Chapter Twenty

TYLER WOKEup to Josh’s chest rumbling beneath him, his husky breathing sending a shiver through Tyler as he nuzzled into the warmth of Josh’s torso. His strong arms were draped over Tyler’s back, their bodies slotted together, and Tyler had never felt so protected, so cherished. His muscles still had a delicious ache, and his mouth felt sore and swollen with kisses.

The exhaustion from the previous night’s superhero binge faded as his cock twitched against Josh’s thigh in a sweet reminder of how rough and how tender Josh could be. Tyler smiled. Things kept evolving between them, and over the past six months, they had taken their trust to a whole new level—naked, sweaty, passionate, exhilarating.

In the best possible way, Tyler could no longer hide from Josh; he had confessed his desire to explore what was possible between them, to finally be with someone who understood him. Tyler had never loved anyone the way he loved Josh.

Tyler pressed his lips to the secret notch behind Josh’s ear, a weak spot he’d discovered and exploited as often as possible. He could get Josh from limp to leaking just by licking him there for a couple of minutes.

Josh murmured sleepily, “Mmmm….” and shifted to tug Tyler in tighter, hunching his hips absently.

The scent of sex and sweat mingled with Josh’s rich musk filled the room.

Josh’s powerful arm was warm and heavy on Tyler’s back, his muscular frame softened by sleep. Tyler’s morning wood pressed against Josh’s hip, hard and drooling. They were still connected, always connected. Josh’s naked perfection, the sweeping lines of his abdomen and broad shoulders, made Tyler’s mouth wet. He wanted to keep Josh pinned under him in these sheets forever.

Tyler grinned to himself. Still early yet. They didn’t have to be up for another half hour. He lifted one hand and grazed Josh’s chest until his nipples pebbled and peaked. Then brushed over his dick with the faintest of touches, till it stood stiff.

“Hmmh.” Josh shifted under him, opening his legs again, as if swimming toward consciousness.

The lazy, horny comfort of Josh’s surrender made Tyler’s dick flex. He couldn’t help it. He’d pounded Josh so hard last night they’d almost broken the couch. And then again in the shower before they made it to the bed. What was he supposed to do with Josh squirming and begging for him to go deeper, go harder, go rougher.

He’d lost track of time, burying himself as far as he could. They fallen asleep like that, his cock inside soaking in his own juice while Josh crooned at him. Just thinking about it, he got hard again.

The truth was, some nights he wanted Josh to hump him stupid, so hard he couldn’t think straight. Josh knew exactly where all his buttons were and had screwed him into a happy stupor more than once.

But then sometimes, like last night, he needed to claim Josh, possess him. Mark him with his mouth and his seed.

Josh’s dick pulsed, and a drip fell toward his perfect navel.

Tyler would have caught it with his mouth or licked it up, but he didn’t want to move too much.

Instead, he shifted himself, filling his hand with a squirt of oil and reaching down between Josh’s splayed thighs. The crease between Josh’s cheeks was still slick and his hole hot to the touch.

“Wuh.” Josh sighed under him.

Carefully, Tyler tickled and pressed, tickled and pressed, slowly pushing against the pink ring of muscle.

“Ohhhh. Yeah.” Josh pushed back, awake now and feeling the itch. “Ty. So good.”

“You’re still wet there. Can you feel? Beautiful.”

Josh nodded and flexed against him. His hole clamped down, squeezing Tyler’s knuckles, but not enough to stop him driving all the way home. “I lost count.” He turned and kissed Tyler’s brow. “I loved it.”

“Not as much as I did. Nnnf.” He sighed.

Josh grinned, his eyes still closed. “Debatable. There it is. Oh my Jesus.” His blue eyes snapped open and his cock jumped. “Are you—?”

Tyler leaned in and kissed him, soft and unhurried. The kiss deepened naturally, their bodies pressing closer. Hands roamed over bare skin as their lips moved together languidly, still heavy with sleep. Tyler rolled Josh onto his back, leaning over him. The pale morning light illuminated Josh’s physique.

Tyler’s eyes drank him in hungrily even as his hands explored Josh’s body with reverence. “I’m not going to last.”

“Me neither.” Josh’s muscular legs spread and splayed as Tyler clambered between them. “Do it. Put it in me, big guy. Make me feel it.”

Tyler sank into the slippery heat and moved slowly, in and out.

Josh tangled his fingers in Tyler’s dark hair, guiding his lips back to his own. The sloppy, urgent kisses made him feel stupid with lust.

“See how hard you make me.” Tyler stroked his torso possessively, driving into him with relentless steady force.

