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

by Sam E. Kraemer

  I put both of my hands on his handsome face and gently tugged it down to kiss his lips again before backing away. "Big Daddy, let's get the show on the road." He laughed as we gathered our things and went out to the Mustang convertible we'd rented. He twisted his hair up again and pulled on the HPD baseball cap he'd used on the drive down from Miami. Derek looked so fucking sexy I wanted to climb him. Then I remembered the pool…there'd be plenty of time for that business later, and I was looking forward to it…very much.

  Twenty-One

  Gray

  We were sitting outside next to the small pool at a really lovely bamboo and glass table where we'd eaten a baby greens' salad with grilled scallops in pineapple vinaigrette. Derek had picked up a nice Pinot Grigio to go with it, and we'd found an ice bucket to keep the wine chilled while we ate.

  "That was amazing, babe," he told me as he wiped his face with the linen napkins I'd found. The house was pretty much stocked and I was afraid I was going to be spoiled when we went home. We weren’t lacking for any necessities at our apartment, but the house he’d picked was stocked for people far more sophisticated than the two of us. I did, however, enjoy setting the mood with all the things at my disposal.

  I’d placed pillar and votive candles around the pool deck for after the sunset in about an hour, hoping to set a romantic mood for the first night of our first vacation together. It was something I wanted to commemorate because one never forgets their first anything.

  I rose to start clearing our dishes when he took my hand. "Nope. You relax, baby boy. You cooked an amazing dinner for us, so I'll clean up the mess. Just give me a few minutes. I still want to try out the pool. I turned the heater on earlier because the water was a little chilly. Have some more wine and chill out. This is our first, official vacation, and I want us to have a great time."

  He kissed my forehead and left me, taking the dishes inside with him. As I hurried around to light the candles while he was gone, I heard running water just inside the kitchen and Derek was actually humming. It was a new thing for him to hum without music, which sort of surprised me.

  Maybe it was the vacation effect? I remembered the only family vacation the Carson’s had ever taken when my parents found out Gerry was in remission. Everyone was happy to be together in Galveston and we had wonderful times. Dwelling on the one trip we took as a family before we lost Gerry would put a pall over my happy time in Key West with Derek, so I sent up a prayer of thanks for having a wonderful brother who had touched my life and made me appreciate the moments he was alive before I went about “chilling out.”

  After the candles were lit and I was sure I hadn’t created a fire hazard, I refilled both of our glasses with wine. I went to the rubber bin under the canopy at the other side of the pool and grabbed two large beach towels before I proceeded to undress, tossing my clothes on the table where we'd eaten dinner. I took the lighter and lit the remaining potted torches around the pool deck, and then I went to the outdoor entertainment center controls, turning on some soft jazz music.

  I walked down the stairs of the round pool, and stood at the side, enjoying the feel of the warm water as it caressed my body. A few minutes later, Derek came out with his hair twisted up into a bun at the back of his head. "What's with the hair, handsome?"

  He laughed as he pulled off his t-shirt and shorts, showing me he was commando under. I wasn't sure when he'd shed the Jockey's, but I was very happy to see 'The Inspector' was at half-mast. I was looking forward to a little action in the pool. It was the first time we'd ever…well, the trip would be full of a lot of firsts, but I knew I would enjoy every one of them with the gorgeous man.

  "I'm pretty sure the owner would charge us extra for my hair clogging up the filter when the motor on the pump burned out, so I'll keep it up when we're in the pool." He slid into the water next to me, depositing his shorts close on the pool deck, which struck me as odd.

  He pulled me into his arms and walked backward to the deeper end. "Wrap your legs around me, baby boy. I've got ya," he whispered as we settled in the water near a large hibiscus plant in full bloom. It was shady, and I was grateful because I hadn't put on any sunscreen. I damn well didn't want certain parts…namely my ass and dick…to get sunburned. That would put me out of commission for our frisky times, and that was unacceptable when Derek had planned such a wonderful treat for me.

