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Jack pulled back, eyes darting toward the stairs. “Your parents are upstairs. I thought….”
Stealing another kiss, softer this time, Ed sat back. “The top three stairs creak if the cat walks on them. Even if we missed the sound of the door opening, we’d hear them the moment they start to come down. More than enough time to make room for the Holy Spirit.”
Jack snickered, rolling his eyes. “I see you spent time in Catholic school too.”
Ed laughed, nodding.
Looking at the empty staircase for a long moment, Jack turned back with a smirk. “I suppose a little more wouldn’t hurt.”
Three kisses later, Jack realized just how much of a bad idea it was. He adjusted his erection, trying to get it to go down. “They’ll never believe we’re just friends when I’m showing like this.”
Eyes fixed on Jack’s crotch, Ed made similar attempts to hide his problem. “Shit. Why do you have be so….” He made a noise at the back of his throat, a cross between a groan and a laugh. “We’ve got a few minutes before dinner. Let’s go out back.”
Jack followed Ed into a laundry room. The door in the back of the room opened to a short staircase that led to the backyard.
Ed paused long enough to grab a football from a pile of sports equipment.
“What’s that for?” Jack followed Ed outside, resisting the urge to grab the ass inches away.
“You used to be a quarterback; I played tight end.”
Jack smirked. “Tight end, eh?” He lowered his voice. “Do I get to find out for myself, or do I have to take your word?”
“Hey!” Ed shook his head. Jack watched him struggle to keep from laughing. Finally he gave up. “We’re trying to take our minds from such thoughts so we can go in for dinner.”
He tossed the ball to Jack and moved farther into the yard. It was a bit over a hundred feet long; tree limbs hung over both sides, limiting the “passing lane” to maybe a third of the yard.
“Maybe we ought to go out front.” He lobbed the ball softly to Ed.
Ed’s laugh was accompanied by a return of the ball. “I’m not planning to run routes for you. I just thought it was a good way to calm down.”
“Mostly blocked, didn’t you?” Jack dropped back three steps and threw a perfect spiral into Ed’s hands.
“Funny guy.” He rolled his eyes, sending the ball back. The pass lacked the tight spin of Jack’s ball. “We ran the ball a lot on my team, but I had good hands, I’ll have you know.”
He couldn’t wait to find if that were true too. Okay, just throw the ball. He dropped back, halting his throw when the door opened.
Gene walked out, smiling. “You look like you played.”
“Started my last two years in high school.” Jack zipped the ball back a bit harder. Yeah, he was showing off, but he knew he had a good arm.
“Do you play for Harrison?” Ed threw the ball back to his dad, who caught it and handed it to Jack.
“No, sir.” Images of his last two games made his throw slightly wide. Ed moved quickly and managed to catch it. Jack raised both eyebrows. “Nice hands.”
“Yeah, he was good,” Gene said, catching the ball, “but his coach couldn’t draw up a pass play to save his job. Eddy probably could have gotten a scholarship if they ran more plays his way.”
Jack nodded toward Ed. “Go for it.”
Gene’s pass was well wide and over Ed’s head. It hit an overhanging limb and bounced back the way it came. “Maybe I’ll stick to catching for you.”
They both laughed as Ed returned the ball. “Let’s see you thread the needle.”
“Please.” Jack rolled his eyes. “Twenty yards to a stationary target? Piece of cake.”
He stepped back and fired a perfect strike into Ed’s hands.
“You have good hands when I throw at you, but can you catch it on the run?”
“Is that a challenge?”
You’re the one who said you were a tight end. Jack squeezed his lips taut and took a breath. “Let’s see what you got.”
Pointing to the path around the side of the house, he said, “You’re on.”
Their toss and catch brought several neighbors out to watch. A pair of teenagers from a few houses down shuffled over, inserting themselves into the action.
“How d’you know Ed?” one of them asked Jack.
He tightened his hold on the ball. “We’re friends.”
“How come we haven’t seen you around before? Are you in one of his business classes?”
Jack tossed the ball to Gene, who lobbed it to Ed. How was he supposed to answer this kid’s questions?
The ball came spiraling back, and Jack leaped in front of the teen and caught it. “Gotta keep your eyes on the prize, man.”
That got the boy off his back.
Jack threw a few routes before Mrs. Knowles called them to dinner.
