Jack opened and closed his mouth, at a loss for words, his cheeks flaming. He looked at Gabriel, and Gabriel knew that Jack was unused to this embarrassment. He’d been caught off guard.
Gabriel also knew that Jack’s sisters, and their husbands, were just as surprised by Jack’s embarrassment as Jack was, and they were ready to pounce and make the most of this opportunity to torment him.
“Wishful thinking,” Gabriel said, drawing most of the eyes back to himself. He grinned. “You know what they say, love is blind—and idealistic,” he said, earning another round of loud, wine-fueled laughter.
“I was gonna compliment him on his threshold for—” Caroline’s husband said, and she hissed his name, silencing him.
Gabriel paused for only a breath to consider, and said, “It would probably make more sense to compliment me on mine.” He met the man’s gaze steadily and, after a beat, added, “But don’t knock it til you try it.”
As Jack’s brother-in-law spluttered, and then guffawed, Gabriel finally let his eyes slide back to Jack. Jack’s cheeks were still flaming, but there was a different kind of heat in his stare, and Gabriel smiled at him.
“Well,” Natalie said, and suddenly the room grew quieter as eyes turned toward her. Gabriel saw a few chagrined looks, and he knew that Jack’s family was afraid they may have upset her. Gabriel knew better, and he waited. “It does look a bit narrow.”
There were a few seconds of surprised silence before the laughter started.
“Jesus,” Ben said, thrusting the shorts back into Gabriel’s lap, but Ben was laughing along with everyone else.
Here, I’m me, Gabriel thought, dropping the shorts onto his other opened presents. Here, I can breathe. I can speak my mind, I can laugh. I’m me. He’d always been himself, of course, but now, here, he could be open. Unguarded.
Jack gestured toward the other room with his chin, and Gabriel gave a small nod, rising to his feet.
“Keep it PG, fellas,” someone called as Gabriel made his way out of the room with Jack trailing him.
“Parental guidance suggested?” Gabriel returned over his shoulder, grinning at the following laughter. Then Jack’s hands were on his shoulders, steering him toward the bathroom and inside, spinning him, pushing him against the wall—
“I’m sorry,” Jack said. “That was obviously for later, I didn’t realize Alex grabbed it when he loaded the presents into the car.” He searched Gabriel’s face, his gaze burning, his hands heavy on Gabriel’s shoulders. “You are…perfect and incredible and I fucking love you,” he said.
Gabriel laughed and raised a hand to Jack’s flushed cheek. “I’ve never seen you so flustered. Are you okay?”
“I’m embarrassed for you,” Jack said. He tipped his head, and said, “And you’re not even embarrassed.”
Gabriel put his hands on Jack’s hips and pulled his body closer. “I think they’d probably already guessed we were sleeping together,” he said.
Jack snorted. “Yeah, but I asked them to go easy on you. Jesus. They were fine through dinner and then you get a little alcohol in them and my father starts making jokes about…trunk length…”
Gabriel laughed, rubbing Jack’s hips. “You asked them to go easy on me?”
“I know you’re not used to this, and they can be vulgar. Although, Natalie—that was funny.”
“Jack. I feel normal here.”
Jack frowned. “You are normal.”
Gabriel shook his head. “No, I know, that’s not what I—I mean I feel like myself. Free.”
Jack kissed him, then pressed their foreheads together for a moment. “Gabe,” he said quietly. “Last Christmas was one of the hardest days of my life. And it’s still hard because everyone can feel his absence, you know? But you put everyone at ease, always. Last year I couldn’t have imagined being here, being happy. With you I can breathe normally.”
Gabriel tilted his lips forward to meet Jack’s, and said, “I love you.”
“I really want to get in your pants right now.”
Gabriel tipped his head back against the wall, laughing, and said, “I know. I thought you were going to attack me as soon as we got in here.”
“I’m trying to be good.” He sighed and pulled back. “But if you’re comfortable with it, I think we should go mess with my brothers and embarrass the shit out of them.”
Gabriel laughed again. “Serves them right for picking on you. Not on my watch.”
