Until Forever Comes

by Jerry Cole

  About to walk right up and say hi, Bryce stopped in the doorway and just kind of stared. Really, he couldn’t believe or fathom what he was seeing: Roman, in the flesh after all this time.

  “Miss.” Roman was still eyeing the hat. “How much for this?”

  The owner of the store, a small Indonesian woman that looked like she might actually be two hundred years old, hurried over to him, snatched the hat and said, “One hundred thousand.”

  Roman frowned for a moment as he did the conversion in his head. “That’s what, ten dollars – what am I asking you for,” he laughed. “But all right. Here, let me just...” he reached for his wallet, tucked into his boardshorts.

  “If you pay one hundred thousand for that, you’re a sucker.” Bryce stayed by the entrance, and even tried for an arms-folded-across-the-chest, half-leaning stance, so that he’d look extra cool. “But you always were that.”

  Roman’s face lit up before he even spotted Bryce. And when he did spy him standing in the doorway, he didn’t go to him, or drop the hat in shock, or even pretend like he was overly surprised and couldn’t believe his own eyes. Instead, he maintained the same coy smile and asked, “How much would you suggest?”

  Bryce pushed himself up straight and casually strolled into the store. “The usual rule is half what they suggest, so fifty thousand. But if you’re feeling generous, seventy-five wouldn’t be too embarrassing.”

  Roman pretended to consider. “I think I can swing that.” He looked to the little Indonesian lady who was now standing between the two men. “Seventy-five thousand?” he asked.

  “Yes, yes. Good.” She waved Roman toward her so he could pay.

  “Perfect.” Roman did his best to act like this was all casual as he handed her the cash. “Thanks,” he finished when she snatched it out of his hand and pushed the cap onto him.

  Bryce’s body shook from withheld laughter. He gave a single nod of his head, indicating for Roman to follow him outside. Roman nodded and the two men exited the store together.

  “Thanks for that,” Roman started once they were free. The street was busy, with dozens of tourists surging all around as they hurried between the stalls and shops. Bryce didn’t even notice them.

  “Don’t worry about it.” Bryce stood about a foot back from Roman, who was standing half facing him, half away like he meant to keep on walking. “I hate seeing tourists get ripped off, is all.”

  “I wish you’d found me at the start of the week.” Roman gave the hat a flick and then put it on. As expected, it looked ridiculous. Not only did he not have a head suited for hats, but the fact it was a red Bintang made it look all the sillier. “Who knows how much money you could have saved me?”

  “A whole week?” Bryce pushed out his lips as if in thought. “Damn, I hate to think how much you’ve burned through too. Should have looked me up.”

  “If only.”

  It was an odd feeling seeing Roman after all this time, but only because there was nothing odd feeling about it. There was no sexual tension, or awkwardness, or trepidation in how the two should have acted toward one another. The way that they were standing, talking, looking at each other was the most natural thing in the world. Fuck, Bryce felt like he could have stepped in and given Roman a kiss and he wouldn’t have objected or even thought it strange.

  “So, you’ve been here a week?” Bryce clarified.

  “Something like that. You?” Roman asked.

  “A few years now – I know, I know,” Bryce hurried and pretended to wave him down. “The last place you’d expect me, right?”

  “I don’t know what’s more surprising. Seeing you here, or the fact you have a tan – I'm going to assume you’ve installed some sort of UV light system in your office?” Roman joked, while trying to sound as serious as he could.

  “It’s from the actual sun, if you believe that?”

  “I don’t.”

  Another pause, this one equally as casual. Bryce’s eyes flicked up and down Roman’s torso, noting that the man hadn’t changed a bit. Sure, he was older. And maybe he looked a little more worn out than usual, despite being on holidays in Bali. But it was the same old Roman. The one that Bryce did indeed still have feelings for.

  “Who are you here with?” Bryce then ventured.

