Sandy's mind was whirling as he navigated the rainy city streets, trying to get back on to the interstate highway that would take him back to Richmond. The rain and his jumbled thoughts were distracting him, and he kept missing He was shocked at the intensity of the emotions churning within him; anger was perfectly understandable, disappointment was too. But jealousy was a whole new experience for Sandy, and so was the clenching ache in his chest that he eventually identified as hurt. Hurt when Gavin never showed up in the hotel lobby. Hurt and jealousy when Sandy saw just why Gavin hadn't showed, because he was too busy being held against the wall by that smug bastard Tysen, being kissed and groped by him.
Held against the wall...
Wait a minute.
Sandy cursed when he missed his turnoff again. Stupid fucking Washington and its maze of one-way streets. He went around Columbus Circle again and went back for yet another attempt.
Something's not right.
Exasperated, he pulled over into an empty parking lot and cut the engine. Sandy's hands kept their death-grip on the steering wheel while he worked through what he thought he had seen.
Okay, Gavin had been pressed up against the wall and Howard Tysen had definitely been passionately kissing him, gripping Gavin's jaw with one hand while the other hand had roamed intimately beneath the waistband of Gavin's pants. But what had Gavin been doing? Sandy thought a little harder. Gavin's hands had been on the older man's shoulders... but they had been pushing at those shoulders, not wrapping around Tysen's neck and pulling him close.
Had he been pushing Tysen... away?
Oh fuck, he thought. The more Sandy re-played the sordid scene in his head the more he realized that Gavin had not been acting like a responsive, willing participant - and Sandy knew exactly how responsive Gavin normally was. Dread pooled in his stomach, cold and sour.
Fuckfuckfuck.
Sandy started the car, and tires squealed as he turned around and headed back toward the restaurant. The rain was coming down in earnest by the time Sandy turned back onto K Street, and it fell in heavy sheets that made visibility very poor. Sandy was not looking forward to going back out in that rainy mess and getting soaked. But he was going to go back, he grimly promised himself as he approached the hotel. He was going to march back into that restaurant and get Gavin and beat the everloving shit out of Howard Tysen. And then he-
There he is.
About a block ahead of him, Gavin walked alone in the downpour, his head bowed and his hands shoved in his pockets.
Sandy slowed down while he drove up close, and then he pulled over and rolled down the passenger-side window. "Gavin. Get in the car."
Gavin stopped walking, and Sandy brought the car to a halt. The younger man stared at him in confusion, his hair plastered against his face by the driving rain. "Sandy? I don't understand... I thought-"
"Never mind what you thought. Get in the car."
"But-"
"Gavin." Sandy barked out the name. "I was wrong. I know that asshole was forcing himself on you. Now get in the fucking car."
Gavin opened the door and climbed into the car.
Sandy rolled the window back up and then he gripped the steering wheel. "Are you all right? Did he...hurt you?" he asked in a tight voice. God help Howard Tysen if he had - Sandy was ready to come down on him like the wrath of God.
"Nah, m'okay." Gavin shook his head, spattering droplets of water all over the dashboard. "He kissed me an' was touchin' me like ya saw - an' it was fuckin' gross! - but I managed ta break loose right after ya left an' then I decked the son of a bitch."
Sandy let out the breath he had been holding. "You punched him?" He waited for a few cars to pass by and then he eased the car back into the driving lane.
"Yeah. Broke his nose, I think." Gavin stared out the window. "Bastard deserved it - who the hell does he think he is? Did he think just cuz he's famous I'd drop my pants an' bend over for him?" His fists clenched. "Asshole. I guess what he really wanted the whole time was ta get in my pants. An' you were right - he was really only showin' me how ta do stuff his way." His hand moved like he was about to reach out toward Sandy, but then stopped and stayed in his lap. "Thanks for comin' back, Sandy. M'sorry, m'gettin' your car all wet."
"Forget about that." Sandy replied. "And don't let that asshole mess with your head - I'm positive that he brought you for your talent, and he figured if he could fuck you as well it would be all the better. You're an amazing cook, Gavin." He successfully made the turnoff this time, and Gavin craned his head to look back.
