Love Happens Anyway Read online

  “So, you got the notes about my friends.”

  “David, Andrew, and Mikey, that is all you sent me.”

  “I told them I hadn't said much about them to you, so you’re safe. All you need to know is that they were at Harvard with me.”

  He looked nervous and unsettled and I waited for more.

  “David is gay.”

  “Oh, did you…?”

  “No, Jesus no, he’s into something very different to a New York ad man with no love of sports.”

  I read something into those words. “But you wanted to?”

  He shrugged and I had my answer.

  “And the other two?”

  “Andrew is married, twins, insurance, comes from a banking family. Mikey is married, but she’s just filed for divorce. He married for money, she married for his family name, which evidently wasn’t enough. David is bringing his boyfriend, and yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

  He shot me a quick look, probably to see if I was listening. I was actually taking mental notes. “You have your story straight.”

  “We met through a friend of a friend that no one else would know,” I said, recalling the important facts, “in September. And I’m not sure I’m that happy with you, and we’ll probably break up.”

  “Yeah,” he drew the word out. “Change of plans there, because I didn’t know that David was bringing his boyfriend so, we’re happy. Okay?”

  “Okay.” I reached for his hand and he let me take it, and then I leaned in and kissed him. His other hand came up to rest on my shoulder. It was the gentlest of kisses, and we parted on mutual sighs.

  “What was that for?” he asked, and his tongue darted out to taste the kiss.

  I thought on my feet. “In case your friends are here watching us,” I teased.

  He looked disappointed for a moment, and I wondered whether he’d wanted the kiss to mean something else. That thought vanished when he got out of the car and didn’t talk about the kiss anymore.

  We were the first to the cabin, a stone-built cottage with a wide, wraparound wooden porch, so we got first choice of bedroom.

  “The beds are big,” Derek said, stating the obvious, and then he became more specific. “We can put some pillows in the middle and it would be like two small beds.”

  I wanted to tease him, something along the lines of not being able to resist him, which was true, because if he turned to me and said he wanted sex I would’ve been so up for that. Up being the operative word.

  I didn’t though, merely nodded soberly and followed him around as he showed me everything. One night here, in this luxurious cabin? I could handle that. Each room had its own bathroom and right in the middle of ours was a huge sunken bath and I longed to fill it to the brim and then slide in to ease my thigh. The idea of floating in the water was wonderful.

  Even better if I could convince Derek to get in with me.

  He rummaged in his case, and pulled out a bag of what looked like Christmas decorations, and then he brought out the saddest looking plastic tree I’d ever seen.

  “We have a competition each year, to bring the smallest, crappiest tree we can find. I’ve won three years in a row.”

  I poked at the poor little thing; it was certainly small, and bare.

  He stood it up, grinning when it fell over and he had to prop it with a bottle of merlot and an elastic band supporting its weight.

  “Can I help?” I asked, looking at the even sadder collection of tinsel, and baubles.

  “No, honestly, it wouldn’t be fair if I won with help.”

  I couldn’t help it, I laughed, because Derek was so utterly determined. He arranged the baubles in one area of the tree, huge silver monstrosities he’d clearly spent time decorating with the worst Santa sketches ever. Not that the sketches were bad, not at all, but when I saw one of Santa on the toilet, I knew which direction the drawing had been going. There were a few more with sexually explicit pictures, and one of a dog crapping out presents.

  “Did you draw all these?” I asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “You should try selling them, I’m sure there’s a market for sexually explicit toilet humor on baubles.”

  “Nope, happy to keep it to just us.”

  He then disappeared into our room and came out with something else from his case. Two presents, wrapped differently.

  “You pulled Ivan in the secret Santa, so I got a measuring tape from a kids’ store. It’s cool.”

  “I’ll remember that,” I said, in all seriousness.

  He kissed me then. Spontaneously, and way too fast for me to react.

  “I love Christmas,” he announced as he backed away, and then crouched by the fireplace to set the fire.

  And another piece of my heart was filled with a happiness that was Derek.