  “Myself,” Roman answered. Not too quickly though. Just a shrug and nothing more. “I had to get away from Sydney.”

  “Ah, yeah. You always hated it there. I’m surprised you stayed so long.”

  “Me too, honestly,” Roman chuckled.

  “So... when are you headed back?”

  It was the question that Bryce had wanted to ask the second he had seen Roman, but the one he knew he had to wait for. First, he had to make sure that Roman was here by himself. And second, and most importantly, he worried what the answer would be. Not once in twenty years had the two managed to sync up. The odds of it happening now were... well, they were unlikely.

  “I’m supposed to tonight, actually.” For some reason, Roman was actually smiling.

  “Ah.” Bryce tried not to sound or look too disappointed. At the very least, he might get a few hours in with Roman. At least that was something. “Should have guessed.” A dry chuckle.

  “Well, it was supposed to be tonight, but...” Now, Roman was smiling outright. Even with that ridiculous hat on, he looked too cute. “... I could be convinced to stay, I’m sure.”

  “Really?” Bryce perked up, his smile slowly creping across his face.

  Roman shrugged. “I’ve got nowhere I need to be. At least for another... oh, as long as I want, really.”

  “Is that right?” Bryce raised a single, challenging eyebrow.

  “It is. But only if it’s worth my while... to stay that is?”

  Bryce was laughing now. He didn’t care how happy he looked. “I mean, tell me you’ve at least been to Tanah Lot – the temple out on the water. The sunsets there are beautiful.”

  “I haven’t.” Roman slapped at his forehead. “Shit. Again, lucky you came along.”

  “It really is – you'd look like quite the fool if you had come all the way to Bali and not checked it out.”

  “And I don’t want to look like a fool.”

  “Lucky.”

  “How about this?” Roman started seriously. “You can show me Tanah Lot this afternoon... and then, maybe tomorrow I’ll leave. Unless you can think of another reason I should stay?”

  “Oh... I’m sure I can come up with something.”

  “I’m sure you can too.”

  Another pause. This one, the most significant yet. Bryce smiled for Roman. Roman returned the smile. Then, in what was both an unexpected yet at the same time totally expected move, he held his hand out for Bryce to take. Bryce didn’t even hesitate. Why the fuck would he?

  And then, still without bothering to speak, they’d done enough of that for the time being, the two men walked hand in hand down the street and toward nowhere in particular. For the first time, neither had anywhere they had to be, except with one another. There were no meetings. No flights. No buses leaving, and certainly no firings. For the first time ever it was two men, in love, with nothing but time to spend together.

  Bryce had thought the last three years of his life had been good. Now though, he knew they wouldn’t even hold a candle to what was to come. And he sensed that Roman was of the same mind too.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  If you had told Roman when he was a child, that one day he’d be getting a blowjob on the balcony of his hotel room from the man that he loved, while also gazing at the Eiffel Tower in the near distance, he would have laughed in your face. As a child, Roman just wouldn’t have been able to imagine that such a perfect scene could ever exist. Especially in his life.

  But that’s exactly what was happening.

  It was just around sunset; the sky was a mirage of reds, oranges and purples more vivid than Roman had ever seen. And from where he was standing, he could either look down the street some severa
l stories below to the hundreds of people moving this way and that. Or he could look ahead, roughly a mile away to the Eiffel Tower itself and marvel at its beauty. Or, he could look straight down, at the top of Bryce’s head as he worked Roman’s cock over with his mouth.

  “Mmmmmmmm.” Roman moaned his pleasure as he ran his hand through Bryce’s hair. “Just like that.”

  “I know how you like it,” Bryce said thickly, his mouth still half full of Roman’s piece. He then pulled himself free, spat all over the head and then swallowed it again.

  “Fucking hell.” Roman let go of Bryce’s head, leaned back on the railing and... well, he just enjoyed himself really.

