“You’re just as messy as I am,” Gage said and rolled to the side of the bed, pushing slowly to his feet. He walked to the bathroom and wet a towel, cleaning himself. He grabbed a wet washcloth and wiped it across Trent. The cold water jarred him enough to get the condom off and disposed of and Gage cleaned him up there, too.
“What time do the kids wake up?” Gage asked, taking the towel back to the bathroom.
“Around six. They’ll probably sleep in a little later tomorrow morning because they stayed up so late tonight,” Trent said, finally rising to a sitting position, his feet on the floor. Gage came to sit beside him on the bed.
“You were perfect tonight. Thank you… I have a thought, if I set my phone for five thirty, I could be gone before they ever wake, but it would give me a few hours to sleep, holding you in my arms before I have to go out of town,” Gage said.
“I hate to ask you to leave like that,” Trent said a yawn forming as he spoke.
“It’s fine,” Gage said, following Trent’s yawn with his own. “I would rather do it like that than leave now. I’ll be gone for several days. I’m gonna miss you bad, Trent.” Gage ran his hand up the inside of Trent’s thigh.
“Get up, come get in bed,” Trent said, rising to push the covers down. Gage slid in bed on the same side as Trent and pushed himself to the middle. Trent followed him in, turning off the lamp beside his bed, covering them as he slid into Gage’s arms.
“I meant what I said, Trent. All of it,” Gage said.
“Me, too,” Trent said, again. It took them a minute to decide who would lie where, but finally Gage came across Trent’s chest, tangling their legs together, tucking his phone under the pillow to silently wake him in a few hours.
“I’ve wanted to tell you for a few days,” Gage said, not letting the moment go. Trent brought Gage’s chin up, looking at him in the dark, wanting to hear this. “I’ve known for a while, for sure since our first date, but honestly before then. I couldn’t get you out of my mind, no matter how hard I tried. You consumed me from the very beginning.”
“It’s the way I feel about you,” Trent whispered, his voice hoarse with the emotion of his confession.
“Good, I’m glad. You made me a bit of a crazy man,” Gage said, kissing his chest before he lowered his head again.
“I couldn’t see how someone like you could want someone like me.”
“Are you kidding me? You were the most handsome man in the room tonight, Trent Cooper. And your integrity is definitely higher than any person I’ve ever known,” Gage said.
“Whatever, but you did great tonight. People love you, but some are scared of you, too. It was kind of funny to watch,” Trent said, chuckling at the thought of all the ‘Yes, Mr. Synclair’s’ he’d heard tonight.
“It was a good night. Since the sales were so high, I’ll attract bigger artist names for shows. I can mix some of the unknowns in there to make it a good place for beginners to have a starting point, and be seen,” Gage said, lifting again to kiss his chest and Trent leaned forward, letting Gage kiss his lips. “I hadn’t officially come out before tonight.”
“I couldn’t remember ever hearing you’re gay. I racked my brain about it. I thought I would have remembered hearing something like that… Why haven’t you?” Trent asked.
“Because I hadn’t met you, yet,” Gage simply said. Trent lifted again to get a kiss, and he wrapped Gage tighter into his arms as the love of the words washed over his heart.
“Will it affect you?” Trent asked.
“I don’t know. I think this last investigation is strong enough to overcome it, though. I think the merit of it will help put the focus back on the person and not the sleeping partner,” Gage said.
“Mmmm… I haven’t asked about this last report. I don’t want to know. I like seeing it all together on TV, but is it dangerous? Your reports seem a little more dangerous each time,” Trent said.
“I really can’t talk about this one yet. It’s a big one, but I’ll be careful. Are you worried about me?” Gage asked, looking up with a grin.
“Of course I am… I guess I just came out in a major way, too,” Trent said, dropping his head back down on the pillow, realizing what he’d done tonight. How had that not occurred to him before now?
“Yeah, I thought of it, but I spoke with my father tonight. He was impressed with you. He agreed to throw more business your way, make you the lead electrical contractor for this area. You won them over tonight. I knew you would. He looked around at your work, I told him about the panel change, and the project manager said you busted your ass to get it all done. He agreed, there’ll be paperwork to get you signed up, but he’s calling you next week to get it all finalized,” Gage said, tightening his hold.
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“I wanted in there,” Trent said, thinking over the possibility.
“My parents like you. They loved the kids. It’s funny, I’ve spent most of my life trying to separate from my family, prove I can do it on my own. Then I met you… You make family look appealing. They were shocked when they saw you. I hadn’t told them you guys were coming. They hid it well, but they were shocked. Babe, promise to tell me if any of your customers leave you over me. I don’t want you hurt in any way for standing beside me, tonight,” Gage said and lifted up again to make direct eye contact with Trent. He stayed silent, not answering. Gage settled back against his chest. He knew he wouldn’t tell Gage any of it. He didn’t want Gage obligated to him. It would be the fastest way to run him off. He had some money saved, several jobs booked, and he was master electrician. Surely he could keep things going, at the very least, until he found a decent job.