Take What You Want (28 page)

The ring of Chase's cell
phone forced his attention from the glorious tongue bath Alex was
giving his cock. He pulled his cell phone from the pocket of his
t-shirt and swore.

“
Alex,
I have to take this,” Chase said.

“
Call
them back later,” Alex said, drawing Chase's cock back into his
mouth.

“
It's
Danni,” Chase said, already starting to stand up. “I
can't let this go to voicemail.”

Alex sat back on his heels
and watched Chase stand up and answer the phone. “Hey, babe.
How are you?” Chase asked, pushing his cock back inside his
pants and stepping away from Alex.

Chase walked back to his
cottage and sat on the porch. He could see Alex starting his outside
grill and preparing to cook.

“
I
hadn't heard from you in a while, so I figured I better give you a
call,” Danni said.

“
Babe,
your last message told me not to call because you wanted space,”
Chase said. “I didn't like it, but I was going to respect that
wish.”

“
I
miss you,” she said quietly.

“
Oh,
God, Danni, you have no idea how much I miss you,” he said.

“
I
really want to make this work,” Danni said.

Chase slid down in the
wooden rocking chair. “Me, too, babe.”

A long moment passed. Chase
watched Alex throw something on the grill and saw the smoke swirling
up from it as it seared on the hot grates. Delicious barbecuing
smells soon wafted over toward Chase and made his mouth start to
water.

“
Can
I come back to the island?” Danni asked.

“
This
is your home, Danni. It's where you belong and where I want you to
be. You don't need my permission.”

“
I'm
nervous about what I'll find when I get there,” she said.

“
Nothing
has changed. I promise you that.”

“
Everything
has changed,” Danni said. “You're sleeping with someone
else.”

Chase squeezed his eyes shut
and pinched the bridge of his nose. What could he say to that? He
wouldn't lie and tell her he wasn't sleeping with Alex and he
wouldn't disrespect Alex by saying he preferred sleeping with Danni,
because that wasn't true, either.

“
My
love for you hasn't changed, Danni,” he said. “Always
and forever. That's what I promised you.”

“
Me,
too, Chase,” she said. “I want to come back and work on
this with you.”

“
How
soon can you get here?” he asked.

“
End
of the week,” she said. “I'll call you in a few days
with my travel plans,” she said.

“
Baby,
that sounds good,” Chase said.

“
I
love you,” she said. It came out sounding like a question.

“
Love
you, too. Always.”

The call ended and Chase
tipped his head back on the chair and stared at the porch ceiling.
He sat there quiet for several minutes rocking in the chair. His
brain swirled with all sorts of crazy thoughts. The woman he
absolutely adored was finally coming home to him. Would she want to
meet the man he had fallen in love with while she was gone? Jesus!
He didn't like admitting that to himself and he hadn't been able to
tell Alex, either, so how could he admit it to Danni?

Why had his life become so
complicated.

Chase walked back to the
table, just as Alex was setting a platter with grilled chicken on it.

“
Perfect
timing,” Alex said. He slid a plate and silverware toward
Chase and sat down.

Chase
plunked himself down into the same chair as before and stared blankly
at the table. He felt numbed by everything that was happening;
seemingly all at once.

“
Is
Danni okay?” Alex asked.

Chase nodded but remained
silent.

Alex speared a chicken
breast and plopped it onto Chase's plate, then took another one and
set it onto his own plate. He set a foil-wrapped baked potato onto
Chase's plate.

“
If
you feel like talking about it, I'll listen,” Alex said. “If
not, I'll respect your privacy.”

“
She's
coming home,” Chase finally said.

Alex dropped his fork and
knife and looked at Chase. “When?”

“
End
of the week,” Chase said.

“
Isn't
that what you want?” Alex asked, surprised Chase didn't seem
more excited.

“
Of
course, that's what I want, but it also creates other issues.”

“
Like
what?” Alex asked.

Chase looked at Alex,
started to talk, then stopped.

“
It's
okay,” Alex said. “Throw it out on the table and I'll
see if I can help.”

“
I
don't know what to do …”

“
About
us?” Alex asked.

Chase
nodded and rubbed at his face with both hands. “I don't want
to choose and she might expect me to.”

Alex nodded. “How
about we eat, cool off in the pool, and then we'll talk about this.”
Alex started cutting into his chicken, while Chase sat staring at
the food on his plate. “Eat something,” Alex said.

Chase
glanced at him, then back at his food. “You don't need to cook
for me like this, you know,” he said. “I don't expect it
and I'm perfectly capable of cooking for myself.”

The
look that flashed across Alex's face bordered hurt. “I like
doing it,” Alex said. “Besides, eating alone sucks and I
like your company.”