Jack smiled and kissed him again. “My hero,” he murmured.
“You knowww, I think the longer we stay in here, the easier we’ll be able to mess with their heads.”
Jack grinned. “God, you’re cute and brilliant.”
***
Margaret’s parting words had been playing through Jack’s mind since he’d gotten home. He’d shaken John’s hand and then put his arms around Margaret for a hug, and she’d clutched him tightly, thanking him for organizing the party.
“Gabriel is lovely,” she’d told him, drawing back and laying her hand against his cheek. “And if you…If you see it in your heart to give us more grandchildren, I hope you know we’ll love them just as much as Alex and…and they’ll be family.”
Jack had been momentarily speechless. He knew what she was saying, that any children he had down the road would be taken care of financially, as Alex was—set up with a trust fund, and a college fund. Jack wasn’t surprised so much by the generosity as he was by the sentiment behind it, and her openness about her feelings.
“I know they’d be lucky to have you as their grandparents, just as Alex is,” he’d finally said, giving her another hug. “And thank you,” he added, unable to fully express how much it meant to him that he was still their family, still welcomed as their son, in Jeff’s absence. “Call if you need anything,” he said, once more shaking John’s hand.
Now he was home, in the bathroom. Gabriel was in the kitchen. Jack didn’t know what he was doing but he could hear him opening and closing cupboards. Jack supposed he should go ask if he needed help finding something.
Alex was staying the night with Caroline and her family. Gabriel had invited Jack back to his apartment; Ben had gone to spend the rest of the holiday, and the night, with his girlfriend, and Gabriel wasn’t expecting any other visitors.
Jack had asked him to come home with him, instead. Gabriel had been to Jack’s place before, of course, but he’d never stayed over.
Jack looked at himself in the mirror.
He and Gabriel hadn’t been together for long. Certainly it was too soon to start talking about marriage or children or even moving in together; they would work up to those things, and Jack was sure they’d get to them. He had no doubts about Gabriel or their feelings for each other, no matter how quickly it had happened.
He looked down at his ring, gleaming beside the sink. He’d considered taking it off when they were in California. In fact, he had taken it off and held it in the palm of his hand, examining both the gold band and his feelings about having it off. He’d already declared his love to Gabriel by then, and introduced him to Jeff’s parents. And yet seeing the ring, lying in his palm, had given him a pang and he’d known that he wasn’t ready. He’d slipped it back onto his finger without regret. He knew he didn’t have to rush himself.
He made a mental note to find a necklace chain for the ring. He would wear it around his neck. Eventually, he would give it to Alex, even though it wasn’t a ring that he could give to a potential bride. Maybe Alex would wear it himself, someday, as half of a new matching set. Maybe not. Either way, it would be his. Until then, Jack would keep it close and keep it safe.
But for now, he walked out of the bathroom, turning off the light, and left the ring on the counter.
When he walked into the other room, he snorted softly at the sight of Gabriel standing at the stove in nothing but gray, knitted shorts. There was a little tail hanging from his butt, and Jack grinned.
They fit well, stretched across his ass tightly enough t
o make Jack’s mouth a bit dry. Gabriel was singing softly—Gerry and the Pacemakers’ “I Like It”—but he stopped when he sensed Jack’s approach.
“You’re one hundred percent sure that Alex or anyone else will not be walking in, right?” Gabriel asked without looking back.
“I’m positive,” Jack agreed quietly, stopping to admire the sight. “Alex knows you’re here. What’re you doing?”
“Making hot chocolate.”
Jack laughed. “Seriously?”
“Christmas tradition,” Gabriel answered.
“Are you going to turn around?”
Gabriel cleared his throat. “I’m not sure if that’s a great idea.”
“No? Do they not fit? Does…it not fit, I mean?”
Gabriel laughed. “They fit. For now,” he said, his voice cracking with amusement. “But there could be some constriction if I, uh, get too close to you.”
“Hmm. We don’t want constriction. So Natalie was right, huh? I mean, she would know.”
Gabriel laughed again. “So would you,” he said. “There’s some stretch but, uh, maybe not as much as you expected.”
