18. Gabe
18 /
gabe
I drifted awake to a faint glow filtering through the drapes, hinting at a clear morning. Brody was still asleep, lying on his side with an arm draped across my stomach. His slack jaw and smooth forehead radiated peace, and the relaxed smile on his lips made me wonder what he was dreaming about. A familiar thrill coursed through me—not unusual when Brody was close—but this morning, there was more than desire or happiness. I had a bone-deep certainty that I was exactly where I was meant to be.
Otto, who had been sleeping at the foot of the bed, lifted his head and stretched. After a long night, he would need to go outside, and my brain was already screaming for caffeine. Reluctant to leave our warm nest, I enjoyed another moment listening to Brody’s faint snore before easing out of bed. He didn’t stir, so I retrieved my sweatpants and a T-shirt from the floor and tiptoed out of the room.
A moment later, I was gazing out the kitchen window, astounded by the world awaiting us. The snow was at least halfway up the fence, so we’d had more than the predicted twenty-two inches. Otto whined by the door, so I scratched his ears and let him out onto the patio. He danced around, then quickly did his business and ran back to the door. The tile floor was heated, but when he came in, he bounded across the room to a heat register and stood over it shivering.
I’d panicked while Otto was outside. It was Christmas morning, and I had nothing to give Brody. I’d struggled to decide on a gift because something too casual would feel wrong, but anything too serious might scare him off. The Warriors’ packed December schedule had left me zero time to shop, and now here I was, empty-handed and out of excuses.
An idea had me rushing to my office, determined to make it work. My stash of arts and crafts supplies had saved me before, and after rummaging around, I found what I needed and got busy. Half an hour later, my hands were smudged with glue and ink, but the result was pretty good. I locked the office door, hoping Brody would like his present, and headed back to the kitchen.
I found him sitting in a chair with Otto sprawled across his lap. When the dog offered a quick bark of greeting, Brody looked up, his grin as easy as ever. My insides hummed with something I’d never felt until recently, an emotion so strong it had taken me weeks to identify it.
Pulled to him like a magnet, I hurried across the room. Our kiss was soft, but heat simmered beneath it, promising more. “I didn’t know you were up.”
“Not long. I found Otto in here but didn’t know where you were.”
“Sorry. I had something to do in the office.”
“On Christmas morning? That’s dedication. I figured you hadn’t gone far.” Nodding toward the door, he added, “Only a few doxie prints out there.”
I laughed. “Such brilliant deductive reasoning might get you into Mensa.”
He tilted his head and gave me a stern look. “Better watch that smart mouth, or Santa might take back his present.”
“Present?” I walked to the counter so I could grind coffee. “Ready for some java?”
“Not yet.” He stood and came over beside me. “First, I want another kiss, and then—if it’s a good one—Santa will deliver something special for you.”
I pulled a silly face. “A blow job?”
“Hm.” He pursed his lips. “Maybe later, but I’m serious.” Hooking a hand behind my neck, he guided me closer and brushed our lips together. I opened for him when his tongue traced over the seam of my lips.
His taste flooded my senses, and I pulled him closer as the kiss deepened. Our tongues played, and when he made a needy sound in his throat, something primal unfurled in my chest. Time fell away, leaving only the heat of the moment, the press of his body against mine, and the silent promise that this wasn’t just a kiss. It was the beginning of everything.
When he drew away, I debated between playing it cool or ripping off his clothes and bending him over the kitchen table.
He settled my indecision with a smile. “Since that was an A-plus kiss, I think you deserve the gift.” He reached into the pocket of his sweatpants, pulled out a small box, and gave it to me. “Merry Christmas, Gabe.”
The weight of the moment hit me hard. The tiny package was neatly wrapped but a little crumpled in places, which made it more endearing. I turned it over in my hand. “How? When?”
“Yesterday, when we were at my house. I know it’s not much, but I didn’t have time to buy a real gift. Hopefully this will do for now.”
“Fuck that. What is it they say? The best things come in small packages.” Exhibiting the same self-control I’d had with gifts since I was a kid, I ripped off the paper, sending scraps flying over my shoulder and around the room. Inside the box was a Scrabble tile: Q. I stared at it, confused and intrigued.
“Remember our first date?” His voice was soft. “At the diner. After I opened the game with quaffed , you added on to the Q and spelled quacked . It was a sign, and as the night went on, we weren’t just playing Scrabble. We were well-matched—not only in the game, but as people. It was like we’d known each other all our lives. That night made me start wondering if we could have something real.”
