by DJ Monroe
Lincoln hesitated and then stepped on board and the doors rattled closed behind them. Colton pushed the button for the third floor then crossed his arms over his chest.
“Please let me explain what happened,” Lincoln said.
“I’m listening,” Colton said.
And he did listen to Lincoln’s explanation of what had happened the night before, knowing this man was telling the truth. In the end, Colton didn’t know what to say so he just stood there looking up into Lincoln’s deep brown eyes. The man was telling him the truth, he knew it and the fact that he’d been worried about him softened Colton’s heart even more.
He wanted Lincoln to kiss him so badly he could almost taste it. And then, as if Lincoln had read his mind or somehow sensed his desire, he kissed him.
When Lincoln asked if he could kiss him again, all Colton could do was stand there trembling and whisper, “Yes.”
He was almost embarrassed that he gotten so aroused so quickly but there was no way he could stop his body from responding to Lincoln’s touch. All he could do was stand there trembling while Lincoln brought him to one of the most exquisite and powerful orgasms he’d ever experienced. No one, not even Grant who was somewhat of a selfish lover, had ever used their mouth or hands to please him like this. It was almost magic and he never wanted it to end.
Colton almost didn’t want to get off the elevator when it arrived at their floor. He wanted to continue riding it up and down while he and Lincoln explored each other with their mouths and hands. But behind closed doors they could be completely naked, take their time and thoroughly enjoy each other.
Just as they reached Colton’s apartment, Lincoln’s cell phone chimed. He paused and answered it. A look of concern clouded his face and he spoke softly. Colton unlocked his door and carried the groceries into his apartment to give Lincoln some privacy. Still quivering from Lincoln’s touch, he decided he would make them lunch and then maybe Lincoln would let him—
He trembled when he heard Lincoln come into his apartment. “I can make lunch,” Colton called from the kitchen.
Lincoln came into the kitchen, filling the space with his presence but looking even more concerned than before. “Um, I’m sorry. I have to leave,” Lincoln said.
“Oh,” Colton said, disappointed. “I was hoping we could continue—”
“I was hoping that as well,” Lincoln said, taking a shaking breath and raking a hand through his dark hair. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone but I’ll let you know when I get back if you don’t have other plans.”
Colton shook his head. “No other plans.” And then he offered Lincoln a sly smile. “You know where I live.”
Lincoln kissed him again, quick and hard and then ran out of the apartment as if his life depended on it.
After he left, Colton made lunch for himself and then paced around from room to room. He found a few more personal items and some toiletries that belonged to Grant and gathered them into a box. He would contact him to see where he could drop them off. Maybe Richard would go with him.
He tried to call Richard again but there was no answer.
The longer he thought about it, the more he knew that he and Grant needed to talk one more time. Colton felt the need to let him know that this parting of the ways was probably for the best and that he would be just fine. Yes, it had hurt at first but now that he’d had time to adjust and think about it, he was happier on his own.
And now he felt as if a new world was opening up and Lincoln was at the door reaching for him to enter. He decided he wouldn’t tell Grant about Lincoln? What was there to tell except that he’d been kissed by a man who took his breath away. And Grant probably wouldn’t care anyway.
Finally, deciding that Richard was not going to return his calls, he grabbed his cell and keyed in Grant’s number.
Grant answered briskly, sounding as if he’d been running.
“I’m sorry,” Colton said. “Did I call at a bad time?”
“No, not at all,” Grant said, still sounding out of breath. “I’m looking at apartments today and I just ran up a flight of stairs.”
“Oh,” Colton said. He was surprised Grant was even in town and not off on one of his many business trips. Since Grant traveled so much, Colton hadn’t even wondered where he was staying.
“So you’re in town?”
“Yes.”
“Can we meet somewhere. I have a few more of your things. The last of them I think. And I’d like to talk to you for a moment,” Colton said. He stared at his reflection in the mirror, determined not to back down if Grant argued.
“We can’t discuss it over the phone?” Grant asked.
“No, I have something I want to get off of my chest and then you’ll never hear from me again,” Colton said, surprised at the confidence in his voice. “I promise.”
Grant didn’t answer for such a long time that Colton thought maybe they had been disconnected. Finally Grant said, “Yeah, I have some time available in about an hour. Where do you want to meet?”
“Where’s convenient for you?” Colton asked. He definitely didn’t want Grant coming to his apartment now, or ever again.
“I’m looking at places pretty close to the park,” Grant said. “Why not there on the south side of the gazebo?”
“That would be fine,” Colton said, thinking that Grant had made a good choice. It was usually quiet there and yet public.
“I’ll see you in about an hour,” Grant said, interrupting his thoughts.
An hour later, as Colton drove toward the park with Grant’s belongings in a box on the passenger seat, he wondered how Grant could afford a place on that end of town. The apartments were beautiful, modern and very expensive.
“At least he’ll have his own parking space,” Colton said aloud as he entered the park and drove to the gazebo.
He parked nearby, climbed out, grabbed the box and walked toward the large wooden structure. In the early days of the town, band concerts were held here. Now it was used for parties, engagement and bridal photography sessions. And, currently, it was deserted. Grant had not arrived yet so he took a seat on the steps and waited.
