Archive of Our Own

You had a price tag

You thought letting materialistic concepts into the process

Wouldn't make a difference

 

 

Colby adjusts his grip on the other man’s naked right hip, his other hand busy guiding his painfully hard erection to the tight channel.

The blond under him moans while he slowly meets Colby’s thrust, until their hips don’t meet.

They stay like that for a minute or two, only ragged breaths echoing through the room.

Colby slowly moves his left hand on the blonde's back, leaving reassuring caresses on the overheated skin, trying to pass some comfort through the gesture.

When he can feel the other one relax underneath his touch, Colby slowly retracts his hips, only to snap them back forward, punching out a groan straight from the blonde’s lungs.

He smirks and does it again, getting slowly drunk on the sounds the man underneath him produces.

He sets up a punishing rhythm, dropping forward when he can feel the other tighten around him, encaging the other body with his arms.

He closes his eyes and attaches his lips to the other man’s neck, sucking and biting lightly, not wanting to hurt him. But, sure as hell, he does want to mark him.

Fuck whatever it was said on the website.

He slows down his movements only when he feels the blonde’s thighs shake on top of his own.

“Are you close?” Colby whispers, his voice hoarse from having his throat fucked just a moment before.

A whine is all he needs as confirmation.

He contemplates the idea of torturing the poor man, but the thought is quickly swept away by another.

Shit, all he wants is just to take him apart.

On that note, he brings a hand to the other’s leaking erection, but his hand is quickly batted away, followed by a choked “No.”

Colby stops immediately, confused “Do you not want to come?”

The blonde frantically shakes his head “Yeah, yeah, I do. Just... keep fucking me like before.”

Colby grins and moves his hands, anchoring one on the other’s hip, the other on his shoulder, before setting up a pace that makes the other one collapse on his front.

It doesn’t take long for the blonde to start being more vocal and all it takes is just a well-angled thrust and he’s crumbling down.

His body taunts like a string, fingers anchored to the duvet.

But Colby doesn’t stop. No sir, he’s not done yet.

He knows he can get another one out and he’s too drunk on the other man’s moans and curses to just let go. Not yet.

So he brings his arms around the other one’s torso and pulls him up until he’s pretty much sitting on Colby’s thighs.

Colby used to hate this position until he discovered how malleable the smaller man becomes like this, especially after one or two orgasms.

Now it’s his favourite way of ending the night.

The blonde lets his head fall back on his shoulders, to which Colby doesn’t waste any time and brings his lips to what seems to be an infinite expanse of skin. All for Colby to mark up.

“I don’t know if I have another one in me,” Colby feels more than hears the blond mutter.

He laughs lowly, starting to move his hips again, every movement well-aimed.

“Oh, yeah, you do. You always do,” he murmurs against the blonde’s throat.

He can feel his own orgasm barely contained by the need to feel the other man cum again.

Colby knows he’s too sensitive now, he’s learnt it the hard way. The only way is to keep things slow but with plenty of stimulation.

It doesn’t take long before the other man is sinking the fingers of his right hand in jet-black, sweaty hair, the other anchored to the hand on his hip, a long, low whine escaping perfectly pink lips while his body slumps against Colby’s, spent and with no energy left.

And Colby’s orgasm tumbles right after his, shaking his entire existence.

He hugs the blonde to his body tight, breathing raggedly into his shoulders, the man’s name falling from his lips like a litany while his body goes through the most delicious burning pleasure a man can experience.

He keeps their body close, even after his spent erection slips out of the other body, basking in their shared body heat, in the way the blonde’s chest rises and falls against his arms, in the way fingers are still slowly playing with his hair.

Colby guides them onto their side until they’re lying on the cool mattress.

He’s trying not to think about the impending doom.

He knows he’ll have to let go soon. Really soon.

“I... I need to go,” as on cue, the blond mutters into the mattress.

“I know, just... just a moment. Stay here with me for just a moment,” Colby whispers into his skin before leaving small kisses on the back of the man’s neck, nuzzling it slowly with his nose.

