18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Mars

I spent way too much time getting ready for this date. I had all these clothes that I bought since the fire, and still, nothing seemed quite right.

I finally settled on a pair of black jeans, boots, and a wine-red, crushed velvet shirt with flared sleeves and a lace-up neckline.

I hadn’t been sure about it, but if Samuel’s reaction was any indicator, I’d done pretty good.

“You look good enough to eat.”

“Thank you. You clean up pretty nice yourself.” And I wasn’t only saying that to be nice. The black pants, fitted black shirt, and cowboy boots looked really good on his muscular body. I didn’t know if all firefighters kept in such good shape, but Samuel sure did.

I followed him out to his truck, and he opened my door. I’d only ridden in his truck a couple of times, but I’d noticed that was a thing he did, and honestly, it was kind of sweet.

I climbed in and got seated, and he leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. “Buckle up, Kitten.”

He shut the door, ran around to his side, and got in. As soon as I was all buckled in, he got on the road. I still wasn’t sure where we were going, and I hadn’t asked because I didn’t want to spoil the surprise.

He reached over, took my hand, and smiled at me. “I thought we would start with food. Have you ever eaten at The Spotted Dog?”

“I haven’t.”

“It’s pretty good. It’s owned by some old friends of mine, who were firefighters until they retired and opened up a pub. It’s a favorite for most of the first responders here in town.”

“Because of the food or because it’s owned by firefighters?”

“I’m sure a lot of guys gave them a shot for that reason, but their food is really good so that’s why they stay busy. I’m not a big wings guy, but that’s what they’re best known for. A lot of the guys love them.”

“Wings are okay, but I have to be in the mood for them. What are you going to get?”

“I don’t know yet. They have excellent burgers, and their chicken fried steak is really good.”

“I think a burger’s the best way to judge a place. If you’re going to call yourself a pub or a bar and grill, you should be able to make a good burger.”

“I agree.”

“Okay, then I’ll be trying the burger. How are their fries?”

“Hand cut.”

“Oh man, I’m sold.”

Samuel had said that a lot of firefighters hung out at The Spotted Dog, so it shouldn’t have surprised me to see a table full of the guys from his station there, but for some reason, it did.

“Chief!” one of the guys from his station called out, waving for us to come over.

“Let’s go say hi real quick.”

“Sure.” I shrugged. On the one hand, it was a huge green flag that Samuel brought me somewhere where his friends and coworkers would be, but on the other hand, I’d been looking forward to a date with Samuel, not an evening hanging out with his friends.

He took my hand, leaving no question to anyone in the place that we were there together.

“Hey, everyone,” he said when we reached the table.

“Hey, Chief,” Fox said. “Mars, good to see you.”

“You, too,” I said. Keith was sitting there with his friend Robert. Other than at work, this was the first time I’d seen him without his boy, Caleb, which was a shame. If I had to spend the evening with all of Samuel’s friends, it would have made it easier if Caleb had been there. “Where’s Caleb tonight?”

“He’s at his book club. Here, we can slide around and make room for you guys.” Keith motioned to a server who was at the table next to theirs. “Don, can you get us a couple of extra chairs?”

The server looked over and nodded. “Sure thing. I can grab you a couple from another table.”

“You don’t have to do that, Don,” Samuel said. “We’re here on a date tonight, and I’d rather keep Mars all to myself.”

I squeezed his hand and smiled up at him. Seriously, could he get any more perfect?

“No problem, just pick a table, and someone will be with you shortly.” Don left us standing there.

Samuel leaned down near my ear and said, “Does he look familiar to you? He said he went to school with Steven.”

“Not to me, but Steven knew a lot more people than I did back then.”

He turned to the guys sitting around the table. “We’re going to go have a seat. I’ll see y’all Monday.”

We found a small table off to the side and took a seat.

A few minutes later, our server walked up. “Hi, Chief.”

“Hey, Alex, how are you tonight?”

She placed menus on the table in front of us. “I’m good. It’s busy, just the way I like it. Do y’all know what you want to drink?”

“I’ll just have tea. How about you, Mars?”

“I’ll have tea as well.”

“Great, I’ll be right back with those drinks.”

Samuel picked up his menu and studied it. “They have a bunch of different burgers to choose from, but I think I’ll just have the First Responder.”

“Have you ever had the Inferno Burger?” I asked.

“No, I’m not about to try anything with ghost peppers.”

