By Chance (Courtland Chronicles) (9 page)

The living room was right off the hall, with a comfortable-looking couch and recliner, issues of
Sporting News
and various women’s magazines stacked neatly on the coffee table. A tall cabinet with a stereo system and twenty-inch TV stood a few feet in front of the couch. There was a huge fireplace too, a stack of cut wood beside it. The sharp pine scent stung Eric’s nostrils.

“It’s probably not as fancy as what you’re used to,” Nick said with a shrug.

Eric cleared his throat. “It’s fine.”

“You don’t have to say that just to be polite.”

“No, I mean it. You know what’s hanging in the foyer of the house I grew up in? Impressionist art. I don’t think we even
own
a photo of me and my parents together.” He sighed. “Where are your folks? I was looking forward to meeting them.”

“They left first thing this morning. It’s a long drive to Ohio.”

“Oh.” He could’ve kicked himself the moment the syllable escaped his lips. What was wrong with him? He’d never used to display his disappointment so openly. “I thought they were going to be here.”

“Sorry. If I’d known it was that important to you, we could’ve come up last night. Guess I’m still a little…”

Afraid.
Not terribly surprising, considering how he’d behaved with Ally. Still, Eric had to swallow his rising frustration. “It’s okay, I get it,” he replied. “Besides, you’re not out to them yet, are you?”

Nick wagged his head. “And after all these years, I should be.”

“‘All these years’? I thought you only figured it out for yourself a few weeks ago.”

“That was the denial talking.” He leaned against the wall, chuckling ruefully. “Truth is, I’ve kind of suspected I had a thing for guys ever since senior year of high school. There was this one kid the whole football team picked on—a real brain, geeky and artistic, so naturally everyone thought he was gay. He seemed nice enough, so I didn’t join in on all the pranks and name-calling. We never really talked until this one time at a party. We both had too much to drink, and ended up making out in the bathroom. I liked it. A
lot
.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, staring down at the floor. “Nobody saw us, but it still scared the shit out of me. So I started razzing him and calling him ‘fag’ and ‘queer’ along with the rest of the team. It got so bad, he had to transfer to another school. As far as I know, he never outed me to anybody. I still don’t know why.”

That explained Nick’s nervousness and reticence—it all stemmed from guilt. “Maybe he saw how you were struggling with it. Did you ever try to find him and apologize?”

“I wanted to, but I never saw him in town again after he transferred. His family used to go to the same church, but I never saw him there either. I figured they must’ve moved.” Nick sighed. “But I got paid back in a big way once I got here. I had a major crush on this guy named Hobart, our second-strong wide receiver, when I was riding the pine freshman year. I even had myself convinced I’d caught the same vibe from him. Then one day in the locker room he caught me staring at his ass. He called me a fag in front of the whole team. He still harasses me about it every time he sees me.”

Jesus
. No wonder Nick kept avoiding his teammates in the dining hall. “I guess that’s enough to scare anybody back in the closet.”

“I wish I could be more like you, and not care what anybody thinks. But I honestly don’t know how my folks’ll take the news.”

Eric remembered his father’s explosive reaction to his own coming-out announcement, and the livid red handprint he’d worn on his left cheek for the next few days. “It’s okay.” Eric smiled. “You’ll tell them when you’re ready.”

They carried their bags up a short flight of stairs to Nick’s room. It was roughly a third of the size of their living room back at the dorm, with a small window overlooking the main pasture. Cows milled in the distance, grazing on spring grass. A bureau, bedside table and double bed with a stunning hand-carved headboard filled the rest of the small space.

Eric sat down on the edge of the mattress, relieved to find it appropriately firm without being lumpy. The headboard was an actual work of art, depicting the farmhouse from an earlier era, before the picket fence or the roses. Eric ran his fingers over it in open admiration.

“My grandfather carved it,” Nick said. “It was his wedding gift to my grandmother.”

“And tonight we’ll curl up in it together. How apropos.” Then he caught Nick by the hand and tugged him down beside him. “On second thought, why wait till tonight?”

Nick grinned and rolled on top of him, kissing him deeply. “Can I tell you something?”

“You have to ask?”

“Well, it is kinda…kinky.”

He’d never heard Nick utter
that
word before. Suddenly every part of Eric’s body perked right up. “Do tell.”