“I have another appointment in like... an hour and a half,” the other one whispers after suppressing a yawn.

“All I need is fifteen minutes,” Colby replies, ready for it.

He’ll take anything he can get.

He can tell the other one is thinking, probably calculating how much time he will have left to get to the other place.

“Please, Sam?” Colby sighs, hoping that that will do the trick.

And it is his lucky night, because Sam sighs in response, before pressing his body closer to Colby’s, allowing the latter to wrap an arm around his chest, keeping him close. Almost wanting to make sure the blonde wouldn’t sneak away.

And he’s fast asleep, exhaustion of the day taking over him.

Needless to say, when he wakes up, he’s alone in his too-big bed for one.

And the envelope with cash that he always leaves on his nightstand is gone.

 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Kris asks, munching on some pasta, taking extra care not to get any sauce on her nice suit.

Colby bites on his lower lip.

Of course, this was not going to be a normal business lunch.

He should have known by the way Kris and Celina approached him right after one of the ten hundred meetings he has on a daily basis.

The joys of being the CEO of an ever-growing security company, he guesses.

“Yeah, no, I’m dandy,” Colby replies before taking a bite of his spicy chicken wrap.

“God, the sauce they use in this thing is to die for,” he adds after a moment too long of silence.

Silence with them two is never a good thing.

It just gives them more time to plot something, anything really. Usually, it’s stuff that pushes right at all the wrong buttons in him.

“You have this... look on your face,” Celina murmurs, making circles in the air with her fork, as if that could help her with pinpointing what it is.

Here we go...

Colby lifts an eyebrow “It’s just... my face?”

But Celina shakes her head “No, no, not only that... As gorgeous as it always is, there’s something else. Something I can’t put my finger on.”

Colby sighs and takes a sip of his water.

He has no clue where this is all going, but again, it’s not promising.

“Oh my God,” Kris whispers mid-bite, eyes wide, hands frozen in place.

Colby looks around them, slightly panicking, his professionally trained senses buzzing into life under his skin, getting him ready to face any sign of danger that could be lurking around.

“What? What is it?” he asks immediately.

“No, you dummy. I figured it out!” Kris exclaims, a wide, shit-eating grin on her face.

And Colby wishes that someone could really jump at them right then and there just to stop whatever this means before it’s brought into existence.

“Come on, don’t leave me hanging,” Celina urges her best friend, almost indignantly.

“Colby’s in love,” Kris finishes, with the tone of someone who has just figured out the mystery of black holes.

On the other hand, Colby lets himself sag into the chair, already feeling his will to live abandoning his body at once.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says, trying to sound as unaffected by that statement as he can muster to be.

“Oh yes, you do! I mean, look at those eyes!” Kris continues, excitement rising in her voice “And you look like you had a good fuck, or ten, last night,” he laughs quietly.

Colby rubs his face with his right hand “I mean, you’re right on one part of that statement,” he mutters under his breath before taking another bite of his wrap.

After a second or two that he hears nothing from the two girls in front of him, he lifts his eyes to meet theirs, almost singing victory when he can see that they were not expecting to hear that from him.

The look on their faces makes it almost worth to have that conversation ongoing.

Celina is the first one that seems to come back to it, with a frown in between her eyebrows.

“Don’t tell me you’re still keeping up with the whole sex-on-hire thing,” she says disapprovingly.

Colby’s sure his mom would have used the same tone if she knew about this.

“Listen, I don’t have the time, nor the energy, to keep up with a relationship. This is working well. I need to, you know, boil off some steam sometimes and Sam needs the money. And, for Christ, no, I don’t pick him up from a corner on the street,” he adds when he can tell that Kris is about to go down that tangent “It’s all through a very posh website for wealthy... patrons.”

Kris bites her lower lip, thinking “Well, I can tell that this is working well, lover boy,” she eventually says before going back to her food.

Colby groans and slumps against the chair once again “Listen, can we let it go? Whatever and whoever I do in my bedroom should stay there.”

“I’m sorry we worry about you” Celina rolls her eyes, hands up to her chest.