“Me either. I was just curious. I’m tempted to try the Backdraft, but I think I’ll save that till next time and have the First Responder as well. The real test of a good burger is one without all the bells and whistles, don’t you think?”

“I think so.”

Alex came back with our drinks, and we placed our order.

Samuel was right, and the burgers were good, but we agreed that next week, we would go to a local diner called The Dinner Bell and get their burgers and compare them.

“So you said let’s start with food. What’s next?” I asked while we waited for Alex to return Samuel’s credit card.

“The Vesper Astronomy Club is having a Beaver Moon viewing party at Joe Gonzales Park, so the park will be open later than usual. I thought you might want to go. I hear this full moon is a big deal.”

“It is. It’s the last supermoon for a while.”

“I checked, and it’s open to the public. It isn’t just for club members, so if you want to go, we can.”

“I would love to do that. I’ve always loved astronomy.”

“I know you’re big into astrology, and I know they aren’t the same, but Danni seemed to think you would like this, too.”

“You asked Danni where to take me?”

“I did.”

“I love that you did that. You know Danni’s one of my favorite people. She was so nice to me when Steven and I were growing up, and she’s right. My fascination with astrology started with my interest in astronomy.”

Alex came back with his card. He thanked her and put his card away before smiling at me. “Let’s go look at this moon.”

Samuel

I made the short drive to the park. There were more people here than I expected. I guess there were more people into astrology than I would have thought, too.

I found a place to park and then reached into the back seat and pulled out the hoodie that he’d been wearing in place of a jacket.

“Here, put this on. It’s going to be chilly out there.”

He took my hoodie and pulled it on over his shirt. “Thank you.”

We got out, and I grabbed the backpack that I’d put in the back seat earlier.

“Oh wow.” I turned to look at him to see what he was talking about and found him standing by the truck, looking up at the sky.

“That really is amazing.”

I looked up at the massive moon that had crested the top of the trees that surrounded the park area. “That’s massive and bright.”

“Yeah, and this was the fourth supermoon this year, which is unusual.”

It was really something to see, but I couldn’t believe there’d been four of them this year, and I hadn’t even noticed. Obviously, I needed to get out more.

We walked hand in hand into the park, and when we reached the area where the people were gathered, I pulled a blanket out of the backpack and spread it out on the ground.

“I have some snacks in here if you want any.” I held up the backpack.

“Maybe later. I’m stuffed from dinner.” He lowered himself gracefully in a way that reminded me of his outdoor meditation each morning.

“It’s already pretty cold outside in the mornings. We need to set you up a place to meditate inside.”

“Maybe in front of the fireplace?”

I nodded. “That would work. I’ve been meaning to order some wood anyway.”

I lay back on the blanket and looked up at the sky. “I can’t believe there’s an astronomy club here in Vesper. I don’t know anything about the stars.”

He joined me on the blanket and pointed up. “See right there? That’s Orion. It’s also called the Hunter. See the three in a row? Those are called Orion’s belt.”

I followed where he was pointing and managed to make out the three stars he was referring to.

“And over there where it looks like a big W.” He waited until I found what he was pointing at. “That’s Cassiopeia or the Queen.”

“How did you learn so much about this? Did you take a class?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “No, I learned about constellations when I was a kid.”

“Out at the ranch?” I asked. He didn’t talk much about his time living out at the Wildflower Ranch. All I knew was that he lived there with his mother until he was ready to start high school, and then he moved to Vesper with his aunt.

“Yeah, we didn’t have television, so my only source of entertainment was the animals, books, and looking at the stars. Families would come and go, and sometimes, they would have kids I could play with. Those were the best times, and it was during one of those periods that I learned all about the constellations. Aria and her family came and stayed for a year when I was eight. She had a telescope and was obsessed with astronomy.”

“But she only stayed for a year?” I couldn’t imagine how lonely that must have been for him not having kids around to play with.

“Yeah, then they moved on to a place in Georgia, I think. But even after she was gone, I read everything I could find about astronomy, and I spent forever outside looking at the stars.”

“You don’t talk much about your time at the ranch. What was it like growing up out there?”

He shrugged. “It wasn’t that bad. My mom was really busy with the gardens and making all the products the ranch sells, so I basically had free run of the place.”

“What about school?”

“There was a woman who lived on the ranch who was a former schoolteacher. For the most part, she handled my education. But my mom thought life was the best teacher, so as long as I was doing the minimum required, she didn’t really worry much about school.”

