Page 35 of Fighter

He laughed and pulled Linc up off the bench, wrapping his arms around his lover to steady him. They kissed and held each other for a little while until fireworks shot off in the distance.

The closing frame of their shoot was Kris and Linc standing on the deck of the boat, arms around each other, watching the fireworks before Kris leaned down and kissed Linc’s shoulder, their silhouette staring into each other’s eyes as the scene faded to black.

They were all quiet when the video ended, everyone staring at the large, blank screen.

“Well, what do you think?” Andrew finally asked.

“I think it’s fucking amazing,” Chris said. Linc nodded in agreement.

“Excellent!” Andrew exclaimed. “I’ll get it ready to go live on the site. I’m going to release it on Labor Day. Tomorrow I’ll send it to the production company once I’ve cleaned it up some and removed everyone else’s voices, so they can start getting everything ironed out for the DVD.”

Andrew started shuffling papers around on his desk, mumbling something about finding a phone number. Mattie had crawled into Victor’s lap and the two of them were talking quietly about something. Mattie was curling a strand of Victor’s hair around his finger while Victor ran his hands up and down the length of Mattie’s arm. They were stunning, so at peace with each other and the roles they played in their relationship. Chris envied them, realizing that if he and Linc shared even an iota of what the unconventional threesome had built, it would be more than enough.

Chris caught Linc’s attention and jerked his head toward the stairs. The two of them quietly left the room without so much as a good-bye or a good-night. There were no more shoots scheduled until well after Labor Day, so Chris didn’t hesitate when Linc opened his bedroom door and pulled him into the room, clothes dropping at their feet as he walked Linc backward toward his bed.

With no worries of angles, shots and cameras, they could have raunchy, sloppy sex. Bodies slick with sweat, limbs tangled as Chris fucked Linc into the mattress, holding him tight as if he needed Linc’s skin on his to breathe. When they were done, he went downstairs and made them some sandwiches since they were starving after their vigorous workout. The house was dark, still, and silent, three things it rarely was. Chris grabbed two bottles of water and a bag of chips before climbing up the stairs, finding Linc leaning against the headboard, reading a magazine. “Oh yay, food. I’m starving.”

Once they devoured the food, Linc turned the bedside lamp off and clicked through the channels until he found one of the home makeover shows he liked, curling up beside Chris. “Does it bother you that I don’t want to bottom?” He blurted out the question.

Linc paused the show, turning and looking up at him, nothing but adoration dancing in the depths of his crazily fascinating brown eyes. “No. Why? Should it?”

Chris shook his head, smiling at Linc. “I just want to be sure you’re happy with the mechanics and everything.”

Linc laughed, heartily, shaking the bed. “I got what I wanted, Chris; I got you. And there is no way in hell I’m going to walk away from this over something as simple as top or bottom. Besides, I kinda love you.”

Chris grinned at him. “Oh you do, do you?”

Linc nodded, wrinkling his nose. Chris leaned over and licked his bottom lip. “Well, guess what, Lincoln? I kinda love you too.”

Epilogue

Labor Day at the house was a party of epic proportions to send summer off in style and celebrate the official release ofLove on the Docks. Victor had pulled out the massive grill he kept in the garage the day before and slow-cooked the brisket and ribs overnight. They all woke to grumbling bellies with the delicious odor that permeated everything on this side of the Sound. Thankfully, Mattie had a spread already laid out for everyone to enjoy that morning, so they could start the day off right. Michael and Max had driven down on Friday to spend the long weekend with them, with Colton and Detective Brennan joining them later in the day.

No one at the house quite understood the mechanics of the relationship between Jon and Kory yet. Kory was still a major ass most of the time, so they couldn’t fathom how Jon could stand to be around him. But to hear Jon talk, Kory hung the fucking moon.

“Love is blind,” Jordan had said one night after Jon dropped Kory off at the door, then whistled a happy tune as he all but danced his way back to his car.

Chris wasn’t buying it, though. He’d seen Kory without the walls he’d strategically placed around himself a couple of times now, even going so far as to apologize to Linc for the role he played in breaking him and Lance up. Linc actually thanked him for that—small miracles. Chris was quite certain Kory wasn’t really the prick he so easily played the part of. But only time would tell.

Chris and Linc had just finished setting up the volleyball net when Gio rounded the corner of the house, Gabe’s tiny body pressed up against his side. The two of them had hit a rough patch at one point when Gio came out to the house to see Gabe unexpectedly and wound up walking in on a shoot. Gio had a hard time dealing with what Gabe did for a living, so much so that he broke it off with the beautiful blond for a brief time. Gabe was so certain of his love for Gio that he decided to retire and move behind the camera, helping on the production side of filming. And it really helped that Gio’s agent at the agency he modeled for took one look at Gabe and shit himself. So now Gabe had what he called an “honest modeling job” on the side as well.

Gio headed their way after making a pit stop at one of the coolers, grabbing four beers and popping the caps as he walked. The four of them stood and talked while they waited for Michael, Max, and Andrew to get back from the dock where they were getting the Jet Skis ready for a spin later in the day. When Jon and Kory finally arrived and the others returned from the dock, they started a game of four on four, laughing, roughhousing, and enjoying the day and each other’s company.

While they were playing volleyball, Mattie and Colton brought the side dishes, plates, cups and napkins to the tables, and Andrew helped Victor serve all the meats. “Boys! Food’s ready!” Andrew called out once they had everything set up.

Then it was a mad dash to the table, and Mattie threatened to turn the hose on all of them. “Calm down. Damn, you’d think none of you ever had a rib before.” He shrieked as they tore into the elaborate setup and left an utter mess in their wake. Mattie was about to blow a gasket when Andrew clanked his fork on the side of his beer bottle, drawing everyone’s attention.

“We’d like to thank you all for joining us today to celebrate the release of our newest DVD, but we also want to recognize all the blessings we’ve been given lately. We…Victor, Mattie, and myself. We love you all and are so happy that God has brought each and every one of you into our lives, including you, Kory. You are our family. Gabe is no longer shooting scenes for us, but he’s catching on to the production side fast, and he tells me that after this weekend, he’s moving in with Gio in the city.” Everyone around the table cheered and clapped and congratulated the two of them while Andrew took a breath.

“We will miss you; just know, you always have a home here with us.” Andrew held his glass up to them, looking a little misty-eyed before he cleared his throat.

“And Jon, thank you for coming out today, our Kory has been much more tolerable since you came into his life.” There was a round ofAwwwwws as Jon leaned in, kissing Kory on the cheek. Andrew talked more about the DVD and some new interesting ideas they had planned for the site for the holidays. They were getting ready to put out another set of flyers as well—trying to bring on some new models since they were losing a few.

They spent the day eating, drinking, riding the Jet Skis, playing volleyball, and having a good time. When the sun started to set, they lit a fire in the chimenea and waited for the fireworks display on the Sound to start. Victor brought out the?uica, a Romanian plum brandy wine, and passed everyone a glass for one last toast. “Cu prietenii mei, familia mea, ?i iubirile mele. To my friends, my family, and my loves.”

Chris and Linc found a spot about halfway down the hill toward the dock and spread out a blanket, lying back to watch the fireworks. When Linc squeezed his hand, Chris rolled his head to the side and was greeted with a thousand-watt smile from his lover.

“Thank you,” Chris whispered.

“For what?” Linc asked, smiling.

“For bringing me back to life.”