“Oh! You feel—” Josh wrapped his legs around him and squeezed him closer, his dark blue eyes wide and shimmering with need.

“You too, baby.” Tyler kissed him, nuzzled him with his nose. “I’m not going to be able to hold it.”

“I don’t want you to.”

“I love you. I love you, I love you.” Tyler chanted whispers into the nape of his neck, into his hair. “Josh… Josh. I love you. I’m going to—”

“Uh-huh.” He pulled Tyler into him, his arms and his legs, his lips searching as his cock burst against Tyler’s belly. “Give it to me. Jesus. I love you so much.”

Tyler drove forward to the hilt, kissing Josh hard as he spilled inside.

When they finally lay spent and satisfied, Tyler pulled Josh over onto his chest.

Josh sighed contentedly, fingertips tracing idle patterns on Tyler’s skin. No words needed.

Tyler licked the brine from his lips and smiled. He had made Josh squirt that high.

Gradually, Josh relaxed, his legs falling wide and open. He wore a drunken satisfied smile. “Well, good morning,” he murmured. His voice was gravelly with sleep.

“Hey, you,” Tyler whispered back. He trailed his fingers down Josh’s side. He slid out slowly. “Hottest thing in the world.”

“No arguments here, superstar.” Josh stretched, his muscles bunching and extending like a living statue. “That’s what we call a high-protein diet.” He blinked slowly and exhaled with genuine contentment, his hot eyes meeting Tyler’s.

“Want me to get you breakfast?” Tyler whispered, reaching down to give Josh’s swollen dick a soft squeeze. The action made Josh moan softly.

Josh nuzzled Tyler’s neck and sighed contently. “Yeah… scrambled?”

“Anything milord desires.” Tyler kissed the corner of his mouth and chuckled as he slid out from under Josh’s arm, feeling his body’s reaction to the cool air.

He stood up and stretched, enjoying the flex of his heavy muscles. He ran a lazy hand over the spray of dark hair on his chest and realized something. “You covered me in jizz, man. I’m spackled.”

From the bed, Josh chuckled low. “No regrets, no apologies, no worries.”

As soon as Tyler stepped into the kitchen, a plaintive “mrreoow” made him smile. They’d only adopted Mrs. Scoops four months ago, but already she had taken control of the house. She was a marmalade tabby as well, with shorter hair, but also lankier and much more talkative than Poops.

Tyler tipped his head at the sight of Mrs. Scoops sitting on her favorite armchair in the sunny parlor, one yellow eye opening to regard him lazily. As if in answer, she stretched out one paw and yawned wide.

“Morning, trouble.” He scooped kibble into her bowl. Mrs. Scoops came alive at once, purring as she butted against his shins and chatted with him in squeaks and rumbles. He gave her an affectionate scratch between her ears. She turned her chin up so he could also stroke her throat.

The coffee machine gurgled, the aroma intensifying. Tyler poured two mugs and doctored them with almond milk.

When he returned upstairs, Josh was in the shower. Tyler sat on the edge of the bed, sipping his coffee and listening to the sound of running water and Josh gargle-singing.

A few minutes later, Josh emerged in a cloud of steam, a towel slung low on his narrow hips. Tyler openly admired the lean, defined muscle of Josh’s torso, the dusting of dirty blond tapering to his navel.

“Your coffee, milord.” Tyler held out the mug.

“Overkill is what we call this, Fantana.” Josh took the mug and sank down beside Tyler, kissing his bare shoulder. “Screw me silly, snuggle me into mush, and then pour fresh caffeine into me. Who says chivalry is dead?” He gave Tyler a peck.

“Just trying to keep my man happy. Big day.” Tyler showered and dressed before returning to Josh in the kitchen.

They finished their coffee in companionable silence. By the time they headed back to the living room, Mrs. Scoops was dozing in a patch of sunlight by the back door, her belly full and her paws twitching in some feline dream of happy hunting.

“First day of school. Brand-new year.” Josh asked, “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

Josh smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Well, I did spackle you. I suppose you need to go sweat it out.”

“Sweaty with you? Count me in.” Tyler grinned and stole a quick kiss.

They headed out to Josh’s pickup, climbing in with their duffel of gear in tow. The drive to Hamilton High was a short one, the roads quiet before sunup.

When they pulled into the parking lot and around back to “their” spot, Tyler took a deep breath.

Josh reached over to squeeze his knee. “All good.”

At this hour, the Hamilton campus still looked like a peaceful postcard even for the first-day madness, with its sprawling brick buildings and the clusters of coyote mint and beardtongue in bloom. In an hour or so, butterflies would arrive to hover around the tubular blossoms. This early in September, the pepper trees produced pinkish berries and the feathery leaves started to fade to a dull red.