 

Colby doesn’t think about his conversation with the two devils on his shoulders for a while.

I mean, that’s ridiculous - he thinks to himself one day, on the way back home after having overstayed at the office for way longer than he intended to.

Colby Brock is not falling for anyone.

Damn, he hasn’t in such a long time that he’s not sure he’s even capable of love anymore.

Which is why he started to look for alternative outlets in the first instance.

Initially, Tinder and Grinder were doing the job just fine.

This until it started happening more and more often to have people having more expectations of him than he was ready to bargain for.

Angry texts from people he just didn’t have time to answer to hook up again, people catching feelings a little bit too quickly to be sustainable for him to keep up with.

And all the people that, as soon as they caught up with the fact that he is, in fact, loaded, would do anything to get something more.

It was requiring more effort than he wanted to, especially when hook-ups are meant to be a straightforward process.

You meet, you fuck, and Bob’s your uncle.

This doesn’t take away the fact that, whatever he is with Sam now, he craves it more and more often.

Easy transaction every time.

Sam’s an eye candy anyway, which definitively doesn’t hurt.

And God, the sex just transports him to another dimension every time.

You’re free for an hour or two tonight?

Colby sends the text as soon as he’s safely parked in his garage.

It doesn’t take long for a reply to come through.

Always have an hour or two for you ;)

 

It’s been weeks Colby’s been avoiding the disappointed look on Kris’ and Celina’s faces every time that he turns up to work with a badly hidden hickey - or five - on his neck.

At the end of the day, it’s his life, he should be able to do whatever he wants.

But the look on his best friends’ faces is not the only thing that he’s been pointedly avoiding.

Oh, hell no, the list has been extending every single day.

And on top of it, there’s definitively the trepidation, the funky feeling at the pit of his stomach every time he gets a notification on his smartwatch in the middle of a meeting, notifying him of a text from Sam, confirming that yes, he is free for a few hours that night.

What started as an occasional treat for himself, sort of speaking, with one appointment booked every other week, has morphed into a multiple-times-per-week sort of thing.

And it’s not even only about the mind-bending sex that comes with said appointments.

Even only seeing Sam, waiting at his door after ringing the doorbell, a light fake leather jacket on his shoulders, tight jeans hugging his leg and battered Vans on his feet, makes Colby’s day infinitesimally better, regardless of how shit his day may have been up until that point.

He’s trying extra hard not to think about what Kris and Celina keep muttering every time the conversation is brought up.

He really just doesn’t have time for a relationship.

 

“Hey,” Colby smiles wide, opening his front door to find Sam just standing there, hands in his pockets.

The blonde smirks in return, taking a step forward to immediately leave a kiss on the corner of his lips.

Ever so close, always so far away.

It’s been months and Colby still thinks that the whole “no kissing” policy that Sam has been adamant from the get-go about is just stupid.

“No feelings. And this helps,” he told him the first time he came around and Colby tried to go for it, as you do.

Now every time he thinks about it, he chuckles.

Clearly didn’t work out as intended.

Apparently, you don’t need to kiss someone to start falling for them, who knew...

He takes a step back when Sam presses his body to his, his hands already wandering on his back.

Sam stops, a puzzled look on his face “Everything okay?”

Colby smiles, leaving a feather caress on his hip “Yeah, of course. I just haven’t had dinner yet and I figured we... we could eat together?”

He doesn’t like the frown that’s forming between Sam’s eyebrows.

“Colby, this is not in the contract,” Sam says, voice low.

It takes some effort for Colby’s smile not to falter.

“I know, I know. It means nothing, I promise. I just have cooked too much and most of it will go in the bin, so I figured you may be a little bit hungry?” he says instead, hope high in his throat.

Sam doesn’t move for a few seconds, considering his options. But his shoulders end up slumping forward “I mean, you did book the whole night, I guess it makes sense we won’t be spending it all in the bed,” he eventually mutters “What’s on the menu?”

And Colby has to control himself not to sound as triumphant as he actually feels.

