A Second Chance - 3. Embrace

(Adam)

I opened the door to my apartment, half-expecting a neighbor or maybe one of my colleagues who decided to show up unannounced. The last thing I expected was him, the man of my dreams! I froze that instant, thinking I must’ve been hallucinating. I just thought there was no way it was real.

My eyes fell upon his beautiful face, adorned with a shy smile and a warm look in his eyes. He looked so precious, so adorable.

“Hey,” he said softly, as if it was no big deal he crossed the continent to come and see me!

“Kaleo,” was all I could say, still in utter shock. I felt my voice betraying me. “You’re here!” He nodded slightly, still smiling.

It felt like time was standing still, but we were standing there probably for no more than two seconds. I immediately started grinning like a fool, wanting to jump up and down, when I realized Neptune was barking by my side, trying to eat the popcorn that I had apparently spilled at some point.

“Boy, calm down! Come here!” I heard a voice and turned around, seeing Zack grabbing Neptune and taking him back to his doggy bed.

“Oh, sorry! Uh, Kaleo, this is my friend Zack. Zack, this is Kaleo… An old friend I didn’t expect to see,” I managed to say, coming to my senses a bit, but completely elated. I felt like I was going to start flying at any moment!

The guys exchanged handshakes and greetings, with Kaleo quickly glancing at two wine glasses at the table by the couch.

“Oh, sorry if I’m interrupting you guys,” he started to apologize. At that moment, I noticed a large suitcase behind him. Was he here to stay?

“Hey, no worries. Look, Adam, I should probably leave you guys to catch up,” Zack said, turning to me and squeezing my shoulder. “Call me, ok?”

“Yeah,” I said, absentmindedly. “Sorry about this.”

“Don’t apologize,” he flashed a smile as he walked out the door. “See ya.”

“See ya,” I replied, closing the door behind him.

As I turned around, I saw Kaleo still standing in the middle of the room, suitcase by his side.

“You’re really here,” I said, my voice barely audible.

“I came… I had to,” he stepped closer to me.

Without another word, I pulled him into my embrace, wrapping my arms tightly around him and he reciprocated, holding me close and putting his head on my shoulder. We stood like that for what felt like ages, feeding off of each other’s warmth and closeness. I couldn’t get enough and refused to let go, afraid that if I did, he would disappear on me. My eyes were filled with tears, and from the wetness on my shirt, I could tell that so were his.

He was really there! After all this time, after so many nights that I dreamt about him, hoping to see him again, he finally came! How could I explain the happiness I felt at that moment? There are no words…

When I finally lifted my head from his shoulder, he did the same, looking into my watery eyes. We smiled at each other and then burst into laughter, unable to contain our happiness.

His arms were around my waist, while I put one of my own at the back of his head, stroking him gently.

“I can’t believe this! I’ve been thinking about you so much,” I said, fighting back the tears.

“Me too, I’ve been thinking of you all the time,” he said, pressing his forehead against mine.

Suddenly, he hit me on the shoulder.

“Oww, what was that for?”

“Why did you leave without saying goodbye?!”

I chuckled and took his hands in mine.

“I just couldn’t say goodbye, Kaleo. It was too hard. Besides, I never thought I’d see you again. I hoped I would, but I had to be realistic,” I said, bringing up a hand to gently caress his cheek. “I saw that you were feeling better and I had to be content with that, knowing that you were ok.”

“Yeah, I’m better now… All thanks to you,” he smiled and put his arms around my neck.

As in slow-motion, we closed our eyes and leaned in, our lips meeting for a soft and loving kiss. We separated and looked into each other’s eyes again, but I quickly felt his hand on the back of my head, pulling me back in. This time, the kiss was strong and passionate, our hot lips opening and our wet, warm tongues immediately finding each other.

No matter how much I’d fantasized about this moment, nothing could have prepared me for how amazing it felt. Kaleo’s scent and taste were intoxicating, his fingers burning my skin everywhere they touched.

Without breaking the kiss, I led him to the couch where we both sat down next to each other, continuing to enjoy our passion. Finally, we separated to get some air, still holding each other close. Feeling his warm breath against my skin, I knew this felt so right and so familiar, as if we had known each other our whole lives.

“Wow… That felt amazing,” I breathed, caressing his face and neck.

“I’ve wanted this for so long, Adam.”

“Me too. Every day, I hoped you’d come here. Kaleo, I…” I stopped myself before I said something that he might not be comfortable with yet. After all, I didn’t know if he really felt the same for me.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked, looking away, but keeping his hands on my shoulders.

