Pete has always been an overachiever. The young mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has spent his entire life laser focused on work. Between school, internships, military service and a political career, he never had time for a personal life. All that is a...
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Pete and Chasten walked into their hotel room and collapsed back on the bed chuckling.
"That went well," Pete said, not actually believing it.
"My parents loved you!"
"Really? Could've fooled me. When they found out a was a politician I thought they were going to run me out of their house."
"They're just wary. Politics was always a dirty word in our house."
"Why?" Pete turned toward Chasten and rested his head in his hand.
"To my family it's all about being overtaxed and underpaid. And don't get me started on health care. At least Obama got the ball rolling. But before then medical expenses took a big chunk of my parent's income."
Pete nodded. That was a big problem for a lot of people. He wished he had the power to help everyone.
"Peter?"
"Hm?"
"Can we please stop talking?" Chasten brushed his hand down Pete's face.
Pete turned and pressed a kiss to his palm. "Gladly."
They got ready for bed and snuggled under the covers. "I'm so glad you're here," Chasten whispered.
"Me too." They touched foreheads and drifted off.
Sometime in the middle of the night Chasten reached out to Pete and made it clear he wanted more than cuddling.
"Are you sure?" Pete asked. "I don't want you to feel pressured in any way."
Chasten smiled before kissing Pete into submission.
---
Chasten awoke just as the sun peeked through the edges of the curtains. He looked over at Peter's sweet face. Last night had been magical. They had gotten more intimate than ever. Some of the fear was still there for Chasten, but Peter was slowly chipping away at it. With every look, every touch, every kind word, he could feel Peter's love for him.
Love?
It had to be love. Chasten had never felt so cherished in his life. It gave him a warm glow to know that this beautiful man was all his.
Lately, Chasten had been wondering about how to broach the subject of their living arrangement. Logically, he knew it was probably too early in the relationship to talk about moving in, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. That big beautiful house of Peter's must be so lonely. The guy didn't even have a dog. Something had to be done about that.
Peter's eyes blinked open. "Hey." His soft smile soon became a huge grin.
Chasten blushed. "Hey, yourself."
"Is it time to go?"
Chasten was about to say yes, but at that moment his phone buzzed. He picked it up and read an extreme weather warning. "A freak snowstorm blew in last night." He went to the window and saw their rental car buried in snow. He laughed. "Bummer. Looks like we're snowed in."
"Gee, that is too bad. Wonder what we should do, trapped all alone in here for who knows how long." Peter stretched, letting the sheet fall away from his smooth bare chest. He wiggled his eyebrows.
Chasten scowled and leaned down over him, trapping Peter with his body. "You think you're so cute, don't you? Well...you are...but don't let that go to your head."
Peter chuckled. "Yes, sir."
Chasten kissed away his laughter.
Just as things began to heat up, a loud knock on the door jolted them apart.
"Let's go, boys!" A loud voice boomed. "You think a little snow storm will stop the Glezman Thanksgiving Hunt?"
Chasten let out a small shriek. "It's my dad! Shit!"
Peter's face turned beet red. He ran to the bathroom.
Chasten quickly threw on some clothes and opened the door. "Hey, Dad!" He tried to act nonchalant.
His dad tried to hide his smile, but Chasten could see it in his eyes. Why the hell did he feel like a kid getting caught stealing from the cookie jar? Geez! He was an adult!
"I figured you two would be in need of transportation."
Chasten nodded. "Thanks."
"You don't seem happy to see me. I wonder why." His dad chuckled. "You got five minutes to get your boyfriend ready to go."
"Yes, sir." He watched his dad walk toward his snow plow. He heard the bathroom door open behind him. "We need to get going. Make sure you dress in layers." Chasten picked out a few pieces and tossed them at Peter. "And hurry. Dad doesn't like to be kept waiting."
Peter saluted. "Aye aye, Captain."
---
Within a few minutes they were ready and heading to the Glezman house. It was awkwardly silent in the truck cab, aside from occasional chuckling from Chasten's dad. But Pete was too embarrassed to say anything.
Finally Terry said, "I hope you explained the drill to Peter."
"Drill?" Pete asked.
Chasten shrugged. "I figured I would leave that to you and Dustin."
Pete glanced at Chasten, who avoided eye contact. He let it go since they were already at the house and he was sure to find out what was up any minute.
Chasten's mom and brother stepped out of the house to greet them."Hey, nerd! Say goodbye to your boyfriend." Dustin snickered.
Pete's eyes went wide. "Goodbye?"
"Um. Yeah. I've refused to go hunting with them since I once shot a bird out of a tree while trying to miss a deer. It was very traumatic for me."
"But...what...where?" Peter stammered.
"I'll be with my mom preparing a very special lunch for you. Love you!"
Pete stood frozen as Chasten hugged him and ran off, leaving him alone with his very large and imposing father and brother. But at that moment he was torn between fear and joy. Chasten had just told him he loved him. He leaned into joy and it warmed him from the inside out.
--- Coming up next... THE HUNT (and don't worry, no animals will be harmed)
-- Okay, this is getting really difficult. I don't know if I'm repeating things. If you notice anything out of place or a scene I may have forgotten (or duplicated) please let me know. You are all my beta readers and I appreciate you so much!!
