Chance of the Heart (17 page)

“This is what happens when you don’t know what’s going on. You make assumptions,” Chance said.

“It’s not like you were talking.”

“It’s not like you were asking.”

“That’s bullshit, Chance. You hooked up with that girl and started feeling guilty and you just shut down.”

“No. I started questioning more. I had a light shined on my life and had a hard time figuring shit out. But c’mon… would you really want to hear my big gay epiphany?”

“Big gay what?” David bellowed. Chance realized a split second late what he’d said himself, but he didn’t know what to do about it now.

“You heard me. I slept with a guy. Not a girl.” Well he was just falling out of the closet left and right.

“So… Wow.”

“Yes. So I just assumed you didn’t want to hear it. But… I’m happy. Just fucking freaking out over how to deal with it. And if you don’t wanna stick around that’s just fine, but if you’d for once in your life keep my business to your Goddamned self.”

David was quiet for a moment, a long moment. His meek reply was, “I never tell your shit.”

Chance felt his body relax a little, especially because his friend was full of shit and it made him chuckle. “You tell your wife if I get a hang nail.”

“She says communication is good.”

“You gossip with each other like a couple of old blue hairs down at Johnny O’s Dry Good. Then
she
tells half the county.”

“We ain’t all that bad.” David’s cheeks were red with embarrassment, though.

“You’re the worst,” Chance assured, nodding solemnly.

David punched Chance in the shoulder. “Well I wouldn’t have told this, you asshole.”

Chance rubbed where David had punched, watching as David started pacing. He couldn’t get a read on how David was taking the news.

“I mean, we’ve been friends since we was six years old. Not that it ain’t weird… but I can’t picture just up and ditching you.”

Chance quirked an eyebrow. “If you could say that to my face maybe I’d believe you.” Chance was starting to fidget a bit. He didn’t know what darn fool notion had possessed him to blab to David. But David had been his friend forever. He’d also been the only one of them not raised in that damn church so maybe…

“I don’t know that I can talk about all this.”

“Oh,” Chance said. “Okay.”

“I just can’t believe you’d let Caitlin think you’d get married now that you know and all…”

“David, we broke up officially before the party but you know it was over when the break started.”

That’s when David stopped and shook his head sadly. “I guess I did know. But this is a bit of a surprise.”

“Look, be weird all you want but please, for God’s sake, keep it to yourself,” Chance implored. “Caitlin knows. You know. That’s all I need right now.”

“Are you still seeing that guy?” Before Chance could respond, David put his hand up. “No, I don’t wanna know.”

“Okay,” Chance drawled. “Can you at least use some of that fuckin’ caged rabbit energy to get some chores done?”

“Yeah, a’course, boss.” David nodded briskly then started toward the barn. He stopped and turned quickly, still not meeting Chance’s eye. “You say you’re happy, though, right?”

Chance remembered the last few months, getting closer to Bradley, remembering their glory days, laughing, riding the trails… Last night. “Very,” was all he could say, but he felt the smile stretch his face. The situation may still be up in the air, but he felt freer than he had in years. That’s when David stopped and really looked at him. His assessment was uncomfortable but he seemed to settle something in his mind. He gave one more brisk nod and was off to the barn.

Chance was nervous the man wouldn’t be able to keep it to himself, wasn’t even really sure what David was thinking. He had to give the man some trust, though. They’d known each other too long and he’d taken Chance’s verbal backlash in stride, when aside from getting on Chance’s nerves, he hadn’t deserved to bear the brunt of Chance’s emotional eruption. At least they hadn’t thrown punches.

Chance looked around again at the mess in the back yard. And he thought of it like he thought of his life: he’d start at the beginning and hopefully, by the end, things would be put to rights. Because the last twenty-four hours had been like that party. Crazy, loud, and left a mess in its wake. But something told him he could get by if Bradley stuck around.

Bradley sighed as he closed his father’s most recent e-mail. The Reverend wasn’t happy with Bradley’s number crunching with the deacons… Again. He’d not had another one-on-one with the old man since he’d last strolled into his office weeks ago to complain about the same damn issue. They’d gotten to where it was just a back and forth via e-mails or a terse comment during staff meetings.

Bradley was glad he’d settled on only helping out for six months. Though it left his ability to make a decision about his future with Chance up in the air. In the two weeks since Caitlin’s welcome home party they’d only seen each other a handful of times, managing mostly quick hand jobs and sweet nothings.

Chance had told Bradley about coming out to his best friend, David, and Bradley’d wondered at Chance’s lack of freaking out about it. But his friend seemed to be taking it in stride from what Chance had said.

