Chapter 9
Nine
Eight months later . . .
E van sat in the broadcast booth, rubbing his hands against his pants. His palms were sweaty, and so was his brow. Usually, he was on the other side of the window that separated the sound techs’ room from the booth where the sportscasters did their shows. But today, he would talk during a live broadcast and hope it was one of the most incredible days of his life.
When he first came up with the idea of proposing on the air to Rico, he immediately dismissed it. But the more it ran through his mind, the more he thought it was romantic. He just hoped Rico agreed.
Every morning, before taking the elevator down to go to work, Rico sat in his recliner, playing around on his computer and listening to Eric Bentley and Tom Barrett talk about what was going on in sports. When Evan asked Eric and Tom if they would let him get on the air with them and ask Rico to marry him, they were all for it as long as it was okay with Mr. Kane. The older man was thrilled to have his station help with the proposal.
So, now, Evan had another few minutes before Eric and Tom wrapped up their show and gave him the go-ahead. It was almost ten o’clock, and Rico would walk out the door of his condo in a half hour, so the timing was perfect—Evan prayed.
Fear rattled around in his head. What if Rico was in the shower and completely missed when Evan put his heart on the line? What if he said no?
Evan fidgeted in his chair as Eric thanked their sponsors and said, “We have a special guest here in the broadcast booth. KCXN’s own Evan Calhoun—the sound tech for the Bentley & Barrett show. How’re you doing, Evan?”
He licked his lips and swallowed hard before replying. “I’m—I’m good.”
“Glad to hear it. We’ve got your caller on the line and are ready to go. Let’s just get him in on this conversation.” Eric hit a button on the multi-line phone. “Rico, you there?”
“I am. Although, I’m not sure why.”
Eric pointed to Evan, who leaned closer to the microphone. “Hey, babe, it’s me.”
“Evan? Hey, what’s going on?”
He took a deep breath, and all the words he wanted to say fled his mind except for “Will you marry me?”
There was a long pause, and then Tom’s eyes widened as he glanced around. “Rico, you still there?”
Evan thought his heart skipped a few beats before he heard, “Seriously, Evan? You’re doing this over the radio, with me being miles away and unable to kiss you when I said yes?”
There was an even longer pause because, this time, Evan was speechless. He couldn’t figure out if Rico’s answer was yes or not.
Eric chuckled. “His jaw hit the floor, folks. Hey, Rico, does this mean you’re saying yes? You’ll marry Evan?”
When Evan heard his lover’s voice next, it wasn’t through the speakers but, instead, from directly behind him. “Turn around, Ev.”
Shaking, he did as ordered, finding Rico down on one knee. Somehow, they managed to get him into the broadcast booth without Evan noticing. He just stared at the man he loved, seeing that love returned to him.
“Rico pulled a fast one, everyone. He’s not miles away. He’s in our studio and down on one knee, with a ring box in his hand, and Evan’s still gaping in shock.”
“Tom,” Rico said without taking his gaze off Evan. “We don’t need a play-by-play here.”
“Well, it is a sports show, and we can’t have dead air, so start talking, dude.”
He chuckled, then took Evan’s hand. “When I asked Tom and Eric if I could propose to you during their show, they said they would come up with a plan to get you on the air. I just didn’t know you would propose to me too. You threw me off my game there for a few seconds, but now I’m back on track. I never thought I’d meet someone who took my breath away just by looking at me. But you do, Ev. You’re the other half of my soul I never thought I’d find.” He opened the small black box to reveal a gold and platinum band with diamonds embedded in the center of it. “Will you marry me?”
Evan wiped away the tears rolling down his cheeks before nodding. “Yes, but just remember who asked first.”
Smiling, Rico got to his feet and pulled Evan up with him, smashing his mouth down on his. The kiss was fierce and demanding. Both barely noticed when Tom said, “And that’s the end of our show, everyone. We’ll be back tomorrow with more sports and a newly engaged sound tech.”
Lying on his side, Rico rested his head on Evan’s bare shoulder, entwined their hands together, and ran his thumb over the ring on Evan’s left hand. He spent weeks searching for just the right ring, often dragging Scout and Alex along. When he finally spotted one he loved, he took photos of it and sent them to Mark and Brian via text. Both had given their seals of approval. “Do you like it?”
“I love it. Do you like yours?”
After Evan got over the shock of Rico showing up at the station and throwing his own proposal for a loop, he pulled a box from his pocket and presented a ring to his new fiancé. Rico held his other hand up and stared at the matte-finish platinum ring with black diamonds set into a channel in the middle of the band. “It’s perfect.”