It was a beautiful, sunny, summer afternoon and he watched some children play with a soccer ball on the grass nearby. People passed by, nodding or smiling at him, walking their dogs or just strolling around talking. Everyone looked relaxed and happy. His thoughts strayed to what had happened with Lincoln that morning in the elevator and he shivered with renewed desire. He let his thoughts wander in that direction for a while, deciding what he would make for their dinner.
He smiled when he thought about what would happen after dinner.
And then he saw Grant, striding toward the gazebo, back ramrod straight, a scowl on his face.
“Colton,” Grant said.
He remained standing which made Colton feel at a disadvantage so Colton stood as well. “Grant,” Colton said, with a nod.
Strangers.
“Have you found a place?” Colton asked.
“We—I think so,” Grant said.
“This part of town is expensive,” Colton said.
“Yes, it is,” Grant said.
“Here are your things,” Colton said, extending the box. He tried to forget that at one time he’d shared his deepest, darkest secrets with this man and trusted him to keep them. At one time, he would have trusted this man with his life. No longer.
Grant took the box. “I’d like to thank you again for bringing that ring to me last night.”
“Not a problem. I know how much it means to you.”
An awkward silence grew between them.
Grant broke the silence. “So, you wanted to talk to me about something else?”
“Correct. I just wanted to get a few things off my chest and settled between us.”
“Please,” Grant said, holding up his free hand. “We’re adults. Let’s not make a scene.”
“I wasn’t planning on making a scene. I just wanted to tell you that, even
though it hurts, I’m glad it’s over between us. I’m taking it one day at a time and every day I find a reason to be happy with my new life. I hope you’ve found happiness as well.”
“As a matter of fact, I have,” Grant said.
Colton didn’t move. Held Grant’s gaze and waited to see if he would continue.
“I’ve found someone who makes me happier than I ever thought possible. And it was someone right under my nose the whole time.”
Colton smiled. “So someone you work with. At least they’ll understand all of those weeks away from home—”
Grant shook his head. “No. In fact, I haven’t traveled out of town on business for the past three months.”
That news stunned Colton into silence.
“Surprised?” Grant chuckled. “I imagine so. You’ll be even more surprised when I tell you who I was with.”
Colton didn’t care, didn’t want to know but he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop Grant now. And he wasn’t about to give Grant the satisfaction of seeing him upset. He simply shrugged as if it made no difference to him.
“Richard.”
“Richard? You were staying with Richard?” Colton asked, totally confused. “You mean when I thought you were out of town and he came over for breakfast on Saturday mornings, you were at his place all along?”
“Yeah, those Saturday mornings were quite the interruption, but we had to keep up the pretense until it got to the point I couldn’t stand it any longer,” Grant said.
“I don’t understand,” Colton said, forcing his trembling knees to hold him up. “Interruption?”
“You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?” Grant questioned.
Colton kept quiet, still struggling to figure out what Grant was or was not telling him.
“I’m in love with Richard and he’s in love with me. We hid it from you as long as we could.”
Grant’s mouth continued to move. Colton knew words were coming out, words that he should pay close attention to, but he was suddenly deaf and all but blind. The world swirled around him, making him feel dizzy and sick and he thought he might faint.
“So, when you kept inviting him over, he didn’t want to go. He felt like he should go just to save face,” Grant continued. “The final straw was when you were trying to set him up with the neighbor. What’s his name?”
“Lincoln,” Colton said.
“Yeah, him.”
“When?” Colton squeaked out the word.
“While you were out of town visiting your family last spring,” Grant said. “He was over one night and one thing led to another and we ended up in bed together.”
“Our bed?” Colton gasped.
Grant nodded. “So now it’s all out in the open and all we can do is ask you to try to understand. We didn’t plan it and we certainly didn’t plan on hurting you, but—.” Grant ended with a shrug.
Colton nodded slowly. That was why Richard had become so hard to get in touch with, why he had been so evasive, why he hadn’t seemed surprised when Grant moved out. He tried to remember if Richard had even sided with Grant about some points of contention. His thoughts were fuzzy but he was pretty sure Richard had.
Grant glanced at his watch. “I’m sorry but I have to go now. I’m meeting Richard to sign the lease agreement on our new place.”
Colton watched Grant walk away and then let himself sink slowly down onto the wooden step. He sat there in the sunshine on the gazebo thinking he had never felt so betrayed in all of his life. Not only had he lost the man he thought he was going to spend the rest of his life with, he’d lost his best friend as well.
But if Richard had taken Grant from him, and Grant had gone willingly, he wasn’t really a best friend or a friend at all. Feeling stiff and wooden, Colton walked back to his car and drove home. He continued to tell himself that this was for the best. Yes, he’d been hurt and betrayed, but he would get through this.
Colton’s thoughts turned to Lincoln as they had regularly for the past few days. Lincoln would hold him, let him talk and listen, really listen. He was sure of it. And then Lincoln would use those magic fingers and tongue to make Colton forget about everything just like had in the elevator that morning.
