Dane

by Webster, K

  He licks my tip again. “Because I’ve never felt like this before.”

  With those words, his lips slide down my cock, taking me deep in his throat. My fingers find his hair and I grip it, closing my eyes, as I get lost to the way he sucks me off. His groans rumble down my shaft and make my balls ache for release. When he pushes deeper and swallows the head of my cock down his hot throat, making a gagging sound in the process, I come abruptly and without warning.

  “Fuck!” I roar. “Fuck, D.”

  He swallows my release and pulls away before standing. When our lips are a breath away, he tenderly strokes my cheek. This man is affectionate and I crave his touch. I’ve never needed something so simple in all my life.

  “I was married to Janice for a long time,” he tells me, his hot stare piercing mine. “But not once, not even on our wedding night or when our daughter was born, did I ever feel for that woman what I feel for you. I felt more from you the moment you smiled at me than my entire marriage with her. I don’t think you quite get it, Nick. This thing between us is strong and unbreakable. I know you hate labels and calling a spade a spade, but this is love, babe.”

  His words cut through to my heart and I feel as though I’m hemorrhaging. I want to believe in what he says, but is my life that easy? Do I finally get something I’ve desperately craved so deep in my soul?

  I’m frozen, unable to speak, when he gives me a soft smile.

  “I’m getting rid of our useless IT guy. He never comes to work half the time anyway. We need someone who knows what the hell they’re doing. Will you accept the job, Nick? You’re the only one I want for it.”

  My heart thumps. “I thought you’d never ask, boss.”

  His eyes gleam wickedly. “Now it’s time for you to thank me for my generosity.”

  I start to lower but he shakes his head.

  “You know I prefer your ass,” he says in a deep, husky tone. “Besides, it’s about time for Santa to sit on someone else’s lap for a change. If you’re a good boy and ride my dick like you own it, I’ll let you come.”

  A chuckle escapes me. “You’re hot as fuck when you’re bossy.”

  “Fuck,” I groan as I ease down his thickness. Straddling him on the couch and while we kiss has got to be the hottest fuck we’ve ever had. What’s even hotter is the feral way with which he grabs my ass cheeks, spreading me further apart to take his impressive cock.

  “Feels good, hmmm?” he rumbles against my lips. His grip on my dick is maddening as he pleasures me.

  “So good.”

  My ass clenches when I get close to coming. Based on his ragged breathing, he’s close too. Our fucking becomes frantic—his hips thrusting up as I grind on him. Soon, we’re both groaning as our orgasms tremor through us. His cock throbs inside me as my cum shoots against his bare chest.

  “That good, huh?” Dane asks from the driver’s seat, dragging me from the memory of last night after our shower.

  I give him a shrug. “Don’t tell me you’re not still thinking about it. That shit was hot as hell. Admit it.”

  He chuckles. “It was fucking fantastic.”

  The rest of the drive to Mel’s is filled with light conversation and laughter. When we arrive, we park behind a bright red Mercedes. Dane’s entire demeanor changes upon seeing the car. Must be Janice.

  We get out of the car and he opens the hatch. I grab the crate of food while he picks up the one with the presents. As we approach the nice suburban home, my nerves start to fray. What if his daughter doesn’t like me?

  He’s assured me that she will but I’m still nervous. She’s only known her dad with her mother. How will she feel knowing he’s not only seeing someone, but a guy at that?

  She’ll have to get over it because I’m not going anywhere.

  The new thought calms my nerves and I follow him inside the house. Upon entering, we’re met with the scent of ham and other delicious smells. I’m relaxed right into a smile. Mel—the same beautiful young woman from the pictures at Dane’s—catches me grinning.

  “Ahhh, you must be Nick. Dad said he’d be bringing you,” she greets as she leans in to kiss my cheek. “Merry Christmas, Daddy.” She gives him a side hug and he kisses the top of her head.

  “Merry Christmas, sweetheart. Where’s Stan?” Dane asks.

  “In the kitchen. He and Mom are arguing over the caloric content of sweet potato casserole. Last I heard, he was trying to convince her it was fat-free,” Mel says with a chuckle.

