The After Work

Having your feelings returned after a painstakingly long period of time of denial, was . . . odd. Aside from the constant spout of butterflies that made their home in my intestines, there was also this sinking feeling that accompanied the flutter. Tripp, unsurprisingly, has always had the upper hand when it came to helping me focus and calm down. After the fight with my dad, I had become slightly paranoid in my surroundings, leading to the occasional break-down in random settings.

They were beyond annoying, especially since the smallest thing that reminded me of the fight triggered an episode. The frequency of the episodes had decreased since moving in with Tripp but they quickly morphed into something else. Whereas before they would be episodes of paranoia and safety concern, now they were simply anxiety attacks. During these I learned about 'grounding', which is a way to calm down from an attack. There are many healthy techniques that are considered grounding, but for some reason my body zeroed past those and stuck with scratching.

It was terrible, at most unhealthy, and borderline unpleasant. I'm sure the technique managed to shock Tripp too, because I have never intentionally put myself in danger. Well, except. . . I pulled my gaze away from Tripp's phone, looking down at my thigh, the end of the scar tilting up to be visible from the top of my muscle.

But that was important! I convinced myself, because it was. If it hadn't been me, it would've been my brother and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if it had been my brother.

I looked upwards to Tripp, nose scrunching as he moved around the kitchen. As guaranteed, he was making me his famous chocolate-pancakes. I am convinced that if Tripp had cooked for me during high school, I would've come to fall for him a lot sooner. But his impeccable cooking skills were just a plus.

A warm heat creeped up my cheeks and I tore my gaze away from Tripp's body, focusing it instead on his phone screen. An annoyed grumble escaped me as the red-screen met me, catching Tripp's attention. Maybe because I almost never got annoyed with playing the world-creation game.

"What happened?" He asked with genuine concern, stepping closer to look down at the screen, an easy feat since I was sitting on the counter next to the sink. He looks at the screen before snickering, "Ha, you died? What a loser."

My jaw dropped and I kicked my legs out, hitting his hip with the bottom of my foot repeatedly. Tripp giggled at my very ferocious attacks, as if they were actually tickling him, and that spurred me on further.

"You're the loser!" That was a perfectly thought-out rebuttal. "It was your fault!"

With an amused glint, Tripp's lips tugged upwards in a smirk. With little effort he gripped my ankles, maneuvering me until he was gazing up at me from in between my parted legs. "Oh? And how did I do that? I was minding my business, making breakfast."

"My breakfast," I grumbled, pouting. Tripp's eyes flickered to my lips and without hesitation he leaned in, giving me a quick peck.

And no, it did not make me blush. , "That's right, baby. Your breakfast."

"Well!" I began, having come up with the perfect reason behind blaming Tripp for my loss at a game. "I'm just so hungry, and - and well, the pancakes smell really good. So it was distracting."

Yeah, it was the pancakes, and not his muscles flexing under that obnoxiously tight shirt. Like, really, why was that shirt so tight? Since when did Tripp own tight shirts? I narrowed my eyes, was it my shirt? Because that - that would be hot. Tripp hummed, murmuring an extended, and almost teasing 'sure' as he took a step back from me.

He knew that I knew that he knew that I lied, and that was okay.

It is okay.

Because now we are on the same page.

And even when it still scared me, I am scared, that it wouldn't work out - that it would ruin our friendship. But I trusted Tripp, there wouldn't be a time that I didn't, so I would adopt some of his confidence in this and give it a shot.

I can do this.

Right?

"Eyes on me." No hesitation, again. My eyes flicker upwards towards Tripp. He brings his hands upward, in a holding motion. "Open your mouth."

And I do, my jaw falls open and my eyes flutter shut as pebbles of something sweet make contact with my tongue. Tripp's hand comes to my jaw, closing it and helping the chocolate chips melt fully in my mouth. "Focus on the taste, you're breathing too fast."

Overthinking again. I frowned, opening my eyes to look at him and mumbling an apology. Tripp smiled fondly at me, rubbing the patch of his thumb against my cheek in reassurance. "There's nothing to apologize for. Come, let's eat."

He turns and steps back against me and without warning I throw myself onto him, wrapping my arms and legs around his body and grinning as he carries me to the kitchen for breakfast.

Yeah, I think I can give this a shot.

✩

A fluttery feeling filled my body as a feathery touch tickled my collarbone. It was Tripp, because who else could it be? But he was currently annoying. I shoved my palm against his shoulder, trying to push him off.

"Ngh, get off of me you oversized asshole, m'trying to nap."

I could practically see his full-on puppy pout behind my closed eyes. "And I'm just trying to cuddle!" He shifted away from me and I instantly missed his warmth. "But no-o! Nobody in this house is willing to give me some decent love in the form of cuddles, I mean what's a man to do without—"

"Oh my god," I grumbled, reaching until my fingers felt his shirt and fisting it to tug him over me. "Stop being dramatic."

I would bet my life that a grin was decorating his face, puppy-pout thrown out the window. "Is that a yes to cuddles?"

"It's a yes to shutting you up."

Tripp made a noise of triumphant and let his full weight fall over me, nosing into my neck. Our 'willingness to try whatever this is, definitely more than friends' thing, oddly enough, hadn't changed much in our relationship. I had stopped avoiding Tripp, waking up at a decent hour, having breakfast, sometimes lunch, and dinner with him. In between our classes we would meet up, Tripp waiting outside of my classes for me and vice versa before heading to the gym or other little hang-out areas. We had recently found the thrill of sport, nothing new and nothing surprising considering the fact that we were both sport-addicts throughout high school.

