by Leah Meers
When Chaz walked in the side door with an officer, the tremors got worse, and Gabe's breath hitched in his throat. He took a seat at the front table next to someone I assumed was his lawyer. The sight of him looking so calm in his neat button down and tie sparked anger to life deep inside me. My leg bounced, and I dragged my gaze away before the desire to run up there and smash that placid look off his face overwhelmed me.
Paul's hand rested on my knee in a firm, comforting gesture, and I turned to give him a nod. I could do this. I had to stay in control, stay calm for Gabe's sake. Beyond Paul, I spotted a middle-aged couple sitting on a bench on the other side of the room. They stared straight ahead with matching expressions of discomfort.
Chaz's parents, I figured. What did they think about their son beating up someone just because he was gay? Did they teach him how to be a homophobic asshole, or did he get that way on his own? I only realized I was glaring at them when Paul tapped my knee again and drew my attention. He tipped his head toward the front of the room as the judge started talking.
It took far too long and way too much legalese babble for the judge to accept the plea deal for one-hundred-eighty days in jail and a fine for misdemeanor assault and battery. It didn't come as a shock to learn this wasn't Chaz's first assault charge. If it had been, he may have walked away with community service.
The moment the judge read the sentence, Gabe collapsed against my side, and I wrapped him up as tight as I could without squishing him to death. Our friends leaned in with comforting hands and words of their own until they enveloped us in a bubble of care.
A lump formed in my throat. The camaraderie a baseball team built after working and playing together for months had nothing on the emotion pouring off these guys we hadn't even known for very long.
"Come to Revere's later, huh? Drinks on the house," Paul said as he got to his feet. Max and Emmitt walked out with their arms around each other and held the door open for Gabe and me, with Finn bringing up the rear.
Chaz's parents hurried around our group, and I fought the urge to follow them, confront them, or yell about their parenting skills. Finn settled a hand on my shoulder, and I silently thanked him for keeping me from getting arrested. A second later, the gratitude fled my mind as I spotted another man and woman turn the corner from the lobby.
Chaz's parents stopped in front of mine, and I watched wide-eyed as Mr. Prentiss hold out a hand to my father. Their words echoed up the silent corridor to where we stood.
"Mr. Meyers. It's so good of you to come out." His hand wavered when my father stared down at it for a long moment.
Vague memories washed through my mind. Our parents sitting in the stands together for high school baseball games. The Prentisses buying sports gear at my father's store. My free hand curled into a fist.
"Who are they?" Max whispered.
"My parents." My words came as a dark rumble from my chest, and fear chased them through my mind. My father wouldn't accept my friendship with Gabe, and there was no way I'd deny that we were more than that to each other.
Our circle of friends tightened around us. Gabe tried to slip his hand out of mine, but I hung on with everything I had.
My Mom's head turned from the tense standoff between Chaz's and my father and locked eyes with me. Her face crumpled and her eyes glistened in the harsh glare of the fluorescents overhead. My father glanced my way before turning back to Mr. Prentiss, who had dropped his hand and stood awkwardly in front of the man he might have considered a friend.
"We're not here for you," my dad snapped and led my mom around Chaz's parents toward our group.
My shoulders tensed as I fought the urge to clutch Gabe to my side and run out of the courthouse. That damn mind movie started up again: playing catch in the backyard, my trophies on the shelf at my dad's shop, his glare when he told me Gabe wasn't the type of person I should waste my time on. My mother's eyes begged me to stay calm, to listen, or at least not to make a scene. My father's gaze flicked from me to the hulking men around us.
Before I had a chance to even think of what to say, Gabe twisted his hand out of mine and stepped forward. His shoulders tensed as he extended his hand toward my father.
"Mr. Meyers," he said in a voice with only the slightest tremble. "We've met before… years ago when I roomed with your son at college. I'm Gabe, Cody's boyfriend."
