A Valentine's Quest (The Valentine's Trilogy)

by Sam E. Kraemer

  I chuckled. “I very much remember the feeling, but I hadn’t realized you’d been bitten by the love bug,” I told him as I studied David, watching him look into the window of the store next to the deli, pretending to window shop.

  If it was any other Friday, Gray would already be at work, but since Maddie had given him time off, he wasn’t going to show for his usual shift. I wanted to know what the fuck David O’Shane was up to, so I got Baxter to join me in a makeshift stake out.

  “Devoured is more like it. Ethan is telling me about some of the people in his Composition class, and he’s very entertaining. We’re going to dinner tonight and then watching a movie in his dorm room because his roommate is away. If I had the guy at my place? I can’t be held responsible for what I’d do to him,” Craig admitted, which made me laugh.

  Just then, David stepped to his left to look into the deli, smiling. He checked his hair in the window of the gift shop where he was standing, and then the fucker popped something into his mouth I hoped was a mint. With Cary dealing drugs out of that place, I prayed David hadn’t started using after his break-up with Josh. The world was upside-fucking-down.

  “He’s making a move. Come one, lover boy,” I teased Craig.

  We hopped out of the Vic and crossed the street, discretely slipping up behind David as he stared at the door of the deli. I nodded to Craig, who spoke first. “Well, well, look who it is. What’s up, David?” he asked as the two of us flanked him.

  He turned to see both of us and his face flushed for a minute. “Fuck, Gray talked, didn’t he?”

  I cleared my throat. “Tell me you aren’t stalking my boyfriend, O’Shane. I don’t want to beat you to death on this street because we’re leaving to go on vacation and I don’t want to miss it. What the fuck is going on with you?” I asked him.

  He pushed us to stand in front of the gift shop and sighed. “I’m not stalking Gray. I was just trying to be his friend so he could introduce me to the hottie he works with,” David stated, nodding his head toward the deli counter.

  I glanced through the window and saw Joy talking to Martin, the weird guy. “Dude? Are you bisexual and crazy? That girl’s barely eighteen. I thought you were as much a slave to the dick as me,” I stated, trying to figure out what the fuck was wrong with him.

  “Not Joy, idiot. Marty. He’s so fucking hot, but he’s really shy, and every time I go in there to introduce myself, he freaks the fuck out and hides in the kitchen. I want to ask the guy out, but I can’t get more than two words out of him,” he explained.

  I chuckled. “You moved to this neighborhood because of Martin?” I asked. The kid weirded me the fuck out, but if O’Shane liked him? I’d play Cupid.

  “Okay, well, it sounds weird when you say it that way, but yes, I did. See, Josh always wanted to come here for food, and I kinda got a crush on Marty because he was so damn hot. He’s got the cutest blush and he has a lisp, which I think is sexy as fuck.

  “When Josh would go to the bathroom, I’d flirt with him a little, and his face would turn bright red before he rushed to the back and hid out. I watched when he worked with Gray and how nice they were to each other. I thought maybe Gray could sort of smooth the way for me to meet the kid.

  “Josh and I were on a banana peel by then, and I was pretty sure he was fucking around, so I decided to move on myself. Anyway, I crashed with an old friend of mine from back when I was stuck in a sector car, and when he got engaged and I hadn’t gotten over thinking about Marty, I knew I had to make a move. I’ve just been trying to figure out how to do it without scaring him,” David told us.

  Craig held up his hand. “Wait, dude, you work on the other fucking side of town. You moved over here because you’re after some ass?”

  I laughed. “Oh, really? You’re gonna criticize him while you’ve moved back to the dorms?” I joked.

  David looked at the two of us like we were crazy, and I smiled. “Come on. I’ll buy you a sandwich and we’ll see if we can set you up with young Martin. He always looks like a squirrel with a nut, in my opinion, but…” I started.

  “Oh, man, have I got a nut for him,” David stated as he looked into the deli again. I turned to see Martin walk from behind the counter with a broom and dustpan, and as I looked at the kid again, I was guessing to the right guy, he was hot. He was no Gray, but he had potential. I was just grateful David didn’t have a nut for the man I planned to marry.

