If there is one thing Dustin is good at, it"s putting up a false front. While his friends and coworkers think he"s easy going, happy and flirtatious, inside, he"s really scarred, sad and self-conscious. After being in a destructive relationship that left him hurt in more ways than one, Dustin never really recovered and is determined to never trust anyone again. So he resolves to lose himself in his job as a paramedic while he continues to hide his true self. Pontiac City Firefighter, Vaughn finds himself immediately attracted to Dustin the moment he spots the paramedic at the annual EMS Neighborhood Beautification event. Dustin is everything Vaughn likes in a man, cute, smart and sexy. Every time he tries to get close, however, Dustin pushes him away. Undaunted, Vaughn decides that Dustin is just playing hard to get and vows that he"ll get the other man in his bed if it"s the last thing he does. When Vaughn learns the secret pain Dustin has been hiding, he realizes that everything may not be as it seems with the other man. Will Vaughn be able to convince Dustin to give love another chance or will the paramedic forever be lost to the horrors of his past? The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of thiscopyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyrightinfringement, including infringement withoutmonetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and ispunishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and afine of $250,000. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions,and do not participate in or encourage the electronicpiracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of theauthor’s rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author"s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Three Alarm Fire Copyright © 2011 Stephani Hecht ISBN: 978-1-55487-842-0 Cover art by Martine Jardin All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. Published by eXtasy Books Look for us online at: www.eXtasybooks.com
Three Alarm Fire EMS Heat
By
Stephani Hecht
Chapter One t"s about time you got here,” Dustin bitched “I as he climbed into the car. His friend, Forrest, shot him a jaded glance before putting the car in reverse and pulling out onto the road. “Are we in a mood today?” “Yes, we are,” Dustin countered as he cradled his bandaged hand to his chest. “Why? You"re usually buckets of sunshine,” Forrest replied with just a bit of sarcasm. “Bite me,” Dustin returned. Forrest gave a smile, showing the insult didn"t bother him. Although to be fair, it usually took a lot to ruffle his feathers. That was one of the reasons they got along so well together, both at and away from work. In fact, if Dustin wanted to be honest with himself, he"d even go so far as to say that Forrest was his best friend. He sure as hell was the only one Dustin trusted anymore. Given what had happened to Dustin over the past couple years, that said a lot. There"d even been a very brief time where Dustin harbored a secret crush on the other man. With short, dark hair and sensual do-me eyes, Forrest had the sex appeal thing down. Add in that he was only a little bit bigger than Dustin, thus making him completely non-threatening, and it made Forrest damn near perfect. But then Forrest found himself a nice hunky doctor and fell in love, which meant Dustin had to give up his crush. Although, Dustin hadn"t been too disappointed. Not that Forrest wouldn"t have been a great catch or anything, it"s just the last thing Dustin was looking for was a relationship. “So why is Mr. Grumbles so cranky today?” Forrest teased. “Aside from the fact that you"re making me volunteer for this stupid Fix It Up thing?” “It"s called the EMS Neighborhood Beautification Project,” Forrest corrected. “Besides, it wouldn"t hurt you to be charitable every now and again.” “I"m very charitable. Just the other day I told that nurse, Abby, that her hair looked good, even though it really reminded me of the lead singer from Twisted Sister.” “You mean Dee Snider?” “Who? I already told you I was talking about Abby. I don"t know anyone named Dee.” Forrest rolled his eyes. “Dee Snider is the name of the lead singer from Twisted Sister.” “Oh.” Dustin blushed, knowing he"d come off looking like the dumb blond piece of fluff yet again. “Besides, telling Abby anything about her mess of a hairstyle isn"t exactly the kind of charity I had in mind.” Forrest gave him a sharp look. “Why are you being such an ass this morning? I want the truth this time.”
Dustin rubbed his eyes. “I"m sorry, it"s just I"m tired. I took on an extra shift at St. Anthony"s last night and didn"t get any sleep.” “Again?” Forrest cocked a dark brow. “That has to be the third one this month. Isn"t the overtime you already pick up at the ambulance company enough?” God, Dustin wished it were. But wishing wouldn"t pay off all his overdue credit card bills. He couldn"t exactly share that info with Forrest, even if they were best friends. Dustin just flashed what he prayed was a cocky smile as he shrugged. “Hey, it"s not cheap to look this good.” As hoped for, Forrest rolled his eyes. “Damn, Dustin. When are you going to learn that there"s more to life than fun and good looks?” “Hopefully never,” Dustin deadpanned, even as his stomach did a neat flip. Desperate to change the subject, Dustin held up his bandaged arm. “Aren"t you even going to ask me what happened?”
“I"m almost afraid to, but I guess I"ll bite. What happened to your arm?” “Just that! I got bit,” Dustin exclaimed. “You"re kidding me?” Forrest"s eyes grew wide with shock. “No, some fucker gnawed the hell out of me and not in a good way either.” “Who did it?” “Skeeter.” Forrest"s short burst of laughter did nothing to make Dustin feel better. “You could try having some sympathy for me,” he snapped. “I know, it"s just…Skeeter? Really?” “Sure, why not?” “Well, let"s see. Number one, he"s eighty-six and, number two, he probably doesn"t tip over one hundred on the scales.” Even though he"d stopped laughing, the corners of Forrest"s mouth twitched. Dustin gave an outraged gasp. If he didn"t know better, he could have sworn that Forrest was actually enjoying his humiliation. “I"ll have you know that Skeeter can be damn wily when he wants to be.” “Okay, maybe I"ll give you that, but how about the fact he only has one tooth. How in the hell do you get bit by somebody who mostly has gums?” “It may have only been one tooth, but it did a mouthful"s worth of damage,” Dustin protested. “Is that why the bandage is so big?” Dustin glanced down, now that Forrest mentioned it, the bandage was a tad bit bulky. “Well, he may have bit me more than once.” “How many times did he get you?” “Six,” Dustin admitted. “Abby didn"t have one of his wrist restraints on right and he got lose.” “Did she at least come in and help you get Skeeter back under control?” “Yeah, my screams brought in almost the whole ER staff.” Dustin gave a sigh of despair.
“How sad is that? I got my ass kicked by a nursing home patient.” “I wouldn"t be too hard on yourself. After all, you did say he"s pretty wily,” Forrest soothed sympathetically. “I still should have been able to get myself out of the situation.” Dustin rubbed his face with a groan. “Why does disaster always seem to find me?” “Don"t you think you"re being a bit melodramatic?” Dustin threw his arms in the air, wincing as the movement caused pain to shoot from the bites. “I wish. Do you think it"s easy living like this?” “As a klutz?” “No, it would almost be easier if I were a klutz, like, say, Dylan,” Dustin said, referring to a mutual medic friend. “He gets in trouble because he trips through life without ever paying attention. So he doesn"t see it coming. Me, I"m a beacon for disaster. It just seems to find me no matter what I do. So, I usually see it heading my way, yet there"s nothing I can do to avoid it. Do you know how it is to exist like that?” Forrest turned into one of Pontiac"s older subdivisions. “Nope, but I"m sure you"re going to tell me.” “It"s terrifying.” Dustin knew he probably sounded whiney, but, damn it, he felt down. Between getting no sleep, working way too hard and still having to deal with the stress of bills, he needed to vent. Since Forrest was his best friend, Dustin decided the least the other guy could do was listen with a sympathetic ear. Forrest took his gaze off the road long enough to toss a concerned look Dustin"s way. “Seriously, when"s the last time you had a day off?” Dustin searched his mind and came up blank. “I don"t know.” “I"m getting worried about you.” Forrest studied Dustin"s face carefully. “Maybe I should take you home? It looks like you could use a few good hours sleep.” “I"ll be fine,” Dustin protested. Despite his earlier griping, he actually looked forward to hanging out with their friends for the day. “Okay, but if it gets to be too much, just holler and I"ll drive you home.” Forrest pulled in front of what had at one time been a home. Now all that remained was a rotting foundation, a few weathered walls, broken windows and a sagging roof. Piles of construction material and tools were scattered on the beaten lawn and numerous volunteers milled around. Dustin and Forrest got out of the car and joined the rest of the group. As soon as the cool morning air hit him, Dustin zipped up his hoodie. It may be spring, but he always got chilled easily, so he still bundled up even after most of rest of the population switched to t-shirts and shorts. “Damn, I"m surprised the city just didn"t tear this home down years ago,” Dustin observed as he shoved his hands into his pockets and stared up at the remains of the building. “I guess it has some historical significance,” Forrest replied as he took a cup of coffee from a nearby table. When Dustin spotted a box of donuts sitting next to the beverages, he grinned in excitement— all thoughts of crappy houses and history fleeing.
In his rush, he hadn"t had the time to scrounge up breakfast. Since he"d also gone without food while working, he was famished. His heart did a happy, little pitter-pat when his gaze landed on a double chocolate. Yum! That"d always been his favorite. He scooped it up and took a huge bite. As the sweetness slammed into his taste buds, he moaned in bliss. He really got into it, even going so far as to close his eyes as he chewed, a soft sigh of satisfaction slipping past his lips. “It must taste damn good for you to be giving that reaction,” a deep voice said. Without even looking at the speaker, Dustin popped off with a snarky, “So good that it"s better than sex.” At the sound of rich laughter, Dustin finally opened his eyes and nearly choked when he got a good gander at the man on the other side of the table. Tall, with dark hair cut so short that he could have been in the military, the guy had to be at least six-foot three. Every bit of that body was put to good use, too. He had a build that screamed of hours put in at the gym. Since he only wore a pair of jeans, Dustin got an excellent view of the man"s tan chest, which was covered with several tattoos. More ink covered his arms. Some of body art was elaborate swirls while others were Chinese symbols. “If sex comes second to a donut, then it sounds to me like you"re in desperate need of a good date,” the man quipped as he put on a yellow hardhat. Dustin struggled to swallow the bite still lingering in his suddenly dry mouth. His heart hammered in fear while a cold sweat broke out over his body. Just a couple of years ago, his body having that kind of reaction may have taken on a new meaning. Now he found himself struggling with self-consciousness and more than a little bit of fear. He glanced around for Forrest, but found that the medic stood several yards away and looked to be deep into conversation with the leader of the volunteer organization. Crap, deserted in his time of need, if that wasn"t the story of his life. “My name is Vaughn,” the man offered. When Dustin continued to stand there in silence, the corner of Vaughn"s lips kicked up into a half-grin. “This is where you tell me your name.” Dustin jumped, a flush spreading out over his face. Damn, he"d already made an idiot of himself and it"d taken all of two minutes. “Uh…sorry about that. I"m Dustin.” “Well, Dustin, it"s very nice to meet you.” Dustin looked down at the donut as he struggled to think of something savvy to say. Why was it when he was around his friends, he could always fire off funny comments, yet the instant he got around a halfway decent guy, his brain froze? As soon as Dustin asked himself that question, the one-word answer shot through his brain—Tyler. By the time Dustin finally worked up the courage to abandon his bastard of an ex, the man had done more damage than just draining all of Dustin"s bank accounts and leaving behind a few physical scars. Tyler made it so that Dustin was painfully aware of each and every one of his flaws. Unwanted, Dustin"s brain replayed some of Tyler"s most memorable quotes, You’re too short. Too skinny. Just another dumb blond. No wonder younever went to college. Now I can see why your fatherkilled himself. I would have, too, had I been stuck with ason like you. Dustin tried to force those memories to the back of his mind as he flashed a smile. “I thought only EMS workers were volunteering today? I don"t recognize you from any of the
crews.” “I just transferred to Pontiac Fire.” Vaughn grabbed a bottle of water and twisted open the cap. Dustin found himself drawn to the smooth way Vaughn"s throat worked as he swallowed. Then just as quickly, panic fluttered in his stomach and Dustin realized he just simply wasn"t ready to talk to anyone out of his safety net of friends. Especially somebody as big as Vaughn. While he looked nothing like Tyler, since his ex had blond hair and green eyes, Dustin couldn"t help but think of how much stronger Vaughn was than him. Just like Tyler had been. Past experience let Dustin know that strength could and would be used against him. It would only be a matter of time. Dustin"s chest grew tight as he looked for a way to casually walk away from the table without making a further spectacle of himself. When Forrest called his name from across the yard, Dustin nearly let out a sigh of relief. “Sorry, got to go,” Dustin said. “Wait,” Vaughn replied softly. Even though it sounded more like a request than an order, Dustin immediately obeyed, his body locking into place. Vaughn"s lips curled into a pleased smile before he reached out and rubbed his thumb over the corner of Dustin"s mouth. Fear flooded Dustin, but so did a fair dose of arousal. He held his breath as Vaughn"s touch seemed to leave behind a heated path. “You have a little chocolate on your face,” Vaughn explained. He then brought his thumb up to his own mouth and sucked it clean. Dustin gasped, his body humming with desire as he watched Vaughn"s lips wrap around the digit. The move was so sensual and such a blatant invitation, that Dustin"s body nearly screamed at him to answer it. Then his brain took over and reminded him what had happened the last time he"d gone down this path. Even a quick hookup could lead to trouble and Dustin had suffered through more than his share of that. Forrest called his name again and Dustin seized onto the opportunity. “Thanks, now I really do have to go.” Without waiting for a reply, Dustin scrambled away. If his knees trembled just a bit on his walk across the yard, Dustin decided to ignore it.
