Chapter 24
THE SECRET NUMBER FOR Riley and Josh’s shopping trip was three, despite Riley begging for them to increase it now that Jollywood Graphics was bringing in good money. It was a hard habit for Josh to break.
It was something they started doing in college when they were trying to save every dollar they could in preparation for starting their own business.
The number represented how many items they were allowed to get that weren’t already on their shopping list. It had kept them from indulging in things they didn’t need over the years, and they’d saved enough to have a decent cushion in case they were hit with some big cost they hadn’t foreseen.
Or if they decided on a spontaneous road trip.
Since they were taking on more clients and had a steady stream of income thanks to the websites they maintained, they could probably spend a bit more on food, but it would only go to waste.
It also helped them remember to add things to their shopping list.
Thanks to creating their own work schedule, they were able to do their grocery shopping mid-morning on weekdays when the stores were less crowded. Their first stop was the produce section, where a few other people perused the options.
“I’ll grab the apples, while you pick out the grapes,” Riley said as he moved to the bin full of all different varieties of apples.
“Okay, pick out some good ones,” Josh ordered jokingly, and Riley sent him a warm smile in return as he moved to the next section.
Josh turned to find some grapes and barely avoided running into an old, silver-haired woman with an empty cart. She must have just started her shopping too.
“Whoops, sorry, ma’am. Almost caused a traffic accident,” he chuckled, ignoring the twinge in his heart thinking about his parents’ accident.
The old lady sneered at him and scoffed. “Sure, you are.”
Josh looked at her quizzically, wondering if he'd missed something.
“I’m sorry, is everything okay, ma’am? Is there something you need help with?”
“No, I don’t need any help from the likes of you.”
His gaze dropped to see if there was something about his appearance that he hadn’t noticed, and he gave a subtle sniff toward his arm pits. Maybe he needed a shower. But he didn’t detect anything.
One thing he couldn’t do was walk away from a person he may have affected negatively, though.
“I’m sorry if I did something to offend you, ma’am. I meant no harm. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
The ire was visible on her face, leaving him even more confused, and he snuck a glance backward to catch Riley’s attention in case he needed it. Riley's head sprang up as if he sensed Josh’s gaze.
“So like your people, being where you shouldn’t, not caring about the damage you do. Ya know, my brother was killed in Vietnam and all I got to remember him was a folded flag.”
Ah, now I understand. This woman missed her brother.
“I know the feeling. After my parents moved here from China, they were killed in a car accident when I was five, but I survived the crash and was raised by our neighbors across the street. Luckily, my best friend lived next door, so he helped me get through it,” he explained as he stepped toward the display of grapes.
“I don’t have much to remember them by either, except maybe a few pictures that my adopted parents saved for me.
At least we have our memories, right? Hey, have you tried these grapes? They taste like cotton candy!”
The woman stared at him in stunned disbelief as he held out the bag of cotton candy grapes so she could see them. She looked at them, then brought her focus back to Josh.
“Uh, no, I haven’t tried them. My grandkids love cotton candy.”
“I bet they’d love these. And they’re on sale this week. Bonus for us, right? Anyway, I’m sorry about your brother. Maybe he’s looking down on us right now with my parents.”
The woman’s hand trembled as she reached out for the bag of grapes, taking them and placing them in her cart.
She narrowed her eyes for a second and then shook her head incredulously, her mouth curving up on one end.
“Thank you, dear. And I’m sorry about your parents. Thank you for the grapes,” she said slowly.
“Thank you, ma’am. I hope your grandkids like them. Enjoy the rest of your shopping,” he said as he grabbed his own bag of cotton candy-flavored grapes and turned to find Riley standing a few feet behind him, smiling.
He smiled and said, “Riley, the grapes are on sale this week. We lucked out!”
Josh turned back to the old woman, who was now smiling and shaking her head as she walked to the next aisle, and put the grapes in his and Riley’s cart.
“I really don’t know how you do that,” Riley said, still smiling.
“Do what?” Josh asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
“Win over a rude, hateful person so easily.”
