CHAPTER twenty-six

 

Gideon

Gideon took the stairs to Mac’s apartment three at a time, basically jumping up each flight, ready for whatever dinner Mac had concocted, and ready to see his man. He enveloped Mac in a deep kiss, complete with tongue.

They sat on Mac’s bed. Gideon couldn’t help but notice how clean the place was. Had Mac done this all himself?

“The place looks great, by the way.”

Mac pulled lasagna out of the oven. The box peeked out from the trash, but Gideon would let him have all the glory.

“Smells great!”

They ate at his dining table. The whole time, Mac seemed distracted, like how he was on the bus. After all the drama that happened with Gideon and him hooking up and then his parents, Gideon had to remind myself that Mac lost his closest family member. He was still fragile.

Gideon rubbed his hand over the table. “I really admire you, Mac. You’ve handled all of this so well.”

Mac gave him a half-smile, mostly for show.

“What’s wrong?”

“I hate how I left things with my parents.” Mac hung his head, and Gideon could feel waves of stress coming off him.

“I can’t imagine what you’re going through. But don’t forget what they did. They believed you were hitting on that kid. They pretty much sold you out.”

“Maybe they were just as scared as me,” Mac wondered aloud.

Gideon hated how Mac’s parents had this control over him. Despite everything, Mac was still trying to be the good son.

“If they want to make things right, they should make that first move.”

After dinner, Mac and Gideon sat on his floor and went through more of Aunt Rita’s photo albums. Mac showed Gideon all of his embarrassing school pictures. Gideon didn’t tell him that he found every picture of Mac freaking adorable, bad haircuts and all. Even as a third grader, that ear-to-ear grin held so much kindness.

“Holy shit.” Mac reached into a folder in the back cover of one photo album. He pulled out a handful of old letters.

“Oh? Did Aunt Rita have a secret lover?” Gideon scooted closer. Mac’s smile faded, and he showed Gideon the envelope.

“These are from my dad.” Mac’s eyes widened. He studied the letter in his hand, but couldn’t bring himself to open it.

Gideon was just as curious as him. “How old is that letter?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you going to read it?”

“Should I? It might be personal.”

Gideon nodded, but he could see the curiosity lighting up his boyfriend’s face. “I mean, there’s only one way to find out if it’s personal…”

“I’ll just read one letter.”

“Great compromise!”

Mac took the letter out of the envelope and unfolded it in his hands. Gideon could only know what was in it by Mac’s face. But Mac wasn’t giving away much. His face turned to stone. His eyes traveled down the page at least three times. He picked his head up and had a dazed expression.

“What did it say?” Gideon asked.

Mac handed it over, stood up, and did a zombie walk to the kitchen area.

 

Dear Rita,

 

Enclosed is the monthly check for Mac’s expenses. It’s a little bigger than usual so Mac can buy some back to school clothes. I can’t believe he’s going to be a senior. I still can’t get over some of the colleges he’s thinking of attending. I can’t believe I might have a son who attends Carnegie Mellon, The University of Pennsylvania, or Browerton. Not bad for a guy who barely got through community college. I’m so proud of him, Rita. I know he wants nothing to do with us, but I hope he knows that. Thank you for sending pictures. He’s really getting tall. Maybe we can all spend Thanksgiving together this year. I guess that’ll require one of us to swallow our pride. We think about him everyday. Thank you again for taking him in. We miss him, but we know he’s safe in Pittsburgh.

 

Love,

Sean

 

“Holy shit,” Gideon said under his breath. He grabbed the stack of letters. They were probably all of the same variety.

Mac poured himself a glass of water. “Why didn’t they tell me?”

“Maybe they didn’t want you to come back.” Because it wasn’t safe. Gideon’s stomach sank with a nasty feeling for all the things he said to Mac’s parents. “You hadn’t seen them since Aunt Rita got sick?”

“No. I remember that Thanksgiving. She suggested my parents come up, but I refused. I was so angry at them.”

“You missed out on an awkward family holiday.”

Mac wasn’t smiling, though. He looked worse than when Gideon started talking. “I need to call them.”

He took out his phone. His thumb hovered over the screen. Gideon got up and wrapped Mac in a tight hug, practically swaddled him.

“They didn’t believe me,” Mac said. “They took the pastor’s word over mine. They thought I hit on Justin and that I caused this. Even if they let me stay in Pittsburgh to avoid the bigoted assholes back home, they still thought that I brought on what happened to me. They didn’t stand up for me.”

Mac collapsed against Gideon’s chest. Gideon rubbed his back. “Baby, you need to relax.”

“I don’t know what to think. This whole time…”

“Breathe. Just breathe.” Gideon rocked them back and forth for a few minutes. He kissed Mac’s head.

Mac looked up at him with those eyes that plugged right into Gideon’s soul. Their lips met in an instant. They kissed each other with a hungry need.

All of this emotion had given Gideon a wicked hard-on. He pushed Mac backward on the bed. Their lips refused to budge from each other. Gideon ran his hands through Mac’s hair, then swooped them down to his tight stomach and muscular legs. Mac quivered under his touch.

