They finally turned off the water and dried themselves, and Hawk noticed Caleb was moving better, which made relief loosen up his chest.
Caleb slid into bed with Hawk pouring the wine, and inspiration had him raiding the mini fridge for the little charcuterie tray he’d noticed in there.
“Oooh, fancy.” Caleb propped up against the pillows. “Cheers.”
“Cheers.” They clinked glasses together.
They sipped wine and ate cheese and meat, and soon enough they had set everything aside and just cuddled up on the bed watching some kind of Italian documentary. Calebput his head on Hawk’s shoulder and Hawk looped an arm around behind him so they could snuggle together.
“Are you looking forward to the prelims?” Hawk asked
“Is it bad for me to say I’m just ready to be done?” Caleb rubbed his stubbly cheek against Hawk’s skin, sighing. “I want that gold medal. I’ve worked my ass off for it for years. I’m on track for it, if my last year of events is any indication, but?—”
Hawk stroked his back, just waiting, encouraging Caleb to take his time.
“But I guess I’m tired,” Caleb finally finished. “I’m hurting a lot, and I’ve been on a tour of some kind since I was fifteen, and I’m ready to retire. So medal or not, this will be my last Olympics.”
“Oh, baby. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s shit-hard, but it’s totally reasonable.”
“Yeah?” Caleb patted his belly. “You don’t think it’s weird?”
“I think whatever you want to do is what you want to do. It’s your body, and it’s your career.”
Caleb glanced up at him, those bright green eyes full of surprise. “You’re the first person who’s said that to me. My coach keeps telling me I’ve got another two or three years left in me.”
“But I imagine he’s also worried about your health, right?”
Caleb rolled his eyes. “The team doctor is worried for my health, my doctor back home is, but my coach, I think, he just sees gold medals and endorsements, and so does my agent.” He’d lost his coach Brandon after the Beijing games because the man had retired and was now living somewhere in Alaska, he thought. His current coach, Tyson DeLallo, was great, but he wasn’t as careful with him.
“Ugh, well, I can tell you as somebody who’s had a major injury that if you can avoid that, you’re doing well.” Hawk tried not to tense up because thinking about his broken kneedidn’t do him any good. “But seriously, I think you need to make your own decision.”
“Thanks.” Caleb patted his chest. “That actually means a lot to me. You’re not just blowing smoke up my ass either, I can tell.”
“Nope, I’m not a blowing smoke kind of guy. In fact, I have trouble with that, so you know I’m sincere if I say it.” Hawk was probably the worst liar in the history of the earth. Maybe, maybe not. His mom might be worse at it than he was.
Caleb’s fingers traced patterns on his chest, tugging a bit at the hair there, and he had to smile because Caleb was never still. But the touches started to slow down, and he could feel Caleb going lax against him, his breathing evening out until he was sound asleep.
Hawk smiled up at the ceiling. He would wait until Caleb moved a little bit before he turned the lamp off, but he was glad he could give Caleb this. Give him some good rest before he had to go up and start competing. Hawk kept telling himself that what he felt for Caleb wasn’t new. It was eight years old. He’d had plenty of time to process it. Even if they’d only spent a minuscule amount of time together. It didn’t matter.
And this time, he was going to try really, really damn hard not to let Caleb up and disappear on him.
Fifteen
Caleb woke up the next morning feeling really well-rested and warm with a smile on his face. Hawk was kind of fucking amazing for that. Not pushing him to have sex last night, not doing anything but feeding him a little wine and cheese and holding him until he fell asleep.
He checked the time but then closed his eyes and let himself sink back into a sort of a restful state. He had an hour before he even needed to get up and have breakfast.
He wouldn’t have to take a shower this morning even if he did smell like Hawk. Nobody would notice he was clean.
So he spent the time curled up against Hawk. His hand on Hawk’s chest, his leg thrown over both of Hawk’s, his fingers tracing patterns lightly on Hawk’s skin for a little while, until the alarm on Hawk’s phone went off. Caleb sat up so Hawk could move without him clinging like some sort of weird octopus.
Hawk rose up on one elbow. “How are we doing on time? When do you have to be out of here?”
“I have time to eat breakfast with you, but then I’ll have to go get my shit together and get on the transport.” He reachedup to grab the back of Hawk’s neck and pull him over for a kiss, morning breath notwithstanding.
“Mmmmm.” Hawk made this happy rumbly noise from deep inside that wide chest and put a hand on his ass, pulling him closer. “We have time for this?”
“I think we can work it in.” Caleb had plenty of morning wood, and so did Hawk. So he inched forward until their hips were pressed together, their cocks rubbing, and he knew this would be exactly what he needed.