That seemed to surprise Adrien, but he smiled nonetheless.
“Right. Nice to meet you, Loretta.”
“There we go, that’s more like it. Now. My son tells me the two of you are dating. I’m dying to hear the story…”
After getting their baggage and heading out to his mother’s car, they drove to a diner not too far from his mother’s home. It had always been a favorite of Cameron’s, ever since he was little. When his father had been giving him a hard time, his mother would always give him money to steal away and go down to the diner to grab something to eat and cool down a little when she wasn’t able to buffer his father’s temper. He liked that his mother had chosen to take them here; it felt right.
They settled into a booth, his mother on one side and he and Adrien on the other. They talked about how they had met at work, how they had known each other for a year before either of them made a move.
“To be fair,” Adrien had said, “Cameron made the move. I just… went along with it because it’s what I’d wanted for a long time.”
It wasn’t a fairy tale, but it had his mother enthralled, asking for every little detail. How many dates they’d been on, where Cameron had taken him, if Cameron always behaved properly. There were quips, back and forth, from all parties. Adrien slowly lost his nerves, it seemed, just like he had the night of the party that had brought them together. That made Cameron happy; he was glad to see Adrien and Cameron bonding like that – being open and friendly with each other.
After, they piled back into his mother’s car, driving the short distance to her little two-bedroom house. It was a cozy thing; he’d grown up there. There were a lot of good and bad memories associated with the place, but he was happy that he was making some nicer ones with his mother and Cameron together.
They unloaded their bags in Cameron’s room. It wasn’t huge, but it fit all of their stuff nice enough, and Cameron’s mother told them to spend the night getting settled in and relaxing after their flight.
“We’ll have breakfast together in the morning and then we can see about planning out the week a little better. You boys have a good night, alright?”
Adrien
He had never met a partner’s parent before. It was… well, it was amazing, in a word.
Loretta was a gem of a woman. Both of Adrien’s parents had passed, early on, when he was younger. He had had a relationship with his parents, but it was such a fleeting thing, it was often easy to forget that he had known them at all in his lifetime. Loretta, though. She was the sort of woman that he had imagined his own mother might have been when he thought about how he’d have spent his life in its ideal.
She made them breakfast, each morning that they were at her home. It was something she insisted on, feeling that the thing that brought families together the most was the breakfasts at the family table, every morning. Adrien couldn’t say that he disagreed with her; he was wholesome and heartwarming – he felt like he belonged.
Never having been to the city that Cameron grew up in, then, after breakfasts they made their excursions out into the open. The first day, it was the shops in the more retail districts of the city. There was a lot of sight-seeing – especially picture taking – and Adrien could easily picture a younger version of Cameron having grown up there, so full of life and excitement and ready to get out there in the world, just being himself.
The following days were a mash up of events. Local parades, markets, events that Adrien had never experienced on his own – Loretta and Cameron shared that with him. He hadn’t expected to feel so at ease, being out there and out in the world with his boyfriend, and his boyfriend’s mother. He had expected to feel that creeping anxiety that was so familiar to him, the little worries that told him he wasn’t getting along as well as he actually thought he was, that he had no business being with this wonderful man and his equally wonderful mother.
On the last evening of their trip, he expressed this to Cameron. They lay in bed together, after a shower and drying off. He had his chest pressed to Cameron’s chest, snug.
“I’ve never felt like this before, you know,” he said softly. “Like this is right the way that it is.”
He wrapped his arms around Cameron, nuzzling to him. Cameron’s fingers pet through his hair, pulling gently at the strands, letting them filter through the space between his fingers.
“I know what you mean. You know… I’ve never actually brought someone to meet my mother before?”
“Really?” That was surprising.
“Really.”
“Why… is that?”
Cameron was quiet for a moment, before he answered.
“Well, you know my father and I never really got along, because I was gay. I tended to… well not date, but hook up a lot. I would always throw it in my father’s face, you know? But I could never bring them around to ma… No. Because she gets so attached. It would be easy to sleep with a lot of other guys and not care about how it made them feel to spite my father, but I could never break my mother’s heart like that, bringing otherwise good guys into her life as if they were going to end up staying there only to have another in a week or even days, you know?”
Adrien nodded. Cameron had told him a bit of how he used to be, before. It made sense to him; he never begrudged Cameron for being the way that he had been before.
“I’m glad you look at this as something worth sharing with your mother,” he said softly. “She’s… she’s really special. And so are you. And this. I’ve never had something like this before. I’m glad… Well I’m glad I get to share it with you.”
The kiss pressed to his lips from Cameron was enough to tell him that Cameron felt the same too. It was enough in the kiss, in the embrace that followed, in the sweet melding of their bodies together as the night wore on.
He loved Cameron. He was certain of it.
With a smile on his face, he slid atop Cameron. An easy smile of his own came to Cameron’s lips.
“What’s that look for?”
Adrien shrugged, as if it wasn’t anything important – he would tell Cameron how he felt, in time. But now… now, he wanted to be in the moment.
