One Perfect Wish

by L. M. Brown

  “You think?” the djinn asked. “I’m glad to see you picked up a few hints during your time with Cameron. Now go, get out of here, find your man, and for the sake of both of you, keep him at home on Friday night.”

  With those parting words the djinn vanished, leaving Scott standing in the middle of the cemetery. When he opened his fingers the ring had gone too.

  Scott immediately figured out he had to get moving if he didn’t want to freeze to death. He had dressed for a late spring wedding, not hiking through the snow.

  Progress was slow going and he’d probably ruined his shoes, yet Scott eventually arrived at the cottage, relieved to see it was no longer neglected and vacant.

  He trudged up the path and knocked on the door. Movement inside gave him hope he wasn’t going to turn into an icicle. The door opened and Chris stood on the other side of it. Once again he had no idea who Scott was. If Clare’s guess about Cameron remembering their day had been correct, the same could not be said about her other son.

  “Yes?” Chris studied Scott from head to toe. “Are you lost?”

  “No.” Scott shook his head and took a step forward. Unfortunately Chris made no effort to let him in. “Is Cameron in?”

  Chris turned to glance over his shoulder. “Someone for you, Cameron,” he called.

  Cameron stepped into view. He stared at Scott, speechless. The glass he held slipped from his fingers, shattering on the wooden floor and spilling the contents.

  “Are you okay?” Chris asked his brother. “You’ve gone really pale.”

  “Scott?” Cameron whispered.

  “Surprise?” Scott tried, wondering how much Cameron remembered of their day together.

  Chris looked at Cameron, then Scott, and back to his brother again. “Scott, as in dream guy, Scott?”

  Cameron flushed bright red.

  “Have my ears been burning?” Scott teased as he tried to inch his way inside and out of the snow.

  Cameron stared at him with wide-eyed wonder. “How is this possible?”

  “It’s a long story,” Scott answered. “Aren’t you going to let your husband in?”

  “Husband?” Chris asked. “You never mentioned you were married in this dream you had.”

  Cameron’s blush intensified again. “Didn’t I? I guess it must have slipped my mind.”

  “What else did you forget to mention?” Chris chuckled as he teased his older brother. This was the young man Scott remembered. Not the groom with sadness in his eyes on what was supposed to be the happiest day of his life.

  Scott hadn’t thought Cameron could turn any redder, yet he managed to.

  “I could take a wild guess.” He waggled his eyebrows and winked at his fake husband.

  Chris finally stepped aside and Scott hurried into the warmth of the cottage, closing the door behind him.

  “What’s going on through there?” a male voice called from the living room. “Are we playing cards or not?”

  Chris walked past Cameron and through the doorway. “Apparently dream guy is joining us,” he announced in a loud voice. Scott guessed from the laughter and heckling in response that his ears should definitely have been burning.

  Cameron finally moved from his spot. He stepped over the broken glass and spilled beverage to approach Scott.

  Scott rolled his eyes at the teasing coming from the other guests. “So, you told your brother and your mates about me, but you didn’t tell your mum?”

  “You’ve met my mother?” Cameron completely missed Scott’s point.

  Scott nodded. “Sort of. She probably won’t remember me.”

  “I’m confused.” Cameron frowned, his brow furrowed. “Who are you?”

  “My name’s Scott Baxter, and I have it on pretty good authority I’m the love of your life, or something like that.”

  “That doesn’t really explain anything.”

  Scott sighed. “I guess it doesn’t. How much do you remember of the day we spent together?”

  “Which one?” Cameron asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  A movement in the doorway caused Cameron to pause. “Come through here.” He grabbed Scott’s hand and led him into the dining room.

  Once they were alone he continued. “Yesterday I had no idea you existed. Then last night I had the most amazing dream of being married to you. I woke up with the memories of having spent several years in a relationship with you, including six months of married life.”

  “You remember all our time together?”

