One Year Later
Jonathan
December 23
“Lucy? Do you know where my boots are?” Hayden bellowed from somewhere within the house, probably the top of the stairs, as was his habit. I smiled to myself, glancing over to where they sat in the mudroom, right by the door to the garage, where he’d left them after shoveling the driveway yesterday. I continued packing snacks in the tote, knowing he’d eventually come looking for me, at which point, I’d direct him to the boots in question. I refused to shout at him from across the house and he refused to stop doing so. Inevitably he’d come looking for me to answer his question, or I’d pick up my phone and text him a response instead. It was ridiculous, but it was also us, and so it continued and probably always would.
At least, I hope he’d be my always after tonight.
As if on cue, Hayden came bounding into the kitchen, coming to a halt when he saw me. I placed the last box of cereal into the tote, then turned to face him. His bottom lip was trapped between his teeth and he was eye-fucking me from where he stood in the doorway. “No. Absolutely not. We don’t have time,” I said, turning my back on him and lifting the tote off the counter then carrying it into the mudroom. “Your boots are right here, by the way,” I said, gesturing to them with my foot.
I set the tote down on the bench next to the door and turned, only to find him right up in my space, his lips inches from mine. He reached out, grabbing a handful of my ass and tugging me into him, slotting his leg between mine and pressing his groin against my thigh with purpose. He nipped at my bottom lip and I groaned, feeling my resolve slip. “C’mon, Lucy. You know you want to. What’s a little quickie gonna hurt before we hit the road?”
I whimpered, but didn’t deny him, as he closed the distance and pressed his lips to mine. The kiss quickly devolved into something obscene, sloppy, and wet as he fucked into my mouth with his tongue. Dimly, in the back of my mind, it registered that even a year later, Hayden had the power to twist me up and turn me on in mere moments. Hard and aching for him, I rocked against his thigh, rutting against him like a teenager on the dance floor at prom.
Something vibrated incessantly against my hip and in my lust-addled state, it took longer than it should have for me to realize my phone was buzzing in my pocket. I nearly let it go to voicemail when it finally dawned on me that this particular call might be worth taking.
I yanked myself out of Hayden’s grasp, chest heaving as I gasped for air, and turned away, pulling the phone out of my pocket and immediately pressing answer as soon as I saw the name that flashed across the screen.
“Hi, Suzanne.” I threw an apologetic look Hayden’s direction as I moved a little further away so he wouldn’t inadvertently overhear her side of the conversation. Adjusting my disappointed dick, I moved toward the dining room, chuckling as Hayden whined loudly behind me. “My mother has the worst timing.”
“Go finish packing,” I said as I crossed the threshold into the other room, putting more distance between us. Lowering my voice, I said, “Is everything ready?”
“Yep. We’re all ready for you.” The excitement in her tone made me smile.
“Hurry up! We’re dying to celebrate with you!” I heard Hayden’s stepmom, Jess, call out in the background. As Hayden and I had worked to repair our relationships with our fathers this last year, Suzanne and Jessica had also grown closer, doing their best to urge all parties to get along. It wasn’t often a mother got along so well with her son’s stepmother. You’d never guess at the relationship between them.
“We should be out of here in the next half hour. I’ll text you when we get on the road.”
“Sounds good. Drive safe, honey!”
“See you soon.”
* * *
Hayden
Forty-five minutes into our drive and I was bored.
And after my mom had cock-blocked me earlier, I was also horny.
It was a dangerous combination.
Or…it could be a fun one.
I stretched my hand out and rubbed the back of Jonathan’s neck, playing with the edges of his neatly trimmed hair. Like a cat getting his chin scratched, he let out a contented sigh and sank into my touch.
Over the last year, he’d relaxed, becoming warmer and more open. My Lucy would always be the type of guy who thrived on structure and routine, and he still liked things ‘just so’, but he’d also learned to be more flexible when something didn’t quite go the way he wanted, and he’d started to figure out how to articulate his feelings, rather than bottling them up and pretending they didn’t exist. Lately, though, he’d seemed more stressed. Seeing that tension creep back in over the last couple of weeks had been hard to watch, but when I’d asked him about it, he’d insisted everything was fine.
Well, maybe I could do something about that now.
I ran my hand from the back of his neck down his shoulder to rest on his thigh. He picked up my hand in his, pressed a kiss to my knuckles, then returned his hands to the ten and two position on the steering wheel, while I dropped my hand back to his thigh. The sweet gesture made me smile, but it wasn’t sweet that I wanted right now.
I ran my hand up his leg, slow and firm, and rested it right against the juncture of his thigh and his groin. His eyes flicked to mine, his brows drawing up. “What are you doing?”
“What do you mean? I’m just resting my hand on your thigh.” I widened my eyes, giving him my best impression of innocence.
“Hayden, I’m driving.”
“I know.” I ran my pinky down the length of his fly. He wasn’t hard yet, but I felt a twitch and stifled my smile.
