CHAPTER 27

epilogue 1 – nick

10 months later

I was late. I hated being late for Ajay. Time was the most precious of commodities in our world and I hated to lose even a single second with him. I was more than a little desperate and anxious to be with him, with my boy. My Ajay. Who I hadn't seen in over three long, long weeks for one stupid reason or another. It was the longest time we'd gone without any physical contact since last summer.

To say I was desperate to kiss his pouty, pink lips and sink into his tight, hot body was quite rightly the understatement of the year.

I had excellent reason for being late but any minute late was too long of a delay to being with Ajay. I missed him every single morning we were apart. Felt his absence every time I woke for a morning surf. Missed his body heat every time I climbed into my empty bed at night. Missed his body for all the other reasons I loved so much about him, his touch and his lips and his kisses. Running my hands through his curls.

Long distance relationships were hard. They were hard every time he left. Every goodbye and even every hello was hard because each hello just brought its own countdown to our hours together.

I had four weeks left to go on my apprenticeship. Four more weeks until Brad signed me off and I was a fully qualified carpenter. The building market was crying out for qualified carpenters like me. I knew I would be able to walk into any job in any city in the country.

There was only one city I wanted to be in. And that was whichever one Ajay was in.

Last weekend I'd had another mandatory occupational hazard training course that Brad would not let me get out of even when I'd begged. It was the last one available for the year and he wouldn't have been able to sign me off if I didn't attend. I'd almost thought it would be worth missing it but in the end Ajay had scolded me into going. Said he wouldn't see me even if I did stupidly miss my training course.

So I'd gone and missed my time with him.

He must have felt bad for getting cross with me because he later sent a video he had recorded of himself singing with his guitar. I'd opened it while I was on that training course and almost died as his beautiful voice sang the words to Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here for me. Made it all worthwhile. He did that a lot for me actually. Sent me clips of his music, usually with him singing the lyrics. Probably because he knew how much I loved hearing him sing. Could have died a peaceful, happy existence with just that sound of his voice in my heart for the rest of my days.

The weekend before that, Ajay had been in Melbourne touring with one of the musical ensembles he played with at the Con. He'd sent me videos of the shows he'd performed in and I'd been so proud of him my heart was almost bursting, him looking so sexy in his black tux. But it also meant I hadn't been able to see him.

It was almost as bad as the time Ajay and I flew down to Tassie to visit his mum and Tim a few months back. Alison had been making a much bigger effort with her son since Christmas time when she had made him feel so lonely and abandoned. Our trip to Tassie wasn't the first time I'd met Alison. She had been true to her word and came up to Sydney a few weeks after summer break and I had met her then. I'd been a little conflicted and hadn't been feeling all that kindly towards her at the time but then I remembered that she had created the most perfect boy on the planet and he patently adored her, so I learnt to set those emotions aside and forgive.

Besides, Alison had taken quite the liking to me. She'd told me so herself that I was a far better fit for her son than that ‘awful ex-girlfriend' had been. Her words, not mine. Well, my words too but it was good to agree with your future in-laws about the important stuff.

The trip down to Tassie, however, happened smack bang in the middle of winter – quite the shock for a South Coast boy like me. Ajay had warned me to pack for the cold but I never could have expected it would be that kind of cold. I didn't even know Australia did winters like that with snow caps on the nearby mountaintops and ice on the ground. But I'd loved visiting the place where Ajay had grown up, meeting his friends, seeing where they used to hang. The place that had been so important to him and was part of his identity. Just like my South Coast was a part of me.

Even Tim turned out to be not too bad once you got to know him, just kind of a bit self-focused and entitled if I was honest. But Alison was trying really hard to make sure she gave Ajay enough time and love and I appreciated her efforts. For his sake.

Ajay's house was a tiny little turn of the century cottage with just two bedrooms that shared an adjoining wall. That paper thin wall had severely roadblocked the sexy times I had been imagining in my head in the lead up to our holiday. There really was nothing like lying in bed beside the hottest, sexiest guy I'd ever known and not being able to do much more than kiss him silently. Ajay really didn't know how to be quiet and I hadn't dared risk putting the future in-laws offside by debauching their son inside the family home.