“Nothing. Just thinking how lucky I am to have a boyfriend like you. One I want to show how much I appreciate.”
Cameron had no objections. They were both still bare from their shower, and their bodies didn’t take much to react to the other. Adrien liked that about them – they were responsive, so responsive, to the other’s touch. It was tantalizing, how easy it was, and then, how long it lasted.
He started with kisses all over Cameron’s body, teeth and tongue loving against his flesh. He always enjoyed the taste of Cameron under him, always reveled at how he could never get enough of it from him. It was so good… so good…
Kisses turned to teases as he made his way down Cameron’s body, mouth open against him until he reached his pelvis. He sucked and laved at the dip in Cameron’s hips, nuzzled to the soft, trimmed tuft of hair just above his groin. He was encouraged by the raise of hips Cameron gave him, and took full advantage of the hands that guided him eagerly down, down, until he mouthed at the hard, eager length resting heavy between Cameron’s thighs.
Adrien savored every sound – each moan, hiss of breath, hitch in voice. He loved the noises that Cameron made when he showed him how much he wanted him like this. It was a pleasure to have Cameron in his mouth, thick, pulsing, slipping into the deepest parts of his throat and spilling down his gullet when he reached his climax. The only thing better was the fact that Cameron didn’t stop at one. When he got going, when he was given that… oh, Adrien anticipated and enjoyed when he was tugged up by his hair, rolled onto his stomach, hastily opened and then drove into by Cameron.
It was hard, and rough – but Adrien loved it. Loved it as much as he loved Cameron, loved it as much as he hoped Cameron loved him. He could never get over the way the melding of their bodies made him feel, the way it was like a physical testament to their emotional bond.
> One day, he hoped he’d be able to express to Cameron just how much all of it meant to him.
Cameron
His mother had always told him that when he found the right person for him, he would know it instantaneously. He hadn’t known that with Adrien – there had been something about him when they had first met, yes, but he hadn’t known it for certain until after they had spent time with his mother together.
When they returned, things slowly starting getting back to normal. It was common knowledge by then, across the staff and the kids, that he and Adrien were together – together, together, as he had explained to some of the younger ones. They shared pictures of their trip to see his mother together, and everyone, overall, was supportive. It was almost strange to him, to have such support outside of family and friends that had known him as long as he had been alive, but he liked it. Especially when it was something that put Adrien at ease. He could tell that it did in the way Adrien carried himself around the care center. He didn’t seem to shrink away as much as he used to from everyone else – he engaged and was vivacious, even.
He had never known a love quite like the one that he bore for Adrien, but he wasn’t going to let it slip from him easily or at all. He was certain of that.
It warmed Cameron’s heart, the way things had gone between them, and it wasn’t but a few months after he had taken Adrien to meet his mother that he found himself outside a jeweler’s store. He walked in, the bell tinkling in his wake. He was greeted by a woman behind one of the glass counters.
“Hello Sir, how are you doing today? Anything I can help you find?”
“I’m doing well, thank you, and yes. I was actually looking for men’s engagement rings, if possible?”
The woman beamed at him, and came around, gesturing to one of the display cases.
“We have a wide selection here, if you’d like to look at them?”
Platinum, gold, titanium, silver. Some with diamonds, some with other gems – emeralds, sapphires, rubies. Cameron had never looked at so much jewelry in his life for himself – let alone for another person. The woman was kind though, and patient. She asked him questions about Adrien – his likes, dislikes, personality, the way he presented himself. They went through a number of options, with Cameron giving a yay or nay on various options.
In the end, Cameron chose a simple platinum band, inlaid with a single, circular diamond. Adrien didn’t go for things that were too flashy or over the top, after all. There was no point in getting him something encrusted with rubies or topped with a huge sapphire.
But that? That delicate, simple little number?
It was perfect.
He had it planned, down to the letter. It was the last week of school for the kids, they were all excited to be getting out for the summer – as excited as they were to be helping Cameron with his little plot. He had them all set up Adrien’s classroom, decorated in streamers and banners – all in white. It was a little over the top, perhaps, but he was going with the element of surprise and he didn’t want to pull and punches on it. The whole space had been cleared, and they all gathered in there along with parents of the kids and the staff, early one morning before Adrien had gotten in.
“Shh, I think I hear him coming!”
The lights were killed, and silence fell over the room. Cameron could feel his heart beat erratically in his chest – he was excited, nervous, but mostly, he just wanted to see Adrien walk through that door, and to him.
He wasn’t disappointed. The door opened, and Adrien flicked on the lights. He gave a nervous start when he saw everyone in his classroom, and a bit of confusion was there as he looked around at all the people and decorations that usually filled the space of his class. When his eyes found Cameron, they widened, before settling into relief.
“Cameron… what’s going on?” he asked, walking over to where Cameron stood in the middle of his classroom. Cameron held out his hand, and Adrien took it.
“Just wanted to surprise you with something. You got a moment?”
