Always and Forever

by Jerry Cole

  Micah meant everything to me, and I wouldn’t expose him to that life. That life hurt too much.

  We had dinner outside with a bottle of wine, and Mom asked all about Colorado. She wanted to know where Micah and Mallory lived and all about their family. For as much time as we spent with Mom, she always had more questions.

  Mom had a meeting with the gallery hosting her work the next day. I suggested doing something cheesy, and we all agreed on Sea World. We hopped in the car and drove there, parking with the many other vehicles before walking to the gates.

  It turned out there was a food festival, and we all agreed to upgrade our ticket for it. We got a lanyard and walked through the entrance, smiling at the friendly staff as they greeted us. We skipped lunch and planned to eat there, to begin with. That even stopped Mallory from mumbling about how cruel a place it was. While she wasn’t completely off base, Micah swore up and down how she was a sap and loved everything that breathed. She gasped as we wandered to look at what we could do, holding onto the map and looking around like an excited toddler.

  He sipped a craft beer as we walked, holding my hand with his free one. Mallory squealed and ducked into a tunnel, and I raised a brow at Micah. He downed the small cup of beer, and we walked into the Orca Encounter, seeing her waving from some seats in the front. “You do know we’ll get soaked here, right?” Micah asked her, and she nodded with a huge smile. People filled the seats, and we watched the massive mammal swimming around. People walked around, selling their fares, and I bought a small, stuffed, orca for Mallory. She clutched it and stared forward as the announcer started talking, smiling.

  That show was impressive. The two orca's they featured did several jumps and interacted with the trainers. They were affectionate, if not a bit scary. After that was over, we hit a few of the other shows, and Mallory had quite the collection of souvenirs representing every animal that she saw over the afternoon.

  We went to sample some of the incredible food from many areas. Micah and I were both food snobs and enjoyed everything, while Mallory had fun nibbling. We went on a few rides once that was finished and took one last loop around the park to see if there was anything that we missed. We headed to see the seals when someone called my name. I looked around on autopilot, freezing when I saw Bonnie waving at me. Her brown hair hung in long curls, and I saw her pushing a stroller with her free hand. “Keller! Wait up!”

  “Fuck,” I hissed as Micah glanced at me. Bonnie was there surprisingly fast, throwing her arms around my neck once the stroller was secure on the side of the path. I glanced down to see a little girl that had her mother’s curls.

  “How are you? I heard you moved.” She was jumpy when she pulled back, but I saw the pain deep in her topaz eyes.

  “Yeah, I did. I’m visiting Mom.” I let out a sigh. “This is Micah and Mallory. Guys, this is Bonnie.” I hoped to hell that Dom wasn’t with her, and I could get out of this quickly.

  “Hello,” Bonnie said to them, checking out Micah for a beat longer before smiling at me.

  “Bonnie. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Micah shook her hand, and of course, the girls hugged out their greeting.

  “Who is the little one?” Mallory asked, gesturing to the sleeping toddler.

  “That is Luna. She’s three, and I’m due with another in about seven months, give or take.” That explained why she was glowing. Bonnie was always beautiful, but not for me. I wondered who the father was for a moment before a familiar voice said my name from behind me. I stilled and looked at Micah as he sensed my discomfort.

  I turned slowly to see Dom staring at me from the four inches that he easily had on me. Those fucking blue eyes shimmered as he took me in, and I thought of every moment of heartbreak that he handed me when he cheated on me. “Hey, Dominic. How are you?” My voice was flat, and Mallory looked at me with worried eyes.

  “Doing great. I took a day off to help Bonnie here with the baby.” Was he the father? He chuckled when he looked at my face. “Her dad had to work out of town today.”

  “Oh. That’s nice.” I stepped away and felt Micah’s hands on my hips. “Oh. This is Micah and Mallory. They came with me to visit from Colorado. This is Dominic.” Everyone shook hands, and we made some small talk before the baby woke up.

  “I’d love to get together. Can you come over for dinner?” Bonnie asked as she picked her up to hold her close. I knew she would be an incredible mom, even when I knew her.