He pointed the car toward home, drove on auto pilot and found a place to park. When he saw the elevator had an OUT OF ORDER sign taped to the door, he trudged up the stairs to the third floor. At Lincoln’s door, he raised his hand to knock and changed his mind. As badly as he wanted to be with Lincoln, he needed some time alone to process what he’d just discovered.
Then there would be time for Lincoln.
He wanted to give the man the very best of himself and he needed a little time alone for that to happen. His lover, his partner, having an affair with his best friend. That explained why Richard wasn’t interested in meeting Lincoln. It explained a lot of things. It was a story as old as time.
Colton kept his tears at bay until he was inside of his apartment. There, he curled up on the white sofa, broke down and sobbed until there were no tears left. He poured wine and sat there brooding, all of the pieces finally falling into place.
As evening came on, Colton thought about calling Lincoln but whatever had taken him away seemed urgent or important. He felt sure Lincoln would contact him when he got home.
The wine finally kicked in and just about dark, Colton fell asleep.
LINCOLN FOUND JON RELATIVELY close to where he said he was parked. He was sitting in his car with all the doors locked and the windows rolled up. He rapped on the driver’s side window with a knuckle, thinking he had never seen the young man so distraught before.
Jon, still sobbing, babbling incoherently, unlocked the car door and fell into Lincoln’s arms. Lincoln’s presence seemed to make him cry even harder until his whole body was wracked with sobs. All Lincoln could do was squat there by the open door, hold him and stroke the soft brown curls.
He was glad they were in a somewhat deserted area. If someone saw them, they might think Lincoln was the cause of Jon’s tears.
“Lincoln, I’m so sorry. So sorry,” Jon babbled over and over as hot tears soaked into Lincoln’s shirt. “I didn’t know who else to call and—"
“It’s okay,” Lincoln murmured softly. “I’m here now.”
Lincoln let him cry, just like he had dozens of other times, when someone had broken his heart. Finally, Jon sat up, wiped his eyes with the back of his hands and looked down at Lincoln. His face was red, mottled, eyes rimmed with red and his nose was running. Lincoln pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to Jon.
“You’re always here for me,” Jon sniffed, wiping his face with the cloth.
“Want to tell me what happened?” Lincoln asked, ignoring the statement and surprised at the distance he felt between them. Yes, he cared about Jon, didn’t like seeing him like this. And he certainly didn’t want someone else to hurt him.
But, yes, there was distance now and he was glad.
“We had a fight,” Jon hiccupped.
“Over?”
“The same thing we always fight over,” Jon said, giving Lincoln a quick glance.
Lincoln kept quiet. He didn’t really want to know details.
“Anyway, he kicked me out of the apartment and said never wanted to see me again.” Jon began to cry softly again. “I don’t have anywhere to stay.”
“How much have you had to drink?” Lincoln asked.
Jon shrugged but Lincoln could see past him. An empty vodka bottle lay on the passenger side seat.
“What am I going to do?” Jon asked.
The answer, of course, was that Lincoln would take him back with open arms. Not this time, Lincoln thought. Not this time. What he’d shared with Colton that morning entered his thoughts. Colton’s big, warm heart and happy smile waiting at home made him wish he had never answered his phone. He pushed that thought away as well. For now, he had to concentrate on taking care of Jon.
He’d explore his growing feelings for Colton later.
“Well, the first thing you need to do is eat something, get a shower and some sleep,” Lincoln told him.
“I don’t have any—”
“You can come home with me for tonight,” Lincoln said, helping Jon to stand and then guiding him to his own car. “Tomorrow we’ll figure something out.”
“Thank you, Linc,” John slurred.
Lincoln flinched at Jon’s use of the pet name he’d called him when they made love. He never wanted to hear it come from the young man again.
Once he was buckled in place, Lincoln got behind the wheel and saw that Jon’s head was already lolling onto his shoulder. He’d be asleep before they got home and Lincoln would have to get him into bed somehow.
“I never did go to Iowa,” Jon said suddenly, his speech as slurred as before.
“Yeah,” Lincoln said, keeping his eyes on the road. Why did he feel as if this statement rang true?
“Nope. I just moved in with Peter.”
“Why didn’t you tell me the truth then?” Lincoln asked, guiding his car expertly through the late afternoon traffic. “I would have tried to understand.”
Jon shrugged and made a burping sound. “I just wanted out and that was the only way I knew to do it.”
“You could have just told me instead of making up the story about going to your sister’s place in Iowa. You wrote me letters pretending you were there,” Lincoln said, remembering the stack of letters he’d burned.
Jon nodded. “I should have told you.” Then he giggled. “Writing the letters was fun, though.”
Lincoln kept quiet. He should have been angry, hurt, outraged. Instead he felt nothing, absolutely nothing.
Jon reached across the car to stroke Lincoln’s thigh. “You always know what’s best for me.”
Keeping his eyes on the road, Lincoln gently guided Jon’s hand back to his own lap.
They made it to the apartment building and Lincoln half drug, half carried Jon up the stairs to the third floor. He shoved Jon in the shower and then climbed in with him, helping him to undress. Once they would have laughed together and made love under the hot stinging spray until the water went cold.