by Lane, Shawn;
* * * *
Drew stepped out into the sun from the double sliding glass doors of the building and just barely prevented himself from falling to his knees. He walked away from the entrance and took a deep breath. When he could manage to be calm, he switched on his cell phone. Frowning, he noticed he had a couple of missed calls.
He was about to call Steve, when his phone rang. His heart leaping, he answered, “Mark?”
“Drew. You answered.”
“Yeah, I…did you call earlier?”
“I did. What’s wrong? Are you okay? You sound upset.”
“I’m at the hospital.”
“Oh, no. Your stepfather?” Mark asked.
“No, my mom,” Drew said, practically choked on the words. “She collapsed. I don’t know what’s going on. I just stepped outside for a second to breathe and make some calls.”
“What hospital? I’ll come.”
“Hoag Memorial.” Drew’s knees were weak with relief. He needed Mark to be there. He realized it with startling clarity. He gave Mark the details of where Drew could be found once he arrived.
“I’ll be here as soon as I can.”
Drew swallowed. “Thanks. I’ll see you.”
After he called Steve and some friends of his parents to let them know what was going on, Drew went back inside to sit with his stepdad and wait.
John was in the back corner of the little waiting room they had off the intensive care unit. Drew sat next to him and rested his hand on his stepdad’s leg. “How are you doing?”
“I guess as well as can be expected. Did you make your calls?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Mark’s coming.”
John smiled. “Good. That’s good. So it’s not over then?”
“I don’t know. I guess we’ve got some talking to do.” Drew sighed. “I wish they’d come talk to us or let us see her or something.”
“It’ll be all right, Drew,” John said, reaching over to squeeze his hand. “She’ll be fine, I know it.”
“I think so, too, but…what if she isn’t? What will we do then?”
“It’s still going to be all right. I know, no matter what happens to your mother or to me, Drew, you’ll be okay. You’re smart, successful, strong, and stable. I don’t ever worry about what will happen to you, because I know I couldn’t have asked for a better son.”
Drew squeezed his hand and blinked back tears. He didn’t say anything because his throat hurt.
“This reminds me of when you were just a kid and we’d talk. We don’t seem to get much chance these days.” John said. “Remember when your mother enrolled you in my karate class?”
“Yeah. She knew I was being bullied at school so she decided I needed to learn how to defend myself.” Drew shook his head. “I was so puny then.”
“You were small, even for your age, but you were never puny. You got pretty good, though.”
Drew smiled. “I never did get my black belt.”
“You came close though,” John said. “Still, later, when you were a teen, it was the taunts with words more than the physical that bothered you.”
He swallowed. In high school, it had become pretty obvious to his classmates Drew was gay. He’d not tried to hide it and for a while he’d been Goth. No one bothered trying to hit or punch him anymore in high school but it hadn’t stopped the name-calling. Somehow that had been worse.
“You told me then everything would be all right, too.”
“That’s a father’s job. To tell his son everything will be all right. At least that’s the way I’ve always seen it.”
The doctor they had seen earlier, Dr. Kelly, appeared in the doorway and motioned for them to step into the hall.
Drew helped John rise and then, holding his arm, led him out into the hallway and over to the doctor waiting for them.
“Mrs. Kiyoto had a small stroke,” Dr. Kelly explained. “It was slight so I don’t think she’ll have any trouble recovering from it and there’s no sign of paralysis.”
John exhaled. “Okay. How long will she be in the hospital?”
“At least a couple of days so we can monitor her. Her blood pressure was high. But we’ve got that down. Once she’s released, we may want to get her some limited physical therapy and continue to monitor her hypertension,” the doctor explained. “The hospital does allow family to stay with the patient overnight. The rooms have been set up with futon for family members, if you’re interested.”
“I definitely am,” John said. “Can we see her?”
“Yes, I think she’d like that. She’s alert and in pretty good spirits.”
* * * *
Drew returned to the waiting room about forty-five minutes later to look for Mark. Mark sat in a chair just inside the door reading a magazine. He stood when Drew walked in.