They exited Josh’s truck in sync, closing doors simultaneously with a single loud clunk.

Tyler chuckled. They’d never discussed it, but more and more, he noticed an odd telepathy.

Ever since Tyler had moved back, they had unconsciously started to do things in tandem—matching strides, silent jokes, sometimes wordlessly anticipating a move the other would make. Josh finishing Tyler’s sentences, Tyler catching what Josh dropped. It had seemed freaky at first, but Tyler was continually delighted by the goofy magic of it.

Hell, NFL teams spent ages trying to cultivate that kind of instinctive cooperation, but somehow Tyler and Josh had stumbled into a mind meld.

Over the summer he’d taken Josh to Rome and then backpacking through Tuscany—the best three weeks he’d ever spent. They’d already started planning next summer’s trip: a month in Venezuela and Brazil. They traveled together even better than they lived together, which was some kind of miracle.

They dropped their duffels in the athletics office and went back outside for their run. After stretching together on the track, they started jogging side by side, energy sparking between them the way it did.

Tyler glanced over at Josh, whose toned body glistened with sweat, and caught Josh doing the same. They both laughed. Busted.

Because it was the first day of school and Tyler still had some residual nerves, they only did a mile. “To get the blood flowing” was how Josh sold it last night. They both had a lot of new names to learn, new classes to test… and a whole football team to cobble together that afternoon.

As ever, that perfect quiet settled over and between them in the silvery predawn light, as though the world was listening to them, steadying Tyler’s nerves and anchoring him for the day. He still worried about his blood pressure, but Reynolds kept telling him he’d never been stronger.

They pushed each other, hearts pounding, lungs burning. Tyler loved their playful competition, when Josh challenged him to sprint the straightaway or Tyler jogged backward to watch Josh react to a story as he told it.

After their workout, they slowed to a walk, their bodies glistening with sweat and their faces flushed with exertion. Tyler snuck glances at Josh’s flushed face as they caught their breath together.

As they stretched, Josh caught him staring and they winked at each other. Funny all the things they knew now without saying a word. Funny the way they never ran out of things to say.

In the distance, the early bell rang. On your mark, get set….

A couple of minutes later, they sauntered into the school building together via the locker room, where Otis was loading a paper towel dispenser. “All right, guys?” he said.

“All right.” They smiled back.

They stopped in the athletics office for a quick rinse and to change into real adult clothing appropriate for the first day of school. They’d already made the discovery that the little shower in here was too cramped for both of them. Tyler had been disappointed at first, but all things considered, the size was a good thing.

At Carver’s insistence, Tyler had agreed to take a whack at college counseling under something called Eminence Credentials, or as Josh put it: NFLOLOL, suckers. So in addition to helping with gym classes and afternoon athletics, Tyler would be meeting with juniors and seniors to get them ready for prime time. After all, he had been speaking to students all over the country for the better part of a decade. Jury was out for now, but signs were good.

While Tyler was letting the water wash away the last suds, Josh called to him, “What period is your first batch of juniors?”

“I’ve got two today. One third period and one second to last. Is that fifth?” Tyler climbed out and started to towel off.

“Sixth. That’s a pretty nice block because the kids are more chill. Vicky hooked you up.” Josh pushed into his knit shirt, every inch the dreamboat teacher.

“Wow. I got to catch up.” Tyler jerked on briefs and socks, then the pink button-down so he’d look like a real teacher. Josh had made fun of that one. “What time is your AP history?”

“Second, I think. I have to check at the office. ‘McCarthy and the Red Scare.’ You were right about that shirt. Unf.”

“I’m always right.” Tyler stepped into his khakis and zipped. “Big group?”

Josh ducked his head, cheeks flushed. “Carver said they had to cap the class. First time I’ve ever had a waiting list. Thank the musketeers.”

“Well, Coach, you’re doing something right.”

Josh winked and tossed him an apple. Tyler caught it as he pulled open the door. “Maybe we just make a good team.”

“The best,” Tyler whispered before they left the athletics office and headed down toward the main entrance.

Technically saying hi to the students like this wasn’t necessary, but Josh always tried to make his athletes feel welcome when they kicked off a year, and Tyler was happy to make that happen.

As they walked, teachers greeted them. Already he felt like part of this building.

To his relief, a lot of the awkward celebrity stuff had died down. Not completely, but enough that it didn’t waste a chunk of every day. Now that Tyler was a small-town human-interest story, the media simply moved on. By the end of last year, most of the kids just called him Coach Fantana. He still got the odd stare and the occasional gushy parental comment, but overall he had become part of the scenery.

