Out in Time Read online

  Wade twined his fingers with Heath’s and led him to the bathroom. Heath noticed his shave kit was sitting out along with his chill pants he’d shed earlier and a pair of his own clean boxer briefs. Finally, Wade ushered him into the shower stall, where the already running water engulfed him in its soothing steam.

  He turned to tell Wade thank you, but instead found himself in a liplock with the man. Since he didn’t think any words were necessary after Wade let him go, Heath submerged himself under the water and tried desperately to get a handle on the emotions threatening to overwhelm him.

  After he showered, brushed his teeth, and pulled on his underwear, Heath stared at his reflection, his mind running through all that had been revealed, all that had transpired. He wasn’t having any regrets, other than wishing they could go on like this. They hadn’t fooled around under any false pretenses—Wade was going to keep his sexuality under wraps for the time being and Heath couldn’t be anyone’s secret.

  They had nowhere to go from here. Could only appreciate these brief moments for what they were. So why did Heath feel like he was going to have to say goodbye to his soul in only a few hours?

  Trying to shake off the depressing thoughts, he made use of the hotel’s blowdryer to get most of the wetness out of his hair. Then he cleaned up behind himself and killed the light before taking a deliberate breath and returning to the room.

  Wade sat propped against the headboard, playing with his phone, the light from the lamp spilling over his naked chest, the sheet pooling around his hips. Heath tossed his pants in the general direction of his bag, and Wade looked up as soon as he paused by the end of his bed and smiled. Wade set his phone back on the nightstand and scooted down like he was going to sleep. Heath glanced over at his own bed, noted the sheets had been straightened and folded down, so he headed that way only to be stopped by Wade’s endearing request.

  “I made up your bed for you just in case, but I was really hoping you would sleep with me.” There was so much desire in that tone of his Heath couldn’t say no.

  Heath nodded and Wade shifted over, throwing back the covers as he did. He slid between the sheets, and Wade pulled him down to lie against his chest. “I’ve never slept with anyone before,” Heath confessed.

  “I was just thinking the same thing,” Wade laughed.

  Heath turned his head and ran his lips across Wade’s pecs before snuggling down. Wade threaded one hand in Heath’s hair and rested the other on his bicep, making Heath feel brave enough to throw one leg over Wade’s.

  Heath couldn’t imagine hiding a vital part of himself for so long or denying himself like Wade had. He wondered if Wade felt lighter, freer. He hoped he didn’t feel ashamed or worried that Heath would blab, or even judge him. “So, how do you feel?” Heath ventured.

  Wade kissed the top of his head and skated his fingertips over Heath’s arm for a moment. Heath shivered at the light touch and snuggled closer. “I feel … great. I’m glad that you know, that you’re not angry with me. For a long time, it was just the way things were. I honestly didn’t think too much about it. Too focused on my goals. But, the last couple of years have been lonely and hard. Um … no pun intended,” he laughed.

  “Ah,” Heath whispered knowingly, “you were horny.”

  “That was some of it.”

  “What was the rest of it?”

  Wade reached down and angled Heath’s head to face him. “I told you. I’ve wanted you since that first night I met you. And not just for the sex.” Then he leaned down and stole Heath’s words, his very breath with a searing kiss.

  They chatted on and off, sleep lacing their words, but they fought against it, both reluctant to let the night fade away.

  “Don’t want this to end,” Wade said, tightening his hold on Heath.

  “Me either,” Heath agreed.

  “Do you have to be back on campus tomorrow?”

  “Not really.”

  “’K. So we can stay another night?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I wish—” Wade stopped himself and shuddered under Heath.

  “Yeah, me too.”

  “I could never ask you to wait for me, but I want us to stay in touch, and maybe when the time is right …”

  Heath didn’t answer him. His last conscious thought was that Wade wouldn’t have to ask him wait.

