We Found Love (29 page)

“I have to go,” Riley rasped, soul sinking a little more. That should’ve been the moment when he told himself nothing in the world would stop them from being together, but he couldn’t make that promise to himself. He damn sure couldn’t make it to Hunter.

“You’ll come back, right?” Hunter asked.

“Of course. You can come see me too.”

“I will.” Hunter rubbed the tops of his fingers over Riley’s pec, over his heart. This time when he leaned forward, his lips found Riley’s cheek. “I love you,” he said, close enough to Riley’s ear that warm breath grazed the lobe.

Riley shuddered. “I love you too.”

T
HE
BEDSPRINGS
squealed in protest when Riley eased down onto his shitty twin bed back at the halfway house. He’d tried like hell to be quiet, needing a few more minutes to himself, to live inside his memories of time spent with Hunter. Unfortunately, the nightstand light clicked on before he got one boot off his foot, and his roommate was bright-eyed and staring.

“So? How did it go?”

Chad’s voice lilted a little too eagerly for Riley’s taste.

“I’m head-over-fucking-heels in love with that man,” Riley admitted.

“Awww,” Chad cooed, dramatically grabbing at his heart. “I love romance.”

“Don’t get your panties in a twist.” Riley kicked his boots under his bed, stood, and jerked down his jeans. He tossed them into the basket at the foot of his bed on the way to the chest of drawers to grab something to sleep in. “We didn’t write a happily ever after tonight.”

“Well, duh. I mean. You’re here and he’s there. How happy could the ending possibly be?”

“Exactly. And I don’t want to hope for white picket fences and shit when I don’t have everything figured out. I mean… I love him. God, I love the shit out of him, but….”

“But what?”

“I’d hold him back.”

“Does he love you?”

“Yeah. He said he does.”

“Sounds to me like he’s not doing anything he don’t want to, baby.” Chad smirked. He did that stupid little self-satisfied shift of shoulders that meant he was right and he knew it, and his infallible logic couldn’t be argued with. There was no talking to him when he decided he’d won. Best thing to do was let him believe himself.

“Good night, Chad.” Riley kicked back on his bed.

“Sweet dreams, boo.”

The lights went out again.

Epilogue

“W
HERE
ARE
we going?” Hunter didn’t answer the question, not with words, but with the kind of wicked grin that meant he had something up his sleeve. He did. Something major.

“A hint? Just one little hint?”

“Ry, no.” Hunter snorted out a laugh. “It’s a surprise.”

“I hate surprises,” Riley muttered, crossing his arms over his chest as he slumped in his seat. It was such a bratty move and so damn cute Hunter couldn’t stand it.

The Jeep jostled and jerked as the huge rubber tires rolled over imperfections in the pavement. They’d been in the car for forty-five minutes, and already his ass was going numb. Or maybe the urge to jump up and run had more to do with the explosive excitement he felt right now.

This was going to be awesome.

Amazing.

The best day of Riley’s life.

As soon as they pulled onto I-10 and the long expanse of the twin bridges crossed the murky waters of Lake Pontchartrain, Riley perked up. “We’re going to New Orleans,” he said, as if he’d just pieced together their route. Obviously he’d been pouting so hard and so far hidden in his mind that he’d missed all the signs.

“Yeah, we’re going to New Orleans.” Hunter laughed again.

Now Riley was all wide eyes and smiles, sitting up in his seat and watching everything that zoomed by: other cars, houses out in the swamps, the beginnings of the city, the iron artwork of the bridges. He seemed to be mesmerized by it all, and Hunter wished he could hold Riley and take in the city in the exact same way.

Soon.

Sighing happily, Hunter turned his eyes back to the road. It’d been a while since he’d been in New Orleans, and his last visit hadn’t ended well. But he had no plans to check in on that memory. Not right now.

