Morgan laughed and hugged Michael. “We’ll be nearby in a hotel, okay?”
“No. Not okay. Stay in my apartment. Somebody has to feed my cat; it’s been months.”
“What? You have a cat?”
“No, but your faces were worth it. Although I do think there will be some goldfish that need to be flushed.”
“Jesus, Michael …” Robert laughed.
*~~~*
School was back in session and Tanner’s first day of college was going well. He had quite a few classes with Mark and others with Damon and Tyler. It was nice already knowing people and it made the transition easier. A few times he had to stop and catch his breath on his way to class. His stitches were gone, but he was still sore. Right now, though, he was on his way to the dorm to see Josh.
He smiled as he walked. It was nice to have an older boyfriend. He passed Josh’s roommate Chris on his way who told him the room was open. He walked down the hall and went into the room. He threw his backpack down and plopped on the couch.
“Hey, who are you?”
Tanner looked up and found an older guy looking at him. “I’m Josh’s boyfriend.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, Tanner.” Tanner stood up and put his hand out.
“Ian.”
“You know Josh?” Tanner stepped away. He didn’t know this guy and after what had happened with Daniel, he wasn’t getting too close to anyone he didn’t know.
“Yeah, I do. Sort of, anyway. I’m fucking his roommate.”
Ian stepped closer and Tanner took another step back.
“Interesting. Well, I’ll let him know you came by.” Tanner opened the door so Ian could leave.
Ian closed it and pushed Tanner into the wall. “What’s your hurry to get rid of me?”
Tanner tried to push him off, but since the injury he hadn’t been able to work out and had become weaker.
“Get off me!” he shouted, shoving Ian as hard as he could manage.
The next thing he heard was a yell and then Josh had Ian pinned on the ground, his hand around his throat. Ian’s face was the very picture of shock and he was gasping for air. The feral look of fury in Josh’s eyes scared the shit out of him.
“Josh, stop!” Tanner tried to pull him off. “You’re going to kill him!”
Josh either didn’t hear him or didn’t care, because he was fixated on watching the life drain from Ian’s body.
“Josh, PLEASE!” Tanner cried.
It seemed to Josh that he heard Tanner from very far away. He looked down at Ian’s face. Reality hit and he let go, stood and turned. Tanner was crying, his face in his hands.
“You’re fucking crazy, Josh!” Ian rasped, grabbing his throat.
Josh turned around slowly. “Yeah, I am, Ian. You touch him again and you’ll be in hell, joining the last man who put his hands on him.”
“Jesus, Reynolds! I wouldn’t have raped him!” Ian looked from Tanner to Josh, astonished.
“Get out.” Josh pushed him out the door.
Tanner grabbed his backpack. “I need to go.”
“Tanner, wait.” Josh followed him down the hall and outside. “Tanner! Please, stop!”
“What was that? That wasn’t even you, Josh!” Tanner put his backpack on his car.
“What do you want me to say, Tanner, that I lost it? Okay, fine. I lost it. I had to protect you.”
“You didn’t even hear me, Josh. I was screaming at you to stop and you didn’t even hear me!”
“Look, I’m in therapy just like everyone else. I’ll bring this up, okay? I lost it. He was touching you and holding you against your will. I had to do something.”
“Like that? You almost killed him! Why like that, Josh?”
“Because I love you, okay? Because this time I could do something about the situation!” Josh yelled.
Tanner’s mouth fell ajar. “You love me?”
“Yes.” Josh came closer and took Tanner’s hand. “I love you so much, Tanner.”
Tanner held on tightly. Josh’s lips warmed his neck and then they were kissing. Tanner wrapped his arms around Josh, hoping to soothe him.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Josh whispered.
Tanner found his lips again and kissed him lightly. “I love you, too.”
“You do?”
“I am so in love with you.” Tanner put his arms around his neck, as he kissed him slowly. Josh picked him up and put him on the hood of his car.
“How about I take you out to dinner? That sound good?” Josh searched Tanner’s eyes.
“Yeah, that does sound good.” Tanner palmed Josh’s face.
