Page 16

Marcus

I blink my eyes open, the small sliver of sunlight shining into the room through the curtains. Parker rustles in my arms, but stays asleep. I glance down at him, my finger caressing the freckles on his nose. He doesn’t have many, but the few he has are adorable. I close my eyes again, knowing that we leave the island today.

Being here on a secluded island away from our normal lives has been amazing, but the real world is calling. And I have a feeling that Parker is already freaking out, even if he isn’t showing it on the outside. As sneakily as I can, I slide out from under him and get dressed, wanting to surprise him with some breakfast in bed.

I choose to head to the buffet instead of waiting for room service, knowing it will be a quicker option. I don’t run into anyone I know, so I’m done with two plates of food in no time at all. As soon as I walk back into the hotel room, I can tell that Parker is already awake. I put the plates down on the dresser at the same time he walks out of the bathroom, a sleepy look on his face. He has crease lines and I smile, rubbing one on his face.

“I got you breakfast. You hungry?”

“Not really,” he murmurs, avoiding eye contact.

“Well, I am. Come on, let’s eat.” I guide him to the patio, grabbing the plates on the way. “All right, why aren’t you hungry?”

“Well...” he cuts off, his eyes drifting out toward the water. I watch as he clasps his hands together, then undoes them, repeating the action a few times. He closes his eyes, mumbling something incoherently before taking a deep breath and pining me with a stare. “I want to continue this. I know we talked before about a second chance, but for some reason, in the back of my mind, I kept telling myself it wouldn’t happen. That we would be friendly while we were here, but as soon as we got on that plane, we would go our separate ways. But I’m not going to let that happen.”

“Oh, yeah?” I reply, raising my eyebrow and giving him a small smirk.

“Yeah.” He sits up straight, puffing out his chest. “I’m no longer scared to fight for what I want. And what I want is you. So no, I’m not going to let you get on the plane and have things go back to the way they used to be. I’m sitting here in front of you, telling you I’m going to fight for you. For us. Every day.”

I grab his hand, clinging to it. “And what if I told you I’m going to do the same thing? Fight for you, I mean. Tell you every day how much I love you and that you can try to walk away, but I won’t let you.”

“You know, my mind tried to tell me this wasn’t real. That you were using me while on vacation. And you know what I told my mind?”

“What did you tell it?”

“To fuck off.” He laughs loudly and I join in.

“Good. And if you ever forget to do it, I’ll do it for you.”

“I know. Thank you. Your unwavering support over the past few days has been everything.”

We eat our breakfast side by side, Parker shoveling the food into his mouth eagerly. I guess he was hungry, but he just couldn’t eat until we talked. Once we finish, we clean up and head back into the room to pack up. We both move slowly, tossing our things into separate suitcases.

There’s a soft knock at the door, and when I open it, Kendra and Tim are standing there with smiles on their faces. “We just wanted to say goodbye before we head out. We won’t see you until we get back, but we didn’t want to leave without one last goodbye.”

“You told us goodbye last night,” I tell her.

She hip-checks me as she walks by. “I was talking about saying bye to Parker. Not you.” She sticks her tongue out at me, jumping back when I try to tickle her.

Tim follows behind her, giving me the typical bro-type hug. “Make sure you take care of my sister,” I tell him when he lets go.

“Always man. Just don’t let her know that, otherwise she’ll step on your balls,” he jokes, staring at Kendra.

“Yeah, she’s definitely a firecracker.”

Parker and Kendra walk out to the balcony, where they talk in whispers before embracing each other tightly. They stand that way for a few moments, and when they split up, it’s with tears in both their eyes. Kendra beelines toward me, walking straight into my chest, squeezing me tightly.

“I love you,” I tell her, kissing the top of her head. “You’re going to have an amazing time, and I can’t wait to hear all about it when you get back.”

“Hell yeah, I’m going to have fun. It’s my honeymoon!” she squeals, bouncing on the heels of her feet. She leans up on her toes and kisses my cheek. “I’ll be back before you know it. Take care of Parker for me.” She whispers the last part, my eyes flying to the man she’s talking about.

