Chapter 19

Cool, salty water splashes in my face, but I laugh it off and pass the ball to Clay, then hustle my way to the other side of the pool, where Ren's tending goal.

Clay passes to Steve, who is being defended by Phil. We can't wear goggles, for safety reasons, so sometimes it can be tough to tell what's going on, but when I pop my head up from doing the fastest crawl stroke I can, I learn that Steve's scored. Again.

I've always loved playing polo, but now I have my boyfriend in the pool with me, which makes practice even more fun. It also makes me more aware of how tight my Speedo is.

I've been wearing my steel necklace in the pool ever since Steve gave it to me. Coach said he had no problem with it during practice, although it's gotten tugged a few times what with all our roughhousing. Polo can be brutal, especially under the water, where we all end up kicking each other a bit too much—even on the same team.

After a few weeks of playing, Steve's gotten used to how the game works, and he's turning into a star. Definitely no longer a provisional team member. His natural grace and speed in the water make up for his lack of experience.

I'm treading water in the middle of the pool when Coach blows his whistle. We all look up at him.

"Jobs," Coach calls. "Tend goal."

Steve tilts his head. "Me, Coach?"

"Yes, you. Switch places with Ren. I want to try something. Everyone, get in a line and take shots on the nokk. I wanna see how Jobs does in goal."

Steve's never tended goal before, but I have faith in him. Dutifully, we all swim over and get in a line. Steve looks warily at us, and his deep, dark eyes seem to be taking in the size of the goal. I know from experience that if you're trying to score it feels too small. If you're defending it, though, it's the size of a small country.

Ashton is first in line and dribbles the ball—you bounce it off your chest in polo—then picks it up and dongs it with all his strength at the upper left corner of the goal.

In a flash, Steve is there and deflects it.

We all murmur. Ashton's one of our best players.

Next up is Clay, who aims for a different area, but Steve's there with the save.

Over and over, Steve tends goal. When it's my turn, I look at Coach. In his human form, he doesn't have tusks, but his teeth are tending that way, and I've never seen him grin wider.

I can do this.

I palm the ball, then lift it up, hoping I can fake Steve out. I turn my head to the left as I throw to the right as hard as I can.

But Steve turns in time, and the tips of his fingers tap the ball enough to deflect it from going in.

"Guys, I think we have a new goalie," Coach says.

"Nick and Ren are terrific," Clay says. "But Steve seems unstoppable."

"You're gonna be our secret weapon," Coach says. Steve smiles shyly and looks away, but he seems pleased. Coach blows his whistle. "Gather round."

We all swim over to the side of the pool.

"There's a rumor that Shuford may be planning some kind of sabotage. Keep your wits about you, okay? I don't know if it's only gossip or if there's truth to it. But with those jackasses—" Coach shakes his head. "Better to be safe than sorry."

"Yes, Coach," we all say. I wonder what they could do. It seems like we're more dangerous than they are, since we have Steve and his nokk scream.

Coach claps. "Okay, guys. Do your laps, and then I'll see you on Friday for the game. Good practice. "

We all take off, racing across the pool and back a few times, because Coach says ending strong is just as important as beginning strong.

Panting, I haul myself out of the water and drip my way to the locker room. I try not to eye Steve's ass too much, but when he's walking around in that tiny scrap of fabric, it's hard not to.

Still, I don't want to make our teammates—or him—feel awkward. I dry off and pull on my sweats, then wait for Steve so we can head back to our dorm.

"What do you think about being goalie?" I ask as we make our way across the quad. Water drips down Steve's face from his wet hair, and he looks like a model in some perfume or underwear ad.

"It is making me anxious, because it's a lot of responsibility," he admits. "But I think I can do it."

"I know you can do it, dude. You got this. Let's shower and then get coffee?"

"Sounds good."

The moment the door to our room is shut, I attack Steve. There's no other word for it. Grabbing him by the ass, I haul him to me and kiss him. His towel and gym bag thud to the floor. "Oof," he says against my lips, but he's kissing me back just as hard, his hands holding my face to his.

I love the way his cool skin feels against me—it's staticky, too. Like there's a burst of energy pulsing through him.

Steve wraps his arms around me and backs me against the wall, his erection pressing against mine. I'm freeballing it in my plaid pajama pants and pitching such a tent it's embarrassing. Steve's basically wearing the same thing, and together we get his hoodie off, then mine.

Then he's back on me, kissing me hard, his hands on either side of my head, his knee pressing between my legs.

He's got me boxed in against the wall, and I don't know why that turns me on, but it does. We're close to the same size—he's slightly smaller than me, and he told me his monster size is about the same—and it feels like a battle for dominance. He'd win, though. He's immovable. I like it. He could push me around. He just chooses not to.

Major turn-on.

I grin against his lips and kiss him some more, then start kissing down his neck and collarbone. His erection is as obvious as mine.

And I want to try something. I drop to my knees.

"What are you doing?" Steve whispers.

I pause with my hands on his waistband. "Giving you a blow job."

"Are you sure?" He sounds like he can't quite believe this is happening to him.

"I am." I want to encourage him to take his pleasure. I want him to use me. I love seeing him get off. I get off on it.

"Okay."

"I've never done this before, so you're going to have to guide me as to what you like. I can guess it's the same as what I like, but let me know."

