CHASEROGAN ROUNDED THE OPEN ENTRYWAY OF THE STABLE.
Mason Finley walked toward him—shirtless, his sweat-soaked muscles glistening in the overhanging lights. He wore a cattleman cowboy hat that looked new. His hips and six-pack abs shifted as he approached Chase, his strut confident as ever, the bulge in his crotch reminding Chase of the impressive dick hiding behind the fly of his jeans.
Mason’s gaze met Chase’s, his blue eyes captivating Chase as they always did, transporting him back through their lives as he replayed what felt like a series of romantic, elusive dreams.
It wasn’t the first time Chase had replayed those memories.
They came unbidden every day. Not a few hours could pass without Chase recalling something about their relationship. They’d loved too long and cared too much for him to let any of it go so easily.
Laughter, joy, eagerness, excitement, wonder—those were the words Chase associated with their lives together.
When they were happy. When they were young.
It was a time when Chase couldn’t dream of a world without his man.
“Hi, Mason,” Chase said as his ex neared.
Age had only made Mason more beautiful, accentuating the features and the parts of his body Chase had always appreciated.
While Chase could see the noticeable difference in Mason’s appearance—the parts of him that were older and wiser than the kid he’d fallen in love with—he could still see the ten-year-old boy he’d fought with on the school playground, the boy who’d awoken sensations and emotions he hadn’t even known existed before he came to help out on the Finleys’ dairy.
Eleven years? Had it really been that long since they’d ended their relationship?
“Howdy, Chase,” Mason said, which made Chase laugh because he only ever said “howdy” to tease.
Relief washed through Chase as he appreciated how Mason had eased the tension he’d expected when they saw each other again. It hadn’t been so long since the last time he’d been on the dairy. He’d visited the year before and plenty of times before that. But just briefly. No matter how many times he visited, the awkwardness of seeing Mason again always threw him. “Sorry. No one was at the house, and I saw Pa’s truck out here.”
He wasn’t Chase’s pa, but he’d come to call him that just as he’d come to call Mason’s mother Ma. That’s what they had become to him anyway, since they were more parents to him than his own had ever been—than his own had ever wanted to be.
As Mason neared, he spread his arms as though he was about to offer a hug, but stopped himself.
“Oh… I’m kind of a mess right now.”
“It’s fine,” Chase said before hugging him.
That same spark—the one he always felt whenever they touched—ignited. Chase would never deny or attempt to deny the feelings Mason stirred within him. He couldn’t when his dick was already shifting in his pants, reminding him of night after night of steamy kisses and hot-as-hell sex. But it was more than fucking. Years of being without Mason had taught him that in a way no amount of time with him could have.
As Chase pulled away, it felt strange to feel so distant from his greatest love.
The man he’d always loved, but the man he couldn’t be with.
They stood in silence, gazing into each other’s eyes, communicating so much without saying a word.
Mason broke eye contact, and Chase felt as though he’d been abandoned. When he was a kid, being out of Mason’s gaze had always been the hardest thing for him, and it reminded him of a time when he was so dependent upon him, when Mason was the only thing in the world that mattered.
“Are you excited about Emery’s engagement?” Chase asked, his voice cracking in a way that made him want to hit himself for being incapable of keeping his cool.
Mason’s lips twisted into a smile. “Yeah. Jasper’s a good guy. He’s gonna make Emery real happy, I’m sure.”
“I’ve only seen him those last few times I came to visit, but he’s always been very friendly. Emery deserves the best.”
Even though he lived in Los Angeles, thousands of miles from the Finleys’ place in North Georgia, he made sure to see the only family he’d ever known whenever he could, even at the risk of awakening the lingering discomfort that remained between him and Mason. That visit would be different, though. It’d be worse than ever because of Emery’s engagement, since it would remind both of them of the beautiful day they shared with their family and friends when they made vows—all of which they’d broken.
Destroyed.
“Where’s the family?” Chase asked.
“Emery went into town with some of the guys to get supplies from the Feed & Seed. Pa and Jasper won’t be back until later. They’re talking with a contractor about the new facilities. You want a drink?”
