Authors: Kele Moon
Gavin shouted with the hard jerk of his hips that pushed him
over the edge. His hand flew over his cock, stroking fast and
furious. Seeing the sticky evidence of Gavin’s desire coat his fingers
caused a chasm of undeniable bliss to sizzle at the base of Brad’s
spine, but it wasn’t until he lifted his head to study Gavin’s face and
memorize the pleasure of release mapping itself over Gavin’s
beautiful features that the deal was sealed. Brad groaned when the
ecstasy slammed into him. He utilized his hold on Gavin’s hips to
thrust into him harder, using Gavin’s wiling body to stretch out the
throbbing pleasure as long as possible.
Brad worked a long, difficult shift, and that powerful orgasm
should have drained every last bit of energy he had. He was weak
and slick with sweat in the aftermath. He probably needed a nap
that lasted until nightfal. But there was a strange energy to be found
in the attraction he shared with Gavin. It went deeper than physical
and into something amazing and spiritual.
He studied Gavin languid on the floor, white, sticky cum
coating his hand and stomach. A fine sheen of perspiration made his
skin shine in the early morning sun, and Brad didn’t think he’d ever
looked sexier than he did at that moment.
“You wanna take a shower together and then get freaky in
bed?” Brad couldn’t help but ask. He should be exhausted, but he
wasn’t. His need for Gavin far outweighed the lack of sleep.
“Maybe try it slow for once.”
“Sounds good to me.” A lazy smile spread over Gavin’s face
as he opened his eyes. His light gaze danced with satisfaction and
sparkled with a fresh surge of mischief. “Lead the way, big man.”
Gavin wanted to stay in bed until he started back to work
tomorrow, but Brad had other ideas. Somehow Gavin found himself
walking the streets of Ybor City after dark beside Brad, who
seemed to have an extra bounce in his step despite only taking a
short nap after his long shift.
“Why don’t we just get some Cubans and head back home,”
Gavin offered as they walked by a popular Cuban sandwich
restaurant. “That’s always good.”
“Nope.” Brad reached out and wrapped his arm around
Gavin’s waist. He leaned in, breathing against the curve of Gavin’s
neck. “I’m buying you dinner to celebrate.”
“It’s not realy a celebration,” Gavin argued, not fighting
Brad’s hold on him. There was a mix of tourists and straights
heading to various clubs, but the two of them certainly didn’t look
out of place touching. The term Gaybor had been coined for this
area for a reason. He shrugged, stil walking comfortably with Brad
draped al over him. “I’m just going back to the same job I’ve been
doing for the past eleven years.”
Brad puled back and gave him a dashing grin, making his
usualy intense features breathtakingly handsome. “Maybe I’m
celebrating something else.”
“What’s that?” Gavin grinned back, uncaring about the two
of them stopping in their trek toward dinner. “Are you trying to
seduce me, Mr. Archer?”
“Absolutely. I plan to wine and dine you properly; then I’m
going to drag you home and take total fucking advantage of you.”
Gavin was about to reassure him that wining and dining
wasn’t necessary. He was a perfectly wiling victim, but a group of
girls walking up on them distracted him. They had obviously started
early with the partying and were wel on their way to being
shitfaced.
“If that isn’t the biggest waste I’ve ever seen, I dunno what
is,” a redhead said with a huff as she and her friends walked past.
Wearing a short black dress and painfuly high heels, she gave Brad
and Gavin a disgusted look. “They’re both hot and off the market.
That’s a serious crime against nature.”
Brad stiffened, his arm tightening around Gavin as if silently
trying to protect him, which was charming enough to have Gavin
fighting a smile.
“It’s a compliment,” Gavin told him soothingly. “And they’re
drunk. Ignore it.”
“It’s not a fucking compliment.” Brad turned around to look
at the women as they walked away from them. Dark eyes narrowed
as he caled out, “I’l tel you what’s a crime against nature—
bigoted, narrow-minded—”
“Dinner.” Gavin cut him off by puling Brad in the direction of
the restaurant.
Brad surprised Gavin by folowing him without complaint.
With his arm back around Gavin’s waist, Brad suddenly seemed
very determined to get to their destination. Gavin was curious about
it until he saw the restaurant. With rainbow flags hanging on either
side of the sign mounted on the roof, it sort of looked like home
base in a game of gay tag.
Brad breathed a noticeable sigh of relief once they entered
the quaint restaurant that was filed with mostly same-sex couples.
He turned to Gavin, his features stil tense. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t
have been al over you out there.”
“I like you al over me,” Gavin said with a laugh as they
waited to be seated. “Who cares what a few party girls think? They
were just disappointed you were al over me instead of them.”
Brad might have said something if the waiter hadn’t shown up
to seat them. Then they were caught up with drink orders, free
bread, looking at the menu, and then ordering dinner. When the
quiet had settled over them, Brad went back to being melancholic.
“What if one of your buddies from TPD had seen us?”
Gavin looked up from buttering his bread, seeing Brad eye
him darkly in concern.
“Wel,” Gavin started, trying to ignore the swirl of
nervousness in the pit of his stomach. He knew outing himself at
work would likely suck, but spending a lifetime alone and unhappy
would be a thousand times worse. He was thirty-four years old and
had finally found someone he felt truly compatible with. That was
worth any type of blackbaling he’d get at work. He shrugged,
brushing off the anxiety easily. “If they have a problem with who I’m
on a date with when I’m off duty, I suppose they can fuck off. It’s
my life. I’m not gonna spend it worrying what other people think.
You shouldn’t either.”
“Talk to me when you out yourself.” Brad snorted. “See what
it’s like when your family disowns you and you lose ninety-five
percent of your friends.”