  Dane laughs and sets the crate down on the floor, then turns to pull some food from my crate. I follow them into the kitchen, where his ex-wife stands next to a tall, wiry red-headed guy who wears the nerdiest pair of glasses on his freckled nose. Like Mel, Janice is beautiful, with the same dark brown hair as her daughter. It surprises me Mel would be with such a nerdy guy.

  “I’m not eating it, Stan,” Janice says, pouting.

  He shrugs. “But you’d be missing out on the best fat-free sweet potato casserole in the world. Yolo, J. Yolo.”

  She gives him a playful shove. “Fine. I’ll have a bite.” When Janice turns and sees me, her eyes widen in surprise. “Who do we have here?”

  Dane walks over to Janice and kisses her cheek. “Merry Christmas. Where’s your date?” He ignores her question altogether.

  She straightens and arches a perfect brow. “Oh, Damien? He’s watching a football game in the living room.” She gives him the fakest smile ever. “Damien used to play pro basketball.”

  Dane, uncaring, shakes Stan’s hand before gesturing at me. “This is my date,” he says, as though it’s the most natural thing in the world. “Nicholas Stratton.”

  Janice makes a choking sound. “Your what?”

  “Mother,” Mel warns. “Daddy’s seeing Nick.” Mel shoots me a warm stare. It’s then I realize she must have already known. With her and Dane being so close, it makes sense he may have already told her.

  “But he’s a…” She trails off, her face pinched into a horrified expression.

  Stan saves the day. “A guy? A hot one too. Dane has good taste.”

  She can’t argue with that since she was married to him. “Oh.” Then she scowls. “Is this why our marriage didn’t work?”

  Dane laughs. “No, it didn’t work because we weren’t compatible. But we made one helluva perfect kid.”

  Mel preens in the kitchen and, just like that, the tense moment is gone. I get roped into stirring corn on the stove for Stan while Dane is forced to cut the ham. Janice flits about the kitchen, making comments here and there, while Mel pulls items out of the fridge. The elusive Damien—a giant black man with a handsome face but a sour attitude—pokes his head in a time or two. Eventually, we all sit down to dinner.

  It’s messy and loud and chaotic.

  People say the wrong things and snort with laughter and jab insults.

  My mother would be horrified.

  And I’ve never felt so at home.

  Oh, Janice.

  Being around her for the first time in weeks is a reminder why we divorced in the first place. It had nothing to do with my secretly being gay. I faked it for her. I tried for her. I did everything in my power to make it work for her because we had Mel, and she was such a perfect product of something I didn’t entirely want for myself. It made the decision to marry a woman, despite my heart’s desires, all worth it. The moment Janice told me she was pregnant, I was elated. I loved that little bean from the second I knew about her.

  But I never loved Janice.

  I loved her as the mother of my child and as a partner in our life, but never that soul-wrenching and deep, crushing type of love. Frankly, I didn’t know that type of love existed. The only person I’d felt love for was Max. And it was unrequited. But even back then, my heart didn’t ache with such need and passion and desire as it does now. The way it does with Nick.

  My gaze falls on Nick from across the table. Stan is showing him something on his phone and Nick is nodding. Stan’s a tech nerd
too, so I’m glad they seem to be interested in something common. Mel keeps chattering to Damien about God only knows what. That girl could carry on a conversation with a tree. Damien is a big-ass, grumpy tree, but even he can’t resist her charms. I catch him smiling a time or two for her. As for me, I’m stuck listening to Janice tell me about how she’s decided to become a personal trainer. I nod at her but I’m distracted again by Nick. He watches me intently from across the table, the same emotions bubbling inside me reflecting in his brown eyes.

  I wish I were sitting beside him. The urge to touch him often is overwhelming. I can’t get him out of my head and I certainly don’t want him gone. I want him infecting my every thought.

  His lips curl up on one side in a lazy grin. The same lazy grin that had me following him up to his hotel room that night. Back then, he’d seemed like such a carefree guy without a worry in the world. Little did I know, he had enough worries for the both of us combined.

  He winks at me and Janice huffs in frustration beside me.

  “You’re not listening.” Her lips pout out and her nostrils flare.