  Chapter 8

  Heath had never been a late sleeper and that was all thanks to his dad, an early riser himself. Still, when he looked at the clock and realized it read five A.M., he nearly groaned. He’d only slept a few hours. Sometime during those hours, Heath had shifted to his side, and Wade had curled around him.

  Although he was affectionate with his family, he’d never been one for cuddling, but with Wade, it felt right. He lay still for a few moments, willing himself to go back to sleep, but his mind was racing with thoughts of Wade and what he’d come to mean to him over the years and how he’d come to mean so much more in the course of one day.

  Forgoing any further attempts to stop the train wreck that was his mind, he slipped from the bed, threw on some clothes, grabbed his phone and keycard, and headed out into the hall to call his best friend.

  An alert, instantly calming voice answered on the first ring, “Heath?”

  “Hi, Dad,” he sighed as he slid down the wall and wrapped one arm around his legs. He could imagine the imposing figure his father struck, even just sitting in his oversized leather chair with one of his journals or the paper, sipping his coffee.

  “Son? Everything okay?”

  “Yeah,” he rushed, trying to erase the worried note in his father’s voice. “I’m fine. Just couldn’t go back to sleep.”

  His dad asked about his trip so far, and Heath gave him the highlights minus the hot, addictive sex he’d had with his reporter-slash-quarterback.

  “You heading back to campus soon?”

  “No, I think we’re going to stay another day.”

  “Oh, really?” his dad asked, curiosity underlying the simple question.

  Heath couldn’t hold back his next words. “I’m so screwed,” he admitted.

  “Ah, is he feeling the same way?” His father didn’t even pretend not to know what Heath was referring to. Even if he hadn’t been a phenomenal therapist, he knew Heath well enough to have astutely picked up on every single feeling as he had mentioned Wade throughout their conversation.

  “I think so.”

  “And this is a bad thing why?”

  He summed up Wade’s predicament and his own concerns over Wade’s eventual plan to come out and how it would affect the man, and then added, “Dad, he’s not ready to go public, and I can’t be anyone’s secret.”

  “Let me ask you this … would you be a secret from his public life or a secret all together? Because there’s a big difference, and it sounds like he’s ready to let his family in. When he does, I can’t imagine him hiding you away from them. Would it matter if he doesn’t make a public declaration right away?”

  Heath thought for a few seconds, but he honestly didn’t know, so he said as much to his father.

  “But you would wait for him?”

  “Yes,” Heath said easily. “He’s worth it.”

  His father sighed wistfully. “As your father, I should probably play devil’s advocate and say things like you haven’t know him long, you’re both young, you have a whole new life ahead of you in New York, but we both know I don’t have a leg to stand on since I met and married your mother within two weeks of first laying eyes on her.”

  And they’d had a strong, resilient marriage of thirty years based on love and respect. “An emotive man and a romantic woman,” Heath surmised with a laugh. “You two never stood a chance.”

  “Thank God,” his dad said sagely.

  Heath laughed again before sobering. His head thumped against the wall as he confessed, “I think I’m half in love with him.”

  “Ha,” his father laughed. “If you’re thinking you’re half in love, I can ass
ure you you’re feeling all the way there.”

  “Know it all,” Heath retorted without heat. Heath turned the topic by asking about his mom and his siblings. After listening to his dad for a few minutes, a loud yawn escaped Heath.

  “Ugh, sorry about that,” he apologized.

  “It’s fine. Go get some sleep. You don’t have to figure out everything before sunrise.”

  “Thanks, Dad. Love you.”

  “Love you too, Heath.”

  Heath ended the call and slipped back in the room to watch a softly-snoring Wade for a moment before shedding his clothes and crawling back in bed. He didn’t even hesitate to fit himself against Wade. He pulled Wade’s arm back around him and wiggled until he was comfortable, falling into a deep sleep before the worrisome thoughts had a chance to push back in.

  ***

  Wade’s eyes came to life behind his closed eyelids as his mind spun with images of all he and Heath had confessed the night before, of all they’d done. He felt a smile curve his lips, and his body instinctively mimicked the action, curling and tightening around the still-sleeping Heath’s smaller frame.