Bradley wasn’t sure whether to trust the big epiphany. And so what if Chance was actually okay with being gay now? He wasn’t out and could Bradley really stick around Hope Springs hoping that Chance came out, sitting around for what could be years as his secret boyfriend? He’d never felt so insecure. He wasn’t this guy. He was the guy who bedded who he wanted back in Abernathy.

He never got this tripped up over someone, not since his bullshit ex in college. Another closet case who’d put him off the whole thing. It’d been nothing but hook ups and out guys since then, as it should be. But Chance… he represented so many things Bradley wanted, aside from his being closeted. They shared history, many of the same values, understood what it meant to be a son of Hope Springs and Blessed Union’s congregation. They also were perfect in the bedroom.

Emma had fussed at him. She’d been right, too. Chance needed a minute to regroup. When Bradley mentioned Chance maybe trying out other guys he’d gotten the silent treatment from the man for a day. That had sucked. But it also sucked knowing that, even if Chance and Caitlin weren’t spending any time together to put up the front, they still pretended to be together.

Even Bradley’s sister had told him to be patient, though. He’d never been good at that. He probably hadn’t given his father much of a chance to figure out what to do with a gay son before he packed it in and kept his distance. He’d always gone for easy, twinkish guys who were out and willing to bottom. Look where that’d gotten him. Cheated on and booted from his lease.

So he went with what he’d told Chance. One day at a time. Though he only had about six more weeks of one-day-at-a-time to give without it being a long distance situation.

His head popped up when he heard the click of his front door. He looked at the time, well past seven p.m. He’d been elated when Chance said he’d come by after work that night, as they hadn’t been able to spend a lot of quality time together. But Chance got off hours ago and he’d wondered why the man had taken so long. That’s why he’d gone and gotten lost in his work for a while.

He stretched his limbs and called out to Chance, “In the office!” When Chance strode in, he’d wished he’d moved to the bedroom.

“Damn,” he said, voice husky as he took in the sight of his lover. Chance was naked as the day he was born, save for a pair of his fancy boots and his black Stetson. Miles of smooth, olive skin stretched over broad muscles. His thick thighs rippled as Chance approached, his long, proud cock standing straight out, pointing at Bradley.

“You like what you see, cowboy?” Chance stared down at him with hungry eyes, tongue swiping over his pretty wine-colored lips which were the exactly color of his large nipples that were pebbled up nicely.

Bradley’s cock had gone from chubbed to standing straight up in his sweatpants as he ran his hands up Chance’s powerful flanks.

“What’d I do to deserve the cowboy porn treatment?” Not that he was complaining. Chance let out an amused laugh, eyes glinting with good humor.

“It’s been an awful long time since I got my hands on you in the right, improper way, Heart. You complainin’?” Chance moved one of his legs in between Bradley’s and stood staring down as they locked their knees together. His cock was almost mouth level with Bradley, who reached out and gave Chance’s balls a good roll in their sac. The sexy hiss that came from Chance was hot as hell.

He loved that the big, powerful cowboy, one many called “boss”, who controlled two thousand pounds of horseflesh like a god, was fucking putty in Bradley’s hands. He could make Chance beg for his cock and that was the biggest turn-on he’d ever known.

Chance dropped to his knees, peering up as he pulled down Bradley’s sweatpants, exposing his cock, whose head was red and ready to burst. He took Bradley in hand and stroked slowly. “This good, cowboy?”

“Put it in your mouth,” Bradley said, flexing his hips to push his cock closer to Chance’s mouth.

“First I wanted to say thank you, before I showed you how thankful I was.”

“F-for what?”
Oh, yeah, you’re the only one who can bring a cowboy to his knees.

“You helped me so much. And I decided to make a move. So I decided to invest in the restaurant.”

Bradley sat up quickly, stunned. “You did?”

Chance laughed, his face relaxed and carefree in a way that made Bradley’s heart stutter. “Yeah, signed the papers on the way here tonight. I’m gonna find a way to make it work.” He leaned up on his haunches and whispered, “And I have you to thank for all this.”

That was a lie. Chance had been growing in leaps and bounds, becoming his own man. Bradley had been there to hold his hand, for sure, but he had nothing to do with Chance finally going after something he so clearly wanted.

Before Bradley could protest, Chance kissed him, rough and dirty. Their mouths collided in gnashing teeth and sloppy, graceless tongues. Chance nibbled Bradley’s bottom lip before slowly descending to take Bradley in his mouth.

