Page 31 of Stick By Me

My gut clenched at the same time my heart filled with warmth. Could I be the man he wanted? Brushing my hand down the back of his hair, I said, “Archer, I’m not out to my family or my friends.”

He dipped his head, then focused on me. “But you will be. Right? You’ll tell them eventually. When you’re ready.” The edges of lips twitched. “Right?”

I wanted to promise him the world, but I wouldn’t lie to him. It was too big of a commitment, too soon. As my chest pinched, I said, “I don’t know yet.”

His gaze dropped and he nodded, then tucked himself into my side. “I’ll wait. You’re worth waiting for, Leo.” He kissed my chest.

I held him tightly, my heart aching. I was an asshole for hurting him. “Tell me something about the game you have tomorrow night.” Maybe I could get his mind off it with his favorite topic.

“Um…well, we’re playing University of Denver at home.” He rubbed his cheek over my shoulder. “I can get you and Remy tickets again if you want?” He glanced up at me.

“Yeah? Let me see if Remy can get away from Axel again.” Iskimmed my fingers over his muscled shoulder. “My brother is?—”

“Demanding, I know.” He chuckled. “But he and Remy seem to really love each other.”

“That, they do. I wasn’t sure I was ever going to see my brother in a committed relationship. And holy shit, when I found out they were dating I about lost my mind.” Huffing a laugh, I shook my head. “They tried to hide it from me for a while. Made up all sorts of wild stories.”

“Yeah? And where do they think you are tonight?” Raising his head, he threw me a smirk.

“Never you mind.” I tapped his nose. “They think I’m on a date. I didn’t tell them with who.” Fuck, I was as bad as they’d been. But, he probably needed to get some sleep. It was getting late. “I should go.” I made to get up.

He tugged me back down and lay over me, then devoured me in a needy kiss. “What if I don’t want you to go?”

With a smile playing on my lips, I said, “You need to get up early. Tomorrow’s a game day, remember?” I slapped his bare ass.

“Damn, that’s kinda hot.” He tongued the corner of his mouth. “Maybe you can spank me next time.” He chortled, then lifted off me.

“If that’s what you want.” Throwing my legs off the side of the bed, I rose up, then grabbed my underwear from the floor and slid them up my legs, tucking my junk in.

“Hearing you say that is even hotter.” He crawled to the edge of his bed and grabbed my hand, then kissed my knuckles. “Seriously though, it would be nice to have you stay over sometime.”

After pulling my jeans on, I turned to him. “Yeah, we’ll see how it goes, okay?” I combed my fingers through my bangs, working them off my forehead, thinking on what he’d said. “I can make a mean breakfast.”

“Yeah? I’ll bet you can.” He jumped off the bed, then snatched a pair of gray sweatpants from his dresser drawer. Ashe pulled them on, he said, “There are lots of things I want to get to know about you, Leo.” His gaze crept to mine.

“We have time.” As I stepped to him, I cupped the satisfying bulge in his sweats and pressed a quick kiss on his lips. “Now, walk me out.” Since this was a date…

“Sure.” He swung the bedroom door open, made to step out, then halted. “Oh, hey, Mason.”

Mason pushed the door wide open and looked at me with his ice-blue eyes. “So, what’s this?” He waved his hand between me and Archer. “You and Leo?” He narrowed his eyes and focused on me. “Aren’t you friends with Milo, the keyboard player that dumped Archer?”

“Yeah, sort of.” I side-stepped Mason and strode into the hallway. I wasn’t sure what Mason was up to.

“He didn’t dump me. We only dated once. It’s not like we were boyfriends.” He wound around Mason to come up behind me.

Mason twisted around, tapping his index finger to his lips. “But you wanted to be boyfriends with Milo. I remember that and after he dumped you, you played like shit.” He sauntered to us and came in close, his chest almost touching mine, his gaze hardening. “Dude, you better be careful with my Archie. He needs to be on point at the game on Friday.”

“Don’t you worry about that.” Hooking an arm around Archer’s waist, I kissed him hard, then released him. “I’ll make sure he has whatever he needs to play his best.” With a smirk, I opened the door and left. There I was, making promises. And in front of his friends, too.

After drivingthe short distance home, I strolled into the kitchen from the garage to find Remy and Axel sitting at our dinette, both bent over a book.

“No, it’s right here, Remy. See? That’s how you do it.” Axel’s gaze cut to me. “You were out late.”

I grabbed a bottled water from the refrigerator, chest tightening. What was I going to tell them? I’d been hoping they’d retired to their bedroom by now, but fat chance. “Yeah. It was um, fun.”

“So, who is she?” Remy chewed a mechanical pencil between his teeth, then set it on the table.

I shrugged a shoulder. “Uh, no one in particular. First date.”

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