He wanted to remember every second of this. Gideon unbuttoned Mac’s jeans, then his own. He pulled out their cocks and massaged them together, rolling them around in his fist. He spat in his hand and slicked them up real good. Mac moaned into his chest. Gideon pressed his weight into him.

He panted and gulped down air as he continued to stroke them. Mac’s fingers rubbed Gideon’s back, softening his tensed muscles. Their dicks fucked Gideon’s hand, and he was going to shoot at any moment. But not yet. He wanted more. His anger and fear had turned into lust, and he wanted to consume Mac, the way Mac had done to him in their hotel room.

“I wanna…have sex.” Gideon breathed deeply. He inhaled Mac’s soapy, musky scent, and it made his cock harder.

Gideon got off the bed and shoved his pants and boxers to the floor. His cock flopped in the air. He kicked his shoes to the far reaches of the studio and stepped out of his pants. He tossed off his dark green sweater and chucked that into the kitchen area.

“Don’t go making a mess,” Mac said with his sinister smile. Gideon didn’t realize how much he missed it. “I just cleaned.”

“Oh, we’re making a fucking mess tonight, baby.” He yanked Mac’s pants and underwear completely off. They landed by the front door. He motioned with two fingers for Mac to sit up. He slowly lifted his shirt over his head. His fingers grazed the ridges of his abs and firm pecs. He breathed in the scent of Mac’s shirt, then threw it onto the dining table, where it landed on the leftover lasagna.

“Should I get Big Bird?”

Gideon glanced down at his raging boner. “I don’t think we need it.”

Mac took lube and a condom from his nightstand drawer. He placed it on his stomach. Gideon positioned Mac on the edge of the bed and shoved his legs back to his head. He gave his ass a nice little spit shine. But not too much. This wasn’t a night for foreplay. It was one for action. Some cosmic force was pulling Gideon to Mac.

He got Mac and himself prepped for entry. He leaned over his boyfriend and whispered in his ear “I’m falling in love with you.”

He knew it was fast, that they’d only known each other a few months, but the words weren’t going to stay inside him. Gideon worried that maybe it was too much for Mac—

“Me, too.”

Or maybe it was just right.

He entered Mac’s warm opening, and instantly his knees quaked. Mac arched his back. His thick cock lay against his stomach.

Gideon leaned over his boyfriend and smoothed his sweaty hair back. He kissed him along his jaw line and that sweet spot where his neck met his shoulder. Sweat trickled down Gideon’s chest into the creases of Mac’s stomach.

He didn’t want to stop touching Mac. His hips, his ass, his legs, his feet, his elbows. It was all manna from heaven to him. He pushed Mac’s legs closer to his stomach as Gideon slid deeper inside him.

Mac reached around and slapped Gideon’s ass. Gideon admired his flexibility. They looked into each other’s eyes, and Gideon saw enough hope and love to help them weather this storm.

It’s going to be okay, Gideon told Mac telepathically.

“You’re gonna make me come,” Mac said. Not the response he thought, but a great one nonetheless.

“That’s the point.” Gideon sped up, banging his cock into Mac’s ass in short bursts. Mac spread his legs, allowing Gideon to thrust deeper.

Mac grabbed onto a patch of Gideon’s wild hair. He grunted with orgasm and covered his chest and stomach with streaks of himself. Gideon lost all balance and the room went white as he shot hot spurts into his boyfriend.

He cleaned the both of them up with Mac’s T-shirt, then tossed it back on the ground. Gideon promised Mac he would do laundry in the morning. They lay on the bed together, basking in the afterglow. They fell asleep soon after. Gideon was an extra strong big spoon, holding Mac tight. He didn’t want to let him go.

Φ

Gideon woke up a few hours later. Mac wasn’t in bed. He was standing at the window, gazing out into the darkness.

“Can’t sleep?”

Mac turned around. His face told Gideon sleep was the furthest thing from his mind. “I’m going back to West Virginia.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow.”

Gideon sat up, fully awake. Streaks of light spliced through the blinds.

“I’m going to West Virginia to talk with my parents. I need to fix this.”

“How long are you going to be gone?”

“I don’t know. Winter break is starting, so everyone’s going home this week.”

“So I won’t see you until January?”

“I don’t know.” The moonlight silhouetted Mac’s strong frame.

“I can go with you, for moral support, and just in case you need to find solace in another hotel room.” Gideon smirked, but Mac didn’t react. He was already in West Virginia.

He rejoined Gideon on the bed. “I am so grateful for what you’ve done, but I need to fight this battle myself.”

“I want to help you.”

“I know you do.” Mac brushed down a clump of Gideon’s bedhead. It didn’t make any difference, but it made Mac smile. “I have to stop letting people fight for me. I am so lucky that I’ve had people in my life who care about me this much to stand up for me. It’s my turn to stand up for myself.”

Gideon noticed how scared Mac was, but he was pushing through. That was the very definition of courage.

“I don’t know if it’s going to work, but I need to try and make things right myself,” Mac said.

Gideon wrapped his arms tight around Mac and kissed him.

“You do what you gotta do, but don’t get too comfortable back on the farm,” Gideon said.

“We don’t have a farm.”

“You know what I mean.” Gideon tapped at Mac’s chin. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t.”

Sometime around four, Gideon managed to fall back asleep. When he woke up the next morning, Mac was gone.