Treading Water - 7. Chapter 7 River of Dreams

Treading Water

Chapter 7

More than a year had passed since Craig last awakened in a man’s arms. Jared’s. His man, he thought while laying completely still, feeling love in a possessive embrace. This is how life was always supposed to be, and he experienced a small pang as an image of Harlan infiltrated the moment, but it didn’t last. He would be happy for the fiancé left behind, and knowing it with certainty helped Craig glory in where he was right now. Nothing mattered more than this new bond with the handsome guy at his back… the one who drew him closer even as he slept.

Thoughts of Carly didn’t ruin it. He’d been a great brother, always supportive of his twin despite her often cantankerous nature. He saw clearly now, how she’d used him as her personal punching bag of sorts, forever taking any frustrations out on him. Maybe he still loved her, but the blinders were off. If she didn’t keep her word, or interfered, he would go after her with everything he had. It was Jared who came first now.

Where did they go from here? He was confident he knew Jared well, but there was a lot he hadn’t been aware of. Like the drinking. Was that an issue? He honestly didn’t think so. The man had always been genuine, so when he said something, you could take it to the bank. Trina hadn’t seemed concerned about it… just her brother’s state of mind. Craig had a good idea he was the cure for the funk she’d commented on. As if he was showing agreement, Jared, in his sleep, ground his morning erection into Craig’s backside, tempting Craig to push back against what had been a delightful surprise. The man had a cock worthy of worship, and that was what Craig planned to do… often. He smiled at how wantonly sexual he felt this early Sunday morning. Jared’s instinctual and attentive lovemaking was the reason for it. He’d masterfully outdone himself for his first time with a man, and Craig wouldn’t have changed anything about last evening.

Craig had no idea what time it was, and he didn’t want to turn to see the alarm clock for fear of waking Jared. He wanted the black smudges beneath those astonishing eyes to be gone. Closing his own, listening to and feeling the steady breathing on his neck, Craig drifted back to peaceful slumber.

When he regained consciousness, it was because of stirring behind him. A feather-light kiss on his shoulder caused a grin to blossom, and he decided he wanted more. Twisting in those cradling arms, he ended up staring into sleepy blue eyes brimming with adoration.

“I thought I was dreaming a few times last night, and I kept waking up to make sure you were still here.”

That statement beat any ‘good morning’ Craig could ever remember receiving, and before the thought of morning-breath entered his mind, he demanded a kiss with his lips pressed against Jared’s. The man complied in a heartbeat, and caressed Craig’s tongue with his own. “Sorry, I should have waited till my teeth were brushed,” Craig said when their lips parted. Jared’s response was to kiss him again, fervently.

“Last night was the best night of my life, Craig.”

“Are you gonna keep saying stuff that makes me want to ravage you?”

“I’m sure as hell gonna try.”

Craig laughed because the guy definitely knew how to look cocky. “Then I really should go brush my teeth.”

“Can I come with you?”

Craig chuckled. “We did that last night.”

Jared laughed too. “We did, didn’t we? And today is a whole new day.”

They both got up, and hand in hand, headed for the bathroom with matching erections pointing the way. Craig took note there wasn’t an ounce of awkwardness between them… only a need to be close.

Showered, and back in the bedroom, they were blatantly watching each other get dressed. Craig was sorry to see briefs being pulled up and over Jared’s endowment, and disappointment showed on Jared’s face when he did the same with a brand new pair Jared insisted on gifting to him. The dark-haired man admitted there wasn’t anything other than cereal in the house, for breakfast, as they continued dressing. “Now why doesn’t that surprise me, stud?” Craig snickered before sniffing his tee-shirt, reluctant to put it back on. “We’ll think of something.” A clean one came flying at his head, and then Jared proceeded to rummage in his dresser for a replacement.

The idea of wearing anything Jared had already worn made Craig feel warm inside, especially something he’d planned to put on for the day. It was like he was giving him the shirt of his back, and it gave him a little thrill as he put it on.

“It looks good on you. Green’s your color. How are you keeping in such good shape?”

More warmth. “I’m running, biking, and swimming again. I did a lot of swimming in the winter at the Aquatic Center. I started up about five months ago because my doctor said the endorphins would help me get back on track, and he was right. I started feeling better immediately. I added the running and cycling when the snow left.”

“So, no weight training?” Jared was surveying his body appreciatively, and Craig flushed at the attention.

“Nope. Not yet, anyway. Maybe we could start working out together.”

Jared’s face lit up at the suggestion. “I’d like that a lot.”

Seated across from one another in a two-seater booth at a local diner Jared knew well, they were working on demolishing their full-platter breakfasts. Craig got great pleasure out of watching Jared eat. When he commented on how he hadn’t been this hungry in a long time, Craig raised his eyebrows and grinned.

“Sex will do that to you.”