“I promise,” I tell her, keeping my eyes locked on his. “I’ll always take care of him.”

Kendra and Tim say their goodbyes, and before we’re ready, it’s time for Parker and me to head to the airport. We take a taxi together, not wanting to separate just yet.

“So, how is this going to work?” I ask once we’re in the waiting area at the airport. I want Parker to be the one to tell me exactly what he wants. His anxiety may affect many things in his life, but the one thing I’ll never let slide is his being open and honest with me.

“I think we take it slow. Not jump back into things right away. I’m still seeing my therapist, so I would love to talk about this with her. Make sure I’m taking the right steps. I know I want to be with you forever, so I want to make sure I do it right and don’t fuck it all up.”

I grab hold of his hand, bringing his fingers to my lips and kissing them. “Then that’s what we’ll do. We’ll take it one day at a time. But no more running away. We’re in this together.”

“Together,” he repeats, a grin taking over his face. “Now, do you still play Wordle ?”

“Psh. Of course I do. First one to get the word gets a blow job as soon as we get home?” I ask, knowing he loves a sexual bet.

We both whip out our phones, pulling up the Wordle app. I try the first two words I know, only getting a few letters lit up. Parker’s on a roll because he giggles and then turns his body away so I can no longer see the screen. I used up my third try getting no new letters.

“Give me a hint,” I beg, knowing he has to be close as he’s bouncing in his seat.

“There’s an A,” he replies cheekily.

“That doesn’t help me at all,” I retort, knowing I already know where the A goes.

“It’s taint!” he yells, then turns to me, wide-eyed. “Do you think the person who made it realized how sexual the word could be seen as?” He giggles, waving his phone in my face.

“Looks like I owe you a blowjob. Should we find a bathroom to do it in?” I waggle my eyebrows playfully, knowing he won’t take me up on it. I’m honestly shocked and surprised he let me fuck him in the custodian’s closet last night. Parker isn’t known for being into exhibitionism.

“Oh,” he squirms in his seat before shaking his head. “No, Marcus. But definitely tonight. Come straight to my place when you land.”

“I was planning on it.” I tried to get my flight changed when we first got to the airport, but there weren’t any seats available on his flight, and mine was full as well, so we had to keep our schedule.

His plane leaves before mine, so we sit together playing games on our phones until he takes off. Once he’s in the air, I send him a few text messages that he’ll be able to read once he lands in Chicago.

Marcus: I hope you had an amazing flight.

Marcus: I’m only a few hours behind you, then I’m coming straight to your place, so make sure you stay up for me.

Marcus: This is a brand-new start for us

Marcus: I love you

The flight back home takes twice as long since I’m eager to get back to Parker the entire time. With how nervous I am, you would think I hadn’t just spent the past year without him. But now that we’ve found our way back to one another, I don’t want to let him go. I want him to move into my place, to place a ring on his finger. To do all the things I was planning to do a year ago before we split up.

Once my plane lands and I have my luggage in hand, I rush to my car, speeding down the freeway toward Parker’s place. He lives in a sky-rise apartment complex downtown. Pulling up outside his building, I get lucky when I see a free space. I quickly pull into the space, then lock my car, running into the building. I take the elevator up to the twelfth floor, my foot tapping incessantly on the ride up to his floor.

Making my way quickly to the end of the hallway, I stop when I get to his door. I bang my hand on the wood, hoping he didn’t fall asleep. I didn’t realize how late my flight would get in when I told him to wait up for me. After a few seconds, I knock on the door again.

“Wake up, Parker,” I murmur to the empty hallway. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

I’m about to give up when the door to his apartment swings open. “Holy shit, I can’t believe I fell asleep.” He rubs at his eyes, and I snicker, making my way into his space.

“Yeah, I didn’t realize how late I would get in. Come on, let’s head to bed.”

