“Yeah,” Owen said, his hand brushing a hair off Chad’s forehead. “I guess we are.”
Epilogue
Chad stared at his computer screen. He was on the couch—which used to be Owen’s couch in Owen’s apartment but was now their couch in their apartment—with his feet propped up on the coffee table.
Owen had bought him this fancy lap desk thing, because Owen had grumbled about overheating and breaking his laptop when Chad used to just put it on a pillow on his lap. He had to admit the lap desk was nice. But he wasn’t going to tell Owen that.
The door opened, and Owen walked inside. Chad took off his reading glasses so he could get a good look at his man. He loved how Owen dressed for work, in those dress pants that made his legs look long and his ass tight. The shirt showed off the breadth of his shoulders, and of course that damn bow tie always did things to Chad’s dick.
Owen paged through the mail on the table at the front door, a frown on his drawn face. Chad should offer the guy a back rub later or something. Marley had been working him hard lately. Owen said he was happy, though, that more people at work were noticing him, commenting on how well he handled his job, and that mattered to him. So in turn, it mattered to Chad.
Then Owen glanced up, caught Chad looking at him, and smiled, all tension draining from his limbs as he walked over to him and sank down on the couch beside him. He kissed him, sighing into his mouth. Chad kissed back, slipping his tongue between Owen’s lips, tasting him.
When he pulled back, Owen’s eyes were half closed. “Missed you,” he said quietly.
“Sorry,” Chad said. “Been busy with class and work and—”
“Shh, I know,” Owen said. “I just wanted you to know you were missed.”
Chad fucking loved that. “I missed you, too.”
“How’s the job?” Owen loosened his bow tie and ran a hand through his hair.
“It’s good.” Nixon Design had hired him as a paid, part-time intern. His paycheck wasn’t going to buy him a brand-new bike any time soon, but he was learning a lot, and best of all, they helped with his tuition. “My future brother-in-law, on the other hand, is driving me crazy.”
Owen laughed. “Oh, yeah?”
“He’s a groomzilla.”
“Oh, come on.”
“I’m serious, man. Everything’s gotta be perfect. He bitched out the florist today.”
“What does Marley say?”
“She’s in dream world. She barely has to plan anything. She says she wants something, and Austin magically makes it happen. She doesn’t see behind the scenes where he’s whipping me bloody.”
Owen rubbed the back of Chad’s neck. “Poor Chad.”
“It’s fine. I know he just wants to make Marley happy. And she is.”
Owen pressed a kiss to his temple. “I’m going to take a shower. Why don’t you order us some takeout?”
“I want pad thai,” Chad said.
“Whatever you want, princess,” Owen called over his shoulder on the way to the bathroom.
…
Owen pulled on a pair of sweats and a T-shirt, then towel-dried his hair.
It never got old to come home and see Chad busy with his schoolwork. Owen was so damn proud of him.
He walked out to the living room to find Chad on the phone ordering dinner. When he hung up, he motioned for Owen to lie down on the couch on his stomach. He did, and then Chad proceeded to massage his back until he was melted jelly.
Then Chad flipped him over, lowered the waistband of his sweatpants and gave him a slow, perfect blow job until he wasn’t sure of his name or what year it was.
Shortly after Chad kissed him, smirking the whole time at Owen’s boneless state, the doorbell rang.
Owen didn’t move as Chad paid and collected the food. “I need to return the favor,” he muttered as Chad set the food on the coffee table and began ripping into the bags.
“Later,” he said.
“But that was really good.”
Chad stopped his rummaging and raised an eyebrow. “Really good?”
“Amazing. Mind-blowing. Life altering.”
“That’s better,” Chad said. He lifted out a container and immediately dug in with a plastic fork. “Want some?”
“Later,” Owen said, unable to even move his limbs.
This was their life now. Work and homework and blow jobs on the couch and pad thai while watching baseball.
For months, Owen had lived in fear that Chad would grow bored of this life, that he’d decide he wanted more fun, more adventure, just more.
But Chad never wavered. He remained devoted to Owen and to the life they were building together. He went to school and work and remained Chad in every way. Just a little more settled.