Rory pushed his body against Bernard’s. He held him tight as they kissed. Bernard returned the pressure. Bernard’s arms tightened around him. They fit together.
Rory was kissing a man in broad daylight. In public. He didn’t care who saw. His heart burned for Bernard. He didn’t want this to end.
They broke the kiss. Rory stared into Bernard’s eyes. He cared about this man. Bernard was the first man he’d ever kissed, and Rory wanted him to be the last. No one could compare to the passion he felt for him.
“Kissing you has been the best experience of my life.” Rory kissed him again. “I want to kiss you for the rest of my life.”
“I’ll be here for you to kiss, for the rest of my life.”
They embraced again and kissed. Bernard didn’t judge him for being inexperienced. He treated it like it was normal to be thirty-five and kissing someone for the first time. It made him want Bernard more. Did Bernard enjoy kissing him? He had two exes and had probably kissed other men too. Were they better kissers? Did Bernard want someone with more experience? He didn’t want to think about it. Bernard was an honest man and if he didn’t want to be with Rory, he’d tell him. He needed to let this be what it was. A wonderful day, with a wonderful man, that ended in the best kiss he could imagine.
I want to spend every night with him. Would that be too much, too fast? I don’t know how to do this.
“I had such a wonderful day,” Rory said. “I should get home and take care of Mina. Can we go out next Friday?”
“We can go out any night or day you want to.”
Bernard kissed him again. He escaped into the kiss. If this was what it was to be in love, then he’d been missing out for so many years. They had a lot of catching up to do.
Rory said goodbye and headed home.
He went to the phone and called Sarah.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Sarah. It’s Rory. I need to talk to you.”
“What’s going on?”
He told her about the day they had. Mentioned the apology, him running back to Bernard, and about the run-in with Jason and Tracy.
“What were those assholes doing at the park?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Rory said. “But they are together. I got his mind off it, but I think it’s best to not mention them. He was bad, I mean real bad. I don’t want to see him like that again. If anyone brings up Jason or Tracy again, he might relapse.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll let everyone know.”
Rory called Davi, Sophia, Nicolas, and Jeff to let them know what happened. Everyone needed to be aware. While he’d said he was fine, today proved otherwise. Rory wanted to protect Bernard.
After getting the calls out of the way, he had a few hours before bed, so he worked on the sweater for Bernard, a tribute to his bear.
He put onSevenas something to watch while he knitted. He’d seen it a dozen times, so it worked as background stimulation.
“What if this doesn’t last?” he asked Mina. She’d curled up on the back of the couch behind his head. “What if what I’m feeling is just momentary and Bernard and I drift apart?”
I need to stop thinking that way. I need to take it one day at a time. Just let things progress.
He had to let it play out and accept if it ended. When it ended.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rory
Friday, September 11
RORY AND BERNARDkept their relationship a secret from his mother. His father and brother knew but kept his secret. They’d been back together for over a month and Rory couldn’t be happier. He’d spent every Friday cuddled up with Bernard on the couch after dinner.
A month together, and they’d only kissed. The fear of hell prevented Rory from going further. He wanted to be intimate with Bernard, but years of conditioning held him hostage. Bernard never pressured him, and if he said no, Bernard respected him. Their shirts came off a few times, but nothing else. It couldn’t continue this way. Rory knew if he didn’t do something more with Bernard soon, Bernard would leave him.
