This Time Around (Road to Blissville, #4)

by Aimee Nicole Walker

  “Thank you,” I said appreciatively.

  “I was going to run them by sooner then go home and get ready for the day, but someone’s cat was pissed about getting locked out of the bedroom and took her revenge on my work boots.”

  “Oh no,” I said. “Let me replace them for you.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Andy said good-naturedly. “It was a really old pair.” He looked over at my tray of goodies. “Can I get a muffin and tea to go?”

  “Sleeping with the owner has its benefits,” I teased, snagging three muffins for Andy to take with him.

  “Least of which is the muffins and tea,” Andy said. “I want to see you again tonight, Milo.”

  “I’d like that too.”

  “We’ll sort out our plans later,” Andy replied. “I need to get a jumpstart on my day so I can finish earlier.” Before he left, Andy placed a lingering kiss on my forehead that turned into a longer French kiss.

  “That’s the good morning kiss I wanted to share with you this morning in bed,” Andy told me. “I missed you.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to wake you up when you were sleeping so soundly.”

  “Wake me up next time.” Andy dropped another quick kiss and disappeared upstairs.

  As I was changing into shoes that matched, I heard Maegan hiss and curse out the espresso machine. It was about damn time that evil bastard took its vengeance out on someone other than me. Oh, it was shaping up to be a fabulous fucking day.

  The rest of the week passed along in remarkable bliss. Milo and I weren’t frustrated or fighting, but we sure were doing a lot of fucking. It seemed like we were trying to make up for lost time, and perhaps we were. I wanted to leave my mark on him, and he seemed just as eager to do the same to me.

  When I first asked Milo out on a date, I didn’t anticipate spending every single night in his bed leading up to it. I had to admit, it felt kind of ass backwards to be screwing before our official date. It wasn’t like I wanted him to have some lame-ass, three-date rule when it came to me, but I didn’t want him to think I only cared about sex. I even said as much to Milo. I expected brownie points for being sensitive. In typical Milo fashion, he gave me the exact opposite.

  “Andy, are you still allergic to peanuts? Do you still break out in hives when country music starts to play? Are you still a switch hitter? At the plate,” he clarified when I raised a brow.

  “Yes, but—”

  “Well, I still hate green peppers and onions, I still love to sing ‘Does He Love You’ at the top of my lungs.” He paused and looked at me seriously. “Just so you know, I’m Reba, the heartbroken wife, and Faith is still Linda, the cheating whore.”

  “Is that the video where Reba blows up the husband and his mistress on the boat at the end of the video?” I asked.

  “Hey, I said I was heartbroken. I never said anything about being a saint.” Milo mumbled something that sounded an awful lot like “they had it coming,” but I couldn’t be sure. “Anyway, we still know many things about each other. I still adore your family, and they feel the same about me. You still love my family, and they think you hung the moon. I see nothing wrong with what we’re doing. Are you unsatisfied?”

  “What exactly are we doing, Milo?” I wanted him to say the words. I needed to know he thought of me as his boyfriend, and that we were in a relationship. I needed him to throw me a bone.

  “How about you tell me what this is all about, Andy?” Milo crawled onto my lap, pressing his dick against mine, slowly grinding his hips and making me forget what I was saying. The only thing I could focus on was the sensuous way Milo moved. He removed his shirt and tossed it on the floor behind him.

  I loved running my hands all over his smooth, toned chest while he arched his back and purred like a kitten. My shirt came off next, then our shorts and briefs. Milo slid the condom on my erection then coated it with lube before he lined it up to his honey hole and sank down onto my cock.

  “Fuck me,” I yelled when Milo demonstrated how fucking flexible he was by bracing his hands on my knees and arching his back.

  He overrode my concerns about us not spending enough time doing something besides sex. He overrode it so damn good that it was another hour before I remembered what I was trying to say when he distracted me with his smoking hot and oh-so-limber body.

  “Milo, I just don’t want you to get the impression that I’m here because sex with you is convenient.”

