Chapter Twenty | Daniel

The bulk of what Ethan was moving in was clothes and baking equipment. I'd been tasked with the job of finding space in the kitchen cupboards for everything of his. The next couple of hours ended up being a purge as I discarded cooking equipment of mine I hadn't used in years.

Ethan had left his furniture in his apartment. His cousin was moving in and subletting from him. The fact Ethan kept his apartment initially made me uneasy. It seemed like an insurance policy in case our relationship didn't work out. Ethan assured me his cousin had been looking to move out of her parent's house for months and hadn't been able to find a suitable apartment.

There was nothing more to it than that.

The hug and kiss he'd laid on me mid-move had confirmed his devotion.

He loved me.

I sat at my kitchen table when my phone dinged. It was Frank, my friend from the office.

Frank: How's the move coming along?

Me: He has a lot of clothes.

Frank: You've mentioned his colourful shirts.

Me: He has a ton of them. He looks so cute in them, though.

Frank: Worth giving up half your closet .

Me: Absolutely.

Frank: He really didn't bring any furniture.

Me: I've been in the kitchen the whole time, but I don't think so.

Frank: You're still worried about that.

Me: No, it's fine. I wouldn't have room for his furniture anyway. I'm on kitchen duty. There are things I have no idea what they are. He's going to be baking up a storm in here.

Frank: Sounds like a dream. I'll leave you to it.

Me: Thanks. We'll have you over soon so you can meet him.

Frank: Looking forward to it.

I felt like I could pick up my relationship with Frank and his wife again. I had a partner now. No more feeling like a third wheel. It would be nice to entertain after years of being alone.

Ethan swept into the kitchen. "I have a surprise for you in the bedroom."

"Mm." I rose from my seat. "I love bedroom surprises."

Ethan winked at me. "I think you'll like this one. I had to wait for the movers to leave."

Okay, now I was extremely curious.

I followed Ethan down the hall and stepped through the doorway of our bedroom.

"Holy, Jeezus." I clutched my chest. Surely, this surprise was going to give me a heart attack. Above the bed, almost the width of the headboard, covering the wall, a massive canvas.

I wandered closer. My lover and the love of my life reclined on a bed of white sheets, a mess of brown curls, biting his bottom lip, so cheeky, his firm cock on his thigh, his sultry brown eyes looking at me like he wanted to devour me. Or wanted me to consume him .

"Fuck, Ethan. How do you expect me to leave this room every morning?"

"You like it?" Ethan bounced up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. "I wasn't sure you'd want it on display like this in case someone came into your bedroom."

I turned to face him. "It's perfect. Other people shouldn't be in our bedroom."

"Lock the room when the grandkids are in the house?"

I laughed. "That would be a good idea." I returned to facing the seductive piece of art. Ethan truly was the most stunning man I'd ever set eyes on.

And he loved me.

I swept him into my arms, tossed him on the bed, and showered him with compliments until he was whimpering and clinging to me. He humoured me by recreating the nude pose.

Including the nudity.

The kitchen would have to wait.

Tonight was practice night at the bowling alley, and I was bringing Ethan with me to introduce him to the guys. It was time for him to meet them. I hadn't revealed anything to my team about who I'd been dating. Bowling was important to me, and I didn't know how they'd react.

Lance hadn't said anything to the others. Instead, it had become a habit of his to huff off to who knows where when the guys asked me questions about my lady friend .

I held Ethan's hand tightly as we crossed the bowling alley toward the lane where my team was gathered. Carl was the first to spot me—us. I swear, he nearly dropped his bowling ball.

He shoved Avery, who turned around to face us, coughed out a laugh, and started clapping and catcalling. Avery being younger than all of us had obviously been acclimated to someone being queer. "So, this is why you've been so cagey with the details of your dating life."

I placed my hand at the small of Ethan's back. "Guys, this is Ethan."

"It's great to meet you." Avery reached his hand forward and shook Ethan's. "I'm Avery."

Ethan smiled. "I've heard about you. Daniel says you're a troublemaker."

Avery laughed and held up both hands. "Guilty."

"I'm confused," Carl said, holding back. "You were married to a woman."

"I was, but I'm bisexual."

"Huh." Carl nodded his head. "So, this is the love of your life you keep going on about?"

"This is him. He moved in with me earlier in the week."

