by Jerry Cole
“Because he never cared to even look at my face before he won all the money. And then he left the rest of us behind.”
Kenton had a sudden realization. He did know the voice. The guy looked different, maybe he died his hair and shaved off some facial hair, but the voice was recognizable. He was the manager of the club that he had worked at. The man had been a sleazebag.
Kenton sighed. “I do know who you are.”
The gun pivoted, now pointed at him.
Vance took the moment to his advantage. A short burst of movement and Vance had rocketed at the man that held a gun to them. It caught the man off balance and threw them both on the ground. “Get the gun!” Vance shouted as they both scrambled at the weapon that had clattered to the ground.
Kenton rushed out from his side of the car and around the vehicle. But instead of grabbing the weapon, he kicked it to the other side of the garage while Vance grappled with the man that had been threatening them.
Vance grunted with the effort while the other man shouted wordlessly.
And then blue and red lights started to shine from up the street. “The cops are here.”
“Get them. Hurry!” Vance shouted.
“Damn you.” Kenton’s ex-manager shouted. “Just let me go.”
“No,” Vance shouted right back.
Kenton scurried out of the driveway. He was still just wearing a pair of pants with no shoes. He waved at the car that was heading down the road in his direction.
The car pulled over. Kenton shouted, not caring about his neighbors. He didn’t care if he woke them up. He had something far more important on his mind.
The rest of the night moved by in a flash. The cops came in and untangled Vance and his manager, dragging the manager off the floor of the garage and cuffing him before the man was loaded into the back of the police cruiser. Then they had to give statements and explain what had happened. And they had to hand over the gun to the cops so it could be checked.
It wasn’t until the early morning sunlight shone over the house that there was finally peace in the house with them. And Kenton could feel the stress start to fade away. But he was still worried about something. How had the man found him? How had he been tracked down?
Vance slowly turned in his direction. He didn’t have much to say to him at that moment, he was just comfortable letting the chef hold him. But it seemed like Vance had something to say.
Kenton glanced back at Vance. “I don’t know how he found me.”
“It’s so hard to hide your identity when you’re not being covered for by the cops. You said he was your manager?”
“Yeah.”
“Then he probably had access to your social security number. Which is probably what helped him track you down after you changed your name. That and checking court filings.” Vance pulled Kenton in close. “There probably aren’t that many people wanting to do that much work to track you down.”
Kenton nodded.
“Not that… ugh. That came out wrong.”
Kenton laughed. “I got what you meant. I know that few people are going to be trying to hurt me that badly. This should work.”
“I’m sure everything will be fine. Did they ever catch the guy that did all those break-ins from your house before?”
Kenton shook his head. “I wonder if it was him back then. He stole a lot of stuff if it was him.”
Vance nodded. “I hope so. If it was him that did it, then this may fix the problem.”
“Putting him in jail would do that.”
“I still might want to move, though.”
“You want to stay a few nights at my house? Someplace he doesn’t know about?”
“I mean, maybe, would you be alright with that?” Kenton was grateful for the offer. He knew that Vance would make that kind of offer, probably even if he wasn’t acting like he was uncomfortable in his own home.
“I wouldn’t mind at all. Come stay with me. We’ll figure out what to do after that.”
“Thanks.” Kenton nodded. “I appreciate it.”
“I know you do.” Vance pulled him close. “Why don’t you go pack an overnight bag.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure. We’ll go to my place and you can stay there with me. It’s not as nice as this, but it’s a decent home.”
“Your home is amazing. This always feels so empty and sterile.” Kenton shrugged.
“You don’t like it?”
“I mean, it’s a nice home, small and in a good neighborhood. And the furniture is comfortable.”
“But you don’t like it.” Vance was watching his face.
Kenton fidgeted for a moment. “I mean, it’s not really me. I grew up and lived on the wrong side of the tracks. This is all some designer that I hired when I first got here and I didn’t want to bother doing any sort of furniture shopping.” Kenton shrugged. “I just asked for it all to be comfortable.”
“That makes sense. I guess you’re not much of a decorator, yourself?”
The rich man shrugged. “I never much cared to make things look all pretty and stuff.”
Vance nodded. “Why don’t you go pack a bag for a couple of days.”
“Sure.” Kenton got up and within half an hour they were loaded into both cars and on their way over to Vance’s place. It didn’t matter what the man was going through, just knowing that Vance was there for him mattered to him. It was important. Vance was important. Maybe he was falling in love. Maybe the man had made a difference in his life that was so profound that he couldn’t possibly explain it. It was so early in the relationship that all of those possibilities were there.
Maybe they were real. Maybe he was struggling with a new reality that was dawning on him. Vance was becoming vital to his existence. He couldn’t picture another man in his life. He couldn’t picture being with anyone else. He was falling in love. At least that’s what he thought he was feeling.
