By Chance (Courtland Chronicles) (8 page)

The thing he’d been longing to hear, and dreading too. As long as it remained unsaid, he could push his feelings aside, pretend they didn’t exist. But Nick putting his own feelings into words made this—whatever this was between them
—
real
.

Fear gripped him in earnest, leaving him caught between paralysis and the urge to flee. Oh, this was ridiculous. What was he going to do, barricade himself in the bathroom? Sleep in a hotel for the rest of the semester? Maybe he could hide from Nick, but not from himself. And, strangely enough, he realized with a sense of relief so profound it nearly doubled him over, he no longer wanted to. “You’re not wrong.”

Their lips met softly, tentatively, finally parting, only to have their teeth bump together. Nick flinched. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s all right. Just relax.” Eric breathed deep and tried to follow his own advice, his pulse thrumming between his ears as he caressed Nick’s face. And here came that bright pink blush flooding Nick’s cheeks again, the heat of it practically scorching Eric’s fingertips. “We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.”

“But I’ve waited to long to find someone special, someone who really gets it, y’know? Someone who gets
me
.” His eyes floated shut for a moment, lashes fluttering against his cheeks. “I don’t want to disappoint you.”

Nick thought
he
was special? The one he’d been waiting for? No pressure, right? Eric swallowed, trying to form words around the sudden desert in his throat. “The only way you could do that is if you got up and left.”

Why did he have to say that? Now Nick had this awful flash of panic in his eyes, as if he was actually considering the possibility. Eric waited a long, heart-stopping moment for the look to subside, then, slowly and gently, slid one hand around Nick’s neck and drew him in for another kiss. He tasted like sweet tea with the faint tangy undertone of Alfredo’s house red, though Eric was fairly sure that wasn’t what was making him so light-headed.

They slid down side by side on the couch, their kisses growing deeper and more urgent, until they finally had to stop to catch their breath. “What d’you want to do?” Nick whispered. “I mean—”

“I know what you mean,” Eric said. “Let’s slow down, okay? We’ll get there.”

“How can you be so calm? I’m shaking all over.”

So was Eric—and yet, surprisingly, he was fine with it. A strange euphoria bloomed inside him, a heady sense of anticipation, as if he were on a roller coaster poised at the crest of that first endless drop.

Nick pressed his palm to Eric’s chest, eyed widening at the heavy thud of his heart. “You too, huh?” Chuckling, he brushed soft kisses across Eric’s forehead, both cheeks and finally, his mouth. “You’re right. Besides, I promised myself when I found the right person, I wouldn’t rush it. I’ve waited this long. I can wait a few more minutes.”

“I’m not sure
I
can,” Eric joked weakly. God, how much he wanted this, even more for Nick than himself. He reached for Nick’s hand, laced their fingers together and placed it over the hard bulge at his own crotch.

“Guess that’s a hint, huh?” Smiling, Nick eased down Eric’s zipper and reached inside, drawing out his cock. “Nice,” he murmured, licking his lips as he started to stroke him.

“Jesus,” Eric hissed. Nick’s large, strong hands were made for jacking off. Problem was, if he kept doing it this well, Eric wouldn’t last much longer, and despite his prior protests, he had no desire for their first time to be a quickie.

“My turn,” he whispered at last, nudging Nick’s shoulder to roll him onto his back.

Nick complied with a bemused grin, raising his arms to let Eric tug off his jacket and T-shirt. Eric took his time running his fingertips along the well-muscled planes of Nick’s chest and belly, nails lightly scoring his skin, leaving faint pink marks and shivers of delight in his wake. His lips following along, he kissed a hot, moist trail from Nick’s collarbone down to his navel, then stopped, swirling the tip of his tongue inside the puckered indentation.

Now Eric wasn’t the only one with an impressive bulge in his jeans—and Nick was even more impressive out of them. He was hung like a god, long and thick, with a fat mushroom head the same bright shade of pink as his cheeks when he blushed.

And he grew even pinker—cheeks and cock alike—as Eric caressed him. “Bashful fellow, isn’t he?” he teased, reveling in Nick’s moans. “Perhaps he’d like a kiss.”

