Close the Distance (5 page)

“Did he ask you?” Patrick shot straight up on the couch to look at him. “And you’ve already told him you loved him?”

“No, he didn’t ask me and yes, I’ve already told him that.” Ion put his bowl on the table before facing Patrick. “I know it’s fast, but why should I wait to tell him when it’s how I feel? It’s not going to change the longer I wait to do it. Besides, he loves me too. Hell, it’s not like we’re going out and getting married tomorrow.”

“God, I’d hope not. I need to go get a new suit before I can stand up for you.” Patrick grinned. “Besides, it’ll be a big society wedding and you have to have some idea how crazy those can be.”

“A big wedding?” Ion shook his head. “We aren’t getting married.”

“Not yet, but if he’s already letting you call his place yours and telling you to invite whomever you want over, then I can see where this is heading.” Patrick threw his hands in the air as he fell back against the couch. “I can just see it. It’ll be a summer wedding and you’ll both look dashing in your tuxedoes. You should totally have it in Central Park.”

“If we ever decide to get married, the ceremony would be in my parents’ back yard in the Hamptons,” Adrien said as he strolled through the room to the kitchen.

“Oops,” Patrick whispered behind his hand before bursting out in laughter.

Shaking his head, Ion rolled his eyes.
Great. Now Adrien thinks I’m going to want him to marry me. Yet now that the thought has been put out there, I kind of want to marry him. Spending the rest of my life with him would be awesome.

Adrien wandered back in, another glass of wine in his hand, then stopped to brush a kiss over Ion’s forehead. “I’m going to watch the news in the bedroom. I’ll see you tomorrow, Patrick.”

“Goodnight, sir.” Patrick waited until Adrien was out of the room before he whirled to glare at Ion. “It’s not fair.”

“What isn’t?” Ion muttered as he stared after Adrien, ogling his ass.

“He looks gorgeous in thousand dollar suits and ties. But in jeans and a T-shirt, the man is devastating.” Patrick pouted. “I want one of my own.”

Ion threw his arms around Patrick to hug him tight. “You’ll find one. Why not try with Sidney?”

Patrick shook his head then buried his face in Ion’s shoulder. “He’s definitely not interested in me, and wouldn’t be even if we didn’t work together. I told you he’s straight.”

“How do you know for sure? Have you ever seen him dating anyone?” Ion frowned as he tried to remember seeing Sidney with a date at Alyssa’s birthday party. But then he remembered he hadn’t seen Sidney at all. Maybe the man hadn’t come.

“I’ve seen pictures of him in the society pages and he always has some pretty blonde on his arm.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. He just might not be ready to come out yet.” Ion didn’t know why he was pushing Sidney at Patrick. While he didn’t know the CFO of Bellamy International, he had a feeling the man wasn’t what Patrick needed to make him happy.

Patrick pushed him away before snatching up his bowl. “I don’t want to discuss this anymore. Tell me all about Mrs Bellamy’s birthday bash. I bet it was amazing.”

Ion let Patrick change the subject. They would circle around to it again some other night. “It was crazy, man. Oh, and she loved the necklace Patrice made for her.”

He went on to describe everything, knowing Patrick did want to know all the details.

Chapter Four

Ion dropped his messenger bag on his chair before falling face first onto the couch. The week had been hard and it was only half over. Learning everything he needed to at Bellamy then going to class at night to learn everything else he could was exhausting. Yet he found he was enjoying it.

He’d seen Adrien a few times throughout the day, but neither of them went out of their way to hunt each other down. Mostly because they didn’t want to make their relationship obvious, though Ion was sure that Adrien had told Sidney about it. The CFO kept eyeing him like he wasn’t completely sure about the whole situation. Ion was going to prove that his promotion was deserved, and not because he was sleeping with the boss.

His phone rang and he dug it out from his bag. Without looking at it, he answered.

“Hello?”

“Ion.”

Shit!
It was his mother.

“Hello, Mama.” He sat up then curled up into the corner of the couch. Wrapping his arm around his knees, he rested his forehead on them.

“Why didn’t you come to supper last Sunday?”

“I decided not to come because I know you wouldn’t be willing to treat Adrien like you do Olive.” He took a deep breath.

