Public Display of Everything (18 page)

Biting my lip to withhold too-loud sounds, I stare hungrily at my cock disappearing into his ass. Slick and hot, tight and smooth.

When I brush the pad of my thumb against his hole to apply pressure, Flynn starts coming. His ass clenches around me, his body quivers, and I hear the sharp intake of air.

It's almost my undoing. A low growl rumbles in my chest, and it suddenly feels like someone turned up the thermostat. My knees tremble, but I manage to lock them by standing straighter.

By the time Flynn slumps against the side of the hot tub, I'm aching to come. I withdraw my cock and reach for a towel to make it more comfortable for Flynn to kneel on the ground. Which he does without a single word. He pulls me close and kisses my hipbone before working my cock hard and fast.

"I want it, I want it," he mumbles, out of breath.

"Yeah—fuck, now." My orgasm takes over. Thrusting into his hands, I force my eyes to stay open. "
Get it
." Stream after stream lands on his face, neck, and shoulders.

Flynn licks what he can reach and uses his fingers for the rest. Spent and utterly exhausted, I lean against the hot tub and just watch in a daze while catching my breath. Holy fucking hell, getting back in the hot water now sounds good, but I'd fall asleep. A shower will have to do, and I intend to bring Flynn with me.

"I can't get enough of you." He stands up to kiss me, and I go along with it as much as I can, still breathing heavily. We explore each other's mouths until I let out a shaky laugh and hug him to me instead.

"I'm so done," I murmur drowsily. "Unlike you, I'm not in my twenties anymore." Easing away, I cup his sticky cheeks and rest our foreheads together. "Get in the shower while I clean up out here."

"Clean" might be a stretch, though. I plan on scooping some water over the wall to wash away Flynn's release, then just grabbing our shit and heading inside.

"Hurry up." He pecks my jaw. "Goodness, I'm sore." He grimaces and laughs softly as he steps back. "The best kind."

"I'll take care of you." With that, I mean I wanna fucking cuddle. Just hold him. Under the covers. And
sleep
.

"You always do." He gives me another smile before he darts inside.

I blow out a breath and stare up at the stars.

Yeah, definitely coming back here another time.

Chapter 17

Saturday flies by too fast, a perfect balance of working out—in bed and elsewhere—and stuffing our faces with food while going through the ridiculously long comment thread on Public Display.

Some had been banking on videos, but I was right. The footage was too grainy and dark, and no one could see us clearly unless they were here with binoculars. And those who were here wanted more. Those who hadn't been able to show up vowed to make time for the next event.

Oh, there will be a next time
.

Flynn had counted on some people being disappointed in the fact that we're gay, but he knows better now. That’s not to say I hadn't feared a small setback as well, though I had also believed exhibitionists were more open-minded, which turned out to be the case.

Now the members wanna see more of FTW's mystery guy with the hot ass.

I grin at the thought and shift closer to Flynn under the covers. Sunday has come too early, and I'm nervous as fuck about today. We should get up, 'cause we gotta check out soon, but…damn. Will I really see Luke today?

I don’t have a clue about what to say if I do see him, but I'm kinda hoping it'll come to me naturally.

"You're awake." Flynn yawns and gives my ass a squeeze. "I'm trying to shake my mood."

Still no morning person. "I know how to get rid of it."

"No, no." He smiles with his eyes closed and nudges me away. "We don’t have time for that."

Sad but true.

"You shower first," I murmur and kiss him. "I'm gonna pack our shit and get our breakfast." A buffet is included in the price, and I ordered ours to go today. I just gotta head over to the reception desk and get it.

"Mmm, okay." He nuzzles my neck, and I have a feeling he's gonna deal with his morning wood in the shower. "Are you nervous?" He inches back to regard me with sleep-filled eyes.

"Understatement." The knot in my stomach tightens.

He gently grasps my chin and kisses me chastely. "I commiserate completely, but I think everything will work out the way it's supposed to."

Fuck, I hope so.

*

An hour later, we're on the road and eating our breakfast to the sound of the radio.

With every mile, we get closer and closer to Dover, and I lose my appetite.