  “Yes. It’s like I remember living two entirely different lives. It’s weird as all hell. How much do you recall?”

  “I only have the memory of one day. We’d been married for six months and the day I spent with you was the week before your brother’s wedding. We went sledging, watched a movie, you made dinner, and we had a lot of sex in between.”

  “That was the last day I dreamt,” Cameron confirmed. This came as no surprise to Scott. “Chris is getting married this coming weekend. I thought maybe the dream was my brain telling me I wanted to tie the knot as well. Yet you say you dreamt the same day. How can two people dream the same thing?”

  “It wasn’t a dream,” Scott explained.

  “Of course it was. It had to be.”

  Scott wondered how much he could tell Cameron before he threw the crazy man out of his house. Then he realized he could tell Cameron everything. He trusted him with the truth. “Do you believe in magic?”

  “Is that a trick question?”

  “No, but it would make things easier for me if your answer is yes.”

  Cameron smiled. “Fine, yes, I’ll believe in whatever you want, if it’ll make you happy.”

  Scott took a deep breath and proceeded to explain about the djinn, Cameron’s mother’s wish, and his own journey through time. By the time he finished Cameron was completely speechless.

  “I’m going to die on Friday?” he finally whispered.

  “No,” Scott assured him. “We aren’t setting foot outside this cottage on Friday.”

  “You really think you can cheat fate?”

  “The djinn wouldn’t have sent me back here if we couldn’t.”

  Cameron seemed to accept his story. Scott wondered if he would have been so open-minded if their roles had been reversed.

  “Okay then, I’ll trust you to keep me safe.” Cameron squeezed Scott’s hand and took a deep breath. “What do you suggest we do now?”

  Scott waggled his eyebrows. “I’ve not seen my husband in nearly a week.”

  “I have guests,” Cameron reminded him, “who are probably listening at the door right now.”

  Scott had forgotten there was anyone else in the cottage.

  “Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Cameron nodded and tugged him toward the hallway. “You’ve got no home, no job, and no possessions save for the clothes on your back. The most sensible thing for you to do is move in here, right? So, if you’re going to be living here it’s simply a matter of time before you meet them anyway. We might as well get it over with now. If it helps, according to my memories, they all like you and vice versa.”

  “You don’t think maybe this is moving a little fast?”

  “Maybe for you,” Cameron agreed, “but I’ve known you for years. If you want to take things slow I can make up a bed on the sofa for you.”

  Scott shook his head. “In case you’ve forgotten, I had no memory of our life together during the day I spent with you. Yet we still spent most of the time naked.”

  Cameron chuckled. “Well, when you put it like that.”

  They left the dining room and Scott breathed a sigh of relief when they found no one eavesdropping at the door.

  Cameron glanced down at the melted snow on the floor.

  “Sorry.” Scott cringed down at his clothes. “I didn’t exactly dress for winter.”

  Cameron brushed aside his apology. “We’re about the same size. Go change in
to something dry and then I’ll introduce you to the rabble.”

  “Don’t you want to join me?” Scott teased.

  “Very much.” Cameron brushed his hand across Scott’s arse. “But not while my brother and friends are in earshot.”

  Scott laughed and hurried down the hall to the bathroom. He washed up and went to raid Cameron’s wardrobe. Cameron was correct about the clothes. The jeans were a little tight, but otherwise they were about the same size. Dried and dressed, he mustered up the nerve to face Cameron’s friends.

  Cameron jumped up and rushed to his side as soon as he saw him. “This is Scott,” he announced. “He’s going to be moving in here.”

  Scott gave the group a nervous smile. “Hi.”

  “Well, he’s definitely gorgeous,” one of the men commented.

  “This is Brett,” Cameron said. “He used to date Cathy back in school. Despite his amazing dress sense and love of shopping, he’s actually straight. I know—it’s tragic.”

  Scott smiled at Brett. “It’s good to meet you. Er, who’s Cathy?”

