Fearless (Less Is More Book 2)

by J. M. Lamp

  He winks at me and I sit there, trying to make sense of the stranger I just met and the completely random questionnaire he presented me with. All I can think about is that I hope I never see him again.

  ***

  “I know,” Ian says as he sits down next to Carrie in the booth, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so late.”

  “It’s OK,” I say. “We just got here ourselves not too long ago.”

  “Carrie,” Ian says, “you look nice this evening. I didn’t know you owned anything other than scrubs.”

  “You look nice as well, Ian,” she says, smiling. “And you smell good, too. I didn’t know you wore the scent of anything other than your own ego.”

  I laugh and look down at my phone to see a text from Ethan.

  HE HAS SO MUCH SHIT! I’m already exhausted and we have barely started.

  You can do it. I have faith in you.

  I put my phone back in my pocket and look up at Ian who is reading his menu.

  “How’s Hadley?” I say.

  “She’s fine,” he says. “I wasn’t with her, though. I was helping someone out at the gym.”

  “Exciting,” I say.

  “How’s Ethan doing?” he asks me.

  “Fine,” I say. “He’s already exhausted helping Sam move he said.”

  “By the way,” Carrie says, “I think Ethan should just move in.”

  “What?”

  “I’m serious,” she says. “I know it’s only been a few days, but he can’t go back to that apartment and you guys practically live with each other anyway, so why not?”

  “You really want another person in the apartment, though?”

  “I’m never home anyways,” she says.

  “I’ll tell him later.”

  She smiles and says, “I’m glad we got to do this. We never hang out anymore; the three of us.”

  “Not now that our Cody has himself a boyfriend,” Ian says.

  “You’re next it sounds like,” I say.

  “No,” he says. “I mean, Hadley is cool, but I’m taking it really slow. Trying not to get too attached too quickly.”

  “I think it’s cool that you’re talking to someone,” Carrie says.

  “Me, too,” I say. “I’d prefer it wasn’t my boyfriends sister, but it’s still nice, regardless. Carrie, what’s with that guy doing that survey today at work?”

  “What?”

  “His name was Adam, I think. He was doing a survey about the gay community or something at the hospital? He asked me random questions that don’t even relate to anything and I was so confused when he left.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says.

  “You didn’t see a guy walking around in a suit and tie?” I say. “Had a little clipboard attached to his arm?”

  “I was around the desk for a lot of the day and I never once saw the dude,” she says. “I even worked with a couple of people who are special, like you, and no one said anything or got interviewed while I was there.”

  “That’s odd,” Ian says.

  “Very,” I say. I already thought that the guy was weird as fuck, but hearing her say that she has no idea what I’m talking about kind of freaks me out. If he wasn’t interviewing people, then what was he doing there?

  “Maybe he just thought you were cute and didn’t know how to talk to you?” she says.

  “That still doesn’t explain how he knew I was gay,” I say. “He asked me weird shit, too, like if I felt safe walking to my car after work and if I worked day shift or night shift.”

  “I don’t know, Cody,” she says. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much. He was probably just some weird fucker who thought you were cute. I’ve had patients ask about you before and such.”

  “I just hope he isn’t a stalker or something,” I say.

  “What was the story with dinner?” Ian says. “He didn’t look very good.”

  “He thought he saw something outside and it freaked him out.”

  “Oh,” he says. “Tell him thank you, by the way, for giving me Hadley’s number. I know it must be weird for him, and for you, for me to be talking to her. I don’t want something to go wrong and then things get awkward.”

  “I thought you said you were just friends?” Carrie says, smiling.

  “We are,” he says. “At least for right now.”

  “I think it’s great, man,” I say. “Just please, don’t get into something serious with her if you don’t plan to commit to it.”

  “I won’t,” he says.

  ***

  “Sam has more clothes than his sister does,” Ethan says, as he closes the front door. I get up and give him a hug as he makes his way into the living room. “He just has so much shit. It’s ridiculous. I never thought it would end.”

  “It’s all sorted, though?”

  “Yeah,” he says. “Well, mostly, but the rest is just stupid stuff like his clothes and books. How was dinner?”

  “Fine,” I say. “Ian seems to be enjoying Hadley.”

  “She hasn’t said anything about him,” he says. “Usually she tells me about the men in her life, so I don’t know.”

  “I want to ask you something,” I say.

  “Alright?”

  “Would you want to make your living here official?”

  “You asking me to move in?” he says.

  “If you want,” I say. “I’d just feel better if you weren’t at that apartment and we’re basically together every night anyway.”

  “What about Carrie?”

  “She’s, actually, the one that suggested it.”

  “Oh,” he says. “Interesting.”

  “I’ve been thinking about it, though,” I say. “But like I said, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

  “Can we move everything in later in the week?” he says. “I’m exhausted enough as it is and it wasn’t even my stuff.”

  He lies down on the couch and rests his head in my lap. I push the hair back out of his face as he closes his eyes.

  “Did Elliot and Will find a house yet?”

  “They looked at one,” he says, “but they didn’t like it.”

  “So,” I say, resting my arm along the back of the couch, “the weirdest thing happened today.”