  “Sorry,” I grumble.

  She leans in and clutches my bicep with her pointy fingernails. “I think it’s weird, Dane. Friend to friend.”

  Tensing at her words, I shoot her a glare. “It’s not really any of your business.”

  The rest of the table is loud with conversation, so our private one goes unheard. I do feel Nick’s stare on us, though.

  “I just worry about you,” she says, in that fake tone of hers that used to grate on my nerves. Turns out, it still does.

  “Well, don’t,” I grunt.

  “Have you slept with him? How do you know you’re even into that sort of thing? You’re an excellent lover with women. Do you even know how to have sex with a guy?” she hisses, her fingernails poking harder through my sweater.

  “That is absolutely none of your business. But if you must know, Nick and I manage just fine.” I grit my teeth and glower at her.

  “Nick and I,” she parrots, her voice condescending in tone. “You’re already a thing, huh? I mean, you’re so much older, and he’s Mel’s age, for crying out loud. How long do you think this little tryst will last, Dane?”

  “Mother,” Mel says in a sharp voice, reprimanding Janice.

  “No,” Janice retorts, loud enough for everyone to hear. “It needs to be said. What kind of family are we if we don’t protect your poor father?”

  “I don’t need prot—”

  Janice cuts me off. “Oh, sweetie, stop. Mel and I have discussed how far off the deep end you’ve fallen since I filed for divorce. Now that it’s finalized, you’ve gone off and done something crazy.” She shoots a pointed look at Nick.

  “Mother!” Mel shrieks, and then flashes me a pleading stare. “Daddy, we most certainly didn’t discuss this.”

  “You’re not gay, Dane,” Janice bites out. “There, I said it. You were married to me for twenty-six years and we had a child together. You’ve had your face between my thighs. Certainly didn’t seem very gay then.”

  Damien pulls her wine glass from her other hand, and has the sense to appear ashamed by her words. Nick clenches his jaw and fists his hand on the table.

  “We’re not talking about this over Christmas dinner,” I say calmly, trying desperately not to cut Mel’s mother down in front of her.

  “I can’t believe you,” Mel mutters to her mother. “Must you always do this to him?”

  “Why am I the villain here?” Janice bellows. “I’m always the villain because I don’t live in a fantasy world. Not everything is rainbows and sunshine.” She sneers at Nick. “Well, maybe rainbows for you.”

  “Janice,” I growl out in warning. “That’s enough.”

  “I’m just saying—”

  “Nobody cares what you have to ‘just say,’” Nick barks out, rising from his seat. “You’re a drunk mean girl in an old woman’s body. Get ahold of yourself. You’re embarrassing everyone here, but mostly yourself.”

  “Excuse me?” Janice shrieks.

  “Oh God,” Mel groans.

  “Guys,” Stan tries to placate.

  I pinch the bridge of my nose, hating the awkwardness of another one of Janice’s bash-fests. So often, I want to tell her what a bitch she is but it already hurts Mel enough hearing it from one parent. She doesn’t need it from both.

  “I love him and he loves me.”

  I snap my head up and lock eyes with Nick. His brown-eyed stare is filled with so many emotions.

  Silence falls on the table as my eyes rake down my man. He’s strong and young and beautiful. And mine.

  I love him and he loves me.

  “You may not understand what’s transpired between us, Janice, but it doesn’t change the fact that it has. I’m sorry, but this has nothing to do with the past or your marriage to him. It has everything to do with what we can give to each other.” Nick smiles at me as he continues, his words meant for Janice. “Your marriage didn’t work because something was missing. Just like every relationship I’ve ever had fail too. We hadn’t found each other and now that we have, it’d do you some good to accept that your daughter’s father has found love. I can bet money that it makes her happy. It’d make her even happier if you’d respect her father and back the fuck off.”

  Stan snorts and Damien mutters under his breath. Mel nods from beside me.

  “Let it rest, Mom,” she says, her voice softening. “Please.”

  Janice shifts in her seat and then utters out an apology. It’s quiet but it’s there. And since I’ve known her since college, I know it’s genuine.