“Ever since we made plans to come up here, I’ve been fantasizing about having you right here in this bed.”

Eric burst out laughing. “Doing it in bed’s not what I’d call kinky. Doing it in your barn, on the other hand—”

“Ew!” Nick shuddered, making a face. “It’s
dirty
out there.”

“That’s the idea.”

Nick shrugged. “There’s something about doing it in the room I’ve slept in since I was a kid, you know? Like all those times I spent huddled under the covers jerking off with my folks right down the hall. It just made it seem that much more…forbidden, I guess. Exciting.”

A teenager’s idea of what was naughty and dirty and wrong. Eric couldn’t help grinning. Leave it to Nick to have such an adorable,
wholesome
fantasy.

“Besides,” Nick went on, “I can’t stop thinking how hot it’d be for you to, um…” And here came that sweet blush again, two spots of pink flaring high on his cheeks. “Fuck me for the first time, right here.”

Now Eric stared up at him, unsure how to respond. They’d been content to take it slow thus far—blowjobs, frottage, mutual masturbation. Eric hadn’t been inclined to push; as long as what they did left them both satisfied, that was more than enough for him. They’d move to the next level when they were ready.

And apparently that was what Nick was trying to tell him.

“Just to be clear,” Eric said slowly, “you want—”

“Your, um…”

“My cock?” he prompted.

Nick nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Why so hesitant all of a sudden? Aside from their first time together, he’d never had a problem making his desires known. Then again, how did you ask for something like this? Especially when Nick hadn’t even admitted his attraction to guys to himself until recently.

But still, Eric wanted to hear him say the words, if only to see them spill from that lush, gorgeous mouth. “Where exactly do you want my cock?”

A deep breath, and then Nick leaned in, brushing his lips across Eric’s. “In my ass. Clear enough?”

“I, uh…” God, now he was stammering—and his pulse was racing. “I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but in the past I’ve usually bottomed.”

“You mean, you’ve never fucked anybody?”

“No, no, I have. It’s just been a while.” Eric threaded his fingers through Nick’s dark curls and dragged him down for another, rougher kiss. Nick’s tiny groan made his cock twitch.

His lush lips descended on Eric’s throat, sucking at the pulse point right beneath his jawline. Nick’s strong, thick fingers worked at the buttons on Eric’s white cotton dress shirt for about thirty seconds before one of them popped off in his hand. “Sorry.”

Eric just chuckled. “Keep going.”

Soon the laughing morphed into moans, groans and the occasional gasp. By the time Nick worked his way down to Eric’s fly and eased down the zipper, Eric was ready to expire on the spot. When Nick’s mouth closed over Eric’s cock at last, it was too much, too late—Eric came within seconds, vision graying out, the rush of blood between his ears drowning everything else.

He opened his eyes to find Nick wiping his cheek on the back of his own sleeve. “Shit,” he muttered. “Sorry about that.”

He barely had time to be startled when Nick swooped in for a kiss. Eric had never kissed someone who’d just sucked him off—in fact, he usually went out of his way to avoid it. “Who knew I was so sexy?” Nick said with a shy smile.

“Have you looked in a mirror lately?”

Nick laughed and rolled to his feet, yanking a strip of condoms and a packet of lubricant from his jeans pocket.

Eric’s eyes widened. “A bit optimistic, aren’t we?”

“Don’t worry. If we run out, I’ve got more in my suitcase.”

Laughing, they undressed and slid under the covers. The sheets were warm baby-soft flannel with a faded cowboy-and-Indian pattern, still smelling faintly of dryer sheets. Eric ran his fingertips along the pale outline of a cowboy on horseback, then rolled Nick under him, kissing and licking a leisurely path down Nick’s torso before taking his cock in his mouth. He could’ve spent the rest of the night listening to Nick’s groans and whimpers, those huge hands fisting in his hair as he swallowed Nick from crown to root, until at last Nick pushed him away.

“C’mon, Eric, enough teasing. I’m ready.” Nick lay back, tilting his hips while Eric’s heart started to pound. What the hell had he gotten himself into? He’d never topped anybody for their first time. What if he disappointed Nick—or God forbid, ended up hurting him?

“Eric?” Nick prompted, skimming a hand down his arm. “You okay?”

