17. Lucas

CHAPTER 17

LUCAS

Around midnight, my buzzing phone dragged me out of a drowse. Marisol and Liz were curled up on the sofa, one on each end, and Tori sprawled in Renata's favorite recliner. The TV quietly played some teen vampire show we'd decided to binge around the time we got my life sorted out for the third time since dinner. It took a minute for me to realize the sound was my phone and not some new power the square-jawed, very blond, very bland male lead was manifesting along with his sudden ability to fly, read minds, tame any animal, and make the perfect souffle.

Okay that last one wasn't one of his powers, but he'd made a souffle in three episodes out of ten. I was suspecting it was either some vampiric evil, or the writers were really into souffles.

Cooper's name flashed on my screen. The last traces of sleep fleeing, I fumbled the phone to answer. "Hello?" I hissed. "Cooper? What's going on? Where are you?"

"Downstairs," he said, sounding both tired and amused. "Ah, can I... can I come up?"

I looked around my living room and sighed. "Maybe. No? I don't know. I've got company."

He hummed in acceptance. "Okay. It was kind of an impulsive idea to come over anyway. I just thought..."

"I'll come down."

I hung up before he could try and stop me. Quietly, I slipped my shoes on and grabbed my keys. As I padded to the door, Marisol raised her head. "Hey," I whispered. "Um..."

"Don't get arrested," she grumbled. "I'm too comfy to come bail you out." She dropped her head again and was out like a light.

With a small smile, I let myself out into the hall, locking the door behind me.

Cooper appeared tired but good. Like... too good to be true. His hair fallen from its usual soft knot, it hung around his face like one of those old Renaissance paintings. Caught under the security light by the front door, he fairly glowed. I stood there a moment, just inside the lobby doors, and stared. He had on shorts and the t-shirt from the Queering Sports fundraiser eons ago now, peering at something on his phone. He looked beautiful. He looked like mine .

That thought sent a thrill through me, cutting through the funk and grimness like a hot knife. I must have moved or made some sound that caught his attention because he glanced up and met my gaze with a small, cautious smile. Shoving his phone into his pocket, he gave me a half-wave near his chest, cocking his head curiously.

Oh, right. I guess I should open the door.

When I hurried towards him, he held his arms open for me. I ran the last few steps, letting him take my weight as I buried my face in his chest. Cooper stroked my hair with one hand while the other pressed me to him, his heart beating hard and steady against my cheek. "Today sucked," I said finally. "I'm glad you came back. I missed you."

He laughed softly, soundlessly. "I'm glad you had your friends."

"I'm sorry it wasn't you," I said, then hesitantly added, "But I think maybe I needed to see them first. To get through the dreck. I didn't want to dump all of that on you."

"Baby," Cooper sighed, pushing me away just enough so he could see my face, "if we're gonna do this, you need to understand this right now and never forget it. I will never be upset about you needing to vent, cry, share, whatever you need when you have a bad time. I want to help you shoulder that burden, okay? And if you need space to do it, I want to give you that too, so you know I'm not off sulking or calling you a brat."

The tears were sudden and unexpected, my eyes stung. "Why is it so prickly when you're nice?" I complained, burying my face in his shirt again.

"Because it's breaking your shell."

Damn it.

We stood there quietly for a few minutes, rocking slowly with one another's breaths. Finally, when I felt like I could talk without crying, I said, "Liz said she told you where you could find him."

"Ah. Yeah. Here..." He shifted, fishing his phone out to unlock the screen and show it to me. "Phil's been sending me links."

"Cooper Howard is a badass," I read from the first post. "Saw him at Laviol talking to JCreel. Creel was a drunk a-hole. Coppertop was total class, didn't rise to the bait." I grinned at him. "Class, huh?"

"I wanted to lay him out," Cooper admitted, cheeks pinking as he ducked his chin sheepishly. "But what would be the point? I'd feel good for a few minutes. Creel... he's not a great person, but tonight, I got the definite vibe he's not happy with himself. Like, deeply unhappy."

"So that gives him the right to fuck me over? To talk shit about other queer players?" I demanded, temper rising. "I know you like seeing the best in people but?—"

"But that doesn't excuse what he's done," Cooper interrupted firmly. "You're right. And he does need to be held accountable. And he will be. But punching him? That would only make things worse in the long run for all of us. And the last thing I want to do is be like him, Lucas." He captured my chin with his fingers, guiding me close for a kiss. We were on the street in view of passing cars, the drunk party girls passing on the sidewalk, the security cameras, but he didn't care.

And neither did I.

In a minute or two, things got too heated to call it innocent.

"We can't go to my place—they're gonna wake up when we come in," I mumbled into the kiss.

Cooper grunted, pulling away to nod towards his truck. "There's room."

"Seriously?" I laughed, leaning back. "On the street?"

"Well, I was thinking of going around the corner where it's darker, but if you're into the whole showing off thing, we can find a consensual situation at one of those clubs or something, and?—"

"No, no, no! I mean, if you are, we'll discuss, but no one gets to see your sweet ass but me."

"And the guys in the locker room," he teased.

"Shut up. No exhibitionism for me, thank you."