She sighed. “We would be polite to him, Ion. He’s your friend and your friends are always welcome at our table.”

“He’s more than a friend. He’s the man I love and I want you to acknowledge that.”

“You’re not gay, so why do you insist on acting this way? Why are you so angry at me and your father that you would do this?” Mama inhaled and he heard her sob.

Anger started to swell in him. “I am gay and I’m not doing this to make you look bad or to get back at you for something you did. I can’t change this, Mama. It is who I am and if you can’t accept that I’ve fallen in love with a man then there’s nothing for us to do except say goodbye.”

“I can’t accept that. It’s against God, and what would the people in our neighbourhood say if you were to date a man?” She paused for a second then continued, “You simply need to meet a good girl and she’ll show you the error of your ways. You need a nice woman to cook and clean the house for you. Several of my friends have daughters who would be perfect for you.”

“No!” He took a deep breath after he shouted at her. When he thought he had a handle on his anger, he said, “The love of a good woman isn’t going to change me. I was born gay. I can’t cover it up. Wait. I
won’t
cover up the truth. I shouldn’t have to because I should get the same respect Bogdan does from you.”

He heard the click as she hung up on him. Resisting the urge to throw his phone across the room, he placed it gently on the end table before he buried his face in his hands. Hurt filled him and he didn’t fight the tears from falling. Why couldn’t his parents just be open minded enough to see that Ion wasn’t going to change? All he wanted was for them to love him and Adrien like they did his brother and sister-in-law, but it certainly looked like that wasn’t going to happen.

A buzzing drew his attention, and he looked at his phone to see Bogdan’s number on the screen. He wasn’t up to dealing with his brother, who he figured his mother had called to complain about Ion to. He wasn’t going to get any support from Bogdan either. There wasn’t any point in answering.

He let the call go to voicemail while he went to take a shower. After cleaning up, he changed into sweats and a T-shirt. Ion checked his phone before heading to his kitchen to make something to eat. He had two voicemails from Bogdan and he deleted them without listening to them.

An urge to talk to Adrien came over him, but he wasn’t sure if he was done talking to Alain. So he decided to send him a text.

Alain show?

Ion got out his homework while his frozen dinner heated in the microwave. Once it was cooked, he sat at his table to eat and study. A few minutes later, his phone buzzed. Adrien had answered.

Yes. Still talking. Everything okay?

He smiled at the joy sweeping through him. Even though Adrien was busy, he still cared enough to ask how he was doing.

Not really, but we can talk tomorrow.

What happened?

As much as he wanted to talk to his lover, he knew Adrien was busy with Alain and he didn’t want to distract him.

It’s not important right now. Deal with your brother. Going to study for a little while then head to bed.

I’ll be over when I get done here. It might be late, but I want to sleep with you tonight. Love you.

He discovered that he wanted to share his bed with Adrien and sleep in his arms.

All right. Tell your brother hello. Love you too.

Ion tossed his phone onto the table next to his books before getting back to reading and taking notes. After an hour or so, he put everything away and cleaned up before he settled on his couch. He would nap until Adrien got there.

* * * *

A knocking woke Ion and he rolled off the couch to stumble to his door. He checked through the peephole to make sure it was Adrien then opened it to let him in. After setting his bags down, Adrien embraced him tight.

“Sorry to wake you. I haven’t put your key on my ring yet and forgot it at my place.”

“It’s all right.” Ion kissed his cheek before stepping away. “Let’s go to bed, love. It’s been a long day for both of us.”

Adrien didn’t say anything until they were under the blankets, legs and arms entwined. Ion encouraged Adrien to lay his head on his chest. It was strange that they had only known each other for a few weeks, but already Ion hated sleeping without Adrien in his bed.

“How did your meeting go with Alain?” He ran his hand up and down Adrien’s back.

“Fine. We reached an arrangement. I’m cutting his allowance in half, but he’s not going to take a job at the office.” Adrien didn’t seem like he wanted to discuss his brother. “What happened to you?”

“Mama called and asked why I didn’t come to dinner on Sunday.” Ion closed his eyes as his anger and hurt rose inside him again.

Drawing him closer, Adrien asked. “What did you tell her?”

“Basically that I didn’t come because I knew that you wouldn’t be welcome there.” He sniffed, not wanting to cry again.

