Harley
They say love can be complicated and confusing, but I can assure you, there is absolutely no confusion about the way I feel about the man lying right next to me.
Yes, we’re in love.
Love!
There’s that short but powerful word that means so much to so many people, and after hearing him confess his love for me that first night in the jacuzzi, made me fall in love with him even more. His soft snores are the most blissful thing I could ever wake up to. These past couple of days since coming up to the lodge have been incredible, especially that first night in the jacuzzi. We go into the jacuzzi every night before bed, once the kids are asleep, and while we still haven’t committed to sex, the guy can most definitely do wonderful things with his hands and fingers. And I am enjoying every minute we spend together.
As I roll over to check on the time, I hear the doorbell to the lodge ring. Not wanting to wake Jasper, I carefully get out of the bed, put on my robe and quietly make my way down the stairs, trying not to wake the kids. When I get to the front door, I pull it open, and I’m greeted by two men standing outside on the porch.
“Hello,”
the taller of the two greets me first. “I’m Jet and this is Dallas. We live on the other side of the creek.”
“Oh,”
I say. “I’m .”
I stretch out my hand and they each shake it, and then I hear someone walking down the stairs. I turn around to see Jasper wearing his robe, and he makes his way over to the door.
“Hi, Jasper,” Jet says.
“Hey, guys. What are you doing here so early in the morning?”
“I wouldn’t say 11 a.m. is early. We’re usually up before the roosters most mornings.”
“Jesus, is it that late already?”
Jasper asks. “Time must have slipped away from us.”
He looks at me with a smug-as-fuck smile on his face. “What can I do for you boys?”
“We were just wondering. It’s a beautiful day, we’re about to take the boat out, and we were wondering if you’d like to join us?”
“It is a beautiful day, isn’t it?”
he says with a wide smile, still looking at me, or perhaps he’s just checking me out all over again. “Sure, count us in.”
“Perfect. See you at the pier in about … twenty minutes?” Jet asks.
“Make it an hour. I need to see what the kids have planned.”
“Bring them along. Why not make it a family affair?”
A family affair … I like the sound of that!
“Sure, if they have no other plans.”
“Great. See you soon.”
With a bid farewell, Jet and Dallas leave and I close the front door.
“They seem nice,”
I tell Jasper.
“They are such a great couple. We’ve pretty much remained friends ever since the sale of the property.”
“Hey, kids?”
Jasper calls.
Three sets of doors fly open, and each of the children step out of their rooms and stand on the balcony, leaning over the railing.
“We’re taking the boat out. Who wants to join us?”
There’s a round of three loud ‘yeses’ from each of the kids and they immediately go back into their rooms. Jasper and I make our way back to the bedroom where we both change into a pair of board shorts each and flip flops. He grabs two towels from the rack and tosses one to me. I throw it around the back of neck, and he tosses his over his shoulder. We make our way down the stairs where the kids are already waiting for us by the front door. Violet is dressed in her bathing suit and flip flops while the boys are in their board shorts and flip flops also. We step out of the lodge and make our way to the pier where Jet and Dallas are already in their boat.
“Have you ever been on a boat before, ?”
Violet asks.
“Honestly, no. I’ve been on a cruise ship but it’s not the same thing, so this will be my first time.”
“I’ve been on one loads of times with Dad and Dadda. It’s so much fun just standing there while the cool breeze smacks you in the face.”
“If we’re lucky, we may see some waterskiing,” Kit adds.
“Waterskiing?”
I question.
“Yeah, they’re always up here at this time of year. Dad and Dadda used to compete all the time, until Dadda kept beating Dad every single time and Dad decided that he didn’t want to play anymore,”
Tristan says.
“That’s not true. I’d just had enough and wanted a change after doing the same thing over and over again, year after year.”
“Mhmm,”
Tristan murmurs, sarcastically.
Once we’re on the pier, the children step into the boat first, while I help Jasper with the ropes on port and make sure everything is ready.
“I can’t believe how much the children have grown,”
Dallas says to Jasper.
