Love, Never-Ending
Flash Me Photos Portfolio #1
Michele Notaro
Copyright © 2018 by Michele Notaro
All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places or events are purely the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, actual events, establishments, businesses or locales is purely coincidental.
The amazing book cover was done by:
Soxsational Cover Art
http://www.soxsationalcoverart.com/index.html
This is a gay romance that contains adult language, adult situations, and sexual explicit material between three men. It is intended for ADULTS ONLY.
Prologue
Five Years Ago
Jax
“But you said we were going to get an apartment together.” I stared helplessly at my boyfriend, or maybe he was already my ex-boyfriend. “I thought we were happy, that you were happy.”
“I am happy, JJ, it’s just… I need to do this.”
I shook my head. “Why? Why now? Why after we made all these plans?”
He shrugged. “You know it’s something I’ve always talked about.”
Now he was just pissing me off. “That doesn’t mean anything! You also talked about living together, getting married, having a family, getting a dog, for fuck’s sake. You talked about those things, too! You talked about this like it was something crazy to do, like you’d never do it!”
“JJ, you know I love you, honey, you know that.”
The anger and hurt were filling me up, and my eyes pricked with unshed tears. But I’d be damned if I let him see me fall apart. “If you loved me, you’d stay. If you loved me, you wouldn’t be breaking up with me, you asshole.”
“JJ, come on, honey. Don’t be mad.”
“Don’t be mad? Are you fucking serious right now?” I picked up the pile of apartment pamphlets we’d been going through for weeks and threw them at him. He turned his head against the assault, but didn’t make a move to catch any of them. “We’ve been looking at apartments for weeks, and you don’t want me to get mad? I already put my notice in! I have to be out of my apartment in two weeks! I was supposed to stay with you until we moved! Now I have no place to go, and you don’t want me to be mad? You’ve been planning this the whole fucking time, and you don’t want me to be mad? What the fuck!”
“Jaxon, I’m sorr—”
“Just go.” He needed to get the fuck out of my apartment before I broke down.
“I talked to Alex and he said you could stay with him until you find a new place. You—”
“You talked to Alex?” My voice sounded harsh and he flinched back a little. “You fucking told our friend about this before you told me? Are you kidding me with this?”
“I just wanted to make sure you’d be okay—”
“How kind of you,” I said through clenched teeth before I turned away from him. “Please leave.”
“Honey, I—”
“Please get out. Now.” Don’t cry yet. Don’t cry yet. Don’t cry yet.
“JJ. Honey, please you have to understand—”
“Please get out of my apartment.” My voice was broken. I pushed the heels of my palms into my eyes to hold back the tears. He kept calling me honey, and it was messing with my head—no, not my head, my heart.
He put his hand on my shoulder. “Jaxon…” His voice sounded just as hurt and broken as mine. But that didn’t make sense, he was the one doing this to us, not me.
“Please, leave.” I shrugged off his touch even though all I wanted to do was turn around and bury my face in his chest, hold him to me and never let go. “Please… please leave.”
“Okay,” he whispered. “Call me if you need me.”
I held back any response to that until he slipped out the door, but as soon as it clicked shut, I fell to the ground and let my broken heart fall apart. I sobbed for what felt like hours. I didn’t understand how someone who claimed he loved me could do this to me. I didn’t understand why. He promised me forever, and he took it away in an instant. I’d trusted him more than I’d ever trusted anyone in my life, and he broke that trust. That was what hurt the worst, that he broke my trust. He’d led me to believe that we’d really be together, and he took that away. He made me think I could trust him with every part of me, and he left me.
When I finally picked myself up off the floor, I called my friend Alex and asked if he could help me pack up my shit. Then I called my phone service and had my number changed so he couldn’t call me again. Alex came over and helped me pack up the essentials before I followed him back to his place. I’d get the rest of my shit later.
I refused to talk to him before he left. I knew he’d kept trying to get ahold of me. He’d even showed up at my work a few times, but every time, my boss sent him away. Mutual friends told me when he was finally gone, and somehow I felt guilty that I wasn’t there to see him off. Maybe because we’d been best friends since we were kids; maybe because we’d shared a life together for years. Maybe because he’d been the love of my life, even if I wasn’t his.
It hurt more than I ever thought imaginable. But I needed to get past it. I needed to get over him. I just had to.
Chapter One
Five Years Later
Symon
I ran out of coffee this morning, and I knew I wouldn’t survive my shift at the firehouse—where my ambulance was stationed, thank you very much—unless I had some, so I had to make a pitstop at this coffee shop everyone at work always talked about. Supposedly The Chipped Mug was the best coffee shop in Baltimore—or it was according to all of my friends. Of course, when I drove past the place, all the street parking in front of it was taken, so it was probably crowded as fuck, but I didn’t want to chance taking the time to drive somewhere else considering all coffee places would be crowded at the crack of dawn. Okay, it was technically nine in the morning, but that was still early in my book!