He nods vigorously, and I shove down his pants and take his hard cock in my hand. His form blips a little bit, and I take that as a good sign. I lick all the way up his length and suck on the cushiony, velvety tip.

He groans loudly, and his knees shake. I guess I'm doing a decent job. I love how salty he is—and I don't think it's from the pool. He's just part water.

I suck more and more, getting into a rhythm, and it's really fun. It's like sucking a lollipop. A big one.

I almost giggle, and Steve gives me a sharp look. My brain goes weird places when I suck cock, it seems.

I pull off him so I can say, "I love doing this."

Steve looks down at me with so much affection, I can hardly stand it.

I love doing this to my boyfriend. I love that I have a boyfriend. I love that this makes me feel powerful.

"Are you going to come on my face?" I ask. "Or down my throat?"

"Wow," he whispers. "This is so fucking sexy."

I pause. "I don't think I've heard you swear before, and that's a turn-on."

He bites his lip, his black eyes full of desire.

"Do what you like," I say. "I want you to come."

Ngh. I want to be kissing him and getting off with him all the time.

"I will come in your mouth, then," Steve whispers, and I suck him harder. He's gentle at first, but at a certain point, he loses control. He sometimes lets out a monstrous roar when he comes—different from his nokk scream.

He's headed to a tipping point, and soon he lets go, his warm spurts of release sliding down my throat. I've never swallowed this much come before (I tasted my own, once, but only a drop), but if this is what it's like, Steve can have me sucking his dick any time he wants, no questions asked. I'm good with this.

Before I can do anything, Steve is hauling me up by my armpits, kissing me hard. He pushes down my pants, which I kick off so I'm as naked as he is. Then, with a wink, he gracefully drops to his knees and starts returning the favor.

It's so hot. Or, rather, his cool tongue wraps around my dick, and the pressure and wetness and suction are unbelievable.

I'm so close to blowing anyway, it's not long before the pleasure takes over and I'm shooting down his throat, so, so happy that I get to do this. So happy that I have him in my life.

I walk him back to my bed and tackle him, our heads landing on the pillows with an oomph.

He laughs. I never knew such a melancholy creature could have such a warm laugh, but he does.

"I think we need to do that more often," I say, holding him as tightly as he's holding me.

He nods, his shiny dark hair splayed across his face. I love the way he smells—like fresh air and clean water. Things that might not have a strong, distinctive scent, but when you're near them, you know.

We make out until we're both breathless, then lie back, taking a break but unable to keep our hands off each other.

I grin at him. "You want to go do something? I don't have class until later. Wanna watch a movie or go swimming or go for a run or …"

"I've got homework," he says regretfully.

"Then let's go study. Where do you want to go? The library?"

"Yeah, okay. Sure."

We get cleaned up—sharing more kisses in the shower—and dressed, then pack up our backpacks with our laptops and study materials and head outside.

Steve and I walk out of the room, holding hands, and run into Savannah. She startles, looking at our joined fingers. Then she tilts her head. "Are you two … together?"

I let go of Steve's hand, and he stiffens for a moment, perhaps thinking that I'm going to betray him. But I sling an arm around his shoulders and kiss him on the side of his mouth. Even Steve can't contain his grin.

"Yep," I say. "We're dating."

Steve curls into me, and while there was never any question about my being willing to claim him in public—at least not on my part—I hadn't counted on coming out again and again. But I'll do it as many times as it takes. He's my boyfriend. I want to be with him. And I know he can be scared of how the world sees him, but I will defend him with everything I have.

"That's cool," she says, sounding wistful. "I guess I'll see you around."

When she's gone, Steve whispers, "I was jealous of her. I thought you were dating her. Before we got together, that is."

"Nope. No one but you."

We arrive at the library, grab some Mummy Mocha coffee (saying hi to Tanner and Seth), and then climb the stairs to a quieter area. It's been harder to focus on studying, now that I'm so into my roommate, but today, at least, I'm able to get some work done. Though I'm also enjoying sitting next to him and watching him scrunch up his nose as he works on his laptop and reads.

He's so cute.

I'm in trouble, aren't I? He's going to be the end of me.

But that's okay. I'm good with it. I think I've wanted him from the moment I met him.

And now he's mine.

Friday, we have a game against a team from Ohio. It's the first real game where a team of humans and monsters have played against an all-monster team.

We don't get our asses handed to us, which I'd half expected would happen. I'm not a pessimist, but we humans simply don't have the same abilities as the monsters.

But what we do have is strong team intuition. Apparently eating breakfast together, going to karaoke together, and hanging out watching movies—on top of practicing all the time—pays off, because we're better able to predict where each other is going to be and pass the ball more efficiently.

Also, the Ohio team is not as awful as some—cough, Shuford, cough—in the area of cheating by kicking under the water. They do it, sure, but it's a normal amount.

As goalie, Steve's just about unstoppable, but we have to rotate players, and Ren lets in a few goals. Still, the final score's 4–3, with us on top, and the entire team goes out afterward to celebrate. We had something to prove, and we did it.

I hadn't realized how much of a risk Creelin was taking by encouraging humans to play, but we're showing that we're valuable members of the team.

We all pile into booths at Scareoke again, and this time, when Steve sings, I go up there with him. He commands the attention of the entire room, and at the end, when he kisses me, we bring down the house. Today has been a very good day.