Cherish & Blessed

by Tere Michaels

Evan thought he might be falling that much more in love with him.

  He wondered if there was a ceiling to his feelings for this man.

  “I’m not. I’m shacked up with you.” Matt wrinkled his nose. “You remember that, right?”

  Floating closer, Evan laid his head on Matt’s shoulder. They were alone, everyone already in bed. “I remember.”

  “We raise kids and pay taxes,” Matt said sleepily. Under the water, Matt touched his hand to the center of Evan’s back. “We cut coupons.”

  Evan pressed a kiss to his cheek.

  “We complain about the kids across the street playing hockey too late on school nights.”

  “I love you,” Evan murmured, licking at the salty curve of Matt’s neck. “I’m glad you’re the one I do all those things with.”

  “Hmmm… what else do you like that we do together?”

  With a snort, Evan reached under the warm, dark water and pinched Matt’s naked ass.

  “Skinny-dipping. I’ve never actually done this,” Evan whispered, brushing against Matt’s side.

  The delight in Matt’s smile made Evan’s skin prickle with want. “Seriously? At our advanced ages, it’s tough to find new things,” he said, all teasing and mirth. “Glad I’m your first skinny-dip, then.”

  “Only.” Evan moved, rearranging limbs and bodies in the soft splish splash of the water, the pool’s filter lapping in the background. They wound around each other, pressed against the cool rock wall of the pool to keep from floating away.

  “Only?” Matt repeated as they brushed noses, lips.

  “I love you,” Evan said, brushing a kiss to the corner of Matt’s mouth. “I’m glad you’re my only.” Like Sherri was my only, he thought, and like that line he touched earlier in that day, he felt the emotional swell in his heart as the truth settled in.

  Sherri was his only wife.

  Matt was his only… Matt.

  Something bright and vivid shifted in Matt’s eyes. He tilted his head, then broke into a wide, warm smile.

  “Thank you,” he whispered, holding his hands into Evan’s back, bringing their bodies closer until Evan could only feel Matt surrounding him like the water. “Thank you for being my only,” Matt said.

  Evan surged forward, catching Matt’s mouth for a kiss.

  THEY TWISTED together, tongues and hands touching as everything grew more heated. Matt felt the edge of the pool wall at his back and Evan’s strong body driving against him. It wasn’t lust, it was connection, and Matt hadn’t felt this level of it since that first night at his apartment, when all the walls crashed down around them.

  And they were helpless against the need that pulled them together.

  Evan’s cock grew long and hard against his stomach; he reached down to grasp Evan’s thighs, pulling him closer. The water made it easy, pulling and pushing them into a lazy rhythm. Dick to dick and mouth to mouth.

  Years ago they didn’t know what they were doing.

  Matt didn’t know how to be in love, how to be part of a family. He didn’t know how to live.

  Evan was his partner in the darkness—and then he was the only one who made all the light possible.

  Something broke in Matt’s chest. He rubbed their bodies together in an intense rush, the orgasm taking him by surprise, almost an aftereffect of what he felt growing between them.

  A few more thrusts and Evan stiffened against Matt’s chest. The water lapped around them, the night swallowing the sounds of their voices.

  Chapter 19

  JIM AND Griffin snuck away between champagne and grilled cheese, for just a few minutes. Griffin couldn’t stop smiling, and Jim felt like each time he looked over at him, he got another shot of adrenaline.

  He’d never wanted to get married. Except for the moment when he realized he didn’t want to in the general sense but rather very specifically to this man, who was on his cell phone, happily telling his father he was getting married.

  “Oh God, Dad, please don’t cry,” Griffin said frantically. He pulled the phone away, thrusting it toward Jim. “Tell him not to cry.”

  “Hey, Richard, you’re not allowed to cry,” Jim recited as Griffin punched him in the arm. “Ow. Your son just hit me.”