Adrien smiled, and looked around a bit again. His eyes found Cameron once more, and he nodded with that smile still at his lips.
“I always do.”
Cameron took a deep breath.
“I’ve never met anyone like you, Adrien. I’ve been with a lot of people – you know that. But no one, no matter how long or short I’ve been with them, as ever made me want to be a better person the way you – has never made me see life the way you do. You make me happy, and I like to think that I make you happy, too, sometimes. You’ve been my friend for more than a year, my boyfriend for about that time, but more than that, you are the love of my life. No one can compare to you, and no one ever will. Which is why…”
Cameron reached into his pocket putting out a single, black trinket box. He smiled as he watched Adrien’s eyes widen, staring at the box. Like he was about to get down to pray, he lowered himself to one knee before Adrien, popping the box open as he did.
“I can’t imagine not asking you to be my husband. I can’t imagine living my life without you in it as a permanent fixture. You mean more to me than I ever thought another man would mean to me, Adrien. I love you. I’m in love with you. I will always love you. If you would have me, I would give myself to you every day, through thick and thin, come hell or high water – all the romantic clichés they’ve come up for the books and all the ones they haven’t written yet. Will you… will you marry me, Adrien? Will you do me that honor?”
Silence hung in the room after he was done. Adrien had his hand over his mouth, tears streaming down his face. Cameron saw no panic in those tear-blurred eyes, however. There was no rejection, no pain – it was happiness. Bright, pure happiness.
He knew he had him.
Slowly, Adrien lowered his hand, shaking. His lips moved, but no sound came out – but Cameron waited, as he always did for his Adrien. When the sound started, it was a stutter, a babble. Before long, Adrien was nodding, the tears still streaming. Cameron continued to smile, and the smile widened when Adrien finally found his words.
“Yes. Y-yes. God yes, I want to marry you, Cameron. I want to be your husband.”
There wasn’t a time in Cameron’s life where he could recall being as happy as he was then sliding that ring on Adrien’s finger. There was no feeling that was comparable to that of standing before his fiancé, having his arms wrapped around him, hugging him tightly to his body. As the room erupted into cheer and claps, he came to the conclusion that the only sound that was better than that overwhelming support, was that of the happy crying coming from the man before him.
Wanting to make the experience that much sweeter, he pulled away – only slightly. He tilted Adrien’s chin up, angling his head. He wanted a kiss – their first kiss as husbands to be. Head leaned in, he pressed against Adrien’s mouth, lovingly, longingly. Adrien reciprocated, lips parting so sweetly it could have made him weep.
This was happening, he realized. It was really happening. He was the luckiest, happiest man in the world and there wasn’t a thing anyone could say that would change that for him.
Just For Business
A First Time Erotic Gay Romance
Gabriel Jamison
After completing college, he just wants to have a little fun. That's not too much to ask for, now is it? His parents feel differently, but it is Gabe's life and he is determined to remind everyone of that fact. As soon as he sees Morgan, Gabe knows the man is a playboy who is used to getting what he wants.
Morgan Shultz
Heir-apparent to the family business, Morgan is tired of leaving under his father's stern vision of what he should be. Morgan's life is one party after another and he isn't accustomed to hearing the word no. When he meets Gabriel, Morgan sets his sights on making the red-head his no matter what it takes.
Swept up in a whirlwind romance spanning the globe, Gabriel soon learns that sometimes the path you take to get to where you should be is a hard road to travel.
* * *
Chapter 1
When you have spent the last four years chained to a desk and stressing over the next big assignment, the end of the college years come as a wave of relief. If, however, your parents are the uptight and by the books people that my parents are, that relief is probably going to be short-lived at best. A week into my triumphant return home, Dad was already making pointed inquiries into what accounting firms that I was applying to. It was not that I regretted getting my MBA in accounting and becoming a CPA. No, I had decided that all on my own. I, however, had just spent the better part of the last four years of my life staring at numbers and certifications. To put it mildly, I needed a chance to unwind.
I did not want to get a job the minute I got home. Hell, I did not even want to think about interviewing or resumes for at least 6 months. My father thought that was irresponsible and touted more than once how he had went out and gotten a job the minute he was out of school. He never mentions that he had to because Mom had been pregnant with my older sister. I do not believe for one moment that he would have settled down so fast if he had had the chance to do otherwise.
My friend Mirabelle was a welcome relief. She and I had been friends since roughly seventh grade when she had decided that I was her pretend-boyfriend. She had been in love with the captain of the cheerleading squad and firmly a lesbian. We had bonded over the unique challenges of being gay in the precarious teenage years. We had an agreement that we would be each other's fall back plan. If all else failed, we would marry each other and just be miserable.
I sighed at the mirror in my bathroom. My hazel eyes stared back at me as if asking the same questions that my mother always echoed, "What was I going to do with my life? Don't I want to start building my life?" Truthfully, there was a lot I had questioned since graduating college. Much like when I graduated high school, it seemed like the event was followed by this hollow anti-climactic pause that I had no idea how to fill.
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