Page 19 of Teach Me To Sin

“Thanks,” I murmur with a crooked grin, trying to hide how hard I’m still panting in case he tells me to work out more.

I glance over to where I last saw Colson, but all the people getting up to leave block my view. “Thanks to everyone for coming,” Alek announces. “If you could fold up some chairs or a table on your way out, we’d really appreciate it.”

The crowd flows around me like a current, but I stay still for a minute, running my thumb across the dull fake-bronze gleam of my medal. It’s generic and meaningless–a wave on one side andLang Aquatic Centeron the other, with a flimsy red, white, and blue ribbon to hang around your neck. But I’ve never won an award before. I’m not that smart, my dad wouldn’t let me do sports, and I’m too busy lying around depressed on every flat surface in my dad’s mansion to do anything prize-worthy. I tighten my fingers around the uneven edges and try to imagine an entire row of them hanging on the wall, starting with this one and ending with an Olympic gold.

I look up just in time to see Alek disappearing around a corner, deeper into the quiet parts of the building. When no one’s looking, I snag a towel and skip after him, my bare feet leaving damp marks on the tile. In a back hall away from the commotion, he unlocks a heavy door and shoves it open to reveal plastic bins of supplies and lane lines coiled on the floor. He doesn’t come back out, so I sneak over and stick my head around the doorframe. Behind all the storage, I can see a changing area with a bench, a laundry hamper, and a row of old lockers with staff names taped to them.

Opening the locker withBig Boss Manwritten on it, Alek drinks deeply from a water bottle, sniffs his shirt, and yanks it off to change into a clean one. Shit. His thick shoulders look like he lifts, and he has great calves, but I love his chest hair and the slight softness around his hips and belly, too.

Straightening his black t-shirt, he turns around and jumps at the sight of me, clapping a hand to his heart. “You scared me. What are you doing here?”

His voice makes my body fizz and spark, like champagne bubbles tickling my skin. I can’t wipe the smile off my face as I hold up the medal clutched in my fingers. “Someone gave me this. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t an accident.”

That perfect smile widens into a laugh. “You scared me with that start. Little Harrison jumps more gracefully than that.”

“Had to keep you on your toes, so you didn’t watch the other guys.” I balance with one foot on top of the other to stop myself from doing anything wild. There are still like two hundred people out there.

But then he extends a clenched hand for a fist bump, like Harrison got for facing his fears, and it makes me stupidly happy because I haven’t fist bumped anyone before. I bound over to him, but as soon as I’m close enough to feel his comforting body heat and smell his deodorant, I can’t stop myself. Ducking past his fist, I throw my arms around his neck tight enough that my feet leave the floor. I expect him to freeze or push me off, but his arms slide around my waist and he turns in a slow circle, his forehead against my shoulder. We’re both so relieved that our trial run worked. I shouldn’t, but I press my face deeper into his neck and close my eyes.

After who knows how long, he sets me down and takes a step back. His smile fades a little as his eyes trace over my body in an intent, curious way he’s been too focused to do at practice.

“Thanks for everything,” I offer softly, aware of the wet spots my skin left on his t-shirt and the fact that the air conditioning is making my nipples stiff and sensitive. I force myself to study the floor between my bare feet. “Going out with your girl after this?”

I hear a shuffle as he shifts his weight uneasily. “I… We broke up last week.”

My eyes fly back to his face. “You’re not together anymore? For real?”

He tips his chin in a slight nod, and his Adam's apple jumps as he swallows.

“Say it.”

Clearing his throat, he raises his voice. “I broke up with Maya. I’m not in a–”

I throw my body into his and hear the clatter as his back hits the row of lockers. Climbing on top of his sneakers to give myself height, I lock my arms around his neck and shove our lips together. We kiss for less than a second before our wet tongues are tangling, sliding into the warmth of each other’s mouths. He doesn’t know what to do with his hands, first raking his fingers along my ribs, then digging his strong grip into my waist. I’m going to have the best bruises in the world tomorrow.

Benji

Alek whinesaround my tongue when I rub my hips into his so he can feel my hard-on. Without ungluing our mouths, he wrestles with me and I shove him hard, rattling the lockers. When I’m about to pass out from lack of oxygen, I grab a fistful of his t-shirt and bury my nose in the cotton under his arm. “Fuck,” I moan, wallowing in the sweet, masculine combination of deodorant, detergent, and musk that taunts me in my dreams. His fingers slip through my hair, his body panting under mine as I nuzzle harder into his shoulder. I want to take all his firsts with a man. I want him to experiment on me like he’s Marie Curie and I’m radiation.

At first, I don’t pay attention to the footsteps in the hall. We’re fucking busy, and no one’s going to stick their head in a back closet. Then the tap of dress shoes on tile stops and doesn’t pick back up again. Alek sucks in a sharp breath and goes rigid under me, gripping my arm so hard it hurts. When I glance up, he’s staring over my shoulder with panic in his soft eyes.

Feeling dizzy, I turn to see the tall, handsome man frozen in mid-stride down the hall. Colson’s eyes are impossibly darker than usual as he fixes his gaze on mine. For a breathless moment, caught between Alek’s pounding heart and Colson’s piercing stare, I feel like the center of the universe. I pull the stars to me and hold them in balance. I can send this moment spinning any direction I want.

“I– This isn’t what it looks like.” Alek pushes at me halfheartedly.

“It’s okay,” I murmur, using a finger on his chin to tilt his face back to mine. “Focus on me, baby.” His glazed eyes search my features in confusion, his damp lips parted like they’re begging for more. He groans softly when I reach up and kiss him, slow and gentle. He’s so hungry for it that within seconds he’s licking deep into my mouth again, while his heart rate slows and his muscles unwind. When I step back, he sways a little but keeps still.

Colson’s still there when I turn around. He’s standing perfectly still, gripping the warped door frame with one hand. His gaze flicks between Alex and me, then hones in on me like a hawk as I cross the room and stop a few inches away from him. He smells good too, an expensive, woody scent like crushed flowers. His sharp jaw has a perpetual shadow of stubble, and the gently weathered contours of his face show that he’s been around a lot longer than I have.

Catching his shoulder for balance, I go up on my toes so our foreheads are touching, our lips a breath apart. “Hi,” I whisper. This is fucked up, even for me. I feel like I’m floating, detached from reality.

After a silence that lasts forever, his hand presses into the small of my back and we both go in at the same time. Kissing Alek was like a dance, all sensitive and delicate. Colson’s more demanding, like the men I’m used to, but there’s something else too. Playfulness, respect. A need for the man that’s pressed against the far wall, almost as desperate as mine. He grips the back of my neck as he takes every piece of my mouth that he wants.

When he lets go of me, there’s a slutty, damp patch of precum on the front of my swimsuit. I feel hot and cold at the same time, my balls aching. Fuck choosing. I want everything.

There’s no air left in the room as I lace my fingers through Colson’s and walk backward until I’m close enough to Alek to hear his fast, uneven breathing. He hasn’t run away because deep down, behind all the goodness, he’s as greedy as the rest of us. When I turn around, I catch him squeezing the bulge in his shorts like he doesn’t know whether to stroke it or hold it in.

“I’m here.” Grinning, I reach up and brush my thumb along his lower lip, teasing it until the tip of his tongue seeks out my skin. Deeply aware of the body right behind me, I close my eyes and drag him into another long, passionate kiss, the kind that makes the world disappear.

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