by Riley Knight
Christian nodded, not letting go of Mark’s hand. He’d taken off so fast. The cops must have just missed him. Well, he had no objection to talking to them. Anything to end this insanity.
“You can tell them I’m here, if you want,” he said. Meanwhile, Nick was looking more and more like he was going to explode. Or maybe faint. All because he was watching Christian and Mark holding hands.
Christian watched him, a little bit amused, but also worried. He’d never had any indication that Nick was homophobic, but it certainly would put the icing on the cake if he was, wouldn’t it?
“So what’s the deal with you two?” Nick had apparently had enough. He couldn’t hold it in for even a second more. “Are you together or what?”
Christian looked at Mark, and at the same time, they nodded.
“Yeah, we’re together,” Christian said calmly, while at the same time giving Nick a look that blatantly asked if he wanted to make something of it.
“But you’re straight,” Nick said, and Christian smiled a little at his plaintive tone. This wasn’t about Nick being a homophobe. It was about Nick being a little freaked out that something he had known to be true apparently wasn’t.
“Whatever I am, I’m not straight,” Christian admitted. “I just thought I was. And no other guy has ever done it for me.” He shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m bisexual. It doesn’t matter, really, because I’m only interested in Mark now.”
And that was really what it came down to. Was he gay? No. But he was in love with a man, and really, that was enough for him to know. That was really all anyone needed to know, he figured.
“Oh.” Nick nodded, apparently accepting that. “Okay.”
The silence that fell then was a little uncomfortable, but not long, and not really all that strained. Finally, Briana took Nick’s hand.
“Come on, before you say anything else stupid,” she said. “I’ll tell the cops they can find you here. See you later.” She smiled at Mark. “Thanks. You saved his dumb ass. I owe you one.”
Then they were gone, and it was just him and Mark again.
“So you just want to be with me, huh?” Mark said, smirking. “I really, really thought you weren’t into the commitment thing.”
Christian smirked back.
“I wasn’t. But then I met this sexy bodyguard and he sort of saved my life twice.” He squeezed Mark’s fingers. “And I fell in love with him. So, do you want me?”
It was a scary thing to ask, even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer to it. Mark, at least, didn’t leave him waiting in suspense for very long.
“Of course I do,” he said, smiling a little. The expression softened the lines of pain around Mark’s eyes, and it was a good thing to see. “I’m not much of a catch, though. I’m too old for you, and I might be unemployed soon, and I could ruin your career …”
Christian didn’t want to hear it. Whatever the truth was to those words, he didn’t care. Even if every single word was true, it didn’t matter.
“Shut up,” he said affectionately. “We’ll get through it all. Together.”
And then, before Mark could speak again, Christian leaned in and kissed him. Uncaring of whether a nurse or a doctor could come in, or a fan, or whoever, he kissed him.
And the most amazing part of all was that Mark kissed him back.
Epilogue
Mark
“Are you ready for this?”
Part of Mark couldn’t believe that this was happening. That he was with someone who was, for real, going to be on one of the biggest talk shows on the air. Christian seemed like such a normal guy, and in the year that they’d been dating, he had mostly been focusing on getting the new album together, so they’d had lots of time together.
Well, the new album was out now, and it was selling even better than their previous one had. There was already a tour planned. Life was about to get crazy again.
But that was the deal. He’d known what he was signing up for when he hooked up with Christian in the first place.
Christian turned to grin at him, and Mark had to once more think about just how lucky he was. The man looked gorgeous, and he’d even slightly dressed up in dark jeans and a button up shirt. For Christian, that was high fashion.
“Yeah, I’m ready,” he said. He leaned in and brushed his lips, just briefly, over Mark’s lips, then smirked up at him.
It was a constant surprise to Mark that they hadn’t been found out yet. Neither of them had tried to hide it. It had been the sort of thing where they just went through their lives being together instead of talking about it a lot.
There had been no big coming out scene for Christian. Mark still technically had his job as Christian’s bodyguard, though for the first little while, he’d been living in fear of a phone call at any time.
It was ironic, really. After so much worry from both of them about what would happen if they hooked up, they’d gotten brave and found out … that nothing at all would happen. That life would continue as normal.
“Good luck, babe,” Mark whispered to the young man, then hugged him briefly against himself.
Christian was shaking. Mark frowned, and let his embrace go on for a few more seconds, stroking over the young man’s back. Christian must be nervous. Really nervous. Which was a little bit strange, since Christian tended to take everything pretty easily.
“You okay?” Mark asked, looking down into the blond man’s eyes.
Christian shook his head.
“Just don’t kill me for this,” he whispered, then pulled away from Mark, kissed him almost roughly, and walked onto the stage just as the hostess was announcing him.
It was a strange thing to say, and Mark frowned thoughtfully as he watched Christian go. What had that all been about?
He wouldn’t have to wait long to find out.
* * *
“So, the new album’s doing well?”
So far, the interview was going just as Mark would expect. He was watching closely for whatever had had Christian all worked up, but so far, there was nothing. It was just a normal talk show interview.
“Yeah, it is,” Christian said. He seemed completely at ease now. Any nerves that he’d had seemed to be long gone now. Maybe Mark had imagined them in the first place.
“That’s great. It’s a good album. Are you looking forward to going on tour?”
Christian shrugged.
“I have a strange relationship with touring, and so does my boyfriend,” he said really, super casually. “But yeah, he’ll be with me, so I guess I am looking forward to it. I love to travel.”
