21. Epilogue
BURTON/LUKA/PHOENIX
Six Months Later
Burton
I stomped my way toward the top of the stairs before I paused, waiting for Petal’s reaction before I even touched the step. He didn’t disappoint.
“Burton Maxwell Kavka-Horváth, do… not?—”
I pounded down the stairs and laughed the entire way down, and like clockwork, Petal met me at the bottom with his eyes narrowed and fists at his hips.
“Stop it.”
Acting innocent, or at least I tried to with my pout and my puppy dog eyes.
“What?” I shrugged and acted guileless, despite the act working zero times. But I had hope, one day, it might.
Luka came out of the kitchen, shaking his head, but with a smile on his face. He kissed Petal, making the younger man melt, before he turned toward me. I was expecting a kiss, but he walked on by.
“Consequences, sweetheart.”
I stood straighter. “But… no kisses. From either of you? What about nooky? Petal promised we’d have all weekend naked. Then it changed to naked times in bed tonight after the barbecue and everyone left because there was no time this morning. There are no take backs, Petal.”
He tapped his finger on his chin and said, “Well, shouldn’t the punishment carry on all weekend? Luka can touch me, and fuck me all he wants. And in between, I can put my mouth all over his body, sucking his dick until he feeds me his come. All the while, you’ll be sitting on the chair, watching, yet unable to take part.”
“Oh, and I can suck your dick too, right Sunshine?” Luka asked as he lounged on the couch without a care in the world.
“Anything you want, lover?—”
“I’m sorry! Will it help if I promise to never do it again? We can pinky swear and I’ll cross my heart, but not hope to die because you’ll kill me if I do. But I do it to get a rise out of you, because I’m an attention whore who doesn’t know any other way, because you don’t have pigtails and pulling the chair out from under you when you sit is immature and never in a million years would I ever hurt you.”
Dragging a deep breath in, I waited on pins and needles for him to say… something. With a soft expression, he drew closer to me and pulled me down for a scorching kiss.
Luka stood to snag another kiss from both of us when the doorbell rang and I groaned.
A whine escaped my throat as Petal pulled away to go answer the door, but Luka was there the next second, cupping the back of my head and drawing a loud groan from my throat as he consumed me. When he pulled back, the hazel in his eyes was faint, and he growled as he nipped at my bottom lip.
“Tonight. I promise,” Luka said, before studying my face. “Can you wait that long?”
I let out a breath and huffed out a curse under my breath. “I… you know what, let’s say, sure. And if the three of us get locked in any bathroom, upstairs or down, at any point in the day, I was productive and stored a bottle of lube away in each, just in case.”
Luka laughed and pecked at my lips. “I love you, you crazy man.”
“Love you, too. So very much. High five on being brave enough to tell Phoenix how we felt.”
He slapped his hand against mine and we both walked toward the entrance to see who had arrived.
***
Luka
The gathering was in full swing in the backyard several hours later. It was a mild summer day, punctuated by clouds drifting in and out with a high in the low seventies.
Back in May, I splurged on an entire grill center with a smoker, a rotisserie, a burner, and a prep area. Sunshine, B, and I spent most of our days off and summer evenings outside, taking advantage of the grill, and our place was where friends and family congregated when they wanted to relax.
Mateo sidled up as I was basting the ribs and whistled. “That is quite a grill. You guys went all out today.”
“It’s a pleasure to see my men so happy, and we’re grateful all of you could come.”
I glanced over to see Phoenix sharing a lounge chair with B’s mom, with my mom seated close to Charlotte, all of them in a serious discussion.
“So, how’s it been going since… well, you know?” Mateo asked.
Sunshine became fast friends with the man who’d arrested his father and helped ensure a permanent restraining order against Hale Aalto.
The man had tried countless times to call our company, yet Drew noted it and hung up on the man each time. He hadn’t dared to go near the bakery, knowing I’d do more than break his wrist if I caught him.
The irony of the entire situation, Sunshine taking back control of his life and cutting out the toxicity he’d experienced throughout his younger years, had a negative effect on his father’s entire life.
He’d left a nasty message on the home messaging machine where Hale threatened to take everything monetary from the three of us because of the information Sunshine gave Suzy. It allowed her to escape the toxic marriage. Another mark on Hale’s pristine image.
It turned out, since he turned fifteen, Phoenix squirreled away all of his money and cashed out stocks his father gifted him when he started as a real estate agent. That added up to close to two million dollars. He explained getting the loan felt like standing on his own two feet, so he kept the money growing interest until he passed on the account to her.
She rushed the divorce, which was granted when we testified for her, giving testimony about Hale’s ways of revenge by using money and influence. And Hale’s arrest and his upcoming prosecution, for hiring the men who broke into the bakery, helped speed up the divorce. She now lives in California.
Hale was also being sued by several clients for embezzlement and for not paying his staff the salary they’d negotiated. To add to his pain, Sunshine also added to the number of civil suits that will keep Hale busy for years.
Unfortunately, Hale made bail on the trespassing and attempted assault charges despite having the aggravated property damage charge already on his record.
Not trusting the man, I’d put motion sensor lights on the house and around the bakery.
Hale’s business associates quit and when his arrest and subsequent mugshot hit the local news, people knew to avoid him.
I blew out a breath as I remembered the last confrontation.
We hadn’t heard from Hale in four months, only speaking through his lawyer, who’d made the request for a loan from Phoenix. Our lawyer shot down the request and told them under no uncertain terms they would never help Hale out of the situation he found himself in.
The no contact had been blissful.