“Hi.” Without any other words, Mark pulled him into his arms. Drew wrapped his arms around Mark’s middle and let Mark’s strength and warmth envelope him.
Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. Drew leaned his head against Mark’s shoulder and sighed.
“How is she?” Mark asked eventually.
Drew blew out a breath and withdrew a bit to look at Mark. “She had a stroke but the doctor said it was a small one. They’re going to keep her for a few days. I was going to go to the cafeteria for some tea for John.”
“How is he holding up?”
“Better than me, really. He’s going to stay here with her. The hospital allows family to stay in the rooms now.”
“Good. I’ll bet that’s a relief for both of you. I’ll go to the cafeteria with you.”
Drew reached for his hand. “Mark, thank you. For coming. I…we should talk.”
“Yes, we definitely should. But should we wait until your mom’s better?”
“Well, let’s sit for a moment in the cafeteria. John won’t mind, he knows you were coming. We won’t take long.”
After they made it to the cafeteria, Drew got both himself and John medium sized cups of water and tea bags and Mark got a cup of coffee. They took seats at a hard plastic table.
Trying to delay things, cowardly Drew figured, he opened the water cups and started steeping the teas.
“Drew, listen,” Mark spoke up. “I know what you said the other day, but the truth is I don’t want to see anyone but you.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “You don’t?”
“No. I didn’t want to before. In fact, to be honest, I didn’t even know the Dodgers game was a date.”
That made him laugh. “How could you not know it was a date?”
Mark reached for his hand and held onto Drew’s fingers. “The man who invited me to the game was a business associate and I thought he was trolling for business. It didn’t occur me he was even gay.”
“He wasn’t?”
Mark sighed. “Yeah, he was. He asked me out again. And I said no.”
“I’m sorry,” Drew said. “I realized even before this I overreacted. I’ve been thinking about you for days.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“I planned to, really.” Drew blushed. “I guess I got a little overdramatic. Mark, can we try again?”
“God, I want that more than anything,” Mark admitted.
He sighed with relief and threaded his fingers with Mark’s. “I’m so glad. And I promise to try not to be such an ass next time.”
Mark smiled. “You weren’t an ass. I should have thought to talk to you about the not dating others thing. I guess I just assumed we were and then—”
“I know you didn’t think of it as a date. Maybe next time you could ask me if it qualifies as one.”
Mark laughed. “No way. There won’t a next time. Or I’ll ask if I can bring my boyfriend.”
Drew’s heart flipped. “Boyfriend? I like the sound of that.”
“Me, too. But, come on, we’d better get back to your stepdad with his tea.”
Drew stood. “You’re right. Will you come stay with me at my house tonight
?”
“There’s no way I’ll be anywhere else.”
* * * *
Mark stood in Drew’s bedroom at his parents’ house admiring his king-sized bed. It was the main focus of his attention at the moment, but other than that there was a cherry wood armoire, and two matching nightstands on either side of the bed. The bed was covered with a navy down comforter.
“Pretty simple I know,” Drew said coming up behind him to wrap his arms around Mark’s middle. “A lot of my stuff is in storage.”
“It’s perfect.” Mark turned and pulled Drew against him. “I’ve missed this. I can’t wait to get you into that bed…naked, of course.”
Drew’s lips curved into a sexy pixie smile. Mark couldn’t resist those lips. He lowered his mouth over Drew’s.
The smaller man sighed and flung his arms around Mark’s neck, pressing so close Mark could feel the hard bulge in Drew’s jeans. Lord, it hadn’t been that long since he touched his lover, but it felt so damn good he couldn’t keep the groan inside.
His hands smoothed down Drew’s back to his cute round ass. Cupping the tight cheeks, he rubbed their erections together.
“Mark,” Drew moaned.
“Get naked,” Mark urged, even as he tugged Drew’s shirt off his pale, warm skin.
Panting heavily, Drew stepped back and pulled the shirt off over his head. Mark quickly followed suit, divesting himself of his shirt and going straight to his slacks.
