Eli and Jake were trying to keep things as normal for the boys as possible, but the coming hearing was looming over their heads. Avery assured them they had nothing to worry about. It was very rare for a judge to go against the parents’ wishes in their wills. Jake qualified in every way to be their legal guardian. He owned his own business and condo, the boys wouldn’t have to switch schools, and Kevin and Maggie left him the house. They’d also set up trusts for the boys with very particular instructions. They were all set.
What they needed to do was enjoy Halloween. Jake closed the shop a little early so he and Eli could take the boys trick-or-treating. What they both didn’t expect was that Ryder, Avery, Kenz, and Parker all planned to come along too. They all hadn’t gotten to the house yet. Jake had invited Nina and Stan, but Nina’s favorite part was handing out candy.
“What are you supposed to be?” Dylan eyed Jake in confusion. It didn’t surprise them that Dylan wanted to be Spider-Man. Jake probably would’ve been disappointed if his nephew chose something else. Nick didn’t have much time to find a costume after he came out of his funk, so he settled on his Yankees jersey and hat and grabbed a bat from the garage.
“Oh, come on! You can’t tell? I’m a…” Jake had cut the top and bottom off a cardboard box and had attached shoulder straps so the box hung around his waist. He pointed to big, black letters that spelled out his name on the front of the box and turned in a circle with one arm up while he pointed to the cardboard with the other.
Dylan studied his uncle for a minute before a goofy smile spread across his face. “A Jake-in-the-box?”
Jake pointed at Dylan enthusiastically. “Yes! Someone give this kid some candy!”
“We’re counting on your neighbors for that,” Eli said.
“What about you? What are you supposed to be?” Dylan asked Eli.
Eli turned to Nick and showed him his red shirt. “Nick’s got this one.” Nick smirked as he looked at the “Fe” on Eli’s T-shirt. Eli flexed his muscles. “Come on. Quiz in school in two days.”
Nick busted out laughing. “Iron Man.”
“Yeah!” Eli shouted and gave Nick a high-five.
The doorbell rang and Dylan ran to see who it was. Everyone but Avery walked into the family room one by one. Eli looked at his friends studying their costumes. He laughed when he looked at Parker’s white shirt and written on it was: Error 409: Costume Not Found.
“What’s up with you and Eli and the cop-out T-shirts?” Jake criticized and got an incredulous look from Eli.
“Hey! Mine is brilliant and very educational!” Eli retorted. “And whatever dude. You’re wearing a box.”
Kenz spun in a circle. “Okay, what am I?”
Eli studied the white oval with the yellow circle in the middle hanging around her neck with yarn. Then he looked up at her devil horns. “A deviled egg?” She laughed and nodded her head.
“And what the heck are you supposed to be?” Jake asked staring at Ryder.
“Uh, I think it’s pretty obvious.” He pointed to the brightly-colored, frilly skirt he was wearing over his regular clothes. “I’m a tatutu artist.” He held his arms above his head, brought his hands together, and spun in a circle on his toes.
They all busted out laughing. When the doorbell rang again, Nick got it this time. He came running back in the family room with Avery behind him.
“Don’t tell me you’re going as a lawyer.” Jake shook his head.
“Nope, I’m not.”
“You don’t even have a costume on, although, I dig the monkey suit,” Ryder said with a leer and Eli back-handed him on the chest. “What?”
“I have a costume on. Are we ready to go?” Avery took a banana out of the inside pocket of his jacket. Then he turned around and attached to his expensive suit, right on his ass, was a monkey’s tail. The boys lost it because of the tail, and the rest of them lost it because of the meaning.
“Don’t tell me he doesn’t know he’s driving me crazy in that,” Ryder whispered loudly.
Jake slapped Ryder on the back. “You drove off the crazy road long ago, my friend.”
“Ha ha,” Ryder deadpanned.
They walked up and down the streets surrounding the house for a couple of hours. Eli had to remind Jake that when some people offered their condolences they meant well. Most of them had the common sense to know that a holiday where the boys were supposed to have fun wasn’t the place to bring up what they’d lost.
“Boys, I’ll be happy to take whatever candy you don’t want off your hands,” Ryder announced.
Jake huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, right. Any abandoned candy goes to me and Eli.”
“Who says? I went trick-or-treating too,” Ryder shot back.
“I say. Uncle and uncle’s boyfriend trump tatutu shop employee,” Jake replied.
“Oh, I see how it is.” Ryder laughed. “Unbelievable.”
Man, Eli still had to get used to Jake acknowledging they were together. He kept waiting for it to be a prank or a mistake, but Jake had been really affectionate the last few days.
