“Chad!” Grant hollered.
Chad ignored him and sprinted inside. He saw Marty talking with a balding man in a suit.
“Marty? Where is he?”
“Hey, Chad. He’s in there.” Marty gestured with his head to the auditorium.
Chad pushed his way through the doors. Kids were congregated near one end of the stage, while Marty’s partner and a couple of firemen stood in a semi-circle at the other end.
“Jeff?” Chad called as he ran down the aisle, his heart racing. “Jeff?” His voice echoed through the auditorium.
“Chad?”
He stopped in his tracks and turned to see Jeff walking toward him, away from the group of kids. Chad wasso thankful to see him, he forgot himself and ran to him, wrapping his arms around Jeff’s waist and lifting him off the ground.
“Oh, thank God,” he said as he held on tightly.
“What’s wrong? Oh, God, did you think…? Chad, I’m fine. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me.”
“I thought…all I heard was…” Chad let Jeff slide to the ground. He cupped his face and looked into those gorgeous brown eyes. “I was so scared. I heard there were a couple of calls to 911. I heard that you fell. I…I couldn’t think. I just—”
“Shh, baby. It’s okay. I’m okay.” Jeff stroked Chad’s hair. “I’m right here. It was Gregory who fell. He’s a student. I always assign a student director to each production so they can learn some of the background. He was goofing around and tripped. It looks like he sprained his ankle, but other than that, he’s fine. Some of the kids called nine-one-one and they obviously got their facts wrong. You know how teenagers are.”
Chad pressed his lips to Jeff’s in a soft, sweet kiss. He wanted to deepen it, but knew they had an audience. He groaned and pulled back. “I’m so sorry about this morning. I panicked. I was an ass. Please forgive me.”
Jeff smiled. “It’s okay. We all have bad days. But I have to admit, I was really hurt. I thought…I thought you wanted me with you.”
Chad grinned. “I do. I just…freaked out. I was scared. I never thought I’d find…this thing we have.” He shook his head at his own ridiculousness. “When can you leave?”
“I’ve got at least an hour left. You?”
“Same.” Chad leaned forward to whisper into Jeff’s ear. “I can’t fight this anymore. Fuck. I don’t want to fight it. I don’t even know why I’ve been fighting this. I love you, Jeff. I’m so completely in love with you.”
Jeff slid his arms around Chad’s waist. “I love you, too. I’ve just been waiting for you to get over yourself and figure it out.”
Chad chuckled, feeling lighter than he had in years. “It looks like I found my Prince Charming, huh?”
“And I found mine,” Jeff answered with a smile.
* * * *
The hour stretched into three before they were able to meet at Chad’s house. By that time, Chad was pacing, anxious to have Jeff in his arms. He laughed at himself and wondered again why he had ever thought love wasn’t possible for him. He felt so free. So light. It was amazing.
When he’d thought Jeff had been hurt, his heart had cracked, and he’d instantly known what a fool he’d been. So what if he hadn’t thought he could find love. He had found it. Well, to be fair, love hadfound him. It had only taken a kick from a horse to show him.
The sound of Jeff’s truck had him racing to the front door, and he nearly jumped out of his skin when hesaw Jeff hurrying up the walk. Damn, he looked good.
Jeff grinned at him as he got closer. Chad made himself stand in the doorway. Made himself calm his breathing. As soon as Jeff was within reach, Chad pulled him inside, twirling him around and closing the door.
Chad pressed him against the door, and their lips met in a feverish kiss. Jeff wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him closer. Their tongues dueled and danced, sliding against each other, and Jeff moaned into Chad’s mouth, thrusting his hips forward.
Chad pulled away. “Upstairs.”
“God, yes.”
Chad chuckled and grabbed Jeff’s hand, leading him up the stairs and into his room where they melded against each other. Hands groped and tugged, and clothes flew off in a heated struggle to get naked. Soon, garments covered the floor.
When they at last pressed skin against skin, Chad could hardly breathe. He walked Jeff backward toward the bed, kissing his jawline while his hands stroked the hard planes and valleys of his back.
Jeff’s legs hit the bed. “I need you inside me, Chad. Please?”
Chad’s already hard cock jumped at the idea, and he growled as he kissed him hard on the mouth. “Say itagain, honey.”
“Take me. I need you inside me,” Jeff whimpered as he cupped Chad’s ass. “Make me yours.”
“Fuck, I want you so badly, Jeff. But, if I…if I fuck you, it won’t last long this time. I’m already on the edge. I wanted to make our first time special.”
“I don’t care. I need you inside. We have all night and I don’t plan on this being our only round.”
Chad grinned and pushed him onto the bed. “You’re so sexy. How I waited this long to understand you and I belong together is beyond me.”
Jeff crawled backward on his elbows until his head hit a pillow, then he stroked his hard dick and spread his legs. Chad thought it was the sexiest thing he had ever seen. Again, he loved that his boyfriend—boyfriend?—had a bit of exhibitionist in him. He grabbed lube and a condom from the nightstand and tossed them on the bed before covering Jeff’s body with his.