Moving On - 35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Jason's Connection

Don't get me wrong, few things are hotter than a man in uniform, but as I opened the door, I let out a gasp upon seeing Jason. He was standing there in a pair of tight-fitting jeans and a white t-shirt, which contrasted nicely with his mocha skin. I glanced at Noah, whose eyes we're bulging slightly. He clearly was struck by the attractiveness of the detective as well.

"Hi, Jason," I said, clearing my head, "come on in."

When he entered, he glanced around the room.

"Nice house; it looks different than I imagined it," he said.

"Thanks, I think," I responded, a little thrown by his statement.

"Sorry, once we talk, you'll understand, but I came in with expectations."

"Sure, where do you want to talk? We can stay here in the living room, or we can sit at the kitchen table. It's nice outside; we can even sit on the porch."

"The living room is probably best. It's comfortable and private. Where's Zach by the way?"

"A friend is staying with us at the moment. He took Zach to the zoo. Does this conversation involve him?"

"No, I was just curious. He'll have more fun there, anyway."

"Would you like anything to drink? We have sweet tea and some juice, or I can brew some coffee?" Noah asked. Good thing he was around; I'm always horrible at basic hospitality.

"Tea would be perfect," Jason responded.

Noah left to prepare the refreshments while Jason and I took a seat.

"I should probably start out by saying I'm sure Noah mentioned me being a little weird when I talked to him on the phone. He probably thinks I'm a homophobic asshole or something. He actually called while I was looking over the background I ran on you, and his comments about you kissing caught me off guard. I'll explain the background check in a minute, but I just wanted to explain from the start that I'm gay. I'd prefer that remain quiet if you come into the precinct again; only my partner and my CO know at work."

"Then why did you get so weird on the phone?" Noah asked, setting down a tray of glasses and a pitcher of tea. "I was under the impression you were a homophobic asshole or something."

Jason and I shared a laugh, since Noah had clearly missed the first part of what Jason said.

"It has to do with Scott's past. You and I have someone in common, a guy by the name of Johnny Brock."

That name doesn't ring any bells," I said racking my brain to try to recall any connection.

"Let me start at the beginning. I grew up in Philly, and –"

"Did this Johnny guy go to school with Steve or something? We were in Philadelphia while he was in law school."

"Babe, shut up and let him talk," Noah scolded, lightly slapping my leg.

"No, he didn't. Just let me establish my back story first. Anyway, I grew up in a wealthy enclave of the city. We were like real-life Huxtables, except it was my father that was the lawyer and my mom was the doctor. My parents made sure we were never lacking in material possessions, but I grew up feeling so out of place. My sister and I went to fancy private schools, and were the only black kids. The other kids always treated us like we were different and neither of us fit in.

"I started hanging out with the wrong crowd in high school. I liked them more because it was a group of black kids than anything else. They didn't ostracize me like the kids in school. I had trouble with the slang, but they helped me get it. I didn't realize they were working to recruit me into their gang until I got busted trying to sell some weed for them.

"The officer scared me so badly I literally shit my pants. When parents showed up, they raised holy-hell. They were ready to ship me off to military school and everything. My dad used his contacts to make everything go away, and had the cop read me the riot act. Maybe I was just impressionable, but I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, a hard-ass, no-nonsense cop who took shit from no one. My parents tried to talk me out of it, but I was dead-set.

"When I graduated, I went to a public school, much to their dismay, and got a degree in criminology. I applied, and got accepted to the NYPD. It was the first day at the academy that I met Joey, Joey Vincenzo, and we immediately hit it off.

"Joey was the penultimate take-no-shit kinda guy, a big, intimidating Italian from Brooklyn. Realize I was completely in the closet at the time. I tried my best to keep my desire hidden, but I just couldn't get enough of this man. Towards the end of our training, the two of us were getting drinks when he confronted me.