The tension in the air grew so thick I almost wished for the security guard to take notice and appear at the end of the hallway. My mom made some small sound in the back of her throat a second before my dad lifted his own hand and took Gabe's. I watched the quick, firm handshake with my heart in my throat, and met my father's eyes the moment he let go of Gabe's hand.
"Your mom explained a few things to me, Cody." His usual blustery voice pitched low and almost gentle. "I still have a lot to learn."
In a movie, we'd hug, cry a bit, and all go home and have cocoa or something. Gabe took my hand again, and our friends left amid pats on the back and seeya-soons. That scared look in my mom's eyes faded away and transformed into pure hope.
"We'd like you to come for a cookout Saturday lunch if that works for both of you," my mom said. My father nodded in a way that almost made me believe it was half his idea in the first place.
When Gabe nodded, I spoke up. "Yeah, we could do lunch. We really have to go now, though. This day has been… I need to get Gabe home so he can relax after all this."
~ ~ ~
A long drive out of the city later, Gabe and I flopped onto the couch in sweats and t-shirts. I pulled him close and cuddled him against my chest.
"Well," he said after a long, silent pause. "That was something."
I chuckled. "I don't know what was braver, baby, you handling Chaz's sentencing or you stepping up to my dad like that."
He twisted his head to flick his tongue over my lips, but turned away before I could grab a kiss. "I can handle things a lot bigger and scarier than that." His hand skated up my thigh until it rested a mere inch from my balls.
A quick shift adjusted my rapidly hardening dick, which pushed against Gabe's arm where it slung over my lap. "Bigger, yeah… scarier? Didn't know you were scared of snakes."
Gabe snorted out a laugh before sitting up and staring down at my groin like he was studying it. "Snake? Nah… little caterpillars are kinda creepy though."
"What!? You didn't seem to think it was little when you were choking on it last time." With Gabe's bruises and nightmares, we hadn't done more than cuddle, kiss, and exchange gentle blowjobs or hand jobs in far too long. It felt like forever, and my hunger for him hadn't lessened even when I knew sex wasn't on the table. I tumbled him backward and propped myself over him, letting him feel my weight before shifting to grind my dick against his.
The laughter left his face when our eyes met. "Give it to me, Cody. I need you."
"Anything for you, Gabe." Our lips met, teeth nibbled, and tongues licked deep inside as if we were tasting each other for the first time. "Anything."
Time spun out as clothing dropped to the floor, mouths explored, and hands stroked over every inch of each other's bodies. Somehow, we moved to the bed and collapsed onto the sheets.
We murmured words I couldn't remember afterward, but none of them mattered as much as the feel of his skin on mine, the grasp of his fingers in my hair as I took him deep inside my mouth, the salty-sweet taste of him, and the desperate cry when I finally pushed into his body slow, then fast, then in a frenzy of want. We came together with nothing between us, and as I spilled deep within, my heart tipped over and spilled out into him, too.
With sudden clarity, I knew this was love. It had taken us years apart to find each other, but nothing would ever part us again. Still joined in the deepest way possible, I met Gabe's eyes, pushed my hands into the fan of platinum strands spread over the pillow, and knew without speaking that he was right there with me at the edge of forever.
Epilogue
Gabe – Several Weeks Later
It didn'
t take much to convince Paul to give me Sunday and Monday nights off when he heard about my plans. I had big ideas that I could not rush. Dealing with Holly at the camp was a bit trickier, but it turned out she had a romantic side after all. It helped that I managed to convince two of Cody's coworkers to come in and split his shift.
Finn and Carter offered to speed finish one room at the B&B and tell the workers to stay home for a day, but it wouldn't work. It had to be the camp, as much as going back there sparked nerves deep inside my brain. We needed to build positive memories strong enough to blot out the ones that brought pain, fear, and a totally unfounded sprinkle of guilt.
Revere's throbbed with my favorite song selections, and the mix of men on the dance floor jumped and swayed together like a single mass of heat and testosterone. The lights flashed across sweaty bodies and smiling mouths. Cody appeared at the corner of the crowd in his usual spot, arms crossed over his tight white t-shirt and gorgeous smile all for me. I grinned back and held up my fingers. Five minutes.
