This Time Around (Road to Blissville, #4)

by Aimee Nicole Walker

  “Ha! You admit it.”

  “She’s mean as a snake,” Milo said dramatically. Then he blew me a kiss and walked away.

  I took my phone out of my pocket to text my mom. He said okay, but only after I promised him one of your chocolate silk pies. Oopsy.

  Atta boy, Andy, she fired back to me.

  I chuckled to myself as I went upstairs to get to work. Knowing I would get to spend time with Milo and my family put me in a good mood and made the day go by faster. I wanted to call the whole thing off when I picked up Milo at his house because he looked so handsome in his navy-blue pin-striped dress shirt and dark, denim jeans. In addition to looking good enough to eat, he appeared nervous.

  “You wouldn’t be so nervous if you knew the lengths my mother went to get you to dinner.”

  “Does that mean you’d rather I not go?” he asked then worried his full bottom lip between his teeth.

  “It means I wish we were both staying home alone, but maybe we can duck out early and watch a movie or something.”

  “Maybe. We’ll see how well you behave tonight,” Milo teased.

  When we arrived at my parents’ house, both Milo and I moaned.

  “What the hell?” I asked, pointing to the extra vehicles in the driveway. “Both sets of grandparents are here too?”

  “What’s going on?” Milo asked. “Are they upset with me? Is this an intervention to talk some sense into you?”

  “Hardly.” I snorted. “My mother called you Milo Miracle-Mason today. I don’t think she’s trying to scare you off. I think she’s going in the opposite direction, and she’s brought in the big guns to help her.”

  “I’m a sucker for your grandparents,” Milo said, smiling.

  “They still ask me about you every time I see them or talk to them on the phone,” I told him. “It’s going to be okay. We better get inside before Mom sees the time. I don’t want to go last in the food line.”

  “Always focused on your stomach,” Milo teased.

  “I can think of an organ that’s a lot more demanding at times.”

  I escorted Milo into my parents’ house and smiled as he was hugged and greeted warmly. I was expecting the same greeting, but Faith grabbed me by the ear and dragged me down the hallway before I could say hello.

  “Listen, Andy. Don’t fuck this up.”

  “What happened to Switzerland?” I asked.

  “You’re my brother, and I love you dearly, but I can’t help that we’re family. Milo is my chosen family, Andy. If you hurt him again, there will be no place you can hide from him, and our familial DNA won’t save your ass from me. Are we clear?”

  “Crystal.”

  I stayed in the hallway grinning like a loon after she left. I truly felt at home for the first time since I returned.

  At first, I was nervous after seeing that nearly all of Andy’s family was present for dinner. Were his aunts, uncles, and cousins on the way over too? But then Andy told me that his mom had tacked his last name onto mine, and I got nervous for a totally different reason.

  Andy and I were nowhere close to taking a big step like that. Did I hope that it would happen? I’d been dreaming of the day for as long as I could remember. For the better part of my life, I didn’t allow myself to believe it would happen though. Same sex marriages weren’t performed or recognized in Ohio until the Supreme Court ruling in 2015 stated that same-sex marriage bans were unconstitutional. I celebrated and cried with my family that day, but there was still a part of me that remained a little sad. The man I had dreamed of sharing a future with had disappeared from my life, so the victory was bittersweet. Little did I know at the time, but his return was right around the corner.

  Still, hearing that Andy’s family approved of us reconnecting made me feel so much better. Andy’s parents, Wendy and Andy Sr., and their parents, Janice, Norm, Dave, and Doris, all smiled happily when we walked through the door. It was like no time had elapsed when I greeted and hugged his parents and grandparents while Faith dragged Andy down the hall for a private chat. I saw the determination in her eyes and knew her decision to be Switzerland was over. It warmed my heart that they truly were happy to see the two of us together.

