by Harper Logan
“Daddy!”
Chandler turned around and caught April as she ran and jumped into his arms.
“Woah, hey, honey! You gave me a shock!”
Adrian made his way up to them, carrying a couple shopping bags. He gave Chandler a kiss. “April has been dying to go skating with you,” he said. “She told me you’ve never done it with her before.”
“Yeah, well. That’s because I can’t skate.”
“There’s a first time for everything,” Adrian grinned. “C’mon.”
“Aw, no, no…”
“C’mon, Daddy!” April said, tugging at his arm. “Let’s try it together.”
Adrian gave Chandler’s ass a pat and grabbed his hand. “C’mon, let’s go.”
They rented skates and hobbled out to the ice together. April gingerly placed one foot onto the ice, and then the next, and squealed with laughter as she slowly drifted away from the wall. Adrian expertly maneuvered out, gliding around her in circles. Chandler followed, but the moment he let go of the wall he found himself flat on his ass. Adrian laughed and skated over, holding out his hand.
“You okay there?”
Chandler struggled to his feet, waving his arms around madly to hold his balance. “I got it, I got it.”
“You’ve really never skated before?”
“Never.”
“Well, take hold of my hand. I’ll show you.” Adrian guided the two of them over to April, who already was figuring things out on her own, and took her hand so that he was in the middle.
They moved around the rink slowly, Chandler doing everything he could not to fall. “Lean into it,” Adrian said to him. “There you go.”
“I think I wanna try to go fast,” April said. “I think I can go on my own.”
“You sure?” Adrian asked, and she nodded. “Okay. I’m gonna let you go now.”
He let go of her hand and she glided away, steadily pushing herself forward across the ice. “I’m doing it!” she shouted, waving at them.
“Good job, honey!” Chandler said. “Just be careful!” Then he stumbled and plonked onto his behind.
Adrian laughed and tugged him back up to his feet. “Bend your knees. You look like a damn scarecrow, or something.”
“How’d you get so good at this?” Chandler asked him as they slowly drifted around the rink, hand in hand. Holding hands in public would normally have made Chandler feel a little self-conscious, but to his surprise he felt okay with it now. If people were staring, he didn't care, and it was obvious that neither April nor Adrian did either. Also, he felt like if he were to let go of Adrian’s hand, he’d just fall right back down.
“Mom and Dad used to take me when I was a kid,” he said. “And in high school it was the thing to do. I had my first date ice skating.”
“Papa, how do I stop?” April shouted as she came up behind them.
“You gotta turn,” Adrian said. “Turn your body.”
She couldn't figure it out in time, and ran into Adrian’s legs. He caught her, and she threw her arms around his thigh. “Or like that,” he said.
“I think I’m getting it,” Chandler said as he pushed himself forward, no longer feeling like a stack of bricks in an earthquake. April moved to the middle, taking both of their hands, and the three of them glided steadily around the rink. Chandler glanced over at Adrian and April, and felt a warmth fill up his heart and a fluttering in his stomach. He was so happy to be here with them, to be able to share this moment like this. He was so blessed, and he knew it.
“Daddy, Papa!” April started to squeal. “Look! It’s snowing again!”
There was a murmur of recognition from the rest of the skaters as soft snowflakes began to drift down through the night air, landing gently on their clothing and hair. April tilted her head back to the sky and opened her mouth, letting the fresh snow land on her tongue. Chandler exchanged a quick glance with Adrian, and they both grinned and followed her lead. He felt the snow melt on his tongue and his cheeks, like kisses from the sky.
They finished a few more rotations around the rink before heading out, not wanting to get caught in the inevitable traffic caused by the snowfall. On the way back to the truck, the two of them lifted April up by her hands, swinging her over puddles and piles of slush.
“We should come back and do this again, sometime,” Adrian said. “We can bring Mom. And invite Lexie and Isabelle too. What do you think about that, April? Ice skating with Grandma, Izzy, and Lexie?”
“That would be so much fun!” she agreed.
When they got home, the first thing Chandler did was turn the Christmas tree lights on. “I’m glad the snow made it before Christmas,” he said. “Now it really feels like the season.” He went into the kitchen, and stopped by the counter. “Oh, Adrian?”
“Yeah?” He was getting a fire started in the fireplace.
“You’ve got a letter here. Seems like something official. MWD, something or other. It’s got a Homeland Security logo on it. Want me to open it?”
“Uh, no,” Adrian said. “It’s probably just junk. Security clearance expiring or something. I’ll open it later. Come join me, the fire is going.”
Chandler shrugged and set the letter back down on the counter and went to join Adrian in the living room. April ran out of her room dressed in her pajamas, a stuffed animal in hand, and dove onto the couch, snuggling up to Adrian. Chandler sat down next to her, and slung his arm around Adrian’s shoulder. The three of them sat snugly, staring quietly at the fire as it flickered and crackled in the fireplace.