Breathing deep, he nodded. He could do this, and moreover, he
wanted
to. Nick deserved to be with someone who cared enough to make it good—or at least, cared enough to give it his best try. “You’ll probably be more comfortable if you get on your stomach and put a pillow under you.”

“Oh.” Nick blinked. “Okay.”

He did as told while Eric rolled on a condom and slicked it generously. “Relax,” Eric murmured, stroking Nick’s trembling back before easing a lubed finger inside him. He was trembling too, but luckily, Nick couldn’t see it. “How’s that feel?”

“Good. I mean, weird, but…still good.”

“Okay.” He slid his finger out, then back in. Nick’s sharp huff of breath told him all he needed to know. He added more lube, then pushed back in with two fingers, working them until they glided in and out easily, and Nick’s panting sounded passionate rather than pained. “Eric, c’mon, are you trying to kill me?”

Okay, passionate
and
pained, though Eric wasn’t sure which had just sent a lightning bolt of fresh lust slithering down his spine. No point prolonging this little prelude any longer. “I’ll try to go slow, but it’s normal for it to hurt, especially the first time. If it’s too much, let me know and I’ll stop.”

“’Kay.”

Dropping a kiss on Nick’s shoulder, Eric grasped his cock and guided it to Nick’s hole, nudging his hips forward until the crown popped inside. Nick gasped again, hands gripping the covers. For some strange and undoubtedly perverted reason Eric didn’t want to examine at this juncture, the sight of Nick’s toned, athletic body straining to accommodate him ramped his arousal into overdrive. Never mind the fact that he was hot as a coal inside, and incredibly tight.
Shit!
Why hadn’t he thought to give him a good rimming first?

Well, there was still time. He started to pull out, until Nick twisted around, shooting him a desperate look. “What’re you doing? Don’t stop now!”

And that was it—Eric’s last shred of control shattered, crumbling into dust. He thrust all the way in one long lunge and started moving, balls slapping Nick’s ass. Nick moaned loud enough to be heard in the next fucking
county
and thrust backward, meeting Eric with equal force. A few more erratic strokes was all it took before orgasm slammed into Eric like a fist, knocking him into free fall.

He opened his eyes to find himself glued to Nick’s heaving, sweat-soaked back. “You okay?” He rolled off, relieved to see that, aside from breathlessness and a bright pink flush from chest to forehead, Nick seemed none the worse for their vigorous fucking.

Except for wincing as he very gingerly lifted off the pillow and eased onto his back. “A little sore, but nothing I wasn’t expecting.”

Eric bit his lip. “Sorry. Sounded like you were enjoying it, though.”

“It was great, but…” Nick gestured at his limp cock. “I lost my hard-on right before the end.”

Damn. He’d wanted so badly to get Nick off while he was inside him, but that’s what he got for letting himself lose control. “It happens. And it’s got nothing to do with whether it feels good or not. Sometimes you can’t get over that last hurdle.”

“Well, you’ve gotten me over plenty of hurdles lately
,
so I’m not too worried.”

“Of course not. You were perfect.” And next time
he’d
be perfect. He’d make sure of it.

The next few days passed in a heavenly, lust-soaked haze. Between sex, sleeping in,
sex
, stretching out on the living room couch for long naps,
sex
, taking breaks for meals, and
more sex
, Eric was starting to feel positively debauched. Nick might have been a late bloomer, but he was certainly catching up now. Eric hadn’t been so sore since he’d lost his own virginity at sixteen.

Nick rolled out of bed before sunrise every morning to take care of his chores, leaving Eric to wake up alone. This morning he took his time carefully stretching out the knots and kinks in his muscles before heading downstairs for coffee and the local paper. He sat at the kitchen table idly flipping the pages and staring out the window at the frost-covered driveway, until the stomp of boots on the kitchen porch jolted him from his reverie.

“Hey.” Nick came through the door, stopping to give Eric a quick kiss on his way to the coffeepot. “How long have you been up?”

“Not long. Honestly, I should probably just stay up there all day, naked and spread-eagled.”

“I like the sound of that.” Nick plopped down in the chair opposite Eric’s, waggling his eyebrows. “So, you wanna?”

“Easy, tiger. We’ve still got a couple days left to fuck our brains out. I was wondering what you wanted to do for dinner tonight.”