by Jerry Cole
I was shocked. Did Patrick Dunlevy just admit fault? Was he taking responsibility?
“Bet you didn’t think I had it in me, did you?” He winked at me again and I found myself shaking my head.
“No, not at all.”
“Yeah, well don’t get too comfortable. I don’t know how long this will last,” he slid into his briefs and looked at me suspiciously. “Don’t just stand there watching my ass, Ramirez. Go shower and get dressed!”
I followed instructions and came out of the bathroom to find my clothes laid out on the bed.
“Do you need help?” he gave me a lazy smile. “Although, I have to admit I’m a lot better at taking your clothes off than putting them on.”
“Patrick…”
He took a towel and dried my hair.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to try anything. I said we would show up for breakfast and I meant it. But I’m not going to lie,” he gave me a heated look. “It’s a hard decision to make.”
“Patrick,” I pulled away from him and leaned against the dresser against the wall. “Let me do this.”
“Why?”
“Because of this,” I looked at him. “You being like this is too much for me.”
“Too much.”
I swallowed hard, trying not to let my emotions overcome me. It was my turn, to be honest.
“Do you know how long I waited for you to be just like this? Do you know how many times I wished...I just thought that if I waited long enough things would change. But they never changed. You never even tried.”
“Okay, but I’m changing now. I’m trying. You can see I’m trying. What’s the problem?”
“The problem is I’M SCARED.” Now I was crying. “I don’t know how long this is going to last. You say this is you, the real you, but the man I’ve known for years is different. And what if, one day, you decide this isn’t working for you? What if you decide honesty and not being an asshole is just too much work? What do I do then?”
“Then,” he closed the distance between us and pulled me against his body. “Then you beat some sense into me and walk away. Because I can stand to lose a lot of things in life, but I can’t lose you. I know that now. Okay, I’m late to the party but I’m here.”
“I can’t put my life on hold for you,” I said.
“I’m not asking you to. I’m saying let me stay with you. We can build a life together.”
“You have obligations.”
“I know and one of them is to make sure that the man I love is happy, safe, and secure.”
I felt my chest constrict. We’d never spoken of love. I wasn’t even sure it was in his vocabulary. There was sex, and lust, desire, and even caring, but love was something else.
“Love.”
His face turned red but he didn’t look away or back down.
“Yeah, I know, right? Me, of all people! But it only makes sense. And you love me too, or else you wouldn’t have put up with me for so long. I know you had to take care of your sister, but you could’ve left and found a better job. You didn’t. Even after we stopped sleeping together you showed up every day and cleaned up behind me. If that’s not loving, what is?”
It was everything that I wanted, served on a platter. He was too close for me to think straight. And I needed to think; I needed to use my head and not my heart or else I would get hurt again. I knew that much for sure.
“I need to think,” I gasped, pushing against his chest. He held on tighter.
“Don’t. There’s no good reason to stay with me except that you love me. That’s it. And only your heart can tell you that.”
“Patrick!”
He looked at me and opened his mouth to speak when a soft knock at the door interrupted us.
“Hey you guys, it’s time to eat,” Evangeline’s child-like voice and knowing giggle poured cold water on us. I have never been so happy to be interrupted in my life.
Patrick let me go and stepped away.
“We better get moving,” he said, embarrassed. “Let’s go down there and show them what I look like when I’m not an asshole.”
Chapter Fifteen
We arrived in a stretched Cadillac SUV even though there was no official red carpet. It was over the top, but I wanted to do something special. Marcelo had worked his ass off for the last three months to make this night happen. He’d invited all of the local names and faces and gotten a fair amount of press to come as well.
This was more than just a show, it was a charity event, which meant that money was ripe to be plucked. Ariana’s work was truly stunning and made me sad to know that I hadn’t taken the time to get to know such a talented woman while she was still alive. I’d missed a lot while I was walking around with my head up my ass.
I was determined not to miss much more.
“I feel like I’m at the world’s worst prom,” Marcelo said, handing me a flute of champagne.
“Oh no, it could be much, much worse,” I said, taking the glass and kissing his cheek.
“How? There’s no music or anything?”
“Trust me, bad music is worse than no music. Besides, people are loving your sister’s work. The bids are coming in nicely. I think, overall, it’s been a success.”
“You’re just saying that,” he blushed slightly.
