Swish (13 page)

As Jackson and Chase sat close together at the dining room table, their voices low, the others gave them a minute or two of privacy. Noah fetched the condiments while Thomas set the table with placemats and utensils.

“Anyone want drinks?” Cam asked.

He memorized the orders as everyone spoke up with their choice of drink – beer, pop, or water. Alex went along with Thomas and asked for water. It seemed like a safe bet. “I'll give you a hand,” Alex offered once everyone had spoken up.

“Thanks.”

As Cam filled up glasses with pop or water and fetched two beers, Alex leaned on the counter next to him. “I wanted to say sorry to you one-on-one,” Alex told him lowly.

“No, you don't have to.”

Alex was surprised at how simple and sincere Cam's answer was. It wasn't passive-aggressive like he might have expected. “Wh-What?”

“You were doing your job. I get that, man,” Cam laughed. “I might have been annoyed, but you didn't break any laws. You got out of my face when I told you to. You didn't personally knock me out. My boyfriend's a little more annoyed, but he'll get past it.”

Alex relaxed and smiled back. “Okay, cool. Just for what it's worth, I'm not taking that kind of job anymore.”

“Oh, really?” Cam pushed a couple water glasses over to him. “Why not?”

“Um...” He stalled for a moment. “Just, it doesn't feel right. I was talking to Thomas and Chase in the car about it. Too much potential for me to make a bad call and hurt people. I got into this to help them.”

Cam nodded. “You made the right call, whatever you said to them. I'm in a way better place now. Still miss the sport like hell, but...”

“Yeah,” Alex sympathized. “I heard you got fixed up though. Any chance...?”

“Maybe.” Cam's eyes were bright and uncertain. “I... um, I
could
. It depends on how the next few months go. They gotta test me again. If I ever collapse again, though, it's an ICD. And most teams won't want that kind of liability.”

“Right, right.” Alex fidgeted with his arm hairs, his chin on his fist.

Cam poured a pop for himself and Noah, then grabbed beers for Jackson and Chase. “The million dollar question... how do you know Thomas?”

Alex smiled sheepishly.
He told Chase now, so... I'm assuming it's fine...
“We dated in high school.”

Cam's brows raised. He seemed stunned for a moment, but he recovered and nodded. “Right. Well, I hope you two work things out.”

“What do you mean?”

“It's clear there's some issues right now,” Cam chuckled quietly. “The way the two of you look at each other, though... There's chemistry. It's amazing. I've never seen it in him before.”

Alex couldn't remember the last time he'd blushed. His cheeks felt hot, and he knew his face was turning red. He grabbed the two waters and a pop, balancing the three glasses in his hands. “R-Right. “Thanks.”

Is he really that quiet about his dating life around his brothers? Why?
To him, that was the million-dollar question, but it was one Thomas had to figure out himself.

Alex carried the glasses to the table, ignoring Thomas's curious look at his doubtless red face. To kill a few moments, he busied himself looking around at Jackson's gorgeous living room. Custom carpentry, metal art, and well-chosen paint colors made the house an oasis – far nicer than it even looked outside.

Then, Noah was pulling him aside as he brushed past him. “Hey, can we have a word later?”

Alex's stomach jolted with nerves and he nodded. “Of course.”
He probably wants his chance to chew me out.

Jackson clapped his hands together. He was now in the kitchen, pulling plates out of the oven as Chase carried them to the table. “Let's eat.”

***

“When does the Fiddleheads' training camp start?”

From what Alex gathered, the new team was the same one that had tried to recruit Cam. They seemed like a pretty big deal, but not part of the major leagues.

He didn't know a hell of a lot about the minor leagues – only the major teams. There were two especially hot teams in the Atlantic provinces – Montreal versus Toronto. Everyone supported one or the other.

“April. I haven't heard who their coach is, though,” Cam shook his head. “I was talking to Matty the other day about it. They have to announce it soon.”

“How's Matty doing?” Jackson asked, his voice careful. About what, Alex had no idea.

“Pretty good. He's not getting a lot of ice time yet, but they seem happy with him so far. And he's loving the money,” Cam laughed.

“I bet,” Thomas nodded. “They ever gonna come out and see you?”

“The whole team? They'd have to commandeer the bus,” Cam grinned. “But maybe Matty and a couple of the others. Or I might go see them when I have my next followup appointment, if they're playing near home.”

“I wonder if Kevin will be signed,” Noah frowned. “Does it work that way?”

“It could. It'd be a smart move. He's worth attracting if they can convince him,” Cam nodded. “I'm still not a fan of the owners after what they pulled with me...”