He pulled down into the French Quarter, and just like he remembered, the place bustled with life, with eager tourists and sightseers. Drunks ambled by, crossing the road painfully slowly. Hunter just wanted to get parked and get Riley into his arms. He’d been waiting for this day since their first night in the forbidden wing, when their minds had taken them out of Hartfield and into a magical place far away from all their problems. Here they were a year later, more in love than they had been that night and free to express that love any way they wanted.

“So…,” Hunter drawled. “Know why I picked tonight to do this?”

“I figured you liked taking road trips in the middle of the week,” Riley teased.

“No. Gah.”

“I know why. I’m just messin’.”

“Why, then?” Hunter asked, doubtful, smirking.

“Because, a year ago today, we had our very first real date.”

Hunter blinked. He hadn’t expected Riley to have a clue. As always, though, his man surprised him in the best possible way.

“But I still don’t know what we’re doing,” Riley said. Total buzzkill.

Hunter pulled off the road, parked against the curb close to the Riverwalk. “Just trust me,” he said, killing the motor. He retrieved his keys from the ignition, then turned in his seat to face Riley. Lips puckered, he leaned across the console and pressed a quick kiss to Riley’s cheek. “I want you to remember this night for the rest of your life.”

After locking the Jeep up tight, Riley joined him at the front bumper. They immediately grabbed each other’s hand. It’d become a second nature to them both in the past year. When they finally got to see each other again, their hands stayed busy—touching, caressing, holding. Thank God New Orleans wasn’t one of those places where they’d have to hide their feelings for each other. Hunter didn’t know if he could do that, not tonight, not right now.

Just like it had in his imagination, the Mississippi River crashed against the shoreline. Lights from the cityscape behind them sprinkled the rough surface of the water with magical white orbs. As corny as it sounded, it gave the night an air of romance Hunter couldn’t have dreamed of. Like the cosmos was making up for the epic fail of the real first date they’d had a year ago.

Hunter released Riley’s hand and swept his arm around Riley’s waist, guiding him away from the mesmerizing shoreline. Actually seeing and smelling and hearing the river was only part of the plan—a small part.

A few steps closer to the center of the Quarter and Hunter heard the first stirrings of a jazz band playing. The trumpet cut through first, punching a hole through the normal noise of a Thursday night. That city truly never slept.

“Hey, do you hear that?” Riley asked. The sudden sound of his voice pulled Hunter right out of his head. Funny, he normally got a little annoyed when Riley zoned out on him, and now he was doing the same thing. “Is that…?”

“Yeah.” The edge of Hunter’s mouth kicked up in a crooked grin. “
That
is what I was looking for.”

“A jazz band?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re….” Riley tilted his head, eyeing Hunter hard. “You’re recreating that night. Aren’t you?”

“Part of it.” He pressed his forehead to Riley’s temple, lips close enough to brush along his earlobe when he said a whispered, “This time, though, we won’t be sneaking around, and we won’t be going back to opposite beds.”

Riley bit down on his bottom lip, subduing his adorable, eager grin.

“I got us a room for the night,” Hunter said, sliding his arm down Riley’s back. “We’re going to dance, then I’m going to make love to you, and after, when we can’t move and don’t want to, I’m going to lie in bed with you, and I’m going to hold you until it’s time to go home.”

Riley raked a hooded gaze over Hunter’s body, starting with the eyes and slowly traveling south, then back again. He licked his lips, cheeks flushing. Clearly, he was already turned on. A theory made fact when Riley turned to face him and the whole of their bodies pressed together.

With his arms around Hunter’s waist, Riley laid his head on his shoulder, nose in the crook of Hunter’s neck. Every breath he took sent warm air gusting along Hunter’s skin, raising the fine hairs at his nape, sending chills down his arms. Hunter embraced Riley’s shoulders and closed his eyes, pressing his mouth to Riley’s temple. He planted a soft kiss, let his lips linger, and he gave in to the beauty of soaring through the night with the man he loved in his arms.

