Chapter 8

How had I veered so far off course? When I led Nathan out here, I had other intentions. Now I was being mopey and wanted to get back to my original plan. Was it stupid to let this guy get his hands back on me? Oh, it was beyond stupid, but I couldn't deny that he was the best lay I'd ever had. If he was only here for the summer, I'd be a fool to not try to get some of that back. No expectations outside of a good time. Get him out of my system once and for all. Then maybe it wouldn't crush me all over again when he went back to Seattle.

"I'm—I'm sorry if I..."

I laughed, the sound bubbling out of me before I could stop it. When I stood, the sand fell off the back of my shorts, and I wiped the rest of it away before bending to pick up the hat. I tucked it into my back pocket before offering Nathan my hand to help him up. He stared at it with confusion, not that I could blame him. I'd played this hot and cold game with him since we got here.

"You don't have to apologize, Nate. It's been four years. We were both stupid kids."

"You make it sound like we're old." When his fingers wrapped around my wrist, a familiar zing raced through my system. Funny how the time between us hadn't changed how his touch still electrified me. It didn't take much for me to think about all the places those fingers had been, where I wanted them to go, and what exactly they were capable of doing to me.

"Aren't we, though?"

Nathan chuckled as he brushed the sand from his clothes. "I fear what you'll think when we're out of our early twenties."

I hummed as my eyes trailed his frame. The moonlight always did him the best of favors. The shadows brought out all of his defined features, the sharp slope of his nose, and the way his lips looked even more pouty and tempting—a temptation I could easily give into.

Everyone seemed to be distracted inside as the music thumped, rattling the windows. Without thinking, I grabbed Nathan's wrist and tugged him to the side of the house. It was darker there, and the place next door appeared vacant with all the lights out. His pulse beat rapidly beneath my fingertips, my own thudding loudly in my ears. When we were teens, we'd done this dozens of times, and I wondered if his thoughts were straying to the same places mine had.

I hoped they had. I wanted him to think about those things. I needed him to remember.

"What are we doing?" His breath hitched as I crowded him against the side of the house.

"I don't know. What do you think we're doing over here?"

His breaths came out in quick puffs as he looked around us, confusion flashing through his eyes before he finally asked, "But why?"

My fingers trailed his chest, trying to re-familiarize themselves with the hard ridges. It felt like the last four years had never happened. Every part of him felt the same, if not better. Gone was the slightly awkward frame, and he was all tone.

"You're here for the summer?"

Nathan's entire body tensed. "Chase..."

"What? This is what we do."

He sighed, and grabbed my hand, holding it against the heart that was pounding like a bass drum in his chest. "This isn't..."

Letting him finish wasn't an option. I couldn't let him make me believe there was a chance of something more ever again. I'd made that mistake one too many times. Got the postcard, thank you very much.

My hand clamped down over his mouth as I shook my head. His eyes widened as we stood there in some sort of awkward standoff. I wouldn't do anything if he told me no. I wouldn't without permission. Consent was sexy.

"Listen, I'm just implying that we have some fun, for old-time's sake."

Something flashed behind his eyes, the pupils dilating further in the dark. The hand that was still trapped against his chest was hit repeatedly with the rapid thump of his heart as it sped up even more.

I released his mouth, and when he said nothing, I stepped away completely. "Don't get me wrong, Nate. I won't—" And damn... I had missed how demanding his kisses were.

The firm press of his lips slanted against mine knocked the wind out of my lungs. I clutched at his shirt as we fell back into the side of the house, and his tongue slid against the seam of my lips. Not one to deny him I opened my mouth willingly, the taste of beer still faint in his mouth.

We broke apart, panting, and I chuckled before my hands trailed down his front to find the waist of his shorts. My fingers slipped against the button, struggling to work it open, but Nathan knocked my hands out of the way and unsnapped it for me before my hand plunged inside the front of his shorts, the zipper lowering at the intrusion.

"Oh, fuck." Nathan's hips surged forward as I cupped him through the thin fabric of his boxers. His erection was hot and heavy in my hand.

