Chapter XXV ─ Absolution
[ M I C H A E L G R I F F I N ]
I had awoken a monster inside of Bryan Clay.
Ever since our little magical sexcapade, that man had turned into a total sex-driven incubus, except all his focus was on me. Not that I minded, I was just as bat-shit crazy about him and his body as he was about mine.
It had been a little over a week and a half since we laid it all bare and went at it. Safe to say, we put bunnies to shame with how much 'fun' we've had together since. I never thought that sex with Bry was all I ever needed to be satisfied. I was constantly hungry for his skin, for his cock, for the way he fucked me into the mattress, on the floor, in the shower.
My life revolved around Bryan in every way possible. Ever since dropping the bombshell that I was in love with him everything changed, it might have been uttered in the heat of the moment but I was glad I couldn't keep my mouth shut for once. Turns out so was Bryan.
Falling asleep next to the person you loved every night was something I could never get tired of. I could never get tired of the way Bryan wrapped his arms around me and made me feel safe and wanted, the way he whispered sweet nothings into my ear until I inevitably drifted into a comfortable deep sleep.
We had built our private little kingdom together, but whether we liked it or not, we'd eventually have to get over the soaring highs of sex and look at the situation on hand. Were we ready for a real relationship yet? Could we label ourselves as something more than just long lost childhood lovers? As much I liked to think that we were safe and secure together, we weren't, there were barely any conversations about our future, we had been too cooped up in ravishing each other's naked bodies.
It mostly came down to me. I wasn't sure if I was ready to come out to the public yet, or if I'd be in the next few years of my life. I was left in a tricky situation, I had high hopes and aspirations of becoming a professional football player and locker rooms were notorious for nonchalant homophobia. It was the same for high school, college, and pro play alike, could I build a career if the world knew how much I enjoyed making googly eyes at other men?
I knew these kinds of thoughts were very selfish of me to have, especially when Bryan and I had been so close to building something together. But I couldn't help but wonder about my future, I wanted to have a prosperous career so my mother wouldn't have to work as much, I wanted to feel financially secure and I wanted to play football in the big leagues. I knew that Bryan would be more than willing to stick my side and be my significant other on the down-low, but he deserved way better than that. He deserved to be flaunted around like the world's biggest trophy because he was a national treasure.
I glanced at Bryan toweling himself off in the locker room, minding his own business, and got lost in thought again.
I loved that man, and it took me way too long to realize that. He was truly a sight to behold, he was my prized possession, he was my world again, but I wouldn't make him my little secret, it would be unfair to him. A scowl formed on my face as my train of thought spiraled deeper and deeper.
A voice calling out to me broke me out of my momentary trance and grabbed my attention. "Hey, Michael!" Jordan called out.
I shifted my gaze to him and held my chin up, shooting him a keen look, wordlessly urging him to continue. "Listen, bro, this is going to sound kind of awkward, but would you mind if I asked Ash out? I know you two broke up only a little while ago, but I like her." I tilted my head at his question, Jordan had the signature puppy dog eyes he loved to use on people. Jordan had been desperately trying to grab Ash's attention ever since he found out that we had broken up, it was kind of tragic seeing Ash shoot any advance he'd made with a stern look.
I sighed in defeat, smiling a little. "Knock yourself out, before she knocks you out herself, that is." The weirdness I thought I'd feel about Ash pining for other guys and being chased by other guys wasn't there like I thought it would be. It was oddly comforting and concerning how Bryan Clay had managed to rewire my brain in that regard.
Jordan beamed at my response and could barely contain his excitement. "You sure it won't be weird?"
"A million percent. Ash and I are best friends and that's all we are, no hard feelings or anything like that. But as I said, good luck trying, she's a pretty tough cookie if you hadn't noticed already." I shot him a dismissive look and slipped on a fresh t-shirt.
It didn't take Jordan long to wander off and find other guys to bother in the locker room, it had been twenty minutes since practice had concluded, but the locker room was still buzzing with chatter. It had something to do with the coaches telling us to stick around for a while. I felt a presence approach me and I immediately recognized who it was, my nose had heightened senses when Bryan was involved.
I turned to him with a small smile and was greeted by his sculpted chest inches away from me. How I wished I could just touch him and make it known that he belonged to me and only me in public, but I had to bite my tongue and resist those urges, we had to figure out our game plan before anything like that could prosper.
"What was that about?" Bry raised a curious brow, his voice sounded like music to my ears and I sighed internally, I was beyond whipped.