Everyone was trying not to look at Alex. He quietly ate his last grilled green bean and listened.

“Yeah, but if the coach is decent...” Jackson shrugged. “Would you ever consider it?”

Cam leaned back in his chair for a few moments. “No. I'm... I'm done now. Now that I've been out for so long, even though the reason was shitty, I've... done so much more than I did there. I might have done more, but there's hundreds of other guys out there dreaming of getting bigger. None of us are gonna be the new 99.”

Alex half-smiled.
Jesus, sounds like the wisdom of an older guy but he's my age.
“I think... there's that kind of pressure to be, and it could be pretty crushing sooner or later for most guys there.”

Jackson glanced over at him and nodded. “Yeah, it can't be healthy.”

“Yeah,” Cam agreed. “You're exactly right. I can be way more effective here doing odd jobs and beekeeping and maybe picking up new skills than chasing a dream of making millions.”

Thomas looked sympathetic. “You've been doing incredible work on all of our houses. Sneaking off sometimes to do it, but...”

Cam laughed and glanced at Alex. “I wasn't supposed to do any physical labor until this week, but I snuck a bit in here and there.”

Alex grinned and nodded. That sounded exactly in character.

“It's a miracle he never killed himself,” Noah muttered, fidgeting with his used utensils.

“Oh, come on,” Cam grinned, slinging his arm around Noah's shoulders. “I'd have gone crazy lying in bed for weeks. And it was only a minor surgery.”

“I think most people would disagree,” Jackson laughed, pushing back his chair to gather dishes. “Anyway, we're all glad that's done now. Alex, you want another drink? A beer?”

Alex smiled, his eyes flickering to Noah pointedly. “No, thanks. Just stepping out for some fresh air, do you mind?”

“The back porch is shoveled,” Noah told him. “I'll keep you company.”

There was a moment's awkward silence where Cam eyed Noah as if wondering if he was going to yell at Alex. Alex wasn't really sure about that himself.

Nonetheless, they let the two of them head to the back porch.

“That wasn't obvious at all,” Noah snorted when the door slid closed and they shuffled close to the house. He pulled up a pair of dry lawn chairs and dropped into one.

“No,” Cam agreed, grinning. “Just tell them you were yelling at me. That's what you're doing, right?”

Noah looked uncomfortable. “Not exactly. Actually...” He was swallowing his pride, so Alex gave him a moment of quiet to compose himself. “I want a word of advice.” His lisp was even gone, his speech careful and proper.

Alex sat up straighter, knowing what this meant. “Professionally?”

Noah nodded. “If you... don't mind.”

“Nope,” Alex shrugged. “Go for it.” He had a surprising number of people ask him everything from legal to medical questions. Being an investigator seemed to make people think he was an expert on every topic. He often had to turn away questions, but there were some he could help with.

“I found Cam's name on some gossip sites and... I don't know if I can get them taken down.”

Alex winced and turned to face Noah, pressing his hands between his knees to keep them warm. “What sites?”

“Gay rumor sites. Cam has this asshole ex...”

“I know.” Alex had found that out in his extensive research on the man.

Noah looked shocked for a few moments, then cleared his throat and nodded. “Right. Nathan?”

“Yeah.”

“He sold their story to some online site. Crappy little gay news site or something. I know he doesn't search for himself because he's worried about what people think about his... medical stuff... but.”

Alex hissed through his teeth and leaned back. “So he doesn't know yet?”

“Yeah.”

“You gotta tell him,” Alex told him bluntly. “If you want my straight-up advice, that is. Someone he knows might Google him, you know? How bad is it? Is it true?”

“I... don't know how much is.” Noah shook his head. “Asshole. I always knew he wasn't quite done. He...
apparently
he's notorious for trying to get back together with him. And Jackson got Cam to block his number, so he wouldn't have been able to get in touch if he were trying. Then he probably got pissed...”

“And sold the story,” Alex finished. “Yep. Very plausible. Short answer, there's probably nothing you can do. The longer legal answer is that he might have some kind of libel case, but it's rarely worth taking it to court. You deal with really nasty stuff then. I've been in a lot of court rooms, and...” Alex trailed off. He couldn't really communicate the realities without sounding fear-mongering. “Believe me, it's absolutely shitty even when you're in the right.”

Noah looked deflated.

Alex softened his voice to get Noah to look at him. “Listen. A lot of people, even minor celebrities, have this happen. Rumors on message boards, anonymous tweets, the whole nine yards. Nine times out of ten, when you react, you make it worse. Just talk to him about whatever concerns you – you know, if there's anything in there you're worried about it. And let it go. Do the others know?”

