Chapter Twenty-Two
Gavin
Gavin looked around the room. Boxes were strewn from one end to the other, and the guest bed was still in plastic, but the rest of the house was pretty well in order. Gavin had spent the last two days putting together the kitchen and their bedroom, and most of the month working on that god-awful yard, but things were coming along now.
He was about to toss the Bible into the trash bag by his foot, but something stopped him. Some remembered sense of respect that still clung from childhood maybe? Or maybe he just didn’t like throwing out bits and pieces of Ben’s boyhood. Either way, he flipped it open again and thumbed through the thin pages.
He hadn’t planned on looking anything up, but he did it anyway. 1 Timothy 5:8. Yup. He remembered that one. Mostly because right after his parents had thrown him out, that was the verse that played on a loop in his brain. He’d been forced to study the damn Bible every day as soon as he was old enough to read, so he had nearly the whole thing committed to memory at one point. Not so much anymore, but that one wasn’t going anywhere. But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith…
Gavin nearly closed it again, but instead he reached for the pen cup on the desk and grabbed a highlighter. He outlined the verse in bright yellow and then colored it in, the black type showing up nicely through the light ink. Then he surprised himself by tearing the whole page out. Why? He really didn’t know, but he did it anyway. Anger twisted in his stomach, and he almost balled the page up in his fist, but in the end, he folded it neatly and tucked it into his wallet for safekeeping before sticking the dusty old Bible on the top shelf next to Ben’s old yearbooks.
He found Ben in their bed, his eyes closed, looking peaceful. Gavin thought he might already be asleep until Ben threw the covers back for him. Gavin couldn’t stop his grin as he kicked off his jeans and tossed them in the hamper by the closet.
“You did a good job in here,” Ben said, yawning around the words.
Gavin crawled into bed next to him and pressed their naked bodies close together. “I thought I always did a good job in the bedroom.”
Ben’s soft laugh whispered against Gavin’s skin as he kissed Gavin’s cheek. “You do. But you went above and beyond this time.”
Fair enough. Their bedroom had been Gavin’s pet project, maybe even more than the yard.
“You’re not close enough.” Ben pulled Gavin over him and ran his strong hand down Gavin’s spine. “That’s better.”
With a laugh, Gavin pressed a kiss to Ben’s chin, the stubble tickling his lips. He ground his hips against Ben, wondering if they were maybe both too tired for anything more than some kisses and quick touches tonight. Ben changed his mind. He slipped his hand down over Gavin’s ass, trailed his fingers deeper until he slipped against Gavin’s entrance.
“Please tell me you found the lube in one of the boxes.”
Gavin pressed back against Ben’s touch, straddled his hips so their growing cocks brushed together between them. “That’s the first thing I looked for.”
“Smart and pretty,” Ben teased as he pushed Gavin’s hair off his face with his free hand. “How’d I get so lucky?”
As he reached for the nightstand, Gavin said, “Luck had very little to do with it. You made me chase you for a year.”
Ben laughed softly at that, reaching up to trail a fingertip over Gavin’s lip. “I never ran too far ahead, in case you didn’t notice.”
“I noticed.” Gavin brushed a kiss to Ben’s finger and let his eyes slide shut, getting lost in the feel of Ben, the feel of them together. He knew they worked best in bed, but they did good everywhere else too, so that was okay, right?
Gavin moved against Ben, let Ben prep him slowly in that thoughtful, careful way of his. They left the lights on, which was the way Gavin always liked it. He wanted to look at Ben, see all the ink—new and old—that covered his body. About the time Gavin felt like he might fly apart, Ben pushed the head of his cock against Gavin’s entrance and Gavin sank down over him. “Don’t think I missed the fact—” He paused with a deep groan, grateful they could make a little noise finally. “—that I’m the one who has to do all the work here.”
Ben reached up and threaded his fingers into Gavin’s hair, his other hand steady on Gavin’s hip. “I’m an evil genius like that.” He pulled Gavin down closer, met him in the middle with a hard kiss, effectively shutting them both up.
It had been too long for both of them. The last month had been a haze of work and sleep, with nothing more than a few handjobs and one memorable fuck against the shower wall in the early morning hours.
Ben didn’t seem too interested in hurrying them along, but Gavin’s body begged to differ. He was on top, so he set the pace, riding Ben harder and faster until Ben finally took the cue and wrapped his fingers around Gavin’s erection. He stroked him slow at first, seeming to purposely stay out of rhythm with Gavin, but after a moment of that, Ben let out a shuddering gasp and started to move his hand in slick, frantic motions over Gavin’s cock.
That was all it took for Gavin. With one loud groan, he came through Ben’s fingers, spilled out over Ben’s stomach, his chest. When Gavin finally opened his eyes again and looked down, there was even come in Ben’s stubble. When he leaned down to lick it off, Ben muttered Gavin’s name, held him tight, and came deep inside Gavin.
One of the bonuses of ditching condoms years earlier was that if they wanted to stay like that all night, they could. Gavin didn’t move for a long time. He knew there would be a mess, but whatever. He rested on Ben’s chest and let his eyes drift shut as Ben petted his hair and tickled his shoulder. He nearly fell asleep like that. Until Ben spoke.
“I think we should get married.”
Gavin’s heart fluttered out of rhythm again. This was interesting. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Ben kissed the side of Gavin’s head, held him close. “If anything happens to me, you won’t have to pay a bunch of taxes and stuff and… The laws protect us right now, but five years from now? Who the hell knows. I just don’t want you to have any bullshit to deal with if the time comes, ya know?”
Okay. As proposals went, that wasn’t the best he’d ever heard. “So… you want to marry me to ease your mind in case you die?”
“Well, I mean…” Ben trailed his hand down Gavin’s back, pressed it warmly against Gavin’s skin. “Among other reasons, but, in part, yeah.”
Gavin pulled back and reached for something to clean them up with. The sheet would have to do. “You’re such a romantic, Ben.”
Why was he so bugged? Gavin couldn’t even decide for sure. It’s not like Ben never said nice things, never went for a few romantic gestures, and hell, Gavin didn’t really need poetry and roses, like, ever. But he’d expected… something when they finally had the big tie-the-knot conversation. Or at least something that didn’t involve Ben’s standby in case I die speech.
Ben didn’t say anything more after that, possibly afraid to open his mouth. And when Ben reached for him after he settled on his side of the bed, he let Ben pull him closer. He didn’t fall asleep for a long while, though.