T
HEIR
BODIES
swayed much slower than the jazz band played. In fact, their rhythm didn’t match it at all. They were truly dancing to the beat of their own drum. And Riley was totally okay with that. He was cool with living in a bubble where only the two of them and what they felt for each other existed. Chad had been right about them the night he’d finally met the man Riley never stopped talking about. Chad had said, “You two are gonna make it. I know these things.” And while a year wasn’t any determination of the future, Riley felt good about it. A decade from now, they would be fighting for the last cup of coffee or laughing over stupid shit the other had done when retelling the story to their friends. The American Dream. Exactly what Riley had been robbed of as a child.

“I love you,” he said, lifting his head from Hunter’s shoulder. “I’ve never actually said those three words to anyone.”

“Not even your parents?”

“Not that I can remember.”

“Wow.” Hunter pinched his lips together. His expression softened. “Well, I’m honored you’re saying it to me. I love you too.”

Exhaling, Riley dragged his hands down Hunter’s backside, bringing them around his hips. He held Hunter, still absently swaying, even though the music had stopped. Really, they hadn’t needed it anyway.

“I think I’m ready to go to that hotel room,” he said.

“I think I am too.”

They locked hands again and started back toward the place where Hunter had parked his Jeep. Riley couldn’t help but think about what was going to happen when their trip to New Orleans ended. He still lived an hour away, more since he and Chad got their apartment on the far side of Baton Rouge. It added an extra fifteen minutes to his drive, and having to get up so damn early in the morning made seeing Hunter during the week almost impossible. It sucked, frankly.

“What do you think about me moving closer to you?”

“What?” Hunter froze. “Can you do that?”

“Yeah? Why not? I’m free to do whatever now. I mean, yeah… I still have therapy once a month, but I don’t have to report to anyone anymore.”

“That’s not what I meant. I mean, can you afford to….” Hunter’s cheeks pinkened, a soft blush. “I don’t mean to pry into your finances and shit, I just meant—”

Hunter closed his eyes, face growing more serious as he slipped his hand into his pocket and extracted a key. He held it out like it contained a secret.

“Um….” Riley eyed the key before picking it up. “Hunter?”

Grunt.

“Wha-what is this?”
A key. Duh. But….

“I guess I just didn’t think this through,” Hunter said, running his fingers through his hair. They were trembling enough for Riley to notice, meaning Hunter was nervous as hell, and the man of steel rarely got all nervous anymore.

“Think what through?”
Seriously. What?

“The key is symbolic. Y’know. Of me…. Er, me asking you to move in with me.”

Riley stared at Hunter, not quite able to process what just happened here. Inwardly, he was in hysterics, and not the funny kind that caused everyone around to laugh too, but the kind of panic that should come with alarms and sirens and shit. He could feel himself fish-mouthing, wanting to say hell yes, that living together was a dream come true. He was too busy thanking God Hunter wanted to take that next step with him.

“I mean….” Hunter’s voice trailed. Then he closed his eyes again. Damn him and his ability to pull himself together behind his weird self-made bubble. When Hunter’s blue eyes finally came out of hiding again, he locked them on Riley. “What I mean is, if you want to, I’d love for you to move in with me.” He cleared his throat, never losing the strange but welcome calm that seemed to have fallen over him. “I love you. I want to wake up with you every day. I think we’ve earned it.”

“How about we start tomorrow?” Riley responded. He was damn proud of himself for pulling his shit together enough to do the
putting words together and forming sentences
thing. His dry mouth and thumping heart weren’t very conducive to either.

Hunter frowned. “Start what tomorrow?”

Calm. Calm. Calming. Easy smile.
“Waking up every day together.”

It took a few seconds for Hunter to translate that into a yes, but Riley knew the moment it did. Hunter’s handsome, cheeky grin shone as bright as a Louisiana sun. He threw both arms around Riley’s body, hugging him so hard Riley’s feet actually lost their connection with the earth.