Happy Endings [Cedar Falls 20] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove)

by Shea Balik

  Lakyn hadn’t forgotten, but he was also hoping to change the order a bit. “How about we go out first and if things go well, I’ll give you a massage tonight?” He stared right into those honey-brown orbs and said, “At my place.”

  He loved the way Gabriel’s pupils dilated a bit at the suggestion. “Right, your place,” Gabriel repeated.

  The attraction was too great to ignore as they both leaned into another kiss. Arms wrapped around Lakyn’s neck, pulling him even closer. He smoothed his hands down Gabriel’s sides to his firm ass, grabbing ahold of those muscled cheeks. Lakyn loved the way they filled his hands.

  Damn, but if he didn’t watch himself, he’d end up taking Gabriel right there in front of the windows looking out onto Peachtree, for anyone to see as they walked by. If the mayor didn’t manage to get him arrested for something, fucking a man in front of the whole town would definitely get him in jail for lewd public acts.

  Not that it wouldn’t be totally worth it, but Lakyn had far better plans than letting the whole town watch. No, he’d rather strip this man down in private where he could enjoy him at his leisure.

  Reluctantly they both pulled away from the heated kiss. With far more effort than he would have thought, Lakyn turned away from Gabriel and grabbed a notepad from the front desk. He wrote down his address and handed the piece of paper to Gabriel. “Pick me up at five.”

  It was four now, which wouldn’t give him much time to get ready. He still had to clean the room the mayor had vacated before driving home to shower and dress, but he also wanted to spend as much time as possible with Gabriel.

  “Five,” Gabriel repeated before placing one more lingering kiss to his lips. Then Gabriel was gone.

  He didn’t have the extra time, but Lakyn couldn’t resist watching Gabriel walk down Peachtree until he disappeared on Main. Damn, but Gabriel had one fine ass.

  With a sigh, Lakyn locked the front door and turned the sign over to read, “Closed.” Zoey had left at noon for some sort of crafting club she had joined to make new friends.

  Now he just had to clean up and figure out what he was going to wear for his date. That had Lakyn pausing on his way to the back. He had a date. A date. Lakyn smiled. Then he chuckled as he went into his massage room to start cleaning. If he were lucky, it would turn into a sleepover.

  Chapter Twelve

  Nerves had Gabriel’s hands tapping against the steering wheel in a beat that matched the song on the radio. He had no idea what was playing. His thoughts were too chaotic to be able to follow the words.

  He was going on a date with Lakyn. Him. Sure, they had gone on a date already to the barbecue, but he wasn’t sure if that really counted. They were with friends, and he’d been ordered to bring Lakyn. This was entirely different.

  They would be going out together. Just the two of them. Alone. Well, if one didn’t count the hundreds of people that would be at the casino being alone. And then, if he were really lucky, they would be going to Lakyn’s afterward, where they would really be alone.

  Except…did he want to take things that far so soon?

  Hell yes, he did. It might not be wise to add sex to the mix so quickly, but Gabriel was more than ready to take this step. After having Lakyn’s hands on him not once but twice, kneading his flesh and driving Gabriel out of his mind, Gabriel would jump at any chance to feel Lakyn inside of him.

  In one mile, turn right onto Fields Street.

  His hands tapped out the rhythm a little harder as excitement surged within him when he heard Siri give the name of Lakyn’s street. He was almost there.

  Mentally, he ran through his checklist. He’d stopped to wash and vacuum his car before going home to take a shower and shave. He’d used deodorant, some light aftershave, and put on clean underwear and socks.

  Turn right onto Fields Street, Siri prompted.

  Gabriel nodded as much at Siri as to himself. He’d remembered everything. He was ready for this date.

  He turned into the driveway Siri said was Lakyn’s and smiled at the small cabin-style house. It fit Lakyn, with its rough logs making up the outside of the home. A deck that appeared larger than the house itself wrapped around to the back.

  And in the front was a small stream with a wooden bridge to get from the driveway to the front porch. There was even a little waterfall that fed the stream, which dumped into a pond. The entire scene was serene, idyllic, peaceful. Just like Lakyn.

