Of Love (18 page)

“I…. Maybe it’s the nipple?” Kent checked it, and the formula beaded at the tip. He tried again, and this time Andy started eating.

“There you go.” Dex grinned, feeling like they’d done this great big huge thing.

“Yay,” Kent whispered.

He nodded, splitting his attention between Adam in his arms and Kent holding Andy. His boy finished first, and he carefully brought Adam up against his shoulder, rubbing his back. This huge burp that couldn’t possibly have really come out of such a small body sounded.

“That was impressive.” He was trying not to laugh.

Adam let a fart out and promptly fell asleep.

“Wow.” Kent’s giggles filled the air.

His own joined in.

It was Angie’s wails that sobered them up. He got Adam into his car seat and grabbed the bottle first, then his girl. Ha. Look at him, learning already how to do this. Angie settled almost immediately when he picked her up.

“God, she really is an angel.” He put the bottle between her lips, and she immediately began sucking.

“You’ll think that when she gets her first tattoo.”

He gave Kent a horrified look. “Over my dead body.”

Kent grinned at him, carefully burping Andy. “No?”

“No tattoos. No piercings. No boys.”

God, was he really going to be
that
dad? He looked down at his little girl, face so familiar already; she looked so much like Kent. Yeah, he probably was.

Kent’s laughter filled the room, and Angie arched in his arms, wiggling happily.

And he’d thought Kent would be the stern dad.

He joined in with Kent’s laughter.

Scared and nervous? Hell, yeah. But his life was so full of love and wonder and joy. It more than made up for everything else.

“MERRY CHRISTMAS!”

Kent waved at his dad, who had the world’s biggest bag of goodies. They’d decided to celebrate at their house this year, as Andy was getting another tooth and his brother was a speed crawler and Angie could find anything that was on the floor.
Anything
.

Their nanny—the woman voted most likely to keep them sane—was taking her two-weeks paid vacation to take a cruise, so Dex’s mom had offered to come in, help out. It was the cutest thing ever. Dex was still likely to stop and stare as he watched her just melt under the spell of their babies.

“She’s like a different person,” Dex had told him in a whisper.

He’d heard grandkids did that to a person.

Kent looked for Dex now, searching the room until he met those beloved eyes. “You okay,” he mouthed.

Dex nodded vigorously and pointed. “Look!”

Angie had Dex’s little finger in one hand, clinging in that death grip of hers as she toddled along, upright, not ready yet to walk on her own, but wanting to be. She was still at the bottom percentage size-wise, but that little girl had more determination than both her brothers put together.

Kent clapped happily. “Go, Angel-baby!”

She looked over at his words and reached one hand toward him, opening and closing her hand, little face laughing.

He knelt down, opened his arms, and he heard Adam holler from Dex’s mom’s arm, “DA!”

His angel-girl, though, she let go of Dex’s hand and promptly fell hard on her butt, tears threatening.

Kent swooped in and grabbed her up. “Angie! Angie, you almost walked, and now you’re flying!”

The entire room laughed, except for Andy, who burst into tears. Dex grabbed Andy and threw him up into the air, catching their son as he came down.

“Uncle Dex! Do us too!” Kari’s twins reached for Dex, and Kent couldn’t stop smiling.

His mom came out of the kitchen. “Cocoa is ready, guys! Come and get a snack!”

“Ride first!” demanded Sherrie.

“What do you say?” Dex asked.

“Please, Uncle Dex!”

Damn, his lover was so good with the kids, so good.

Kent sat Angie on his hip, while his dad grabbed Andy and went in search of a teething ring. And they all made their way toward their huge kitchen. Big enough to hold all of them as they descended on the cocoa and cookies.

Dex came in carrying their nieces, one under each arm like bedrolls, the girls giggling. Dex put them down to go get their goodies, and came over to Kent. “Hey, husband.”

“Hey, my love. Having a good day?”

“I am. Christmas is my favorite holiday.” Dex had said that about every holiday since the kids had been born.

“Yeah? Just wait until their first birthday.” Talk about a holiday.

“No, I’m not ready. It’s going too fast!”

“I know, right? They’re so big. I wonder if Angie will actually open her Christmas gifts. She’s been into them often enough.” They’d had to move them up off the floor onto a table to keep her from ripping at the paper with her tiny hands.

“I bet she won’t once she’s the center of attention and is supposed to.” Dex looked so happy, happier even than when they’d first gotten together.

“Let’s go get some cocoa, love. I know your mom made you cookies too.”

“My mom?” Dex sounded both surprised and pleased. “Cool. I wonder if it’s those M&M ones….”

Dex wandered off to the island where the goodies were, and Kent nuzzled Angie’s cheek. “Look at that fine man.”

“Pa.”

“That’s right. That’s your poppa.”

His mother came over, hands out for her granddaughter.

He handed her over, kissed Mom on the cheek. “Love you, huh?”

“To the moon and back. Go get cocoa and let me tell my granddaughter the secret to the perfect hot chocolate.”

“You’ve got it.” He headed over to the stove, the kitchen full of laughter, of joy.

Of love.

Often referred to as “Space Cowboy” and “Gangsta of Love” while still striving for the moniker of “Maurice,”
SEAN MICHAEL
spends his days surfing, smutting, organizing his immense gourd collection and fantasizing about one day retiring on a small secluded island peopled entirely by horseshoe crabs. While collecting vast amounts of vintage gay pulp novels and mood rings, Sean whiles away the hours between dropping the f-bomb and pursuing the
Kama Sutra
by channeling the long-lost spirit of John Wayne and singing along with the soundtrack to
Chicago
.

A long-time writer of complicated haiku, currently Sean is attempting to learn the advanced arts of plate spinning and soap carving sex toys.

Barring any of that? He’ll stick with writing his stories, thanks, and rubbing pretty bodies together to see if they spark.

Website: http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com

Blog: http://seanmichaelwrites.blogspot.ca/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWrites

Twitter: @seanmichael09

Cupcakes

Guarding January

Of Love

The Swag Man Delivers

Two Tickets to Paradise (Dreamspinner Anthology)

Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Allen Jameson had it all—the perfect house, the perfect partner, the perfect life—until his partner, Gary, died suddenly, leaving him alone in the real world, where life isn’t so pretty and people make mistakes. Now Allen is the owner of Sweet ‘n’ Sassy Cupcake Shop, a cute boutique downtown, where he invents delicious flavors like strawberry and French meringue. Between working long hours and making special orders, Allen barely has time to think.

Then a hunky contractor walks into his shop looking for a treat. Allen and Byron Bannigan are total opposites, but they’re perfect together—salty and sweet like Allen’s signature peanut butter and chocolate ganache cupcakes. But as Allen struggles to juggle his business and his boyfriend, he learns he can only handle so much. He may have to choose between the cupcakes in his store and the cupcake in his bed.

Published by

DREAMSPINNER PRESS

5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Of Love

© 2015 Sean Michael.

Cover Art

© 2015 L.C. Chase.

http://www.lcchase.com

Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.

All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/.

Digital ISBN: 978-1-63476-210-6

First Edition June 2015

Printed in the United States of America