Emmitt and Max stopped by to say hello to him, and Cal gave a nod and a wave from where he danced with Ross. I caught Whit's eye after he finished pouring a beer for a tall man with rusty brown hair and a plaid shirt. He gave me a thumb's up and a dramatic eye roll. Even the bratty bartender had agreed to help me out with my secret plan.
I finished up and was in Cody's arms before the next song ended. Just like always, he wrapped me up and gave me a squeeze.
"Hey, baby," he murmured into my ear. "You want to hang out some? Max and Emmitt snagged a booth with the crew."
"Nah, sorry. I have other plans."
For a moment, Cody's brows pinched together, and he frowned at me. "Oh, well… um… okay. I didn't know." He stepped back and let his arms fall to his sides.
"If you could just help me for a second, I really have to get out of here. Things to do, people to see, and all that." I struggled to keep the grin off my face as I led him toward the bar.
Whit spotted me and slid a latched ice chest onto the bar. "I hope you appreciate all my hard work," he said with a pout.
"Grab that, Cody, and follow me." I stuck my tongue out at Whit and wound through the crowd toward the door.
Next stop, the diner, and I didn't give Cody a chance to say anything or ask questions during the short drive. Music, Revere's gossip, Finn and Carter's news about hiring Logan the landscaper to get the gardens ready for planting in the spring, even the weather. Cody looked at me like I had gone nuts a few times, opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again when I started another monologue.
I jumped out and hurried inside the diner to get a box with two takeout bags stuffed full inside. As soon as it slid in next to the cooler, I zoomed out of the lot and turned toward the camp.
"What the hell is going on, Gabe?" Cody said the moment I had to stop my chatter to take a breath.
"What do you mean?" The mock innocent tone wasn't really in my usual repertoire. "I just don't want to be late."
"Late for what?"
"Would you look at that tree!" I craned my neck to peer at a random tree that was just the same as all the other trees. The accelerator eased closer to the floor. We had to get to the camp before I ran out of conversational topics. Who was I kidding? I had done that ten minutes ago. "No more leaves this season."
"Did you drink too much at Revere's tonight? I thought you only had one while working." His eyes narrowed. "Should you be driving right now?"
"Oh, come on, Cody. Would I drink and drive? I thought you trusted me."
"I'm beginning to have my doubts." He slumped in the passenger seat and rubbed a hand over his hair. "Are you going to tell me what—"
"We're here!" My car eased through the Camp Rocky Cove gates and rumbled down the gravel drive.
"What are we doing at my work?" Cody sat up straighter and alternated confused glances out the front window and at me.
I refused to meet his gaze as I pulled into a parking spot near the lodge. "Okay, everyone out. Grab the cooler and follow me."
It took three minutes to transfer the boxes and an overnight bag I packed before work to the utility vehicle Holly left charged up and ready to go. Humming an old Hatching Orange song, I slipped behind the wheel.
Cody apparently gave up trying to get any information out of me as he perched on the seat next to me. He looked alternatingly confused and suspicious until we rounded the last corner in the trail and reached our destination.
Fairy lights wound around the front porch roof of the renovated cabin. The soft light of battery-powered candles glowed through the windows. I parked the UTV near the door, grabbed the diner box, and left the cooler and bag for Cody. Surprise or not, he still had bigger muscles than me. I set it on the small table and crossed the single room to flick on the gas fireplace in the stone hearth.
I waited for Cody to put the cooler next to the box and drop the bag on the floor next to the table before he turned around. The look of suspicion began to twitch at the corners, as he fought back a smile.
"Holly told me she'd like another coat of paint on the window trim in here." I didn't think he believed me because his smile only grew.
"You little sneak," he said and chuckled at my indignant cry. "What did you do?" He crossed the room and wrapped his arms around me where they belonged.