“Pork chops in BBQ sauce with mashed potatoes and grilled veggies. How does that sound?” he asks, slowly taking off Sam’s jacket from his shoulders, leaving it on the hanger by the door, not even trying to stop himself from pointedly sliding his hands across hard muscles.

Sam nods “Like a dream. It’s been a while since someone cooked for me,” he laughs softly, following the other man into his kitchen.

“Don’t get your hopes up too much, I’m not a brilliant chef, but I manage,” Colby smiles while taking two plates to plate the food.

“I’m sure it’ll be better than pot noodles and ready meals,” Sam says softly, taking a seat in one of the dining chairs.

Colby laughs, but the sound dies slowly on his lips when he turns around, plates in hand and eyes locked on the blonde.

He seems so out of place in his kitchen, and yet it seems to be the right place for him.

His shoulders relaxed, eyes bouncing around the room, taking in everything that he usually doesn’t have time to observe.

A small smile takes permanent residency on Colby’s lips while he leaves a plate in front of the blonde, the other at the seat in front of him.

“Wine?” Colby asks, remembering that he must still have a nice bottle somewhere in the cupboard.

Sam shakes his head “Can’t drink on the clock”, he laughs, even though it sounds a little bit forced.

But Colby doesn’t miss a beat, he refuses “As you said, I’ve got you for the whole night. If you don’t tell, I won’t either,” he winks and goes to grab the bottle and two glasses before taking a seat.

He fills up the two glasses, before sliding one in Sam’s direction, who is patiently waiting for him to start eating, even though Colby could bet he heard his stomach rumble a moment ago.

“Bon Appetit!” he says while grabbing the cutlery.

“Bon Appetit,” Sam smiles at him, making his eye linger on the other man before following him suit.

They eat in a comfortable silence for a moment, time that Colby uses to observe the other one shamelessly.

“Mh,” Sam murmurs, lifting his eyes on Colby’s “This is delicious.”

Colby chuckles “Oh my, thank you, dear. Not my best creation, but I’m glad you’re enjoying it!”

Liar.

He spent way too much time trying to cook everything perfectly, hoping that Sam would agree to eat with him.

It definitively is not a coincidence for him to have made too much food.

“If this is not your best, I can only dream of what it is,” Sam says, mouth full.

Colby laughs again, feeling light and giddy as he hasn’t in some time now.

“There’s more if you’re still hungry when you finish,” he says, fondness makes its way through his brain, regardless of how much he tries to fight it.

They fall into a comfortable silence again, Colby just basking in the moment, Sam enjoying every bite of food.

The domesticity is almost punching Colby in the pit of his stomach like a punching bag.

He knows he shouldn’t think about it.

He knows this is technically breaching the contract he signed six months ago now.

He knows he will end up with a broken heart.

But it’s just too good to let go and deny himself.

It's the small smile on Sam’s lips, the little happy-food dance Sam does with his shoulders every other bite, the soft looks he catches Sam sending his way every once and again.

And he knows it would be just so easy to get used to this.

Hell, he sees Sam more than anyone else at this point.

More than his family, more than his friends. More than some of his colleagues.

It’s a dangerous game. It’s walking on a tightrope.

But, goddamn, he’s always been an adrenaline junkie and this is right up his alley.

 

He’s fucked.

And this time, figuratively speaking.

For fuck’s sake, Colby, you had one goddamn job! - he yells at himself, laying down on his couch, an arm slouched on his eyes.

He did the one thing his contract literally forbade him to do.

But it’s been so fucking long since the last time he actually fell for somebody that he did not even consider this possibility of it becoming as tangible as it gets.

Luckily enough, Sam doesn’t seem to have caught up with what is going on yet.

His lame excuses of “I cooked too much for just myself,” or “Just give me ten minutes on the couch, then we’ll get back to business,” seem to still be holding up the precarious tower that is starting to lean like the Pisa Tower. The only difference is, that his tower does not have regular checks to make sure that it won’t just topple down.

And the fact that he’s been sneakily learning random pieces of information about Sam, doesn’t help one bit with this conundrum.

