Page 18 of Men of Fort Dale: The Complete Series

Warmth and comfort filled his mind as it slowly shifted its way to consciousness.

At ease, his mind sifted through the images and sounds, not focusing on any single image but instead taking in the whole sensation.

He felt sated, content, and more at ease than he could remember.

A weight pressed against his chest, shifting slightly against his arm.

And the night before had just been...something else.

Ripping the note from the pad, he folded it up and made to set it on the table beside Dean’s bed.

Hesitating, he wrote a quick sentence on the front of the folded letter and began looking for Dean’s pants.

Once he’d found them, he fished Dean’s phone out and plugged it into the charger behind the letter.

Smiling, he bent down to kiss Dean’s cheek. “Talk to you in a little bit.”

“You’re very quiet,” Simmons noted.

Sloane looked up with a smirk. “Not everyone needs to fill the silence by talking all the time.”

Simmons eyed him warily. “Yeah, but normally, you’re quick to tell me to shut the fuck up and quit bitching.”

“You haven’t been bitching,” Sloane pointed out.

Simmons blinked and then shrugged. “Guess I don’t have anything to bitch about.”

Sloane cocked his head. “That mean you’ve been thinking about what we talked about?”

“Is that what you’re calling it? Talking?”

Sloane chuckled. “Alright, I told you how it was, and you stared at me like I was the second coming, better?”

“It wasn’t...alright, maybe it was.”

Sloane waited. “Well?”

Simmons fiddled with the button on his jacket. “I’ve thought about it, yeah.”

Sloane raised a brow. “And?”

“I don’t know.”

Sloane thought about it before nodding. “That’s fair.”

Simmons looked up warily. “Is it?”

“Yeah, man, you don’t know, but it means you’re working on it. That’s the first step to figuring shit out, even if that shit is your own. Just...don’t run from it, alright? You’ll get there, and when you do, wherever it is, you’ll be a lot happier.”

Simmons stared. “Are...are you giving me good advice?”

Sloane snorted. “Look, if you’re a lot happier, you’ll bitch less, which means I don’t have to listen to it as much. We all win.”

“Of course, there’s an ulterior motive,” Simmons said with a laugh.

Sloane winked. “Welcome to the military.”

“Alright, well, I’ll keep thinking about it. When I do, would you mind helping me figure it out?” Simmons asked, not quite looking Sloane in the eye as he asked.

Sloane smiled. “Yeah, man, you got it.”

Simmons looked up, then away. “Alright, well, your shift ended five minutes ago. Get out of here before Trisha comes in and thinks something’s up.”

“Yeah, God forbid she thinks you’re an actual person,” Sloane grunted as he stood up.

He left Simmons with a chuckle, content to let the man sort through things on his own.

Sloane knew all too well what that was like, and even still, he was trying to make sense of the conflicts bouncing around in his skull.

He knew where it would inevitably lead, but along the way, he was going to have to stop occasionally and figure some things out.

Sloane pulled his phone out, reading the text Dean had sent.

Saw your note. Sure, you need to think, but if you want to come back here, you’re welcome.

Sloane had responded that he would be coming back when his shift was over, and after that, silence had fallen between them.

That was okay in Sloane’s book, even if part of him hated that Dean would be fretting the whole time.

He needed to address the frequent texts from his mother while he’d been working, demanding he text her back.

Instead, he swiped on her name, dialing her number. It rang half a dozen times, and just before he was preparing his voicemail speech, her voice came over the line.

“And here I thought you’d forgotten about me.”

Sloane snorted. “We both know that’s not happening anytime soon.”

“Not that you’d think any different. Here I am, worrying about what’s going on after the last time you called me, and then you turn around and go silent for two weeks.”

Sloane stopped, groaning. “Oh shit, it has been two weeks, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, Sloane, it has. I’m going to assume everything worked out.”

Sloane looked up, thinking of what to say. “Well, that’s one way of putting it.”

“Sloane, please tell me you two are not still dancing around each other over one little fight.”

Sloane laughed. “No, Mama, we’re not. I just meant it didn’t quite turn out the way I thought it would?”

“What does that mean?”

Sloane thought about it before deciding where to start. “Well, we made up a few days after I talked to you.”

“Which is good.”

“Right. It was a little weird, but we made do with one of our hang-out nights. Which turned out pretty good until...things happened.”

“Things? What sort of things? Not another fight.”

“No, Mama, things .”

There was a pause followed by, “Oh, things!”

Her stunned voice gave him a laugh. “I’ll spare you the details.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Basically, things happened, and it kind of...threw me off.”

“Understandable.”

“And things were even more awkward after that.”