He put all of those wonderings out of his mind. Vance was an amazing man, someone he enjoyed spending time with, and focusing on what could become of this wouldn’t do him any good.
Chapter Fourteen
Vance glanced across the table at Kenton. Kenton still looked a bit unsettled, even after they had woken up from the short nap, they had managed between everything else.
Vance had already called out from the restaurant dinner shift, getting his sister to sit in and play manager that night. After she heard what had happened, she was totally on board, telling him to take a few days off.
He wasn’t sure if he was going to take a few days off. The only reason he was considering it was because Kenton looked like he needed the extra support.
Even eating the eggs that Vance had made, Kenton had his shoulders hunched and bags under his eyes. It might have just been because he was tired, but Vance wasn’t so sure about that. Kenton had just been through a trauma. It was a minor one, yes, but it was still a trauma.
And if Vance was honest, dealing with getting a gun shoved in his face wasn’t any easier for him. But for the moment he had a distraction. And that distraction was named Kenton. Kenton was on the front of his mind. The man needed the help and support that Vance was willing to provide. There was a part of him that wanted to keep his arms wrapped around Kenton, but he knew that it was a bad idea. The man would show the need for hugs and cuddles if he wanted them.
Instead, Kenton was staring at his plate and pushing the food around on it.
Vance sighed. “Is there anything I can do?”
“I don’t know. I’m feeling fine.”
“You don’t look fine.” The chef shook his head. “I don’t believe it.”
“Are you going to call me on my shit right now?”
“I am because I think that it’s important.” Vance nodded. “I won’t talk about it if you don’t want to, but I think it’s a good idea to talk about what happened.”
“I don’t know what to do. Maybe I should move again.”
“Or maybe we could get you a better
security system.” Vance made the suggestion hoping that it would land right and not be taken poorly.
Kenton sighed. “I just feel like none of that would help.” He shook his head. Kenton looked more and more like a broken man as he spoke more.
The look on Kenton’s face upset Vance. It hit him deep in the soul, ripping out a chunk of it and setting his soul on fire. He frowned, reaching across the small table to hold Kenton’s hand. “It’s going to be alright.”
“I just feel like my entire life is hiding from everyone. I got this money. And it destroyed my life.”
“It didn’t destroy your life.”
“How can you say that?” Kenton frowned. “Look at me. I’m hiding here. I can’t even stop people from wanting to take everything from me. And it’s not like I deserve what I got anyway.”
“What are you saying?”
“What would you say if I considered trying to give away everything. I don’t deserve that money. And it’s more of a curse than a blessing.”
Vance sighed. “That won’t solve the break-ins or anything. People who know what you have want it. They want to take it. But most people are good and honest. They may have some trouble understanding at first, but they come to be good people. We’ve got the guy that tracked you down.”
“We didn’t get him, you did.”
“You helped out with that.” Vance offered the credit.
“I mean, you’re the one that tackled him.”
“But you distracted him and gave me the chance. I only tackled him because I was the closest to him.”
“I froze at first.”
“That’s fine.”
“No, it’s not. It’s not the first time I’ve been held at gunpoint. And I should have recognized him before I let him into the house.”
“You didn’t, and that’s fine. We were kind of distracted before this happened.”
“That’s one way to put it.”
“We were also kind of naked.” Vance grinned. “So, I’m going to think about the fun stuff.”
“Is that really what you’re going to focus on?”
“I mean, it was pretty amazing. Why would I choose to focus on the scary parts when I can focus on us together?”
Kenton laughed. “I guess so. I’ll try that.”
“Good. I really hope it works.” Vance grinned at the man that he had just slept next to. “I want to help you feel better. I know it’s hard, but I don’t want you to run away again. That would mean that I would lose you. And I don’t want that to happen.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. I just think that I’m starting to fall in love with you.” Vance’s hands started to shake as he admitted it. “I know it’s early. I know I shouldn’t say anything yet, but I feel that way.”
Kenton stared at him. He didn’t say anything at first.
Vance glanced down at his plate. He blushed, trying to hide how far out on the limb he was. It was a bad place to be when he wasn’t sure if his partner felt the same way or not. He chastised himself, knowing that he should have waited to broach that subject.
Kenton softly cleared his throat.
Vance looked up and met Kenton’s eyes. The man had a happy smile on his face.
Vance hadn’t realized that he had stopped breathing until he started breathing again. It felt odd. He was waiting with bated breath for some sort of response from the man that sat across from him.
Kenton got up out of his seat and walked around the table.
Vance’s eyes were locked on the Kenton the entire time the man walked towards him. He wondered what Kenton was going to say or what he was going to do. He hoped it would end well for him, but there wasn’t a promise that he wasn’t going to end this with a huge slap to the face. He fidgeted, the moment starting to stretch out, letting him worry far too much about what the outcome could be.
Kenton made his way to Vance. Vance stared up at the man. Kenton reached down and touched Vance’s shoulder.
