Brian chuckled.
“But I will deny it if you ever tell anyone I said that,” Sway glared. “We dance. Then we sneak out. We text Quick and Cayson bye once we’re in the car. Then we stop at Hooters and get some wings, to go. Since gay men never eat their wings inside, Hooters.”
“I eat inside.” Brian laughed full-on, drawing Quick’s attention and a knowing smile before he turned back around. “You’ve been around Tweetie too long.”
Sway grimaced. “Maybe. But no one eats inside Hooters wearing a tuxedo.”
“True. Go on with your plan.”
“Yes. So, we take the wings home and eat them in front of the television and watch the last Olympic hockey game.” Sway threw in his trump card. Brian didn’t like much television, but he loved sports. Sway was really getting to know him. “So, what’ll you say?”
“I say you’re beautiful.”
“I say…” Sway stopped in the middle of his thought. As if what he was about to say caught him off guard.
“Sway.”
“Brian.” He whispered like he was in pain.
He bent and kissed Sway’s temple.
“I’m falling for you.” Sway tucked his head in Brian’s chest; then steeled his shoulders and looked him in his eyes and said it again. Only this time with more conviction. “I am. I’m falling so hard.”
Brian ran his thumb down Sway’s cheek. “Good. Because I don’t want to fall alone.”
“I have to use the bathroom. You wanna eat in the den, right?” Sway asked, already turning down the hall to drop their takeout in there. He was so glad Brian had gone with his plan. He had no intention on staying there and waiting for all the nurses and orderlies to get drunk off the open bar. Or for the doctors to start hitting on the drunk nurses and orderlies. It was just fuel for the gossip mill for the next two months. He wanted his Sunday night with Brian to be long and uninterrupted. It was only nine-thirty, but five a.m. came fast.
Sway came out of the guest bathroom. Passing Brian’s bedroom he saw him reaching up to remove the blue ribbon clasped behind his neck. Sway stood in front of Brian. “May I?”
Brian stared down at him a moment before he slowly dropped his hands and nodded. “Thank you.” His voice was rougher than earlier. The unusual vibrations still irritating his throat.
Sway held Brian’s eyes when he reached up and undid the gold clasp, removing the prestigious medal from around his neck and placing it in the keepsake box open on Brian’s dresser. Sway folded it neatly inside and closed the blue-felt lid. He turned back to Brian, those dark eyes watching him intently. Sway undid the first gold button on Brian’s collar and each one after. He took his time undressing his hero. His appetite for food had been replaced with love. He wanted to love on Brian all night… forever.
They stood naked in the center of Brian’s room, only touching with light fingertips and heated breaths on each other’s neck. With only a sliver of air between their bodies, Sway’s erection bumped Brian’s thigh eagerly. The drive to pounce was maddening, yet they didn’t rush this. Didn’t speak. Loved each other in silence.
It was a while before Brian’s deep voice broke through the peace. “I know there’s still some things you don’t know. Things you may be wondering about.”
Sway shook his head against Brian’s chest. “No. I’m not wondering. I know there’s a lot locked away inside you. Some stories you may want to tell and some you may not. There may even be some things you can never tell me because it’s too much. I will understand, and I will be okay with it. I don’t have to know, Brian. What matters is that you… and Ford. You’re here, and you’re with us. You’re with me, Brian.”
Brian pushed his tongue in for his first deep taste all night, making Sway moan around the thick appendage. His boyfriend… no his partner. That’s how he’d introduced Brian tonight. They were a couple, they were in love; he felt it in the depths of him. Brian was it. He was the real thing. He wouldn’t abandon Sway. He’d never leave him if things got too hard. Brian was too much man for that. And, as far as being safe, there was no one better suited to protect him. He experienced that the very first night they met. When it came time for him to go through his harassment battle with Dr. Dominick, he knew Brian would be there with him the whole way. His partner.
“Brian.” Sway caressed the deep scars on Brian’s cheek and down his throat. He swallowed before he could he speak, “I love you.”
Brian hefted Sway in his arms and took him to his bed. He placed him on the edge and stood in front of him. He was so distracted by Brian’s cock bobbing close to his face, he hadn’t realized Brian was waiting for him to look up. When he finally did, Brian’s eyes were like coal. He glared down at him, cupping his chin. Brian’s voice was like sandpaper, “I love you, too. Very much.” Brian frowned, then cleared his throat. He slowly released Sway’s face then lifted his hands and signed. “I wasn’t sure I’d ever get here. To this place in my head. A place where it’s calm. It took a long time to get here. I don’t feel the same way I used to. I was sure I’d be alone forever, Sway, before I met you. So, thank you.” Brian’s hand movements were full of the emotions he was feeling. “Thank you for being a fighter. You heard me, well before I could speak… and you never ran from me. I’ve searched for you for so long. I’ve traveled the world ten times over and I’ve never met anyone as brave and special as you. I’ve hunted you for forty years, Sway. You are who I’ve really been searching for all this time.”