“Again, I can see why.”

“And then I kind of jumped him in his apartment.”

“Wait, so...things happened again?”

“Right.”

“And you started it that time?”

“Yes.”

Sloane could practically hear the wheels in his mother’s head spinning as she processed that thought.

She might have once commented on how it would have been nice for everyone involved if Sloane was a little less straight, but it had to be different to face that reality.

Hell, Sloane still didn’t know what it meant, but he wanted to make sure his mother knew all about it.

She had always believed in them being open with one another, and he wasn’t going to balk just because he was still a little off-balance.

“You slept with Dean.”

Sloane couldn’t help the ugly snort he gave at the sheer bluntness. “God! And you say I have no tact.”

“I said, slept with, not fucked,” she replied dryly.

“Oh, shit, Mama, no.”

That made her laugh. “So?”

“Yes.”

“When I said how it would be nice if you were into Dean, I want you to know that wasn’t a dare.”

Sloane arched a brow. “You have a problem with this?”

“Don’t you pull that one on me, Sloane, you and I both know I’m going to love you no matter who you’re sleeping with or who you’re dating. But as far as I know, you’ve never touched another man like that in your life.”

“You’d be right.”

“And while you’ve always been...remarkably close to Dean, you were always firmly in the heterosexual camp.”

“Again, correct.”

“So, this is new territory for you. Which is one thing, but this involves your best friend's heart.”

Sloane nodded, agreeing even though she couldn’t see it.

That fact was the one thing that had kept Sloane from acting sooner.

He was so caught up in trying to make sure he didn’t hurt Dean any more than he already had that he kept himself immobile and afraid to act.

Eventually, he’d lost patience with himself and went with the part of himself that called the loudest.

Cue the best night of intimacy he’d ever had, and he could easily claim the best sex as well.

“Mama, you know I’m not going to hurt him.”

“I know, I’m just worried. I didn’t see Dean much when he was here, but I liked him. Bit on the quiet side, but God help me, when I found you two curled up together, I prayed you would never lose one another.”

Sloane straightened. “Wait, you saw that?”

When Sloane had brought Dean home with him for Easter, the two of them had ended up on the couch watching late-night movies.

Sloane’s sisters and mother had already gone to sleep, and the two men had enjoyed the comforts of home curled up on the couch.

As always happened whenever he and Sloane were close, Dean had ended up pressed against Sloane, soaking in his warmth.

They had fallen asleep like that, waking up a few hours later and deciding it was time for them to go to bed.

“I went to get a snack, Sloane, and found you two. It was the first time I ever thought how cute you two looked.”

Sloane stopped walking, glancing at his phone in bewilderment. “You thought we were cute?”

“You’re so damned stubborn about being affectionate to people. Of course, you show it in your own way, but just outright affection? I rarely see it, but I saw it the night you two were huddled up on the couch.”

Sloane shook his head. “A lot of people thought there might be something going on between us.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t. I just thought you’d found one of those rare friends that some people never get to meet. The kind of friend who brings out the best in you and brings as much to the table for you as you do for them. Soulmates aren’t just romantic, you know.”

Sloane laughed softly. “That would have been helpful to hear earlier if I’d ever been worried about feeling so close to him as just friends.”

“Well, you’ve certainly stepped out of the friend zone on this one.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“So, how do you feel?”

And there was the million-dollar question.

Where once, being asked how he felt about Dean would have been easy and simple, Sloane found the answer more complex than ever.

Did he want Dean close to him for the rest of their lives?

Absolutely. Did he want to see Dean smile and laugh and know that Sloane was bringing him happiness? Of course.

But now, Sloane also wanted to see those moments when Dean slept peacefully in his arms. Now, Sloane couldn’t help but remember the rumbling moans of pleasure Dean had made when Sloane was deep inside him or the look of pure ecstasy when Sloane had bottomed out in him.

Sloane wanted to see Dean as they fell asleep together.

When they got ready for work side by side, and while they bitched about their respective jobs.

“I want...what we’ve always had, but I want...him to be mine?” Sloane said.

“That sounded like a question.”

Sloane sighed. “I love Dean. I’ve loved Dean for years now, and I’ve never hidden that. But now, it’s like that love is...different. I want everything we had before, which I guess already seemed like what you do in a relationship. But I want it in a different way.”

There was another pause before his mother finally let out a chuckle. “It sounds like you already know what you’re going to do, and you’re just telling me.”

“I haven’t figured out every detail, but I know the general plan.”

“Then it sounds like you need to tell Dean that.”

Sloane stopped outside Dean’s apartment, drawing out the key. “I plan to.”