RHV

by DHP

  “Surprise!” Lila said.

  “I never would have thought—hell, I remember giving you advice!”

  “Yes—when I had that problem with my brother-in-law. That was good advice, too. Spot-on! Heyyyyy….” Her eyes narrowed, and she looked at Wyatt appraisingly. “How would you like to write the column while I’m gone? You’ll get paid, of course.”

  “Me? The Advisor?”

  “You’ll have to keep it on the down-low, of course.”

  “Top Secret Classified,” Wyatt said, giving Lila both a salute and a conspiratorial wink.

  “I’ll make the arrangements with my editor,” Lila said.

  And so it was that Wyatt found himself answering the questions of and solving the problems of residents of Surfspray and the surrounding towns for two weeks. He did his best to solve everyone else’s issues, but his own remained unresolved. He was still in love with Cooper, but he had neither seen nor heard from him since the break-up, and it seemed a lost cause.

  Then on the last day of January, a letter came in to the Ask the Advisor column by snailmail. It bore neither return address nor any signature other than “Miserable in Surfspray,” but Wyatt was pretty sure he knew who the sender was.

  Dear Advisor,

  I found out that my boyfriend is bi. I’m gay and thought he was too. We’d been talking about living together and even an out-of-state marriage, but trust is very important to me, and I don’t feel now that I can trust him. He might meet a woman who attracts him, and cheat on me or even leave me. We broke up over this, but I’m miserable without him. Still, I’m unwilling to take him back because of this issue. Do you have any advice?

  Miserable in Surfspray

  Wyatt thought long and hard before answering the letter. His future happiness depended on it!

  Dear Miserable,

  Why do you think he is any more likely to cheat on you with a woman than with another man? Has he ever shown any indications of straying? Can you trust him with other men? If you can trust him not to cheat on you with or leave you for another man, why do you think he might do so with a woman? It seems to me the problem is in your head. You don’t have enough trust.

  Just because a person is capable of being attracted to both males and females doesn’t mean he (or she) has to have lovers from both sides of the fence. If your boyfriend never strayed with another man, why on earth do you think he’ll be tempted by a woman? You’re creating problems that don’t exist. If you love him, hurry and call him. Valentine’s Day is coming. Do you want to spend it with him or alone?

  The question and answer appeared in the next morning’s paper. Wyatt wasn’t surprised later that morning when his cell rang and Cooper’s number showed up on the ID, but he pretended surprise all the same lest he give away the fact that he was the substitute Advisor.

  They didn’t spend Valentine’s Day apart. By then they were firmly back together. In fact, they spent Valentine’s Day in Massachusetts—getting married. When Cooper repeated the vows, “To love, honor, and trust,” Wyatt said, “I hope you mean that.”

  “I do,” said Cooper. It was not the “I do” of “Do you take this man…?” but an “I do” to the trust question.

  “And I’ll never give you any reason to distrust me,” Wyatt said.

  But there was one tiny secret he meant to keep from Cooper forever and always--the fact that for two weeks, a very crucial bit of timing, he had substituted as the Advisor for the local paper.

  Thank you, Lila! He thought silently. But as the minister asked, “Do you, Wyatt, take this man, Cooper, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love, honor, and trust, through good times and bad, to the end of your days?” all he said was, “I do.”

  THE RIGHT COMBINATION

  AJ KELTO

  Chapter One

  “This is going to be the best Valentine’s Day ever,” Gabriel murmured against Mario’s lips. “I think this is the first time I’ve had someone to celebrate the holiday with.”

  Mario wrapped his arms around Gabriel and smiled. “I’ve had a few boyfriends over Valentine’s Day, but I’ve never felt the connection that I feel with you, even after only a few days.”

  “Izzy’s not gonna be home, so I figured we could have a quiet night in. Maybe cook dinner together and then…”

  Mario wiggled his eyebrows. “And then get busy on the couch.”

  Gabriel moaned into his neck, “I like the sound of that. I can’t wait to sink cock into your ass and fuck you until you can’t move.”

  Mario fell backward on the couch pulling Gabriel with him. He felt the solid weight of his boyfriend against him. He spread his legs as far as the couch would allow, thrusting his hips up against Gabriel as the man crushed his mouth with a demanding hiss. Sliding his hands down Gabriel’s torso, Mario slipped his fingers under the loose-fitting jeans and caressed his already-hard cock.

  “I want this in my mouth before I let you fuck me with it.” Mario pulled out of the kiss and smiled. “Jeans off.”

  Quicker than he would have guessed possible, Gabriel had jumped off him and stripped away his pants before pulling down Mario’s. Gabriel adjusted their positions so that his cock was at Mario’s mouth and he had full access to Mario’s.

  Mario’s eyes crossed as he felt his own cock engulfed in the hot wetness of Gabriel’s mouth. Wrapping his arms tighter around those tan hips, he pulled until the cock in his mouth was pressing against the back of his throat. He swallowed and thrust his hips up at the same time as he smacked Gabriel’s ass hard, causing his lover to buck and moan in pleasure.

  He really couldn’t wait until the thick monster in his mouth was thrusting hard into his ass. Mario was just about to suggest that when he heard the turning of the lock on the door.