I eyed the truck, then glanced back at the lobby doors. "Can you be quiet?"

He grinned. "Might have to put something in my mouth."

Heat suffused my body, blood rushing down in a dizzying sweep. "I think that can be arranged."

We traipsed up to the apartment as quietly as we could manage. Side-eye from the security guard downstairs made us giggle like teenagers, which just got worse the more we tried to shush one another. Thankfully, my friends were sacked out when I got the door unlocked or doing a damn good job of pretending. "Come on," I whispered, barely making a sound, and led Cooper to my room.

He flashed me a grin, backing up to the bed and flopping dramatically on the huge stack of pillows there. "I believe you mentioned something about shutting you up?"

"You sweet talker," I scoffed without any heat to the words. Crawling up on the bed beside him, I shifted suddenly, straddling his hips before he could move on me. "How quiet can you be?"

Cooper surged up to kiss me, startling a muffled squawk from my lips. He laughed softly, pulling me down to lie on his chest, his heart beating so hard I could feel it through my ribs. The kiss was messy and sweet, all tongue and teeth and lips for several minutes until Cooper took over, changing the trajectory back to where we'd wanted to go in the first place.

Clothes went flying, his sure fingers making short work of my joggers, skimming over my hips and ass as he pushed the fabric down. "Sit up," he muttered against my neck. I nodded, raising, only for him to stop me before I could move off of him. "Damn, you are so pretty," he sighed, drinking me in hungrily with his avid gaze. The flush rushing over my face and chest couldn't have been attractive, but he seemed to find it the best aphrodisiac. His hands spanned my ribs as he moved them up from my hips, smoothing them around to my back and back down again. "Come here," he whispered, nudging me up his chest.

It took half a second, but I caught on quick. "You sure?" I asked quietly. "What about you?"

"I want to, if you do?"

I nodded, moving up until my knees were on either side of his head and his hands cupped my ass. The first touch of his tongue on my sac made me gasp, high and ecstatic. He chuckled, which definitely didn't help things, the vibration and tickle of his breath sending explosive thrills through my veins. Cooper didn't waste time, setting to work laving and sucking my balls, driving out any rational thought I had left in seconds. All I could do was grab onto my headboard and hope I didn't get overheard as he drew one ball, then the other into his mouth, alternating gentle sucks and firm licks. "Oh my god," I breathed. "Cooper!"

He pulled away just enough to shush me before holding up one of his hands. "Suck," he ordered quietly. "Make it wet."

"Oh god…"

Cooper groaned against my thigh as I licked and sucked his finger like I wanted to do to his dick. Another high gasp escaped when he moved his face to bury it against me again, tongue and lips and teeth making me shake, breath short and sharp as I tried not to shout. Cooper pulled his finger out of my mouth, and I bit down on my lip, knowing what was coming, thrilled and nervous and desperate for it.

Cooper tipped his face to the side, breathing hard as his finger slowly, slowly pushed into me. Head bowed and eyes squeezed shut, I couldn't see the look on his face, but I could feel his smile against my thigh, the way his hands shook as he held me in place. "Let me suck you?" he finally whispered, and I panted yes yes yes .

I felt trapped in the best way, his finger inside me and my cock in his mouth. I could barely move from the intensity of it, the way he stroked that little nub inside while he sucked and licked me. I was certain I'd shout, I'd burst into flames, I'd melt, I'd cry.

My release was building so fast it made me dizzy, the heat and tightness pooling in my belly. A knot of pleasure at the base of my cock gave me just a tiny split second of warning before it released. A spurt of precum and my reedy "Cooper! " and I was there. Cooper grunted in surprise but didn't pull away, drinking my release down in sucking swallows that left me weak. I slumped over, my grip on the headboard the only thing holding me up, until finally he pulled away. "Oh my god…"

"Yeah," he panted roughly. "Yeah…"

The bed was shaking, and it wasn't just me. I rolled to one side and eyed him as he worked himself, eyes squeezed tight, and jaw clenched. "Let me?" I breathed.

He nodded, moving his hand so I could take over. "Show me what you want," I demanded prettily, and he smiled through his pleasured grimace, closing his fingers around mine and setting the pace. He was hanging by a thread, so close it just took a few strokes before he arched into our joined hands. His thick, reddened cock spurted over our fingers and onto his fuzzy belly. I licked some of his spend off his skin, making him gasp loudly in the quiet apartment.

"Shhh," I teased, smiling up at him. "They're sleeping in the other room, remember?"

Cooper opened one eye, his smile tired and pleased. "You're a menace, and I think I'm okay with that. Come up here a second. Let me hold you before we get cleaned up, if that's okay?"

I nodded. "More than."

When I woke up Saturday morning, I hoped for a magical movie moment where everything felt right and all my fears and worries were gone. "I guess your dick isn't enchanted," I sighed, startling a snort out of Cooper.

"I'm sorry?"

"Don't be," I yawned. "I like regular dick just fine. Do I smell coffee?"

He grunted affirmation. "Marisol started a pot before they left. She had to go to her brother's birthday thing, Liz needed to work on her thesis, and Tori didn't give an excuse, just said we should be careful because she's not ready to be an auntie yet."