  He looked up from the bowl of ice cream he was eating. Even the way he licked his spoon made me want to shove him down and crawl on top of him. “Andy, no one would ever accuse me of being convenient.” Milo snorted then went back to deep-throating his spoon.

  “I’m being serious, Milo,” I said in mild annoyance.

  The way he dropped his spoon inside his bowl and set it on the coffee table with a clunk was as dramatic as the sigh he released from his lips. “Why are you making this out to be a big deal? We didn’t just meet, we’ve known each other since we were kids. Sure, both of us have changed somewhat, but we’re still the people we used to be. I’m just more flexible and you have bigger muscles.”

  “I’m an addict, and you’re a retired drag queen,” I added. “Don’t forget those important details.”

  “Andy, your strength of character only makes you that much more appealing to me.” He leaned over and kissed me softly when he saw that I wasn’t buying it. “It takes a lot of courage to battle those demons, Andy. A lot of people either don’t try or don’t care. You cared enough about yourself and your family to want a better life. No one gets to look down their noses at you. Ever.”

  “What about your secret drag queen life?” I asked.

  “Oh my! That would make an excellent reality television show,” Milo said excitedly. “Blissville has come a long way in acceptance since we were younger. I rarely hear any comments about my ‘sinful sexuality’ any longer, but I’m not sure they’d be as accepting of Ma—” He stopped talking just as he was about to reveal his drag name to me. I was dying to know and see the performances.

  I’d only been to a show once with Oliver and a few other guys from my support group. We were the only ones drinking soda instead of beer, but we had an amazing time. Ollie especially liked the happy birthday dance he got from that sexy queen. What was her name? Peaches-N-Cream? Split My Peach? I couldn’t remember her name, but that ass…

  I wanted Milo to feel comfortable enough with me to talk about his queen days. Maybe that’s why I worried we were having too much sex. Said no dude ever. Yeah, it was the way he avoided talking about his performances that made me edgy.

  “Fair enough, but why won’t you talk to me about it?”

  “It’s not who I am anymore,” Milo said with a well-practiced, casual shrug.

  “Okay, will you at least tell me how you got started?”

  “I did it to entertain Maegan while she was at the hospital. It was accidental at first. Mom, Dad, and I put on a show and modeled wigs for her when she lost her hair.” A sad smile formed on his handsome face, and I could tell the memories were bittersweet.

  “Hey,” I said softly, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him tight against my chest. “I didn’t mean to bring up such painful memories.”

  “No, it’s a fair question for you to have, Andy.” Milo seemed to shake off his sadness and kissed my cheek. “Maegan giggled so hard when I strolled into her room with a long, flowing wig. It was the first time I heard her laugh in weeks, and I vowed to find a way to make her smile every day.”

  “Were you at the hospital a lot with her?”

  “I left long enough to sleep and go to school. I hated being apart from her that much, but Mom insisted it was healthier for me to keep as normal a schedule as possible under the circumstances.” I knew my parents were looking out for me, but all it did was make me feel isolated. “Next thing I knew, I was wearing costumes and performing concerts for Maegan and the other kids undergoing treatment. I kept my routines G-rated, of co
urse.”

  “And then?”

  “I just fucking loved it,” Milo replied with another shrug. “I became someone else in those moments and my problems disappeared. They always came rushing back, but I enjoyed my momentary escape.”

  “I bet you were amazing,” I said softly. “Maybe someday you’ll trust me enough to share some videos or something. Give me a private performance.”

  “We’ll see,” Milo replied noncommittally.

  “Are you worried that I’ll judge you or find you unattractive?” I couldn’t understand why he was so hesitant to share this part of his life with me.

  “You say it won’t turn you off now, but it’s different when you realize your boyfriend has shoved his nuts up inside his body and taped his cock between his ass crack.”

  I couldn’t keep from grimacing, but then I realized what word he’d just used. “Well, I want my boyfriend to be happy, so if wearing makeup and gowns does that for him, then I’ll find a way to deal with it.”

