Finding You: The Complete Box Set (a contemporary MM romance series)

by Ana Ashley

  Our bodies were so close together there wasn’t an inch of space between us. I could feel Joel’s cock hard and leaking, desperate for release.

  Joel brought his hands up to hold my face in place. “Look at me, David, I...”

  He didn’t finish what he was going to say because his orgasm ripped through him like a house on fire. His eyes were closed and his eyebrows furrowed as though he was in pain, but I knew there was nothing but pleasure coursing through him.

  Looking at him enjoying the aftershocks of his orgasm as he slowly opened his eyes was all it took for me to let it finally go. It was explosive, life-altering, and so much more than sex.

  Neither of us could speak for a few minutes while we recovered. We just stared at each other in post-orgasmic bliss, unable to say a word.

  It wasn’t late, but once we cleaned up and curled up together in bed again, it didn’t take long until I fell asleep. I woke up a few hours later needing to use the bathroom. Joel was in his usual sleeping position with his arms and legs around me, so I was careful to extract myself from him without waking him up.

  I looked at the time. It was just past two in the morning. Joel was lying on my bed like he was meant to be there. I joined him, making sure to place his arms around me again and his leg on top of mine.

  As he stirred slightly, holding me even tighter and nuzzling my neck, he uttered the words I’d been waiting to hear for a lifetime but also had the power to break me.

  “Mmm, I love you...David.”

  22

  Joel

  I woke up with a jolt and my heart racing out of my chest. I realized very quickly that I was alone in bed because since I’d started sleeping with David, I’d always woken up wrapped around him like a vine. I reached for his side and was happy that it was still warm, which meant he hadn’t been gone that long. I shifted over so I was lying on his warm spot.

  His pillow smelled of him, which took me back to last night. It had been hands down the best night of my life. I smiled to myself at the thought. It seemed as though each night with David now topped any of the previous nights.

  During our lovemaking, I nearly blurted out that I loved him, and it was only my mind-blowing orgasm that stopped me from doing so by rendering me speechless. I hadn’t missed David’s declaration either. He’d said he was falling for me. I took a deep breath to take in his scent and burrowed further into the cozy sheets.

  David came back shortly after with two mugs of coffee and two custard tarts. I sat up and tapped on my side of the bed for David to join me. My mind still struggled to believe I was lucky enough to have this man to myself, but I wasn’t going to complain.

  “You can bring me coffee in bed any day you want, but we’ll have to talk about your choice of breakfast,” I teased but still devoured my tart in three bites.

  Apart from the walking we’d done on vacation and, of course, all the sex, I couldn’t say I’d been very active. My legs were itching for some exercise, so I suggested we both go to the beach for a run once we finished our coffees.

  I was glad it wasn’t as hot today as it had been in the last few weeks, and there were even a few clouds in the sky. They were due to clear in the afternoon, but it made the run a whole lot more comfortable.

  “Let’s do a sprint to that lifeguard station over there,” David said once we’d jogged a mile to warm up.

  “Loser cooks dinner tonight,” I said, sprinting immediately ahead.

  My muscles were feeling the sudden strain, but I enjoyed the burn before the muscles acclimatized to the push. I got to the lifeguard station first and turned around to brag but found David not even trying to win.

  “You didn’t even try, and it was your idea.”

  I poked him in the ribs.

  “I was going to try, but then your ass, those shorts.” He shrugged. “Suddenly, winning from the back felt like the best idea ever.”

  I laughed. “Besides, you know you’re cooking dinner anyway.”

  We ran for another few miles and then turned back.

  “Hey, let's stop by Pedro’s for a drink,” he said.

  “Okay.”

  Pedro was in his usual good mood and seemed happy to see us again. He asked what we’d been up to, so we told him about the trip.

  When Pedro had to go back to serve other customers, we were left on our own, enjoying the cold drinks while looking out to the sea.

  I wanted to tell David about Max coming to stay with me for the next week, but every time I thought about it, I chickened out. In the beginning, I didn’t want to mention it because we were still getting our friendship back on track but, but after, it just felt like I’d be bursting our bubble. Now that Max was due to arrive in two days, I didn’t have a choice.

  “David, there’s something I have to tell you.”

  “What’s that?” he asked. His expression was so open as though there was no chance of me saying anything that could hurt him.

  “You remember I told you about my friend, Max? Well, after my parents died and we read the will, we decided to come together. He’s been my best friend for years, David, and I needed him to be here with me.”

  I knew I was rambling, but I just couldn’t stop myself, and David hadn’t stopped me either, so I carried on. “He couldn’t take much time off work, but he secured a week off, so that’s why he’s only coming for a week. Yeah, it’s um… only a week he’s here, and he’s staying with me, in the apartment. He arrives the day after tomorrow.”

  David laughed, and I did a double take.

  “What?” I was confused. Why was he laughing?

  “How long have you been putting off telling me your friend is coming?”

  “A while? I wasn’t sure how you’d react at first, and then there wasn’t a good time. You know, with us jumping each other’s bones at every chance?” I whispered, trying to avoid prying ears.

