Chapter 15

Fifteen

Jacob

Jacob walked through the park alongside Will as they headed home. They sauntered slowly through the pathways in the green grass, taking their time.

Jacob still felt residual embarrassment from having told Will his stupid camping story. He had heard himself telling it, but didn't realize until the end that it probably was a bad story to tell. But it had seemed like Will hadn't written him off totally, at least.

If it had been anyone else, there's no way Jacob would have told that story. He was usually cagey about his past, no matter how silly. But Will seemed to hold a power over him. Jacob wanted to open up to him, wanted to do things with him that he never wanted to do with others. He didn't know what that meant, but he knew that he was enjoying the hell out of this trip with him.

As they walked, Will stopped at one point, looking over at a patch of grass that had a few big trees.

"I kinda want to do something," Will said, looking over at the trees.

"Oh no. What is it now," Jacob said, smiling as he realized Will was considering another one of his crazy ideas.

Will walked over to the trees, wrapped his arms around one of the thick branches, and began to hoist himself up. He managed to get his legs onto the trunk of the tree, and used them to climb up so that he could sit on that first thick branch. Jacob strolled over to the tree, leaning against the trunk and looking up at Will. It was relatively dark outside, but there were enough lampposts to make out Will's general face and figure.

"I'm gonna see how high up I can get," Will said, reaching for the next branch.

"Okay," Jacob said, "just don't fall down and break your leg or something. I'm not in the mood to go to the hospital tonight."

"I won't, I won't. I'm an expert at climbing trees," Will said.

Jacob wasn't convinced, though. He watched as Will climbed, using his limber body to feel out each branch before committing to climbing onto it. He's stronger than he looks , Jacob noted, allowing himself to check out Will's body as he climbed.

He got further and further up the tree until Jacob could barely make out the lines of his body anymore.

"You should probably come on down, Will," Jacob called up the tree.

"Okay, fine," came his reply from up inside the leaves.

Jacob heard the sound of him climbing down grow louder with each branch.

" Uhhhhh …" he heard Will say, hesitantly, from up in the tree.

"What's up?" Jacob asked.

"I don't know if this branch can support me," Will said, "I think it might have cracked a little as I was climbing up."

Jacob felt a slight worry stir inside him.

"Okay, well, see if you can feel around for another branch," Jacob called up to him.

"'Kay," came Will's reply, as he rustled in the leaves above.

A few seconds passed, and Jacob heard a sharp crack as one of the branches snapped.

"Fuck!" Will screamed as he fell down a few feet, catching his arms on one of the tall branches. He was dangling now, pretty high up above the ground.

"Well, shit," Will said, as he dangled.

"Can you get closer to the trunk? See if you can hug it and climb down?" Jacob asked.

"I don't think I could," Will said, sounding nervous.

"Okay. Don't move."

Jacob moved under where Will stood, positioning himself directly underneath him.

"I think it's just low enough that I could catch you without hurting myself, or you," Jacob said, looking up at Will.

"Are you sure?" Will said, fear in his voice. "I don't wanna break your back, Jacob!"

"I can do it. I've had bigger guys run straight into me on the field before," Jacob said. He was fairly sure he could do it, but not positive – but he was about to find out. "On three?"

"Okay."

"One… two… three!"

Will released his arms, falling down onto Jacob. Jacob knew how to break the fall, letting his knees go weak and rolling backward onto his side and shoulder. Will had fallen onto him chest first, so that when Jacob hit the grass, Will was above him, and their faces were close.

"Owwww," Will groaned, rolling over onto the grass beside Jacob.

Will's impact had knocked the wind out of him slightly, but after a few seconds Jacob looked over at Will. He was fine, and started to sit up.

"You okay?" Will asked, looking over.

"Yeah, I think I'm fine. Gonna have some bruises tomorrow maybe, but I'll be good," Jacob said, rolling his shoulders and stretching out his arms.

"I'm so, so sorry. It was stupid of me to climb up that high," Will said.

"You don't need to apologize, Will. You know how to have fun. You're adventurous. That's a good thing," Jacob said.

"I can be a little much sometimes, I know. But thank you," Will said. He took a deep breath. "Jesus, I thought I might die back there, when I was falling down. Thank god for that branch…" Will trailed off.

"Looks like you've still got some life ahead of you," Jacob said, smiling feebly at Will. "Let's get you back to the hotel where you can't hurt yourself."

Will laughed. "Good plan," he said.

