Chapter Thirty-Four

 

 

“ADDY was so angry with me for stepping on his forest,” Roger told Jonah with a chuckle, “he didn’t speak to me until the next morning.”

Jonah set his fork on the empty plate and leaned forward on his elbows. The food had been great, and the company… it reminded him of what it had been like to be with his family years before, something he’d missed more than he realized.

“I was building Sherwood Forest,” Adam said. His slightly crooked smile betrayed his discomfort at the admission, but Jonah thought it was totally adorable. “I’d spent the entire day digging up seedlings and replanting them in the far corner of the property.”

“Adam fancied himself the next Robin Hood,” his mother put in. “His father, James, and I bought him a bow and arrow for Christmas, and I sewed him a costume out of green felt.”

Jonah gazed at Adam, who shrugged in reply. “My dad couldn’t sew worth a damn,” Jonah said. “But he helped me dye one of the sheets black on Halloween, and I tied it around my neck.”

“Who were you supposed to be?” Karen asked.

“Batman.” Jonah glanced at Adam, who smiled back at him knowingly. “I made a Batmobile out of a cardboard box and ran around the neighborhood making loud car noises until Mrs. Krauss shouted at me out her window.”

Karen stood and began to collect the dessert plates. Roger gathered up the glasses and vanished into the kitchen a moment later.

“Thank you,” Jonah told Adam’s mother. “For asking me to stay.”

“I’m glad you and Adam were able to talk a bit,” she replied with a barely repressed grin. “I hope you’ll be able to join us again soon.”

Adam took Jonah’s hand and squeezed it. “I think Jonah will be making regular appearances around here,” he said, his words making Jonah feel as warm as the buzz of the alcohol and the good food.

Jonah nodded. “That’s the plan.” He didn’t expect Adam to kiss him here, in front of his mother, but the kiss felt right, and Katherine smiled her approval.

“We’ll finish up here,” she said and took the spoons. “You two need a little time together.”

“But—” Jonah began to protest.

“Next time I’ll be sure to assign you kitchen duty,” she said. “Now go!”

Adam took Jonah’s hand. “Better not argue with the boss,” he said as he led Jonah through the screen door and outside.

“You really have a great family,” Jonah said as they walked to the hill overlooking the vines.

“I know. It’s taken me a while to realize just how great they are. Seems I have even more to thank them for than I did before.”

“Your mother’s a strong woman.”

“She set this up, didn’t she?” Adam asked.

“I think she was getting tired of me calling the house,” Jonah joked. “She said if you weren’t going to act your age, she was going to treat you like a kid.”

“She did, did she? Sounds like my mother. I guess I need to thank her for meddling.”

“Probably.”

“She’s decided to stay,” Adam said. “She’s going to keep the apartment in Florida so the grandkids have a place to stay on vacation.”

“Grandkids, plural?”

“She’s decided she wants at least six,” Adam explained. “Two per kid.”

“You’d better get to work, then.”

“I’ve never thought much about kids, but it doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

Jonah swallowed hard. He’d never thought much about kids either, but when he was with Adam, life seemed to brim with possibilities.

“I guess we’ll see,” Adam said.

Overhead the stars sparkled, and the cool breeze tickled the back of Jonah’s neck. He sighed, then laughed softly.

“What’s so funny?” Adam asked.

“Nothing, really.” Jonah clasped Adam’s hand tighter. “It’s just that when I left the Dominican Republic, I was sure I’d never be happy here.”

“You think you can be?”

“I know I can.” Life wasn’t ever going to be that simple again. But it could be good. Jonah drew Adam against him and held him there. Adam’s breath over his ear made him smile. Again. It was silly. Romantic. But wonderful.

“I’m glad you didn’t give up on me,” Adam said after a long moment.

“Me too.”

 

 

JONAH laughed as Adam led him inside a few minutes later. They climbed the stairs to the second floor. The house was silent, and Jonah guessed everyone else had already gone to bed.

“My room,” Adam said as he opened the door at the end of the hallway.

The full-size white wooden bed, desk, and dressers were simple, the walls painted a dark blue with white trim. A long bookshelf filled with computer parts and manuals ran beneath the windows that overlooked the back of the house. A small window seat was built right above it. Jonah imagined Adam seated there, reading.

“It hasn’t changed much since I was a kid,” Adam explained. “Mom keeps talking about getting me new furniture, but since I don’t stay here very often, it never made much sense.” He closed the door and flipped on a small lamp on the dresser.

“I like it.” The room was a little like looking into Adam’s past, albeit without the toys and Star Wars posters Jonah might have expected to see. He guessed Adam had taken those down, and he resolved to ask him about it at some point.

“It was strange staying here at first, but since I got back from the Dominican Republic, I’ve been here more than at my place in the city.”

“Nice bed.” Jonah walked over to the bed and patted it. “Big enough for two,” he said and nibbled his lower lip.

“Stay the night?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Jonah said. The thought of driving back to San Francisco alone wasn’t exactly appealing. Not to mention Adam looked good enough to devour with cheeks slightly pink from the wine and his hair a tousle of soft waves.