Noah shook his head.

Alex's heart warmed. Noah had at least a
little
belief in him, in order to confide in him. Or he was desperate. Maybe both. “Okay. Well, tell Cam first and let him decide if he tells the others, okay? Let me know if you need legal advice and I can put you in touch with people.”

Noah looked grateful, then clicked his tongue. “Jesus,” he murmured.

“Cons of dating an ex-celebrity,” Alex winked. “But hey, if he has fans, they're not gonna be fazed. Every hockey player's got some kind of gay rumor.”

Noah chuckled quietly, then rose to his feet. The night was too cold to stay out gossiping for long. “Okay. Thanks for your help.”

Alex reached out to offer his hand to shake, searching Noah's eyes. He hoped this was an offer of friendship. Noah took it and shook. His grip was loose, but he smiled.

“I gotta get going soon,” Cam told him and Noah glanced inside, then nodded.

They rejoined the others and there was another moment of silence, so Cam cleared his throat. “Thanks for having me over, guys. I better get going.”

There was a moment of silence where Chase and Cam both glanced at Thomas while Noah and Jackson pointedly didn't.

Oh, man. I gotta talk to him about this tonight.

“Can I see you out?” Thomas asked.

“Of course.” Alex's heart raced as he stood up and joined Thomas, ready to head out the front door. Thomas shoved his shoes and jacket on, then waved to his brothers. “See you guys later.”

“See you,” Cam waved.

“Thanks for visiting,” Jackson told Alex, pausing to catch his eyes. “And staying for supper. Come over again sometime, if you want.”

Alex didn't miss that invitation. He glowed a little as he smiled back. “I will,” he promised. “Thanks for having me. Supper was great.”

Chase paused to catch Alex, too. He leaned in for a quick hug and murmured, “Thanks.”

“Of course,” Alex answered sincerely. “Call me anytime.”

Then, Thomas opened the door for Alex and led him through the crisp night to his own house right next door.

“Want anything to drink?”

“You and your brothers are just plying me with drinks, aren't you?” Alex grinned, flopping onto the living room couch.

Thomas laughed. “Sorry, it's automatic.” His nerves were fluttering as he joined Alex, sitting close to him and finally reaching out to touch his hand. “How was supper?”

“It was great.” Alex seemed to mean that. “They really... accepted me. I definitely didn't expect that.”

“They're a good bunch. None of them hold grudges – well, no, maybe Noah a bit, though he doesn't look it,” Thomas corrected himself. “Was he okay?”

“Yep,” Alex assured him with a slight smile. Then, Alex took his hand and caught his eyes. “Do you?”

That was a hard question, and it cut straight to the heart of what they had to talk about. Thomas drew a breath and let it out, then shook his head. “I have before, yeah, but... not anymore.”

“You're okay with me now?”

Thomas almost shivered with nerves. His toe tapped on the floor. “Yeah. I... My family forgives you, and they had way more right to be pissed at you than I did. And back then, you needed different things than me. Dumping me made sense.”

“I chose a shitty way of doing it, though.”

“Yeah,” Thomas chuckled quietly. “But we were both young. If you dump me again, though, tell me to my face and don't move away right afterwards, huh?”

Alex chuckled quietly, but his gaze was fixed on Thomas's. “Deal. But I don't think that'll be a problem.”

Oh.
Thomas blushed under Alex's scrutiny but screwed up his courage. “I... I gotta talk to my family about this, though. I told Chase about us...”

“None of them knew?”

“No.”

Alex nodded slowly, his gaze flickering between Thomas's eyes. “That's a big conversation. Are you ready for it?”

“Fuck, no,” Thomas laughed quietly, his heart clenching. It wasn't like he was in
danger
, but... Christ, it was too hard to explain. He just shook his head. “But I know you need to date someone who's out.”

Alex nodded. “My parents know about me. They'll want to meet my boyfriend. I want to be able to go out in public holding my boyfriend's hand.” His fingers slid between Thomas's and he squeezed his hand lightly. “I better understand staying closeted now, but I still personally... can't maintain that. I... I told you I slept with guys for work, didn't I? I was actually a honeytrap back in Ontario.”

“Huh?”

“A guy who seduces men to see if they're cheaters.”

Thomas's eyes widened. “Oh.” After a moment of thinking about it, he was okay with it, but his feelings were also complicated. “You don't do that anymore?”

“God, no,” Alex laughed quietly. “It also sort of... jaded me. I can't do under-the-table relationships again.”

