Page 28 of Caught Running
“It is an extremely big lapse in judgment,” Jake murmured regretfully. “I’m afraid as soon as we move it’ll go away,” he added with a nudge of his nose against Brandon’s cheek and another gentle kiss.
Exhaling with a shuddering sigh, Brandon’s fingers tightened around Jake’s, his other hand clutching at one bicep. “No. Please, don’t, not yet,” he whispered against Jake’s lips. It had been so long since he’d been touched at all, and the fact that it was Jake was almost too much to believe.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Jake growled as his fingers dug into Brandon’s hips and gave him a little yank sideways. He scooted and tugged and pulled until he had Brandon under him, lying flat on the couch. Logically he knew that they only had a little less than an hour and that wasn’t nearly enough time to dowhat he wanted to do to Brandon. He could see already that they were both going to head to school for the game frustrated and probably very cranky.
Wiggling and scooting to help, Brandon moaned happily when Jake’s weight settled on him, and he curled his arms around his neck, pressing his lips to the strong chin and sliding to his ear. “You’re driving me crazy,” he whispered. He pulled one knee up to slide Jake’s body more firmly between his thighs.
“Short drive,” Jake managed to groan as Brandon moved under him. “Stop moving,” he growled, panting against the other man’s neck while his body throbbed.
Brandon actually whined. “You’ve got to be joking!” he said as he dragged his hands down Jake’s back, tracing the shifting muscles.
“I’m not that funny,” Jake growled, nipping at Brandon’s neck and sliding his hands under the man’s shoulders.
Tilting his head back, Brandon choked off a soft groan as he felt Jake’s teeth. “Fuuuck...” he hissed, lifting the propped up leg and curling it around Jake’s upper thighs. He just couldn’t resist. Too many nights of heated dreams, too many mornings of cold showers.
Yet again Jake found himself surprised by Brandon’s actions. He wasn’t nearly as inhibited as Jake had imagined he would be, and for a moment it threw him off almost to the point that he forgot what he was doing. He scraped his teeth along Brandon’s collarbone and then pushed up onto his elbows and looked down at the man. “I, fuck, we should get moving,” he breathed.
“You just told me not to move,” Brandon said in exasperation, opening his eyes to see melted dark chocolate ones staring down at him with heated intensity.
“I meant stop wiggling,” Jake growled, his voice low and rumbling and intimate. “We don’t have time for you to wiggle,” he added with a predatory grin.
Brandon’s eyes flashed and slowly a wicked smile took his face, and he deliberately wiggled. Jake pressed him down hard into the couch cushions and groaned as his body responded to the provocative movements. “You have no idea what you’re getting into,” he warned seriously.
That heated smile faded into a visage of longing. “Probably not,” Brandon agreed. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want it.”
“Tonight then,” Jake purred as he brought one hand up to run it tentatively through Brandon’s hair, brushing strands away from his face. “We can pick up right here. We just need to get through three hours of ballgame first.” He practically whined before giving in and pressing his lips to Brandon’s once more.
“Tonight,” Brandon sighed into the kiss, aching and hoping it wouldn’t all disappear like a popped soap bubble.
Jake pushed up and off him suddenly and stood, knowing if he lingered he would drive them both crazy. He pressed the back of his hand to his mouth and looked down at Brandon for a moment of indecision before nodding and turning abruptly to clomp down the hall. Sucking in a deep breath, Brandon covered his face with both hands, groaning and squirming. He was almost afraid to look down—although if he’d busted out of the boxers he was sure Jake would have had something to say (or do) about it. By force of will he kept his hands off himself and climbed off the couch, heading to the kitchen to get their uniforms out of the wash.
Brandon grinned as the kids pumped their fists in the air and cheered at closing out the final inning on a win. He jogged over to join the line as the two teams passed each other, slapping hands and congratulating each other. He had a few words with the other team’s assistant coach and then headed back to the dugout to start packing up equipment. It had been a great game, in his opinion, with most all of the players staying invested and focused.