  Cameron frowned for a moment. “Sorry, I forgot you won’t know her. She’s one of my sisters.”

  “We have three of them,” Chris added. “Cathy, Cara and Clarice. Our mother loves those C names.”

  Scott chuckled. “I guess I have some catching up to do. What’s your dad’s name?”

  Cameron sighed. “Craig.”

  “Mum’s going to be so disappointed when she finds out Cameron is breaking with tradition too. I think she hoped he’d find a man named Cuthbert, or something else starting with a C.”

  Scott felt welcomed into the group almost from the moment he’d walked into the room. Brett appeared to be the most outspoken of the friends, while Gavin definitely had the driest sense of humor. Chris took great delight in teasing his brother, while Eddie was apparently the voice of reason. Cameron quietly confided in him that Gavin and he were the closest of friends. Scott found it strange to be told this, yet after a few minutes in Gavin’s company he recognized the truth in Cameron’s words.

  “So, what do we call you?” Gavin asked. “Scott or Dream Guy?”

  “Dream Guy,” Brett answered before Scott could open his mouth.

  “I think I prefer Scott.” Cameron pulled Scott up against him and kissed him on the lips.

  Cameron’s friends, despite every last one of them being straight, whistled and catcalled as Scott deepened the kiss.

  “Okay, I think we’re going now,” Eddie announced. “I’m all for gay rights, but I don’t need a front row seat for a floor show.”

  Cameron pulled out of the kiss to say goodbye to his friends. No, Scott corrected himself, the guys were their friends.

  Chris stopped at the front door. “What do you plan to tell Mum and Dad about Scott?”

  “I’ve no idea. While you guys might be crazy enough to accept the truth, I’m not sure they will.”

  Chris raised an eyebrow. “I’m still not sure I believe the guy you dreamed about just turned up here. I keep thinking this is some elaborate prank the two of you have concocted. Maybe you should say he’s an old friend from college or something.”

  Cameron promised to consider his suggestion, though Scott could tell he didn’t relish the idea of lying to his parents. Chris and the others left, leaving the two of them alone at last.

  “We’ll figure something out,” Scott promised. “Maybe your mum has some memory of the future too. She might remember the wish and everything.”

  Cameron shook his head. “I hope not.”

  “It would make it easier if she did.”

  “Easier for us,” Cameron clarified. “But not for her.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If she remembers the wish, she’ll remember me dying too. I wouldn’t want her to have the memory of my death, not for anything.”

  Scott hadn’t thought about it that way.

  Cameron shook off his melancholy mood and took Scott’s hand. “We’ll decide what to tell them tomorrow.”

  Scott nodded and let Cameron pull him toward the bedroom. “Last chance to tell me if I’m going too fast for you.” He kicked the door closed and pulled off his jumper.

  Scott drew in a sharp breath as Cameron tossed his pullover to the floor. “I want this. The day we spent together was the best of my life, and I don’t mean just the sex either. I had fun like I haven’t had in a long time.”

  “Sledging,” Cameron recalled. “We can do it again, if you enjoyed it as much as all that.”

  Scott laughed and shook his head. “Maybe we can do that tomorrow. Right now I want you naked in this bed.”

  Cameron hurriedly undressed, his entire body flushed with desire.

  Scott stripped out of his borrowed clothes and climbed onto the bed.

  Cameron followed him after rummaging around in the drawer. They both grimaced at the condoms. “We’re getting tested as soon as possible,” Cameron insisted. “It was great making love to you with nothing between us and I want that connection again.”

  “Me too.”

  Cameron toyed with the box for a few moments, a thoughtful expression on his face.

  “What is it?”

  “The world the djinn sent us to was real, right?”

  “Yes.” Scott wondered what Cameron’s was thinking.

  “Then we were actually there and we really went bareback.”

  “I was clean last time I got tested,” Scott assured him. “I’ve always been careful, so you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

  Cameron smiled. “I’m not worried. And for the record, I’m careful too. You don’t want to know how long it is since my last guy, time spent with you in another world, notwithstanding.”

