“Since we’re rushed for time, I’m not going to use any lube.”
“Don’t you fucking dare or else I will throw you into the manure pit.”
Liam laughed to himself. He slathered himself and Nathan’s ass with lube. He also lubed up Nathan’s leaking cock, which was complete with its own bush of grown out hair. He had embraced the au natural look, which Liam found hot.
He plunged inside Nathan. Making contact with that warm ring of muscle nearly made him bust a nut on contact. Nathan moaned for him and pointed his ass in the air. It only took a few humps for Liam to spill inside him, and Nathan was not too far behind, soaking the mattress sheet with bursts of come.
“Who thought that I’d have morning sex at four a.m.?” Nathan said. “Without staying up all night.”
“Welcome to being a sheep farmer.”
Nathan
After Liam and his crew of sheep had come for him at his hotel, Nathan and his father had moved their flight to the next day. Nathan’s father joined them for family dinner that night, and he gave Mark the whole scoop on which hotels to stay at for his next vacation.
His father left the next morning, while Nathan kept pushing back his flight. Six months later, he had yet to return to London.
He embraced the farm life. Every night he went to bed feeling productive and finding his purpose, sometimes before the sun had even set. He wasn’t planning on leaving anytime soon. His timeline was looking more and more like forever. Next week were auditions at the playhouse where his mum acted for years, and where Franny received rave reviews as Cinderella in Into the Woods. He couldn’t wait to try out for the musical, Les Miserables. When he’d mentioned it at a family dinner, and how he wanted to play Javert, Walt burst out laughing. Nathan still didn’t get it.
He and Liam became involved with the local farmers association and got to know other sheep farmers in the area. Back in London, he never imagined he would ever meet or be friends with sheep farmers. Their lives were light years away from his. Yet here he was, in text chains about price fluctuations and having conversations about lambing. Life was happy. Sometimes he had to stop what he was doing and think about the twists and turns that took him to the edge of the world. The world was humongous. Seven billion people. Yet a guy from London and a gal from New Zealand randomly found each other among hundreds of thousands of people at a concert, and now Nathan and Liam had found each other. It was a lot to think about. And spending his days working with animals who couldn’t talk gave him plenty of time to ponder.
That night, Mark and the kids made the trek across the field to their house for family dinner. Liam and Nathan hosted two nights each week. They also moved it up half an hour so that Nathan could make it to AA each night. He had really embraced it, after a while of mocking the affirmations. Nathan let go. Every time he tried to convince himself he was fine and that he could handle one drink, he reminded himself how easily he spiraled, and that it never ended with one drink. He wasn’t going to screw up what he had with Liam and his family. They kept him in line, whether they knew it or not.
They all sat down to dinner. Franny helped Nathan set the table.
“How are rehearsals going?” he asked her.
“It is going to be hilarious! Just you wait.” Franny scored a role in her school’s production of Noises Off.
“The comedic timing has to be spot on,” Nathan said, passing on sage advice from when he performed in the show years ago. Since it was a play that took place backstage, the play and play-within-the-play had to be synched perfectly.
“It’s going to be brilliant. Jason is so funny in it.”
She blushed the second his name escaped her lips. Once she decided to become an actress, her first co-star romance was inevitable. Needless to say, Mark demanded they run lines in the living room, not her bedroom. Nathan warned Mark that this was only the beginning.
They all sat down, and Liam put out the food. He and Nathan had made shepherd’s pie. Nathan figured he should be eating more of it since he was now a shepherd himself.
“Whose turn is it for the nightly prayer?” Mark asked the table once everyone sat down.
“Mine,” Nathan said with a smile.
“This ought to be good.” Liam arched an eyebrow across the table at his boyfriend.
Nathan clasped his hands together. “Dear Lord…thank you.” He looked around the table at his family, at the picture of Mariel sitting on the shelf, at Liam. “Thank you for everything.”
* * *
Nathan awoke at around midnight to an empty bed. The light in the bathroom was off, too.
“Liam?” he asked the dark. He popped out of bed. “Liam?”
Nathan searched the shed, which only took a few seconds, but it was Liamless. He slipped on his shoes and went outside into the warm air. The farm was asleep, sheep snoozing away standing up.
“Liam?”
Nathan poked his head into the hoof house quietly so as not to wake the sheep. Up on the hill, under a beam of moonlight, he found his boyfriend.
“Liam what the hell are you doing out here?”
“It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?”
“Technically, morning. Could you not sleep?”
A smile stretched onto Liam’s bearded face. He held a small box in his hand. Nathan knew what was usually in those boxes.
“Liam…” But before he could say anything else, Liam was down on one knee.
“I couldn’t wait.” Liam opened the box, revealing a gleaming silver band. “I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been thinking about the best time to do this, but the best things can’t be planned.”
“They just happen.”
“They just wind up dragging a suitcase through your field in the middle of the night.”
Nathan prided himself on not being emotional, but his defenses couldn’t stop the tears from forming. He felt exposed and loved and scared and safe all at once.
“You are sarcastic, bullheaded, caring, sweet, occasionally funny, and someone I want to spend the rest of my life with. Will you marry me?”
Nathan nodded yes. He swore he was never going to be one of those people who was so choked up with emotion that he couldn’t give a one-word answer. But damnit, he totally was.
“I love you so much, Nathan. And the truth is, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You make me a better brother, a better uncle, a better farmer.”
“You’re taking all my lines.” Nathan wiped his arm across his tear-stained cheeks. “But stand up. Leave the one-knee proposals to the straights.”
Liam did as instructed and kissed him under the twinkling lights of their own private, sheep-filled universe.
THE END
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Can’t get enough of Nathan? Want to see what kind of drama he was causing back in England? He was first introduced in Out of This World. Turn the page for more information.
Thanks for reading!
Also by A.J. Truman
The Browerton University series follows witty college boys falling into bed and falling in love, usually in that order. All books are free for Kindle Unlimited members. Each book can be read as a standalone, so jump in anywhere!
Browerton University Se
ries
#1 - Out in the Open
#2 - Out on a Limb
#3 - Out of My Mind
#4 - Out for the Night
#5 - Out of this World
#6 - Outside Looking In
Short Stories
A Week by the Lake (starring Greg and Ethan from Out in the Open)
You Got Scrooged
Hot Mall Santa
About the Author
A.J. Truman remembers his college days like it was yesterday, even though it was definitely not yesterday. He writes books with humor, heart, and hot guys. What else does a story need? He loves spending time with his cats and his husband and sneaking off for an afternoon movie. You can find him on Facebook or email him at info [at] ajtruman [dot] com.
www.ajtruman.com
Outside Looking In: A Browerton University Book Page 22