Unrequited Read online

  “Harder,” Vic gasped.

  “You’re gonna make me come,” Shane protested, the words

  whispered into Vic’s ear as his leg was hooked over Shane’s hip

  in preparation for the harder thrusts Vic had requested.

  Demanded.

  “Fuck me, Shane,” he gasped, barely able to repress the

  tingling in his own groin that told him he wouldn’t be far

  behind Shane when he came.

  Shane groaned and gripped Vic’s thigh hard, pressing his

  face into his own bicep as he buried his head next to Vic’s on

  the mattress and slammed into him. Vic cried out wordlessly,

  his nails raking down the hot skin of Shane’s back as thrust

  after thrust brought them both closer to the edge.

  When Shane finally came deep inside him, he had

  whispered Vic’s name so many times that Vic had lost count,

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  and when he pulled out quickly to slide down and take Vic’s

  cock into his mouth in order to taste him when he came, Vic

  couldn’t even remember his own name, much less anything

  else. Nothing else, save for Shane’s name as he cried it out in

  ecstasy.

  They didn’t bother trying to clean themselves. Shane didn’t

  even bother trying to get up to discard the condom. He merely

  tossed it away as Vic snickered at him, and then climbed up

  Vic’s body to look down at him in the moonlight.

  “That was fun,” Shane announced breathlessly.

  “Yes it was,” Vic responded as he tried to catch his breath.

  “Better than climbing sand dunes,” Shane said with a

  widening smile.

  “I say we do it again,” Vic said, returning the smile with

  one of his own. “Soon.”

  “Deal,” Shane said softly, and then he kissed Vic one last

  time and rolled off his body once more, holding Vic close and

  nuzzling into him, allowing Vic to roll and entwine their limbs.

  Not one more word was said about their tryst, and they

  cuddled together contentedly, comfortable once again in the

  silence.

  They drifted off to sleep like that, facing each other and

  clutching each other possessively.

  Hours later when the sun rose slowly and cast its first rays

  across their still-enfolded forms, Vic cracked a sleepy eye open

  to see that yes, Shane was still there with him. And he was still

  holding Vic’s hand tenderly in his own, never once having let

  go.

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  Vic was once again in the water. It wasn’t as cold today, but it

  wasn’t as calm either, and he was having quite a lot of fun

  fighting the waves as they tried repeatedly to take him down

  and wash him ashore like a beached whale.

  He and Shane had continued what they had started the

  night before as soon as they had both awoken, but after several

  slow kisses they had both agreed that toothbrushes were in

  order, and perhaps showers as well.

  After that unromantic break in the mood, they had never

  really started back up again, and when Shane had stated that

  he was going for more beer before the noonday hour rolled

  around, Vic had agreed readily and then immediately headed

  for the water as soon as Shane had left.

  Vic loved the water. It allowed his brain to go into suspend

  mode for a little while as he enjoyed the assault on his senses,

  and the added pleasure of fighting the water was quite

  enjoyable today. He smiled as he thought about Shane and

  how easy the morning had felt. There was no awkward

  fumbling over what had happened, or even over what they both

  wanted to continue happening. It just felt normal and right,

  and Vic knew it would be okay. He didn’t know how he knew,

  but he just did.

  “Hey!” Shane called from the beach, and Vic turned

  around to see his friend waving at him from much farther away

  than he had expected.

  “Shit,” Vic murmured. He had been floating, literally and

  figuratively, and he had been pulled by the tide quite a bit. He

  began to swim toward Shane even as Shane set their little

  cooler down by their chairs and started into the water

  haltingly, gasping at the temperature. When they met several

  minutes of struggling later in chest-high water, Shane reached

  out and pulled Vic to him through the water by his

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  outstretched hand, taking advantage of the fact that Vic’s feet

  were nowhere near the ocean’s floor.

  “Trying to escape?” Shane asked him with a grin as he

  encircled Vic’s body within strong arms.

  “And if I was?” Vic asked with a barely repressed smirk as

  he automatically wrapped his floating legs around Shane’s

  body and attached himself to the other man quite handily.

  “Mmm,” was all Shane managed to respond with as his

  eyes drifted shut and he hugged Vic closer. “I’d have to chase

  you down, now,” he said hoarsely, and his hands traveled down

  Vic’s back to cup his ass and press their groins together. “You

  know this is probably the only time you’ll ever actually be able

  to hang onto me like this,” he said thoughtfully as Vic hugged

  his neck and nibbled on his ear.

  “You’re a big manly man,” Vic said teasingly before licking

  Shane’s earlobe and biting down again. “You saying you

  couldn’t hold me like this if we weren’t in the water?”

