Chapter Five
Early the next morning, Jackson pulled into Mansfield Park’s parking lot.
When they got out, he grabbed Henry’s tennis bag from the back of his Jeep.
Henry took his hand, leading him over to a group of four people near the fence.
He recognized one of them as the man who had built his shelves, Justin, he believed his name was.
They all turned to look at them when they approached.
“Jackson.” Justin shook his hand. “Good to see you again.”
“You too, Justin.” The man smiled at him, and he was relieved he’d gotten the name right.
“This is my boyfriend, William, our other tennis star.”
“Star might be overselling my abilities.” William chuckled, taking Jackson’s hand. “Hi.”
“I’m Maddox,” the tallest of the men introduced himself. “This is my husband, Emmanuel.” Jackson picked up on the love in Maddox’s voice when he said his name.
“Come on, Henry, we need to get a couple of practice swings in before we face Morrison and Burns.” William nodded toward an empty court.
Jackson handed Henry his bag before kissing his cheek. “Good luck.” Damn, the way Henry smiled before he jogged off was simply captivating.
“Let’s go snag some seats.” Maddox seemed to be in a leadership role in the friend group. “So, Major,” he said when they’d sat, “how long have you been a Marine?”
“Twenty-two years,” Jackson answered.
“That’s quite impressive,” Emmanuel said. “You must really love it.”
“It’s pretty much all I’ve ever known.” Jackson shrugged. “But yeah, I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
“What would you do if you retired from the military?” William asked in what seemed like a nonchalant fashion.
“I honestly haven’t thought about it. But thankfully that’s not something I have to worry about for quite a long time.”
“So, when are you leaving?” Maddox asked. His question sounded casual, but he knew it wasn’t. None of Henry’s friends wanted to see him get hurt.
“I’m not sure. I suppose as soon as I’m ready to deploy,” he responded.
“Do you deploy a lot?” Justin spoke, and all three of them looked at him.
“Yes,” Jackson admitted.
“Have you and Henry talked about this?” was Justin’s next question.
“We have. Believe me, I don’t want him to get hurt any more than you guys do.”
“How—” Maddox’s question was cut off by the loudspeaker.
“Alright, tennis fans, it’s time for an exciting match between two incredible teams. Let’s give a huge round of applause for Morrison and Burns versus Andrews and Harper.”
The bleachers broke out in thunderous clapping. Jackson found himself doing the same. He couldn’t wait to see Henry play. Both teams took their places on the court. Henry and William tapped their rackets together, then Henry’s demeanor turned completely serious.
The game was intense. Morrison and Burns were just as good as Henry and William.
The lead changed over and over; the score was always only a single point difference.
Jackson was caught up watching his temporary boyfriend.
Fuck, he was gorgeous. The way his arm muscles flexed, the power and precision of his swing, his calves as he moved around the court, every bit of that was a huge turn-on. He couldn’t take his eyes off the man.
Henry and William won game one, and Jackson was on his feet cheering the moment the winner was announced.
They lost game two by two points. Match three had Jackson on the edge of his seat.
With every volley, he felt his anxiety rising.
Back and forth the ball went, and his eyes followed.
On match point, Jackson held his breath.
Either Morrison or Burns hit the ball just out of William’s reach, winning the game.
He watched as Henry and William jogged over to the net to shake hands with their opponents. As they laughed, one of the men put his hand on Henry’s arm. Even though it was probably no more than a friendly gesture, Jackson didn’t like it.
Justin laughed and slapped him lightly on the back. “We should go console our boyfriends.”
Jackson nodded, surprised by how good that sounded. He and Justin walked on to the court. As soon as they reached them, he slipped his arm around Henry’s shoulders. Henry smiled at him, and he finally felt the green-eyed monster retreat.
“You guys take care.” The two opponents shook Henry and William’s hands then walked away.
“You two were great today,” Justin announced, pulling William into his arms.
“You really were,” Jackson agreed.
“Thanks.” Henry leaned against him.
“I’m starving,” William declared. “I need consolation pancakes.”
Justin laughed. “Okay, baby. Waldens good with you guys?”
“Waldens works.” Maddox led the six of them out to the parking lot after picking up Henry and William’s equipment, where they made their way to their separate cars.
“Were my friends nice?” Henry asked once Jackson started the engine.
“Yeah, they seem like good guys.” Jackson put his hand on Henry’s knee. “You, on the other hand, were sexy as hell out there.”
“Was I now?” Henry’s voice was incredibly flirty.
