Speaking of Dreams by Stephen Osborne

Author:Stephen Osborne [Osborne, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Gay Romance
ISBN: 9781634765879
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2015-10-23T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

IT WAS Shawn’s birthday, and the gang was having a little celebration at his place. Not only were we excited to honor our friend’s forty-first, but we also were to meet his new beau, making it a special occasion indeed.

I brought Donny and a bottle of peppermint schnapps, Shawn’s favorite. When we arrived, Zach and Marril were there but the mysterious new beau of Shawn’s wasn’t. Gene would be by later, after he tucked his kids in for the night.

Shawn met us at the door, looking slightly nervous. “Hey,” he said, kissing my cheek and then Donny’s, “you guys made it.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I said. I was, truthfully, anxious to meet this Bob guy. After the fiasco that was Shawn’s last romance, I was a little worried that perhaps he was jumping into a new relationship too quickly and would end up getting hurt even worse.

We were ushered in, and Marril and Zach greeted us with hugs and kisses. I noted that before Donny began to hang out with us, we were rarely effusive in our greetings. Was it wrong of me to think they gave me a quick peck and squeeze just so they had an excuse to do the same with Donny? Ah, young blood. The effect you have on the middle-aged. We hate you, we love you, and we want you, but we’re pissed as hell that we’re no longer you.

Zach in particular seemed to linger over the salutation of the young man. After a sloppy kiss on Donny’s cheek, Zach held him out at arm’s length. “My, my! Aren’t you a sight for old, sore eyes! Frank, honey, you’ve got to feed this boy more. He’s so thin. He can’t weigh much more than a twig!”

I was slightly annoyed at Zach’s assumption that Donny and I were now a couple. In one sense we were, I suppose. We hadn’t discussed our relationship, but after the weekend in Chicago, we’d spent more and more time together, both in bed and out. I’d even passed on a night of catering just so I could sit on the couch with Donny as he introduced me to Game of Thrones.

I could not, however, express to Donny how I felt about him. Nor could I ignore the nagging guilt I felt that I was somehow being untrue to Jason’s memory.

My reasoning went something like this: If you don’t tell him you love him, it’s just a “thing” and is somehow not all that important and doesn’t encroach upon your feelings for Jason or his memory. Bollocks, I know, but emotions often are.

As Shawn accepted the bottle of Rumple Minze from me, I asked, “So when do we get to meet this paragon you’ve been telling us about?”

“He should be here any minute now. I think you guys will like him. He’s….” Words seemed to fail Shawn for once. “Well, you’ll see.”

There were snacks and nibbles set on the dining room table, as well as one of Marril or Zach’s gaudy hats from a long-ago drag show.

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