Our mouths slammed back together, no real finesse to the encounter. We were all clashing teeth and muffled groans as we sucked and bit at each other.

I wasted no time massaging his cock as we kissed. My dick ached behind my fly, begging to get in on the action, but this was about re-familiarizing myself with Nathan. Little Chase would get his chance to play later, even if I had to take care of it myself.

My lips tingled as they trailed down his jaw, the burn from his stubble abrading them as I moved down his neck. I sucked at the spot where his shoulder joints met, and he hissed at the sensation. I pulled at the sleeve of his shirt, yanking the neck down to expose the spot I sucked on some more, wanting to leave a mark. He was going to be mine for this summer, and everyone was going to know it.

When Nathan realized what I was doing, his groan rumbled through his entire body, his dick jumping in my hand. "Hell, yes. You want people to know you got a piece of me? Show them, Chase."

My eyes rolled back at his demand, but Nathan had always had a way with words. The trick was getting him to let that side of him out. I wanted it so badly. No one had ever tapped into that side of me before, either.

I released the skin on his neck, leaving behind a reddish-purple bruise already standing prominently on his skin. I smirked at my handiwork before dropping to my knees in front of him. Before Nathan could protest or complain, I pulled his shorts just below his ass, exposing the beautiful cock I hadn't seen in forever. And, god, it was gorgeous. It was long and hard with that thick, throbbing vein running down the side. My mouth watered as a drop of precum sat in his slit, begging for me to snag a taste.

"Did you miss me on my knees for you?" I purred, wrapping my fist around his base and dragging my tongue along his head to taste him, giving in to that temptation.

He hissed, head slamming against the siding of the house. "Fuck, I did. You were always such a good boy on your knees for me."

And there it was, that little bit of something that I'd been craving. My mouth closed over his swollen tip, my taste buds overwhelmed with the salty taste of him. I was starved for his flavor. As my lips slid down his shaft, my eyes locked on his.

Nathan's eyes were glassy, pupils completely blown as he watched me. If anything, sex between us had always been intense, even if we had only been two teenagers who didn't really know what the fuck we were doing. We were each other's firsts in a lot of ways. He was my first boyfriend, and I was his first crush on a boy, period.

I moaned, humming out my appreciation as my mouth glided along his length. My lips burned as they stretched around him, eyes watering as the head hit the back of my throat.

When I popped off of him for a moment to catch my breath, I stroked him lazily, running the flat of my tongue along the sides of his cock. Nathan struggled to keep his eyes open. His head was tossed back, mouth wide in a soundless groan. He painted a beautiful debauched picture.

My lips wrapped around him once more as I rolled his balls between my fingers, then slid behind them to play with his taint.

"Shit, coming." And just like that, my mouth was flooded with his warm and familiar taste. He was spicy and salty, so uniquely Nathan.

Once I had sucked him completely dry, I let his softening dick drop from my mouth. Nathan stared at me as I continued to sit on my knees on the ground, unmoving.

A sudden movement from the back of the house had him scrambling to stuff his cock back in his underwear and pulling his shorts back up.

I hurried to stand, crowding in close to him to hide the way my pants were tented in the front, just as a couple walked past the space between the houses. They didn't even look in our direction, but it still would have been awkward had they caught us.

"Did you, uh, want me to help you with that?" Nathan was shaky, still coming down from the high of his orgasm.

I laughed as I backed away, my erection already fading a little. "Nah. I'm good."

His brow creased in confusion. "You're sure?"

Was I? Not really. While blowing him was one thing, it was an entirely different matter to let him get his hands on me again. I set out to assert what the plan was, and I had accomplished that. There was no need to take things further tonight.

With a flirty wink that I wasn't feeling, I waved him off. "This was about you."

Nathan didn't seem happy with my answer. He shifted awkwardly, and that stupid little flutter of hope tried to force its way in. Maybe he wanted more this time, but that hope had to die. He'd squashed my heart once before, and I'd never let him get that far again. Before my thoughts spiraled any further, I grabbed his hand and dragged him back toward the house. "Let's get back to that party. I want to dance some more."