6
April fell asleep sitting in front of the fireplace, so Adrian carried her to bed and tucked her in while Chandler went to go shower. Adrian stood for a moment outside their bedroom door, listening to make sure that Chandler was in the bathroom and occupied. Then he hurried to the kitchen, his heart pounding. He found the envelope on the counter and examined it.
“Goddamn,” he muttered. Thank god it didn’t have anything obviously incriminating written on it. There was “MWD Program” or “Military Working Dog Program,” printed on the corner, but Chandler hadn’t recognized the acronym. He tore the envelope open and removed a packet of papers, quickly scanning over what was written on the first page.
Application for adoption: Koko. Approval status: Pending, awaiting interview.
Below that was a typed letter, and he quickly skimmed over it, eager to find out what this all meant. He reached the end, and re-read it again.
“Shit.”
He flipped through the packet, looking to see if maybe there were some other options for what was detailed in the letter, but there wasn’t. It said that they’d been given priority for the adoption of Koko, but in order for it to be approved, he would need to go meet her to ensure a proper fit. He flipped to the last page, and in a rectangular box was printed her foster address—West Point, New York. Nearly four hours away.
How would he be able to make two-hundred-mile trip down to New York? They only had one vehicle split between them, not to mention there’d be no way he could do it secretly.
This should’ve been amazing news. The fact that Koko was here on the east coast, available and waiting to be adopted, was a damn miracle in itself, but Adrian wasn’t able to celebrate. He wanted so badly for this to be a surprise for Chandler. He had to figure out a way to somehow get down to West Point without a vehicle.
He sat at the kitchen table, cradling his forehead in his hand. But how? No matter how he worked over the scenarios, there just didn't seem to be any way he could get down there without telling Chandler. He couldn’t take the truck, Chandler needed it to get to work.
Fuck!
If it hadn’t been for that damn accident, he would’ve still had his own truck, and maybe this would’ve been a little easier to figure out.
The thought of that old ’66 Ford F100 stung his heart. It’d been a rainy evening, and he was driving home from the garage when a drunk driver had run a red light and collided full speed with the r
ear end of the truck, sending him spinning into opposing traffic and right into the path of a semi-truck. The engine compartment had been completely obliterated, the cab crushed in on the passenger’s side, and the rear of truck had looked like it’d been kicked by a giant. He’d been lucky to have walked away from the accident relatively unharmed, and even luckier that no one else had been in the truck with him. He didn’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if April had been riding with him.
Adrian felt like his physical training played a part in why he hadn’t sustained major injury, but more than that, he believed Dad had been watching over him and protecting him. He and Dad had worked on restoring that truck all through high school. Both of their blood, sweat, and tears had been poured into it, and after he got back from his last tour in Iraq, Dad was no longer waiting for him, but his truck was. Whenever he drove it, Adrian felt his spirit there with him.
The physical injuries may have been minimal, but the pain from the loss he felt as he watched the mangled truck being towed away cut way deeper than he would’ve expected. It almost was like experiencing the loss of Dad for a second time. The worst of it had passed, but it’d be a lie to say he still wasn’t feeling it—especially at times like this.
“Adrian?”
He jerked out of his thoughts and saw Chandler standing at the entrance of the kitchen. He quickly rested his forearms over the letter. Chandler walked over to him and wrapped an arm around his waist.
“Everything alright?”
“Yeah, fine,” Adrian said, putting on a smile and trying his best to sound normal. He snuck a glance down and saw the words “WORKING DOG ADOPTION” peeking out, and shifted his arm to cover it. His heart hammered.
“What’re you doing out here? You gonna come to bed?”
“Yeah, just, uh, checking the mail. As I thought, just junk.” He quickly gathered up the packet and crumpled it up. “Don’t wait up for me, I’ll be in bed soon.”
“Alright,” Chandler said, giving him a kiss before leaving. Adrian waited, the papers balled up tightly in his hand, and then let out a tense breath.
“Shit,” he whispered, un-crumpling the papers and smoothing them out the best he could. “What the hell am I going to do?”
He folded the papers in half and pulled a book down from the living room bookshelf—a hardcover copy of Little Women that Mom had bought for April—and then inserted them into the center before replacing it on the shelf. Chandler would never find it there. He then went to the bedroom and stripped off his clothes to go shower. Chandler was lying in bed reading Tom Clancy, and he peeked over the top of the book at Adrian as he walked past him to go to the bathroom.
What could he do? He could rent a car, or find someone who might lend them a car for the day… Of course, he could just tell Chandler about the whole deal. But that’d be the easy way out, and more than anything else he wanted to see that look of surprise on Chandler’s face when he was reunited with his old friend. Maybe he was being stubborn about it, or even selfish, but he’d made up his mind.
He finished his shower, slipped into his pajamas, and joined Chandler in bed. Chandler shut the book and tossed it onto the side table.