Lance grunted, crossed his arms, and sat on the bench.

"What's your problem?" Carl asked and nudged Lance.

"I've known for a while," Lance answered. "They were practically making out on a lane."

"And you didn't feel like you could tell us," Carl said to me. "I'm sorry if we made you feel that way." He nodded his head at Lance. "Even grumpy over here doesn't care who you're with."

I exhaled a long breath—relief. "Thanks, guys."

Ethan tugged on my arm. "I'm going to get us some beer and truffle fries." He surveyed my group of friends. Men I would've hated to lose. "Another round for you gentlemen?"

"Cheers," Avery replied, answering for all of them.

I watched Ethan cruise across the floor to the food counter. His ass was like a sublime work of art. I must have been on the verge of drooling because Avery shoved me in the shoulder.

"God, you've got it bad," he teased .

"Can't take my eyes off him," I admitted. "Never imagined a man that gorgeous would someday love me. Every day waking up with him is like a new miracle."

"Ugh," Lance grunted. "Can we not talk about your bed."

"Daniel is allowed to have a sex life," Avery said. "You've never argued about it before."

"But that's different … Daniel is with a guy."

"I don't care," Carl said. "If anything, I'm curious."

I laughed. "I'm not going to talk about my sex life."

"But there's so much to talk about." Ethan wrapped his arm around my waist and tipped his head against my shoulder. "My man knows how to keep me satisfied."

Lance almost choked.

Carl was quiet.

Avery burst out laughing.

Me—I was getting used to Ethan's inability to be shy about things.

"There's a server bringing everything over," Ethan said, patted my ass, and went to sit beside Lance. He'd win him over. Ethan was one of those people who everyone came to like.

I was right. In between frames, Ethan had Lance chatting with him. By the time we finished the last game, Ethan had put them all in stiches many times.

I put my arm around Ethan's neck, hauling him along, and kissed his head as we made our way out the door to the car. I stored my bowling ball and shoes in the backseat.

We sat in the car in the near darkness of the parking lot peering at each other.

"I'm proud of you."

Ethan moved his hand to my thigh. "Was I a good boy?"

A ripple of desire shot straight up my spine. "So good." Ethan wanted to play. "Do you want Daddy to show you how good you were by winning over his friends?"

Ethan whimpered. "Yes, Daddy … show me. "

"You'll need to take off your shorts."

I checked the parking lot as Ethan scrambled to pull his shorts off his ass to expose the black silk manties I had chosen for him to wear tonight. There were a few people making their way to their cars, but no one close by. Still, I now knew the risk excited us both.

We would be adding risk to our list of games.

Ethan pushed his shorts onto the floor of the car and stroked his cock a few times through the silk while keeping his gaze fixed on mine. I leaned toward him, cupped his face, thrilling in the feel of his stubble against my palm, and kissed him. He let me control the speed and depth.

I nudged his hand away from his cock and took over, caressing it through the material until he was hard and the silk straining. I allowed our lips to part. "Such a good boy."

Ethan whimpered and ran his hand into my hair, clutching me. He lifted his ass as I worked his manties off his hips, exposing his weeping dick to anyone who might walk by.

He whimpered again, grasped a handful of my hair, and angled his hips up to pump into my closing fist. I placed my other hand on his stomach to stop him. "You sit still for Daddy."

He released a shaky exhale. "Yes, I'll be good."

I spit into my hand and worked his foreskin over his cockhead and then back again. His tip bobbed and glistened in the dim light. I ran my thumb over his slit and tasted what I collected.

My cock throbbed, the familiar essence of Ethan lingering on my tongue.

I stroked his shaft until he was panting and moaning, his breath hitching, his fight to keep his hips still making him whine and claw at my shoulder.

"You were such a good boy for me tonight. "

"Yes." His eyes were wild as he stared at me. Pleading with me to take him to that place of bliss. I pumped his cock harder and kissed him. His lips were desperate and unrestrained, colliding with mine, his tongue seeking. He hummed into my mouth as I concentrated on his glans, rubbing the thick ridge in my fist then descending his shaft to pull his skin tightly to him.

Ethan trembled beneath my touch.

"Such a good boy." I pumped faster as I closed my fist tighter.

He became frantic, his hand clawing at my arm. "Please, Daddy … may I?"

