Peach Tree Manny: Gay Romance Read online

Now Danny got shy and clammed up. With a helpless look, he turned his eyes to Rob. "What do I do now?"

  "You can say, 'Bye, Christie'," Rob told him.

  Danny did that then he went to report the news about his epic phone call to Lenny. With the two of them under the kitchen table, Rob stepped to the other side of the kitchen to talk.

  "Danny is all talked out now. So why am I getting an actual call when I've been texting you nonstop."

  "You know I like to hear your voice," she said. The rest was understood between them. It was so she could make sure that he was really all right and not just putting on an act. When Christie had gone off to college, Rob checked on her the same way. They both did the same thing whenever one of them went away.

  "So how are things?"

  "So far so good," Rob told her.

  "I can see from the pictures of your picnic. Very nice. My boss never takes me on picnics," she said. "Oh. I just remembered what my boss looks like. He doesn't look anything like your boss, so never mind."

  "There's more to Julian than just looks," Rob told her.

  She gasped then hissed at him, "Don't you dare fall in love with him."

  In response to that, there was only silence on Rob's end.

  "Oh, Rob," she said with worried resignation in her voice.

  "I didn't say anything," he pointed out evenly. He didn't want to admit to anything, but he couldn't deny it either. So he left it at that and promised Christie he'd be careful.

  Rob knew too well why Christie was so protective of his heart, and now Julian knew all about his cursed history with guys too. It might make anyone want to take a step back from him. That's why Rob decided to give Julian some space once Danny was in bed.

  It didn't work out that way though. Rob was ready to go hang out on his own, but it was Julian who came to the kitchen and kind of hovered.

  "I just wanted to tell you that I'm really glad you are Danny's manny. He did so much today," Julian said, beaming at him.

  "We did do a lot of running around," Rob said.

  "That's good. I wouldn't have been able to take him out to enjoy the sunny day, if I even thought of it. As a kid, I didn't spend that much time playing outdoors after my nanny was gone. And I certainly didn't do chores."

  "Danny was really into both. You should have seen him try to hoist a full bag of garbage." Rob noticed the skillet on the drying rack and grabbed it to put it away.

  "That's evidence that we cooked," Julian said.

  "I've made meals where I didn't have to wash anything except a fork," Rob said and shot him a triumphant grin.

  "Impressive," Julian said sarcastically.

  "I was actually starting to learn to cook a little before my mom died. Then I lost my will for it." As the mood changed, Rob tried to shake it off with a forced smile.

  "Anything can bring back memories of your mom," Julian said with understanding.

  It was happening more lately though. "The way we lost her cast a big shadow into the future, the past. But it's not as bad as it used to be," Rob said and leaned back against the counter while his gaze traced patterns on the marble floor. "Right after we lost her, I tried to help my dad in the kitchen, but my sister took me aside and told me to leave the cooking to our dad. 'We need to keep him busy. We have to let him know we need him in little ways and big ways, in every way there is.' That's what she said. And I think it did help him."

  "Makes sense. It's proof that you matter to someone, that you have a reason to get up in the morning," Julian said and then noticed Rob frowning at him. "I noticed the difference after I brought Danny home. Being needed brings your life into sharper focus. And it's true for Danny too. He comes to life whenever he gets to help with something."

  "Yeah. But how long are you going to be able to impress him by throwing something that's already been warmed up into a skillet?" Rob asked.

  "I'll figure out this cooking thing," Julian vowed.

  "Sam did offer you some cooking lessons," Rob reminded him.

  "No. I'll do it without anyone's help," Julian said.

  "Oh," Rob said under his breath and turned to stare out the window. Why did it matter so much to him if Julian liked to pretend to cook with him?

  "I didn't mean that I didn't want your help," Julian said to him. "I had a lot of fun."

  "OK," Rob said and faced him again with a smile. He was inclined toward Julian now, trying to figure him out, but his dark eyes were luminous and unreadable. The contours of his body under his clothes were so tempting, begging to be explored.

  Rob felt a flutter low in his belly then another one in his chest that grew until he couldn't catch his breath. There was no reason for it. But with their eyes locked, a smile started to play on Julian's lips.