“God, Eric, I don’t think I can…”

Eric swiped his tongue across the crown, the salty flavor bursting onto his tongue for a few precious moments before he slid down, taking as much of it as he could comfortably hold. He bobbed his head up and down until Nick was speaking in tongues, begging for release. A few more quick strokes, and Nick came with a yell that practically shook the walls.

He lifted his head just as Nick slumped back against the couch cushions. “Guess I don’t need to ask if you liked it.”

“That, that was pretty fucking amazing.”

“Worth the wait?”

“God, yeah. But what about you?”

“Why don’t we keep it simple this time?” Straddling Nick’s thighs, Eric reached for his own cock.

He was already so close, all it took was the touch of his hand to send him over the edge. Black spots dancing before his eyes, he fell forward into Nick’s arms, lips pressed to his sweaty chest.

Eric opened his eyes slowly, surprise rippling through him when he discovered Nick still lying next to him. They’d pushed the beds back together last night, but he’d still half expected to find Nick stretched out on the couch when he woke up, not gazing down at him with a silly grin on his face. “How long’ve you been awake?” he mumbled, yawning.

“A few minutes,” Nick replied, leaning over to give him a kiss. “Morning, by the way.”

“Morning.” God, now he was grinning like an idiot. A warm, well-rested,
happy
idiot. “I need to tell you something,” he said, wrapping an arm around Nick’s waist. “You’re the first person I’ve ever spent an entire night with.”

“Me too.”

“Really? You’ve never stayed over with any of your girlfriends?”

Nick laughed. “There haven’t been that many. In fact, Ally’s the only one I’ve ever…” He blushed. “Not counting a few random hookups.”

So Ally’d beaten him to the punch on that too. One more thing to envy her for. “In that case, I suppose I should be flattered,” Eric said.

Nick ducked his head, his smile fading. “Same here. But when I think about it, it’s actually kind of sad.”

Spoken with empathy and affection, not judgment. Eric let out a long breath. He’d never had a problem keeping to himself before, but Nick was so warm and open, so easy to talk to. It was nice, having someone to confide in for a change, even if he couldn’t quite read what was going on behind Nick’s eyes. Was he having second thoughts about last night?

“I didn’t used to think so,” Eric murmured. “Letting people get too close scared me. Hell, it
still
scares me.”

Nick looked like he was about to say something, but instead he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Eric’s heart skidded to a halt until Nick glanced back at him, then smiled and leaned in for another kiss.

* * *

They ended up skipping breakfast with Ally that morning, and many mornings to come, though most days he and Nick didn’t see each other again until they met for dinner at the dining hall.

One evening Eric glanced up wearily from his bowl of salad, barely stifling a yawn—and a grin, as his gaze landed on the reason for his fatigue. “I’m looking forward to spring break next week. Can’t wait to have a whole week to sleep in and eat whenever we want.”

Nick’s forehead went adorably crinkly. “So you’re not jetting off to Florida or Cancun or someplace like that?”

“My allowance isn’t that generous. Besides, I’ve got better things to do than sit around getting drunk and sunburned.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Did you have something planned?”

“I forgot till you reminded me, but I promised my folks at Christmas that I’d come up to the farm and work. They’re taking a road trip to Ohio for my grandparents’ fiftieth anniversary, and they can’t afford to hire an outside guy to take over for that long. So I told them I’d do it.”

“Oh.” Eric’s heart sank, although he did his best not to let it show. But judging from the concerned look Nick was throwing him, he apparently had a lousy poker face. “Don’t worry about it. I can amuse myself for a week.”

“You’re welcome to come with me if you want, but there’s not a whole lot to do, other than watching me bale hay and milk cows.”

Oh, there was an idea… “How much would I have to bribe you to do your chores in the nude?”

Nick nearly choked on his soda. “When it’s thirty degrees out at five in the morning? How deep is your trust fund?”

“Forget it. Getting up that early isn’t my idea of a vacation. Besides,” he added, dropping his tone to a sexy growl, “I plan to see you naked every day we’re there anyway.”

They were so busy laughing and talking, they didn’t notice Ally walk up. Eric tamped down an annoyed sigh when Nick invited her to sit with them. What was wrong with him? Normally he enjoyed talking with Ally, but tonight her mere presence grated on his nerves. All he wanted was a nice, quiet dinner alone with Nick. Was that too much to ask?