Thomas understood instantly. Seeing Cam and Noah glow with joy when they did something as mundane as shoveling snow together, watching Chase tidy up after Jackson in the workshop... Every little experience he'd shied away from now seemed that much more appealing.

Damn it, he deserved that, too. And so did Alex. They deserved that... together. Thomas's heart soared.

Thomas's nerves crackled as Alex's fingers slowly rubbed against his palm. Alex massaged as he went, stroking the side of his thumb.

“So, is this just a booty call?” Alex murmured, his voice barely audible as he watched Thomas without looking away. “Or is it becoming more? I know what I'm feeling.”

Thomas swallowed hard. “It's more, but... can we talk about this later? I need to talk to my family first. There's a lot of things I... never told them.”

Instantly sympathetic, Alex nodded. “I understand. For what it's worth, I'm willing to wait a little while until you sort that out.”

Thomas's lips parted with surprise and no small measure of delight at how easily Alex said it. Christ, maybe it
had
been him blocking Alex's attempts at rekindling romance all along. Not just
maybe
. It almost certainly was.

“I know,” Alex laughed quietly. “You remember me as the last person who's likely to date or wait around for you. But I
do
want to do better, because you deserve better. And you bring out better in me.”

Thomas nodded slowly. “Okay. All right, that's...” He was glowing, a smile bursting across his face. “That's really neat. Nice. Cool.”

He was almost stuttering with how pleased he was.

Alex chuckled, then raised Thomas's hand to his lips for a quick, sensual kiss of his palm, his eyes still on Thomas's.

Thomas licked his lips and grabbed Alex's hand. “Come upstairs.”

For the second time that night, Alex accepted his invitation with a smile. He let Thomas pull him to his feet and guide him upstairs to the bedroom, his eyes on Thomas the whole time.

Thomas pushed the door shut behind them, then turned to Alex and took both his hands. He sidled closer to Alex and leaned in to press a long, slow kiss against Alex's lips.

Alex's lashes fluttered shut over those ridiculously gorgeous eyes and he parted his lips to let Thomas caress them with his own.

Thomas moaned and pressed into Alex, letting go of his hands now to grab his hip with one hand. His other ran up Alex's sturdy back to the back of his neck, playing with the short hairs there. Alex was pushing forward, his lips surging against Thomas's as he gripped Thomas's hips hard and ground against him.

Oh, fuck, that set off a fire under Thomas's skin that couldn't be quenched. He growled under his breath and shoved Alex towards the bed. Alex paused to laugh, then grabbed him by the waist and pulled him onto the bed.

They were going faster this time, need clearly burning through them both. Alex hungrily undressed Thomas with his eyes and then his hands while Thomas slapped his hands away whenever he needed to yank Alex's clothes off.

“You're so forceful,” Alex teased. “I like a man who knows what he wants.”

They were naked, bare skin against skin, so Thomas relaxed and grinned up at Alex. “Makes it easier on you.”

“It sure does.” Alex knelt back over Thomas's thighs and knees, gazing up and down Thomas's body. Then, he reached out to run one finger down Thomas's chest towards his groin.

Thomas's cock was already hard. He sucked in a breath at the ripples of sensation under his skin at one simple but meaningful touch. When Alex reached the hair at the base of his cock, he circled around to tickle his inner thigh instead.

“Fuck,” Thomas muttered, curling his toes into the bed. “Little fucker.”

Alex laughed richly. “Oh, are you complaining?” He lifted his finger from bare skin and Thomas arched involuntarily off the bed, half-desperate for
any touch
to his red-hot skin.

“No,” Thomas moaned, grabbing Alex's wrist to pull his hand back down to his cock.

Alex laughed and wrapped his hand dutifully around Thomas's cock. The way he handled him was so familiar and so... well, gentle, but not in a displeasing way. Thomas liked the grip firm, so that was what Alex was doing.

“That's it,” Thomas whispered, his eyes drifting closed as he enjoyed the brief ring of tightness around his shaft. It slid down to the base and he moaned his approval. “You remember.”

“I remember everything about you. All the things that made you gasp...” Alex twisted his hand around the top of Thomas's cock.

Thomas wasn't even trying to be funny – he gasped, right on cue. His head spun as the nerves under his throbbing cock flared with pleasure. “Y-Yeah...”

“And everything that made you squirm...” Alex pushed his hand down, twisting again to rub with his thumb. He hit the spot near the tip of his cock where skin pulled tight. It was a little button of pleasure, and Thomas resisted the urge to writhe for more.

“Christ, I didn't say come to bed to torture me,” Thomas moaned.

