Free Take Me Always by Ryan Field

Gregory’s elbow to help him
     
stand, Kadin said, “Tomorrow I’ll read more of the story and you’ll feel much better.
     
Right now we all need a good night’s sleep.”
     
Gregory stepped forward and reached out to shake his hand. His lips had stopped
     
twitching and his hands were steady. “I just hope this story has a happy ending, because
     
I’d hate to see these two nice guys disappointed again.”
     
Chapter Seven
     
When he looked down and saw Gregory standing on his sidewalk, the first thing
     
Kadin saw was those unique eyes. He’d been thinking about them for a long time. He’d
     
never stopped imagining them. They still sparkled. But in a way he couldn’t quite
     
pigeonhole, they’d lost some of their innocence, too.
     
Then Kadin let go of the column and put his hands in his pockets. They both
     
stood there staring, each hesitating to see who would speak first. Kadin remembered the
     
last time he’d seen him, driving home in wet clothes with his head on his shoulder. He’d
     
been dreaming of the day when he’d appear on that front walk, but he’d always thought it
     
was just the silly fantasy of a man approaching middle age.
     
And now that he was there, he didn’t know what to say.
     
He remembered all the times they’d spent together that summer. Gregory had
     
been so apprehensive about sex at first, but always willing to please. His thin, boyish
     
body had filled out. He was a grown man now, with wide shoulders, a trim waist, and
     
strong legs. His hair looked slightly darker and he wore it shorter.
     
Kadin took a deep breath and nodded fast, then he smiled and said, “Hello,
     
stranger. You look good.” He looked too good to be true.
     
Gregory continued to stare for a moment. He was smiling and his hands were still
     
in his pockets. “Hello,” he said. “You haven’t changed at all.”
     
His voice had the same soft, easy tone Kadin remembered. He ran his right hand
     
through his hair and went down the steps. When he approached him on the brick sidewalk, he was going to extend his arm to shake his hand. But he lengthened both arms and gave
     
Gregory a hug instead.
     
Gregory wrapped his arms around Kadin’s shoulders and rested his face against
     
his broad chest. This wasn’t one of those quick buddy-hugs between old college friends
     
at a reunion, with pats on the back and rough, awkward jerks. This was a hug between
     
two men who had been passionate lovers. He pulled Kadin closer, pressed his palms to
     
his neck, and closed his eyes.
     
Kadin took a deep breath and squeezed him. He smelled like spicy aftershave and
     
orange peel. It left like he was hugging a real man now, not a twenty-year-old who was
     
unsure of himself. But he was just as soft and pliable as he’d remembered. And for the
     
first time in five years, Kadin felt complete again.
     
When Kadin stepped back, he looked him up and down. He took a shallow breath
     
and sighed. Gregory was better looking than he’d remembered—if that was even possible.
     
He felt a pulling sensation between his legs. Just holding him for that brief moment had
     
caused his penis to become semi-erect. He wanted to rip off his pants, throw him down
     
on the bricks and spread his sweet legs as wide as they would go.
     
Gregory looked up at the house and smiled. Then he took a deep breath and said,
     
“The house looks good. It’s just like I’d pictured it would look. Did you do it yourself?”
     
“Most of the renovations were cosmetic, and I had some help,” he said, with a
     
mixture of humility and pride in his voice. “But the house has good bones.” Kadin smiled
     
and stared back at the house. “White shutters on the bottom, black on the second floor,”
     
he said. “Someone a long time ago told me that was the way it was supposed to be.” Gregory laughed and shook his head back and forth. “You have a good memory,”
     
he said.
     
Kadin looked