Better Than Engagement-Part 6, A Matt & Aaron Short Story

Sorry for the delay! I have two books in editing and so much more to write! LOL. Stay tuned for information about the re-release of Leaning Into Love next week, which will include brand new bonus material. 🙂 I can’t wait to show off the new art work!  In the meantime, here’s another dose of Matt and Aaron. Enjoy!  Lane xo

Better Than Engagement Part 6-

Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day. Blue skies, sunny and though it was a little chilly, it felt invigorating. I looked forward to playing basketball with my friends. I loved that our law school tradition had continued and morphed to include a wider set of guys and sometimes their significant others. Not mine though. Aaron was quick on his feet and could literally run circles around anyone I knew, but his hand-eye coordination was suspect at best. He was happy to hang out with Jay making brunch.

I veered right to snag the parking spot in front of Peter and Jay’s Adams Morgan. I figured Peter and I could walk to the park a couple blocks away where we were meeting Curt and Jack.

“Good thinking! You can always get a ride back here with them if you’re too tired after playing with your balls,” he said as he leaned over the armrest and slid his hand under my basketball shorts.

I was in the process of cranking the wheel and reversing the BMW into the fairly tight spot when his icy fingers grazed my balls through my boxer briefs. I slammed my foot on the brake to avoid hitting the car behind me and then turned to scowl at him.

“Your hand is freezing!”

Aaron gave me a wide-eyed innocent look. He chuckled and rubbed his hands then blew on them to generate a little warmth. “I’m sorry. Let’s try that again. They’re all better now.”

I finished parking the car and turned off the engine. “No thanks.”

“I insist! It’s my duty as your boyfriend to make sure all your parts are in working order.”

“I’m pretty sure I proved that less than an hour ago,” I replied with a lascivious grin as I swiveled in my seat to face him.

“Yes and it was amazing.” Aaron purred like a cat and lowered his eyelids seductively before letting out a deep sigh. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m so horny lately. I think it’s your fault.”

I chuckled. “I don’t mind being blamed for that.”

“What’s gotten into you? It’s like you’ve been taking notes from watching sexy porn scenes or—”

“I have,” I interrupted in a bland tone.

Aaron gasped theatrically then threw his hand over his heart in shock. “What? Without me? That is so fucking hot. Tell me all about it!”

“Uh… now?” I cast a quick glance toward the brick façade of Peter and Jay’s home then back at Aaron who looked like he was primed to crawl into my lap and start something that would surely get us arrested. “Babe, we can’t—”

“I know, but…tell me what you saw and what turned you on the most. We can reenact it later.”

“I—I don’t remember,” I said, feeling more than a little flustered.

“Liar! C’mon Matty, tell me. Was it the office one we watched where the hot guys in suits stopped the elevator in between floors and then sucked each other off? I think they were about to get down and dirty but we had to close the computer because we almost knocked it off the bed when you tore my shirt and—”

“Okay, okay! It wasn’t that one. Cut it out,” I huffed when he busted up laughing. “Aar, look at my shorts. I can’t get out of the car now.”

He snorted with mischievous glee and locked the doors. “You’re right! You’re not going anywhere until you tell me about your awesome jerk-off session without me. It’s important that we’re one hundred percent honest with each other.”

“Do you really think that applies to solo jerk-off sessions?”

“Absolutely!”

His megawatt grin and over-the-top enthusiasm were hard to refuse. “Fine. It was the locker room one.”

“Oh! That was most excellent! I think they were playing soccer, but your basketball shorts totally work. Let’s reenact it when we get home. We can pretend the back of the sofa is the bench. What do you say?”

He pecked my cheek then patted my knee like he was thanking me for taking him to work or the grocery store instead of proposing sports-themed sex later. I was lightheaded with desire and the tent in my shorts was going to be impossible to hide. There was no way I could get out of the car without embarrassing myself.

I grasped his arms before he unlocked his door and pulled him toward me. “How am I supposed to walk into Jay and Peter’s with my dick sticking out like a flag pole?”

Aaron shifted to face me. He cocked his head and let his gaze wander to my crotch. Then he hooked his right arm over my shoulder and brushed his nose against mine.