**** Vaughn watched as Dustin left the table at a near run, moving so fast that it was almost of if someone had yelled fire and he wore a suit made out of gasoline. Vaughn realized he should feel let down, maybe even insulted, but strangely, he found himself intrigued by the skittish blond. Never taking his gaze off Dustin, Vaughn reached over and grabbed his buddy"s arm. “Hey, Ray. What"s his story?” “Who?” Ray asked. Friends from birth, the two were practically brothers. In fact, since they both had dark hair and eyes, people often did mistake them for siblings. Ray and Vaughn did everything together, they"d gone to the same school, joined the military at the same time and when Ray had moved to Pontiac, Vaughn had followed shortly thereafter. “Dustin, the little blond.”
“Oh, him,” Ray grinned. “Isn"t he a trip? He"s always shooting off smartass remarks and making people laugh.” Confused, Vaughn slowly shook his head. “Are you sure we"re talking about the same guy? The Dustin I just spoke to acted almost afraid of me.” Now it was Ray who appeared perplexed, his brow furrowing. “Huh…maybe that"s because you"re new. I heard he sometimes takes a while to warm up to newbies.” “Is he some kind of EMS elitist or something?” “No, it"s nothing like that.” Ray shot him a suspicious glance. “Did you try to come on to him or something?” “Hey, I"ll have you know he was the one who talked about sex, not me,” Vaughn replied defensively. “I"ll bet,” Ray drawled. “Look, just leave that one alone.” That order was going to be tough to follow, Vaughn mused as his gaze continued to devour Dustin. The medic had the whole adorable-yet-sexy look going for him. From his big, blue, innocent eyes, to the slightly spiky blond hair and sweet-looking lips. Even the way he dressed was a turn on, the baggy jeans and blue sweatshirt just begging to be peeled off. Vaughn didn"t know if he wanted to fuck the guy or hold him in his arms and protect him from the world. That shocked the crap out of Vaughn since he"d never gone for the cutesy type before. “Is he already seeing somebody?” Vaughn demanded, a spike of jealousy shooting through him. “Worse, he used to be in a bad relationship.” “How bad?” Ray hedged a bit before saying, “From what I hear, it got abusive at least once.” Vaughn tore his gaze away from Dustin so he could look at Ray. “What happened?” Just the mere thought of someone hurting Dustin sent anger surging through Vaughn. “From what I heard from my buddy at the ambulance company, Dustin"s partner tossed him through a sliding glass door. It supposedly cut Dustin up pretty bad.” Horror filled Vaughn as he speculated at what kind of injuries that could have caused. With all that glass, Dustin could very well have been killed. “Is the guy still around?” Because if he was, Vaughn would love to teach him to keep his abusive hands to himself. “I"m not for sure. I think I head something about him leaving Pontiac. I do know that Dustin left him a week after he was hurt.” Vaughn couldn"t help but wonder why it"d taken Dustin that long to dump the jerk. “How long ago did all this happen?” Ray shrugged. “I think it was a couple of years ago.” Two years and yet it seemed as if Dustin still hadn"t fully healed emotionally. Ray gave him a sympathetic pat on the back. “If I were you, I"d just forget this one. Dustin"s a real sweet guy and great friend, but that"s all you"re ever going to get from him. He doesn"t just play hard to get, it"s more like impossible to get. You"re not the first guy who"s tried to get him. I"ve seen plenty of men try to nail him and every one of them have failed.” As Vaughn returned his attention to Dustin, he realized that just forgetting about the younger man would be impossible. Somehow, even though they"d just met, Vaughn found himself wanting to get to know the younger man better and not for a frigging friend either. He wanted Dustin in every way possible and what"s more, he wanted to protect Dustin from ever getting hurt again. Now all he had to do was figure out a way around Dustin"s barriers.
Chapter Two here was no doubt in Dustin"s mind— T paperwork had to be one of Satan"s punishments to mankind. Dustin sighed as he eyed up the stack of folders in front of him. Each and every one of them just waiting for his attention. God, what in the hell had ever possessed him to take on a second job at St. Andrew"s hospital? It showed just how truly desperate he"d become. “Hey, sweetie. Aren"t you done with those yet?” Abby asked as she came up to the nurses" station. Abby was just one of the many female hospital staff who"d adopted Dustin. Not that it was unusual or unexpected. He was used to such attention. For some reason, women took one look at his scrawny ass, blond hair and blue eyes and they instantly wanted to be either his mother or his best friend. “It"s never ending,” Dustin complained as he picked up another file. “You should be used to paperwork. I know medics have to fill out a ton of it, too.” “Yeah, that still doesn"t mean I have to like it.” He twisted a piece of paper, trying to make out the order scribbled on it. “At least on my rig, I don"t have to figure out what in the hell a doctor wants. I swear, the stereotype about doctors and handwriting is true.” She held out a hand. “Here, let me take a look.” It took a while, but between the two of them, they were able to work out the order. “I wish the hospital was more computerized,” Abby complained as she fluffed out her mess of hair. “Yeah, good luck since it"s in Pontiac,” Dustin retorted. “The city is struggling to keep just its EMS crews running.” “Speaking of the city, how did that Beautification project go?” she asked. Dustin shrugged. “Not too bad. They didn"t allow me to work with any of the power tools, but I still had some fun with a hammer. We have to go back tomorrow and do some more work on the house. I just hope we can save it.” She reached out and grabbed his hand. “Maybe you should just skip tomorrow and go home? It looks like you need some sleep.” “Nah, I"ll be fine,” Dustin argued, even though he did feel bone tired. He"d only managed to sneak in a few hours of mattress time before coming in for his shift. A chime sounded before a voice came over the intercom calling out the code for a priority one trauma. Dustin and Abby set down the paperwork and rushed to the big, trauma room. There were already several nurses and a few doctors present. “What"s coming in?” Abby asked as she grabbed disposable gowns for both her and Dustin. A doctor replied, “Going by what the ambulance crew called in, it"s a stabbing. I think it"s a domestic dispute.” Dustin"s stomach plummeted. Usually he was able to separate himself from calls, but he had a feeling this one would be hitting him hard. Taking a deep breath, he told himself to get over it. He had a job to do and he couldn"t allow his own personal demons to interfere. The sun had just begun to rise as Dustin finished off what had to be one of the worst days
of his life. He sighed heavily as he walked into his mother"s small, two bedroom home. The house, like the neighborhood surrounding it, was shabby and way past its prime. Dustin barely noticed that detail as he entered the kitchen and tossed his car keys and stethoscope on the table. Damn, he was tired. Not just a normal, need a nap kind either. He felt weary down to his bones. He wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep for the next couple of weeks. To close his door and shut out the rest of the world for a while. To be able to forget life and all the stress it held for at least a few hours. One look into the empty gut of the fridge screamed none of those desires were going to be answered anytime soon. The paycheck he pulled in working as a medic at the local ambulance company just wasn"t cutting it for supporting himself and his mother. That meant he"d have to pick up even more shifts at the hospital. He pulled out the carton of milk and sniffed the contents. Once he deemed it drinkable, he poured a glass and settled into a chair at the table. It wasn"t much of a breakfast, but it would have to do. His mother shuffled into the kitchen. “When did you get home?” Dustin glanced up, sadness filling him when he noticed she wore the same faded housecoat and slippers from the previous two days. Her overly thin face was lined with old makeup and wrinkles, and her gray hair was a mess because she hadn"t had it styled in months. He longed to urge her to take better care of herself, but held his opinion in. The last time he"d made that suggestion, she"d railed at him for hours. “I just came in.” He held up his cup. “I got paid today, so I"ll run out and get some groceries.” She flicked a dismissive glance in his direction. “Make sure to pick up some healthy food, too. You"re too skinny.” Dustin resisted the urge to look down at his own body. He knew he was thin and a bit small, but did she have to point that out to him every chance she got? Whatever happened to mothers only seeing the good in their kids? “We"re about the same size,” he pointed out. “Yeah, but you"re a man…or at least you"re supposed to be.” Thanks, Ma, love you, too. “Are you hungry?” he asked, trying hard to keep the hurt and anger from his voice. She nodded and sank into a chair. Dustin got up and started making up the last bit of oatmeal that he"d saved for her. “How was work?” He shrugged. “Not too good. We had a guy who came in around three this morning. His boyfriend beat the shit out of him, then stabbed him for good measure.” Mom stared at him, for once her gaze softening a bit. “Is he okay?” “No, he died an hour after they brought him in.”
The probing way she continued to gaze at him became too much for Dustin and he turned away to face the stove. “That could have been you who died,” she whispered.
“But it wasn"t,” he countered, still facing the opposite direction. “Only because you were lucky.” “Funny, I didn"t feel lucky when they were stitching my back up.” The scars on Dustin"s spine seemed to tingle in agreement. Even two years later, he still couldn"t forget the pain and horror of his own attack. He doubted he"d ever be able to really put the incident behind him. Especially when he worked in a field where painful reminders could be thrown in his face, just like they had been the previous night. Mom gave a sad sigh. Dustin tensed, already knowing what the next words from her mouth were going to be. “Maybe if you tried dating girls, things would be better. At least I wouldn"t have to worry about you getting hurt again.” Dustin turned off the stove, then grabbed a bowl from the cupboard. “It"s not like that, Ma. I can"t flip a switch and suddenly become straight.” He dished out the oatmeal and sat it in front of her. She barely noticed, too intent on shooting him a hopeful look. “How can you be so sure? Have you even been with a girl before?” He tried not to get angry with her. In the end, he knew she really did have his best interests at heart. Even if she sometimes made comments that were hurtful, they usually came from a good place. It just killed him that even though he"d come out five years ago, she was no closer to really understanding how things were. He sat down and took her hand. “No, I"ve never slept with a woman, but that doesn"t matter. I know what I like and it"s not females.” “I just can"t help but think that a girl would have never beat you like he did. Nor would they have betrayed you so badly.” Even after all this time, she still never spoke Dustin"s ex"s name, instead referring to the man as him, the monster or that bastard. Dustin gave her hand a squeeze and decided to lighten the mood. “It wouldn"t matter if I liked girls or not. Women take one look at me and all they want to do is take me home and feed me cookies, they sure as heck don"t see me as boyfriend material.” When she looked like she still wanted to argue, Dustin cut her off. “Sorry, Ma, but I have to go take a shower. Forrest will be here to pick me up soon.” He"d just reached the threshold of the kitchen when she called out to him, “Dustin?” He paused and looked back at her. “Yeah?” “I love you.” “I know you do.” “And I don"t blame you for any of this.” His chest grew tight with emotion. She may not blame him, but deep down Dustin knew all the shame belonged squarely on his shoulders. “You should hate me for what I allowed him to do to you.” “How could you have known that he would clean out both of our bank accounts?” Dustin curled his fingers around the doorjamb. “I should have never trusted him with that kind of information.”
“Why not? He was a financial advisor. It was his job to handle that kind of stuff.” True, but Dustin should have realized sooner that Tyler was a crook. Instead, he"d been blinded by love. As a result, he"d lost all his savings, his credit cards had been maxed out and his home placed in foreclosure. That wasn"t the worst of it though. No, the real zinger had been when Tyler had done the same exact thing to Ma"s assets. What kind of sick fuck steals from a little, old lady? “Have you heard if they caught him yet?” she asked. Dustin shook his head. “They think he may have fled the country.” “Well that may be for the best. At least then he"s too far away to ever hurt you again,” she declared before she started to eat. He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. How was it that his mother could drive him crazy in one sentence, yet nearly reduce him to a blubbery mess in the next? He walked over and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. “Love you, too, Ma.”
Chapter Three man could only have so much restraint. A That"s what Vaughn told himself as he glanced over at Dustin for what had to be the millionth time. It"d been something that he"d spent the whole morning doing, instead of focusing on his work assignment. A fact that hadn"t gone by unnoticed, considering all the glares Ray kept shooting his way. It didn"t dissuade Vaughn though, because no matter how hard he tried to fight it, he just couldn"t keep from checking out Dustin and his sweet ass. How sad was that? Vaughn almost felt like a kid in the lunchroom, who spent the entire period gawking at his latest crush. Next would be scrawling graffiti on the bathroom wall about how much he loved Dustin and they would be true love forever. Then he could completely embrace his new loser status. The conversation with Ray continued to replay through his head. The one where his friend had warned him against thinking that there could ever be anything with Dustin. When that still didn"t stop him from gawking, Vaughn reminded himself that Dustin had perfected playing-hard-toget to a new art form. That still didn"t work. If he really wanted to be truthful with himself, he"d done nothing but think about the man since they"d met the previous day. It"d gotten so bad that Vaughn tossed and turned all night, his mind constantly on the blond-haired medic and those sweet blue eyes. Vaughn held a nail gun in his hands and he really knew he should be paying more attention to what he was doing, but nothing, not even the threat of bodily harm could force him to keep his gaze from drifting, yet again, over to Dustin. Dustin wielded a paintbrush instead of a power tool. Which, if rumors were true about him being a walking disaster area, was a good thing. His brow was drawn together in concentration as he worked the brush up and down, applying a thick coat of white paint to a porch rail. As on the previous day, he wore a pair of baggy jeans and thick sweatshirt. This time, it was a red one that had the logo of his ambulance company on it. The sexiest thing though, had to be the sucker that Dustin was enjoying. Only the stick
protruded from his mouth, but the bulge in one cheek showed he had plenty of the treat left. Even though he knew it was a little porn cliché, Vaughn"s mind immediately went to how that sucker could make for some very interesting foreplay. The temptation finally became too much, so he set down the tool, then made his way over to man. Going by the way Dustin jumped in shock, he hadn"t noticed Vaughn until they were standing only inches from each other. Vaughn realized the reason why as soon as he saw the pair of earbuds dangling from Dustin"s ears. Dustin used his free hand to slowly pull them out and then blinked up at Vaughn. Up close, Vaughn detected a sweet scent coming from Dustin, almost as if he used fruit scented soap or something. It wasn"t that strong and a bit difficult to fully enjoy because of the paint fumes, but it still made Vaughn want to lean in for a better sniff. Since he decided that would be a sure fire way to scare Dustin away again, Vaughn settled for stuffing his hands in his own pockets while he struck what he hoped was a casual pose. “What are you listening to?” he asked, his gaze riveted to Dustin"s lips. They were slightly plump and sticky-looking from the treat, giving Vaughn the insane desire to dip his head down so he could lick Dustin clean. “AC/DC?” Dustin replied, the slight lilt to his voice screaming his lie.
