Finding Home

by Meg Harding

  “Why didn’t you move sooner? Or just not come back here?”

  Jaden slanted a look at Drew. It wasn't really any of his business, but it wouldn’t kill Jaden to tell him. “I wanted to see who I was when no one else was around. Turns out I’m the same as I am with him. He didn't change me. He lets me be me.”

  Chapter 16

  For the last week or so, Chase’s evenings had been consumed by watching HGTV collections about tiny homes on Netflix. Tonight wasn't any different. He'd never been one for reality TV, but Elliot had recommended it to him and he’d given it a try. It was addicting as hell. He was actually considering selling his house and building a miniature home for himself, that was how into it he’d become. It seemed economical. And cool. They were really interesting, and he might be a little in love with them.

  Jade was lying behind his head on the sofa, occasionally smacking him with one dangling paw when she felt like it. She made the back of his neck hot, but he wasn't going to move her. He could feel her content purrs rumbling against him, and he could hear them. His breathing naturally synced to hers when they were like this, and he found it was easier for him to relax. Jade’s presence was soothing.

  “What do you think about living in a place like that?” he asked her, pointing at the television screen and the man inspecting a tiny home with a loft bed and a bookcase that formed the stairs to it. “You’d have a bunch of small spaces to scrunch yourself into. You’d like it.”

  She flicked his face with her tail, a tuft of her fur flying off it and drifting onto his lap.

  His life had been covered in cat hair since Jade arrived. No matter how much he cleaned, there it was. Stuck to his clothes and clinging to the floors. He didn't know how she wasn't bald at this rate.

  “Should I take that as you saying no?”

  Jade ignored him.

  Chase dug his phone out from under the pillow he’d placed over it to keep from constantly checking the screen. It had been an hour since he last looked. He was due a peek. He thumbed the home button and… nothing. He had no messages.

  Why hadn’t Jaden texted him back?

  They'd talked every day since Chase sent Jaden the picture of Jade. The response Jaden had sent included an image of Chase’s colorful blob painting hanging over Jaden’s headboard. They hadn’t stopped sending messages since, and while they hadn’t talked about their relationship, Chase thought it was obvious something was going on. It felt like long distance dating. There’d been a lot of photos of Jade and Magneto exchanged as well. Chase was used to waking to Magneto’s face and a he misses you. This morning Chase found Jade lying flat on her back with her limbs resting alongside her, sandwiched between the couch cushions. Of course he’d taken a picture and sent it.

  It was seven in the evening, and he hadn’t gotten a reply. Or any cute Magneto pics.

  Chase chewed on his bottom lip, thinking. Jaden wasn't the type to ignore a message. What if something happened to him? Or maybe he was busy. He could have left the house and forgotten his phone. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to let it go, Chase called Phoenix. All of the brothers regularly spoke with Jaden, but he knew Jaden was closest with Phoenix. He forwent saying hello. “Have you talked to Jaden today?”

  “Hi to you too. I haven’t. I am, however, about two minutes away from your house. You’re gonna help me do something.”

  “I am? ‘Cause I’m kind of in the middle of something.” He paused Netflix and debated who to try calling next since Phoenix was of no help.

  “Is that something staring at your phone waiting for your boyfriend to text you?” asked Phoenix. “’Cause if it is, that’s not a viable excuse. Besides, what I have planned will distract you.” The sound of a door shutting filtered through the speakers. “I’m here. You can let me in, or I can repeatedly ring the doorbell.”

  Chase rolled from the couch and stroked a hand down Jade’s spine to quiet her pissed off growl at being dislodged. “You are such a pain in my ass,” he said to Phoenix. He made a mental note to get his doorbell uninstalled.

  “Love you too.” Phoenix hung up.

  As promised, Phoenix was waiting on the doorstep for him, his finger poised over the bell. He grinned when he spotted Chase. “I’ve volunteered us to spend the night at the beach watching sea turtle eggs. They’re due to hatch any time now, and we get to help make sure all the little guys make it into the ocean. I’ve got snacks in the truck and sweet tea since we can’t have beer. You can bring your phone and play Pokémon Go. I’ve heard Serenity Beach is a hotspot for Pokémon.”

  Chase stared at him. On the one hand, there was the principle of the matter. He’d like to tell Phoenix no for just assuming. If he agreed, then he’d be encouraging this bad behavior. On the other hand, there were turtles. Baby sea turtles to be exact. “Fuck.” He sighed. “Let me go change.” His Marvel sweatpants and ancient Green Day shirt weren't proper beach attire.

  “What was it?” asked Phoenix, following Chase down the hall, sounding way too gleeful. “Did I have you at sea turtles or was it the Pokémon?”

  “The turtles,” said Chase, “but the Pokémon are definitely a plus.” He shut his bedroom door in Phoenix’s face before the man trailed him right on in. “Personal boundaries, buddy. Go explain to Jade why her daddy has to leave the house. Convince her not to pee on anything while I’m gone.” He loved Jade to death, but she was the queen of taking out her anger by peeing on all that he loved. Two pairs of Nikes—one of them brand new—and a throw pillow had already fallen victim to her revenge.

