Chapter Eleven 2

“Bad? Me? Bad?” Brandon huffed. “Son of a bitch, making me think I’m going to scare you off. Always teasing and making light of things.”

“But . . .”

“No buts!” Brandon insisted as he took Jake by surprise, rolling them and straddling his hips. He grabbed at Jake’s wrists. “You tell me now, Jake. If only this once.”

“Tell you what?” Jake asked teasingly as he stretched out under Brandon and smiled. The smile faded and his eyes darkened as he looked up at his lover. “That I think I’m in love with you?” he asked seriously.

Brandon stared down at Jake with wide eyes, totally speechless. Then he shook himself. “Not—Not unless you mean it,” he stuttered. He saw Jake’s eyes change, change like they did when they were in the midst of driving each other crazy, and his breath caught.

Jake was silent, looking up at Brandon in the light of the single lamp. “I’m pretty sure I love you,” he stated calmly.

Brandon thought his heart would give out before Jake said something else. And his comment was just as earthshaking as the one before it. Brandon slowly let go of Jake’s wrists, lowering his hands to the other man’s chest as he peered at him in wonder. Jake gave him a crooked, slightly self-conscious smile and shrugged.

Brandon studied him, drawing on the cues he’d memorized in Jake’s behavior. “You’re not teasing,” he murmured, a statement rather than a question.

“No,” Jake answered with a shake of his head. He was beginning to wonder if he’d been a little too hasty. He’d thought he’d read Brandon right, he usually did, and he’d thought he’d get a similar admission in return. Now he was getting a little nervous. And blushing harder.

Jake’s reddening cheeks made Brandon smile, and he slowly bent over until their chests touched and their mouths rubbed together. His eyes closed, eyelashes brushing over Jake’s cheekbones. Jake licked his lips and closed his eyes, raising his chin and humming. Brandon’s tongue followed after his lover’s, lightly skimming into a kiss, slow and easy. And when the kiss ended, he sighed, cheek to cheek with Jake. “Love you, too,” he breathed.

Jake didn’t move or speak. He simply kept his eyes closed and tried to remember to breathe. He’d never told anyone he loved them. And he’d never been happy to hear it before this moment. A shiver ran through him, and he turned his head against Brandon’s, sliding his hands around the other man’s back.

Brandon had nothing else to say. Nothing could top that one, he thought, feeling dizzy and warm all over. Jake said it first. Amazing . He drew in an easy breath, the vise around his chest giving way, and slowly levered himself up to look at his lover. Love, now. Not just lover.

Jake finally opened his eyes and looked up to meet Brandon’s. “You still tired?” he asked after a moment of composing himself.

“I feel remarkably energized, actually,” Brandon said, eyebrow quirking. “I’m sure I’ll crash hard later, though.”

Jake smiled briefly and then bit his lower lip, a frown creasing his forehead. He couldn’t think of a thing to say. His heart was still racing.

Brandon’s brow furrowed, and he reached to slide the pad of his thumb over the abused lip. “What’s this for?” he asked in a soft voice.

Jake’s eyes closed at the gentle touch, and he smiled again. “We’ve made me speechless,” he answered with a little laugh.

Grinning, Brandon lightly nudged the tip of Jake’s nose with a knuckle. “No witty comeback?”

Jake huffed and shook his head. “Kiss me,” he requested softly. More than happy to obey, Brandon didn’t hesitate, dipping his head to capture Jake’s lips in a slow, open-mouth kiss that lasted for some time before he finally pulled away. Jake reached up as soon as Brandon moved and tugged him back down, moaning into the second kiss and tangling his fingers in Brandon’s hair.

Heat tearing through Brandon’s gut, he pressed his body closer to Jake’s, starting to rock his hips slowly, a groan escaping from deep in his throat. Every touch and every sound took on a whole layer of meaning, and Brandon’s hand shook as he cupped Jake’s face.

Jake groaned and raised his knee to slide his foot over Brandon’s calves, wrapping his legs around him as he did so. He jumped violently when a knock sounded on the door.

When Jake sat up suddenly, Brandon flailed and grabbed at his lover’s shoulders to keep from flying backward. But his pulse spiked, and he closed his eyes, gasping for breath. “Fuck,” he hissed, his denim-covered groin rubbing against Jake’s boxers-covered one.

“Yeah?” Jake called out in answer to the knock, his voice only a little hoarse.

