We won the game, thankfully.

The team took a few minutes to beat their chests, celebrating and cheering to win the first game of the season. I felt a smile spread across my own cheeks, catching my parents darting down the stairs with a reluctant Alex in tow. My dad was clutching his unzipped laptop bag to his chest. I skated up to where they would be, waving to my family.

"Congratulations, Luke!" My mom was ecstatic, and I stumbled in her arms as I left the rink. "I knew you would make a great captain! Oh, that was wonderful!"

I laughed and shrugged her off, grabbing her hands in mine. "Thanks, Ma."

I stumbled forward when my dad patted me a little too hard on the shoulder, catching myself with Mom's arm. "Congrats, kiddo. You did good scoring that basket."

I hadn't been the one to score any of the goals that game, but I smiled at him anyway. "Thanks. I have to run, but I appreciate you guys coming."

Mom nodded. "Of course. Please be safe tonight, okay? You have a ride home?"

"Yeah, Ma. Don't worry, I'll be home before you wake up, okay?" I gave her a reassuring smile, which she returned.

"Alright. We can celebrate more this weekend," she said. "Now, go! Have fun."

I thanked them again, ruffling a disgruntled Alex's hair and kissing my mom on the cheek before skating over to where the rest of the team was starting to pick up their things. Thomas waved me over.

"I'll meet you in the parking lot in twenty!" he said, heading towards the locker rooms. I nodded, sending him a thumbs-up and starting to pick up my things.

Catching a quick glimpse at the time on my phone, I made my way down the hall, shouldering past the swinging locker room door and hurrying inside. Quickly, I dropped my bag on the bench and opened my locker, pulling off my shirt and grabbing my shampoo and soap out of my bag. My pants went next, leaving me in nothing but my boxer briefs. I was grabbing my towel out of my locker when I heard the door swing open. I paid it little mind as I grabbed my things to take a shower, but when I closed it and turned to lock it back up again, my gaze met with a very familiar pair of blue eyes.

Beau was standing at the doorway, dressed in an oversized, lavender shirt and a pair of comfy-looking sweats. He was pointedly avoiding looking at me as he made his way to the bench next to mine, a bag slung over one shoulder while his other hand held his skates by the laces. He dropped both on the floor, finally sparing a glance over at me.

"Hey."

I swallowed. "Hey."

He sat on the bench and leaning down to unzip his bag. "I didn't think the hockey players changed in this room."

"They don't. I just have a locker in here," I explained.

"Ah. You're friends with the owner, right?"

I hummed in affirmation. "Yeah, uh..."

My words died in my throat as Beau reached behind him and pulled his shirt over his head. The movement was fluid, reminding me of a cat, and I was suddenly met with an eyeful of his pale, lightly freckled skin. He sat up straight to stretch out his back, and my eyes caught on his belly button piercing, which then led them to the rest of his toned stomach and chest and...

I was staring.

My gaze flickered up to his face to see him already looking at me, brows raised. I could feel heat rise to my cheeks as I turned back to lock my locker, clicking it closed. Suddenly, my breathing felt staggered and my heart was racing.

"Sorry," I mumbled. I was staring very pointedly at the holes in my locker, palm still pressed against the cool metal. I took a breath, regained some amount of composure.

"You played well," Beau mused. "Good game."

He saw my game.

"Uh, yeah, thanks."

Beau hummed, and I heard the zip of his bag. "I was thinking about just hopping into another rink and skating for a while. I just came by myself to relax a little before I meet Carrie at the party tonight."

He's going to the party.

I quickly purged the thought from my head and grabbed my jacket from the bench, not bothering to sift through my things and find my shirt. I started to shrug it on, realized it was inside out, then pulled it off and fixed it. "Oh, that's cool. But, uh, I really have to go, my friend is giving me a ride, and..."

I started to pull up my jeans with the plan to dart out of the door, opting to shower in the other locker room, when I made the mistake of looking over my shoulder, only to find two blue-green eyes already watching me. Beau was still shirtless and had kicked off his shoes, seemingly haphazardly. Very unsubtly, his gaze traced a deliberate path down my body before slowly coming back up to meet mine. His cheeks flushed as his eyes darkened.

My tongue felt heavy and I felt my dick fill out in my briefs. I knew Beau could see it when his eyes flicked down, turning darker.