Drew stepped over to the bed and yanked the navy comforter off to reveal matching navy sheets. Then he leaned over to open a drawer in the nightstand, grabbing out lube and a condom.
Mark’s mouth went dry as he watched Drew slowly lower his jeans and briefs to the floor. His long, thick cock stood out proudly, curving just slightly up.
Nearly swallowing his tongue as Drew turned to display his pink-tinged cheeks, his fingers fumbled to undo the button and zipper of his own pants. He crossed the room in just a few quick strides and, framing his hands over Drew’s hips, he brought the man’s ass against his hard cock.
They groaned in unison as Mark rubbed his dick along Drew’s crease. Drew leaned back against him, tilting his head to expose his neck to Mark’s lips.
“Oh, God, that feels good,” Drew breathed as Mark nipped along the pulse of his throat.
He gently pushed Drew onto the bed facedown. His skin jumped and quivered under his touch. As though in answer, his cock pulsed. Damn, it was tempting to just plunge ahead, take Drew’s ass fast and furious. Gritting his teeth, Mark forced himself to go slow.
Kneeling on the bed beside Drew, he trailed his tongue down his lover’s spine, smiling at the goose bumps appearing on the warm, bare skin. When he reached the rounded cheeks, Mark nuzzled them for a moment before his tongue lapped along between and to Drew’s puckered entrance.
“Ah, fuck, Mark.”
His tongue swirled along the outside, teasing a little, before finally he probed with just the tip. Mark closed his eyes, his cock was as hard as a rock.
Drew spread his legs, lifting his ass enough for Mark to press his tongue in farther. Blindly he reached out for the lube and nearly sighed with satisfaction when his hand closed over the tube.
Pulling back just a bit, Mark squeezed out a generous amount over his fingers. “Ready for a finger?”
“Oh, yeah.”
He pushed in two fingers, stretching and preparing the tight, hot entrance, once more gritting his teeth against the need to come right now.
His lover fucked himself on Mark’s fingers, moaning as he moved his ass to Mark’s thrusts. With a shaky breath, he withdrew his digits, straightened and rolled on the condom. After slicking up his sheathed cock, Mark flipped Drew onto his back.
Lowering himself on top of the smaller man, Mark smiled into Drew’s questioning eyes. “Want to kiss you.”
Drew smiled back and offered his lips up to Mark’s in a thoroughly ravishing kiss.
“You’re beautiful,” Mark whispered against his mouth.
“Fuck me.”
Ah, God.
Mark kissed his chin, then rose up to lift Drew’s legs. Bending them and spreading them wide, he posed the head of his dick at Drew’s hole. He slid in easily, pushing past the ring of muscle and deep to the root.
Drew sighed, and shook beneath him. “God, you feel good.”
“You, too. You’re so damn tight. Stroke yourself for me, Drew. Wanna make you come.”
His dark eyes sparkling, Drew’s fist closed around his length, pumping it rapidly to the rhythm of Mark’s penetrating thrusts.
Mark wanted to take their fucking slow, but the man’s ass was so tight, so hot, his eyes so gorgeous, he found his hips snapping frantically as his orgasm teetered on the edge.
Panting, he groaned, “Are you close?”
Drew’s breath stuttered in answer, his slim body tensing under Mark. “Yes!”
“Damn, Drew,” Mark groaned, pumping through his release, a ragged moan torn from his lips.
He collapsed on Drew and wrapped his arms tight around his waist, still inside. When he could speak, he whispered, “You…this…is amazing.”
Drew sighed. “It is. Thanks, Mark. I’m so glad you came. I needed you.”
“Welcome.” He kissed Drew’s forehead. “I’m glad you gave us another chance. We gave each other another chance. I don’t intend to screw it up either.”
Drew’s arms tightened around him. “Now, let’s get some rest.”
He withdrew and rolled to his side, bringing Drew with him, so they were spooned together. For the first time in a long time, Mark had a real reason not to spend all his time working to forget his pain. And he had hope.
