by Rowe, Nicki
Gabe nodded. He stood and pulled Lorenzo into a hug. He buried his face in Lorenzo's hair. The smell of him calmed Gabe enough to go home and pack.
Chapter Seven
Lorenzo
The airport was crowded, and by the time Lorenzo and Gabe arrived August was already there saying good-bye to Jayson and Billy. Elizabeth was saying good-bye to Alejandro; they all looked up as Gabe and Lorenzo approached them. They all looked surprised to see Lorenzo.
“He's coming with us,” Gabe growled, walking passed his family and sitting in a chair. No one argued.
Gabe motioned for Lorenzo to sit at his side. Lorenzo sat and fidgeted in his chair. Jayson, Billy and Alejandro left, and August and Elizabeth were sitting opposite of Gabe and Lorenzo. They kept looking at them, curiosity on their faces, but they never asked what exactly Lorenzo was doing there.
There was still thirty minutes until their flight began boarding. They were all restless. Elizabeth stood to go get a magazine and Gabe went to the closest restaurant to get a drink. August moved over to sit next to Lorenzo.
“I know what you're going to say,” Lorenzo said. He couldn't meet August's eyes, he stared out of the window and watched the planes. “I have no right to be here.”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” August said, “but my brother wants you here. He was so devestated when you left him alone in your apartment two months ago. I had never seen Gabe like that. He didn't eat. He didn't sleep. He hardly smiled. He was heart broken.”
“I know,” Lorenzo said. God, did he know. He had broken his own heart when he walked away from Gabe that night. He had returned to the apartment not even fifteen minutes later and he had hoped Gabe was still there. He had wanted to explain everything, but Gabe was gone. He kept telling himself just to call him, but Lorenzo never picked up the phone. The more time that passed the more Lorenzo couldn't talk to him. He was ashamed that he had pushed Gabe away.
“I messed up,” Lorenzo confessed.
August nodded. “You fucked up big time. My brother loves you, Lorenzo, and that's a big deal for him. My brother doesn't fall in love easily.”
“How do you know?”
August's lips twitched up into a smile. “Just talk to him.”
~ ~ ~
“You're still wearing it,” Lorenzo said, gingerly touching the bracelet he had given to Gabe for his birthday.
They had finally boarded the plane. He was sitting between Gabe and a elderly woman who was already reading a romance novel even though the plane hadn't left the ground. August and Elizabeth were sitting two rows in front of them. Normally the Marks family would have flown first class, but since they had gotten their tickets last minute they were lucky they even found seats on the plane at all.
“I never take it off,” Gabe confessed. He gently pulled his arm away, and turned the bracelet on his wrist. He looked out of the small window to the tarmac.
“I'm sorry,” Lorenzo said.
He felt the lady next to him shift to listen to their conversation. He ignored her. Apparently, Gabe and Lorenzo's drama was far more juicy than whatever the lady was reading.
“For?” Gabe asked, he sounded frustrated. “For leaving me in your apartment with my pants around my ankles? Or for not talking to me for two months?” He finally looked at Lorenzo. “I waited by the phone everyday for a month waiting for you to call and tell me what happened that night. You never did. You ran away to L.A. You left me to wonder if I had done something wrong, when all I am guilty of is wanting you so much it hurt.” Gabe snapped his mouth shut and shook his head. He went back to looking out of the plane window. “Whatever.”
Lorenzo leaned over and put two fingers under Gabe's chin and forced him to look at him. He leveled his gaze with Gabe's. “I should never have walked out on you. I was an idiot. I had a weird moment where I thought of Max, but it had nothing to do with you. I allowed myself to freak out, and I felt so overwhelmed all I knew how to do was flee. I wanted you, but I didn't want you to think what was between us was just sex—”
“I never thought that.”
Lorenzo cupped his cheek. “I know, honey. I was dumb. I should have just told you all of this from the beginning. I should have called you up ages ago and explained everything. I should have told you that you mean the world to me. I should have told you that I couldn't stop thinking about you since I talked to you in the hospital all those months ago. I should have told you that I love you.”