  To Rob that was just too much. He grabbed Julian and kissed him. Maybe he shouldn't have done it, but it felt so good, like tasting the impossible. He hated to let go even a little, but he had to loosen his hold.

  "Sorry, that was too sudden, wasn't it?" Rob was breathless, watching Julian closely again, wondering if he had anything to apologize for. "I guess I got carried away."

  "You did?" Julian said as he swayed in his arms. "I thought that was me." He then gazed at Rob. His hands trailed up and down Rob's sides, slow and seductive.

  Still Rob held back, looking for a stronger signal. Then it came in Julian's low whisper. "We can do that again," he said looking kind of dazed, pretty much the way Rob felt, like someone half in a dream, refusing to wake up.

  "As many times as you want," Rob told him, filling every word with heat and need.

  With a kiss, Rob pressed Julian against the kitchen counter then tugged him closer so he could grope him. God, he felt so good. Rob wanted to devour him. But when he tried to pull Julian to the floor with him, he stopped him firmly and Rob was hit with a wave of excruciating disappointment.

  "Not the floor this time. My bed," Julian said huskily then nuzzled his ear, tickling Rob with his beard.

  The relief that washed over Rob was almost as sharply painful as his disappointment had been. He cupped Julian's face, that beard of his soft against the palm of Rob's hand, his jaw line sharp. Taking a moment for a deep kiss first, Rob took his hand and pulled him out of there and up the stairs. He couldn't wait to have Julian again. Except this time, he planned to take it slow.

  In Julian's bedroom, under dim lights, Rob forced his hands to slow down as he stripped Julian. As for Julian, he wasn't helping at all. He tugged at Rob's clothes roughly, raked his fingers over his skin. His hooded eyes and parted lips urged Rob to just take him already.

  His body overheated, heart thumping, teeth clenched against the growling moans that rumbled through him, Rob somehow held back. His reward for staying in control was Julian stretched out on the dark gray sheets of his big bed, inviting him to climb on top.

  Still Rob held off even as his cock jutted out ready and aching for Julian. His eyes roamed Julian's body – gorgeous, naked, and all his. Sitting up with a groan, Julian reached for him, but with a hand on his chest, Rob pushed him back down.

  "Settle down, I need to spend some time on this perfect body," Rob ordered him as he ran his hand down his chest and over his abs, skipped around his cock and caressed his thigh.

  "No. You are perfect," Julian panted as he arched his hips, his cock seeking contact with any part of Rob.

  Rob pressed him to the mattress by his hip and leaned down to speak right in his ear. "I don't want to hear any arguments from you, just moaning and begging."

  Julian laughed shakily, but soon he was kissed and licked everywhere, bitten in a few places too. Rob tasted almost every inch of him over and over again until Julian was a begging and moaning mess and more than ready for Rob to finally take him in his mouth.

  Rob let Julian's hard, glistening cock enter the heat of his mouth slowly to the sound of Julian muffled, agonized cries. But he wasn't getting his satisfaction that way as Rob sucked lazily, priming Julian for more.

  Julian got the
idea. Hissing in a breath, he reached his arms up, stretched himself out, shuddered then opened his bedside drawer.

  "I need you," he said as he fumbled blindly. It was no good. Finally he just yanked the drawer out and dumped it out on the bed. "I can't wait. I can't take this any more." He was shivering, feverish, a man pushed to the edge, but it was Rob who felt like he had to fuck Julian or he would die.

  His cock was so painfully hard, he didn't know how he managed to lube them both, get on a condom and then enter Julian so nice and slow. Not that there was anything nice about the way Julian cursed under his breath and whimpered as Rob filled him up.

  In Julian's eyes, Rob could see flashes of pain pushed aside by burning need. At that moment, he was jealous. He wanted to feel that too with Julian on top.

  But not right now. Right now he wanted to keep pushing Julian harder, deeper, over the edge. Rob wanted to make Julian scream even if he couldn't, make him claw at him and bite his shoulder instead. Make him gasp Rob's name as his body went wild. Thrusting up while Rob pumped into him, Julian slammed their bodies together until they both came like an earthquake.