“I am. I’m so bored I want to pluck my own eyes out of my head. But all the other stuff is true.”
“You know, there are consequences for not telling the truth. I’m going to have to punish you,” he said darkly.
“Oh, yes, please,” I grabbed his hand and started to walk toward the entrance.
“Wait. Patrick! Not now. We can’t leave,” he argued.
“Why not? Helen is here. She can handle it.” Marcelo looked back at the crowd of people milling around the paintings hung on the walls and chatting softly amongst themselves.
“That’s not what she’s here for,” he hissed.
“Of course it is, or did you forget what it was like being my PA?”
He gave me a smile that I had come to realize meant that he was perfectly amendable to my foolishness. See? I was learning. I pulled him out of the front door and we ran across the parking lot to the car, catching the driver sitting on the hood, smoking a cigarette.
“Uh, Mr. D-Dunlevy—”
“Don’t worry about it, Gordo. Just get us out of here,” I said, pulling Marcelo into the backseat. He barely got the door closed behind him before I put my lips on his skin.
“Ah, wait,” he groaned but his fingers were already busy working on the buttons on my shirt.
“I am waiting, see? I’m being very, very patient,” I assured him, kissing his neck and chin before dipping the tip of my tongue into the fount of his mouth.
“Put up the partition, at least,” he laughed.
I took one hand out of his shirt to do as he suggested, catching an amused look in Gordo’s eyes in the rear-view mirror as the partition slid into place.
“Where is he taking us?”
“I have no idea,” I said, turning all of my attention to Marcelo’s smooth body and hot skin. “I’ve been thinking about how to get you out of this suit all evening.”
“All you have to do is ask.” He tossed his jacket across the seat and pulled his shirt from his pants. I did the same, hooking him by the neck to pull him down to the extra-long, wide seat. The television behind us played a revolving series of sunset scenes, casting a soft glow of pinks and oranges over our skin.
I ran my hands over his chest and back, enjoying the dips and valleys his muscles made across the landscape of his skin.
He cradled my head against his chest as I kissed and licked my way across his torso. I flicked his nipples with the tip of my tongue and made him jump and sigh. The car lurches to the right and we both tumble but we don’t stop. Instead, we laugh like kids and keep kissing, because we’re both pretty sure there is nothing else worth doing at that moment.
My hands are in his pants and a moment later they are g
one as well, leaving just a pair of boxers to obscure my view. He straddles my body and looks down at me like a king surveying his kingdom. Not one to let anybody keep the upper hand for long, I hooked his legs with my arms and pulled him up the length of my torso. His cock slipped out of the cotton underwear and the tip of his dick grazed my lips.
He sighed again, a sizzling, satisfying sound. I stuck my tongue out and flicked it against the tip again. And then again. And again. I repeated the action until he scooted forward so that I could fill my whole mouth with his cock. He rocked his hips forward, effectively face fucking me while my hands roamed his body. I found his nipples again, flicking them in time with his gyrations. He moaned and heaved, his breathing getting ragged as the seconds ticked away.
The car began to rumble beneath us, adding to the intensity of the moment. I held him in place, turning my attention to pleasing him with my mouth. He cooed and bucked as I pushed him closer to the edge. He grabbed me by the hair, traumatizing my scalp as he yanked my head up and down the length of his shaft. I struggled to accommodate him, letting him fill my mouth over and over again.
Suddenly the car stopped and I heard the engine cut. Marcelo noticed as well and looked around. Fortunately, all of the windows were covered by curtains, or else I’m pretty sure this would be grounds for a public indecency charge. I took advantage of his distracted state and trapped him beneath me, cradling his head in the crook of my arm.
I kissed him slowly, savoring the taste of him. He responded hotly, with a surge of lust and bold hands. He unzipped my pants and stroked the length of my cock.
“No underwear? How did I miss that?”
I nipped his earlobe.
“You were understandably distracted.”
“Mr. Dunlevy, I need to stretch my legs. I’ll be back in twenty minutes. I have the keys….t-t-take your time...sir.” I thought I heard him take off running from the car but I had more important things on my mind at that time.
“Thanks a lot, Gordo,” I called after him.
This time it was Marcelo’s turn to take advantage of my momentary distraction. I found myself trapped beneath him once again, this time with my pants pooled around my ankles and my cock waving proudly in the air. I grabbed his ass and massaged his cheeks, kissing his chest and grinding my throbbing member between our bodies. The friction was delicious, as was his own enthusiasm.
