Racing the Sky Read online

  “Well, damn, kid, I’ve seen a few of those big races on TV. Never knew anyone who’d actually ridden in one. And here I was entertaining a bona fide celebrity last night and didn’t even know it.”

  Nicky felt himself blush and was glad that Gray couldn’t see it. “No, nothing like that. I mean, I’m known, but I’m not that well known. Not yet. Soon though, I hope.”

  “If you race the way you fuck, you’ll do just fine.” Gray snickered. “More than just fine. I think the other guys will be hard pressed to keep up with you if that’s the case.”

  Nicky shivered. Hearing Gray say “fuck” drew a low moan from him and another rough chuckle from Gray.

  “Someone’s got their mind in the gutter tonight; don’t they?” Gray teased.

  “It’s your fault.”

  “Is it? Well, then I guess I’ll have to sit over here and behave and not tell you how bad I wish you were here right now. I would pull you down to straddle me in this chair and let you ride me until you were begging me to fuck you through the bed.”

  “God, that’s not fair,” Nicky moaned.

  “You should touch yourself for me, Nicky. Let me hear you get yourself off.”

  Nicky whined low, his hand moving before his brain could think. All he wanted was to loosen the tightly constricting fabric of his jeans and find some friction. He heard Gray moan into the phone and wondered what he was doing, tried to picture him getting off in his chair.

  “Are you touching that gorgeous cock of yours, Nicky? Are you stroking it, wishing I was stroking you, sucking you?”

  “Yesssssss,” Nicky breathed out, stroking himself a little faster and wishing it was Gray’s hand, Gray’s body pinning him down, sliding into him.

  “Good, that’s so good, Nicky,” Gray praised. “I love that you’re so vocal. All those little sounds of yours just make my cock harder.”

  “Are you stroking yourself too?”

  “You better believe I am.” Gray groaned, and the sound of it made Nicky shiver.

  “You don’t know how much I wish you were here right now,” Gray continued. “I’d bend you over the table and mark you up good.”

  “Mark me?” Nicky sighed, stroking his dick a little faster. “How?”

  “With my teeth,” Gray growled. “And my tongue. And my handprints on your ass while you squirmed for me. Do you think you’d like that, Nicky?”

  “Fuuuuuuck yeah.”

  Gray chuckled, his voice sounding wrecked through the phone, and Nicky felt a surge of pride, knowing he was the one causing it.

  “I think I’d enjoy seeing you spread out across my table, your tight hole just begging to be fucked,” Gray said.

  That only served to excite Nicky more. He mewed into the phone. “I want to blow you.”

  “Christ, Nicky, having you on your knees with my cock in your mouth and my hands buried in your hair would be the end of me.”

  “Good. I wanna make you feel good,” Nicky replied eagerly.

  Gray chuckled, and Nicky found himself groaning at the sound. “And I wanna make you scream,” Gray said, nearly making Nicky cum with his words.

  “Wanna feel your fingers stretching me.”

  “Really? I wonder how much it would take before you were begging me to fuck you,” Gray rasped.

  All Nicky could manage was a rough growl in response.

  “You’re close; aren’t you?”

  Nicky mewed and shifted his hips, twisting his hand a little at the end of every stoke of his cock.

  “Talk to me, Nicholas.”

  “Yes!” Nicky gasped, feeling the pleasure building. “Yes, I’m close. So, so close. Wish I was there so you could fuck me. Wanna come so bad, Gray.”

  “Then come for me, baby. I wanna hear you come completely undone.”

  “Oh God,” Nicky whined, stroking himself more. “Fuck, Gray, so fucking good, need you here, want you, oh fucking God…”

  “Yes, Nicky, fuck, kid, just like that, come for me! Now, fuck!”

  Sharp lightning bolts of pleasure whipped through Nicky’s body and he came with a hoarse shout, warm cum spilling over his hand as he shuddered and groaned. Through the phone, he could hear Gray’s cries of completion and it only severed to enhance his own pleasure. His vision whited out and sound dimmed. Gasping, he struggled for every breath, heart hammering as he twitched and moaned.