At first, Mark was sure that he’d heard the other man wrong. That there was no way that he’d just said what Mark had just heard. From a quick glance into the audience, though, they had heard the exact same thing, and they all looked sort of stunned.
Not the talk show hostess, though, who was an openly lesbian woman. She took it so easily that Mark realized that this had to have been planned out ahead of time. This was Christian coming out, over national television, in a way that felt safe to him.
This was why Christian had been worried that Mark would be angry.
When Mark examined his feelings, though, anger was pretty much the last thing he was feeling. Amazement. Wonder. Hope. Everything he was feeling was positive.
This was proof positive that Christian felt strongly enough for him that he didn’t care who knew it. Maybe even that he was proud to have Mark for his own.
The interview went on, and neither Christian nor the woman interviewing him made anything like a big deal. They treated it like it was a completely normal thing, and Mark had to shake his head at how well Christian had managed this.
No wonder the guy had been so nervous.
Finally, the segment was over. Christian would have to stick around, because he still had to play a song from the new album with the rest of his band, but he had half an hour or so until he needed to go back out.
The moment Mark saw Chr
istian, he grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him into a secluded corner. He saw the wary look in Christian’s eyes, he saw the slight defiance, and it all just made him love him more.
So he kissed him. He wrapped his arms around him and kissed him like his life, like both of their lives, depended on it. It sort of felt like they did.
“I love you,” Mark murmured, when the kiss finally broke. It was all he really needed to say. He loved him. Deeply, truly, sincerely, and Mark was starting to genuinely think forever, too.
“So you don’t mind?” Christian asked, looking at Mark with huge, emotional eyes. Eyes that had maybe been the first thing that Mark had fallen in love with, though it was hard to say.
“No. I don’t mind.” And that was a surprise to him. Once upon a time, he would have thought that he would mind being shocked like that. That he would have wanted to know it was going to happen long in advance.
But Christian hadn’t even brought his name into it. He’d come out, but only for himself. Once, maybe even that would have been enough to freak Mark out, but not this time.
They had both changed so much, but in a good way. A way that felt like they were making a decision to be together.
They kissed again, and didn’t stop until the moment that Christian was pulled away to do his musical number.
* * *
Things would definitely start to happen now.
As Mark and Christian went back to the house that they now shared, Mark considered it, and from Christian’s silence, he figured that it was the same deal for him.
Christian’s secret hadn’t really been a secret for a year or so, but it had still stayed relatively private. Those days were over. Maybe Mark would get fired. He was no longer worried about that. And Christian had more than enough money that, even if his sales did tank, he would be more than set for the rest of his life.
They could both just do exactly what they wanted to do, and even better, they could find out just what that was together.
The moment they were inside, Mark turned to Christian to pull him close, only to find that Christian was already there. They were perfectly in sync with this, as they now were with most things, and the kiss they shared was somehow different than any they had before.
There was desire there. There always was, and Mark thought that there always would be. But there was more, too. Love, real love, and a commitment to each other that was completely new.
Whatever happened, they were in this together.
They tugged each other to bed, and as they did, clothing was left in a trail right to the bedroom. By the time they reached it, they were both completely naked, and Mark pulled Christian down onto the soft surface with him.
Neither of them could wait. In seconds, Mark was inside Christian, clinging to him, feeling closer to him than he ever had before. They’d long ago given up condoms, and right then, Mark was glad for it. Skin to skin, surrounded by the man he loved, that was what felt right to him.
“I love you,” Christian gasped, as Mark rubbed the head of his cock right against Christian’s prostate. “I love you, Mark, more, please!”
It was making love, though both of them were too desperate for it to be slow and sweet. There was desire, always desire, burning bright and hot underneath the emotions.
They sped up, bodies straining to get closer to each other, kissing frantically, grabbing for each other and clinging. The pleasure built quickly, and looking into Christian’s eyes, Mark knew that the young man wasn’t going to be able to hold back for much longer. No more than Mark himself was.
As their shared orgasm washed over them, Mark couldn’t think of anything else. Just Christian, getting lost in his eyes as pleasure filled them. Christian. His Christian.
After, covered in sweat and panting, Mark turned to look at the younger man and suddenly, he couldn’t hold it back anymore. There was something he’d been meaning to ask, and though he hadn’t quite planned it out, now seemed like the perfect time.
“Marry me?” he asked. Maybe he should have done it at a fancy dinner, with a ring. But somehow, for them, this felt perfect. For the proposal to be while Mark was still buried inside Christian’s perfect body, while they were still clinging together.
“Are you serious?” Christian asked, and he grinned when Mark nodded. “Oh my God. Of course I’ll marry you.”
Just like that, it was done. Mark had never thought he would get married. He had thought he was married to his job, until he met the man who challenged that.
Now it really would be the two of them together, figuring it all out as they went along.
Completely happy in a way that he could never remember being, Mark went to sleep, with his new fiance clutched tightly in his arms.
The End
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About the Authors
Felix Brooks
In a former life, Felix Brooks worked a corporate job in the South. When the voices in his head wouldn’t stay quiet any longer, he moved to San Francisco to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. In his free time, he likes to spend time with his pets.
Riley Knight
Riley Knight is an avid reader and has always had a soft spot for gay romances. What could be better than a sweet story between two beautiful men who need each other? It only seemed logical for Riley to write these steamy, emotional romances, focusing on an emotional and happy ending.
When not reading or writing, Riley can be found wandering the landscape and loves to go for long walks and observe all sorts of people and situations.
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