  I thought I had remembered every little detail about Andy Mason, but it seemed that a few things had slipped my mind, such as his love of barbecue ribs. I’m not just talking about a mild passion, I mean he tied a little plastic bib around his neck like you sometimes get in restaurants and went to town. He didn’t lick his fingers or act in a disgusting fashion, but he mowed through his plate like he was in a contest. Wendy Mason’s ribs were delicious, but they couldn’t hold a candle to mine. I decided to bide my time to reveal that particular skillset to Andy.

  I ate my dinner at a more leisurely pace and enjoyed a conversation with his family while Andy grunted his responses. Truth be told, his food grunt was very similar to his I’m-gonna-fill-you-up grunt, and my dick started to get ideas.

  “Are you still performing, Milo?” Janice asked me. Her big brown eyes looked huge inside her horn-rimmed glasses.

  That pulled Andy’s attention from his dinner. “Huh?” he asked around a mouthful of food.

  “Um, no.” Fuck! I didn’t expect this to come up over dinner and was ill-prepared.

  “That’s too bad,” her husband, Norm, said. “You were something else, kid.”

  “Thank you, sir. It was something fun to do while I was in college, but I don’t have much time for it now.”

  “You should make time,” Doris added. “You could be on that one show? What’s that called, Janice?”

  “America’s Got Talent?” Janice asked.

  “Not that one,” Doris replied. “The one where there’s singing and dancing.”

  “There is singing and dancing on America’s Got Talent,” Doris countered. “Do you mean American Idol? They don’t really dance on that show, do they?”

  “Not that one either. It’s on a cable network. I just can’t remember the name of it.”

  “What’s this all about?” Andy asked me after wiping his face with a napkin. “Why are you blushing like that?”

  “It was nothing, really,” I said, trying to discourage his interest. “Just a little something to pass the time and keep me from missing you.” Andy rolled his eyes because he thought I was trying to distract him. He wasn’t completely wrong.

  “The host’s name starts with an R,” Janice said. “Big tall fella.”

  Andy’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open when he realized where the conversation was heading.

  “Close your mouth, Andy. You have hunks of pork stuck in your teeth,” I told him.

  Andy covered his mouth with his napkin. “Do not,” he mumbled behind the cloth. That’s right, Wendy brought out the good napkins, dinnerware, and cutlery that she only used for special occasions like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and now my return to the fold. I preened just a little bit more but only on the inside, and only for a second, because I needed to avoid a potential disaster.

  “I’ve never seen anyone do a better Marilyn Monroe impersonation than Milo,” Dave said proudly.

  “Of course, that’s the routine you remember,” Doris said to her husband. “You still have a thing for her.”

  “Hey, she was a beautiful woman,” Dave countered. “I wouldn’t have traded you for her though.” Dave leaned over and kissed Doris’s cheek.

  “Oh, you,” Doris said, blushing prettily.

  “You might want to take lessons from Grandpa Dave,” I said, leaning into Andy. “He’s a smooth operator.”

  “Marilyn Monroe, huh?” Andy asked, smiling from ear to ear.

  “Among others,” I said proudly.

  “I never knew you wanted to do drag,” Andy said. He lifted his thumb and wiped something off the corner of my mouth. He held it up to show me a smear of barbecue sauce before he licked it clean. I could only blink at him because my blood was moving south in a hurry. “Milo?”

  “Oh, um… It was
something that just happened. I had fun doing it while in college, but I got so busy with work that I just kind of lost touch with my friends in the business.”

  “Who was your drag mother again?” Doris asked. “She was a real hoot.”

  “Dame Alotta Bang Bang was my drag mother,” I answered. “Lady Bea Trix was my drag grandmother. Both of them are retired, but we meet for lunch about once a month.”

  “What was your drag name, Milo?” Andy whispered in my ear. “Lady Likes Cocksalot?”

  “I’m not ready to reveal that to you yet,” I replied haughtily. “And none of you will either,” I said dramatically pointing my fork at each person gathered around the table. “I’ll share that information when I’m good and ready.”

  “Oh, I bet it was Good-N-Ready.”

  I leaned forward so that only he could hear me. “Why do you think I had slutty drag names? I was a classy lady, Andy.”

  He had the nerve to snort.

  “Keep it up, Slugger.”