"Umm, where are we goin'?"
"My apartment."
"But you live in Richmond."
"Yes."
Gavin looked back again. "Umm, I have my money an' my stuff in a rented room. An' Chef Tysen has my passport an' papers."
Sandy shook his head. "We'll go back tomorrow for your things. Right now you're coming home with me - I don't want you anywhere that creep can find you. I'll have Harrison take care of the passport issue." He glanced over at Gavin. "Somehow I don't think Howard Tysen will want his adoring fans to know that he sexually harasses his male employees, and Harrison is fucking scary when he goes into Battle-Lawyer mode."
Gavin laughed, and Sandy felt a rush of warmth at the sound. Gavin's hand moved again, and this time he reached across the center console and took Sandy's free hand. "Thanks, Sandy. M'glad ya came tonight. Real glad."
Sandy said nothing, but he didn't release Gavin's hand. Instead, he twined their fingers together and headed for the nearest bridge to Virginia.
Washington, D.C. to Richmond, Virginia is normally a two-hour drive, but Sandy was having none of that and shamelessly sped down Interstate 95 in spite of the deluge. He and Gavin spoke little, but their hands remained clasped tightly together. About halfway down Gavin nodded off, and while he slept Sandy pondered the situation. As obnoxious as the situation had been, Howard Tysen's asshattery had actually made the first half of Sandy's mission fairly easy. Gavin was in his car, coming back home with him. Now he just needed to get him to stay.
He activated his headset and called Harrison. Once his friend acknowledged being fully awake Sandy gave him a brief run-down of what had happened and asked him to go to D.C. in the morning and get not only Gavin's things, but his passport and visa as well.
"I'll leave first thing in the morning," Harrison said, his voice distant and buzzy through the earpiece. "Leave his key and address on your office desk, and I'll fetch them on my way. One of my cousins actually works for the police there - I'll give him a call and ask him to accompany me to the restaurant. It will be an unofficial escort, of course, but it will help put the fear of God - and prosecution - in Howard Tysen."
"That sounds like a good idea, although I have to tell you that you alone will probably make him piss his pants. You are fucking scary, my friend, when you go Momma Bear on someone."
"Really?" Harrison sounded quite pleased. "I must say that you are no slacker in that department either, Sandy. I think Mister Tysen should count himself quite lucky that you did not have to go back into that restaurant."
Sandy grunted in agreement.
"I'll touch base with you once I have everything settled, and Joe and I will come by your place in the evening so we can see you both. Have you had a chance to really speak with Gavin, Sandy?"
"Not yet." Sandy glanced over first at Gavin's sleeping form, then at their entwined hands. "I'll play it by ear. Right now I want to get him home and dry and away from that creep."
"Spoken like a true Momma Bear. I'm back off to sleep, then. Good luck, Sandy."
"Thanks, Harrison." Sandy disconnected the call and continued to drive south on the interstate. Within another hour he was within Richmond city limits, and Sandy gave Gavin's hand a squeeze. "Wake up, sleepyhead."
Gavin's eyes blinked open, and he released Sandy's hand and stretched, mouth opening wide in a face-cracking yawn. "Wow, I slept almost the whole way." He shivered. "Ugh, m'still all wet."
"You can shower once we get to my place, and I'll dig out something for you to wear. We're almost there - you want me to get you anything to eat? My fridge is pretty empty except for some frozen dinners. And beer."
Gavin raised an eyebrow at him. "Frozen dinners? That's pretty sad."
"Fuck you. Do you want to eat or not?"
Gavin nodded. "Can we get a pizza or somethin'?"
A veteran of alternative no-cooking-involved food sources, Sandy knew of several late-night pizza shops that catered to the college crowd. He called his favorite one and placed an order for delivery.
A few more miles and they pulled up in front of the Art Deco-style building that housed Imagine Publishing. Gavin peered out the window at the ten-story building. "Ummm, this is an office building."
"Yes, it's my office building," Sandy replied, pulling into his reserved parking spot. "I live on the top floor."