  “I won’t be here long enough. I’m sorry.” I smiled and ignored Dom as I glanced at my friends. “We have to go now. Plans and all.”

  Mallory raised a brow as I took Micah’s hand.

  “It was nice seeing you. I miss you,” Bonnie told me as I nodded curtly. I walked away, and the siblings followed me, staying quiet until we were in the car.

  “What was that? Wasn’t that the friend your mom mentioned?” Micah asked as I slipped into the driver’s seat.

  “Yeah. That was Bonnie.” I started the car and watched as Mallory buckled her seat belt. “Dominic…he’s my ex.”

  I drove off and headed to the freeway. Sure, Micah and I spoke of past relationships. I just didn’t open up completely about Dominic and the situation.

  “I thought so. I could tell by the way he was looking at you,” Micah told me as I sighed.

  “There’s nothing left there, Micah. Nothing but pain. That’s why I didn’t want to see Bonnie since they're so close.” I pressed the gas and merged into the left lane. They were both quiet for the drive back to our rental. We helped Mallory carry her stuffed animals into the house, and she took them to her room, telling us she was going to take a nap.

  “Want to take a nap? Talk?” Micah asked, and I grabbed a water from the fridge. I held up the bottle, and he nodded.

  “I’m beat. Let’s rest for a while.” I walked to the bedroom and closed the door before kicking my shoes off. I dropped to the mattress and sighed as Micah joined me, placing a hand on my stomach.

  “Tell me what that was all about,” he murmured as I stared at the ceiling. Memories played through my head, and I closed my eyes, forcing them away.

  “When I was in high school, Bonnie was my best friend. She was like a sister to me once we met in English the first year. We were always hanging out somewhere, and as expected, other people joined the group. I knew I was gay early on in life, and there was never anything between her and me. She was great friends with Dom’s family when she lived on the East Coast for a bit as a kid, and they moved here. I met him in Junior year, and I felt like my world stopped. We started dating the next day and were so hot and heavy too fast. It was like a fucking wildfire. Of course, you probably know the rest of the story. You lived it.” I glanced over at Micah to see him looking thoughtfully at me. “I didn’t want to see Bonnie because I didn’t want to see Dominic. I miss her like hell and seeing that baby made me realize what I’m missing. They’re just so close, and I can’t deal with that.”

  “I get it,” Micah assured me, slipping his hand under my shirt to stroke my skin. “I did live it, but Trey wasn’t the first guy I felt that with. I mean, I dated before him but not a lot. I’ve never been a casual kind of guy.” I smiled at his kind words. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

  “I dated him off and on like a fool. He always cheated, and I always went back. Leaving Carlsbad was one of the best ideas I ever had.” I closed my eyes, feeling the stress of the day hit me in waves.

  “He’s in the past. You’re the love of my life now,” Micah said, and it was the last thing that I remembered before passing out.

  I woke up last and heard the siblings in the living room. My body felt heavy. I blinked as I looked around the room. It seemed to be evening now, and I turned to my side. I could stay here and be happy, but I was on vacation. I owed Micah and Mallory my time. We didn’t have specific plans tonight, but we were leaving in two days.

  I allowed my body to recover from everything and slowly pushed myself from the bed. I walked to the door,
leaning against it to see them in the kitchen. Their love for one another filled the room, and I smiled as Micah looked over at me. “Hey, sleeping beauty. Feel better?”

  “Yeah. I’m coming back to life.” I walked toward him, and he gave me a tender kiss that melted my heart. When he pulled away, I stared into his eyes and fell in love all over again. Mallory approached me and hugged me tight around my waist, letting out a sigh.

  “I felt everything you did there. It was rough. I’m sorry.” Her words were soft but sincere, and I returned her embrace. “We thought we’d stay in tonight and make margaritas. Your mom offered to come over and make one of her magic boils. That sounds nasty, but she swears you love it.”

  “It’s a seafood boil with a bit of everything and fucking amazing. That makes me happy. Will Jim be coming over?” I asked, and Mallory smiled at me.

