The Complete Veterans Affairs Romances: Gay Military Romances

by A. E. Wasp

  Mikey ran his hand through Benny’s hair. “Hey, hey. Come one. It’s going to be okay.”

  Benny shook his head, caught up in all the ways he could fail at this monumental task. One that he had just signed up to do for the rest of his life. His breathing came faster and faster.

  “Hey. Nito.” Mikey grabbed Benny’s hand and put it on his chest.

  The bright lights and loud music faded in and out around Benny. He felt as if he was experiencing it all through the far end of a tunnel. More people filled the street, but Mikey’s body protected Benny from them.

  Benny clutched at the fabric, but Mikey gently pried his fingers off, laying his hand flat against the muscles. “Breathe,” he said. “Come on. Take a deep breath. With me.”

  He took a deep inhale and Benny felt his chest expand. He took a shallow, ragged breath in. “Again,” Mikey said, voice deep. He held Benny’s hand with both of his. His skin was warm against Benny’s suddenly cold and clammy flesh. “Nito. Breathe.”

  Benny inhaled with Mikey. “Now hold it.” Benny did. “Exhale. Good. Again.”

  Mikey breathed with him, for him, for a few more breaths until Benny felt the panic receding. He was trembling, face sweaty, and heart beating too quickly, but he could breathe again, and the sights and sounds around him had solidified.

  “Better?” Mikey still held his hand against his chest.

  Benny nodded. “Better. Where did you - how did you know to do that?”

  Mikey looked sheepish. “From Dmitri. He gave me some tips on dealing with, well, things like that. He uses them with Troy.”

  “You guys talk about us?” Benny didn’t know whether to be happy Mikey had friends after being alone for so long or scandalized that he and Dmitri traded tips on how to deal with their crazy husbands.

  “Yes, we do. Deal with it.”

  “Huh.” Benny walked Mikey backward out of the doorway. He needed the fresh air. They dodged pedestrians and the occasional stray dog.

  “So how do you do it? How do you deal with this, this enormous responsibility? I’m a dad, stepdad, and a husband. Every day. Forever.” He probably could have found a better way to say that; he didn’t want Mikey thinking he wasn’t thrilled and excited and grateful to be both of those things. But he’d found that direct honesty was the only way he could deal with things right now. Maybe as he got older, he’d learn diplomacy, but he didn’t have the mental energy for it right now. “You’ve been responsible for Jasmine all by yourself for all these years. How did you not crack? How do you know I won’t fuck it up?”

  “I know because I know you. You won’t fuck it up because even when you won’t do the right thing for yourself or for me, you’ll do it for Jasmine. The same reason I do.” He put his arm around Benny, pulling him in tight. “I’ll tell you a secret some of the moms from church told me.”

  “What?”

  “You’re going to make mistakes. We are. We’re going to do some things wrong, lose our tempers, curse in front of her, make the wrong call. And I have it on good authority; we will all survive it. At least until she’s’ a teen. Then all bets are off apparently. But we have, oh god, only nine years until then.”

  Benny stopped dead, yanking Mikey off his feet a bit. “I can’t have a teenage daughter. I’m still a teenager, right? We’re still young? Still kids?”

  Mikey laughed out loud at that, then tilted his head right and left, frowning. “Tal vez sí, tal vez no.” Maybe yes, maybe no.

  “You sound like my mother.” Benny tugged him closer.

  “Yes, we are young. Let’s go be young. Should we hit one of the clubs that lovely couple told us about?”

  “Sounds like an excellent plan.”

  It was ten degrees hotter inside the club, and the heat from the hundred men crowding the dance floor replaced the night breeze. Mikey’s head was bobbing as soon as the music hit them, and they threw their jackets over the back of a bar stool.

  Mikey stripped off his tie and unbuttoned the neck of his shirt. Benny didn’t care if he never saw his again, but there was something in the inside pocket that he didn’t want to lose. “Go on,” he said as Mikey stripped off his tie, unbuttoned the shirt at the neck, and rolled up the shirt sleeves. “I’ll be right there.”

