Page 77 of Cross the Line

Every laugh Alec pulls from him, every longing look and hopeful smile, makes Theo want things he has never wanted before. Equally as scary, is the growing suspicion he might want them with Alec. Heart in his throat, Theo squeezes Alec so tight he’s afraid he might wake him. Thankfully he doesn’t stir, leaving Theo free to hold him close. Theo lets his hand smooth over Alec’s hair, willing his own body to relax.

Theo has no idea what’s happening between them or what tomorrow will bring. The only thing he knows for sure, is that under no circumstances can he fall in love with Alexander King.

Alec has freckles on his ass.

On some level Theo knew he had freckles everywhere. They cascade across his face and down his neck. There are smatterings of them on his ribs, down his hips, and a dark cluster at the base of his spine. There are even some on his calves and the insides of his ankles. Yet none of the freckles affect Theo as much as the ones on his ass. Or maybe it’s just that Alec’s ass is out at all.

At some point in the night Alec shifted, kicking off the blankets and curling into a ball so that Theo’s sweater is rucked up his back, leaving his entire naked ass turned toward Theo. It's a testament to the hours of training he does; his ass is muscular and pert and very, very round. It is also covered in freckles. Not one or two, but too many to count, a constellation of freckles on one perfect ass.

If he reached out, Theo could lay one of his hands on each cheek and freckles would still show where ass meets thigh, twisting up between his cheeks. Theo has always been an ass man. That first day he’d accidentally checked Alec out, it'd been over his perfect ass. Weeks of trying to forget that moment has apparently led him here to having Alec nearly naked in his bed, that beautifully plush, firm ass on full display.

Not even a racing mind or the fear of being caught can diminish Theo’s morning wood, so he rolls away from Alec and out of bed, sneaking into the bathroom. This is his own damn house but he feels like a stranger, a stranger in his own body. Theo can’t even remember the last time he woke up hard. Apparently, having Alec in his bed is enough motivation for his cock to pay attention.

Refusing to jerk off to his best friend's baby brother who is currently wearing nothing but his favorite sweater while passed out in his bed, Theo undresses and takes the world’s fastest, coldest shower. He considers it his due punishment for lusting after Alec. When he gets out, he wastes no time towel drying his hair roughly before doing the same to the rest of the body. He wraps the towel around his waist, retrieving his glasses off the counter before heading back into the bedroom. He spends an embarrassingly long time looking at Alec, who, in Theo’s absence, has starfished on his belly, managing to take up nearly the entire king size bed. The sweater is still tangled up at his chest, his entire bottom half on display.

Rio meows from her position beside Alec’s head, as if demanding to know why Theo is daring to stare at her human. Because really, that’s what Alec is. While Rio doesn’t seem to mind Theo, she clearly adores Alec and for that reason alone, he knows he can’t ever get rid of her. There is nothing temporary about Rio, even if there has to be about his feelings for Alec.

“I’m not doing anything,” Theo tells her.

Talking to his cat might be the first sign he could be losing his mind. Or maybe that happened when he developed a crush on Alec.

Sexually unsatisfied, exhausted, and riddled with guilt, Theo dresses. It doesn’t seem like Alec is going to move any time soon but he still tries to be as quiet as he can, pulling out boxers and pants from his drawers before choosing his second favorite sweater from the closet. Breathing a sigh of relief when the familiar weight settles over his body. Alec’s wearing Theo’s favorite sweater in the entire world, and he absolutely does not want to think about what made him pick that one last night. He has a closet full of sweaters, many he never wears. There was no reason for him to go directly for his favorite and pull it over Alec’s naked body.

Thinking about Alec being naked beneath his sweater makes Theo’s cock chub up again. He sighs heavily, refusing to touch himself like this.

Hoping a little distance might clear his head, he sneaks out of the bedroom and makes his way to the kitchen. He’s pleased when Rio follows suit a minute later, heading directly to her food bowl and acting like she hasn’t been fed in a year. Theo makes sure to refill her food and water before he sets about making coffee, brewing coffee strong enough to wake the dead, which is about what he feels like.

All night Alec slumbered beside him, alternating between clinging to Theo like an octopus or stealing all the blankets and cocooning himself up like some kind of hibernating bear. Unused to sleeping with anyone and acutely aware of Alec’s near nakedness, Theo had spent the majority of the night awake and staring at the ceiling.

When the coffee pot beeps he nearly jumps out of his skin, pouring himself a huge cup without even bothering with cream or sugar today. It’s kind of disgusting, but the part of Theo’s brain that feels like he’s done something wrong, that feels like he doesn’t deserve something sweet or comforting, is too loud to ignore. He spends the next twenty minutes leaning against the kitchen counter, forcing down the bitter coffee.

He doesn’t bother with a second cup, leaving his mug next to the half-full pot before puttering around the kitchen. There’s not much to clean up since Theo is pretty tidy, but a sparkling kitchen always makes Theo feel more in control. He discards the few pieces of old mail left on the kitchen island, loads the dishwasher and wipes down the counters, frowning when the clock has only moved twelve minutes. He remembers being a kid, puttering around the house while his dad slept the day away after overnight shifts at the liquor store. He’d always needed to be so quiet then, picking up the house so his dad wouldn’t have to when he woke up later.

It’s strange how easily the comfort of a quiet home can become oppressive, how sometimes the stillness reminds Theo of his own loneliness. Perhaps that’s why he loved the King house so much. It was never still, never quiet. With two parents and four boys and at one point their abuela, the house had been as full of people as it was love.

Theo doesn’t want to be alone right now, but he can’t call Jason. Not now. What would he say? “Hey, I miss you, but don’t come over. Your brother is passed out in my bed, and no, I didn’t fuck him, but I’m thinking about offering, which has me torn up inside and feeling like I’m on the edge of a cliff.” Or maybe, “Hey, you wanna talk me down from this mental spiral I’ve got myself into, knowing the thing I’m going to do could jeopardize my friendship with you, but for some reason I can’t stop myself?” Neither of those things would go over well.

What’s a man supposed to do when he needs his best friend to help him through one of the most confusing moments of his life, but that best friend is the one person in the world who can’t ever know what’s going on in Theo’s messed-up head. Unable to pull himself together, Theo ends up in the living room rewatching a documentary about the tundra he’s seen half a dozen times when Alec walks by with his head down and his hands over his face.

“Why are you awake?”

“You don’t see me,” Alec mumbles.

“I definitely see you.” Theo laughs, rolling over to watch as Alec’s bare feet pad across his living room. The sweater hits just at the top of his thighs, material hanging loose as he walks past Theo and towards the kitchen. “Where are you going?”

“Where the coffee is,” Alec answers.

Theo jumps off the couch and follows Alec into the kitchen. “I can make a fresh pot. This one has been sitting for a while.”

Alec scrunches his nose, breathing deeply before shaking his head from side to side, which Theo can only assume means don’t bother. A second later he reaches for Theo’s mug from earlier and fills it to the brim, apparently not caring that it wasn’t clean. Not that Theo can blame him, he looks like death warmed over.

“Can I have?—”

“Sugar,” Theo finishes, leaning over him to pull the sugar out of the pantry. If his chest happens to press against Alec’s back for a few seconds longer than necessary, no one needs to know.

“And—”

“Creamer,” Theo says, grabbing it from the fridge and passing it to Alec. He forces himself to take a few steps backward as he keeps his eyes on Alec, noticing he uses less of both than last time. Alec lifts the coffee, muttering under his breath before he sips it. He stands like that, shoulders hunched while he gulps down the entire mug of coffee, immediately making a second. Only then does he turn around, a smile in place.

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