Swish (9 page)

“Yes...! Oh, I'm almost – Alex, I'm – Alex! Yes, please, Alex... just like that...!”

Alex could never forget how Thomas liked to be jerked off. A hard grip, his fingers acting as perfect ridges around the head of his cock, his thumb swiping around it now and then, an extra twist right at the end of each stroke...

Thomas clenched in pleasure, his muscles shaking as his eyes went hazy and lips parted soundlessly. Then he threw his head back and wetness was coursing out of his stiff, slick cock in quick, hard spurts of need. His body arched off the bed and his feet scrabbled against the blankets for a moment.

Alex was yanked down against Thomas's chest by how hard he grabbed and dug in his nails. Alex quickly ran his spare hand up Thomas's arm to pull it up and over his head. He pinned his hand on the bed above him, giving him something to grab.

Thomas squeezed
hard.
His face showed the most beautiful story of pleasure written plain as day.

The extra tight squeezes, the sexy fucking sight of Thomas coming completely undone around and under him... it all added up. Alex felt his own orgasm hit a little too late to stop it and he gasped. He might have whispered Thomas's name or just thought it, he wasn't entirely sure.

Either way, he was driving hard into Thomas with each warm burst of pleasure that crashed through him. It was a fire deep in his belly and an electric crackle across every inch of his skin. It was a flush to his face and lips and the impossible need to be in Thomas forever.

Alex moaned wordlessly as Thomas let go of his back and cupped his cheek instead, hauling him in to kiss him.

Thomas didn't stop kissing him, either, as the last few drops trickled out. Alex had to pull out carefully before he softened. The only time Thomas let go was to let him throw out the condom. Then, Thomas was pulling him against him again and kissing.

Alex kissed back hard, trying to say it all with his body. Alex loved the way Thomas held him in this moment, like a precious thing. The deepest intimacy between them was in their eyes as Alex blinked to clear his head, then met Thomas watching him like...

Well, like he loved him.

Alex's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. The idea was laughable: he'd quipped his way out of other men's beds all the time, but now that Thomas watched him like he saw every thought behind his eyes...

It was almost disconcerting.

“Wow,” Thomas whispered at last, and Alex laughed at how that word really didn't cover it at all. Thomas quirked a brow. “What?”

“Just...” Alex trailed off, shaking his head wordlessly. He rolled onto his side, sliding his leg between Thomas's and running his hand down his side. He didn't care that his hand and Thomas's stomach were sticky as hell, or that he was gonna have to do laundry now. “It's strange.” He hoped that word didn't sound wrong.

“It is,” Thomas murmured. He understood what Alex meant: the strangeness of coming together again after all these years, almost as different people, but with the deep knowledge of each other before their adult defenses formed... after breaking each other's hearts in subtly different ways.

Christ. He had to stop psychoanalyzing himself. Thomas was rubbing off on him.

“Did you wanna stay the night?” Alex murmured, his heart fluttering with the impulsive offer. He had the feeling that might be moving too fast, but he had to put it out there.

Thomas's eyes flickered and he pushed himself up onto his elbow, then shook his head slowly. “I can't.”

Can't or won't?
Alex nodded anyway. “Fair enough.” He lay back and let Thomas slowly gather his wits and get dressed.

Thomas moved jerkily, as if anxious about something. His eyes kept roving back to Alex. He smiled every time, but there was something else going on behind those deep eyes. Maybe he'd say what it was someday; maybe not.

“I'll walk you to my apartment door, at least,” Alex murmured. He pushed himself up, surprised to find Thomas taking him by the hand for their short walk down the hall.

When they reached the front door, Thomas turned to him and leaned in to press a quick kiss to his lips. “I'll see you soon.”

That sounded like a promise – and a genuine one. Alex knew he'd lit up, but he couldn't play cool now. “Great. See you soon.” He pecked Thomas's lips in return, then ran a hand over his shoulder affectionately before dropping it.