I pulled away and fetched him a beer from the cooler. Whit had added a bag of clean ice inside labelled "Your Rocks," and I mixed myself a quick rum and coke before pulling Cody onto the short couch near the fire. The only other thing the room contained was a queen-sized bed, that I was sure would get a good workout for the next two days.
"The first time I drove through the gates after…" I waved my hand in the general direction of the lake where Chaz had attacked me. "I couldn't stop the nerves, ya know? You work here and like it, and if I'm going to be a part of your life, I want to be a part of all your life… including this place." I set my drink down on the coffee table and wound my fingers through Cody's. "This is about making such amazing, kick-ass memories that nothing else has room in my brain anymore. And it's about saying thank you." The lump in my throat would not stop me from what I yearned to say.
"I love you, Cody Meyers. You are the best friend, best lover, and best everything a man could hope for. You stood at my side through shit no one should have to deal with, and I really don't think I could ever repay you. If there's any part of me you don't already feel is all yours, go ahead and take it."
Cody set his beer on the table next to my glass before reaching for me. In a second, I was on his lap, his hands in my hair, and his low voice blowing heat over my ear. "You wonderful, gorgeous, incredible, maddening, amazing man. I'm not great with words—"
"You're pretty good with adjectives," I interrupted and earned myself a hard kiss to shut me up.
"All I want to do is give you all of me. It's like the moment I saw you again, my old dreams blew away, and I got brand new ones. I love you, Gabe. So much it kinda makes me crazy."
I shifted on his lap so he felt what all this sappy love stuff was doing to me and caught his smile with a kiss. "Well, that's good then. Wanna get naked?"
The End
Thank you so much for reading Gabe and Cody's story. I hope you enjoyed the twists and turns as they found their happily ever after. Please take the time to leave a review.
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Eager for More Tales From Reveres?
Check out the next book in the series: One With the Boys.
Logan -- When my ex abandoned me and our two sons, I didn't plan to open my heart to anyone ever again. A near collision on a dark country road fills my mind with new possibilities. Working with this young man is tough enough, getting him into my bed reminds me of how good life can feel, but inviting his troubles into our lives just might be a step too far. I can't get this adorable, strong, and
resourceful man out of my mind, but a divorced dad like me has a lot to think about.
Is all the upheaval he brings worth the chance at the love of my life?
Ash -- I came back to save my brother, and there's no way I will accept failure when the stakes are this high. I need to build a life fast, and one man seems eager to help me do it. He's older, divorced, and a dad, but somehow this amazing man who has it all together has a place for me in his life, too. As we slowly work to build our found family, there is more at stake than ever before.
Will I have the strength to fight for a forever kind of love with him?
Excerpt from One With the Boys:
I pulled up behind the truck parked outside a two-story house on a nice residential street. Nerves paralyzed me for a minute, and I had to psych myself up to even get out of the car. The people in this type of neighborhood called the cops when they saw someone like me walking through it. I didn't even know where to find Logan. Should I just wait? Walk into the backyard?
Standing on the street next to my car wasn't going to get any money in my wallet. If I could stand up to Ed on a bender, I could walk up a suburban driveway and find the man who said he'd hire me. He wasn't in his truck, so I scurried up the blacktop to a stone path that curved around the house to the backyard. I practically tiptoed as thoughts of the homeowners yelling at me or cops knocking me to the ground filled my mind.
When I rounded the corner, all the negative images flew out of my mind so fast I forgot how to think for a moment. There was Logan, crouched down in front of a weedy garden with faded jeans stretched smooth over an amazing ass and muscular thighs. His green long-sleeve t-shirt rode up across his broad back and gave me a glimpse of smooth skin.
I must've made a noise – I hoped it wasn't a moan after seeing him like that in daylight – because Logan turned to flash his bright smile in my direction. He had at least five or six inches on me and enough lean muscle to fill out that shirt deliciously. I tried to smile back, but I'm not sure my face remembered how to work.