“Got some surprise visitors for you, Coach.” Troy’s voice came through the door.

Brandon lowered his forehead to Jake’s shoulder for a few seconds before pushing himself back to crawl off Jake’s lap.

Jake flopped back down and sighed as he willed his body to calm. After a moment he rolled off the bed and slid back into the track pants and T-shirt he’d shed earlier and then shuffled to the door to open it.

Brandon sat at the table, sliding on his glasses and shoving around a stack of papers. When the door clicked open, he glanced up to see Troy standing there with his head bowed, looking up at Jake guiltily. Beside him stood Misty and four of her cheerleaders, smiling pleasantly. Brandon’s stomach turned.

“Uhh,” Jake managed to comment.

“They’ve traveled all this way to support the team,” Troy supplied in a tight voice. “But they didn’t think to call ahead for rooms,” he added. “We’re going to have to double-bunk some of the boys.”

Jake nodded in a daze and half-turned back into the room. Then he stopped and turned back uncertainly. If he went to get the clipboard, Misty would surely shoulder her way in. “We’ll clear up two rooms for them tonight,” he finally answered, annoyance over this development barely concealed. “The rest of the week you’re on your own,” he told Misty coldly.

Brandon watched Misty’s face twist and he felt dread building. Misty was quick to confirm his fear. “You should help us out, Jake. We came all this way. Why, you’ve got two beds in this room; surely the four coaches could bunk together as well as the students,” she said, her voice sickeningly sweet.

“Sure we could, if we had known you were coming,” Jake answered coldly. “In fact, Troy, clear out one of the rooms for them. We’ll call for a rollaway to be brought up,” he added as he turned to go fetch the clipboard.

Eyes widening, Brandon flinched as Misty shrieked about calling Tom, and she just kept on yelling. Troy and the girls shrank back into the hallway, obviously embarrassed. Seeing Jake’s shoulders tighten dangerously, Brandon scrambled a little to get up and walk up behind him—ostensibly to look at the clipboard—but he also placed his hand on Jake’s shoulder, a touch that wouldn’t be questioned between friends. But it was one he hoped would help keep Jake from going totally postal on the screeching harpy.

Misty indeed pushed her way into the room and despite the calming attempt by Brandon, Jake’s temper flared. He shoved the clipboard into Brandon’s hands and ushered him out of the room, slamming the door on all of them before rounding on Misty. The shouting could be heard but not understood in the hallway, and soon Troy shooed the four girls away and told them to go wait in the lobby.

He then turned to Brandon and asked, “Do you have your key?”

Brandon tore his eyes away from the door to look at Troy, patted his pockets, and shook his head. “Probably on the table,” he said, looking back at the door in ill-concealed concern. Not for Misty.

Troy stepped forward and banged on the door. “Jake! We need you to help with the boys!” he called, knowing that would be the only thing to cut though the rage Jake was channeling. A moment and a few quiet snarls later, the door opened, and Jake stepped out into the hall and stalked down the little corridor without a word to them.

Brandon’s eyes tracked Jake as he walked by and he hurt just looking at how upset and tense he was. And not ten minutes ago... He sighed and walked back into the room after Misty dashed by, red-faced. He snatched up his room key and walked back out to join Troy, pulling the door shut behind him. “C’mon,” he murmured as the other man fell in beside him. “We better follow him.”

They caught up to Jake at the first door on the list. He was stood there fuming, waiting for the boys to answer his knock.

As Brandon walked up to Jake’s side, Troy stayed well back, familiar with Jake’s temper. “She’s gone,” Brandon murmured evenly. “Will you let me deal with this?”

“I’m fine,” Jake answered through clenched teeth.

Brandon stepped back, slid a hand into his pocket, and forced a half smile, deciding on a calculated risk. “If you say so, Coach,” he said, injecting a note into his voice that clearly said he was humoring the bigger man. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Troy take another step back.

Jake turned slowly to stare at Brandon for a moment. Hoping his face looked as innocent as possible, Brandon just raised one brow and waited. Jake turned back to the door, jaw tight and eyes flashing as one of the tired kids opened it. Jake stared at him for a moment, trying to regain his temper.

The player’s eyes got big as he saw the look on the Coach’s face, and he looked to the other coaches, wondering what was wrong. “Yeah, Coach?” he asked in a small voice.

“We need to do some shuffling, guys,” Jake finally forced himself to say. “Gather up your things. Just for tonight.”