  "So, Detective, what made you want to come here to Key West? Hemingway fan?" I asked as I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. I could feel his hard cock bobbing in the water, tapping at my twinging hole like someone knocking for entrance. I damn well would give him entrance. Hell, his dick was the key to the castle.

  "First, I had visions of moments just like this, surrounded by soft light with warm breezes and flowers making it smell fucking great. I thought about holding you in my arms just like this with nothing between us and I knew we had to go somewhere warm so I could make that fantasy a reality. This is better in person than it was in my head.

  “Second, I wanted us away from friends and family for a few days. Since we got together, there've been a lot of people around to interfere and offer opinions on the way they believe our relationship should progress, which I fucking hate. I wanted us to just have some time to be us and check in about where we are and where we want to go from here. I love you with all my heart, Gray, and I want to be sure we talk about things and we’re on the same page, always. If something bothers you, I want to know it, okay?

  "Third, I wanted us to just be somewhere we can truly be ourselves, away from prying, judgmental stares and without fear of some group of homophobes deciding to teach us a lesson. I know I'm not overly careful about how we act in public but that's because we only frequent a few places, and we live in the more liberal, artsy part of Houston. If we lived in other parts, we'd have to be a lot more guarded, and I don't want that for us.

  "Look, I want to put this out there just right because I want you to consider it. After you get your degree, I'd like us to consider moving somewhere outside of Texas. We can both continue to do what we do, or what you'll do after you graduate, but it'll be a long time before most of the people who live in the State of Texas will think of our relationship as anything other than an abomination to God, regardless of what the Supreme Court has ruled with regard to same-sex marriage.

  "I don't want us to live our lives in fear of what might happen if someone decides they don’t like the fact we’re together, Gray, and if Cara decides to let us help her raise the baby, I want it to be raised somewhere where people are tolerant of couples like us. I don’t think it'll ever happen in Texas," he explained with sincerity written all over his face.

  I knew he was probably right, but it made me sad. I loved Texas, but the chance we'd ever be accepted by the general population and allowed to live a life of wedded bliss…without people wanting to do harm to us…were probably zilch outside of Austin, and I thought that might even be a stretch. I’d seen some shit on the internet about gay men disappearing in certain parts of the south when the Supreme Court decided to hear the landmark case, Obergefell v. Hodges. I supposed it was a pre-emptive strike they were going for, but I knew everyone was shocked with the Court’s decision which made it legal for gays and lesbians to be married in every state in the U.S. God knows, I was shocked.

  I sighed. “Okay, I'll give it some thought. I know in my heart you're right, and I hate the thought of leaving Texas, but in reality, I think you might be right about us not being able to have the kind of life we want there. We can start looking around for somewhere we might want to live. I'm not opposed to transferring schools, Derek. Have you put out feelers regarding where you might want to work?" I asked.

  He smiled and put me on the pool deck. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

  He swam over to his shorts and picked through the pockets, nodding his head as he looked at what was in his hands. He swam back over, holding a plastic bag out of the water. When he got to me, he placed the bag next to me a
nd opened it with a smile.

  He pulled me back down into the water with him and held me, wrapping my legs around his waist again. "Okay, I think I've got my head together enough to do this justice. I've thought about this since the night I was shot and told you I was in love with you, so I want to do this right.

  "For the life of me, I have no idea where you came from or how you got into my heart so quickly, but from the first time I met you when I threw those drag queens out of 'Pop's', I haven't had one solitary thought which doesn’t revolve around you. I haven't been able to make one decision without considering how you fit into it, and I can't see my future without you in it," he began.

  I had no fucking idea where he was going, but his right hand stroked my cheek as he held me in his left arm. His hard-on had wilted a little, and I wasn't sure why. I wasn't sure I was going to like where he was going with the conversation because it almost sounded like he had brought my stupid ass to Florida to dump me, but that couldn’t possibly be right?