Vaughn had to hold in a burst of laughter. He"d have to remember to never take Dustin to Vegas because the guy didn"t have anywhere close to a good poker face. “You want to try that again?” Vaughn pressed. Dustin blinked a few times before mumbling around the sucker, “Hinder?” When Vaughn just stared at him, Dustin squirmed for a few moments before he blushingly admitted, “It"s Glee.” God, just when Vaughn had thought he couldn"t get any cuter. “I know it probably seems lame to you, but I like the show,” Dustin defended. “Don"t be too hard on yourself, I like the show, too,” Vaughn confessed. He knew he"d said the right thing when Dustin gifted him with his first genuine smile. “You do? You"re not just saying that to make me feel better?” “I"m being completely honest. The guys at the station razz me about it all the time.” Dustin pulled the sucker from his mouth and gave an up and down assessment that left Vaughn nearly groaning with desire. Another grin flashed across Dustin"s face as he shook his head. “I don"t buy it. Guys like you are more into boxing and wrestling.” Vaughn paused, not sure if he"d been dissed or not. In the end, he decided to take it as a teasing remark. “What? You think just because I have muscles I don"t have a brain?” he challenged. Another flush colored Dustin"s cheeks. “No, I didn"t mean it like that. It"s just all the guys I"ve known who"ve been your type never liked the same things as say…well, me.” In other words, Dustin"s ex probably hadn"t like that kind of thing. The bastard probably made Dustin feel stupid for enjoying what he no doubt considered frivolous things, too. Vaughn could imagine how that had made Dustin feel in turn. While Vaughn had never put up with an abusive boyfriend, he had grown up under the rule of a mean-as-shit father, so he understood how words could hurt just as much as fists. “I happen to think you have great taste,”
Vaughn said. Dustin wrinkled his nose. “How can you say that? We"ve only talked twice.” “I happen to know that you like Glee and chocolate. Is there anything else worth living for?” That earned Vaughn a full-on laugh. He smiled in return as goose bumps rose on his arms. His heart stuttered in shock. When was the last time somebody had affected him so strongly? The answer immediately came to him—never. For some reason, this younger man had a pull on him that Vaughn never experienced before. Which both excited and scared Vaughn, since he"d never been the type to fall for somebody at a snap of the fingers. “I guess you have a point. Chocolate and Glee are the two most important things in the world,” Dustin agreed. “So, since we already have so much in common, how about you let me take you out to dinner?” Vaughn suggested. All the humor fled Dustin"s face as his gaze once more assessed Vaughn. Only this time it was the way prey would size up a predator rather than the checking-you-out look of interest. Vaughn wanted to curse in frustration. More than that, he wanted to find Dustin"s old boyfriend and pound on the guy for scarring Dustin so much that he couldn"t even accept a date without feeling threatened. “I don"t think I"ll be able to,” Dustin hedged. “I"ve been working a lot lately, so it"s hard for me to get any time off.” “Then how about you let me buy you a drink? You are going to the after party tonight, aren"t you?” Vaughn realized he was probably coming off a bit needy, but at that point, he"d have done anything to get Dustin to agree to spend more time with him. He felt certain, that once Dustin got to know him a little better, he"d come to realize that Vaughn was nothing like his ex. When Dustin continued to hesitate, Vaughn reached out and gently pried the sucker from his fingers. Bringing it up to Dustin"s lips, he lightly fanned the sweet over his mouth. At first, Dustin stiffened. Vaughn didn"t take offense. He"d come to realize that he"d have to become a master in patience as far as Dustin was concerned. So he just continued to rub the sucker along Dustin"s lips and waited for the other man to relax. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the tension ebbed from Dustin"s body. The uncertainty left those baby blues and what may have been the softest of whimpers came from Dustin"s parted mouth. Then just as Vaughn was about to give up on the game, Dustin stuck his tongue out to lick the candy. Encouraged by Dustin"s reaction, Vaughn decided to take things up a notch. He made a quiet tsking sound as he pulled the sucker just out of reach. Just as he"d hoped for, Dustin followed, his mouth open in anticipation. Desire shot through Vaughn, making him briefly weak in the knees. Just like some heroine in one of his mom"s old romance novels. He couldn"t help his reaction, though, because damn if he could ever remember seeing something so sexy and hot. All of the innocence that Dustin gave off only made things better.
Vaughn idly wondered what Dustin would think if he could have a glimpse of the
emotions swirling around in his head. Would it help alleviate some of the man"s fears or only make them worse? Quite frankly, Vaughn wouldn"t blame him for the latter. The last thing anyone wants is some guy falling all over himself and getting sappy after just two measly conversations. Next, Vaughn would be sneaking into Dustin"s room at night to watch over him while he slept. Dustin reached for the sucker again. Vaughn pulled it back again. They played the game for a few more minutes before Dustin made an impatient noise. His eyes grew dark with anger as a different kind of flush appeared over his cheeks. “Give me my damn sucker back,” he snapped, using his free hand to make a grab for it. “Not until you agree to let me buy you a drink tonight,” Vaughn countered. “Blackmail? Isn"t that a bit childish? Now give me my frigging candy.” Vaughn held it further out of reach. “You haven"t said yes, yet.” “It"s my sucker,” Dustin retorted, sounding a bit like the child he just accused Vaughn of being. Vaughn made a big show of putting the candy into his mouth. The sweet flavor of strawberries mingled with a unique taste Vaughn knew was all Dustin. The combination was so decadent that Vaughn nearly let out a moan of appreciation. Yeah, there would be no way in hell that Dustin would be getting his treat back without a fight. Dustin"s gaze narrowed dangerously. “Bastard! I was really enjoying that.” Vaughn slowly pulled the sucker from his mouth, making sure the move was just sensual enough so Dustin would get the double entendre. “If you promise me a drink and one dance, then I"ll buy you a whole bag of these things.” “Oh, so now I have to dance with you, too?” “Keep up with the whining and I"ll make it a lap dance.” Dustin"s mouth parted in shock, a small sound of outrage coming from him before he gathered himself together. “I wouldn"t give you a lap dance if you were the last guy on the earth and I was a starving stripper.” He held the paintbrush up menacingly and for a brief second, Vaughn thought he"d be getting a face full of paint. Then just as quickly, Dustin lowered in, but the angry glare remained. “You want to know what I think?” Vaughn asked. “Not in the least.” “I think you want me as much I want you, but you"re just too chicken to admit it.” “First candy stealing and now you"re calling me schoolyard names. I was right, you are nothing more than an overgrown, tattooed child.” “Now who"s calling who names?” Vaughn realized he was pushing things a bit far, but it was a relief to see this spunky side of Dustin. It sure as hell beat the younger man getting so nervous that he ran off like a hunted rabbit. If anything, Vaughn would be willing to bet that Dustin was two seconds from telling him off. Sure enough, Dustin tossed down the brush and balled both hands into fists. “Fine, keep the damn sucker. It"s probably covered in your germs now. Just so you know though, stealing another guy"s food just so you can trick him into having a drink with you is pretty lame.” Vaughn leaned in so their faces were only inches apart. “Ah, but it did piss you off
enough for you to forget all about being intimidated by me.” Before Dustin could fire off another insult, Vaughn popped the sucker back into the man"s mouth. Dustin still tried to say something, but Vaughn twirled the sucker around so the words were muffled. He reached around and gave Dustin"s ass a pat. “I"ll catch up with you later at the bar to collect on that dance.” Dustin shot him a filthy look, but didn"t otherwise reply. Vaughn turned around and began to walk away. Dustin called, “It better be a bag of Blow Pops. Don"t even think about going cheap and buying Dum Dums.” Blow Pops? Oh, Vaughn really could have gone into so many directions with that one. In the end, he bit back the comments. No sense in further living up to his childish behavior label. He just kept walking, but waved one hand to indicate that he"d heard the order.
**** Dustin repressed a grin as he watched Vaughn walk away. Annoying or not, the fireman did have once fine ass. One that Dustin could get used to looking at if he weren"t careful. He took in a deep breath. Okay, so maybe he could admit to himself that the flirting banter hadn"t been too bad. If anything, he"d say it"d been fun. He still wasn"t sure if that meant he was ready to take the next step. “What was that all about?” Forrest asked as he came to stand next to Dustin. “He tried to jack my sucker,” Dustin replied. “Oh, that"s a hanging offense in some states,” Forrest drawled. “It should be. That plus wearing black socks with shorts and sandals.” Forrest gave him the look again. “Has anyone ever told you that you"re a bit strange?” “Yeah, you do every time we work together.” “Yet, it still hasn"t gotten through to you,” Forrest teased. “What can I say? Normal is boring.” Dustin looked back over at Vaughn. The fireman appeared to be deep into conversation with Ray, but he kept shooting glances in Dustin"s direction. Of course, Forrest had to pick up on it. “I think he likes you.” A jolt of fear went through Dustin. “He"s probably just lonely because he"s new to town.” “If that were the case, then he"d be trying to make friends with everyone. Instead, he seems to have focused all his attention on you.” “Too bad, I"m not interested.” Forrest grew somber as he carefully studied Dustin. “When was the last time you went on a real date?” “Two years, two months and sixteen days. It was the last time Tyler ever took me to the movies. We only made it halfway through the showing because Tyler got angry at me.” Dustin
hadn"t realized he actually spoke aloud until he saw the expression of shock on his friend"s face. “Why did he get mad?” Forrest asked. “Because I took too long in the bathroom.” Dustin forced a smile on his face that he was nowhere near feeling. “Guess that will teach me to order a large drink with my popcorn.” Forrest"s mouth parted in shock as he slowly shook his head. “So he got pissed because you had to use the bathroom?” “No, he got mad at me for being out of his sight for longer than five minutes. That was a big no-no when we were in public.” “Was he really that protective about you?” “No, he was possessive,” Dustin corrected carefully. “There"s a difference. Tyler always assumed that I"d cheat on him at the first opportunity, so he did everything he could to make sure I was never free to give into temptation.” “But that"s not something you"d ever do. I"ve only known you for a while, but I"m certain that you"ve never been the cheating type at all.” “I"m not. I loved him and would have never betrayed him that way. I couldn"t convince him of that though.” “God, he sounds like a jerk.” “He was a jerk. I only wish I"d realized that sooner,” Dustin further surprised himself by admitting. “You mean before he tossed you through that window.” Dustin gave a bitter laugh. “No, even that incident didn"t wake my sorry ass up. It wasn"t until he"d done a couple other things that I finally got smart and moved on.” Forrest reached out and put a hand on Dustin"s arm. “You don"t have to tell me what they were if you don"t want to. Just know that I"m here if you ever need to unload. After everything I"ve been through, you know I could never judge you.” Crap, how Dustin wished he could just spill everything out. But he couldn"t force himself to relive all the painful details, even to Forrest. He picked up his paintbrush and reloaded it, then returned his attention back to the porch. “It"s nothing that interesting, so I won"t bore you with all the details,” Dustin lied. “Somehow I don"t believe that,” Forrest replied, seeing right through him. “Okay, then let"s just go with that I"m never going to get involved with anyone else again. Especially somebody who"s older and bigger than me. I"ll be damned if I allow myself to be helpless and under somebody"s control again.” “You don"t know for sure that Vaughn would be like that. He could be a great big teddy bear for all you know. Why don"t you at least give him a chance?” Dustin turned around so he could look back over at Vaughn. When he noticed the fireman gazing back at him, Dustin"s heart hammered in his chest. “This is real life, not a sappy movie or romance novel. Face it, despite what we all may want to believe, not all of us have a soul mate, true love or prince charming.” “God, you sound so bitter.” “More like realistic. Not everybody gets a happily ever after. I just happen to be one of the saps who"s destined to die alone.” „ Having his say, Dustin turned back around and began to paint again. The entire time he still felt painfully aware of Vaughn"s presence and, try as he might, he couldn"t get the fireman
off his mind.
