Page 33 of Over the Top

A low sound emanated from Gunner’s throat, and it took Chas a second to identify it. The man had growled. Actually growled. The beginning of a smile curved his lips. It was nice to have someone be so protective of him. It had been a long time since—

His train of thought derailed. The last time anyone had been this protective of him had been back in high school, when Gunner had scared off anyone who even thought about bullying him.

“What?” Gunner asked quickly.

“You’ve always been my knight in shining armor, haven’t you? You’re the only person who has always come to my defense, roaring like a lion and chasing off anyone who tries to mess with me.”

A snort. “I’m a lot of things, but a knight in shining armor is not one of them.”

“I dunno. Those truckers backed off plenty fast when you showed up.”

“Don’t remind me of them. I’m already fighting with myself about going back and teaching them both a lesson.”

“They’re not worth it. The world will always have its share of ignorant jerks. I learned a long time ago to just live my life and let others live theirs. You can’t change people who don’t want to be changed.”

Gunner’s voice lowered into the tone of a confession. “I’m still pretty new to this. It may take me a while to arrive at your sense of calm over what other people think of you.”

“You mean because I’m gay?” Chas was startled. “What do you mean, you’re new to this? New to what?”

“New to embracing being gay.”

A laugh escaped him before he could bite it off. “Well, of course you’re gay. I’ve known that since high school.”

“How in the hell could you know when I didn’t?”

“Dude. Every girl in the school threw themselves at you, and you didn’t even notice, let alone have any interest.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I was gay. It could have just meant I wasn’t interested in sex.”

“Ahh, but you forget. I knew youwereinterested in sex.”

Gunner’s knuckles turned white on the steering wheel.

A memory flashed through Chas’s mind of Gunner’s head thrown back, his young, athletic body arching forward, his cock thrusting into Chas’s mouth. The first time he’d given Gunner a blow job, it had almost been an accident. They’d been spending the night together at Chas’s house—Gunner’s parents were fighting again. Chas had a double bed they usually shared, and that night had been no different. He’d woken up from a hot dream about crawling all over Gunner, only to realize he actually was.

He’d started to roll away, but Gunner had reached out wordlessly and stopped him. And by the time he’d gotten his mouth around Gunner’s cock, Gunner had been groaning in pleasure. He hadn’t stopped Chas from sucking him to a massive orgasm.

The second time, he was supposed to pick Gunner up from football practice and drive him home, but he’d gotten off work late, and Gunner had been alone in the boys’ locker room by the time he arrived.

Yeah, it was cliché. Blow jobs in the locker room. But damn, it had been hot. The danger of discovery had added an edge to that encounter that had both of them so turned on, it had only taken a few minutes to bring Gunner to a shouting orgasm he’d muffled with the sleeve of his varsity jacket stuffed in his mouth.

After that they’d snuck away whenever they could. They never spoke of it, never even acknowledged it. But surely teen Gunner had known teen Chas was hopelessly in love with him.

Chas sighed. He’d have done so many things differently if he had it to do over again. He’d have confronted Gunner about what was going on between them, forced him to acknowledge the mutual attraction. He wouldn’t have let Gunner float along pretending it was just sex—sex he could have had just as easily with any of the girls in school.

He’d watched Gunner like a hawk back then, and the guy never—never—got a hard-on when one of the cheerleaders made a point of rubbing up against him or some girl threw herself at him at a party. But all Chas had to do was arch an eyebrow or let one corner of his mouth turn up from across the classroom, and Gunner was shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

He wasn’t sure why the universe had given them this second chance, but he was not planning to waste it. To that end, he said, “You may get away with pretending you’re not gay to everyone else, but this is me you’re talking to. Iknowyou, Gunner. Better than anyone else on this planet.”

“You don’t know everything about me,” Gunner retorted.

“Oh yeah? Tell me something I don’t know about you.”

“I’ve killed people. Lots of them. In lots of ways. I blew some up—watched chunks of their bodies go flying. I’ve slit throats and heard a man’s death rattle as the guy died in my arms.”

“Well, of course you have. You’re a SEAL, for crying out loud, not a Girl Scout.”

Gunner frowned.

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