Epilogue
Six Months Later
“There’s a parking space. Looks like Nathan’s car.” Drew pointed from the passenger seat of his lover’s car.
Mark pulled into the spot and turned off the engine. From where they parked they could see the giant cruise ship docked. He leaned on the steering wheel and whistled. “That is one damn big ship.
Drew grinned. “I know. Thanks so much for agreeing to take the time off for this.”
“Well, I couldn’t let everyone show me up. Hell, even Calvin and Matt are going.”
“Yeah, and it’s just a four-day cruise. I’m sure the associates at your firm can handle it for a couple of days.” Drew opened the car door and got out. “Looks like most of them are already here. Gathered over there not too far from the dock.”
Mark popped the trunk and went around to open it. He took out their suitcases. “Damn, babe, this bag is heavy.”
“Well, I packed some extra bags so that if I buy too many souvenirs I have a place to put them.”
Mark raised an eyebrow. “How many do you plan on buying?
“Well, my parents did own a souvenir shop.”
“Right, but they sold them there at the shop.”
“I know,” Drew said, “but they got into them in the first place because they liked to buy them. And, well, they did raise me.”
Mark chuckled. “Okay. Buy all the souvenirs your heart desires.”
“Deal.” He gave Mark a quick kiss then, grabbing his hand, they walked over to where the rest of their group stood.
They had considered going on a gay cruise, but Calvin had balked at that. He said it would be an excuse for every single gay man on the cruise to hit on them. And when Steve said he and Heather wanted to come along, too…well, that made the rest of the decision for them.
Drew had to admit he was somewhat concerned regarding the reaction they’d get from possible homophobes on the cruise, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to deter him from taking the mini-vacation with Mark.
“About time you got here,” Barnaby declared, fairly bouncing next to Nathan.
Drew noticed everyone had arrived before them looking casual and breezy, ready for the fun days ahead. Barnaby and Nathan, Calvin and Matt, Travis and Darrell, and…well, not everyone after all.
; “I don’t see Steve and Heather.”
“They’re not here yet. Nathan just called them and they said they’d be here in less than ten.” Barnaby gave them both a quick hug before turning back to Nathan. “You did make sure they’d have veggie stuff on the cruise, right?”
Nathan nodded. “Yes, dear.”
“Oh, wait!” Barnaby’s eyes got really big. “I forgot something in the car. Gimme the keys.”
“What?”
“The keys, babe.” He fished his hand into Nathan’s front jeans pocket and snagged out the keys. “Be right back.”
Calvin laughed as his brother dashed away headed to the parking lot.
Nathan glared at Barnaby’s brother. “It’s not funny.”
“It so is,” Calvin said. “Get used to it. He’s always like this and will never change.”
Drew smiled. “This is so great that everyone’s going on this trip together. I never thought we’d pull it off.”
“Cooperation,” Travis said, his arm around Darrell. “And believe me, your boyfriend was the hardest one to convince to allow all three of us to be off at the same time.”
“Hey, I agreed, didn’t I?” Mark protested. “I’m here.”
Drew kissed his cheek. “That you are.”
“If Calvin and I could both get the time off from the hospital, I don’t see why a bunch of lawyers can’t do it,” Matt spoke up, his curved lips vaguely taunting.
“Is that right?” Nathan asked.
“Yep,” Matt said to his stepbrother. “I’ve never heard of a life-threatening lawsuit.”
Nathan gritted his teeth. “Don’t start the my job is more important than yours crap again.”
“Well—”
“Come over here with me for a moment,” Mark said, drawing him away from the group and the argument they’d heard before between the two stepbrothers. He tugged Drew by the arm over to the edge of the water overlooking some smaller sailboats and some shops in the distance.
Drew sighed. He glanced around quickly and, seeing no one paying particular attention to them, he leaned against Mark. Yeah, it sucked having to make sure there wasn’t anyone around to become offended by your same-sex relationship, but it was something Drew had always been in the habit of doing. He didn’t intend to let such thoughts ruin his excitement for the cruise.