  Rob collapsed, moaning, groping Julian's slick body everywhere. His own body wouldn't settle down, couldn't be convinced that it was satisfied. He couldn't get enough of Julian, but Rob finally slowed his breathing, quieted his heart a little and just held Julian against him tight.

  "Mmm," Rob moaned against his neck as he leaned in to nuzzle him, heard his breathing become soft and even, felt his body grow heavy.

  Exhausted, Julian was soon asleep, and Rob wanted to bury his face in the crook of his neck, wrap his arms around him and stay like that all night, or forever.

  That scary word woke him up just as he might have fallen asleep like that. Careful not to wake him, Rob released Julian and it hurt. It hurt to leave his bed. It hurt even more to realize how much he wanted this not to end.

  Chapter 22

  Julian started out his day worrying about the cloudy sky he saw out the window. If the weather stayed overcast like that or if it rained, their day of volunteering was going to be miserable. As it was, Julian wasn't hopeful about being of much use.

  Without asking, Rico had put down Julian and Rob's names, signing them up to volunteer. Then Lara saw what he had done and called to ask if she should scratch them off the list. Julian couldn't let her do that, and Rob agreed to go along with it too. It wasn't a good idea to let Rico win, but it was for a good cause.

  Cramming as much work as he could into the morning hours to free up the rest of his day, Julian had closed himself off in his office. He was on track to finish up soon when he got a call from his temporary boss.

  It had been several days since he had to deal with Thayer, but it was still too soon to have to do it again. He had to answer his calls though. Of course Thayer didn't want to talk business. He was more interested in what Julian might be up to in his personal life, but even for him, his lurid imagination seemed to be in overdrive.

  After mentioning Rob half a dozen times, Thayer had some unwanted advice. "Just make sure to keep your bad boy on a tight leash. You don't want him forgetting who's in charge," Thayer was saying.

  Julian could hear him tapping his fingers on his desk, but he tried to ignore his words. "I'll come up with some alternative renewable energy options for the Hallman portfolio."

  Just like Julian did his best to ignore what he said, Thayer did the same to him. "Don't tell me he already has you wearing the leash." Thayer laughed and Julian hung up.

  With Thayer's grating laugh still in his ears, Julian hissed in a breath through gritted teeth then let it out slowly. Getting pissed off wouldn't do him any good, but maybe it was past time he started recording his conversations with Thayer. Julian was about to call up his lawyer to get some legal guidelines on the issue when Rob came in. Seeing his cheerful expression, Julian decided to put off the call for later. He saw no reason to ruin Rob's good mood.

  "You look cheerful," Julian said to him.

  "Check it out. The weather cleared up just in time," Rob said and pointed out the window.

  Preoccupied with Thayer, Julian hadn't noticed that the clouds had dispersed. "So you like the idea of volunteering that much?"

  Rob shrugged. "Danny can't wait to go, and you know I like to drag you out of the office every chance I get, especially when you're wearing an expression like that one." As Rob gave him a questioning look, Julian sighed.

  "Thayer," was all Julian said about his call with him, and Rob's expression darkened right on cue. Getting up from behind his desk, Julian gave him a reassuring smile. "I survived it. Now I want to forget it. Let's get Danny and Lenny and go volunteer."

  They arrived outside the Peach Tree Elementary School and joined about a dozen other people who were waiting for their work assignments. Danny and Lenny were both excited to be there. Though the sun was shining, the day was still chilly. Julian was glad when Noreen came to collect Danny and Lenny to join the kids working on some project inside where it was warm.

  "So you guys showed up," Rico said as he and Mitch came over.

  "Did you know he conscripted us?" Rob asked Mitch, who didn't look surprised to hear it.

  "I baited the hook with Rob. And I reeled in this fish," Rico bragged and threw an arm over Julian's shoulders. "I just want to see him do some menial labor. Get all sweaty." While saying that, Rico gave Rob a wicked grin.

  Lara showed up just then to hand out the assignments. As she consulted her clipboard, she assigned Rob and Julian to work together helping build picnic tables for something she called a Pilgrim Tavern. Rob might be up for that, but Julian was sure to be out of his element.