Jared halted his intention to insert a slice of bacon in his mouth. “Great sex will do that,” he asserted to his amused companion.

“I stand corrected, stud.”

“Oh, jeez… is that my new name?”

“Until I find something better. If the shoe fits, and ‘stud’ does,” Craig said with another grin. Noticing Jared look around the restaurant, Craig wondered if he was uncomfortable with his sexuality. Until yesterday, even he hadn’t been aware Jared was gay. “So does anyone else know about you? Would you freak out if one of your friends found out about us… if something comes of this?” The query obviously caught the dark-haired man off guard. The silence stretched, and Craig’s stomach fell. It was a simple question, wasn’t it? He had been out for so long, he wasn’t sure how big a deal it might be for someone like Jared, who everyone thought of as straight.

“What do you mean if, Craig?”

“What?”

“You said if something comes of this. Are you having second thoughts?” Jared went from no expression to one of anxious concern.

“No, shit, no. I was more wondering about whether you were comfortable with this, and I didn’t want to presume anything. I’m sorry… I didn’t word it right.”

“So, we’re still on the same page?”

“Hell yes. I don’t tell someone I’m in love with them, and change my mind the next morning. I guess we need to talk about where we’re headed and how we want to do this?”

“Your question, then, was about whether I was comfortable being in a relationship with a man… you?”

“Exactly.”

Craig watched the man across from him stand up and come around to his side. Leaning over, he cupped the back of Craig’s head and kissed him… thoroughly. “Does that answer your question?” Jared asked as he sat back down without a glance at the other patrons.

Craig nodded. The kiss left him speechless for a time. Eventually, he grinned. “You really are full of surprises… one right after another, but you’ll hear no complaints from me.”

“Good, but can we get back to the not presuming anything? I know we’re new, but I thought it was okay to presume after what we did and said to each other last night. After all, I’m not allowed to shower with any other guys,” he reminded Craig, being smug and serious at the same time.

The appealing confidence had returned. Craig smiled, remembering their little exchange, and the feeling of commitment there was at the time. “That’s right… you’re not allowed, but I’m not either.” It was meant as a loaded statement, and judging by his happy look, it wasn’t lost on Jared. “And feel free to presume there’s an ’us,’ because there is. I didn’t want to presume to know what you were comfortable with, but you just showed me that I can. And I can’t presume to know where we’re going from here… we need to talk about this stuff… like are we dating, and are we...?”

“I want you to move in with me. Is it too soon to want that?” Jared’s sincerity could not be questioned. Those blue eyes were filled with undeniable love, and Craig’s heart reacted accordingly. This guy owned him completely, but was it too soon?

“I honestly don’t know if it is. I would hate to screw this up. Living together would change everything.”

“Yes, it would.” Jared said no more, but he looked at Craig expectantly.

“Help me out here, Jared. Do you see a downside? I mean it’s a decision for both of us, right?”

“Help you out? Okay, let’s say we don’t do it. We date, and see each other maybe three or four times a week. How will you feel when I go home at night, or you go home after we go to a movie. You’re lying in bed all alone, and so am I. How are you going to feel? Compare it to how you felt this morning.”

“Man, you’re good,” he observed with not a little gratitude for his way of getting to the heart of where they were. “I think I would miss you like crazy. I would definitely miss your arms around me all night long. But who moves in together after their first night?”

Jared sighed. “Honestly, I think this is different. We’ve known each other a long time, and we’ve had these feelings forever… well, I have… but I don’t want to convince you. It seems to me, though, because of circumstances we weren’t aware of, we’ve wasted a lot of time, but I’ll take whatever I can get, and I’ll be happy. We both have to want it to happen, and we both have to be sure, so if you’re not ready, I understand. I didn't mean to put any pressure on you.”

Jared didn’t look disappointed, but Craig could see through the front he was trying to project. He was giving him an out, but last night and this morning had spoiled them both, and Craig faced the fact that he didn’t want an out. A little cautious apprehension didn’t stand a chance against the azure gaze from across the table.

Jared had resumed eating, doing a decent job of pretending it was okay that living together was off the table. “I’m in,” Craig said. “And I’ve had these feelings forever too.”

The sound of a dropped fork hitting chinaware, got their table a little attention, but Jared’s unabashed whoop got them more. Standing up and hauling a stunned Craig from his chair resulted in all eyes upon them. Craig was astounded at the strength of the man when he lifted him inches off the ground with his bone-crushing hug. Turning to the somewhat busy dining room, Jared explained loudly, “He said yes.” That, and a monstrous grin got them some applause.

Craig shook his head when they sat back down. “Any more surprises up your sleeve?” he teased, trying to calm down from the public display. He could feel the heat of embarrassment flood his upper body as he darted glances around the restaurant.

“That depends on whether you liked that one,” Jared said.

“I loved it, and I love you,” he whispered. “You realize they all think you proposed, right?”

