Swish (17 page)

“That was really fun.”

That was the third time Alex had told Thomas this since arriving at the nice Italian place just a couple blocks away, but he meant it. In the eyes of all their friends and family, it looked like they were already together, and they'd accepted him.

And then Floyd had caught him in passing to murmur that he didn't need to meet up anymore. Everything was fine now, Floyd had said. It hadn't really been the time to quiz him so Alex had nodded and let it go. That aside, things seemed fine with everyone.

And then Thomas had taken his hand for the walk over. Alex had never thought Thomas would be at this stage. He'd never dared to hope as much.

They just had to say it. Saying it out loud made it formal, and Christ, it made them both vulnerable all over again.

But vulnerability also made them stronger, and Alex saw that now. There was something incredible about entrusting each other with their hearts for the second time even knowing what had happened last time.

This time, they'd work things out.

“I've got another cheating husband case tomorrow,” Alex murmured. “This one should be a lot easier to prove, if she's right.”

“Don't you get tired of that?” Thomas asked. “I mean, it must be hard.”

Alex bit his lip. “I... actually let it influence what I thought about relationships for a while,” he admitted slowly. “And I was really depressed. I'm getting a little better, but it's worse in the winter. So that influences what I think.”

Thomas sucked in a slow breath and nodded. “I see.”

“I'm getting therapy.”

“Oh?” Thomas looked startled. “I'm glad for you.”

Alex smiled to himself. “Me, too. I'm... I'm trying,” he promised. “I hope I can get a little less... rough around the edges. Maybe a little more hopeful. I talked to my parents not long ago, actually, on that note. It was kind of weird, but nice.”

Thomas settled back as they waited for their main courses. “What did they say?”

“Um, that they had to work hard at things.” Alex caught his eyes, scooting his chair closer to the table and reaching out a hand.

Thomas silently rested his fingertips so they lightly entwined with Alex's. He nodded again.

“Just that they were already similar enough that things worked out, but then all the minor differences, they had to work through... nothing we haven't heard before.”

“Yeah. Jackson's really big on that, too.”

“He's big on a lot of things.”

Thomas laughed, making Alex smile too. “Yeah. He's a bit hotter-tempered.”

“I remember that much from school.”

“Oh, right. Of course you would.”

It was easy to forget that they'd known each other so long. So many more important things had happened over the last couple of weeks.

Their sparkling cordial – non-alcoholic, Alex had insisted, since he had to drive – arrived. They let go of each other's hands.

“I'm ready for something steady,” Alex admitted slowly, swirling his glass around like it was wine.

Thomas smiled and nodded. “Me, too. Actually, I wanted to talk to you later, but... no time like the present. You said you were willing to wait...”

“Mmhmm.” Alex watched him, trying not to get his hopes up again.

“I've talked to everyone now. My family's cool. I'm cool. I just... I think I'm ready.”

Alex raised his eyebrows, his lips slowly curving into a smile. “You want to be my boyfriend?”

Thomas let out a quiet breath and nodded, his eyes locked on Alex's. “I was just waiting for you to seriously ask.”

“Over the summer, I asked,” Alex hummed. “What changed?”

Thomas laughed. What
hadn't
changed? “Both of us.”

Alex paused, then chuckled and conceded the point with a nod. “Good point. So, boyfriends?”

“To being boyfriends.” Thomas picked up his glass to clink with Alex's, and then they sipped.

It wasn't an earth-shattering moment like he'd once expected. It was the quiet whisper of something that had long been out of place slipping into just the right spot in his life.

Alex wasn't leaving; Thomas was ready to admit it to himself and everyone.

“On one condition,” Alex smirked after a moment of the words settling in the air.

“Hm?” Thomas narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he smiled.

“You let me teach you to properly ski.”

“Oh, no,” Thomas groaned theatrically. “I can't afford to break any more gear.”

Alex laughed, settling back in his chair. “Are you afraid?”

Thomas looked hesitant. “Maybe a little.”

“Fall off the horse ten times, get up eleven.”