"'I know you've been checking me out,' he told me and reached out his fist. I flinched, but the punch I was expecting never came. Instead he caressed my cheek.

"'If you're half as into me as I'm into you, we've been skirting this for far too long,' he told me. I was still trying to process what he said when he kissed me gently on the cheek.

"We dated on the down-low, since NYPD was not known for being gay-friendly, at least among fellow officers. We were both miserable and wanted more. Finally, after about a year, we decided to make a change. We did a bunch of research, and found out that the Atlanta Police Department was fairly gay-friendly. We both applied and were accepted.

"It was amazing. We could be open about our relationship, and no one cared. The only downside was we were now in separate precincts, but all my coworkers knew and loved Joey." Jason paused to collect himself.

"So what happened next?" I asked, completely engrossed.

"Johnny Brock happened. Joey and I both took our detective exams shortly after moving here. He passed, but I didn't the first time. It was two days before I expected to hear the results from my second attempt, and my off day, when Joey came home in tears mid-afternoon. He told me about this case he had just been investigating, where this guy's husband had been shot and killed while he'd been out buying groceries."

My veins went cold, and I could feel the tears begin welling in my eyes. Noah put his arm around me and squeezed tightly.

"He said it took several officers to pry the poor man off the victim just to confirm he was dead. He told me how he dragged you outside and threatened to have you arrested, just to get you calm enough to answer his questions. The entire time, he kept thinking how he would've acted had he been in your shoes.

"He felt awful for treating you roughly, and he wanted nothing more than to break down and mourn with you. He had to come home and get it all out of his system before he went back to the precinct. He vowed to follow up with you and provide any support he could."

"I don't recall the detective ever contacting me again."

"He never got the chance to," Jason said, his voice breaking. "Two days later, I received notice that I'd passed and was being promoted to detective. I called Joey, who dropped everything to go buy a bottle of champagne to celebrate."

"Oh, fuck," Noah said, making a connection that I didn't.

"As he pulled up, he could tell the place was being robbed, so he immediately called in backup. As the first car arrived, the perp tried to run. Joey did his best to distract the guy while the backup got in place. The asshole didn't hesitate and shot my baby twice in the chest. In the shootout that followed, it was several minutes before anyone could get to him. He… he… "

Without hesitation, I moved beside my new friend. We wrapped our arms around each other and sobbed for what seemed like an eternity. Here was a man whose life had been destroyed by the same scumbag who had destroyed mine. Part of me would like to think I could've found peace earlier had I known there was another person going through what I did at the same time. In reality, though, I was way too far in my own grief at the time to have even noticed or cared.

"How did you end up in Macon?" I asked when we'd both calmed down.

"My fellow officers were very supportive after what happened with Joey, but I dreaded going into work. I thought about applying to a different force, but I didn't know where to go; the NYPD didn't appeal to me, and part of me wanted to go back to Philly, but that hasn't been my home since my parents stopped speaking to me when I told them about Joey.

"I don't know what I would've done if it weren't for Maria, my partner. One day, she called me at home and told me she was transferring to Macon. I was devastated; the second-most important person in my life was leaving me.

"When I calmed down, she informed me she had gotten my transfer approved as well. She had managed to find a solution for me; I got out of the city, but kept what little support I had intact.

"It took a while to get our bearings, but it worked out great. I spent so long trying to prove that the 'big-city' detective could fit in, I stopped focusing on the loss."

"How are you doing with everything?" Noah asked.

"Honestly, as long as I'm working, I'm doing well. If I'm at home, I tend to mope around the apartment most of the day. Maria and her husband have tried to help, but I feel like they're always inviting me over out of pity."

"I'm sure it's not," I said firmly. "I had to escape town at one point, too. They miss the old you, the one before Joey died. It's hard to think about being happy when you feel like half of you is missing."

