32. Epilogue - Callum
Epilogue - Callum
One year later
The day was sunny and warm and I was extremely grateful for the perpetually nice weather in Foggy Basin on this particular day—the day Celestial Cask was set for its grand reopening.
It was a beautiful Saturday, warm and breezy, with just enough cloud cover to make the sunshine feel manageable.
Paxton paced back and forth, checking on the same things for the thousandth time.
“You okay?” I asked as he quadruple-checked that the meads on the tap line were all pouring correctly.
He nodded, not looking at me. “I’m good.” He sipped from the glass he’d poured into and grimaced. “Do you think the raspberry mead is too tart?”
I stepped behind the bar and placed my hand on his to lower it. “I think it’s perfect, especially for a mead called Piece of My Tart.”
He hummed, clearly unconvinced.
“Hey.” When he looked at me, I pulled him in for a quick kiss. “It’s perfect. Everything is perfect. This is going to be great.”
With a frown, his brows furrowed, Paxton nodded. “If you say so.”
“I do. So there.”
He glanced at the clock above the main entrance. “It’s time.”
It was noon on the dot. Time to open the doors and let the long line of waiting patrons into the taproom.
“I’ll go let the team know.” I hurried to the breakroom—something Pax had insisted on including—and my heart swelled as I spotted the ten employees sitting around a table, shooting the shit and waiting for our cue. The room fell silent as I entered. “Alright, team. It’s noon. Go time.”
Without hesitating, they all got up, pushed their chairs in, and took their places.
Tommy was going to lead the outdoor bar and Matty was leading the front of the house.
Everyone else was to follow their instructions.
Today was supposed to be a day of celebration and light lifting for Paxton.
Knowing him, though, I doubted he’d relax until we got home, and maybe not even then.
I returned to the taproom to find Paxton opening the front doors and stepping outside to welcome the crowd. I followed him as he clapped his hands together and projected his voice so he could be heard even at the back of the very long line.
“Hi everyone. My name is Paxton and I’m one of the owners here.
” My heart fluttered as he spoke. He’d named me a partial owner not long after my permanent relocation to Foggy Basin, just a little more than six months ago.
“Thank you so much for being here today for our grand reopening. It means a lot to us. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask any of the staff.
Thank you again, and we’ll see you inside! ”
A little cheer went up as Paxton stepped back and let the crowd enter.
Many people thanked him as they stepped over the threshold, some shaking his hand or fist-bumping him.
There were a variety of people coming in—families, couples, groups, and even a good handful of individuals who seemed to be mostly alone.
The day started out hectic and continued to be hectic, people coming and going nonstop.
We didn’t get a single moment to steal a kiss in the office, much to my disappointment.
I was happy for Paxton, though, happy for us.
This was everything he’d dreamed of for years and years. It was finally coming true.
I circulated throughout the day, greeting people and checking in.
Between Tommy, Matty, Paxton and me, I knew the least about mead, so I deferred the harder questions to the others, but I kept up with the crowd and made sure everyone had everything they needed and the groups were having a good time.
Once I made it outside, I stopped by the outdoor bar—affectionately labeled Paul’s Place—where two of our bartenders poured mead almost nonstop, schmoozing with customers and convincing people to try new things.
By the time the clock struck nine that night and we were clearing people out, I was exhausted. Once the doors were shut, I did steal a kiss from Paxton, and he kissed me deeply, thrusting his tongue in my mouth and teasing me in a way that made my toes curl and my cock ache.
“Soon,” he whispered. “We’ll be home soon.”
I laughed softly and nodded, pressing my forehead to his. “You’re not going to be too tired?”
He shook his head gently. “For you? Never.”
Those words, full of promise, also made my cock throb with desire. You can do it, I told myself. Less than an hour left.
That hour passed quickly and soon we were walking home, hand-in-hand, down the path to what I still sometimes thought of as Paxton’s place, the house we shared—ours.
Paxton shut the door behind us quickly and locked it before pulling me in for a bruising kiss, leaving me breathless and panting and desperate for more.
“Bedroom,” he muttered. “Now.”
I grinned and followed him to our room, where we found ourselves frantically stripping each other, hands getting tangled and in each other’s way.
One of my hands made it into his jeans before he could tug my shirt off and I reluctantly released him and raised my arms. I practically ripped his dress shirt off in my haste to unbutton it, and shoved it off of his shoulders and to the floor.
