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They’d invited everyone.Family.Friends.Ex co-workers.Almost all of EE and EEMM enjoyed the flowing champagne and hors d’oeuvres while mingling.The newly married couple were brave having an open bar, considering their guests.
JJ and I stood hand in hand with a small group from the gay branch of Elite, bullshitting and getting caught up with each other, since JJ and I only got down to Boston every other month or so to hang out with our friends.
Most often, we stayed with Mason and Jasper, and the four of us went to Micah’s on Sunday afternoons for a smorgasbord of good food and beer.The few weekends I’d visited JJ over the winter before he’d moved to Maine with me had been spent in his bed.We’d rarely even escaped his house, let alone mingled with acquaintances.
He’d sold the place within days of it going up on the market and bought himself a brand new SUV along with a snowmobile for the winter and ATV to toy around with at the campground, now run by a manager I’d hired to care for the daily grind while I was away.
The rest JJ put into a joint savings for a rainy day since I’d only ended up mortgaging about a third of the campground property and didn’t need help to pay the bills.
He’d also sent some money to Teresa and her boys who were thriving in Jersey.We’d made plans at Teresa’s invitation to visit with them in a few weeks before school started.She’d specifically asked for me to come as well so she could meet the man JJ had found love with.
She and Janie were still together, living in a small bungalow home perfect for the four of them.
Life, she’d claimed when we’d spoken with her last, had been good to them.The move from Boston a perfect new beginning—same as it had been for me and JJ.
“I’m going to grab more beers,” Sean said, breaking into my thoughts.“Don’t miss me too hard.”
Snorting, I turned to Drake, ready to take advantage of the opportunity to talk to him without Sean being all up in our business.I’d been dying to find out if anything had happened with Preston but wasn’t sure how to pry without raising any flags.I’d been quiet about it around Sean because the guy was nosey as hell and wasn’t good at keeping his mouth shut.
“How’s work?”I asked, enjoying the fuck out of being with my old “family” again.It had been almost two months since I’d seen the guys.
Drake shrugged, his vivid blue eyes scanning the dance floor.“Not too bad.I’m not nearly as busy as you were, but I can’t complain about the pay.”
“The last client I had…Mason was his favorite…cute little redhead—five-foot-ten-ish,” I said, watching his face closely.“You booked with him at all?”
“No redheads yet for me.Good thing too.They’re my kryptonite.I’d probably fall head over heels for the first ginger I escorted then have to quit because I’d want to marry them and have their babies.”
So no Preston.I wondered if he’d been booking with anyone else at EEMM.
I glanced over at Mason and Jasper all wrapped up with each other on the dance floor, but none of the usual jealousy slid through me at the sight of them.Squeezing JJ’s hand a little tighter, I leaned against his shoulder.
He was my rock, something Xavier had never aspired to be.My best friend.My sounding board in business and life.He’d found a family in mine, and I couldn’t have been happier with how seamlessly we fit together.Sure, we’d had arguments, but when two people in love chose to consider the other’s feelings in all things, relationships were easier.More fulfilling.Fucking fantastic.
Mason smiled at something his husband said, his face lighting up at the younger man who’d helped save him from a serious spiral.
Like me and JJ, they shared something special, something worth fighting for.
“Mason’s a different man than when he was escorting,” Drake said, and I turned to find him watching the two of them as well.
“He’s become who he was always meant to be,” I tacked on.
Drake’s lips thinned for a second, but then he nodded and finished off the beer in his hand.
“I heard Sean’s going back to college,” I said, ready for the next bit of gossip.“Think he’s going to be able to focus enough to pass classes?”
A soft huff escaped Drake.“He’s dead set on trying.Wants to prove to his dad that he’s just as smart and successful as Micah.”
He’d already done the latter with how he’s built up EEMM.“What’s he going for?”
“MBA eventually, but he’s starting with basic classes since he hasn’t taken any since high school.”
I grimaced.Having been out for ten years, he had his work cut out for him.
Speaking of the devil, the fuck boy sidled up, a half-dozen amber bottles in his hands and a wide grin on his face.“I come bearing gifts!”He handed them out, including Zack Briggs, who I’d met at Micah’s the year before, and the new guy, Jimmy, who’d been chatting with JJ beside me.
The six of us clinked our drinks together.
Sean glanced over my man like I caught him doing every time we got together, but I didn’t care.Police officer James Jenner was hot as fuck and worth a second or third look.