The kid nodded immediately and headed back into the room, leaving the door halfway open. While Jake spoke, Brandon backed up to stand next to Troy, who nudged his arm.

“What the hell, Bartlett? You trying to be six inches shorter? Cause that’s what you’ll be when he takes your damn head off,” Troy muttered.

Brandon’s face got pinched and he turned a glare on Troy. “You were doing so well helping, I saw,” he muttered.

“I learned some time back not to help . He must like you,” Troy said under his breath. “Otherwise you’d be out cold on the floor.”

Brandon’s eyes shifted back to Jake, who was now talking quietly with the two players who had packed up fast and vacated the room.

As the kids dragged their things down the hall to the next room, Jake turned and looked at his other coaches, meeting Brandon’s eyes for a long, tense moment before turning and following to knock on the next door. Brandon couldn’t decide if he’d done the right thing or not. He’d just reacted, really. So he stood there with Troy and kept his mouth shut as Jake cleared up the situation with the rooms.

When he had the boys double-bunked and had taken their keys from them, Jake continued down the hallway to the lobby, fuming still and unable to look back at the other two men for fear of growling at them. He found the girls, who were now hunched together and chattering nervously, and he walked up to them and handed two of them keys and told them the room number. “Where’s your coach?” he asked flatly, and the girls all just pointed toward the bar area and skittered away to their rooms.

Troy took that opportunity to mutter a ‘good luck, road kill’ and take off. Brandon spared a very violent thought for him before glancing back at Jake, who was staring at the bar, anger still clear on his face. Brandon decided he wasn’t helping—probably hadn’t since he first left Jake alone with Misty—and started walking back toward their room without a word. His burst of energy was gone and then some. If he was going to get howled at, he’d rather it be after he’d gotten some sleep. A moment later and Jake materialized at his side, walking down the hall silently without ever having approached the cheerleading coach at the bar. Brandon wasn’t tempted to say anything, even when Jake pulled out his key card, opened the door, and gestured for Brandon to walk inside.

Jake followed and stood at the door, staring into the dark room morosely. “Bitch,” he finally grunted before beginning to take off his shirt.

Brandon pulled off his glasses and tossed them haphazardly on the table, where they slid across the messy papers. He pulled off his own shirt and worked on unfastening his jeans. Once Jake spoke the tension he’d felt had melted, and now it was all he could do to remain upright.

“She’s going to follow me around for the rest of my fucking life,” Jake muttered as if he was just now realizing this. Brandon couldn’t help but snort as he shoved his jeans over his hips and kicked them off. “It’s not funny,” Jake insisted seriously. “What are we gonna do if she ever shows up on my doorstep?” he asked.

Brandon’s head snapped around to look at Jake in disbelief. Holy shit . “Uh.” All he could think of was that if she touched Jake again, he might slap the hell out of her. But that probably wouldn’t go over real well.

Jake licked his lips and stared back at Brandon. “What if she finally gets the hint and turns her energy toward revenge?” he posed quietly, his body going cold at the thought.

“What if? Jake, we can go on about what ifs until we’re both blue in the face,” Brandon said, upset and resigned in equal measures. “Can you tell me it’s going to make a difference? Because if it does, I’d rather know now.” There was no strength behind his question, because for him, it didn’t matter. Despite how much he bottled it up, he loved Jake desperately. He wasn’t sure how he’d react if something happened to tear them apart so fast.

“A difference?” Jake asked in confusion.

Brandon sat down hard on the edge of the bed. He rubbed both hands over his face. “If Misty figured us out and did something about it, is that going to change what’s between us for you?”

“No,” Jake answered in surprise. “No,” he repeated as he walked closer, sitting on the end of the bed beside Brandon. “I just ... She scares me.”

“I understand,” Brandon said softly, head in his hands with his eyes closed. “If it happens, we’ll deal with it. Somehow.”

“ We will?” Jake asked, looking over at Brandon sideways and smiling a little.

Brandon looked up and blinked at him. “Yeah?” he drew out, wondering why Jake would question that. “You think I’m going leave you alone if she tries to get her claws into you?”

“You’d better not,” Jake growled.

“Not gonna happen,” Brandon said as he looked up, face softened. Jake leaned over and kissed him on impulse, turning and crawling onto him to pin him against the mattress and kiss him some more. Brandon wrapped his arms around Jake’s neck and held on tight. “Please tell me you locked the door,” he murmured.