Thomas snorted, almost choking on his cordial. “I don't know how many horses you've fallen off, but you might have a concussion.”

Alex had to cover his mouth before he burst out in impolitely loud laughter in the middle of the formal restaurant.

“If you insist, I suppose,” Thomas winked.

Before the winter ended, Alex would drag him back onto the slopes again. Despite Thomas's theatrical reluctance, Alex could see him looking excited about the idea. After all, this time they could cuddle in front of the wood stove afterwards.

“Valentine's Day is coming up,” Alex winked, leaving the suggestion in the air to see how Thomas felt about it.

Thomas didn't even hesitate for a moment, just nodded firmly. “Perfect. It's a date.”

“We could go to your place.”

“No,” Alex murmured, catching Thomas's eyes as they made their slow way along the freshly-salted sidewalk to his car. “I'd rather go to yours.”

Thomas blinked. He preferred his own place, of course, but why did Alex?

His confusion must have shown on his face. “It... It feels more homey,” Alex told him with a sheepish smile.

“Aw, you don't like your apartment?” Thomas frowned, swinging their hands lightly between them. “It's an okay little place, just plain.”

“Exactly. Yours looks comfortable.”

Thomas laughed. “I can get Noah to help you decorate,” he teased. “He'll get your house sorted out. He did all of ours, and we're still tweaking and adding things. Jackson's always making metal art pieces now, too. He got really inspired last year.”

Alex grinned. “Cool. But does that offer apply to my new house, if I wind up moving?”

“I thought that was a ruse!” Thomas stared at him. “You
are
getting a mortgage?”

“What, a ploy to investigate? No,” Alex laughed. “Not completely, anyway. I've been thinking about moving. I don't want to live in an apartment for more than a couple years.”

Thomas hummed quietly and squeezed Alex's hand. “How much do you value living alone right now?”

Alex slowly looked at him. “I'm... not a big fan of it. Why?”

“Well... I know we only just agreed to officially date, but looking forward... what do you think about living with me? Maybe a year or two down the road, maybe a few months?” Oddly, Thomas didn't feel as nervous as he'd expected.

“I'd like that,” Alex answered. He didn't even take a moment to think about it, which told Thomas he'd been thinking about it himself. “I... I'm a little jealous of your brothers.”

Thomas laughed quietly, leading Alex around a patch of ice before stepping over the snowbank towards his car. “Me, too, sometimes. They're so much further ahead... and always have been.”

“Really? God, you've got so much lined up already,” Alex told him firmly. Thomas's spirits lifted at the sincere encouragement. “You're a couple years younger than me, and god, I barely have my own shit sorted out.”

Thomas laughed. “I think I was an adult from... pretty much high school on. I just always focused on the future.”

“As long as we take time to enjoy the present.” Alex let go of his hand and circled around to the driver's side while Thomas gazed thoughtfully at him. When Alex saw him watching him, he laughed. “Get in before you think about that.”

Thomas obeyed and climbed into the passenger seat, buckling up. He rubbed his hands together and stuck them between his thighs. “That's very wise.”

“I meditated on the ski mountain to learn that.”

“Really?” The moment he asked, Thomas groaned. “Shut up.”

Alex snorted. “You almost believed me.”

“Almost. Not quite.” Thomas grinned anyway, pressing his hand against Alex's knee and rubbing lightly as Alex pulled away from the curb.

The air in the car warmed up as the engine ran, and by the time they were back at the group of three houses, it was
almost
toasty.

“That's the worst thing about winter,” Thomas groaned. “You can park up in the driveway behind me.”

Alex looked startled at the sudden complaint, then concerned. “What is?” He pulled up into the driveway.

Thomas smiled. “It's nothing,” he quickly reassured him. “Just that the car gets hot right when you get where you're going.”

“It's better than being in Toronto where you're stuck in traffic for so long your car gets hot and stuffy.” Alex pulled the parking brake, shut off the car, and grinned at him. “Or Montreal, where they swear at you in French.”

Thomas laughed, climbing out of the car. “I've never lived anywhere but here or Halifax, and I don't really want to. Everyone else seems to have and nobody likes it.”

