Let Love Live

by Melissa Collins

  “All done?” Dylan asks, standing behind me, rubbing the knots out of my tired shoulders.

  I tip back the longneck beer bottle, chugging down the cold brew. “Yep,” after handing him the empty bottle and swiping my forearms across my lips, I add, “and I’ll have another.”

  I overhear tiny snippets of Dylan talking with the girls about who-knows-what. Honestly, I’m too tired to care. Reid’s words snap my attention back to the living room. He claps a hand on my shoulder; a similar look of exhaustion is mirrored on his face. “You guys are really good for each other.” Admiration for his surrogate brother shines in his words.

  “Thanks, I think so, too.”

  We hang around for a little while longer, devouring the pizza Reid and Maddy offered as payment for our help. The girls chat animatedly about what color to paint which room and what kind of curtains to get.

  As for us guys, it’s simple. The cable guy came earlier. We watch sports.

  Bryan, Melanie’s fiancé, stands and collects all of our paper plates. He looks down at his watch. “Let me take care of the router and modem in the office before we hit the road. Don’t want you guys to be without a phone or internet for the night.”

  Melanie’s face melts in appreciation. As he walks away from us, she decides she’ll go help him, though I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know a thing about computers or technology.

  “I think I’m gonna hit the road,” Rachel announces as she stands and gathers her bag and keys.

  “Someone’s got a hot date!” Maddy taunts her and she immediately looks to me, almost afraid of what I’d say.

  “I do not!” she huffs, pulling a shut-your-trap face at Maddy.

  “He’ll find out eventually,” Maddy defends before sticking her tongue out at my sister. They’ve become close in the last couple of months, and I think being friends with Maddy has helped Rachel find her own place here in Elmira.

  “Come on. I’ll walk you out.” I lay a protective hand on her arm and escort Rachel to her car.

  When we’re outside, I stand with my arms crossed, trying my best to keep a straight face. She sees straight through it, poking me in the chest, telling me, “You’re an ass!”

  “What?” I mock. “I had to at least make you feel a little guilty.”

  Now she crosses her arms over her chest and spins around, giving me her back. “Rach,” I turn her back to face me, “I’m happy for you.” Popping a quick kiss to her forehead, I add, “Have a good time tonight, and be sure to call me tomorrow.” She smiles at my approval and I return a smile at her happiness.

  Waving at her as she pulls down the quiet suburban street, my chest fills with a light feeling of contentedness. Lightning bugs flicker in the early summer evening, spotting the darkening sky with their neon green dots of light. Out for an evening stroll, a family walks past me, waving and greeting me cheerily. Despite looking like something out of a Normal Rockwell painting, this kind of life – quiet and peaceful, normal and routine – is exactly what I’d always wanted, what I still want.

  When I walk back inside, it’s just Reid and Dylan on the couch. Completely enraptured in the baseball game on the TV, they don’t even hear me. When the game ends, Dylan looks at me, silently asking me if I’m ready to go home. I nod and we stand to leave.

  “Thanks again, guys,” Maddy calls, walking down the stairs. She hugs each of us. “We wouldn’t have gotten nearly as much done as we did if it wasn’t for you two.” She curls herself into Reid’s side, and he kisses her head.

  “See you guys at the cookout tomorrow, right?” Reid stammers, something odd in his voice, and says goodbye.

  “What was that all about?” I ask Dylan as we walk out to his car.

  He shrugs, before sliding into his seat. “Not sure,” he says as he starts the car. “Must be more tired than we thought,” he guesses and we pull away from the house.

  "Grab that case of beer out of the fridge,” Dylan’s voice calls out from the bedroom as he finishes getting ready. We’re going to Lucy and Evan’s for a cookout. As the summer dwindles down, there aren’t many more opportunities for us to get together as a group.

  “Ready?” Dylan sneaks up behind me, planting a chaste kiss to my cheek as he grabs his keys from the counter. Freshly showered and smelling of soap and everything heavenly, Dylan looks incredible in a fitted baby blue polo, khaki shorts, and flip-flops. He’s been working out more, using the excuse that he gets to spend more time with me at the gym, and it’s definitely showing.