"Yeah, it is. I know Joey would want me to be happy, but I just can't seem to get out of the funk I get in when I'm alone with my thoughts. When I'm with Maria and Carlos, it's a little easier, but I prefer to throw myself into work as much as I can. Carlos keeps suggesting I get out and date. I've thought about it a lot; he may be right, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to start looking."

"I know just what you need," Noah said. "Are you free tomorrow night?"

"I am. Maria wanted to take some time to visit her mother, and knew how much meeting Scott threw me off. She's the one who insisted I figure out why, and encouraged me to come to town to talk to you. I don't have any plans other than spend time with her family."

"Perfect, you're going out with us tomorrow. Consider it a form of therapy."

I reached over and lightly smacked Noah's arm.

"He means we're going to karaoke. Just spend time to think of the perfect song for your emotions. It can be cathartic to just let it all out."

"Spoil sport, why'd you have to ruin the surprise?" Noah asked, sticking his tongue out at me.

"Remember when you asked if you'd ever live it down? This is why you won't."

"Since you told him where we were going tomorrow and not letting me have my fun, will you finally tell me that we're going to Vegas?"

"Well, since we're not going to Vegas, you'll be waiting a long time," I replied with a wink. "Oh, sorry, Jason, we're going out of town this weekend, and I won't tell Noah where we're going. It's eating him up."

"I'm always game for karaoke. I love it, but never got to go very often because Joey hated listening to all the horrible singers. Maybe Maria would like to come, if that's alright?" Jason asked.

"That'd be great! The more, the merrier," I told him. "What about Zach, Noah? I'm sure Tom will want to come too, and even if he doesn't, we've been using him as a babysitter enough recently."

"I can ask Maria's mother, she adores little kids," Jason offered.

"I was thinking of giving Lydia a call. She offered to come over and watch Zach whenever we needed. She even suggested she'd be up for taking Zach back to Athens for a sleep over."

"That's a lot to offer, considering everything," I said.

"Let me call Maria and ask her if she wants to come along. I'll bring up the possibility of her mom watching Zach. If she agrees, at least y'all have a couple of options."

"That works for me. It's good to see another transplant has adopted 'y'all' as part of their vocabulary after moving down here," I said with a laugh.

"Yeah, it's easier than 'you guys' and less abrasive on delicate Southern sensibilities than the grating Philadelphian 'you's'. I didn't even realize I'd picked it up until Joey started teasing me for it."

"Same here, granted, Steve already said it, but he gave me so much crap when I started using it."

Jason stepped outside to call his partner. I looked at Noah and batted my eyelashes playfully.

"What do you want? I know that look," Noah said with a laugh.

"Can I play matchmaker, pleeeeaaase?"

"I know exactly who you're thinking about, but no. Remember how you felt when Michelle kept setting you up? If they meet and hit it off, great, but don't try to force something."

"Fine, ruin all my fun," I said, faking a pout.

"Alright, tell me where we're going on vacation, and I'll even let you go on a date with him!"

"In that case, we're going to –"

"Hey! That wasn't supposed to work," Noah said with a giggle.

"What?" I asked innocently. "He's hot, and you said I could. I'm taken, not blind. I can undress other men with my eyes; I just can't touch. You were staring at him, too!" I started rambling while he gave me the stink eye. Finally he winked.

"Yes, I was. There's no harm in looking, as long as neither of us starts feeling the need to sample forbidden fruits."

I pulled him into my arms. "You, my dear, are more than enough for me. Besides, I was going to say we're going to Uranus. You know, so I can plant my flagpole," I said, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively, causing Noah to laugh.

"You are incorrigible, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, but you still love me. I guess that means the threesome's off, huh?" I deadpanned.

Jason walked back in while we were laughing.

"What'd I miss?"

"Nothing, just Scott being a doofus," Noah said as I shoved him playfully.

"Maria definitely wants to come, and I think she's going to drag Carlos along. Nana invited y'all over to dinner, if you don't have any plans. Tom and Zach are invited as well. Lord knows, she always cooks enough to feed an army.