  The moment he stepped from the car, the front door opened and Gabriel’s breath caught in his throat. A very handsome Lakyn, dressed in black slacks and a light blue shirt that matched his eyes perfectly, stood there smiling at Gabriel. Gabriel had a sudden flash of his future and this same scene playing out, except, instead of him picking Lakyn up for a night out, he was welcoming Gabriel home.

  As much as he wanted that to come true, Gabriel wasn’t about to jump the gun. They needed to take things one day at a time. Tonight was about getting to know each other so they could see if a future was possible. But no matter how many times Gabriel tried to tell himself that, he found himself getting excited at the prospect of forming a life with this man.

  “You’re breathtaking,” Gabriel said as he crossed the bridge and stepped onto the porch.

  Lakyn grinned at him. “You’re not so bad yourself, handsome.”

  Then they were standing with no more than an inch separating them. As if they were both schoolkids on their first date, they just stared at each other, not sure what to do. When the strain became too much, they laughed nervously.

  “Why do I feel like a teenager taking you to the prom?” Gabriel’s hands were even sweating like they had been on his very first date.

  Lakyn’s eyes twinkled with merriment. “Maybe because, like the prom, at the end of the night you’re hoping to get into my pants.”

  Gabriel laughed. Just like that, the nerves melted away as he leaned in and pressed his lips to Lakyn’s. The kiss started out soft and unhurried. Lakyn’s tongue came out and lapped at his lips, coaxing Gabriel to open up.

  The moment he did, Lakyn’s tongue dipped inside and, like a match to paper, they went up in flames. Hands stroked, petted, and fingers dug into material to pull it out of the way to reach skin.

  Suddenly Gabriel found himself pressed up against the side of the house as Lakyn devoured his lips. His cock was hard and aching for relief. He moaned in ecstasy when Lakyn’s thigh was there, pushing between his legs, giving him the friction he so desperately wanted.

  Then, just as suddenly, Lakyn was gone. Gabriel blinked, unsure what was happening as he saw Lakyn across the porch, breathing as hard as he was.

  “I’m sorry,” Lakyn panted. “I didn’t mean for it to go so far. But damn, every time I kiss you, it’s like I forget myself.” As if to prove his words, Lakyn took several steps toward Gabriel.

  But now that he had a moment to breathe, to think, Gabriel knew Lakyn had done the right thing. They needed to get to know each other before jumping into bed. Okay, so they planned to do that anyway at the end of the night, but still, Gabriel didn’t think it would be a good idea to skip the date, no matter how much his dick was begging him to do just that.

  “Wait.” He held out a hand to stop Lakyn from coming any closer. Standing up a little straighter now that his breathing was returning to normal, Gabriel said, “I made dinner reservations and we’ll be late if we don’t get going.”

  He winced at the stiffness he heard in his voice. All those years of comportment and manners drilled into him by his mother and one of his tutors, hired just for that purpose, had a way surfacing whenever he was uncomfortable. No matter how hard he’d tried through his years of college, Gabriel hadn’t been able to drop learned behavior.

  Then again, in college and in his former job, the affectation had served him well, so he hadn’t tried too hard to get rid of it. But with Lakyn, the last thing he wanted was to behave in such a formal manner. He just wasn’t sure how to change.

  Lakyn cocked his head to the s
ide and stepped closer. “What just happened there?”

  Like a deer caught in headlights, Gabriel froze. His mind instantly went with denial as a defense. “Nothing. Are you ready to go to dinner?” He winced at his stiff formal voice that sounded more like an uptight butler than himself.

  “Not until you tell me why you look like you suddenly wish you could be anywhere but here.” Lakyn widened his stance a bit to convey just how serious he was about not moving.

  The alarm on his phone chimed, telling Gabriel they needed to leave if they had any chance of making their reservation at Devine, one of Utopia’s four restaurants. But Lakyn’s stance, not to mention the resolve on his face, said they weren’t going anywhere until Gabriel explained himself.

  Resigned to do just that, Gabriel gave a nod. “Fine, I’ll tell you, but we need to go so can we have this conversation in the car?”

  Lakyn stared at him a full minute before giving his own nod. “Fine, but I’m not dropping it until you’ve told me what that was about.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he said, glumly.

