memories. If he had the opportunity to win this man back, would he walk away from me without looking back? It was obvious he loved this other man and I had a feeling the man had broken his heart. What I wasn’t sure of was where mystery man currently stood versus where I stood.
“He was just worried that I was getting distracted. He thought the cheerleaders were hot but I’m sure he was jealous of your ability to seem to get everything you want. I think he thinks you might be a bit of a spoiled brat, used to having his way regardless of the rules.”
“Shit,” I grumbled. “He’s nailed me right on the center mark. Am I that obviously obnoxious?”
“Arrogant, not obnoxious.” He shrugged. “Anyway, everybody knows football makes the world go round, right? Add your celebrity football dad and ex-cheerleader mom, tons of money, a Heisman trophy, good looks, smokin’ hot body, and the absolute given that you’re going to be the top NFL draft and will sign your own contract for millions? Yeah, you might be just a wee bit arrogant.”
He held up his fingers, measured about an inch, and then gave me one of his flirty smiles. “Come on,” he urged. “We won’t get caught and if we do, it will be so worth it.”
I growled in frustration because I was seriously not going to risk hurting him. “No, Guppy. I can’t let anything happen to you. As soon as your practice is over, I will take you back home and fuck you like I mean it. I promise.” Shit, I wanted to fuck him right now. In the pool. Out of the pool. On the edge of the pool. I didn’t care, I just wanted to be inside of him. I wanted to hear all his sweet sounds and, most of all, I wanted to see all the worries of the world disappear from his eyes while he lost himself in pleasure. Since I could not give him that and there wasn’t any food around, I would have to distract him with his third favorite thing—swimming.
“How about a race? Let’s see how badass you really are, Guppy. Those swimmers you were competing against last night looked like a bunch of pussies. How do you think you’ll measure up against a real man?” I grabbed his forearms, pushed both of us off the side of the pool, and tried not to panic when we plunged under water. I didn’t care for swimming. I was less than efficient at it but that was not the only reason it was in the top five of my least favorite things to do. Big men just struggle with buoyancy, at least that was my story and I was sticking with it. As I fumbled around in the water, I think my mind may have been about to send out some harsh warning signals, indicating I needed to get back onto dry land pretty damned quick if I wanted to avoid embarrassing myself, but all that worry vanished the instant I felt Dakota wrap his sleek thighs around my waist. Underwater, his lips crashed against mine and he kissed me with a savagery that gave me enough courage to think I could swim a ten-mile marathon in the ocean…with sharks swarming me…in a storm.
When we finally emerged, I was panting and he was grinning. He said, “You were wailing like an oversized cat there for a few seconds. Do you really think a race is in your best interest?”
His legs still wrapped around my waist, I was still firmly lodged in heaven. “Don’t you worry about me, Guppy. I’d follow that cute ass anywhere so I’ll be right behind you.” I reached down and cupped his firm, rounded rump. “Damn, Guppy. How the fuck does that flimsy fabric trap all that lusciousness in there?”
He rolled his eyes. “My speedo does the job. I’m, however, worried about those monster trunks you have on. Those damn things may way you down and I’ll end up having to save your life instead of beat your ass in a race.”
“Hardy-har-har, Guppy. You need to be worried about my swim speed instead of these sexy swim trunks I’m wearing.”
He was so going to beat my ass.
A few seconds and several more smart-ass comments from my not-as-sweet-as-I-thought lover, and we were each in a swimming lane ready for the race. We were starting out in the water since he determined my trunks would probably slide right off if I dove in. He could make fun of me all he wanted, I was not putting on a speedo, but I would be damned, I loved looking at his body in one.
He did the countdown and we were off—him like a sleek merman, and me like a ton trunk weighted down with concrete. This sport was definitely not one where my bulky muscles would be a benefit. Within seconds, I could not even see him anymore. I was tempted to just spin around in the water and pretend that I’d already swam the length and was on my way back, but I knew he was going to enjoy beating me, so I couldn’t take that fun away from him. As I continued swimming the length, I wondered if there would be any water left in the pool with all the splashing I was making. From his lane, there was barely a ripple. Well, hell, he was already on his way back and I wasn’t half way down yet.
By the time I finally tapped the edge of the pool where we started, he was struggling to hold back his laughter. Getting my ass kicked had never felt better—he looked totally carefree and happier than I’d ever seen him look. Last night when he was defeating an adversary much closer to his skill, he’d looked intense and satisfied. This morning, he was having fun.
“Dude, you totally looked brutally ugly. You were splashing so hard at times that I was afraid you might be drowning.”
I tried frowning but it was hard when all I could think was how beautiful he looked when he smiled. “Let me explain something to you, it takes a lot more power to propel the Titanic than it does a dingy.”
He snorted. “A lot more splashes maybe. Anyway, I’m not a dingy. I’ve got muscles, they’re just different than yours, Mr. Titanic.”
“Damn straight you do, babe,” I agreed. I loved his sleek muscles. I especially loved his thigh muscles when they wrapped around my waist, tugging me closer. Glancing at my watch, I realized it was almost time for the rest of his swim crew to arrive, including his coach. I was pretty sure that man wouldn’t be pleased with me hanging around. I didn’t give a fuck, but I didn’t want to make things hard on Dakota. I heaved myself out of the pool and shook my entire body like a dog shook when it climbed out of water. I looked and felt stupid, but it earned me another laugh so I was good with stupid.