"If Zach takes to her like everyone does, she said she was more than happy for Zach to spend the night with her. She'll already be watching Maria's two boys."

"I haven't even thought as far as dinner yet," I said, "and I never turn down a free meal. Let me call Tom and run it by him."

"I'll call Lydia and see if she's available in case Maria's mother doesn't work out for whatever reason. I'm so excited about tomorrow!" Noah said.

"Sorry, he's a little gung-ho about karaoke," I told Jason with a laugh.

He gave us the address and told us what time to arrive before leaving. I called Tom, who was surprisingly excited about karaoke, but more lukewarm about dinner. I think he would've rather moped around the house, but I didn't really give him an option. Noah called Lydia, who sounded a bit relieved that we had a more-local option, but said she was willing to watch Zach if that didn't work.

Noah and I struggled to figure out what to bring to dinner. I wasn't sure if they drank wine, so I decided to also brew a large batch of iced tea as well. I didn't have time to bake anything, and bringing a store-bought loaf of bread seemed ungrateful. Noah thought I was being ridiculous; I blamed Steve for putting all these thoughts in my head years ago.

While Noah was changing for dinner, I discretely called Will and asked him to join our group for karaoke the next night. I would behave, and not play matchmaker overtly, but that didn't mean I couldn't nudge a little.

– – – * * * – – –

Dinner was a lively affair, to put it mildly. We were greeted at the door by an elderly Hispanic woman. Before I even caught her name, she had invited us in and began giving us a tour. I asked her name at one point, but she just insisted I call her 'Nana'. The entire house was filled with the delicious aroma of home cooking, and we met the rest of the family. Too young boys, around five and seven, were enthusiastically playing on the floor. Without hesitation, Zach joined in, befriending them with the ease that children possess.

Noah and I obviously knew Jason, and we had met Maria, but only in her capacity as a police officer, but neither of us had met Carlos, and Tom hadn't met any of them. Introductions were made, and we joined them while Nana went back into the kitchen. I offered to help, but she chased me out.

The six adults chatted and got to know each other while Zach was playing with the two boys – the younger was named Julio, and the older was César. They started rough-housing a bit, which put Noah and I on edge.

"Is this the first time Zach has been around kids his own age since you got custody?" Maria asked.

"Is it that obvious?" Noah asked.

"You learn to choose your battles. As long as they don't start hitting or biting, what's the worst that could happen?"

"They could accidently be rougher than they mean to be, and someone could get hurt," I said.

"Yeah, accidents can happen, but they're children. They are going to want to wrestle around anyway; it saves you stress and allows them to wear each other out."

"If it makes you feel better, we can break them up and find something else for them to do," Carlos suggested.

I glanced at Noah, since it was his son, after all. He just shrugged his shoulders.

"Nah, let them have their fun. Noah and I are new at this, so excuse a few minor heart attacks," I responded with a grin.

Minutes later, Nana called us into the kitchen to eat. With ten people sharing a small space, it was crowded but incredibly lovely. Before long all the adults were sharing stories. At first, Noah and Zach looked at the food in confusion, but they quickly figured out how to unwrap the home-made tamales and soon were enjoying them with the same gusto as everyone else.

"Nana, can you show me your secret? I tried to make tamales a few times, but I either mess up the masa or can't get the cornhusks to seal correctly. It always ends up a mess,"

"Si, Scott. They can be tricky, but it's all done by touch. If you try to measure the ingredients, they don't come out right. I'll call you next time I make them."

"Say, Maria, why aren't the kids in school? During our custody hearing, the opposing lawyer made a big deal about school having started this week," Noah asked.

Maria smiled and blushed a bit. "Well, I knew Jason needed to talk to you, fairly urgently, based on his recent mood. I wanted to visit Momma anyway, so that part worked out. Carlos didn't want to be stuck with the kids, so I told the school that she was sick and we needed to visit her," she admitted.

