"It wasn't tactical. Just instinct. When we had to take down the dead tree in the backyard, you were the leader then." Geoff trailed a hand down his arm, over his thigh. "When it comes to this, I am. Did that feel good?"
"No, it sucked." Chris shot him a lopsided grin, but his dark eyes were studying Geoff seriously. Reaching out, he touched Geoff's face, moving down to the collar of his T-shirt. He screwed his fingers in it, tightly enough that Geoff felt the pull over his shoulders.
"It's going to take a few minutes to get things going in the right direction," Chris said, "but I want to go to your room. I want to be in your bed tonight. And I want to be inside you . . . like we talked about."
There was a question in it, an implicit request for permission, underscoring the point Geoff had just made. Whether or not Chris recognized it, he appeared easier with the idea, though the tension in his fingers said he had other reasons for being keyed up. Since Geoff hadn't had a release, and he was finding out how uncomfortable it could be to have a hard-on in wet jeans, he was ready anytime Chris was.
"Okay," Geoff said. "Sounds like a plan. I want to run through my shower real quick so we can both be squeaky clean. Why don't you come with me to my room? For one thing, you could probably use a few minutes of horizontal."
"Yeah, maybe. But don't look so smug about it."
Geoff grinned wolfishly, but he helped Chris up and handed him a towel. Stripping off his wet shirt, he left it hanging on the shower bar. "Want something to drink? Ice water?"
"Yeah. And a couple of those peanut butter cookies we picked up at the park, if you don't mind."
"Don't mind a bit. Head for my room and I'll meet you there."
He waited, making sure Chris was steady enough to manage the hallway, and he was. Fortunately he didn't look back to see Geoff mother-henning him, since he was sure his friend would have teased him, but it didn't stop Geoff from watching out for him.
When Geoff returned, Chris was in Geoff's room, though he wasn't yet lying down. He was studying the expanse of Geoff's mattress and his back was to Geoff. Geoff paused, savoring the sight of the powerful body naked from head to toe, dark hair tousled and damp, a few stray drops gathered in the small of his back. Geoff touched the ice-cold side of the glass against it and snickered as Chris jumped. His friend gave him a narrow look and took the glass, but he was too thirsty to retaliate, gulping down about half of it before he set it aside. Wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, his gaze slid down Geoff's chest. "Wet jeans can't be comfortable."
"They're not. You want them off, right here and now?"
In Chris's eyes, Geoff saw careful calculation of Geoff's intent, the weighing of the delicate balance between them. "Yeah," Chris said. "If you don't mind. But I'd like to do it myself."
In answer, Geoff dipped his head. Chris didn't need to be asked twice. Despite the short break between shower and snacks, Geoff's cock was still pretty firm and noticeable against the soaked fly. Chris slipped the button and worked the zipper down carefully, but after that, he ran into a logistical issue.
As Chris tugged at the wet jeans, Geoff couldn't help it, he chuckled. Glancing at him through the fall of hair over his concentrated brow, Chris shook his head, lips tugging into a rueful smile. "Okay, wet jeans look sexy as hell, but they're superglued to your thighs. A little help here?"
Geoff obliged. When he finally managed to skin them off and tossed them to the side, he found Chris's attention on the soaked cling of his dark brief shorts. Geoff drew in a breath as Chris passed his knuckles over the pale skin of his upper thighs, then across, a featherlight brush over his cock, which made it twitch under the damp covering. Chris hooked the sides of the underwear and took them down Geoff's legs to his ankles. Geoff stepped out of them, kicking them away, and Chris was on his heels, looking up at him, both of them naked and damp.
"First time I saw you without any clothes was when we were thirteen," Chris said. "We went swimming in that pond where that copperhead was. Remember?"
"How can I forget?" Geoff said dryly. "We could have beaten an Olympic sprinter out of that hole."
"It chased us out of the water and we kept running for like another quarter mile." Chris rose and put his palm on Geoff's chest, fingertips learning his shape. Geoff had watched Chris plant and grow things, nurture countless things with his hands. He could feel all of that in them now. Strength, gentleness, the ability to understand what a living thing most needed. Geoff thought that touch could help him grow and be more than he could be on his own. It turned the moment into something more.
"We never talked about it," Chris mused, "but neither of us ran as fast as we could, because we were both trying to make sure the other stayed ahead. It's a good thing the snake gave up." Chris lifted his gaze to Geoff's. "We wanted to make sure if the snake caught one of us, it would be the one lagging behind, so the other would be okay."
"Yeah." Geoff lifted a shoulder. "If I'd known that the copperhead is one of the least venomous poisonous snakes, I would have sprinted a mile ahead of you."
"No, you wouldn't." Chris cocked his head, gaze sweeping Geoff once more. If he kept doing that, Geoff was going to put aside his honorable resolve to let this be Chris's show and just tackle him.
A muscle flexed in Chris's jaw. "Go get your shower. A fast one."
Geoff smiled, bumped his body with his shoulder, and went into his bathroom. He saw Chris sit down on the edge of the bed to watch him as he got the water hot. When he ducked under the spray, he did make it quick, though he was thorough. As he came out, toweling off, he found Chris was still in the same spot.
"Can you come here?"
"I can." Feeling an absurd tightness in his chest, Geoff set aside the towel and approached the bed.
"Some of those guys we played football with today," Chris said. "They've been friends for years, like us. They love one another, but they don't think about doing what we're doing right now. They won't ever want to take it to this level."
"Yeah, that's true. No matter what it is or isn't, do you wish we were like that?"
Chris paused, thinking. Geoff realized he was holding his breath. Chris slid a hand along Geoff's forearm and rested his palm on his hip. "If I said I did?" he asked at last.
"If you said you did, and you meant it, I'd do my best to respect it." It would be like passing kidney stones. "It's kind of a hard thing to shut off once you've opened the tap."