  “Yes,” Shane answered simply, his voice amused and

  slightly distracted.

  “Even if you had me against a wall?” Vic asked softly, his

  own cock trying to stand at attention with the thought. Shane

  groaned a little. It amazed Vic how natural it felt, after all these

  years of friendship, to have his legs wrapped around Shane’s

  body while whispering seductive words into his ear.

  Shane pressed his face into Vic’s damp neck and groaned

  again. “I believe if I were inside you, I could do anything you

  wanted me to,” he said, his voice muffled by Vic’s skin.

  “You’ve thought about it?” Vic asked in a strained voice,

  the pleasure of their close contact almost overriding the

  curiosity. But not quite.

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  “More than I should have,” Shane admitted, his face

  turning until he was able to kiss Vic’s neck and jaw and nip at

  the wet skin.

  “Then we’ll just have to do this more often, ’til we get it

  just like you imagine it,” Vic told him with a smile as he

  pressed their mouths together and held on tightly.

  Shane murmured something unintelligible in response,

  but it sounded like an agreement.

  “Shane,” Vic gasped. Shane replied with a questioning

  hum, and Vic grinned against the other man’s lips. “Shut up,”

  he ordered.

  Vic’s phone was ringing when he and Shane finally made it

  back inside that evening. They had stayed outside almost the

  entire day, foregoing food at lunchtime in favor of beer, and

  foregoing going back inside when the beer ran out in favor of

  going back into the water and
groping each other behind the

  screen of the breakers once more.

  It had been a perfect day as far as Vic was concerned, and

  tonight promised to be very interesting. Now, though, they both

  needed showers, copious amounts of aloe, and dinner. Lots of

  dinner. And Vic needed to answer that call.

  He dashed into the other room to answer the ringing

  phone, but just as he reached it the display told him that he

  had missed the call.

  “Missed it,” he called out to Shane, not sure why the other

  man might need to know.

  Shane yelled something in return, and Vic frowned when

  he couldn’t understand it.

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  “Are you eating without me?” he called incredulously,

  stomping into the other room to find Shane standing at the

  kitchen counter with wide, innocent green eyes and trying to

  hide the fact that he was chewing.

  “No,” he said around a mouthful of bread.

  “Fucker,” Vic growled affectionately.

  Shane gave that an outraged little mumble just before his

  own cell phone began to ring. He chewed quickly and wiped the

  crumbs from his hands as he walked over to where it sat

  charging and answered it.

  “Hello?” he said, swallowing the remainder of the bread

  and grinning over at Vic. The grin slid slowly away as the

  person on the other end spoke, and though Vic could hear

  some of the words, he couldn’t make out what the person was

  saying. “Are you okay?” Shane asked in concern as his eyes

  met Vic’s, and Vic frowned in concern. “I see…. Yeah… no,

  y’know… no, I’m sure it’d be… uh-huh,” Shane said into the

  phone, his worried eyes never leaving Vic’s. “He’s right here,”

  he said after a moment. He then took the phone from his ear

  and handed it to Vic. “It’s Owen,” he said softly.

  Vic took the phone and looked down at it as if it might bite

  him. He didn’t want to talk to Owen, he realized suddenly. For

  the first time in five years, he wasn’t happy to have the man on

  the phone, calling him.

  He looked up at Shane with a scowl but put the phone to

  his ear.

  “Hello?” he greeted with a hint of concern in his voice. Why

  would Owen be calling Shane?

  “Hey, Vic,” Owen murmured. He sounded upset. Vic had

  never heard him quite so downtrodden.

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  Vic’s stomach tumbled end over end with a sudden blast of

  worry, not only for whatever might be wrong with Owen, but

  worry over what Shane would think of this phone call. He

  didn’t want anything to ruin what they had started. He

  watched apprehensively as Shane looked away and then turned

  to walk into the bedroom.

  “Uhh,” he managed to say distractedly. “Hey,” he returned

  as he turned away from the bedroom door. “What’s wrong?” he

  answered distractedly as he heard the shower turn on. “What’s

  going on? Are you okay?”

  “I’ve been trying to call you,” Owen answered almost

  accusingly. “You just disappeared. I was worried.”

  Vic’s scowl returned suddenly as he walked closer to the

  French doors that led to the back deck. He stared out at the

  ocean without responding. His first impulse, of course, was to

  tell Owen that now he knew how it felt to be forgotten and cast

  aside. But he didn’t want to. He was still angry and hurt, and

  while he wanted to hold on to those feelings long enough to

  purge his system, he didn’t want to ruin the friendship by

  being nasty to the man.

  “Vic?” Owen tried. “Are you okay?” he asked with sincere

  worry.