Unlike yesterday and the major part of the summer, it's overcast and threatening rain, which some would take as a sign. I'm trying not to be one of those people.

"Have you driven a lot here in England?" Flynn asks.

I shrug and switch lanes. "Took me a while to try it out once I moved here, but I've had a few jobs where it was necessary."

Flynn's still baffled by it. When we left London on Friday, he told me he'd gotten used to the pedestrian's way of thinking fairly quickly, but he didn’t dare drive for fear of taking the wrong turn and ending up facing oncoming traffic.

"Ah, yes. Your jobs."

I catch him smiling faintly in my peripheral vision. "What?"

He turns in his seat to face me better. "I believe Luke will help out more than I can there. You should work with something where you use your degree, and I hope he will inspire you."

It's not about inspiration, though. Truth be told, I don’t really know why I haven't pursued a career in my field. I throw out excuses like nobody's business, and…fuck if I know, but maybe I doubt I can do a good job.

"Hey, that thing you suggested…" I rack my brain for what it was he told me a couple weeks ago when I showed him St. James's Park. "About me starting my own business and showing Americans around London—the tour guide gig? I kinda like that one."

Or perhaps my mother was right. History and culture make for great hobbies, but they're not worth dedicating your life to.

"Yet, whenever you're searching for work, you go through lists upon lists of more menial jobs."

"Yeah, yeah," I mutter. Up ahead, I see a sign telling us we're about to enter Dover, which kills the topic.

Flynn probably sees the anxiousness written all over me. He grabs my hand, and I take comfort from it until I have to switch gears.

He directs me using the maps app on my tablet, and if the scent of the ocean becoming stronger is any indication, we're getting close. All I know is that Dover Castle is up on a cliff.

"What if they're not here?" I blow out a breath, more nervous than I've been in years.

We agreed the castle would be the surest bet, as it has a parking lot for all visitors and we don’t know enough about the white cliffs and their accessibility, but what if we're wrong?

"Then we find his address or you simply write to him," he says patiently as I make another turn. We're surrounded by greenery and hills, and when the parking lot comes into view, I just might fucking vomit. "According to the castle's website, they've only been open half an hour. We have all day."

"Right." I park the car in the corner of the lot, making it easier for us to keep watch. Inspecting myself, I roll my eyes at the tomato sauce stain on my white beater. Yeah, so maybe I shouldn't have eaten breakfast while driving. Fuck. I button my flannel shirt and roll up the sleeves past my elbows. A hand goes through my hair, then down to my jaw. I shaved yesterday, so the scruff isn't too bad.

The holes in my jeans are, though. But I remind myself that Luke has seen me like this before. He's the professor type with his slacks and button-downs, and I'm the bum.

"It's going to be fine, Cory."

We'll see.

*

Four hours later, I'm not so sure.

The sun breaks through the clouds as I scan the parking lot for the umpteenth time, and I mull over which car Luke could be driving. He seems to be using a car often and he was born here, so it should be possible for him to have already bought a vehicle. I rule out rentals and cars with foreign plates. Still, too many to speculate about.

Leaning back on the hood of our own rental, I glance down at my tablet in Flynn's hands. "Any luck?"

"Murky waters." He sighs, pointing to the screen. "The cliffs stretch along the coastline, so there must be several locations to visit, but a couple are mentioned more than others. I find the information highly restricted and lacking."

I shake my head. "Then we stay here." After all, there's only one road leading to the castle.

Bringing out my shades, I push them up my nose and fold my arms across my chest. If it weren't for our mission, I would've loved to get lost in that castle for a few hours and take every tour. Dover has always been important for Britain, serving as the port to continental Europe. For that reason, it's also been threatened by invasions numerous times throughout history.

It's England's welcome mat.

A bus arrives with tourists, and I stretch to look past them. Every now and then, there's enough activity in the parking lot that it makes me fear I've missed Luke and his sons.

Luke
.

I stiffen and narrow my eyes at a man walking down the hill toward the parking lot. He's definitely tall and broad-shouldered enough to be Luke, and the beige slacks and a light…blue?…button-down are clothes he'd wear. More than that, his short, dark hair matches my memory.

