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Once everyone was full to bursting, Lyle and Jordan offered to help wash the dishes. Ty tried to wave them off, but they insisted; we all did. We created an assembly line; Sam gathered the dishes, Jonah scraped them, Lyle washed, Jordan dried, and Becky put them away, while Gage and Ty packed away all of the leftovers.
Chris wasn’t much help; he basically stood around playing grab-ass with his husband, and I spent most of the time glaring at him out of jealousy; Ireallywanted my ass touched. Jo caught sight of my pouting and just gave me a salacious wink, which made me pout harder. So, I guess I didn't help much either, but all of the work still ended up getting done quickly.
Ty ushered us all back into the living room, and Gage carried in a few dining chairs so that none of our too-full bodies had to sit on the floor. Once we were all settled, Ty let all of the dogs back inside. Six wagging tails beat against our legs as the pups excitedly greeted us and received head scratches and pets.
And thentheyreceived Ty’s surprise; he had made a plate of leftovers for each of the dogs. Ty assured us that he'd researched what foods were okay for them to eat, but I would've known without his words. He loved those dogs like they were his babies and would never do anything to harm them.
He set the dogs’ paper plates on the coffee table, and the pooches had them licked clean in a matter of seconds. Ty then happily collected the garbage before producing another present for them; a bag of homemade treats for each of them. He gave them to their owners, however, because he didn't want any of the pups to get a stomach ache from so much food.
“Speaking of gifts,” Jo whispered in my ear, making the hair on the back of my neck rise. My deprived body was extra susceptible to his slightest touch. “I'm going to go get the bag out of the trunk.” It was his polite way of telling me to get off of his lap, where I was happily perched.
I stood up and Jo slipped away without being noticed. When he returned, several mouths dropped at the sight of the large gift bag he carried.
“I know we said we weren't exchanging gifts,” he said, raising his free hand in defense. We had all agreed we wouldn't spend money on one another; we'd just spend time together. “But I couldn't help myself. I didn't buy anything,” he insisted to Chris's stink eye. “But I wanted to do something special for all of you.”
I knew just how special the gifts were, and how hard he had worked on them. For weeks, he'd spent his free time getting them perfect. I was in awe of his talent and excited for our friends to see what he'd made for them.
Jo handed a large, flat rectangle covered in wrapping paper to each couple, and one to Becky. Chris was the first one to tear the paper away. “Holy shit.” His eyes widened as he looked over the gift, and Lyle’s hand covered his mouth.
“Jonah, it's beautiful,” the ginger man said through his fingers. The rest of our friends ripped open their packages and gave gasps and similar words of admiration.
Jo had drawn lifelike portraits of all of them. After he was injured in the line of duty, Jo wasn't able to work his typical officer job any longer, and took a position as a sketch artist. He was extremely talented and loved his job. At work, he often used computer programs to create the likeness of a perpetrator, but that wasn't the case with these pictures.
My husband used only pens and pencils to sketch the portraits, and had worked so hard on them for weeks. He wanted them to be perfect, and he nailed it. He captured all of our friends flawlessly.
He wasn't the only artistic one in the group; Ty was a master pastry decorator, and Lyle was an abstract artist who had paintings hanging in a museum. And our police precinct. Chris brought several pieces to hang on the walls to make them “look less depressing”, and it worked. While all three of them had talent, I was biased towards my Officer.
Our friends were obviously touched by the gifts; Ty and Jordan both shed a few tears, andeveryonegave him a round of hugs and thanks. When Jo made it back to the sofa, I stood up, hoping to climb back onto his lap, but he surprised me by reaching into the bag and retrieving one more wrapped gift, which he placed in my hands.
“You made one for me too?” He gave me a breathtaking smile and nodded. “When did you have time?” I'd watched in awe as he created the other pictures in the evening hours. But we were together at home and at work; how did I not notice him drawing it?
He answered, “While you slept,” and my heart swelled. He'd given up sleep to surprise me with a special gift. I wasn't shocked that he'd managed to sneak, though; I was a very heavy sleeper. “Open it, Mikey.”
I tore off the paper and my pulse raced at the sight of the beautiful picture, which sat inside a wooden frame. Jo had sketched himself and me from the shoulders up, and even included our dog Blue between us. He'd used a colored pencil to shade in her eyes that inspired her name.
“Jo, I love it.” It was the most beautiful picture I'd ever seen. He captured everything; from every hair of my beard to the handcuff necklace around my throat. “Thank you.”
He tapped the edge of the frame and told me, “My whole heart is in this sketch.”Myheart felt as if it would beat right out of my chest. It was full of love for this wonderful man.
Jo leaned in and kissed me softly, and for a moment, I forgot our friends surrounded us…until Chris whistled loudly and reminded me that we weren't alone. Not that I cared.
When my eyes peeled open, I saw Jo looking back at me with a heated gaze. I knew that look; it held desire, need, and naughty promises. He told me, “It's time to go home,” and I quickly nodded my agreement. I turned towards our friends and found them looking back at us with a mix of sweet smiles and shit eating grins.
“Thank you guys for coming,” Ty said without needing any further explanation, “And for our beautiful gift.” He turned to ask Gage, “Will you help me hang it tonight?”
“Of course, angel.”
“Oh, good; I love watching you work with tools. You're so hot! Remember what happened when you built the bookcase?”
“What happened?” Chris asked curiously, leaning closer to the pair.
“None of your damn business,” Gage growled, though he couldn't hide his smile at the memory.
“Fine,”Chris huffed, and Gage turned his attention back to us.
“Be safe driving home, and thanks for everything.”
Jo and I gave a quick round of goodbyes before I hurried towards the front door. From behind me, Chris called out in his best Braveheart-inspired Scottish accent (which was terrible), “Go, Mikey! Go claim your freedom!” I flipped him off over my head, but I didn't slow down.