  “I know I’m a miracle worker,” said Phoenix, “and your faith in me is inspiring. But even I’m not that good.”

  They set up their makeshift camp about fifteen feet away from a marked nest. Their shoes acted as anchors for the corners of the large blanket, and they placed the coolers conveniently in the middle of each side. A lazy, blind movement of the arm and they'd be able to get food without sitting up. Other than the stars and moon, there was no light, so everything was cast in a soft glow.

  Getting comfortable on their backs, they gazed up at the stars and waited. Nothing might hatch tonight or someone might come and try to steal the eggs—a very real problem—and either way, they'd be there to do what needed to be done. Personally Chase was hoping to see a bunch of itty-bitty turtles shuffling along the beach and sliding into the water.

  His iPhone was facedown on his stomach, rising and falling with each breath. If he were to look at the screen, it’d still show no messages. He curled his fingers around it. “Do you think I’d like New York?”

  Phoenix snorted. “No. I think Jaden’s coming back here. Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”

  “You think?”

  “He loves it here. You know that too.” Phoenix nudged him lightly in the ribs with an elbow. “It’s all going to be okay. So you two are going about things in a really slow, unconventional way. Whatever. At least you’re going about them. Nothing says ‘I love you’ quite like naming your pet after your boyfriend.”

  Technically Jaden and Chase weren't boyfriends. They'd not discussed it. But Chase didn't correct Phoenix. He never corrected him when he referred to Jaden in such a way. The word brought a feel-good warmth to his stomach. “I like the name Jade. It fits her.”

  “Dude, she doesn’t even have green eyes.”

  Phoenix’s words caused them both to laugh quietly, muted. Chase connected the stars above him. It looked like they formed a rabbit. “Can I tell you something?”

  “Anything.” Phoenix’s response was immediate.

  “I hate the distance. I hate that we haven’t actually discussed anything. Talked about what we are to each other. But at the same time, I’m thankful for it. Everything happened so fast and it was all in the moment. New and shiny. It’s nice to know that once the moment ends, the same feelings are there. They’re not going to fizzle out. Does that make any sense?”

  “You’re a man of many feelings,” said Phoenix fake solemnly. He cleared his throat. �
�But for real, yeah it makes sense. I still think talking your shit out would have been easier, but I’m a third party to the matter, so it’s easy for me to say that.”

  Chase snorted. “I know, man. I’ve seen you trying to date before. You definitely don’t take your own advice.”

  “To be fair, my advice to myself is fairly skewed more towards what I do and don’t want to do. Not so much what I should do. When I figure out how to tap into the wise person buried inside me, I’ll be truly enlightened. A higher form of being.”

  Chase grinned at the night sky, cheeks hurting from it. “I think you’ll still be a doofus.”

  Phoenix clasped a hand to his heart—Chase knew without looking because Phoenix was predictable, and he hit Chase with his elbow on the way—and made a sound of affront. “I’m hurt. Truly. Deeply.”

  They bickered back and forth till they ran out of things to say, lapsing into comfortable silence and trying not to fall asleep. Chase shifted position frequently, the lumpy sand beneath the blanket not exactly kind to his sore shoulder. It was acting up at the moment, thanks to Chase overworking it at the gym. Trying to be more ambitious with his lifting definitely wasn’t the way to go. When Elliot had caught him, he’d looked like he wanted to beat Chase over the head with the weights.

  Eventually, with exhaustion dragging at his eyelids, Chase swore he heard Jaden talking. “Jesus Christ.” Which was an odd thing for him to imagine Jaden saying. He couldn't recall him having used the phrase in the past. “Chase.” Now, that was definitely more like something Jaden would say. He hummed at dream Jaden, thinking of the many other things he’d like to hear. “Chase.” Fingers tapped his cheek. “I’ve been driving for like sixteen hours. Wake up, dammit.”

  His lids fluttered open, surprise causing his body to jerk. His forehead connected with the forehead of the man hunched over him.

  “Fuck. Ow.”

  “Son of a bitch.” Jaden fell onto his ass in the sand.

  They were both clasping their heads.

  Chase would blame the hit to his head for his being slow to process what was in front of him. Cause he was pretty sure it was Jaden, but it couldn't be. Could it? “Jaden?”

  Warm blue eyes with moonlight bouncing off the dark pupils gazed at him. Jaden’s expression went soft, his lips stretching into a smile. “Hey.”

  Chase thought his heart might be somewhere around his tonsils. He didn't know what to say. His emotions were clogging his throat and rendering him mute. Jaden and he were staring at each other, neither making a move.

  Phoenix cleared his throat, causing both of them to break eye contact to look at him. “I’m just gonna go investigate the nests. Don’t mind me.” He got up and walked off, leaving them alone.