"Yes. Cover my hand in your cum like a perfect boy."

His hips jerked up as he clenched his ass, and his dick pulsed, the rhythm jarring and uneven as he spilled right there in the parking lot of the bowling alley.

"Oh my god, Daniel." Ethan clutched my arm to keep me from teasing his cock any further. His body convulsed in short little shockwaves as he gripped the door handle with the other hand and tipped his head back against the headrest. I kept his softening shaft resting in my palm.

He panted and licked his lips as he came down the other side. "That was so good."

"You've made a big mess."

Ethan turned his head and smirked at me. "I'll lick it clean, Daddy."

Fuck, I could just eat Ethan, he was so sexy and adorable. We managed to make it home before I found a surface I could bend him over and fuck him.

Barely.

Going bowling had never been this gratifying.

Owen had a beautiful home with impeccable landscaping in a prestigious area of Oak Bay. He must be doing well in the real estate business. Ethan had told me how Owen used work and the quest for an accumulation of wealth to distract him from his unfulfilled desire for a husband.

It surprised me that the few relationships Owen had only lasted a few months. From what Ethan told me, the way Owen treated him, the man was a gentle and loving person.

It was unfortunate he was going through life alone.

I had asked Ethan if he'd ever been attracted to Owen. If the two of them had made any attempts at a romantic relationship. Ethan had laughed, stating that would be like dating a brother.

He didn't love Owen that way.

I owed the man my gratitude for keeping Ethan safe and loved for all those years before fate brought us together. He had no idea how much his friendship with Ethan meant to me.

We walked straight into the house, through the kitchen, depositing the dessert we'd brought, and stepped into the backyard. It was twice the size of the lawn and foliage out front.

Surrounded by a tall evergreen hedge, the space was set up for relaxation and play. A picturesque pool made to look like a natural pond occupied the centre of the yard, tall trees and rhododendrons creating shade on it. Liam was swimming lazily through the water, his strong tanned shoulders powering him through a breaststroke.

To one side near the back, I could see the firepit Ethan had mentioned to me while we'd been camping. It was set up with benches all the way around. We stepped further onto the patio of large flagstones, passing a fully equipped outdoor kitchen. A sink, fridge, vast amounts of counter space, and a massive barbeque that Owen was hovering over grilling a chicken breast and hamburger patties. On the top rack, metal skewers fat with cut vegetables. It all smelled amazing .

Capping off the space was a large hot tub with a cedar surround and a wrought-iron and glass table with eight red-cushioned iron chairs under the shade of red umbrella. At one end sat Noah and who I assumed was his fiancé. Brody's allure was stunning. His beauty was on the same level as Liam, but whereas Liam was blond, Brody had dark curly hair with his sultry features.

"Hey, Owen," Ethan said as he pulled open the outdoor fridge and grabbed us a couple of cold beers. "You have some bacon for those burgers?"

"In the house." Owen nodded at me. "Hey, Daniel."

"You have a beautiful home."

"Thank you. I'm still enjoying it."

Ethan touched my elbow. "Let's sit at the table with Noah and Brody." As we sat, Liam pulled himself out of the pool. It was hard not to stare. Ethan sure worried about him. Ever since that night when Liam called Ethan to pick him up from jail, Ethan had been extra vigilant, checking the comments on Liam's social media posts. He was worried that Liam was headed for an escalation in his harmful obsession with his body. All the guys were worried about him.

During the last meeting of the Salish Sea Society , Liam told his friends about how he ended up in jail. How he'd had way too much to drink, lost his wallet and phone, and picked up a guy in a bar and hauled him into a back alley and dropped his pants for him.

A passerby had called the police.

He'd been about to turn the guy around and fuck him against a brick wall. Thank God, they hadn't caught him doing that, at least. Ethan told me Liam loved sex, but he wasn't typically reckless. The vast quantity of alcohol he'd consumed had sent him off the lust-fueled rails.

Liam moved from the pool to the hot tub.

"Daniel, this is Brody," Ethan said, motioning to him .

I shook his hand. "Did you buy a camper?"

"We did," he answered. "We've been camping three times."

"The kids love it," Noah added.

"Of course, you remember Noah," Ethan said.

"Didn't get a chance to speak last time." Ethan and I had taken off for the camper so fast, I hadn't even connected with Noah. This was the first time we were all going to sit down.

