“Everybody! I’d like you to meet Patrick, my boyfriend.” Everyone stopped talking. “Yep, that’s right. My boyfriend. Because I’m gay.”
It stayed quiet for a moment longer, before pandemonium broke out. Everybody except Nate and Gage got up from the table. They came over, patting him on the back, congratulating him and offering their support. And they were all shoving the boxes and baskets at him. He looked down to see what was in one of the baskets. Then he looked at another and saw the same thing. And the same in another. He suddenly realized why Nate and Gage were still sitting at the table. They were leaning into each other, laughing their heads off, clearly pleased with themselves.
Nate saw him looking at them and shouted, “Welcome to the dark side, Max!” Everybody in the group gay, straight and otherwise shouted, “We have cookies!”
Max sat at the table, eating a cookie. The chaos had died down, everyone returned to their seats, talking, drinking and eating the dozens of cookies. Max nodded at Nate. ‘I can’t believe you’re eating so many of those, fitness nut.”
Nate grinned. “It’s a special occasion.” His gray eyes flicked to Patrick for a moment. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d go for the silver fox type, but he’s hot. You two look good together.”
Max grinned too. “Thanks.”
“Your doc is in good shape. Of course, I could whip him up even better. Is he in the market for a new gym membership?”
Max laughed. “Let me enjoy being out for a full week before you start hitting my boyfriend up to join your damn gym.”
Nate pretended to grumble. “Fine.”
Max turned to Patrick, listening in on the conversation he was having with Whitney. He was teasing his daughter about her shaved head.
She rubbed her hand over her head. “I guess I will let it grow back. Can’t have the same style as my dad’s boyfriend. That’s a little weird.”
Sabrina pulled her girlfriend close. “Awww, it’s not weird at all, Baldie.” She looked at Max and Patrick over her head, saying in a loud stage whisper, “It’s a little weird.”
Whitney pushed away from her. She was trying to frown, but her smile broke through. “All of you shut it.”
Patrick’s arms went around his shoulders and Max rested his hand on Patrick’s knee. The conversation at the table flowed easily, moving from Max’s announcement to Gia’s online dating fiascos, to Gage’s anger management. Max felt good. It felt natural to sit with his friends like this, finally open about who he was and with a man he cared for.
****
Two weeks later, Max sat idling at an intersection, waiting for the light to change. It was late and he was headed home after a long day. Life had been going pretty good. It was amazing how much better he felt now that he’d come out. He didn’t have to worry about slipping up anymore. And for the first time he was in a relationship, an honest one. But he realized there was something he needed to do in order to feel completely at peace.
He was officially out of the closet with his friends and at work, but he still hadn’t told his grandmother or his mom. He’d explained the situation to Patrick, letting him know that he’d grown up in the system and that he wasn’t sure if his family would continue to accept him if he came out. Patrick had understood, telling him to talk to them on his own time.
The light flashed to green. Max started to go through the intersection, but his foot eased off the gas on its own. The car behind him honked. Max cursed, looking over his shoulder to be sure the road was clear. He floored it and turned sharply to the left, his tires squealing as he hooked a U-turn. He needed to come clean with his family and he was going to do it now.
It didn’t take him long to reach his grandmother’s. Once there, he got out of his truck, and with his heart pounding, walked up the porch steps and knocked on the door. It was quiet for a good while before he heard the sound of footsteps shuffling over to the door. The curtain over the glass was pulled back and he saw his grandmother’s face. Her eyebrows rose in surprise before she dropped the curtain and unlocked the door to open it.
“Max. Is everything alright? Why are you here at this hour?” She stepped aside to let him in.
“I’m sorry for coming over so late, but I need to talk to you about something, Grandma. It’s important.”
“Of course, baby. You know you’re welcome anytime. You want something to drink?”
She turned towards the kitchen, but Max caught her hand and pulled her into the living room. “I’m not thirsty, Grandma.”
“What is it, Max?” She sat down in her armchair, her hand at her throat. “You don’t have cancer or something do you?”
“No. It’s just… Shit. I don’t know how to say this.”
“Just say it.”
Max looked at his grandmother sitting there. She was wearing a fuzzy robe over her night dress, her hair covered by a satin hair cap. She looked worried and concerned. He hoped like hell that what he had to say wouldn’t turn her expression to disgust. That he wasn’t about to lose the only family member that meant anything to him. He kneeled on the ground and took her hand in his. “Grandma, I’m gay.”
It was quiet for a moment. Maxine leaned back in her chair, but she didn’t pull her hand away.
“Well, shit.”
Max wanted to laugh hearing his grandmother curse for the first time. But he didn’t. He was too damn tense and nervous for what else she had to say.
“Okay. Thank you for telling me honey.” She squeezed his hand and laughed. “I’m embarrassed for the times I tried to set you up with one of the neighborhood girls.” She shook a finger at him. “Next time you have a big secret, you tell me straight away!”
Max smiled, relief washing through him. “You really don’t have a problem having a gay grandson?”
“What?”
The screech came from behind them. Max looked over his shoulder to see his mother coming down the narrow stair case.