  They waited till Phoenix was a vague dark shape in the distance before they move toward one another. It wasn't planned—at least not on Chase’s part—but they met in the middle, lips colliding, and their hands exploring. It had been two months since Chase touched Jaden. Since he kissed him and tasted him.

  It felt like much longer.

  He groaned into Jaden’s mouth, their tongues sliding together. His hands were in Jaden’s hair, getting reacquainted with the soft strands, scratching Jaden’s scalp where he knew it’d make him do the human version of a purr. They bumped their noses in their eagerness and laughed, the sounds swallowed between them.

  Fuck, he’d missed Jaden so much, and he loved him. He was over the moon and the stars for the man he was currently trying to play tonsil hockey with. Chase didn't realize he was trying to say these things aloud till Jaden pulled away, panting, and gasped, “Wait. What? I didn’t catch any of that.”

  Chase stared at Jaden, his chest feeling fit to burst with everything that was bottled inside him. Jaden’s lips were slick from their kiss, already swollen, and parted as he sucked in air. His hair was wild from Chase’s fingers running through it, standing up in random tufts and going every which way. He framed Jaden’s face, cradling it between his hands, his thumbs stroking along Jaden’s jawline, grazing over stubble. “I fucking love you. You came into my life and knocked every last one of my walls down in about five seconds flat. I completely lost my mind over you. I want to split Chinese takeout with you after a long day of work. And I want you to meet my cat, because she’s a perfect, evil angel. You can hog the bed and steal the covers. I want it all.”

  Jaden’s eyes were wide pools of blue staring up at him. He was completely still. His breathing stopped. He had his hands on Chase’s chest, his fingers curled into the fabric of Chase’s muscle tank. He blinked slowly.

  “Jaden,” said Chase, nerves eating away at him. “I kinda need you to say something. Or to at least start breathing.”

  Jaden’s fingers curled into a fist and he shoved Chase back, knocking him from his knees to his butt. He followed, climbing onto Chase’s lap. “I was going to say it first. I had this whole speech planned. I’ve been reciting it all day during the drive here. It’s memorized and everything. You were supposed to be home, and I’d surprise you, and I’d tell you everything that has happened since I’ve left and everything I’ve figured out.”

  Chase wrapped his arms around Jaden. His heart was racing a million miles an hour. He wondered if Jaden could hear the heavy thumping of it. “I’d like to hear it. Maybe a summary of it. Cause I really want to kiss you right now, but I also really want to hear what you’ve got to say.”

  “Can I just… uh.” Jaden pressed their lips together, moving his slowly and not allowing Chase to increase the pace. He pulled away with a huff. “I’ve missed doing that.” He closed his eyes for a second before reopening them. “So I was going to go on this whole big thing about how you allow me to be me, and how when we’re together I don’t feel like I’m weighted down by expectations and judgment. I drove straight through. I’ve not slept in like a day. I’ve missed you so fucking much, and I should have come sooner but it was important to me to wait. But I’m done with that now, and I’d like us to be together. I’m moving here, and I’m going to run a bed and breakfast out of Lily-Anne’s, and help with the gym’s accounting because it’s a mess. I’m not leaving again. I want to make you as happy as you make me.” He rested his forehead against Chase’s, the tips of their noses rubbing together. “I love you, Chase. And I really wish you’d been at your house—where I stopped first—because then we’d have privacy and a bed, and I wouldn’t have had to drop Magneto off with one of my nosy brothers.”

  Chase sucked on Jaden’s bottom lip. “Mhm.” He let it free with a low pop. “If you’d texted me, I’d have been there.”

  Jaden laughed. “Gonna focus on that, huh?”

  “Nah.” Chase reclined, taking Jaden with him. “I’ve got a better idea.”

  Jaden nipped at Chase’s chin. “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah.” Chase crashed their lips together and closed his eyes.

  About the Author

  Meg Harding is a graduate of UCF, and recently completed a masters program for Publishing in the UK. For as long as she can remember, writing has always been her passion, but she had an inability to ever actually finish anything. She’s immensely happy that her inability has fled and looks forward to where her mind will take her next. She’s a sucker for happy endings, the beach, and superheroes. In her dream life she owns a wildlife conservation and is surrounded by puppies. She’s a film buff, voracious reader, and a massive geek.

  For more information:

  @Cumberstone61

  MegHardingWrites

  megharding.wordpress.com

  Also by Meg Harding

  With DreamSpinner Press

  The Carlisles:

  Dinner for One

  Will You Be My Escort

  Checking it Twice

  Shifting Views

  The Lawyer Under the Tree

  Quite A Spectacle

  A Trip to Remember

  Fixer-Upper

  The Last Favor

  To Arizona

  Cursed Mirac
les

  With Totally Bound

  The Running Game

  With MLR Press

  Prince for a Kingdom

  With Loose ID

  Hat Trick

  Marc’s the Spot