Chapter Four fter running by his house just long enough to A take a shower and change clothes, Dustin drove his own car to The Drunk Monkey. He wrinkled his nose as he pulled into the parking lot. Really? Who in the hell came up with that name and how did they think it fit for a bar located in Michigan of all places? The sad thing was, crappy name or not, the bar did some serious business. Not only did most of Pontiac"s EMS workers hang out there, but a huge chunk of the hospital staff. On the weekends, the place tended to be packed. To add insult to the already bad name, the owners decided to take the monkey theme way too seriously. The interior had a rustic, almost cabin-like feel to it and there were various monkey pictures slapped on every inch of spare wall space. There were even a few palm trees with fake bananas attached in them. If it weren"t so damn tragic, Dustin would have been tempted to call the décor cheesy. He spotted Forrest sitting with his boyfriend, Patrick, in a corner booth. Dustin navigated his way over to them, stopping to say hi to a few people along the way. He kept a sharp eye out for Vaughn, but didn"t spot the fireman. An unexpected dash of disappointment hit Dustin. After all the flirty talk Vaughn dished out earlier, Dustin fully expected to find the man waiting for him, bag of suckers in hand. Instead, it looked as if he"d been playing mind games all along and was going to be a no-show. Dustin tried to shrug it off by reminding himself that he wasn"t interested in Vaughn. Even if the guy was hot…buff…funny…good looking… Crap, so much for not being interested. “Hey, guys,” Dustin said as he slid into the booth. Of course, since Forrest and his doctor were so in love, they were sitting on one side of the table together. It was almost as sickening as the monkey theme. Not that Dustin was jealous or anything. Okay, maybe he was a tad envious of all that we-are-so-fricking-happy-together Forrest and Patrick were shooting off. That still didn"t mean that Dustin was looking for the same thing in his life, honest. “With all the extra shifts you"ve been putting in, I didn"t think we"d see you tonight,” Patrick said. Tall, with brown hair and blue eyes, Patrick really was handsome. It didn"t hurt that he worked as a doctor either. The closest Dustin ever came to dating a physician before had been four years ago when he"d met a guy at the bar who wanted to play naughty nurse meets horny MD. Since Dustin had bolted before the game could begin, somehow he didn"t think it really began to compare to the real thing. “I only stopped by for one drink,” Dustin explained. Since booze was so expensive, he couldn"t afford more than that, plus he had to drive home and he"d never had a high tolerance for alcohol.
“You look beat,” Forrest added. “Gee, thanks. Is that your way of saying I look rode hard and need a makeover?” “No, you look as good as ever,” Forrest paused and seemed to consider his next words carefully, “I"m just worried about you.” “We both are,” Patrick cut in. “You aren"t getting any sleep, you don"t seem to be eating enough and you just haven"t been yourself lately,” Forrest finished. Dustin blinked at them a few times. While part of him wanted to be pissed at them for being so intrusive, he did realize they were only doing it because they cared. So he did something he"d never done before, he willingly confessed about a piece of his betrayal. “The bastard fucked me over again,” he admitted, directing his gaze down at the table. “Who? Tyler?” Forrest demanded. Dustin nodded. “Yeah, this time he hit my credit cards. I don"t even know how he managed to get the numbers since I changed them after we split, but he did it somehow and now I owe the companies over ten thousand dollars.” “Ten thousand?” Forrest echoed, his voice sharp with outrage. “Yeah, he managed to max out every one I had.” Dustin ran his hands over his face. “I"m so stupid. I should have just cancelled the cards, instead I thought it would be enough to change the numbers and PINs.” “How many did you have?” Patrick asked. “Six, I never wanted that many, but when Tyler and I were still together, he recommended them as a way to increase my credit rating. It sounded crazy even back then, but since he was supposed to be the financial expert, I went along with it.” “Have you reported the theft to the banks or the police?” Patrick demanded. “No, it"s bad enough that the authorities already know that I let the jerk clean all of Mom"s and my savings out. I"m not about to add this piece of humiliation on top of it. I"ll just pay it off myself and move on.” “You just can"t let him get away with it,” Forrest protested. “Why not? The police are already looking for him because he stole from not just me, but all his other clients. So far they haven"t found one clue as to his whereabouts, so why bother adding to his list of crimes? It"s not like he"s going to pay for them anyway.” “But maybe they could track him by the charges on your card,” Patrick reasoned. Dustin gave a bitter laugh. “I"m sure Tyler is long gone from where he used my cards. One of the reasons the police haven"t been able to catch him is because he moves around so much.” “What did he charge?” Forrest asked. Pain sliced through Dustin as he recalled the list of charges on the bill. While he"d long ago stopped loving Tyler, it"d still hurt to see that he"d moved on and obviously wasn"t traveling alone. “There were quite a few at a jewelry store and some women"s boutique.” Forrest gaped at him. “Are you saying he"s with a female now?” “So it would appear.”
“Did you know he was bi?” “Nope, but it looks like I really didn"t know much about him after all. Which is kind of sad since we lived together for six months.” “Are you sure about not reporting the credit card theft?” Forrest pressed. “At least then maybe you wouldn"t have to pay them back.” “I"m positive.” Patrick leaned over and grabbed Dustin"s hand. “How about a loan? If your credit is too bad to go through a bank, I could—” “No,” Dustin cut him off. “Thanks for the offer and all, but this is something I need to handle on my own.” An uneasy silence came over them. It bothered Dustin so much that he knew he had to figure out a way to break it before he really got emotional. Flashing a smile, he decided to take the conversation into a whole new direction, “So, Doc. Have you ever borrowed the four-point restraints from the ER? Abby tells me they work perfect for bedroom play.” Patrick just stared blankly, while Forrest blinked a few times, then said, “My God, why didn"t I see it sooner?” “What? That four-points are perfect for sex? I could have told you that ages ago.” “No, that all the smartass remarks and smiles are just a cover. You"re hurting just as bad as I used to. Maybe even more since you loved the bastard who attacked you.” Dustin"s spine grew tight with stress. “I"m not hurting at all and for you to compare our situations is just plain wrong. You were gay bashed and almost died. All Tyler did to me was shove me once and then steal from me.” “Is that all he did to you? I somehow get the feeling that you"re not telling us everything,” Forrest said, his gaze probing. Dustin started to raise his hand to touch his throat, but caught himself in time. Fighting to keep the smile in place, he replied, “Of course that"s all he did. You honestly don"t think I"d stay with some loser who beat me all the time, do you?” When Forrest didn"t reply, Dustin made a small noise of disgust. “Well, I wouldn"t. I know better than that.” The lie stuck like a hairball in his throat and he could tell by the doubt that flashed through Forrest"s eyes, the guy wasn"t buying it. In the end though, Forrest didn"t call him out, he just gave a curt nod. “If you say so.” “I do, so can we just drop this? After spending all day being a good, little volunteer, I just want to relax and have some fun.” Forrest stared at him for a few seconds. “You know you can be a bit of a jerk at times?” Dustin pressed his lips together. Yeah, he was well aware of that fact. “I know you"re trying to help. I just prefer to forget some things, that"s all.” “Sometimes that"s easier said than done,”
Forrest replied knowingly. Another heavy silence descended over them and once again, Dustin felt compelled to
break it. “Who do you have to screw to get service around here?” As soon as those words slipped from his mouth, a box slammed heavily onto the center of the table. Dustin jerked his head up and gasped when he met Vaughn"s amused gaze. “If that"s what you"re offering just to get a drink, I"ll run up to the bar and get it myself,” Vaughn said, his lips twisting up into a grin. Dustin"s pulse raced with excitement as he fought the urge to grin back. “What"s in the box?” “Suckers and before you ask, I made sure they were the good kind.” “You bought a whole case of them?” Dustin laughed. “I wanted to make sure I got my dance,” Vaughn replied before holding out his hand. “What? Here? Now?” “Yes, yes and yes,” Vaughn quipped, his hand still stretched out. “But…but,” Dustin looked to Forrest for help, but his friend just shrugged. “Is there a problem with this place? Aside from the tragic monkey decorations?” Vaughn challenged. Dustin scrambled for a few breaths before finding an excuse he could cling to. “This is a straight bar. We"ll be the only gay couple out there.” Vaughn must have grown tired of waiting because he reached down and grabbed Dustin"s hand. “Who cares?” “I hate this song,” Dustin continued to argue even as he allowed Vaughn to pull him out of the booth. “I don"t believe you.” Vaughn didn"t even look back as he delivered that statement. “Are you calling me a liar?” “Yes. In fact, you"re such a big one that your pants are on fire.” Dustin froze. “Please tell me that you did not use yet another playground taunt on me?” Vaughn glanced over his shoulder, a playful grin on his lips. “Yes, but I only use them because I know how much you love them.” “I do not. If anything I think they"re lame.” Dustin"s breath rushed out of his lungs as he was pulled tightly against Vaughn"s hard chest. Reacting purely on instinct, Dustin brought his hands up to rest on Vaughn"s shoulders. As he tipped his head back, he couldn"t hold in the gasp that burst past his lips. “Problem?” Vaughn asked. “No, only that you"re so…big,” Dustin stammered, his stomach clenching a bit.
Then Vaughn wrapped his arms around Dustin"s waist and everything changed. Not for the worst either. If Dustin had to put a word on the sensation that rushed through him, it would have to be nice. Heat pooled in his stomach before traveling to his groin as he found himself wanting to press even further into Vaughn. “It doesn"t matter how big I am because nothing could ever make me want to hurt you,” Vaughn declared with such sincerity that Dustin felt tempted to believe him. “How can you say that when you don"t even really know me?” “I know all I need to.”
Despite the fact that a fast-paced song played, Vaughn set a slow rhythm that Dustin easily followed. He even went so far as to rest his cheek against Vaughn"s chest, a move that shocked the hell out of him since Dustin had doubted that he"d ever feel comfortable in another man"s arms again. The fact that it was with a near stranger further confused him. “Stop thinking so hard,” Vaughn admonished. Dustin grinned. “What gave me away?” “You"re way too quiet and not telling me off.” This time, Dustin laughed. “Well you did buy me a whole box of candy. That"s always been the way to my heart.” “If that"s the case, then I"ll make sure I carry some on me at all times.” Dustin closed his eyes as their bodies continued to sway in an almost sensual way. He"d never been much of a dancer, but damned if it didn"t feel like they were giving the performance of a lifetime at that moment. He even forgot about feeling self-conscious and worried over making a mistake. “Can I ask you a question?” he said. “Sure.” Vaughn rubbed the palm of his hand over Dustin"s spine. “Why me? There are a ton of guys around who are bigger, taller and more handsome. So I don"t understand what you see in me.” Vaughn tucked his fingers under Dustin"s chin and tilted his head up so their gazes could meet. “You really don"t get it?” “No, I"m sorry if that makes me look dumb. Once you get to know me, you"ll realize being dense is another one of my faults.” Vaughn studied him a minute and Dustin tensed, waiting for an agreement or scathing laughter. Instead, what he got was a flash of sadness followed by some anger. “It"s a good thing your ex left town or else I would have to personally show him what an idiot he is,” Vaughn snarled. “That"s the second time you mentioned him, so I take it you know all about how our relationship turned out,” Dustin mused, his gut clenching in dread. He wondered what Vaughn thought about a guy who would stay in such an abusive situation. So many others hadn"t held back in telling Dustin that he"d been a fool, or that maybe he"d secretly liked it. Otherwise, why wouldn"t he have left sooner? When Vaughn brushed the pad of his thumb over Dustin"s cheek, then followed the caress with the briefest of kisses, Dustin nearly fell over with shock. “Yes, and I think he was a first-class ass. I just hope that I can make you realize that all relationships don"t have to be that way.” Dustin nibbled on his bottom lip before he gave a shy nod. “You probably think I"m being overly dramatic. I mean, I haven"t seen him in two years, so I should be over him and the things he did.” “How old are you?” Vaughn asked. The quick change of conversation threw Dustin a bit so it took him a few moments to reply, “I"m twenty-three. Why?” “So you were pretty young when you were with him?” “Yeah, I"d just turned twenty.” “Did you ever have any other boyfriends besides him?” Vaughn pressed as he began to
caress Dustin"s back again. Pleasure shot from the area, traveling to all areas of Dustin"s body. He suddenly became grateful that he"d worn one of his more bulky sweatshirts, otherwise the rest of the bar would have known how happy he was to be in Vaughn"s arms. Then a heat came over his face as he realized that as close as they were, there was no way Vaughn would miss that Dustin was hard. While Dustin may not be hung, he was large enough that the other guy had to feel it pressing against him. Struggling to focus, he had to think a moment to remember the question Vaughn asked him. “No, I"ve never had any other boyfriends,” he finally managed to get out. “So that makes me only the second guy you"ve ever dated.” Vaughn grinned proudly. “I would hardly call dancing one time as dating,” Dustin countered as he bit back a laugh. Dear God, help him but this lunk was actually beginning to grow on him. “Oh, we"re dating. You just refuse to admit it. You will soon though.” Dustin rolled his eyes, even though he was secretly amused. The whole caveman thing didn"t usually appeal to him, but somehow it fit on Vaughn. In an endearing way, too, not the mean, scary way like with Tyler. The song ended, but Vaughn didn"t release Dustin. Surprisingly, Dustin didn"t feel the need to pull away either. They continued to hold each other and exchange in small talk for a few more songs. “You never did answer my question,” Dustin finally pointed out. “Why me?” Vaughn stopped dancing and reached down to cup Dustin"s face. “Because you"re smart, sweet and sexy.” “No, I"m stupid, sappy and short,” Dustin countered, showing he had a whole bunch of S words in his vocabulary, too. “You have no idea how wrong you are. I"m going to have fun showing you how special you really are.”
