None of them had an answer to that.
They stayed for a while longer, and then Evan said he had to get back home first. Aubrey left him, and they were talking quietly to each other as they left. Gabriel grinned at Drew. Maybe the séance hadn’t been fully successful, but they had succeeded in their other goal: setting up Evan and Aubrey.
“Thanks for the help,” Gabriel said to Irma. He helped her pack everything up.
She gave him a hug. “Maybe we’ll get more answers later. Keep your heart open.”
When she left, he wondered if she meant to keep his heart open about the ghost, or about something else. Maybe she knew that there was another reading to the Tarot cards she had pulled.
It was a soft, dark night, and Gabriel was tired. It had been a long week at camp, and he missed being in Drew’s arms. He went back inside and let Drew wrap him in a full embrace.
“Hi,” he whispered.
“Hi,” Drew said.
Gabriel kissed him. “I missed you.”
Drew laughed. “You were just outside.”
“I know. I missed you. I always miss you.”
Drew’s smile was tender and sweet. “Come to bed,” he whispered.
Gabriel followed Drew to Drew’s bed, which he was starting to think of as their bed. They gently took off each other’s clothes, and when they were naked, they lay down together on the bed. Gabriel kissed Drew deeply, and they slotted their bodies together, grasping at each other, clutching each other.
It was gentle, passionate lovemaking. Drew got on top of Gabriel, straddling him while they kissed. He had a bottle of lube on the side table and applied some to Gabriel’s cock. Gabriel moaned while Drew stroked him, each stroke loving and tender. He wanted to cum. No, heneededto cum inside of Drew.
Drew’s head fell back, and he cried out as he came, shooting cum all over Gabriel. Gabriel gasped and his body tensed, and he came inside of Drew, filling him with his seed.
Both spent, they collapsed next to each other, and kissed, and then Drew rolled off the bed to clean up in the bathroom. When he came back, bringing with him a glass of water, he kissed Gabriel again. Gabriel could stay there forever with Drew. Hewantedto stay there forever with Drew.
Drew reclined next to him on the bed. Moonlight slanted through the windows, lacing his form with pearly light. His eyes were soft, and his lips were swollen from kisses.
“Gabriel,” he whispered.
“Drew,” Gabriel replied, and stroked Drew’s face. He wished he could cast this moment in amber and hold onto it forever.
“Can I tell you something?” Drew whispered.
“Anything.” He could stare into Drew’s eyes forever and be happy about it.
Drew’s voice was very soft, but he spoke with confidence and assuredness. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”
There was a time in Gabriel’s life when hearing those words would’ve terrified him. The rational part of his brain told him that hearing those words now probablyshouldterrify him. Love had no place in what he and Drew had agreed to. That had agreed on a simple summer romance, a fling, and nothing more. They would be companions and sexual partners for the summer, and they would have fun, and then Drew would leave, and they would go back to their normal lives from before. But that wasn’t what had happened. They had built something else, and it was better and truer than what Gabriel could have expected. And, despite every rational and pragmatic reason to not let himself fall, he was.
He cupped Drew’s chin in his hands and kissed him gently. “I’m falling in love with you, too.”
Drew gave a small laugh. There were soft tears sparkling in the corners of his eyes. “And what are we going to do about that?”
Gabriel took a breath to steady his heartbeat and his emotions. Both wanted to run away on him, and he wouldn’t let them. “We enjoy the time we have,” he said softly. “And we always,alwaystreasure the summer we shared where we learned about love.”
Chapter 16
Drew
Love had once scared Drew. He had not thoughthe would ever find it, or that he would be allowed to pursue it. He had been satisfied with the idea that he would spend the rest of his professional life in the closet. Then, maybe when he retired, he could let himself live as his authentic self. He never thought that he would find love that would allow him to be truthful before that.
Then there was Quentin, and Drew had been ready for it, or at least he thought he was. He had been willing to do it for Quentin, if Quentin had wanted to. But he had misread the situation, or if he had read it correctly, Quentin hadn’t been willing to take that step. He was younger, and maybe more afraid.