“I want you,” he whispered in my ear, reaching between our bodies and fondling his tight hole. I grabbed a tiny pot of lotion from the complementary set of toiletries the car rental company provided.
“Aloe vera. Nice touch,” I smirked, emptying the container in my hand and stroking my cock. It only took Marcelo a moment to shift so that my cock was pressed against his body and he slid down smoothly, joining our bodies.
“Ooh, baby,” he moaned. I lifted my hips and he shifted again riding my hips as he was surfing. He matched me thrust for thrust. I thought I would lose my mind from the feeling of filling his tight hole. I thrust in deep, over and over again. He squeezed my cock tight and cried out loud as we found our rhythm. The tension between us built until there was nothing left to do but to explode with pleasure...and so we did.
“Oh, shit! Baby!” Marcelo collapsed on my chest and I held him there until I was sure my heart wouldn’t explode. It was more than just the effects of great sex, for the first time I felt full. I felt like my heart was overflowing with warmth and a deep sense of peace settled in my bones.
“We have to get our shit together. Gordo will be back in a moment and this place smells like ass,” I grumbled.
“If you say so,” he rolled off of my chest and breathed deep.
I tried my best to clean up and pulled my pants back up. Marcelo stretched like a cat and watched me lazily, making no immediate move to retrieve his underwear or cover his nakedness. That’s probably what I like most about him. He may not be as debauched as I am but he’s unapologetic about his debauchery.
I rolled down the window and let the cool night air sweep away the smell of sweat and sex. I was surprised to see that we were parked by the tiny lake in town, the one with a huge tree where I’d gotten my first real kiss, buried Ariana’s demon-cat and carved my initials in the trunk.
“How did he know about this spot?” I marveled.
“Doesn’t everybody know about it?” Marcelo asked, zipping up his pants.
“Did you?”
“No, but I’m not a local.”
I stepped out of the car and took a deep breath. The moon reflected on the water and gave the surrounding foliage a sort of silver highlight. It wasn’t the Riviera but it was still beautiful. Marcelo stood behind me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and pressing his face against my cheek.
“This was a great idea,” he said.
“Yeah, we should hire somebody to have it more often.”
“You mean, you didn’t plan this whole thing?”
“Me? I wish!” I turned and kissed him softly. “I’m not bright enough to pull this off. I’m just smart enough not to miss the opportunity.”
He smiled and I kissed him again, letting myself fall into the warmth of his arms. I suddenly had a thought and pulled away from him.
“I have an idea,” I dove into the car and retrieved a tiny knife from the minibar.
“Isn’t that for cheese?” Marcelo looked incredulous.
“Not tonight.”
I grabbed him by the hand and took off running toward the large tree where thousands of silly teens had carved their initials over the years. He followed behind me, both of us barefoot and bare-chested.
When we got there, I searched for the perfect spot, someplace where we would be able to find it later.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m making it official,” I said.
“Making what official?”
“I’m officially telling the world that I love you. I’ve only ever done this one other time, so I’m a little rusty, but it seems like the right thing to do.”
I found a clear spot right under what appeared to be a newer branch and began carving my name in a neat, looping script.
“Are you going to write it out?” Marcelo folded his hands over his chest.
“Yup. I want it to be clear,” I pointed to a set of letters inside a crude heart a few inches away. “Look at this. Who the hell is A.R.C.?” He shook his head but didn’t say anything else. After ten minutes I’d barely gotten through five letters and I was starting to heat up.
“Let me try,” Marcelo laughed and took the knife from my hands.
“Are you laughing at me?”
“Not really,” he said. “It’s a dumb thing to do, but it’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever done. I can’t let you get all the credit.”
Marcelo worked faster than I did and was able to finish my name in no time. We argued over whether to write out the word “love” or simply draw a heart between our names. He won in the end and I carved the letters into the tree’s flesh. By the time I finished carving his name I’d managed to slice my hand open and get some of the tree’s sap into the cut. It stung like crazy but I wasn’t going to let up until it was done.
“Not bad, Dunlevy,” Marcelo said, admiring my handiwork.
“Not bad,” I agreed.
“Not good either, but it’s a start.”
I pulled him close to me and looked into those soft brown eyes. Nope, it was nowhere near as good as it could get, but we were making one hell of a start.
