Chapter 30

Thirty

Will

Will stared out at the ocean, watching the waves break against the sand as he sat down on the beach. It was late afternoon in Oceanside, California, and it was the day before he started his new job at the marketing firm. He had found a room for rent in a shared house, not far from the beach, and couldn't believe how different his life was from just weeks before.

"Hey you," came a voice from behind him, and he felt familiar hands against his shoulders.

"Hi baby," he said to Jacob, smiling and giving him a warm kiss as Jacob sat down on the sand next to him. Jacob was still wearing his pants and button-up shirt from work that day, and Will thought he looked impossibly sexy. "How was work?"

"It was good! I'm still just training, but I hope by next week maybe they'll actually give me some real stuff to work with. How was your day?" Jacob asked, wrapping his arm around Will's shoulder and looking out at the water.

"Good, but I'm nervous for tomorrow… excited, though, too," Will said.

"You're gonna do amazing tomorrow. You already know Erica, and you're mostly going to work with her. And if it's anything like my job, you'll be training for the first couple of weeks anyway," Jacob said, giving Will a small kiss on his shoulder.

"I sure hope so," Will said.

"Actually, today at work they announced an event that's happening next week. They're having some kind of party, or ‘gala,' they called it. It's supposed to be all fancy and I'm gonna have to wear cocktail attire! I don't even think I own that," Jacob said, laughing nervously.

"Oh, I can definitely help you find some cocktail attire. God, I can't even imagine how sexy you would look in a nice suit…" Will said, growling slightly at Jacob and kissing him again.

"Actually… you might need to shop for yourself, too," Jacob said, grinning at Will.

"Huh? How come?" Will asked.

"Well… the event has a plus one. And… I want you to come with me," Jacob said, looking deep into Will's eyes.

"You want me to be your plus one? At a work event?" Will said. He knew Jacob had come a long way in the past few weeks, but not too long ago he had hated the idea of his coworkers even seeing a photo of him with Will.

"Yep. I want you to come. I mean, if you'd like to," Jacob said.

"Of course I'd love to!" Will said, wrapping his arms around Jacob in a hug.

He started out at the ocean again for a few minutes, thinking to himself. Oh, nothing, I'm just going to a gala event with Jacob. In cocktail attire! He didn't know what he had done to deserve this life, but he was loving every minute of it with Jacob by his side.

Will's first week at work passed by without a hitch. Erica guided him through all the work he would be doing on a regular basis, and there was certainly a lot to learn. His office was near the beach, and his coworkers all seemed nice from what he could tell. His main objective in the first week was not to screw anything up, and he accomplished that with ease.

Now what Will was worried about was this cocktail party for Jacob's work. He was at Jacob's apartment the day of the event, helping him get ready. Jacob was in his room putting on his tie.

"You. Are. So. Fucking sexy in that suit," Will said, coming up behind Jacob and grabbing him from behind, as Jacob looked in the mirror.

"Are you sure? I don't look dumb or… like I'm trying too hard?" Jacob said, checking his outfit in the mirror.

"Are you out of your mind? You look classy as hell and you're gonna outshine me," Will said, looking at his own suit in the mirror.

"Alright. Well, it better be good considering how expensive these were," Jacob said with a laugh.

"Hey, we're employed men now! We're gonna have to look the part, and baby, I can say for sure that you do right now," Will said, planting a kiss on the back of Jacob's neck. He turned, walking in front of Jacob, and kissed him on the mouth this time. He could smell the cologne Jacob had put on – he usually didn't wear any, but decided to for the event. He smelled masculine and intoxicating.

Will wrapped his arms around Jacob's neck, deepening the kiss. Jacob placed his hands on Will's hips, bringing him in close.

A minute later, Jacob pulled back, taking a deep breath in.

"Okay, guess we should get going," Jacob said, smiling at Will.

Will let his mouth hang open, giving a little gasp. "You tease!" he said, smiling at Jacob.

"It's okay baby, I might be teasing you now, but just know that I'll deliver on my promise later," Jacob said with a low voice into Will's ear. Will felt a shiver run through his body, anticipating what was to come.

After a few minutes, they headed to Jacob's work in his car, driving along the ocean on the highway. Will watched the sun set over the ocean, realizing that for the first time in a long time, he loved where he lived.

"So this event is at your office?" Will asked.

"Yeah, in the huge conference room on the ground floor. I'm sure they're gonna have plenty of food and drinks, and they said there'll be live music too," Jacob replied.

"Awesome. I'm excited," Will said.