“Ah, sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s an interesting sensation.”
“I won’t touch but please may I see?”
Gabriel turned and leaned against the counter beside the stove. “I doubt it matters much,” he laughed. “Just knowing you were behind me had an effect. Plus there’s some…friction.”
“And heat, I’ll bet,” Jack said with a grin.
“Oh. It’s hot,” Gabriel agreed.
“You can say that again.”
“In fact, I’d say it’s a good thing I don’t plan on having more biological children.”
“Now, now, you can’t only blame the trunk. I know you’re a fan of tighty-whities.”
“I’m a fan of things being where they should be,” Gabriel laughed.
“I’ll tell you where I think your thing should be,” Jack said, and Gabriel groaned, briefly closing his eyes. “Okay, sorry. Honey, you don’t have to wear them.”
“I’m not complaining,” Gabriel said. He pointed toward the table, and Jack saw a wrapped package that he hadn’t noticed in his preoccupation. “Luckily for you, I kept your present away from your family.”
“Where did you even have that? I was in the bathroom for like five minutes.”
Gabriel grinned and shrugged. “I’d make a joke about Santa and sitting in laps and all, but…”
“What is it?”
“Boxer shorts with mistletoe on the crotch,” Gabriel answered without hesitation, and Jack laughed. “And flavored lube.”
“Seriously?”
“That’s for your benefit more than mine, believe me. I often feel sorry for your tongue,” Gabriel said, earning more laughter from Jack. When the other man started toward the present, Gabriel said, “You can open it later. I really think I’d like to take back the no-touching rule and see what happens.”
Jack veered toward him, instead, but he moved slowly. “What flavor?” he asked.
“There’s a variety,” Gabriel answered, and Jack lifted his eyebrows in response. “Strawberry.”
“Hmm.”
“Cinnamon.”
“Huh.”
“Mint.”
“Really.”
“Passionfruit.”
“I like the sound of that one.” Jack stopped in front of Gabriel and ran a finger, light as a feather, along the waistband of the shorts. “Do you think the mint would cool you off?”
“I couldn’t begin to imagine,” Gabriel said.
“I wouldn’t want anything to interfere with the Gabriel flavor.”
Gabriel made a face, and Jack laughed. “We don’t have to use it.”
“Oh, we’ll use it,” Jack said softly. “Every…last…drop,” he added, walking his fingers up the other man’s stomach. He looked down between them. “I’ve never had an elephant’s trunk in my—”
Gabriel silenced him with a hard kiss, holding the back of his head. Jack slid a hand downward, and Gabriel pushed his hips forward. He couldn’t hide his wince, though, and Jack drew back to look at his face.
“You’re uncomfortable,” he said. “Take ‘em off.”
“You take ‘em off,” Gabriel returned.
“Fine. Let’s go,” Jack said, hooking a finger into the front of Gabriel’s shorts to tug him along toward the bedroom. Jack reached out and snatched up the present from the table on their way past. “Which flavor is most Christmassy, do you think? Cinnamon?”
“Candy canes are mint,” Gabriel said.
“Hmm, I’ve had strawberry candy canes, though,” Jack answered. “This is a challenge. I guess maybe we’ll just have to sample them all.”
“As long as I get my hot chocolate later,” Gabriel said.
Jack laughed, turning toward the other man and closing the bedroom door behind him. “I even have the little marshmallows.”
“I know. I found them.”
Jack tossed the present onto the bed. “Your crotch is on fire, babe,” he said.
Gabriel grinned. “It’s not so bad,” he answered. “But I’m definitely going to need some help getting them off.”
“I’m always here to help you get off,” Jack said, winking.
Epilogue
“Why are you making a cake at seven a.m.?”
Jack looked over his shoulder at his son. “Did you forget it’s your birthday?”
Alex laughed. “Tomorrow.”
“Yeah well I don’t want to do this after work. This way you can take it to school tomorrow for lunch,” he added with a grin. “If any lasts until tomorrow, because this is going to be awesome.”