Chase wouldn't deny the
truth in that. Being alone in general sucked. He enjoyed coming
home to Alex. Would that change, too, after Danni returned? Would
he be expected to ignore the fact Alex was living in the big house
and go directly inside to see Danni? Would he never again be able to
spend time with Alex? No kissing. Touching. Or …

“
Fuck,”
Chase said. He pushed the chair away from the table and bent over,
unlacing his work boots.

“
You
okay?” Alex asked.

“
I
can't eat right now,” Chase said. He stood up, kicked off his
boots as he pulled the dirty t-shirt over his head. He pushed his
pants and boxer briefs off next and walked naked to the edge of the
pool. “I need to cool off,” he said, and dove into the
water.

Alex
finished chewing the piece of chicken he had in his mouth and washed
it down with a swallow of beer, then he stood up and pushed off his
shorts. Moments later, he was swimming up to Chase in the water.

“
Feel
better?” Alex asked, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes.

Chase moved closer. His
hand slid around the back of Alex's neck and tugged until their lips
pressed together. Alex opened for him and their tongues began a
beautiful game of give and take in their mouths.

“
Now
I feel better,” Chase said, releasing Alex.

Alex
reached for Chase and kissed him again. “God, I love your
mouth,” he whispered against the dampness on Chase's lips. He
walked them backward until Chase was pressed to the wall of the pool
and Alex was flat against Chase. Their slippery skin began to slide
back and forth and Chase took Alex's mouth in an aggressive kiss.

“
Oh,
Christ, I could come,” Chase said. He was panting, trying to
catch his breath. His fingers ran the expanse of Alex's back and
down onto his ass. He squeezed both cheeks, then pulled them apart.
“I'd love to lift you up and plant you on the end of my cock,
then I'd fuck you blind right here in the water.”

Alex groaned; his head
rolled to the bend of Chase's neck. “I'm truly loving your
suggestion, but I don't have a condom.”

Chase tipped his head to
Alex and ran his tongue along the whiskered jaw line and found his
mouth. He sucked on the full bottom lip and pulled it into his
mouth. Alex's arms wrapped around him tightly; holding them so close
together. Their hips rocked and their cocks stained against the
other.

“
We
keep doing this I'm gonna blow,” Chase sighed.

Alex broke their embrace.
“Let's go lay down,” he said. “There's condoms on
the table beside the lounge chair.”

Alex
started walking through the water toward the pool stairs and stopped
when he realized Chase wasn't following him. He went back to Chase
and stood in front of him. Chase was staring blankly into the water
at his feet

“
Are
you okay?” Alex asked. When Chase didn't respond, he used his
index finger to lift up Chase's chin and waited until their eyes met.
“Talk to me.”

“
What
are we doing?” Chase asked in a soft voice.

“
I
think we were both about ten seconds away from coming in the pool.”

“
That's
not what I mean,” Chase said and ran his hands over his wet
hair. “In a few days Danni is going to be home and I was about
to …”

“
Fuck
me,” Alex said, finishing the thought for Chase. He watched an
uncomfortable smile cross Chase's face. “And five minutes ago
you seemed pretty hot on that idea,” Alex said.

“
I
still am,” Chase said. “But, today … was such a
fucked up day. Too much shit was dumped in my lap. Add to that,
Danni's phone call, and I've about reached my limit of shit.”

“
Am
I part of your shit pile?” Alex asked.

“
No,
you're not part of that,” Chase said.

Chase pressed his hand to
Alex's chest and Alex took it; lifting it to his lips and kissed the
knuckles. “I don't want to be another stressing point for
you,” Alex whispered.

“
You're
not,” Chase said.

Alex shook his head. “I
think I am,” he said. He tugged on Chase's hand and started
moving toward the stairs of the pool. “Come on. You and I are
going to have a long talk.”

Chase followed Alex to the
table and caught the clean towel Alex threw at him. He wiped the
water from his face and chest, then wrapped the towel around his hips
and sat down beside Alex. Their dinners were still sitting on plates
in front of them getting cold.

“
I
can toss the chicken back onto the grill,” Alex said, and
started to stand up.

“
I
don't mind eating cold chicken,” Chase said. “It tastes
just as good.”

Alex
flopped back down in his seat. “Okay, then start talking to
me,” Alex said. “I want to know what's going through
your head.”

Chase slouched lower. “I'll
bottom line it for you,” Chase said.

“
Please,
do.”

“
I'm
nervous about Danni coming home,” Chase said. “Also, I'm
tense because I don't know what you want out of this – or
don't
want, and then there's the shit that happened with Jayson this
morning.”

Alex allowed Chase's words
to sink in, then drank from his beer bottle. “Those are all
viable concerns, Chase. What do you want to talk about first?”