27. Nash

CHAPTER 27

NASH

Spencer and I shared breakfast with Sean, who talked about pending anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation that I wasn't familiar with; their conversation easy. Spence wasn't intimidated by anyone, and I admired the hell out of him for it.

I leafed through the folder Naomi had given me. The offer she'd made was generous. The salary mentioned had my eyes nearly bugging out of my head.

When we left, I shook Sean's hand. "Thank you, Sean." I followed Spencer out and stood behind him under the heat lamp while the valet went to get the SUV.

"Are you going to accept the job?" Spence nuzzled up behind me, kissing my neck as he slid his hands into the pockets of my coat. I rested against him, relishing in feeling his affection right out in the open.

"Not sure."

"You okay?" Spence removed his hands from my pockets and turned me to face him, a worried grin on his handsome face.

"I'm a little overwhelmed by the offer from Naomi." Overwhelmed was far away in my rearview mirror.

The SUV was brought around by the valet, and Spencer opened the door for me. I climbed in and he went around to slide into the driver's seat. Spence turned to stare at me with a big smile.

"What do you think about me working there?"

Spence grinned. "Sweetheart, you should do what you feel is right. If the offer interests you but you need more, you can negotiate with her to get what you want. Clearly, they want you, Nash."

I had to wonder if that was true, but the bigger question was would I be able to work for Naomi and not have people staring at me. "Do you think they'll see me as a whore?"

Spencer drove us out of the entrance of the hotel and made the left onto M Street to take us back to Great Falls. He said nothing, which made my stomach roll.

When he pulled into a public parking garage in Arlington, I glanced his way. "Where are we going?"

"We're going for cheesecake. This place has the best peppermint cheesecake. Come on."

Clearly, the man's brain was ruled by his stomach, so I followed him into a popular restaurant. We went to the bakery case, and we each chose a favorite slice of cheesecake, and Spence ordered an extra slice of chocolate cheesecake. Once we had the bag, we left, returning to the SUV.

"So, you're not going to give me your opinion?"

"Oh, I have a lot of opinions, but let's get home, okay?" Spence kissed my lips as he opened the door for me. I took the bag of cheesecake and slid into the seat.

When we arrived at the house in Great Falls, Spence drove into the garage, and we both hopped out and went inside. The house felt empty to me, but I said nothing.

Spence, however, did what he always did. "Vani!"

I saw the envelope on the counter as he stomped up the stairs. "Nash and Spence." I picked it up and flipped the unsealed flap, pulling out the note inside.

My darlings –

I am so happy you found each other. I know you'll be fine. Please give me a little time to get settled, and then come see me.

I'll be staying at Warwick on 54th in Midtown. My apartment won't be ready for a couple of weeks, but I'm starting my job after New Year's, so I'll be calling a four-star hotel home. I'll be in touch about the movers' schedule on the tenth. Of course, I still have my cell, but Spence, look for things before you call me. Nash—I wish you the best of luck with that one!

I couldn't leave with you here because I can't imagine waking in the morning and not having coffee with you, so I'm taking the coward's path and leaving while you're gone. Remember, I love you both.

Love each other. We all deserve the next steps in our lives. Make them count.

Xoxo,

Vani

I held my breath for a moment, but I knew she was doing what Spencer couldn't do. She was taking control of her life and striking out on her own. I admired her for it.

"Nash!" I was guessing that would be his go-to phrase now that she'd left. I understood her logic in waiting until Spencer was on solid ground with his upcoming job. I'd probably take off when he was gone, too. I would still miss her.

I climbed the steps and found Spencer sitting on her bed. The sheets were folded and laying on the end, as was the comforter. Her pillow was gone, but I understood that. Nothing like your own pillow.

Vanessa's closet was empty, but there were six boxes stacked in the corner. They were taped shut with notes on the front listing their contents.

Spence whispered; his voice filled with pain. "She's gone." I sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders as he broke down.

"She left a note." I handed it to him, but I was sure he couldn't focus on the letters because of the tears. That was fine. He would grieve her leaving for a while because they had been best friends since they were kids.

That was okay. I'd be there waiting for him, and eventually, he'd realize she was just a phone call away.