“Yeah, you should have.” Gabe smiled sweetly. “If you would have just talked to me, Zo. I would have understood. I told you from the beginning that I never wanted to pressure you into anything. If you wanted to slow down and be friends I would have done that for you, but I couldn't bear not having you in my life at all. I would rather lose a limb. I fucking love you, Zo. I love you more than I have loved anyone outside of my family.”
Lorenzo leaned over and kissed Gabe. He heard the lady next to him say, “Aww.”
~ ~ ~
Orlando was boiling hot even for being the end of April. Gabe had his arm wrapped around Lorenzo's shoulder as the cab drove through the city to their hotel.
“I was able to get us all seperate rooms, but they are on different floors,” Elizabeth informed them. “Gabe and Lorenzo, you will be on the fourth floor, August and I will be on the second. August, your room is at the end of the hall.”
The cabbie pulled up in front of the fanciest hotel Lorenzo had ever seen. Gabe pulled Lorenzo away from the car and into the hotel.
“Shouldn't we help with the luggage?”
“No time,” Gabe said.
He told the lady at the front desk his name and she handed Gabe a key. He dragged Lorenzo to the elevators. Gabe looked like a dog with a bone. His face was lit up and he couldn't stop smiling.
“Honey, what are we doing?”
The elevator dinged.
Gabe ushered Lorenzo inside the empty elevator. As soon as the doors closed Gabe hit the emergency stop button and pushed Lorenzo back against the wall. He wrapped his hand lightly around Lorenzo's throat. He pushed himself into Lorenzo's body; Lorenzo could feel the hardness in Gabe's jeans against his thigh.
“I've been waiting for five fucking hours to get you alone,” Gabe rasped in his ear.
Lorenzo reached between and cupped Gabe's bulge. Gabe hissed in a breath. Lorenzo nipped the cord at Gabe's neck.
“Aren't there cameras in here?”
Gabe shrugged. “We'll give them a show.”
Gabe fell to his knees in front of Lorenzo and undid his pants. He slid Lorenzo's jeans down his legs, and then slid his hands back up them. He placed a sweet kiss to Lorenzo's thigh. Gabe wrapped a hand around Lorenzo's member. Lorenzo's hips bucked.
“You're so beautiful,” Gabe said.
He placed his mouth over the head of Lorenzo's penis, and flicked his tongue across the slit. Lorenzo wrapped his hands around the metal bars in the elevator. Gabe swallowed him whole. Lorenzo's hips bucked again and Gabe moved his head in time with Lorenzo's thrusts. Lorenzo threw his head back against the wall. He groaned. Gabe made vibrating noises in the back of his throat that made Lorenzo twitch. He reached down, and tugged lighlty on Gabe's hair.
“Gabe,” Lorenzo's voice came out in a hoarse whisper.
Gabe's hand went to Lorenzo's ass. He dragged Lorenzo forward, pushing Lorenzo to the back of Gabe's throat. Lorenzo gripped the handrail so tight that his knuckles turned white.
“Gabe!” Lorenzo said again.
His body shuddered and he emptied himself into Gabe's mouth. His back arched off of the wall, and his hand wrapped into Gabe's hair even tighter. Gabe swallowed every drop.
When Lorenzo finally relaxed. He unwrapped his fingers from the handle bar and Gabe's hair. Gabe stood and licked his lips. He pulled Lorenzo's pants back up and pulled Lorenzo to his side. He hit the emergency stop button again so the elevator would work again.
“Fuck. That was fantastic.”
Gabe
They had barely made
it to their room before Lorenzo was tearing Gabe's clothes off. They stumbled to the bed. All their pent up sexual energy of the passed seven months exploded. Lorenzo nipped and kneaded at Gabe. Gabe held on to Lorenzo like he was going to lose him.
Gabe reached behind him and pulled off his shirt. He then pulled Lorenzo close and unzipped his sweatshirt. Lorenzo's bare chest was slender, toned and covered in a fine layer of dark hair. Gabe had always liked a hairy man. He himself didn't have much; only a happy trail that disappeared into the top of his jeans.
He pushed Lorenzo lightly back onto the bed. Lorenzo removed his glasses and set them on the night stand. He looked up at Gabe with lust filled brown eyes.
“Have you been with many men?” Lorenzo asked.
“A few,” Gabe admited. “Not for awhile though.” The last time he had fucked someone had been almost a year ago while he was in Philly. “You?”