"Mija, that's not a good example for my grandbabies. They should know that lies have consequences."

The two women began to argue back and forth in rapid-fire Spanish. Every now and then, I'd catch a word or name, but otherwise, I was lost. Noah leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Basically, Maria is telling Nana to let her raise her kids as she sees fit, and Nana is saying that she raised Maria better than that. They keep essentially repeating those two points, just worded a little differently."

Carlos, who was sitting next to Noah, noticed our exchange and looked at him curiously. "¿Habla español?"

"Un poquito. I understand it better than I speak it; I was hooked on Telenovelas for a while."

"I hate those damn things. The problem is once you start watching, you're hooked! Don't mind Maria and Nana. They just like to argue from time to time. Neither one will ever back down in an argument, since neither one of them is ever wrong. Nana will never admit it, but she's the one who suggested I insist on bringing the boys with us." Carlos proceeded to rattle off something to Spanish to the arguing women. Noah translated it as 'Speak English and stop making Noah translate'.

Tom was the only one at the table who looked as confused as I was, granted I at least had a translator. Jason was barely paying the argument any attention, but I wagered he'd seen this act a few times. Zach was too busy making a mess with César and Julio to even notice.

"Sorry guys, we're not used to having non-Spanish speaking guests at dinner. Momma, I know you put Carlos up to it, and it doesn't even matter, since you spent all day going over their schoolwork anyway."

"You may be right, mija. Sometimes a grandmother has to defend her young, though."

We chatted for a while after dinner finished, and I could tell Zach was having a blast. Noah and I whispered back and forth a few times, and quickly agreed that Zach could spend the next night with Nana if she offered it. Sure enough, she asked a few minutes later.

"I have one question first," Noah said. "Zach had a difficult time with his mother, and he's shown some separation anxiety whenever we leave. Tom watched him last week, and he was apparently a little hellion at first. This is a little awkward to ask, since we just met, but where do you stand on corporal punishment?"

"You mean spanking? Oh sometimes all a little boy needs is a few smacks to discourage bad behavior, but I would never raise a hand to someone else's child. You have a cellphone; I'll just have him call you if he needs to be reminded that you're coming back for him. My guess is that César and Julio will give him all the distraction he needs. You'll probably miss him more than he’ll miss you," Nana replied.

When it was time to leave, Zach begged to stay a little longer. He got very excited when Noah told him he would be back the next night for a sleepover. I just hoped the behavior Tom told me about wouldn't resurface.

For the first half of the ride home, Zach rambled on constantly about how much fun he'd had, and how he couldn't wait until tomorrow. Suddenly the talking ceased and a glance behind me revealed he'd fallen asleep. When we got home, Noah carried him to his bedroom and changed him before joining me in our nightly rituals.

In bed, Noah's anal ministrations once again left me pleading for him to slide the real thing into my hole, but just like the previous nights, Noah resisted. I gave his hole a thorough workout as well, and I'm pretty sure he wanted it as much as I did, but he never gave me the satisfaction of begging for it. Having a young child directly across the hall wasn't helpful, either, since we were limited to mutual pleasuring to avoid making too much noise.

It was a long and exhausting day, and we fell asleep in each other's arms without a word.

– – – * * * – – –

Waking up with Noah's arms wrapped around me is always a wonderful experience. I could feel his morning erection pressed up against my hole and couldn't resist pressing against it, willing it to penetrate me. I was trying to be as quiet and gentle as I could to not disturb Noah, who would probably quickly put an end to this activity.

I gasped as I felt my hole close around the head of his cock. Noah suddenly let out a chuckle which startled me and almost caused me to lose my prize.

"You can't resist it, can you?"

"No. Push it in me, babe," I moaned trying to impale myself further on his rod. Instead, he pulled back, his glans freeing itself with a pop. I felt empty.