  “Do tell,” he says, smiling.

  “This guy was at the hospital and he interviewed me about how safe I feel at the hospital.”

  “Huh?”

  “As a gay man,” I say.

  “How’d he even know you were gay?” he asks me.

  “He said he asked around for all of the openly gay people who worked at the hospital. It’s for some magazine or something.”

  “What’s the magazine?”

  “He didn’t tell me,” I say. “Honestly, I forgot to ask.”

  “That was stupid of you.”

  “I know,” I say, laughing. “I don’t know. It was just odd.”

  “Maybe he secretly has a crush on you and just made it all up to talk to you.”

  “Maybe so,” I say. “To bad I’m already taken.”

  “Where am I going to put all my stuff?”

  “Hadley’s storage stall?” I say.

  “I could probably sell a lot of it,” he says. “It’s not worth anything anyway, apparently.”

  “Or you could put it all in storage for when we have more room for it.”

  “Or that,” he says.

  “You sure you want me here?” he says. “Permanently, I mean.”

  “I’ve never been more sure about anything in my entire life.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Ethan

  I T’S BEEN A MONTH SINCE ELLIOT and Will have been back and they still haven’t decided on a plan for the wedding. It’s also Halloween, which just so happens to be my favorite holiday of the year.

  “What’s Cody being for the party tonight?” Will asks me. We make our way down the aisle at the Halloween store and I touch everything I see.

  “He won�
�t tell me,” I say. “Knowing him, nothing too crazy.”

  “And what are you planning to be” Will says, laughing.

  “Well,” I say, “usually I would really gay-it-up and try to catch a disease or two, but tonight I think I’ll play it safe, too.”

  “Thanks for coming with me today,” he says, looking at the back of a policeman costume. “To be honest, I want to get this wedding out of the way within the next few weeks and since Elliot doesn’t seem to give a shit about what we do, I thought I’d ask you what the simplest thing would be to do that he would like.”

  “Honestly,” I say, “he just wants a small thing with his friends and family. Why don’t you guys just have it down by that bench where you met? I’m sure everyone would just love to see this fucking thing up close.”

  He laughs and says, “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that before. I’m serious, it’s going to happen sooner rather than later. Probably.”

  “I’m glad you guys found a house,” I say. “Even more excited that you’re throwing a Halloween party at it tonight. I love Halloween.”

  “I do, too,” he says. “I just hope the house doesn’t get too tore up.”

  “It won’t,” I say. “Just throw people out if they’re being too ridiculous.”

  “How’s living with Cody going?”

  “Good,” I say. “A little crowded, but it’s nice not going back and forth.”

  “I couldn’t believe it when El told me someone broke into your apartment,” he says. “That really sucks, man.”

  “It’s OK,” I say. “It’s probably for the best. They didn’t take anything which was nice.”

  “That’s odd.”

  “Trust me,” I say, “I know.”

  “I could just be a giant book,” Will says. “Ethan would just love that.”

  “He probably would,” I say, laughing. “What about this?”

  “A fireman?”

  “Yeah,” I say. “Come on, will he really be expecting to see you in something like this?”

  “Probably not,” he says. “He’ll be expecting the book.”

  “I think I’ll be the cop,” I say, grabbing the package off the shelf. “It will give me a reason to handcuff Cody later.”

  ***

  “Don’t you look sexy, Officer Alexander,” Cody says when he gets home from work. He empties his pockets onto the kitchen table and makes his way over to me.

  “Are you going as a nurse?” I say, wrapping my hands around his waist and planting a kiss on his lips.

  “No,” he says. He waves the bag in his hand back and forth and smiles. “I need to go shower and then change.”

  “What’d you get?”

  “It’s a secret,” he says.

  “Cody,” I say.

  “You’ll see,” he says, making his way back to the bathroom. “And you’ll like what you see.”

  Twenty minutes later, the bathroom door opens and out steps Cody in a cowboy outfit. He has on light blue jeans and black, leather looking chaps with fake pistols on either side. A red hanky is wrapped around his neck and his cowboy hat is a darker shade of brown that also looks like leather.

  My jaw drops and my eyes grow wide as he makes his way towards me - his abs moving from side to side as he walks. He turns around and his ass makes a beautiful, perfect curve as he walks back into the bathroom. My cock is already hard and I know I’ll have to mess up both of our costumes before we even leave for the party.

  I make my way into the bathroom and say, “The bedroom, right now.”

  “No,” he says, smiling. “You have to wait.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Just think of how fun it will be later.”

  “I’m going to be hard all night, Cody,” I say, frowning. “You do realize that, right?”

  “I’m aware.”

  “Dick,” I say, smiling at him in the mirror. I put my hands on his ass and I slowly make my way to his front. I grab ahold of his cock and I see him smirk as I feel him harden underneath my palm.

  He turns around, grabs my face with both of his hands and sticks his tongue in my mouth. He grabs my ass from behind and hugs me into him, never letting up on the kiss.

  He lets go of me and says, “Let’s go.”

  I look in the mirror at my huge bulge and roll my eyes.

