Page 62 of Stick By Me

He lifted his head. “You mean bareback?” He bit his lower lip and his dick, wedged between our hips, jerked.

With a chuckle, I said, “Feels like someone likes that idea.” I gauged his reaction. Surely he’d done that before.

“I think it would be great. We’d both have to get tested first though.” He wrinkled his brows. “I don’t want to mess with HIV if I can avoid it, you know, especially with me having the opportunity to go to an NHL camp.” He pursed his lips. “Not that I think you’re positive or anything.”

“How do you know you’re not?” Fuck, I might have opened up a whole can of worms. I’d never really thought too much about it. My primary goal for wearing a condom had been to keep from having an accidental pregnancy. I tilted my head over my pillow.

“I’ve never had sex without a condom.” His cheeks reddened. “I’m very careful and the last time I was tested was before I was with Milo and I…” He looked away, then came back. “Milo said he was on PrEP.”

I let out a long breath. “Yeah, my brother got all the guys in the band on it. He’s very committed to making sure everyone in his friend group is having—” I made air quotes “—Safe sex.” I huffed. “In fact, Axel, probably correctly I might add, thinks ifeveryone who’s negative would just go on the medication, then HIV would be eliminated from the Earth.”

He choked out a laugh. “Your brother is something.” Knitting his brows, he said, “But anyways, if you want, I’ll get tested again. But I’ve never gone bareback with anyone.”

I widened my eyes. Holy shit, I could be his first. “Yeah? I’ll get tested, too. It’s been a while for me, so I should probably do it anyways.” We needed to be responsible about this and truth be told, I probably hadn’t been as responsible as I should have been.

“So…” He gave me a sly grin. “We’re getting pretty serious here, Leo Sandstrom.” Leaning in, he pressed a kiss to my mouth.

“We are.” I darted my gaze between his eyes, my pulse quickening. “When I said I was falling for you, I meant it. I…”Fuck, how can you tell him you love him if you aren’t even out to your friends and family yet?

“You what?” He rested his palm and then his chin on my chest, the hint of a grin on his mouth.

“I uh, I’m sticky. How about we clean up?” I winced. Fuck, that was lame.

“Oh, yeah.” He peeled himself off me and climbed off the bed. “What time are Remy and Axel coming home?”

“Not until about two AM.” I flung my legs over the edge of the mattress and stood up. I had to come out to Remy. Maybe tomorrow? At least it would be a start.

After a quick clean upin the hallway bathroom, I followed him into my bedroom. “How late can you stay?” I watched him slide his briefs, then his jeans up his legs. He had practice in the morning and another game tomorrow night.

“Actually, I should probably be going.” He slid his arms into the sleeves of his shirt, then buttoned it. “Someday, we’ll sleeptogether though. Right?” He stepped to me and planted a quick kiss on my lips.

“Right.” My chest pinched. I pulled a pair of pajama bottoms out of my dresser drawer and skimmed them up my legs. It would be nice to have more time together. Especially now. “Can I see you after the game tomorrow?”

With a bright smile, he said, “Sure. The guys were talking about going to the gay bar on Mill Avenue. Want to go with me?”

I dropped my mouth open. Me? A gay bar? But, I’d just had anal sex…with a guy. A guy Iloved. “Yeah, sure.” I freed a stuttered chuckle, my pulse picking up speed.

He stepped to me and placed his hand on my forearm. “You’ve been there before, right?”

“Um…” I scratched my brow. “No, I haven’t.” I chanced a peek at him. “I’ve never had a reason to go there. It’s not like I go out cruising for guys.” I pressed my lips together. That didn’t sound right, especially since I’d admitted to having a Grindr account. Fuck me.

“Leo.” He chuckled. “What the hell are you talking about?” He looked me up and down. “We’re going out to have a good time. It’s just a club where we can be ourselves. Where we can openly make out on the dancefloor if we want, and no one will care.” He waggled his brows at me.

“Yeah, okay. Just, I’ve never been to one.” Hadn’t Axel always found hookups there, sometimes more than one at a time? But shit, Axel found hookups everywhere he went…until he found Remy. But how cool would it be to be out with Archer like that in a safe space? “Sounds like fun.”

“Good, then it’s a plan. I’ll text you tomorrow.” He picked up his cell phone from my nightstand. “You’re watching the game, right?”

“You know I am. I’ll probably watch with Remy while Axel does…whatever Axel does.” I grabbed his hand and led him to myfront door, then opened it. “Good luck tomorrow night.” I gave him a lingering kiss, his soft, warm lips pressed to mine.

“Thank you. With you on my side, I’m sure I will.” With a swift grin, he twisted around and strolled down the walkway to his SUV.

I glanced up at the sliver of the moon, bathing everything in a blueish hue, and a cool breeze shivered over my skin. It was getting cold out at night. I rubbed my hands up and down my bare arms. Winter was definitely here.

The next morning,I’d fried eggs and bacon for us all and was working on toast when Remy ambled out of the hallway to the bedroom, rubbing his eyes. I flicked my gaze to the clock. It was eleven already. “Good morning, sleepy head.”

With his hair in disarray and gray sweats hugging his narrow hips, he mumbled, “Morning.” Making his way into the kitchen, he sniffed at the air. “Leo, you are a fucking saint. You know that?” He grabbed a coffee cup from the cupboard and filled it with the carafe of coffee I’d made.

“I think I might have heard that a time or two.” I eyed the hallway. No sign of Axel yet. But that wasn’t unusual. Most days after a gig he was exhausted, and I didn’t blame him with how he was always jumping and running all over the stage.

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