  “You’re so adorable,” Milo said. “I see what you did with tricking me into saying we were boyfriends.”

  “I did nothing of the sort,” I denied. “But I admit that I love hearing it.”

  “Is that what’s bothering you, Andy? You don’t know where you stand with me?”

  I tipped my head to the side then gave a little nod.

  “You didn’t just wear me down, Slugger. I’ve wanted you right here all along. It took us a ridiculously long time to reach this point, but here you sit beside me. Tonight, I’ll lay my head on the pillow next to yours and thank God that you’re alive and healthy. Tomorrow, I’ll wake up and thank him that I get another day to love you.”

  “Wow,” I said breathlessly. “That’s an incredibly sweet thing for you to say.”

  “Then, I’ll show that appreciation by fucking or sucking your cock.”

  “There’s my guy,” I said then threw my head back and laughed. “Where do you see this thing going between us?”

  “We’ll know when we get there, won’t we?”

  He had an excellent point. We could write down a list of everything we expected to happen between us, but we had no idea if they’d come true. Besides, isn’t the journey the best part?

  “So, where are you taking me?” Milo asked when I picked him up for our date.

  “We’ll know when we get there, won’t we?”

  “You’ve waited all week for that chance, haven’t you?”

  I shot him a smirk before answering. “Yep, I was prepared to wait longer if I had to though.” It was so much fun being the person who had the answers instead of the one who had to guess. “Would you like a hint?”

  “Nah,” Milo replied casually. “I like surprises.”

  Okay, his easy acceptance was a little bit of a letdown. I was kind of hoping he’d at least offer up sexual favors if I held out. Obviously, I’d gotten over my concerns that Milo thought I only wanted him around for sex.

  Milo laughed when I pulled into the parking lot of Gemini’s Burgers and Fries. It looked like a run-down dive in the middle of nowhere between Blissville and Cincinnati, but they had the absolute best burgers I’d ever had. I brought Milo here on our first date in high school.

  “Kicking it old school, huh, Slugger?”

  “I thought it might be fun,” I said with a sly grin. The place was always hopping, no matter the day of the week. Saturdays were even nuttier. “It looks really busy, so we can go somewhere else if you want.”

  “I don’t mind waiting,” Milo said. “Do we need to be at a certain place at a specific time?” I saw what he was doing. He wasn’t nearly as cavalier about our destination as he wanted me to believe.

  “Yes, but we have plenty of time to get there.” I nodded to the restaurant. “If you’re game, I am too.”

  When we walked through the door, I was amazed how little things had changed since my last visit fourteen years ago. I’d craved the food but couldn’t seem to talk myself in to going without Milo since it became “our place” when we were dating. The layout was the same, the pictures of sponsored softball teams from the eighties still hung on the wall. Man, those guys wore some serious shorty shorts back in the day. The waitresses were different, of course, because Carl liked them young and pretty, even though he was the furthest thing from it.

  “I see Carl still likes to sing along with country music at the top of his lungs,” Milo said to me. The kitchen was open for people to watch Carl cook their food and the waitresses assemble their baskets. It was kind of an odd setup, but it made Carl’s cooking and singing part of the dining experience.

  That was my least favorite part since I couldn’t get into the music. “You want to sing a duet with him?” I asked.

  “You mean again?” Milo asked with a raised brow. “Don’t tell me you forgot about the Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood performance?”

  “How could I ever forget the look on Carl’s face when you just joined in?” I started laughing then I realized what Milo had said. “So, you haven’t been here in a while?”

  “Not since our last date,” Milo said. “It didn’t feel right coming here without you.”

  “Same here. Mom and Dad wanted to come here as soon as I got home, but I told them I wanted to go somewhere else. I could tell by their sympathetic glances that they knew why.”

  “Yep, my parents stopped mentioning it to me also.”