“Here, Ryder.” Dylan handed the guy a few pieces of candy. And not just any candy. The kid gave Ryder a couple of Snickers and a Twix. That was like striking Halloween candy gold.
Ryder’s face softened as he looked down at Dylan. “Thanks, little dude, but I was just kidding. I don’t want to take your candy.”
Dylan shrugged his shoulders, still handing the candy to Ryder. “You’re part of the family now, aren’t you?”
The smile fell from Ryder’s face as he took the candy from Dylan then looked up at Jake. “Uh…”
Jake stood and walked up behind Dylan, putting his hands on the boy’s shoulders. “Yeah, he’s part of the family.”
Jake had never seen that look on Ryder’s face before. A moment of gratitude flashed in his watery eyes. Ryder just nodded, took the candy, and cleared his throat. “I’m uh…I’m just gonna use the bathroom.” Ryder looked down at Dylan with absolute sincerity. “Thank you.”
The one thing Kevin and Maggie made sure of, no matter how busy they got in their careers, was that family came first. Somehow, they were growing into a makeshift family, and oddly enough, it was becoming their new normal.
Jake watched Ryder walk down the hall, and he swore he saw the guy wipe at his eyes. When he shifted his gaze, Avery was looking down the hall toward the closed bathroom door. He seemed like he was trying to figure something out. “Avery, you all right, man?”
Avery quickly turned his head and smiled. “Yes. Actually, I think I’m going to head home. I have to be up early tomorrow.” He walked over to the boys and gave them each a hug.
“Here, Uncle Avery.” Dylan handed Avery some of his candy and smiled. “I know Peanut Chews are your favorite.”
“They are.” Avery ruffled Dylan’s hair. “Thank you.”
“Here. You can have mine too.” Nick held his hand out, and Avery took the pieces of candy.
Jake knew Avery was feeling exactly how he was feeling tonight. Kevin and Maggie should be here for this. They should be seeing what amazing kids they raised. But no matter how angry, or hurt, or sad they all felt, it wasn’t going to change anything. So they had to make the best of the situation, like they had tonight.
It wasn’t long before everyone left and it was just the four of them again.
“Uncle J, did you see the huge bags of candy Nina and Stan gave us?” Dylan held up the large gift bag covered in pumpkins. “And they’re not even the little ones. They’re like real candy bars.”
Jake looked at the bag Dylan was holding up. “Good. Then you’ll have more than enough to share.”
It didn’t surprise him that their real grandparents hadn’t asked to see the boys or hadn’t wished them a Happy Halloween, even though it was their first holiday without their parents. Jake couldn’t shake the feeling that they were only trying to get custody out of spite to hurt him or hold on to a piece of Kevin, not because they loved the boys. Every time he thought about the boys being taken away from him, a ball of tension formed in his chest.
He felt a hand on his lower back and took a deep breath in. “Hey, you okay?” Eli’s hand slid around Jake’s waist.
“Yeah.” Jake wasn’t surprised anymore by his intense reaction to this man. He didn’t know why Eli wanted him. He may never understand it, but he completely accepted it now. Jake leaned in and gave Eli a quick kiss. “Will you stay tonight?”
“I don’t know if that’s…” Eli paused and must have seen the need in Jake’s eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll stay.”
Jake leaned his forehead down on Eli’s for a minute and closed his eyes, breathing him in before he whispered, “Thank you.” He picked his head back up and looked over at the boys. “Guys, it’s time to put that stuff away and get ready for bed. You still have school tomorrow.”
Reluctantly, they both responded, “Okay,” and dumped the rest of the candy from their bags into the big bowls on the counter.
“Night Uncle J. Night Eli,” Nick said before heading up the stairs.
Dylan came over and hugged Jake goodnight then did the same with Eli. The way Dylan had taken to Eli made Jake smile. Every one of his friends had really rallied around the boys tonight. I think they had a good Halloween, Kevin.
Jake took Eli’s hand and led him into the family room to the couch. They both sat down, leaning their heads back against the couch, and let out heavy sighs. “I never realized how exhausting Halloween could be.” Jake turned his head in Eli’s direction. “Do you think the boys had fun?”
Eli looked at him and smiled. “I do. I think they had a lot of fun. You’re doing a great job, Jake.”
Jake stared at Eli with two words on the tip of his tongue that he didn’t want to come out. Then he remembered that this was Eli. His safe place. “I’m scared. It doesn’t matter what Avery says. It doesn’t matter what I tell the boys to put them at ease. I’m terrified a court can take this all away from me.”
Eli shifted and straddled Jake’s lap, taking his face in his hands. “It’s normal to be scared of losing something that hasn’t been made official yet, but I have no doubt that everything will be fine.” He softly kissed Jake. “I’ll have faith enough for both of us, okay?”
