My Choice, My Chance: Men Of Crooked Bend Book 2

by Taylor Rylan

  “Very good. If you two could follow me back to the office, we can take care of the paperwork and get it sent off to the sellers and see what they think.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I replied, finally taking my eyes off of Liam long enough to look at the Realtor to give her a smile.

  We left and followed her back to her office. By the time we got the paperwork together and left the check for the earnest money, we were both starving and decided to eat at the diner in town. We normally went to Jackson to eat but I didn’t care if anyone saw me with Liam. I wasn’t hiding him, or us.

  Our food arrived and my phone rang at the same time. Becca was calling. She told me the sellers accepted our offer. I grinned at Liam and gave him a thumbs up sign. He started bouncing in his seat with excitement. So damn cute!

  We arranged it so we’d meet her at her office the following day to finalize the sale. I'd need to call the bank and get the funds transferred once I knew where to send them. Since it was a cash sale, things moved quickly. We’d close on our house by the end of June. Our house!

  Damn! I guess I was growing up. I was in a serious, monogamous relationship, I was buying a house with him, and we adopted a kitten together. Would we be getting engaged next? Shit! Would Liam want to get married? I sure could see myself married to Liam. I was crazy about him and knew I loved him. So far, I hadn’t been able to say those three words to him. The timing always felt wrong. I made sure I showed him all the time how I felt about him. It was probably time to tell him. I was getting into a habit of planning surprises for Liam, too! One more to go.

  We finished our dinner and headed home to Hemingway. I made a mental note to contact Collin and let him know I'd be moving the end of June. He'd still be welcome to stay with Liam and me. We would still have a spare bedroom that he could stay in until he found a place. Hopefully, he’d managed to find a way out of his contract sooner. We really needed him and he wanted out of Alabama desperately. It’s a complete win-win.

  Sean and Simon would return next week. With Sean back at work, hopefully things would level out some. I really needed to tell him about the house, not to mention Liam. He knew I was seeing someone, just not who someone was.

  There never seemed to be a good time to tell him. He was overly stressed about the wedding. His future mother-in-law was adding a lot of pressure on the two of them about getting things scheduled and organized. She was a sweet woman normally, but she acted as though she wanted to take over the wedding planning. Sometimes, Sean would come into the office and I could just tell that Cammie had been at it. I was so glad I wasn’t in his shoes.

  After spending a little while playing with Hemingway, Liam and I called it a night and went to bed after getting dirtier and then clean in the shower. I had a good life, and I knew it. Liam changed so much about how I looked at life. Sean started the “improve Jasper’s life” process almost a year ago when we left Wild Creek, but it was Rhett bringing Liam to Wyoming for Christmas that turned my life a complete one-eighty. Who knew a little blond imp could be so powerful?

  Work was par for the course, which meant insanely hectic. I hated being spread so thin but there wasn’t much that could be done until Collin arrived from Alabama. We made him a generous offer and he accepted. It seems that finding out that our little town of Crooked Bend openly accepted gay men didn’t hurt him in making a decision to come to Wyoming. I guess they weren’t so accepting where he lived in Alabama. Not that it mattered, but we had no idea of Collin’s sexual orientation when we offered the position to him. His professional portfolio spoke for itself. He sounded happily surprised when we told him that Sean was engaged to a man, and that I, too, was openly gay. I told him we had never experienced any negative behavior in town at all. That seemed to seal the deal for him. He'd be so much closer to his brothers and cousins, too.

  I was relieved to find out that Collin would be able to use accumulated vacation time and leave earlier than anticipated. He’d be arriving in Crooked Bend the first week of July. Thank God! That meant we only had to do without his help for just over a month. He was still looking for housing. After getting assurance from both Liam and me, he finally agreed to accept the offer to stay in our guest room while he looked for places. We would need to make sure we behaved ourselves until we were in our bedroom. That wouldn’t be too difficult, right?

