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Late Tuesday evening, Tré rode the elevator up to his apartment. He was home a day later than usual, since he’d been asked to appear at a charity event as a representative for Frontier Pro. His return home had been further delayed due to his flight being grounded for several hours. Tré and his fellow passengers had sat on the tarmac, growing increasingly frustrated before they’d finally made it into the air.
The flight delay had been good for one thing, however. It gave Tré time to think about everything Slade had said the other night. That he’d read Brandon wrong, and his joking and teasing were attempts to flirt with him. He’d also thought of how he’d rejected Brandon, again and again, always telling him to stop kidding around, never taking him seriously. Was his rejection the reason Brandon had so suddenly decided to bounce to GWS? That realization made him ache with regret and sympathy for his friend. He’d never meant to drive him away.
What a mess. Tré sighed and stepped off the elevator. He needed to man up once and for all and stop letting the past affect his present. He would tell Brandon how he felt, and ask him if he felt the same. If it turned out he did, Tré was going to do everything possible to convince Brandon to leave GWS and come back home.
Unlocking his front door, Tré stepped inside his dark apartment. He was reaching for the light when he heard movement coming from the direction of the living room. Tré’s heart started furiously pounding as he assumed he’d walked in on the middle of a home invasion and was about to be ax murdered. He hurriedly slapped his palm up against the light switch, flooding the front room with light. Someone moved on the couch. Tossing his bag to the side, Tré dropped into a fighting stance, fists raised, ready to defend himself against a burglar. But it was Brandon who sat up on the sofa, rubbing his eyes as though he’d been asleep.
Tré straightened, relief rushing through him so fast he staggered back a step and leaned against the door. “Brandon, what the hell?”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Why are you sitting here in the dark?”
Brandon nodded at the TV. “I fell asleep on the couch in the middle of my Netflix binge.”
“Why didn’t you call and tell me you were coming by?” With adrenaline still spiking his system, Tré voiced his question a little harsher than he’d meant to.
“I thought you’d be home. When I got here and you didn’t answer the door, I used the key and alarm code you gave me.” Brandon shrugged and started to rise from his seat. “I’m sorry. I’ll go.”
“No,” Tré said as he scrubbed a hand over his short hair. “Don’t go. Just. Shit. Let me get my heart to realize I’m not about to be ax murdered.” He walked over to the sofa and dropped down next to Brandon. He noticed Brandon looked tired, more so than simply waking from a nap. There were dark circles under his eyes, his shoulders slumped, and his hair was dull and dry. “What are you doing here? Are you hurt?”
“No. I quit GWS.”
Tré reared back in surprise at that bald announcement. “Are you serious?”
“As serious as the heart attack I almost gave you.”
“Wow. I thought you were going to stick it out. What changed?”
Brandon snorted a laugh. “They had me job out to a jobber in a three-minute dark match.”
Not knowing what to say to that, Tré gaped at his friend.
Brandon rubbed the back of his neck. “I know. Saying it out loud, it seems like a stupid reason to quit.”
“No. Not at all,” Tré said as he recovered from that news. “That kind of disrespect is unacceptable for somebody at your level. They were sending you a message and wanted to make sure you got it.”
“I got it all right. I almost got even more when I left. Duke and a couple of his acolytes were waiting for me by my car. It was about to go down, but Bruiser Mike drove by, saw what was happening, and put a stop to it.”
“Are you fucking serious?” This time Tré asked the question in angry disbelief.
“Yep. I wouldn’t piss on Duke if he was on fire. But I owe Mike a debt.”
“Wow,” Tré said again. He was blown away by the whole situation. “I’m sorry, man. That company is shit. You didn’t deserve that treatment for sticking up for yourself and calling Duke out on his prejudice.”
They both sat there quietly. Tré was thinking how shitty the backstage politics must be at GWS for a talented man like Brandon to be thrown under the bus after barely three months on the roster, when Brandon suddenly leaned his head on Tré’s shoulder. Tré went still. He loved that Brandon so easily sought comfort from him. And he didn’t want to move and cause his friend to think he didn’t want him there. Tré considered opening up about his feelings in the quiet intimacy, but Brandon was hurting right now. It wasn’t a good time to lay more on his plate. Waiting until later was a better idea.
“Tré?” Brandon whispered into the silence.
“Yeah?” Tré answered just as softly.
“I came here, came running to you, after I quit my job. I didn’t go home. Didn’t go to my family. Please tell me you understand why.”