Quite the contrary, it’s just aiding his masochistic quest into pursuing something that has literally no right or hope to ever be a thing.

He needs to put a stop to this. Go back to what it all started as.

Just a quick fuck, no feeling, no nothing.

That’s exactly why, when Sam arrives at his place the next day, Colby wastes no time.

He barely opens the front door before he grabs the blond for the front of his t-shirt, dragging him inside, lips already on his neck.

He can tell that Sam was not expecting this by the way he stumbles inside. And he can’t blame him, not after a month of them just chatting for the first two or three hours of the night, before slowly escalating things to the bedroom.

But after the initial stumble, he recovers marvellously, his hands all over Colby’s shirtless back.

Colby closes the door behind the blonde, pushing him against it straight away.

Colby kisses, bites and licks, his breathing laboured already while he haphazardly takes off the blonde’s flannel and t-shirt, lowering his lips to his nipples almost immediately, not giving Sam a second to take a breath.

He stays there for what feels like an eternity to the shorter man, torturing his nipples and the skin around them, knowing well how sensitive he is there.

Only when Sam starts wincing slightly from the over-sensitivity, Colby drops to his knees, undoing Sam’s jeans just as fast as he took off his tee, lowering them in one go with his purple boxers.

All Sam can do is put his hands in jet-black hair, bracing himself for what he knows is coming.

He thanks all the gods for doing so when Colby makes his already semi-hard dick slide all the way down his throat, sucking gently, his tongue moving slowly on its underside.

Sam thinks he may pass out, his knees buckling, when Colby moans around him after feeling him grow harder on his tongue.

But Colby doesn’t lose a beat, securing his hands on the other’s hips, pinning him to the door and preventing him from sliding down to the floor.

He tries not to feel cocky every time that Sam moans loudly, that pulls at his hair, that shivers underneath his hands.

Do all of them make you feel so good?

He pushes forward, his nose pressed against Sam’s lower stomach, and swallows around him, making his muscles work around Sam, knowing how much it makes him lose his mind.

The broken scream from above him feels him with pride and forces him to stay put; even when he feels the cock in his mouth twitch violently several times, leaving a bitter-sweet taste at the back of his throat; hips twitching against his hands, trying to push even deeper; hands gripping his hair almost painfully, sending shivers down his naked spine.

Even when Sam sags against the wall, he doesn’t move, sucking and lapping gently, until shaky hands don’t push weakly against his shoulders.

And the sight he’s presented with once he sits back makes everything worth it.

Those glossy eyes, swollen lips from being bitten too hard on, dishevelled blond hair going in every direction.

Colby grins and stands up slowly, licking his lips.

He’s so fucking glad he managed to convince Sam to let him pleasure him as well, all those months ago.

When else would he have been able to see this?

He wants to kiss him so bad that it almost hurts, but he has to settle for the corner of the lips.

“I hope you know it, but we’re so not done,” he murmurs against warm skin.

Sam laughs weakly “Give me... give me five. That blowjob absolutely destroyed me, I need a moment,” he whispers, wrapping his arms around Colby’s shoulders, leaning against him.

Colby chuckles and leaves a kiss on his bare shoulder “Hang on tight, then, I’ll give you a lift.”

And just like that, he brings his hands on the shorter man’s thighs, lifting him effortlessly, already one step towards his bedroom.

Colby leaves him gently on the bed, taking a step back to get rid of his clothes, sky blue eyes constantly on him, a small smile pulling at perfectly pink lips.

“You know, I always knew you were too fit to have a 9-5 job,” he whispers, a hand lazily wrapping around his mostly spent cock, giving it a few slow tugs, trying to bring it back to life.

Colby laughs and flexes playfully “You think?”

But as soon as he does it, he wants to punch himself.

Where did all the pep talk about “no feelings, just fucking” go?

God-fucking-damnit.

Luckily enough, Sam motions him to join him on the bed and he complies before he can mentally beat himself up. And he wastes no time in joining him on the bed, pushing his way forward between Sam’s knees, a cocky smile on his lips.

“Straight to the main entry,” he murmurs and cringes at his own words.