“After today, I won’t be in the dorm anymore so you don’t ever have to come back here, okay?”
“I think that’s good; keeps the people safe.” Tanner tried to joke.
“Yeah, well, I was trying to give Jay and Greg some privacy, but shit, it’s my house as much as Jay’s. So I think I’ll move to the master bedroom on the other side of the house.”
“Good! Then maybe you’ll make love to me.” Tanner smiled and wrapped his legs around Josh.
“There’s no ‘maybes’ about it.” Josh kissed him slowly, their tongues wrapped around each other.
Tanner broke the kiss. “So … dinner?”
“Where do you want to go?” Josh ran a hand through Tanner’s hair.
“How about Sal’s?” Tanner pulled Josh in closer and ran his hand up his chest.
“We could do Sal’s. Sounds good. You want to follow me home?”
“Yeah, I can do that.” Tanner hugged Josh again, holding on tight.
“I am so sorry, Tanner. I never want you to be afraid of me. I just — I couldn’t stop Daniel in time and now I have this need to protect you at all costs.”
“I understand, Josh. I’ve just never seen you like that.” Tanner palmed his face.
“Well, I’m in love with you and I never felt that way before. This is new to me.”
“It’s new to me, too. I’ve never been in love until now.”
Josh kissed him again and Tanner explored his mouth. He loved the feel of Josh’s tongue on his own and he pushed in further.
“We need to go before I take you on your car,” Josh breathed.
“That’s sexy.”
“Come on,” Josh laughed.
Chapter Three
Damon and Tyler had a very strange first day of college. Tyler wondered whether there was a sign at the airport screaming “Come to Fort Worth! Gays are welcome!” Or maybe an interstate sign in rainbow shades. His gaydar pinged all day, and he had to tell at least ten people that he was married. When he met Damon later, he had noted the same thing.
“Okay, this is weird.” Damon looked around.
“No shit. Do you know how many times today I’ve said ‘I’m married’?”
“You too, huh? I mean, did they advertise somewhere?”
Tyler cracked up. “Oh, baby, you are just the hottest gay man around. It’s a magnetic pull!”
“Um, no. I am the second; my husband is the hottest.” Damon pulled him in and kissed him.
“Ah, this must be the husband.”
Damon turned and eyed a guy about his height checking out Tyler.
“Um, yeah. Matt, this is my husband, Damon.”
“Well holy hell, no wonder you two got married.” Matt was eyeing Damon appreciatively. “You are just … mmmm mmmm mmmm … I’m loving it.”
“Flamboyantly gay, are we?” Damon didn’t need gaydar for this guy.
“I don’t hide who I am, sweetheart.” Matt looked him over. “Mmm, damn.”
“Well, all righty then. It was a pleasure meeting you, Matt.” Damon shook his hand.
“Oh, the pleasure is all mine.” Matt licked his lips and ogled Damon slowly from head to toe.
“Okay. Tyler, you ready?” Damon elbowed his husband. “Tyler?”
“Oh! Yeah. I’m ready. See you later, Matt.” Tyler waved.
“
I hope I see you first. Shake that ass, honey!” Matt watched them walk away.
They got to the car and Tyler busted out laughing. “The look on your face was priceless.”
“That’s not fair! You spent a whole class with him and knew what he was like. I got thrown in all at once.”
“Aw, poor baby.” Tyler palmed his face. “I can make it up to you.”
Damon growled and pushed him on the hood of the car. “With cake?”
Tyler pulled him down and kissed him. “With whatever you want.”
*~~~*
Greg’s senior year of high school was turning out to be pretty funny from the get go. First, he had to explain that his boyfriend was younger. A few laughed about it until they saw Jay in person. Then the laughter turned to envy.
Then, he noticed an obvious increase in gay students this year as well. That surprised Greg quite a bit since Sabino’s reputation was for bullying gay students. Things had changed since Paul was there, though, and had told everyone to leave Jay alone. And of course he and Jay nipped any kind of gay bashing in the bud. Between the two of them, not many people were willing to say shit.
“So, Greg, senior year — who are you dating?”