A shiver ran down the chef’s spine. He couldn’t resist. “What’s that for?”
“I’ve been feeling the same way.” Kenton’s voice was subdued and controlled.
Vance’s jaw hit the floor. “Really?”
“Really.”
“I- I can’t believe it.” The chef shook his head.
“You can’t? You’ve been nothing but amazing this entire time.” Kenton grinned at him.
Vance shook his head. “I’ve just done what was right. That doesn’t mean much.”
“It’s so hard to find someone that will just do the right thing.”
“Are you sure about it?”
“Are you?” Kenton turned the question around on Vance. “Are you sure about how you feel?”
“I’m pretty sure, yeah.”
Kenton leaned down and planted a kiss on his lover’s brow. “I feel the same. I’m sure of it. I know you’re something special and I want to keep you around.”
Vance shook his head. “But that can’t happen if you change your identity and move somewhere else.”
“I know. You have too much here. A sister that loves you and a family. I couldn’t ask you to leave that.”
“So, I guess you need to decide if you’re going to run away again.”
Kenton shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Are you sure about that?” Vance frowned. “I don’t want to push you into staying someplace you’re uncomfortable with. I know it’s scary for you.”
“It’s scary, but I’ll make it. I don’t think I want to leave yet. It may get hard. I know that, but it’s worth doing.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” Vance shook his head. “If it’s going to put you at risk…”
“We can face that together.”
“What if we don’t work out?”
“Then I can move on.” Kenton nodded. “But not until that happens. If it happens.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” Vance didn’t know what else to say about it. It was all so much, and slightly overwhelming if he was honest about it. He didn’t know what he was going to do. What could be done about the man that he was starting to feel so strongly about? Could he ask for Kenton to give up his ability to run just to keep Vance in his life? Was that something that he could ask the man to do? He didn’t know. He didn’t know if it was right or not.
He sighed.
Kenton looked concerned. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Just thinking about stuff.” Vance shook his head.
“From the look on your face, it doesn’t seem to be a small thing.” Kenton was worried. The emotion was splayed all over his face.
“I’m just worried that you won’t feel safe if you stick around.”
“I’m not running away.” Kenton shook his head. “There’s probably something that we can do to make it easier for us to live this life. But that can all be worried about later. For right now, I just want to be with you.”
Vance’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t know what to do about this. He didn’t know what to say about the man that he had been falling for. There was no way to know what was happening in his heart. Well, there was a way. And he kind of already knew that he was in the process of falling all the harder. “Yeah.” It was the only word that he could squeeze out.
Kenton leaned down, planting a kiss on Vance’s lips. The kiss was enough to make all of the doubt slip out of his mind. Vance was lost in this man once again.
They stood and started to move towards the bedroom. There would be no more waiting. They wanted each other. They needed to feel the touch and the desire was coming off of them in waves, filling the room and echoing off the walls. They were touching as they moved, bodies intertwining more with each step, kissing wildly as they bounced off of walls on the way to the bedroom.
Vance’s breath was ragged and heavy. He wanted so much more of what was happening there. He wanted to be with Kenton, totally and completely. He wanted to share the night with him after the last one
had been so rudely interrupted.
They were breathless when they fell onto the bed together, starting to strip down out of their clothes.
That took too long. Vance could already feel the ache of need in his loins, begging to feel Kenton’s hand wrapped around it.
He took Kenton’s hand and wrapped it around his shaft, reaching out to do the same to the man that he had shared his time with.
They both started to moan, bodies moving together as Vance reached over to the nightstand with his free hand, digging a small bottle out of the drawer. He fumbled to put it on top of the nightstand, leaving the drawer cracked open. There was so much. So many feelings rushing through them. It was an uncontrollable crash of need as they rolled around on the bed, kissing and touching each other.
Vance was surprised his skin hadn’t burned from the heat in the room. They were both throwing off waves of pure passion that screamed for more. Screamed to move faster and faster, needing each other.
They rolled into position, with Vance on top and Kenton’s legs wrapped around him.
Vance fumbled with the bottle of lube, squirting a bit on his hand to prepare his shaft for what was going to happen.
He worked his fingers inside Kenton to make sure the man was ready. It didn’t take long to know just how ready the man was for him. They moved quickly, Vance pushing into Kenton. There was a moan that echoed between them, pushing together, fighting the urge to start to move faster and faster and make this end as fast as it had started.
Vance wanted to make this last at least a little longer. He wanted the connection to last forever, stretch out into eternity. He pulled out and pushed in. The man under him arched his back.
Vance reached down to take Kenton’s shaft in his hand. The least that he could do was try to give Kenton some of the same magic that he had already been feeling. They were together. Bodies came crashing together, movements became faster and more erratic. There was no slowing down at that moment. They needed each other, and they were going to keep going until the inevitable conclusion of their desire.
Vance grunted as he started to move faster, thrusting into Kenton with the desperate need of a man starving for love and affection.