CHAPTER 18 #2
“Yes! Fuck, yes!” Gabe grunted and slammed root-deep into Cole’s ass, hips spasming and jerking as he filled the condom.
“Fuck… fuck… fuck…” His head craned back, and jaw clenched, face twisting in ecstasy as he pushed harder inside Cole, his cock pulsing, pumping more cum into the latex sheath.
His head suddenly dropped forward as he let out an explosive gasp—and thrust wildly, hips slapping Cole’s ass cheeks as he fucked through the final surges of the orgasm.
“Holy fuck,” he choked and finally collapsed on top of Cole, both men gasping and clinging to each other’s sweaty, scalding bodies.
“Fucking hell…” Cole exhaled sharply, tremors running through him.
“Same…” Gabe breathed heavily and rolled onto his back beside Cole, his head swimming, the bedroom tilting and swaying. “Fucking… hell.”
After a few minutes of them just lying motionless and trying to breathe normally again, Gabe raised a weak hand and brushed his knuckles along the straining tendon in Cole’s neck.
“I’m sorry…” he panted, his exhaustion weakening his voice.
“I didn’t mean to get so… wild.” His hand sank against Cole’s chest as if he didn’t have the strength to hold it up.
“I wanted to take it… slower… your first time, you know? I just… fuck… you just felt so… fucking good, baby.”
A tired smile drifted across Cole’s face.
“Stop apologizing for… silly things.” He turned his head and gazed at Gabe through half-lidded eyes.
“You were… fucking awesome.” His head slid over and landed on Gabe’s shoulder.
“You said my first time should be a good memory, not something to look back on with regret.” He smiled and raised his face, laying a soft kiss on Gabe’s cheek.
“There’s no regret. I’ll remember tonight as one of the best nights of my life… because of you.”
Gabe rested their heads together and held Cole’s hand. “You’re going to be the best friend ever, Cole,” he whispered with soft emotion. “Say we’ll be friends forever.” He swallowed. “Even if you think we might not be… just for tonight, say we will.”
Cole’s eyes misted, and he smiled as he laced their fingers and squeezed affectionately. “We will be best friends forever, Gabe.” He raised their hands and kissed Gabe’s fingers. “I’m not just saying it,” he whispered. “We will.”
Turning his head, Gabe kissed Cole’s hair. “Does that mean you’ll run a club with me?”
Cole laughed softly. “I would do anything with you.”
And he meant it—all of it. Gabe was special. Cole had sensed it the moment their eyes met.
Cole’s chest ached with a sweetness he’d thought he’d never feel again.
Gabe wasn’t just special—he was the kind of rare soul who could reach into the locked chambers of your heart without even trying.
After losing his first true friend, Cole had built walls so high he couldn’t see over them anymore, convinced that kind of connection could never happen twice in one lifetime.
Yet here was Gabe, somehow slipping through cracks Cole didn’t know existed, filling empty spaces he’d stopped acknowledging years ago. Tears pricked at his eyes as he realized: the universe had given him a second chance at something he’d been certain was gone forever.
As Cole lay there, fingers still intertwined with Gabe’s, he couldn’t help but feel grateful for being so wonderfully, spectacularly wrong.
Max stepped out of his office and saw Dane sitting at the bar, his shoulders slightly slumped as he slowly twisted his glass on the bar top.
Max expected transparency from the young men who worked for him.
He preferred to understand the “baggage” they brought to the club so there were no surprises—but also to be there for them to talk to and confide in.
Max kept many secrets his boys had shared with him, holding them close to his heart.
He would never betray their trust. He knew Gabe’s story in every detail.
But Dane… the young man had yet to reveal his demons.
Max didn’t push him. Dane carried a heavy burden he was terrified to unload.
Maybe he would never reach a point where he could confide in Max or anyone else, but there was something special about Dane Chambers.
Even without the transparency that Max expected, he would never turn the boy away.
When he looked into Dane’s dark eyes… he saw a man lost and alone.
A man who, for reasons Max might never understand, had forsaken himself. Max would not forsake him as well.
Crossing the club, Max took a seat next to Dane. He gave his shoulder a squeeze and smiled. “How are you doing tonight?”
Dane looked at him and returned his smile. “I’m okay. Thanks.”
The man was beautiful, and not only in body. Max could see the beauty within, even if Dane couldn’t. “So, what do you think?”
“About what?”
“The new guy. Cole.”
Dane shrugged. “I like him. I hope he stays.”
“Gabe sure seems to have taken a shine to him.”
Dane chuckled softly. “To say the least.”
“They’re beautiful together,” Max murmured. “Their rhythm is perfect, like two halves of one whole.”
“I noticed,” Dane whispered.
“Are they together tonight?”
“I’d bet money on it.”
Max fell silent for a moment, then asked casually, “So, how long do you think it’ll take them to figure it out?”
Dane looked at him and smiled. “Only time will tell, I guess.”