  Gabriel hated having to talk about his childhood, or lack thereof. Everyone gave him that look of pity that he despised. Having to see it from Lakyn wasn’t something he was looking forward to. Then again, if he really was hoping to have a future with Lakyn, which he was, Gabriel would need to tell him about his mother sooner or later.

  He’d started to at the barbecue, but Gabriel had made sure to not say more than he had to at the time. This wasn’t exactly the conversation he’d wanted to have for their first official date, but that couldn’t be helped. If he was going to be forced to talk about his childhood, then Gabriel might as well tell Lakyn everything about his mother, including the fact that she tended to ignore the fact he was gay.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lakyn had never been so glad that he didn’t live close to the casino as that night. While Gabriel talked about his childhood, Lakyn wanted to pull him into his arms and cry for that little boy who didn’t get to experience all the joy a kid should growing up. He also knew Gabriel wouldn’t like him doing that.

  It was obvious Gabriel was a proud man who didn’t want anyone’s pity. Not that Lakyn could blame him, especially when he’d been led to believe by his own mother that he should show strength to others, never weakness. Receiving pity would be a sign of weakness to Gabriel.

  Gabriel’s mother better pray she never met Lakyn, for he would tell her exactly what he thought of her child rearing. This wasn’t communist Russia after all. It was America. Land of the free. No child should be forced to study every waking moment.

  Lakyn just wasn’t sure which was worse—the way Gabriel grew up, or the fact that, even now, he didn’t know how to relax and have fun. That with every move he made, he wondered if he would get his mother’s approval and knew he most likely wouldn’t. What kind of mother wouldn’t be proud of someone like Gabriel? The man exuded confidence and success.

  Lakyn just hoped to one day meet the woman. It might cause trouble between Gabriel and himself, but Lakyn would make sure Gabriel’s mother knew just how great her son was.

  It took effort but by the time Gabriel parked in front of the casino’s main entrance, Lakyn had managed to pull himself together enough to not show Gabriel any pity. He made sure he had only caring and acceptance in his expression as they walked hand in hand across the parking lot.

  Before they entered Utopia, Lakyn said, “Thank you for sharing your past with me. It meant a lot.” And it did. He could tell by Gabriel’s stiff posture how uncomfortable he’d been.

  Lakyn’s words must have helped, for Gabriel’s shoulders relaxed a bit. “You’re welcome,” Gabriel said, even managing to smile. “But now it’s your turn to share.”

  Lakyn laughed. “That’s only fair.”

  “Welcome to Devine,” a pretty hostess with a bit too much makeup said. “Do you have a reservation?”

  “McCarthy,” Gabriel told her.

  The hostess found his name, gathered up two menus, and smiled at them. “This way, gentlemen.”

  After they sat and the hostess left, Lakyn leaned forward, keeping his voice low. “I have to admit, I haven’t eaten at any of the casino’s restaurants as of yet.”

  “Oh?” Gabriel picked up his menu but didn’t open it as he asked, “Any reason why not?”

  Lakyn shrugged. “Starting a new business, not knowing if I’ll have money for rent, electricity and water didn’t give me much of a chance to go out very often. When I did, I stuck to places like Whitney’s Diner or The Collared Pup Pub where things were a bit cheaper.”

  “Good evening gentlemen. My name is Zeb and I’ll be your waiter tonight. Can I start you out with a drink?” Zeb couldn’t have been older than twenty-one, if that, and appeared terrified, like this was his first night serving.

  “Hello, Zeb. I’m Lakyn and this handsome gentleman across from me is Gabriel.” Wide brown eyes widened even further as Zeb looked ready to bolt. It was obvious Zeb hadn’t been prepared for anything other than their drink order.

  Feeling bad for causing the young man distress, Lakyn said, “I’d like a glass of your house cabernet please.”

  Zeb nodded and furiously wrote his order down before turning to Gabriel. Once Gabriel was done, Zeb disappeared without a word. “Poor kid.”

  Gabriel looked at Lakyn in surprise. “Why do you say that?”

  “He looked like he was ready to pee his pants, he was so terrified.” Lakyn leaned a little closer to Gabriel and whispered, “I bet it’s his first day.”