“Well, hello, sailors.” Vicky gave them a flirty wave from the desk in the main office. “Fresh hot schedules!”

“First-day jitters.” Josh tipped his head at Tyler.

“You were here last semester.” She scoffed and passed them each a green folder. “You both look so nice.”

“I’m totally faking.” Tyler grinned at her. “’Cause I’m the naughty one.”

Josh jabbed his ribs at a ticklish place. “No doubt.”

As they approached, Vicky lowered her voice. “I heard the camp wowed everyone. We’ve been getting calls for a month.”

“So great. Twenty-six kids. And all of them want to sign up for the next one. We got commitments from another eleven schools for next year.”

Vicky checked her perimeter and leaned over farther to mutter, “Well, a little principal told me that two other schools called him last week to see how they can participate. Your sister is in there now.”

“Nadia is?” Tyler asked. “Are you sure?”

Vicky nodded. “They found a big donor willing to match funds.”

“Seriously!” Josh said “Oh, Vick. Thank you.” He squeezed Tyler’s arm. “Congratulations, Mr. Fantana.”

Tyler shook his head in wonder. His eyes got hot. “You’re amazing. That’s… amazing.”

Vicky’s eyes twinkled. “If I’m going to spy for you, I better get seduced a little. Cocktails and kisses accepted.” She pointed at her cheek.

Tyler bent to kiss her cheek, and Josh kissed the other.

They straightened and started to go when Vicky waved her hand at them. “Oh! And Channel Twenty-four just renewed Elise’s yoga show. Lots of bendy grannies in San Diego.”

“Vicky! Really. That’s—”

“—good for her.” Josh nodded happily. “She—

“—totally deserves it.” Tyler finished the thought.

Vicky blinked. “You two….”

They laughed and left, flipping through their schedules as the first students cautiously made their way in the doors. Josh and Tyler were on separate schedules until the afternoon, but they had a half hour to greet students before the madness began.

So Tyler confirmed his second batch of anxious juniors was sixth. He’d have plenty of time to unwind and be ready to run football tryouts today. If everything went as planned, college counseling should leave him time for coaching and the new charity. Going forward, he’d take over the team.

After running the charity camp in July, he had no anxiety. After the second week with those kids, Josh had insisted Tyler take over Hamilton’s football team come fall. At first Tyler had balked, until Josh offered to be his assistant coach in the afternoons.

“Revenge!” Tyler had shouted.

Coaching the team felt like a gift; plus it gave Josh more freedom to teach a history elective when he felt like it.

Actually, Tyler’s whole first day at Hamilton as a full-time staff member turned out better than he could have hoped. Presentations cool, kids cool, even crisscrossing Josh’s path as the day passed felt wonderful.

Now, as they ambled out to the field after school, he peeked at Josh. “I think we’re early, Coach.”

“Showing up early is on time.”

Tyler pretended to be outraged. “Did you just try to Yoda me?”

“There is no try….”

Tyler shoved him playfully and chased after him. “I hope you realize I’m going to be really hard on you.”

“Unnecessary roughness?” Josh didn’t look sorry at all. “I can take it. Between you and me….” He knocked their shoulders together and lowered his voice. “I can’t wait.”

Tyler was probably even more excited than the players coming to try out this afternoon.

The bell hadn’t rung yet, but Tyler felt a surge of the fizzy, busy energy that always pumped through him when he had a good game ahead of him. But for all that, his heart beat steady and strong.

“Fifteen? No.” Tyler glanced at his watch. “Twenty minutes, probably, because they have to change.”

He looked up and caught Josh watching him with a soft, silly smile hovering on his lips. “What?”

Josh shook his head. “Nothing.”

“What are you doing?”

“Pining?” Josh gave an apologetic little grimace.

Tyler’s brow creased. “But I’m right here.”

“So? Just because you’re right here doesn’t mean I don’t still fantasize like a lovesick teenager.” Josh crossed his arms, and the blush creeping up his face made his eyes even bluer. “I still pine after you all the time, only now I get to do my pining up close and personal.”

Tyler laughed out loud at that. “I swear….”

“What?”

“Nothing. Everything. You.” He shook his head and smiled at the ground before raising his eyes to Josh’s. “I’ll never get tired of hearing that, Coach. Long as I live.”

“I’m not too sure about that.”

“I am.” Tyler kissed Josh and held him close. He dragged a finger across his chest twice, without looking away from that smile, that face, those eyes. “Cross my heart.”