Greg snickered. Rob was a moron and not gay. So Greg loved to fuck with him.
“The same guy I dated last year.” Greg smiled.
“Little Jay Reynolds?” Rob laughed.
“Oh, yeah. I forgot you lived with your mom most of last year. Haven’t seen Jay at all, have ya?”
“Nope, been looking for him though. He’s kinda hard to spot. Little, tiny guy.”
Greg smiled as Jay headed their way. He winked at Greg.
“How’s my older and hotter boyfriend?” He leaned in and kissed Greg.
‘Hey, he’s got a guy!” Rob did a double take. “Wait — Reynolds?”
“Yeah. Hey is that you, Rob?”
“Holy shit.” Jay was taller than him and probably outweighed him by a lot.
“I keep hearing that,” Jay laughed and took Greg’s hand. “So what’s up? We going home?”
“You guys live together?”
“No, not really, but I spend all my time at Jay’s house so that’s where I go all the time. We have therapy in half an hour, so chop chop, Munchkin.” Greg smacked his ass.
“Yeah, wasn’t Paul Greystone’s boyfriend cut up or something?” Rob eyed the two of them.
“Yeah, so was my brother’s.”
“Josh Reynolds has a boyfriend? Wow.”
“Why is that such a shock? It’s Tanner.” Jay cocked a brow.
“McKinley dates your brother? Josh is one hell of a prize, man.”
“I thought you were straight, Rob.” Greg eyed him suspiciously.
“Shut up, even straight guys can find other men attractive.”
“Uh huh. Come outta the closet, Rob. We gotta go, see you tomorrow!”
*~~~*
Heath was at the computer doing his biology homework. Stefan was on the floor playing with toys and being extra quiet for Daddy. Heath smiled at the sight. He finished up his assignment and then crawled up behind Stefan. He tickled his back and got a tiny giggle.
“I got you.” Heath rolled him over and Stefan covered his face.
“Peek-a-boo.” Heath covered his face.
Stefan took his hands away and laughed. “Boo!”
“You scared me,” Heath laughed and grabbed Stefan and kissed his tiny mouth. “Daddy loves you.”
“Love.” Stefan looked at him.
“Can you say ‘I’?”
“I.” Stefan smiled and took Heath’s hand.
“Love.”
“Love.”
“You!’
“You!”
“There! Now say, ‘I love you’.” Heath held him tight.
“Love Daddy.”
“Aw, baby, Daddy loves you, too.” Heath hugged him hard and placed a kiss on his cheek. “You want a snack? You were so quiet for Daddy! That deserves a treat.”
“Cake!” Stefan clapped his hands together.
“Let me check the fridge.” Heath checked the fridge — there was one small piece left. He took it out and put it on a plate. “Look, last piece.”
Caleb came in from work and Stefan ran to him. “Daddy Too!”
“Hey, little man, how was your day?” Caleb kissed his cheek and hugged him.
“Love Daddy.” Stefan smiled and palmed Caleb’s face.
“Well that’s new.” Caleb looked at his son. “Daddy loves you, too.”
“Hey, there’s one last piece of our wedding cake. What say we spilt it among the three of us?” Heath grabbed a fork.
“Sounds good. We going out for dinner tonight?”
“Nope, I cooked dinner this morning.” Heath nodded to the slow cooker.
“I married Betty Crocker?”
“It’s called a slow cooker; it’s a roast.”
“Mmm.” Caleb came up behind Heath and wrapped his arms around him. “He’s sexy and he cooks.”
Heath’s arm went behind his neck and he kissed Caleb slowly. “I missed you today.”
“I missed you, too,” Caleb breathed in his ear.
They heard Stefan giggling and looked at the table. The cake was gone.
“You ate all the cake!” Heath laughed and picked him up. Icing covered his little face. “Sneaky little cake monster!”
“Cake!” Stefan giggled and squirmed.
Heath put him down and he ran. They followed him to the bathroom and he smiled.
“Bath.” Stefan tried to take off his little overalls.
“Hang on, lil buddy.” Caleb picked him up. “Where’s Daddy Too’s kiss?”
