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Jon
Jon hated the idea of saying goodbye to Arch so soon after they had finally all connected. But if his plan worked out, he and Grace would be able to fly to France to surprise him for a week or two, so he wouldn’t have to miss them as much.
Archer came home two nights ago, to tell them both that he had to go to France for at least a month. That was when Jon started hatching his plan to get both Grace and him over to France for at least a week, possibly two. When he pulled her aside to ask her how she felt about taking a little vacation, Gracie was downright giddy. She had time saved at work that she could go for two weeks and that meant that it was up to him to convince his boss to let him off for a couple of weeks. Luckily for him, it wasn’t the height of the political season, he knew that he’d be able to get away for a bit.
He and Grace agreed to keep it a secret from Archer, wanting to surprise him. It didn’t matter to either of them that Archer hated surprises. Jon had never obeyed Archer’s stupid little rules, like no surprise parties, and no one showing up at their dorm room uninvited. He was always so stuffy, even as a teenager and Jon liked to ruffle his feathers some and take him out of his comfort zone a little. Archer did the same thing for him, really. Jon was always so afraid of what everyone would think about the two of them being together. It was what had kept him from admitting his feelings for Archer, even though his best friend already knew how he felt. Arch was the one who was brave when it came to the two of them being together and now, Jon owed him everything. He wasn’t sure how he’d manage without the two of them, even though they had only been together as a thrupple for a short time now.
Gracie got up early to help Archer pack and then she had to head in early to work. Their girl had a deadline hanging over her head and she needed to get it done if she was going to take some time off. Jon was in charge of driving Arch to the airport to see him off—a job he hated but was willing to do. Jon couldn’t stand emotional goodbyes and he knew that Archer was worried about leaving them, so he was going to get emotional.
Jon pulled up in front of the terminal and parked. “I hate that I have to leave you two,” Archer said. “I feel as though we all just finally found each other and now, I have to get on that fucking plane,” he nodded to the terminal.
“I know, babe,” Jon said. “But we can face time and talk every day. It will be over before you know it, and you’ll be back home with us.”
“Promise that you’ll take care of Gracie,” Archer said. Jon worried about the two of them spending one-on-one time together so soon in their relationship, but he remembered that he and Grace had been together before without Arch, and that gave him hope that they’d find their way down this new path.
“I will,” Jon agreed.
“You seem nervous,” Archer said. He couldn’t help his laugh at just how well Archer seemed to know him.
“You know me too well,” Jon said. “I have to be honest, I’m a little worried about Grace and I being alone together again.”
“Don’t be,” Archer said. “You have a lot of catching up to do with her. Besides, when we were hatching this crazy plan, we agreed that we wouldn’t let jealousy play a part in what we are building together. I want for you and Grace to find a way to be together and build something just the two of you.”
“What about you and me?” Jon asked. “Will we be able to do that too?”
“Would you like to spend one-on-one time with me, Jon?” Archer asked.
“I would,” Jon whispered. Why was talking about all this stuff so hard to do? They had known each other for most of their lives but talking about sex felt as if they were breaking some rule.
“We’ll work on that as soon as I get back, babe,” Archer promised.
Jon nodded, “You need to go before you miss your flight,” he said. Archer leaned over the center console to kiss him goodbye. The three of them had spent last night tangled up together, saying their goodbyes. But it didn’t make this any easier.
“See you soon, babe,” Jon called after Archer as he got out of his SUV and grabbed his two suitcases.
“See you soon,” Archer called back. Jon watched as he disappeared into the terminal and sighed. He couldn’t help his sly smile as he thought about the fact that they were going to see each other sooner than Archer knew. He wanted to share his secret with his guy so badly, but he wouldn’t do that. Jon had promised Grace that he’d keep his mouth shut, no matter how much he didn’t want to.
* * *
Jon got to work a little later than he usually liked to, and his boss called him into his office. They were working on campaign slogans for his re-election to his county council seat. They still were two years out from the election, but time was of the essence if he was going to get everything printed and ready for the campaign trail. At least working for a county councilman would keep him local when he had to hit the bricks and go door to door to hand out flyers. It was his favorite part of his job—talking to the people who were going to vote in the election and listening to what was important to them as voters.
His boss was Doug Pullman, and he was probably Jon’s favorite employer since he started working as a political adviser. He was an honest man, and they were hard to come by in his line of work. Doug had a family, a wife, and two kids. He had a good deal of Christian voters who backed him and Jon worried that if his boss found out what his new home life looked like; he might be out of a job.
He knocked on Doug’s door and waited to be called in. “Come on in, Jon,” he said. “How are you doing?” Doug asked.
“Good, you?” Jon asked.
“Ready to get down to work,” he said. “But I have a proposition for you.”
Jon sat down across from Doug and nodded, “I’m intrigued,” he said.
“Well, I’m hoping that you’ll be interested in this opportunity. I have a constituent who will be stepping down and not running for another term. I know your background; Jon and you know how the system works. I’d love for you to throw your hat in the race.”
“Me?” he asked. “I’m not a politician, Doug. I’m a political adviser.”
“Sure, so you know how the system works and you also have a squeaky-clean background. You know how well that plays out with voters, Jon. They like the good guy who hasn’t gotten himself into too much trouble. That’s you. You’ll be able to come across as wholesome and down to earth because you are.”
Jon cleared his throat, stalling for time. The last thing he was, was wholesome. Hell, just a little bit of digging and they’d find that he was in a monogamous relationship with both a man and a woman. How would that play out with the voters who wanted a down-to-earth, wholesome candidate to vote for?