  “Thank you. Now Janice, did you make my pie or what?” I tease, trying to lighten the mood.

  She laughs. “Divorced or not, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without my homemade pecan pie. Even if I can’t eat it this year,” she grumbles.

  Damien takes her hand. “Eat the pie, Jan.”

  “Well, if you insist,” she huffs. “When I gain five pounds from looking at it, and another ten from the first bite, you’re the one who’ll have to deal with it.”

  Damien shrugs. “I like my women thick.”

  “Since when?” she asks, horrified.

  “Since now.”

  Nick leans against me on the couch, his arm possessively hung over my shoulders. It should feel strange or awkward displaying our affection to everyone, but it doesn’t. I had imagined feeling embarrassed or shy over the fact that I’m openly gay. But that shame never came. Pride surges through me to have this man at my side. I love how possessive and protective he is.

  I love him and he loves me.

  Mel hands me a glass of hot cocoa spiked with brandy. I chuckle when she plops down in Stan’s lap and forces him to drink some. He makes a face but eventually gives in. They’re such a mismatched pair but they somehow work. I’ve been so distracted by Nick and my own issues that I’m just now noticing the tremor in Mel’s hand. Stan covers it with his, immediately relaxing her. Right then, I pray to every god out there that he holds on and never lets her go.

  “We have an announcement,” Stan says, shooting a look my way.

  I give him a nod. We met up for drinks months ago when he asked for her hand in marriage. I’d obliged but he never has pulled the trigger. Or so I’d thought. I see now that she’s wearing a simple band on her finger. Not an engagement ring, but a wedding ring.

  Oh, shit.

  Janice is going to lose her mind.

  “We got married back in September when we went to Cozumel,” Mel blurts out. Her panicked eyes meet mine and I smile at her. She relaxes but chews on her bottom lip.

  “I thought you went there for business,” Janice says, her voice shrill.

  “We did, but then decided to just go ahead and get married. I never wanted a big wedding. Just Stan and I.”

  He nods, pride shining in his eyes. “It was perfect, just the two of us.”

  “But your dress? And you didn’t want your dad to walk you
down the aisle? A big wedding is every girl’s dream,” Janice chokes out, close to tears.

  “Not mine,” Mel tells her. “My dream was to find love. I found it.” She sighs and her bottom lip trembles. “But that’s not what our announcement is.”

  “You’re pregnant,” Janice hisses.

  Mel shakes her head and tears well in her eyes. Stan scowls at Janice.

  “I’m sterile,” Stan says in a sad tone. “We learned that recently.”

  The room falls quiet, and I see Janice’s cheeks turn pink.

  “We’re going to adopt,” Mel tells us, her smile once again returning. “We’re excited to bring a child into our home. We’ve already begun the process.”

  I rise from the sofa and walk over to Mel. When I pull her up and into a hug, she clutches me hard.

  “Thank you for not freaking out. If I would have had a wedding, of course you’d have walked me down the aisle.”

  I chuckle and smooth out her hair with my palm before kissing the top of her head. “Of course,” I agree. “I’m proud of you. I’m happy you found Stan, and I’m proud of you two for your decision to adopt.”

  “Thanks, Daddy. I love you.”

  “Love you too, sweetheart.”

  Stan stands up and pulls Mel back into his arms. Love glitters in her eyes as she stares up at him as though he’s the best man in the entire world. As her dad, I should feel heartache that my baby girl looks at someone else as though they hang the moon. But I couldn’t be prouder.

  “Congrats, son,” I say, offering my hand to him. “I’m glad she’s into nerds.”

  He snorts. “No shit.”

  Enzo: Where are you?

  I glance down at my phone, but don’t reply because I’m running down the corridor to the courtroom. Dane and I stayed up way too late last night consumed by one another. This morning, he had to meet with a client and I overslept. Of course, I overslept on the worst possible day. I’d barely had time to brush my teeth, throw on a suit, and grab my bag before I was running out the door. I had to put my tie on in the car and forgo coffee altogether.

  Eventually, I make it to the courtroom and push inside. The room hushes and I keep my gaze diverted to the floor as I rush to the front. I find Enzo and sit beside him.