  “She thinks so,” Micah said, and I nodded as I gazed at him. “What’s good with something like that?”

  “Salad. It has seafood and veggies in the boil. Margaritas will be perfect.” My mom always had a way of making me feel special. I assumed that she knew about what happened. “That sounds perfect.”

  “It does. I’m not in the mood to go out, and I think we all deserve some drinks.” Mallory grinned, and I nodded, hugging her again before she pulled away. We picked up around the house and ran to the store for some necessities for the meal.

  By the time Mom arrived with Jim, we were all pleasantly buzzed. They carried in bags of food, laughing at us. Mom set up the kitchen to prepare dinner, and Mallory helped her make it, wanting to learn. I sat out back with Jim and Micah, sipping drinks and talking about everything. My mood was better, and I felt the weight on my shoulders lifting as the evening passed.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Micah

  I smiled as we sat around the patio table, ready to eat. It smelled fucking amazing, and Keller was grinning as he looked between Mallory and me. “Ready?”

  We all had salad piled in bowls and rolls on our plates alongside the large dishes of seafood and vegetables. Our drinks were full, and Mallory grabbed her fork and held it above a large shrimp. “Let’s do this.”

  We all dug into the meal, and it was as good as all her cooking. Keller was enthusiastically eating, and I smiled at him before getting some lobster on my fork. Jill blushed as we complimented her cooking, hiding behind a large margarita. The spicy food and refreshing salad were a perfect combo, and I ate to the point that I was nearly in pain from being full.

  Mallory and Jill got everything put into the fridge and fresh drinks for all, bringing them outside. I was slumped in my chair, holding Keller’s hand as we listened to one of Jim’s stories. He had a way of making light of his job, and I assumed that it was a coping skill for him. He made us laugh over things that could be otherwise troubling. I saw the look in Jill’s eyes and then looked at Keller, wondering if they saw another side to Jim. They had to, but he seemed to handle the stress of his life well.

  Jim and Jill left around nine, so he could do some work from home. She took some of the food home but left some of it with us. We left the sliding glass door open and turned on a movie, watching it as we sprawled out over the large couch.

  “Your mom can cook,” I told Keller as he chuckled.

  “I’m aware. I wish she lived closer sometimes. I miss that cooking,” he replied as I glanced over at Mallory. She snored, curled up at the end of the plush cushions.

  “I am willing to visit anytime you want. This place is amazing.” I reached over to stroke his hair as the credits of the movie played on the large TV. “Want to go to bed?”

  “Yeah. Let’s get some sleep.” He slowly sat up and glanced over at Mallory. “What about her?”

  “Leave her. She’s exhausted.” I rose first and covered her with a blanket while Keller secured the house. We walked into our room and closed the door before he pushed me against the wall. “We’ll just start here,” Keller murmured before kissing me, teasing me slowly with his lips. We were leaving tomorrow, and this was a great way to spend our last night here.

  We moved to the bed once our control was slipping, and I stripped him down. I kissed his mouth down his neck, tasting the salt on his skin. I moved down over his muscled chest, stomach, and then over his thighs as he growled. “Don’t torture me,” Keller growled as I chuckled.

  I wrapped my mouth around him and moved down as he moaned. I loved the feeling of his cock in my mouth and pushed him down further into the mattress. Keller slipped his hands into my hair, gripping tightly. I moved hard and fast, loving the sounds that he made and the feeling of him swelling in my mouth. When he came deep in my throat, I gulped his release like it was required for me to live.

  “Your turn,” Keller told me after I dropped to my back. He moved to his knees and reached for the waistband of my shorts. Keller tugged them down, and I crossed my hands behind my head to watch him take me into his hand. He looked into my eyes, and I gazed back, mesmerized by the feelings washing over me. They were both physical and emotional, and more than I could ever imagine.

  We ended up making love once I came into his mouth. We each took a turn, wanting to prolong the night and the morning. We had plans for breakfast with Jill, and then we were heading to the airport in the afternoon. We needed to be out of the house by eleven o’clock and decided to pack before breakfast and just keep the bags in the car. It was rushed, and Mallory was griping about it, but we all dropped the ball last night.