His voice cracked on the last word, and when I raised my head, his eyes were glistening. After a moment, he managed a small smile. “I think we do, Gabe. Have something real, I mean. It scares the hell out of me, but I’m so happy. It’s like the best dream I ever had. I…” His voice faltered. “Please don’t leave me hanging here.”
My chest tightened so much I could only take tiny breaths. Everything washed over me like a giant wave, too big to contain and too much to understand. I tried to speak, but my heart was pounding too hard. Raw emotions clawed their way to the surface and left me speechless.
“You gonna say something?” he asked, a nervous chuckle unable to mask his vulnerability. “Or will you just let me sit out here on this limb?”
“I love this.” I held up the Q tile. “And what you said was beautiful.” Still grappling with the onslaught of emotions, I swallowed hard. “Hold on. Wait here. Thirty seconds, I swear.”
His brow furrowed, his expression flickering between curiosity and concern. “Okay, but…”
I didn’t hear the rest because I was already sprinting down the hall to my office. Inside, I paused to catch my breath, gripping the edge of the desk. Does he mean it? Is he saying what I think he is? With no time to process my thoughts, I grabbed the gift I’d made and hurried back to the kitchen.
His forehead had smoothed, and a tentative smile played on his lips.
There it was again, the warmth in my chest I couldn’t ignore. “That tile,” I said, nodding at the Q on the counter, “is going in an acrylic box on my nightstand. Thank you.” Hoping it would be enough, I held out my gift to him. “Merry Christmas, babe. You’re the most incredible person I’ve ever met.”
His fingers brushed mine as he took the gift, and a crackle of electricity confirmed that this was really happening. I’d made a light blue heart, cut from construction paper, with gold and brown beads carefully glued around the edges. In silver calligraphy, I’d written words I’d been aching to say: My heart belongs to you.
His lips trembled while he stared at it. “This is beautiful, Gabe.” When he looked up, his voice was thick with emotion. “I feel exactly the same way.”
He set the heart on the counter like it was the most precious thing he’d ever held. Then he turned and pulled me into a hug so tight I got lightheaded. Powerful feelings rushed through me, weakening my knees and reaffirming my certainty. I had found home.
When our lips met again, it was like the first snowfall of the season: fresh, exhilarating, and laced with wonder. Brody slid a hand behind my head and wrapped his other arm around me. The moment exploded, and our teeth clicked as our tongues battled for dominance. He walked me backward to the wall, and when I tried to get my arms around him, he trapped my hands against the wall beside my head.
I was held in place by a man bigger and heavier than me, who had his tongue practically down my throat. I groaned with relief when he swiveled his hips, grinding against me. Our dicks were both throbbing, straining for escape from our clothes. He’d never dominated me like this. I’d only been passive for one guy, but that was a long time ago and didn’t last. Regardless, whatever Brody wanted from me, he could take.
Eventually, I managed to tear my mouth from his. “What the hell? Thought you liked me to be in charge.”
“I do, but everyone deserves a little manhandling now and then.” Without waiting for a response, he bit into the tender flesh at the side of my throat, making me yelp, and then soothed it with his tongue. I moaned when he blew cool air across the sore spot, and a shiver ran up my spine when he growled. He nipped at my throat again and said, “You’re mine.”
“Sure as hell am.” I broke free of his grasp and swiveled us, pinning his hands against the wall. Kissing him again, I worked a knee between his legs and pressed it gently against his balls. His high-pitched moan turned into a wail when I locked onto his throat. Between bites and sucks, I left a hickey anyone would have been proud of.
I pulled back and admired my work before meeting his eyes. “And you’re mine. Don’t you fucking forget it.”
The quick rise and fall of his chest made his voice raspy. “Don’t want to forget it.”
I nodded, releasing him and lowering my foot to the floor. We were still locked into a lusty gaze, and I took his hand and tugged. “Come with me, D-man. I have something to show you.”
We went to the bedroom, where we quickly shed our clothes. I kissed him yet again while we groped for each other’s hard cocks. The kiss was rough and needy, with both of us trying to dominate the other. I soon pulled away and licked his throat, then nibbled his earlobe. When his hum of pleasure built into a full-throated moan, I kissed my way down to his pecs. I sucked each nipple, ending with bites that made him cry out. We let go of each other’s cocks as I sank to my knees.
He groaned when I took him into my mouth. Placing his hands behind my head, he pushed completely inside. I gagged when his dick touched the back of my throat.
“Fuck yeah, Tendy, suck my cock.”
He pulled back, ready to fuck my mouth, but I wrapped a hand around the base of his shaft and moved my head, sliding back and sucking him in again. He wound his fingers through my hair, moaning and cursing as he surrendered to my control.