When they stepped out of the broadcast booth and into a large office, where the sportscasters’ and reporters’ desks were, it was filled with people from all the different departments that made up KCXN. The applause was deafening, and Bishop Kane was the first to shake their hands and congratulate them. He then gave Evan the rest of the day off.
Evan’s coworkers surprised them with a cake and champagne, so the newly engaged couple got stuck there longer than Rico had intended. In the meantime, Brian called Evan from the University of Southern California, where he was in his first year of studies for broadcast journalism, to congratulate his father and Rico. He knew about both intended proposals and streamed the Bentley & Barrett show to hear them live. Mark planned to do the same while in study hall that morning.
Evan’s younger son would join them, Susan and Steve, who were still together, newlyweds Scout and Alex, Magnus, Rex, and several other close friends and family members that night at the Cock & Bull to celebrate.
It was an hour before Rico had finally been able to get them out of the radio station. They couldn’t make it back to his condo fast enough for him, but somehow, he managed to get them there in record time, where they stripped each other before tumbling into bed and making love.
“What do you think of a June wedding?” Evan asked as he nuzzled the top of Rico’s head.
“Isn’t that a little cliché?” When Evan shrugged, Rico rolled on top of him, straddling his hips. He grasped Evan’s wrists and pinned them to either side of his head. “What do you say we elope this weekend?”
Evan’s eyes grew wide. “This—this weekend? Are you nuts?”
He kissed his fiancé. “Nope. Just want to make you mine as soon as I can.”
“I’m already yours. But if you want to elope, then let’s do it.”
“Good, because Kane already gave you next week off for a wedding present.”
“What? When did he do that?”
Rico nipped Evan’s jaw, then licked away the sting, eliciting a moan from him. Rico’s cock hardened again, getting ready for a second round of hot, raunchy sex. “Last week at the award show, when I asked if he could sign off on a vacation week for you without letting you know.”
In a flash, Evan switched their positions, putting Rico flat on his back and slamming their mouths together. Their tongues danced around each other, and their hands were everywhere, touching, caressing, loving.
“I love you,” Evan murmured against Rico’s lips before he shifted and pushed himself down the bed, licking, nipping, and sucking on the smooth skin of Rico’s chest and abdomen. He settled himself between Rico’s legs. Grabbing the bottle of lube from the nightstand, he coated his throbbing cock with the slick liquid. “Hold your legs up for me, babe.”
When Rico hooked his arms under his knees and pulled them toward his chest, Evan moaned at the sight of the puckered hole eagerly waiting for him. Rico’s cock was hard and long against the trail of hair that ran down the center of his belly to his groin. Pre-cum seeped from the slit.
Evan made quick work of prepping Rico before lining the tip of his cock up to the entrance of the place he called his home. Evan never felt he was where he was supposed to be more than when he was deep inside Rico. After both were tested months ago, they got rid of the condoms once and for all. The heat Evan felt when Rico’s body engulfed him was unlike anything he’d ever experienced.
“Fuck me, Ev. Please.” Rico’s eyes begged him as much as his mouth did. “Need you. Hard, fast.”
Evan kept his gaze on Rico’s face as he slid inside the man’s body, trying to control the urge to thrust deep on the first pass. With short thrusts, he gained ground until he was as deep as possible. Rico gasped, moaned, and cursed as his channel adjusted to the thick intrusion. His walls were so tight around Evan’s shaft that it was a wonder Evan didn’t blow his load without further stimulation.
Once the tension eased from Rico’s body and he was confident he wouldn’t hurt him, Evan began to pound into him as if his life depended on it. Sweat poured off him as he strived to bring them the bliss they both craved. With every forward thrust of Evan’s hips, Rico grunted as he took the punishing rhythm without complaint.
Evan leaned down and kissed the mouth he dreamed about every night, but he panted so hard that he had to back off to pull oxygen into his lungs. When the telltale tingling began racing down his spine, he wrapped his hand tightly around Rico’s cock and tugged with the same pace as his hips rocking back and forth.
“Shit!” Rico yelled when his body went rigid. He came with such force that he shook. The spurts of hot cum on Evan’s hand and Rico’s ass clenching around his cock was all it took for Evan to follow him into orgasmic bliss.
As they lay in a sated heap, Rico ran his hand up and down Evan’s spine. “I love you, baby.”
Evan smiled into the crook of Rico’s neck. It may have taken him thirty-eight years to get there, but he was finally where he belonged. “I love you too.”
I hope you enjoyed Rico and Evan’s story. Next, check out The Sugarplum Fairy: An MM Holiday Novella .