  Mikey gave him a look, but then smiled and pushed his way onto the dance floor like he was running the football through the defense. Benny tore his eyes away from his ass and pulled the small bag out of his jacket. He leaned over the bar to yell at the bartender.

  “Hey! I’m on my honeymoon, and this is a surprise wedding present for my husband. Can I leave it with you for a few minutes?”

  The smiling young man took it. “No problem, hermano. I’ll keep it safe.” He shook it near his ear. “Something sexy?”

  “I hope so!” Benny and the bartender bumped fists, and he made his way through the crowd to Mikey.

  “Hey, gorgeous.” Mikey didn’t stop undulating as he reached for Benny’s hips.

  Benny held him off with stiff arms. “Dance. I want to watch.”

  Mikey gave a wicked smile; one Benny had never seen on his face before, but it took his breath away, reminding him of the promises Mikey had made in the shower.

  Eyes closed, swaying to the beat, Mikey backed away slowly and danced for Benny.

  The crowd jumped, and the Lady Gaga’s Edge of Glory thumped with Benny’s heart rate, one hundred and twenty eights beats per minute. As he watched the man he loved dance just for him, every memory of nights in some club in some town, cheap liquor and the drug of the hour flowing through his veins, all the faceless men in front of him, behind him, faded to nothing.

  I’m on the edge of glory, Gaga sang, and Mikey pulled his hair free, letting the long dreadlocks cascade down his shoulders, whipping back and forth as he twisted low and dirty.

  Benny’s breath caught as Mikey unbuttoned his shirt, never losing the beat. He peeled the shirt off, dragging it down his arms like he was getting paid for it.

  Benny shook his head and laughed as Mikey turned around, looking over his shoulder as he slid the white shirt down the sweat on his muscular back. Benny unbuttoned his with much less fanfare, stripping it off and stuffing it down the back of his jeans.

  I’m hanging on a moment with you. Mikey tossed the shirt to Benny, dancing closer with the beat. His hands went to his belt buckle, eliciting whoops and cheers from the boys nearest to them. Eyes hot on Benny, he slid the leather slowly through the loops, wrapping it around his hand as it came free, inch by agonizing inch.

  I’m on the edge with you, and Mikey flicked open the button of those damn slacks. He swiveled his hips, and the slacks slid down, showing an inch of the red bathing suit he’d been wearing underneath.

  And Benny was right on the edge with him. He grabbed Mikey, pulling him in tightly. Hands slipping on sweaty skin, hips grinding against each other, Mikey grabbed Benny’s ass and shoved his thigh between Benny’s legs. Benny held on for the ride, torn between needing to kiss the air out of Mikey’s lungs and wanting to drown in the look in his eyes.

  The song ended, blending into the next one and the DJ ramped the beat up. Benny peeled himself off Mikey and dragged him off the dance floor. The bartender held out the bag as Benny passed by. He thanked the guy with a nod, making a mental note to give him a good tip, and tugged him down the dark hall.

  The bathroom door slammed against the wall as Benny pushed them through it. The bathroom was surprisingly large, with a couple of sinks separate from the stalls. Music blared from the speakers on the ceiling. The stall doors went all the way from the floor to the ceiling, and the big one on the end stood open. It was early yet, not even ten o’clock, and Benny gave a prayer of thanks as he yanked Mikey into the stall.

  “It’s the handicapped stall,” Mikey mumbled his protest around Benny’s tongue in his mouth.

  “Someone wheels up here, I’ll let them in, I promise.” Benny shoved Mikey’s pants to the ground, and they pooled around his feet. “Fuck. I ca
n’t believe you wore that.” He slipped a finger under the silky fabric, running it around the waistband. The way Mikey’s erection strained at the fabric was pornographic. Benny ran his finger over the tip that almost stuck out past the suit. Mikey’s sucked in his stomach, chest heaving.

  “I’ve got something special for you, too.” Benny reached into the plastic bag and pulled out a handful of blue and silver fabric.

  “Is that what I think it is?”

  Benny shook out the fabric and pulled the luchador mask over his face. “Only if you think it’s this.”