“This better be a joke. No son of mine is gonna be gay!”
Max slowly stood, watching as Kayla Stovall rushed into the living room, angrily belting her robe closed as she walked.
“That’s disgusting. God said-.”
Max cut her off. “God said what? Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve? I’m pretty sure he also said something along the lines of thou shalt not have a kid, abandon it to the state, and keep it a secret from your family for twenty years.”
Kayla rocked back on her heels, her face full of shock. He’d never spoken to her in any kind of negative way for the way his life had turned out.
“Don’t you talk to me like that! I’m your mother!”
Max laughed, bitterness heavy in the sound. “My mother? You are not my mother. You’re the woman who gave me life and that is the only reason I respect you. In no way have you ever behaved like you’re a mother and you know it.” Max was angry, his face hot. But it felt good to get this off his chest. All of it. She needed to know she’d been a shit mother and had never apologized for abandoning him. And if she was going to sit there and judge him for being gay, he would let her know how he felt.
His grandmother was still holding on to his hand. She tugged a little as she got up from the chair and he turned to help her.
“Thank you, Max. I’m glad you came here tonight to tell me.”
Kayla switched her furious gaze to her mother. “That’s all you have to say about having a gay grandson?”
“I don’t have a gay grandson. I have a grandson. I never once referred to him as my straight grandson, so why would I put a qualifier on it now?” She shook her head. “This boy had a horrible life growing up thanks to you. I’m not about to let him suffer as an adult thinking he isn’t loved by the family it took him twenty years to find. And if I can accept you with all the poor choices you made, I don’t see why you can’t accept him for a choice he didn’t make.”
Max swallowed hard, gripping his grandmother’s hand tight.
Kayla looked back and forth between the two of them for sever
al moments. “I can’t accept that. It would have been better if you’d never found us.”
His grandmother finally let his hand go. She walked up to her daughter. “I was never ashamed of you before no matter how much I regretted the choices you made. And I wished that somehow I’d been a better mother to you, so that you didn’t make those choices. But right now I am ashamed of you. I can’t have you under my roof with that kind of hate in your heart.” She paused to take a deep breath. “So in the morning you have to go.”
This time Max’s mouth dropped open along with his mother’s.
“You’re kicking me out?”
Maxine nodded firmly. “That’s right. I didn’t do it all the times you came home high, stole money from my purse, or pawned my stuff. But I’m doing it now. You’ve treated him like dirt from the moment he was born and I’m not going to stand by and let you do it again.”
Max spoke up. “Hold on, Grandma. You don’t have to do this for me. And I don’t want you living by yourself.”
Maxine turned to face him. “You hush, Max! I’ve been coddling her for too long. That ends now. She can learn to live on her own and hopefully she’ll learn how to be a decent human being while she’s at it.”
Max shut his mouth. His grandmother knew what she wanted. And he’d be sure to take care of her so she wasn’t alone.
Kayla finally closed her mouth too. “Fine.” She walked out, her back stiff as she went up the stairs to her bedroom.
“I’m so sorry that you had to listen to that, Max. Just know that I do not share her hateful thoughts. I love you, no matter what.”
Max wrapped his arms around his grandmother in a hug. “Thank you.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say, so he just continued to hold her, grateful that he had at least one blood relative who truly loved him. Maxine squeezed him hard once more, then pulled away.
“Now tell me, Max. I don’t know everything about modern medicine, but there’s still ways for you to give me great grandbabies, right?”
CHAPTER 13
“Are you coming over tonight?”
Max was pulling up into his driveway, talking to Patrick on his Bluetooth. Patrick. His lover, his boyfriend. He could call him that without being uncomfortable. It felt good that he had a good man that he belonged to.
“Are you asking me to come over?”
“You know I am.”
“Then I’ll see you in thirty minutes.”
“Eager beaver,” he teased. “Make it twenty. I’ve got some good news to share with you.” Max hung up and hurried inside to shower. He’d just finished drying off and stepping into a pair of sweats when the doorbell rang. Max jogged over to let the doc in.
“I probably broke at least three speed limits to get here in twenty minutes. So you’d better be about to tell me you won the lottery and you’re sharing your winnings.
Max laughed. “Better. I told my family about me. That I’m gay.”
Patrick looked both shocked and nervous. “How’d it go?”
“Good and bad. My mother completely lost her shit and basically disowned me. Again. My grandmother, Maxine, was totally fine with it. She just wanted to know if there was still a way for me to have kids.”
Patrick laughed. “You do have options.”
“I know.”
Patrick’s arms went around his waist, holding him close. “Is that something you want?”
“Honestly? Yeah. Didn’t know how I was going to go about it since I was in the closet. But now that I’m out? I’m in no rush, but I do want kids.” Max laughed. “Shit. Now that I’m finally in a relationship with you, I’m probably scaring you off.”
“You’re not scaring me off. As soon as I saw this house I knew you wanted it filled with family.” Patrick brushed their lips together in a gentle kiss. “We’ll take things slow between us and if things go the way I hope, I’d love to build a family with you.”