  The wait time wasn’t as long as I anticipated, but then again, Carl had added picnic tables behind the restaurant so people could dine outside during nice weather. When given the opportunity to pick, we chose the picnic table outside so we could hear each other speak. Even if I loved the music, it would’ve been too loud for me. I felt like I was yelling in Milo’s ear while we waited for a table.

  There were a couple of horseshoe pits and cornhole sets outside for people to enjoy before and after they ate, along with several video arcade games and a few pool tables inside. There was plenty to keep people happy while they waited for their food. When it arrived…drool city.

  “Oh my God!” I mumbled around a mouthful of burger.

  “You sound like me when I have your cock in my mouth,” Milo whispered across the table, nearly making me choke.

  He lost his smug look when he sank his teeth into his juicy double cheeseburger. “Oh my God!” he moaned. And yeah, he made me want to stuff something entirely different in his mouth. I wanted to feel the vibrations of his words, hums of pleasure, and groans bouncing along my cock and zapping my nuts like little bolts of lightning. Milo swallowed his bite of food and wiped his mouth with a napkin, but not before I got to see how wet it was from the grease. I wanted to see a different kind of wetness on his lips, spread it around with the tip of my dick. “I know what you’re thinking,” Milo told me.

  “You wouldn’t be wrong.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to take this back to my place after we’re finished eating?”

  “We’ll get there eventually,” I replied.

  “Sounding awfully smug.”

  “I’m just basing this on the fact that I’ve spent every night in your bed since we reconnected.”

  “You make a good point.” Milo swirled his French fry in ketchup. “So, what are we going to do between food and sex to entertain ourselves?”

  “I thought you liked surprises,” I countered.

  “I lied. I want to know what devious plans you have in store for me.”

  “Us,” I corrected. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

  After dinner, Milo expressed concern again about his sister buying Bliss House during the drive to Cincinnati but admitted he’d never seen her so happy. “She deserves it too. Life has dealt Mae some disappointing blows. She’s earned the happiness she’s found with Elijah, and the chance to build a life with him. But that house?”

  “It truly is an exceptionally built house, Milo. I’m looking forward to working there because you just don’t see craftsmanship like that anymore.”
>
  “Ghosts and all?”

  “It adds to the ambiance.”

  “Well, I need to get over my aversion then since I have a feeling I’ll be there a lot.”

  “You can start out easy by bringing me dinner a time or two. Get used to the place when it’s just the two of us,” I suggested.

  “That’s not a bad idea,” Milo said, tipping his head as he considered it. “That way only you see me freak out if the ghost appears, or I stumble across more mannequins. Maybe I can make friends with the ghost so I don’t choke from fright during our next Thanksgiving meal.”

  “Here we are,” I said, slowing to turn into the parking lot of our next destination.

  “Bowling!” Milo had never really been that good at it, but he seemed to enjoy it back when we dated. Okay, mostly he liked teasing me with his perky little ass.

  “Confession,” I said softly when I put the truck in park. “There’s some people I want you to meet.”

  “Oh, so this is like a double date?” Milo asked.

  “Not really. You’ll see when I make the introductions,” I answered vaguely.

  I paid for the shoe rental while Milo searched for a bowling ball that fit him. “I hate having big knuckles and skinny fingers,” he mumbled when I approached him with the ugly-ass shoes. “It means I have to get a much heavier ball than I prefer.”

  After a few more minutes, Milo found the sapphire-blue ball he was looking for, and I grabbed the first one that accommodated my knuckles. Milo followed me to the lane that my friends had already rented for a few hours.

  “There he is,” one of the guys said jovially. “We were starting to think you were ditching us. Again.”

  “Nah,” I said. “Milo and I stopped for dinner first.” Milo stepped up beside me with a pleasant smile on his face.

  “Hello,” he said, sounding shy.

  “Guys, this is my boyfriend, Milo.” I started introducing the guys from right to left. “Milo, this is Oliver, or Pastor Ollie to his congregation. He’s my NA sponsor. I thought it was past time you two met.”