“You like that D-man dick, don’t you, Tendy?”
Since my mouth was full, I looked up into his eyes and hummed my agreement.
“That’s it.” His voice was low and husky.
My dick grew even harder, and I started throbbing when he growled again. I reached down with my spare hand and started jerking myself.
“Fuck yeah. Play with your cock while you suck mine.” He groaned, pulling on my hair to guide my head. “Shit, you’ve been holding back on me.” Still holding my hair, he shoved his dick all the way inside, making me gag, then did it again and again. “You look so pretty drooling over my cock. You’re a filthy boy.” When I gagged again, he let go of my hair and patted my head. “Filthy… and I fucking love it.”
Brody’s new possessiveness made me feel safe. I may have been his protector, but he was mine too. Warmth spread through me, and since he’d stopped fucking my mouth, I sucked him hard.
“Go for it.” His voice was ragged, and he started grunting, every sound going straight to my balls. When I glanced up, he was studying me with hooded eyes. Sweat dotted his brow, and a red flush had crept from his cheeks to his throat. “Fuck, Gabe. I love watching my dick disappear into your mouth. Show me how much you like it.”
I kept sucking until his precum grew thick, and then pulled off with a loud pop. Letting go of my cock, I used that hand to play with his balls while I licked his shaft. He whined as I planted kisses up the side and teased his frenulum with my tongue.
He groaned again, and an incredible thrill rippled up my spine when he said, “Dirty slut. You’re such a great fucking cocksucker.”
My dick jerked, straining at nothing but air. I closed my mouth around his cock and sucked the head into my throat. He cried out, teetering a little. I pulled back, then sucked him in until the head was again in my throat. His groan of pleasure turned into another cry when I squeezed his balls.
I noticed the unmistakable sensation of precum trickling from my slit. Reaching down, I swiped it off, and when I raised my hand, I pulled off him long enough to suck the precum from my fingers.
“You could’ve fucking shared.” I glanced upward, and Brody’s lips were parted. “Now get my cock back in your mouth, Tendy.”
I obeyed, and while he moaned his approval, I teased circles around his asshole with my wet finger. He bent his knees, making his hole open slightly. I took the hint and pressed. My finger wasn’t lubed, but I’d fingered him many times by then. If my finger was wet, and he knew it was coming, he could take it with no lube. As always, he rewarded me with a guttural groan as it slipped inside. I found his prostate and started playing with it, pressing more firmly with each pass.
“Fuck.” An upward glance confirmed he’d screwed his face into an expression that always made my heart kick—head to the side, eyes closed, lips pressed together and hiked up on one side. I’d dreamed about that look. Someone who didn’t know him might have thought he was in pain, but it was the opposite. That was Brody’s “lost in kinky pleasure with Gabe’s finger up his ass” look, and I’d jerked off to memories of it more than once when we were sleeping in different rooms on road trips.
He moaned, and I could tell he was getting close. I was about to deepthroat him when he abruptly pulled out of my mouth.
I glanced up, confused. He still wore his beautiful expression, but with his eyes open. Unsure of what he wanted, I pressed into his prostate, and he groaned, a low, throaty sound that would make me come if he did it many more times.
“Yeah?” I asked, pressing into his gland again.
“Shit.” He reached down and tapped my arm. “I don’t know when my dick’s had such good mouth-loving.”
I quirked an eyebrow and snickered. “You must be forgetting yesterday morning.”
“That’s right.” His face relaxed, and he smiled. “That was fucking incredible. I shot so hard I almost blacked out.”
“Ready to do it again?”
“Fuck yes, but…” He bent over, hooked both hands under my armpits, and tugged me to my feet. “Such pretty swollen lips,” he said, trailing a finger over my mouth. “I’d like to fuck them all day.”
“You can.”
“Might take you up on that, but since you’re making me feel like a king, I’d like to pay some attention to you. Get on the bed.”
He crawled on with me, turning so his head was near my feet. I was lying on my side facing him, my heart thrumming with excitement. “Damn, babe. You know how much I love this.”
“Me too.”
He spread his legs, then shifted onto his side toward me and braced himself with a hand on my hip. One of the many reasons I loved sixty-nine was that we had to hold each other, and my heart juddered when I hooked an arm over his leg to steady him.
He curved his lips into a naughty smile. “I’m so ready to get my cock back in your mouth.”
“You have no idea how ready I am,” I said.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart.” He reached between my legs and gripped my thigh for balance. “I’ve got you.”
