“Yes, ma’am, and thank you.”
She stepped out into the outer room then to give us some privacy.
“Vince,” Carson whined, and it would have been really cute if he wasn’t in quite so much pain.
I turned fast and bent and pressed my lips to his, and it would have been quick, the kiss, but he opened under me and all my fear and panic went into the grind of my mouth over his teeth, my tongue dragging over his, sliding, rubbing, and the sexy moan in the back of his throat.
His hand was on the back of my neck to make sure I couldn’t pull away, and I felt his surrender, his desire, all of it, all of his need there in the kiss he gave me.
I touched the sides of his neck, and I could feel his pulse beating under my fingers. Amazing that it was me who filled him with excitement, who brought a flush to his skin, who made his pupils dilate and his breath catch.
It was me.
I pulled back just enough to unseal our lips and then smiled. “You’re crazy about me.”
“Have you even been listening?”
“I’m an ass,” I admitted.
“I’m aware.”
I glowered, but he must not have noticed since he was nuzzling his nose under my chin. “And you’ll be the only person I know in Maine.”
“So you’ll be dependent on me,” he growled, and the sound let me know that just the idea of that pleased him.
“It will be hard for me to leave Matt.”
“He’ll live, I won’t.”
“You—”
“My life just changed,” he informed me, and we were so close, nose to nose, his hand once again on the back of my neck. “And I’m about to lose more, because my father will not have a gay son, and—”
“Oh, baby, I’m so—”
“Stop,” he hushed me. “I’m so lucky. Every day kids tell their folks they’re gay or bi or trans or something and they get thrown out on the street like garbage. All that history between parent and child just disappears because of who they choose to love.”
I was quiet, listening.
“But that’s not me. I’m blessed. I’m not gonna spend a second feeling sorry for myself. My mother loves me. She’s giving me the opportunity to finish my education, and then I have to make my own way after that. I couldn’t be more thankful.”
I nodded quickly as his fingers traced over my jaw.
“Yeah, football is over, and I think the fact that I’m not dying right now tells the real truth about who I really am. Football was never my dream. I want to build things. That’s why I’m getting a degree in construction management. And now I have the opportunity to finish that, and you—please, just look at the program at Davis, okay? See what you think before you say no.”
“It’s gonna be hard for you,” I predicted, even as my eyes fluttered with the sweep of his tongue over my throat. “You’ve been the big man on campus, the guy the world stopped for, and now you’ll become just another guy.”
“Won’t I be your guy?”
“Th-tha-that can’t be enough,” I stuttered, so thankful that everyone was still fighting and yelling, because I was seconds away from ravaging Carson’s mouth.
“Man, was that cute.” He smirked at me, his left hand fisted in the collar of my shirt, still strong enough to hold me immobile in his grip. “And yeah, it’ll be enough, idiot. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”
“How?”
“Because I finally made you stop and look at me.”
“I told you, everybody looks at you.” I sighed.
“And I told you… not anymore,” he parried, and amazingly, it didn’t sound like he was sad about that one bit.
“What if you miss the glory days?”
“What if I don’t?”
I shook my head. “Carson, you haven’t even given yourself a second to let this all sink in or to see how you’re—”
“It’s life, Vince,” he said, pulling me closer to him.
“You might not feel like this in a month. You might want someone different.”
“Nope, I won’t. Just you.”
“But if you do—”
“I won’t.”
“Carson,” I pleaded.
“Fine, we’ll get a contract. If I wanna screw other boys, I’ll still pay my half of the rent or whatever. You’ll still finish your education.”
“And I’ll be all alone.”
He started laughing.
“In Maine!”
“Ow, ow, ow.” He winced and smiled at the same time. “You jerk, I’m in pain here. Don’t make me laugh.”
And of course that was when his mother walked back in.
“Yes, please, Vince,” she teased me, and I saw where he got his mischievous smile from. “For heaven’s sake, let’s not make Carson laugh. That would be terrible.”
I stared at her a moment, utterly flabbergasted which sent her into peals of laughter, before I returned my focus to Carson. “I want guarantees!” I exclaimed, indignant.
“We could get married,” he informed me. “I have no problem with that at all.”