  “Awwww,” Wendy said from the foot of the table. “It’s been so long since I heard that cute little nickname.”

  Andy reached for my hand beneath the table and gave it a firm squeeze before he resumed eating like it could be his last meal.

  After we finished dinner and cleared the table, I expected everyone to start returning to their homes since it was a work night, but everyone seemed reluctant to leave. I sat close to Andy on the couch while we continued to chat about our lives and get caught up. Andy kept drawing lazy circles on the base of my neck, making me acutely aware of his presence. It was hard to focus on the conversation with him touching me, but I somehow managed.

  When it was time to say goodbye, I soaked up all the love and well wishes before following Andy to his truck. He was quiet on the short drive to my house, but I didn’t have to wonder where his mind was because I could see the goofy grin on his face in the light from the dashboard.

  “Well, thanks for a lovely evening,” I said once his truck came to a stop in my driveway.

  “Whoa, where are you going so fast?” Andy asked when I reached for the door handle.

  “It’s getting late and I have to be at Books and Brew at five thirty in the morning,” I told Andy.

  “Can’t I even get a goodnight kiss?”

  I released a long, soft sigh because I knew damn well what the goodnight kiss would lead to. I didn’t want to go to bed without kissing Andy, but I also knew that he’d end up in my bed for the night if I leaned across that console and pressed my lips to his. Why did I suddenly feel so shy about that?

  Andy chuckled and shut off the truck when he saw that he was going to win the battle.

  “You’re getting awfully brazen, Andy,” I said, leading the way up to the door. I tried to sound huffy, but all I heard was horny. Damn him and my pitiful self-control.

  We barely had the door closed before he was on me. I knocked my glass tray off the table in my entryway when I tried to drop my keys on it. It shattered, pulling my attention briefly away from the hunk of man trying to peel me out of my clothes.

  “Sorry,” Andy said.

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Okay, I’m not. I’ll buy you a new one,” Andy offered as he maneuvered me toward the couch.

  Meow! Alli Cat heard her new favorite human’s voice and came running. I truly loved my cat, but I didn’t need her interrupting sexy time. I grabbed Andy’s hand and quickly led him to my room. “Hurry before she follows. The last thing I want to do is fight her off while I’m trying to ride your cock.”

  “This night just gets better and better,” Andy said huskily. “First, I get barbecue ribs, and now, I get you.”

  We stripped out of our clothes fast and met in the center of the bed. I wanted to push Andy to his back and ride him like I said, but he seemed content to kiss me slowly while his hands roamed over my body, making me whimper with want and need.

  “There’s no need to hurry,” he whispered against my lips, as he lazily stroked my cock.

  I couldn’t help but compare myself to Alli Cat when I first brought her home. She devoured her food so fast that she made herself sick, but she’d learned that eating fast meant survival. How much longer would I have Andy in bed? Would he get bored with living back in small town USA and leave again. Just the thought was enough to have tears burning in the back of my eyes. I wanted to feast on him while I still had the chance.

  “I’m not going anywhere, Milo,” Andy whispered. He must’ve sensed that my desperation was stemming from some place other than physical need. “I know it will take time for you to trust me again, but these past two years have taught me that I have limitless patience when it comes to you.”

  “Why does that feel more like a dig than a compliment?” I asked.

  “It’s probably a little bit of both,” Andy said after careful consideration. “There’s nothing wrong with making me work to earn your trust.”

  “But with one T…”

  “But, it might’ve been a little extreme. On both of our parts,” Andy added when I started to argue. “Let’s face it, we were both idiots.”

  A light laugh bubbled up from my chest. “We at least gave the town something to talk about while we sorted this out.”

  “Let’s change the narrative a bit, shall we?” The heat in Andy’s eyes made them practically glow. Playtime was over, kids.