“I could help you,” he whispered  as his hand drifted to my thigh.

I captured his wrist just before he got to my now aching dick. We stared at each other. It was one of those heated moments when we might have taken a chance on being caught doing something naughty if the circumstances were in our favor. The hungry look in Aaron’s eyes told me he’d do it now if I gave him the okay. I shook my head then tugged his hair and crashed my mouth over his. I licked his lips, loving his moan of approval before he let me in.

Sometimes just kissing him was like making love. There was so much passion in the gently slide of our tongues and the soft sigh that it left me reeling and disoriented as we gasped for air in the overly warm car. Aaron caressed my cheek and ran his thumb over my swollen bottom lip.

“Fuck, I love you.”

Aaron leaned in to kiss me again then jolted backward a second later when someone tapped on the passenger-side window.

“Holy crap! He scared me,” he complained, giving Jay an evil look before reaching for the handle. He turned to me with an apologetic half-smile. “I’m sorry, Matty. I can’t help you now but I promise I’ll do whatever you want when we get home.”

“Whatever I want? ’Cause if Jay and Peter weren’t standing on the sidewalk waiting for us, I’d want to turn around right now and go home.”

Aaron’s smile grew until it took over his beautiful face. “Anything. I promise. Now behave. Go play with the basket hoop then we’ll have brunch with our friends and then…anything.”

Jay knocked again before I could reply and then opened the car door himself. “Seriously? Couldn’t you have done it at home first?”

“Actually we did do it. I just have a hard time keeping my hands off him,” Aaron quipped before he stepped onto the sidewalk.

The interruption effectively killed my erection. Thank God. I reached for my bag and threw the strap over my shoulder then clandestinely adjusted myself while I observed the three old friends engaged in an animated conversation on the other side of the car. Aaron and Jay had known each other for well over a decade. They were best friends who alternately communicated with witty banter or knowing glances. And sometimes both. They could be in the middle of a discussion about anything from a fashion trend to a new restaurant in town and then stop speaking and finish the conversation with a “look”. It used to baffle me until Peter caught me frowning at them one day and burst into laughter.

“Don’t bother trying to figure them out. They speak a different language. It’s best to go with the flow,” he’d advised.

Peter had arm around his husband’s waist now as he listened to them go through the menu they planned for our after basketball brunch. He caught my stare and grinned. Damn, he was one good-looking dude. Actually, Jay and Peter were both handsome men and together they were stunning. They were well over six feet tall, lean and blessed with GQ caliber looks. Jay was blond with blue eyes, high cheekbones and golden skin while Peter looked like an Italian god. He was tall, dark and gorgeous and he had a serious air that Jay defused with his more gregarious, friendly nature. Initially I liked them because they adored Aaron but I was grateful we’d become good friends too. It made this funny extended group we’d formed with my friends and Aaron’s feel unique and special.

“Let’s head to the courts. Jack says they’re waiting,” Peter said, gesturing for me to get my ass in gear.

We made small talk as we walked up the quiet tree-lined street. The weather, work, their recent travels. As we neared the park entrance, I heard the steady thump of a basketball hitting the pavement. I adjusted my bag and glanced sideways at Peter before asking the question I probably should have when we first started walking.

“How did it go with the surrogate?”

“Just okay,” he replied. “She’s not the right fit, but we’ll keep looking. It was a good exercise either way. I think we’re going to try adoption too. Jay is very anxious to start a family.”

“What about you?”

“I am too but I’m realistic. Having a kid requires more than a nine month gestation process for gay couples. We’re going to have to jump through serious hoops to prove we have what it takes to be parents. If only they ran the same tests for some of the morons who procreate and walk away from their kids when life gets tough or their relationship sours,” he huffed in disgust.

“Hmm. Hang in there. You guys will be great dads.”

“Thanks. I think so too. We’ll see what happens. It could be a matter of months or years. What about you and Aar?”

“We’ll be there some day too.”

“In the meantime make out in your car as often as possible. I hear that’s tough to pull off with a kid in the backseat screaming for a sippy cup or a diaper change.” Peter chuckled as he pushed open the gate.