Adam encircled Jonah’s waist with his arms. “I’m glad you came.”

“Dinner was great.”

“I’m pretty lucky,” Adam said before planting a sweet kiss on Jonah’s lips.

“I could say the same.” The lump in Jonah’s throat seemed to grow with every word he spoke. “It was just me and my dad after my mom died,” he continued in spite of his discomfort. “We didn’t have much, but I was really happy.”

Maybe he’d been obsessed with growing Entech because he’d wanted to prove something.

“My dad never remarried,” Jonah said. “But I never felt like I was a burden to him either.”

“What did he do?”

“He was a schoolteacher,” Jonah said. “Like your brother. Elementary school. I never had him as a teacher, though.”

“Why not?”

“He used to joke around that he saw enough of me at home. But I think he thought he couldn’t be strict enough if I was in his class.”

“Makes sense.”

Jonah nodded. He could still imagine his father’s face when he showed him his report card.

“You’re a smart boy, Jackie,” his dad told him one night after they’d discussed a book report Jonah had written. “You can do anything you want.”

“I want to be a teacher, like you.” At ten, things had seemed so straightforward.

“I wanted to be just like him,” he told Adam. “I did two years of undergrad as an education major. I never finished college. I’d taken some computer programming classes, and I had this idea….”

“You took another path.”

“Yes. My dad told me how proud he was of me. I loved him so much for that,” Jonah said. “He never once judged me for my choice to leave school.

“But I took him for granted. I never thanked him for that, and I never told him how much I loved him,” he continued, his voice cracking under the weight of his grief.

Adam pulled him close and held him against his shoulder. “I’m sure he knew.”

“Yeah.” Jonah blinked back tears. He’d probably never cry enough to forget the pain of losing his father and not being there when he passed. But he was okay with that. Loss was something he and Adam shared. Something Adam understood. Whereas Jackie would have thought the emotion weak, Jonah knew otherwise.

Adam pulled away just a bit, then kissed away the tears that had escaped Jonah’s control.

“This won’t be easy,” Jonah warned. Deep inside, he feared that Adam might still run when the reality of their lives intruded. And it would intrude eventually. “The press will have a field day with our relationship, especially once they find out about the divorce.”

“I know.” Adam wore a determined expression much like the one Jonah had seen when he’d faced down Phil at Entech the week before. “I can handle it if you can.” He hesitated a moment, then added, “We do this together, right?”

“Damn straight we do.” Jonah sighed. “Jackie would have loved the publicity, you know.”

“And you?”

Jonah shook his head. “I’d be just as happy to skip it. But this is my life. I’m done running.”

“Good.” Adam kissed him again. “Because I sure as hell don’t want to have to chase after you.”

“You would? Chase after me, I mean?” Jonah only half teased.

Adam’s smile faded. “Yes,” he said in all seriousness. “I would.”

This time it was Jonah who initiated the kiss. But he didn’t let go, instead taking his time to explore Adam’s mouth with his tongue as his fingers reacquainted themselves with his body.

They fell onto the bed. “I feel like a high school kid,” Jonah said as he pulled Adam’s shirt over his head.

“You mean with my mom downstairs?” Adam laughed. “Considering she was the one who set this all up—” He laughed again and pulled Jonah on top of him. “—I don’t think we’ll get into too much trouble.”

“I’m good at trouble.” Jonah grinned and slipped out of his own shirt, then rolled them both onto their sides and untied Adam’s sweatpants.

They laughed and tugged at each other’s clothing until they both lay back, naked.

“Much better,” Jonah announced happily and stretched his arms over his head. “You know, I really should have looked for a scuba gig at a nude hotel.”

“I’m not into sharing, you know.” Adam got to his knees and kissed Jonah.

“I pretty much guessed that. But I have every intention of keeping you to myself.”

“Good.” Adam feathered kisses down Jonah’s chest, pausing to suck on each nipple before claiming the prize of his already hard cock.

“Oh crap.”

Adam worked his way up and down, sucking and licking as he slipped his hands beneath Jonah to knead his ass.

“As long as it’s been,” Jonah warned, “I’m not going to last if you keep that up.”

Adam laughed but didn’t release Jonah. Jonah closed his eyes and let himself fall into the sensation of the heat of Adam’s mouth and the delicious pressure. He was on the edge. Another minute and he’d shoot into that heat.

Just when he thought he couldn’t hold back anymore, Adam let him slip from his mouth, then kissed a line back up his chest until he could claim Jonah’s lips once more.

“You don’t play fair,” Jonah moaned.

“I totally do.” Adam sucked on Jonah’s ear for a moment, then said, “I want you to come with me inside you.”

“Totally not fair.”

“Turn over,” Adam ordered with a grin.

Jonah laughingly obliged, wiggling his ass for good measure.

“Nice ass.”

“Thank you.” Jonah wiggled again, but this time Adam took full advantage by running his thumbs against the smooth skin there.