“Hayden…” He growled, his tone laced with equal parts warning and arousal.
“What?”
I ran two fingers down his length this time, applying a little more pressure, and felt his cock filling behind his fly. He groaned and shifted in his seat, but he didn’t bat my hand away, so I took that as a green light to continue.
Running my thumb firmly down his length this time, I shifted in my seat, trading my left hand for my right, so I could leverage myself up high enough to get my lips on his ear.
“I’m trying to drive,” he whined, even as he leaned closer to make it easier for me to nip at his lobe.
I popped the button on his jeans, and asked, “You ever had road head?”
The car hit the rumble strip on the shoulder and Lucy jerked the steering wheel back into the lane. “You’re going to cause us to have an accident.”
I nipped at his jawline. “You’re great at multitasking. You can handle it.”
His cock was straining against his fly now. That had to be uncomfortable. A good boyfriend would help him out with that.
I was a very good boyfriend.
I lowered his zipper, exposing the wet spot that was already forming on his briefs. I leaned over, nuzzling into that spot and inhaled his scent. God I loved the way he smelled, so uniquely Jonathan. I pulled back the waistband of his briefs, exposing just the head of his dick and stuck my tongue right into his slit, then swirled it around. He stuck one hand in my hair, gripping me tight as I continued to lick at him, lapping up the precum oozing from his tip.
Without warning, he muttered something unintelligible and jerked the steering wheel to the right. I tried to sit up so I could see where he was going, but he gripped my head even tighter, holding me in place.
A shadow fell over the car as it came to a stop, and I figured that meant he’d found someplace a little more secluded. “If you want to suck my dick that badly, then we’re going to do it safely. I can’t drive with your mouth on me like that.”
I licked at him, then shoved up, knocking his hand off my head, and gave him my best shit-eating grin. “Aw, come on, Lucy. You’re such a rule follower.”
“And you’re an ornery little shit.” His hand shot out, wrapping around the back of my neck and holding me in a firm grip. “Are you going to talk or suck my dick?”
Lust shot through me, like a bolt of electricity straight to my balls. Fuck, I loved when bossy, growly Jonathan came out to play. Still, I wasn’t going to give in too easily. Pushing my lip out in a pout, I said, “The whole point was to give you road head. It’s not the same if you’re not driving.”
He moved his hand around, thumbing my lower lip and tilting my chin up. “The concept of road head is hot as fuck, but I plan on keeping you around for a long time. An orgasm isn’t worth the risk of an accident.” He leaned in and kissed me gently. “I want to grow old with you, Hay.”
“Well, shit. When you put it like that…” I mumbled before diving in and taking his lips with mine. This man still had the ability to turn me inside out.
We kissed deeply, then fiercely, as our need skyrocketed in the tight confines of the car. Abruptly, I yanked my head back and we stared at each other a moment, panting out hot breaths that steamed up the windows. “I love you so goddamned much, Luce.” His eyes blazed with intensity and he pressed forward, like he was going to kiss me again, but I pulled back and tugged at the waistband of his pants. “Pull these down.”
He obliged, lifting up his hips so he could slide his pants and briefs down to his thighs. The tip of his cock glistened with precum, practically begging me for a taste.
“God, look at you. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of the sight of your cock standing at attention, just waiting for me to take it.”
“Jesus.”
I bent down and licked at him again, running my tongue up the thick vein on the underside, making sure to give extra attention to the notch just below the head. I knew that spot drove him wild.
I was rewarded with a loud groan and his hand shot out, gripping my hair as if he needed something to hold on to. Grinning, I abruptly changed tactics, taking him all the way to the back of my throat in one swift motion.
The sound he emitted was something between a growl and a whine. “Fuuuck,” he ground out as he tangled his hands in my hair while I hoovered him for all I was worth. It was a tight fit in his Audi with me crammed between him and the steering wheel, but I didn’t care. Nothing else mattered in that moment, but bringing him to ecstasy.
The sounds we made inside that car were obscene as I licked and sucked and bobbed my head faster and faster, spit running down his length, making an utter mess of him, until I felt his thighs clench beneath me and he unloaded down the back of my throat.
I swallowed every last drop of him, like the good boyfriend that I was, before sitting up and swiping my hand across my mouth, wiping some of the spit off my face.
“Come here,” he said, pulling me in for yet another kiss, this one tender and sweet. “That was so good, baby. I love you, Hay.”
“I love you, too.”
* * *
Jonathan
We arrived to the cabin around six o’clock and Hayden let out a gasp. “Lights? When did you…?” He trailed off, staring at the multi-colored lights outlining the roofline and draped around the trees near the front door, where a festive wreath hung, welcoming us to our home away from home.
“Wait until you see the inside.” Without waiting for a response, I got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side where he was now standing, eyes still trained on the cabin. I grabbed his hand and pulled him up the walk to the door, turning the already unlocked knob, and pushed the door open, gesturing for him to enter ahead of me.