Finally, we parted long enough to step out of the rest of our clothes—jeans, underwear, socks—before coming back together in a passionate kiss.
He pulled me to the bed and sat on the edge while I stood, his hands sliding down to my ass as he did. “Ready?” he whispered as he trailed a finger along my crease. I hesitated to respond and he picked up on it immediately. "What's wrong?”
I was grateful for the dark room as I spoke, my cheeks flaring with heat.
“I was wondering… I mean, I know we’ve talked about it a little in the past, but…
maybe tonight… I could fuck you instead?
” Ever since we’d been together, we had kept our roles in the bedroom pretty consistent, though we’d recently begun experimenting with penetrating Paxton’s ass, too.
“God, are you serious?” His voice was breathless and strained.
“We don’t have to, if you don’t want—”
“No, I do. I really do.”
I groaned and nodded, my cock leaking precum, and I stepped away from him before shoving him back on the bed. I grabbed a bottle of lube from the drawer and tossed it to him. “Get yourself ready for me.” I had intended to sound bossy, but it came out thready and needy instead.
“Fuck, okay.” He hauled himself back onto the mattress and poured lube on his fingers before propping his legs on the bed and spreading his knees wide. Without breaking eye contact, he slid one hand down low, past his balls, to touch his hole with his fingertips. “Like this?”
“Jesus,” I muttered, almost worried I’d actually die of lust before I got a chance to be inside him.
I had to tear my gaze from his to watch his fingers disappear into his body, fucking himself slowly, again and again, first with one finger, then adding a second, and finally a third.
His cock stood at attention, resting against his belly, leaving smears of precum on his skin as he neglected it.
I took my own erection in my hand and watched him, stroking myself slowly as he used his fingers to open himself for me. The touch wasn’t enough to get me anywhere near close, just enough to make me more desperate.
Finally he nodded, almost imperceptibly, his eyes dark, and he removed his fingers from his hole. “Now,” he murmured.
I lunged forward, crawling onto the bed and attacking his mouth with mine, using my hand to line my cock up and slide between his cheeks where the lube had made his skin slick and ready. A second later, I took the lube bottle and spread more along my cock before pressing it against his hole.
Another nod from Paxton and I closed my eyes as I pushed inside him. He was tight, tighter than I’d imagined, and his body was so hot that it set a fire inside me. I knew I wouldn’t—couldn’t—last long.
I slid into him, the slick slide of my cock into his body making that fire grow deep in my gut, and began thrusting in and pulling out, not completely, just enough to feel his muscles tighten around the crown of my cock.
Pax arched his back and welcomed me inside, fucking his own fist as I fucked into his ass.
My pace increased quickly and the impossible heat ratcheted up, making the tension inside of me draw tighter and tighter, until I knew I didn’t have much longer. I pulled out completely, making Paxton gasp.
“What are you doing?” His voice sounded panicky.
“I’m close,” I said through gritted teeth, a death grip on the base of my cock as I tried to hold back my orgasm.
“Not like this,” he murmured. “Inside me. Please.”
“Fuck.” I plunged my cock back inside his body, hauling his hips higher and closer, and pounded into him desperately.
“I’m coming,” he murmured a few seconds later as his muscles tightened around me and his body stiffened, thick, white ropes spurting out onto his chest and stomach. His eyes were locked on mine. “Come inside me,” he said again.
It was too much to resist, and my orgasm tore through me, my cock swelling before it throbbed and pulsed inside him. I continued fucking him until the aftershocks had passed for both of us, and then I gently, reluctantly, pulled out and collapsed onto the bed next to him.
Paxton quickly pulled me over for a kiss, sucking my tongue into his mouth and making me moan.
After a long, slow kiss, he pulled back. “I should let you fuck me more often,” he said. “That was fucking hot.”
I laughed and kissed him once more. “Talk to me again tomorrow, when your ass is sore and you can’t quite get comfortable sitting down.”
“Worth it,” he said simply.
We were both quiet for a few moments before I looked at him, tracing my fingers along his collarbone.
“I’m glad you decided to stay.”
I frowned, my brow dipping in confusion. “Stay?” I hadn’t canceled a trip anytime recently that I could think of.
“Instead of going on the Fermentation Trail,” he clarified. “I’m glad you stayed here in Foggy Basin. I’m glad you decided it was worth it.”
“You’re worth it.”
He shrugged but I could see his blush even in the dim light of the bedroom. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
The End