But Sam laughs and everything seems so fine.

“Don’t know how much “straight” this whole thing is, but go for it,” he keeps laughing and Colby just hangs in there, eyes focused on the crinkled ones in front of him.

Shit, if this was a different setting, he may have thought that he is not the only one feeling that tug on his heart, that turmoil in the pit of his stomach that steals his breath away.

For fuck’s sake, his teenage years are long gone, but that is exactly how he’s feeling right now.

Exactly like he felt in sophomore year while sharing sneaky glances with the fit guy from his local gym. Everything felt so forbidden back then. Maybe like now, maybe just a tad.

He knows he shouldn’t do it.

He knows it’s out of contract.

But he doesn’t even attempt to stop himself from slowly leaning forward, lowering his weight, until his lips don’t touch lips.

There’s some resistance at first, the slightest bit, but it doesn’t last long.

Soon enough, hands are in his hair, fingers tangled in dark strands.

This feels good. This feels right.

Deep down, he’s surprised he still knows how to do it. God, it’s been so long since he last kissed someone.

And Sam tastes so good.

He could do this for hours. Who needs to breathe anyway?

But Sam’s urgent movements, his heels pressed firmly against his small back, remind him that they were in the middle of something.

He’s not ready to let go of his new-found obsession though.

That’s why he blindly rummages through his nightstand drawer, finding the bottle of lube always stashed there.

He doesn’t abandon Sam’s lips for a second, not even when he scootches a little bit back to have some room to pour lube on his hands, just to bring a finger to his ass, where he doesn’t waste time in teasing.

The quiet moan against his lips alone makes jumping the track worth it.

He moves his hand slowly but with practised precision, a clear goal in his mind.

God, he’s never wanted to fuck someone as much as he wants to completely take Sam apart right now in the best way possible.

It doesn’t take long for Sam to be ready for him. Thank fuck for that, Colby’s on the point of exploding as it is.

He lifts himself up, only to find a better position and his heart tugs even harder when Sam lifts his head off the pillow, trying to follow his lips. Eyes still closed, hands on the pillow next to his head. Body pliant under his touch.

Only when he doesn’t move for a minute or two, Sam’s eyes finally open. They’re a lovely Midnight Blue, their usual colour darkened by lust.

That’s what Colby was waiting for.

That’s when he starts pushing in.

And, fuck, the way Sam’s eyes unfocus for a split second, the way his lips part in a silent moan, his back arched ever-so-slightly...

Why have they never done it like this?

The look in Sam’s eyes when he finally manages to focus back on him makes him stop once he bottoms out, hands slowly caressing the blonde’s thigh and lower stomach.

“Have I ever told you how gorgeous you are?” he whispers, his voice hoarse, his breath laboured.

There’s this something in the way Sam looks at him in that split second.

It could be the moment, it could be the lust, call it whatever you want. But Colby can bet his right arm that in that instant, he’s not the only one who’s a little bit in love in that room.

And yet, that fleeting, cherisable moment, is quickly interrupted by the bane of his existence, who drags him back down by his arm, pressing forcefully their lips together, setting up a completely different rhythm from before.

It’s urgent, it’s raw. It’s all Colby’s feeling.

As soon as Colby starts moving, he knows it’s the end.

He can already feel the tell-tale of an orgasm in his lower abdomen, burning his insides. Probably the fastest orgasm in his entire life, one that hits him like a train, no breaks used.

Luckily enough, Sam doesn’t seem too behind, if the way he pushes against him and tries to do everything he can to meet his thrusts are any indications.

He’s the first to come, a loud moan leaving his throat, which he silences into Sam’s jaw, fingers pressed firmly on the blonde’s hip.

He’s riding his orgasm so high that he almost doesn’t realise nails scratching his back, a sign he knows well.

That is the only reason why he forces himself to push on his arms, giving himself the best front seat he could ever imagine.

For the first time since this started, he watches Sam slowly crumble apart beneath him. Every thrust of his hips punches out increasingly louder moans until Sam’s jaw goes slack, his eyes become glossy, hands anchored on Colby’s forearms and his back arched off the bed.