Thomas smiled back at him and let himself out as Alex watched. When the door was closed, Alex shook his head.

That was it, then. Whether Thomas was panicking about falling for his ex again or having to come out, Alex would have to deal with it and help him through it. There was no other choice, because Alex was stuck on this man.

“You wanted to talk to me?”

Thomas's palms were sweating, so he pressed them against his trousers before folding his hands behind his back. “If possible, yes,” he addressed his boss with a polite nod.

Irma Davidson was a legend in the bank: she'd been working as a teller since she was fourteen, and all she'd say was that she was “considerably older” now. She looked past retirement age, but she clearly loved her work. She was the favorite of all the customers who knew her from years ago, and she was polite but firm with all the new hires.

Thomas had gotten on instantly with her, probably because she respected his work ethic. He didn't fiddle around on Facebook as much as the other young tellers, and he tried to see opportunities to jump in and help.

“Come on in.” Irma invited Thomas into her office, holding open the door for him before crossing the room to sit behind her desk.

Thomas closed the door, then sat opposite her and folded his hands. “I... wasn't sure about saying this, but I've been thinking about it, and...”

“All right, young man,” Irma nodded, and Thomas's shoulders sank a little with relief. She wasn't rushing him. “What's going on?”

“I think I saw... inappropriate... conduct,” was the best way Thomas could put it. “And it's by someone more senior, so I felt like it's tattling.”

“No, I'm glad you reported this. When was this?”

“Last Thursday afternoon.”

“What did you see?”

Thomas recited what he'd so carefully practiced: “I was walking by the offices to guide a customer back to his seat when I spotted, er... a blind ajar in Anna's office. I looked through. Not, you know, spying. Just accidentally. And Anna was... er, engaged with one of her clients.”

“One of our mortgage clients?”

Thomas nodded. He'd watched the man walk out twenty minutes later looking cool as a cucumber, and he'd definitely spotted that wedding ring again. After a quick word with Maggie, he'd found out the rest of the story. He was Darren, he was supposedly sweet and charming, and Anna was helping him buy his first house with his wife, an adorable young IT pro.

“Do you know if this was one of her clients specifically?”

“Yes, it was. His name's Darren, but I don't know anything else except that he and his wife are her clients for their first mortgage. The ethics code...”

“I know what the ethics code says,” Irma informed him tartly and he blushed. Her voice softened as she added, “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'll bring this to the proper channels. Anything else?”

“N-No, that's it.” That was it? No interrogation? He'd been dreading having to repeat his story to all the managers, or being dragged into a room with Anna to tell her what he'd said, or... all the ridiculous situations his mind invented. “I felt bad about saying anything – it looks bad, and she's so good at what she does, but...”

“You did the right thing, kid,” Irma told him in a voice that left no room for doubt. Sure, he doubted it internally, but he couldn't express it against that iron will. He just smiled sheepishly and stood up. “Thanks, Ms. Davidson.”

“I wish you'd call me Irma,” she answered, rising to her feet, but her eyes twinkled. She seemed to enjoy the formality; Thomas's peers called her by her first name easily, and he wanted to impress them. The bank was often a lot more formal than it appeared. Despite trying to look casual and hip to customers, there were a lot of people behind the scenes that were more impressed by cravats than the cool factor.

“I'll try to remember that,” Thomas grinned back. He headed out of the office and back over to his desk, rearranging his pens and trying to focus on his everyday work again. It was early in the morning, and one never knew how busy the day would be. Monday usually was, though, as people came on their lunch breaks to finish the banking they'd wanted to do over the weekend when the banks were closed.

He'd be a terrible private investigator. He wasn't sure if knowing the secret or telling it had been worse, but what was done was done. That was the end of it.

***

It turned out that Thomas had only
hoped
that was the end of it. By mid-afternoon, it became clear that wasn't true.