Before I could attempt to return his cock to its rightful place, Noah rolled me onto my back and leaned over, giving me a nice morning kiss. When he broke the kiss, he laid his head on my chest, and I wrapped my arm around his strong back.

"I know you want it, but forcing yourself on me while you think I'm asleep is hardly the romantic first time I was hoping for," he said.

"I know," I said sheepishly, rubbing his back gently. "I'm sorry, but you have no idea how much you turn me on!"

"Oh, I'm looking at something that gives me a pretty good idea," he responded with a laugh and reached down to gently stroke my straining member.

"Wait, you were awake the entire time, weren't you? Why didn't you stop me earlier?"

"I wanted to see just how far you would go. At first, I just thought you'd hump against it like you usually do, then it felt too good to stop right away. I didn't think you'd actually get it in without lube or assistance from me."

"But I did," I said with a sly grin, pulling his body on top of mine and wrapping my legs around his waist, kissing him passionately. Both of us were ignoring our morning breath as our cocks rubbed sensuously together.

Suddenly the door flew open and Zach raced into the room. Like a flash, I grabbed the sheet, pulling it over our nude entangled bodies.

"Hi Daddy, hi Papa, are you awake?" he asked excitedly. Noah groaned and slid off of me. I grabbed the gym shorts on the floor, left there in case modesty was needed in a hurry, and slipped them on, trying to not draw attention to myself.

"We're awake, little buddy. Your daddy and I were just talking," I told him, distracting him while Noah also slid shorts on.

"I've never seen talking like that," he said, jumping on the bed. Fortunately the unexpected interruption wilted our erections. "I think you were wrestling! Can I wrestle too?"

"Sure, buddy," Noah said, gently knocking Zach over. "Didn't I tell you to knock if the door was closed, though?"

"Oh… I forgotted, Daddy. Tom said to wake you up. He's silly. He called you 'lovebirds', but you're not birds. You're peoples."

"And don't you forget it!" I said, joining into the fray by tickling the youngster. Noah and I teamed up on Zach for a few minutes, before Zach and I decided to take his dad down a peg. Unfortunately it wasn't long before Zach turned on me, and I found myself unfairly ganged up on.

Once we'd all had enough – or rather Noah and I had – we plodded out to the kitchen. Tom saw our attire.

"Nice gym shorts. I figured you would've sent him on his way and taken a shower," Tom said.

"Nope, Zach caught us 'wrestling' and wanted to join in. Apparently someone suggested he enter without knocking," I said pointedly, still a little frustrated that my private time with Noah had been interrupted.

"Oh, Sorry! I figured you two were still asleep. I wouldn't have suggested it if I'd thought you two were… you know, um, wrestling," Tom said, eyes bulging a little as he blushed.

"It's no problem, Tom. I'm sure it won't be the last time our 'wrestling' gets interrupted by Zach," Noah said ruffling Zach's hair. "Besides, Zach is spending the night at Nana's, so we can go all night long, mano y mano," Noah said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Gross. That's my brother-in-law you're talking about. As far as I'm concerned, he's chaste and pure."

"Other than the time you walked in on me and Steve, you mean?"

Tom stuck his fingers in his ears. "Lalalala. Not listening!"

"What were you doing with Steve," Zach asked.

"Um… wrestling?" I responded, keeping the theme going.

"Oh. Do you wrestle lots of guys, Papa?"

Unfortunately, I'd chosen this moment to take a sip of coffee and nearly did a spit-take with the scalding liquid.

"Papa has 'wrestled' with lots and lots of guys," Noah said with straight face while I was still choking on my coffee. I tried to glare at Noah but was too busy coughing.

"Your dad's no slouch either. He's 'wrestled' with plenty of guys, too," I said once I got myself back under control. I winked at Noah, who smiled and winked back.

"Cool! So you can teach me lots of neat moves, right?"

I would've had a repeat of my last sip of coffee, but I was smart enough to move the cup away from my lips when Zach started to speak.