  ***

  We get to Elliot and Will’s new house and I’m amazed by all of the cars outside. I figured it would be a bigger than average party, but I didn’t know they knew this many people.

  “Ready?” Cody says as we get out of the car.

  “Quickie in the backseat first?”

  Cody laughs and makes his way up the driveway towards the house.

  “Awe, Samuel,” I say once we get in the house. “You look so cute.” Sam is dressed as Robin Hood and has the bow on his back to complete his outfit.

  “And you look…less slutty than your usual self,” he says, smiling. “Cody, on the other hand, has completely outdone you this year, I’d say.”

  “I know, right?” I say. “He looks fucking great. I love cowboys.”

  “Where can I get a drink?” Cody asks Sam. Sam points him towards the kitchen and he kisses me on the cheek as he walks away.

  “Damn,” Sam says, “I didn’t think he’d be wearing something like that tonight.”

  “I tried to get some before we left,” I say, “but he wasn’t having any of it. He’s teasing me and I don’t like it.”

  “I’m sure the wait will be worth it,” Sam says, winking at me.

  “Someone’s already had a good bit to drink I see.”

  “Yes,” he says, “yes I have.”

  “Where are the hosts?”

  “The living room…I think.”

  I make my way into the living room and see Elliot sitting on the couch and Will standing behind him with his hands on his shoulders.

  “Hey, buddy,” Elliot says, as I make my way towards them. “You look nice.”

  “Not as nice as my boyfriend, apparently.”

  “Where is he?” Elliot says. I point down the hall towards the kitchen to Cody who is making his way towards us with a beer in both hands. “Wow. Yes, I’d say he wins.”

  “Hey,” Cody says, handing me a beer.

  “Hey, yourself,” Elliot says, “cowboy.”

  “Where’s your lasso?” Will says.

  “Shit,” Cody says, laughing. “That would’ve been perfect.”

  “There are a lot of people here,” I say. “I didn’t know you guys knew this many people.”

  “Actually,” Will says, “we don’t know half these people. They’re all from this block and the one over.”

  “Wait,” I say, smiling, “don’t tell me you guys moved to a block full of gays?”

  “It’s a nice house,” Elliot says. “It was already up to date and there were new appliances.”

  “And it was pretty cheap,” Will says.

  “It’s beautiful,” Cody says. “The kitchen especially.”

  “How many bathrooms does it have?” I ask.

  “One upstairs and one down,” Elliot says.

  “Which one is bigger?”

  “Upstairs,” he says, “why?”

  “No reason,” I say.

  “Let’s go check out the rest of the house,” Cody says to me.

  We make our way upstairs and I instantly start opening the doors looking for the bathroom.

  “Where is it?” I say.

  “Where’s what?”

  “The bathroom.”

  “Why didn’t you just use the one downstairs?” Cody asks me.

  “I don’t have to go,” I say.

  “Then what—“

  “Here we go,” I say, pulling Cody into the bathroom with me. “I can’t wait. You either fuck me right here or get out so I can rub one out.”

  Cody locks the door as I go straight for his belt and pants zipper. I unzip his pants and rub his cock as he bites my bottom lip. I pull my shorts down to my a
nkles, turn around and lean against the brick wall next to the shower. Cody shoves his pants down to his knees and runs his hand down my back. He smacks his cock against my ass cheek and I smile as he puts one hand on top of my head.

  He spits on his cock, lathers it up, and runs it between my ass cheeks. I see a bottle of lotion to my left and hand it to him. He squirts some in his hand and lathers up his cock again. He spreads the rest between my cheeks and I let out a soft moan as he slowly shoves himself into me. My legs gently shake as he shoves himself in and out of me. He puts both of his hands on my hips as he pulls me back and forth, his cock digging deeper into me every time. He reaches over with one hand and grabs my cock, jerking it back and forth.

  I’ve been ready since we left the house and I already know I’m going to come quick. He keeps motioning up and down, rubbing my tip relentlessly in the process, until I let out a long ‘fuuuuuck’ and come all over his hand. He moans as he pulls out of me and comes all over my back.

  He wets a washcloth and cleans my back as I smile and look into his eyes. All I see is a man, that I love, and all I can think about is how I want to go home and do it all over again.

  ***

  “The bathroom is beautiful,” I say as we make our way back into the living room.

  “Gorgeous,” Cody says, brushing his hair back with his hand.

  Elliot chews on the side of his mouth and says, “Thanks. Glad you two…enjoyed it.”

  I laugh and make my way to the kitchen to get another beer. Mine spilled in the process of doing Cody in the bathroom and I just now realize that I forgot to clean it up. I grab one and look back towards the living room where Cody is on the couch next to Sam and they’re all laughing about something.

  Cody fit in with everyone immediately when I first introduced him months ago. I didn’t believe it at the time, that I had possibly found someone to spend the rest of my life with, but I’m starting to realize that it’s him; he’s the one. Sure, there may be another one out there for me, and I don’t even believe in soul mates, but anyone that makes me want to be a better person without even trying to change me, that’s someone I need in my life.

  “We set a date,” Will says, as I walk back into the living room.