Our gazes met again, and suddenly, he was dragging me by fistfuls of my jacket to kiss me. And I wasn't resisting.

It was rough, like trying to cut a deck of cards pressed too tightly together. Our lips were fighting for pleasure, chasing it like the end of a rainbow, finding it in brief, blissful moments that did nothing to satisfy the growing swell in my groin. With another yank of my jacket, Beau had me with my arms braced on either side of him on the bench, moaning into his mouth as I gripped the wood under my palms. His breath was hot and wet on my face, and somehow I couldn't purge the idea of that same warm brush on my dick.

"Fuck," he breathed. His hands raced to the zipper of my jacket, yanking it down with a newfound aggression. "You're so fucking hot when you're playing. While I was watching, I just wanted to take your fucking clothes off."

A surprised moan slipped from my lips as I sat up enough to let him slide the jacket from my arms, leaving me bare-chested. I didn't even have time to think more about the fact that he had come to watch my game before his hands made quick work of sliding up and down the new expanse of skin. As he dug his fingers into my shoulders to drag me back down, I heard myself breathing strained curses into his lips.

"Jesus Christ, Beau," I ground out between the pleasure.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you," he whispered into the shell of my ear, nipping at my earlobe. "Fuck, you've been stuck in my brain. I need to get you off my mind."

"Then just get me off," I hissed as he licked down the curve of my jaw, biting there. "Your— fuck— your mouth. Was so... so good. Shit, it was so good."

Slowly lifting his eyes to meet mine through his thick lashes, Beau slid from the bench and onto the floor, landing on his knees. Carefully and without breaking eye contact, he licked up the bulge in my pants. A shaky moan left my lips, and I gripped the wood of the bench even harder. Beau reached his long fingers up to undo the button of my hastily done-up jeans and watched carefully as the zipper went down on it's own before playing his fingers over the waistband of my boxer briefs.

"Do you want this?" he asked, licking his lips, making them glossy.

My grip moved from the bench to his hair, tangling my fingers in the blond waves and gently tugging his head towards my groin. "Yes."

He grinned, coy yet sharp, before pulling me out of my underwear. My dick bobbed in Beau's face, hard and with a bead of white pearling at the tip. Looking back up at me, he wetly kissed up the slit, spreading the precum across his lips. I moaned and my hips gave a little jerk, pressing my dick onto Beau's cheek, smearing more there.

Taking a deep breath, Beau slowly brought his face forward, taking me between his lips inch by inch, agonizingly slow. But I didn't mistake his pace to mean he was being gentle: his hands found their way to my hips, digging his nails into my pants to keep me steady, sometimes roughly dragging me towards him. Every now and then he would choke, his eyes turning glossy, before continuing until his nose was pressed into the hair above my groin. He looked up at me, and I couldn't help but notice the little tears beading his eyelashes, making his eyes sparkle.

"Fuck, you look good around my dick," I said, swallowing the knot in my throat, tightening the hand in his hair. Beau hummed, sending my shoulders spasming with the sudden jerk of pleasure rushing through me.

And swiftly, before I could even comprehend what was happening, he was bobbing his head up and down, sucking at the tip and licking up and down my dick. His pace was breakneck as he sucked me off, wetly and enthusiastically. One of his hands reached between his own legs, pulling his dick out of his jeans and jerking himself with slippery sounds. My mouth parted in a gasp and my thighs shook, forcing me to brace myself on the bench. Beau was relentless, tracing a vein on my dick with his tongue, pressing his face back down to my groin only to pop back off with a tight suck of his pretty lips.

"Do you have a condom?" he asked, continuing to jerk me off in slow, languished movements.

I nodded, swallowing thickly. My head was spinning. "In my wallet."

He got up, and I took a step back as he slid past me, digging through his own bag to pull out a bottle of scentless soap. "Shower?"

"Yeah, shit," I said, reaching to grab my wallet. My knees felt weak as I worked off the rest of my clothes. I turned to see Beau working off his pants, and I jumped him right there, pressing my lips to his. He gave a surprised little moan, but his hands made quick work of scrambling around my neck, grabbing at my hair, letting the fraying twists coil around his fingers that dug their nails into my scalp.

This kiss was hot and messy and left me breathless. I jerked back, helped Beau get his pants off, and he came surging back to shove his tongue back down my throat. I led him into the shower, grabbing the condom and soap in one hand and his naked hip in the other. Beau reached and turned on the water, letting it spray us. It was hot and I gasped, but Beau kissed me again and grabbed the soap from my hands.