Tré’s heart started racing again. It was true. Brandon’s playful affection wasn’t lighthearted teasing, it actually meant something. Before he could wrap his head around the realization that Brandon truly did feel something for him so he could respond, Brandon sighed and cursed.
“Fuck it.”
He gripped Tré’s chin and turned his head, pulling him down into a kiss. Tré was surprised for all of a second before he kissed Brandon back. Their lips pressed together and clung, both of them hesitating, waiting to see who would take it further. Tré made the move. He leaned in and cupped Brandon’s cheek. After that, the hesitation disappeared. The kiss turned desperate, their lips coming together frantically, one chasing whenever the other retreated the slightest inch, bodies straining to stay close, get closer. Brandon reached up and gripped the back of Tré’s neck so tight it bordered on painful. Tré didn’t care. Because Brandon was finally kissing him.
Eventually they eased back from the frantic edge and settled into it. Tré poured every bit of the desire he’d kept hidden away for so long into the kiss, sucking at Brandon’s full bottom lip, discovering how soft it was. Then slowly, he licked his tongue inside the hot mouth beneath his. Brandon shivered and returned the caress, curling his tongue against Tré’s. His fingers flexed on Tré’s neck, and the smallest of moans slipped from his throat as the kiss deepened, Tré smoothing a hand down Brandon’s back until his fingers rested in the dip of his spine. Tré shuddered at the sweet sound, his body reacting to it low in his stomach. He’d heard it before, on the phone, and he’d imagined what it would be like to hear it intimately. Now he knew. And he loved it.
The kiss gentled further as it drifted to a natural end. Tré prolonged it with light brushes of his lips over Brandon’s, savoring their taste and feel as long as he could. When they finally broke apart, they stared at each other in silence. Tré took in Brandon’s wide eyes and still parted lips, damp and gleaming in the light. He’d dreamed of seeing his friend like this. But he was surprised at the kiss, at the suddenness of it. He needed to move and process. Tré rose from the couch, intending to pace. Instead, he ended up walking across the apartment, back to his bedroom.
***
Brandon sat there, unsure after Tré left the room. Was that a rejection? Or did Tré want him to follow? He didn’t fucking know. But he’d come this far. He might as well go to Tré and find out one way or another. His stomach tight with nerves, Brandon got up and followed the path Tré had taken across the luxurious apartment.
Tré stood in the middle of the master bedroom, facing away from the door. Everything was in shadow, the room dimly lit by the moonlight shining through the floor to ceiling windows. Brandon paused just inside the room, unsure what his next move should be. Taking a deep breath for courage, he walked over to his friend. When he reached him, Brandon hesitantly leaned his forehead against the muscled strength of Tré’s back. They were both silent and unmoving for several long moments.
Brandon wanted to beg Tré to accept him, to let him know that he was the home he’d wanted to return to, but the words stuck in his throat. He was eloquent on the mic, and he could connect with a crowd of thousands. Yet somehow, one on one he was a mess. Brandon drew in another fortifying deep breath. He had to do this.
“I’ve wanted to touch you for so long. I...I can’t hide the way I feel anymore. I had to show you. But if you don’t want me like this... If you don’t feel the same way, I’ll understand. And I’ll leave.” Nearly shaking from the fear of rejection, Brandon abruptly stopped talking. Tré finally moved, turning to face him. Braced to be told to get out, Brandon took a step back. Tré grabbed his hand, preventing further retreat.
“Don’t even think about leaving.”
Brandon’s eyes widened in surprise at the fierceness of Tré’s voice and expression. He started to hope, especially when Tré’s big hand came up to gently cup his jaw.
“I hated it when you left me, and not only because of our tag team. I didn’t want to lose you.”
Happiness started to glow in his heart, but Brandon didn’t give in to it yet. He couldn’t help but point out the one thing that had hurt him the most. “You let me go.”
Tré brushed his thumb over Brandon’s cheek. “Only because I assumed that’s what you wanted for your career. I had no idea you had feelings for me. If I’d thought for one second you felt the same way I do, I would have said something and stopped you from going.”
“Are...are you serious?”
Tré nodded.
The happiness that Brandon had been afraid to accept took over, pushing out all doubt and fear. It sparkled over his skin, and Brandon closed his eyes for a second, letting it soak in. Then he surged forward, leaning up to account for the difference in their heights. Tré met him halfway, bringing their lips together for their second kiss. This one was full of joy. Brandon laughed into it, relieved and ecstatic that he hadn’t been turned away. His risk had paid off, and now he was held tight against Tré’s warm chest, so close he could feel the other man’s heartbeat. They kissed until that relief and joy started edging toward arousal. Brandon eased back and looked up at his friend. “You know I’m not as tall as you, big man.”
