Page 99 of Time to Shine

It didn’t work. He fucking hated it.

A few minutes later, he heard a soft knock, and then the doorknob turned. Landon poked his head in.

“Want some company?” he whispered.

Casey had never been so happy to see anyone in his life. “Yeah. Come in.”

Landon was wearing his usual pajama pants and a T-shirt to bed. He closed the door behind him and gave Casey a sheepish smile. “I, um... I don’t like being away from you. And maybe I’m punishing myself for no reason.”

“You? Never.”

Landon laughed, and crawled in beside Casey. He kissed him, then said, “Sorry about the game.”

“It’s okay,” Casey said. “I have a good feeling about the next one.”

Casey woke up in the dark.

Cold fear flooded his veins, even as he reminded himself that he wasn’t alone. Landon was beside him, breathing steadily.

It was just so dark.

He blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes to adjust so he could at least make out the shapes of his furniture. Anything familiar.

He didn’t want to wake Landon, but he felt like he wouldn’t be able to breathe unless he got closer to him. He shuffled over a few inches, and carefully wrapped an arm around him, spooning against his curved back. Landon stirred, then sighed, and Casey thought he’d managed to not wake him, until he said, “You all right?”

“Yeah,” Casey whispered. “Just got a little...scared. Sorry.”

Landon rolled over to face him, though they couldn’t see each other in the dark. “It’s okay. Want me to turn on the lamp?”

Casey was too embarrassed to admit that he really did want that. He was even more embarrassed that he was too scared to reach out into the darkness to turn his own lamp on. A few seconds later, Landon shifted and his bedside lamp was on. Casey exhaled with relief, heart still racing.

“Thanks.”

Landon’s eyes were full of concern. He brushed gentle fingers through Casey’s hair, removing a strand that had fallen across Casey’s nose. “Can I help?”

“Kiss me?” Casey asked shyly.

Landon dipped his head and kissed him, slow and achingly sweet. Casey was obsessed with kissing Landon. It wasn’t even sex he was craving, it was more kisses. More of simply being close to Landon. Casey was letting him take the lead when it came to sex. He didn’t want to pressure him, or make him do anything that he’d regret. Instead, he focused on learning the places Landon seemed to like being touched.

He put a careful hand on Landon’s hip and kissed him until he stopped feeling scared. Landon’s lips were so soft and warm, and his hands were so strong, Casey sank into the comfort of the moment, his mind going blissfully blank. It wasn’t until Landon moaned into his mouth that Casey realized Landon was rocking against him a bit. And that he was super hard.

“You, uh. You need something from me, big guy?” Casey pressed his own bulge against Landon’s, just to make things clear.

Landon exhaled shakily. “I think I was dreaming about you.”

Casey smiled. “What was I doing?”

Landon turned his head and buried his face in the pillow. “Never mind.”

Uh-uh. No way. Casey playfully poked Landon’s shoulder and said, “Come on. Was it hot?”

Landon nodded into the pillow.

“Where were we?”

Landon’s voice was muffled. “Don’t make me talk about this, please.”

“Fine.” Casey rolled away, onto his back. “I’ll just imagine the dream.”

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