Colby drinks up the sight of Sam coming untouched, leaving his body trembling violently from the overwhelming pleasure.

He slows his hips to a stop and lowers himself to leave a kiss on the messy blonde hair. A gesture so out of context, and yet so right.

“You’re so fucking beautiful and I can’t believe I’ve never said it before,” he whispers after a few seconds, not having moved an inch if not to leave slow, gentle kisses on the blonde’s skin.

Eventually, a hand finds its way into his dark hair and he takes that as a sign of Sam being back on planet Earth.

He slides his spent erection out of the blonde’s body, mindful not to hurt him, before rolling them onto their side, where he just gets back to holding Sam close to him, mindlessly playing with his sweaty hair, the shorter man’s face pressed to his collarbone.

“Rest, there’s nowhere else you gotta go today,” Colby whispers when the blonde starts to turn around to check the clock.

Surprisingly enough, Sam listens and gets back to snuggle against his chest, their legs intertwined, one of his arms loosely wrapped around Colby’s waist.

Colby tries not to think about how much at peace he feels like this, how everything seems to have fallen into the right place.

He just enjoys the warmth coming off the blonde’s body and, soon enough, he’s asleep as well.

 

When he wakes up the next day, Colby almost jumps out of his skin, his body ready to put whoever is lying next to him into a chokehold.

He stops himself in time when he’s met with ruffled blonde hair, leaving him stunned for a second.

Sam stayed.

Sam never stays.

He’s quick to hug his body a little bit tighter to his chest, slowly running his hand in Sam’s hair, enjoying the feeling of just laying there, with no rush, the comforting feeling of a body next to him.

Colby exhales slowly, realising that there is a small smile pressing at the corner of his lips.

He adjusts the cover around Sam’s body, gently, making sure not to disturb his peaceful sleep, before taking his sweet-sweet time to just observe, notice all the little details that he never gave himself time to admire.

The little scar at Sam’s eyebrow, the hint of redness on his cheeks; the way his lips curve slightly upwards, the way his nose scrunches every once in a while.

He has no clue how long he just stays like this, but the room starts tinting a warm orange from the sunrise.

Even when Sam starts waking up, he makes zero effort to hide what he has been doing.

He just leaves a quick kiss on his forehead while the blonde stretches sleepily before gripping his hip a little bit tighter.

“Good morning,” Colby barely breathes out.

Sam lifts his head a little bit to look him in the eyes, his own sleepy and a little bit glossy.

Absolutely beautiful.

And Colby could be wrong, but he’s almost positive that, whatever he saw in them yesterday, it’s still there.

He shouldn’t get his hopes up.

Sam smiles and the whole room seems to be brighter. He leans up, leaving a sweet, toe-curling kiss on Colby’s lips, lingering there for a moment, but not giving away any signs of wanting to take things any further, just enjoying the moment.

And honestly, Colby can’t ask for more.

“I thought that, contractually, you’d get in trouble for kissing me,” Colby breathes on Sam’s lips once the latter leans his forehead against Colby’s.

“Indeed, I would have, if the contract was still active,” he laughs, his left hand slowly tracing invisible lines on the taller’s chest.

Colby frowns and opens his eyes “What do you mean?”

The movements on his chest stop and the blonde curses under his breath.

“You were not meant to know that,” he whispers, slowly opening his eyes.

“I... I still don’t understand,” Colby says, puzzled.

“I...” Sam takes a deep breath “Oh, fuck it, I will probably never see you again after today anyway,” he mutters almost inaudibly, something that confuses Colby even more “Your contract terminated two months ago. But, you know, you pay good, really good. And you’re... well, you’re just you. You’ve always treated me with respect and it was easy having sex with you, you know? I enjoyed it every time,” he whispers again, his eyes low “It doesn’t always happen and you made it so easy to have a good time. And I really needed that money to pay for my doctorate, so I just went for it,” he finishes and tries to pull away, but Colby quickly stops him with a hand on his naked hip.