  Vic looked down and closed his eyes. He told himself that

  even if he wasn’t planning on fucking Owen anymore, the man

  was still a friend. He hadn’t intentionally hurt Vic, and Vic

  didn’t think he ever would have.

  “I’m fine,” he assured him in an even voice. “I’m sorry,” he

  added with a little more effort. “I just needed to get away after

  that conference. Shane offered to let me come with him and it

  seemed like a good idea. Is that why you called?” he asked

  tiredly as he turned and headed for the bedroom to find Shane.

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  “Well,” Owen said hesitantly. “Yeah. This damn expo thing

  I was working wrapped up early so… when Shane was here he

  told me to call him if I needed a vacation. I was wondering if I

  could meet you guys down there. And I want to talk to you

  about some things,” Owen said hopefully.

  Vic licked his lips and frowned harder as he stepped

  through the door and found Shane standing at the dresser,

  getting out dry clothes and a towel.

  “Can’t it wait until I get home?” Vic asked as he leaned

  against the doorframe.

  “I don’t think so, Vic. Please,” Owen murmured seriously.

  When Shane turned to look at him, Vic met his eyes and

  sighed heavily. He put the phone to his hand and lowered it.

  “He wants to come here,” he told Shane.

  Shane watched him blankly for several moments, and then

  he nodded curtly and slung a towel over his shoulder.

  Vic shook his head. He didn’t want Owen to come here and

  pop the perfect little bubble they’d created. He didn’t want to

  face that obstacle yet. Right now, looking at Shane, he was

  sure he could tell Owen to take the proverbial hike. But he

  knew himself better than that. Faced with Owen again, he

  didn’t know if he’d have the backbone.

  “You’re gonna have to see him sooner or later,” Shane told

  him softly.

  Vic sighed heavily again. Shane was right, of course. And

  maybe, Vic told himself, it would be easier here than it would

  be at home. Here, with Shane.

  He put the phone back to his ear. “Yeah, okay,” Vic said

  into the phone.

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  “Good,” Owen said happily. “I’ll be there as soon as I can

  get my shit together.”

  Vic nodded distractedly, as if Owen could actually see him,

  and he ended the call without so much as a farewell as Shane

  walked into the bathroom and pulled the door closed.

  Vic stood in the middle of the room alone, the phone

  hanging from his limp hand and his eyes glued to the door

  behind which Shane had disappeared. This was going to

  complicate things.

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  VI

  Vic sat on the bed, waiting for Shane to reemerge. To say that

  he was a little confused was a bit of an understatement, but he

  was slowly but surely working things out in his head. It was

  hard to shake the five years of feelings he had harbored for

  Owen, and he knew it was going to be difficult to do, but he

  recognized that Shane was offering him something here,

  something that Vic would have to be a fool to turn down.

  For the first time since he had met Owen, Vic wasn’t

  excited about seeing him. He wanted Shane all to himself here,

  just l
ike it had been all week. He didn’t want Owen to come in

  now and possibly ruin what had been a very good thing

  starting, to bounce in and nip it in the bud without even

  realizing it. Unfortunately, that couldn’t be helped now; Owen

  was on his way with an urgent need to talk to Vic about

  something. It had to be important for Owen to travel almost

  eight hours to get to him. That worried Vic more than anything.

  But he was determined.

  He was also smart enough to know that Shane wasn’t

  happy about Owen joining them. He was a little ashamed to

  admit that the knowledge thrilled him. That thought, the

  thought that Shane was upset about Owen coming here and

  possibly taking Vic away, made Vic happier than it probably

  should have. He would just have to make certain that Shane

  knew exactly how he felt about this, and leave no room for

  misunderstandings.

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  There was something seriously wrong with the fact that he

  was sitting there grinning like an idiot as he thought about this

  potentially disastrous little triangle, but he was entitled to his

  moments of insanity just like everyone else.

  The water stopped running and he wiped the grin from his

  face. He sat there waiting for several moments, and when the

  door opened the steam puffed out and Shane stepped into the

  room with a towel slung low around his hips and steam rising

  from his skin as the cool air hit him. His shoulders and chest

  were red from the sun and his blond hair was dark with

  dripping water.

  He looked up and his eyes widened when he found Vic

  sitting there in front of him, but then he schooled his features

  into impassivity and said, “He’s coming down?”

  “Yeah,” Vic answered as he stood up. “Are you okay?” he

  asked carefully.

  Shane nodded curtly and took a step as if to walk away,

  but Vic stepped in front of him, putting his hand on Shane’s

  still slightly steaming chest and invading the other man’s

  personal space. Shane reared his head back slowly and looked

  at Vic with an unreadable expression.