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It started as a game of truth or dare.
Ludicrous, to play with only the two of them – but after a few drinks, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Alcohol was coursing through Buck’s veins, sending spirals of silliness reeling around his brain. And when Eddie said, “I dare you to a game of poker,” he didn’t even pause before agreeing.
“Okay,” Buck said, tapping his fingertips against the tabletop. “But you should know, I’m super good at it.”
Eddie ignored his lie. Eyes slightly out of focus, he leaned across the table and jabbed his fingers into Buck’s chest. “ Strip poker.”
Questions like “why?” and “what?” flittered through Buck’s mind – but only after his mouth said, “Sure,” without any hesitation. Blinking, Buck shook the doubts from his mind. It was just a game. And a game with Eddie couldn’t go wrong.
By the time they’d played three rounds, Buck was reassessing that opinion. By the time they’d played five, he was beginning to worry.
Because, without fail, he lost every hand. He couldn’t understand it. Buck knew how to read Eddie, knew his every expression, had learned every nuance. But the tiny flicker at the end of his left eyebrow was confusing, and no matter which way Buck went, he always guessed Eddie wrong.
He began to wish he was wearing more clothes. His jacket was hanging by the door, his shoes and socks had been the first things to come off, and his shirt and belt were hooked carefully around the back of his chair. Peeling off his t-shirt, Buck avoided Eddie’s gaze. It was unnervingly direct, a dark sparkle in his eyes.
Feeling self-conscious, Buck draped the t-shirt over the backrest as well, then turned, bare-chested, back to face Eddie.
“Man, you are not good at this,” Eddie said lightly, scooping up their abandoned cards and shuffling them lightly. “I didn’t expect it to be so one sided. Not that I’m complaining.”
Buck blinked, crossing his arms without thought. For a moment, he wondered what Eddie meant by the comment – and then decided he must just be grateful to still be fully clothed. Buck dismissed it and pressed his palm to the table. “Just deal the cards, Edmundo. I feel it. This hand is where my luck turns around.”
“We’ll see,” Eddie teased, flicking a card across at him. It skittered across the table and bumped into Buck’s fingers. He picked it up. Two of hearts. Buck swallowed a sigh.
The rest of the deal didn’t go his way, and a dart of horror hit him as Buck realised his jeans were next.
“Take ‘em off, Buckley,” Eddie crowed, leaning back in his chair.
“It’s almost as if you wanna see me naked,” Buck said as he stood, reaching for his flies.
Eddie’s eyebrow hiked up and an expectant smile played across his mouth, but he didn’t say anything.
Stalling, Buck stared at him for a moment, then turned around. He couldn’t watch Eddie’s face as he took his trousers off. He didn’t know what he would see there, and he didn’t want to know.
Shucking his jeans down, Buck left them in a pool on the floor beside his abandoned shoes. Quickly, he slid back into his seat, avoiding Eddie’s gaze.
“You embarrassed?” Eddie asked suddenly, his voice turning soft. Buck glanced up. “I didn’t think you’d be embarrassed with me.”
“Yeah, well. I didn’t think I’d be getting naked in front of you tonight.”
“You’re not naked,” Eddie said fairly, planting his elbows on the table.
“Yet.”
Eddie’s eyes glittered. Then he smiled, his tone turning slightly brusque. “We can stop playing if you want. Or…”
Their eyes locked. “Or … what?” Buck asked.
Smile widening, there was a challenge in Eddie’s next words. “One more hand. All or nothing.”
“What … does that mean?”
“Well, if you win, you get to put all your clothes back on and I take off all of mine.”
“But if I lose?”
Eddie raised his eyebrows. “Those trunks come off.” Shuffling forwards, Eddie laced his fingers together, steepled his indexes and pointed them at Buck. “Your call. You up for the risk?”
For the first time, Buck weighed his options before replying. He wanted to stop, wanted to finish the game and put his clothes back on, have another beer and fall asleep on Eddie’s couch while they watched a movie together.
But he wasn’t one to back down from a dare. And Eddie had dared him to a game of strip poker. He had to see it through.
He pinned a smile to face and committed. “Hey, all or nothing, right? I like those odds.”
“They’re not odds, Buck. They’re stakes.”
“Whatever, just deal me in.”
Eddie laughed softly. “You sure? Last chance to back out.”
“I said,” Buck repeated slowly. “Deal. Me. In.”
A few moments later, he was regretting his choice.
It was that damn little twitch of the eyebrow. He read it wrong every time.