Josh scoffed. “She wasn’t hateful, she just missed her brother. He died fighting in Vietnam.”
Riley shook his head at Josh, the same way the lady had shaken hers.
“Please, never change, Josh. Never ever,” Riley said as he threw an arm around Josh’s shoulders and pulled him toward the dairy section.
“I don’t plan on it. Sounds like too much work.”
Riley’s laugh warmed him from head to toe, much like always.
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When they got home from the grocery store, Riley grabbed the mail on the way to their condo. There was a nice stack of letters and fliers, probably mostly junk.
When they got in their place, they set everything on the counter and began working together to put away the groceries. Once everything was properly stored, Riley started thumbing through the mail, separating everything they didn’t need into a pile to go into their recycle bin.
Josh went to the fridge to grab them some water when Riley’s gasp startled him.
“The swab test from the DNA company arrived,” Riley said, holding out a thick plastic shipping envelope.
They opened the package together and read through the instructions and saw that Riley had been right. Josh had to swab his mouth and send it in with the enclosed packaging.
“Wow,” Josh said as he stared at the contents of the DNA kit. “Why am I nervous?”
Riley stepped closer and wrapped an arm around him in a side hug that helped ease Josh’s fears.
“I’m nervous too,” Riley said, and Josh jumped out of his arms to face him.
“Why are you nervous?”
“Well, what if you find out you have family looking for you in China?” he asked, his gaze remaining on the kit spread out on their counter. “What if you’d rather move home to be with them? I mean, I wouldn't stop you, if that was what you wanted.”
Oh. Josh hadn’t even thought of that. And there was one major reason he hadn’t.
“I’m not moving anywhere without you, Ri,” he said seriously, setting a finger under his chin and lifting it until Riley’s eyes were on him. “You’re my home, and no DNA test is ever going to change that.”
Josh could see the tears filling Riley’s eyes before he blinked them away. He stepped forward to wrap his arms around Josh, pulling him tightly against his own body, his face nestled in the crook of Josh’s neck.
For a minute, they stood there and held each other, Josh running his fingers through Riley’s soft hair as his other hand rubbed his back. When Riley pulled away, he planted a hard but quick kiss on Josh’s lips and turned to the DNA kit.
“Okay, let’s do this. Let’s find the rest of your family.”
Josh was ready, because the most important member of his family was standing there next to him. With Riley, he was capable of anything.
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The swab test was even simpler than Josh expected. It wasn’t long before his DNA was wrapped in a package, ready to send back to the company.
With that taken care of, there was only one thing Josh wanted to do, and it wasn’t work.
He pulled Riley down the hallway toward Riley’s bedroom, not stopping until they were at the foot of his bed.
Riley gasped as Josh pushed him backward onto his mattress, following quickly by crawling over him until they were face to face.
Josh held his weight with one hand as he reached for Riley’s face, his fingers sliding across his cheek until he reached his hair.
Riley’s hands rested on Josh’s hips as they gazed into each other’s eyes, and Josh lowered himself until their lips were pressed together, kissing sweetly until Josh teased Riley's lips with the tip of his tongue.
The move made Riley groan as he slid his hands along Josh’s back and up his neck. He held Josh’s head, angling it so he could deepen the kiss. Josh whimpered as Riley’s tongue invaded his mouth and they slid along each other, savoring every second.
Josh sat up, Riley below him and looking like he wanted to devour every inch of Josh.
Josh teased the hem of Riley's shirt as he smiled down at Riley.
“I was thinking we could try something new this time,” Josh whispered, his voice nowhere near his usual loud, boisterous volume. These words were for Riley and Riley alone. He didn’t want to share them with anyone else ever again. “I want you inside me.”
Riley’s mouth made an “O” shape as he gazed at Josh in shock.
“Are... Are you sure?”
“I’m positive,” he said, grinning at his best friend in the whole world. “I want everything with you.”
Riley’s gaze softened as he beamed at Josh. “I want everything with you too.”
Josh chuckled as he lifted his shirt over his head, his hands trembling slightly and the neck getting caught on his head for a moment.