Chance pushed his Stetson back enough to make eye contact but didn’t remove it as he squatted, pushing his ass out in true porn star fashion as he licked Bradley’s shaft. Then, with a groan that almost set Bradley off, he swallowed Bradley down. Bradley loved this side of Chance. He’d grown more and more confident, completely dropping his inhibitions when they were naked. The man knew what his body was capable of, how Bradley responded to it, and he threw his all into making them both feel good.

Bradley loved the way Chance’s hot, wet mouth worked his cock, his fist joining in to make a delicious friction. The sight of Chance squatting in front of him in his hat and boots, ass out—Bradley couldn’t not touch. He leaned to the side and ran a hand down Chance’s ribs, then down over the firm mounds of ass the man had displayed so nicely. Chance pushed back, wiggling his hips when Bradley’s hand cupped his ass cheek. Bradley chuckled dirtily before giving it a good rub, squeeze and a firm smack.

“Fuck!” Bradley practically shouted when Chance let out a guttural moan around the cock in his mouth. Bradley leaned and gave the other cheek the same treatment.

Chance popped off his cock. “You gotta stop that before I cum like this.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Bradley tilted Chance’s head up with a finger under his chin and, though this was one of the filthiest moments of his life, he couldn’t help but place a sweet, simple kiss on Chance’s lips. The smile he got from Chance was blinding.

Chance reached down into his left boot and pulled out a condom and small bottle of lube. “Then my being all prepared would have been a waste.” Chance bent and rolled his tongue around the head of Bradley’s throbbing cock. Then with practiced hands, smoothed the rubber on Bradley and slicked him up, stroking a few times. Bradley hissed as Chance moved over him on the desk chair—which thankfully didn’t have armrests—and lowered himself inch by inch.

Bradley was always in awe when they joined like this, the blissful look on Chance’s face, the way they fit together. Chance was finally seated, ass to lap, then leaned in for a kiss. They latched on to one another as Chance began to ride. Chance’s arms were wrapped around Bradley’s shoulders as they grunted into one another’s mouths. Bradley’s hands moved from gripping Chance’s waist to gripping those round cheeks and Chance’s hole gripped him, riding up and down.

Chance pulled back and rested his forehead on Bradley’s. “Do it.” He didn’t even have to say what. Bradley growled as he took the first swing, smacking first one cheek, then the other. Chance groaned loudly and fell forward, head to Bradley’s shoulder. A couple more smacks and his hole started spasming on Bradley’s cock.

Bradley gripped that ass tighter as Chance lost control and started shooting between the two of them. He started bouncing Chance’s ass up and down with a tight hold, thrusting his own hips, fucking Chance through his orgasm.

“Oh. Mother. Fuck. Shit.” Chance bit out loudly between each thrust. His body was almost completely limp between each spasm. And that was all Bradley could take. He wrapped his arms around the small of Chance’s back, thrust is two, three, four more times then buried his cock deep, and his face against Chance’s, pouring his load into the condom.

“Fuck, fuck, fuuuuck.” Bradley panted. Finally he was drained completely and fell back against the chair, Chance falling with him and they lay like that. It felt like he may never catch his breath again.

For the naughtiness of the fucking, the moments after were overwhelmingly sweet as Chance kissed up the side of Bradley’s neck, hugging him tight, their bodies still joined from cock to chest.

After a while longer, Chance sat up and eased off Bradley with a wince. Bradley missed the warmth and particularly hated when their bodies separated. He gave Chance’s pinked ass one more good swat and squeeze, earning a chuckle.

Chance pulled the condom off and went to the bathroom across the hall. Bradley picked up the shirt from the floor that he’d discarded hours ago when the afternoon heat had been stifling and wiped the lube from his cock and the cum from his chest.

When Chance came back he was still naked and Bradley snorted a laugh. “You didn’t lose your hat.”

Chance gave another of his sexy as hell, flirty grins. “You know I can ride harder than that and not lose my hat.”

Bradley reached for Chance’s hand and pulled him down for a brief kiss. “I’m gonna have to see if I can’t just knock it off sometime then.”

Bradley loved this. They’d gone from dirty to laughing to making love, loathe as he was to call it that, then back to laughing. He’d always enjoyed sex, what man didn’t? But he’d never felt all his soul being a part of it like this.

“I look forward to seeing you try,” Chance whispered against his lips. Then he stood and the look of awe on his face as he shook his head was what Bradley could only call
fucking adorable.

“Why does it just get better with you every time?” Chance asked, sounding honestly like he didn’t know the answer.

Because we’re perfect together.
But Bradley couldn’t say the words. Not yet. Not with so much up in the air. Yes, the sex was great and Chance was making huge steps to be his own man… but there was still a lot between now and a happy ever after. Right?