Chapter Five fter they were finished dancing, Vaughn A followed Dustin back to the booth he was sharing with his friends. If it annoyed Dustin when Vaughn pushed his way into the seat next to him, the medic didn"t show it. He just made the introductions before lapsing into silence. It wasn"t exactly the same warm and fuzzy feeling Vaughn got on the dance floor. He didn"t let it bother him. Since Dustin didn"t shove him away or try to press himself to the far wall, Vaughn still considered it a small victory. “So, you"re Ray"s friend?” Forrest asked, his gaze seeming to burn a hole into Vaughn. “Yeah, we"ve known each other since grade school,” Vaughn replied, as he got the sneaking suspicion he was about to get the third degree from Dustin"s protective buddies. “How did you manage to get a position with Pontiac Fire? With all the budget cuts, I didn"t think they were hiring anyone?”
“I have blackmail pictures of the mayor. I used those and a hefty bribe to buy my way in,” Vaughn teased in an attempt to lighten the tension. When only Dustin chuckled, while Forrest and Patrick just stared, Vaughn realized his joke had fallen flat. He nervously cleared his throat and tried again, “I actually applied a while back, the same time Ray did. I was just lucky that a spot opened and my name happened to be next on the list. I think the fact that I have my Basic EMT license helped, too.” “Where did you work before Pontiac?” Patrick asked. “Troy, then before that Ferndale.” “You"ve been around a lot. How old are you?” Forrest demanded. “Twenty-eight.” “So, since you now work here, does that mean you also live in the city?” Patrick fired off. “Yes, I live in the same apartment complex as Ray.” Forrest cocked a brow. “Just how close are you and Ray?” “We"re not a couple, if that"s what you"re asking. Ray and I found out a long time ago, that while we make great buddies, we suck in the sack together.” “So you were lovers at one time?” Forrest surmised. Vaughn looked over to Dustin for help. Dustin just shrugged and replied, “Hey, at least I"m getting to know you.” “Thanks,” Vaughn bit out sarcastically. When he realized that Forrest continued to look at him expectantly, Vaughn answered his latest question, “Yes, Ray and I did sleep together, but it was only once. It was a long time ago.” The waitress showed up to take their order and Vaughn nearly kissed her for breaking up the conversation. When he noticed that Dustin only ordered a drink, Vaughn quickly added a bunch of appetizers to his own bill. From what little he saw over the past couple days, Dustin didn"t eat enough. When she came back with their drink orders, Vaughn moved quickly and paid for both his and Dustin"s drink. When Dustin began to protest, Vaughn just pushed the drink into Dustin"s hand. “I owe you one, remember?” he pointed out. Dustin looked like he wanted to continue arguing, but finally accepted the drink. “Thanks.” After that, the conversation became more comfortable and less Inquisition style. When the next round of drinks came, Vaughn managed to pay again. Dustin protested once more, although he only did so halfheartedly. When the third round came, Dustin didn"t utter a word. By the time the food came, Dustin eagerly accepted the offering, eating more than the rest of them combined. “Wow, these drinks are really going to my head,” Dustin said as he ran a hand over his face. “Which is why I stuck with Coke all night. I figured I could make sure you got home okay,” Vaughn replied. Dustin tilted his head to the side, a grin spreading over his lips. “You did that, just so you
could be my designated driver? That"s so nice of you.” Vaughn wanted to reply that he"d do anything for Dustin, but held the comment in. Now that Dustin had actually started to warm up to him, the last thing he wanted was to blow it by moving too quickly. “That"s probably a good idea,” Dustin replied. “While booze doesn"t make me a slobbering drunk, it does make me very tired.” “With as little sleep as he"s been getting, he"ll be lucky if he doesn"t crash right here in the booth,” Forrest added. Dustin gazed up at Vaughn. “Forrest worries too much about me.” “Somebody has to,” Forrest grumbled under his breath. “I already have a mother, thank you,” Dustin shot back as he leaned heavily against Vaughn"s side. Vaughn held his breath, afraid if he moved or spoke that Dustin would realize what he was doing and pull away. All the while, he tried hard not to notice just how perfectly their bodies fit together. Just like he tried not to notice how sweet Dustin smelled or how warm he felt. “You really need to get some rest. We have to work twelve hours on the rig tomorrow and I know you picked up another shift at the hospital over the weekend,” Forrest pressed. Vaughn bit back a smile. Forrest"s nagging reminded him of the many lectures Ray gave him when he hadn"t been taking care of himself. It was good to know that Dustin had such good friends. “You"re right, I probably should get home,” Dustin conceded. “That"s okay, I need to leave, too.” Vaughn slid out of the booth. Forrest darted a look from Dustin to Vaughn and then back to Dustin again. “Are you sure you don"t just want Patrick and I to drive you home?” In other words, Dustin, do you really trust thisguy you just met yesterday? Vaughn braced himself for yet another of Dustin"s patented rejections, but all he got was one of those cute, almost innocent smiles. “Thanks, but I want Vaughn to drive me home,” Dustin said.
A thrill of excitement went through Vaughn at the realization he"d finally be able to get some alone time with Dustin. Even though it would only be for a short car trip, he was determined to make every second count. It also felt damn good to know that Dustin was finally letting his guard down a bit. Maybe there was hope after all. Deciding to test the waters a bit, Vaughn held out his hand. This time, Dustin didn"t hesitated at all, he reached out and linked their fingers together. Vaughn pulled Dustin to his feet, not stopping until their bodies were flush together. Vaughn"s cock, which had already been half-hard all night, slowly filled the rest of the way. With how close they were together, there was no way Dustin could help but feel it. Vaughn tensed as he wondered how Dustin would react. There could be no telling whether the medic would be amused or pissed. Instead of getting offended or mad, Dustin threw Vaughn a shocker when he grinned and rubbed against him. It wasn"t much, just a subtle shifting of his body, but it was more than enough for Vaughn to realize that Dustin liked what he felt.
Vaughn wondered why Dustin had suddenly warmed up so much to him, but then decided not to over-analyze the gift he"d been given. Not letting go of his grip on Dustin, Vaughn reached down with his free hand and snagged the box of suckers. As they stepped outside, Dustin shivered, despite it being warm outside. Vaughn shifted his hold so his arm went around Dustin"s shoulder in an attempt to offer the man some added warmth. “Thanks, I get cold easily,” Dustin explained. “Then how do you manage to work during the winter?” “I wear a ton of layers and buy the best thermal underwear I can afford.” Although it shouldn"t have, just the mere thought of Dustin in head-to-toe thermal set Vaughn"s pulse racing. He led Dustin to the car and opened the passenger door for him. He couldn"t resist running his fingers over Dustin"s shoulder one last time before shutting the door. After climbing behind the wheel, Vaughn asked, “So how do I get to your house?” Dustin hesitated, his teeth working his bottom lip. The tension rose in the car and for some insane reason, Vaughn found himself holding his breath in anticipation. “I was wondering if maybe I could go to your place instead,” Dustin hedged. Vaughn reached over and lightly cupped Dustin"s cheek. “Are you sure that"s not the booze talking?”
Dustin turned his face into Vaughn"s caress, his tongue briefly darting out to leave behind a velvet caress. “Like I said earlier, alcohol just makes me sleepy, not dopey drunk. I"m perfectly aware of what I"m asking.” “I don"t get you. A couple hours ago, you didn"t even want to talk to me,” Vaughn persisted. Are you crazy? He just asked you to take him homeand you’re questioning his motives? What are you anidiot? Just take him home and give him what you bothwant. Despite the inner voice yelling at him, Vaughn wanted to make sure that Dustin was certain. He didn"t want there to ever be any regrets between them. “While we were dancing, I realized something,” Dustin said, as he stared intently at Vaughn. “What was that?” “When you were holding me, I knew I was safe. I haven"t felt that way in ages. I know that this is probably just a one-night thing with you and I promise not to ask for more, but I just want a few hours of where I don"t have to be afraid or worried or stressed. If after tonight, you never want to be with me again, I"ll understand. I won"t get clingy or anything, I swear.” Vaughn leaned over and slowly inched forward. As their lips met, Vaughn realized one taste, one time would never be enough. Not when it felt so damn right. Carding his fingers through Dustin"s hair, Vaughn deepened the kiss, his tongue slipping inside Dustin"s hot mouth. Dustin responded with an eagerness that both shocked and pleased Vaughn. He even went so far as to move in closer, his hands fisting into Vaughn"s shirt. A soft whimper filled the air and Vaughn didn"t know if it came from him or Dustin. With the way his head was spinning, all he did know for certain was that there was no way in hell this would only be a one-night deal. Not if he had his way. Then Dustin began to suck on his
tongue and Vaughn forgot about any other worry save for getting to them to his bed as soon as possible. “Fuck,” Dustin breathed once they broke apart. His blue eyes were dark with passion and a lock of his hair stood on end from Vaughn"s manhandling. Vaughn couldn"t think of a time when he"d seen anything sexier or more tempting. “That was pretty amazing,” Vaughn agreed as he fanned his thumb over Dustin"s lips. Dustin parted his mouth and took in Vaughn"s thumb, giving it the same treatment that his tongue received just moments before. Vaughn held in a breath, transfixed by the sight of Dustin"s pink lips wrapped around him. When Dustin sucked in so hard that his cheeks hollowed, Vaughn let out a loud moan. “If your goal is to drive me crazy, then I"d say job well done,” Vaughn said in a husky voice. Dustin looked up from under the spikes of blond hair that"d fallen into his face. He smiled as much as he could as he continued to suck Vaughn"s thumb. Vaughn"s cock pressed painfully against the fly of his jeans, almost as if it were protesting that it wasn"t the one to receive all the special attention. “Maybe we should pick this up when we get to my place?” Vaughn suggested. A muffled reply is what he got as Dustin tried to talk around Vaughn"s thumb. He pulled it free so Dustin could speak clearly. “That sounds like a great idea to me.” Vaughn started the car and made the short drive home. Dustin fell silent, although he did sit close enough for him to run his fingers up Vaughn"s thigh. Dustin made a game of it, trailing his fingers up just far enough for there to be hope for some cock contact. Each time, Dustin would stop short before running his fingers back down toward Vaughn"s knee. “Are you teasing me?” Vaughn demanded as he fought to pay attention to the road. “Why, does it bother you?” Dustin asked, his voice sharp with alarm. He jerked his hand away and shot Vaughn a look much like a puppy who"d just chewed up his master"s slippers. Vaughn reached over and put Dustin"s hand back on his knee. “Are you kidding? I"m loving it. Just so long as you"re touching me, I"m happy.” Dustin still looked torn between fear and disbelief. “Yeah, but nobody likes a cocktease.” “Is that what he told you?” Vaughn asked, working hard to keep the anger from his voice, lest Dustin think it was directed at him. For a few moments, it didn"t seem that Dustin was going to answer. He almost appeared to withdraw into himself as he stared down at his fingers, which were now idle on Vaughn"s knee. “Yeah, he used to get really angry at me sometimes,” Dustin said. Vaughn"s stomach clenched with dread. While he"d suspected as much, to hear Dustin say it aloud, made it so real. Vaughn swallowed hard. “How angry?” “He used to hit me,” Dustin finally confessed in a near whisper. “Did he do that a lot?” Please say no. Please sayno. Dustin nodded, his gaze still directed downward. “So, that one time he threw you through the sliding glass door wasn"t an isolated incident,”
Vaughn said, his heart breaking. “No, and it wasn"t the last time either.” Dustin finally directed his gaze up. The pain in his eyes made Vaughn want to rip Tyler apart. “I guess you probably think I was an idiot for not leaving him sooner?” Thankfully, they"d arrived at Vaughn"s apartment complex. He pulled into the nearest parking spot, turned the car off, then reached over and pulled Dustin into his arms. Their embrace was a little awkward due to the cramped space, but Dustin didn"t seem to mind. He even let out a small sigh as he sank into Vaughn"s arms. “I don"t get it. How can I tell you all this, even though we just met? I"ve shared things with you that not even Forrest or my mother know,” Dustin said, his voice laced with wonder. Vaughn placed a kiss on top of his head. “I don"t know either. All I"m certain of is I"m feeling the same connection to you.” Dustin tilted his head up so they could lock gazes. “I don"t believe in love at first sight, soul mates or any of that other crap those sappy movies and books try to sell.” “Neither do I,” Vaughn agreed, wondering just who they were trying to convince. “How is it that you don"t already have a boyfriend?” Dustin demanded as he traced a line up and down Vaughn"s chest. “I did until a few months ago. We were pretty serious, too.” “What happened?” “He decided he liked cops better than firemen. I caught him getting frisked by a police officer and it wasn"t in an official capacity,” Vaughn admitted, marveling how it didn"t hurt to think of that incident any longer. Dustin reached up and cupped the back of Vaughn"s neck. “He"s a jerk for giving you up.” They shared a long, lingering, heated kiss that had both of them panting. When another car drove by, the headlights briefly illuminating them, Vaughn realized he needed to get Dustin inside before they took things further. “Come on. My place isn"t much, but it"s a hell of a lot more private than here.” They got out and Vaughn led the way up the stairs and to the second floor. While his building was a bit older, so were most of the other tenants. Vaughn didn"t mind at all since that meant things were usually quiet. The other residents loved having a fireman living so close, so they tended to treat him well, too. Not a week went by that he didn"t get some kind of baked goods left at his door. “You"re lucky, I just cleaned the place yesterday,” Vaughn said as he opened the door and ushered Dustin inside. “This is nice,” Dustin complimented as his gaze swept over the small one-bedroom unit. Vaughn knew his apartment was nowhere near an interior decorator"s masterpiece. With its brown carpet and white walls, it almost looked industrial. “You"re just saying that to be polite. I"ve seen hospital rooms that had more warmth.” Dustin tossed him a smile. “Okay, maybe I"ve seen one or two that were homier, too, but that"s only because I"ve been in way too many hospital rooms.” Dustin flopped down on the couch and Vaughn joined him. Moving so they were only inches apart, he couldn"t resist reaching out to take Dustin"s hand. It was as if he was addicted
and couldn"t get enough of touching the younger man. “So, were you in the rooms as a medic or a patient?” “Unfortunately, both.” Dustin scrunched up his face. “Not just the one time I had an intimate encounter with that glass door either. Even after I left Tyler, I still managed to get hurt a lot on my own. I tend to attract disasters.” “Really?” “Yeah, there"s the overweight street walker who fell on me. That happened in the back of my own rig. Then there was the one time my ambulance was T-boned by an ice cream truck.” Dustin wagged his finger. “But I"d like to point out that was totally not my fault. The truck ran a red light. Plus, it was moving way too fast. Whatever happened to them driving slow so the kids could catch them?” “Didn"t the music from the truck warn you it was heading your way?” “No, I was trying to listen to dispatch because they were sending us the directions to a call. So one moment I"m trying to locate the address of some, poor elderly lady who fell and the next thing I know, I"m sideways and skidding down Walton Boulevard.” Vaughn bit back a laugh. Not that he found any humor in Dustin almost getting hurt, it was just the way he described the incidents. Dustin"s flair for drama made it seem as if every event had been life or death. He had to admit it was much better than the timid, broken Dustin from back in the car. “So was Forrest with you when you had the run-in with the ice cream truck?” “No, that was two partners before Forrest.” Dustin tilted his head thoughtfully. “For some reason, I had trouble keeping a crew buddy until Forrest transferred to Pontiac. I think it"s because the rest of the company think I"m cursed or something.” “Forrest doesn"t believe that?” “No, he actually likes being around me.” “Why wouldn"t he? You"re a ton of fun.” “Funny, most people find me tiresome or annoying.” Vaughn leaned forward until their faces were inches apart. “I"m not most people.” “No, you"re not. You"re much, much better,” Dustin agreed, his eyes darkening with passion. They shared another kiss, Dustin letting out the softest of whimpers. He started to climb onto Vaughn"s lap before Vaughn put a gentle hand on his chest to stay him. “Wait right here for a second.” “Why?” Dustin demanded in a husky whisper. The sound immediately shot to Vaughn"s already hard cock. How Dustin made one word sound so sexy was a mystery, but damn if it didn"t nearly make Vaughn come in his pants like some oversexed teen. “I want to start here before we move on to the bedroom, but I don"t have the supplies stashed in my living room,” Vaughn explained. “Okay, but hurry.” Vaughn gave him one last kiss before getting up and rushing to the bathroom. He used the facilities and grabbed the supplies before going back out. As he approached the couch, he found Dustin stretched out over the cushions, eyes closed and obviously asleep. “Right, because booze makes you sleepy,” Vaughn groaned with self-pity.