“That's not true.” Alex stayed by his side as they walked up to the front door. “There's Vancouver, all the artsy guys and drama students smoke pot with cops... Alberta, where everyone gets rich and shares STDs, unless the price of oil keeps dropping...”

“Oh my god,” Thomas laughed under his breath as he unlocked his door. “You're not selling them to me.”

“No?” Alex grinned. “I didn't mind Toronto, actually. Certain parts.”

“Like where?”

“The gay village. C'mon, that's pretty cool. Have you visited?”

“Not really,” Thomas smiled. “I went out to see Cam a couple times, but we never went there.”

Alex feigned shock. “He didn't take you? How lax.”

“He wouldn't have known I'd be interested,” Thomas grinned. “Besides, you know I don't do clubs.”

“There's more than just clubs. There's cafes and bookshops and nerdy places.”

That didn't sound half-bad. Thomas nodded. “We can go out there sometime, then.”

Alex hung up his coat and kicked off his boots. “Good. I'll take you someday.” People would forget him by then. Give them a year or two and he'd get a warm welcome in most bars.

“Thank you for looking out for my cultural education,” Thomas teased, hooking his thumbs through Alex's belt loops to pull him closer.

Alex winked. “Oh, of course. You're getting a late start. It's my duty.”

“Why, 'cause you're the first guy I dated?”

Alex went still for a moment, his eyes widening.

Thomas turned red. Now that he thought about it, he'd never told Alex that. He'd hinted that he'd been more experienced than he actually had been back then. “Er, first
real
date. I mean, I kissed other boys before you...”
And god knows I slept with other men afterwards.

“I was your first-ish...?”

Thomas nodded, letting go of Alex's belt loops and sliding his hands to his hips. They felt perfectly right settled there, his thumbs on Alex's hipbones. He was a bit scrawny; Thomas would have to feed him well.

“And you still want me? Usually people run
screaming
from their first,” Alex snorted.

“Not sleep with them years later?” Thomas laughed and sidled closer to press his lips against Alex's.
He's so worried about what I think, too. Did the depression come with a low self-image or something?
He murmured, “You weren't, and aren't, half-bad.”

Alex relaxed, an embarrassed little smile crossing his lips. “C-Cool.”

Thomas decided he'd spare Alex from more compliments just yet. Considering how egotistic he pretended to be, he really couldn't handle them. “I missed you,” Thomas murmured. “Would it be rude if I pulled you right upstairs?”

The embarrassment faded into a pleased grin on Alex's face. “I don't think so. I might be biased, though.”

“Excellent.” Thomas winked. “Then come upstairs.”

Alex slid his arm around Thomas's waist and squished him into his side to walk upstairs side by side. He rubbed Thomas's hip and thigh, then up his side. “I missed you, too. I went to talk to my parents last night.”

“Mm?”

“They'll want to meet you sometime, if you're cool with it. And I wouldn't mind meeting yours. I vaguely remember them, but it was a long time ago.”

Thomas smiled at the memory of sleepovers with Alex, or studying together. They'd usually gone to Alex's parents' house, but they'd spent a little time at home, too. Alex had just strategically avoided times when the other boys were home. Cam being at hockey all the time, that hadn't been hard.

God, they'd snuck around for so long.

“I wouldn't mind,” Thomas admitted. “Your parents were nice. They were always relaxed.”

“Wonder if they guessed.”

Thomas shook his head. “You had a lot of friends. Unless you dated them all...” Alex had always been the stud with a bit of a bad boy vibe. Getting his attention at all had been miraculous, even if it had just been to help him with math homework at first.

Thank god it had turned into more.

Alex closed the door this time, then turned Thomas around gently and pressed him up against the back of it.

He had
no idea
how hot that made Thomas. Thomas trembled for a moment before bracing his legs firmly as Alex pressed his leg between them and ground their bodies together slowly. Their lips met as naturally as the horizon met the ocean – gently at first, then harder, with swells of emotion.

