22. Alfred

Chapter twenty-two

Alfred

That next spring…

I was pleased to be invited to the wedding, especially since it would be a small party out in the sticks with fewer than ten people. Looking around, I estimated ten people, including the grooms and me. Eleven, counting the dude marrying them, who I didn't know. I'd met everyone else, either at the release party or work, and of course, Greg and Eddy's mother was there. I'd met her a few times over the years, but only in passing. Still, it was small. And that was a good thing because we didn't want to trample the entire field of flowers we were standing in. It was lovely, with a riot of colors dancing in the morning sun. Brock had managed to put two of them in Eddy's hair. The smile it gave my boss and friend was incredible. It was worth the horrible trek to this field of wildflowers out in the middle of nowhere.

At least they'd warned us in advance so I could wear a pair of trendy hiking boots from L.L. Bean. They went with my shirt. And they allowed us to wear jeans. They were wearing jeans too. I figured if you were going to get married out in the wilderness, you needed to take into account for clothing options. Good job, guys!

It only took a few minutes to get situated and start the vowing. I only half listened to the words they exchanged as the red-headed BFF of Brock's had caught my eye. He was a fiery breath of fresh air with his cute freckles, youthful laugh, and bright green eyes full of trouble.

Since I met him at the release party, I'd checked out his blog, Hometown Lifestyle and Fun. It was about Foggy Basin mostly, and oddly it was quite popular. I guess folks who lived in the city wanted a window into what it was like living in a small country town. Plus, his writing style was quirky and fun. He'd recently written about the two grooms standing in front of us. He was good at leaving out details that would actually identify who they were. I thought that was nice. I could see the need for privacy.

When Jackie's gaze caught mine looking back at him, his lip curled up into a smirk, and those green eyes flashed. Yep, that one was going to be trouble.

Throughout the rest of the short ceremony, we stole glances at each other. Afterward, he beelined it over to me. "Hey, Al, uh, can I call you Al?"

No one had ever called me Al. My folks called me Freddy. Friends and colleagues stuck with the full Alfred. Never Al, so I liked it. "Sure. That's fine. How's it going?"

"It's good. Less time with Brock and more time working for Brock…" He chuckled pleasantly, the sound already making a home in my chest. "I'm not hating it for him, though."

"Yeah. So, you're working at the bookstore?"

Jackie nodded. "I can write from there. It works out. I'd do anything for Brock."

I nodded. "I get it. We heading there now?" The reception was being held at the bookstore since there were so few of us. The baker down the street was making the cake, and everything else was being set up for us with the help of a caterer. I had no doubt it would be perfect when we arrived.

"Yeah. Didn't you ride with Greg? Want to ride with me?"

I wanted to ride him , not with him. I didn't share that information, though. At least, I didn't think I did, but that feisty fox was smirking again as if he knew. Of course he knew. I nodded. "That'd be great."

"Great, yeah. I, uh, have to stop at my place on the way and grab my wedding gift. Do you mind?"

We started hiking back toward where we'd all parked. It was across the field and down a walking path through a small, wooded area, though calling it a walking path was generous. It was a tiny trail through the trees and overgrown brush. "Don't mind at all. That's cool. Greg has mine in his car. I'm sure he'll bring it in."

We chatted about gifts, the weather, how his blog was going, and work at Queen Gaming. Anything except the chemistry zinging between us. I hoped I wasn't reading him wrong.

Then I tripped.

Jackie reached out quickly, grabbing me and pulling me to his chest before righting me back on my feet. It was only a second or two, but his hard body against me had me sporting more wood than the trees around us. Jackie made a choked off noise and then cleared his throat. "Uh, you okay there, Al?"

"Yeah. Thanks." I felt a blush climbing up my neck. I needed to either fuck him or get the hell away from him before I embarrassed myself.

"Alright. This is a rough path, especially if you're not used to it." He put his hand on my back, sending a chill right down it to my ass, and I shivered. "At least you're wearing the right shoes. It took Brock weeks to convince Eddy's mom to get better shoes. She wanted to wear a dress and heels." And there was that laugh again, the sound going straight to my dick.

"Uh, yeah. I don't think she understood the whole out-in-the-field thing."

"Right. It's different, but it was nice."

"It was." I'd stopped paying attention to anything but Jackie the moment he caught my eye.

"Here we are." He escorted me to his vehicle and opened the passenger door for me. I waved at Greg so he'd know where I was. Once everyone was loaded into vehicles, we all drove out. As he'd mentioned, when we got close to town, Jackie detoured off the main road, winding away from the idyllic town. The trees grew thicker as he drove, but we couldn't have been too far from town.

Then he pulled off the road to an even smaller one, which was shorter and led right up to a little log cabin. "This is your place?" I lifted an eyebrow at him. It was exactly as I would have imagined for him. He was totally not a modern and sleek kind of guy. On the contrary, this was total Davey Crocket, and it suited him perfectly. A simple little box made of giant logs. I could totally see a mountain man with him on the front porch with his feet kicked up on the railing while he leaned back and whittled a carving. Not me by any means. So what was I doing there?

"Yeah. I bought it from one of my uncles. It's been in the family for a few generations. But I needed a place to get away. You know? Peace and quiet. There's a little stream that runs behind the house." He shrugged. "I like it."

"Yeah, I get it. Let's go get your stuff."

Jackie smiled, and I swear it lit up a lot more than the inside of the car. "Alright." He got out and jogged up to the front of the house, and I followed at a slower pace. He burst through the door as if it hadn't even been locked, which wouldn't surprise me. Who would even know it was here except locals.

I looked around at the woods surrounding the place, needing a minute before I went in. I took a deep breath and then followed him.