  When I saw Sean after he returned from his romantic getaway, he looked relaxed and very well fucked. It was a good look on him. He had so much to discuss. He told me that they decided on a location for their wedding. They chose the vineyard they visited in California. They hired the on-site wedding planner, no more wedding stress! I was so happy for him. He was relieved and it showed. He also told me that his second visit to Rhett was much better than the first. He was still with our dads, but was doing a lot better. I was happy to hear that.

  Liam reported that Rhett fell into a slight state of depression when he hadn’t heard from Logan in over a month. I guess Liam took it upon himself to go out to Wild Creek and rip Logan a new one for it. That’s something I would've loved to see. Whatever it was that Liam said, worked, because according to Rhett, Logan called him every other day after that. I honestly didn’t care what it took to get my little brother back. If being friends with Logan helped, then that friendship better flourish! I thought that Logan might be looking for more than just friendship.

  Since Collin was a shoo-in, and after I told Sean about my soon to be homeowner status, we started looking for properties in Crooked Bend for a satellite office. It would be so much closer for the two of us, and Collin was more than willing to work out of the Jackson office location on a daily basis. It seems he had become accustomed to a long commute.

  Try as I might, I couldn’t find time to tell Sean that not only was I living with a guy but was also in love with him and that the guy was Liam. Why did it seem that my timing always sucked when it came to saying important things to those that meant the most to me? I decided that I'd plan a romantic evening with Liam and tell him those three important words before I told Sean about us. I needed to make sure he felt the same way before I told Sean. I didn’t know if I could handle Sean seeing me fall apart over a man, again, if he rejected my declaration of love. If he rejected me and didn’t love me in return, it would devastate me irreparably.

  26 — Liam

  June

  I absolutely couldn’t believe it. We were going to get the house of my dreams! The sellers were quick to accept Jasper’s offer and were eager to close on the house. Apparently, the seller’s wife had already gone back to Texas without him. He’d only stayed in Wyoming to sell the house and was eager to get back to her. We were closing in just a few hours and would be moving into our home tomorrow. I was excited, but also nervous. I had plans for tonight. I sure hoped that Jasper didn’t freak out on me.

  I mean, we were there. I knew it in my heart that we were to that point. I could tell that Jasper felt something more than just affection every time we made love. There was no other word for it when he kissed me from head to toe and stroked himself into me slowly while linking his fingers with mine. The look in his eyes when he did that just made my heart palpitate with emotion. Maybe he hadn’t said the words, but he did with his body. God, I hoped my plan for tonight’s romantic dinner worked out.

  I had it figured out. I would stage a romantic dinner for Jasper in our new house. Somehow, I hadn’t really figured out how yet, I’d work it into the conversation that I love him.

  I used words for a living! You’d think it would be easy to tell the man I loved that I was in love with him. I have never struggled with something so much in my life! I’d only ever said it to one other person and that was a dangerous mistake. That man almost killed me. Jasper was nothing like Mike. The mind is a funny thing. Even though it had been over six months since I last saw him, there were still times that I cringed when Mike would cross my mind.

  I still had a few things to stage before I met Jasper to close the sale and get our keys.
I'd be happy to finally establish myself somewhere permanently. I was tired of living out of boxes. We only had just a few boxes left to finish packing and tape up. Things that we needed on a daily basis were last to go into boxes. We completely gave up trying to keep kitchen items unpacked. We were living the true bachelor life, eating out twice a day. I was so sick of fast food it wasn’t even funny. I'd come to love cooking with Jasper so much! It had become one of my favorite parts of the day.

  Come to think about it, I enjoyed everything that we did together. We did so many little things together and it was amazing. A year ago I was miserable. I was amazed with how much had changed in such a short amount of time. It was even better when you knew you’d found the right person like I had.

