Page 96 of Holding Out for a Gyro
“I’ll never grow tired of you,” he’d said, entering me for the third time last night. And I believed him, because I felt the same way.
“I’ll always love you,” he’d said, falling beside me afterward. And I didn’t believe him, because he couldn’t control that.
In the dark, I wondered what it would mean. Surely, he’d come home. He couldn’t stay here without me now. Done was done, though. I’d stepped off the precipice. The genie wouldn’t go back in the bottle, and I resolved to make my three wishes. Wish number one: let him still love me tomorrow.
I drifted off and woke again to his lips gentle on my shoulders and neck. I rolled over and openly adored him. No wonder people fussed over those three little words. They bound us together in a way I’d never believed possible. It pleased me to tellhim, “I love you, Bas.”
And he pleased me. In every way I’d ever dreamed of.
We left for Croatia that morning, moving farther and farther into foreign lands. The cities we drove through blew my mind with their unsurpassed beauty, and the part of me that yearned to travel demanded I take it all in, but the man beside me had become a source of constant discovery on his own, and I couldn’t stop telling him I loved him.
The man who’d become so familiar over the past few months fascinated me like a new country. He was mine, and I was his. Love transformed the experience into something so much deeper. Every country we entered invited us to explore each other like a wonder of the world.
It was too much to ask to keep my hands off him, and when I unzipped him and stroked him somewhere in Slovenia, he found a deserted side street to avoid driving into a tree. I buried him in my mouth as deep as I could, and he dropped his seat back as I ran my tongue up the shaft. I loved the feel of his cock in my hands and against my tongue. I looked up to watch his face agonize, and he watched me wrap my lips around him as I sucked him off.
“You’re so goddamn sexy,” he groaned. “I love you so much, λατρε?α μου.”
He hadn’t called me by that endearment since we’d downgraded our relationship status, not until we got to Venice. Hearing it again made me count my blessings. We’d nearly lost this, but here we were in our second act.
We spent the night in Šibenik, Croatia, a cute seaside town built on a hill overlooking the Adriatic Sea. The online guidebook told of a medieval fortress, picturesque alleyways, and spectacular views. Any other day, I would have insisted we wind through every nook and cranny, but not even a cliffside castle could tempt me now. The only thing I wanted to see wasBas over me as I clawed his back and drove him over the edge.
We had lost time to make up for.
The next night, in a hotel in hilly Budva, Montenegro, he discovered the vibrator in my suitcase and turned it on with a wicked grin. “Show me.”
I touched it to myself, rolling my hips, and he said, “So goddamn sexy,” as he stroked himself. Then he was in me. When I moved the toy away, he stopped me. “Keep it there.”
He spoiled me constantly.
Now I understood why couples went on honeymoons. I didn’t want to come up for air.
Wish number two: let him still want me tomorrow.
We drove through Albania and entered Greece the next day. Everywhere we’d been, people spoke to Bas in the native language until he’d speak English, as if they expected him to be a local. When we got to Greece, it didn’t surprise me that people addressed Bas in Greek. When he responded in kind, I knew he was home, and my fight might be in vain. But I sneered back at Greece and declared, “Too late. I already won.”
As we headed into mountainous terrain, I could sense Basil’s anxiety. It occurred to me he hadn’t cracked a single dad joke in two days, not since we left Venice. I’d been so lost to the lust of rediscovering his body, I’d somehow stopped being his faithful companion. But I loved him for more than his body, and I wanted him to be happy.
I could hear Dr. Rubin reminding me to communicate, so I asked, “Is anything the matter?”
“No.” His frown didn’t convince me.
“Are you sure? You’ve been a little…” What was the word? He hadn’t been distant or inattentive or anything I could put my finger on. “Not yourself somehow.”
He sighed, looking out the window. “It’s just this has all happened so fast, and I’m afraid to get my hopes up.”
Oh. Yeah, I could relate to the fear, but not his reasoning. “But this didn’t happen that fast. Unless you mean everything since we met in October.”
“No, I mean two days ago, we were still friends. Now…” He took my hand. “I’m glad everything has changed, but Venice was sudden, and I don’t want all this to end just as suddenly.”
I ran my thumb along his, loving the feel of his strong hand in mine. “You know, when you put a teapot on the burner, it doesn’t suddenly whistle. You don’t see the water heating up. It takes time to come to a boil.” There was probably a better metaphor, but he nodded. “October was sudden, how we met, how quickly we became inseparable. But since then, we’ve worked hard to build a foundation, and allthis, since Venice, has been simmering for a good while now. I’m glad we took the time to become such good friends.”
“Are you?”
Did he seriously doubt it? “Of course. I love everything about you, Bas. You make me feel seen. I’m safe with you. And I’ll only tell you this once, but I missed your dumb jokes when you went away.”
A smile cracked that mopey facade, and he waved his hand like he was ushering me into this new land. “In that case, are you ready to get your Greek on?”
I dropped my face in my palms. It was my own fault. But I was so glad to have my dorky friend back in the driver’s seat.