"Oh, wow. Cool." Gavin followed him over to the side entrance, and after Sandy punched some buttons on the security keypad they went inside and took the service elevator up to Sandy's office, where Gavin wrote down the address of his rented room and set his key on Sandy's desk. Then they returned to the elevator and rode up to the top floor, and Sandy unlocked the door and let them in to his apartment.
Gavin looked around at the spacious, modern living space. "What a cool place! That's neat that ya live upstairs from where ya work. Short commute, hunh?" He turned to Sandy. "Hey Sandy, I-"
Sandy gave him a gentle push into his bedroom. "Go shower - my master bath is through there. I'll leave some clothes on the bed for you and by the time you're done the pizza should be here. We can talk then."
"Okay. Thanks." Gavin quickly pressed his lips against Sandy's mouth and then headed into the bathroom.
Sandy waited until he heard the spray of the shower starting, and then he poked through his drawers and pulled out some of his gym clothes. He took off his own damp clothes and changed into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, placed another set of clothes on the edge of his bed and walked into the living room to wait for the pizza to be delivered.
~.~.~.~
"Mmmm, this is good pizza!" Gavin stood next to the gleaming stainless steel top of Sandy's kitchen island, attacking a slice of pepperoni pizza. He looked ridiculously small in a pair of Sandy's drawstring gym shorts and one of Sandy's t-shirts. "Feels good ta be in some dry clothes, even if these are a little big. Your shorts come almost to my knees!" He grinned at Sandy and plucked at the shorts.
"You look like you're ten." Sandy noticed a slender piece of leather cord strung with what looked like shells around Gavin's neck and gestured at the necklace. "That's new. What is it, your island souvenir? Some shells on a cord?"
Gavin fingered the leather necklace. "This? Ummm, those aren't shells. They're... your buttons, from your shirt." A faint blush colored his cheeks.
The buttons from the shirt he had been wearing their first night together, buttons that had flown across the room when Gavin had been eagerly pulling his shirt off. Gavin had obviously made the necklace, and something clenched in Sandy's chest as he stared at the three bits of plastic that nestled at the base of Gavin's throat. He tore his gaze away from the memento and commented, "Hunh. I guess they're not going back on my shirt then."
Gavin laughed. "No, I guess not." He reached for another slice and peeked past Sandy while Sandy retrieved two bottles of beer from the refrigerator. "Dude, that is the emptiest fridge I've ever seen in my life. There's only beer in there! Where are those frozen dinners?"
Sandy wordlessly opened the freezer door to display shelves full of boxed dinners. He shut the door, came back over to the island and handed Gavin his beer.
"That's just not right. You have this nice kitchen and then you eat that crap?" Gavin took a long swallow of beer and looked around the room. "An' it's a real nice kitchen, too."
"As you said to me earlier, shut up and eat." While Gavin ate his pizza Sandy revealed what Gary had told him about the whole sorry mess, and what he and Harrison had learned about Howard Tysen's deception.
"Ugh, what an asshole! We all knew he wasn't gettin' along with Mister Cavanaugh while we were at Blue Holes, but that's just nasty, ta take people away for spite. Chef Tysen had told us that Blue Holes was gonna go bankrupt, an' that we were all gonna lose our jobs. Then he told us about his new place, and - well, you know the rest of that story." Gavin grimaced and took another slice of pizza. "I feel stupid."
"You're not stupid." Sandy took a swig of his beer. "The guy played into everyone's ambitions, that's all. I don't know much about restaurants but I gather that being an executive chef is a big deal - you can't be blamed for wanting that."
"It is a big deal. It's the next best thing ta havin' your own place. Sometimes better, really, cuz ya get ta be in charge of the menus and staff and all but don't hafta be the one payin' the bills." Gavin finished his pizza and leaned on the tabletop, his chin in his hands. "This whole thing sucks, though, cuz now I'm out of a job an' I don't think Mister Cavanaugh would hire me back. I know that Chef Tysen told me an' the other guys lies ta get us ta leave, but we left. I wouldn't hire me back."
Sandy's heart started pounding. Here was his chance - the opening was perfect. "About that," he said, "I wanted to talk to you about working at Imagine Publishing. That was my main reason for going to Grand Bahama three days ago."