  ****

  “Honey, I’m home,” Izabela called from the hallway. “It was a really good trip. I’m so glad you talked me into going, although I decided to come home a day early to rest up for the week. I really didn’t want to travel on Valentine’s Day. I swear that’s worse than traveling on Christmas around here.”

  Setting her bags down by the doorway, she walked into the living room to greet her roommate and best friend. The sight that greeted her was not one she thought she would see…at least in this lifetime.

  Gabriel White, her best friend for six years, was trying his best to rapidly dress while another man was doing the same thing. It was obvious to her what was going on, and she was mortified to be involved.

  “Oh, hey,” she said, looking anywhere but at the nakedness in front of her. “I’m sorry, I’ll just…Uh, yeah. I think I’ll just leave you guys alone.”

  “Izzy, wait!” Gabriel finished buttoning his jeans.

  “No it’s all right. I should have let you know I was coming home earlier than planned. Please continue.”

  Turning, she walked back the way she came, grabbing her bag on the way. She knew it was stupid to be hurt, to feel the rejection she did, but Valentine’s Day was a day they always spent together. He would fix some amazing yet fattening supper, she would buy ice cream and together they would pull out their favorite romance movies and wonder when they would find the perfect man. To see Gabriel there celebrating what had been their holiday for the last several years without her hurt more than she wanted him to know. She slid into her car, knowing that Gabriel would look for her, but she didn’t want to face him yet. She didn’t want to answer the questions he would ask because then yes, she would have to admit that she had fallen in love with him in her own way. She wiped the angry tears from her cheeks as she backed out of the drive.

  She glanced at her phone, which started playing Gabriel’s song. Reaching over, she turned it off. Okay, maybe she was overreacting a bit, but she had come home early just to be with Gabriel for Valentine’s. Maybe she should have realized that he would be spending it with his new boyfriend, but something in her had held on to the hope that he wouldn’t break tradition.

  On
ce she was stopped, she checked in, using a variation of a good friend’s name, paying cash so they didn’t request an identification. Finally, after what had started as a wonderful day only to turn into one of the worst, she dropped into the surprisingly comfortable bed and remarkably fell asleep.

  ****

  “Damn that woman!” Gabriel growled as he stormed back into the house, to find his new lover smiling sheepishly at him.

  “Was that her?” Mario asked softly.

  Sighing, Gabriel nodded, “Yeah, and there will be hell to pay when I find her stubborn ass! I can’t believe she turned off her phone. I’ve called it a dozen times and every time it goes straight to voicemail.”

  “Well, maybe we should finish what we started. Turning off her phone was her way of telling you that she didn’t want to be bothered.”

  Gabriel tossed the phone on the table. “I can’t believe she just walked out like that.”

  “Why can’t you? What did you expect her to do, say move the sex to the other end of the couch so I can watch TV? She’s exactly like you said she would be and probably acting exactly like you know she would.” Mario smiled at him. “Normally when people describe other people there is some embellishment in it. But nooooo, not with her! From what I could tell in just those few seconds, she is everything you said.”

  Gabriel stood there, hands on hips, glaring at the man who he hoped would be his long-time partner to come. After a few moments, he began chuckling. “Actually, I’m a little surprised she didn’t tell me to move to the end of the couch, or better yet, tell me to pause the action until she got the video camera.”

  "Hey, that video camera has a few interesting possibilities." Mario waggled his eyebrows.

  Gabriel shook his head. “I have to figure out where she went to.”

  Mario stood there and watched the man he was quickly falling for worry about his best friend. He knew how important Izzy was to Gabriel and for that reason alone she was important to him.

  “Where would she go?” Mario asked as he put his hand on the strong shoulder of his lover.

  “I don’t know—there are a lot of places she might have gone. I’m guessing that since she knew where the make-out session was heading, she would stay in a hotel for the night. If she did that, she wouldn’t be tied to her bedroom listening to our cries of passion and we wouldn’t be confined to the bedroom trying to keep quiet so she wouldn’t hear.”

  “Okay, so let’s think this out.”

  It surprised Gabriel that Mario was wanting to help him search for Izzy. Hell, most men would throw a jealous fit if their night of fucking was interrupted. The kicker was, normally he would be too, but this was his Izzy. She was more important to him than fucking, or making love as it was in this case, but still, the fact that Mario was being so supportive gave him some serious points.

  Although he couldn’t keep the words from escaping, and he regretted them the moment they left his mouth. “Why aren’t you throwing a fit?”

  He knew as soon as he said it that he had offended his lover. “Look, I know we’ve only known each other for a few days. But I’ve felt a connection to you that I haven’t felt for anyone else. Hell, I’ve told you things that I haven’t told anyone else. I thought you were feeling the same…”

  “Stop!” Gabriel said, holding up his hands. “Just stop. I do feel the same for you. It just shocks the hell out of me that you aren’t pissed off at being interrupted.”

  “Well, we were in the front room,” Mario pointed out.