Lust wasn't overshadowing stronger sentiment, though. Thomas moaned and grabbed Alex's hips to force his body as close as possible. Trapped between the cool, solid surface of the door and the heat of Alex's body, his body tingled with pleasure.

“You
love
a little manhandling, don't you?” Alex murmured.

Thomas nodded hard. “And you know how to handle me,” he whispered. “You can do a little more, though.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Surprise me.”

Alex's fingers closed around Thomas's wrists, pulling his hands above his head. “I can think of a few ideas... but give me one.”

Thomas's cock hardened between them a little more, the blood rushing south as his eyes widened. Christ, he was into this, whatever it was.

“You can lift me, I bet. You're strong,” Thomas teased.

He didn't have to drop any more hints: Alex let go of his wrists. His sexy lover grabbed his ass and hoisted him into the air.

“Jesus--” Thomas grabbed Alex's shoulders, trying to wrap his legs around his waist. “A
second
of warning!”

“You told me to surprise you.”

“Dick,” Thomas laughed as Alex crashed onto the bed with him. He squirmed under Alex, keeping a firm hold on him to roll him over. He was on top now, Alex under him.

“Oh,” Alex murmured, his eyes widening. “Well, then.”

Thomas unbuttoned Alex's shirt, kneeling back to admire him. It was a lot easier to get a great look at him from this angle instead of underneath.

God, he was strong. Those abs rippled up into a tight stomach and muscled chest with well-defined pecs. His biceps rippled as he shifted his arms to help Thomas pull the shirt sleeves off. The angles and planes of his body caught against the light, framed by wrinkles in the comforter underneath him. His hair, short though it was, was spiked up against the pillows.

Best of all, Alex's cheeks were pink, his eyes already bright and sparkling with anticipation.

“I'm not behind my brothers in one respect,” Thomas told him. “I picked the sexiest boyfriend.”

Alex laughed in surprise. “Well.” He ran a hand down his own stomach. “You mean the gym time paid off?”

“Definitely,” Thomas winked. He pressed his hand over Alex's cock, a stiff bulge in his dark jeans. “I want to lick those abs.”

Alex groaned, and Thomas felt his cock twitch under his hand. He had to be going half-crazy for more attention.

Thomas winked and pulled his hand away after rubbing the bulge just a couple times. He shrugged his own shirt off, almost tangling his head in it before managing to get it free.

“Need a hand?” Alex smirked.

Thomas tossed his head. “I'm fine.” He braced himself over Alex, kissing at the side of his neck and along his collarbone.

Alex took no time to respond to that, his chest rising and falling quickly. “Oooh. Now who's the tease?”

“Fair's fair.” Thomas intended to take his time. He kissed along Alex's ear and behind it, then along his jaw and under his chin, down his throat...

With each press of warm lips to hot skin, Alex twitched or tensed or moaned very softly. It was incredibly fun, and he hadn't even gotten to the good part.

Thomas kissed slowly down his chest towards one nipple, smirking as Alex's moans went up a pitch when he was an inch or so away from the sensitive flesh.
There's all those nerves...

“Thomas...” Alex whispered in a hoarse breath.

“Mmhmm?” Thomas kissed a slow circle around the nipple, never straying closer than an inch away. What delicious pecs he had, though. Christ, he was built.

Alex chuckled breathily and didn't say anything yet, but when Thomas glanced up, his eyes were dark with hunger.

Thomas took mercy and licked slowly up the curve of his chest, then over his nipple.

“Ah...” Alex's head fell back and he pressed his feet into the bed, his fingers curling hard into Thomas's shoulders.

Christ, he had a strong grip.

Thomas flicked his tongue across the stiff nipple a few times. Another groan, this one harsher, escaped Alex's throat and Thomas's lips curved in a wondrous smile. He wondered just how much of Alex's body was as sensitive as he remembered.

Thomas flicked his lips around it, then sucked it into his mouth and ran his tongue around it again.

“Oh, your mouth's even better than I remember,” Alex breathed out. His grip had relaxed slightly as he kneaded Thomas's shoulders.

Thomas licked all the way over to his other nipple and sucked harder, pinching the nub between his lips and flicking his tongue harder.