  Closing on the house was quick and virtually painless. It did require Jasper and me to sign our names dozens of times. I argued against having my name on the house repeatedly. I didn’t think Jasper should put my name on the deed to the house. He was the one buying it, it should go in his name. He finally won when he gave me an ultimatum; it goes in both names or he wasn’t going to buy it. That was underhanded and unfair, but I wanted that house so I begrudgingly agreed. I felt he shouldn’t put my name on it if he was using his trust money to buy the place. I wasn’t putting any money into the purchase. He told me we could put all of the utilities in my name if it made me feel any better. It didn’t.

  After we finished signing the papers, Jasper said he needed to run off to the office. I didn’t mind. With him gone, I had the perfect opportunity to run to the rental house and grab the stuff I needed for my surprise. I couldn’t believe my luck!

  I finally made it to our new house with everything. I wanted to cry when I pulled into the driveway and saw Jasper’s truck there. How in the hell was I going to set everything up for my romantic picnic surprise if he was already there?

  Admitting defeat and coming to the conclusion that tonight was not going to be the night to tell Jasper that I loved him, I got out of Baloo and walked up to the house to search for Jasper.

  I was floored when I walked into the house. Jasper made a trail of lit candles. They started at the front door inviting me to continue inward. I followed the small flames, making my way to the living room. The sight before me made me gasp and start to cry. There, in the middle of the living room, surrounded by candles, and with a blanket and several pillows laid out on the floor was Jasper. It seems my man had the exact same idea as me! He obviously came straight here from the Realtor’s office instead of going to his office in Jackson like he’d told me.

  I didn’t move at first. I noticed Jasper started to look uncomfortable so I slowly made my way toward him and the little picnic he had put together for us.

  “Jasper, what…”

  “Liam, just give me a minute here, alright?”

  I had no idea what Jasper planned but I knew that there was absolutely no way I was going to let him go another night without telling him exactly how I felt. With as wonderful and sweet as this all was, this was my plan. Did I talk in my sleep? Nobody ever mentioned me talking in my sleep before so probably not. How was it that Jasper came up with the exact same idea as me? I took a big breath and did my best to calm myself and stepped into the room. I didn’t stop there. Nope! In true Liam fashion I walked right up to Jasper and hauled off and whacked him on the shoulder. Not the most romantic move ever.

  “Liam! What the hell?”

  “How dare you, Jasper!”

  “How dare I what? You’re mad I try to be romantic for you? What? You want me to be an asshole or something?”

  “No! I love it when you’re romantic. I love it when you plan trips and dinners and send me flowers and candy and stuff. It’s an amazing feeling knowing that you care enough about me to do all of those things for me.”

  “Then why in the hell did you just hit me?”

  “Because! You ruined my surprise!”

  “How did I ruin your surprise? I haven’t even told you your surprise yet!”

  We were both upset and started raising our voices, shouting at each other by that point. Not one of our best moments.

  “What do you mean you haven’t given me my surprise yet? I had everything all planned and you beat me to it! I was going to come in and set up a romantic dinner for you, but you beat me to it, Jasper!" I was openly bawling by then. It was not a pretty sight. I know, I’ve seen me when I cried in the past. My face gets red and splotchy when I cry.

  “Liam, I haven’t given you your surprise yet because the dinner isn’t your surprise. I wanted to give you a perfect romantic dinner so I could tell you just how much you mean to me. I wanted the timing to finally be right so I could tell you that I’ve fallen completely and totally in love with you.”

  I opened my mouth to wail out more of my frustration when his words sunk in. “Wait, what?" Did Jasper just tell me that he loves me? Out loud? Surely I’m mistaken. My ears were playing tricks on me. They had to have been. Could I be so lucky to fall in love with a man that loved me back?

  Wrapping his arms around me, Jasper said those three wonderfully beautiful words to me again. “I said I love you, Liam. I love everything about you. I love the way you get lost in the stories that you write. I love the way you bite your bottom lip when you get turned on like you are right now.” He tweaked my chin with his index finger. “I love the way you dance around the house in nothing but your underwear. I love the way you smile at me when you first wake up in the morning. I love the way you drag your cute little ass out of bed to make coffee for me while I get ready for work. I love the way you are devoted to your friendship with Rhett and always drop whatever you’re doing when he calls or texts you. I love everything about you, Liam. You are an amazing person and for whatever reason, you chose to give me a chance. I'll be forever thankful and grateful that I have this chance to spend time with you. I can do this all night. Should I go on?”