“That comes later,” he said with a wink. “And stop trying to rush me into something.”

“Funny guy.”

“Craig?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you too.”

They were headed to Craig’s mother’s house to get some stuff from his basement apartment. At first, he was only going to get some clothes, but he’d been thinking.

“Jared, can you see us ever using the dining room? I mean, there’s no table in there now, and if there was, it would only be ten or twelve feet away from that awesome kitchen table which will seat six easy, even without the leaf in it.”

“Yeah, Trina has my grandparents' old dining room set. It’s the only thing she wanted after Grandpa passed. What are you thinking, Martha?”

“Martha?”

“Martha Stewart, you know. You’re a lot like her,” he teased.

Craig put on his best glare. “That better be the last time you call me ‘Martha,’ mister.”

Jared chuckled and took his hands off the steering wheel, holding them up in the air. “Message received, sir.”

“That’s better. So, what I, Craig Fletcher am thinking, is that since the dining room is the same basic dimensions of the living room, and because it’s almost a part of the kitchen with that wide opening separating them, we could turn it into a family room. And voila, open concept with no tearing down walls.”

“So then the living room becomes the dining room?”

“That, or another sitting room, pretty much like it is now. And the corner bedroom off it could be a proper office, because with the four bedrooms upstairs… well, three and a closet,” he joked, “there’s no real need for one downstairs. Or, we could use the little bedroom upstairs for an office, and enlarge the downstairs bathroom?”

“Do you think we need to make the main bathroom bigger?”

“Not really. There’s a lot of wasted space in there, so reorganizing it might be a good idea. If a new toilet was moved over under the window, there would be plenty of space for a good-sized vanity. We could get a reproduction toilet this time that would look more like it belonged to the original house. And that old claw-foot is in a good spot… I love the ornate legs on it. We could get the same guy who fixes the chip in the kitchen sink to do the chips in the tub too. He could make it look good as new.”

They were getting close to Marian’s house, and the likelihood of running into Carly, but Jared seem unperturbed. Craig could sense the excitement in him as they talked about their home. “That would be easy to do,” he mused. “I could move the toilet in an hour or so because it’s all new ABS piping in the basement, and it needs new flooring anyway. I have some reclaimed marble I always wanted to put down in there, and this would be a good reason to finally get it done.

“So, in that case, I like the idea of you and I having an office on the main floor. I don’t want to be running up and down stairs, and I’m sure you don’t either. My stuff is scattered everywhere, and that won’t do when I pick up contracting jobs again. I’ll need to be well organized.” He looked over at Craig. “I haven’t been caring much about anything for a while… I’d just go to the pond and try to get through another lonely night.”

“You’re not going to be lonely anymore, Jared. You’ve got me now.”

Jared swallowed a few times before swiping at his eyes. “I love this more than I can say, you know? Talking about plans for the house… with you. Thinking about the future instead of the past.”

“I do know. I love talking like this too. And I love your house.”

“Our house, Craig.”

“Yeah, of course… our house. So, you didn’t say whether you liked my idea?”

“I think, Craig Fletcher, it is brilliant. I like your plan because it will be homier in the kitchen end, and the rooms opening to one another, with no hallway, will make more sense… that always kind of bugged me. It’ll be a lot easier to keep an eye on Bailey too, and I also like that the far end will be quieter. It will be more like a getaway space, so yeah, I think the living room staying as another sitting room is a good idea. We can even put Bailey down for naps in there, in her play pen, and be able to keep an eye on her easier than if she was in her room. A dining room would go to waste.” Jared’s enthusiasm was a thing of beauty for Craig to witness. He felt overwhelming love and pride both as he stayed quiet and listened.

“You can see the front entry from the dining room, now, and you can’t from the living room, so that’s something else that makes more sense. I think I’ll like that. Even with the veranda, there’s still a lot of light that comes in through the front door, especially in the morning. Yeah, I really like your idea,” he confirmed with a huge smile.

“All right! This is awesome. We have a plan. So that means we can take some furniture back with us. Will my leather couch and chairs fit in the truck bed?” Craig asked with a matching smile.

“If not all at once, we can make more trips. It’s a beautiful day to be moving a hot man into our house.”

“You better be talking about me, stud.”

“Oh, I am, Martha, I am.”

He might not have seen the arm punch coming, but Craig made sure he felt it.

They were laughing when Jared wheeled his big truck into the driveway. That ended however, at the sight of a stone-faced Carly, kneeling on the front lawn with Bailey.

“Are you ready for this? Craig asked, staring at the cold, pale-green eyes that gave no hint as to what was going on behind them. They stayed locked on the front window of the vehicle.

“As ready as I’ll ever be. Are you?”

“I guess we’ll find out. He gave Jared’s hand a squeeze, and opened his door. A chill ran through him, and it had nothing to do with the temperature.