“Wait,” Colby says quickly, trying to catch up with the info dump “So you kept answering to my texts even after the contract ended and you were not obliged to come around?”

Sam bites his lower lip and nods “I am really sorry. I should have told you. And I’d say I can return the money, but I can’t. I don’t have it anymore,” he whispers and there’s a pinch of fear in his voice.

This is the last thing Colby wants.

“No, Sam, I...” he takes a deep breath to calm himself “I don’t care about the money, even if you still had it. I’m just... Why did you keep coming back?”

“I told you, it was an easy choice, really,” Sam says without looking at him.

“That’s why you “won’t see me again” after today?” Colby asks after a couple of minutes that his brain is just too busy processing everything.

“Yeah... I’m graduating at the end of this week and have enough money to pay off everything in one go. I won’t need to do... to continue with this side hustle,” he says, almost embarrassed.

“So you decided to allow me to kiss you as, what, some sort of goodbye?” Colby asks, all the thoughts running a thousand miles an hour.

This can’t be the last time he sees Sam.

What is he going to do with himself without Sam around almost every evening?

Sam’s small laugh distracts him again from his head “Sort of. And I genuinely wanted to see how your lips taste. You did not disappoint, by the way,” he tries to joke, but he almost chokes on the last word.

“So I wasn’t the only one dying for a kiss, then,” Colby smiles at him reassuringly, bringing back a hand to Sam’s blonde hair, massaging gently.

He’s so glad when that brings a small smile on Sam’s lips.

“Dude, you have like, the most kissable lips I’ve ever seen, of course I was dying to kiss them,” Sam says and rubs their noses together for a split second.

Colby looks him in the eyes for a moment or two, nursing his lower lip.

Fuck it, there goes nothing - he thinks to himself at the end.

It seems like it’s confession time anyway.

“Since I probably won’t see you again, there is something you should know as well,” he says slowly, trying to harpoon the words off the back of his throat “I may not have adhered to the contract myself and... well, things started taking a turn. And I started having some feelings for you,” he continues, eyes bore into sky-blues “I know I should not have, but I couldn’t exactly control it,” he adds.

He waits for Sam to say anything, but he just keeps staring at him and panic quickly sets into Colby’s stomach.

“Now that the contract is over and, you know, you won’t be doing this anymore... I... Okay, bear with me, this could be a long shot, but,” he stops himself and grinds his teeth.

Fuck, why does he have to be so shit with words?

“What I’m trying to say is, would you be interested in exploring this,” he makes an eloquent gesture between them in the tiny space between their bodies “To, you know, see if it goes anywhere now that you are not contractually obliged to spend time with me?” he ends and, embarrassing as it is, his throat is dry and his breath is quite upbeat.

Sam tries to say something several times, but the words keep dying on his lips.

Colby’s so close to calling everything off, but he knows what he saw in Sam’s eyes.

It’s probably the same thing that Kris and Celina have been teasing him about for months.

“You... you want to go out with me? Even knowing what I have been doing in the last nine or so months?” Sam eventually manages to say, disbelief clear in his voice.

Keep it casual, keep it normal.

So Colby shrugs “Sometimes you gotta do, what you gotta do. The world can be a horrible place and people are pushed to do things they’re not thrilled about every day,” he answers calmly, moving away a strand of hair that has fallen into Sam’s eyes.

The blonde blinks rapidly for a moment, probably trying to re-organise his own thoughts.

“You’re not joking, right?”

“Dead serious.”

Sam nods slowly and licks his lips “That... that actually sounds like a plan to me,” he smiles softly, unsure.

Colby grins at him “Cool. Dinner at mine tonight, 9 o’clock, don’t be late,” he jokes, trying to lighten the mood and make the man half on top of him relax.

All he gets as a reply is a laugh before full, pink lips are pressing against his.

 

I was marking up your neck

My hips were locked between your knees

You were pulling me in

But your motives were selfish

You're bluffing again

Don't forget I can see right through you

Your eyes are a window

I'm enjoying the view

 

Dary - Hot Mulligan