Page 9 of Running Back

Rocky blinked, and he was on his back on the mattress with Jakk hovering over him.

“It’s fine. Shhh. It’s okay. We don’t have to do this. I never meant to make you feel bad or used. I’m so fucking sorry.”

Fuck. Rocky had checked out. He hadn’t done that in ages. Then again, he hadn’t had sex in ages either. He blinked. “I’m good.”

Jakk looked defeated. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. “You’re right to be upset. I don’t deserve to have you here.”

Goddamn it. Rocky was the one fucked in the head. Not Jakk. He didn’t know how to say that, so an even worse confession escaped. “I like you way more than I should.” Under any other circumstances, Rocky would have bitten off his tongue, but hismind was still hazy from the silent panic attack. “Nothing will come of this except me getting hurt.” Fuck. Why couldn’t he stop?

To his surprise, he found himself beneath a very pissed-off-looking Jakk. “What do you think is happening here? Do you think I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t call the next day? Do you really believe I thought, ‘I’ll just fuck my new agent and we’ll never speak on it again and everything will be good?’ Is that really what you think?”

He couldn’t believe they were having this argument nude, with Rocky still ready to go. Oddly, every angry word brought him back to life. “I think I’m a rebound and you’ll realize it soon enough. When you do, the hurt will be my fault, because I knew I wasn’t special, and I still couldn’t wait to get hurt.”

Jakk visibly deflated. “How can you think you’re not special? Don’t answer that. I know it’s my fault.” He kissed the corner of Rocky’s mouth, lingering for a moment before pulling away again. “God, I don’t want to have this discussion with you underneath me like this, but I can’t let you leave this bed.” He kissed the other corner of Rocky’s mouth. “Eric started sleeping with someone else over a year ago. He said if I couldn’t publicly claim him, then I shouldn’t care if someone else did. I knew it was a way to try to force my hand, but it only made me realize I didn’t love him anymore. We were still together, for my guilt’s sake. Still, I didn’t stray, and I didn’t let him go. I don’t know if that was pride or penitence. Either way, I’d watch him get ready to go out with someone else and I only felt relief.”

Rocky’s stomach was in knots. His gaze wouldn’t waver from Jakk’s expression. He told the truth. Whatever he had with Eric had died a long time ago. Still, Rocky didn’t know how to feel. This wasn’t how he pictured making love to Jakk would go.

“When sleeping with someone else didn’t break me, you know what happened next. That’s what I needed to finally let go of whatever kept me hanging on, but don’t mistake that for love. He killed that a long time ago.” His expression shifted. Light and life came back to his eyes. Rocky watched him transform from recalling a bleak existence to finding a spark. “Then you walked into my life.” Rocky’s breath caught. He was the reason Jakk looked happy again. “You can’t know how much I want this. Not the sex, even though—goddamn.” Yeah. Rocky got it. They were pretty fucking explosive together. Jakk smiled. It was so sweet and warmed Rocky’s chest, carrying away the last of his doubts. “I want you. This isn’t me looking for an escape or a healing balm to soothe my hurt and pride. I want you,” he repeated with more intensity behind each word. “If I look angry at life or out of sorts, it’s because I know this feels and looks like I can’t possibly be serious. I’m enraged that I let Eric steal so much from me and now he gets to play the victim. It pisses me off that I met you right when everyone will think I’m hitting my whoring stage to deal with an ugly breakup. He left a long time ago. Since then, I’ve just been waiting for you.”

Maybe it was bullshit. Rocky wasn’t sure he cared. Every word Jakk spoke was what he needed to hear. He wasn’t built to fuck and run. That was why he never bothered. He understood being with him was hard work, but he understood even more that no one wanted anything real any longer. Damned if Jakk didn’tsound just like him—like anything less than real wasn’t good enough.

Rocky rolled, pinning Jakk beneath him. He moved slowly, lowering his head. If Jakk wanted him to stop now, he would. Jakk lifted his head, meeting him halfway. Their tongues fought for control. It wasn’t a sweet kiss. It was desperate. He scooped Jakk’s leg from the bed, tucking his arm beneath it so he could control him. In an instant, he was back to root-deep in Jakk’s ass. He kept Jakk held at the exact angle he wanted him and pumped inside him. Rocky knew what he was doing. Maybe it had been a long time, but he knew the exact angle to hit Jakk where it would drive him insane. The sounds vibrating around their entwined tongues proved his theory. Jakk swapped between scratching at the covers and tearing at Rocky’s skin. Rocky didn’t let up. He knew how to make Jakk fly, and he would. But Rocky hoped he got there quickly because Jakk’s body felt too good. It had been too long. Rocky desperately wanted to pump cum into his ass, even if a condom would catch every drop. He needed to blow with his dick buried inside Jakk. It felt a lot like claiming him.