  Derek’s friend from college, David, was an asshole. I thought that any friend of Derek’s would at least have manners, but despite his boyfriend being in tow, the asshole hit on me twice.

  Once in the kitchen when I’d gone to fetch beers, which I sidestepped with a non-encouraging glare. And then again on the porch when he decided the place to sit was right next to me on the swing, and then to shuffle close enough that I could feel his breathing.

  We’d all decided to go to the porch, post-dinner, with beers, and with patio heaters making the area toasty warm even though it was snowing beyond. I went out first, to start the heaters; I didn’t realize David was the only one following me.

  “Dude.” I used my best possible not-really-caring voice, “that’s Derek’s seat.”

  “Derek won’t mind, he’s used to sharing,” asshole-Dave said.

  As if that was true. Derek didn’t strike me as the type to want to share a boyfriend, in fact even knowing Derek for this short time I believed he was like me. He wanted what I wanted, someone to love, to be his one and only. That sort of relationship wasn’t open to sharing.

  “I don’t imagine that is true for a minute.” I wasn’t going to be rude if I could help it, but David was getting close to being punched in the face.

  Then he put his hand on my thigh, and leaned against me, so I picked the hand up and placed it back in his lap.

  The sound of someone clearing their throat caught my attention and I glanced up to see Derek looking at us, and Ivan staring daggers at David before heading back inside. How much had Derek caught? I couldn’t tell even if Ivan had obviously seen enough to be pissed off. I hoped it wasn’t just walking out and seeing two men snuggling on a love seat. I hoped to hell he’d seen my reluctance.

  “As Marcus said, that is my seat,” Derek explained.

  David stood immediately, captured Derek in a head hold and noogied him. “No harm no foul, I’m going to find Ivan, and make up with the jealous idiot.”

  Ivan was quiet, always smiling, and up until then I’d been under the impression that he didn’t seem to see through his boyfriend’s shit. Maybe today that would change, because Ivan was a nice guy.

  Derek scowled after David, flattened his hair and then sat next to me, taking the beer I offered him.

  “Idiot,” he muttered.

  “Actually, no disrespect Derek, but your friend isn’t an idiot, he’s an asshole.”

  “He has a good side,” Derek defended, but he didn’t seem overly convinced. In fact the line sounded rehearsed. “At least he used to, way back.” He paused and looked at the snow. “Actually no, you’re right, he is an asshole.”

  “Yeah, he knows I’m your boyfriend, but he’s hit on me twice, I’m not seeing a good side.”

  Derek let out a noisy sigh and swallowed some beer before talking. “I know. Poor Ivan, I like him a lot, seems like a good guy.”

  “Yeah, friendly, normal.”

  “Do you know he’s a builder, works on all kinds of interiors, clever with his hands, and he does all this charity work with kids. I really like him.”

  Something pricked my chest and I recognized the feeling immediately. Jealousy. Fuck’s sake, how
could I be jealous because a guy who wasn’t even my actual boyfriend liked another guy? I made the grown-up decision to talk to Ivan later and ask him if he was interested in some construction work in the new year. Halligans needed touching up in more ways than one, and I’d have all of the money from Derek by then.

  Right on cue, Ivan walked out along with Andrew and Mikey, but David was missing.

  “No David?” Mikey asked.

  “David won’t be joining us,” Ivan took the seat to the left of us.

  Shit, had I fucked this up for Derek?

  But Ivan hadn't finished. “I left him writhing on the bedroom floor after I kneed him in the balls.”

  Silence.

  And then Mikey started a slow clap, and we all joined in, with Ivan smiling.

  “He’s an asshole, always has been, always will be,” Andrew pointed out. We toasted to that, and give him his due, David didn’t join us on the porch all evening.

  Somewhere between ten and eleven Derek leaned on me. Somewhere between eleven and midnight I moved my arm so he could cuddle next to me. We all had a nice beer buzz going, and we talked about anything and everything. Contrary to what Derek thought, Andrew wanted to make it work with his wife, and we all had advice for him, none of which made much sense.