A middle-aged man whom Thomas vaguely recognized from management – the central office, not the bank branch – asked to speak to him alone. Barry, he was pretty sure the guy's name was.
Gregson? Barry Gregson? Yes...

The exchange drew the curious gazes of his coworkers. He shrugged to them and finished depositing cheques and withdrawing cash for one of his clients. The clients came first, after all.

Minutes later, Thomas approached Mr. Gregson and was pulled into a meeting room.

“Good to see you again, Thom,” Barry greeted with a friendly clap on the arm. It was a little old-boys-club and Thomas really didn't like the nickname, but he forced a smile and nodded. Where Irma came off as sincere and reassuring, there was something about this man he didn't like.

“Thanks, sir. You too.”

“I've heard great things about you from Irma. In fact, I wanted to talk to you about your experience and education...”

Thomas hadn't expected that. He almost recoiled, then blinked and nodded. “Of course, sir. What did you want to know?”

“I understand your eventual career objective is to become a loan officer. If there were a position available today, with mentoring and training to help you transition roles, would you be interested?”

The direct question had Thomas flabbergasted. “I, uh... Um, yes, sir. I do want that. I just wasn't expecting to hear that.”

“You've been turning heads for a while. I heard you went to school in Halifax alongside your job to get extra skills, and I want to take advantage of that extra knowledge. It's wasted on the front end. We're looking to fill a position here as we transfer a loan officer to Halifax. You have a finance degree, right?”

Oh.
This was the return of the boomerang he'd thrown out earlier today. He'd expected to be shunted away from well-paying promotions, not offered them on a platter. Certainly not offered the job of the person he'd tattled on earlier that morning. “I... I do, yes.”

“And that's exactly what we're looking for.

“Ah, I see.” Thomas fought his impulse to give an enthusiastic
yes
. “Um, what sort of timeline are you thinking for... giving me a chance to think about it?”

“I understand. It's a major promotion. Take a few days if you want, but we'd want to hear as soon as possible so we can fill that vacancy. I think you'd be well-suited to the job, and Irma agrees.”

Alex swallowed. “Okay. Thanks, sir. I'd like to take some time to think about it, but I appreciate the offer.” He'd always expected it to come from Irma, if it were coming from anyone.

“Of course. Let me know soon.”

Barry came off less sincere the more Thomas talked to him, but Thomas shook hands anyway. He left the meeting room then, his mind spinning.

They were just transferring Anna to Halifax? Wasn't a breach of the ethics code serious enough to warrant firing? This guy was upper management, and Irma had never seemed particularly happy to have him around. Was this promotion offer even coming from her?

What the hell was he going to do?

***

The muffled clanging was a dull, comforting throbbing heartbeat in their backyards. Though the forge was muffled and the building insulated, the dull thudding was unmistakable.

Thomas loved it. He liked going out to help Jackson sometimes, collecting scraps or holding pieces down for him. He certainly wasn't built to be a blacksmith like his big brother, but it was a nice way to spend some time together. Sometimes they even had their manly bonding moments over a beer in the forge, or they could talk about whatever bothered them.

He'd talked Jackson through a bit of his feelings about dating Chase in that exact way. It only seemed right to approach Jackson with the dilemma of his own.

About the promotion first, not about dating Alex. He couldn't tell him about Alex...

Thomas knocked on the forge door and let himself in. “Hey, you busy?”

“Busy as I get,” Jackson shrugged. “Always got time for you,” he tossed a smile over at Thomas. “Come in.”

Thomas grinned back and closed the door behind him, stomping the snow from his boots. Jackson really needed a walkway that ran from the house out to the yard. They had a back deck that stretched the span of all three properties so they never had to set foot on the ground as long as they shoveled it off, but not out here. Next summer, maybe.

“What's up?” Jackson followed up when Thomas didn't say anything. He unscrewed the clamped item – some kind of twisted rod – and gripped it in the tongs to dip back in the fire.

Thomas took a seat at the work table nearby. “Not much. Just thinking about work.”

