In His Hero's Shadow

by Stephani Hecht

  A lot of the guys were there. Mostly medics and firemen who came from Flint and Pontiac. While the cities were nearly an hour drive from each other, the men had all bonded and became friends because they had one thing in common—they were all gay. In the EMS world that wasn’t always an easy thing, so they supported and protected each other.

  Chauncey’s stomach did a happy flip when he spotted Brody sitting at one of the card tables. While the rest of the group all waved hello, Brody only gave him a weak smile. Chauncey decided not to let that put him off and went over to the table, taking the one remaining vacant seat.

  A blond medic from Flint, named Matt, sat across from them. He flashed a grin and Chauncey tensed, already knowing what was coming his way. While Matt was a nice enough guy, he had a mouth on him a mile wide. Sure enough, Matt didn’t disappoint, “Well, if it isn’t Nurse Betty. How’s tricks?”

  “They’re just ducky,” Chauncey replied. “Does your boyfriend know about the nickname you gave me?”

  Matt lived with a nurse who worked for one of Flint’s bigger hospitals. Matt glanced over at his boyfriend. “Yeah, he wouldn’t let me use it on him though.”

  “I can’t imagine why not,” Chauncey drawled sarcastically.

  Brody glanced up from his small pile of chips. “Are we going to play or not?”

  Matt made a big show of rolling his eyes. “You’ll have to excuse Sir Buzzkill here. He’s been a crappy egg all night.”

  “I just want to play,” Brody replied in a tight voice.

  “And I just want to chat so we can catch up on everything.” Matt blinked innocently. “Besides, what’s the big rush? We all know that you’re just going to end up losing all your money to me.”

  “And how are you so sure of that?”

  “Because you always lose. I hate to break it to you, Gidget, but you have a sucky poker face.”

  Brody’s jaw dropped in shock before he demanded, “Why do I get stuck being called Gidget.”

  Matt nodded to Chauncey. “Because he already took Nurse Betty. What else am I going to call you?”

  “That doesn’t even make any sense. I’m not a nurse.” Brody threw his hands up in exasperation. He turned to Lucas. “Can’t you do something about your boyfriend?”

  “Nope, I gave up trying a long time ago. All the effort just made us both tired and cranky.” Lucas never even glanced up from his cards.

  “That’s true. Plus, if my baby’s going to be tired, I want it to be for all kinds of different reasons,” Matt replied with a wicked grin.

  Chauncey let out soft laugh. “You really are a piece of work.”

  “So I’ve been told.” Matt held up the deck of cards. “Do you want me to deal you in?”

  “In a second, I need to talk to Brody first.”

  Brody’s head snapped up, turning in Chauncey’s direction, the man’s brown eyes even wider than normal. “Why?”

  “It’s private so I’ll tell you when we’re alone.”

  “No.”

  “No, I won’t tell you or no, you won’t go with me?”

  “Take your pick, because neither of them are happening.”

  The room fell silent as every eye turned in their direction. Chauncey took a deep breath and very slowly counted to ten so he didn’t give into his anger and do something stupid.

  “Stop being such a brat.”

  “Stop trying to boss me around.”

  “Why can’t anything be easy with you?”

  “Why can’t you leave me alone?”

  “Why can’t we just play cards?” Matt cut in.

  They both ignored him. Brody pushed back his chair, then stood up. “I don’t have to put up with this crap.”

  That did it, like it or not, Chauncey was going to teach Brody some manners. Letting out a growl, he reached out, grabbed the medic and threw him over his shoulder.

  “Oh, we are so not doing this again,” Brody yelled as he began to wiggle.

  “Again?” Several of the guys echoed.

  Chauncey gave Brody’s ass a firm slap. “Stop struggling.”

  “Then put me down.”

  “I will once we’re alone.” Chauncey glanced over to Forrest. “Is there someplace we can talk in private?”

  Forrest pointed to the hall. While he wasn’t out-and-out grinning, the corners of mouth twitched. “You can use the guest bedroom. It’s the second door on the left.”