Gavin looked at him, puzzled. "You flew there ta offer me a job at your company? But-"
This time it was Sandy who put his fingers on Gavin's mouth. "Wait. Let me get my briefcase and I'll show you everything." Gavin nodded, and Sandy felt Gavin's gaze on him while he went and retrieved his briefcase from the console table near the door. Gavin was quiet and watchful while Sandy pushed the pizza box aside and set several stapled packets of paper on the table.
Sandy took a deep breath and began. "I went to Grand Bahama to try and convince you to come back with me. I figured the best way to do that was to offer you a job, since you were so goddamn adamant about making your own way."
A corner of Gavin's mouth quirked, but he said nothing.
Sandy pointed at the first packet. "There's all kinds of entry-level positions at Imagine; printing and bindery, warehouse and distribution. You can pick whatever you'd like - there's work enough in all those departments for a new person. And this," he pushed the middle packet toward Gavin, "has all the company benefits."
A barbelled eyebrow raised. "Like medical an' stuff?"
"Yes." Sandy said, and then he plunged ahead. "And a tuition program. For college."
Both eyebrows shot up this time. "Tuition? College? Hunh?"
"If an employee or one of their family members enrolls at an accredited school, the tuition is paid for by Imagine Publishing. They're expected to apply for financial aid, but the company pays the balance." Sandy tapped a finger on the third packet. "This set of papers has an application for a visa and a green card. Since you already have a work visa, you can apply for a green card and live here, permanently if you wish."
Gavin reached over and tentatively touched each of the packets. "You brought all this stuff with ya when ya flew there the other day?"
Sandy nodded.
"I think I could use another beer." Gavin hopped up to sit on the stainless steel top of the kitchen island and then he reached for the papers. He scanned the set that dealt with organizing his immigration. "This stuff is so I can get a visa an' work at your company, right? Well, I got my visa already, but Chef Tysen has it."
"Harrison is going to take care of that in the morning," Sandy said while he took two beers out of the refrigerator and handed one to Gavin. "And we have the paperwork ready to file to become your green card sponsor."
Gavin browsed the job description listings and then moved on to the company benefits packet. "So if I work here I can go ta school? Paid for by your company?"
"Yes, and yes," Sandy replied, and he uncapped his beer and took a long swallow. So far, so good. Gavin was reading everything and asking questions, so at least he wasn't dismissing the idea outright.
Gavin's eyebrows drew together in thought while he read through the benefits packet and drank his beer. He looked over at Sandy, who was now standing next to him and leaning against the island. "And this is for everybody, right? Not just me?"
The little shit was sharp, but Sandy was more than ready for the expected question. "Yes, it is a company-wide benefit. Joe is actually going to take advantage of it."
"JoJo's goin' ta school? Really? He always wanted to. He was gonna take restaurant management while I took culinary an' we were gonna open a place together. But he couldn't afford it."
"He signed up for a restaurant management program at one of the community colleges near here. They have a culinary arts program too." Sandy stepped closer.
Gavin's eyes went wide. "For real? But- then..."
"You both can do what you planned years ago." Sandy pushed Gavin's knees apart and stood between his thighs. He heard Gavin's breathing quicken.
"B-but how can JoJo go? He doesn't work at your place, Harrison does."
Sandy nodded at the papers in Gavin's hand. "If an employee already has a degree the benefit can be used for their spouse, partner or child. Depending on his behavior, Joe can qualify as all three."
"Heh. I won't tell him ya said that." Gavin put the packet down with the other papers, and set his empty beer bottle off to the side. "So... does your place have a cafeteria? Maybe I can work there. I would have experience for that kind of job, instead of startin' from scratch."
"It does, and you could," Sandy said, and his heart started to beat faster. He's thinking about it. This might work. He decided to take a risk. "However, there's another, better position available."
"Yeah?"
He lightly touched the buttons that were strung around Gavin's neck. "Personal chef to the CEO. You can see the sorry state of this kitchen, it needs someone in it who knows what the hell they're doing." A wave of his other hand included the pizza box, bare shelves and the already-laughed-at refrigerator.