  There were several minutes of panting as both men calmed down.

  Gray’s voice was ragged and demanding when he rasped into Nicky’s ear. “I want to see you again.”

  “Can I come up tomorrow?”

  “Oh yeah. I get off a bit earlier, actually—nine-thirty—and I hear there’s supposed to be a meteor shower, if you like that sort of thing. I know the perfect spot not too far from here. We can have a late dinner and fuck under the stars, unless you’re worried about someone catching us.”

  “Shouldn’t you be the one worrying?”

  “Not where I’m taking you. Trust me, no one will see us and no one will hear all those amazing noises you make.”

  Nicky groaned, his cock twitching at the idea. “I’ll be there a little after nine, then.” He wiped the mess off his stomach with his T-shirt and tossed it across the room.

  “Looking forward to it,” Gray said with a tired sigh. “Goodnight, Nicholas.”

  “Goodnight, Gray.”

  Nicky closed his phone. He felt tired and relaxed, and a little bit sticky. If not for that, he’d have rolled over and gratefully passed out. Instead, he dragged himself to the shower and quickly cleaned up, bumping into Vic on the way back to his room.

  “Thanks for dinner, those ribs were awesome.”

  “Figured I’d try out the new smoker I picked up at the hardware store this afternoon,” Nicky said with a smile. “It sure worked well.”

  “Yeah, I can’t wait to put some steaks on it, or chicken. Man, I bet that will taste good. A few more weeks and we’ll have plenty of time to hang around the yard and pig out.”

  “How close are you to being done?”

  Vic rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Two more papers and four finals. I’m gonna need our little backyard oasis before this semester is through. I’m just glad it’s the last one. I’ve about had it with studying, to be honest.”

  Nicky laughed. “You? Seriously? I never thought I’d hear you say that.”

  “Well, I’m saying it now. It’ll be nice to not have to wake up and stick my nose in a book for a change.”

  Judging from how exhausted Vic looked, Nicky could tell he meant it. “When you’re done, I’ll have to show you all the stuff you’ve missed out on here in the real world.”

  “As long as it includes fudge striped cookies and marshmallows, you’re on!”

  “Deal!” Nicky said, before slipping back into his room.

  Sleep found him easily, and he was happy that Vic was still sleeping when he rolled out of bed the following morning, bouncing off the walls and eager to start the day. He had more than fourteen hours to kill and the perfect way to kill them, bandaged hand be damned. He sealed the gauze with tape, slipped into his wetsuit, pulled on his clothes over it, and headed to the shed. There was an empty spot beside his surf board where Terry’s used to be, but he barely spared it a moment’s thought before grabbing his and heading to his truck. The roll of the ocean and the thrill of the waves were just what he needed to fill the day.

  It was practically deserted when he arrived—just a few guys catching waves to the left of where he headed. Seagulls circled, and the sky was still streaked with pink and gold. He waxed his board, thinking about Gray and the night to come, eager to feel the other man’s hands on him again, to hear his praise, and be cuddled afterward.

  Cursing, he forced himself to slow down and wax the board evenly. He attached his leash and headed into the water, the salty spray a much-needed slap in the face. Focus, listen, scan the horizon, wait for the next wave to come in. It was amazing, that moment when he could stand atop the boar
d, hips keeping it twisting and turning, riding the crest before spilling down.

  He kept at it until his arms were tired and his legs ached; then he just straddled the board and drifted for a while. The waves had gotten smaller anyway and the winds had died down. Judging by the sun, it was afternoon, and judging by his stomach, it was time to find food. Still, it was hard to leave the pull of the sea and he lingered atop a dune, wetsuit peeled to his waist and the sun soaking his skin as he watched the horizon.

  The anxiousness hadn’t left, and by the time he could head up to the mountains he was a ball of restless nerves. The hours in the sun had only served to enhance his already golden skin, and the few freckles on his nose stood out as he looked in the mirror. Staring at himself in well-worn jeans and a T-shirt, Nicky hoped he looked okay. Hadn’t Terry told him he was putting on a little weight? Maybe he should make use of the gym at his sponsor’s facility, make sure he was in peak shape for the races to come.