“I’m not gonna be late for the first day of my last year,” Alex said, “and I’ve gotta pick up El and Hope, so can you help me with this?”
“You’ll be the only kid in school in a tie,” Jack said.
“Who cares,” Alex laughed. “I’ll start a trend. But I can’t get it tied right.”
Jack turned around to face him and held up his hands. “I’m elbow-deep in flour,” he said with a grimace. He gestured with his chin. “Ask Gabe.”
Alex turned to find Gabriel leaning against the wall just inside the kitchen; his hair and beard were damp from the shower, and he was dressed in khakis and a white shirt. As Alex walked toward him, Gabriel tossed his sweater onto a chair to free up his hands.
“Did you double-check the car seat?” Gabriel asked as he fixed Alex’s tie.
“Yeah—Dad checked it out,” the boy answered.
“Good,” Gabriel said, giving the tie one last adjustment. “You know it’s not going to be easy for El, having the baby in class with her.”
“I know. We’ll all help. If we can’t make it work, her teachers were nice enough to say she could do most of the work at home.”
“That is nice of them,” Gabriel answered with a smile.
“Luckily the principal was nice enough to give her a chance to try this way, though,” Alex grinned.
“I think you’ll find Ms. Santiago to be quite reasonable, as far as principals go,” Gabriel returned, still smiling. “Did you decide what you want for your birthday dinner, yet?”
“Yeah, that tomato pork thingy you made, but without onions.”
“You’ll lose half of the best flavor!” Jack objected from the other side of the kitchen.
Alex rolled his eyes. “Yeah, onions are great. If you like the taste of B.O. but also wish it would squeak in your mouth.”
Gabriel tipped his head back, laughing, as Jack made a sound of disgust. “Ah,” Gabriel said, patting Alex’s dimpled cheek, “Shakespeare had nothing on you, kid. Generations of my ancestors will turn over in their graves, but no onions, I promise.”
Alex glanced down at his tie. “Thanks,” he said, turning to grab his car keys from the counter.
“See you tonight,” Jack said. “Love you, buddy.”
“Love you, too,” Alex
answered. As he walked past Gabriel, he added, “See you in second period, Mr. S.”
“Alex,” Gabriel said, and the boy hesitated at the door, looking back. “Let El know that if she needs a break at all during the day, I’ll be happy to babysit. I’m good at multitasking.”
Alex smiled. “Thanks,” he said. “Love you, too, Mr. S,” he added, slinging his bag over his shoulder and leaving the house before Gabriel could manage a response.
Gabriel turned to find Jack watching him. “What?”
Jack crooked a flour-covered finger.
As Gabriel crossed the kitchen, he narrowed his eyes and said, “You’d better not touch me. I just showered.”
“Your lack of trust really hurts,” Jack said. He held his hands out to his sides, and Gabriel leaned forward to kiss the smirk from his lips.
When Gabriel drew back, he studied Jack’s face for a moment and repeated, “What?”
“You’d be happy to babysit, huh?” Jack asked with a smile.
“I’ve seen you hold that baby, don’t tell me you wouldn’t gladly volunteer,” Gabriel said, poking gently at Jack’s ribs.
“I would. I like kids. You like kids…” Jack gave him a pointed look.
“Are you saying you want to have more kids?” Gabriel asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Maybe not right away,” Jack said. “Alex is going off to college a year from now and I’m looking forward to spending some time alone, just you and me.”
“And then you want to dive into late night feedings and poopy diapers—”
“I thought maybe we should skip ahead a bit,” Jack said. “Find some kids a little more in need of a good home.”
“You want to adopt.”
“Yeah?”
“Together.”
Jack laughed. He reached toward Gabriel’s shirt, then remembered his hands were dirty and stopped himself. “Yes, together. Don’t you—”
“Yeah. Yes,” Gabriel said. “But to adopt together we’ll have to—” He broke off, studying Jack’s face.
“Yes,” Jack agreed. “But I’m going to wait until whenever you feel ready to ask.”
Gabriel made an exasperated sound. “You’re going to make me ask?”
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