  Twenty

  Gray

  "So, you and Craig?" I asked Ethan. We were having lunch on campus because we'd just finished our mid-terms, and we were saying good-bye before Spring Break. Derek wouldn't tell me where we were going, but he'd assured me it wasn't Waco, and I was beyond thrilled to hear it. I loved his parents, but Adsila Valentine put a strain on my heart when I was around her, and I was far too young to die.

  Ethan and I dropped into the chairs at a four-top in the cafeteria before he took off the top of the bagel from his turkey and bacon on an onion bagel sandwich, slathering it with enough mayonnaise to make a decent French onion dip. He took a bite and chewed it…appearing quite thoughtful before he looked into my eyes. "I'm afraid I'm a rebound, Gray. That man…he's amazing. I mean, he’s like no guy I’ve ever met in my life. He’s courteous, chivalrous, and smoking hot.

  “We've gone to dinner a couple of times, and he wants to take me out again tonight. He suggested that since I don’t have class tomorrow, maybe we could watch a movie in my room. My psycho roommate is already gone for the break, and he asked if he could come over after dinner. There’s some sequel about fast cars and hot guys that recently came out on DVD, and he wondered if I’d like to see it.

  “I told him I didn’t know anything about it, but he said I wouldn’t need to have seen the other eight or so movies to get the gist. I hoped it meant we’d be making out through it and it wouldn’t matter, but I’m not so sure that’s what he meant after I read some of the reviews about the other movies. They’re formulaic, so one doesn’t need to have seen the series to get the plot, but I’m not sure why he’s willing to sit on my bed and watch the damn thing on my little television.

  “We've hung out at my dorm every time we’re together, and I mentioned maybe we could hang out at his place because my television is small and my fucking roommate is an asshole. Craig keeps telling me he’s having work done at his place and it’s a disaster, but I think he’s lying. He hasn’t made one fucking move on me, either. It's been nearly two weeks, and we've seen each other several times, but the most I've gotten is a kiss…a chaste peck on the lips at that. What the fuck do I have to do to draw this man out?" Ethan asked, frustration apparent on his very handsome face.

  I laughed. "I'm sorry, Ethan, but you're dealing with a man who's working from the playbook of his best friend, and the word ‘speedy’ isn’t in it anywhere. See, when Derek and I first started seeing each other, I worked at a diner. I worked the night shift, and Derek was working the late shift as a cop, so he'd come in for breakfast before he went home to sleep.

  "We saw each other only at the diner for a few months, getting to know each other as friends. One night," I began. I explained to him about the robbery and Derek getting shot. I explained how I took care of him, and about the two of us falling in love.

  "So, that's the bar Craig sees as appropriate for a guy he’s considering as his possible future. That's likely why he's taking things so slowly with you because if it's not going to be serious between the two of you, he doesn't want to hurt you. I'd say it's up to you to move things along," I told him honestly.

  If Ethan wanted in Craig Baxter’s pants, he’d need to make the first move because as I judged the situation, Craig was trying not to fuck up things between them, and perhaps in his previous relationships, he’d moved too quickly and messed up something that might have been special? I’d have to check with Derek, but that was the vibe I got.

  Ethan seemed to contemplate what I’d said for a minute before he smiled at me. "So, it's up to me to seduce him, y
ou say?" he asked salaciously. I could already see the wheels turning in his gorgeous head. Poor Craig Baxter wasn’t going to know what hit him.

  I giggled. "I'd say so. He won't succumb easily because I'm sure Derek threatened him within an inch of his life to be sure about his feelings and take his time before the two of you fall into bed. Until Craig feels like he knows you better and there aren't any unanswered, important questions between you two, I can see the handsome detective dragging his feet for the next step.

  “If you want him, you're gonna have to shock him into giving it up," I offered. Ethan sat there for a minute, appearing to gaze out the window and not focus on anything in particular.

  I continued to eat my kale and grilled chicken Caesar salad as I watched him, intrigued to see what the beginning of a love affair, other than my own, looked like from the cheap seats. I had a good feeling about Ethan and Craig, so I started contemplating my own immediate future…and what I might want to take with me for our trip.