They arrived back at the hotel about twenty minutes later, and Jacob was almost sad for the night to end. He sat down at the edge of his bed, slowly taking off his shoes and sweatshirt.

"I think I'm gonna go take a shower," Will said, "I probably have dirt in my hair after that fall."

"Yeah, me too. I'll get in after you," Jacob said.

Will headed in, and Jacob heard the shower start up. He took a breath in, and leaned back to lay down on his bed. He idly grabbed his cock through his jeans, rearranging it. He heard Will washing off in the shower, and felt his cock stir in his pants. He remembered the feeling of Will's body on top of his after he caught him falling out of the tree. At the time, all he could feel was the pain of having the wind knocked out of him. But now he was remembering the more subtle feeling of having Will on top of him, warm and heavy on his chest.

He heard the sound of the shower turning off, and realized his erection had become quite visible. Shit , he thought, quickly trying to think neutral thoughts before Will came out. Luckily, it worked after about a minute.

Will left the bathroom in his towel, still dripping, his hair looking all ruffled through. Jacob glimpsed his glistening back and quickly darted into the bathroom before his erection returned. He promptly shut the door.

God damn , he thought. His back pressed up against the bathroom door. He closed his eyes, trying to gather himself, but all he could envision was Will's body, clean and dripping with water. He unbuttoned his jeans, and took them off along with his boxers, revealing his erect cock. He removed his shirt, glimpsing himself in the mirror. Jesus, Jacob, here you are again with this aching erection for a dude . He shook his head, and started up the shower. As he stepped in, he couldn't help but picture Will in the very same shower, just minutes ago, naked and washing himself: his arms, his chest, his dick…

Oh, god , Jacob thought, wrapping his own hand around his cock. He pumped, eagerly, impatient. He thought of Will, sitting next to him on that grassy hill earlier in the night, lounging on the grass as the breeze swept through his hair. He remembered how soft and warm Will's body had felt when he'd hugged him at the top of that tower – even through Jacob's fear, he couldn't help but notice how perfectly Will had fit into his arms.

Jacob stroked himself faster, propping a hand on the shower wall to keep from slipping. He remembered Will, behind him, straddling him as he massaged his bare back underneath his shirt back in New York. Holy shit, I cannot believe that happened , Jacob thought, feeling an even stronger surge in his cock. He thought of how Will's own erection had been pressing up against him, clearly wanting more. Will had wrapped his arms around Jacob's front, touching the same cock that was in his hands right now.

" Mmmmhhh… " Jacob groaned softly, hoping that he was quiet enough not to be heard over the shower. God… I could go out there and fuck him right now , he thought. The thought had burst into Jacob's head, and as soon as he internalized it, realizing what had just crossed his mind, he felt electricity course through him. He came hard and fast into the shower, feeling his legs twitch with every pump of semen that came out of him. He paused, thoughtless, as his cock finally began to calm. He breathed in deep and fast as he loosened his grip on his cock, feeling his pulse start to slow from the intense pace it had been racing at.

Oh, my, god , Jacob thought, starting to actually form thoughts again after the intense orgasm. He had just come, hard , from the thought of fucking Will, right here in this hotel room. Stunned and in a haze, he showered himself off, going through the motions on autopilot.

He was aware that he had been having feelings toward Will that he had never had for another guy before. Throughout the week, he hadn't known if it was just a product of his loneliness, or just his proximity to Will, something . But he had just been met with an urgent, powerful desire to be with Will – and not just as an incidental part of a massage.

He finished, turning off the shower and stepping out to dry himself. He went back out into the hotel room, avoiding eye contact with Will, and grabbed his clothes. He went back to the bathroom, put on his sleep shorts and shirt, and headed out to his bed. He got under the covers quick, almost afraid to look over at the other bed. He looked down at his phone for a few minutes, going through his usual apps and realizing that nothing on any of them interested him in the slightest.

He reached up to turn off the light, but before he did, he let his eyes drop and glance at the other bed.

Will was already asleep, his face resting softly on the pillow, with one arm out above the sheet. Jacob gazed at him, feeling all of his resolve crack under the weight of his emotion. He couldn't keep his eyes off Will, and didn't even want to keep his hands off of him. He wanted to get into that bed behind him, under the covers, and wrap his arm around him. He wanted to hold onto him, tight. Could I sleep next to him , he thought, would it be so wrong ?

He allowed himself to look over at Will for a few more seconds, then drew in a deep, slightly shaky breath. He turned off the light, grabbed a pillow next to him, and brought it in close as he turned over and fell asleep.