You Are the Reason (29 page)

“Ready to run, Davo?”

I shot Tyson a glare, knowing I was about to get a workout.

I wasn’t wrong. He pushed us, getting us run out several times but putting the score on the board. I copped a body shot in the third over. The ball bounced awkwardly and hit me in the ribs. The bowler on the other team jogged over to apologize as I walked off the pain. I waved him off. It was all a part of the game, but I knew I would have a bruise there the next day.

And one on my thigh. I winced as my own teammate smashed a ball that managed to hit me on my leg. Make that two bruises.

“Shit,” I complained. I rubbed the spot and glared at Tyson at the other end of the pitch. “You’re not meant to get me.”

He shoved his hand on his hip. “You were supposed to get out of the way. That ball would’ve hit the nets if you weren’t there.”

The fielders around me laughed, and I suspected that even the umpire, seated above the nets, was laughing at me. It was a good game.

Tyson and I left the courts with one hundred and thirty-one showing on the scoreboard. We filed off the court with pleased but tired grins. I stowed my bat in the bat box and grabbed a drink. Then I had to go back on the court. Lee was looking at me with concern.

“You okay?”

I grinned as I gulped the water down. “Yup. If I don’t have a few bruises by the end of the night, then I haven’t played a good game.”

He looked at me with exasperation then leaned in to whisper, “As long as you’re not too sore to fuck me, I guess that’s okay.”

“Always ready for that, babe. Never fear.”

The
babe
was the first time I’d used the endearment, and from the blush Lee wore, he had noted it too.

Unfortunately bad karma was upon me or something, because I had to eat my words some thirty minutes later.

With only three overs to go, the opposition was behind by over thirty points. They needed some big hits, and they knew it. They were swinging, going for the back nets to rack up the points. I was bowling, standing slightly behind the second wicket when the batsman hit the ball straight at me. I cupped my hands to the side in an attempt to catch, or at least stop, the ball. It swiped the plastic wickets and ricocheted awkwardly.

Straight into my nuts.

Ouch.

With only a meter between the wickets and me, I had no chance to avoid it. I went down in a haze of pain. It dropped me dead. “Argh.”

I grabbed my nuts and squeezed, trying to push the hurt from them. My babies were killing me. They were absolutely screaming with pain, and I felt like screaming along with them. There was a reason that protective cups were invented for the crotch, and I was emphatically reminded of it. The problem was, like every other man on my team, I removed the cup for the overs I bowled, to allow for ease of movement. I was unprotected for a whole two overs per game, and that ball had just found my weakness.

“You okay, Davo?”

If I could’ve spoken, I would’ve screeched, “Oh my fuckin’ god. I’m rolling around on the ground, clutching my nuts with tears running down my face. Does this not clue you in to the fact that no, I’m not okay?”

“Can someone run and ask them for an icepack?” I heard Jim say. I nearly sobbed with relief.

Arms hauled me upright, but I couldn’t open my eyes to see who. I needed both hands on my testicles because it felt like they had exploded.

“Dave?” It was Lee’s voice and I knew it was his kind hands as he helped me sit on a bench. I wanted to curl up in a fetal position on the ground. There was no sound around me for a bit, until Lee softly said, “Here, Dave. Come on. Here’s the ice.”

I felt the cold on the back of my hand, and I clutched the item and pressed it to the heat radiating out of my scrotum.

Fuck. That was not fun.

It hurt to move. It hurt to sit. It hurt to breathe.

Eventually the pain tap eased off a little. I could open my eyes and was aware of my surroundings. The familiar
thwack
of a cricket ball had me looking up at the scoreboard, and I was surprised to see we were in the last over. The other team needed sixteen points to win.

Then I became aware that Lee was sitting beside me with one arm around my shoulders and the other hand slowly trailing up and down my arm, giving me comfort. I realized I was leaning into his embrace, drawing from the care he was giving me.

In public. PDA alert.

I shrugged internally and remembered my new rainbow-colored leaf.

That’s when I realized I was also in public with my hands shoved down the front of my shorts.

Shit.

I withdrew my hand slowly, leaving the nice cool icepack on my crotch.

“Feeling better?” Lee asked.

“Compared to what?” I growled, and he laughed.

“Compared to five minutes ago?” he suggested.

I nodded my affirmative on that as the umpire called, “Last ball.”

The batsman hit it and ran for two points, leaving my team the winner by ten. Close game. The guys all gathered and shook hands with the opposing team. I knew what was about to happen.

The other team filed past me, shaking hands and giving sympathy. Of course that sympathy came with a smile from each person that said,
Thank goodness it wasn’t me.
The batter who’d hit the ball apologized, and I realized, with a laugh, it was the same guy who’d bowled the ball into my ribs.

“I swear it wasn’t me who ran over your dog,” I quipped.

He ducked his head. “Sorry. Really, I am. I wouldn’t wish that on any guy.”

“Hell, no,” I agreed.

“Just don’t dob me in to your missus, okay?” he said with a smirk. “I don’t want her coming at me with scissors.”

I didn’t know how to respond, especially since my “missus” was sitting next to me. No, he wasn’t my wife, but he was the person sharing my bed. He was my smile in the morning. He was my last thought at night.

Lee piped up. “Sorry, but you’ve already gotten yourself in the shits over that one,” he said to the guy.

“Huh?”

The man was confused until Lee held up his hand, and I realized my fingers were threaded with his. I was really going full hog on the PDAs.

A realization dawned in my apologizer’s eyes. “Oh, fuck.”

Lee hardly turned a hair. “No. No fuck. Not tonight, anyway. And that’s the problem.”

I turned red.

The guy in front of us turned red.

Tyson, Murray, and what sounded like my entire team—and the opposing team—burst out laughing uproariously behind us.