Stefan laughed and kissed Caleb right on the mouth, squishing the icing into his face.
“Hey, that’s pretty good.” Caleb smiled. “Okay, let’s get you in the tub.”
“You’re sexy with icing on your face.” Heath smiled, he leaned in and lightly kissed Caleb.
Caleb pulled him in hard and wiped the icing all over Heath. He kissed him.
“Hmm, looks like we’ll be in the tub as well.”
Caleb smiled. “Oh yeah! Our tub with the jets!”
“Rawr!”
*~~~*
Mark had seen most of the group over the course of the day. He had a class with Damon, two with Tyler, and saw Tanner at lunch. Right now he was on his way to meet Paul. As he walked down the hall, someone yanked him into a janitorial closet. His heartbeat increased and he panicked and tried to get out.
“Hey, it’s me!” Paul flipped on the light. Mark’s face showed abject terror. “Oh God! Baby, I’m sorry! I wasn’t thinking!”
Mark exhaled slowly and tried to slow his heart rate. “No, it’s okay, babe. Just took me by surprise.”
Paul hugged him close. “I should have thought this through. Fuck!”
“Turn off the light.” Mark smiled and unbuttoned Paul’s shirt.
Paul turned off the light. His clothing was off in seconds flat and Mark’s mouth was on his cock. Palming his balls and sucking his cock with force, he ran his tongue up the shaft before he replaced it with his hand. Then he really went to work.
Paul’s head fell back and he grabbed onto the shelving for support. “God, Mark!” His hips bucked into Mark’s mouth and Mark was pushing him in with the free hand on his ass. Paul fisted his hair and Mark increased the suction, his tongue flicking his sensitive head and then taking him deep again. Paul’s cock was getting ready to explode and he held on as he cried out, his hips jerking while Mark sucked him dry.
“Ready to go home, baby?” Mark kissed him hard.
“I love college.”
*~~~*
Josh was in the kitchen, waiting on Tanner to finish in the shower. He had been in there for ten minutes.
He heard the doorbell, and found Chris on the porch, fidgeting. “So, I talked to Ian.”
Josh walked back to the kitchen. “Yeah, and what?”
“He said you almost
killed him, Josh.”
“He put his hands on Tanner, Chris. He was scared to death!”
“Look, he was just playing around. He had no intention of hurting Tanner — besides he didn’t know what happened until I told him. He feels like shit, Josh.”
“Good,” Josh snapped.
“He’s not like that, Josh; it won’t happen again.”
“Oh, I know it won’t, because Tanner will never be anywhere near the dorm again, and neither will I.”
“Are we still friends?” Chris asked hesitantly.
“Of course we are.” Josh smiled and extended his hand for Chris to shake.
“Good. I’ll see you later, okay?” Chris gave a relieved smile and left.
Josh went to his room and caught Tanner getting dressed. He watched as he tried to button his pants, the angry-looking scars visible on his torso.
“Hey, I got it.” Josh walked over and buttoned Tanner’s pants. He ran his hands up Tanner’s chest feeling the raised skin on his scars. “You’re so beautiful, Tanner.”
“Take off your shirt,” Tanner whispered. “I want to feel your skin on mine.”
Josh took his shirt off and pulled Tanner into his arms. He felt his bare skin on his chest and sighed. He loved being this close to Tanner, feeling his heartbeat, his breath on his chest. He looked down into those incredible eyes and kissed him. He felt Tanner respond and he deepened the kiss pulling him up off the floor, running his hands up his back to hold him up. Tanner had a grip on him and the kiss was becoming more and more passionate.
Josh pulled away slowly leaving light kisses on Tanner’s lips. “You ready for dinner?” Josh set him down.
Tanner smiled and pulled his shirt on. “Yep, I’m ready.”
They strolled hand-in-hand through Sundance Square, window shopping. They finally entered Sal’s and took a booth. After they ordered, Josh regaled Tanner with tales from the day’s classes. He had a lot more free time now that his class load was cut in half and he worked shorter hours at the law firm.
“I have a lot more time to be with you now.” Josh smiled and took Tanner’s hand.
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