He poured a liberal amount of the scentless body wash into his palm, hastily reaching behind himself and turning to bend down over the little stone divider that protected people's modesty in the showers. But Beau wasn't looking to be modest: his ass was pushed out, facing me in a wet show of sex, and his breath came out in hasty gasps as he added more fingers to himself, pulsing and curling them. I watched him, wrapping my hand around my dick, rolling on a condom and some more soap as my hips gave little jerks.

He was so pretty like this: all soft curves and wanton movements dripping with water that caught the lights, making the droplets shimmer like tiny diamonds. Each little moan and choppy breath that left his lips sent a shock down my spine and a jerk to the coil in my stomach. He tossed his head back, flinging an arc of water at my chest, scrambling his other hand down to grab at his dick and gripping the base of it tight.

"Put it in," Beau breathed, reaching the hand that was in his ass to grip the counter. He looked back over his shoulder, and I groaned at the sight of him like this: his lips bruised, his eyes glittering with tears that ran down his cheeks and left little trails down the freckled skin.

I came up to him, reaching to line myself up with him, and spread him open. He was dripping in soap that spilled out in a trickle of foam, and fuck, the sight of him gaping and twitching was almost enough to make me finish. I pressed against him and pushed in slowly, watching Beau unravel in front of my eyes. He spasmed, mouth opening around a silent moan, knuckles turning white as his fingers clutched the counter.

Only when I was fully seated inside of him did I stop, gripping his hips tightly in my hands, taking deep breaths. Beau was tense, but slowly relaxed under me, letting out breathy little gasps. I was confused until I glanced underneath him to find his hand moving up and down himself slowly, teasing the tip. My hips jerked involuntarily at the sight, and he moaned at that, pushing his hips back and swirling them sporadically, which was as much of an invitation as any.

I fucked him, hard and fast and Jesus Christ it felt amazing. Incredible, even. I pushed him against the wall, his chest hitting the top of it, chopping his long moans into a series of gasps. At some point, I seemed to find something that made him cry out, and I continued to fuck against it. Eventually he turned around, lifting himself up by the hands onto the wall while I continued to buck my hips into him, kissing his already bruised lips and watching the water from the shower mix with the tear that rolled down his flushed cheeks.

"Fuck, Beau, what are you doing to me?" The words sounded almost like a plea when they left my lips, and Beau just moaned up at me, flinging one hand around my neck and dragging me down to his mouth.

"I don't know," he said against my lips, dragging them wetly against my own with each word. "But, fuck, I'm glad it's working."

I felt myself drawing closer to the edge, and in an attempt not to finish first, I reached for his dick. He gasped when I gripped it and pulled it fast, making slick noises from the water.

"I'm coming," Beau gasped, "fuck, Luke, I'm— fuck!"

It was hardly a moment after Beau finished when I came with a gasp, jerking my hips to be fully seated in him and filling the condom. My world spun on its axis as I fucked Beau through our orgasms, drawing them out with smooth, deep thrusts. It was only when we collapsed together onto the floor of the shower and I pulled out with a soft groan that he spoke up in a low voice.

"Why did you leave so fast last time?" he murmured, muffled by the sound of the shower's spray. Beau's back was against the wall and his chin was tipped up, eyes closed, and I was on top of him, my head on his shoulder and my thighs spread on either side of his hips. I was too tired and too comfortable to move.

I swallowed, opening my eyes. Maybe it was the post-orgasm fuzziness, or the adrenaline from winning the game, but I decided against a lie. "I was confused. And a little scared. It wasn't anything against... against you. I've just never... with a guy... you know?"

Beau hummed under me. "It's okay." He paused, letting me process how soft his voice was, how understanding and gentle. "Do you want to talk about it?"

My exhale was shaky. I didn't think I was ready to face that yet, not when everything was so good and calm. If I thought too hard, my head would get static-y like last time. I would feel like a pervert, or think about what it meant for me and having to talk about it to other people. I just wanted to not think tonight. "No."

"Are you going to leave again?" he asked, still in a soft baritone. He sounded vulnerable, and looked it, too. When I leaned back to see his face, his eyes opened, big and dewy, and his hair was soaked and plastered to his face in curls.