I wished for a hole in the ground.

But Lee looked around innocently. “What?”

Oh, yes. My life had definitely changed for the better since he’d come into it.

I struggled to my feet, still clutching the icepack to my nuts. “Take me home, Lee. You’re driving.”

S
ATURDAY
MORNING
I was awake at my usual working time due to my traitorous body clock. I was lying on my back in bed with Lee snuggled up at my side. Lee always slept on his side, one palm under his cheek. He also had a need to be touching me in his sleep, which I found sweet. If he was facing away from me, he’d wiggle his butt until it came into contact with me. Most of the time it was his leg that had to be touching mine.

That morning he’d pulled his pillow down and was resting almost under the covers with his forehead plastered to my ribs while he slept on.

It meant I was cold because the covers were nearly down to my waist. It also meant my left arm could cuddle him close, so it was worth it. It was nice lying in bed and cuddling, and I wondered how I had gone twenty-seven years without it. I let Lee sleep on, wondering what we were going to do that day. That was the best thing—spending all weekend with him. Yes, it meant I could possibly get laid several times in one day, but it wasn’t always sex between us.

My dick perked up a little at the thought of sex with Lee, but my balls were still sensitive to the touch, so my erection died a quick death. That’s what had me most surprised. There had been no sexual touching between the two of us for days, and yet Lee was still sleeping over at my house and hanging out.

We’d tried the night before. I just aimed to get Lee off and give my poor babies a rest, but even sucking Lee was painful to me. I tried not to get an erection, but it wasn’t possible with Lee naked.

I spied Mr. Magic 8 Ball on the bedside cabinet and reached for him. Whispering so I didn’t wake Lee, I asked him my questions.

“Should I take Lee to visit Jake today?”

My sources say no.

Hmph. I tried again. “Should I take Lee and introduce him to Thor today?”

Better not tell you now.

Shit. With dread, I asked another question. “Should I take Lee to visit my parents?”

Reply hazy, try again.

Damn. Lee stirred at my side as I shook the device and asked again. “Should I take Lee to visit my parents and brother today?”

Ask again later.

With disgust, I put it aside and noticed Lee’s sleepy eyes watching me. They were laughing.

“What?” I asked defensively.

He grinned. “You and your toy.”

I narrowed my eyes. “It is
not
a toy.”

I could see him debating whether to argue with me or not. In the end, he rolled until his chin was propped up on my chest. It was nice.

“What did you ask it, and what did it say?”

My fingers came up and brushed his mussed hair off his forehead, so I could see him properly. Even waking up after eight hours in bed, he was gorgeous. His lips were puffy, and his eyelids not quite open—just like he looked after a spectacular orgasm.

“Well?” he prompted.

“I asked it where we should go today. It said no to Jake’s house. And also no to meet my best mate, Thor. So I wondered whether I should gatecrash on my mum’s house, but it isn’t sure yet.”

That received a skeptical look. “How can it not be sure?”

I shrugged, unwilling to probe too much into the power of my oracle. “Maybe there’s something that needs to happen before he can predict the future. Maybe the type of kiss this morning you give me will decide where we go.”

He got the hint and crawled up over my body until our mouths met. I could feel his cock hard against my stomach and cursed all the cricket balls in the entire world. Lee felt my reluctance from the way I didn’t move to deepen the kiss. He gave me a rueful smile. “Still sore?”

I grimaced. “Yeah. Maybe tonight, okay?”

He leaned down and pecked my lips again, then grabbed Mr. Magic 8 Ball. “So, let’s see if that helped the answer.” He shook the ball and asked, “Should Dave and I go to his parents’ house?” He turned the oracle and sat up so he was straddling my chest while he looked at the answer.

“Well?” I queried.

“It says ‘Most likely.’ I assume that’s a positive answer? It sounds more like a cop-out.” He looked again and gave me a look I could only describe as cocky.

“What?” I asked, confused.

He arched a perfectly formed eyebrow and turned the orb over. “Will Dave be up to doing something kinky tonight?”

I laughed as he quickly returned the ball to the answer position and waited. The way he slumped told me what the orb said. “I’m guessing no?”

“Outlook not so good,” he grumbled.

I took the oracle off him. “You’re asking the wrong question. Giving you a blow job or fucking you is not classified as kinky. Mr. Magic 8 Ball? Will my poor, poor, poor nuts be up to coming tonight? I’ll be gentle, I promise.”

I shook the ball and turned it over for Lee to read. We waited, only for Lee to announce, “It says ‘Ask again later.’”

“Oh.” I heaved a sigh. “All right, then. Let’s have breakfast, and I’ll ring my mum and tell her we’ll be over for coffee at ten.”

I shoved at his body still sitting across my torso, but he didn’t move. “Does she even know you have a boyfriend?”

“Nope,” I replied happily and shoved him again,

He looked a little apprehensive. “Does she even know you’re gay?”

I gave him a speaking look. “Of course she does. I’m not insensitive you know.”

That earned me another kiss, and Lee climbed off me so I could get out of bed and use the toilet. I came back into the bedroom to see him sitting on the end of the mattress, shaking the ball and turning it up for its answer. He saw me and blushed. “Apparently you’re going to make me breakfast, but I won’t be giving you a blow job tonight.”

I was upset at that news, so grabbed the orb for my turn. The suspense was killing me. I needed to know that I would be getting some good stuff soon. “Will I be up to fucking Lee tonight?” I asked and spun it around.

Reply hazy, try again.

“Yes?” he asked eagerly.

I frowned and didn’t answer. Maybe the question needed tweaking. I turned the ball over. Maybe if I said….

With a deep breath, I asked, “Will I be up to making love to Lee tonight?”

I
couldn’t
look at him as I asked the question because it revealed way too much. I waited for the answer.