I'm not the greatest at relationships. Perhaps because it'd have to be a secret, I've never actually dated a guy. Plenty of hookups, sure, and friends-with-benefits situations, but calling a guy "mine" for more than a night? Never done that. I don't think I know how.
Now I look at Jason, grinning ear to ear as he pours champagne into Cole's mouth, and I wonder if it might be something I can learn.
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It's past 2am when we leave the party suite. We're both drunk in the hotel hallway, leaning on each other, trying not to laugh, trying not to kiss. The keycard swipes on my door and we stumble inside in the dark. I reach for the light switch. Jason looks up at me with his deep brown eyes.
Something inside me threatens to break, and I force it to stay together. I lean in and kiss him, and he returns the favor, his beard pressing against my face. It's gentle. More gentle than I expected considering the circumstances.
Eventually he pulls back and sighs. "Nick, I--"
I don't want him to finish. "I know."
"But--"
"I know." I drop my gaze to the floor. "Listen, let's not think about it."
"I can't not think about it. I can't not think about you." Jason puts his hand on my cheek, forces me to look at him. "I don't know if you feel the same way, but--"
"I do," I say.
There's an electric silence between the two of us.
"What do we do about that?" he says.
I swallow, hard. "We enjoy the fuck out of each other tonight, Jas."
A smile starts to form. "Alright."
Our lips crash together again, and it's anything but gentle. I can feel his need, not just in his cock pressing into mine but in how hungrily he's kissing me, in the way his mouth feels against mine, in his little whimpers as I trace my fingers along the sides of his face.
Reaching around to give his ass a squeeze, I break off our kiss long enough to say, "up."
"Huh?" he says, his cheeks pink.
"Let me pick you up," I say.
"Fuck," he breathes. "Alright."
He jumps into me then, wrapping his legs around my waist and his arms around my neck. I catch him, hands supporting his ass. He's somehow lighter than I expected. And he's leaning in to kiss me again, one of hands grabbing the back of my head, trying to pull me closer when he's already in my arms.
I walk us toward the bed while we kiss, pausing our kiss only when we've reached it. Jason looks at me expectantly, his fingers tracing patterns in the hair on the back of my head.
"You're still a good goalie, right?" I ask.
"Fuck, Nick," he says.
"That's not an answer."
He groans. "Yes. Yes, I am."