  “Tell him not to hit you, I won’t stand for that,” Richard Drake said wetly, about as threatening as Griffin—which was to say not at all, with his mussed hair and crooked glasses and nose red from the sun. “Welcome to the family, son,” he added. “Though I figured you were around for the long haul already—I’m glad to have it be official.”

  Jim grinned, which made Griffin smile, and the whole circle of energy elevated again.

  He wanted to get off the phone with his future father-in-law so he could ravage the hell out of Griffin.

  That would have to wait, because the next call—after more tears and promises to have a celebration the following weekend with all the family—was to Mimi and Terry Oh.

  Jim put them on speakerphone and let Griffin say the words, because Jim was getting drunk off the sheer delight every time Griffin said, “We’re getting married.”

  No one told Mimi not to cry—if they’d bothered, Jim was sure she wouldn’t have listened. She wept and told them she loved them and they better give her time to lose more baby weight before the wedding because she was going to buy a kickass black dress and party like crazy.

  Terry told Mimi she was beautiful just like she was and then asked if the wedding would be “here or there.”

  “A wedding!” Griffin said, like it just dawned on him that a proposal led to an event. “Oh crap!”

  “I’m pretty sure Daisy will be able to handle this,” Jim murmured, tucking Griffin into his arms while Terry and Mimi thrilled to their news. Then there was texting, and soon Jim’s phone lit up with messages from Ben and Libby and Nick and Heather.

  The Heterosexual Power Cabal was in the throes of joy. Their wish had finally come true. It didn’t even faze them when Jim gently broke the news that they were staying on the East Coast, at least for now, with lots of promises for frequent visits. So long as Jim was happy, they were on cloud nine.

  By the time they hung up, Griffin was sprawled on top of him and Jim couldn’t resist pulling his clothes off.

  “They’re celebrating downstairs without us,” Griffin murmured as Jim kissed his way across each revealed bit of skin.

  “Then bless us for giving them joy—and distracting them so we can celebrate privately.”

  THEY DIDN’T do it this way very often, but Griffin was tipsy and joyful and spread out on his stomach as Jim stroked and teased him, opening him up with fingers and tongue until Griffin wanted to cry.

  He shook when Jim licked up his spine. He moaned when Jim pushed in, so big and strong and overpowering—and so gentle his heart rabbited in his chest.

  “Oh, oh, ow,” Griffin laughed through gritted teeth, the stretch and burn an old memory pushing through his body.

  Jim went a little slower and Griffin whimpered.

  There was sex and then there was the nip and kiss against the back of Griffin’s neck. Jim’s breath blew warm on his skin, his hands locked around Griffin’s wrists, stretching him out on the bed.

  He was everywhere—inside and out—and Griffin let himself sink into the mattress and just… be.

  THEY LAY there for a long time, naked and quiet in the room. The breeze brought in the sounds of the ocean and laughter from the patio. No air-conditioning, just the open windows. Jim felt a sense of contentment he couldn’t even put into more words than “Griffin.”

  “We’re getting married,” Griffin said, his lips brushing Jim’s heated skin.

  “I heard.”

  “Why did you ask?” Griffin looked up, his eyes dark and unfocused, his glasses long gone in the folds of the blankets.

  “Because I hear the tax benefits are great,” Jim deadpanned, ruffling Griffin’s hair.

  And then wiping his hand on the bedspread, because God, product.

  “Did
you ask because I was acting weird?” Griffin whispered.

  “No. I asked because I love you,” Jim whispered back. “And because I want you to be happy, because that makes me happy.”

  “And you’re not feeling, like… changed… by this?”

  The urgency in Griffin’s voice made Jim tighten his arms. “This isn’t something I’m doing under protest, you know that, right? I made the decision all by myself.”

  “Because we don’t have to—”

  Jim laughed. Loudly. “Really? Okay, you call Mimi back and tell her that. Then be grateful you’re three thousand miles away.”

  Griffin dropped his head against Jim’s chest and laughed.

  “I love you. We’re getting married for that sole reason.”

  “And tax benefits.”

