“I love you,” Josh said softly with a nervous smile on his face.
His words shocked me and my brain stopped functioning for a few moments. It was long enough to worry Josh about my reaction and my next words didn’t help. “Damn it, Josh.”
“What did I do?” he asked, pissed that his declaration was met with such a pathetic response. He tried to wiggle out of my arms, but I wouldn’t let him go.
“I was just about to say the same thing,” I told him.
“You were going to announce that you were in love with you?” he asked, but I could tell by the smile on his face he knew exactly what I’d meant.
“I was going to tell you thatIam in love withyou.” I shook my head in disbelief. “You always want to be in control, don’t you? Always trying to outdo me. I brought you out here for a romantic declaration and BAM,” the last part was shouted loudly, “you have to say it first.”
“So say it now,” he suggested.
“I’m out of the mood now,” I teased.
“Oh, I know how to fix that,” Josh said proudly, wiggling his crotch against mine.
“I knew there was something special about you the minute we met. I fought it, I denied it, and then I owned up to it. I am so in love with you, Josh.”
“Wow,” he whispered thickly. I saw tears form in his eyes as he struggled to grasp the reality of the moment.
“Do not pinch me,” I warned him.
“Oh my God. You’re reading my mind now,” he said then burst into laughter. The unshed tears lost their battle with gravity and ran down his cheeks. “What am I thinking now?”
“Easy…”
“I am not, but I can be tricked,” Josh said saucily.
I ignored his attempts to laugh off his emotion. “You’re thinking that you want me to take you back to our hotel room, lay you down on that big bed, and make love to you until the sun comes up.”
“Something like that,” he admitted with a sappy look on his face.
So, that was exactly what I did.
THE NEXT TWO DAYSwith Gabe in Miami were picture perfect; I’m talking worthy of a chick flick. We repeated our love for one another several times a day, we splashed around in the water, ate every kind of delicious food imaginable, walked hand-in-hand on the beach each night, and then returned to our room to make crazy, passionate love. We were a movie night away from the biggest cliché there ever was about dating. In fact, I found a mug online with the famous cliché on it and ordered it so Gabe could add it to his mug collection. I was happy to see that it would arrive at my house while we were on vacation so I could surprise him when we returned.
In the meantime, I had a Valentine’s Day gift squirreled away in my suitcase for him. Neither of us talked about making V-Day plans and I figured Gabe might be like a lot of men who gave the day absolutely no consideration as being important. I used to be one of them because I never had anyone to celebrate the day with. I decided to keep it low key and tried not to make a big fuss. I bought Gabe a small box of his chocolate covered caramel and pecan candies and a mug that read: BAD COP. I also brought some massage lotion because I remembered just how much he loved my hands all over him.
Gabe had the same idea for Valentine’s Day. He gave me a box of dark chocolate covered cherries and the cutest fucking t-shirt that read: I GIVE BLOWJOBS. A blow dryer, a pair of shears, and a comb were beneath the words. Gabe had also brought some massage lotions with him, but the ones he bought were flavored. I had a lot of fun licking that cinnamon-flavored oil off his dick, while Gabe preferred the strawberries and cream on my body. He worked me up for so long that I gave him plenty of cream to go with his strawberries.
Later, I laid my head on his chest and said, “Thank you for making my first Valentine’s Day amazing.” You see, prior to meeting and falling in love with Gabe, I never would’ve told anyone just how lonely that day was for me every single year. I worried that I sounded too pathetic and I was always afraid someone would reaffirm that love wasn’t in the cards for me. Gabe gave me the courage to be myself and to say what was on my mind without fear of rejection. That was his greatest gift to me and one I planned to cherish for the rest of my life.
Gabe was silent for a long time so I raised my head to look at him. His brow was furrowed and he looked angry. Gabe turned his face to look at me and his expression softened immediately. “Fucking idiots was what they were. It’s hard for me to be mad at them when their stupidity made you available when I came into your life.” I realized that his anger the moments before wasn’t directed at me but at the people in my past who had hurt me.
I enjoyed the time we spent with his folks too. They were a lot of fun to be around and I saw why Gabe turned out to be the amazing man that he had. The funniest moment of the trip had to be when Al recommended we play some poker one night after dinner. Gabe’s eyes about bugged out of his head in fear that I’d lose every dime I had. Ha! He silently shook his head no, but I readily accepted the offer.
I was the one who had the last laugh when I ended up with all the chips that night. I smiled at each of their shocked faces, especially Gabe’s because it was obvious he was seeing me in a new light.
“Looks to me you’re dating a card shark,” Al said to his son. I saw the gleam of approval in his dark eyes as he smiled broadly at me. “Well done, son.”
“Dad,” Gabe said in a warning tone. “You’re not taking him to poker night at the American Legion.”
“Why not?” Al and I both asked.
“It’s just not a good idea,” Gabe said. It turned out that poker night was the same night I planned to introduce Gabe to my parents. I promised Al that he and I would whip some ass the next time I came for a visit.
Away from our everyday lives, Gabe and I had time to get to know one another more, delve deeper into our pasts, and share things that we’d never told anyone else. I asked things like, “Did you ever get caught masturbating by your parents?”
