Roman chuckles and shakes his head, then turns to address Dacen. “So you’re the reason he was late to our last gorge-fest. I had a feeling. He was too busy with his little fuck-fest with you and forgot all about his boys.”
Dacen’s eyes shine as he stares at Roman. “I’m going to ignore the fact that I don’t know what a gorge-fest is and also ignore the fuck-fest comment, and focus instead on the fact that I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you laugh in a way that wasn’t darkly sarcastic or with an underlying intent of wanting to rip my head off.” Roman claps him on the shoulder, making Dacen stumble a bit. He recovers his footing and stands tall again, straightening his shirt and smoothing out his hair.
“Don’t get too used to it. I’m a dick and fully embrace it.” Roman winks at him. “But you’re not so bad I guess, for a pansy-ass-vehicle driving, hipster-clothes wearing fucker. Welcome.”
“I don’t know if you’re insulting or complimenting me. And welcome to what?” Dacen looks so confused. Who can blame him? When it comes to Roman, it’s a challenge to keep up with where his head is. It can be a crazy, seemingly random place sometimes to an outsider, but he’s always calculating, always thinking, always planning, and always one step ahead of everyone else. In this case though, he’s being purposely confusing because he likes to mess with people.
“Rome.”
He picks up the subtle warning note in my voice. “Aw relax, Ryne. I’m just messing with him.” He turns back to Dacen. “Welcome to the inner circle, man.” He spreads his arms out around him like he’s displaying his kingdom. “It’s a fucking wild ride, so hold on tight.” He holds out his fist.
Dacen blinks a few times and then awkwardly fist bumps Roman. “Ah, thanks? I think.” I lean over and plant a full kiss on his lips.
“Oh God,” Roman groans. “You two have Princess Bride-level cuteness going on with that shit. Stop it before I catch feels. You know I don’t do emotions.” He visibly shudders.
“Ehhh, it turns out that emotions aren’t the devil, man. You should try them sometime. I mean, I love this guy,” I nod my head toward Dacen, “and it hasn’t killed me yet.” My tone is teasing but I’m speaking the absolute truth. I sneak a glance over to Dacen and he’s looking at me wide-eyed and his mouth has gone slack.
“Did you just say you love me?”
“Yeah.” I rub my collar bone and drop my hand to my side again. “I mean, I do. It’s thing number six. From the list.”
“I love you, too.” His words are a soft whisper but ring loudly in my heart.
“I think that’s our cue to leave guys.” I could kiss Tyler right now for grabbing Evan and Roman by the shoulders and forcefully walking them away without another word. I lightly grab Dacen’s face between my hands and peer down into his eyes.
“I don’t know how you did it, but you weaseled your way into my cold, dead heart and breathed life back into it. Now my heart, my mind, my body are all filled with your empathy, your love, your weirdness.” I place a gentle kiss on his lips and speak my next words with my forehead against his. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way. You own my heart. I love you, Taco Socks. I’m in this for the long haul.”
Dacen grips the back of my neck and draws me in tighter. His lips claim mine, his hot mouth showing me how much he appreciates my words. When our tongues meet, a growl sounds in the back of my throat and I walk him backward, pressing him roughly against the locker without separating our lips.
“I love you so fucking much.” The words depart my mouth on an exhale. Now that I’ve said it out loud, I don’t want to stop.
“Sutton. Becker. No PDA on school grounds. You know the rules. Don’t make me get the hose.” Coach walks past, chastising us, but not actually looking upset.
“Sorry Coach,” we both mumble and take the slightest of steps away from each other.
“Just take it somewhere else.” He gives us a kind smile and continues down the hallway.
We look at each other, and the heat and love in our eyes isn’t subtle. It’s a wonder he didn’t actually douse us with cold water before walking away. I close the distance between us again and brush my hips to his. “He’s right, we should take this somewhere else.” Dacen bites his lip and I watch in fascination as he drags it between his teeth. Anticipation swirls through my body, uncontrollable and devouring every last bit of my patience. “Bite that lip again and I’ll fuck you right here on the floor in front of these lockers, consequences be damned.” My words are guttural, growly, and my dick’s raising its hand, volunteering to do just that. Dacen doesn’t bite his lip again. No, always one to take pleasure in taunting the beast inside of me, he licks a slow path across it instead. Bastard. “I’m not particularly in the mood to get suspended today, D. But don’t doubt I’ll do it.”
I cast a quick glance from side to side to check the hallway. Since we’d lingered talking with the guys for a bit, it’s cleared out. I unzip his jeans and reach my hand through the convenient opening in his boxers. His eyes flutter shut and his head flops back against the locker. This gives me access to his neck, which puts me at a further advantage. I’ve touched and tasted every single inch of his skin and his neck is one of the most sensitive parts of his body. I run my lips along his neck to his throat and lick his Adam's apple. A soft breathy moan rushes from his lips. Tracing a path beneath his jaw, I give it a hard, wet suck, swirling my tongue over the saltiness as I do so.
“Jesus, Ryne. Let’s get the hell out of here. I don’t wanna get suspended either, but I’m about two seconds from letting you have your way with me right here on this dirty-ass floor.”
I release the skin of his throat with a pop and zip his pants back up, giving him a light squeeze before stepping away. I pick up both of our bags, grab his hand, and all but drag him down the hall and through the parking lot to my truck. We’ve got places to be, things to do.
More importantly, I’ve got Dacen.
That’s right, bubs.
I smile to myself and give Dacen’s hand a squeeze. He’s all I really need. As long as I have him, everything else will work itself out.
Epilogue: Ryne
One month later…
Heavy footfalls on the stairs of the box blind distract Dacen and he pauses in his reach for me. It’s probably for the best, given we’d only recently cleaned the first round of messy evidence.
“Hey, Rome,” I greet Roman as he steps inside and thunks his gear on the floor inside the door. He wrinkles his nose and stares at the two of us.