“You're enjoying it, though. Little precome there,” Alex teased. “But you do get wet pretty quick...”

“Filthy mouth,” Thomas murmured, his cheeks burning. “Always liked that. Come on, kiss me with that mouth. Put it to good use.”

“I remember that, too.” Alex crouched over Thomas and braced himself with his other arm, still slowly stroking Thomas's cock while kissing him like a porn star.

Better, even.

His lips were hot and wet and sensual, his tongue teased at the tip of Thomas's. When he sucked on Thomas's lip, Thomas's groan echoed against Alex's lips. Thomas's lips were already tingling and sensitive, but Alex wouldn't stop kissing them while stroking his hand slowly up and down the gradually slicker shaft.

“Y-You can't just... jerk me off,” Thomas moaned his protest after a minute. His cock was fully hard and throbbing now in the air above his stomach, and Alex wasn't stopping stroking. He was kind of worried he'd wind up coming before Alex even got to town.

Alex breathed against his lips, “What do you want instead?” He was smirking, pulling back from the kiss slightly.

Thomas moaned his protest at being made to ask for it. He rolled his head back and Alex's lips instantly fell to his throat. Those lips – that distracting, skilled tongue – even the gentlest graze of teeth against his skin...! All the while, the slow, firm grip slid up and down his shaft. Alex was bringing him along not too fast, not too slow.

Thomas had never been with a guy who could give him this kind of sensual handjob and not make him want to kick him in the face. Thomas was
almost
willing to let Alex go the whole way with it, but also... no.

“F-Fuck, you're a cocky bastard,” Thomas moaned and Alex's chuckle vibrated against the side of his neck where he was currently kissing and sucking. His lips still tingled as he gasped for breath, his stomach tightening briefly with a shudder of pleasure at an extra-firm jerking motion of Alex's hand.

He was sinking into bliss already and they'd barely started.

“Make love to me,” Thomas whispered, his heart pounding. “D-Doesn't have to be rough... but more than... before.”

“Either way,” Alex murmured, his lips on Thomas's collarbone now, “it's not just a fuck.”

Thomas jerked his head in a quick nod of agreement, then moaned and thrust into the tight ring of those rough fingers. “And stop tryin' to make me come already, Jesus.”

Alex laughed and finally let go. “You don't think I can get you to come multiple times tonight?”

Of course, Thomas's body hated that sudden lack of sensation. Thomas moaned quietly as he tried to bring his body back down from the disappointment. “Filthy mouth,” he muttered again. He loved it, though. Alex was utterly not shy about dirty talk in bed, and it was beyond hot. Plus, he seemed to like Thomas's direct language. Some guys got really weird about it.

He kept his eyes closed as he tried hard to catch his breath, one arm above his head and the other hand on Alex's back. “Y-Yes,” he moaned when Alex's lubricated fingers touched between his legs. He pushed his feet a little further up and apart against the bed.

“You may feel some slight discomfort,” Alex teased. “Would you prefer me to talk like that?”

“Oh, fuck off.” Thomas's cheeks heated up all over again at the first penetration. Solid, wet fingers slid into him, simulating that first burst of pleasure from a man's cock pushing up inside him all the way to the base...

And Alex's cock made him feel
so
full.

“Or would you rather I whisper dirty nothings?” Alex breathed into his ear, pressing his lips to Thomas's lobe and the rim of his ear. “About how tight you are, how much your eyes glaze over with
gorgeous
pleasure when I fuck you, even with my fingers? How much I can't wait to be inside you again?”

“If you like,” Thomas's voice cracked near the end of the last word and he cleared his throat, then gasped again as Alex rubbed his prostate.

Little shudders and flashes of pleasure built into steady sparks, then a dull roar. His libido was back in action, even if his cock didn't have any external stimulation at this moment.

Christ, maybe he could come just from Alex's skilled hips tonight. He couldn't
wait
to find out.

“But I don't just want my fingers in you.” Alex's hand was sliding away, his fingers out.

God, now Thomas felt empty inside and he swallowed most of his answering groan.

“I know,” Alex whispered in response.

Thomas heard rustling from the side of the bed, then crackling closer to his ear. He cracked his eyes open. Alex was kneeling over him on all fours still, one arm braced next to Thomas's head, as he rolled the condom down one-handed. His thumb and forefinger pinched the tip long enough to keep it in place while his other fingers manipulated it down until he could safely bring his thumb down to help out...

And the cock slowly sheathed by that length? Just as huge as Thomas remembered. Alex had always been a shower, not a grower, and Thomas
loved
that about him. He could be shallow about one or two things, couldn't he? He chose to think so.