  He’d done it. He’d told his truth. And he’d been accepted. Not only that, he’d been loved. Even though there’d been no admission of those little three little words, Wade had felt it with those first tentative kisses. Felt it when those kisses turned to passionate ones and even the more intense touching and discovering that soon followed.

  Even though they’d had a little to drink before their innocent game turned into something hot and delicious, Wade now found himself wondering if Heath would regret how far they’d gone last night. God, he prayed not. Heath made a little moan in his sleep just then, and Wade decided to lay waste any doubts he had and set the tone for how he hoped things would play out this morning.

  He uncurled his hand and splayed it wide open on Heath’s chest and reveled in being able to touch him so freely before he brushed his lips against the man’s warm neck. Heath groaned a little at the contact and had Wade remembering just how sensitive the flesh was as the fine hairs there stood up over the goosebumps now populating his skin.

  Wade swiveled his hips against Heath’s backside and let out a groan of his own when his morning wood brushed against the fabric of his boxer briefs. Hard to believe this was the very thing he’d been dreaming of all these years—to wake up wrapped around Heath, to feel Heath’s heartbeat accelerate against his palm.

  He couldn’t possibly give up this new reality. Not yet anyway. With renewed determination, he sucked the soft lobe of Heath’s ear into his mouth and set about pleasing his man. Even though it was only temporarily, he couldn’t help but think of Heath that way—his.

  Heath stirred and pushed his ass against Wade’s groin.

  “Mornin’,” Wade breathed against Heath’s back as he kissed his way across his shoulders.

  “Hmm …” Heath hummed, circling his backside against Wade again.

  “I have an idea of my own this morning,” Wade said, unable to keep the smile out of his voice.

  Heath’s response was low and husky but definitely interested. “Do you now?”

  He didn’t answer. Instead, he worked his hand under Heath’s briefs, teasing and warming the soft skin he uncovered. “This okay?” he asked as he slid the briefs down further.

  “More than,” was the soft reply.

  Once he got them pushed past his thighs, he used his other hand to rid himself of his own underwear. He shoved his arm back under Heath, holding him in a tight embrace before pointing to the lube on the nightstand and holding his palm out. Heath chuckled, reached over, and fulfilled his silent request by pouring a liberal amount in his hand.

  Wade thanked him politely and ran some over his impossibly hard cock before using the remainder on Heath’s erection. He palmed Heath’s dick for a moment, and then slid his own between Heath’s thighs.

  Heath let out a lusty sigh and created a vice for Wade with his legs. Wade thrust against the soft heat as he jacked Heath’s cock. When his cockhead rubbed against Heath’s smooth balls, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he nearly came right then. He fought against it, even though he ground harder and faster against Heath. His hands sought Wade’s against his chest, and he grabbed on tight as they countered each other’s movements and seemed to become one.

  One flesh.

  One movement.

  One goal.

  Wade nuzzled Heath’s neck. Kissed him there. Whispered into his ear, “Come with me,” as he concentrated on the sensitive underside of Heath’s cock. Wade knew he got it right when Heath jerked and grunted and pumped one more time. Slow and long.

  Then Heath’s hand came around to sink its fingertips into the flesh of Wade’s ass, and he too was coming.

  “I think I may have found a new favorite way to start my day,” Heath laughed before bringing Wade’s wrist to his lips.

  “No doubt,” Wade agreed with a sigh.

  ***

  Heath didn’t know where they going, only that it was an hour from their hotel, in New Jersey, and had Wade giddy as a teenage girl. He loved seeing the different sides of Wade—commanding on the football field, controlled while reporting, sensitive when Heath shared personal things with him, undone in the bedroom. Yeah—Heath grinned at Wade’s profile—he loved it all, even the annoyed look on Wade’s face right now.

  “That’s not music,” Wade grumbled.

  He arched an eyebrow. “And that whining, my-best-good-ol’-huntin’-dawg-just-ran-away crap you listen to is?”