We had also started sharing the same bed, and it was nice, because the closeness seemed to stop the wet-dreams, and I was finally able to sleep peacefully without having a boner in the middle of the night. It is nice, the closeness is comforting.

Aside from this, we had also become more open emotionally. Any fears or doubts were quickly extinguished with Tripp and his reassuring ways.

Physically, and disappointingly enough, nothing had changed. Sure, occasional handjobs were a thing, but we had done that numerous times before. The only difference now were the small kisses we shared, and the shocks that shot to my toes whenever our eyes met.

I groaned as I felt my inner thighs quiver at the thought, so much for a nap.

I shoved at Tripp's shoulder again, knowing he felt my stirring member. "This is all your fault."

Tripp whined exaggeratedly against me, "All you ever do is blame me."

"Yeah," I agreed. "What are you gonna do about it?"

He grumbled, probably mimicking my question with a high-pitched voice that sounded nothing like me. Finally, after a couple of silent seconds, he poked his head up, curls framing his face beautifully. "What do you want me to do 'bout it?"

I smiled, closing my eyes again. "Take responsibility."

Another second, "I think I can do that."

My eyes remained closed as I felt Tripps body press down against mine, our lips joining together as our bodies pressed closer together. Tripp hummed against my lips as he shifted above me, sliding his thigh, taunt with muscle, in between my legs. I moaned into the kiss as my erection rubbed against his thigh, hips shifting as I grinded against him.

Tripp helped with the movement, hands wrapping around my waist to guide my movements as he slipped his tongue into my mouth. Kissing isn't new to me, in all honesty, it always seemed like a messy task because girls would always drool too much, covering their chins in slobber as they kissed. But the way Tripp explored my mouth with his tongue made me want to go back and slap myself, because it was messy, but it was a good messy and it made my skin burn up.

"Tripp," I whined, eyes fluttering open to meet his gaze. He hummed softly, pulling back and pecking my lips before leaning down to latch onto my neck - sucking and nipping at the sensitive skin. The thought of Tripp marking me sent me into another frenzy of emotions, and I couldn't help but tilt my head back to give him more access.

" baby," Tripp mumbled against me, large hands sliding my shirt up my abdomen. I did the same, pouting at him to take off his shirt. Another pitiful whine escaped me as he pulled back, gripping my hands softly in his. "Nuh-uh baby, this is about you."

The statement confused me, but before I could question it Tripp's masterful fingers tugged off my boxers, exposing me to the room's cold air. I hissed, breath stuttering when the same fingers wrapped around my member. Compared to Tripp, I wasn't as thick, only being slightly longer.

Not that I would know.

But size was thrown out the window as his large hands engulfed me, pumping my cock with one while the other pinched at the sensitive skin in between my thighs. There was no begging, just a handful of small moans and whines as he increased his pace.

I choked on my tongue, back arching as Tripp took me into his mouth, immersing me in the warmth of his mouth. My fingers ached, reaching down to tangle in his curls as he bobbed his head on my length, hollowing his cheeks and pulling a string of breathless pants from me.

There was nothing I could do but tug at his hair, his hands having resumed their previous position on my waist and holding me down against the mattress of our bed. I blinked slowly, eyes swinging down to look at Tripp only to find him already looking at me. My breath caught as he moaned around me, pulling up until his lips left my member with a pop.

He grinned softly at me, sitting back on his heels "Is this taking enough responsibility for you?"

If I wasn't so high on getting off I would've kicked him.

My hips shifted upwards as he used the back of his hand to wipe off his chin, finally giving me some freedom.

I let out a breathy laugh, "Not even close." Tripp raised an eyebrow at me, eyes glinting with amusement as he leaned down to press open-mouthed kisses against my hip bone.

I whimpered as he took me into his mouth again, my release tightening and coiling in my abdomen. Everything was hot and my skin was boiling, and I couldn't stop myself from whining as I began thrusting into Tripp's mouth. His grip on my thighs didn't let up, only gripping me closer in encouragement. And I finally came with a groan when he leaned further down and deepthroated me.

All the built up energy left me all at once and I sagged against the bed, panting heavily. My hands reached upwards as Tripp came into my line of sight, gripping the back of his head as he reached between us and gripped my jaw, prompting my mouth open. I let my jaw drop without hesitation, heart seizing in my chest as he opened his mouth, spitting my come into my mouth.

It should have been disgusting and yet I couldn't help but feel a sick sense of arousal prickling at my insides. Tripps eyes flickered to my mouth as he closed it, eyes studying me as I swallowed my own residue, tasting myself.

He smiled fondly at me, pecking my lips with a smile as he rested on top of me. I combed my hands through his curls, pulling apart the strands. "What about you?"

Tripp let out a questioning hum, gnawing at my collarbone. "What about me?"

"You're hard."

He snorted, "Thank god for that." This time I did kick him, digging the end of my heel into his back. He cried out dramatically. "Abuse!"

I ignored him, "Want me to help you?"

"No," He shook his head. "I'm fine." There was no time to overthink as he looked up, "This was about you Logan, not me. As much as I would like to continue, there's no need for it."

He looked back over his shoulder towards the digital clock that had migrated from my previous room desk to our shared room. "Besides, my business class is meeting up to look at investment deals and policies, wanna come with?"

I scrunch my nose at the thought, "That sounds boring."

"That's business baby." He quickly quipped.

I shoved him off, "Go take a shower or you're gonna be late."

He saluted me as he stood from the bed with one last kiss to my nose, "Yes sir!"