  David laughed even louder but then leaned closer and said, “Come on, let’s go home. We need a shower, and we only have two days left to jump each other’s bones until your friend takes more of your time.”

  “You know, I think you and Max are going to get along just fine.”

  David made good on his promise, and we spent most of the last two days in bed. Feeling David inside me still shook me to the core. Not that I believed that you had to have penetrative sex to have intimacy, but giving David something I’d rarely given any of my previous partners made a world of difference to me.

  When we were together like that, it was like my soul was latching on to his. Like I was opening the front door of my home and inside was everything that was right and perfect.

  After we’d come back from our run two days ago, we’d had a shower together and a snack, and then went shopping so we wouldn’t have to leave the apartment for the next two days. We ended up being pulled out of our self-imposed reclusion by my cousins who came to visit our grandparents and asked us if we wanted to spend the afternoon at the beach.

  My cousins didn’t know about David and me, so we made sure to keep some distance. I wasn’t going to deny how close we were as friends though, so I made sure to do what friends do and joined forces with my cousins to bury him in the sand and then throw him in the cold water of the Atlantic.

  We’d had a great time. It took me back to my childhood when we used to play together and come to the beach as a family.

  That evening after we had dinner, we sat on the love seat in David’s living room and watched a film together. We cuddled up during the film parts and made the best use of the extremely long advert breaks. If I’d been watching it on my own, I’d have lost interest with how long those ad breaks took, but having the freedom to touch David’s body while he was complaining about the adverts was definitely a plus. He didn’t have a chance to complain for very long.

  David went back to work today, and I went to Lisbon Airport to pick up Max. The plan was to let Max recover from the flight and then David would join us for dinner.

  I was currently in the arr
ivals area holding up a sign that said Maxwell Maximilian III. I saw Max as he turned the corner from the arrivals door toward the main concourse. I held the sign up and saw his face light up when he recognized me but then scowled when he saw the sign.

  I laughed as we hugged each other.

  “The Third? Seriously?” he said in mock outrage.

  “Yeah, I thought it would give you lineage.” We’d played this name game a few times before. It started when I’d arrived from a trip where I’d been to a seminar and Max was waiting for me at the airport holding up a sign that said Professor Joel Joelius. Sometimes they were just variations of our names. Other times they were entirely made-up names, like when I’d waited for Max at Grand Central Station with a sign saying Sir Maxwell Jack Sallot.

  Max fell asleep on the drive back, so I decided to surprise him with an impromptu stop at the beach like I’d done on the first day I’d arrived. That had only been three weeks ago, but it felt like a lifetime had happened since then.

  It didn’t feel right going to Fonte da Telha with Max. I couldn’t tell why, it was just a beach, but it held such significance to my relationship with David, and I wanted to introduce them to each other first.

  Max woke up just as I was pulling up at the beach near my apartment.

  “Fuck,” he said, rubbing his eyes, “I was out like a light. Sorry ‘bout that. Where are we?”

  “At the beach,” I said. “Come on, let’s get your toes in the sand. It’ll make you feel better and then we can have a drink if you like before we go home and you can sleep some more.”

  Max changed from his jeans to shorts in the car, which was a challenge since he was a bit taller than me and the car quite small. He came out of it looking so proud of himself it made me chuckle.

  His face took on a more relaxed expression as soon as we set foot on the sand, and then he smiled and put his arm around my shoulders.

  “This is beautiful, Joebug. Look at that,” he said, looking out to the sea. “And the smell.” He lifted his head up and inhaled. “What’s that smell?”

  “It’s the smell of holidays and saltwater, my friend,” I said. “So, how have things been at home?”

  “Not bad. We have a new chief nurse. He’s quiet, doesn’t quite have the same energy as Mom. I really miss her.” He looked out toward the horizon as he spoke again, and I knew he wasn’t just talking about work. "She’s out there, isn’t she?”

  “She is. Flying in the wind and swimming with the fish. And Dad is chasing after her like he always did.” I’d meant to say it as a joke, but even as I spoke, I felt my eyes sting. I knew I would grieve their loss for a very long time, probably forever, and it was going to be harder before it got a bit easier.

  We held each other for a bit in silence, remembering our parents because that was what they were. They’d been as much Max’s parents as they’d been mine. My mom may not have given birth to Max, but she’d loved him from the moment he came home to study with me one afternoon shortly after we met.

  I'd seen firsthand how he was treated like a son when his own parents never seemed to care. When he was at our house, he had the same responsibilities as I did, but he’d also been loved like I’d been loved. I’d never forget my mom’s face when Max said he wanted to be a nurse just like her.

  “So,” Max said, interrupting my thoughts, “tell me about David.”

  I looked up at Max and decided not even to try to cover up my blush and my smile. Okay, my grin.

  “That good, huh?” he teased.

  So I told him about David. I told him how we’d reconnected after all the years apart. Told him about the journal and the road trip, and told him how I was absolutely sure I was in love with David and had no clue what to do about it.

  “Fuck, Joel, you’ve been gone three weeks. It may as well have been three years for all that happened.”

  “You’re telling me. What the fuck do I do, Max?”

  “What do you want to do?” he asked.