  Chauncey thanked him, then turned and walked down the hall. Brody continued to struggle, his feet kicking helplessly in the air.

  “This is really ridiculous,” Brody seethed.

  “I agree. You should have just came when I told you to.”

  “Who made you the boss of me?”

  Chauncey delivered another slap to Brody’s perfectly rounded ass. “Don’t make me spank you again.”

  That threat seemed to work because Brody stopped struggling. Unfortunately, he did continue to work his mouth. “You do realize that everybody is probably back there talking about us right now?”

  Chauncey used his foot to push open the door. Setting Brody down, Chauncey reached behind him, then shut and locked the door.

  “Surprise, brat. They’ve been talking about us for a while now.” Chauncey toed off his shoes.

  Brody did the same, his eyes flaring with anger and lust. The combination making for a sexy appeal. Grabbing the hem of his shirt, he pulled it over his head, then tossed it to the side. “What in the hell was so important that you had to make such a scene to get me back here?”

  Chauncey lost his own shirt, then began to unbutton his pants. “Why have you been avoiding me?”

  Brody gave a mock pout even as he lowered his own pants, revealing a pair of red and black underwear. “What? Did it hurt the big, bad trauma nurse’s feelings to know that he was being rejected?”

  Reaching into his front pocket, Chauncey pulled out a condom and a small, travel-sized bottle of lube. Waving them like a prize, he then tossed them onto the bed before he stripped off his pants and underwear. “No, it pissed me off to know that the snotty, little medic was having temper tantrum.”

  Brody took off the rest of his clothes and went over to the bed. Lying down on his back, he wrapped his fingers around his hard, cock and gave it a few strokes. “Snotty? What happened to brat?”

  Chauncey climbed into the bed and crawled over Brody. Batting the man’s hand away from his cock, Chauncey took over the task of jacking him off. “I’m beginning to think you like that word too much.”

  Brody let out a soft cry of pleasure as he thrust his hips up. “In your dreams.”

  Still stroking Brody, Chauncey leaned down and crushed their lips together in a hot, carnal, shut-him-the-hell-up kiss. At first Brody was unresponsive and kept his mouth clamped tightly shut. Then Chauncey gave his bottom lip a not-so-gentle love bite and Brody became cooperative in record time.

  He let out a gasp that soon became muffled as Chauncey thrust his tongue inside his mouth. Brody wrapped his arms around Chauncey’s shoulders and eagerly began to return the kiss.

  “Fuck, I’ve missed you,” Chauncey confessed between kisses.

  He continued to stroke Brody’s cock, loving how it elicited the most delicious sounds from the medic.

  Brody even let out a couple of whimpers before he replied, “Missed you, too.”

  “Then why the hell didn’t you answer the damn phone when I called?”

  Chauncey let go of Brody’s cock and reached for the lube. Cracking it open, Chauncey slicked his fingers up.

  “Because I didn’t want your pity. I heard you and Kiefer talking the other day. I didn’t want you to think you had to be with me because you felt sorry for me over all the crap life has thrown at me.”

  Sliding one finger inside Brody’s ass, Chauncey briefly closed his eyes as he savored the tightness of his brat. “I feel a lot of things for you, Brody, but none of them are pity.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.” Chauncey added anoth
er finger, marveling at how easily Brody opened for him. Almost as if they had been made for each other.

  Maybe that was because they did belong together and maybe, deep down, Chauncey had always known that. Because, despite the fact that Brody may drive him crazy and make him so frustrated that he wanted to tear out his hair, Chauncey couldn’t imagine life without him.

  “The other day when you told me that you weren’t looking for that special somebody, did you really mean it?”

  Brody shook his head, frustration evident on his face. “Really? We’re going to discuss this now? Can’t we just fuck?”

  Chauncey thrust in a third finger, curling them so they brushed against Brody’s prostate. Brody let out a cry of passion so loud it probably carried over to the other room. “If you want me to fuck you, you better answer me. I could easily get up and leave right now.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.” Brody’s eyes grew large with alarm.