I drove past the coffee shop and didn’t notice the turnoff for the little parking lot until it was too late. “Son of a bitch!” I kept driving, through a light until I found some street parking rather than turn around again. I sighed as I stepped out of my car and slammed the door shut, then made my way down the street, desperate for some coffee at his point. This place better be as good as everyone says!
When I came to the light, I hit the little crossing button and waited for the little thing to light up and tell me I could walk across the street. Once the thing lit up, I walked off the curb and took a step. Suddenly, I startled at the sound of screeching tires and yelling pedestrians behind me. I jumped back a step and threw my arms out, as if I could stop a moving car from running me over, but thank fucking god, the car stopped just shy of taking me out. My hands were on the hood, as if they too thought they could stop the car, and the bumper was less than an inch away from my knees. Holy fucking shit! This guy almost killed me!
The driver of the vehicle rolled down his window and yelled, “Watch where you’re going before you get yourself killed!”
I clenched my teeth in anger and stood up stiffly. “Me? Are you fucking kidding me? You’re the one that almost ran a red light!”
The guy’s eyes were hidden behind his sunglasses, but I didn’t miss how he turned his head toward the light to look at the very red light hanging in the air. His lips parted and I saw him mouth something that looked like, “Oh shit,” but I couldn’t be sure. When he
looked at me, I yelled, “Maybe you’re the one that should watch where he’s going!”
“It’s not like I was trying to run you over!”
“Could’ve fooled me.” I flipped him off and as soon as I hopped on the curb on the other side of the street, I turned back and yelled through his open window, “I hope you die choking on a bag of dicks.” I am so not a morning person.
I saw the guy’s mouth open wide in surprise, but then he ran a hand through his hair and faced forward, driving off.
“Asshole,” I muttered under my breath as I continued on my way. This coffee shop better be worth all this trouble. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. It was way too early to be dealing with this shit already.
I pulled out my phone and texted my best friend, Joel.
Me: This place better be worth it, I almost died trying to get here.
Just before I entered The Chipped Mug, I received a text back.
Joel: Totally worth dying for. Try the cinnamon buns, you’ll thank me later.
Me: You don’t even want to know how I almost died?
I sighed again, then pushed the door open and took in the delicious scents of the coffee shop. If the coffee tasted half as good as this place smelled, almost getting run over really would be worth it.
My phone buzzed.
Joel: I figured you’d tell me, but fine, I’ll bite. How did you almost die?
I got in line and texted him back.
Me: Some guy almost hit me with his car.
I moved up in the line.
Joel: Is that a euphemism or something? And was the guy hot?
I snorted and shook my head.
Me: No, he literally almost ran me over when I was crossing the street.
Joel: You didn’t answer the most important question. Was he hot?
I shook my head even though Joel couldn’t see me. It didn’t surprise me that he was glazing over the whole almost-got-hit-by-a-car thing. Although he’d probably check me over for bruises the next time I saw him, even if it wasn’t for a few weeks, since he was out of town for a while. I thought about his question. Was that guy hot? I mean, I hadn’t really been able to see his body since he’d been in his car, but his muscular arms and that stubbled jaw had been enough.
Me: Yes.
Joel: Did you get his number?
Me: Do you even know me?
Like I’d ever be brave enough to get some hot guy’s number. Not that I’d been thinking about it at the time, but even if I had been, there was no way. Sure, I could curse at him and flip him off because he’d been an asshole, but when it came to me asking a guy for his number, that was a completely different ball game.
Jax
Holy shit, I can’t believe I almost hit that guy. I couldn’t believe I let myself get so distracted by my sister and all her bullshit that I almost ran a red light and hit an actual person. I needed to get Julia out of my head before someone got hurt. Jesus.
I sighed and walked down the sidewalk to the coffee shop so I could get myself and my coworkers some coffee and pastries this morning. We’d all had a long weekend with the endless weddings and crazy customers, so I figured it’d be nice to bring everyone some cinnamon buns. I only wished this place had a drive thru. Maybe I should make the suggestion to one of the owners or something because that would be amazeballs if they did. Not that they really could in this building, but a man could dream.
I walked in and waited in line for only a few minutes. That was one good thing I could say about The Chipped Mug, even when the lines were long, you never had to wait for an eternity, and the customer service was always great. Especially since they all knew me here. It probably helped that not only was I a regular, but the owner was best friends with my boss. Not that I got special treatment or anything, but it was still nice seeing a friendly face when I was only half awake in the mornings.
Once I got to the front of the line, a barista named Matty smiled at me and said, “Hey, Jax, how are you?”
“I’m good, thank you.” I placed my order, then said, “I didn’t think you worked in the mornings.”
“I usually only do on weekends, but Harley had an appointment or something, so he asked me if I could cover for him. I don’t have classes for a couple hours, so here I am.” He smiled and passed me the pastry bag along with a carry tray full of coffees. “Have a good week.”
“Thanks, man, you too.” I made my way over to the little table where the stirrers, extra creamers, and extra sugars were and decided to load up on everything. I figured I needed a bunch of napkins, too, so I stepped to the side to reach for them.