Jacob pulled into the parking lot at his company's office. It was fairly close to the beach, in a nice area north of San Diego. The air was cool, and the sun had finally dipped below the horizon, leaving a glowy orange tint to the sky.

"Alright, let's head in. Do you want to see where I work first, before we head to the party? I could show you my desk," Jacob said, grinning.

"I love that you're so excited about your desk. I totally want to see it," Will said with a laugh.

They entered the building and climbed up a staircase to get to the 2 nd floor. Jacob led Will down a hallway to an open area with a handful of desks. No one was in the office part of the building at that time on a Saturday, so Will and Jacob were the only people upstairs. Jacob's desk was near a wall with windows that looked out onto the ocean.

"Holy shit, Jacob, that view is fantastic," Will said, walking to the window and looking out.

"I know, isn't it? And since I'm only on the second floor I pretty much am not afraid to look out the window," Jacob said, smiling. "This one's my desk."

Jacob gestured to his desk, which had two monitors like most of the other ones in the room, a nice lamp, and a plant. Will looked at the things Jacob had brought in and a frame caught his eye.

Jacob had a picture frame that contained four photos: one he took of the mountains in Boulder, one that Will took of him playing pinball, a photo of the lake in Chicago, and the last one, the picture of Will kissing him on the cheek, Jacob smiling next to him.

Will put his hand on Jacob's shoulder.

"Jacob, you brought that here? I can't believe it," Will said. He wrapped his arms around Jacob in a hug, his heart beating just slightly faster.

"I never want to go long without seeing you, even at work. Of course I brought it in," Jacob said softly.

Will sighed, smiling. "You are awesome. Really, the best ." He kissed Jacob softly, then rested his forehead on Jacob's. "Now are we gonna stop being antisocial and go downstairs to the party?"

"Let's do it," Jacob said, grabbing Will's hand and heading downstairs.

As they walked further down the hallway downstairs, Will started to hear music and activity up ahead. They reached the conference room and entered the front door.

"Holy shit," Will whispered as he saw the room, "You said this was a conference room, but it's like a grand ballroom!"

The room had intricate, detailed decorations, tons of tables set up for people to sit and eat, an open bar, and the promised live band at the front of the room. Will thought at least two hundred people must have been milling around.

"Your company is pretty big, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Jacob said, scanning the room. "I don't know that many people yet, but if I see someone I know, I'll introduce you. For now… food and drinks!"

They headed to the buffet tables, picking up little plates of finger food, and each of them grabbed a cocktail at the bar. They had just finished eating when a woman came up, smiling brightly.

"Well hello, Jacob! How are you doing? I'm so glad you came, can you believe this band? They are so good," she said, smiling at Jacob. "Oh, hello there, who's your friend?" she said, looking at Will.

"Hi Marsha, you look amazing! This is Will, my boyfriend," Jacob said, and Marsha shook Will's hand.

Will's felt like his heart stopped when Jacob introduced him. Boyfriend . Will's eyes immediately landed on Jacob's face and their eyes met for a split second before Jacob turned back to Marsha and kept talking.

Will couldn't help a smile from permanently fixing itself on his face. He and Jacob had definitely been hanging out with each other nonstop since he had moved to California, and he knew that Jacob wasn't seeing anyone else. But Will had been afraid to bring up the topic of being official boyfriends with Jacob. He knew Jacob had to move at his own pace, since he was new to the world of dating guys. But holy shit – he had just introduced Will as his boyfriend, at a work event, no less. Will felt like his heart couldn't contain itself.

After a few minutes, Marsha left, telling Will it was nice to meet him. Jacob turned back to the buffet table.

"Damn, I have got to get more of those pigs in a blanket. They are the best ones I've ever had," Jacob said, making a beeline to the tray.

Will grabbed Jacob's bicep, stopping him from walking.

"Jacob."

"What? I know I already had three, but did you try them? So good!"

"Jacob. That's not what I mean."

"What?" Jacob smiled, looking Will in the eyes, feigning ignorance.

Will smiled back, his grin widening as he realized Jacob knew what he was thinking.

"Okay. It's fine. Go ahead, go get more pigs in a blanket… boyfriend ," Will said, pinching Jacob lightly on his side.

Jacob grinned back at him. "I hope you're okay that I called you that. I figured she might as well know what you are to me, since ‘friend' doesn't really cut it," Jacob said.

Will nodded in agreement, amazed at how far Jacob had come. "You're right. It doesn't."

They hung out at the party for another hour and a half, and Jacob introduced Will as his boyfriend to at least four more people. Will couldn't believe it. He was so happy to be here in California with Jacob, and finally have someone he could truly call his own.