“That must have been a big adjustment when you moved in with your aunt and started school.”

“It was. I don’t know what I would have done without Steven. It was like he saw me and just knew how lost I was.” He chuckled. “He attached himself to me and made sure I knew how things worked in the real world.”

Hearing that made me proud of my son, and I was glad he’d been such a good friend to Mars when he needed one.

“Don’t get me wrong, there are things about the ranch I miss.”

“Really? Like what?”

“Everything moves so much slower there, and the place has this overall feeling of peace and serenity. That’s why the Airbnb has done so well. People from the city love spending a week where they can just completely disconnect.”

“I can see the appeal to that.”

“Yeah, I understand the value of what my mom’s created out there. That’s why, even though I don’t want to live there, I’ve tried to create my own intentional community right here in Vesper.”

“I get that. That’s what we’ve created at Station sixty-nine, or at least that’s what we aim for anyway.”

We lay there under the stars for a while longer, just taking in the view and talking.

The drive back to my house was quiet, but it wasn’t the awkward kind of silence—it was thick with tension, charged and electric. Every stolen glance in the darkened car, every brush of his hand against mine, had my pulse pounding like a drum.

We didn’t need to say anything. The look in his eyes as I unlocked the front door, the way his fingers lingered on mine as he walked by me to go inside—it was all there, unspoken but impossible to miss.

The door clicked shut behind me, and the air in the house felt different, heavier.

“Come here,” I said, my voice low and rough. My blood was running hot. I swear I needed this boy more than I needed to breathe.

He didn’t hesitate, stepping into my space, his movements fluid, like he was drawn to me as much as I was to him. My hand found the back of his neck, pulling him close, and our mouths collided in a kiss that was all heat and desperation.

“Take your clothes off for me,” I said gruffly. He didn’t hesitate, quickly moving to do as I’d commanded. When he was finished, I went back to kissing him again.

I walked him backward, my lips never leaving his, steering him through the house like it was instinct. Every step, every soft gasp from him, sent my pulse pounding harder.

By the time we reached the bedroom, I couldn’t wait any longer. His legs hit the edge of the bed, and I used that momentum to lower him down. I rubbed my hands down his body, and he arched.

“Damn, you’re stunning, Mars.” My eyes met his, and the hot shining need in his eyes was like fuel to the fire. I shoved his thighs apart and dropped to my knees on the floor between them. “Look at you, so ready for me.”

I lowered my head and dragged my tongue up his cock. I was like a man possessed. I licked and sucked, slipping an arm under his hips and yanking him closer to the edge of the bed, which meant closer to my mouth.

“Yes, please,” he moaned.

I worked two fingers into his hot, tight hole. Pumping them in and out while I continued to lick and suck his cock.

“Yes,” he moaned. “So good.”

I put my fingers in deep, looking for that magic spot inside of him. When I found it, his muscles tensed, and he cried out while emptying himself in my mouth. I swallowed as much as I could and then licked him clean.

“I want you inside of me, Daddy, please,” he said, panting, and fuck if hearing him call me Daddy didn’t make me even harder. I’d told myself that this was Mars and being with him was what mattered, so if we never got there, it would be okay. But fuck, the words sounded perfect on his lips. At this point, I would’ve given him anything he wanted, but the truth was, I wanted the exact same thing.

I stood up, shoved my pants down, and my cock sprang free. He slid back on the bed, and I reached for a condom.

“I want you to take me bare. Daddy, please? I’ve been tested.”

“I’ve been tested as well, but are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

I looked down at him laid out before me, his face flush with desire, those big, beautiful eyes, the dip of his waist, and those muscular legs, and I swear, I’d never get enough of him.

I thrust inside of him, and he cried out, wrapping his legs around my hips. I pulled out and plunged back in. My thrusts were hard and possessive, but gentle was beyond me right now.

I watched the place where my cock moved in and out of his body, and between that and the sweet, needy sounds my boy was making, I knew I wouldn’t last long.

I leaned down and took his mouth with a hungry kiss as my hips moved faster, and his cries grew louder as I pounded into him. His channel clenched around my hard, throbbing dick, and I knew he was close again as well.

I grabbed his cock and began stroking him in time with my movements.

“Come for me, baby boy,” I commanded.

I watched as my boy came undone, cum shooting up over his stomach and coating my hand. I released his softening cock, gripped his hips with both hands, and thrust hard and deep inside him as I coated his insides with my release.