  It was Derek, and he wasn’t that type of man, though I was sure they were out there, but it wasn’t Derek Valentine. There had to be something else at play, and when it hit my radar, I was immediately shaking to my very core.

  I looked at him and touched his beautiful face. "Derek, are you ill? Is something wrong? Please, tell me," I whispered as I looked into his gorgeous, brown eyes. He smiled softly and brushed his soft lips against mine, pulling back before I had the chance to deepen it, hoping to find comfort in his velvet tongue as it swirled with mine.

  "No, baby boy, I'm not sick. Well, I'm lovesick, but I don't think it's a terminal illness defined in any medical journal unless this doesn’t go well. Anyway, I have something I want you to think about," he told me as he reached behind me, bracing my body against the pool wall and resting my ass on his thigh like a rocking horse. He fiddled with something and then smiled when he had whatever he wanted he wanted in his hands.

  He looked deeply into my eyes and smiled. "Close your eyes for a sec, will ya?"

  I nodded and did as he asked. When he said, "Okay," I opened my eyes to see him with two silver rings in his palm. He cleared his throat. "I know they're not anything designer. They're just like us. Ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. They represent a love that is eternal. A love that can make it through the hard times and come out stronger on the other side. A love that will prop us up and carry us through our life together. There's no end to them. They're circles, meaning they go round and round for infinity, which is how long I'll love you.

  "Look, I know you're only nineteen, and I'm a damned old fool, but Gray, I want you to marry me, and I think it would be better if it was just the two of us at the ceremony. I know the people back home won’t like it, but I don’t fucking care. Hell, we can keep it a secret if you want and then after you graduate, we can move somewhere people won’t want to kill us for loving each other. I love you, and I believe we can have a wonderful future together. Please, think about it? I'll give you time to…"

  I kissed the gorgeous man to shut him up because I didn't have to think about anything. I loved Derek Valentine with all my heart and spending the rest of my life with him, wherever we might land? That was a no-brainer for me.

  I pecked his lips a few times before I pulled back to look into his sincere, brown eyes. "I'd love to marry you, Derek. I love you with all my heart, and I want to marry you more than I want to do anything else in all the world," I whispered as the tears began. I hoped he didn't think we'd get through it without tears. That, too, was a no-brainer.

  He showed me the rings, which were simple, but they were elegant in their simplicity. I loved them, and couldn't wait for the two of us to make plans. But, before we got to all of that business, I wanted something else…to celebrate the possibility of our future. It was a romantic evening, and I loved the way he’d done it, but I wanted something else in that minute, so I decided to go for it.

  "You wanna fuck in the pool?" I whispered as I wrapped my arms around his neck again and kissed my way along his strong, proud jaw.

  Derek laughed and reached into the bag again after placing the ring box inside it with our rings securely put away. He pulled back and showed me a bottle of waterproof lube. "You bastard! You had this planned," I laughed as I tried to mentally put together a story we could tell about our engagement without all the dirty parts. I’d be keeping those to myself, for sure.

  He swam us into shallower water and lifted me onto the pool deck again. "Baby, I bought this bottle after I saw the house on the internet. Lean back and let Daddy get you ready for a little trip to paradise. Don't blow your load…I want to suck you dry," he taunted, setting my body on alert immediately.

  And, we did. He made me feel like I'd never felt in all the times we’d made love. For the first time, he edged me, which he hadn’t done before, and when his cock was resting in my ass so we could both back off the cliff, I couldn't keep from smiling at him. When he finally came with a very loud, "Fuckin' A! Strangle my cock with that hot ass!" shouted from our hideaway in the back yard, I could no longer hold off, and I came in the pool without the gift of his mouth on me.

  "Sorry, baby, but I couldn't hold back. It felt amazing," I told him as we got out of the pool.

  He laughed. "Hey, that's what the filter is for, I suppose. We've got a few more days here. There's plenty of time for us to fuck in the pool again. Let's go to bed so you can fuck me, please. I really want to feel you inside of me, fiancé."