  When we pull up to Lucy and Evan’s, I notice a change in Dylan. It’s subtle, but noticeable. His leg bounces; his spine straightens. The smile on his face that’s usually causal and lopsided, is now forced and odd. “You okay?” I ask, dropping a hand to his nervous leg.

  “Yeah, I’m good. Let’s go.” Even his words sound off, rushed and slightly higher pitched. I shrug it off – something could be going on at work that he’s not telling me about just yet. As far as he’s come and open as he is about everything, he still has stuff to work out – so do I.

  As I lace my fingers through his, I let my eyes scan over him. He’s not perfect, and neither am I. We’re far from it, in fact. But we’re trying, so damn hard some days that it’s exhausting. But when he squeezes my hand and searches my face, asking, “What?” with a soft smile, and crinkle at the corner of his eyes, I know it’s all worth it.

  “Nothing,” I dismiss his question and simply squeeze his hand back.

  The soft click of the gate unlatching precedes the loud “Surprise” that welcomes us into the back yard. Like a fool, I look behind me, thinking that there must be someone else following us in. “Happy Birthday!” Dylan says as some of the loud cheers subside.

  I look over at him, confusion clearly evident on my face. “What? My birthday was two weeks ago.”

  “You were still in a cast,” is the explanation Dylan offers as Rachel rushes over to us, leaping into my arms.

  “Happy 30th, old man!” Her voice is full of excitement, as she squeezes the life out of me.

  Scanning the yard, I see all of the people who are important to me and Dylan huddled around us. Everything is draped in “Over the Hill” decorations. “You did this?” I look between Dylan and Rachel. They don’t need to say a thing; the proud and accomplished look on their faces says it all.

  After saying hello to everybody – and I mean everybody, co-workers from the gym, old Mrs. Keating, Maddy and Reid, Melanie and Bryan, Lucy and Evan, Adrian and Troy, along with some of my old fighting buddies, even John and Elise, Dylan’s old college friends – Dylan pulls me to the side and introduces me to two people I’m more than surprised to be meeting.

  “I’d like you to meet my parents, Ben and Jillian.” Though nervousness begins to consume me, Dylan’s mom instantly makes it go away, engulfing me in a tight embrace.

  “It is so nice to finally meet you. We’ve heard so much about you.” Jillian holds me at arm’s length. Her eyes bright – the same color as her son’s - are shining with tears of happiness.

  Ben extends his hand, shaking mine firmly, adding a solid pat to the back. “It’s a pleasure, son.”

  There’s so much about them that reminds me about my own parents – their kind openness, their hearty laughter, their genuine love and concern for their son. But, perhaps the most astounding thing about them is their willingness to accept me in their lives just as Dylan has in his.

  Dylan and his father walk to the cooler to grab some drinks and his mom pulls me to the side. “I just had to say thank you.” She sits in a chair and prompts me to sit next to her.

  “For?” I ask, nervously fidgeting with the grey, plastic tablecloth.

  “For making him happy.” Her simple answer speaks volumes. “He deserves to be happy, even though he thought he didn’t for so long. It took him far too long, and he wasted too much time thinking he wasn’t worthy. You’ve shown him all the things he couldn’t see on his own.” Her kind smile is impossible to dismiss, her powerf
ul words, impossible to ignore.

  Her eyes travel behind me just as Dylan’s hand claps down on my shoulder. “You two okay?”

  Covering his hand with mine and looking up at him, I simply say, “Perfect.”

  With lots of good food and company, the party passes by in a blur. Toward the end of the night, Lucy comes out with a huge sheet cake in her hands, and everyone starts in on a chorus of “Happy Birthday” as Dylan stands next to me.

  The feeling of warmth that washes over me as I look around the yard is one that I’ve never experienced before. These people, some of who have only recently become important to me, have openly welcomed me into their lives. While I never wanted for a family of my own, I’ve missed it terribly in the last two years. They’ll never be replaced, but with people like this, their absence is a lot less painful.

  After I blow out the candles, and everyone’s clapping dies down, Dylan clears his throat, holding his beer up for what I assume is a short speech thanking everyone for coming.