“Oh, honey, you shouldn’t cut yourself off from your family because of me,” Adrien murmured.

“She asked why I was doing this to them. That I should stop being childish and trying to get back at them for something they didn’t know they did. Like being gay is my way of punishing them for some slight.” He tried to break away from Adrien’s embrace, but his lover wouldn’t let him. “She told me that several of her friends had daughters and she wanted me to meet them because it would just take the love of a good woman and I’d stop being gay.”

“Well, she can introduce you with all the women she wants, I’m not letting go of you.”

“I told her she should respect my decisions on who I love like she did Bogdan’s, and she hung up on me.” A tear dribbled down from the corner of his eye to disappear in his hair.

“I love you and my family adores you. You have Patrick and his sister, who I must say I’m looking forward to meeting. You’re not alone even if they chose to turn their backs on you.” Adrien brushed a kiss over his eyelids. “Maybe they’ll change their minds after a while.”

“Maybe, but I’m not waiting around for them to do so. I’m not letting go of you either, Adrien. I guess we’re stuck with each other, huh?” Ion chuckled, a little sad that he was losing the family he’d always thought would be there for him.

“We are, but that’s all right. There isn’t anyone I’d rather be stuck with.” Adrien yawned. “Let’s try to get some sleep now. It’s been an emotional night for both of us. We can talk more tomorrow.”

Ion agreed and they snuggled together. He closed his eyes again, letting everything drift away from him.

* * * *

Oh wow.
A warm, wet mouth wrapped around Ion’s cock and he arched his back, trying to shove more of it in. When he heard someone gag, he opened his eyes then looked down to see Adrien lying between his legs with his lips stretched around Ion’s shaft.

“Oh sorry. I thought it was a dream.” He eased off a little and Adrien hummed.

Shuddering as the vibration ran along his length, Ion threaded his fingers in Adrien’s hair before he slowly thrust in. Adrien took him like a pro and when Ion hit the back of his throat, Adrien swallowed.

“Fuck,” he swore as he slipped out then pushed in.

Adrien didn’t try to stop him or pull away. He took all that Ion gave him, allowing Ion to fuck his face as fast or slow as he wanted. Ion’s head fell back and his eyes closed as his climax built in his groin.

“Adrien, love, I’m going to come,” he warned, but Adrien didn’t move. Electricity shot through Ion as he spilled his cum and Adrien swallowed it all. Ion trembled and cried out then he let his arms drop to the sheets beneath him.

He sighed as Adrien licked him clean then he grabbed Adrien’s hand to get his lover to come up and kiss him. Ion tasted himself on Adrien’s tongue and lips, but he tasted the unique flavour of Adrien as well.

As Ion reached for Adrien’s cock, he asked, “How do you want me?”

Adrien shook his head. “I came when you did.”

“Really?” Ion grinned. “That’s cool.”

“We need to get up. I thought I’d wake you instead of letting the alarm clock do it.” Adrien pressed a quick peck on his cheek before rolling out of bed. “We should drop your sheets off at the cleaners, or do you have a washer and dryer in here?”

“I usually use the machines in the laundry room in the basement,” Ion muttered as he joined Adrien in stripping the bed.

“No reason to do so today. Get some laundry together and we’ll drop it off at my cleaners on the way to work,” Adrien ordered.

As he walked to the bathroom, Ion stood there and stared after him. There was the CEO of a Fortune 100 company shining through, but while Ion might work for him, he didn’t have to take orders from him when they weren’t at the office.

“How about couching that as a request and not quite so demanding?” He kept his tone light, not wanting to tick Adrien off because it wasn’t like he wouldn’t take the man up on the offer of using his cleaners. He just didn’t want it to sound like Adrien was telling him what to do.

Adrien looked at him from around the doorframe of the bathroom and grinned. “Sorry about that. Would you like to do that or we can just do them later when we get home?”

Ion shook his head. “Sorry. For some reason, I just got my back up hearing you say it that way. I know you’re not ordering me around. You’re spoilt and used to people doing whatever you want.”

Holding out his hand, Adrien winked. “Yes, I am spoilt. That’s what happens when you’re rich and powerful. Will you come take a shower with me? I know your shower isn’t big, but we can make it work.”