  We were in the car and headed to pick up Jill a few minutes late. She was sitting on the front steps and smiled when Keller pulled in. We all got out and hugged her, walking her to the car. She planned to take us to a little dive that Jim found a few months ago. It was new to Keller, and he looked around the small building with a smirk.

  “Have you been holding out on me?” He asked Jill as she giggled.

  “No. We only recently found it.” The waitress came over, and we all ordered coffee before scanning the menu. It wasn’t extensive, but everything looked delicious. We ordered and settled back to talk about the trip as a whole, and I sensed the sadness between Keller and his mom.

  I knew it would be the same way with my family. I knew that I was lucky to have them so close to me and wondered if Keller would ever want to come back here permanently. Would I join him? It was beautiful, and I’d be happy here, but I always lived in Colorado.

  I pushed the thought away since it wasn’t even a possibility yet. We were visiting, and that was all. I enjoyed breakfast, and then Jill took us to a beach that Keller loved as a child. It was small, but the cove that circled the ocean was beautiful. Jill explained that she brought him here as a toddler because it was calmer than other beaches. There were rarely any more than ten people here, and Keller took my hand to pull me to some rocks, describing the view if we climbed them.

  “This is a good place to grow up,” I told him as we made our way over the boulders. “It’s no Colorado, but it’ll do.”

  “It was a good childhood. I have great memories and hate to leave.” He paused and gazed forward. “Here we are.”

  “Damn,” I said as I looked over the wide stretch of ocean and the tiny beach to our left. “Is it worth checking out?”

  Keller looked back at his mom. “She would tell you no way after the amounts of sprains I got trying to find out. I’d tell you no as well because they were never worth it. There isn’t shit over there.”

  “Here I thought you were going to show me something cool.” I pressed a hand to my chest in mock pain, and he laughed. “You’ve shown me many cool things here. I want to come back.”

  “Me too.” We looked over the water, holding hands. Eventually, we turned to return to everyone else, and Jill and Mallory were wandering along the water. They seemed to be talking closely, and we watched them. “I think my family is adopting yours. I mean, I can’t promise anything from the sperm donor, but you’re both cool with the moms.”

  “It’s all falling into place, isn�
�t it?” we smiled at each other. “Would she travel for the holidays? Does Jim have a family?”

  “Older set of parents. He put them in a home last year because his mom and dad both have dementia. It’s tough. I know they visit as much as they can, but it isn’t the same.” Keller shrugged.

  “Hey. You two. Did he convince you to go over there?” Jill asked as Keller laughed.

  “No. Not worth it.” Keller looked around our small group. “What now?”

  Jill looked at her watch. “We have a couple of hours. How about the zoo?”

  “Perfect!” Mallory clapped her hands, and we laughed.

  “I don’t know if we’ll be able to take you home, Mom.” Keller checked his watch, and I sensed that he was nervous about running into his friends again.

  “Jim can get me, or I’ll grab a car. We haven’t gone to the zoo in years.” Jill waved her hand in the air, and he gave me a look.

  “Okay, then. Let’s go.” We headed back to the car, and I lingered behind with Keller.

  “Are you okay?” I asked him, and he shrugged.

  “What are the chances of seeing them twice?” He spoke in a low voice, and I gazed at him. “If we did, Mom would be all chatty and nice. She knows what happened, but she loved Bonnie, and I played the thing with Dom down.”

  “It’ll be okay. I have your back,” I told him, squeezing his hand. We joined the others as Keller hopped in the car. He drove to the zoo, and Mom paid for all of us. We wandered around and looked at the animals while listening to Jill talk about memories there.

  “She’s a little sentimental,” he groaned as we stopped for drinks at a small stand.

  “I see that. You have seen our mom, right?” I teased him as we laughed and watched Mallory talking to a monkey in a large cage. My eyes moved past her to a familiar woman with curly hair and a stroller. She was gazing at us, and I glanced at Keller. “Bonnie is over there.”