“I don’t know about a sippy cup but you’re gonna need a tissue to dry your tears when we’re done mopping the court with you two,” Curt taunted.

We groaned in unison as we dropped our bags next to Jack and Curt’s. I stretched my hands over my head and watched Peter greet Jack with a fist bump while Curt dribbled the ball toward the basket. I waved at Jack then slowly moved toward Curt with deceptive calm before diving for the rebound when the ball bounced off the rim.

Curt snickered at my over-the-top maneuver and motioned for me to throw him a pass.

“I’m not giving the ball to the enemy. You know the rule… boyfriends can’t be partners on the court.”

“Why not? That’s a terrible rule,” he griped as he swiped at the ball.

“Maybe. But it was written for you and Jack because you’re both too damn competitive.”

“That’s Jack. Not me.”

“What am I?” Jack asked. He stole the ball from me and banked a twenty-foot shot before flashing a victorious grin. “Awsome? Oh that’s right!”

“Case closed. I’m with Jack,” I said in most lawyerly tone before glancing at my friend whose gaze was locked on his man’s ass. “That’s the other reason you can’t be on the same team. Get your head in the game, buddy. Oh and one more thing.” I smirked then lunged sideways when he went after me.

“What?”

“We’re gonna kick your ass.”

We played for a solid hour and a half before giving up the court to a gaggle of high school kids who’d been patiently waiting for the old guys to finish. I sucked down my water greedily, wondering when we became the next generation. It wasn’t that long ago that Curt and I and a few of our law school friends made a tradition of a weekend pick-up game. Back then we followed it up by knocking back a twelve pack of beer, sprawling out on the lumpy old furniture in our bachelor pad and watching whatever sport was in season. All damn day.

Now we were heading to our married friends’ house for brunch where we’d hang out as couples, sipping mimosas and Bloody Marys. The conversation would undoubtedly turn toward Jay and Peter’s efforts in starting a family. And somewhere along the line I would wonder what the hell I was waiting for.

Curt bumped my shoulder when he joined me at the bench. He grabbed a towel from his bag and heaved a sigh before cracking open his water bottle.

“Good game,” he conceded with a wry half grin. “We have to change that rule. Jack may be the oldest one on the court but somehow he’s the best.”

Jack must have overheard the compliment. He gave Curt a somewhat lecherous pirate’s smile before resuming his conversation with Peter a few feet away from us. I studied the two formers lovers, thinking it was hard to imagine them with anyone other than their partners now.

“Is it ever weird to see them together knowing they were a couple once?” I asked in a low voice before I could stop myself.

Curt looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “The only thing weird is your question, dumb ass.”

“You’re right. That was lame. Sorry.”

“Would it be strange for you to see your ex with her husband or boyfriend now?”

“Not at all. But we’re not friends and hell, I don’t even know if she lives in DC anymore.”

“What was her name? I can’t remember.”

“Kristin.”

“Oh right. Kristin who wanted to be Mrs. Sullivan. And speaking of Mrs. Sullivan—”

“Geez,  I thought you’d at least wait ’til we got to Jay and Peter’s before you started this. For your own safety, I should tell you Aaron will kick your ass if you call him Mrs. Sullivan.”

“I’m not a complete moron, moron. How did dinner go the other night? I was hoping you’d asked him already and that you guys would be making a big announcement at brunch today.”

“So you’d win your fifty bucks,” I finished with an amused huff.

“That would have been nice,” he admitted with a grin.

“I’m not asking Aaron to marry me in a restaurant. Not my style. Or his. It has to be special.”

“Why does the place matter so much? Isn’t it about just popping the damn question already?”

“It matters. Trust me. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think something romantic and meaningful, but I suck at romance stuff.”

“You’re forgetting something kind of important, Romeo. Aaron knows that. You’ve been together for four and a half years already. I don’t think the place matters. I think it’s the mood. You create it with something that reminds you of the first time you met or kissed or a special dinner or—you get the idea,” Curt said as he stood.

“Yeah, I do.”

Just like that, I knew exactly what to do. And I was done waiting. Tonight was the night.

*To be continued…