Emboldened by his reaction, I slanted my mouth over his, opening wider, asking and demanding more. He let me in. Hesitant in our moves, it was a little awkward at first but then turned languid. Adjusting my position to gain better access, I rose over him, balanced on my hands that caged him against the mattress. I kissed him deeper, and his hands trembled as he brought them to my back, stroking my bare skin. Something in me wanted to leave a permanent mark. I didn’t want to own his first kiss, I realized. I wanted it tattooed in his memory so any other guy—
Fuck that. I growled and he groaned, shifting his hips. His cock was hard, and it was honestly not a situation I'd ever thought I'd find myself in, but fuck if I wasn't hard too. It was biology, I reasoned with the few functioning brain cells I had left.
Call it curiosity. An experiment. But I wanted to know how his dick felt against mine. I slowly, hesitantly lowered my body, trapping our cocks between us, and a sudden need to grind against him caused me to roll my hips. A bolt of electricity shot down my spine and my nuts drew tight.
“Fuck,” I cursed against his lips.
He moaned into my mouth, and my cock throbbed at the husky sound.
Whatever the hell was happening, I wanted more. Craved it. We kissed until the need for oxygen won out. With a gasp I pulled away and sucked in deep lung full of air. Ready for more, I dove back down. At the last second, he whipped his head to the side and shoved at my shoulders until I fell back beside him.
"What the hell was that?" he snapped.
Chuckling, I turned to observe his reaction. "A kiss."
His eyes narrowed. "That was not just a kiss, Rook. You ate my fucking face."
It had gotten out of hand. True. But it hadn't crossed my mind to stop.
"Your lips are soft, sort of, and you taste like mint. Besides, you were enjoying it. You're hard as fuck." Maybe I shouldn't have pointed out the massive tent in his boxer briefs.
"So are you." He lifted a questioning brow.
Okay, he was right. I wasn't in much better shape. "Totally natural. So?"
"So?" he asked incredulously.
"Well, how was it?" I redirected, refraining from adjusting my hard-on and bringing more attention to it.
He paused. "It was fine." My eyebrows scrunched together, and he rolled his eyes. "It was great, Rook. Earth shattering, no-touch orgasm inducing."
Pride swelled in my chest. "Did you seriously come?"
He scoffed. "No, dumbass."
"Damn.” I laughed. “I was really hoping for those bragging rights."
"Well, you're going to have to keep hoping."
"Don't think I can do it?" I challenged, though I wasn't sure why. I'd always been competitive, and as far as I was concerned, that was a dare.
"Don't even think about it." His eyes narrowed in warning. "You better keep your lips to yourself."
"Relax. I was kidding." I had no intention of kissing Noah again. "But for real? Do you regret it?"
Noah immediately shook his head. "No. But are you sure you’re straight? Because that kiss felt really gay."
A raspy laugh rattled in my chest. "You’ll forever be the only guy I kissed. Promise."
It was a one and done, even if for a minute I'd gotten lost to the feel of a hard chest instead of soft curves. I could feel the slight sting from Noah's light-colored stubble. That was a first.
His lips curled on the side. "Good to know."
I turned back to the news that had moved on to football crap I didn't care about. My cock was still hard and my thoughts scrambled. I kissed my best friend. So what if I enjoyed it?
"So, we can forget about this?" he asked.
I froze. Forget about it? Kissing Noah had felt like—well, I wasn't sure. But it was intense and tugged at my gut. An alarm I should proceed with caution. But I had no idea why. While I was sure the whole thing made sense because we were close, it also made no sense at all.
Finally, I nodded without looking at him. "Sure."
My cock was so hard it was nearly painful, and I briefly entertained the idea of taking a shower to jerk off. But I'd end up coming to the memory of what we'd just done. Which of course was a bad idea and more perplexing.
"Rook?" Noah whispered so quietly I almost didn't hear it.
I glanced at him. "What’s up?"
"Thanks."
"Nothing to thank me for, sugar lips," I said with a surprisingly steady voice. Believable even.
He groaned. "That nickname isn't sticking, so don't even try."
"Whatever you say, sugar—" The punch to my arm stirred a desperately needed round of laughter between us both. We'd be fine. We had to be. After we quieted, Noah's breathing was still shallow. He was just as far from sleep as I was.
NOAH
Kissing Rook had been unexpected. I damn sure hadn't been prepared for him to offer to be my first. More so, I shouldn't have agreed. He looked scared as shit, despite his words. Hell, I was scared. But only because I was afraid I'd screwed up my relationship with him. How were we just supposed to rewind? Even if he was able to, I wasn't sure I could.
I'd been in love with him for years, and he had no idea. I was a liar. An opportunist. The worst friend. Or at least it felt that way.
Rook, as if hearing my inner turmoil and reading me so well that sometimes I was convinced he knew me better than I knew myself, kicked me under the covers. "Hey, knock it off. I can practically hear those wheels spinning. We are fine. I get it. It was just a kiss, okay? No need to start questioning us. We're solid. Always will be."
Air I hadn’t been aware was trapped in my lungs rushed past my lips as I turned to face him. I scanned those unique dirty-whiskey eyes for any sign of deception. "You sure?"
He grinned. The smile I'd fallen in love with. "Yes, Noah. I'm sure."
That was the last time we shared a bed. I wasn't sure which of us made that call. It seemed to be a mutual understanding. No chance of stupid kisses and putting our lips where they didn't belong.
Even if I wanted to.
Rook reached for the remote and turned off the TV, plunging the room into darkness.
Four
Rook
Senior Year of College/Current Day
Drenched in sweat and muscles aching, my body sang, high on endorphins. The rough texture of the basketball against my palm and the sound of it thudding against the court gave me a high that nothing matched. Well, almost nothing.
Shoes squeaked against the glossy floor as I raced across the court, dodging the hands trying to steal the ball. The game against the Giants had been a battle of back and forth. My heart raced as I twisted to the side to avoid the greedy grabs and stopped on a dime, poised to shoot. The moment happened so fast, but time seemed to slow as I raised my arms and released the ball, letting it roll off my fingertips.
Long arms stretched into the air, trying to block the shot, but with a perfectly timed arc, the ball cut through the air followed by the best sound in the world. Swish.
Nothing but motherfucking net.