by T. M. Smith
Frank’s response was a jerky head nod. “Breathe in and bear down, Frankie.” Taylor pushed all the way in with one long, slow thrust that left them both breathless and moaning.
“So big, so full…” Frank panted, shifting his hips, rocking back and forth.
“So mine.” Taylor pulled out then thrust forward, covering Frank’s mouth to muffle his shout. He tried to go slow, to take his time and savor their first encounter. But he knew there would be so many more, a lifetime of sex and memories they’d make, together. “God, Frankie, I don’t think I can go slow.”
Grabbing his thighs and pulling his knees up to his chest, Frank spread himself open for Taylor. “You said it yourself, Tay, we have all the time in the world. Now shut up and fuck me.”
Alrighty then. Taylor did as he was asked. The pace was fast, relentless, and within minutes they were both on the precipice, ready to spill their seed. Frank’s moans and groans grew louder with every push of his hips, his body tense. “So sexy, Frank, and mine, all mine.”
“Yours, only yours,” Frank quickly agreed.
“You feel so fucking good wrapped around my dick, Frank, warm and tight, the perfect fit like your body was made for me.” He picked up the pace, hips pistoning, balls heavy with his impending release.
“Touch me, Taylor, please,” Frank begged. Bracing himself with one arm on the bed beside Frank’s head, Taylor reached between them with the other, wrapping his hand around Frank’s cock and jacking him, his hand keeping pace with his dick.
“Oh God, I’m, gonna.” Frank froze, his body stiff and shaking and then he came, his back bowing up off the bed and the sexiest moan that dragged on forever renting the air in the room. Frank’s orgasm pushed Taylor over the edge and he spilled into the condom, his climax pulled from him almost painfully. He fell onto Frank, their bodies still shaking, wracked with aftershocks from what Taylor felt certain was the best orgasm he’d ever had.
“That was amazing,” Frank said breathlessly.
Taylor lifted his head and smiled down at him. “I love you, Frankie.” The way Frank looked at him, like he was in awe, made Taylor feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He brushed off the lack of comment from Frank, dragging his ass out of the bed and walking to the bathroom on shaking legs to dispose of the condom and get a warm washcloth. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Taylor wiped the come off his lover’s body, then tossed the rag into the hamper in the corner before settling on the mattress beside Frank and pulling him close.
He lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling, enjoying the feel of Frank’s breath on his skin as he dozed off to sleep. Taylor wanted to hear Frank say that he loved him almost as much as he’d wanted to claim him. But he was patient. Taylor had realized he loved Frank two summers ago; he’d had years to dissect and pick apart his feelings, decide whether or not it was infatuation or genuine love. Frank might have begun looking at him differently around the same time, but Taylor was certain that Frank had tried to convince himself that he was wrong, that he was misreading Taylor. What Frank needed was time and Taylor’s unconditional, unwavering support. Soon, Frank would say those three words Taylor longed to hear. But Taylor wanted them to come from the heart, not from obligation.
Chapter Twenty-One
Frank
It was a warm day for Massachusetts, the temperature finally surpassing eighty and holding at a brisk eighty-two degrees. Taylor had agreed to wait in the car while Frank went and met Caleb and Justine inside the terminal. Justine was aware of how he felt about Taylor and accepted it. And while he was confident his best friend wouldn’t have an issue with the two of them being a couple, he still wanted to talk to him, give Caleb a heads-up before they headed back to the cottage.
The Knights couldn’t be missed as they walked toward him, Caleb tall, tanned and buff while his wife was petite and pale but extraordinarily beautiful. They were the odd couple, so to speak, catching the eye of several people along the way. Justine smiled and waved, running up and flinging herself into Frank’s open arms. “Hey, Frankie!”
“Get off him, woman.” Caleb pried his wife off his friend. “You’re scaring the natives,” he mock-whispered.
Justine looked around, confusion marring her pretty face. “Where’s Taylor?”
“He’s waiting in the car. I wanted to talk to the two of you first…I, well,”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, Frank, just spit it out.” Caleb sighed, rolling his eyes like a toddler.