“Yeah, I find athletic skill to be an incredible turn-on.” Jackson shook his head.
“Not like I needed any more reasons to want you.” Henry giggled as he pulled his Jeep into the spot next to the Mustang Maddox and Emmanuel were getting out of.
A few spots away, Justin was parking his truck.
Jackson took Henry’s hand, following his friends into Waldens.
“Can we sit outside?” Emmanuel asked.
When no one objected, Maddox made the request to the hostess. They were shown out to a patio table and given menus to peruse. In no time, a cheery waiter came over to take their order.
“How do you like the cabinets we made for you Jackson?” Maddox asked him when the other man had gone.
“They’re great. My entire living room looks so much better,” Jackson answered. “Henry told me you guys helped him remodel his place too. From what I’ve seen, you do incredible work.”
Justin laughed. “Now that was a project.”
“It wasn’t that bad.” Henry rolled his eyes.
“Henry, we basically gutted the house and started over.” Maddox laughed as well.
Jackson chuckled. “Why did you buy a house you didn’t like?”
“I loved the neighborhood, and the outside facade. The inside, well, it just wasn’t me.” Henry shrugged with a grin. “But that wasn’t really a concern. When you’re an interior designer, and your two best friends own a contracting company, it’s a pretty easy fix.”
“Have you seen his bathroom?” Emmanuel asked Jackson. “It’s pretty next level.”
“Yeah, it kind of bummed me out. I had mine remodeled a few years ago, but Henry’s is a thousand times better. I’m incredibly jealous.”
Maddox grinned. “Thanks for the compliment, man.”
“How about you, Emmanuel? What do you do?” Jackson asked.
“I own an accounting firm.”
Jackson watched as Maddox wrapped his arm around Emmanuel’s shoulders. “An incredibly successful accounting firm,” the man interjected.
Damn. Had he ever seen a couple so in love? “How long have you two been married?” he asked.
“Seven months,” Emmanuel answered.
Easy conversations went on around them. Jackson liked Henry’s friends.
They seemed like a great group of guys, loyal and easy to get along with.
He especially liked Emmanuel. He reminded Jackson of a young sergeant he’d deployed with.
Sergeant Ronald Melvin had introduced him to classical music.
He’d played violin his whole life and was amazing at it.
They were deployed when Melvin’s birthday came around, so Jackson ordered a violin for his friend.
The gratitude and excitement on the kid’s face had been exactly what he needed to ease the stress of the situation they were in.
Violin music helped him relax from that day forward.
He readily accepted when Emmanuel invited him to join himself and William for a small concert scheduled for the following week.
Henry leaning against him made the experience even better.
Damn, this man was blowing up everything he thought he knew about what he wanted.
He’d never met anyone quite like Henry. No one had ever made him feel this possessive neediness.
He needed to be careful. The last thing he wanted was Henry, or himself, getting hurt.
It was just after nine when Henry knocked on Jackson’s door. “Hey, Henry.” Jackson kissed the man’s cheek. “You look beat, you sure you’re up for hanging out tonight?”
“Definitely.” Henry smiled. “I’ll consider this my reward for getting through today.” He winked.
“Good. Have you eaten?” Henry’s stomach rumbled on cue. “I’ll take that as a no,” Jackson chuckled. “I made pasta earlier. I’ll heat some up for you.” He led the way to the kitchen. “Tell me about your day,” Jackson said as he heated the food.
“I just had four jobs that I had to finish up today and the last one was brutal.”
“Why?” Jackson wondered.
“The lady decided that she hated the colors she picked, so she got mad at me. I had tried to steer her away from that palette, but she was insistent.”
“What color did she choose?”
“Bright orange.” Henry cringed.
“Who the hell wants bright-orange walls?”
“As I said, she was adamant.” Henry shook his head. “She said she wanted a room that reminded her of the sun. I suggested something more subtle, but she refused. She said she needed her living space to be as vibrant as her.”
“Sounds like she got what she paid for.” Jackson shrugged.
Henry pulled out his phone and scrolled through his pictures until he found the one he was looking for. “Here, look.”
Instead of taking the phone, Jackson leaned closer to Henry to look. “That’s a very aggressive orange,” he commented.
“Yeah,” Henry managed, the heat of Jackson’s body distracting him. Their mouths were just inches apart. “Jackson,” he whispered.
Jackson squeezed his bicep. “Eat,” he instructed. “Then I have a surprise for you.”
“Oh really? Is it a sexy surprise?”
“If you’re up for it.” Jackson still had his hand on Henry’s arm, caressing his skin with his thumb.