  I had no idea where Derek and I were going for the break, but I had a feeling it would be somewhere warm, and I didn't want a gut hanging over my board shorts…or the red Speedo I had hidden away as a surprise. Since the wonderful night Officer Valentine showed up at the house, cuffed me to the bed with his service cuffs, and fucked me into oblivion, I began making plans for our trip. It was going to be incredible if I had any say in the matter.

  Ethan finally looked at me and smirked. "Gotcha. Any suggestions or parting words of encouragement, Coach? I'm meeting the man in question for dinner at a restaurant near the Precinct and I damn well don’t want to go back to my dorm tonight, even though my roommate is already gone for the break. I want this to be the night."

  I nodded my head in understanding, remembering back to the football party Derek and I hosted in the fall. It was the beginning of the end for David and Josh's relationship, but it was when I first approached Derek about me making love to him.

  David and Josh had insisted Derek would never allow me to top him, but when I asked him, he said he loved me, and of course, he'd be happy for me to make love to him. It had happened a few times since, so I knew it wasn't just a one-off. I preferred it when he fucked me, but sometimes, I just wanted to be in charge and he was always more than happy to oblige.

  I took a deep breath, hoping I was giving Ethan some good advice. "David, Josh's former boyfriend, told me I was the woman in the relationship I was having with Derek. He told me the reason Derek and I had such a great bond was because I was the submissive one and allowed Derek to dictate our life. He told me Derek would never allow me to top him, and I'd always be the housewife in the relationship," I explained, not holding back the bitterness in my voice as I remembered the encounter.

  I saw Ethan shake his head. "He sounds like quite the queen. Josh is that hot brunette I met the other day, right?"

  I nodded. "Yeah, they broke up not too long after that party. After I told Derek about the conversation and asked him how he felt about our relationship, he told me we were equals. He told me he loved me, and he wanted me to make love to him as much as he wanted to make love to me.

  "Don't get me wrong. I love being a bottom, and I love taking care of Derek, but I don't see myself as a weaker partner in our relationship, or a woman, and Derek doesn't either. If I was to offer any advice to you regarding Craig Baxter, it would be to assert yourself as an equal partner. I don't really know how Craig is in a relationship because he hasn't been in a relationship…well, a healthy one, at least…since I've known him," I offered, hoping I hadn't said too much.

  Ethan smiled. "Ah yes, the ever-interfering, ultra-needy Harry? Yeah, we've talked about him and what happened in the past, and I know Craig goes to see him in rehab sometimes to attend therapy sessions with Harry's doctors. Craig says he feels partly responsible for Harry's addiction because of the way in which their relationship progressed over the time they were together. Craig didn't want to commit, and then he found out Harry was fucking prostitutes, hoping to get arrested in one of the stings down at the stroll to make Craig jealous. Sounds twisted, if you ask me."

  That was more than I knew about the elusive Harry. I knew Derek didn't care for him. He said he was using Craig and the guy needed to be cut loose, but I didn't know anything detailed about their relationship.

  "Yeah, well, I have no idea why Harry's in rehab, and I don't care. Derek says he treated Craig like shit, so that's all I have to go on. I'd just say make sure you know how Craig will view you in the relationship before you get into bed with him. Sex has a way of making judgments cloud, in my opinion," I offered.

  We cleaned up our mess and walked outside into the brisk early-March wind. I turned to look at my new friend, and I smiled. "Look, I happen to think Craig Baxter is a great guy. He's always treated me respectfully, and he's never made me feel as if he's judging me or he thinks any less of me.

  “He’s Derek’s best friend aside from a guy in Waco he’s known his whole life, and I think Craig’s a decent man. To be honest, I believe he's looking for a guy exactly like you, and I can tell you, what he feels for Harry isn't love and I don’t think it ever has been, Ethan. I think its empathy for someone whose afraid to get old and find himself alone, or maybe Craig feels like he needs to help Harry through this difficult time to atone for something from the past, but there’s something else at play, I believe, and it’s not love.

  “Just talk to him and make sure you’re both on the same page about what you want out of a relationship, or if either of you is even looking for a relationship at all, before you crawl into bed with him, Ethan. Sex is something you can’t take back," I encouraged.