“Yeah?”
“So, I can’t reach up to kiss you forever.”
A grin spread across Tré’s handsome face. “You think it’s easy bending down to kiss you, shorty?”
“There’s a way we could solve both our problems.” Brandon kicked off his shoes before sitting on the bed and extending a hand. Tré toed off his own shoes before allowing Brandon to tug him down to the mattress. Once they were both horizontal, they kissed again. Tré wrapped an arm around Brandon’s waist, pulling him in close. With their bodies pressed together, Brandon rolled his hips forward, seeking and finding the proof of Tré’s desire for him. Brandon moaned as he rubbed against the hardness behind Tré’s pants, his thighs flexing as he imagined them both naked with Tré cradled between his legs. He trailed his fingers down Tré’s stomach, stopping at the waistband of his jeans. “Can I?”
“Yeah,” Tré whispered against his lips.
Brandon leaned back from their kiss. He didn’t want to stop kissing Tré while he opened his pants, but he wasn’t a smooth operator who could do both at the same time. Since he really wanted to feel Tré’s cock in his hand, he didn’t have a choice. He quickly unbuttoned and unzipped, and with Tré’s help, pushed the jeans and briefs down. When Tré’s thick cock was free, Brandon hesitated for only a second before he reached out and wrapped his hand around the hot, silky length.
Tré cursed, deep and rough. “Fuck.”
Then he was shoving Brandon’s sweats and underwear down past his hips. Tré returned the favor, his slightly rough hand wrapping tight around Brandon’s cock. Brandon gasped, rolling his hips forward again. This was better than any dream. Still, he bit his lip and tried to slow things down. “We really should talk about what this means for us.”
Tré shook his head. “We’ll talk.” He slid his hand down to cup Brandon’s balls. “After.”
Brandon shuddered at that big palm holding and squeezing him. That was all it took to get him to cave. “Yeah, after,” he agreed.
They kissed again, stroking each other at the same time. Brandon tried to raise his leg to drape over Tré’s hip, but the clothes still around his thighs stopped him. With a frustrated little growl, Brandon took his hand off Tré long enough to remove his pants and underwear. Once he was naked from the waist down, he pushed Tré to his back and climbed on top of him to straddle his waist. Brandon bit his lip again, this time in reaction to the pleasure of feeling Tré’s erection pressed against his own.
Tré grinned up at him. “Impatient?”
“If you only knew how many times I’ve thought of being with you like this. Once, I had a wet dream about you when we were on the road and had to haul ass to the bathroom and jerk it so I didn’t come with you lying there across the room listening.”
“Damn. That’s hot.” He reached up and slid a hand into Brandon’s hair, tugging him down into a slow, deep kiss.
Tré wrapped his hand around both their cocks, while Brandon rocked his hips, pushing his shaft back and forth into the tight grip of Tré’s fist. Wanting to be as close and connected as possible, he reached up, tugging Tré’s hand away from his hair so he could lace their fingers together. They held on to each other as they kissed and moaned and stroked. Everything was so sudden and new Brandon didn’t have time to get in his head. He just felt. Tré’s full lips against his, the heat of his big body beneath him. The rough slide of Tré’s palm up and down his shaft, the slickness of the pre-cum that had both their cocks wet.
Arousal built, Tré’s hand and Brandon’s hips moving faster and faster, their kisses becoming frantic. Sweat trickled down Brandon’s spine, his balls drawing up tight and hard the closer he got to release. He moaned, pressing even closer as Tré’s cock pulsed against his own. A husky whisper came from Tré.
“God, Brandon, I’m coming.”
When Tré groaned, pushing his hips up as he came, Brandon shuddered and climaxed too. His fingers and the base of his spine tingled, and his cock throbbed as he spilled into Tré’s hand. He tucked his face into Tré’s neck, letting the pleasure roll through him, trembling at the peak of it, then sighing as it started to fade.
When it was over, Brandon lay there on top of Tré, sucking in deep, heaving breaths. Eventually, he slid off Tré onto the bed. They’d agreed to talk after, but his body was limp with pleasure, his eyes too heavy to keep open for more than a few seconds at a time. He glanced up at Tré, who looked just as close to lights out.
“Talk in the morning?”
Tré yawned and nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
With that decision made, and more satisfied than he’d ever been in his life, Brandon closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