  Scott kissed him. “It’s never going to be longer than a day or two again. Hell, an hour or two on the days we’re not working.”

  Cameron laughed and eased him down onto the bed. Scott frowned as he felt something strange under his back and he pushed Cameron back a little so he could sit up and see what it was.

  “What is it?” Cameron asked.

  “Just some papers.” Scott barely glanced at them as he tossed them aside. He intended to get back to where they had been a moment ago as soon as possible.

  “I don’t keep any paperwork in here.” Cameron reached over to pick up the papers. As he read through the first page his frown turned into a wide grin.

  “Something amusing?” Scott asked.

  “I think your djinn has given us a little something extra.” Cameron turned to the next sheet.

  Scott twisted round so he could look over Cameron’s shoulder. “Test results?”

  “Which say we’re both clean.” Cameron showed Scott his results.

  “Do you think we can trust them to be accurate?”

  Cameron laughed. “After all that’s happened to you, the one thing you aren’t sure is real, is this?”

  “Good point.” Scott took the papers from Cameron and threw them across the room, together with the box of condoms. “Now, where were we?”

  “Right about here,” Cameron whispered as he eased Scott back onto the duvet once more.

  Scott wrapped his arms around his lover, holding him close as they tasted each other.

  Moaning with desire, Scott spread his legs to allow Cameron to settle between them. With a sigh of contentment, he savored the feel of Cameron’s hardness rubbing against his own.

  “I feel like I know your body as well as my own.” Cameron ran his fingers over Scott’s abdomen. “I’m tempted to remind you that you’re supposed to be wearing a cock ring today, since you lost our bet, but I want you so badly I can’t bear to wait even until tomorrow.”

  “I wish I could say I knew you as well as you appear to know me,” Scott admitted. “I guess I have some catching up to do.”

  “You’ll learn.” Cameron continued to seek out Scott’s most sensitive places.

  “What do you like?”

  Cameron grinned wicke
dly. “What don’t I like would be a better question.”

  Scott’s hips bucked as Cameron’s fingers finally reached his cock. “Tell me.”

  “I like to touch you.” Cameron demonstrated by tracing a long line along Scott’s hip. “And I adore watching you touch yourself. I enjoy teasing you with my fingers, and also with my tongue.”

  “Rimming?”

  Cameron licked his lips and nodded. “I can’t get enough of your taste.”

  “Do you ever bottom?” Scott asked. “I remember you asking if I wanted you to ride me, but I get the impression you prefer to top. Am I reading you right?”

  “See, you know me better than you think. You’re right, I usually top you. It’s not very often I bottom, but when you need me to, I do. You’re the only guy who’s ever been inside me, if that alternate life counts. Did I mention how weird it is to have memories of things that didn’t really happen? I guess what I should be saying is, you will be the first.”

  Scott made mental notes of what Cameron told him, knowing it would take him months, if not years, to learn his lover’s body as well as Cameron knew his. Luckily for them both, they now had the time.

  Cameron sat up and knelt between Scott’s legs. He reached down and nudged his limbs apart, spreading him wide open for his hungry gaze. Scott felt a little self-conscious, but he forgot all about being uncomfortable when Cameron ducked his head and licked him from the base of his cock to the tip. He tongued his freshly shaved balls, drawing them into his mouth and sucking them.

  “I get the impression you planned on getting laid today.” Cameron sat back and urged Scott to turn over.

  “Might have.” Scott wasn’t going to reveal exactly how long he’d spent in the bathroom this morning, readying himself for this moment. Cameron would no doubt discover soon enough the amount of time Scott spent on his personal care. Actually, he probably already knew that too.

  Once Scott was on his knees, Cameron parted his buttocks and teased his entrance with his fingers. Scott pushed back against the digits, but the moment he did Cameron pulled them back.