I laughed, rolling onto my back. "So you ran into 'em, huh?"

"Kind of hard not to when Marisol stuck her head in to thank us for not waking them up with our, and I quote, 'relationship affirming bang-fest.'"

"Oh my god."

"C'mon," he cajoled. "Let's at least grab breakfast together. I've got training this morning, then practice after lunch, so I'm gonna be wrapped up all day."

The thought of not going to the field again, not being on the field, stung. That wound would be raw for a while. But I forced a small smile and nodded. "Okay. I guess I need to get up and face the day too. There's calls to make, and I need to talk to Liesel."

Cooper rolled to his feet and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the bathroom, "C'mon. Using a t-shirt to clean up doesn't make us actually clean, and I'm not going to practice with dried jizz in my chest hair."

"Okay, first, ew. And second... ever had shower sex?" At his dubious glance, I wiggled my brows. "I'm very bendy."

Cooper ended up late to practice, and I almost missed a call from Dani. Still glowing, I accepted her request for a video call. Her raised brows informed me she knew what I'd been up to. "Not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Not a thing. Except my existential crisis."

"Well," she sighed, "I'm not sure if this is going to help or hurt. Management, who is not thrilled with working on a Saturday morning but they can suck it, has received the documents from Cass and decided Creel's statements were, in part, false. But you did violate your morality clause by dating a player while contracted to the cheer squad. He was in violation as well, but since he's no longer a player, the Copperheads can do nothing to address that. It'd be opening cans of worms they would just rather not deal with, especially since it would leave them open to accusations of homophobia, queerphobia, and so on."

"So what does this mean for me?" I asked, barely above a whisper. My good mood was officially gone, and reality was creeping in faster than I'd ever wanted. "When do I come clean out my locker?"

She winced. "I'll have one of the ladies do it this afternoon, after practice. In the meantime, I'll need to collect your keys to the gym, the practice facility, your uniforms?—"

"I paid for those," I pointed out dryly. "Do I get my money back?"

"Lucas..."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Shit." I tipped my face up, hoping the tears would stay behind my lids when I finally looked back at the screen. "What else?"

"Management has agreed, after Becca and I went hard to bat for you, that you can audition in twelve months for another spot on the squad. But for this year, you're out."

"And the chances of me getting a spot at age twenty-six are virtually nil," I whispered. "Okay then."

"It's not impossible. And you're amazing, Lucas. This isn't the end of the world."

"Not the entire world, no. Just mine."

I stopped by Dani's office to drop off the things considered cheer squad property, down to my uniform socks, leaving everything in a box at the front desk. I couldn't stomach seeing her face to face now. I could barely face Liesel, waiting for me in the lobby of the tiny office block Queering Sports rented.

"Hey," she drawled, bouncing on her heel. "There's no good way for me to say this without sounding like a total jerk but?—"

"I'm fired. Leave. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars," I sighed. "I know. I've been expecting that."

"No," she giggled. "Come here. I want to show you this."

Grabbing my wrist, she pulled me to her office. She had her computer on and facing the door. "I've been preparing." She waved for me to sit down, joining me in the other chair. "I got an email early this morning from Jameson Creel's representative. He's backing out of his role with the organization but," she held up one finger when I gasped, "he's still donating, and throwing his weight behind signing people up. "

On the screen was the email and several open tabs. "Here," she added, clicking on another. "This is QS's fundraising link we keep going all year. Look at the past twelve hours!"

"Jesus... that's half a million dollars!"

She squealed. "All unique donors! There's no definitive evidence, but the spike started after pictures of Cooper in his shirt hit the socials last night. And," she drawled, drumming her hands on the desk in a fanfare, "we've had twenty new volunteer applications this morning. Over half cited his involvement in the organization as a draw. Only a few cited Creel."

Taking it in stunned silence I nodded slowly. "So things are... good," I said weakly. "Really good."

"Well, they could be a lot better." She shifted to lean in closer and clasp my hands in hers. "Lucas, I'm about to ask you something and you can totally say no if you want to. I just ask that you think about it, okay?"

When I stared at her, she sighed, smiling a little more widely. "Don't look so scared. It's not bad. It's kind of huge, actually. One of the big deals this morning was this." She clicked the last tab. An email from a law firm informed Liesel and the board they would be establishing a scholarship fund at Cottonwood College, a private university known for its STEM and business programs, for nonprofit management. The anonymous donor stipulated that the recipient be part of the LGBTQIA+ community and demonstrate a desire to work with kids.

"Uh," I sputtered. "That sounds oddly specific. Who's the donor?"

"We have our suspicions, but the law firm won't answer calls. They're legit, though! I checked 'em out. They specialize in trusts, rich people stuff, but their client is determined to be incognito. Lucas, we want you to be the first recipient. All you have to do is apply to the program and get in." She bit her lip, barely stifling another squeal of excitement. "And honey, you're gonna be a shoe-in."

"I don't... I... what ?" My world was rapidly tilting again, the second time in twenty-four hours. "I needa minute. What the hell is happening?"

She shook her head. "No idea, but isn't it wonderful?"