"The current is pulling us out," Jude said, as Connor swam up to him.
Connor looked around "Try a different direction," he said. "Instead of swimming against it, let's swim across it." He swam towards the beach at an angle. Jude followed. It was hard work with his clothes dragging on him; he felt his muscles cramping as he swam and kicked. Connor's idea was working though, they were getting closer instead of further away. They were heading past the edge of the beach now, towards the rocks at the edge of the cove. Jude felt the salty water surging past his face as he stroked and with it, his brain registered the scent of Connor. Were pheromones even supposed to work underwater? What strange twist in evolutionary history was he experiencing now? Could it be that whales and dolphins could smell pheromones? Revitalized by the molecules of Connor coursing through his blood, Jude made a final sprint for water's edge and the waves washed him up against the rocks.
Connor was right beside him, he took Jude's hand and helped him back towards the dock, walking uncertainly and unsteadily in the darkness and on the slippery rocks.
***
Stef was taking cover by the dock. She had a good fix on where the shooter was, she just needed to be patient...
His head darted up, checking out the surroundings.
Stef threw a flash-bang at him, he staggered up in surprise and she sprinted towards him, tackling him and pinning him to the ground. She wrenched him onto his stomach.
Jude and Connor ran up to her, Connor helped hold him down with his strong hands. He helped Stef cuff him.
"You okay?" Jude asked Stef.
She nodded. "You?"
"We're fine," Connor said.
"Stay here, I need to check for anyone else."
Connor nodded and kept the guy down. He heard the helicopter up on the cliff above and sirens approaching. He looked at Jude, and saw something in his eyes. "What?" he asked.
Jude gave him a little smile. "Pheromones work in water."
"Wow. That's cool."
Jude hugged him from behind, and held him until it was, at last, time for them to go.
***
On the way home, Connor and Jude sat in the back of Stef's police SUV, holding hands. "I knew you'd come after me," Jude said.
Connor lifted his hand and kissed it. "Someone to watch over you?"
Jude nestled in beside him. "Yeah. You do a pretty good job of that, by the way."
Connor kissed his forehead. "For the longest time I thought about what it would be like to be boyfriends with you, Jude. I didn't think it was going to be as good as it has been."
Jude blew out his breath. "Yeah. I guess I thought I would eventually have someone, and I'd love the one I was with. I just didn't realize for a long time that it was going to be you."
"Did you want it to be me?" Connor's eyes were like tiny stars in the darkness.
Jude nodded. "Honestly yes. For a long time I don't think that I realized that's what it was...that I was feeling. But by the whole time the thing happened with Maddie, I knew. It just didn't seem like it was a thing that would actually happen until that night in the tent. When did you know?"
"When I met you. You were walking through the hall, obviously lost, and it was the cutest thing I've ever seen. It was like there was a light shining on you. It was the most enticing thing I've ever seen."
"So you came up to me and said hello," Jude continued.
Connor nodded. "I already knew then how my dad felt—how he used to feel—about gays. And I already knew that I liked boys and that I would always have to hide from him. It's not that we weren't friends, we definitely were—but right from the beginning I wanted it to be more than that."
Jude pursed his lips. "So you were already crushing on me when you gave me your PSP."
Connor nodded. "I thought if I did that, you'd like me. Want to hang out again. And that maybe someday...."
"The tent thing would happen," Jude filled in.
Connor nodded. "When you gave Robin your Jonnor name...why did you do that?"
Jude grinned. "You're the one who keeps bringing up this marriage of ours that you think is so inevitable. Is it so bad that I'm playing along with it?"
Connor looked down. "I don't want you to just play along with it, Jude. You don't have to do that to make me happy."
Jude squeezed his hand. "No, it's not like that. I wanted to. There are times I want to scream to the whole world that you're mine. Besides, I already told you—when we get to that point, if we're still together, I'm going to say yes." He looked into Connor's eyes, and thought of the puzzle Callie had given him for his birthday. Then all anxiety was at an end, and they lived together in perfect happiness.
"Hey, look at that!" Connor said, pointing ahead. "What do you think that means. Protection?"
Jude peered out the window, at the billboard up ahead. There was the single word, PROTECTION, with the hashtag #trp below it.