  Fiancé? Yeah, that sounded great, especially coming from the huge, gorgeous Cherokee detective who I knew loved me for me, not what he thought he could make me into to suit a mold he needed to fill. That was the best feeling of all.

  Twenty-Two

  Gray

  I was standing in a flower shop looking at all of the possibilities for boutonnieres for our wedding ceremony, and I was sort of coming up empty with regard to being able to make a fucking choice without Derek. Everything looked so beautiful but nothing was exactly what I wanted, which was pissing me off.

  Derek had a meeting of some sort in the area that day which had me puzzled, but he said he'd explain it later and I was tasked with firming up the few plans necessary for us to tie the knot. I was told I needed to choose where we were to get married, what we would wear, and plan the simple wedding of my dreams in one afternoon because all Derek, my handsome Cherokee warrior, wanted was to be Mr. Gray Carson. I laughed at that one.

  Derek had miraculously found a judge who was a friend of his L-T, Carla George. She and the judge went to undergrad together or something, and the man was kind enough to agree to marry us on Sunday at sunset in the place of our choosing, as he’d told Derek. He and his wife owned property in Key West and happened to be in town for the week, so it was working out like a fucking miracle, in my humble opinion.

  I'd picked the ‘Southernmost Buoy’ off South and Whitehead Streets. It was a tourist attraction, to say the least, but the boardwalk there would make for lovely photos of the ceremony with the ocean and the setting sun in the background.

  Luckily, the florist I’d found knew a photographer willing to work for an hour on a Sunday evening, and everything was set…mostly. Derek had brought his gray flannel suit knowing his intentions to propose, but it was a beautiful tropical setting, so the suit didn’t work with what my head was planning. I wanted something much more comfortable and free-spirited for the two of us. I didn't own a suit, and we weren't renting tuxedos for an hour, so I’d gone in search of something more casual without being too sloppy.

  I was fortunate to have found a shop with resort wear not far from our little cottage. As I searched the racks of linen slacks and shirts I found something positively perfect for my dream of our wedding. I was fortunate they carried tall lengths so I could find something that would suit my man as well.

  Derek's pants were white with a drawstring waist, almost like pajamas, but much sexier. The shirt had pale tan palm leaves on a white background. My pants were white drawstr
ing as well, but my shirt was pale blue with white palm leaves. It was kind of matchy if I was being honest, but I liked the look of the clothes and the dream of how they’d look in the pictures we’d bring back when we broke the news to Addy and Rick Valentine we’d eloped were extraordinary.

  In the beginning, Derek wasn't exactly sold on the look when I showed him because he thought the pants were too thin and would show his ass..ets a little too provocatively, but he got over it when I told him we wouldn't tuck in the shirts because they had square bottoms, and we’d both wear flip flops. It was mostly planned, and I was ecstatic.

  "I think we'll go with the white calla's," I finally told the nice young lady who was taking my order in the flower shop.

  "Perfect. I'll bring them myself. What time's the ceremony? Do you want something for the officiant? Maybe a white rose?" she suggested.

  "That's great. As a matter of fact, we need another witness, if you wouldn't mind. The judge's wife is going to be one, so maybe wrist corsages with white orchids for the two of you? How's that sound?"

  Candace, as she'd introduced herself to me, smiled. "I'd be honored, Mr. Carson. What should I wear?"

  I smiled at her easy acceptance of being in a stranger’s wedding. "Please call me Gray, Candace. Wear something very light and airy, but comfortable. We're not wearing formal wear. This is going to be a very laid-back affair," I responded with a nod and a smile.

  She nodded in return. "I just bought the perfect thing. I'll see you Sunday at five-thirty, Gray. It's so great to meet you," she gushed as she shook my hand. She told me not to worry about the bill for the flowers, claiming it was her wedding gift to us, but I argued for a minute.