Page 113 of After the Siren
‘Go slow,’ Theo said.
Jake did go slow, so slow he thought he might die, letting Theo get used to the feel of it. He knew when he got the angle right, because Theo made a sound like he’d been winded and shoved back against Jake. Jake did it again; he couldn’t tear his eyes from Theo under him, the stretch of his back, the sweaty tangle of his dark hair, the flex of his arms and shoulders.
He took it slow until Theo cracked and said, ‘harder,’ until Theo was losing it a bit under him, pressing back against him, finding a rhythm that worked for him. Jake grabbed his hips, knowing his fingers would leave bruises, and fucked Theo inearnest, needing to hear every punched-out gasp, the way it sounded when Theo lost all his words.
He got a hand under Theo’s body and around Theo’s dick. Theo groaned Jake’s name, louder than he’d ever been in bed before, and Jake stroked him, felt Theo’s body tense, felt how close he was. Jake was close, too, holding off the orgasm through sheer force of will, needing Theo to come first, needing to feel it.
‘Wanna see you come,’ Jake said. ‘Come on. Let me feel it.’
He wanted to remember this forever. The way Theo sounded, too desperate to hold back. The way he felt under Jake’s hands, the way he feltaroundJake. The way he was shaking, caught on the edge.
Theo shuddered and came, hot and wet against Jake’s hand, his whole body jerking, and that was the end for Jake as well. Theo made a soft, startled noise when Jake came, shivered under him, and Jake lost his balance and slumped forward against Theo’s sweaty back. He felt like he’d shot his brain out of his dick. He tried to catch his breath, tried to think of something to say.
‘Alright?’ he managed. He wasn’t quite sure if it was a welfare check or a request for feedback.
‘Mm,’ Theo said, sounding fucked-out and happy. ‘I am worried about this blanket, though. It looks like it might be handwash only.’
Jake was too sex-drunk to be worried about anything. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Theo’s shoulder. ‘I’ll be back.’ He pulled out slowly and made his way to the bathroom on wobbly legs. He cleaned himself up quickly, then got a warm flannel and a towel. Theo was sprawled on his back by the time he got back and, yeah, it was probably curtains for the blanket. ‘You good?’ Jake asked.
‘Mm,’ Theo said, opening one eye.
Jake snorted and began cleaning Theo up gently with the flannel. Couldn’t resist stroking his thumb down the crease of Theo’s ass to feel him shiver a little. He threw the cloth off the bed once he was done and pulled the blanket over them both.
‘You wanna sleep?’
Theo blinked at him. ‘Why, you want to go another round?’ He sounded smug. Like he knew that the sex had knocked Jake on his ass.
‘Up for it if you are,’ Jake said.
Theo huffed out a laugh. ‘Sure.’
Italmostsounded like a challenge. ‘Oh yeah?’
‘You tired or something?’ Theo rolled so he was straddling Jake’s thighs, then leaned down to kiss him. Jake threaded his fingers into Theo’s hair and kissed him back.
As it turned out, neither of them wasthattired.
SEPTEMBER
FINALS
Chapter Twenty-Five
People had said that finals were different in Melbourne, but Theo hadn’t reallygotten ituntil he was in it.The whole city was suddenly permeated with buzzing energy, an undercurrent of anticipation. Everywhere Theo went there were footy caps, footy scarves; he’d bought Eva a Falcons beanie and she was actually wearing it. He’d get a morning coffee and the barista would be chatting with the regulars about injuries and ins and outs. Dogs were wearing footy jackets and footy bandanas. If a player left training early or took a moment too long to get up, it was on the evening news. The Falcons had finished unexpectedly high on the ladder after some upsets.
Theo wasn’t getting much attention in the media, because he’d been playing well and wasn’t nursing a niggling injury, whereas Yelks’ shoulder alone was probably paying a journalist’s salary. Everyone knew it wasn’t right, and Theo suspected Yelks was playing through serious pain. But losing him would be so much more than losing their best defender: half of what Yelks did on the field was coaching, setting things up, marshalling the troops, pulling someone aside for a quick word at a stoppage. So he was still playing every week, even though there were shadows under his eyes like bruises and he moved like he was in pain when he thought nobody was watching.
Brayden Hunter had written a whole opinion piece about how Yelks should bow out, how he wasn’t up to it, and Theo – who’d never had particularly strong feelings about any of his captains – would have happily broken Hunter’s laptop over his head.
Theo knew his place in the team for the finals was secure, absent some disaster; Rigger was still in the middle, and there was nobody else really pushing for Theo’s spot. It felt strange to go to training without the spectre of being dropped hanging over him. It could still happen – could happen to anyone – but it didn’t feel like a present threat. Just a reality of the game.
Sometimes in the evenings, when he was wiped out, or in the early morning when he woke up before his alarm, the anxiety got louder. He remembered last year, that last kick, his shaking hands, the roar of the crowd. But it wasn’t last year. It was different. And it was hard to be stressed about finals when he could roll over and bury his face in Jake’s hair. When Jake was there in the morning to make him laugh. When Jake was so obviously delighted to be playing finals, and so endlessly confident that they could win.
They’d decided they’d tell the team they were together once finals were done. It was probably pushing it a bit, but there wasn’t anything in their contracts that said theyhadto disclose a romantic relationship (Eva had checked). Kat knew, and if something happened that meant someone else needed to know before the end of the season, then Jake and Theo would tell them.
The Falcons had finished third, meaning they’d get a second chance even if they lost the qualifying final. Theo knew there was a lot of water to clear between the end of the regular season and a flag, but it didn’t feel impossible. And if they didn’t make it, well, there was always next year.
‘What are you thinking about?’ Jake asked, plonking himself down next to Theo’s locker. They’d had a light training session, and Jake had grass stains all down one side from a tackle.