  “Right. And to make Mimi happy.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Because she wants to wear a sexy dress and dance at our wedding.”

  Griffin’s voice slowly went back to that happy cadence. And Jim’s heart beat a jig.

  Chapter 20

  BREAKFAST WAS more food than four couples could possibly eat.

  The kitchen island and table were full—eggs in four varieties, piles of toast (three kinds), pancakes, waffles, and three covered dishes of meat and potatoes.

  And Matt in the center of it all, apron around his waist and a big smile on his face.

  “To what do we owe this honor?” Daisy asked, wandering into the room with a dazed smile on her face.

  “I assume everyone is slightly hungover, and we have to be at the church in, like, three hours. I figured this would help things along,” Matt said dryly. He gestured toward the station he’d set up: plates, napkins, silverware.

  “Coffee?” Bennett whined as he came in behind her, a drooling and happy Sadie on his hip.

  “Space Station Coffee Maker, ready to distribute the goodness.”

  “I’m thinking of firing all our other help and just having you around,” he said, one-handing the coffee mug and stream like a pro.

  “Sorry, he’s busy running my life.”

  Matt looked up and spotted Evan, all sexy and serious in his lightweight gray suit and white shirt. Everyone else was still in their nightwear, but Evan clearly wanted to mess with Matt’s libido.

  They exchanged kisses against the fridge, still frisky and handsy from last night. Pool frottage had given way to some fairly impressive fucking when they got into bed—followed by three hours’ sleep.

  There was going to be some serious crashing at some point.

  People were talking, but Matt only had eyes for Evan—who only had eyes for him. Matt didn’t break their locked gazes until Helena rudely hip-checked them away from the door.

  She wanted orange juice and was in no mood to deal with their canoodling.

  “Big talk for a girl with hickeys on the back of her neck,” Matt muttered.

  The kitchen soon filled—even the happy couple wandered in. Jim looked smug, and Griffin, well.

  Griffin might be limping, which Matt found privately hilarious. He resisted the urge to high-five his friend when he walked by to grab a plate.

  “ARE WE still making toasts?” Shane asked. He sounded entirely sober, but he was wearing sunglasses at the table and what Evan was fairly certain was Helena’s Gotham Girls Roller Derby hot pink T-shirt.

  “Only if we’re toasting my amazing culinary skills,” Matt said around a mouthful of hash browns.

  “To Matt’s exceptional ability to cook like this is prison,” Jim offered.

  Everyone said, “Hear, hear.”

  “To whomever made the coffee machine work,” Shane said.

  “Still me.”

  Evan laughed into his cup.

  They toasted everyone at the table, including Miss Sadie, who was currently spitting oatmeal in Griffin’s adoring direction.

  “Can we bring a thermos to the church?” Helena asked, her head on Shane’s shoulder.

  “Buncha drunks,” Matt said loudly, but Evan noticed him taking two when Daisy went around with a giant bottle of aspirin.

  THEY TOOK two limos to the church, a tiny steepled thing in town. The regular service was over, folks milling about on the sidewalk chatting as Sadie’s christening group stepped into their midst. No one blinked at the fancy rides or the fact that half the couples were men, and they were holding hands.

  Daisy got a few gawks, but Matt figured that was because she looked ridiculously hot for a lady about to baptize a baby.

  If he still bothered with women….

  The reverend was named Potter, and he looked far too young to be conducting important God work, at least to Matt, who grew up in the proper church, with priests and nuns that all arrived at the parish looking ninety-five years old. He clasped Evan’s hand as they entered the cool wood-paneled interior of the church and wandered around as the rest of the group moved toward the small baptismal fountain near the altar.

  “Nice,” Evan murmured next to him.

  “Hmmm, yeah.” Matt didn’t have much use for churches or religion anymore. He and God had a need-to-know relationship basis at this point—Matt said thank you when it felt appropriate and asked for favors when he felt he couldn’t handle it on his own.

  Right now he just felt peaceful.