"Personal chef, hunh?" A small smirk curved Gavin's lips. "I dunno, would that job have the same benefits as workin' in the cafeteria? That tuition program is pretty important." He began to play with the hem of Sandy's t-shirt.
"The personal chef position has even better benefits. It not only includes the tuition program, but there would also be free housing and free fucking."
Gavin laughed "Free fucking? Wow, now there's a benefit." His hands ducked beneath the shirt hem to rest at Sandy's waist.
"It's a reciprocal program," Sandy replied. "I house you and fuck you, you feed me and fuck me. Everyone wins."
Gavin's hands froze in place. "You house me..." He looked at Sandy with wide, dark eyes.
This was the critical point, Sandy thought. Gavin now knew exactly what Sandy was offering him. The younger man was silent in front of him, biting his lip. Sandy couldn't breathe.
After what seemed an eternity to Sandy, Gavin spoke. "Could I maybe do both? Maybe work part-time at the cafeteria while I go ta school? That would give me my own money, an' it would be good practice ta come up with meal choices for a lot of people." His hands began to move again, roving over Sandy's chest. "That way I can be housed, fucked and paid." He grinned widely at Sandy.
Sandy's lungs started working again. "You drive a hard bargain," he said, his breath hitching when Gavin's fingers found his nipples. "It's a good thing I like your cooking. And your fucking." He swept the back of his hand over the front of Gavin's borrowed sweat pants, where a healthy erection was already tenting the soft cotton fleece. "Stay with me," Sandy whispered, and then he leaned forward and cupped Gavin's face with his hands. "Live with me." He brushed his lips against Gavin's mouth. "Please."
Gavin's mouth opened under his, and Sandy kissed him like he was drowning and dying of thirst at the same time. He thrust his tongue into Gavin's mouth, re-discovering the tongue stud and tasting the spice of pizza, the malt of beer. Gavin's hands moved to his back and pulled him closer, and Sandy felt Gavin's dick nudging against his belly, so close to his own aching erection. He shifted and rolled his hips against Gavin, and they both groaned at the friction of their dicks bumping against each other through the fleece of their pants. Sandy sought Gavin's neck with his mouth while he dropped his hands to press against the small of Gavin's back, and he rocked against Gavin again.
"Nnngh, Sandy, that feels so good." Gavin dipped his hands beneath the waistband of Sandy's sweatpants to cup his bare ass. "I missed you so much. I missed this so much."
Sandy pressed his lips against the throbbing pulse in Gavin's throat. "You'll stay?" he demanded hoarsely.
"I-I'll stay."
"Good." Sandy captured Gavin's mouth again. He let Gavin's tongue invade his mouth while he worked one of his hands under the elastic of Gavin's shorts, delving a finger into the cleft at the top of Gavin's ass to press against his entrance.
A strangled moan came from Gavin's throat, and he broke off their kiss. "Sandy," he panted against Sandy's lips, "fuck me."
Sandy didn't need to be asked twice. He pulled Gavin off the table and led him into his bedroom, where eager hands tugged at drawstrings, waistbands and shirts as they removed each other's clothes. Gavin flopped onto the bed, pulling Sandy down with him, and Sandy propped himself up on an elbow and feasted his eyes on the lithe, naked body that lay next to his. Gavin's skin was flushed, he was breathing heavily and while Sandy watched the rapid rise and fall of his chest he noticed the glint of lamplight on metal.
"You pierced your nipples." Sandy reached out and touched one of the tiny barbells, and he chuckled when Gavin groaned and drew in a sharp, hissing breath. "Feels good?"
"Ohhh, yeah," Gavin caressed Sandy's circling fingers. "Got 'em done the week after ya left. Nnngh... you should get yours done too. I would love that." He reached up and playfully tweaked a pink nub. "They would look so fuckin' sexy on you."