  “You’re a nut job. Did you have that with you the whole trip?” Mikey kicked his legs out of his trousers, and stalked forward, backing Benny against the wall.

  “No. Saw it on the beach and couldn’t resist.” It was the same mask he’d been wearing the very first time he’d accidentally hooked up with Mikey at a masquerade dance. He hadn’t realized the guy he’d just blown was his old best friend until after. “I owe a lot to this mask.”

  Mikey leaned in, kissing Benny firmly but gently, his hand coming up to cup Benny’s neck. He tugged at Benny’s dark curls gently. “That is weirdly romantic.”

  “But it is romantic, right?”

  “Yeah. It is. In a perfectly Benny way.” He ran his hands down Benny’s firm chest, slipping his fingers under the waistband of his jean. “Do you want a reenactment here or do you want to go back to the hotel and do this right?”

  Mikey popped open the button of his jeans and yanked down the zipper. “Both. I want to blow you here, then dance until we drop, then go back to the hotel and make love all night long.”

  “Sounds perfect. Except for one detail.” Mikey took hold of Benny’s jeans and dragged them down his legs as he folded to his knees on the floor.

  “Fuck,” Benny whispered.

  Mikey didn’t waste any time, just took Benny as deep as he could into his hot, wet mouth. One hand dug into Benny’s hip, holding him tight against the wall. The other held onto his cock, covering where Mikey’s mouth couldn’t reach.

  Benny braced himself on Mikey’s shoulder with one hand and shoved his fist into his mouth to hold back the moans. Not that anyone could hear them over the music or would care if they could. Mikey’s mouth was magic, sliding up and down, and bringing Mikey to the edge of his glory in record time. It was far from Benny’s first bathroom blowjob, but it was far and away the best.

  He couldn’t stop his hips from rolling, thrusting into Mikey’s mouth against the hold on his hip. Mikey groaned like he loved it, and dropped his hand from Mikey’s hip. Benny could feel him stroking his own cock. “Oh, God. Mikey, babe, don’t come. Please. I, I wanna.”

  Mikey pulled off and took a shuddering breath, resting his head against Benny’s hip.

  Benny pulled his arms, his shoulders. “Come up, here. God, please get up here. Kiss me.”

  Mikey surged up, sliding against Benny every inch of the way. He pressed Benny into the wall, mouths slamming together as he rolled his hips desperately against Benny. Benny gasped as he yanked off the mask.

  The feel of them rubbing against each other in the hot, slippery space between their bodies, was heaven. Benny wasn’t going to last much longer. Every thrust forced a groan out of him, and he couldn’t wait until he had Mikey under him in their bed. They weren’t kissing so much as panting into each other’s mouths; foreheads pressed together.

  Mikey cradled Benny’s head in his strong hands, hair swinging against Benny’s collarbones with every thrust. He slid his hand between them to grab both of their hard lengths. “Come on, baby. Fuck, yeah. Come for me.”

  A few hard strokes and then Mikey tilted Benny’s head up and bit down hard on the soft skin right under his jaw.

  Benny cursed and bucked against Mikey, coming hard.

  Mikey chuckled darkly against Benny’s skin, then wrapped his hand over Benny’s and followed him over the edge.

  They held each other, kissing softly as their breathing returned to normal, and then they cleaned up as best they could and pulled themselves together.

  Their exit was met with scattered applause, and a muttered ‘about damn time,’ as someone pushed past them and hurried into the stall.

  “So romantic,” Benny said, linking arms with Mikey.

  “Hey, they don’t call it the Zona Romantica for nothing.”

  chapter sixteen - someplace more private

  Hours later they stumbled into the lobby of the hotel, worn out but exhilarated from dancing. Arturo, the night clerk, looked up as they came in. “Ah, Señor Benito and Señor Michael, Señor Jorge asked me to give you these.” He held out two metal keys. “He said to beg your forgiveness and asks you to allow him to indulge you. He has moved your rooms.”

  “Moved us?” Benny looked at Mikey, who just shrugged and took the keys.

