Chapter 21
The next morning, Bailey planned to be up first, but Joey beat him to it. Finding him playing in the living room, Bailey kissed the top of his little head. "Good morning. I guess you wanted to help me make breakfast."
"Pancakes!" Joey said. He was a big fan.
Bailey one-upped that. "Big pancakes."
"As big as the pan?" Joey asked even happier now.
"I was thinking Matt might like them," Bailey said.
"He will," Joey assured him.
He was helping Bailey get what he needed when Matt came in. "I'm the last one up?"
"Dad is making special pancakes, and you have to like them," Joey said.
"Special, huh?" Matt said and he poured himself some coffee.
"We're celebrating something," Bailey told him and then answered Matt's questioning look. "You."
"Is it Matt's birthday?" Joey wanted to know.
"No, it's not," Matt told him.
"We're celebrating that Matt and I are boyfriends," Bailey told Joey. He would have told him that they were just dating to ease him into it, but he was following Matt's plan. Hearing the word boyfriend, Matt looked so happy though he got anxious when Joey didn't say anything.
"So you OK with us being boyfriends?" Bailey asked him.
"Yeah. I like Matt and I like you, Daddy," Joey said. "And big pancakes."
Bailey hugged him. "You're my good boy. I'm putting chocolate chips in these pancakes." He then turned to Matt. "Tell me we have chocolate chips."
"We have these," Matt said with a grin and held up a bag of M&M's.
"Even better," Bailey said and Joey agreed.
They had their pancakes, which they were now calling boyfriend pancakes. After breakfast, Bailey had to get to work, but he was coming up with a plan for the weekend. There was a resort just up the coast that looked very tempting but he wanted to know what Matt thought about it.
When Matt poked his head in the office to ask about lunch, Bailey asked him, "How does Crescent Cove Resort sound for this weekend?"
"Wow, really? Sounds nice," Matt said. "Is Joey coming?"
"No, it's just the two of us," Bailey said.
"Gwen likes staying over here, but she won't have the whole weekend off," Matt said.
"We'll figure something out," Bailey told him.
The plan was for Gwen to drop off Joey with either Chad and Franco or with Louise's parents when she was busy. Joey was all set and excited to spend time with his friends and Gwen, and Matt and Bailey were on their way to Crescent Cove.
The early morning drive was nice and they arrived as the sunrise was coloring the sea and the sky. The resort buildings were white along the beach, with the little beach bungalows scattered to the edge of the cove.
"One of those is ours," Bailey said and they went to check in.
It turned out that their bungalow was the last one so they had the rocky edge of the cove on one side.
Matt pointed to it. "We're climbing that."
"You're on," Bailey told him. He wanted to do all kinds of things with Matt this weekend.
Going inside the bungalow, they found it was just one big, very comfortable room with a big bed and a bathroom with a very large tub. "That was clearly meant for two," Bailey said though looking at Matt, it would be a tight fit.
The tub had a view of the ocean and Bailey couldn't wait to share it with Matt, tight fit or not. There were so many other things he wanted to share with Matt too.
They started their day with a swim and they kissed in the water. Then it was a walk along the cove that ended with them climbing those rocks at the edge. It was fun and exhilarating and they celebrated with a long kiss at the top.
After lunch they hiked up the hills that ran along the cove. Walking up a winding path, they ended up among trees and then stood on the ridge and took in the view. They were there just in time to watch the light turn golden and the ocean change color as the sun set.
Back at the bungalow, they dressed for dinner. Bailey gazed at that huge bathtub and Matt noticed and put his arms around him from behind. "I'd offer to skip dinner, but I'm too hungry," Matt said.
"I wouldn't ask you to do that. It will have to wait," Bailey said as he leaned back against Matt. "It gives us something to look forward to."
Before dinner, they had cocktails in the resort lounge and Bailey barely took one step away from Matt when a guy started hitting on him, telling him, "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
He might have been right about that, but Bailey didn't want any guy saying that to Matt other than him. Then Matt told the guy, "I'm here with him and very happy about it." He put his arm around Bailey and grinned at him.
The guy said something about Bailey being a lucky dog and he couldn't dispute that either. He couldn't get all worked up about guys or anyone hitting on Matt though. It was bound to happen and he just had to handle it gracefully and not get jealous.
When it came to being jealous, Matt didn't restrain himself. A guy at the bar noticed Bailey and asked, "Are you here by yourself?"
Bailey was going to answer, but Matt jumped in. "No. He is not. We're together."
Bailey smiled at him. He liked hearing that, but on the way to dinner, he still asked, "Planning to work on that jealousy?"
"Sorry. I never had anyone to be jealous about. I just want to warn everyone off," Matt admitted.
Matt must not have gotten jealous over his ex, but Bailey wasn't about to bring him up or his own very lukewarm ex. He only wanted to enjoy Matt, even his jealousy.
Their dinner was delicious and Bailey could tell Matt loved every bite. "You were hungry," he said.
"Even if I wasn't, this is really good. You know how to treat a guy," Matt said.
"Every second of this is a treat for me," Bailey told him. He couldn't get enough of Matt, every look from him, every smile, every sound of satisfaction as he savored his food and later when they made love in the tub, splashing water everywhere.
Wet and dripping, Bailey was straddling Matt and kissing him. "I want to go everywhere with you," Bailey said.
"Fine by me," Matt said with a smile. "All I need is just to be with you. I love you."