I know his apartment like the back of my hand, so I wait for him to lock the front door and then I lead him down toward his bedroom. He follows me into the room wearing a pair of joggers with smiling pumpkins that are hung low on his hips. The lace from his panties is peeking through, showing off what he’s hiding underneath.

Parker slides onto his bed, putting his pillow in his lap. I glance around his room, trying to see how much has changed from the last time I was here. While some things are different, such as his comforter and the color of his pillows. Most everything else is the same. Including the picture of us in a picture frame on his nightstand.

I make my way over to it, picking up the picture. My fingers drag down our faces, the bright smiles that show how happy we were. “You still have this,” I tell him, raising my head to make eye contact.

“I never got rid of it. Even after we broke up, I wished for us to find our way back to one another. I guess keeping it where I could see it every day helped me keep that hope alive.”

Pulling out my wallet, I take out the small picture I have that’s folded behind some credit cards. “I might have had something that kept the hope alive for me too.”

I walk over to Parker, showing him the small photo of the two of us. It’s from when we first started dating and I took him to an arcade. We spent hours playing games and getting to know each other better before sneaking off into the photo booth to make out for a few minutes. We ended up taking pictures in the booth before leaving to have something to remember the night by.

“We’re going to make it this time,” he tells me, grabbing the photo and looking at it. “We were always destined to make it. I know it.”

I strip out of my clothes, then crawl into the bed next to him, pulling him into my arms. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he says before he sits up and pulls down his pants. “Now, about that blow job you owe me.”

Tossing my head back, I laugh. “We couldn’t have a sweet moment, could we?”

“I mean, we had the sweet moment. Now I want the sexy moment. The one with my cock in your mouth. I’ve been thinking about it since I won at Wordle earlier today.”

“So needy.”

“I’m very needy. I haven’t thought about sex in so long and now it’s all I can think about. Suck my dick, Marcus.” He pauses, then adds a soft, ‘ please ,’ at the end.

Before sliding down, I lean over his body and give him a kiss on the lips. I kiss at each pec, before leaving a trail of kisses down the middle of his chest toward his belly button. Teasing us both, I gently lift the top of his panties, just an inch. I drag my finger around his belly button, down to his hipbone, then I trace the edge of his panties before dragging it up the side of his cock.

His shaft twitches, his breathing getting heavier by the second. I lean forward, kissing the head, smiling when his leg jerks to the side. Wanting to give him some relief, I drag the lace down his legs until he’s completely naked. He spreads his legs wide and I crawl right in the middle. Right where I belong.

With a rough grip, I grab his shaft, licking up from his balls to the head. Parker likes when I take my time, so I go slow, licking all around his cock, getting it wet and slippery. Once I soak his dick with my spit, I pull it into my mouth, sucking on the head. A burst of precum leaks out and I lap it up, humming happily at the taste.

His hips lift off the bed, and I push him back down, popping off his dick. “Don’t move,” I tell him.

He nods his head, biting his lip enticingly. “It just feels so good,” he whines, pumping his hips up into the air.

“I’m about to make you feel even better,” I murmur, pushing down on my aching cock. I know this is about him, but I can’t help it. While I stroke myself, I simultaneously engulf him in my mouth. I work him hard and fast, hollowing my cheeks. It takes no time at all before Parker is coming down my throat, his hands pushing down on my head. I jerk myself faster until I unleash, spraying all over the sheets. I lick at my lips, savoring the taste of him as I climb up his body, pulling him into me.

“Sex is always so good with you,” he slurs, resting his head on my chest.

“Life will be so good with you,” I reply.

“Thank you,” he whispers, drawing circles on my chest.

“For what?”

“Giving us another chance,” he tells me.

“You don’t have to keep thanking me. If I didn’t want to, then I wouldn’t do it.” I shrug, my fingers rubbing his shoulders. “You’re gonna have to get over that whole thanking me thing, Parker.”

“Easier said than done,” he mumbles.

“How so?”

I watch as Parker closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. “It’s my mind again. Always second guessing everything.” He tries to scoot away, but I don’t let go.

“No.”