We stepped into the entryway, Hayden’s head turning on a swivel as he took in the transformation of the space. In the corner near the fireplace was a Christmas tree decked out in colored lights with red and gold ornaments. The tree skirt matched the red and gold theme, but was barely visible under the pile of gifts stacked underneath. An evergreen garland adorned with red bows was strung across the mantel, and the entire place was lit with candles, casting the living room in a warm glow.
The pure joy and wonder on Hayden’s face was worth every bit of stress I’d felt in the last week trying to figure out how to get up here to decorate and get everything set up without him noticing. Surprisingly, Louis had been a big help, taking on some of my duties at work this week so I could take the time off to sneak up here and arrange everything. I was pretty sure he’d done it for Hayden more than for me, as the two of them had become friends over the last year, having crossed paths often enough while Hayden visited me at work. I supposed I could admit Louis had become my friend too.
A bark sounded from behind the closed bedroom door, followed by a thump and the unmistakable sound of female laughter. Hayden looked at me with startled eyes, brows climbing his forehead and I called out, “You can let him out.”
“What’s going on?” Hayden asked moments before he was assaulted by a ball of floof with a massive red bow tied around its neck. With an excited gasp, he immediately sank to his knees, running his hands through the puppy’s brown and white fur and allowing him to lick his face. “What’s its name?” he asked without taking his eyes off the dog.
“Whatever you want his name to be. He’s yours.”
“Really? You got me a dog?” His voice was laced with awed disbelief. Hayden had been after me to get a dog almost since the moment he’d moved in with me, but I’d been set against it, concerned that our busy schedules wouldn’t allow us to be proper parents to a pup. However, after talking it over with Suzanne and Jess, they’d insisted they could help out, and Hayden’s sister had been the first to volunteer to dog sit whenever we needed.
“He’s all yours. Look closer at his ribbon.”
He shot me a confused look before turning his attention back to the dog, running his fingers along the red ribbon, forehead wrinkled in concentration. Almost immediately, his fingers caught on the ring I’d been waiting for him to find, and I let out the breath I’d been holding.
“Lucy!” he gasped, turning to look at me, eyes shining.
I sank to my knees, urging the puppy to come toward me so I could untie the ribbon and remove the ring. I scooted closer, pulling his hands away from his face so that I could take them in mine. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes shone bright as he looked at me in shock.
“Baby,” I whispered, suddenly overcome with emotion at the enormity of what I was about to do. I swallowed around the lump in my throat, and started again. “Hayden, a year ago, you burst through that door, and turned my world upside-down in all the best ways. Since then, you’ve brought so much joy into my life. You’ve taught me that there can be beauty in spontaneity, that sometimes there’s more to life than rules and routine, and that it’s worth taking the time to look beyond first and second impressions.” I wiped away the tear that slipped down his cheek. “You’ve made my life better in nearly every way and I want to make it official. I want you to be my husband. I want to grow old with you and listen to you sing and take our puppy on playdates. I want to travel and go hiking and watch the sunset. I want to curl up by the fire and watch Elf every Christmas Eve—though I don’t know if we need to make eating a frozen pizza on the floor a tradition.” We both laughed wetly, and I realized that somewhere in the midst of my speech, I’d shed a few tears, too. “What do you say, Hayden? Will you marry me?”
He nodded his head up and down vigorously as he threw his arms around me, tackling me in a hug that took us all the way to the ground. “Yes, yes, yes,” he said, peppering kisses all over my face. Thinking it was a game, the puppy jumped all over us, yipping playfully. Somehow, I managed to hold on to the ring, and held it up in front of Hayden’s face. He immediately sat up, straddling my waist, and held out his hand. I slid the ring on his finger, pulling his hand forward to kiss the spot where it rested.
A wet sob sounded from somewhere to my right and we both followed its direction with our gaze. Jess and Suzanne stood in the doorway to the bedroom, hands clasped as they looked on with tears running down their faces. “Mom? Jess? What are you doing here?”
Jessica somehow managed to sniffle and laugh at the same time. “You don’t think Jonathan could do this by himself, do you? Who do you think took care of the puppy?”
“Hey,” I said, affronted. “I did most of the work.”
Hayden climbed off of me, then reached out a hand to help me up. “How did you accomplish all of this without me knowing?”
“I took the day off yesterday and drove up to decorate. Jess and your mom came up with the puppy this morning and added the finishing touches. They’re actually staying nearby so we can celebrate Christmas as a family.”
“Really? You’re all staying?” Hayden’s face lit up all over again.
“Each of our families got a rental nearby,” Jess said with a huge grin.
I tilted his chin up.“I know how much it meant to you to have the family together when you were a kid, so I arranged for everyone to come up here for a couple of days.”
“I have the best fiancé, ever,” Hayden said, leaning in to kiss me.
Damn, I liked the sound of that.