“I never realized you were a fidget,” Adam teased.

“I’ve always—fuck, that feels good—been.” The next thing Jonah felt was a slicked finger over his entrance. “Even better.”

Adam nipped at Jonah’s ass, causing him to shudder.

“Yeah. Like that.”

Another playful bite. “Stay right there,” Adam said.

“As if I’d move.”

Adam returned from the bathroom and climbed back on the bed while Jonah waited impatiently. A moment later Adam explored Jonah’s body, opening him, teasing him until he groaned.

“Please,” Jonah begged.

Adam laughed and leaned over to kiss the place between Jonah’s shoulder blades, then his neck. He sighed as Jonah lifted his hips to encourage him. Adam rolled the condom onto his cock and pressed gently until he was fully seated inside. Slowly, tenderly, he began to move, kissing Jonah’s back with each movement.

Jonah shivered. “Adam.” He’d wanted this for so long—Adam’s lips on his skin, the pressure of Adam’s body against his own, the sensation of being somewhere, of belonging to someone.

“I want to see your face,” Adam said as he slipped out of Jonah.

Jonah turned over and pulled Adam’s mouth to his own. There was something frightening and wonderful about gazing into Adam’s eyes, knowing the vulnerable expression he saw there was a mirror of his own. Jonah vaguely wondered if he’d never felt this way before because he’d never let himself feel it, or if Adam had unlocked a part of him he’d kept carefully guarded. Maybe it was both.

“So good,” he whispered against Adam’s cheek. He felt more than saw Adam’s smile, and the thought that he loved this man more than he could imagine loving someone made him shiver with pleasure. Who cared that they’d only met weeks before? Why try to explain something that defied logic?

Adam grasped Jonah’s cock and worked it in time with the movement of their bodies. Jonah forced his eyes to remain open. He wanted to see Adam’s pleasure, know even without hearing the words that he was cherished. Loved.

“Come with me,” Adam said, his body trembling, on the edge.

Jonah came hard into Adam’s hand as Adam came inside him with a low growl. “I love you,” he said as he held Adam close.

 

 

“IF you’d told me a few months ago that my life would look like this,” Jonah said as he held Adam in his arms later, “I’d have said you were nuts.”

“How do you feel?” Adam asked. He squeezed Jonah as if to reassure himself he was really there.

“It’d probably sound better if I said I feel like a new person.” Jonah half chuckled, half sighed. “Maybe it’s more like finding a part of myself I didn’t know existed. Putting the pieces back together.”

“My life isn’t very exciting.”

Jonah heard the worry in Adam’s voice. He understood it, even if he knew Adam had nothing to worry about. “Exciting and happy don’t necessarily go together,” he told Adam. “Besides, I’ve had about as much of excitement as I want. Comfortable and boring sound perfect.”

“You think you might consider working with me?” Adam asked after a long pause. “Not that I’m looking to expand Prestco so it looks like an Entech monster,” he added quickly, “but I’ve got some ideas I’d love to develop, and I could use someone to bounce things off of.”

Jonah grinned. “I’d like that.” He hadn’t thought much about working with Adam, but the idea was appealing. At heart, he knew he still wanted to do more than just make sure Phil stayed the course with Entech.

Adam looked up at Jonah, who bent down and kissed him. “I was hoping you’d say that. One of the things I missed most, other than this—” He kissed Jonah again. “—was having someone to talk to about my work.”

“What are you going to do about Roger?” Jonah asked.

“Good question.” Adam sighed. “One I’ve avoided.”

“You know you need to bring him in, get him invested in Prestco.”

“Yeah. He gets that it’s more than just a company. That it’s important to the rest of us,” Adam said. “But that’s not enough.”

“You need him to understand why it’s important.”

“I agree.”

“How about something with his students?” Jonah asked. “He teaches high school math, right?”

“Yes.”

“An internship, maybe? Kids who are good at math are usually good with computers. We could give them a crash course in coding, maybe give them an idea for a program and—”

“We?”

“Yes, we.” Jonah laughed. “Unless you don’t like the idea.”

“It’s a great idea. It’s just fun yanking your chain,” Adam admitted.

“Why do I get the feeling I’m in for a lot of chain yanking?” Jonah said indignantly.

“Can’t handle the pressure?”

Jonah sat up and looked down at Adam. Adam’s smile made the corners of his eyes crinkle.

“Well, Mr. Roth?”

“Roth?” Jonah hadn’t really thought about what he’d call himself.

“Should I call you something else?”

“No. Jonah Roth has a nice ring to it.” His dad would have appreciated it too.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Adam pointed out. “Can you handle the pressure?”

“I sure as hell can.” Jonah grabbed Adam and pulled him upright. He snaked his fingers through Adam’s hair, claimed his lips, and held him captive as he reveled in the taste of Adam’s mouth. “I think the question is, can you?”

Adam shot Jonah a wicked smile. “I’m not sure.” He pushed Jonah onto his back. “Why don’t we find out?”