“They can do that,” Jake told him after Brandon had started on the equipment. He was smiling slightly, patting kids on the back as they passed by him, telling them first what they had done right and then what they could do better next time.
Sitting down on the bench, Brandon watched the kids pass by, complimenting them on particular plays he remembered, taking high fives. It pleased him how much the team accepted him. With that thought, his eyes strayed to Jake. During the game, he’d been able to stay focused. But now there was nothingto keep him from thinking highly inappropriate thoughts about the head coach in a high school setting.
Jake glanced down at Brandon and met his eyes, looking at him for a much longer time than he probably should have. The curl of nervous anticipation he hadn’t felt for a very long time had started as soon as the last inning began, and he had been damn lucky that his boys were well-trained and could play without a heavy hand from the dugout. He was nervous enough that he thought he might be ill, but the excitement overpowered that feeling. It was one that came when you were about to get something you never thought you could possibly get. Jake didn’t get that feeling often, and he intended to enjoy it. Every time he looked at Brandon, it got stronger.
Catching the look in Jake’s eyes, Brandon swallowed hard and got up to help with the equipment again. He couldn’t sit still under that scrutiny, not if he was to have any hope of walking even somewhat normally. He chatted idly with a couple of the sophomores who were toting bats, and when they were done, he stood at the fence, leaning and looking out over the field as he listened to the cars depart.
Jake made one last survey of the dugout, making certain there was no trash or sunflower seeds or God knew what else on the ground as he closed up the equipment storage. He stepped out of the dugout and looked over the field, his eyes dark under the brim of his hat, his clipboard and scorebook under his arm. He half expected Brandon to have bolted. They’d both had a lot of time to think about what they had started in the heat of the moment, and Jake quite frankly wouldn’t have blamed the man for running scared. He turned to look over the right side of the field, and his stomach jumped as he saw Brandon leaning against the fence. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself, he turned and began to walk slowly over to him.
The early afternoon had been tense. Not bad tense, just tense. As the kids started arriving it got easier, and time passed. Then the game ended, and now Brandon could feel that banked tension transforming into butterflies as he watched the sun sinking in the early evening sky. He wondered if Jake would invite him back over to finish what they started. He wondered if Jake would leave without even speaking to him. He squeezed his eyes shut and made his own wish, though it would make his life much more complex. God help him, he wanted Jake.
Jake’s footsteps were silent as he came up to Brandon, and he looked around them carefully before leaning his elbows against the fence. Their arms barely brushed as he turned his head to watch the last few cars leave the lot.
The fence gave slightly and Brandon knew who it was. Every nerve in his body jumped to attention and nearly screamed, thinking about Jake being this close. He drew in a shaky breath and opened his eyes, turning his chin to look at the other man, hoping his face was composed. He knew he couldn’t do anything about the desire in his eyes.
Jake licked his lips and then turned his head to meet Brandon’s eyes with a raised eyebrow and a slight smile. When he was nervous he immediately sank back into his comfort zone, and his comfort zone was smiling and joking. “I hear you have a hot date tonight,” he drawled to the man with a glint to his black eyes.
Brandon blinked and chuckled, his nerves popping. “Yeah, well, I got lucky, I guess.”
“Not yet you didn’t,” Jake snickered as he leaned into Brandon and nudged him a little. Lips pursing, Brandon’s eyes flashed with heated amusement, and he stuck the tip of his tongue out in comment. “Don’t tempt me,” Jake growled as he leaned closer. He was all too aware that they were not anywhere near being in a private place, and he wanted to get to one. Now.“Care for a beer?” he asked in a low voice as he met Brandon’s eyes with a little glint.
Brandon really didn’t want to wait that long. “How about a shower first?” he suggested as he pushed himself away from the fence, walking backward toward the gym, eyes locked on the other man. He didn’t know how he found it in himself to be so bold, but something about the heat Jake infused in him gave him unusual courage.
That anticipatory twist of nerves hit Jake again, and he found himself following Brandon as if the man had latched a hook through his nose. “Getting clean is begging for trouble,” he warned in a low voice, his big shoulders rolling as he practically prowled forward.