“Yeah? More drama about missed lunch breaks?” Jackson teased. When Thomas took a moment to smile back, his eyes sharpened and he pulled the rod out, then clamped and twisted it. His eyes were more on the work than Thomas, but his attention was on his brother now. “Or deeper shit?”

“Deeper,” Thomas admitted. “Would you take a promotion if it felt like a bribe?”

Jackson paused mid-twist, his brows furrowing as he looked up at Thomas. He considered the question, then shrugged. “It depends what the bribe's for.”

“Tattling, I guess.”

Jackson raised his eyebrow. “We're not in middle school. If you told someone about something serious, that's different from getting made a supervisor because you told them who breaks all the pencil tips.”

Thomas managed a chuckle. “Um, it was a breach of the ethics code, more or less... I caught-- no, didn't catch, per se. Just happened to glimpse... one of the loan officers fucking their client. Their married client.” Really, he was just as pissed at that Darren guy for being such a loser.
Bet nothing happens to him.

Jackson raised his eyebrows. “You're talking... secret office illicit rendezvous? Jesus, have you walked onto a daytime soap?”

“Feels like it,” Thomas laughed. “I told Irma, my boss – the cool one. Then this guy from upper management came to talk to me later and offered me a promotion to loan officer because they're moving her to Halifax. I really, really want and need the promotion, but...”

Jackson nearly dropped his tongs. “Wait, they're
transferring
her? Not firing her, or... disciplining her? Transferring to Halifax is a goddamn reward.”

“I guess so. I don't know what happened behind the scenes. All I know is there was, um... internal stuff going on.”

Jackson's eyes narrowed. “If that's the case, you probably weren't the only person to tell on them. Other people had to know.”

That hadn't even occurred to Thomas. “...Oh.”

“Upper management happening to be hanging around little old Fredericton? There was probably an internal investigation ongoing. They hire asshole private detectives like
that
guy to snoop around. You're probably just next in line for the promotion anyway.”

Thomas opened his mouth for a moment, then closed it.
Ah, yes. I don't think he even knows I know Alex.
He cleared his throat. “I hadn't thought of that.”

“Mr. Logical Dude hadn't thought that he wasn't the only fellow snooping?” Jackson grinned. “Office gossip is hot. I hear that's what people do all day. That and Facebook.”

“Yeah. That's about right, actually.” Thomas almost felt bad, but he knew Jackson made a hell of a lot more than he did for his extra physical labor. Well, at least a promotion would close that gap...

“I mean, cheaters are assholes and deserve to be dumped. If sleeping with your clients is prohibited – and I'd guess it would be for financial services like that – then yeah, you were right to tell,” Jackson told him. “And don't feel bad if you decide to take the promotion. Needs must.”

Only if I decide to date an asshole private detective?
Thomas's cheeks were hot. “Yeah.”

“Was that it?” Jackson looked perceptive as he watched Thomas. He turned his gaze back to his work, twisted once more, then laid the item on the forge to hammer it a few times this way and that.

“Um...”

Jackson glanced up. “Hey, you kept my secrets, I'll keep yours.” Thomas hadn't told Cam when Jackson had chosen him over Cam to talk to about his new love interest. It was only fair that Jackson return that favor.

Thomas's cheeks were even hotter as he touched his face. “Yeah, uh. Just been weird, dating-wise. There's someone I've kind of... liked for a while now.”

“Oho,” Jackson grinned. “I knew that wasn't all.” He set down his hammer and rolled his shoulders, leaning back against the table. “Spill.”

“I'm still deciding if it's even a good idea.”

“Why wouldn't it be?”

Really and truly, when Thomas searched his heart for the answer, he wasn't sure he had one that would stand up to scrutiny.

Alex had apologized for snooping on his family. Sure, he was a dick sometimes, but he was getting a lot better and Thomas could more than handle his smarmy moods. He seemed like he was here to stay this time. Hell, he rescued fuckin' stray animals.