“Sure, anything.”

“Is Zack…?”

“My boyfriend?”

He nodded.

“This was only our third date. We met each other two weeks ago. So no, he’s not my boyfriend,” I said, grinning at him. “Why, do you have someone else in mind?”

“Well, I just might,” he chuckled and gave me a peck on the lips.

God, I’ll never get tired of kissing and touching this man! I never wanted to be away from him again.

We snuggled together on the couch, Kaleo with his back pressed to my stomach, his head laying on my chest. I put one of my arms around him, and used the other to caress his long, black hair, its enchanting smell filling my nostrils.

Suddenly, Neptune popped his head up and looked at us curiously.

“By the way, that’s Neptune. He’s very friendly.”

“He’s so cute,” Kaleo replied. “Should we clean that mess?” he asked, as Neptune got up and headed for the popcorn again.

“Yeah, I’ll do it,” I reluctantly got up and went to clean them up. “Here, boy, go and say hi to our new guest.”

Neptune looked curiously for a second and went over to inspect who the new human was. Just a few moments later, he and Kaleo were best buddies.

After cleaning up the mess, I resumed my new favorite position – right next to Kaleo, feeling his warm body close to mine.

“Can I ask you a question?”

(Kaleo)

“Sure, ask away,” I said, putting my fingers over Adam’s and leaning against him.

“How come you’re here, in Chicago, I mean? Do you have a job here or anything?”

“No, actually… I just came to see you,” I said. I could see him grinning from the corner of my eye, so I turned to face him.

“Not gonna lie, that feels so good to hear,” Adam said, his beautiful smile lighting up the room.

I felt so comfortable around him. Kissing him and being in his arms was the best feeling in the world. And to think just a few hours ago I was so nervous and this close to turning back and running away. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about.

I have to admit, though, seeing Adam with Zack made me feel bad and, yes, I felt jealous. I knew I had no right to be, and if he’d asked me to turn away and leave them alone, I would’ve. But he didn’t, and here I was now, with this wonderful man next to me.

“As you can see,” I chuckled and nodded to my luggage, “I didn’t even go to my hotel first, I came straight here.”

To my surprise, Adam got up and returned a few moments later, handing me his phone.

“What’s that for?” I asked, confused.

“To call and cancel your reservation. I mean, if you want, I’d love for you to stay here,” he said, giving me one of his heart-melting smiles. “No-no pressure. I have a guest bedroom you can use,” he quickly added. “I’ll even pay for the cancellation fee.”

“That’s nice of you, and I’d love to, but… Since I’ve already paid for it, what do you say we go together and have some fun? I’ve booked a room with a king-sized bed for five days. We could order room service, have fun, go swim in the pool…”

“Well, it is Friday. And I can call Sophie to come here and feed and walk Neptune.”

“Exactly. You have work on Monday?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, after work we can come back here to check on Neptune.”

“You’ve got great persuasion skills, you know that?”

“Like it took a lot to convince you,” I teased, bringing him closer for a kiss.

After Adam quickly packed some stuff for the weekend and called Sophie to arrange dog-sitting, he drove us to the hotel. Having checked in, we decided to spend Friday evening just relaxing in the room.

We talked about everything – what happened on the island and after we left it, what we did these past three months, as well as stories from our lives in general. I loved what I knew about Adam and I wanted to learn more. I already knew he was an amazing, loving and beautiful person inside and out.

As we laid together, I stroked his hair while he talked about his family, friends, work, and I enjoyed listening to his beautiful, deep voice. He was also a great listener, showing interest as I talked about my own life. I felt like I could tell him anything and not be embarrassed. He would laugh at some of my anecdotes, and hug me tight as I talked about some of the not so happy moments from my life.

After a while, all of the touching and cuddling got us worked up and I could feel our hard-ons rubbing against each other.

“Mmm that feels good,” Adam murmured, kissing me.

“What do you say we get dirty, and then we can clean up in that huge tub together?”

“I love the way you think, baby” he said, unbuttoning my shirt while I worked on his belt.

Oh, God, the moment he called me baby, I knew I was done for. I didn’t care if it was too soon to feel that way, I just knew he made me feel amazing, better than I’ve ever felt before. As I kissed him again, feeling his hard, warm body beneath mine, I hoped with all my heart I’d get to experience this amazing feeling every single day next to Adam.