  “I’d like to thank everyone for coming.” Totally predictable. I peer over at him, offering him a wry look, which he ignores. “Since I met Conner, my life has been,” he rubs his chin, pretending to be lost in thought, “different,” he settles on. He ignores my playful nudge to the side, barely noticing it at all. “Different in the best of ways.” His blue eyes shimmer, a deep sapphire like the clearest of oceans. “I never knew how empty my life was until Conner revived it. We’re all here today to celebrate this man,” he laces our fingers together at our side, “so I just wanted to take a minute to tell you all not only how much I love him, but how thankful I am every single day for having him in my life.”

  “Hear, hear!” Reid calls out as Rachel whistles, sending the rest of the crowd into an uproar of cheers.

  I lean in, press a quick kiss to his cheek and whisper, “Thank you, for today and for every day,” in his ear, noticing the slight shiver that my warm breath causes.

  The instant we’re through the door of our apartment, Dylan locks me in his grip, bruising my lips in a frantic and heated kiss. “I’ve been waiting to do that all day,” he murmurs against my mouth.

  He pushes me back, shoving me up against the door, nearly knocking the wind out of my lungs. With nimble fingers, he unbuttons my shorts and shoves them down to the floor. When he wraps his hand around my instantly hard cock, I attack his mouth with bruising force. He strokes me from root to tip, back and forth, as his tongue slides in and out of my mouth. Capturing his face in my hands, I hold him still and suck his tongue into my mouth, hollowing my cheeks.

  As he sinks to his knees, he reaches one hand up my shirt, pinching my nipple. His hot mouth wraps around my cock, forcing me to bow off the door. With his hands on either side of my hips, pressing against the door, it clatters on its hinges behind me as Dylan fucks me with his mouth.

  My fingers dive into his hair, holding him in place as I shove every inch into his throat. “Ahhhh… Dylan…” His tongue swirls around the broad head of my cock, sending waves of pleasure racing over my entire body, drawing my balls tight up against my body. “Fuck,” I growl as he rakes his short nails over them, causing them to tingle even more.

  With the sexiest look I’ve ever seen, he reaches up and puts his finger in my mouth, wanting me to suck on it. I match his rhythm, soaking his digit as requested. He drops my dick from his mouth and replaces it with his finger, adding to the moisture gathered there before he pulls me away from the door. His finger sinks into me easily, probing, stretching, fucking me.

  The combination of his mouth wrapped tightly around my cock and his finger plunging in and out of my ass, my orgasm rips through me without warning. On a loud roar and final thrust into his mouth, I come, wildly, without any concern for the loud slamming noises my body makes against the door.

  Dazed and thoroughly sated, I look down at Dylan licking me clean. “You’re fucking insane at that.” He stands and I rest my forehead against his, my labored breathing the only thing between us.

  “Well, then you’re gonna love this.” He lifts a mischievous eyebrow at me, pulling me down the hall to our bedroom. We tumble to the bed – a heap of legs and arms. Our clothes are gone in an instant and Dylan is sprawled out on top of me, our chests pressed together without an inch of space between them. Hooking my leg into the crook of his elbow spreads me wide open. Trailing hot kisses across my neck and chest, the mood shifts. It becomes less frenzied, much slower. There’s an emotional drive motivating every touch, kiss, and lick. I hear a drawer opening, the cap of a bottle unsnap. Kneeling between my legs, Dylan coats himself in lube.

  Watching him stroke himself, readying himself to fuck me senseless has a dizzying effect on every part of my strung-tight body.

  Based solely on the look on his face, I’m expecting a hard punishing assault, but when he gently spreads me, and eases himself into me, a searing pleasure spreads throughout my body. He presses his body against mine and we’re completely connected. His arms stretch over mine, tangling our fingers together. My legs wrap around his waist, holding him fast to my body. His arms hook under my shoulders, holding me in a tight embrace as he drives into me over and over again. The power in his smooth, gliding motion sends me over the edge of my control. His name falls from my lips over and over against as he buries himself deep inside, getting lost on every single push.

  His lips attack my neck, nibbling, biting, licking, kissing. “Want you so bad…” he grunts.