"Jordan asked for my permission to ask Ash out, go figure." I chuckled in response, my gaze lingering on his pecs. Bryan had the liberty of meeting Ash already, we'd all went out for lunch after our practice last week. It was comforting to know that two of the most important people in my life got along with each other.
He let out a small laugh and quickly halted when he got looks from the other guys in the locker room, flushing a little. That adorable little incubus. It must have looked weird to everyone around us. Just a couple of months ago, Bryan and I wouldn't dare utter a single word to each other, now we were laughing and hanging out together in public. "I wish him luck. How hard do you think will Ash crush his heart?"
"Flex tape won't be able to hold it together." I mused, earning a chuckle from Bry.
As if on cue, the door burst open and Ash emerged from the hallway, her eyes immediately landing on Bryan and me. I raised my eyebrow at her as she stomped towards us. "What's taking you guys so long? I've been waiting for like ten minutes, this is unacceptable." She huffed out of false frustration, Ash was never the type to be patient.
"Coach told us to stick around, he had an announcement to make, but they're running late. Blame them." I responded, looking over Ash's shoulder, where Jordan made googly eyes at the back of her head.
"They'll be hearing from my lawyers." Ash rolled her eyes in annoyance and then turned to Bryan. "Put a shirt on unless you want my ovaries to explode." She muttered with a straight face as she inspected his torso, jealously pricked at my skin, even though I knew without a doubt she was doing it to push my buttons. Ash was the only person aside from my mother who knew about Bryan and me anyway, and she seemed to get a kick out of teasing us into oblivion.
Bryan grinned at her and flexed his muscles at her in a joking manner. Jordan stomping over to us was what snapped my attention from the beautiful specimen that was my lover. I stifled a laugh as he managed to trip over a bench. "Incoming," I whispered to Ash with a smirk.
She turned her gaze to the royal mess approaching us at a rapid pace and huffed in annoyance. "Let me go deal with this." Ash let out a deep sigh and rolled her eyes, I stared at their exchange, amused by her frustration. Suddenly, the coach's office door slammed open and both the East and West coaches made an appearance with toothy grins on their faces.
Kyle cleared his throat and the locker room fell into complete silence. "Boys... and girl." He raised an eyebrow at Ash whisper-shouting at Jordan. "I am proud to say that starting today, the assignment is over."
Tense silence took over the room. If I'd heard this news a month ago, I would've probably jumped out of my skin and been the happiest man alive, but now, I had mixed emotions. I had grown accustomed to seeing so many guys on the field, genuinely having fun together, I had grown to love seeing Bryan on the field every time practice rolled around. The assignment being officially over was a double-edged sword, on one hand, the football season would resume, I'd have my shot at the scholarship, but I would see Bryan in his masculine glory less, a small frown formed on my lips at that thought.
"Uh... boys?" Kyle's voice was filled with uncertainty. "You're free, the hell is over, you were moaning about it for ages now look at you. I guess the assignment was a success, eh?" He asked Coach Williams with a smile.
"Precisely." He beamed. "This is exactly what we wanted to see when we started this whole thing off. I hope we can leave that honestly meaningless rivalry behind and focus on bigger and better things. We could've called it a day a couple of weeks ago, but we wanted to keep going. It's quite the sight, seeing two teams work together this well, I'm proud of all of you. Even if it started with my boys destroying your gym, it was probably worth it the end." Coach's smile swelled with pride and so did my heart, it was true. The East and the West set aside their differences on the field and just enjoyed the game, it was refreshing.
East and West Aredale had been defined by the rivalry for so long, we were raised that way, to hate the town on the other side of the river. It was a dumb way to look at things, the rivalry was unwarranted and pointless. Having competition was always healthy, it allowed people to perform at their peak, but in Aredale's case it was way overdone, it was unhealthy. Good riddance.
I turned my attention back to Bryan for a moment, only to see him lost in thought, I guess he was just as conflicted as I was. The captains and quarterbacks would part ways and fight against each other again. Oddly enough, I looked forward to that.
Kyle got tired of the radio silence from the locker room. "What are you waiting for you goons? You're dismissed, go enjoy your Friday and have a great weekend, you guys deserve it." He ushered everyone with an enthusiastic smile, at least the coaches were in a great mood.
I heard a groan escape Ash's lips and she walked back to Bryan and me, Jordan following her like a loyal puppy. "Come on, losers, we're going out."