I surprised myself. "I don't... think so."

So we showered together. Carefully, I helped Beau up, apologizing for the way he winced when he stood up. He shook his head, told me not to worry, but I still helped him pick up the soap he had dropped on the ground. I watched him wash the cum from his stomach and thighs, careful between his legs, and I pulled off the condom and tossed it in the trashcan next to the showers. We took our time, and he asked me about my game, and I asked him about his skating. He had a competition coming up, he said, and I offered to watch. Beau just smiled and shrugged, thrusting the body wash in my hand, watching me wash up and down my abs and arms and laughing when I got shampoo in my eye. We bantered about how we were the assholes fucking in the showers now, jokes from the day we met at the rink. It felt strange, almost friendly. My chest felt warm.

We dried and dressed for the party together, and as I slipped on my pants, I heard Beau fumble around in the bathroom with a bag of toiletries.

"So much for skating around," I called. He laughed, and I heard the zip of a bag before he walked out of the bathroom. My eyebrows shot up.

Beau wore a plain, red wife beater under a bomber jacket, which was embroidered with a coiled snake surrounded by red roses. Under that was a pair of black, ripped-up jeans and thick combat boots added an extra inch or two to his height. Silver jewelry dripped from his neck and fingers and smudgy makeup ringed his eyes to make them look even larger. What defined his costume, however, was the little pair of horns pushing back his hair.

"These are from Carrie's costume last year," he said with a shrug, adjusting them to sit straight on his head. "Figured I could get another use out of them instead of just throwing them away."

"They're nice, though. And we match," I noted, shrugging on my jacket. Beau looked confused for a moment, until I slipped the halo around my head, when his eyes widened with recognition. He snorted.

"Of course we did," he said, bumping my shoulder. We laughed, walking out to the parking lot, which was looking suspiciously empty. A cold chill of realization rolled down my spine, and I cursed, jerking my phone out of my pocket only to be greeted by a text from Thomas.

sorry, couldnt find you so we left

"Shit," I hissed under my breath

"Need a lift?"

I looked over at Beau to see him twirling a set of keys around his finger. I always seemed to catch him backlit by the streetlamps in this parking lot at night, a tall and lithe silhouette outlined in gold. The little horns perched on his head caught the light just right, turning them into magic wands that lit up at the tips. He held out the motorcycle helmet that had been tucked under his arm, offering to me, but I hesitated to take it.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "I can just hail a cab, or—"

"Don't be stupid," he said, tossing the helmet at me. I caught it against my chest. "It's no trouble. Besides, we're going to the same place, anyways. Just climb on."

I watched as he slung one leg over the side of the bike and glanced behind himself to look at me. He jerked his head in gesture for me to climb on, and hesitantly, I hauled myself to sit behind him. I slid the helmet over my hair, feeling its weight, but left the visor open.

Beau looked back at me, grinning. "Hold on."

Pushing off the ground, he revved the engine, getting the bike to kick forward. My hands scrambled for purchase, one gripping one of the handles behind me and the other finding Beau's shoulder, grabbing hard.

The sky blurred by in a mess of stars and streetlamps, and the budlings became a mash of colored lights and billboards as we whizzed through downtown Atlanta. Beau was a dangerous driver, I realized, waving between cars and speeding past yellow lights. My grip on the bike tightened, but I wasn't really afraid. More so... exhilarated.

Tonight, I wouldn't think about the sex or the repercussions it could have. I could feel gross and confused and scared tomorrow, but for now, I was okay.

A laugh left me as we slowed at a red light, and Beau looked back at me with those impossibly big eyes that glittered like stardust, with a smile that shone like the moon.

And I felt alive.

[a/n] hey there sexy, beautiful readers! just wanted to let you guys know that i've entered this year's wattys with this book! tbh i'm not going in with any expectations, but i figured it'd be kind of fun haha.

also, i wanted to let y'all know that, at least until december, updates are gonna be pretty slow. i'm a senior in high school, currently finish college applications, and it's essay hell atm lmao. ideally, i'm hoping to get into either oxford or a specific american uni (now deleted since i was accepted for privacy reasons) for psychology with philosophy/linguistics (i'm SO excited!!!!). i'll keep you guys posted on how those applications go.

please consider leaving a vote if you've been enjoying this book so far :)). love you all loads!! <3