When Eddie put down a full house, Buck’s heart sank into his midriff. Blood rushed to his head, pounded against his ears. “Oh, fuck,” he murmured. Taking a long, slow breath, he got to his feet again. He hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his shorts and took another deep breath.
“Buck…”
“Hm?” He was too afraid to look up. Gulping, Buck wriggled his fingers and a second later Eddie was beside him.
“Buck, you don’t have to.”
“Hey, a dare’s a dare, right?”
Eddie’s hands curled around Buck’s wrists. “Buck,” he said softly. “You don’t have to.”
For everything he had seen and done, everything he had ever been through, nothing had ever made Buck feel the type of vulnerable he felt standing only in his underwear with Eddie’s hands coiled around his arms.
“But I lost,” he whispered, confusion rising.
“I know,” Eddie said. “But it’s just a game. I don’t want to … humiliate you.”
“Oh,” Buck breathed. Eddie wasn’t moving away. A chill rushed across his naked skin. “Should I … get dressed, then?”
Eddie’s thumb traced a gentle circle against the sensitive inner skin of Buck’s wrist. “If you want to,” he said. “You don’t have to, though.”
“Eddie…” The confusion turned into a tidal wave, swamped him.
Hands tightening, Eddie took a step nearer. Buck could feel the warmth of his body, a welcome aura. “Am I making you uncomfortable?” Eddie whispered.
“I … not exactly, I just … what’s going on, Eddie?”
Unshakeable, Eddie stared into Buck’s eyes as he slid one hand all the way along Buck’s arm, around his shoulder, rested against his neck. “The game’s over,” he murmured. “It’s your turn to ask me.”
“A-ask you?” Buck stammered. His heart beat against his rib bones, and a flush of something that felt like hope bled into the tide of confusion, twisted with it inside his chest. “Ask you what?”
“Truth or dare,” Eddie said. His thumb danced along the arch of Buck’s jaw, and he tipped into it.
Buck was losing focus, his attention honed on the places Eddie’s hands made contact with his skin. “Truth or dare?” he echoed, wondering what Eddie meant. He had forgotten their initial game.
“Truth,” Eddie said. But he didn’t wait for Buck to ask a question. “I’m in love with you, Buck.”
“What?” Buck’s eyes flashed open. He hadn’t even realised he’d closed them.
“You heard what I said. I’ve been trying to find a way to tell you for months.”
Months . Buck’s mind reeled. “And you thought the right way was to get me in my underwear first?”
“Mm,” Eddie hummed, mischief touching his voice. “This way we’re both exposed. Seems fair to me.”
“Eddie…”
“Buck.”
“Do you mean it?”
Eddie’s hands shifted again, so both were cupped around his neck, thumbs against his cheeks. “Of course I mean it, Buck. When have I ever told you something I didn’t mean?”
“Oh.” Joy burst through Buck’s body, warmed him like a winter’s fire. “Eddie … I love you too.”
Eddie watched him, eyes smiling, for a weighty moment. Then he grinned. “I know. It’s taken me a long time to figure it out, but I know.”
Smiling back, Buck laughed. “So, uh. Where do we go from here?”
“Truth or dare?” Eddie asked, then inched closer and whispered, “Pick ‘dare’.”
“Dare,” Buck murmured.
“You kiss me now, you idiot.”
It was all Buck had wanted for a long time, for years … the tiniest part of him hesitated, wondering if it were the drink compelling them. Then he dove forwards, fitted his mouth to Eddie’s, and kissed him.
Immediately, Eddie opened to him. He pulled Buck closer, one arm hooking around his shoulders as the other slid around the back of his head.
It was hard, tender, filled with years of wanting. They breathed one breath, fell together. Buck twisted his fists in Eddie’s shirt and clung to him. Strong muscles moved beneath his knuckles, firm and steady. Buck wanted to trace them with his fingertips, wanted to map every inch of Eddie’s body.
“This doesn’t seem fair,” he breathed, mumbling against Eddie’s lips. “I’m practically naked and you’re wearing far too many clothes.”
Eddie laughed, his breath coursing against Buck’s cheek. “I can fix that,” he promised. Taking a step back, he reached for Buck’s hands. “Follow me.”
Grinning, Buck stumbled after him as Eddie began to walk backwards towards the bedroom. “Is that another dare?” he joked.
“Not this time,” Eddie said. His eyes were dark with gentle sweetness. “It’s an invitation.”