Max ran his eyes over his lover. “Have I told you how sexy you are?”
“Hmmm… I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me right now?”
Max smiled and started walking backwards towards his bedroom, pulling Patrick along with him. “You’re very sexy. Your silver fox hair is sexy. Your chest is sexy.” He stopped for a moment to press their lips together. “The way you kiss me, taking your time like you don’t have anywhere else to be is sexy. And the way you’re so goddamn good to me is very, very sexy.”
They reached his room, where the doc gave him some of those slow kisses while their hands stroked and fumbled and tugged until their clothes were on the floor. Once they were undressed, Max lay back on the bed and pulled Patrick on top of him. They kissed for several moments, deep kisses where their lips and tongue played, teasing them both until their bodies were writhing together. His body hard, his breath racing, Max leaned over to the nightstand for a condom. He tore it open. And rolled it on to Patrick’s thick cock. His blue eyes went wide.
“Are you sure?”
Max nodded as he covered him with lube. “Yeah. Just… I want to see you alright?”
Patrick leaned down and kissed him. “Alright.”
Patrick took it slow, doing nothing more than caressing and kissing him everywhere with hot fingers and soft lips until Max was writhing on the bed, his hips rolling up to get close to his lover. Patrick stared down at him, the blue of his eyes burning bright behind heavy lids. He lowered himself on top of Max, kissing him again, his tongue sliding into his mouth just as his cock slid into his body. The unfamiliar sensation had him digging his fingers into Patrick’s back.
“Are you okay?”
Max could hear the strain in his lover’s voice as he stopped moving. “I’m fine.” He pushed his hips up. “Keep going.”
Patrick slid forward again. Deeper and deeper, until Max was stretched around the length of his cock. He felt full, in a pleasurable way that he could never have imagined. Patrick held still for a moment. Max could feel his shaft throbbing inside him, and his body responded in kind. Stroking his hands down Patrick’s back, he encouraged him to move. When he did, Max groaned at the sensation of his cock sliding along all of the nerve endings inside him. He cursed under his breath, which got him a smile from the man above him.
“Does that feel good?”
Max smiled back. “You know it does. He arched his back. “Give me more of it.”
A low groan rumbled from the doc and he started thrusting into him with smooth, steady strokes. He slipped a hand beneath his ass and titled his hips up. The next stroke in, his shaft brushed against a spot inside him that made him shiver, a pulse of heat streaking from his belly straight to his cock.
Patrick gave him that slow smile again, keeping their bodies angled to keep hitting that spot. He moved faster and faster, making Max shake. He reached down to grasp his cock, pumping himself at the exact same speed his lover moved within him. He reached his other hand up and grasped Patrick by the back of the neck, yanking him down into a kiss.
The movement of their hips grew erratic and rough as sweat slicked their bodies. Max tried to keep kissing Patrick, but he couldn’t. He just held on to him, his fingers digging into his neck as his orgasm rose, more powerful than anything he’d ever experienced. Patrick thrust in hard and Max let go. He let go more than he ever had before. His entire body trembled, shivers dancing across his skin as his cock pulsed his hot release onto his belly and he squeezed tight around Patrick’s cock inside him. His lover groaned into his mouth and Max could feel his shaft throbbing as he came. They held there, suspended in that powerful climax. Max looked up to see Patrick watching him, emotion shining bright in his eyes, before he collapsed down to his side.
****
Max lay on his side, Patrick curled around him. Their fingers twined together as they relaxed, neither of them wanting to fully separate.
“Thank you for trusting me.”
Max looked over his shoulder to see Patrick watching him with that same expression full of emotion. “Thank you for everything.
No one else could have made me feel that way.” Max wanted to say something more, but words weren’t his strong suit. They never had been. So he turned in his lover’s arms to give him a kiss that, hopefully, conveyed everything he felt. And going by the glow in his doc’s blue eyes when they pulled apart, it did.
The End
Christa Tomlinson is an exciting up and coming author in erotic romance. Her first self-published novel, The Sergeant, was an Amazon Best Seller for Gay and Lesbian Erotica for seven weeks straight.
Although Christa graduated from The University of Missouri-St. Louis with a degree in History, she prefers to write contemporary romance. She loves to create stories that are emotional and lovely with sex that is integral to the characters' romantic arc. Her books include straight couples, curvy couples, gay, and multicultural couples. Love is love and everyone should have their story told.
Christa lives in Houston, Texas with her two dogs, and is a semi-retired member of Houston Roller Derby. She enjoys hearing from readers. You can follow her on Twitter at @christa_writes and on Facebook at Christa Tomlinson. For more on Christa's work, including deleted scenes, excerpts, and free reads, visit ChristaTomlinson.Blogspot.com
email: [email protected]
Twitter: @christa_writes
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Mail: PO Box 40841 - Houston, TX – 77040
Titles by Christa Tomlinson
Martini Seduction
A Second Chance for Three
The Sergeant
Also Available
5 Stars from Amazon Reviewers
Bad Boys Need Love Too: Max Page 9