Just his luck, he finally managed to get the hottest man in Pontiac to go home with him only to have the guy conk out just when things were about to get good. Still, Vaughn couldn"t bring himself to shake Dustin awake. Not when he looked so content. He even let out sleepy noises as he snuggled his cheek into a couch cushion. A lock of his hair had fallen over his closed eyes and Vaughn brushed it out of the way. He allowed his fingers to linger and softly caress Dustin"s cheeks. When he turned so trustingly into Vaughn"s touch, even while in slumber, it tugged at Vaughn"s chest. “Shit, kid, what are you doing to me?” Vaughn whispered. “Why am I so drawn to you and why in the hell can"t I stop from wanting you?”
Chapter Six ustin opened his eyes and blinked a few D times as he found himself in unfamiliar surroundings. A brief surge of panic filled him before he remembered that he"d gone home with Vaughn the previous night. Then Dustin realized that he"d all but passed out on the guy and a heat came over his face. Great! Like that wasn"t going to leave a bad impression. Vaughn must be thinking that he hit the jackpot by bringing home the life of the EMS party. Cue sarcasm. Dustin was damn lucky Vaughn hadn"t kicked his lame ass to the curb last night. He groaned as he ran a hand over his face. Obviously, Vaughn hadn"t been too determined for them to sleep together or else he would have awakened Dustin last night. Self-loathing filled Dustin as he briefly closed his eyes. He"d been an idiot for even thinking he could keep the attention of someone as attractive as Vaughn. If he hadn"t blown it already, then it would only have been a matter of days before the sexy fireman realized how boring, stupid and unappealing he was. So maybe it was better that things fizzled out before they really began. That way it wouldn"t hurt so much when Vaughn moved on to bigger and better guys. Dustin sat up, frowning as he realized that Vaughn had taken the time to cover him with a thick blanket. Almost as if he"d remembered that Dustin grew cold easily. The gesture was so thoughtful and considerate that a lump grew in his throat. He told himself not to get too worked up. It was just a blanket for cripe"s sake. Yet as his fingers ran over the plush fabric, a smile still came over his face. He was still fingering the cover when a soft noise to his right alerted him that he wasn"t alone. Dustin turned, his stomach flipping as he saw Vaughn approaching with a plate of food. “Sorry about last night,” Dustin blurted, feeling even more like a first-class loser. Vaughn smiled. “Don"t worry about it.” Dustin studied Vaughn"s face carefully for any signs of anger, relief flooding though him when he spotted nothing but genuine caring. “You made me breakfast?” Vaughn sat on the floor by the couch, then popped a piece of bacon into Dustin"s mouth. “I figured you might be hungry.” The bacon tasted so good and was cooked to perfection, not too crispy, but not soft and
floppy either. Dustin let out a moan of appreciation as he chewed. “Where did you learn to cook like this?” he asked once he swallowed. “From my mother. I was the oldest of six, so I had to help her take care of things. My dad had expectations of how he thought the house should be run and if she didn"t meet up to them, he wasn"t very nice to live with. So I made sure to help her out wherever I could.” “Your dad didn"t mind that you cooked and did housework?” Dustin asked. From what little he"d heard about the man, somehow Dustin didn"t see that flying. “No, he used to beat the shit out of me all the time for not acting like what he thought a man should be.” It hurt to hear that. Much more than it should have, given that he and Vaughn had basically just met. But yet there it was, the slice of pain at the thought of Vaughn being harmed in any way. “It"s the words that hurt more though, wasn"t it?” Dustin choked past the lump in his throat. He knew from his own personal experiences. While the kicks and punches caused pain, the sneers and snide comments held a special hurt of their own. But then Vaughn already knew that, because just like Dustin, he"d lived through it and still carried the internal scars. Dustin raised trembling fingers to lightly caress Vaughn"s cheek. “I get it now.” “Get what?” “Why it"s so easy to tell you things that I could never share with anyone else. It"s because you know what it"s like to be hurt by someone you love. You understand me in ways that nobody else could.” “It"s more than that and you know it,” Vaughn said. Vaughn gazed intently at him and as clichéd as it may seem, it was almost as if he was staring right into Dustin"s soul. What"s more, he wasn"t finding anything lacking. Which was a first. Even though Dustin"s mother always made sure he knew she loved him, she"d also made sure he knew all his faults. As for Tyler, he"d made a hobby of pointing out all the things wrong with Dustin. Yet, with Vaughn, all Dustin found was tenderness and acceptance. Dustin"s heart raced as his breath hitched. Oh shit, this wasn"t supposed to happen to somebody like him. It sure as hell wasn"t supposed to happen this quickly either. Love, having somebody to care about, finding a happily ever after, they were all things that Dustin thought would always be out of his reach. That still didn"t stop him from wanting Vaughn in every way possible. “Yes, I know it"s much more than that,” Dustin conceded. “There are a couple more things you should know before we go any further. Then after hearing them, if you still want me, I"m all yours.” “You can tell me anything. I promise not to judge you.” Dustin only hoped that was true. He took a deep breath before saying, “He tried to kill me.” “Who? Tyler?” “Yeah, and it wasn"t when he tossed me at that door either. It was a week later.” Dustin let out a bitter laugh as self-loathing filled him. “Even after he made me have to go to the hospital and get my back stitched up, I still went back to the bastard. How stupid does that make me?” Vaughn set the plate of food on the coffee table then pulled Dustin into a warm,
protective embrace. “It doesn"t make you stupid at all, babe. How many times have we seen other victims of domestic abuse do the same thing?” “I should have known better. I"d just gotten my medic license so I knew from the job how the whole abuse cycle plays out, yet I willingly walked into it myself.” “You have to stop blaming yourself for his actions.” Unshed tears burned in Dustin"s eyes. “How can I not? By letting him rule my life, I ruined not only my future, but my mother"s, too.” “Why would you ever think that?” “Because it"s true. Tyler worked as a financial advisor, so the first thing he did when we moved in together was take over my finances. He even convinced my mother to use his services. So before long, he had control of everything, our checking accounts, savings, retirement funds, even the small inheritance I got when my father died in a car accident.” Dustin took in a shaky breath. “And it was really an accident, regardless of what Tyler used to say.” “I can just imagine how he twisted things to mess with your mind.” Dustin blinked a couple times and some tears broke free. “He said that my dad ran into the tree on purpose because he was ashamed to have me as a son.” There were many ways Vaughn could have responded to that, but in the end, he did what Dustin needed most of all. He tightened his embrace and placed a soft kiss on top of Dustin"s head. “It"s not true and you know it.” “I do now, but back then he had my head so fucked up, I actually believed him for a while.” Dustin sniffed before continuing with his story. “So anyway, around a week after the sliding door incident, I found out that he hadn"t been investing my mom"s or my money at all. He"d been funneling it to his own personal account. It wasn"t just us either, but a whole bunch of his clients.” “So you confronted him about it,” Vaughn surmised. “Yeah, and it didn"t go over too well.” A shiver ran down Dustin"s body. “He attacked me. For the first time ever, I tried to fight back, but he was so much bigger and stronger. I don"t know if it was because I struggled or because he was worried about me going to the police, but he got angrier than I"d ever seen him before. After he hit me for a while, he pinned me down and…” Dustin trailed off as the tears began to fall harder. He took in a few breaths and forced himself to continue. “He started to strangle me. I fought harder, but even when I knew he was killing me, I still didn"t have the strength to push him off. I tried to plead with him to stop. To apologize, for making him angry, but I couldn"t get the words out because I couldn"t breathe.” Somehow, Vaughn managed to hold Dustin tighter. Shock coursed through Dustin when he noted the trembles going through the man"s body. Part of him wanted to end his story there, in order to spare Vaughn, but Dustin knew he had to get this out. “I must have passed out because I woke up in the backyard. I don"t know if he thought I was dead or he wanted to punish me further. All I do know for certain was that I found myself half-frozen in a snow bank.” “Which is why you still get cold all the time?” Dustin nodded. “I know it"s psychological, but I can"t stand to even get chilled anymore.” “You"re lucky you woke up when you did. I"m sure hypothermia had set in.”
“It probably had, but I still managed to crawl to the neighbors and call for help.” “What did the police do when they got there?” Dustin closed his eyes as he recalled his own stupidity. “I never called them. Even after all that, I was still trying to protect the bastard. I just phoned my mother. She came and took me back to her condo and treated my injuries. Tyler must have thought I had called the cops though, because he took off and I never saw him again. He"d left a mess in his place. Both my mom and I lost our homes and we"re still struggling to recover. Then to add insult to injury, I just found out he somehow managed to max out all my credit cards. So even two years later, he"s still managing to hurt me.” Vaughn pulled away and gazed down at Dustin. “Not anymore because now you have me to protect you.” Dustin let out an embarrassing hiccup-sounding sob. “How can you say that after everything you"ve heard about me?” Vaughn cupped his face and brought their lips together for the sweetest, most tender kiss Dustin ever received. Although short and not nearly as carnal as all the others they"d shared, this one left Dustin more breathless than ever. “There is nothing that could ever make me not want you,” Vaughn declared as he fanned a finger over Dustin"s slightly parted lips. “I"ve been crazy about you ever since I saw you nearly making love to that donut.” Dustin managed a shaky laugh. “And I fell for you the instant you came up and stole my sucker.” They exchanged another kiss, this one a bit longer and with open mouths. Keeping their lips together, Dustin whispered, “I want you to make love to me.” Vaughn sucked in a breath. “Are you sure?” “Yeah, just…” Dustin blushed. “Just go easy on me. It"s been a while since I"ve been with anyone.” “I"ll tell you what. I"ll just lay back and let you set the pace. How would that be?” A nervous laugh burst past Dustin"s lips. “I think I"m going to love that.” Vaughn stood up and held his hand out. Dustin took it, but once he got to his feet, he hopped up and wrapped his legs around Vaughn"s waist. Ignoring Vaughn"s grunt of surprise, Dustin brought their lips together.