We wasted no time on preliminaries. I moaned as he sucked my cock into his mouth, and when he slid a hand behind me and worked a finger into my ass, I grunted in surprise. “You really want to play with my ass?” It was totally a bluff because he couldn’t have missed me wiggling around, trying to ride it.
“Mm-hmm.”
I forced myself to relax as he screwed his finger deeper inside. Having something there was an alien feeling, but I loved the way it made me let go of so much tension. The burn soon gave way to fullness, and I clenched around him, purring with arousal. As much as I’d always been a top, I wasn’t averse to a little ass play. He knew it was my guilty pleasure, and when he found my prostate, he pressed hard. My lusty groan had him chuckling around my cock.
I closed my mouth around his dick and started sucking him again, rewarded by his own rough sounds of pleasure. After tickling his balls, I slid a finger into his hole and started playing with him.
The sensations grounded me as much as anything ever had. My mouth was stuffed full, and Brody’s finger was inside me, playing with my most private place. His warm, wet mouth was tight around my cock, making it even harder. He tightened his ass around my finger while I played with his gland, and his moans grew louder.
It was heady to have such power over someone, but it came with responsibility. He had the same power over me, and he was making me feel so much pleasure that I owed him no less.
I pushed my dick deep into his mouth, making him gag. He didn’t pull off, though, and the euphoria made it hard to breathe. There aren’t many thrills like making another guy gag on your dick and then suck it harder. My balls were tingling so much I couldn’t lie still, so I started squirming, joining Brody in the last seconds of our quest for ecstasy.
As the tingling spread from my balls up behind my cock, my ass clenched. Brody pressed harder into my prostate, setting off shooting stars inside me. He was ready to come too, twisting hard and groaning around my cock. We were both surprisingly loud considering how full our mouths were, and when I moaned again as I raced toward the edge. I was about?—
He blasted his first shot into my throat, which set me off. Lost in a world of fiery pleasure, I erupted while I did my best to swallow his cum. Instinctually, we thrust deeper into each other’s mouths, and I felt the heat of my own cum around me.
Brody’s jizz dripped down my cheek onto the bed. He pulled back and thrust inside again, pushing the head into my throat. I gripped him, enjoying the pulsations as he emptied himself.
When we stopped shooting, our pants and soft moans were the only sounds while we came back to Earth. He soon maneuvered himself around until he was lying in my arms. I kissed him, and as I slid my tongue into his mouth, his husky moan warmed my heart. We hadn’t simply traded blow jobs or had meaningful sex; we’d done something far deeper. Treasuring each other, taking great care to do exactly what we knew pleased the other most, carried a joyous weight, especially considering the feelings we’d expressed earlier. The heady taste of our mixed pleasure, along with the magical haze of our orgasms still surrounding us, was proof of a connection that went far beyond being boyfriends. It wasn’t just affection. It was everything.
What the hell was I waiting for? If I couldn’t tell him now, it might as well not be real. And it was real, so powerful it filled every corner of me, and I needed to say it. Breaking the kiss, I took a deep breath. “I love you, Brody.”
It was a simple sentence, and the words sounded bare in the quiet room. My heart thudded as one second stretched into another, and I waited for him to say something.
He searched my eyes as a smile crawled across his lips. “I love you too.” It was another simple sentence, but it made my heart cartwheel in my chest.
“Thank God,” I whispered. The words were out before I could stop them—strange, perhaps, but they said exactly what I felt. My throat tightened, and I struggled to hold my emotions in check. “I didn’t know how to say it or when, but I love you so much it ties me up in beautiful knots. I didn’t even know it was possible to feel like this.”
Brody rested a hand on my chest and fixed his eyes on mine. “I could say exactly the same thing. I thought I’d lost any chance of having this, that loving someone wasn’t in my future. The Beanies…” His voice caught, and he swallowed hard. “What happened with them broke something in me. I thought it was gone for good, but then you came along and somehow gave it all back and more. You’re everything I never thought I deserved. So, yes…” His eyes glistened, and his chin trembled. “I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”
He kissed my chest and rested his head on my shoulder. The silence reverberated with our feelings, their powerful echoes saying everything we couldn’t. His breathing evened out as I tightened my hold on him, and he fell asleep quickly. I let out a long breath as my gaze drifted to the ceiling. I’d stared at it more nights than I could count, wondering if I’d ever find the right man. Now, here he was—Brody—tucked against my side, his trust laid bare in ways that made my chest ache.
He’d spoken about how much he trusted me, and that trust meant everything. But trust was a two-way street, and what he was giving me, I was giving him just as much. I trusted him not only to take the love I had for him, but to hold on to it, to believe in it, to believe in me.