“Two. I lost my virginity in tenth grade to Connor Flannigan, and Max.”
Gabe lowered himself on top of Lorenzo. He kissed a path down Lorenzo's stomach and back up again. “And me.”
Lorenzo smiled. He wrapped his arms and legs around Gabe, and rolled them over so he was straddling Gabe. Gabe put his hands on Lorenzo's hips. Gabe looked up at him. He looked so beautiful in the dim glow of the setting sun.
“We don't have to do this now,” Gabe said. He still didn't want to pressure Lorenzo into doing anything he didn't want to do. “We can wait.”
Lorenzo leaned down and pecked him on the nose. “I want to. We have been waiting too long.”
Gabe couldn't argue with that. He felt like he had been waiting to get Lorenzo in bed since the day he met him. Gabe didn't believe in soulmates, but he believed Lorenzo had been placed in his life for a reason—for this reason.
Gabe sat up and kissed Lorenzo. He found the condom he always kept in his wallet, and the small travel sized bottle of lube he had packed just in case. He had been optimistic that he and Lorenzo were going to work things out; he had wanted to be prepared.
He rolled the condom on. He squeezed a dollop of lube in Lorenzo's hands. Lorenzo slid his hands up and down Gabe's shaft so it was nice and slick. Gabe spread some lube on his own fingers and settled them against Lorenzo's hole. He circled his fingers around the puckered area.
He went to insert a finger into Lorenzo's ass, but he stopped Gabe with a hand on his wrist.
“No,” Lorenzo said, looking down at him earnestly. “I want to feel you.”
Gabe grunted. He was too turned on, too touched to say words. He lifted Lorenzo and placed the head of his cock at his entrance.
“Tell me if it's too much.”
He gripped Lorenzo's hips so hard, Gabe was sure he was going to leave bruises. He lowered Lorenzo down on his cock slowly. Lorenzo's face screwed up in pleasure/pain. Filling Lorenzo felt like heaven. His hot sheath wrapped around Gabe perfectly. It was as if their bodies were made for each other. God, Lorenzo was so fucking tight it almost brought Gabe to tears.
Lorenzo slammed his body down on Gabe's cock. He let out a little pained yell.
“Are you crazy?” Gabe asked, hissing in a breath. He was worried Lorenzo had hurt himself by impaling himself on Gabe's cock.
“Just...move,” Lorenzo demanded.
Gabe moved. He lifted his hips in and out of Lorenzo. Lorenzo rode him hard and fast. His hands came down on Gabe's chest with a loud smack. Lorenzo panted. Gabe found it hard to look away from Lorenzo. He was just so enchanting.
Gabe released Lorenzo's hip from his right hand. He reached between them and took Lorenzo's cock into his hand. He pumped Lorenzo's cock in time with the rhythm of their fucking. Lorenzo's fingers dug into Gabe's chest.
“Fuck, Zo. I'm gonna come.”
“Do it,” Lorenzo demanded.
Gabe thrusted his hips upward so hard both him and Lorenzo left the bed. He yelled out and unloaded while buried to the hilt in Lorenzo. Lorenzo came only seconds after. He painted Gabe's chest white. Gabe ran a finger through Lorenzo's come and then stuck the finger in his mouth. God, he had never tasted anything so good.
~ ~ ~
Gabe woke up that morning still feeling like his muscles were made of fluid. He reached a hand over, but found the side of the bed empty. He sat up, hoping the night had not just been a dream. He looked around the hotel room. He saw the condom in the trash, Lorenzo's clothes on the floor. He relaxed. He heard Lorenzo humming in the bathroom.
He got out of the bed and crossed the room. The bathroom door was open a crack. He could see Lorenzo showering. He opened the door and stepped into the shower behind him. He wrapped his hands around Lorenzo from behind and placed his chin against Lorenzo's shoulder.
“How's your ass?”
Lorenzo chuckled. “Deliciously sore.”
Lorenzo turned and began washing Gabe's body. His hands lingered over the curve of his hips and on his abs. Gabe trailed a finger down the side of Lorenzo's body. He would never be able to stop touching him.
“How are you feeling about today?” Lorenzo asked.
Gabe shrugged. “I guess we'll see when I get there.”