"You were right about the gas mileage," Brody said. "We'll have to save up for a longer trip."

"So many amazing places to visit in this province," I replied.

Brody simply nodded.

"So, you caught our Ethan," Noah teased me, smiling.

Ethan and I sought each other's hand and clung together.

"Love of my life," I said.

Noah looked at Brody, love in his eyes. "I hear you."

"Wedding plans finalized now?" asked Ethan.

"There's going to be last minute stuff, but we have the big items on the list covered."

"How many people?"

"We settled on twenty-four."

"Nice," I said. "An intimate wedding."

"I won't be having a whole wedding party with me, Ethan … sorry," Noah said. "I've asked Liam to be my best man, of course. The kids are going to act as ushers."

"All good," Ethan replied. "That'll be fun for them to be included."

"Did you bring dessert?" Brody asked Ethan, changing the subject.

"Yes, I taught Daniel how to make chocolate éclairs and cream puffs."

"Those are my favourites. He didn't mess them up, did he? "

Ethan laughed. "No, I kept my eye on him."

Liam, his waist wrapped in a towel, sat beside me.

"Hey, Liam," I said.

"Daniel. How have you been?" He took a sip of a diet cola he'd brought with him to the table.

"I'm doing great. You?"

"Surviving." Liam and I chatted a bit about some surfing vacations to Tofino he and Ethan had planned for the fall season. It was good to hear him excited about something.

Owen brought the food over and we all continued talking as we ate. Liam only picked at his chicken breast. Ethan set his hand on my thigh and leaned his head against mine.

"I'm so incredibly happy right now," he whispered to me.

"Me too. You've got an amazing group here."

"Made better by you and Brody."

I turned my head and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for inviting me into your life by asking to sit with me that day at the coffee shop." Those few moments had changed everything.

Ethan squeezed my thigh. "You were so cute … how could I not?"

"What are you too whispering about?" Owen grinned at us. "All lovey-dovey."

"You're as bad as Noah and Brody," Liam added. "And I couldn't be happier."

We turned back to general conversation. The banter between the four was more than entertaining. And some of the subjects they covered—sexual topics, made my ears burn.

These were four men who loved each other deeply.

I relaxed and soaked it in; the serenity of knowing Ethan would always be cared for.

Later in bed, I held him, my senses infused by the smell of his shampoo. We'd showered when we arrived home to wash away the scent of chemicals from Owen's pool and hot tub .

We'd had an incredible evening over there. Ethan had been so relaxed and happy. He was responding well to his new medication. What helped most, he said, is that I was there for him.

"Noah and Brody are so overjoyed," Ethan said against my chest.

"They're looking forward to their wedding."

Ethan shifted. "Is that something we want?"

I angled back to look at him. "What? A wedding?"

"It's just a thought." Ethan raised on an elbow and looked down at me. "If you want to … I would do it." He traced his finger on my chest. "I want you to know how much I love you."

"But you don't want a wedding."

Ethan was quick to shake his head. "It's not something I see myself doing."

I brushed his hair from his eyes. "I only want you . I don't need to proclaim my love for you to others. It's enough to have you know my heart beats for you. You're the morning and night of my life. As long as we're together in love, we're whole. I don't need a ceremony to prove that."

Ethan stroked my cheek, tears forming in his eyes.

"You sir … are my everything. The first time I told you that you didn't hear me. You were asleep but I knew then I loved you. We are the only ones who need to share in that. I commit myself to you … for the rest of our lives, however it might unfold. You're my forever love."

I rolled Ethan onto his back and kissed him, sealing our promise to one another. The love I felt for him as I rocked him into the bedding, making love to him, our bodies joined in absolute harmony was enough to bring me to tears, matching the streaks running down his cheeks.

This was love.

Unbreakable, never-ending love .

Later, I lay awake as Ethan breathed softly, asleep. Beside him, his sketchbook, his new constant companion. The upward-facing sketch was of him and his three friends, and me and Brody, from a picture taken at the barbeque. I flipped the page and smiled. He'd drawn a sketch of me doing a crossword puzzle, concentrating. I saw through his eyes what I looked like to him.

My heart did a little skip.

The care and attention of his pencil had produced something beautiful.

He held my heart.

Forever was ours.

The End