Justine squealed, clapping her hands and bouncing on tiptoes. “You told him, didn’t you?”
Frank grinned, shaking his head and laughing at the little pixie. “I did.”
“You two keeping secrets again?” Caleb looked back and forth between them, one eyebrow raised. “Spit. It. Out.” He enunciated each word with precision and annoyance.
“Taylor and I are together. A couple.” Fuck it, there it was.
Justine threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hollering “Yay!” like a crazy person. Caleb pulled her off again and pointed her toward the exit. “Baby, go keep the kid company and let the big boys talk for a minute.”
Frank didn’t like the way his partner said “the kid,” with too much emphasis on the vowel. “What’s up your ass, Knight?”
“How could you keep something like this from me?” Caleb barked. Why in the hell was he angry?
“I didn’t keep anything from you. We weren’t together before this trip and now we are. It’s that simple.” Frank crossed his arms over his chest defiantly.
Caleb closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair. When he opened his eyes, the anger from just a few seconds earlier was gone; now Caleb looked like a wounded animal. “Listen, Frank, it’s not you and Taylor being together that I have a problem with. It’s a little…weird, to be honest, but we can talk about that later. What I do have a problem with is you not telling me that you had feelings for him. We’re partners, Frank, supposed to trust each other with our lives. But you couldn’t tell me how you felt about the kid?” He pointed toward the parking lot.
Deflated, Frank slumped, pinching the bridge of his nose to stave off the headache floating just below the surface. “I get that Caleb, I do and I’m sorry. I didn’t realize just how much I cared for him until recently. And, he’s not a kid, by the way; let’s just put that out there.”
Caleb rolled his eyes again and Frank chuckled. “Seriously though, I didn’t say anything because I felt…ashamed for looking at him, for wanting him. And then I thought he could do better. But then Taylor told me he loves me and wants to be with me.”
“Whoa, wait just a tick, back up. Taylor told you he loves you?” Caleb shrieked. Not very becoming for such a big guy, Frank thought. He opened his mouth to speak but a very familiar voice answered for him.
“Yes, I did.” Taylor strolled over to them with a wicked smile on his face, wrapping one of those long arms around Frank’s waist and pulling him close.
Slack-jawed and wide-eyed, Caleb stared at the two of them for a minute. Then, very seriously, he said, “Are we in Kansas, Dorothy? Cause I could have sworn the missus and I flew into Massachusetts for some fun in the sun.”
“You two are a mess.” Taylor reached for Caleb, wrapping his other arm around him and walking the three of them out to the curb where Justine sat, blaring “Finally” by CeCe Peniston on the radio, singing every damn word, loudly.
After dinner that evening, Caleb and Justine wandered out to the beach for a walk and Frank and Taylor decided to join them. The sunset on the water provided a gorgeous background, the orange halo in the sky lighting a path across the ocean. “Listen, Frank, I’m good, we’re good, just don’t keep something this important from me again. Okay?” Caleb nudged Frank with his shoulder.
“Of course, partner,” Frank promised. “I would have said something, but honestly, I didn’t even know what I was feeling, not for certain.”
The moon was high in the sky by the time they tu
rned and started making their way back to the house, the lights of the lanterns on the back porch showing the way. Taylor and Caleb were acting like idiots, shoving and knuckle punching each other, normal antics for the two of them. When Caleb shouted, “Race you back!” and the two of them took off, Frank snorted.
“How do you put up with him?” he asked Justine.
Linking her arm with Frank’s she sighed, happily. “What can I say? I love the big, dumb goof. And he’s awful pretty.”
~
Frank thoroughly enjoyed having Caleb and Justine as well as Valerie and Charles at the cottage; they were his family after all. But having Taylor all to himself for the last few days of their vacation was a godsend. The morning before flying back to Texas, Frank woke in his bed alone, the other side cold and empty, and for a brief moment, his heart sank. Was it all just a dream? No, he could smell Taylor on his skin, could remember the feel of his touch from the night before. It was then that Frank realized the depth of his feelings for Taylor. In the time it would take to snap his fingers, Frank knew he was in love.