  He and Bryce had been in Paris for two days now and they’d barely left the room. Tonight, they might go out, they hadn’t really decided yet. And if not tonight, then tomorrow or the day after. Honestly, there was no rush. Their ticket here had been open-ended, so they could stay as long as they damn well pleased.

  And after Paris? There was no after Paris. He and Bryce had zero plans for where they would go next, or when. The entire world was literally at their disposal, and it had been that way for two years now.

  It started in Bali. Roman decided to stay a little while longer after he so luckily ran into Bryce. It was only going to be a week, then it became two, then a month and then two of those. And every time he considered heading back to Sydney, he’d roll over in bed and look, or look across a table, into the eyes of the man he had been falling in love with, or he’d just think about how perfect everything had been of late, and he’d decide to stay a little longer.

  Yes, Roman technically had work to be returning to, but he also didn’t give a shit. His career was settled and there would always be more movies to make at another time. There was no rush whatsoever, and so, he didn’t.

  Instead, he and Bryce decided to travel the world. For the first time ever, they had nowhere else to be. For the first time ever, their lives had fallen into sync. For the first time ever, everything was as it should be: perfect.

  “I want you to cum for me.” Bryce pulled his mouth free and started slowly stroking Roman’s cock. It was soaking wet now, as hard as a rock and throbbing it was so close to finishing.

  “But... I... want...” Roman tried to stop Bryce. He reached down and grabbed at his hands, but Bryce swatted them away.

  “Let me.” He spat again, coating Roman’s head with his saliva.

  “What about you?” Roman breathed in through his teeth. He was getting close now. He could feel it working its way up his legs, through his balls and toward his shaft. His entire body started to shake.

  “Later.” Bryce’s eyes were on the prize; Roman’s soon to be explosive load. He stared at the end of Roman’s cock, waiting for his load with an open mouth.

  “I’ll hold you to... to...” Roman couldn’t finish.

  He sucked through his teeth, leaned back and readied himself to blow. As he did, he looked back across the way and toward the Tower in the distance. Fuck, it really was beautiful.

  When Roman was seventeen, he had hated his life. Hated it! As far as he was concerned, there was nothing good coming at him and he was due for a life of misery and sadness. But then, through pure luck, he met Bryce. Really, luck wasn’t even close to the right word. It was more like fate.

  Fate had brought Roman and Bryce together, and although it had also kept them apart for some time after that, now it was working overtime to make up for all those years lost. The last two years had been more than Roman could have ever dreamed. He couldn’t even imagine what was coming.

  “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Roman grabbed onto the rails of the balcony as his cock began to throb.

  He was cumming. He could feel it working its way through his shaft. His entire body began to shake and heave, his breathing increased, his heart stopped. Bryce, still on his knees, stroked him to perfection, knowing just how to do it like always.

  “Cum for me.” Bryce held his mouth open, ready for the load. “I want it.”

  “Almost.... it’s nearly.... almost – fuuuuuuuuuuck!” Roman gasped as he exploded all over Bryce’s face and down into his mouth.

  Bryce was quick to wrap his mouth around Bryce and catch the rest. And then he did the good thing and licked all up and down Roman’s deflating penis, making sure to clean every drop up.

  And when he was done, and Roman was thoroughly drained, Bryce stood back up and wrapped his arms around Roman. “So, what do you want to do now?” he asked. “Feel like going out?”

  “Not really.” Roman and Bryce were both looking at the Eiffel Tower now; it was just dark enough for the lights to be turned on, illuminating the great tower and making it appear even more beautiful than before. “Let’s stay in tonight. Just you and me.”

  “Fine by me,” Bryce said seriously. He leaned in and kissed Roman on the cheek. “Very fine by me.”

  Roman used to think that he was doomed to live a terrible life, from start to finish. Now he knew that the complete opposite was true. He had no idea what was to come of the future, but he knew that if Bryce was by his side, they’d be okay. Fuck it. He knew they would be perfect.