by M. E. Parker
My eyes drifted towards Ethan, who was standing by the grill, cooking hot dogs and hamburgers for thirty guests. I should be out there helping, but I just wanted to take it all in for a minute. I watched as John broke loose from Jake and ran towards Ethan. He wrapped his little chubby arms around Ethan’s legs and Ethan turned around and swooped him up in his arms as John laughed and gave his Dad a sloppy kiss on the cheek. I watched as our little red-faced boy whispered in his Dad’s ear and I wondered what John was telling him.
I looked back towards Jake and saw him pick up Sarah, our eighteen-month- old daughter, he swung her around in circles as she giggled hysterically. I watched her pink sundress and dark curls flying through the wind. She had my smile, but her blue-gray eyes were all Ethan. Just as John’s emerald eyes belonged to Jake. But the biology didn’t matter, Ethan was Dad-dee and Jake was Da-da. At least that’s how John distinguished them, and Sarah followed suit. Ethan and Jake privately joked with me about needing a third to finally determine the winner ‘the great sperm’ competition, but I was happy with our family just as it was. I had everything I ever wanted.
It was hard to believe that it had been seven years since we moved out to California. It seemed like time had flown by. We left a couple of days after graduation, just like we planned and never took our return flight home. Everything just fell into place. Jake and I both loved the house that Ethan had chosen, and we were able to find a great location for the bar in just a few days. We argued over the name for months, I still wanted to name it EJay’s but I got out-voted by both of them and we ended up going with Ethan’s idea, ClubThree. Now I can’t even imagine it being called anything else. The three of us worked like mad to get the first club going and it paid off. We recouped Ethan’s initial investment the first year. We opened three more locations in the San Francisco area and were exploring locations for new clubs. Jake and I struggled a little at first with Ethan investing so much of his money into the clubs, but they had done so well, we no longer worried about it.
About a year after moving, I got the wedding of my dreams. Ethan and Jake made sure I had the dress I’d always wanted, and I think they bought every white peony in San Francisco to decorate the club and of course, I got my cake. What was even better, we had about 100 guests, between employees, friends and neighbors. Even a few of our old college friends from Virginia flew out, along with Jake’s brothers and sisters. But the best part was, that the three of us were able to stand before everyone and say our vows to each other.
I loved our life in California. I was nervous at first about opening up to others about our relationship. But Jake was right, no one here seemed to care. Through the years, we had made life-long friendships. Not only through the clubs, but also, with our neighbors, and even parents of the children that John went to preschool with. After the first year we were together, we decided to stop pretending with our friends and family from home. We all agreed that it was better to suffer through whatever fall out came than to keep lying to everyone.
I won’t lie, it wasn’t easy at first. Surprisingly, Jake’s parents seemed to take it the worst and they didn’t speak to each other for a couple of years. But Jake’s brothers and sisters stood by him and eventually convinced their parents to come around. Ethan’s parents came out to visit once a year, but they never acknowledged our relationship. I was pretty sure that it was easier for them just to pretend like they didn’t know. For a long time, my mother never failed to mention each time we talked, that her and my dad prayed for us every day, but that stopped a few years ago. I doubt they approve, but they seem to have accepted it. Having John and Sarah was really what brought everyone together. In fact, all of our parents had plans to come visit for the holidays this year. Ethan, Jake, and I joked that if things got too bad, we would just escape to ClubThree and leave the six grandparents to fight over their grandchildren.
As I stood at the door looking back and forth between Ethan and Jake and our beautiful children, I couldn’t help but remember the night that Ethan told us that he was in love with both of us. It was the same night that Jake promised me that we could have our forever—we could have everything. Between Ethan’s inheritance and all the money we had made from ClubThree, we could go anyplace we wanted to go, do anything we wanted to do, or have anything we wanted. But there was nowhere else I wanted to go, there was nothing else I wanted to do, there was nothing else I wanted. I had everything. I had my forever, just like Jake had promised.
I picked up two bottles of wine and carried them out to the porch. Jake slipped up behind me, and wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned down and whispered in my ear, “Why are you bringing out more booze? That will just make people stay longer.”
I giggled and elbowed him in the ribs, “We haven’t even eaten yet and then we have to do cake and ice cream. May I remind you that this whole birthday party was planned by you?”
He kissed the side of my neck. “Yeah, well, that was before I knew Tara and Susan were gonna have the kids tonight for a sleepover.” I wiggled away from Jake.
Ethan walked over and put his hand on Jake’s shoulder and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. He smiled at both of us. “So what time does the party end?”
I rolled my eyes and groaned, “You’re as bad as he is.” I said smiling at Ethan. I couldn’t blame them though. When our neighbors, Tara and Susan, who had become great friends to all of us, asked if the kids could spend the night, I jumped at the chance. They were in the process of adopting and said they needed practice, but I knew they just really wanted to give us a night to ourselves. We would definitely return the favor for them one day. It would be the first night alone that the three of us had together in a very long time and I was planning on taking full advantage of it.