“Your family disowned you?” Gavin choked. “I didn’t know
that.”
“Yup,” Brad said grimly. “I haven’t talked to my parents or
my brother in almost twenty years. I could be dead for al they
know.”
“I’m sorry,” Gavin said softly, finding the idea of not talking
to family for twenty years a completely foreign concept. “That’s
insane, Brad.”
“It’s not that insane,” Brad said with dour simplicity. “You
think I’m the only gay man who’s dead to his family? Why do you
think I run a support group for gay and lesbian teens? Most of them
live like vilains in their own homes, and that can fuck a kid up. Trust
me, I know.”
“Half my family knows I like men. I guess I took it for
granted how lucky I was that they didn’t give a shit,” Gavin said
softly, his heart hurting over Brad’s confession. “My sisters al
know, and my brother Frank knows. My father, wel, he’d freak,
but I suppose my sisters could be a buffer for a while if he found
out. They al have him wrapped around their little fingers. My mom
probably wouldn’t care. Not like she doesn’t already have over a
dozen grandchildren. My brother Greg is sort of narrow-minded,
but we never got along that wel anyway. Curt would probably be
okay and—”
Brad gaped. “How many brothers and sisters do you have?”
“Nine.” Gavin snorted. “Gotta love Irish Catholics.”
“Nine.” Brad’s eyes grew wide. “Jesus.”
“I know; it’s crazy.” Gavin laughed, shaking his head. “My
mom found some rubbers in Curt’s drawer when we were
teenagers, and I shit you not, she didn’t know what the hel they
were.”
“You’re joking.”
“I am not joking,” Gavin said with another laugh. “I couldn’t
make that up. Unfortunately for Curt, my Dad knew what they
were. That was a fun family dinner. Curt was miserable, but the rest
of us loved it. Trust me, if I outed myself, it’d be the most
entertainment my family has had in ages. They love the drama. It’s
like ambrosia to them. They need something to gossip about like the
rest of us need air.”
“You’re considering it?” Brad asked, sounding shocked.
“Outing yourself to your family?”
“Yeah,” Gavin said, surprised to find he was considering it.
“I’d like to bring you home for Thanksgiving. It’d be nice not to be
the only one alone for the holidays this year. Ten kids and I’m the
only one who’s not married. It sucks.”
“I don’t think that’s a great idea,” Brad said solemnly. “I’m
pretty sure I’m not the one your parents have been waiting for you
to bring home for the holidays.”
“Probably not,” Gavin had to reluctantly agree. “But they
want me to be happy, and they know I hate being alone.”
“Don’t out yourself.” Brad sighed. “Not to your family and
certainly not at work.”
Gavin winced. “I already told Charlie. Wel, technicaly he
guessed. But I didn’t deny it.”
“You told your partner?” Brad rubbed a hand over his face in
obvious frustration. “I wish you’d have talked to me before you did
that.”
“Did I do something wrong?” Gavin asked, feeling the icy
wal that usualy surrounded Brad go back up without warning.
“You’re already out, so it didn’t feel like I was betraying your
trust.”
“It’s not that.” Brad seemed to be fighting to choose the right
words. “This is just realy new. Jumping the gun’s not a great plan,
Gavin. You could be reading too deeply into it.”
Gavin puled back as if slapped. “Oh.”
“It’s probably just”—Brad huffed, stil appearing to be
floundering—“A phase or something. For both of us. I’ve never had
a steady relationship. It’s very likely I never wil.”
He stared across the table, studying Brad’s stiff shoulders
and the way he was suddenly avoiding his eyes. Gavin was
speechless because he had always prided himself on his ability to
read a situation and act accordingly. Had he realy misread the
relationship that deeply? It seemed almost impossible, but he
couldn’t deny the evidence in front of him. What was the start of
something serious to Gavin appeared to be just a good fuck to
Brad.
He actualy felt breathless from the pain in his chest. A sinking
feeling of dread settled in his stomach, but years of cop training
kicked in, and he kept his emotions in check. Rather than lash out
like he wanted, Gavin nodded. “That’s good to know.”
“It’s just a thing. It’s not worth ruining your life over,” Brad
said softly, stil avoiding Gavin’s eyes. “Just treat it like a passing
phase.”
Gavin nodded once more, biting the inside of his mouth
against the rising anger. He’d had more than a few passing phases in
his life, and he knew the real thing when he saw it. More so, he was
fairly certain Brad recognized it too.
But for some reason, Brad was trying his damnedest to throw
it away before it even started, and for the life of him, Gavin couldn’t
figure out why.
* * * *
Gavin puled the door closed behind them. He gave Brad a
look of disbelief, but al he said was “Whatever, man.”
Brad avoided looking at Gavin rather than see the cool
disappointment shining in his light eyes. “I’ve got a headache.”
Gavin snorted. “A headache? Realy? You’re gonna go with
that?”
It wasn’t realy a lie. Brad had one throbbing at the back of
his skul. It started when those damn girls insulted them and had
gotten steadily worse throughout the night. When Gavin insisted on
paying for his own meal, spots had actualy formed in Brad’s vision
from the pain. He wasn’t real sure if the pain was mental, physical,
or just al-encompassing enough for him to feel it on every level of
his being.
Al Brad knew for certain was he felt like utter shit, and he
wanted to go to bed.
“Yup, that’s what I’m going with.” Brad turned his back on
Gavin, knowing that if they lingered in the smal foyer he’d change
his mind about pushing him away and fal to his knees begging for
forgiveness. “Night.”
He could feel Gavin’s glare as he walked away, but he
steeled himself against it. This was for the best. Brad cared for