“Cool. Llew, I brought you most everything from your room except your bed.”
Llew saw a queen-size mattress and bedframe against the left side of the truck bed. “Where’d you get this?”
“Um… donation,” his brother said sheepishly.
Llew knew his brother had bought him a new one thinking that Llew might’ve slept on the floor because his other bed wasn’t comfortable. But that wasn’t the case. Instead of giving his brother a hard time, he simply nodded and thanked him. The shocked look on Leslie’s face was priceless.
It only took them an hour to get the bed, full-size futon, a brown leather recliner, one dresser with a mirror, corner desk, and the black entertainment stand up to his room. They were extra careful with the fifty-inch television. Llew looked around the room, liking the setup. It wasn’t overly cluttered, and he had someplace that Shane could sit when he came to visit. Shane left to get Llew a bookshelf he’d made while Leslie and his brother hooked up the cable and entertainment system.
“He seems nice, Llew.”
“He’s great. And yes, he’s really nice. One of the nicest men I’ve ever met,” Llew said, tacking the cable to the baseboard.
“Hmhmm,” Leslie said nonchalantly. “Are you and him, um—”
“Les!” Llew looked up in shock, his face feeling warm.
Leslie threw his arms up. “I just want you to be careful, Llew, is all.”
Llew dropped his hammer, stomped over to his refrigerator, and yanked out a bottle of water.
“Llew, calm down. You know I’m only looking out for you.”
“I know. I got it. But he knows everything, okay. And he believes me. He’s knows who I am and what I’m not,” Llew said, stabbing himself in his chest with his thumb. He realized his hands were shaking. “He’s the only goddamn person besides Ms. Pat to actually give a damn about the truth. He believes me,” Llew said harshly, coughing hard to get air into his lungs.
“Llew calm down.” Leslie gripped Llew’s shoulder, a pained look on his face. “Llew relax, it’s okay. I didn’t mean—”
“Why would you try to throw shade on this, man? Try to make me doubt him?” Llew gasped for air, holding his chest. “I know he believes me.”
“Yes. I do.” Shane came through the screen door, and raced over to him, wrapping him tight in his arms. Whispering softly in his ear, “Calm down, it’s okay. It’s okay, babe. Breathe.”
Llew draped his large body over Shane’s and held him close, burying his face in Shane’s neck, breathing in his strong scent. It was like a gift from the heavens to hear his lover’s voice right at that moment, because if he hadn’t, he was sure he would’ve had a full-blown panic attack. He couldn’t let those thoughts fill his head. Shane believed in him and wanted him for who he was. There was no ulterior motive. Llew had had enough deceit in his life to last him two lifetimes. He refused to allow himself to believe Shane would hurt him. He needed to trust and have faith in love again or he would turn into some crabby, bitter old man.
“Look at me. Let me see that you’re okay.”
Llew unhooked his arms and stood to his full height to look down into Shane’s eyes. Yes, he was okay… now. They kissed each other; exchanged the kind of kiss that was confirmation of how they really felt about each other. He ran both hands through Shane’s hair, cupping the back of his head. Moving him until he was in exactly the position Llew wanted him. Until his mouth was slanted perfectly over his. Llew’s shirt was clenched in Shane’s tight fist while he kissed him long and deep, moaning into his mouth. Llew could feel Shane’s erection pressing against his thigh; he reached down and squeezed it a few times before delving even deeper to cup his balls.
“Yes. God, Llewell.”
“I need you, Shane.” Llew’s own cock was solid and leaking in his jeans.
“Let me stay with you tonight, please. Let me take care of whatever you need,” Shane whispered into his mouth.
Llew groaned and captured Shane’s mouth again. God, yes. How he needed to be taken care of. Every single burning hot need.
“Llew are you okay? Is it okay to come in now? Have ya’ll stopped?” Leslie yelled from outside. The two of them had been so caught up in each other, they hadn’t heard Les leave. “I’m coming up with the bookshelf! Coming in; in three, two, one… stop what you’re doing!”
Llew and Shane both laughed, still holding on to each other. Yeah, he was okay now. He was better than okay. He nibbled on Shane’s rosy bottom lip. “Yes, stay with me tonight. Let’s test out my new bed.”
Shane’s moan was the perfect answer.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Llewellyn, your brother is such a sweetheart. Just like you. I really enjoyed him the other day.” Ms. Pat was making a cake for her elderly neighbor. She rambled on and on, while Llew replaced her pantry door. “When’s he coming back to see you? I’ll make his favorite. Didn’t he say pot roast? Yepper. That’s what it was, pot roast. I got a great recipe passed down generations. My great-great-nanna started it. We’ve all added our own ingredients over time. I added cream of celery soup. Did you know cream of celery tastes good in ‘bout any stew? Well it does. I wonder why it’s so rarely used.”