And so I'd silently burned right there in the midst of the freezing cold temperatures. The irony was not lost on me.

And right now, just like that time in Tassie, I was positively aching for my boyfriend and his delicious body.

I'd just dropped Dad off at the hotel he was staying in for the night before I raced across the city and found a park on the street where Ajay and Dane lived. I raced up the stairs of their apartment, breathless and heart pounding from excitement and adrenaline when I knocked on the door.

Dane answered, a smug grin on his face as he looked me up and down, leaning up against the doorframe.

"Fifty bucks to take your woman out for a nice meal," I offered, pulling the cash straight from my wallet.

"Fifty bucks will get us a nice bottle of wine," Dane mulled, as he lifted the money from my fingers.

"You and your fancy taste," I grimaced, opening my wallet for another fifty. He plucked it from my fingers with a satisfied grin as he grabbed his keys and phone from the side table.

"You and Ajay are so easy. Just so you know, Ajay already paid me with a month's worth of dishes to get the place to himself."

"Just so you know, I would have paid double for the pleasure," I returned.

Dane scoffed. "I would have taken the fifty."

We shared a laugh, still navigating this new truce between us. It was made a lot easier by the simple fact we both adored our brown eyed boy and Ajay hated the angst between us. So we both tried, for his sake. And maybe a little for our own too because I had to admit it was nice having some kind of relationship with my younger brother again.

"He's in his room," Dane added as he backed out of the door, leaving me blessedly alone with my Ajay.

I could hear his guitar and the soft sound of his melodic voice and I headed that way like a sailor caught in a siren's net. I leant up against his doorframe, setting aside my impatience to be inside him by the only thing that could have stopped me in my tracks. I would give up pretty much anything for the purest of pleasures of listening to Ajay sing.

He was on his bed, guitar in hand and earbuds in his ears as he played along to a track on his laptop. He hadn't seen me yet and I just let my eyes feast on this boy who had so captivated me. I was just a big, melted puddle for him, my boy with his brown curls, those chocolatey eyes I could lose myself in for days, and that angelic face that could launch a thousand ships. The one that hid the far more exciting truth.

Ajay faltered in his song, his hand brushing back the loose curl that had fallen into his eyes, the one I had been itching to touch. But the action brought his eyes up and I watched the way they lit up as he set them on me.

"Nicky," he sighed, my name like a whispered prayer as that beautiful smile crossed his face.

In no time at all, his guitar and laptop were swept aside and he was in my arms. I had so much to say to him, so much to talk about but that could wait. Kissing him could not wait as we set about to break records for devouring each other as his tongue tangled with mine.

My hands were everywhere, fisting his curls while simultaneously running down his gorgeous body, cupping that ass I had big plans for later on. My hands landed on his cheeks and I angled his head in that way that allowed me to take full possession of his mouth as Ajay moaned under me. I backed him up until his knees hit the bed.

"Get naked, Ajay," I rasped, breaking our ferocious kiss for just enough time for him to shuck his t-shirt over his head. I was already done, my hands on his jeans button as I backed him onto the bed.

"Why are you wearing jeans?" I huffed. "So hard to take off."

"It's cold out," Ajay answered a little defensively, the two of us doing everything we could to get them down his legs.

It was not our finest moment but I was desperate and impatient as we both grabbed for each other's dicks, pumping each other hard as our kiss turned sloppy and messy and soon Ajay was making those breathy moans that only spurred me on. I had wanted his ass but this was just too good and I knew I was likely far too impatient to prep him. It had been three weeks too so it wasn't like I could just sink into him like I'd probably be able to do tomorrow morning. After I'd had my way with him a few times.

It must have been testament to how desperate we both were for each other because it took an embarrassingly short time before we were both coming, spilling over each other's fists in a sticky, glorious mess. I felt like I'd run a marathon and maybe I had just to get back here, to where I belonged. With my boy. My home.

We were both breathing hard, our limbs tangled together as Ajay angled his head to look up at me. I brushed the curls off his sweaty forehead, using the opportunity to run my fingers through his soft locks.