  “Hey,” Wade mock-fumed. “I’ll have you know country music is about telling stories. Real stories. What is this junk about? How many times you can bang your head without risking permanent brain damage?”

  “Wait … who’s talking about football, caveman?”

  “Touché,” Wade conceded with a laugh. “Seriously, what is this even about?”

  “How the hell do I know. I can’t understand a word of it.”

  Wade shot him a look of pure disbelief. “Then why are we listening to it?”

  “To annoy you,” Heath returned.

  Wade burst out laughing, and Heath hit the power button on the stereo.

  They’d gotten kind of a late start, indulging in a few more activities that required more showering in one morning than most people probably got during an entire week. Then Heath convinced Wade that they’d engaged in enough cardio Wade could afford to skip the next three workouts, and that if he still insisted on weight training, he’d let him bench press him once they got back to the room. They’d had a bite to eat and walked to some of the shops around the hotel before Wade excused himself only to return beaming and telling Heath he had to show him something.

  Heath was quickly becoming addicted to Wade and everything that made the man so unique—that zest for life he always displayed, those little noises he made in the back of his throat, those firm, yet yielding lips, turning him on like no other had before. And every time an errant negative thought about being in over his head sprang up, Heath squashed it before it could take root. He was living in the moment. There’d be plenty of time to do his own brand of whining once he and Wade went their separate ways. Hell, maybe he’d end up penning his own song of love and loss about the sensitive football player who broke his heart and ruined him for all other men. Sounded like a hit, he mused.

  “Hey,” Wade nudged him as he laced their fingertips together again. “You were telling me about your family before your ‘favorite song in the whole wide world’ came on.”

  “Um … where’d I leave off?”

  “A house divided …”

  Heath laughed and absently ran his free fingertips over the back of Wade’s hand. “Yeah, so I was saying we’re divided by science and art, right down the middle. Collin, the oldest, has about eight letters behind his name and is a pharmacologist out in Phoenix. He’s the smartest person I’ve ever known, yet he can’t keep a girlfriend to save his life. Total workaholic. Then there’s Trent
, who you met at one of my exhibits, literally has to beat the women off with a stick.”

  Wade interrupted him with guffaws of laughter.

  He shot him a wry look. “No, I’m serious. Mom told me he shook a walking stick he’d fashioned out of old bicycle parts at this one girl who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Anyway, you remember the pictures I showed you of the recycled windows? The ones rebuilt into tables, mirrors, and all that?” Wade nodded. “He can repurpose anything. Even stuff you don’t want him to reuse. That was a problem for a while. We’d find stuff missing. Check Trent’s room. Sure enough, our coffee cups had been reborn as bird feeders.” Wade grinned and brought Heath’s hand to his lips, brushing a kiss on the back.

  Wade winked at him when Heath’s story stopped abruptly. “Go on.”

  Heath shook his head and continued, even though his voice sounded rough and faraway at first. “My parents are all about being supportive, but they drew the line at eating off of paper products so my brother could exercise his talent. Anyway, he’s a big hit with the ladies at the open-air market.” Heath wrinkled his nose. “He’s kinda a player, come to think of it.”

  “And your sister?”

  “Charlotte. Charlotte is … interesting. I love her to death, but we don’t see eye to eye on a whole lot. She’s very … conservative. Yep, that’s a nice way to put it.”

  “Look at you, finding nice ways to put things,” Wade joked and poked his chin with his index finger, still holding tight to Heath’s hand.

  Heath smirked. “Anyway, she’s in school, studying advanced sciences and planning to teach at the university level someday. So, she split it down the middle with the science and teaching thing.”

  “You’re fortunate to have such an awesome family,” Wade complimented as he exited the parkway.

  Heath got distracted as he tried to figure out where they were going. He didn’t have to wonder long as the massive stadium loomed in front of him.

  “Holy shit,” he breathed. “I can’t believe you’re going to be playing football here.”