Back To The Start
Page 16
Epilogue
One Year Later
Greg opened the front door and hurried inside, dropping his keys on the side table and heading toward the kitchen. He checked the time on the microwave. Okay, he had twenty minutes before he had to leave again. Was that enough time for coffee? He would risk it. If he were late, Jewel would kill him.
She had made it extremely clear that she wanted help in picking her outfit tonight. Since it was her first date since leaving Stephen, she had been fretting. Greg heaped a helping of coffee into the machine. He didn’t want her to think he didn’t care.
Jewel had moved out six months ago. It had been amicable. But it made sense – no matter how close they were as friends, they didn’t make the best roommates. Between Jewel’s habit of never doing the dishes and tossing clothes around everywhere, and Greg’s desire to keep everything in an orderly fashion, the best friends realized to save the friendship, it was better to be apart.
The front door slammed shut, causing one of the pictures in the living room to fall over on the coffee table. He made another mental note to get the door replaced. His parent’s place needed repairs and he had been too busy with an influx of commissions to get everything fixed.
“Hey. Thought I wouldn’t see you until tomorrow.”
Greg looked up as Ben walked into the kitchen. He slung his bag onto the counter and shook his hair out of his face. Greg’s heart skipped a beat. They had been seeing each other for a year now, and Ben had moved in with him a month ago. It had been scary, for both, to allow someone into their lives so completely.
But over the course of the year, Ben had actively worked through the guards he had up for so long, allowing Greg to see more of him. Each time he did, he found there was more of Ben to love. There were layers to him, opposing features and actions that made him fascinating to be with. He could be stubborn and grumpy, prone to irritation when his college courses got to be too much—which he liked to work out by having sex. Greg wasn’t going to say no to that form of stress relief.
Even now, he could tell by the way Ben sounded that class had been a struggle. That was confirmed when he crossed the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Greg’s waist. He kissed him, a deep kiss that meant he wanted more. Greg had yet to grow tired of Ben’s kisses… or anything else to do with him, but he broke the kiss.
“I can’t,” he mumbled, trying to ignore how good Ben felt against him.
“Why?” His voice was hoarse with desire, and his lips brushed against Greg’s softly.
“I have to leave in fifteen minutes to see your sister. She has her date tonight.”
Ben groaned, releasing his hold on him. “I work tonight,” he reminded Greg, “So…”
“So, you’ll have to wait to have me. Tomorrow morning,” he replied, as his phone buzzed.
“Fine. But I’m going to be thinking about you all night,” Ben said, kissing the top of his head.
“Shit. You’ll have me in the afternoon. I forgot I have a therapy session with Mark in the morning.” He showed his phone screen to Ben. “Just got a reminder.”
Ben leaned forward, causing Greg’s back to press into the counter. It was difficult to focus on anything besides how much he wanted to have him. Ben left trails of kisses along his neck and, for a spilt second, Greg almost caved.
But he gently nudged him away and shook his head. “You’re being very bad, do you know that?”
Ben grinned, a lop-sided grin that was once rare, and Greg felt the happiness buzzing inside of him.
“Guess you will have to punish me later. Tomorrow. Sometime,” he replied, with a sly look in his eyes as the coffee machine beeped.
Greg, hoping his desire wasn’t written all over his face, turned to the machine. Ben opened the fridge, rummaging around inside. He tried not to check out his ass. Somehow, he knew Ben would be aware of it and poke fun at him.
Sometimes, in quiet moments such as these, he marveled at the fact he lived with someone—Ben of all people—and it was picture perfect. Not just with Ben, but with Mark as well. They had been going to therapy for almost a year now. Progress was slow, and sometimes angry and emotional, but Mark kept showing up. That was something… to have a relationship with his brother.
Not for the first time, he wished that his mom was here to see it.
Quickly, he poured coffee in his travel mug, then dumped too much sugar and creamer in it before turning around to say goodbye to Ben.
“I start my shift at ten,” he replied, before Greg could ask.
“Be safe, alright?”
“I’m always safe. You’re the one hanging out with my sister. Be careful,” Ben joked, before leaning down and kissing him again.
The kiss lingered with Greg looking in his eyes. A strand of hair had fallen in front of Ben’s eyes and he pushed it out of the way.
“I love you,” he whispered.
Ben smiled a little. “I love you too.”
They stayed like that for a moment, perfectly content with each other until Greg regretfully took a step away. He grabbed his phone, made sure he had his keys and nodded.
“Okay, I’m going to go. See you tomorrow.”
He came back for one more kiss, only stopping when it threatened to turn into something more. It was difficult not to waste all his time around Ben. They were serious, with the promise of more to come, more growth and more time together. Greg found just being around him intoxicating. As much as he looked forward to seeing Jewel, he almost wanted to risk her wrath and have a quickie with him.
To Jewel’s credit, the fact that he was dating her brother barely made her blink. She had only wanted everyone to be happy. It had been their parents who had been the most surprised by Ben’s announcement they were dating although, after a few months, they appeared to have gotten used to it. More than once, he had caught Jewel doodling wedding plans for them. They weren’t ready for that yet, but he liked that Jewel was thinking about it—it meant he could shove the bulk of the planning onto her, something she would thrive on, unlike Ben.
“Okay, okay,” he mumbled against Ben’s lips, breaking the kiss. “I am one hundred percent leaving now.”
He held his hands up in an innocent gesture. “Go, go. I’m not keeping you.”
Greg made sure he had everything and, with a final glance at his boyfriend, he hurried out the front door, clutching his coffee.
He got in the car and stopped, taking in the sight of the house. He hoped his parents were proud of him, happy that work was going well, content that he was with someone who loved him as much as Ben loved him, and pleased that Mark felt close to him once more.
The happiness bubbled once more in his chest. He had thought coming back home was going to be a messy mistake, one resulting in losing Mark and Jewel for good. But not only did he have them both, he had Ben now as well.
But now, in this very moment, Greg knew that he had made the best choice of his entire life.
Turning the key in the ignition, he thought of Jewel, and Ben, his parents, and Mark.
And he smiled.
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Back to the Start
Peter Styles
© 2017
Disclaimer
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and events are all fictitious for the reader’s pleasure. Any similarities to real people, places, events, living or dead are all coincidental.
This book contains sexually explicit content that is intended for ADULTS ONLY (+18).