  Personally, I wasn’t one for a one-night stand, never had been. I did know, however, my Derek had been involved in more than one during his single years, and he’d told me it felt empty, just as I imagined it would. But Craig and Ethan weren’t Derek and me. Maybe they were the type who were fine with a friends-with-benefits relationship? I didn’t want either of my friends to get hurt, but it was time for me to butt out of their business.

  Ethan and I hugged each other and vowed to get together before classes resumed after the break, and I hurried home, knowing I had some packing to do according to the text I'd received from Derek earlier in the day. Unbeknownst to my man, I wasn't planning to take a lot of clothes. Warm sunshine on tingling, naked flesh? Skinny-dipping with the man I loved? Making love under the stars? A Speedo and a toothbrush seemed like the way to go.

  ##

  I looked around the little cottage on Newton St. in Key West, and I was still trying to catch my breath. It was fucking amazing to behold.

  It had pastel-colored shutters over the windows, and one beautiful bedroom with an inviting queen-sized bed, which had me making erotic plans in my head upon seeing it. There was a small, plunging pool in the back yard surrounded by a privacy fence.

  The cottage was just outside of Old Town Key West, but it wasn't much of a drive to hit all the hot spots on Duval and the surrounding area. It was exactly what I'd have picked out for us if I’d have had the money to finance such a luxurious trip. I felt guilty about the fact my finances were still lacking, but when I complained, Derek would only kiss me and pat my ass, sending me off to do homework.

  "So, what do you think, baby?" my love asked as we stood in the open room which housed the living and dining areas. We were looking out the French doors to the pool deck. It was surrounded by lots of rich vegetation, much like a beautiful oasis with the privacy fence making it our own piece of paradise.

  "I love it, Derek. You've outdone yourself this time, Detective," I teased. I turned in his arms and moved his hair off his shoulders. He'd worn it down for me, and I loved feeling it in my hands.

  "Good. I hoped you’d like it when I found it on the internet. Now, let's get the luggage out of the car and take a swim, whatcha think?" he asked.

  I nodded and followed him outside to grab our suitcases and the garment bag he'd brought. I had no idea why, but he’d let
his preparations go until the last minute, and it had been a whirlwind of packing and rushing to the airport that morning while I went to the deli to grab my paycheck. I hadn't time to ask what was in the bag, and I really didn’t care. We were on vacation together, and I didn’t care about anything else.

  We settled things into the bedroom and I went to explore the kitchen with its nice, granite countertops of tan and black. It had newer appliances, and while it wasn't large, it was perfect for us. The house was a little smaller than our apartment because we had an extra bedroom and full bathroom, but I could be happy with something of similar size if we ever decided to buy a place. We'd have to take into account we might be helping Cara raise her baby, so we'd need room for the two of them, but we had some time to consider things and make plans.

  "I should go to the store and pick up a few things so I can cook for us. I'm planning to take you out to eat romantic dinners, but I saw a grill out there that intrigues me. We’re in a place where we have fresh seafood at our disposal and I’d like to take advantage of it. You wanna come with me?" I asked him as we started unpacking our things.

  He stood for a minute and then smiled. "Great idea. I'll come with you so we can have some beer and wine to drink while we’re here. We'll still go out, baby boy but it's smarter to eat in for some of the meals. Besides, I like having you to myself," he told me as he pulled me into his arms and kissed the living daylights out of me, much like he did all the time.

  Our tongues twisted together, tasting each other in the hormone-fueled dance of lovers who are comfortable with the deep emotions they feel, and I was grateful for it. I loved the familiarity our relationship was developing. It wasn't boring; it was safe, loving, and soul nurturing. In my heart and soul, I had a peace I'd never imagined, and it was all because of Derek Valentine.

  We broke apart, and I opened my eyes, seeing Derek studying me. "What's wrong?" I asked.

  "God, there's nothing wrong. Everything is right, Gray. It's more right than I ever thought it would be. Come on, let's go shopping. I want us to have a light dinner and then go for a swim. I thought we'd go sightseeing tomorrow, and hit the town tomorrow night for dinner and maybe some dancing. There are a lot of places to go, and we can actually just be us down here. What do you say?"