When Josh had been with women in the past, he always had this sense of nervousness at how it would go, if he would be good enough, if the woman he was with would judge him. He faced none of that with Riley because he trusted the man with his heart, body and soul. He always had.
Riley lifted himself slightly off the bed to pull off his own shirt before falling back, his lean muscles on display. Josh took a moment to admire him, spreading his hands over his torso and letting his fingers graze over every bump of his abs, the slight swell of his pecs, his hardening nipples.
Riley shivered underneath him, and Josh didn’t know if it was from the slight chill in the air or his touch, maybe a combination of the two, so he leaned down to kiss him. This time, he held nothing back as their mouths wrestled with each other, fighting for dominance.
They rolled around the bed, clumsily shedding each other’s sweats and underwear until they were both naked, Riley’s skin feeling like a warm fire in the dead of winter against Josh's own.
Josh twisted atop Riley so he could reach the nightstand, sliding open the drawer and pulling out lube and a condom.
Riley grabbed the lube from him and coated his fingers, warming the liquid between them and tossing the bottle aside.
Pulling Josh to him with his clean hand, he resumed their kissing.
Josh settled on top of Riley, his fingers slowly searching for his crease, finding his puckered skin and circling it.
They’d used their fingers a few times together, so Josh was ready when Riley slid a thick digit inside him, letting his tight ring stretch around him.
Josh groaned as he kissed Riley with growing intensity, everything in him burning to get closer as their hard cocks rubbed against each other.
Riley’s was like a rod of steel against Josh's and Josh moaned thinking of it hitting that spot deep inside him.
Riley added another finger, and another, until Josh couldn’t take it anymore.
“I’m ready,” he said, his voice strained with need. “Please, Ri, fuck me.”
“I got you, baby. Put the condom on me.”
Right, almost forgot about that. Josh made a mental note to go get tested with Riley so they could do it bare. He wanted to feel everything.
His hand slid along the blanket, searching for the foil packet, not wanting to stop kissing Riley for a second.
Once he got his hand around it, he ripped the packet open. He inspected it carefully to see which side went where, then grabbed Riley’s dick and slid it on.
He wished he could say he did it seductively, but he didn’t care about looking good. All he cared about was getting Riley inside of him as quickly as possible.
Once Riley was sheathed and had rubbed some more lube on himself, Josh got on his knees and moved his body, Riley holding his cock upright as Josh hovered over him, lining himself up. The head of his cock slid along his crease until he found the right spot and he started to sink.
Josh groaned and breathed deeply through the stretch. Riley’s dick was so much different than his fingers. Thicker, more solid, more Riley.
He paused for a moment, holding his breath as the stretch stung, not able to tell how much of Riley was inside him, when Riley’s voice finally reached him.
“Breathe, baby,” he said soothingly, his hand moving along Josh’s thigh until it wrapped around his cock, which had flagged a bit.
With Riley’s hand on him, still slick from loosening his hole and slowly sliding up and down his shaft, Josh’s pain turned into pleasure, and he continued his descent until he was completely seated on top of Riley.
His eyes had been squeezed shut, but they popped open and found Riley gazing at him with so much love in his eyes.
“Are you okay?” Riley asked, sweat beading on his forehead, his breath pained.
Josh smiled in response, knowing Riley would never do anything to hurt him, the same way he knew the sky was blue and grass was green.
“Never better,” he said. “Ready for me to move?”
“Fuck yes, please move.”
“I’m gonna make you feel so good, Ri. I’m gonna make you so happy.”
Riley shot him a soft smile. “You already do.”
Josh smiled back, then shifted a bit and lifted himself a couple inches to start. Slowly, he sat again, Riley groaning in response.
He rose again, farther this time, and slid down, getting used to the movement.
It was his first time riding someone and he wanted to do it right. Not only for him, but also for Riley.
“Does that feel good?” Josh asked.
“Yes, so good. Do you like it?”
“Yeah, ready for me to go faster?”
Riley groaned. “Whatever feels good for you. You feel so good around me. Holy shit.”
Josh grinned. “Okay, Ri. Hold on to something.”