Hearing footsteps coming up the stairs, he sat up and grabbed the pillows so he could comfortably lean back against the headboard. The sight of Taylor in nothing but his boxers and an apron had him almost falling out of the bed, he was laughing so hard. His man was carrying a lap tray that held coffee, juice, toast, boiled eggs, and a white rose from Meredith’s garden. “Morning, gorgeous.” He held his arms up so Taylor could place the tray in front of him.
“Good morning to you too.” Taylor leaned in for a kiss before tossing his long, lean body onto the bed, climbing over Frank and the breakfast tray without knocking anything over. “I was going to wake you when I came back up. Once you finish, we should have time for a stroll along the tide before we have to leave to catch our flight home.”
“I wish we could stay longer; it feels like we only just got here.” Frank grabbed a boiled egg and ate half, turning and feeding the other half to Taylor.
Watching Taylor chew and smile was a sight to behold. “We’ll be back for the holidays. And hopefully you and I will retire here one day. Just the two of us and the water that stretches as far as the eye can see.”
“That’s all I want Frankie—you, me and forever.” Taylor cupped his cheek, running his thumb over Frank’s bottom lip before kissing him softly. “What do you say, we go ahead and pack so we can spend our last few minutes with our toes in the sand?”
Thankful he didn’t have much to gather, Frank got dressed and stuffed everything he’d be taking with him into his roll-aboard and backpack and met Taylor downstairs. Hand in hand they walked along the beach until it was time to head back and have Hubert drive them to the airport. Frank’s emotions were cloudy, an ominous feeling roiling in the pit of his stomach, but he chalked it up to nerves. He knew Taylor loved him and wanted them to be together, yet there was a sliver of doubt Frank kept buried in the back of his mind. Taylor was young and vibrant and deserved to be happy. What if it was all too much? What if the actuality of their relationship paled in comparison to the one Taylor had imagined? What if he grew tired of the expectations that came with being the partner of a cop?
“Babe?” Taylor’s voice was laced with concern.
Frank shook off the doubt and concern and turned to Taylor. “Sorry, just thinking about how much fun this trip has been and how sad I am that it has to end.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Frankie. Our adventure is only just beginning,” Taylor assured him, sealing his promise with a kiss.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Taylor
“Would you take a minute and think? Are you sure about this?” Frank asked him, for probably the fifteenth time since they’d boarded the plane at the Vineyard. “Moving in with me is a big step, Tay, especially when we’ve only officially been a couple for three weeks.”
Taylor refused the bone-deep need to roll his eyes and club Frank over the head, then drag him back to his apartment like a fucking caveman. Me Tarzan, you Jane. A soft chuckle squeezed its way out and Frank shot him an incredulous look. Uncomfortable silence was not something Taylor was willing to allow, so when Frank fell quiet and folded his arms over his chest, staring out the window of the truck, Taylor pulled over to the side of I-35.
“Taylor, what are you doing?” He reached for Frank, taking his face in his hands and leaning in for a slow but chaste kiss. Taylor could feel some of the tension in Frank’s posture ebb away, his shoulders relaxing.
“I told you the first night, Frank, you need to understand that this, us, is what I want. It’s what I’ve wanted for a long time, and I refuse to live one more day without you in my arms, in my life, and in my bed.” Pause for reaction. The slow smile did wonders for Frank’s features and Taylor stole one more kiss before putting his seat belt back on and merging into traffic.
Summers spent at Martha’s Vineyard had always come and gone quickly, but this summer especially had flown by. Everything looked different, felt different, experiencing it for the first time with Frank as his boyfriend. Walks on the beach holding hands, sailing, visiting the lighthouse, and falling asleep every damn night with Frank in his arms were just a drop in the bucket. Now that they were returning to the real world, Frank would be going back to work and Taylor would be job hunting. They’d be living under the same roof, but they wouldn’t be together as much as Taylor had gotten used to the past three weeks. Damn, being an adult sucked sometimes.