  He brought Evan over to the corner, where memorial candles were set up. Put a quarter in the box, light a candle for someone. He dug in his pocket without even thinking about it.

  Evan beat him to it, dropping two quarters—thunk, thunk—into the metal container. Little lights flickered, but two unlit candles sat together on the top row.

  They didn’t say anything but kept their hands clasped. Matt watched Evan’s profile as he dipped the lit match to the wick, watched it catch fire. He wondered what Evan was thinking or praying, and he thought he could probably figure it out.

  Then he did his, Evan’s gaze warm against the side of his face.

  He thought, Thank you for saving him the first time. It sucks that you’re gone, but I’m so grateful to be here.

  There was more he could probably say to her, but thank you felt entirely adequate for the depth of his feelings.

  Chapter 21

  SADIE NAPPED through most of the ceremony, content in her mother’s arms and looking quite lovely in her flowing white gown, covered in lace. The little bonnet stuck to her wisps of auburn hair, her mouth puckered as if she were dreaming of dinner.

  Griffin recited back the promises the reverend asked of him. He held Sadie when the reverend poured water over her forehead. He shushed and rocked her as she protested being woken up in such a rude way. When the prayers were over, Griffin dropped a kiss on his goddaughter’s nose, filled with happiness.

  When he looked up, he caught Jim’s eye. He tried to analyze the expression on his fiancé’s face.

  Fiancé’s. It was going to take a while for his brain to compute that.

  “What?” he asked when Daisy and Bennett reclaimed Sadie and the picture taking began.

  Jim pulled him close, dropped a kiss on his cheek. “Nothing.” Jim tangled their fingers together and didn’t let go.

  THEY WALKED to the restaurant where Bennett had rented the back room for their lunch. Everyone settled into the covered patio, at one long table with Miss Sadie at the head.

  She was already asleep in her car seat.

  Bennett clinked his water glass gently before standing. The chatter quieted as Jim rested his arm around Griffin’s shoulder.

  “Daisy and I wanted to thank you all for being here with us. We both are so very grateful for your friendship and your love and the way you each contribute to our lives. When Sadie gets older, I want her to look at the pictures of today and be very aware what a family of choice looks like.”

  No one owned up to the sniffles that followed. Jim suspected Griffin, but Helena didn’t look entirely steady either.

  They raised their glasses to Bennett, to a beaming Daisy, to little Sadie.

&n
bsp; THE TOASTING from breakfast continued, with each person trying to outdo the other. Things started to get blue just in time for the waitresses to arrive with pieces of red velvet cake so incredibly decadent that Jim wanted to do jumping jacks after each bite.

  “We ordered it without calories,” Daisy chirped.

  Helena gave her a space high-five from the other end of the table.

  “God, could you imagine if that was a thing? Bennett? Do we know scientists?” Shane asked.

  “No.”

  “Crap.”

  “We seem to only know show-business types and cops.”

  Shane looked up and down the table. “That’s so weird.”

  Chapter 22

  EVAN WAS quiet when they got back to the house. Matt let him be for a while, choosing a nap sprawled out on the plush carpeting of the television room, with a baseball game muted on the giant screen. He tossed his jacket, belt, and shoes onto one of the couches and settled down with a throw pillow under his head. When he woke up, the Mets were losing and Evan was lying on the couch, watching him.

  “Damn, this rug is comfortable,” he muttered, sitting up.

  “The rug, the pool, the shower, the coffee maker,” Evan teased. “Anything else you’re going to try to smuggle into the SUV?”

  “I think we could take the television with us and they wouldn’t even miss it,” Matt declared. He crawled over to where Evan was, dropping a kiss on his mouth when he got there.

  “This isn’t my jurisdiction, but I will pull out my badge if you try,” Evan said with mock sternness.

  Matt smirked. “I love it when you talk dirty.”

  “That isn’t dirty.”

  “You said ‘pull out’—that’s sexy to me.”

  Evan snickered, going up on his elbow to regard Matt with a bemused expression. “There is something seriously wrong with you.”