  “Still, I’m happy that you want to help me look for her. You don’t know how much she means to me. She has been my best friend forever and always been there when I needed a shoulder to cry on. She was there when my parents rejected me because I was gay. She was the one I turned to when I came home to the house I lived in with my boyfriend to see my stuff in the yard and a note on the door telling me it was over and the locks were changed. We have been the dynamic duo through good times and bad. She’s one of the most important people in my life and to think that you are willing to accept there will always be three of us in some form in this relationship really means more than I can express.”

  Mario smiled softly and ran his finger through the shoulder-length blonde hair. “You’ve made it perfectly clear from the beginning of this that if I wanted you, I had to accept Izzy as a close part of your life. The fact that you could care so deeply about someone, it proves to me that you don’t take relationships lightly.”

  “Thank you for this.” Gabriel leaned in to give his new lover a kiss.

  Chapter Two

  After watching the blond man pace for a few moments, Mario moved to stand in front of him. This was getting them nowhere, when they really needed to be figuring out how she would be thinking.

  “Okay, baby, stop,” he said softly, wrapping his arms around the slightly smaller man. “We will work this out. I want you to close your eyes for me and take a deep breath, then slowly release it.”

  Waiting patiently, Mario smiled when he felt Gabriel begin to relax in his arms. Guiding him over to the loveseat, he sat down and pulled his lover into his lap.

  “Okay, now let’s think this out. We’re going to take our time and figure out where she would have gone.”

  “It could be any…”

  “Nu-uh, none of that.”

  Gabriel nodded into his shoulder, his hair feeling like silk as he caressed his skin.

  “Now, you know her better than I do. You gave her a shock tonight. You said she took her bag with her when she left, so that means she could be anywhere. But she is also tired from her trip so she wouldn’t have risked going too far, a couple of hours at the farthest. So given the areas around, which way would she be most likely to go? She’s your Izzy, and you know her head better than anyone else, so what would she do?”

  Gabriel sat there, wrapped in Mario’s strong arms and thought about the only woman he loved. Thinking about the surrounding areas, he quickly ruled them out, simply by geographical location alone. He was jostled out of his thoughts by a nip on his ear.

  “Talk it out, don’t think it out. You could miss something.”

  Nodding Gabriel began voicing his thoughts. “Well, you’re right, she was tired, especially if she came home early. Plus it’s dark out, and she doesn’t like driving at night because she says she can’t see that well at night. The oncoming headlights always seem to blind her and she has crappy night vision. If we go anywhere after dark, I’m the one that drives.”

  “Given all of those parameters, how far would she drive?”

  “Two hours max,” Gabriel said with confidence. “I’m going to guess she didn’t go far, though.”

  “Okay, so now we have to figure out which way she would have gone. What is two hours in each direction? I’m not really from this area, so you will have to tell me.”

  “Well, the mountains are to the west and east of us, and there’s nothing there. So it’s either north or south, and of the two I would think that she would head north since south is sporadic with hotels and out-of-the-way towns.”

  Mario was quiet for a few moments before responding. “So we will look south for her.”

  Gabriel was out of the loveseat in a nanosecond, looking at Mario as if he had lost his damn mind.

  “What the hell? I just said she would go north, yet you want to go south? What the fuck are you playing at?” he demanded.

  Mario smiled. He knew this relationship was going to be filled with drama and fire and he wasn’t disappointed. He loved to see Gabriel all worked up. Most people would be offended by the demand, but Mario had always been a critical thinker. He was able to see the end game while most people only saw the next few moves, it was one of the reasons his team loved him so much. He knew what was going to happen long before it did.

  “Exactly my point.”

  “Huh?”

  Mario laughed as he stood up. “She doesn’t want to see you, and therefore she would
go the one place you would never look for her. Hell, if I wasn’t here, you would probably be tearing up the town looking for her and never find her.”

  Sighing Gabriel pulled his lover into an embrace. “You’re right, I would.”

  “So, what say we get dressed and then go find your wayward Izzy and you can bring her home and talk.” Mario turned and walked over to his clothes.

  “Hey,” Gabriel said softly as he finished dressing.

  Mario stood over by the door, his belongings in his hands. Looking back at the blonde, silhouetted against the orange and gold of the firelight, he desperately hoped this wouldn’t be the last time he saw the man.

  “Thank you.” Gabriel said softly as he placed a kiss on Mario’s lips.

  Smiling, Mario took his hand and they went out to the cars. “Let’s take mine, so that you don’t have to worry about driving logistics.”

  Gabriel stopped and pulled until his lover stopped walking and turned back towards him. “You’re really willing to stick around for this fucked-up symbiotic relationship I have with Izzy?”

  Mario pulled Gabriel in for a deep, demanding kiss before stepping away and continuing to the car. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. All relationships take work some more than others. Why don’t we find out exactly what the problem is? Once we know why she left in such a hurry, we can move forward.”

  “She turned off her phone.” Gabriel slid into the passenger side of the car. “I don’t understand why she got so upset. It’s not like there’s anything going on between us.”

  “No baby, I know there’s not. But you do have a life together. You have had for what, six years now. There may be no sex involved and you don’t share the same bed, but you are effectively married. I could see that in her eyes when she walked in,” Mario said.