  Clinging to Jasper, I still had difficulties articulating those three little words. I knew more than anything that he wanted to hear them from me. It wasn’t a hardship and it sure wouldn’t be a lie. I’d been in love with Jasper for months. “I...I...oh my God, Jasper. I can’t. You can’t possibly be real. There is no way that you, oh my God!" Wrong three words. I took a deep breath and finally, wrapping my arms and legs around Jasper after climbing him like a tree, I looked into his beautiful whiskey-colored eyes and said the most important four words back to Jasper.

  When they started, it seemed I wasn’t lost for words, after all. “I love you too. I have for so long, Jasper. I just couldn’t find the right time to tell you either. I wanted to tell you when you took me to the ski lodge but it didn’t seem like the right time. I wanted to tell you when you took me to Montana to pick up Hemingway, but again, the timing seemed off. I had a similar evening planned for you to do this exact same thing. I planned a romantic dinner for you. I wanted to tell you how amazing you are. How wonderful you are. How happy you make me. You beat me to it!” I knew I was whining, but there you have it! I took a breath, regrouped, and continued. “You are the most amazing man I’ve ever known and I’m so thankful that you love me. I promise, I’ll never take that love for granted.”

  Jasper clamped his lips against mine in what I could only describe as a toe-curling kiss. He somehow managed to lower us to the blanket and pillows on the floor. There must have been several blankets because I only felt softness below me. I knew that hardwood floors weren’t soft at all. The love of my life gently licked, nipped, nibbled, and kissed my lips, chin, neck, earlobes, and shoulders. I was a quivering mass of noodles by the time he stopped and pulled back enough to look at me.

  “I love you, Liam. With everything I have and am. You’re everything for me. I’ve never felt this way about anyone ever before and I never want to with anyone else. You’re my choice and I don’t ever want to lose you.”

  I looked into his eyes and saw the truth in his words. “You won’t. I promise. You’re my chance at love and happiness, Jasper. I’m so th
ankful that I took a chance with you. I’ve never been happier, or felt more loved than I do with you.”

  I pulled Jasper’s head forward to mine, because it was Jasper and I would never get enough of his kisses. The man was a master at kissing and I loved that he loved to kiss me as much as he could. Somehow, Jasper got us both completely naked and was frotting against me. Before we could get too carried away, he rolled us over so I was on top, straddling his hips. I explored his body. He’d given me the opportunity like that, so I took advantage. I leaned forward and touched, kissed, licked, and sucked, starting at his neck and working my way down his body.

  I gave his nipples extra attention, gently nipping at them until they were hard peaks. I must have been doing something right; he was pressing his hips upward into mine. I continued downward, paying special attention to the ridges and valleys sculpted into his abs. I trailed onward using my tongue toward my prize. I loved Jasper’s cock. I’d never been with a man who had an uncut cock before Jasper. My Jasper would be the last, too, because he was it for me as well.

  I loved to play with the foreskin on his cock. He loved it when I sucked and nibbled on it. After several months together, I was able to deep throat Jasper without gagging. He wasn’t overly large or thick. In my opinion, he was perfection. I loved that he was all mine. I wanted to make sure we got to the main event soon because I had a deep-rooted ached for him. I reached over and grabbed the condom, opened it, and quickly rolled it down Jasper’s rock-hard, velvety length. He gave me the lube and I poured a generous amount directly onto his erect length and then used my hand to cover him from tip to base. I wiped the excess across my hole but didn’t bother prepping. I needed Jasper, and I needed to feel him inside me immediately.

  I leaned forward and positioned myself above him but when I started to lower myself, Jasper stopped me. I looked at him with an exasperated expression.