I kissed the top of Spencer's head as I held him and gently rocked us both. The house was so quiet that it was creepy, like the house knew Vani was gone and was mourning like Spencer.

We sat in her room in silence for a while before Spencer stood and wiped his eyes with the heels of his hands. He stepped into her bathroom and returned with a length of toilet paper, chuckling before he blew his nose. "She took the tissues."

I didn't add, "And both of our hearts." We both knew it. No use in stating the obvious.

New Year's Eve was quiet. We dressed up and went to a French restaurant in Potomac, Maryland, for a cozy dinner, just the two of us. A couple of people stopped by the table and spoke to Spence, just staring at me. He didn't introduce them, and I only gave polite head nods as they left.

Later, when we returned home, we changed into sweats and went to the den to watch the celebrations in New York and Los Angeles. "You think Vani ventured out into the crowd?" Spence poured each of us a few fingers of bourbon and sat on the couch, pulling me around and sliding in between my legs, his back resting on my chest.

"Cheers." I touched my glass to his before taking a sip. "I don't see that as her kind of fun, but maybe I'm wrong. I wouldn't do it."

Spencer chuckled. "You and me both. We took Jay one year when he was in middle school. You couldn't have a backpack or a purse, so you can imagine Vanessa without her purse. We didn't make it to midnight."

"I guess that's stuff real families do. My fosters never wanted to take us anywhere."

Spence sat up and turned to face me, pulling my left leg over his lap. "You don't talk about growing up in foster care. How bad was it?"

That wasn't anything I talked about… ever… but if we were becoming each other's family, then I supposed I needed to give him some idea of my life before I met him.

"I hated it, but mostly because I didn't belong anywhere. I wasn't accepted into the families where I was placed, and I acted up because of the rejection. Once I accepted that the families only saw me as a paycheck, I decided it was easiest to just do the time without causing trouble. I met Clint at the last placement. He phased out a year before me, but he came back to get me the day I turned eighteen, and he took me to Sparta where he'd met Denver and the Devil's Volunteers. They became as much family as I'd really ever had."

"Were they hard on you? Abusive?" His expression showed he was interested, so I girded my loins and took a trip down memory lane.

"Some were. One couple rented us out as a cleaning crew. There were six of us, and we were told if we said anything to the social worker, they'd make us sleep in the barn which didn't have heat or air conditioning. I was twelve at the time, and after I got beat because I broke a vase at a home where we cleaned, I called the cops and turned the couple in. We were out of there by that night, and they lost their side hustle, the rat bastards."

For the next thirty minutes, I gave Spencer snippets into my shitty childhood. At five minutes before midnight, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and grinned before putting it on speaker. "Hello, son!"

"Hey, Dad. Hey, Nash."

"Hi, Jay. Happy New Year. How's the skiing?"

We chatted with Jay and Cole for a few minutes before hanging up at thirty seconds to midnight. Spence turned to me. "I should have bought champagne. I love you and I'm grateful you came into my life. Happy New Year, my love. I have a good feeling about it."

As the grandfather clock in the hallway struck midnight, we put our glasses on the coffee table and kissed as if the world was ending. A minute later, Spencer surprised me with a condom and a bottle of lube as he was taking off his sweats.

"My boy scout." I quickly undressed and grabbed a throw from the back of a leather recliner where Vani used to read, and I spread it on the couch before I took a seat.

Spencer prepped himself as I slid the condom over my throbbing cock. I took Spencer's hand and helped him onto my lap. He held my cock steady and slowly slid down my shaft. "God, that feels good." We both sighed when his ass was resting on my thighs.

He slowly began to roll his hips, sliding up and down in the most erotic way. "I love you Nash. We're gonna fuck all over this house before we move out."

I chuckled, putting my hands on his hips to guide him on my dick so it hit his prostate with every drop of his ass.

I reached for the lube on the couch and squeezed a few drops into my palm. I wrapped my hand around his dick, sliding my fist in time with his movements. "Fuck! I'm not going to last." My eyes were fixed on the leaking purple head in my hand. The slick fluid lubed my hand, and I sped my pumps to get him to the edge with me.

Finally, he shot all over my chest, and moaned my name. His ass spasmed around my cock, and I followed him into the bliss of a fantastic orgasm.

What a way to ring in the new year!