  Gabriel chuckled. “I remember that feeling. My first day working for Campaign Inc., I thought I was going to throw up.”

  Lakyn laughed, too. “My first job was working for Old Man Travers at Whitney’s Diner. I dumped an entire bowl of chili on Mr. Reeves. The man still won’t come near me after all these years. Not that I can blame him, he had to be taken to the hospital for burns to his, uh…” Lakyn looked around and noticed a few people looking their way, so he lowered his voice a bit. “Let’s just say it was a good thing the man already had his children.”

  Gabriel’s eyes widened and he laughed even louder. “Oh God. I’m so glad I didn’t do something like that to my old boss Mr. Hamilton.” Then he cocked his head to the side as if thinking about it. “On second thought, it might have saved me months of misery.”

  Zeb came back carrying their drinks. “Are you ready to order?”

  Since they hadn’t even opened their menus, Zeb gave them a few minutes. This time when Zeb left, they looked at their menus.

  “I hope you like Asian,” Gabriel said. “According to Jesse and the others, all the restaurants in Utopia are really good, but I had a taste for some sushi and maybe some tempura.”

  “I love sushi,” Lakyn admitted. He often made his own at home. “And the hibachi sounds really good tonight.”

  Zeb returned and they put in their orders. As soon as Zeb disappeared, Gabriel said, “I think you might be right about this being his first night. I swear I could hear his knees knocking he was so nervous.”

  Lakyn smiled. “Let’s just hope we don’t end up with a lap full of food.”

  Gabriel returned his smile and then reached across and placed his hand on top of Lakyn’s. It was nice, sweet.

  “Did you grow up in Cedar Falls?” Gabriel asked.

  “Right.” Lakyn turned his hand over so they were palm to palm. “I promised to tell you all about my childhood, didn’t I?”

  “It is only fair after I told you about mine,” Gabriel reminded him.

  If only that could be considered fair. Compared to Gabriel, Lakyn had a normal childhood. Roaming around in the woods, imaginary friends, playing and laughing. In other words, the exact opposite of Gabriel.

  “I did grow up in Cedar Falls.” Lakyn couldn’t help but smile. He loved Cedar Falls. He would have loved the opportunity to go to college, but he would have returned to this town. For him, there was no place he’d rather be. “It is an amazi
ng place to live. The people are generous.” He grimaced as he thought about Mayor Murphy and a few others. “Well, most of them.”

  “Yeah, I’ve found that to be true also,” Gabriel admitted. “Other than a few instances, the people here are very nice and always willing to help each other out.”

  “Do you think you might consider making Cedar Falls your home after the election?” Lakyn hadn’t meant to ask so quickly in their relationship, but he was too curious to keep it to himself. He didn’t want to ruin the night, but on the other hand, the more he got to know Gabriel, the more he could see how easy it would be fall in love with him, and Lakyn needed to know if he should protect his heart or not.

  Gabriel opened his mouth but then closed it as he stared at Lakyn for a moment. Then he opened it once more and said, “Honestly? Until you asked I had always assumed I would move on.”

  A sliver of hope slithered into Lakyn, causing his pulse to jump. “And now?”

  “I don’t know,” Gabriel said. “I mean the longer I’m here, the more I can see myself living here, but…” Gabriel’s voice faded away as if he didn’t want to finish.

  “Your mother?” Lakyn guessed. It wasn’t a hard guess. From the things Gabriel had told Lakyn, he’d spent his entire life trying to please her.

  Just then, Zeb returned with their sushi. “Can I get either of you gentlemen another drink?”

  Gabriel ordered a refill but Lakyn was still sipping his wine. When Zeb left, Gabriel asked, “So have you ever gambled at the casino?”

  Lakyn decided it was best to let Gabriel change the subject. He didn’t want to ruin their night by forcing Gabriel to talk about something he wasn’t ready to face. Lakyn just hoped his heart survived if Gabriel decided to leave him after the election.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Oh come on, Yvonne.” Jesse scowled at the woman behind the blackjack table. “We’ve talked about this. It’s my turn to win. Now deal me an ace and a face card.”