Jude's mind was racing. #trp ... The Ronnoc Project. What was Taylor up to now?
***
Connor came out of the bathroom in his pajamas. He kissed Jude with the minty freshness of brushed teeth. Jude smiled at him and then walked over and quietly closed the door.
Connor stared at him. "Is that, you know, against the rules?"
"Your dad is back in town, this is probably the last night we're spending together for awhile and if there was a time to break the rules, it's now. Besides, I'm going to be grounded and I already spent the day stealing a boat, so from a law-breaking perspective this is nothing."
Connor grinned at him. "Is everything okay, cakes? You've had a pretty intense day."
"It's fine," Jude said. "I dunno, I guess it really was wrong to take the boat. And get mad at you. And maybe I'm just thirteen and full of hormones but I just can't be sweet little Jude anymore. Not tonight." He crashed into Connor like a freight train colliding with another train, his hands twisting around Connor with the subtlety of heat-seeking missiles and his mouth went on Connor's like a blowtorch. He pushed Connor back towards their bed like a linebacker fighting for the last yard and Connor folded under him onto the sheets.
"This is the side of the Judicorn that's only seen in the wild," Connor said excitedly, as Jude pushed his shirt up. Connor heaved himself up and shucked off the shirt. Jude pushed him back down and his mouth enclosed on Connor's right nipple.
"Okay then," Connor said. "I'm just going to lay here and let your mouth use me."
Jude looked up at him, his eyes filled with feral intensity. He lunged and kissed Connor and as he did so, his hands pulled down Connor's pajamas and boxers. He stopped and looked into Connor's eyes.
Breathless, Connor blinked and nodded slightly. He felt Jude's hand wrap around his thingy and he shuddered, his shaking making the sheets vibrate. He smiled at the pleased look on Jude's face and then closed his eyes as Jude's mouth engulfed him. With the voraciousness of a dog that hadn't eaten in weeks, Jude devoured him, exquisitely and with surprising mastery for a first timer. Connor's hands grabbed handfuls of sheets. It was the sweetest torture he'd ever known, and he wanted it to end and continue forever at the same time. Much too soon the conclusion was inevitable. "I'm going to cum," he warned Jude.
Jude's head popped up, his hand still working the prize. He watched with a look of total satisfaction on his face, and when it was over and Connor's chest was heaving, Jude took Connor's hand and held it tight.
Connor was squinting. "I got some in my eye," he grunted.
"And your hair. That was totally worthy of a porno." Jude grabbed some tissues and helped Connor clean himself up.
"Okay, it's your turn, you savage beast," Connor said, pulling at Jude's shirt. Jude lifted it off and rolled onto the bed beside Connor, trembling as Connor pulled down his pajamas and boxers. Connor smiled and winked at him. He went to work with much more calmness than Jude did, taking his time. He looked up. "It was amazing to touch it...but working it with my tongue? Out of this fucking world."
"Feels like it too," Jude said, squirming as Connor indulged his foreskin fascination. He held onto Connor's head, gritting his teeth and his legs thrashing as the intensity built up inside him. Just when he thought he was at the edge Connor would back off and focus elsewhere, only to come back again and drive him to the brink once again. Over and over it went until Jude was sure that he couldn't stand another second of it, he was practically ready to beg for release. He groaned and Connor's warm hand took over as fireworks erupted inside of Jude's head and body. Jude laid back and then looked down at warm puddle of goo. "I can't shoot it nearly as far as you."
"It was still awesome baby," Connor said, reaching for the tissues. He fastidiously cleaned up the mess he'd made.
"Yeah," Jude said. "It was." He pulled Connor's head up to his, and they kissed, still glowing with passion and with the fire that can only blaze with the fuel of one's most fervent desire. "Let's sleep naked," Jude said. "I don't want to have anything between me and you tonight."
They discarded their clothes and Connor wrapped him into their spooning position. Jude felt his skin burning like a fireline with nothing to encumber his contact with Connor. "I love you, Mr. Adams-Foster." He kissed Connor's hand holding his.
"I love you, Mr. Stevens," Connor said, and held him until the dawn.