Unlike earlier, this kiss was all heat and need. Vaughn met Dustin with the same urgency, their tongues tangling together. Somehow, while still managing to hold onto Dustin and maintain the kiss, Vaughn stumbled to the bedroom. Once they got by the simple queen-sized bed, Vaughn let go and Dustin allowed his feet to fall to the ground. They kissed for a few more moments before Dustin pulled back and stared at Vaughn. “Everything okay?” Vaughn asked. Dustin nodded, for a moment too choked up to talk. Finally, he managed to get out, “I just never thought I could have this. To have someone like you actually care about me.” “I"ll be here forever if you want,” Vaughn declared in a rough voice. “You don"t know how much I want to believe that,” Dustin replied, his fingers going to the hem of Vaughn"s t-shirt. “I keep expecting to wake up and find this was all just a dream.”
Vaughn gave him another kiss, this time adding a soft love bite to Dustin"s bottom lip. Vaughn then trailed his lips down Dustin"s jaw and neck, adding more love bites between his kisses. Dustin moaned as he tilted his head to the side to give Vaughn full access, shivers of desire traveling over his body. “Does this feel like a dream?” Vaughn challenged, before nibbling on yet another piece of flesh. “No, it"s much better,” Dustin conceded with a long moan. Working together, they stripped each other, taking time out to kiss certain newly exposed areas. Dustin found he particularly liked licking Vaughn"s numerous tattoos. Going by the moans Vaughn gave, he liked it, too. After they were naked, Dustin put his hand in the center of Vaughn"s chest and gave a gentle shove. Vaughn obeyed the silent command, falling to his back. Once he was there, Dustin took a moment to study his prize. Damn if Vaughn wasn"t a prize, too. All tanned, covered in muscles and open for appraisal, Vaughn screamed decadence and sex. Dustin climbed onto the bed, straddling Vaughn"s thighs and moving up so their bare chests slid against each other. The skin-on-skin contact ripped a groan from Dustin. His cock ached and he yearned to do some rubbing in that area, too, but resisted. He hadn"t been kidding when he said it"d been a long time and he didn"t want to blow things by coming too soon. The tattoos couldn"t be resisted and he found himself licking them over and over. When Vaughn kept true to his word and didn"t try to grab control of the situation, Dustin grew bolder, his fingers trailing down to wrap around the man"s cock. “You"re big,” Dustin remarked with just a hint of fear. “Don"t worry, I"ll make sure you"re ready to take me,” Vaughn assured him. “How?” Over the past two years, Dustin had flirted with several friends and co-workers. He"d also boasted of numerous conquests. It"d all been lies and Dustin had only ever been intimate with Tyler. His ex hadn"t been exactly gentle with sex either. The first time they"d fucked, Dustin had been in pain for days. “Grab a condom and the bottle of lubricant from the top drawer of my nightstand.” Dustin obeyed, stretching over to the side. He rummaged around until he found the required items. His hands shook so bad that he more dropped than handed them to Vaughn. “Good boy,” Vaughn praised. A warm feeling rushed through Dustin at the praise. Even if it was for a mundane little thing, the fact that he"d pleased Vaughn felt so damn good that Dustin found himself grinning. That was until Vaughn issued the next command, “Now I want you to move up.” “Move up?” Dustin echoed, his heart hammering with trepidation. “Yes,” Vaughn replied with perfect calm and patience. Dustin moved up a couple of inches. Vaughn laughed before giving him a slight tap on the ass. “More, I want to suck your cock.” “But…that would mean I would be almost sitting on your face,” Dustin protested, his cheeks flaming from embarrassment. “Trust me, babe.” Vaughn cracked open the lube and squirted it over his fingers. Trust me. Those two simple words held so much power, yet in the end, they were what
convinced Dustin to scoot forward all the way. He"d barely settled into place when he found his cock enveloped in the heat of Vaughn"s mouth. “Ah, fuck,” Dustin cried as his eyes rolled back into his head. After one minute of sucking, Dustin completely forgot about his embarrassment, two had him gripping the headboard for support, three had him rocking forward into Vaughn"s mouth. When he felt a slicked finger circling his hole, Dustin knew no fear. If anything, he thrust back some. The added sensation of the ass play combined with having his cock sucked almost threw Dustin over the edge. He clutched the headboard harder as he bit his bottom lip, hoping the pain would help him find some control. Vaughn didn"t make things easy on him. He added a second finger and then a third. Dustin felt a slight burn as he was filled, but it wasn"t an unpleasant sensation. It sure as hell wasn"t anything like the pain he used to experience with Tyler. “I"m going…oh, God…” Dustin blubbered. Thankfully, Vaughn still got the message. He let Dustin"s cock slide from his mouth before holding the condom up. Dustin grabbed it and used his teeth to open it. Scooting back down, he slid it over Vaughn"s cock before reaching out to grab the lube. Deciding to be safe rather than sore the next day, Dustin slicked Vaughn"s cock up. While the condom did have some lubricant already on it, Dustin figured a little extra couldn"t hurt. If they made a mess of the sheets, he"d just have a reason to stay around longer so he could launder them for Vaughn. Once he"d thoroughly slicked Vaughn up, Dustin got on his knees and then grabbed Vaughn"s cock. Lining it up with his hole, Dustin slowly lowered himself on it. The entire time, Vaughn continued to keep his promise as he let Dustin have complete control of everything. Something that wasn"t easy for Vaughn to do, going by the fine sheen of sweat covering his brow. “Oh God, oh God, oh God,” Dustin panted as he took in Vaughn, inch by inch. Sure, it hurt a bit, but the pleasure was far greater, so much so that when Dustin let out a whimper, it came from bliss rather than distress. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Dustin had taken all of him in. He paused only for a moment to give his body time to adjust before setting a slow rhythm. “If you only knew how beautiful you look right now,” Vaughn groaned as he ran a palm down Dustin"s chest. “You"re just saying that so I"ll ride you harder,” Dustin retorted before he began to do just that. He"d already been so close to the edge that it didn"t take him long to get worked up again. His own cock felt ready to burst and he reached out to stroke it. “That"s it, let me see you jack yourself off,” Vaughn growled. The dirty talk finally pushed Dustin over the edge. He gave himself one last stroke before he came, spunk covering his hand and his lover"s chest. Vaughn growled in approval before he grabbed Dustin"s hips and slammed up a few more times. Crying out Dustin"s name, Vaughn found his own release, his cock pulsating in Dustin"s ass. Dustin let out a few breathless chuckles before he collapsed onto Vaughn"s chest. Vaughn made a humming sound as he wrapped his arms around Dustin and held him tight. “Are you cold?” Vaughn asked, once they could speak again.
“You know what? For the first time in two years, I"m not. In fact, I can"t remember the last time I felt so warm and safe,” Dustin replied as he snuggled in deeper. He could really get used to this.
Chapter Seven hen Dustin arrived at work, Forrest was W already taking inventory in the back of their rig. After tossing his lunch and backpack in the front, Dustin joined his partner. Dustin could tell by the way Forrest"s eyes narrowed that his friend was dying to know what happened after he and Vaughn left the bar. He waited for Forrest to start firing off the questions, but for once, the medic kept quiet. Since they"d been working together for a while and always used the same ambulance, it only took them a couple minutes to check the equipment and make sure they were fully stocked. As they were exiting the back of the rig, Forrest asked, “You sure you don"t want me to drive today?” Dustin paused, mid-step to shoot Forrest an are-you-fucking-kidding-me look. “Have you been huffing nitrous?” Forrest had the gall to actually look offended. “No, why would you even ask something like that?” “Maybe because the last two times you drove, both ended with me having an up close and gross encounter with Bertha the streetwalker.” “Hey, I still say that first time was totally not my fault. If it hadn"t have been for that dog darting out in front of the rig, I would have never crashed.” “That"s easy for you to say, you didn"t end up with over three hundred pounds of hooker on top of you.” “I"ll have you know plenty of guys pay good money to have Bertha jump on top of them,” Forrest pointed out. They both shared a shudder before Dustin retorted, “Yeah, call me picky, but I"ll pass on that one.” “And the second time, I didn"t crash at all,” Forrest defended. “Gee, I didn"t notice because I spent the entire trip buried in Bertha"s massive boobs.” He sliced his hand in a silencing gesture. “Don"t even go into how guys pay cash for that, too.” “You"ve crashed rigs, too.” “Yes, but I do it with so much flare that it"s forgivable,” Dustin replied, knowing full well how outrageous that comment sounded. Sure enough, Forrest opened and closed his mouth a couple of times as he struggled to find a response. Dustin used that opportunity to claim the driver"s seat. They"d barely buckled in before Forrest finally found a comeback. “You suck.” “Seriously, after all that thinking, that was the best you could come up with?” Dustin drawled, holding back his laughter.
“Okay, how about you suck great big donkey balls?” Dustin tilted his head to the side as he pretended to think that one over. “I"ll give you a B for originality, but a D in quickness of response.” Forrest frowned. “So that would only give me a C average.” “Yeah, which means you"re starting to slip. You usually earn at least a B.” “Damn.” Forrest shook his head, but the small grin on his lips gave him away. Dustin smiled back before they shared a brief chuckle. Forrest waited until Dustin had pulled out of the ambulance bay before he finally took on the elephant camped in the middle of the rig. “So what happened after you left last night?” “Vaughn took me back to his place.” “He did?” “Yeah, because I asked him to,” Dustin replied, quick to defend the fireman. “And…” Forrest waved his hands in the come-on-dish gesture. Dustin wrinkled his nose. “Then I fell asleep on his couch before anything could happen.” Something that may have been relief crossed over Forrest"s face until Dustin added, “But this morning, we fucked like Leprechauns in heat.” Forrest started to say something before his brows furrowed in confusion. “Did you just say Leprechauns? ” “Yes, they can be horny little buggers when the time is right.” “Why me? They could have partnered me with anyone, but instead I get stuck with the company basket case.” Forrest shook his head. Dustin snorted. “You know you love me.” “Yeah, I guess I do, which shows I"m just as unbalanced.” They fell silent for a few moments, but Dustin could tell Forrest was still working something over in his head. In fact, he seemed to be thinking so damn hard it wouldn"t be surprising to see smoke wafting from his ears. “Just spit it out,” Dustin growled. “I"m just a little worried about some of the decisions you make. You barely know Vaughn, yet you easily went home with him.” “Vaughn is a great guy,” Dustin objected. “Okay, maybe he is, but you have to admit, he"s not the first guy you hooked up with. Most of the time, you don"t even know their last names.” Dustin gripped the steering wheel as he felt the heavy weight of guilt slam into him. He realized that he had to finally tell his friend the truth and hope that Forrest didn"t end up hating him for all the lies he"d told. “None of it was true,” Dustin bit out. Forrest cocked a brow. “None of what?” “All the stories I told you about the hookups, the quickies in bathrooms, the encounters in the backseats of cars, none of them were true. Up until this morning, I hadn"t had sex with anyone since Tyler took off.” “You mean you were just bullshitting me all this time?” “Yes,” Dustin admitted, too afraid to meet Forrest"s gaze. “So that time with the twins in the swimming pool didn"t really happen?” “Nope.”
“And that handjob you supposedly got from the cop in exchange for him not giving you a ticket?” “A lie.” “The Russian bear in the back of the club?” “Total crap. It never happened.” “The pilot and the cockpit?” “Lie.” “The golf pro and the ninth green?” “Didn"t happen. As a matter of fact, I"m allergic to grass.” “The incident with the rugby player, his cousin and a jar of peanut butter?” Dustin rolled his eyes. “Come on, did you ever really believe that one?” Forrest grew silent and Dustin finally darted a glance his way. The medic was staring at him, but not with anger. If anything, Dustin would have to say it was more concern and sadness lingering in Forrest"s eyes. “But why would you make that all up?” “Because I didn"t want everyone to know how lame I really was. That I was such a mess, thanks to Tyler, that I couldn"t be with anyone else,” Dustin admitted. “So, up until Vaughn you were celibate?” Forrest asked the question with the same stunned disbelief one would use if they found out there were really vampires, honest used car salesmen or the Easter Bunny. “Yeah, and other than Tyler, I"ve never slept with anyone else, period.” “Why the act?” Dustin shrugged. “Sometimes the ones who joke and laugh the hardest are really hiding the biggest pain.” “But you had to have known that I wouldn"t have cared either way.” “I know that now.” He paused, almost afraid to say the next part. “Thanks to Vaughn.” Forrest held up a hand. “Wait, are you trying to tell me that in the span of two days this fireman has changed you that much?” A heat came over Dustin"s face as he nodded. “Oh, my God. You"re blushing,” Forrest accused. “Shut up.” “You really like him a lot, don"t you?” “Yeah, I do. I know it"s crazy because we did just meet, but it didn"t take you and Patrick that long and look how happy you two are together.” Forrest opened his mouth to answer, but the radio squawked to life, “Alpha 403, this is dispatch. Do you copy?” “Dispatch, this is 403, go ahead,” Dustin replied. “You have a priority one call. It came in as a domestic dispute. There are two patients, Alpha 364 will be meeting you at the scene.” Dispatch rattled off an address that was only a minute away. Dustin"s gut clenched. Even if it hadn"t been for his own personal history, he hated going to domestic assaults. Nearly all EMS workers did.