"Hi," he said, a little smile on his face.

"Hi, you," I returned.

"I missed you," he breathed.

"In case you couldn't tell, I missed you too. I really needed that."

Ajay huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, I needed it too."

"I'm not done with you yet," I added, circling the smooth skin of his ass. "Just so you're aware."

"Yes, Nicky. We've been dating for ten months. I know how your mind works," Ajay laughed, pressing a kiss to my pec.

"As long as we're on the same page."

"We're most certainly on the same page," my boy said, shooting those big eyes up to me as he leaned up and captured my lips.

Time for talking was postponed again as Ajay settled over me and I kissed him back, making up for all our lost time in just that one moment. These were the things I had learnt to never take for granted, just the pure joy of having Ajay's lips on mine, his body pressed up to me, him in my arms.

It was testament to how much we must have missed each other, or maybe we kissed for longer than I realised, because things escalated rapidly again, refractory periods be damned. I got to have my way with him as I shifted our positions, pinning him underneath me where I most loved him to be. I didn't mind if he was on his back or on his stomach like he was now, as long as he was under me. I was pretty sure he loved it there too if the moans and Oh Nicky's he rewarded me with were any evidence to go by.

I shifted one of his knees up on the bed, opening him up for me just the way I liked it. I sucked on his neck as I entered him, wanting to mark him up and claim him in every way possible, mess up his perfect body a little. Corrupt him just a bit more than I already had. Make sure everyone who looked at him knew he was mine. Yeah, I was a mindless possessive asshole when it came to my boy but he just had that effect on me.

I probably should have eased him into it a little more but I could scarcely hold myself back, this feeling of being home with my boyfriend hitting me so much harder today. I wanted to cherish him and let him know how much I loved him but now wasn't the time for that, our movements soon descending into a frenzy of heavy thrusting and heady moans as I focused all my attention on finding Ajay's spot and giving it everything I had. Wrecking him. In the best way.

I loved it when Ajay got loud like this. Made every cent of that hundred dollars I had handed over to my grifter of a younger brother worth it. Not that he was as considerate when Dee stayed over. Which was all the time seeing as she had all but moved in these days according to Ajay.

But nobody else got to witness Ajay like this, like this mindless, writhing work of art as his body fit mine like a glove, holding me deep inside him. Nobody but me.

"Oh, Nicky," Ajay moaned. "Right there. Don't stop. Oh, Nicky, I need …"

"I got you, darlin'," I told him, reaching underneath him to fist his cock. I always knew when he was close just by the increasingly desperate way he said my name like that.

He groaned as he finished all over my fist and I held out for barely a few more seconds of desperate pounding before I spilled inside him, again way too quickly. But that was okay. I had all night to reacquaint him with my body and I intended to use it all up. We were only young once.

I collapsed on top of him afterwards, weighing him down into the mattress as he sucked down air, his curls sticking to the nape of his neck. The best sight in the world right there.

"How is that so good every single time?" he breathed.

"Because it's us. You and me, baby. And it's kind of obvious we were made for each other."

"Yeah. I think you might be right about that."

I let us both recover for a moment before I pulled out of him, reluctantly as always. He sighed a satisfied sound before shifting over to me, his arm heavy over my stomach and his head on my bicep. My fingers drifted down to his ass, ever dependable, feeling the evidence of our joining together. We'd ditched the condoms a while ago after we'd both gotten clean tests. I'd wanted to ditch them from the start but Ajay had been reluctant after learning everything that had happened with his cheating, lying ex. She who would not be named.

But there was nothing on this great green planet like being inside Ajay completely raw, not a thing between us. I had a bit of an unexpected kink for the aftermath too. Brought out that male instinct in me. The one that wanted to claim and own. Possess and mark him as mine.

"You wanted to talk to me about something?" Ajay finally asked, breaking the comfortable silence between us.

"Yeah, I did," I replied, clearing my throat, a little nervous all of a sudden. "So, um, I've been talking a bit to my folks recently and … um, well, Dad came up to Sydney with me earlier today."