  “I want him. I want to be with him, but you know my job and my life is in New York, and he’s not even out. I can’t live a pretend life with him, lovers indoors and friends outdoors. It would tear us apart. And did I mention I live and work in New York?”

  “Do you have to?” he asked.

  “Do I have to what?”

  “Do you have to live and work in New York? Do you have to live a pretend life?”

  I knew the answer to the first question. I didn’t have to live and work in New York. I could easily move back to Portugal and teach here. I would be close to my family, see my grandparents all the time and my uncle, aunt, and my cousins. I could still do some work with my school remotely. Maybe I could even start writing. It’s something I’d always wanted to do, but school kept me so busy I hadn’t had time to put some of my ideas into a draft. I’d miss Max like hell, but I could visit him in New York, and he could come to Portugal too. I explained that much to Max.

  “You haven’t answered the second question.”

  “That’s because it’s not up to me to answer it.”

  “Then have you asked him?”

  “He’s not ready, Max. For God’s sake, he’s only just started having sex with a man.”

  “What? Fuck, I bet he’s tight. Is he tight? It’s gotta be the best sex you’ve ever had, right?”

  “Trust you to lower the tone, Max.”

  “Just stating the facts, my friend. Please, can I have a go? Pretty, please.”

  I knew Max was teasing, so I mock-punched him in the gut to shut him up. We’d always been into completely different types of men, so it had never been a problem, but I also knew he would never make a move on a guy I like, and I’d never do it to him, either.

  “Trust him, Joel,” he said more seriously. “I don’t know this guy, but I know you. If he’s half as serious about you as you are about him, he’ll make the right decision.

  With that thought in my mind, we walked back to the car and went home.

  Max slept for a couple of hours, so I tidied up the apartment, which hadn’t taken long since I’d barely spent any time here, and then I sat on the balcony reading.

  David arrived just as the sun was getting low in the sky. I’d been so distracted by my book I hadn’t even realized it was getting darker. Max was still in my room, awake but looking quite groggy, so I gave him some time before I made introductions, which was perfect since I missed David and wanted to kiss the hell out of him. And I did so as soon as he put down the boxes of food he brought with him.

  “Hmm,” I moaned into his lips, “I missed you.”

  “I missed you too. Getting up early for work didn’t give me any time for a morning workout.”

  “Oh, is that what we’re calling it now?”

  He laughed and then jumped at the sound of a throat clearing.

  “David, this is Max,” I said, giving Max a look of warning.

  David got his hand out for a shake, but Max got in his space and hugged him. I smiled as I remembered that was how Isaac had introduced himself to me when we met. Then I put myself between them and leaned my back against David, pushing Max out with my arms.

  “Maaax.” I scolded, and they both laughed.

  Dinner was delicious as always, but Max was uncharacteristically quiet, which I initially put down as jet lag, although he was going for his third serving of dinner, so maybe he was just hungry.

  “How are you feeling, Max? Still tired?”

  “Nah, I’m good now, but this food... it tastes just like Mom’s,” he said. “I'm so full, but I can’t stop eating. I'm so going to be in a food coma tonight.”

  His face looked so serious as if it could actually happen. David laughed, taking the compliment, and offered to cook for us all again. I touched his leg under the table and gave it a squeeze, and he smiled back at me in return.

  After dinner, we just hung out in the living room with a beer and ended up talking about the work that Max and David both do with LGBT youth. My chest was blooming wi
th happiness and pride. I felt lucky for having them here, lucky that Max and David seemed to genuinely like each other, and so proud of them for the time they gave to others in need.

  Around nine o'clock, I could see Max flagging again, so I offered him a cup of coffee. He declined and just informed me he was going to sleep on my bed and I better stay with David tonight and not disturb him until the morning.

  I sent him a silent thanks with my eyes and said goodnight before I saw him turn the corner of the corridor toward the bedroom.

  I immediately sat on David’s lap, facing him and took his mouth for a searing kiss.

  “What do you say?” I whispered.

  His eyes were half-lidded with lust and then with promise as he opened them fully. “I say Max needs a really good night’s sleep. You better be a good friend and give him his space.”

  He pulled me down for a kiss, and I gladly took it as he placed his hands on my ass, making me grind against his hardening length.

  “Jesus, guys. I haven’t left you a minute yet,” Max said, coming in to grab a glass of water.

  We stopped but didn’t move.

  “You guys are making me horny. We’re going out tomorrow. The three of us. I need to get myself some ass if I'm going to be putting up with you two all week,” he declared.

  “Let’s make it four,” David said and winked at me. There was a hint of mirth in his voice, and I knew what he was thinking.

  Max disappeared back into the bedroom, and we left to spend the night at David’s.

  23

  David

  I wasn’t surprised that I liked Max immediately, after all, he was Joel’s best friend. If Joel had struck a friendship with him so easily when they were young and they were still friends after all these years, then there was a reason for it.

  I had a feeling that there was more to him than met the eye. On the outside, he looked a picture of confidence, almost unflappable, but when we’d talked last night, I could see another more vulnerable side that I’m not sure I’d have seen if Joel wasn’t there.