  “So, you’re a firefighter,” Andrew stated.

  I just nodded, but I was mellow, and I needed to get some of the truth out there. “I was. I was involved in a building collapse and I’ve been invalided out. It’s just become official.”

  “Bummer,” Andrew said.

  Next to me, Derek tensed in my hold. That was more than I’d ever told him, not that he’d asked me; it seemed a shame it had taken this long for me to say anything at all.

  “What will you do now?” Mikey asked.

  “I have a bar. It belonged to my parents and my sister and we’ve renovated it and we’re looking to open it for Christmas. Of course you’re all welcome.”

  I was talking to Derek, because I really hoped we’d be friends after all of this was over. The prickly, sensitive man had gotten under my skin and I’d like to think that one day we could meet up again. After all this was done.

  When everyone had left, we lingered alone on the porch, under a blanket, watching the snow, the heaters still keeping us warm.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were a firefighter for real?”

  I left a long pause. “It didn’t really matter at the start,”

  “But now?”

  I tugged him closer. “I don’t know why, but yeah, you saw what I did, you met Ian, and it matters now. You’re my friend.”

  Derek nodded and then yawned. “Bed?”

  We went inside, locking the door behind us. We saw David snoring on the sofa; seemed Ivan had thrown him out of the room. At least he hadn't decided to sleep in our bed. I’d have turned him out immediately.

  I eyed the bathroom door, and recalled the fact that in there the tub was plenty big enough for my six-two, two-hundred pound body. “I’m going for a soak in the bath, if that is okay with you?”

  “Yeah,” his back was to me, “I’m ready for bed.”

  I slipped into the bathroom and ran the water, digging around in the basket of oils and bubbles, emptying bubbles into the bath and spilling oil on my thigh before massaging it as I’d learned. Crush damage to my muscles I could live with; at least I was alive.

  By the time I’d finished, the bath was full and I eased myself into it, stretching my legs and seeing that I could float without touching the sides. The luxury of this was something I was going to remember. Next on my list at the bar was the accommodation that was being renovated above. I decided to ask Ivan for some advice, he’d spoken with passion about construction and planning, and maybe I could pick his brains. Mom had her side of the space, and I had mine, but there was plenty of room for a bathtub if we could be sure everything was structurally sound.

  I turned down the main lights, but left the vanity light on. The oil on my leg must have interacted with the bubbles because they dissipated leaving behind just the scent of them, sandalwood or something fancy. It was enough to lull me into a meditative state.

  I’m not sure when I realized I wasn’t alone. I didn’t hear the door open, or shut. I didn’t feel the change on the air, but I had this sense that someone was watching me. I opened my eyes and met Derek’s heated gaze as he crouched by the bath, his hand resting on the side.

  “Are you coming in?” I asked. I didn’t want to talk too loud and scare him away because he looked so sure, and I didn’t want to change that. All that cuddling on the chair, and the kisses, it had all built to this point when the sexual tension was ready to snap. But there was the other stuff, his coffee addiction, his smile, his eyes, the way he talked with authority to his clients, his anxieties, his everything.

  I could easily fall for Derek Henderson.

  He stood, and pulled off the T-shirt he’d changed into, and then hooked the band of his shorts and slipped them down. He was hard, and perfect, and my mouth watered at the thought of getting a taste of all of him.

  “Is this okay?” he looked uncertain. “The contract…”

  “I call this our down time, not covered by any part of a contract,” I said.

  “As if you’re on a break.”

  “Absolutely.”

  The uncertainty became a smile, and he sat on the floor next to the sunken bath, dangling his legs in. He moved them a little, the gentle waves of water caressing my chest and washing over my nipples. He watched the action, and seemed fascinated by my nipples, so I reached for them and tugged them gently. Of course that was nice for me, but the way his eyes widened was telling. I pushed back and then widened my legs.