Jake nodded his head, wrapped his arms around Eli, and held him tight. He breathed him in, let the warmth of the man in his arms surround him, and felt his body react from the contact. He wanted to be as close as possible to Eli in that moment. Jake pulled back and met Eli’s eyes.
Eli took Jake’s face in his hands again and stared intently. Slightly, he nodded his head and whispered, “We have to be quiet.” Eli kissed him softly, stood up, and grabbed Jake’s hand to pull him up off the couch.
They tiptoed up the steps. Once inside the guest room with the door locked, Eli undressed Jake slowly. Then he undressed himself and pulled the covers back off the bed. They climbed into bed and within seconds, Eli was on top of Jake kissing him and grinding against him. Jake let Eli have control because it was exactly what he needed right now.
They didn’t waste time with foreplay or words. Eli reached into the nightstand drawer and got the lube and condoms. He squirted some lube in Jake’s hand then pulled it between his legs until Jake sat up and took over, pushing a finger into Eli’s body as he wrapped the other arm around his waist. He watched Eli’s eyes roll back right before he closed them, and his body shuddered. Eli moved his body on Jake’s finger then pulled on Jake’s hand. “Not enough.”
Quickly, things progressed as Eli got Jake ready, got up on his knees, and slowly sat back down, taking Jake’s cock inside him. They both sighed from the intimate connection. Eli began rocking his body forward and back, holding Jake in his steady gaze. This man had so much power over him and he had no clue.
“The nights where I’d come to you, in the middle of the night,” Jake thrust his hips up and Eli released a shuddering breath, “I needed you.” Eli grasped the sides of Jake’s neck with both hands as Jake drove into Eli again. “It wasn’t to scratch an itch.” He held Eli’s waist tightly. “I physically needed you.” As he flipped them over, bringing Eli to his back with Jake hovering above him, Eli looked caught off-guard then gasped when Jake drove into him again. “I’d breathe a sigh of relief,” Jake leaned down and kissed Eli, “the second I was inside you.”
“Jake,” Eli whispered.
“Sometimes you’d fall asleep first…” Jake thrust in again, reveling in the small sound that escaped Eli’s plump lips, “and I’d lie there and watch you.” Jake sat up on his knees, resting Eli’s thighs on his own as he pounded into him. “I’d stay for as long as I possibly could and leave before you woke up,” he made sure Eli was looking at him, “because I was afraid of needing you so badly.”
Jake held the connection with his own eyes, every thrust drawing them closer together. “That doesn’t scare me anymore.” He aimed for Eli’s prostate repeatedly then leaned down and kissed him to hold in the sounds he was making. “I know I still don’t deserve you,” he slid his mouth over to Eli’s ear, nipped the lobe, and whispered, “but I need you, Eli.”
Eli’s whole body tensed as he let go and opened his mouth in a silent scream, shooting all over his stomach, neither one of them ever touching his cock. Man, it was such a fucking gorgeous thing to watch Eli come. Jake sat up, grabbed onto Eli’s thighs, and hurried his thrusts, bringing himself to a powerful end as he bit his lip and held in the roar that was clawing to come out.
He looked back down at Eli and was overcome with emotion. He still firmly believed that he didn’t deserve this man, but he sure as hell was going to make sure he never lost him again.
They were both panting, staring at one another, as a small smile curved Eli’s gorgeous mouth. Jake slid out of Eli and removed the condom, wrapping it in a tissue before throwing it out. He didn’t want too much space between them, so he reached for his shirt on the floor to clean them both up. Jake lay back down and pulled Eli until his head landed on his chest. He yanked the sheet up over them both. They lay in silence for a while, with Jake slowly running his hand up and down Eli’s back.
“I need you too,” Eli whispered against Jake’s chest. He tilted his head back and stared into Jake’s eyes. Jake leaned in and kissed him.
They were quiet for a few minutes until Jake asked, “Will you be there?”
Eli lifted his head up, his brows drawn together. “Be where?”
“At the hearing. I know Avery’s going, but I need you there.”
“Hell yeah, I’m going.” Eli leaned over and kissed Jake again then rested his head back on Jake’s chest.
Jake released the breath he’d been holding and began to gently move his hand again, up and down the length of Eli’s back. He could feel the moment when Eli fell asleep, his body becoming more relaxed, his breathing more even. He never thought there would be nights like this. He never gave himself permission to want nights like this. Yet, somehow, he’d found a man who, after all Jake had put him through, still gave him one more chance.
Jake was right about himself—he was a selfish bastard. From the very beginning, he couldn’t let Eli go completely. Now, even knowing Eli deserved someone better, Jake was going to keep this man in his life and in his bed no matter what it took.