Page 7 of Defensive Zone

He nods and retrieves the sunscreen from his bag and pours a generous amount into his palm. He runs his hands all over my back and arms in circular motions, and it takes every ounce of strength in me not to purr like a damn cat under his touch.

I’m more than capable of doing my chest and arms, but it doesn’t stop him from squirting more into his hand and stepping around to do my front, grinning like an idiot as he puts some on my nose with his finger.

“You’re such a dork.” I laugh, rubbing it in with my hand.

“Don’t want your nose burning like that time in Mexico. I’m pretty sure planes could have seen your red beacon of a nose from the sky.”

“Yeah, fuck you very much.” I scowl. “Someone didn’t think to cover my face when I fell asleep in the hammock.”

“Hey! That someone covered your body with a towel! I saved your tattoos.”

“You could’ve saved my face too,” I grumble.

He laughs and gives my nipple a flick once he’s finished rubbing in the sunscreen. If I wasn’t sweating like a beast right now, the move would have gone straight to my dick.

I’m about to ask him if he wants me to put any sunscreen on him when he speaks.

“Come on, let’s find that pool,” he says, throwing the bottle into his bag.

I let out a sigh of relief. It’s not that I don’t enjoy putting sunscreen on him, it’s the fact I enjoy being able to run my hands over his smooth skin a little too much.

We continue on our hike, making sure to stop for regular water breaks to stay hydrated and to take more photos.

“I think we’re close,” I announce as I hear the sound of rushing water.

My speed picks up in excitement of cooling off in the pool. I’m already calculating whether to lose my pants or go in fully dressed. Swimming in pants won’t be ideal, but it’s so hot, they will dry quickly. But in my haste, I don’t notice the rocks leading to the waterfall are slippery, and I lose my balance.

“Fuck!”

My arms flail as I try to stay upright. I startle as Carter’s arms wrap around me tightly. The move prevents me from falling, but I end up turning around in his arms. My bare chest is pressed up against Carter’s equally naked one. His hands grip my waistabove the hem of my pants. My nipples brush against his as our chests heave with our panting breaths, and my dick doesn’t fail to notice. Heat races down my spine, and I take a steady step back, needing to create some distance between us before he feels the evidence of my arousal.

I’m thankful he can’t see my eyes behind my sunglasses because I’m sure what he would see would ruin our friendship.

I want to kiss him. Devour him with my mouth before stripping out of our clothes and seeing just how close we could get while naked in the pool.

“You’ve gotta be careful. I don’t want to be explaining to Coach Harris why you broke your leg on vacation,” Carter scolds, dumping his bag to the side and unbuttoning his pants.

I stand there for a moment, completely dumbfounded. My head is a mess from nearly falling and the weight of Carter’s sweaty body pressed up against mine. The feel of being skin to skin. My cock throbs in my briefs as image after image floods my brain like a reel of us sweaty and naked in bed.

“You coming?” he asks, eyeing me curiously from the edge of the water.

My head jerks in his direction, snapping me out of the daze. He takes tentative steps into the pool, making sure he doesn’t make the mistake I nearly did. He stripped down to his boxer briefs and kept his sneakers on. We both packed an extra pair of shoes and change of clothes in our bags for the trek back down.

“Y-yeah,” I rasp.

I put my bag on the ground next to his and take a drink of water, giving myself some time to let my dick deflate. I run through stats and practice drills in my mind, and remind myself of the time I threw up doing bag skates and once it calms down, I take off my pants and place them neatly over our backpacks.

This time, when I step onto the rocks, I take it slow and steady. Carter is right—Coach Harris would have my head if I injured myself during the off-season.

When I’m in up to my stomach and the water reaches my belly button, I let out a shuddering breath. It’s cold and refreshing and exactly what I—and my cock—needed to cool down.

I walk further in, then push off the ground and swim over to where Carter is. He’s floating on his back, arms out wide as he peers up toward the top of the waterfall. We learned a few years ago not to stand under them, no matter how tall they are, after he got hit with a falling log and cut his shoulder.

I shift to float on my back next to him, but he lunges, grabbing hold of my shoulders and dunking me under the water. I’m coughing and spluttering when I resurface.

“You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?” I glare, wiping the water from my eyes.

He grins, and when he opens his mouth, I get my revenge. I dunk him under, then wrap my arms and legs around his neck and body. Our laughter bounces off the surrounding trees as we tussle, trying to get one up on the other.

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