Page 26

TWENTY-TWO

BANE

I’ve been staring at Jerryn like some kind of creep for ten minutes, but I can’t get over what happened between us last night. It’s not unusual that he’s in my bed, but it’s unusual that he’s naked and that my dried cum is on his skin.

My eyes well with tears, but I blink them back. Happy tears. Twenty years of pining, all out in the open. He knows I love him. It felt so damn good to admit it too.

The sound of the coffee pot finishing pulls my attention away. I force myself out of bed to pour us some, then return, setting the mugs on the nightstand and crawling back into bed to lie next to him.

I kiss the back of his neck, inhaling his scent. “Wake up, Jerr.”

He moans and stirs, arching his back slightly to stretch. Before he fully opens his eyes, there’s a sweet smile pulling at his lips.

“I’m sore.” He laughs softly. “Amazing.”

“Good sore?”

He nods, finally peeling his eyes open to look up at me. “Morning.”

“Morning, sweet thing. I brought you coffee.”

“Awesome. Gotta pee. Be right back.” He climbs out of bed and hurries to the bathroom. While he’s gone, I settle with my back against the velvet headboard. He comes out a few minutes later with a bright smile on his face.

I take him in greedily, noting every beautiful part of his body and how his cheeks turn pink from my attention. He climbs in next to me and I hand him his coffee.

“Thank you.” He sips his drink, glancing at me. “Did you sleep well?”

“Incredibly. You?”

Jerryn nods. “Yes.” He drags his finger around the rim of his mug. “Do you know why I cried last night?”

“I assumed you were a little overwhelmed. Was it something else?”

“Yeah.” He takes another sip of coffee. “It was the first time I’ve had a real orgasm.”

I blink rapidly. He’s never told me that. “Really?”

“I tried jacking off a few times, but I couldn’t get it to happen. Definitely not with partners. When I was really young, still a teenager, it kind of happened on its own a few times, like when I was sleeping, but it was just a little bit and it wasn’t intense at all.”

“Oh.”

“Last night was the first time it’s happened like that and with a person.”

Thank fuck I didn’t know that. Talk about performance anxiety. “How was it?”

Jerryn laughs. “How was it? It was mind-blowing. I finally understand what all the fuss is about.” His brow crinkles a bit. “What I want to know is how you’ve been going without for so long when you know how it feels.”

“Jacking off.”

“Right.”

“It’s better with a person, of course, but I get by.” I put my hand on his thigh. “The best it’s ever been was with you last night.”

He rolls his eyes. “You don’t have to say stuff like that. I’m inexperienced, but I’ll get better.”

“Don’t short sell yourself, Jerr. Last night was incredible for me.

It was the culmination of twenty years of wanting you.

Kissing you, touching you…” I blow out a breath as my body reacts to the memories.

“Nothing about it was less than perfect. I’m really honored to have given you your first experience like that. ”

He’s quiet for a few seconds, staring into his mug, and when he looks up, I’m struck by his beauty. It’s like seeing him for the first time again.

“It could only be you, Bane. I’ve spent most of my life wondering why I wasn’t like everybody else and feeling pissed off at how unfair it was.”

I nod, squeezing his knee.

“I thought I’d have to make do, you know? Accept that it would never happen for me, but try my best to be a good partner in other ways. Eventually I gave up.”

“I know.”

“I’m so glad we came back to Willow Bay. Between seeing our friends fall in love, reducing the stress in our lives, and the weirdest call from the past, I think it’s how we got here to this moment.”

“I think so too.”

“For a minute last night, I was kind of sad that we wasted so much time, but then I realized we didn’t. Not really. You’ve been my partner through everything, and sure, we’ve both tried finding love elsewhere, but it was always here, right in front of us. We didn’t waste a thing.”

“We didn’t.” I lift his hand and kiss the back of it. “But I’m glad we leveled up.”

“Me too.” He sips his coffee. “Do you think things will change now?”

“A little.”

Jerryn nods, biting his bottom lip.

“What’s on your mind, babe?”

“How is it gonna change?”

“Well…” I set my mug on the nightstand before I take his and do the same. “I think we’ll spend our time a little differently. More date nights. More showers and baths together. More romance.”

“You’re okay if sometimes I don’t… or I can’t… I don’t know how consistent…” He trails off with a huff.

“Jerr. I’m in this with you for you. I accept every part of you, and I don’t expect sex all the time.

I told you before, it’s about the intimacy, and we’ve got that in spades.

I want to hold you and kiss you and tell you how much I love you.

I don’t want to hold it back anymore. If sometimes our cuddling leads to more, great, and if it doesn’t, that’s fine.