"He did?" Ajay asked. "You should have said. We could have met him for dinner or something."

"I'm way too selfish for that. I needed you all to myself tonight," I returned, kissing him on the head. My parents absolutely adored Ajay, Mum especially who thought he could walk on water. Dane and I were both routinely relegated to the sidelines whenever he was around as they both fussed over him and begged him to sing for them. I probably would have been jealous if I didn't feel exactly the same way about him. My gorgeous little charmer.

"Fair enough," he chuffed. "I admit I'm feeling a bit selfish for you too."

"You can see him tomorrow if you want," I returned. "He, um, actually just bought an apartment over in Bondi. That was why I was late. We were just over there, signing the papers."

"Really? Wow."

"Yeah. It's, um … it's for us actually," I pressed on, suddenly feeling shy about this. Ajay and I hadn't talked about what would happen beyond the eleven month mark of our relationship, when I was qualified and free and had no ties to location. I always knew that I would be following him wherever he went but that conversation had been on the backburner while I finished my apprenticeship.

"What?" Ajay asked. Those brown orbs were watching me, the emotion in them hitting me in the gut.

"Yeah," I continued, moving my hand up to his lower back. "It's only a small place, just a one bed-roomer on the seventh floor of an apartment block. But it's on the waterfront, the ocean a stone's throw away. Sea views from our living room. We can surf every morning. And it's not too far from the Conservatorium either, just a couple of buses or the train away."

"Bondi is expensive," Ajay mulled. "What sort of rent would we be talking?"

I huffed out a laugh, tightening my hold on his back. "No, baby. Dad bought the apartment for us. To share. His name is on the title, just like this place for Dane. But it would be ours, Ajay."

"But I pay rent here to Dane."

"Yes but here you're just some rando housemate," I smiled. "If you live with me it'll be as my boyfriend. One bedroom, remember?"

Ajay smiled at that, the big kind of smile that lit up his eyes. "I can't expect your dad to fund my lifestyle. Of course I'll pay rent."

"You'll keep your money, Ajay," I returned, trying to inject a little force to my words. "Besides, we already pre-empted your little monetary objections. Dad said you can pay by keeping me in line and singing for Mum every time we visit."

Ajay laughed, burying his head in my chest. "How do they think I can keep you in line?"

"Don't you know, baby? I would do anything you asked of me."

"You'd move away from your beautiful coastal paradise to a life in a big city? Just for me?" Ajay asked, voice suddenly seriousness.

"Didn't you hear me when I said I would follow you to the ends of the earth?" I snickered.

"Yes but you say that in the middle of sex so I never take it to heart." Ajay's head was still buried in my chest, his voice muffled. I needed to see his eyes for this so I lifted his chin, latching onto the depth of emotions he was trying to hide from me.

"I mean it. I mean every word, Ajay. You mean everything to me and I love you so fucking much. There is literally nothing I wouldn't do for you. I want to be with you so bad I'm not even sure I'm going to last out the next four weeks away from you."

"You will," Ajay replied sternly. "These past ten months have not been just so you can come work as a barista in my coffee shop."

"I will," I promised him, kissing his head again. "And the day Brad signs me off I'm moving here so I can be close to you. Even if you want to stay here with Dane a little longer, that's fine too. As long as we're in the same city, I don't mind."

"Ah, no," he returned, lifting up onto his elbow to look down at me. "You said you have a room with one bed in it. For us. If you are in this city, Nick Tempe, then I will be with you. There is no doubt about that. You're my everything too."

I just smiled at him, this beautiful, perfect boy who I was so in love with I sometimes couldn't breathe when we were apart. Who set my world on fire and lit my body aflame for him. Who enlivened my mind with his sweetness and his incredible talent and who just made my life so much better. So much more fulfilled. So much more real.

Yeah, I'd give up my life on the coast for him. In a heartbeat. He better believe it. I'd move into the centre of the country, no waves for days if that was where he was.

"I belong where you are," I told him.

"Then that's where our home will be," he replied. "With each other. Wherever that may be."

"Then let's do it," I agreed, sealing our promises with a kiss.