The inside was unexpected from looking at the outside. It was still all wood everywhere, and there was a big stone fireplace, but Jackie had toned it down with the cozy furniture and a large rug over the floor. Fairy lights were strung over the mantel and along the trim of the casement that separated the kitchen from the main living space. It felt warm and comfortable, like a big hug. "This is nice."

"Yeah?" Jackie dropped a big, wrapped present on the big crate that looked ancient but acted as a coffee table in the center of the room. Then he took those three or four steps to where I stood taking everything in.

"Yeah…" I whispered, staring into his sparkling eyes. The rest of the room disappeared. The tension in the air practically crackled between us. "We're not talking about the room anymore. Are we?"

"No." He reached out and grabbed my shoulders, pulling me closer. Then he kissed me.

It was like an explosion that opened a door between us. Neither could get close enough. We were all over each other, tugging at each other's clothes and touching every inch of bare skin we could find, and all without our mouths separating more than a centimeter as we moved. I wasn't sure how it happened, but Jackie moved us toward the couch and pushed me back on it. That was when we separated, but I didn't think it would be for long. He grabbed my shoe, quickly untying and loosening the laces before shucking them off my heels. My pants followed, and seconds later, I watched him do the same with his boots and jeans. I sucked my bottom lip in between my teeth at the sight. The hair on his chest and stomach matched his head, though it was sparse and led down to and surrounded his hard cock beneath his belly button. His firm legs were the same. "You're gorgeous."

Jackie winked at me. "Not bad yourself."

I didn't know how much of that I believed. I never thought of myself that way. My hair was piled on my head in a top knot with zero style, which was normal, but it did keep it out of my face. I wore a thick beard to hide that face, because I didn't like what I saw in the mirror every day. But for Eddy's wedding, everything had been trimmed neat. Jackie must have seen something in me though, because he stroked his dick and stalked toward the couch where I was stretched out, legs spread and cock against my abs, just as hard as his. He licked his lips, then got on top of me.

Our pace once again whipped up into a frenzy. Without clothing, it was all about how much skin on skin we could get. Legs rubbing, hands grabbing. Dicks sliding against each other. I leaned up and mouthed against his neck, sucking and nibbling. He smelled a little smoky and something a bit spicey that reminded me of a dark rum, making me feel like I was in capable hands. Or maybe that was his actual hands stroking my cock when he leaned to the side. "What do you want, Al?"

"Whatever. I-I need…"

"I know."

And I felt like he did know. This was unadulterated lust between two men. It was going to be hot and heavy and fast. He climbed over me, straddling me at the exact right spot so our cocks could come together. He stared down at us and mumbled something about being sexy, then stroked us together, spreading the pre-cum leaking from both our tips around as he moved. He leaned forward and kissed me, rubbing our cocks together and fucking my mouth with his tongue.

The head of his dick bobbed against mine, over and over. He moved one knee on the couch for better leverage, sliding his whole body up and down. I grabbed his sexy little ass and squeezed. I'd loved how it looked underneath tight jeans, but I liked it better bare in my hand.

"Fuck…Al…" He squeezed our cocks together, moving harder, faster. "Gonna…come."

"Yes." I wanted that for both of us, and I thrust my hips forward, chasing my orgasm.

Jackie's body jerked and froze, and his cum splashed over me. His face was so sexy, I couldn't resist him. I came seconds later, complete with light flashing behind my eyes. "Gawd…"

It didn't take us long to clean up, re-dress before we were loading back into the car and driving into town. He parked behind the building and entered through the back. The reception was in full swing. We separated and mingled, but my gaze kept finding that cute redhead across the room. And every single time, he was looking at me. We didn't have to tell each other it was a hookup—nothing more. But I wouldn't be surprised to end up in his bed at the end of the evening.

But first, I had to congratulate my boss and his new husband. And do the small talk thing. I walked around the store, the BB&B. Eventually, they cut the cake, which was accompanied by the most exquisite coffee I'd ever had. I took my cup, which had that BB&B logo on it, to a table in front of the café counter and took a picture of it. I had to post this on Instagram with all the hashtags. It was sooo good.

Eventually, the grooms departed. Jackie started breaking things up, moving folks on. Those who didn't want to stop partying were directed to Pints, where I happened to be staying. When everyone else had left, Jackie approached me. "Hey, you."

"Hey, back."

"I have to close up, but I'll walk you over to Pints when I'm done. If you like."

"I like. What can I do to help?" He directed me to the few things we needed to clean up, including dropping the trash in the dumpster at the back of the store. After locking the doors, Jackie took my hand, and we headed down the street. It was nice, but I wasn't reading into it. This was only one night.

The party continued right where it left off, only relocated to the bar, but I didn't feel like joining. We avoided it, heading up the stairs instead. I wanted to ask him up, but Jackie nixed it before I could ask.

"I have to open the store in the morning. It's going to be early. And I know you're heading back to the big city." He pulled me close and kissed my cheek. "So, this is like, not a goodbye. That's too hard. I'm sure I'll see you again."

"Mmm…I'm sure." Then I leaned into him. If this was it, I wanted one more taste of Jackie with that amazing coffee and a bit of sweet from the cake still lingering on his tongue. I couldn't get enough of that, and he didn't disappoint as he deepened the kiss.

Eventually, though, we pulled apart and spent a long, drawn-out moment staring at each other. I was amazed that this sexy, free spirit was into me at all. "This was fun," he said.

"Yeah."

"So, later?"

"Yep. Later-alligator."

He pointed at me with a smile, but that was his cue. He turned away and left while I unlocked the door to my room and went in. Alone.

I only wanted to know one thing. When the fuck could I get back to Foggy Basin? Because I already missed that sexy redhead who rocked my world.