  There was nothing he could do about it now, though, except go back to his room and find a slightly larger shirt to pull on. Smoothing it over flat abs, he told himself that first thing in the morning he’d get some training in. Well, first thing after coming back down the mountain; that was if Gray allowed him to stay again.

  Slipping into the diner almost an hour later, he was shocked at the way his anticipation had given way to nervousness.

  Gray greeted him with a smile that made his eyes light up, and Nicky’s insides quiver. “Hey. Great timing. I’ve got about two minutes left. Hope you’re hungry.”

  “Starved.” Nicky chuckled, his stomach taking that moment to remind him that it had been hours since he’d eaten.

  “Perfect.”

  Nicky watched as Gray finished serving up a burger and fries, then untied his apron and disappeared into the back, returning a short time later with a huge basket of food and a couple of sodas.

  “If you don’t mind a few extra minutes wait, I’ll grab a shower and some clean clothes and we can go.”

  Staring up at him, Nicky thought about asking if he could join him, but that wouldn’t get them very far and Nicky was curious about the meteor shower and this place Gray seemed to know where they could do whatever they wanted and no one would hear them.

  “I’m in no hurry,” he finally said, and parked himself on the trailer’s steps to wait.

  Fifteen minutes later they were bouncing along a winding country road, with the radio on and Nicky singing along.

  “You like rock?” Gray asked as he tapped his fingers to the beat.

  “I like music. Not really picky about what kind as long as I can sing to it.”

  “A man after my own heart.” Gray laughed, before singing along too.

  The spot proved to be way out in the middle of nowhere, in a clearing beside a small pond. Reeds surrounded it, and the soft croak of frogs greeted their arrival. The clearing also provided a perfect view of the stars. Nicky stood in awe of how brightly they shone, while Gray spread out a few blankets and got the basket settled in the middle.

  Nicky jumped when fingers ghosted up the back of his neck and Gray’s breath tickled his cheek. “We should eat before the show starts.”

  “Sh-show?” Nicky blinked, fighting to clear his head.

  “The meteor shower; remember?” Gray chuckled. “It’s what we drove all the way out here for. It’ll be starting soon, and we’ll want to be on our backs for that.”

  “Oh, umm, yeah.”

  Taking Nicky’s hand, Gray led him to the picnic blanket and took a seat beside him. The pair dug into a meal of meat loaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas, and pie. Gray had even remembered the whipped cream and generously loaded Nicky up with a heaping mound, despite his protests.

  “Kid, there isn’t an ounce of fat anywhere on you, and I doubt there’ll ever be, so relax and enjoy it,” Gray ordered, as Nicky hesitantly eyed his plate, spoon poised over the slice.

  “But—” Nicky tried one more time to protest, only to be silenced when Gray shoved his own spoonful of pie into Nicky’s mouth.

  “Mmm.” Nicky moaned appreciatively, eyes drifting closed only to snap open when he felt Gray lick a smear of cream from his lip.

  For a moment, Nicky froze, staring into the depths of Gray’s intense gaze, before Gray leaned back and scooped up another spoonful of pie. Giving up on protesting, Nicky allowed Gray to feed him while he fed Gray in return, until both plates were empty and Nicky had somehow been left in control of the whipped cream.

  With a playful shove, Nicky pushed Gray back on the blanket and trapped him there with his body, lifting the edge of Gray’s T-shirt so he could lick underneath.

  “Now, just what are you planning?” Gray asked low, and Nicky peeled his shirt up more.

  “This.” Nicky laughed, pressing the button on the can and coating Gray’s abs with whipped cream.

  Gray bucked and laughed, almost displacing Nicky before gazing down at the mess. “You made a mess of me; didn’t you?”

  “Uh-huh,” Nicky murmured, then flicked his tongue out to snake through the cream. “Guess I’ll have to clean you up.”

  “Guess you’d better.”

  Teasing Gray with his tongue, Nicky cleaned all trace of whipped cream from Gray’s skin, then grinned up at him wickedly.

