8. Nicholas

8

Practical.

I'd questioned the phrase as soon as it'd come out of my mouth. It didn't feel right, like I was telling a half-truth, like I was just telling someone what they wanted to hear. Still, Parker seemed to take to it, something that'd unexpectedly caused my stomach to twist into knots. I knew I was on the sane path by insisting we keep things practical, and yet, it was like I was expecting a different reaction from Parker, some kind of pushback that I hadn't been able to muster up the courage to try for myself.

Shit.

I channeled my regret into hiking the trail, the strenuous nature of it being enough to keep my mind off my most recent mistakes with Parker. Although it didn't help that he was right next to me, smiling over at me from time to time, his skin glistening underneath the sunlight, his t-shirt drenched with sweat and clinging to his chest, his arms, his waist…

Fuck.

All I wanted was to reach over and?—

"Whoa." Parker's words threw off my train of thought, his attention on the view in front of us. "This is…"

He didn't finish his sentence as he moved closer to the side of the hill, looking down below. Even though I wasn't next to him, I knew exactly what he was looking at, this trail leading to a scenic overlook of the town. There was just something about the way the sunlight fell across the tops of the buildings, the impossible heights of the trees, all of it coming together like a picturesque painting that reflected the very best the town had to offer.

It was one of my favorite spots to hike to, especially when I needed to clear my head, the view reminding me that I was just a smaller part of something so much bigger, reminding me that whatever trouble I was facing was nothing compared to the enormity of the world around me.

"You knew." Parker smirked as he turned back toward me.

"I knew what?"

"You knew that this was up here!" He chuckled through his accusation. "You said we weren't hiking to anywhere but you knew this was waiting for us up here."

"True, I knew this was up here." I playfully shrugged. "But I meant what I said about the journey being more important than the destination?—"

"Let's take a selfie!" Parker grabbed for my hand, pulling me closer to where he was standing. He then handed me his phone, already in camera mode.

"Tallest person takes the picture," he explained, leaning into my side, a bright smile lighting up his face. "Go for it."

I looked at us on the phone, our reflections posed for the picture…

And those same, awful stomach knots returned in full force.

God.

We looked perfect together.

It was the kind of feeling I'd had before when seeing perfect couples walk by on the street, hand in hand, like they'd been plucked out of a movie, everything about them seeming so effortless. I'd never expected to feel that way about a picture, much less a casual selfie on the side of a hill?—

"Are you going to take the picture or not?" Parker chuckled as he nudged me on the shoulder. "Or is this one of those situations where you're a lost cause when it comes to technology?"

"I've got it, I've got it." I playfully rolled my eyes before I smiled at the camera, taking a few pictures before I handed Parker back his phone.

"Thank you," Parker said, his words coming out singsong. "Do you want me to send them to you?—"

I cut off Parker's response with a rough kiss, my hands on his waist, unable to hold myself back from him for even another second. Parker reciprocated, as always, matching my energy with rough kisses of his own, a desperation behind his every move. I pulled him back toward a nearby tree, pressing him against it, keeping him in place as I slid my tongue between his lips.

"Fuck. I want you," I whispered near his ear, breaking off the kiss just long enough to get out the words. "You look so fucking good right now. You always look so fucking good."

"You always look so fucking good, too," he whispered back, his hands sliding underneath my shirt, headed up toward my chest. "Nicholas, I?—"

"Sir."

"What?"

"That's what I want you to call me, when we're like this," I replied, my fingers wrapping around Parker's wrists, gently sliding them over his head and pressing them against the tree. "I want you to call me sir."

"And what happens if I don't?" Parker asked, a challenge behind his eyes.

"Good question. How about you try it and find out?" I sent the challenge right back to him.

"Maybe later… sir." Parker backed away from the challenge, his voice low.

"Good boy," I murmured as I kissed him again, his frame still pinned in place by mine. "Maybe you deserve a little reward for doing what you're told?"

"What kind of reward did you have in mind—Fuck!" Parker groaned as I slid my hand into the front of his jeans, cupping him through the crotch of his boxers. I gently ran my palm across the outline of his cock, loving the way his shaft responded to my touch, twitching and growing harder by the second.

"Fuck, Nich—Sir," Parker corrected himself as he moaned for me.

"You like that?" I asked, still moving my hand across his hardening cock. "Does that feel good to you, Parker?"

"Yes, sir. It feels so fucking good." He groaned again, as his hips bucked against my palm, eagerly wanting more.

I gave him a subtle nod in understanding before bringing my hand up from his crotch, just to give myself enough space to slide into his boxers, my fingers wrapping around his naked shaft. Parker shivered as I touched him, his breath catching in his chest once I started to move my hand up and down his cock.

"Oh, my God…," Parker whimpered, my palm steadily stroking him. "Fuck. That feels perfect—Nicholas!"

While Parker had been whimpering, I'd brought my hand up to my mouth, licking a long stripe across it before diving back down beneath his boxers. My strokes were moving faster now, just as Parker's cock started to leak with precome. I swiped one of my fingers along his tip, gently teasing it before stroking him again. I could tell that Parker was close, his breaths coming quick as his shaft hardened to the point of no return.

"I'm going to…" Parker bit his bottom lip, his cock still at my mercy. "Sir… I'm going to come…"

Just then, I moved my hand away from him, completely, even going so far as to take a step back from him.

"What?" Parker's confusion showed through his tone. "Why would you stop?—"

"Because I'm not ready for you to come yet," I replied, my hands going toward my own pants and boxers, pulling them down to the forest floor. I let out a sigh of relief as my aching cock popped free of the fabric, my body yearning for Parker's touch. "Now, get on your knees."

Parker did as he was told, even though there was still a hint of confusion lining his features. I moved closer to him and reached for either side of his face, pulling his head toward my waiting shaft. He opened his mouth, as if by instinct, my cock sliding between his lips. Without wasting any time, I started to buck my hips against him, shamelessly enjoying the feel of his mouth on me as my shaft grew harder and harder.

When I was ready, I moved away from him again. Parker looked like he was going to say something in protest, but I quickly knelt down toward him, my palm locked on his cock and hastily stroking him. Then I brought one of Parker's hands toward my own cock, his fingers now getting the message as he began to stroke the length of me in return.

I peppered him with kisses, his neck, his shoulder, the side of his face, all the while my hand still moving along him. A familiar sense of possessiveness flooded my veins as Parker rested his head against my shoulder, his fingers pressing deep into my back while he lost himself in absolute pleasure.

Mine.

You're all mine, Parker Evans.

"Fuck, I'm coming… I'm coming…" Parker moaned as he pressed even closer against me, fully tucked into my embrace. By the time I felt his come spraying across my thigh, he was nearly sitting in my lap, still stroking my cock as he shifted his position.

"Is this good, sir?" he asked, his voice slightly broken, his breaths still ragged from coming for me. "Did you want me to?—"

"It's perfect, Parker," I moaned now, too, as I came, trails of my come decorating his fingers and palm. "You're so fucking perfect."

We sat there like that for who knows how long, Parker curled into my lap, his head resting against my chest. I held him close as I looked at the view behind us, the town shimmering with light, a sight so beautiful I used to think there wasn't anything that could ever compare…

At least, until Parker.

Nothing had ever been as beautiful as Parker.