Eastshore Tigers 01 - Strong Side (23 page)

It’s an unreal sensation. A feeling of fullness and an awareness of his every movement, from the slightest twitch to the very moment I start to ride him. When his hips push upward again, he hits that same spot, and I arch against him, wanting him deeper inside of me.

Fuck. If I knew bottoming could’ve felt this good, I would’ve done a lot more of it. But as great as it feels, I know it’s because of my partner. Being fucked by Jason is an experience I can’t even describe, and when I can manage to pry my eyes open long enough to meet his, it’s just beyond amazing.

We move slow and steady at first, then, as I relax even more and the lube works its magic, he starts to pump into me, meeting me halfway each time, and I’ve never seen anything sexier. Watching his muscles flex as he fucks me, seeing the expressions he makes and the way he’s totally losing his composure is the best thing I can ever imagine.

I can feel him hit deep, satisfying something inside of me I never even knew I wanted. But it’s the more shallow movements that have me moaning and panting and begging, to the point where I have no idea what I’m saying. I’m his completely right now. His to bring over the edge, and when he does it, I can hear my own shout bounce off the hotel walls.

White hot pleasure streaks through me. My hands grip the edge of the bed hard, but I can’t feel any pain from it. The sensation of ecstasy is too strong, and it’s ramped up even more when Jason thrusts into me one last time before he comes.

When I force my eyes open again to watch him, I can tell he’s experiencing the same sort of bliss I am. His face is contorted in pleasure, his lips parted, a deep moan pulling from him. I can still feel him inside of me, and it makes the whole experience that much better; that much more intimate.

We’re both left panting, almost gasping for breath. I keep him inside of me, not wanting to let him go yet, and both of my hands thread into his hair as we kiss.

I can’t think of a more perfect way to end this season than being here, wrapped up with the man I love.

MAY

16 Months Later

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

- Jason -

It took Derek and I forever to save up the money to move into an apartment, and that was with some advanced graduation money from our families.

Derek took a tutoring job and I did some private coaching for high school kids looking to be recruited. The result was a two-bedroom apartment that probably costs more than it’s worth, honestly, but it’s ours. Derek and I were both grinning ear to ear when we signed the lease.

We moved our shit in after the semester ended, with some help from Mills and a few of the other guys. Now it’s set up with a bedroom, a little “home gym” that’s really just some space for exercise mats and kettle bells right now, a living room where we’ve got an old TV and his Xbox, and a bathroom and kitchen. There’s a little back porch area, too, and Mills bought us a charcoal grill as an early housewarming present before he had to start getting his ass in gear for the NFL draft.

Now it’s furnished, mostly with Craigslist finds and a couple pieces from the IKEA in Jacksonville. Neither of us are that picky, but D’s already warned me his mom will probably have a fit.

They’re coming today. His whole immediate family. Mom, dad, and sister. Everyone’s in town for the graduation ceremony, and I’m already nervous as hell about meeting them.

“Dude, you look like you’re about to pass out. Stop freaking on me,” he says, putting a hand on my shoulder.

“Fuck you, I have to meet three people who’ll give me shit today.”

There’s nothing even a little bit hateful behind my words, and Derek knows it. I’m glad to be meeting his family. Nervous, yeah, but glad. And Derek’s spent the past couple weeks assuring me they’re going to love me. Apparently I’m all his mom asks about when she calls.

“Nobody’s going to give you shit,” he says, and that familiar glint of mischief lights in his eyes. “Unless you start telling people that we’ve already broken in every room of this place.”

I groan at the memory. That was one of the first things we did, after agreeing it would be “good luck.” Once the furniture was brought in, we decided to try for “good luck” a handful more times, just to be safe.

What can I say? We’re both pretty shameless. And there are days when I can’t be alone with him for more than a few minutes before I want to get my hands on him. I know he feels the same about me.

But today, we have to keep it in our pants. At least for a few hours. People are going to start showing up any minute, and as much as I love the hit of adrenaline that comes with cutting it close on time, I don’t really want to be caught fucking by Derek’s parents. Or my dad.

Our guests start arriving around six. My dad’s the first one, since he lives in town. He drops by right after work, and Derek sets him up with a beer on the couch. The three of us talk about the upcoming draft and who we think is going to be picked by which team. Mills is probably going to the Panthers, which isn’t too bad of a drive from here, so we make a plan to drop in on a couple games if he starts.

Our mutual friends trickle in after that. Mostly guys from football, but we’ve got a few gay friends now. Derek met Christian after the Outback Bowl, when the team came back to town. He and his boyfriend Blake have been pretty cool, and we usually end up doing the kind of double-dating I can get behind: Hanging at the Tigers’ Den, watching a game and knocking back a pitcher of beer.

About an hour later, Derek gets a call from his family saying they’ve just now hit the tarmac. Apparently the scattering of rain we’ve had today delayed their flight, and he heads off to the airport to pick them up.

By the time he gets back, I’ve had a couple beers and feel a lot more mellow than I did earlier, but my heart is still pounding hard as I hear voices out in the hall. When the door opens, I expect to see Derek leading the group. Instead, a petite, middle-aged woman looks at me with wide eyes.