"Maybe." Sandy was more interested in Gavin's piercings than his own potential ones right now, and he started by kissing the barbell at Gavin's eyebrow. He dipped down to flick his tongue against a nose stud before moving over to Gavin's left ear, where he licked and sucked at the hoops and studs there. Gavin mmmm'd contentedly and began to trail his fingers down Sandy's spine while Sandy continued his explorations.
Sandy took his time, wanting to taste every bit of Gavin's skin. He let his lips travel to the other ear, stopping at Gavin's mouth for a few deep kisses and to feel the roll of Gavin's studded tongue against his. Sandy ran his tongue along the rings and bar in Gavin's other ear, and then he leisurely licked his way down to those little barbells. The noises that were coming from Gavin made Sandy glad his apartment took up the top floor of the building - Gavin was very loud and very vocal in his pleasure and Sandy readily admitted that every gasp, every moan, every shout just made him that much harder. He stopped just long enough to grab a tube of lubricant out of his nightstand drawer, and then he returned to his task, lapping at one of the metal bars while he slowly pushed slicked fingers into Gavin. Sandy's fingers thrust and stretched while his mouth moved to lick the other nipple, and Gavin moaned loudly and threaded his fingers in Sandy's hair.
"Nnngh, S-Sandy... m'gonna come, ya keep d-doin' that. Ohgod..."
Sandy's response was to draw the pierced nub into his mouth and suck on it, flicking his tongue against the metal barbell.
With a cry Gavin convulsed and climaxed. Sandy felt the wet warmth of Gavin's release on his skin, felt Gavin shaking beneath him while he released the sensitive flesh and returned to kissing his way down to the curved barbell in Gavin's navel.
Maybe he would get his nipples pierced, Sandy thought as his lips curved against sweaty, sticky skin. It must feel pretty damn good if just having them sucked could make Gavin come. He reached for the lubricant again, and moments later he was sinking into Gavin, groaning as his dick was enveloped in the incredibly tight warmth of that perfect ass. Gavin wrapped his legs around Sandy's waist and drew him in further, and he pulled Sandy's mouth to his to exchange rough, sloppy kisses while Sandy thrust deep inside him. Muffled moans escaped both their throats as they rocked together, slowly at first but then faster and harder while Gavin breathlessly urged Sandy for more.
It feels so, so good. Gavin was bucking and writhing beneath him as he matched Sandy's rhythm, and his hands caressed Sandy's back while his mouth sought Sandy's jaw, then neck, then shoulder. Heat was coiling, building, blazing in Sandy's groin, and when Gavin arched up against him and noisily came again, Sandy followed him into the most intense orgasm he'd ever experienced. Gavin's name spilled from his lips while his body shuddered and strained to go deeper, deeper, and as time became fluid around him Sandy realized with a sudden crystal clarity why this felt so different from the other two times he had fucked Gavin.
It felt different because he felt.
He loved Gavin.
Time abruptly snapped back in place. Sandy found that he was staring at Gavin, who was a panting, glorious mess beneath him - face flushed with pleasure, hair sticking every which way and a satisfied grin that stretched almost from ear to ear. Sandy's own labored breathing was loud in his ears, and his heart was racing not only from the exertion, but from its new discovery. He reached out and touched Gavin's cheek, words hiding in his throat.
Gavin met his gaze, his eyes warm and cognac-dark. He turned his face to press a kiss on the palm that cupped his cheek, and then he smiled.
"I love you too," he whispered.
~.~.~.~.~
Lips kissing his skin. A wet tongue licking, lapping along his neck and shoulders. Fingers slipping inside him.
Mmmm, that dream again.
Sandy's eyes opened to morning sunlight that criss-crossed his bed, and he blinked as warm rays gently touched his face. Birds were noisily chattering in the tall oak trees that were outside the building, but somehow they didn't seem nearly as annoying as they usually were.
Wait, the dream-?
"Good morning," Gavin murmured against the nape of his neck.
Moments later Sandy felt the delicious burn of a hard, thick length pushing into him. He moaned and leaned back against the warmth of Gavin's chest. A hungry mouth sought his earlobe while Gavin moved inside him, his thrusts slow and deep.
Not a dream.
Gavin was here; in his home, in his bed, in his body.
Everything was back to normal.