“Yeah. Violet just turned thirteen on Halloween. Tristan is seventeen and Kit is fifteen,”
Jasper tells them.
“They grow up so fast, don’t they?”
Dallas asks.
“Tell me about it. Well, shall we get this show on the road?”
Jasper asks.
The two men nod in agreement. They move some things around in their boat while Dallas takes the wheel and Jet stands beside him. They start the engine and within a few minutes they’re out of the pier. Jasper does some final checks, then makes sure the children are all safely secured. When he’s satisfied, he takes the wheel and starts the engine. He shifts the boat into gear and we’re on our way.
As the boat leaves the p, he takes iera hold of my hand and places it on the steering wheel, then places his hand on top of mine and brushes the back of my palm with his thumb. I look back at the kids who are looking over the edge of the boat, water spraying all over them as Jasper increases the speed. This is such a pretty picture, and they all look so at home and in their little elements. Of course, for them, this is totally natural, coming up here every year for their family vacation. The children are accustomed to this. I love how their faces are filled with smiles, and it’s obvious just how happy they all are to be out here where it’s so peaceful, with nothing out ahead of you but water and sun. As Jasper drives the boat, I rest my head against his shoulder. The loud sounds of the engine and the water crashing against the boat vibrate through his body and I enjoy every moment of the sensation.
“It really is beautiful out here. I can see why you love coming up here so much,”
I tell him.
“It’s the one place where the children and I and Todd could come to whenever things got too hard or work got crazy busy and we just wanted to get away from all the chaos and be free. The children are always happy whenever we come up here. Todd loved this place. He really did.”
I give him a smile and as I continue to rest my head on his shoulder, my mind is filled with uneasy thoughts. Todd was a part of this man’s life for many years. His death was tragic and hit hard for a lot of people. I know the struggles Jasper and the children went through after his passing. Even though I didn’t have the best relationship with my mother in her later years, her death still hit me quite hard. I know that we’ve only been together a very short time, and we’re taking things at a pace that each of us is comfortable with. It’s just that, somehow, in almost every conversation that we’ve had lately, Jasper is reminded of Todd and mentions him in almost all of our discussions. I know I’m being completely selfish here, and after all the man was his husband and they share three beautiful children.
But why do I feel as though I’m second-best right now?
Maybe we rushed into this relationship too quickly and I didn’t give the man a chance to get over his grief. And I know every circumstance is different when it comes to grief, and people deal with it differently. But I just don’t know if I’ve made a big mistake and committed too early to a relationship without giving it a lot of thought. Perhaps I’m overthinking it. I don’t really know. One thing I do know for sure, is just how much I love this man, and I can only hope that right now, that’s enough.
We continue through the lake, and I take in my surroundings, I take another look back at the kids and Violet throws me a smile. I love that kid. God, I love them all so much, just like I love their father. The cool breeze blows against my face and as I stare out ahead, I see Jet and Dallas not too far ahead of us. Several trees surround the lake. Some of the branches are so low, you could probably almost reach up and touch them. It’s quite easy to see why they love this place so much, and if I were in a position financially, I would probably buy a property here myself. While Jasper has assured me that he would help me financially, I made it clear to him that I wanted to remain financially independent and not rely on his money. I still wanted to be paid for the job that he employed me to do, and even though he is paying me to look after his children, I don’t see it like that anymore. I’ve never been a father, but I love these children as though they were my very own, no amount of money is ever going to change that.
Jasper turns his head away for a moment to look at me, giving me a wide smile, showing his perfectly white teeth. Then he focuses ahead of him before wrapping his left arm around my shoulder. He pulls me in closer toward him and presses his mouth against mine in a stolen kiss. I enjoy the kiss as water sprays over the two of us, and once again, my cock throbs between my thighs. As I feel him slide his tongue inside my mouth, I hear the harrowing sound of Violet’s scream as she yells, “Dad, watch out!”
Jasper pulls his lips from mine, and we see one of the overgrown branches hanging over the lake. Jasper tries to turn the boat but it’s too late and the next thing I know everything fades to black.
THANK YOU