  “Come in,” I said. He moved so gracefully, his long sleek lines enough for me to want to touch him. He settled between my legs, his back half to me, twisted, and with one hand on my face he kissed me. It was a hot, needy kiss, and I stole as much as I could, running my hands from the water up his chest and stopping at each nipple, feeling him arch into my touch. If I took long enough, if I teased and kissed enough I could get off on this alone, I knew it.

  But I couldn’t just do this, I needed to touch more of him. I swallowed his moan as I circled his cock with my hand and tugged on it, before moving lower to caress his balls. He pressed back against me, slipping sideways and allowing the water to flood past him so he could nestle right there, right where I wanted him. I was hard, and the practicalities of making love in a bath, plus my leg, meant we were restricted. That didn’t stop me from kissing him, and setting up a steady rhythm on his cock. When he came, it was so quiet, the kisses we exchanged nothing more than air.

  He shuddered, and then a little later he whimpered, and semi-turned in my hold. Somehow, he had his hand on my cock but infuriatingly, despite being on edge, it wasn’t enough. He must have sensed my frustration and clambered out of the bath, holding out a hand and helping me to stand. He encouraged me to sit on the side my legs still in the water, spent a while sucking my nipples, and then, gracefully, he went to his knees, and took my cock into his mouth.

  I sunk my hands into his damp hair and left them there, not holding, but feeling every suck and pull and it took so little time that my orgasm caught me by surprise. I warned him, but he sucked until the last second, until I was coming on his chest and into the bath. I ignored the cramp in my thigh and the cold of the room on my damp skin. I splashed water on his chest, and then hauled him up for more kisses. At least, in that light, he wouldn’t have seen the scars. I moved away as fast as I could after that to spare him having to tell me everything was fine.

  Wrapped in towels, we sat on the bed, watching crappy television, and not talking, but our hands were laced between us, and we didn’t put any pillows there.

  Derek

  A sound woke me, the press of a body against mine, and heat. It took me a while to work out where I was, and then it hit me. Cabin. Luke. Bathroom. Sex.

  Fuck.

 
; What the hell had made me that bold?

  I’d been lying in bed, ready to get under the covers; hell I’d even dug out pillows to use in the middle, and then all I could think about was Luke in the bath. Who wouldn’t think about Luke naked in a bath, with soap, and water and…yeah, I lasted about ten minutes telling myself not to go in there, and then I couldn’t stop myself.

  If I hadn't gone I would never have known what it was like to have someone jerking me off in a bath while playing with my nipples and exchanging hot dirty kisses.

  Maybe we could avoid embarrassing conversation if I slipped out of bed right now, dressed, and then put pillows between us.

  I moved slightly but the sound that must have woken me up happened again. A low keen, and Luke turning over in bed, grabbing covers and forcing them away. He wasn’t talking in his sleep, but he was agitated, and I didn’t know what to do.

  Maybe I could shake him awake? I recalled reading somewhere that you should never wake up someone in a nightmare. Still, he didn’t look well, his head moving from side to side, his fingers like claws in the sheets and then extended as if he was reaching for something. I touched his hand, and he moved fast, gripping mine hard and yanking me close. Which woke him suddenly, as his eyes opened wide and his other hand covered his face.

  I waited. He wasn’t releasing my hand, if anything his grip tightened; and I wished I knew what to do. I should talk to him; center his thoughts or something Zen like that.

  “I thought about your idea of the mischievous snowman,” I began. He didn’t move his hand from over his face either. “I think it’s brilliant and I’m working up some images of this cute snowman, with a quirky smile, who if you’re not careful, will steal your white chocolate covered raisins and then hide them in the snow. Of course, he’ll forget where he put them, and he’ll be a sad snowman until Santa drops him off a bag of his very own raisins. What do you think?”

  Luke’s hand moved a little on his face, so I continued.

  “I was thinking we could keep the pink, make it a cerise rather than bubblegum and use it as a highlight on the white snowman. Maybe have another in a deep purple scarf—that could be his cousin Ernie who prefers the white chocolate cranberries, which is the other line that AbbaLister are thinking of running the year after. So, we’d have longevity on the marketing around this concept.”