Unfortunately, some guy stepped toward the napkins at the same time, and he tripped over my leg. I reached out to try and stop his fall, but he still ended up catching himself on one hand. I pulled him back to standing and started apologizing profusely. “I’m so, so sorry, man, I didn’t see you there.”
“So now you’re not only blind to red lights, but to people as well?” My eyes widened as the guy straightened himself out and stood up fully—though he was still really short and adorable, even when he looked like he wanted to punch me—and he frowned at me. “Or is it just me that you have it out for this morning?”
“Holy shit. You’re the guy that—”
“You almost killed, yeah.” He snatched his coffee off the table, grabbed some napkins and muttered, “Unbelievable.”
I mean, I knew I was dick earlier, but that guy really had a bug up his ass. I’d like to put something else up his ass. “I didn’t do it on purpose, man.”
He sighed and looked at me with intense eyes the color of the sky when it was getting ready to storm. His cheeks were flushed, making his freckles stand out on his pale skin. “Look, today has been shitty and it’s barely nine a.m. I don’t do mornings.”
“So I can see.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, probably trying to see if I was joking or being a dick. He flicked his head to get his dark brown hair out of his eyes and just sighed. “I gotta get to work.” He started to walk away, but abruptly turned back and grabbed his pastry bag off the table and shot me an embarrassed smile, his cheeks flushing a deeper shade of pink. “Have a nice life.” Then he was walking toward the door with me staring after him.
My eyes naturally travelled down to his tight ass, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether he was gay, and if he was, whether I’d have a chance at him. I snorted at my thought, because there was no way he’d give me a chance after I almost killed him earlier, but it was kinda nice to think about. The guy was kinda perfect in that twink-ish way that made me want to do dirty things to him.
Once he was out of my sight, I sighed and grabbed my pastries and coffees and headed out the door and to my car. I drove to work and once I walked into the studio—I worked at a place called Flash Me Photos—I held up my caffeinated and sugary treasures. “Anyone hungry?”
My friend Alex looked up from the sample photo book he was hovering over and smiled at me. “Are those cinnamon buns?”
I grinned. “Yep.” I passed him the bag and set the coffee tray on the counter. “Anyone else in yet?”
“Levi and Andy haven’t made it in yet, and I’m pretty sure Trent fell asleep with his head on a table in the break room. I didn’t have the heart to wake him up when I realized his client was fifteen minutes late.”
I wrinkled my nose. “He came in early for a no-show?”
Alex grabbed a coffee and pushed his dark hair out of his blue eyes. “It looks that way. Thanks for this, man.”
I waved him away. “No problem. Trent is going to be so pissed when he realizes his client didn’t show up.”
“Are you serious?” Trent popped his head out of the break room and frowned at us. His brown eyes blinked sleepily at me. His blond hair was sticking up on one side, and he had a crease on his cheek. “I was supposed to have off today, but we were so overbooked, I came in.”
Alex frowned at our friend. “You want to head home? I’m sure Levi will be here soo
n.”
Trent pulled out his phone, probably checking the time, then looked back at Alex. “Nah. Declan’s at work already, so there’s no point. I’m just tired.” Declan was Trent’s boyfriend, so that statement didn’t surprise me.
I snorted. “Looks like someone kept you up all night.”
Trent flipped me off, but I heard Alex chuckle softly before he covered it up with a cough.
I held up a coffee cup toward Trent. “I brought you a present.”
“And cinnamon buns,” Alex added as he scratched his stubbled cheek.
“Ohmygod,” Trent said as he walked over to us. “This is why I love you, Jax.”
I chuckled at that and passed him the coffee just as our bosses, Levi and Andy, walked through the front door with their two dogs in tow.
“I’m so glad you two could make it in today,” Trent said to them with an eye-roll.
“I think you need more coffee, sweetie,” Levi said with his own eye-roll. “You’re grouchy in the mornings.”
“And yet, you always want me here at the crack of dawn.” Trent pulled out a cinnamon bun. “I’m eating your cinnamon bun.”
“Fat chance.” Levi snatched Trent’s cinnamon bun out of his hand and took a huge bite.
Trent gaped at him. “This is war.”
Alex and I exchanged a look before backing away from the two of them before they started throwing food or something equally ridiculous. Alex grabbed the bag of pastries, I grabbed the coffees, and Andy picked up the small fluffball of a dog and followed us with the bigger dog trailing behind him. Once we were at a safe distance, I passed Andy a coffee, and the three of us stayed back to watch the show. If nothing else, my coworkers were at least entertaining.
Tanner
I’d finally made it back to Baltimore, and when I’d stepped off that plane six weeks ago, I’d been ecstatic to see my family and friends. But I couldn’t help but notice the big gaping hole in my life that seemed to be getting bigger with every day spent in this city. It wasn’t the city that was the problem, though, it was the fact that the one person I desperately wanted to see, that I’d desperately been hoping would come meet me when my plane landed, that one person that I’d thought about every single day the entire time I’d been overseas, hated my guts. Well, hated was such a strong word. It was more like he wanted to string me up by my intestines and watch me bleed. Yeah, much more accurate.
Love, Never-Ending_Flash Me Photos Portfolio 1 Page 1