“Taylor, babe, what’s wrong?” Frank reached over and squeezed his leg. Taylor adjusted his grip on the steering wheel so he could drive with one hand, lacing his fingers with Frank’s resting on his thigh.
“It’s nothing, really, just stupid insecurities.” Lifting their joined hands, he kissed Frank’s fingers.
“Stop trying to distract me.” Frank squinted at him, attempting to look menacing. It wasn’t working.
Laughing, Taylor took the Preston Road exit. “We’re almost home; we can start dinner and talk then.”
“You do realize I’ve been gone for three weeks, right? There is nothing in my fridge that wouldn’t keep. We’ll have to either go shopping or order takeout.” Frank’s phone beeped and he had to let go of Taylor’s hand to pull it from the pocket of his jeans. Taylor was pretty sure who the text was from and what it said. His suspicion was confirmed a minute later when Frank looked up and glared at him. “Taylor, what did you do?”
“What?” Taylor looked his way briefly, feigning innocence before his eyes moved back to the road. Traffic was slow and he didn’t want to rear-end another driver because he wasn’t watching the road.
“I just got a text message from Justine that reads, ‘Dinner is in the fridge, just warm it for fifteen minutes in the oven and have a great night!’ What in the hell is she talking about, Taylor?”
“I may have asked her to pick up a few things and take them to your place last night so there would be food in the fridge when we got home today.” The light turned red and Taylor pressed on the brake, flashing Frank an award-winning smile.
He knew Caleb had a key to Frank’s place in case of emergencies, so Taylor had emailed Justine to see if she minded borrowing the key and picking up a list of items he’d attached to the email. She’d responded in less than five minutes, just two words and twelve exclamation points: Of course!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Please tell me you didn’t send my best friend’s wife to the grocery store to shop for us.” Frank groaned.
Taylor chuckled, pulling through the security gate and taking the parking spot beside Frank’s Jeep. “No babe, I only asked for a few things so we could make dinner tonight and milk for cereal tomorrow. We can go grocery shopping tomorrow or the next day,” he assured Frank, climbing out of the truck and unloading the few bags they had from the back. What he didn’t tell Frank was that he’d had most of the things from his place in Austin delivered to Frank’s apartment. Justine had been there to let them in that day as well.
Frank unlocked the front door
and walked through first, stopping just a few feet inside the apartment. “What the…”
Taylor pushed Frank far enough into the apartment with his body that he could kick the door shut, then peeked around him. Frank had a two-bedroom apartment with an open floor plan and the first thing you saw walking in was the pub-style dining table and six chairs. There was a bar between that area and the kitchen, and off to the right, between the two bedrooms, was the living room. There were two tall crystal candle holders and a bouquet of long-stemmed roses with baby’s breath in a crystal vase sitting in the middle of the table; two complete place settings were already out. Walking farther into the apartment, Frank snatched the note sitting on one of the plates and read it out loud, which was unnecessary since Taylor was reading it over his shoulder.
Welcome home, boys! The table is set, as you can see, and matches to light the candles are right in front of you. The Pyrex container on the top shelf in the fridge is homemade lasagna, just preheat the oven to 350, then bake for fifteen minutes. There is a loaf of French bread on top of the fridge if you want to slice and toast it for garlic bread, a bottle of red wine on the cabinet by the stove, and tiramisu for dessert.
Enjoy your first night together at home.
Much love, Justine
Grabbing the box of matches, Taylor struck one and lit the two candles. “You did all this for me?” Frank sounded amazed.
“No.…Well, yes.” Taylor came around the table and draped his arms over Frank’s shoulders. “I wanted to do something special for our first night home.” He bent and kissed Frank.
“You are an amazing man, Taylor Langford. I don’t know what I did to deserve you but now that I have you, I’ll never let go.” The kiss they shared was soft and supple and perfect. Nothing could make this night any better. “I love you, Taylor,” Frank whispered, and damn. If that wasn’t better, Taylor didn’t know what was.