"Sure, I bet your daddy and I can teach you a few wrestling moves to try," I replied. I was careful to not put any emphasis on 'wrestling' this time. I couldn't even begin to consider using the innuendo in the same context of doing something with Zach. Unfortunately, that question managed to kill the fun that Noah and I had been having, but the four of us talked and joked throughout breakfast.

After Noah and I took care of the dishes, he tried to haul me into the shower with him.

"Put me down, you big brute!" I exclaimed with a giggle when he threw me over his shoulder when I wouldn't go peacefully.

"I just want to finish what we started," he said smacking my ass. The thin material of the gym shorts did nothing to deflect the blow.

"Nope. I forgot Zach wasn't going to be here tonight. Now I want to wait. Maybe I can make it nice and romantic," I responded coyly.

"I like the sound of that, but that doesn't mean you can't join me in the shower. I'll make sure you're squeaky clean."

"Not gonna happen," I told him matter-of-factly.

"What? Don't you trust your boyfriend to behave?" Noah said in mock indignation.

"It's me I don't trust. Now put me down!" My joking tone slipped a bit, since I was still suspended on Noah's shoulder.

"Oh, right; sorry. So we're gonna 'wrestle' tonight, huh?" Noah asked as he put me down and drew me into a tight hug.

"Yup, it'll be a long, no-holds-barred, dirty, contest that won't be decided for several hours," I told him, kissing him between words.

"Sounds like my kind of night," Noah replied. Saying that was unnecessary, the increased pressure against my stomach made his desire known. "Are you sure you'll have enough stamina to keep up with me, old man?" It was my turn to smack his ass.

He still wanted me to join him for a shower, but he didn't say a word. Instead, he closed our bedroom door and dropped his shorts before spending several minutes stretching. It took all I had to keep my tongue in my mouth and not jump him. I forced myself to go into the closet and get laundry together, or else I would have.

He came out of the bathroom naked, a few drops of water still adorning his body. I wanted so badly to lick them off. His cock was semi-erect, so I was positive he was putting on another show for me.

I couldn't take anymore when he bent over his bottom drawer – which only contained sweaters, which he wouldn't need in August – exposing his tantalizing hole. I raced into the bathroom and slammed the door. On the other side, I could hear Noah laughing.

Mercifully, Noah was partially dressed when I got out of the shower. If I hadn't known better, I would've thought he just wanted to stretch before donning a shirt. I got dressed and sat on the bed. Noah sat behind me and wrapped his strong arms around me.

"You're evil," I said.

"And you love every agonizing moment of it," he rebutted, kissing my neck gently.

"We got any plans for the day?" I asked him, leaning back into his body.

"I was thinking Zach could use some more clothes, especially since we're going out of town for a while. He definitely needs a bathing suit and neither of us have any luggage. It'd be easier if I knew where we're going. He doesn't have any long-sleeve shirts; he'll probably get cold in Juneau."

"Why the hell would we go to Alaska?"

"I don't know. I was convinced it was Vegas before I even guessed it, so now I'm at a loss."

"We won't need to worry about him getting cold," I said, "but a mini-shopping-spree might be nice. We can replace some of your boxers that have holes in them," I teased.

"How do you know about those? I never wear those when I think we're gonna get frisky!"

"I do the laundry; I see all the fashion faux pas. I'm sure we have plenty of suitcases, but Zach will probably want something with superheroes on it. My wardrobe could use some updating, too."

"Speaking of fashion faux pas," he said, kissing my neck again. "Ok, let's go to the mall," he added, squeezing me tightly and not letting go.

"Noah, we got a problem," I said a minute later.

"What's that, babe?"

"I'm too comfortable to move."

"Me too," he replied, kissing my neck yet again.

"Can we stay here forever?" I asked with a sigh.

"Sure thing, babe."

"I love you so much," I said, turning my head to give him a gentle kiss.