  “We both know I would.” Chauncey pulled out his fingers and waited patiently for Brody’s answer.

  After nibbling on his bottom lip for a moment, Brody finally said, “Maybe I’m not looking because I already found him.”

  The fear lurking in Brody’s gaze spoke volumes to Chauncey. Yes, his little medic really did care and was just scared as hell of being hurt again. Chauncey knew then he had to do everything in his power to prove that he was worth the risk.

  Leaning down he gave Brody a long, slow kiss. “I’m scared, too. I’ve never felt this way about somebody. But I know if we don’t take the chance, we’ll both regret it for the rest of our lives.”

  Brody’s eyes grew moist with emotion. “What if I end up disappointing you?”

  Chauncey gave him another tender kiss. “Babe, that’s not possible. Nothing you do can ever change the way I feel about you.”

  “You do realize that I’m probably still going to drive you crazy? A day isn’t going to go by where we won’t fight.”

  “I’m counting on it.”

  That finally got Chauncey a smile. Brody let out a soft laugh. “Life sure won’t be dull.”

  “No, it won’t and I’m going to love every minute of it, too.”

  Brody swallowed hard before saying, “Me, too.”

  Happiness flooded Chauncey. “So does that mean you’re going to give us a chance?”

  “Only if you’ll make love to me right now. I’m so horny, I think I’m going to bust if you don’t get inside me soon.”

  Chauncey chuckled. “We can’t have that. It would be rude to make a big mess in Forrest’s guest room.”

  He reached for the condom and handed it to Brody. “Put it on me.”

  With shaking fingers, Brody grabbed the wrapper and ripped it open. Taking out the condom, he clumsily slipped it on Chauncey, his fingers leaving behind the most delicious tingles as they skimmed over Chauncey’s length.

  “There, it’s on. Now fuck me already,” Brody ordered loudly.

  “Now who’s being bossy?”

  Chauncey added more slick to his cock before he lined the tip to Brody’s opening. Brody’s lids fluttered shut, but Chauncey was having none of that. “Look at me while I take you.”

  Brody slowly opened his eyes. The emotions lingering there were so raw, it clawed at Chauncey’s heart. “I promise, I’ll never let you down.”

  After making that vow, Chauncey thrust inside Brody with one hard move. Brody screamed his pleasure, the medic’s legs going up to wrap around Chauncey’s waist.

  “That’s it. Just like that,” Brody yelled as he threw his head back against the pillows. “Give it to me hard.”

  Grabbing onto Brody’s shoulders for support, Chauncey began to pound into him. “Is that hard enough for you?”

  Brody let out a wail of pleasure, letting Chauncey know that it was indeed hard enough.

  “I better never see you flirting with another guy. You belong to me now,” Brody panted.

  “I only flirted with them to get a rise from you,” Chauncey confessed.

  “Jerk.”

  “Brat.”

  “I really do like it when you call me that.”

  Chauncey started to laugh, only to have it cut short as pleasure snapped over his body. At the same time, Brody screamed out Chauncey’s name one more time. Chauncey gave two more hard thrusts, before his pleasure crested, his cock filling up the condom.

  Brody shivered as he found his own release, hot seed splashing between them. He continued to cling to Chauncey the entire time, almost as if he were afraid to let go.

  “I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me forever,” Chauncey assured him.

  “Good, because I don’t think I’m capable of letting you go,” Brody replied.

  Those words had to be the sweetest thing Chauncey ever heard. As he pressed a kiss to Brody’s sweaty brow, he allowed himself, finally, to believe that things would work out.

  Chapter Eight

  They quickly cleaned up and got dressed again. Brody took the time to strip the bed so he could put the dirty sheets in the washer. While his mother may have her moments, she had taught him some manners. On occasion, Brody even made a point of using them.

  Chauncey waited while he completed his task before he took Brody’s hand and led him back out to the living room so they could face their friends. As they walked out, every gaze fell on them.

  A nervous feeling settled in Brody’s stomach as he studied all the shocked expressions in front of him. He slowly concluded that they’d probably heard every detail of his and Chauncey’s encounter.