  “Really?” Gray growled, quickly rising to the challenging of rolling Nicky over and tickling him until he was breathless.

  “Oh…wow…”

  Nicky’s eyes had gone wide as he stared up at the heavens, and the streaks of bright light racing past the stars.

  Rolling, Gray pulled Nicky tight to his side so they could enjoy the majesty of it together. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  Gray nuzzled his neck. “Then I’m glad your first time is with me.”

  Nicky found himself getting lost in the view and the warmth of Gray’s body beside him, unable to remember the last time he’d felt so happy.

  “This is amazing,” Nicky whispered as five streaks raced overhead.

  Gray propped himself up on one elbow and stared down at Nicky. “You are amazing. I still want to know more, you know. That little conversation we had last night wasn’t enough.”

  “Then come to the races Saturday,” Nicky half asked, half pleaded. It would be amazing to have someone there cheering just for him.

  “What time?”

  “First heat starts at nine.”

  Leaning in, Gray slid his fingers into Nicky’s hair. “I’ll be there,” he said low, before kissing him.

  Nicky whined and slid his arms around Gray, digging fingers into his back a little as he kissed him eagerly. It was hard to resist the urge to slide a leg around Gray’s waist and press his body upward, rubbing his jean-clad erection against Gray’s, the friction drawing a sigh from him. The meteor shower was quickly forgotten as Gray’s hands began to roam.

  Chapter Four

  Having Gray at his race, being able to celebrate with him following his victory, left Nicky on a high unlike any he could ever remember. It was different, being around Gray, seeing Gray smile at him like he was actually special. When he’d won his race, Gray had hugged him, kissed him, and praised him for his efforts, tenacity, and skill; and when he’d gone out later in the event and torn things up in the freestyle with the kiss of death, backflips, a coffin, tail grab, and double endo, the expression on Gray’s face and in his bright eyes was one of someone blown away.

  Seeing that expression directed at him had sent a surge of pride through Nicky, and it felt good not to have to hide it to spare someone else’s feelings. Not only had Gray wanted to celebrate with him that night, but instead of going to a bar for beer, whiskey, and wings, he’d taken Nicky back home with him and cooked him an actual meal of fried chicken, corn on the cob, and potato salad, finishing things off with blackberry pie.

  “Where did you learn to cook?” Nicky asked as he sat curled beside Gray on the couch, too full to move.
r />   “From my old man,” Gray said proudly. “He took care of the ranch and us kids while my mom worked at the hospital in town.”

  “What was it like, growing up on a ranch?”

  “Lots of hard work. We were up in the morning early enough to get chores done before school, then it was off to the bus while the old man took care of the work around the place. It wasn’t a huge ranch, mind you, fifty head of cattle, some sheep, goats, horses, chicken, a few hogs. More of a large farm, really; but there was always something that needed to be done. My mom would plant gardens each year and we’d keep them weeded and tended. Most of our fresh fruit and vegetables came from it, or from farm stands down the road. Dad canned everything he could in order to preserve the harvest through winter, and we helped him.”

  “Did you have a lot of siblings?” Nicky asked. “I always kind of wished I had.”

  “Two brothers and a sister. All pretty close in age.”

  “Did you guys get along?”

  Gray laughed at that. “Yeah, we did. We had a lot of fun together, got in a lot of trouble together sometimes too. It sure wasn’t boring.”

  “I had Terry,” Nicky said softly. “And Vic, sometimes, but his folks didn’t really like him playing with us. They said we were wild. I guess, looking back, maybe we were.”

  “Did you two grow up together?”

  Nicky frowned and let out a little sigh. “Not exactly. We went to school together; that’s how we met. He lived in a really good part of town and I lived in a real shitty one. There was a nice park near where he lived; it had jumps and stuff for skateboards. We’d meet there and hang out, learn tricks from the older kids.”

  “How long were you two friends before you started dating?”

  “A long time,” Nicky said, trying to remember the years, but they all just blended together. “Seven, I think. It just sorta happened, us dating each other. I guess I kinda figured, in the beginning, it wasn’t gonna last. He was awesome, Mr. Popularity, and I was, well, me.”