“I'm not going to leave you side. I'll be there if you need me.”
Gabe placed a kiss to Lorenzo's lips as a silent thank you.
They finished showering and dressed. August was waiting at their door when Gabe opened it. He smirked at them when they closed the door behind them.
“Was it you two that stopped the elevator yesterday?”
Lorenzo blushed. Gabe told his older brother to mind his own business.
They met their mother at the car their father had ordered to pick them up.
“Gabe, darling, tuck in your shirt,” she commented, touching her hair.
Gabe rolled his eyes at her, but tucked his shirt in anyway.
They drove to the hospital in silence. The pressure of Lorenzo's hand in Gabe's was comforting. Gabe felt like he was going to crawl out of his skin. He had the strong desire to get drunk, but then mentally yelled at himself for even thinking along those lines. Lorenzo squeezed his fingers reassuringly.
Ivy and Kennedy were waiting outside the hospital when they pulled up. Ivy was in her late forties with blond hair, big boobs, tanned skin and full lips. Kennedy was ten, and had the same blond hair as her mother, but the same sky blue eyes as their father and August. Gabe had only met Kennedy once when she was two; he doubted the girl remembered him. Gabe hoped their father had been a better dad to her than he had been with his sons.
“Hello,” Ivy greeted them. “We're glad you could make it.”
“How is he?” their mother said.
Ivy just shook her head.
Ivy led them inside and to the elevator. Ivy looked at Lorenzo. “Hello, I'm Ivy.”
“Lorenzo.”
She nodded at him with a smile.
They exited on the tenth floor. They were led to a room down a long hallway.
Their father looked so frail on his bed. He had tubes and wires hanging from him, and he looked more machine than man. His skin had a yellowish color to it. He was thinner than when Gabe last saw him. He looked like a skeleton. He opened his eyes when they walked in.
He tried to smile. “My boys.” He turned to Lorenzo. “Who are you?”
Gabe squeezed Lorenzo to his side. “This is Lorenzo Diaz. My boyfriend.” Gabe couldn't keep the pride and smile out of his voice. He could not believe this amazing man was actually his.
He said the words like a challenge; he dared his father to say anything negative about his relationship, but his father's eyebrows only raised, and all he said was: “Nice to meet you.” He turned his attention to Ivy and their mother. “Could you guys give me some alone time with August and Gabe?”
Lorenzo turned to Gabe and squeezed his fingers again. “I'll be right outside if you need me.”
Gabe swept Lorenzo into a hug and buried his nose in Lorenzo's hair. The scent of his man brought him immense comfort and strength. He needed all the comfort an
d strength he could get in order to make it through the day.
Gabe and August sat when the others left. Victor looked over at them, and there was an expression on his face that Gabe had never seen before: regret.
“I owe you both an apology. I was not a great father, and an even worse husband.” He looked at August. “I should have told you I was proud of you for every acheivement you have ever made. I am proud of you, son. I want you to know that.”
August didn't say anything.
“Gabe, you are not worthless, and I am sorry I ever treated you that way,” he smiled. “I'm glad you found someone you are happy with.”
August scoffed. He stood and shook his head. He looked at both of them apologetically. “I can't do this. I'm sorry.”
August walked out of the door.
Gabe stared at the door for a few moments, waiting for August to come back. When he didn't Gabe turned back to their father. “You fucked him up pretty good,” Gabe said. “All he ever did was try to make you proud of him and you hated him. Why? Because he was gay?”
“No,” Victor said. “I don't care that he's gay.”
“You realize those are the exact words you said to him when he came out. You said you didn't care. He already thought you didn't fucking care, and you just added more fuel to that fire.” Gabe stood and paced the small area between the bed and door. “I bring my boyfriend, and you tell me you are happy for me—”
“I am.”
“When did you ever tell August you were happy for him? He's getting married, did you know that?”
“No, I didn't.”
“When was the last time you asked August about his life?”
Tears swam in Victor's eyes. Gabe had never seen his father cry, the sight made him uncomfortable.
“Is he happy?” Victor asked.
“I think you should ask him that.”
Gabe couldn't take it anymore. His skin felt itchy, and he was really hankering for that drink now. He needed to get out of that room. He felt like the walls were closing in; without another word to his father, he left.