“So what have you two been up to today?” she asked, setting her tray down before sinking into a chair Nick snagged from a nearby table.

“Studying and going to class. Same thing we do every day,” Nick replied, keeping his eyes glued to his plate. Exasperation prickled up the back of Eric’s neck. Nick had promised him he’d tell Ally they were together, but obviously he hadn’t yet. Why not? And why was he acting like it was something to be ashamed of?

“I missed you in Mitchell’s class this morning. That’s the second time this week,” she went on. “You keep coming in late.”

“My alarm clock’s broken,” Nick replied.

She speared a baby carrot from her salad, took a small bite and chewed it slowly. “We still on for Alfredo’s and our usual double feature this Friday?”

Nick hesitated, shooting Eric a
You want to take this one?
look.

“Absolutely,” Eric answered, flashing Nick a tight smile. If Nick didn’t tell her by the end of the week, then fuck it—he’d break the news himself.

As it turned out, they didn’t have to wait that long. They’d just finished dinner when Ally remembered she needed to borrow Nick’s old twentieth-century British literature notes, which meant she had to come back to their room with them.

Her momentarily stricken look at the sight of the unmade bed—and the plainly not-slept-on couch—sent Nick scurrying to dig through his pile of notebooks in the closet.

How apropos.
Guilt pricking at him for the uncharitable thought, Eric tossed his backpack on the desk and headed into the kitchen for some tea. Ally followed, as he’d suspected she would. He didn’t mind getting into it with her, but he wasn’t about to do it in front of Nick.

Luckily, she had the presence of mind to shut the door before lighting into him. “What’re you doing, Eric? He’s not some trick you can discard once you get tired of him in another month or two.”

Her harsh tone sent a chill shooting through him. Tempted though he was to fire back an equally acrimonious reply, he made her wait until he’d filled the teakettle and set it on the stove. “What makes you think I’ll get tired of him?”

Her eyebrows arched. “So you’re telling me you actually have feelings for him?”

He got a clean mug down from the cupboard and set it on the counter, hoping Ally hadn’t noticed the tremor in his hands. “I do. In fact, I care for him a great deal.”

Her expression remained skeptical. “You’re sure?”

“As sure as anyone can be.” He turned around, forcing a thin smile. “Look, Ally, I have no intention of interfering in yours and Nick’s friendship. I know how much it means to both of you. But I also know you’re still carrying a torch for him.”

She laughed, her gaze dropping to the floor. Not an admission, but not a denial either.

The kettle started whistling. Eric filled his mug and scooped it up to let its warmth seep into his fingers. “I’ve accepted how you feel about him. Think you can do the same for me?”

Ally gave it a few moments of silent consideration before nodding. “Fine. But just so you’re aware—if you break his heart, I will rip yours out of your chest with my bare hands.”

She couldn’t leave fast enough, averting her eyes this time as she scooted past the bed. Nick handed her his old notebook and ushered her out the door, then turned back to Eric with a baffled glance. “What was that all that about?”

You, not having the guts to tell her the truth
danced on the end of Eric’s tongue, but he bit it back. No point provoking a fight. Their relationship was still fragile and new, especially to Nick, who’d never come out to anyone before. Of course it wouldn’t be easy for him, but he’d make peace with it eventually.

Or so Eric hoped.

Eric’s breath caught as he swung his rental car into the driveway next to the Thompson house. A classic white picket fence surrounded it, with a narrow path leading up through a row of rose bushes to a two-story yellow frame farmhouse. It looked almost too perfect to be real.

“You didn’t tell me you grew up in a fairy tale,” he teased as they climbed out of the car and grabbed their bags from the trunk.

“As long as you don’t mean
The Nightmare Before Christmas
, I’ll take it as a compliment.” Nick grinned. “C’mon, I can’t wait to show you the place.”

The kitchen was every bit as impressive as the outside, with shiny hardwood floors and glassed-in cabinets that reminded Eric of photos he’d seen of Depression-era houses. The kitchen table appeared to be a real antique, all heavy oak, with pretty hand-embroidered place mats.

Family photos lined the hallway; judging from the clothing, hairstyles and yellowing paper, most of them went back several generations. One relatively recent photo of a dark-haired young boy in a football jersey standing between his proud parents made Eric bite his lip and blink hard.