Until we left for work one morning. I’d gone to the truck to put my bag in the back and as I headed back to the house, I found Hale on our porch, screeching at Sunshine and for a moment, it appeared he might turn violent.
“You owe me, you little shit!” Hale kept shouting.
Rather than take part, Sunshine stood his ground and shook his head. B stood right next to him, and I realized he waited until he thought I left for work before confronting his son.
There wasn’t anything either Sunshine or his lawyer could say that would convince Hale he wasn’t right. He was adamant his son ruined his life. As though he had no part in his own downfall.
Such a delusional asshole!
Without hesitation, I grabbed Hale by the scruffy hoodie he had on and threw him off the porch, where he landed in a heap on the grass. Following him down, I must’ve looked homicidal because he scrambled to his feet and ran away.
I sent the video evidence of him breaking the restraining order to our lawyer and Mateo to add to his building case, and since then, we haven’t heard from the man.
“So far, so good. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s smartened up, which I doubt, or we haven’t given him an opening to come near Phoenix. Besides, I’m sure his lawyer explained to him the dire consequences he’s facing and confronting us will only make it worse.”
Mateo nodded to Phoenix and said, “Does he miss the man?”
“He was never a father, even going as far as blaming him for his mother’s passing. Hale then ignored him until he could use him, but he never stopped telling him what a disappointment he was. There’s nothing to miss.”
I paused as I stared at the man Sunshine has become. “And we try to make up for all that he’s lost. Both B’s and my parents tell him how proud they are of him all the time and when he changed our surnames, they were enthusiastic.”
I basted the ribs and checked on the rotisserie chickens, and they were browning well. After searing the steaks, we’d be ready to eat.
“You and Charlotte, huh? How’s that going?”
The man gave me a smile I associated with being in love.
“Good. Great, in fact. She was worried about my job and while I’m not in danger, I have crazy hours. But we’ve been working on spending as much time together as possible, and she’s thinking about moving in with me since my house is closer to the bakery than her apartment.”
With a smile, I squeezed his shoulder before I dropped my hand. “I’m happy for you two.”
“Despite the circumstances of how we met, it’s the best relationship I’ve ever had.”
I laughed and agreed. “It’s not how it happened, but that it happened at all.”
Familiar arms came around my side and I glanced down, smiling at Sunshine, who skin was a dusky peach and his smile was as big as his face.
“Food almost ready?”
“B sent you over here to ask that, didn’t he?”
He shrugged. “I missed you, so it wasn’t an imposition. You doing okay, lover?”
“You’re here. B’s making mischief, like always,” I glanced up to see B with Fergus over his shoulder, both men laughing as B ran. Gio let out a curse in Italian and chased them around the yard.
“So yeah, all is good, Sunshine. And food’s ready.”
***
Phoenix
As the crickets chirped in the moonlight, I found myself slouched against Luka’s chest, my legs draped over Burton’s lap, as he rubbed my shins in a soothing, rhythmic manner.
The last guest left about an hour before, and after we cleaned up and stored the grill away, we gravitated toward the bench swing and I cuddled with both of my men.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Both of you have given me a life I never thought I could have, so I wanted to thank you.”
Luka tightened his hold on me while Burton laid his head on my chest, listening to my heart beat as I rubbed up and down his back. The three of us, along with our genuine friends and family, were who I treasured.
I’d never given up on the idea my father would look at me and be proud I was his son. That was until he unraveled.
“You know, Hale is trying to plead insanity to all his charges, including embezzlement. His defense is that I’m a troublemaker, and he spent years fixing problem after problem, which put a strain on his mental health until he broke and committed the crimes he did.”
Luka chuckled and Burton became outraged on my behalf.
“Can you even file for insanity if most of his crimes are blue collar ones?” Burton asked.
I shrugged.
“If he couldn’t convince the emergency doctor he was having a heart attack, although his lawyers are trying to incorporate that into his defense, there’s no way a psychiatrist would diagnose him as insane.”
We all chuckled at the thought of Hale convincing a doctor his gay son drove him to criminal lengths. It would be funny to hear while the man was under oath. But unless called by the court, I choose to never see him ever again.
“We should take a trip during Christmas vacation?”
I perked up at Luka’s words, and so did Burton, as he rested his chin on my shoulder.
“Oh, and where would you like to go?” I asked.
“Maybe Prague, or Vienna, somewhere we haven’t even dreamt of going before. But first…” Luka trailed off before he pulled a box out of his front pocket. When he opened it, there were three white gold rings with a script design and three inlaid diamonds spaced apart, representing… well, us.
“Oh, wow, they are beautiful,” I whispered.
Burton sniffed and between staring between the box and Luka’s face, he teared up and brushed them away. “They are perfect. Do they fit?”
Luka lifted one and held out his hand. “Let’s try it out, B.”
Eager, Burton held out his hand and Luka, with careful precision, slid the ring on his finger with ease. He was overwhelmed, and after kissing Luka; he buried his face against my neck.
I beamed at Luka as the ring he chose for me gave me a shiver when the cool metal touched my skin. But as soon as it was in place, it warmed, and I stared at it in awe. A symbol of our connection to each other.
“It’s gorgeous.”
Not wanting Luka to slide on his own band, I gripped it and held it out until Luka’s hand held steady and I slipped it on.
“It feels as though I’ve had it on forever. Thank you, lover. It’s perfect.”
Burton smiled through tears as Luka kissed him. Luka then kissed me. And of course, Burton dipped me and made loud kissing noises up my neck until he pressed our lips together, leaving me breathless.
In the middle of a warm August night, as peace settled around us, I relaxed with the two men who held my entire heart and soul.
“I love you, both of you, with everything I am.”
And I always would.
THE END