It
is
him. And he's on the phone.

"Flynn…" I swallow dryly and jerk my chin to the man. "The, uh, football player moonlighting as a professor."

Flynn spots Luke as he reaches his car—a black Toyota I wouldn’t have guessed was his—and opens the door on the passenger's side.

"Go
talk
to him." Flynn nudges me, not radiating the calm he's been full of all morning. "Good Jupiter, now I'm all jittery, too."

I chuckle nervously and tuck my shades into my chest pocket. "Yeah, okay. No time like the present, right?"

"Right." He nods firmly and pulls me in for a quick but hard kiss. "I love you."

I exhale, feeling a little better. "I love you, too." Taking a step back, I pause only to close the distance again and kiss him once more. "Thank you. You know, for…"
All this, everything
.

Flynn gets it.

I steel myself and start crossing the parking lot, waiting for the perfect words to magically appear. But they don’t, and somehow it only feels weird saying, "Yo, what's up, Unc? Long time, no see." Not that I'm really a "Yo" person…

Luke has his back to me as he rummages through the glove compartment, so he doesn’t see me right away. Considering he's on the phone, I decide to wait a sec, too.

"Don’t let him fool you, Mary," he chuckles. "He most likely invented that stomachache to get out of today's trip. Inform Jayden I have Santa on speed dial."

My mouth quirks up at that, and it calms me slightly. This is
Luke
. I've never had to be nervous in front of him.

I relax my stance and stick my hands down into my pockets.

"That would be lovely," he goes on. "We should be home around midnight. Dylan's taking a tour for children right now, and then I believe the plan is to eat an early dinner before we see the cliffs. He wants to test his new camera."

Luke looks much the same as far as I can see. Same warm voice, the smallest hint of a British accent, though it's barely noticeable, and the same gentle demeanor I remember. Distinguished in his appearance, but there's always been a sense of hesitancy in his posture. 

"Finally," he mutters, seemingly to himself, which I fucking remember now. He was often speaking to himself. "Oh, nothing. I was searching for my antihistamines." There's a pause before he speaks again. "That’s fine by me. Tell him I love him." A buzz of nerves makes its way down my spine as the phone call winds down, but it's nowhere as bad as it was before. "You too, Mary. Bye for now." He hangs up the phone and closes the car door, turning my way just as he pockets his allergy pills.

I grin cautiously while he freezes and morphs into the image of disbelief.

Now that I have a view of his face, I can see that the past seven years have left a few traces, but he's aged well. The spark in his eyes that sure as fuck wasn’t there in the past makes up for the creases in his forehead. They can probably be blamed on Jennifer and the hell he's put himself through.

Knowing I have to take the initiative, I step forward and hug his rigid form. But a beat later, his shoulders sag and he returns the hug fiercely. The relief that flows through me is more forceful than expected, and I gotta blink past the burn in my eyes.

"How…? I never expected…" He clears his throat but doesn’t speak again for at least a minute. Instead he gives me another squeeze.

Guess I wasn’t over my family, after all. Or one of them.

When he breaks away, he grasps my shoulders and looks at me, maybe searching for changes. I don’t know. I manage a watery smile, to which he shakes his head minutely and hugs me once more.

"Christ, kid," he whispers thickly. "I can barely believe it."

Now Flynn will know. I'm "kid," too.

"I didn’t know what to write." My voice is like gravel. "I didn’t see your messages until…"

"I know." He eases away to look me in the eye. A low chuckle escapes him, and he wipes his eyes. "You always preferred to show up instead. I suppose that hasn’t changed."

I nod and clear my throat. "Flynn, my boyfriend…" I trail off and glance over at our car. Flynn's there, leaning against the hood like before. Facing us. I can't see his expression, but I know he's happy for me. "He saw your plans for Dylan." I turn to Luke again. "You told an old coworker on your page."

Luke watches Flynn for another second before facing me with a smile. "You two are together in public, I assume?"

"Um, yeah." I do all kinds of things with my man in public, but Luke doesn’t have to know just how far that "together" extends. "You're okay with that now, right? You don’t think it's…"
vile
.