Chapter 21

Something settled inside of Luca when Gus agreed. It was as if someone had opened a valve and let out all the worry and anxiety.

Luca collapsed against Gus’s shoulder. “Okay,” he whispered back.

He swallowed around the lump in his throat and blinked. This was not the time for crying, even if they were happy tears. He had a plan, goddammit.

“Now that that’s out of the way, we move on to part two of my plan,” he murmured against Gus’s neck.

“There’s a plan?”

“Of course, there’s a plan.”

“So what’s part two?”

Luca could hear the amusement in Gus’s voice, and he smiled.

“Part two is a nap, and part three is where I show you my new underwear.”

“New underwear?”

Gus’s hand wandered down Luca’s back, all the way down to the waistband of his sweats. Gus pulled them down, intent on going directly to part three of Luca’s well-laid-out plan. Luca didn’t mind, happy Gus’s energy seemed to be returning. He wished he’d done this earlier and not waited all this time.

“I love you,” Luca whispered.

“Lace!” Gus exclaimed and tried to peek over Luca’s shoulder to see the famous underwear, and Luca burst out laughing. He shimmied out of the sweats and watched as Gus’s eyes bulged at the sight of the red lacy manties clinging to his hips and ass.

He turned his ass to Gus and wiggled his hips and laughed again at the desperate groan coming from his husband. He looked over his shoulder and saw Gus’s wide grin and the hunger blazing from his eyes.

And he knew everything was going to be fine.

No.

Everything was going to be perfect.

THE ENDFind His Way Home

1: December

“You’re a good man for not leaving your friend all alone during the holidays, Mick, but bring a girl next time. You’re what, thirty-four?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Time for you to meet someone, start a family. You won’t do that with a buddy tagging along all the time, trust me. You don’t want them to think you’re gay, right?”

“N-no, sir.”

The words rang in Elliot’s ears, and he winced as he remembered the abrasive laughter that had followed the gay remark. It wasn’t the first time his lover’s boss had made snide comments about gays, but it never ceased to surprise Elliot. In this big city and with same-sex marriage finally legal in the entire country, he was flabbergasted that a highly-educated lawyer was so homophobic

He sighed and leaned his forehead against the panoramic window overlooking the streets. Mick had promised things would be different this time, but Elliot had hardly seen his partner since they entered the swanky apartment of one of the senior partners at the firm.

It was the annual Christmas party. The entire staff mingled, and everyone had fun. Except for Elliot. He should have turned around and gone straight home as soon as Mick had pulled his hand away and put more distance between them when they stepped on the elevator. But hope was the last thing to die—as the old saying went—so he’d attended as Mick’s friend, feeling like an outsider since everybody else brought their partner or spouse.

The wailing of a siren pulled him out of his thoughts, and he looked down on the street. Not even this far up, on floor double-digit-something with the constant buzz of a party in full swing and boring piano renditions of Christmas classics, could he escape the cacophony of the city. The ever-present hum of the traffic, interspersed with squealing brakes, was like an entity of its own, impossible to avoid. A bloodcurdling scream echoed between the houses, making Elliot shudder. He let his gaze drift upward as if he was afraid of seeing the reason behind the horrifying noise.

But, as usual, there were no stars to soothe his ruffled feathers. Even the waning moon was just a pale sliver, almost completely drowned out by the light leaking from this enormous urban area

He missed the stars and the quiet. As a kid, he always used to sneak out in the backyard and gaze up at the heavens. There was no light pollution to speak of in the small town where he’d grown up, and the sky was sprinkled full of bright flecks of light. He’d learned to point out all the constellations and had even learned the Greek mythology associated with each one. In the city, he was lucky if he could make out the Big Dipper.

He sighed again and took a sip of the dairy-free eggnog, grimacing as the overpowering taste of nutmeg hit his tongue. He needed to rejoin the party, hide the disappointment of being introduced as a good friendbehind his best smile, and mingle.