Jakk tore his mouth away and visibly fought for air. “Oh, God. I have to—” A loud cry tore from Jakk.

Rocky never looked away. He savored every second. Jakk’s body convulsed, and Rocky lost his breath. He locked his back teeth and slammed himself inside Jakk over and over, driving himself to the edge. Then the world stopped as pleasure coursed through his veins. He was exactly where he should be.

A smile kept pulling at Jakk’s lips as he watched their fingers play. No one knew how fucking ecstatic he was. It was more than a post sex glow. They’d had a real adult conversation and there hadn’t been anyone screaming. He had spoken his heart and Rocky had listened. They felt like they were headed somewhere. Even though Jakk hadn’t seen this coming, he wanted them more than he dreamed possible. Rocky might have come from left field to sideswipe his life, but Jakk had never wanted anything more. He felt like he walked on clouds.

“I’ll miss you when you leave tomorrow.”

He felt Rocky smile against his temple. “I won’t let that happen. Over the years, I’ve gotten pretty fucking adept at being everywhere all at once. I’ll figure things out.”

Jakk couldn’t stop grinning like an idiot. “You won’t be the only one. I’m used to constant travel too. There’s no way I’ll let you sleep alone any longer than absolutely necessary.”

For a moment, silence grew between them before Rocky finally broke it. “We’re really doing this.”

Jakk was every bit as shocked as Rocky sounded. He never expected to meet Rocky and get swept off his feet. Hell, he never expected to get swept off his feet, period. Yet here they were. He didn’t regret a thing. “Damn right.”

Rocky’s arms tightened around him and—for once in a very long time—everything felt right. Tomorrow would bring a different set of problems. He still had a team and the entire world set against him right now. Somehow, Rocky made all that feel manageable. Tomorrow would bring what it brought. Right now, he was exactly where he wanted to be.

Chapter Six

It took a fewgames and even more practices, but people started talking to him again. It started with one guy who had been his friend for years and then another. In the end, he learned Jayme was more pissed about feeling lied to than anything. Jakk didn’t think he lied, exactly. He just hadn’t been open. Jakk thought he was justified, considering how everyone reacted. It was a solid two months before everyone pretended nothing had happened. There was a small part of him that wanted to cling to his anger over their initial reaction, but that served no one. They were all in this game together. He just wanted to win.

Life with Rocky was another matter. It was easy. His entire life he had been told anything worth having was worth strugglingfor. Being with Rocky proved that wasn’t the case. Everything was effortless. They somehow managed to spend at least every other night together. Splitting the traveling made things feel like nothing. He never expected things to feel so perfect.

Jakk tried to focus. He chewed on his mouth guard and paced the sideline. As soon as the whistle blew, he popped his mouth guard into place and threw on his helmet. On the twenty-yard line, he got into position. His gaze stayed locked on the man across from him. He barely heard the play being called. The moment the quarterback had the ball, Jakk shot through his opening. He didn’t think. Jakk acted. He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the ball sailing his way. His feet left the ground as he leapt upward. He tucked the ball against his body as a solid shoulder collided with his ribs. Despite getting taken down, he popped back up with a smile. He had picked up thirty yards. It had definitely been a good day for him. He hoped Rocky was somewhere watching. Jakk knew Rocky was in New York today, but that was all. A meeting had been pushed back from last night, stopping him from coming to see Jakk. Jakk missed him like crazy. He wanted to make Rocky proud.

They reset. Jakk found another opening. This time, he carried through, crossing that touchdown line. He tossed the ball into the stands before jumping up and chest-bumping Jayme. Everyone was all smiles as they jogged back to the sidelines. Fuck. It amazed him how doing everything for Rocky made him better. He wouldn’t fail the man who showed up when everyone else turned their backs. This team was his co-workers. That was all. Nothing he did was for them. Everything was for the man he loved.

Jakk’s thoughts screeched to a halt. Did he love Rocky? He had been with Eric for like eight months before realizing he loved the guy. Rocky and he had only been dating for two months. When had he fallen? Well, goddamn. He supposed he had better step up his game. One of these days, everyone would realize Rocky was more than his agent. When that day came, Jakk wanted Rocky to be proud as fuck to be with him. Nothing less would do.

“Everyone’s partying at Emerson’s nightclub tonight. You in?”

Jakk hesitated. Rocky wouldn’t make it into town tonight either, and Jakk had a team meeting tomorrow, so he couldn’t go to him. He needed to lean into the team’s acceptance. “Sure. I’ll be there.”

The guy who asked smiled and jogged away.

---