It’s always gonna be fine as long as we’re together. That’s all that matters.”

He swallows hard, blinking fast. “I believe you.” He wipes at his eyes, laughing softly. “I really do.”

“Good. You know I wouldn’t lie to you.”

“Promise me that if it changes, if you need more, you’ll talk to me.”

“Of course I will.”

“Promise.”

I squeeze his hand. “Promise.”

“Okay.”

I lean in and kiss his cheek. “I do think it’s only fair that I warn you about something though.”

“What?”

“I’ve been holding back a long time, Jerr, and now that I don’t have to, you’re gonna feel the full force of my feelings for you. You deserve to be romanced, and that’s what I’m gonna do.”

He blushes a bit, nodding. “Okay. That means I can do the same, right?”

“Bring it on, sweet thing.”

I hand him his coffee again and he sips it, glancing at my naked body a few times.

“Can we shower together again?”

“Yep. Every day if you want. On Sunday mornings, we can take a bath before brunch and spend the day doing whatever you like. Museums, art galleries, Comic-Con, whatever.”

“What about what you like?”

“Babe, I’ve spent my life doing what I like, and none of it comes close to being your man. When I said you deserve to be romanced, I meant it. I’m gonna make you so happy.”

“I’m already happy. It’s important to me that we do things you like too.”

“Jerr, what things do I like? Video games, eating, and hanging out with you. I’m sure there’ll still be plenty of all that.”

He chuckles. “I guess you’re right.”

After a pause, I smile. “I can’t wait to tell our parents. Wanna bet one of them says it’s about time?”

“My mom for sure.” He grins. “Maybe your mom too.”

“Both of them. At least we have news.”

“Finally. Hopefully my mom doesn’t start bugging me about marriage. She’s still obsessed.”

I tilt my head. “We could…” I shrug as my throat clogs with emotions. Marrying Jerryn would be a dream come true, but is it something he could even see himself doing? Neither of us has ever talked about it.

“Could what?”

“Have a wedding.” I clear my throat. “Get married.”

His face goes blank, but his cheeks turn bright red. “Bane…”

“If you wanted to. I’d love it.”

He opens his mouth like he’s going to speak, but no words come out.

“This isn’t a proposal. Not one you deserve. I’d ask properly.”

His eyes turn glassy as his teeth graze his bottom lip.

“Speak to me, Jerr. Too much?”

“You…” His lips tremble as he tries to get words out. “You want to marry me?”

The too-big feeling in my chest blooms, filling me with so much love and rightness that it makes me lightheaded. “God, yes. It would be amazing to be your husband. Saying it out loud is incredible. I don’t think I knew how much I wanted that until right this minute.”

A tear slides down his cheek.

“If it’s too soon, we can wait.”

“Too soon?” he chokes out, shaking his head. “Bane. Too soon? We’ve known each other for twenty years.”

“I know, but this part is new. More for you than me.”

Jerr wipes his eyes with the backs of his hands. “You can ask me properly when you’re ready.” He sniffs. “I’ll be waiting.”

“Does that mean it sounds good to you too?”

“I’ve never heard anything more perfect.”

“Then prepare yourself, sweet thing. I’ve been saving all this up, and now that I can let it out, I’m going to.”

He graces me with a sweet smile. “I can handle it.”

“I know.” My mind is swirling with ideas for the perfect proposal. “I love you so damn much, Jerr. I’ve always loved you.”

“I’ve always loved you too. I wanted to change so I could be a good partner, so I could be seen, but you saw me all along. I don’t need to change.”

“I don’t want you to. You’re perfectly made the way you are, so there’s nothing to change or fix. I’m glad you see that now.”

“Me too.” His smile grows. “I have a confession though.”

“Hit me.”

“I liked it a lot when you had your cock in my mouth.”

My eyes go wide. I wasn’t expecting that. My cock twitches with interest. “Jerr…”

“It felt good, and I really wanted to do it. For the first time, it wasn’t an obligation or a way to pacify someone. I wanted to do it, and I want to do it again.”

“Anytime.”

He nods. “Ready to shower?”

“Yeah.” Before he can get too far, I grab his wrist. “I have something to tell you too.”

“Okay.”

I tug him until he’s in my lap. “You taste like dreams coming true.”

“What?”

“Your cum.” I brush my fingers across his cheek. “Delicious.”

His cheeks bloom pink again as he smiles. “I guess I should find out what you taste like.”

“We can work on that.”

Jerryn drapes his arms over my shoulders. “I’m excited to see what happens. I’ve waited a long time to feel this way.”

“I know you have.” I press a quick kiss to his lips. “I have too, and I can promise you one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m gonna make it worth the wait.”

“It already is, Bane.”