  There was a notable difference between us in the way we moved, touched, and kissed compared to the other times we were together after he came back. The first two times were hot, angry fucks in a dark alley and the back of his truck. The encounters rocked my world but left me feeling empty afterwards. The previous night, after the run-in with the ghost, was more personal and tender, but still lacked something. Trust, maybe? Not that I worried Andy would physically hurt me in any way. I didn’t trust that his feelings for me were more than sexual because he wouldn’t confide in me. Trust was a two-way street, and it seemed like we were finally driving in the same direction.

  Andy took his time stretching me, kissing my closed eyelids and the tip of my nose before capturing my lips in a long kiss that made my toes curl. Even when I was good and ready for his cock, he didn’t stop. He kept alternating between teasing circles around the crinkled rim and gentle strokes deep inside that made my eyes roll back inside my head.

  “I forgot how much I love having my ass fingered,” I confessed.

  “I didn’t.”

  “I think I forgot how much I love your cock inside me too. Better remind me,” I teased.

  Andy rolled to his back, and I got my turn at ramping up his desire when I straddled his thick thighs and took my time massaging his balls and stroking his dick. I loved the way Andy’s body shook beneath mine before I rolled the condom on and lubed him up for the main event.

  Performing as a drag queen taught me many valuable lessons, and I used them on Andy that night. I was confident when I positioned Andy’s dick at my eager entrance, I mastered him like I did the stage when I sank down on his length, and I moved my hips gracefully and seductively as I drove us both to the brink of pleasure then shoved us over the edge.

  Andy was there to catch me when I fell, wrapping his arms around me and holding me safely against his chest. I forgot sex could be like this—a meeting of something spiritual rather than a random exchange of body fluids.

  “Do you want me to go home?” Andy whispered in my ear as I started to drift to sleep.

  “Hell no.” I lifted my head up and looked into his drowsy eyes. “Do you want to go home?”

  “Hell no.” Andy lifted his head and kissed my lips really quick. “I need to clean up though. Someone made a mess all over my chest and stomach.”

  “Which I’m wearing too after lying in it these past few minutes.”

  “Hey, at least we won’t have to argue about who’s sleeping in the wet spot.”

  I stiffened against him, because that wasn’t an argument I’d had with Andy since we’d never spent the night toge
ther. “True,” I said, hoping I sounded calmer than I felt. I tried to shake off my jealousy, but I felt it growing stronger instead.

  Andy’s eyes registered regret when he saw my reaction, but I didn’t want my pettiness to ruin our night. I gingerly eased myself off his still semi-erect penis and smiled as brightly as I could. “Shower with me?”

  It was another first, running soapy hands all over his gorgeous body and having him do the same for me. Our kisses were steamier than the hot water, and we realized we weren’t quite as tired as we first thought.

  Once we finally tumbled into bed, Andy spooned up behind my body. Instead of worrying how many other guys he’d shared after-sex cuddles with, I focused on how warm and content I felt. “I could get use to this,” I whispered in the dark.

  “Mmmmhmmm,” Andy said drowsily.

  I slept harder that night than I could ever recall in my life, and I knew it was mostly because of the human furnace pressed up against me. It wasn’t just because of the amazing orgasms either, it was a sense of rightness and belonging.

  I woke before Andy since I had to be up at four thirty. I wasn’t sure if I should wake him up or let him sleep. It wasn’t like he had to show up at our job site by a certain time, so I let him sleep. I took a quick shower to wake up, and then hoped for the best when I got dressed in the dark. I loved my job, but leaving Andy naked and alone in my bed was the hardest thing I’d ever done.

  Maegan arrived about an hour after I did. She stopped in her tracks and did a double take when she spotted me pulling a huge tray of muffins from the oven.

  “What?” I asked. Could she see a difference in me after one sappy night?

  “Did you get dressed in a hurry or in the dark?” she asked, pointing to my feet.

  I looked down and saw that I’d put on a black and gray sneaker on my right foot and a silver and navy sneaker on my left. I looked up at Maegan and smiled. “Both.”

  I was prepared to wear them the rest of the day rather than wake Andy up to ask him to bring the other two shoes. Luckily for me, Andy saw the mix-matched pair of shoes by the dresser, guessed what I’d done, and brought both shoes with him so I could change.