Our sex life was still amazing. After seven years, I still couldn’t get enough of them. Like all marriages with young kids, we had to get creative about finding times and places to be alone with each other. But somehow, we managed.
After all the guests had left and the children were both exhausted, packed up, and on their way next door, the three of us settled down on the couch with a glass of wine. My head was on Ethan’s lap and he played with my hair while Jake rubbed my feet. Not one day went by that I didn’t feel thankful for our relationship. I knew that the love we felt for each other was a rare gift. Even though what we had wasn’t conventional, it was extraordinary and none of us took it for granted. As Jake’s hand wondered up my leg towards my thigh, he looked over at me grinning, “Truth or dare, Janiebug.”
Ethan laughed, and I smiled back at Jake, “Truth.”
He shook his head and tickled the bottom of my foot. “Okay! Okay! Dare.” I squealed.
And, well, you can guess what happened next...
A Note from the Author
Thanks so much for reading! If you enjoyed it, or even if you didn’t, I would love to hear from you. Feedback is important for new authors and is always appreciated, even if it is just a few words. Please leave a review on Amazon or send me an email. [email protected]:[email protected]
—M.E.
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ALSO, BY M.E. PARKER
M/F
Colton Farms
A Sweet & Steamy Small Town Romance
There are some things in the universe that are just meant to be together, like Peanut Butter & Jelly or Sweet Tea & Fried Chicken or even Johnny & June Cash…but Jack Colton and Claire Hawkins? Nope. They just don’t make any sense.
He’s a farmer from Tennessee.
She’s the daughter of a billionaire from Boston.
He’s older. She’s younger.
He’s settled. She’s lost.
He’s country. She’s city.
She’s a virgin...
The truth is, they should never even cross paths, much less get involved. Nothing good can come of it. Nope, it’s better if they remain strangers, the way the universe intended.
But then again... some
might say Jack and Claire are supposed to find each other. Some might even claim they have no choice. Destiny, fate, kismet, providence, the stars’ luck, serendipity—whatever you want to call it, that’s what will bring Jack and Claire together.
In a deserted diner.
In a small town in the middle of nowhere…
Colton Farms is a full-length, standalone novel (almost 88,000 words). It is intended for readers over the age of eighteen due to steamy sex (and I do mean steamy) and due to graphic language. It has a guaranteed happily ever after ending, that promises to leave you smiling. Enjoy!
M/M
JUST BE YOU—Coming Soon!
When Scott Cohen got word that he’d been nominated for a Grammy, one question spun over and over and over in his mind. Wasn’t it ironic?
After devoting years to his music, he had finally gotten the recognition he had worked so hard for. One song had launched him into the spotlight practically overnight. It was the one song he’d always thought he’d keep to himself, a song he’d written as a teenager.
It was a song that meant more to him than any other he had written, a song inspired by Marshall Donavan.
Marshall had been so many things to Scott. He was his muse. He was his hero and protector. He was his big brother Abe’s best friend. He was his first crush. Marshall was Scott’s unhealthy obsession. He was the standard Scott used to measure every other man in his life against—none of whom ever seemed to measure up.
Even in high school, Scott knew that he didn’t have a chance with Marshall. Marshall was a popular senior. Scott was a nerdy freshman. Marshall was into sports. Scott was into music. Marshall was beautiful. Scott was not. Marshall was straight. Scott was gay.
Over ten years had passed since he’d written that song and even more since Scott had become obsessed with Marshall Donavan. So, when Scott got a call from his manager asking him to submit a song for a movie and a call from his brother Abe informing him of Marshall’s engagement to Julia Sterling on the same day, Scott took it as a sign. It was time to say goodbye and forget Marshall Donavan forever. Submitting ‘Just Be You’ to the movie executives was supposed to be Scott’s way of letting go—of forgetting, of saying goodbye.
The irony was that Scott’s grand symbolic gesture backfired when the movie became a box office success overnight and his song was nominated for a Grammy. There was no way he’d ever be able to forget. The song would follow him for the rest of his life and so would his unhealthy obsession with Marshall Donavan…
Just Be You is a standalone ‘brother’s best friend’ romance novel. It has ‘gay for you’ and ‘first time gay’ themes, is stocked full of steamy sex scenes, and has a guaranteed happily ever after. Happy reading!
Would you like to be notified of new releases? Are you interested in receiving a free Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC)? If so, send an email to get more details to [email protected]
ABOUT M.E. PARKER
Mary Esther Parker, a former attorney, is an up and coming new author, who lives in Tennessee, with her teenage daughter and a grumpy white-haired cat. She loves to read just about anything. When she is not reading, she is writing, painting, making home improvements, or drinking wine with her best friends. She has a B.A. in Political Science and a J.D. from the University of Tennessee. She likes writing sweet love stories that combine a lot of laughs, sometimes a few tears, ooey-gooey romance at its best, and a whole lot of steamy sex and believes that when you put those things all together in the right way, you get the perfect feel-good read, guaranteed to leave you smiling in the end. She believes love is love, romance is romance, and gender is irrelevant.
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