  “Yes. He said you might prefer someplace more private. Away from the crowds. If you will.” He gestured for them to follow him.

  “It’s because you’re too loud,” Mikey whispered to Benny.

  “You love it, don’t even lie.” Benny leaned heavily against Mikey as they walked across the courtyard and down a narrow alley he hadn’t noticed before.

  Arturo stopped in front of a small structure that looked like it had been built out from the wall of the hotel. He opened the door for them, flicked on the lights and stepped aside so they could enter.

  Inside it was a nice sized room with a king bed separated from a small living area by a carved wooden screen. A kitchenette took up one wall, and a small hallway with a door presumably led to a bathroom. Their suitcases were stacked neatly in the corner.

  “This is sometimes where Señor Jorge’s parents stay when they come to Puerta Vallarta. He thinks it will be much better for you. It is quieter and the walls,” he banged on the one closest to him, “are very thick. Is good?”

  “Is very good. Thank you, Arturo. Tell Señor Jorge we appreciate this thoughtfulness.”

  Arturo smiled. “I will. Buenos nochas.”

  “Buenas nochas.”

  Benny closed the door. “So? Wanna find out how thick these walls are?”

  Mikey closed the distance between them. “You know it.”

  The rest of the week passed much too quickly. Judging from the disappointed look on some of the other hotel guests, the new room did appear to be pretty soundproof.

  chapter seventeen - a little pervy, a little sweet

  One short, uneventful flight and they were back under the cold blue skies of Colorado. Benny let out a sigh of relief as they pulled into the dirt driveway of their little house under the trees on the bank of the river. Mexico was fun, but this was the home he’d never thought he’d have.

  Jasmine threw herself at them when they walked in the door. Mikey grabbed her up and swung her around. “Hey, Thumper, did you miss us?”

  “I did, but I had a good time with Auntie V. Did you bring me anything?” Jasmine put both her hands on his face and stared at him imploringly.

  “You know we did.” Benny held his hands out for her, and she climbed into his arms directly from Mikey’s. He kissed her loudly on the cheek, making her laugh.

  She slithered out of his grasp and dragged Mikey’s suitcase out of his hand. They watched as she opened it up. The first thing she pulled out was the luchador mask. “Is this for me?”

  Benny took it gently from her. “No, that’s a present for your dad.” He tossed it over her head, and Mikey caught it, slipping into his pocket, giving Benny a thrill every time he saw it. He was never going to be able to watch Mexican Wrestling again without getting an erection.

  Before they went to bed, Mikey dug through Jasmine’s toy box, pulling out a creepy free-standing Barbie head Jasmine had gotten as a present but never used because, she said, the hair was wrong. Mikey cleared a space for it on their dresser and slipped the mask over it. “There. Perfect.”

  The mask was bigger than the head and flopped over it, black eye nets staring blindly into the room.
Benny felt a little weird about using a child’s toy as a stand for the symbol of their sex life, but Mikey was right. Somehow it was the perfect symbol of their lives together. A little pervy, a little sweet, and all theirs. “Perfect,” he echoed.

  THE END

  BRONZE STAR

  A Veterans Affairs Novel

  Red Deer, Colorado is a fictional town. Any resemblance to existing college towns in Northern Colorado are purely the result of the author’s love for the area. Many of the surrounding attractions are exactly as described.

  The U.S. Military has a long history in Colorado and Colorado’s Universities serve thousands of student veterans every semester.

  BRONZE STAR: A VETERANS AFFAIRS NOVEL

  copyright © 2017 by A. E. Wasp

  All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  First Edition: March 2017

  DEDICATION

  To the Smutnuggets for hours and hours of support and cheerleading.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

  This book could never have happened without the tireless efforts of Susan Lewis and Sharon Simpson. Their insight and long conversations helped me force these boys to say what they needed to say. It wasn’t easy, but Susan and Sharon stuck with me through the end.

  I also have to thank the enablers at the MM Authors Slack. Anything you might find offensive or obscene in this book is completely their fault. They encouraged me to dig deeper, get out of my comfort zone, and write bigger. I’ve learned so much.