Page 57 of All of Us

It took a while for me to become aware again, breathing hard. Jacob lay on my chest, his face tucked in my neck. Neither of us said words; occasionally, I felt him kiss my neck, then smooth my hair back on the top of my head.

We held each other for a long time, and it was only after he slid out of me that he stood up and went to the bathroom. He came back, wiped us both off, threw the cloth in the laundry, then joined me on the bed.

“That was magnificent,” he said.

Once he was on his back, he tugged me to him. I put my head on his chest, and he wrapped me up in his arms. It felt great to be here with him like this. Life offered many surprises, and Jacob being back in my life was a huge one I wanted to embrace. I wasn’t sure what that meant in the long run, but more time in bed and more time together felt like a good way to start.

I picked up my phone and checked for messages. I knew I was going to at least nap for a bit. Jacob was right about needing more food. It had been several hours since dinner, even though it felt like we had eaten only a few minutes ago, and I was getting hungry.

JOE

How about Sunday? Brunch?

My pulse raced, and I felt a little guilty because I was here with a great guy, but my heart was still reaching out, looking for Joe. This was good, though. I hadn’t committed to a relationship with either man, and for now, we were all getting to know each other.

Who knew I would find myself wanting to be with two really amazing guys? No idea what the future held, but this was a situation I never expected. I planned to lean into it.

Chapter twenty-one

GENTRY

It felt good to have Dusty in my arms; our connection was as strong as it had been all those years ago. Our bodies fit together like they were made for each other, and it gave me a feeling of wholeness that I had been missing. There was no doubt that I loved him. We were different, having been boys back then, but now we were men, and that was something we needed to navigate.

We lay together, our bodies tangled. I ran my fingers up and down his arm, then kissed the side of his head.

“I have to go to the ranch tomorrow. The PBR reps will be there, and I have to check on some of my cattle.”

“Early morning then?”

“Yeah. I’ll leave here around 5:00 a.m. I want to visit with Dusty a little before the day starts.”

He chuckled. “It’s good you have a friend.”

“He’s the literal best.” I needed to have a good talk with my buddy. There were a lot of things to work out, and he was a good listener.

“Will you come over tomorrow night?” I was glad he asked.

“I’d love to. You should know I am spending some time with Joe on Thursday. We are going riding, and I am going to order us some dinner. He only has a few weeks before the dude ranch job.”

I really had no idea how he would feel about that, but Dusty and I had only reconnected. At this point, I wasn’t going to commit my life to him. I wanted to know him better, learn more about him as a man. Dusty is great, and I am very connected to him. There was no doubt I wanted more time with him, plus we have that thing between us that will be there for the rest of our lives.

But Joe.

Dusty pulled away from me, sitting up so he could look me in the eyes. Bracing myself, I knew he was about to tell me how he didn’t want me to see him. I was afraid he was ready to insist we needed to be together, and I wasn’t ready for that.

“I’m going to see him Sunday for brunch.”

That surprised me, and I felt a little jealousy, but it wasn't over Dusty being with someone else. I didn’t like the thought of him seeing Joe without me. This might be a problem, then I looked at Dusty, and my heart felt all wobbly.

“That’s good. He’s a good guy, and I am sure he has all kinds of feelings. I told him about you when we first started spending time together.”

“I bet he has questions about us reuniting.”

“Yeah. I hope he knows this changes nothing, at least not for me.” I watched Dusty to see how he would respond.

“Good. It shouldn’t.” That felt good to hear. His not insisting we were a couple boded well for us; we could date and figure things out. “If you have an early morning, we should sleep.”

He leaned over and kissed me deeply. “If you are a good boy, I’ll give you a little middle-of-the-night treat.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me. Then he snuggled in.