“Turn over,” he told Adrian.
“Huh?”
“I’m gonna give you a massage.”
“Why?” Adrian asked.
“Because,” he said, turning Adrian over onto his stomach and straddling his thighs. “I can tell you’re stressed out about something, and I want to help you chill out, ‘cause I love you.”
“I’m not stressed out,” Adrian lied. “We had an amazing day today. Ice skating was great.”
Adrian closed his eyes as Chandler began to knead his palms against the muscles of his back, working from his shoulder blades down.
“Bullshit. I maybe not be the most emotionally inclined person around, but I can tell when you’re feeling down. What happened? Something in that letter?”
“No,” Adrian said quickly. “I told you, it was just junk.”
“Alright.”
“I’m just… I started thinking about the Ford again.” At least it wasn’t a complete lie.
“Mm.”
Chandler made circles with his thumbs, working out the knots in his shoulders. He was right, he was tense, and the massage felt amazing. He moved inward until he reached the base of his neck. Adrian tilted his face into the pillow, groaning slightly. That was heavenly.
“You wanna talk about it?”
He had to smile. Chandler asking to talk about feelings was definitely not a common occurrence.
“It’s just tough,” Adrian said. “Having to share your truck. I mean, it’s not like I go to so many different places than you, but… Sometimes, it makes me feel like less of a man, not having my own vehicle. I feel like I’ve been castrated, or something.”
Chandler leaned in and whispered in his ear. “I dunno, your dick’s been just as hard and just as big as it was when you had your truck.”
Adrian grinned as excitement pulsed to his cock. “Why don’t you tell me more about what you think about my dick, Chandler Longman.”
Chandler grabbed Adrian by the shoulders and flipped him onto his back, hovering over him on his hands and knees. He gazed up into Chandler’s gorgeously vivid eyes, and at that moment all the stressful thoughts floated away. He drew his arms around Chandler’s neck and pulled him into a kiss. Their tongues touched and intertwined, and Adrian felt his cock stand straight up, tenting the fabric of his pajamas.
“You just relax,” Chandler said. “I’ll take care of everything.”
Adrian watched as he slowly moved down, slipping his fingers beneath the band of his pajamas and drawing them down his thighs. His cock stood eagerly, waiting for Chandler’s touch. Chandler brought his palms back up along Adrian’s legs, bringing them in to meet at his cock, wrapping both his hands tightly around his thickness. He stroked it slowly, moving his hands up and down like he was churning butter. A bead of precome emerged from his tip and quickly coated his head. He pressed his head back into the pillows and groaned softly.
He shuddered as he felt the warmth of Chandler’s mouth closing around his cock, encircling him in a caress of tongue and lips. He squirmed his feet against the sheets, unable to resist the intense waves of pleasure rolling through his body. God, the things he was doing with his mouth were incredible! Adrian pumped his hips, moving with him, gasping and balling up the sheets in his fists, and he hurtled toward a fast and hard climax. Chandler seemed to know—he’d just become that attuned to him, to knowing exactly what to do to make him come. He increased his pace, and all Adrian could do was hold on for the ride. The breath was drawn from his lungs as the orgasm hit him. His toes curled and his cock flexed as he released his load into Chandler’s mouth. But Chandler didn’t stop. He sucked down every drop, teasing his head with his tongue until Adrian had to beg him to stop, pushing him off.
He relaxed into the pillows, and Chandler joined him. The tingling waves of his climax rippled through his body, and it felt like he was being carried on a gentle tide. The day was catching up to him. His eyelids felt like they weighed a ton.
“That was amazing,” he murmured, and kissed Chandler. He could taste his flavor on his lips.
“Get some sleep,” Chandler said, kissing him again on the side of the head and turning out the light, and Adrian followed the darkness into slumber.
“Things are gonna get busy this week,” Chandler said as he stood at the window, looking out at the pearlescent blanket of fresh Monday morning snow. It was draped thickly over the neighborhood, and the local news was already giving reports of the pileups on the freeways. They were bound to get an influx of people needing repairs on cars giving out to the cold weather.
Adrian helped April into her puffy snow jacket and tugged a knitted beanie over her blonde hair. “Okay, you ready for daycare?” he asked.
“Yup.”
“Got your books?”
“Yup.”
<
br /> “Good.”
“I’m going to get the truck warmed up,” Chandler said, grabbing his keys off a peg by the door. “Meet you two outside.”
Adrian helped April with her boots and sent her out the door. “Tell Daddy I’ll be right there.”
“Okay,” she said, and toddled out the door, all bundled up in her winter gear.
He closed the door and hurried over to the bookshelf, pulling the copy of Little Women down and retrieving the fold of papers from inside it. He stuffed them into his jacket pocket. Outside, Chandler was buckling April into her car seat in the back of the truck. The cold bit at his nose and cheeks.