“Sure did, Mr. O’Leary. But something even grander’s happened, and I want you to hear it from me,” he said and grabbed Ned’s hand, dragging him up.
“We finally gettin’ a raise?” Ned laughed and wrapped his arms around Cole’s neck. If Cole came over all fresh and fancy, he ought to be prepared for some sweat and grease stains.
Cole chuckled and leaned in, as if he wanted Ned to smell the ylang-ylang on him. The tease knew how addicted Ned was to that scent. “No. But looks like we’re gonna stay here. Jan bought the land,” he whispered into Ned’s ear.
The news exploded in Ned’s head, opening a world of possibilities so vast he didn’t know what to say at first. “For… Forever?”
Cole tightened his arms around Ned, leaning against him as if he’d wanted to do this since their morning parting. “Seems like it. None of us are getting any younger, and this city’s developing fast. Might double its population in the next ten years. What do you think?” Cole asked, pulling away to meet his gaze. His black eyes were intense, as if he wanted something.
Ned exhaled, holding on to Cole’s hand as emotion washed over him without warning. “Anywhere’s perfect with you. But I won’t lie—not having to travel and set up anew each time sounds like a dream.” And he’d be sharing it with the one man who made life worth living. Cole helped him stay away from drink by going sober himself, didn’t complain when Ned’s memory lapsed, nor ever strayed, even though lots of pretty young fish had passed through the circus since they joined. There would never be a better match for Ned, and as time passed he realized that Cole believed the same to be true about him.
One night Cole had been unusually agitated, and by the time Ned was just about fed up with his mood, Cole had put a silver band on his finger, stressing repeatedly it’d been bought with money he’d earned, not stolen. Soon after, they’d had a little party with their closest friends and they’d both worn matching rings ever since. The trinket sitting on Ned’s thick finger represented Cole’s love, and looking at it warmed his heart every time.
They were perfect for one another, and after seven years, still very much in love.
Cole smiled, and his long lashes fluttered as he glanced at the floor, contemplating something. “I’ve been thinking that maybe it’s time for us to make a change. Settle down in a little farmstead of our own. We’d be close enough to keep working here every night, but we’d sleep in our own bed, grow our own food, have chickens for eggs. That kind of thing—”
Ned snorted and buried his fingers in Cole’s silky hair. “You? You wanna be a farmer?” he asked, even though everything else about Cole’s vision sounded like bliss.
Cole frowned. “Well… you know how to do it. Can’t be that hard,” he said, without the earlier certainty.
“Are you saying my farming skills are worthless?”
A scowl twisted Cole’s mouth, and he squirmed in Ned’s arms. “All I’m sayin’ is that you’ll know your way around that kind of thing. It would set us up for the future.”
Ned laughed and ran the back of his hand over Cole’s smooth cheek. “Can’t wait to see you tending to chickens with this supple skin of yours.”
“I went to the barber’s and shaved, because I figured this might be a new beginning. For the circus. And for us.”
“And for Tom.” Ned kissed Cole, still overwhelmed by the upcoming changes.
Cole smiled, and his hands rolled down Ned’s sides to rest on his hips. A jolt of anticipation hit Ned even before his man spoke, in a lower voice this time. “You’ll need to show me how to plant seeds and such.” And if his suggestive tone weren’t clear enough, he moved his palms to Ned’s rear.
“Don’t you know all about planting seed by now?” Ned nuzzled Cole’s cheek and hugged him closer, letting their bodies melt together. “Most people have gone off to the city, right?”
Ned would never stop longing for the fire kindling in Cole’s eyes when they were close, and when Cole pushed him back until Ned’s buttocks hit a wooden table, the only choice was to yield.
“I might need some remindin’. It’s a real art,” Cole said, pushing between Ned’s legs the moment Ned sat down. The thrust he made with his hips was gentle, not yet demanding.
“First… you need to make sure your tools are ready,” Ned whispered and moved his hand to Cole’s cock, cupping it through the pants with growing excitement. Keeping his hands off Cole was impossible most days, but the perspective of venturing on another adventure together made his need as desperate as he was to keep breathing.
“They might need some oiling,” Cole whispered, biting his lip with the same smile Ned had fallen for so many years ago. He moved the back of his hand down the side of Ned’s face, his touch so achingly familiar yet warm and exciting as ever. Over the years, Ned had learned the exact weight of Cole’s touch, and every time he sensed it was like coming home.
“How convenient that I’m a mechanic…” Ned murmured and slid his hand into Cole’s pants.
Cole arched against him, his smooth skin gliding against Ned’s. “What’s your opinion of my piston?” he whispered, and his warm, slick tongue pushed into the middle of Ned’s ear, triggering a violent shiver as his body went tense with pleasure.
“Best used often…”
A sharp whistle tore through their pleasure cocoon, and Ned couldn’t unwind himself from Cole fast enough as his heart rattled with dread. They’d left the doors wide open, brainless like two cats that found a bucket of cream and didn’t care about the dog stalking around.
A wiry figure stood at the entryway, muscular for someone young yet with the awkwardly long limbs of an adolescent. Ned’s head pulsed with panic, but Cole stood in front of him and closed his duster.
“Tom. Weren’t you going into town with the others?” he asked, and while his voice was hoarser than usual, it sounded normal enough. Perhaps darkness had kept the details of what had almost transpired from the boy’s eyes?
No such luck.
Tom frowned and signed so fast some of his pale locks fell onto his face. [I have news. But you have too? What is this? Two men.]
Ned’s blood thudded in his ears so loudly he might not have understood Tom, if he were speaking. “It’s not—”
[It’s disgusting. What are you doing?!]
Cole marched up to Tom, with his coat floating in the air like a cape, and slapped his face so hard Ned flinched.
“What was that, boy? Your signing’s off today, I feel.”
Tom rubbed his reddened cheek and raised his hands in protest before signing again. [Sorry! Sorry. I was just joking.]
Ned watched the boy with his heart in his throat. All these years, they’d been discreet for his sake, but also because Ned had been afraid of rejection. Tom was like a son to them, and he didn’t want to lose him over the most important relationship in his life. While they brought him up to be accepting and kind, at fourteen, they could hardly control the influence his band of friends had on him.
“What are you saying?” Ned uttered, taking in their boy from the tips of his bare feet to the mop of blond hair on his head. Despite the young age, he had a cocky way about him, reinforced by the company he kept.