“Hotel door,” Jake growled, “It locks on its own.”

“Right,” Brandon moaned. “Get on with it then. We don’t have to be anywhere until after lunch tomorrow, and I intend to sleep late in your arms.”

“Get on with it?” Jake asked in a mockingly offended voice. “ Get on with it ?” he teased as he gathered Brandon up and pushed him across the bed slightly and kissed him again.

Brandon snickered against Jake’s lips, sliding his legs apart and then hooking his feet over Jake’s calves. “Mm-hmm. Don’t you want me to soothe the savage beast?” he teased between kisses.

Jake actually ruined the kiss by snorting. “Oh Christ, now I can’t do it,” he groaned as he pushed himself up onto all fours.

Chuckling, Brandon just looked up at him. “I could have called you Thunder—” Jake cut the word off with another growling kiss. Brandon grinned somehow under the pressure of Jake’s lips and pulled his body back down, lifting his legs to curl them over Jake’s hips.

“Get on with it, he says,” Jake muttered against Brandon’s lips as his hands began to pull at Brandon’s briefs.

“Uh huh,” Brandon breathed, dropping his legs to help and pushing at Jake’s shorts and boxers.

Jake huffed and yanked at Brandon’s briefs roughly enough to rip the seam and kissed him harder, trying to instill a little more excitement in him than ‘get on with it.’

Brandon’s muffled laughter turned to a deeper moan, and his hands tightened on Jake as his cock twitched and his gut clenched. Pulling back from the kiss to gulp for air, he choked on a whimper. “Want you,” he said, helplessly arching up against Jake’s body. “Need you.”

“That’s more like it,” Jake rumbled as he moved back just far enough to remove Brandon’s briefs. “Tell me you packed optimistically,” he murmured.

“I packed optimistically,” Brandon said, already breathless, pushing himself up onto his elbows. “I figured I’d have to drag you off somewhere out of the hotel to even have a chance at this,” he said, pointing at the duffle bag to the side of the bed.

“Lucky me,” Jake moaned as he kissed him. He pushed up and quickly rifled through the duffel bag until he found the tube, then shed the remainder of his clothing before climbing back on top of Brandon. “Just no screaming,” he growled in a low voice.

“Screaming? Me?” Brandon objected, ruining it by yelping sharply as cool, slick fingers slipped between his legs.

“Hush,” Jake hissed, pressing his lips to Brandon’s to muffle his words. He twisted his fingers evilly and growled.

Brandon drew in a sharp breath through his nose and dug his fingers into Jake’s shoulders hard. “Please,” he said against Jake’s lips. “Please please please please,” he chanted raggedly, tilting his hips up with each push of Jake’s hand.

“Shhh,” Jake soothed as he removed his fingers and guided himself quickly inside with an impatient growl. Brandon whimpered and wrapped his arms and legs around him, and Jake groaned softly, one hand wrapping over Brandon’s head to tangle his fingers in his hair as he quickened his pace.

“Oh yesss,” Brandon hissed, hitching his knees up further and burying his face in Jake’s neck to muffle a long moan. This man was his— his —and Misty would never, ever have him. Possessiveness like he never expected swamped him, and he slid one hand up over the back of Jake’s neck.

Jake pressed his face into Brandon’s throat and moaned his name brokenly, his hips rocking into him, but nothing else moving. Brandon wrapped his hand about Jake’s nape, fingers digging in as he rolled his shoulders forward to press his lips to Jake’s ear and growled.

“Mine.”

“Yes,” Jake gasped almost desperately as he sped up his rhythm, jarring Brandon’s body with his thrusts.

Gasping harshly, Brandon’s head fell back and he bit his bottom lip to hold in the cries he wanted to loose as Jake set him afire. Jake moaned brokenly and pressed his open mouth to Brandon’s neck, tightening his grip as his muscles clenched. He gasped and groaned as his orgasm tore through him. The feel of heat and Jake’s body shuddering made Brandon snap inside, and with a stuttered gasp he came, the pleasure crashing through him in heavy waves.

Jake whimpered as the aftershocks rippled inside him. He pressed his lips to Brandon’s sweaty skin and sucked in air noisily, holding him tight. “Mine,” he murmured, the word barely audible.

If Jake hadn’t been so close, Brandon would have missed it, and the single word thrilled him almost as much as Jake telling him that he loved him. He turned his chin just enough to press his lips to Jake’s throat. “Yours,” he whispered.