  “You have me,” I groan. “Forever.”

  The day-old stubble scratches deliciously against my skin as he presses his cheek flush against mine. “Love you,” he whispers, his hips moving more erratically, his tell that he won’t be able to hold on much longer.

  “Con…ahhh…oh, God….” he pants breathlessly as he comes.

  In a beautiful mess, he tumbles to my side, utterly satisfied, bonelessly replete.

  “Did you really mean that?” Dylan asks when his breathing returns to normal, resting his cheek to my chest.

  Unable to recall much more than the feeling of him making love to me, my brow furrows in misunderstanding. “Huh?”

  “Forever. Did you mean that?” The seriousness of his words can’t be missed. That single word had an impact on him, somewhere deep inside; I can see it in his eyes, hear it in his words. Saying it had the same impact on me.

  “I did, and I’ll always mean it.” Cradling his face, I pull it to mine and seal my lips to his.

  After he breaks the kiss, he gazes into my eyes. Though those oceanic depths say so much more, three simple words tumble softly from his gorgeous lips. “So do I.”

  The burnt oranges and vibrant yellows of the autumn skyline is the perfect backdrop for today – a day I never thought would happen. Fidgeting with my tie proves pointless. I’m too nervous to do much of anything today. Maybe nervous isn’t the right word – anxious, excited, elated; those are more appropriate ways to describe the emotions running through my head as I get ready for my wedding day.

  A light tap on the door pulls me from my thoughts and stills my hands. “Come in.”

  “They’re just about ready for us.” Conner looks absolutely stunning in his classic black tux. The chocolate brown tie and vest match his warm eyes and perfectly messy hair.

  “You look good, real good.” My tongue feels thick in my mouth as I scan him from head to toe.

  “So do you. Need help?” he asks, pointing to my untied tie. Before I even nod, he deftly ties it for me, gracefully looping each side over the other, adjusting it carefully at my neck.

  “Can you believe this is actually happening?” There’s an awestruck and far-away quality to my question, but there’s also reverence and love.

  Conner sits next to me on the edge of the bed as I slide on my dress shoes. “I’ve told you this before, but I knew from the second I saw you that you’d be a part of my life. Thought I might have to take you away from Reid first, but I knew I wanted you in my life.”

  “And he
re we are.” Conner drags my hand into his and we walk over to the large window overlooking the open field where our close friends and family are assembled to watch us exchange our vows. “I really love this place,” I say as I recall the many vacations we’ve taken here in the last year.

  Conner chuckles. “Can’t believe you got me to go camping.”

  I laugh at him. “I’d hardly call a bed and breakfast camping, but it’s a great compromise.”

  Maddy and Reid are huddled in the shade of a large tree. Mom looks up at us, waving wildly and blowing kisses to the sky before tapping the face of her non-existent watch, letting us know it’s time. Scanning the rest of the crown, I can’t help but smile when I see John and Elise mingling with my family. It’s been far too long since I’ve seen them, and that’s been no one’s fault but my own.

  Conner and I walk out onto the open field, hand in hand, ready to commit ourselves to one another at the same place where I asked him to marry me. It’s odd how things come full circle, how one person can bring you back to life and make you happier than you’d ever thought possible.

  Rachel and the girls took care of the details – flowers, decorations, things like that. And I’m sure it all looks beautiful, but every single detail fades into the background as the music starts, prompting me and Conner to walk down the aisle, together.

  We decided on a simple ceremony, needing no more than vows we’d written together to commit ourselves to one another. The justice of the peace addresses the small crowd, welcoming them and thanking them for joining in our celebration.

  When she turns to Conner and prompts him to share his vows, he pulls a piece of folded up paper out of his jacket pocket. “Dylan. There was a time, not so long ago, when I’d thought I’d lost everything I had. When everything I thought I’d ever be, faded into the dark. When I was at the most unsure point in my life, starting over with practically nothing, you came into my life.” He clears his throat, washing away the rising emotion I hear building in his words. He joins our hands and continues, “Before all our friends and family, I vow to make your life as bright as you’ve made mine. I promise to love you…forever.”