Because of all the strong emotions flying around with the family members, domestic assaults always had the potential to turn sour and potentially dangerous. Forrest flipped on the lights and sirens as Dustin began to carefully navigate his way through the congested Pontiac traffic. Within a minute, they were pulling up to a house that looked like it should have been condemned years ago. The surrounding neighborhood wasn"t much better. Almost every other house was either boarded up or a burned shell. Litter and other debris littered the patchy lawns and crumbling sidewalk. The other crew had already arrived and was unloading a backboard and medic bag from the back of the rig. Dustin recognized one of them as Jill, a young, blonde, semi-experienced medic. Her partner was a slim, brown-haired man that he"d never seen before. “That"s Kiefer. He just started last week,” Forrest explained, answering Dustin"s unspoken question. “Why did they put him with Jill?” “From what I hear, they"re cousins. So she requested to be partnered with him.” “Is that wise? The whole reason her last partner requested a transfer was because she had the tendency to make stupid decisions.” Forrest shrugged before he undid his seatbelt. “I"m sure as soon as she batted those blue eyes at management, they gave her what she wanted.”
They got out, grabbed their own equipment and joined the other crew at the end of the driveway. “Is PD on their way?” Dustin asked. It was always a good idea to go into these situations with a cop by one"s side. “They said it would take at least a half hour before a patrol car could respond,” Jill answered. “Are you surprised? With as much as they had to cut back on the force, I"m shocked it"s taking only that long. We"re lucky it"s not an hour or more,” Dustin replied. Kiefer wrinkled his nose. “What"s that smell?” “There"s a waste treatment plant two blocks over. It"s always rank in this area,” Forrest explained. “Thank God you"re here!” a high-pitched voice yelled. An overly thin, half-dressed man ran from the house and headed in their direction. Clad only in dingy underwear and one sock, several scratches and lesions marred his white chest. His greasy brown hair was combed to the side in a futile attempt to cover a scaly bald patch on the top of his head. Blood dripped from his off-centered nose and there were several more fresh-looking scratches covering his face. Forrest and Dustin exchanged why-us looks as the man came to a stop in front of them.
“My brother, Zeke, has gone crazy,” the man screeched. Dustin winced as the noise nearly pierced his eardrums. “Slow down. Why don"t you tell us your name and then explain what"s going on?” Forrest soothed. He"d always been the best at handling hysterical patients.
“My name is Malachi. Me and Zeke got into it bad today.” “Over what?” “Well, I wanted to watch Toddlers and Tiaras, but he wouldn"t give me the remote. He kept saying it was his turn and we were going to watch Dancing With the Stars.” Dustin pointedly looked up at the sun. “I didn"t think those shows came on until evening.” Malachi gave him a duh glare. “We recorded them.” “Oh, so then why are you guys fighting? Why don"t you just let Zeke watch his show first and then you can enjoy yours next.” “Because he always gets to go first and it"s not fair.” Dustin wanted to give the whole Whoever saidlife was fair? line, but refrained since he didn"t think Malachi could appreciate that humor. “Where is Zeke?” Jill demanded. “He"s inside. I hit him over the head with a frying pan.” “As if that"s not clichéd,” Dustin couldn"t resist saying. Kiefer let out a snicker that he quickly muffled when Jill sent him a scathing look. “You guys stay out here with beautiful. We"ll go in and check on the brother,” Jill said. “Are you sure we shouldn"t wait for PD?” Dustin suggested. For all they knew Zeke could be waiting inside with a gun. It wouldn"t be the first time an EMS worker took a bullet because they were mistaken for a warring family member. Jill gave a dismissive gesture. “We don"t need PD for this. It"s just two old geezers having a spat.” “Maybe they"re right,” Kiefer said before he nervously bit his bottom lip. “They"re not the ones training you. I am, so you should only care about what I say,” Jill snapped. “Sorry,” Kiefer muttered before he followed her inside. Forrest gave a disgusted shake of his head then returned his attention to the patient. “Let"s get you to the rig.” As they started to walk to the ambulance, a gust of wind hit them. As the breeze passed Dustin"s face, he detected a new odor. The pungent stench of chemicals that had nothing to do with the nearby plant. It only took him a couple sniffs to recognize it. He let out a gasp of horror as he turned back to the house. “Fuck, you have a meth lab in there, don"t you?” he yelled at Malachi. Before the man could confirm or deny, a huge explosion ripped through the house.
**** Vaughn rushed down the street leading to the burning house, all the while frantically looking for any sign of Dustin. His heart sank further with each passing second that there was no sign of the medic. He tried to assure himself that was only because the scene was mass chaos. There were numerous ambulances, fire trucks and police cars, most of which still had their emergency lights on. Added in the mass of EMS crew, were neighbors and other rubberneckers who"d shown
up to watch the free show. Vaughn carefully scanned each face in desperate hope of finding Dustin. Each time, he felt a crush of worry as none of them were his man. When Vaughn"s company first received the call for a fire with possible medic casualties, his heart had sank. As they were on their way to the call, he"d found out that one of the crews had been Dustin"s and his heart shattered. Finally, he broke all protocol and began to shout Dustin"s name into the crowd. Several people stopped to stare at him, but none of them were Dustin. Vaughn ran a hand over his face as worry turned into gut-churning despair. Just as he was about to turn around, he finally spotted Dustin. The medic was sitting on the curb in front of a neighboring house. Soot streaked his face and his eyes looked dazed. Other than that, Vaughn couldn"t see any injuries. With a cry of relief, he rushed over. Dustin seemed to sense his presence because he looked up as Vaughn approached. Letting out a cry of his own, Dustin jumped to his feet and rushed to meet Vaughn halfway. “I thought I"d lost you,” Vaughn declared as he pulled Dustin into a near rib-crushing embrace. Dustin returned the hug, his grip just as tight. “I"m okay.” “How about Forrest?” “He"s fine, too. The other crew was inside the house when it went up. Kiefer got out okay, but Jill didn"t make it.” Vaughn"s breath hitched as he realized just how close he"d come to losing Dustin. “What happened? How did the fire start?” “It was a meth house. I didn"t smell the chemicals until it was too late. There must have been a spark or something because the whole place went up. I tried to yell a warning to Jill and Kiefer, but I was too late.” Vaughn pulled back and despite the fact they were both on duty, in uniform and surrounded by the public, he pressed their lips together. Dustin didn"t object. He just fisted his hands into Vaughn"s coat and returned the kiss. A couple of journalists snapped some photos of them, but Vaughn was beyond caring. In the end, it didn"t matter anyway. For a while, a few papers and news stations ran the picture of them kissing. In the end, that wasn"t the most popular photo taken that day. The one that was splashed on the covers of all the major magazines and national papers, the one that eventually became synonymous with the disaster was of Kiefer. It showed the medic, kneeling on the ground next to his cousin"s body. Tears coursing down his soot-streaked face as he held her hand and sobbed. His face a gut wrenching mask of grief.
Epilogue ne month after the explosion, Dustin decided it O was time to face his past and tell it to fuck off. The police had finally arrested Tyler, so Dustin took advantage of the opportunity. He made the short trip to the county lock up to visit the man he once thought he loved. As Dustin entered the bright, industrial-like building, a strange sense of calm filled him. Even as he approached the visiting area, the expected fear never came. Instead the whole thing took on a surreal feeling. Dustin claimed a seat in front of the glass partition and picked up the telephone receiver. Tyler already sat on the opposite side. His complexion looked sallow and pale, either due to the bright orange jumpsuit he wore or because of the crappy lighting in the prison. It also appeared that he"d lost a bunch of weight since the last time Dustin saw him. Even his once, perfectly styled hair looked rough, the blond strand"s looking dull and dirty. For a moment, they just stared at each other. Tyler thinking God knows what and Dustin wondering how he"d ever feared the sad, pathetic man in front of him. Tyler finally gave him an overly happy grin that made Dustin want to vomit. “Hey, baby. I knew you"d come.” “Really? What was it that made you think I couldn"t stay away, the fact that you tried to kill me or how you stole everything I owned?” Dustin snapped. The grin vanished from Tyler"s face. “Oh, come on, baby. You know I didn"t mean to do any of that. You just made me so mad.” “Stop blaming me for your shitty actions and stop calling me baby.” “It was all your fault though. If you hadn"t have made me so angry, then I wouldn"t have lost control like that.” Dustin shook his head in stunned disbelief. How could he have ever fallen for Tyler"s words before? Now looking at the jerk, Dustin saw him for what he really was. A sad, waste of space who would never change. “I didn"t come here to rehash the past,” Dustin said coolly. “Then why did you show up?” “I wanted to tell you that you were wrong.” “About what?” “Me.” Dustin gripped the receiver tighter before plunging ahead, “I"m not stupid or weak or a loser. I have a lot to offer and I"m worthy of being loved.” Tyler"s once-handsome face scrunched up into a sneer. “And just who told you that?” “My boyfriend. We"ve been together for a month now and, in that short time, he"s given me more love than you ever showed me.” “Just wait. He"ll see you for what you really are. Then you"ll come crawling back to me.” “Yeah, because I"ve always had a thing for guys who are going to spend the rest of their lives in jail,” Dustin drawled sarcastically. “They"ll never convict me,” Tyler replied back cockily. “Yeah, they will. What"s more, I"m going to be pressing charges for when you nearly killed me.
So now you get to worry about them tacking that onto your sentence.” “They won"t go after me for that. You have no proof it even happened.” “Maybe they won"t, but it will do me a whole lot of good to finally stand up to you. To know that I didn"t just sit there and let you get away with hurting me.” Tyler snorted. “Did your new boyfriend tell you that?” “No, he just cared enough about me that I finally realized it for myself. This is going to be the last time I ever visit you because I"m done with you. I hope you enjoy your new living arrangements.” Not giving Tyler time to respond, Dustin put the receiver back on the hook. He then got up and walked away. Not once did he even consider looking back. A relieved smile came over Dustin"s face as it felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest. It was over, finally. Now he could move on and be with Vaughn without having to worry about the memory of Tyler haunting them. He walked out of the prison and over to Vaughn, who"d been waiting for him. No words were spoken. Vaughn just held out his arms. Dustin didn"t hesitate a second, he immediately went over and let Vaughn comfort him. After they"d held each other for a few moments, Vaughn said, “Come on. There"s something I want to show you.”
**** Vaughn watched as Dustin walked through the empty house. His nerves worked overtime as he waited to see what Dustin"s opinion of the home would be. While it wasn"t huge, it was in a nicer neighborhood and it had more space than Vaughn"s apartment or the home Dustin currently live in. “Do you like it?” Vaughn finally asked, unable to be patient any longer. “Yeah, it"s really nice. It looks like it"s pretty new, too. So it will be a major upgrade from your apartment.” Dustin ran a hand over the banister of the stairs. “It was only built a couple of years ago. It has all modern appliances, central air, but that"s not the best thing about it.” Dustin looked up with a grin. “Oh really? Then what is? Does it have an indoor pool or a room decorated like The Drunk Monkey?” Vaughn took a deep breath. Ready or not, the time had come for him to finally take the plunge. “It has mother-in-law quarters built onto the back.” “Mother-in-law quarters? ” Dustin echoed with a cute tilt of his head. “That"s a fancy way of saying there"s a small apartment built onto the house. It even has its own kitchen and bathroom. I think your mom would love it there.” Dustin froze, his eyes growing wide. “My mother? Why would she care about some house you"re thinking about buying?” Vaughn rushed forward and took Dustin"s hand. “Because I don"t want this to just be my house, I want it to be our house. Look, I know we"ve only been dating for a month, but it"s been the best weeks of my life. I love you, Dustin, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Vaughn held in a breath as he waited for Dustin"s response. He knew it"d been a huge risk to blurt everything out like that, but Vaughn also knew it"d been worth it in order for Dustin to know how he felt. Dustin blinked in shock a few times before a smile slowly spread out over his face. “I love you, too,” he replied. Vaughn let out a laugh of happiness as he grabbed Dustin by the waist and spun him around a few times. Dustin let out a yelp of surprise, but soon let out a few chuckles of his own. “Are you sure about this? My mom can be a pain in the ass sometimes,” Dustin warned. Vaughn gave him a soft kiss before replying, “I"ve never been surer of anything in my life.” Dustin looked up at him. “I can"t believe I"m saying this, but I"ve never been more thankful for that Beautification project. Without it, I may have never met you.” “I guess this means we"re going to have to volunteer every year,” Vaughn replied. “That"s going to be a lot of years, because now that I have you, I"m never letting you go,” Dustin declared. “I"m going to hold you that promise.” As they kissed, Vaughn sent out his own silent thanks to the project. He also added a prayer of gratitude to chocolate donuts and suckers. Because it had all led him to the best thing that"d ever happened in his life. A certain, blond medic who had stormed into Vaughn"s world and made it better in every way possible.
About the Author
Stephani Hecht is a happily married mother of two. Born and raised in Michigan, she loves all things about the state, from the frigid winters to the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. You can usually find her snuggled up to her laptop, creating her next book. Contact her at: Email Address:
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