  Then Matt smirked and asked, “So, Brody, did Chauncey give it to you hard like you wanted?”

  A heat spread over Brody’s face. “You heard that?”

  “You were screaming so loud the entire neighborhood probably got an earful.”

  Then the room came to life as everybody took out their wallets and began to pass around money.

  “Damn it, I was hoping they’d hold out for at least another week.”

  “Are you kidding? I was lucky they made it this long. I nearly lost twenty bucks.”

  “What are you whining about? I lost my money two months ago when these two wouldn’t get off their asses and get together.”

  “I tried to warn you that they could be stubborn.”

  Brody exchanged looks of horror with Chauncey as the truth suddenly dawned on him. “You guys bet on our love life.”

  Matt cocked a brow. “Well, technically it was your lack of a love life.”

  “What made you guys so sure that we’d end up together?”

  Kiefer rolled his eyes. “Please, we all knew how you two really felt about each other. The only ones who were ignorant to the fact were you and Chauncey.”

  Brody glanced back up at Chauncey. “Can you believe these guys? And here I thought they were our friends.”

  Chauncey laughed as he pulled Brody into his arms. “Had I’d known there was a betting pool going on, I would have put twenty on next week.”

  “You really are a jerk,” Brody replied, even as he snuggled his cheek against Chauncey’s chest.

  “Ah, but I’m your jerk.”

  “Yes, you are.”

  They moved to the couch and sat there, cuddling like a pair of teenagers while they watched their friends play cards. Brody realized that they should get up and be more social, but he didn’t want to leave the comfort of Chauncey’s arms.

  Just as Brody allowed himself to believe that the night would be perfect, his cell phone went off. Pulling it out of his pocket, his heart sank when he saw the incoming number.

  “What is it?” Chauncey asked, his brow furrowing in concern.

  “My mom. She’s calling me.”

  “Are you going to answer it?”

  Brody shook his head, his gaze still fixated on the readout. “I don’t need to, there’s…there’s only one reason why she ever calls me. She’s drunk and needs me to come home and clean her up.”

  Damn it, why did this have to happe
n? Just when everything had been going perfectly, too.

  Chauncey gave him a comforting squeeze. “Okay, I’ll go get the car.”

  Shocked, Brody finally looked up. “You’re going to drive me there?”

  “Of course I am. It sounds like you’re going to need my help.”

  Brody hesitated. While he really was tired of having to deal with his mother on his own, at the same time, he felt a bit of shame, too. He didn’t want Chauncey to have to see just how bad things were.

  “Are you sure? It’s not exactly pretty when she gets like this.”

  Chauncey pressed a kiss to Brody’s cheek. “That’s all the more reason for me to be there for you. Now tell everyone goodbye while I get the car.”

  Numb, Brody nodded and did as ordered.

  The entire drive there, Brody said a silent prayer that maybe this time it wouldn’t be so bad. That maybe he’d walk into the house and his mother would be all happy, alert and smiling, just like she used to be ten years ago before his father died.

  Even as Chauncey pulled into the drive leading to Brody’s mother’s tiny ranch home, Brody knew that prayer would go unanswered. While he’d yet to see what condition his mother was in, Brody knew what he’d find inside.

  After Chauncey turned off the car, Brody hesitated, hand on the door handle. “I should warn you. She can be mean sometimes.”

  Chauncey cupped Brody’s cheek. “That’s okay. I know how it can be when dealing with an alcoholic. Just because we had money doesn’t mean that my own family didn’t have their issues. Not a holiday goes by that my Aunt Susan doesn’t get drunk and make a scene.”

  God, how could Brody have ever thought that Chauncey was a self-centered jerk? The man had a heart so pure and kind that Brody felt damn lucky to have him in his life. It made Brody wonder how anybody could ever think ill of the man.

  “Kiefer told me that your family disowned you for standing up for him. I’m so sorry,” Brody said.

  “It’s okay.”

  “I know what it’s like to be alone. It must hurt you so much.”