“There he is!”

Before I can even think to respond, she closes the distance between us and wraps me up in a pretty impressive bear hug for such a small woman. I think she’s probably crushing about ten different bones in my body.

She pulls back, lifting her hands to my cheeks. “You’re so tall!” She looks around, sees some of the other guys. “Oh sweet Jesus. You are Jason, aren’t you?”

Derek laughs from behind her. “Yeah, Mom. That’s Jason. Good to know you’re just into hugging random guys now, though.”

“You hush,” she says, and hugs me again. When she pulls back this time, there are tears in her eyes. “It’s so good to meet my future son-in-law.”

“Evelyn…” A deep voice warns.

Derek’s dad is closer to him in height, and I can see the similarities between them. He wears glasses, though, and it’s terrible that my first thought is how sexy Derek would look wearing some slick frames.

“It’s good to meet you, too, Mrs. Griffin.”

She smacks me lightly on the chest, and I look at Derek in surprise. I can tell he’s about one second away from just completely losing it.

“Don’t you dare call me that, young man. It’s Evelyn. And this is my husband Robert.”

I extend a hand, and Derek’s dad meets it in a firm shake.

“Heard a lot about you,” he says. “Hell of a player.”

My dad stands, and I introduce him to the two of them. It’s worth it to see how awkward he looks when Mrs. Griffin—Evelyn—hugs him, too.

There’s only one person missing…

“So you’re the guy who’s boning my brother.”

Standing next to Derek is a teenage girl who’s packing serious attitude into what has to be less than a 5’5’’ frame. Blue streaks in her hair, ripped jeans, and a t-shirt featuring a band I’ve never heard of pretty much complete the package exactly as Derek described.

“Thank you for that, Grace,” Robert says in a voice that I can tell means ‘we’ll talk about this later.’

“She’s just jealous of me,” Derek says, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

She rolls her eyes but doesn’t shrug him off, and I can’t help but smile.

Once introductions are made, Derek’s mom orders him back down to the car to bring in groceries, and I expect maybe a bottle of champagne or some finger food until we can get the grill fired up. But no, she bought enough groceries to cater for the entire graduating class, and she takes over the kitchen like a whirlwind.

“Best to just stay out of her way,” Derek warns me. “She can get pretty vicious with a spatula.”

“I heard that,” she says, and I feel Derek cringe next to me. “Honey, this kitchen is pathetic. We’re going to Kohl’s first thing in the morning to get you some more pots and pans.”

Derek just shrugs, and I laugh, shaking my head. He was right. His family’s already treating me like a son. His dad has even taken up residence on the couch near mine, and they’re watching SportsCenter together over a couple beers. Grace, meanwhile, examines the contents of our fridge. She pulls out a beer, but it’s quickly intercepted by her mother.

“So Derek tells us you’re planning to become a coach after you graduate, Jason? What level?” Evelyn asks.

“High school,” I say, and Derek threads his hand with mine, giving it a squeeze to let me know he’s proud of me. “And actually… I already have a job offer. The high school a couple miles from here needs an offensive coach.”

“That’s wonderful news!”

I can’t help but smile. It’s fucking amazing news, and I only just heard about it this morning, so I’m still riding out the high from it. I honestly didn’t expect to get a paid job right off the bat, but Coach Garvey put in a good word for me, citing my experience working with Derek, and then the up-and-coming QBs I helped over the past year, even though I wasn’t part of the team.

It’s not the NFL, but… I’m okay with that. Actually, I’m great with it. Playing football is awesome, but nurturing a love for the game in someone else? I think I’m really going to enjoy my job.

“And Derek, honey, did you ever hear back from that… What was his name? Finch?”

“Yeah, Tom Finch. I’m going to shadow him for a while, then work as his assistant.”

I return the squeeze Derek gave me earlier. After everything he’s been through, it still amazes me that he just always keeps going after what he wants. And for him, it’s not a career as a professional athlete, either. He’s officially finished up all of his preliminary classes, and now he just has to do his internship and pass the state test to become licensed as a physical therapist.

“I’m so proud of my boys,” his mom says.

It’s only a few words—probably something she didn’t even have to think twice about. But her eagerness to just invite me into her family fills me with a warmth I didn’t know I was missing in my life.

Sitting in our new apartment, surrounded by friends and family, I’ve never felt happier. And it’s all because of Derek.

He took me from Hawk the “star quarterback” to Jason, a guy who’s recognized for more than his ability to throw a football. And even though we haven’t officially talked about it yet, I’d like to spend the rest of my life thanking him for that.

THE END

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About the Author

Alison Hendricks is devoted to creating contemporary M/M romances that are sexy and emotionally satisfying. She loves making her boys work for their Happily Ever After and believes love stories are better with just a little angst thrown in.

Born and raised in Florida, Alison has always had a passion for writing, and romance novels of all kinds are her number one escape when life gets a little too hectic.

She’s currently working on her first series,
Eastshore Tigers
. Each book in this series is a standalone romance that throws together two hot college athletes who always “play for the same team,” even if they don’t know it yet.

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