Page 49 of The Jock
“I did.” Wes smiled. Slid his hand across the seat and laced his fingers with Justin’s. “How was your morning?”
Justin sighed. “Well, I won’t be dancing with Rafael anymore.”
Wes stiffened, but he said nothing. His eyes darted from the streetlight to Justin.
“He’s pissed, and I understand why. I’d be pissed, too. I couldn’t give him a good answer to why I up and ditched him, so he just kept getting more and more frustrated with me.”
“I’m… of two minds,” Wes said carefully, turning into the garage behind the campus bookstore. “You and he danced real well together. Even I could see you were great partners, and I don’t know anything about dance. Without you there to translate, it was a lot of noise and movement to me.” He pulled into a space, killed the engine. “Except when you were dancing. Then it made sense. But…” Wes scratched at his forehead. Squinted. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit glad he won’t be all over you anymore.”
Justin’s gaze sharpened. His eyes gleamed. “Jealous?”
“I’d like to be the only guy touching you, yeah.” He squeezed Justin’s hand, then let go. “There’s no one else for me. I know I have no right to ask the same of you, but I’d like to be the only man in your arms. And in your heart.”
Justin chased him across the bench, looking left and right outside of the truck before he grabbed Wes and pulled him close. “I told you before, cowboy. I don’t want anyone else.”
“Not even sexy dancers like Rafael?”
“You think Rafael is sexy?” Justin’s eyebrows rose.
“Compared to you, he was as sexy as mud.” Wes kissed him, intending to keep it chaste, a quick brush of his lips against Justin’s, but one touch and he couldn’t pull back. He lingered, deepening the kiss, Justin melting into him, Wes’s hand sliding around Justin’s waist, drawing him closer—
Car tires squealed as someone took the turn around the garage ramp a little too quickly. Justin peeled out of his arms, sliding back across the bench seat as he wiped his lips. Wes closed his eyes, his hands grasping empty air. That was close. But what would it feel like if Justin hadn’t pulled away? If they didn’t have to hide?
He took a moment to collect himself, run his fingers through his hair and check the rearview mirror to make sure he didn’t look like he was just kissing the love of his life. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were wide, but there was no helping that. He hauled himself out of the truck and joined Justin, who was waiting at the tailgate.
He didn’t grab Justin’s hand as they walked to the bookstore, but he wanted to. Instead, he and Justin traded sidelong glances, and then, when they caught each other looking, goofy grins. Wes spun his truck keys on his fingers. Anything to keep from reaching for Justin.
Inside, they wandered the aisles, Justin picking out three pairs of black-and-navy scrubs with the university logo on the front pocket, a new lanyard, a textbook, and a clinical rotation guidebook. Wes trailed behind him, turning over odds and ends on every shelf, flipping through the medical textbooks, fingering the key chains.
Justin chose a stethoscope and popped it out of the box, tossing the box into his basket and fitting the earpieces into his ears. He held up the drum, tapped on the bell. Turned to Wes and then pushed the cold end against his thin shirt, right over the swell of his pec. “My,” Justin said softly, winking. “What a big heart you have, cowboy.”
Wes laid his palm over Justin’s hand. He felt his heartbeat speed up. Felt it pound. “Hear that?”
Justin nodded.
“That’s because of you.” He shifted closer. They were alone in the aisle. “Every time I see you, every time I think of you, my heart goes wild.”
Justin bit down on his lower lip. “You might want to get that looked at. Sounds like it could be serious.”
“It is.” He squeezed Justin’s hand, then, quickly, lifted and kissed his fingers. “It’s lifelong.”
Justin blushed and pulled away, tossing the stethoscope into his basket before drifting down the aisle. He looked back over his shoulder at Wes, and the look in his eyes made Wes’s heart do cartwheels. He caught up to Justin and brushed his hand over the small of Justin’s back, then moved a half step away as they rounded the aisle to the trinkets section.
A hollow look passed over Justin’s face as they passed a pride display. He eyed the rainbow lanyards and pins, the little flags and bumper stickers and T-shirts.
Wes stopped in the middle of the aisle. Justin glared when he couldn’t maneuver past him. “Hey, cowboy, you mind?”
“You should get something.”
Justin looked at him like he’d just asked Justin to chop his own arm off. He blinked. “That hardly seems wise, considering…”
“You’re not in the closet.” Wes scanned the pins, then picked a rectangle rainbow flag, something understated and classy. It would look great on Justin’s lanyard and stand out against his dark scrubs. He held it out. “You’d get this if we hadn’t talked last night.”
“Maybe, but if we’re trying to be discreet—”
“Don’t change for me. I don’t want that.”
“But Iamchanging, aren’t I? And not just for you. For us, so we can, one day—”