  "I'm going to be useless," Julian grumbled once Lara was gone.

  "Just sweat real pretty for Rob. That's all you need to do," Rico said and slapped Julian on the back. Then he and Mitch went off and finally there was some peace and quiet.

  Honestly, Julian was just relieved that he and Rob didn't get separated. Their work was mostly carrying pieces of lumber and holding up various pieces to be cut and joined. Rob wasn't half bad and he even picked up a few new skills. On the other hand, Julian was just as inept as he feared he would be. He did break a sweat, as instructed.

  Working alongside Rob at something physical was a new experience. Julian found he liked it, and he wondered if this was why Rico chose to work as Mitch's assistant. Getting to watch Rob show his strength and skill was an undeniable turn-on.

  Without meaning to, Julian kept catching Rob's eye and getting a smile in return. In front of all the other people working there, it made him blush a little. Open flirting wasn't really in his repertoire.

  When they were done and waiting for Danny and the other kids to come out, Julian was dirty and tired but pretty happy. Rob grinned at him approvingly. "You're a good worker, you know."

  "Do you have to sound so surprised?" Julian asked him.

  Rob chuckled. "I guess when you put your mind to it, you can do anything."

  "It was really good of you to volunteer with me considering that you don't live here," Julian told him. He meant to express his gratitude and how much he liked working with him, but Rob didn't take it that way.

  His face fell and he looked away. "Right. I don't," Rob said and he tried to hide how hurt he was.

  "No. I didn't mean that. I meant to..." Julian stopped there and then took the plunge and tentatively asked, "Would you want to live here?"

  Rob stood to face him and the smile returned to his face. "If you're here then, yeah, I would."

  Julian was so happy to hear that. "I'm glad. Does that mean you'll be here for Thanksgiving? I understand if you want to go and be with your family."

  "If I was going to some big family dinner, you and Danny would be invited too," Rob told him. "But my dad is spending Thanksgiving with his girlfriend. Her daughter's baby wasn't well so they're sticking close to home. I'm not sure if Christie is going over there."

  "Does that mean you can have Thanksgivi
ng here with us?" Julian said hopefully. "You could invite your sister, and maybe she could stay a few days."

  "OK. I'll ask her," Rob said, his eyes bright.

  "Look at him. He's a different man when he's looking at you," Rico said as he appeared next to Julian. He was squinting at Rob, whose expression had changed to a scowl thanks to Rico teasing him.

  "We were just discussing Thanksgiving. Rob is going to be inviting his sister," Julian told him as Sam and Wyatt arrived for their own volunteering shift, bringing their kids as well as their dogs.

  "You're inviting her to a Thanksgiving with two guys who can't cook?" Rico asked.

  "Just don't try to cook the turkey. Don't even touch the turkey. Don't even look at the turkey," Sam told them.

  "We only want to eat the turkey," Rob reassured him.

  "In that case come over and have Thanksgiving at Grandma's," Rico told them. "My parents are coming, so we're all having it over there."

  "She did invite us," Julian said, but he was going to decline.

  "We are going and some of Wyatt's friends will be there too," Sam told them.

  "And I was really looking forward to figuring out how to tackle a turkey," Wyatt said.

  "You understand that people want to be able to eat a turkey, right?" Rico asked him.

  "That would be the general idea," Wyatt said.

  "I mean eat the turkey and not die," Rico said to make himself absolutely clear.

  "So will you guys be there?" Mitch asked Julian and Rob.

  They looked at each other. "We could go, right?" Rob said.

  "OK. I'll let Mrs. Del Rio know," Julian said. He wasn't sure what kind of Thanksgiving it would be, but he liked the feeling of making plans with Rob.

  It wasn't long before the kids started to come out from the school. Watching Danny leading Lenny out the big front doors gave Julian a preview of what it would be like to pick up his little brother at the end of a school day. Gloria and Sammy came out with them, and they all ran over to the Hayes boys and their dogs.

  Wyatt told them their plans. "After we load up on some supplies, we're going to go paint the pie float at the Lubbock's barn. It's nice there and the weather has warmed up. We're taking the girls with us. Danny and Lenny should come with us too. What do you say?"