“Yum. I love Hawaiian chips,” I said, propping my pillow against the wall and drawing the striped duvet around my waist.
Rory made a face as he popped the bag open and handed it to me. “Better blue chips than blue balls, I guess.”
My chuckle turned to a moan when he reached between my legs. I tilted my hips to meet his touch, marveling that I felt even a glimmer of desire after what we’d just done. I loved that he didn’t hold back. I was dying to know if he’d left a handprint when he spanked me before he came. My ass ached. In fact, I was sore all over. But it felt amazing.
“I can’t believe I’m getting hard again.” I swatted his hand away and pointed to the textbook on the nightstand. “Either tell me your favorite snack or bore me with math. We can’t do it again.”
Rory snickered. “Don’t worry. My dick is gonna fall off if I don’t give it a rest. As far as snacks go, I like peanut butter on almost anything. Celery, pretzels…hell, I’m happy eating it straight out of the jar.”
“Mmm. I do that sometimes too. Just get a big spoonful and throw a couple of chocolate chips in. Delish. It’s the homemade desperado version of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.”
“It’s good on potato chips too.”
I shot him a dubious sideways glance. “Seems like a stretch.”
“Baby, I’d put peanut butter on anything and eat it. Including your ass. Correction…especially your ass. Roll over and let me look at it,” he replied, making a circular motion with his hand.
I shook my head. “No way. I’m too sore.”
“What part of ‘My dick is about to fall off’ sounds like I’m ready for round two?” he snarked. When I still didn’t budge, he caressed my upper thigh and brushed a strand of hair from my eyes. “No monkey business. I promise. I just want to make sure you’re okay. Lie on your stomach.”
I heaved a dramatic sigh before setting the bag of chips aside and obeying. “I’m fine.”
Rory leaned over to grab a bottle of ointment from his nightstand drawer, then climbed over me and straddled my legs. “I’ve been there too a few times and—”
I twisted under him and glanced up in surprise. “Really? I didn’t think you bottomed. So when I said I wanted to be inside you…”
“The answer is yes.” He winked before squeezing the gel on his palm. “This should feel good. Relax. That’s it.”
I flinched at first but his fingers were magic. Or maybe it was the deep timbre of his voice. My mind ricocheted around twenty topics at once. Every thought centered on the delicious hunk rubbing ointment on the sensitive skin around my entrance. He said he’d bottom. He said he liked peanut butter. He smells so good. Oh yeah, and one other thing…I came out tonight.
“I feel like we should talk,” I said softly.
“Go on. I’m listening.”
“Well, it’s kinda awkward with your fingers in my ass.”
Rory pressed kisses along my spine, then nuzzled my neck. “Hold that thought. I’m gonna wash my hands.”
I waited for him to return to bed and settle beside me before setting a potato chip against his lower lip. “You know, I didn’t mean to tell them about me tonight. It felt like a huge achievement until Jonesie walked in.”
“Do you think he’ll out you?” he asked around a mouthful of chips.
I furrowed my brow. “Not intentionally. He’s not malicious. He rallied around Evan the second he came out. But it might be different with me.”
“How?”
“I’m team captain. I’m the leader. Evan was a fifth-year senior at the end of his final season.”
“Other than job title, it sounds like your timing would be roughly the same. I mean, if you decided to come out all the way.”
“Yeah. You know, I’ve been thinking about my future a lot lately, and it feels like my focus has been about what I don’t want. I don’t want to go to law school, I don’t want to live with Max and Sky, and I don’t want anyone to know who I really am. It’s like you said…I’m on defense twenty-four seven, and it’s fucking exhausting. But if I turn it around and ask myself what I want, my perspective changes in a good way.”
“So what do you want?”
“I want football. I want to make a career of it somehow. My dream job would be Offensive Coordinator for an NFL team. I don’t know the path exactly, but I can figure it out. And I want to stay on at Chilton one more year. I’ve got another season in me for sure. I love the game. Why walk away now?”
“I like this plan,” Rory said with a toothy grin.
“Me too. My dad will flip. He’s not going to be willing to pay for a fifth year so I can minor in kinesiology and physical education. I’ll have to take out a student loan. That’s okay. It’ll be worth it. The tricky part is coming out. I always thought I’d wait until I graduate, but now…I don’t know.”