Part 10


Justin rolled onto his side, smiling groggily when he felt a familiar warmth snuggle against him.

Josh.

Justin sighed, closing his eyes and remembering the events of the evening.

When Josh had walked through the door of the coffee house, Justin thought he was imagining things.

He hadn’t heard from Josh since he’d sent the letter over a month ago, and suddenly Josh was there, three feet away from him, confessing his feelings and holding him close.

Justin smiled again, suddenly giddy, his stomach jumping with happiness.

On the ride home, Josh’s hand hadn’t left Justin’s, his thumb stroking the back of Justin’s hand tenderly. It was almost impossible for Justin to keep his eyes on the road. All he wanted to do was stare into Josh’s eyes, wonder at the promises that they held.

Ella had nearly trampled him when he walked through the door.

“Daddy, Daddy, guess what happened at—“ She looked up, smiling a little. “Josh!”

Josh blushed, lowering his eyes. “Hey, sugar. You remember me?”

She nodded excitedly, tugging at his hand and motioning him to come closer. He leaned down, and she cupped her hands over his ear.

“My daddy likes you,” she whispered, loudly enough for Justin to hear.

“Ella!”

“What?” she said innocently, blue eyes gleaming. “It’s true!”

Josh blushed again, the pink of his cheeks spreading to his ears.

“Daddy was sad when you were gone.”

“I was sad, too,” Josh said, still crouching in front of the little girl. “I missed him.”

“You like my daddy too?” Ella asked happily, grinning from ear to ear.

Josh smiled and nodded, looking up at Justin, who’s cheeks were turning a dark shade of red.

“I like him a lot,” Josh replied.

“Yay!” Ella clapped, throwing her arms around Josh’s neck. “Now Daddy won’t be sad anymore!”

“I hope not,” Josh said, hugging Ella back. “She’s not shy, is she,” he laughed.

“Not with people she likes,” Justin said quietly, touching Josh’s shoulder gently.

“I’m glad.”

“Me too.”

“Me three!” Ella exclaimed, loosening her grip on Josh’s neck. “Wanna see my kitty?”

Josh laughed, shaking his head at Ella. “Sure, sweetheart. Let’s see her.”

Ella smiled and skipped off into the living room, calling “Bella!” as she went.

Josh stood up, reaching out to touch Justin’s face. “She’s beautiful, you know. Just like her daddy.”

Justin smiled, leaning into the touch. “She likes you.”

Josh nodded. “That’s good, you know. Because I plan on spending a lot of time here…if that’s ok with you, I mean…and if she hated me, it wouldn’t make it very easy.”

“Of course it’s ok with me,” Justin whispered, leaning his forehead against Josh’s. “I want you around…as much as possible.”

“Are you sure?”

Justin nodded, leaning closer to brush his mouth against the corner of Josh’s.

“Ooooh!” Ella squealed, and Josh jumped back, blushing furiously. “You guys were KISSING!”

Justin laughed, shaking a finger at Ella. “And you, my dear, were spying.”

Ella giggled. “No I wasn’t! I brought Bella in here to show Josh!”

“Then were is she?”

Ella grinned, shrugging. “I lost her?”

“You’re gonna get it, young lady,” Justin warned teasingly, wiggling his fingers at her.

Ella shrieked and ran off, Justin on her heels. “Daddy!” she squealed as Justin scooped her up, tickling her sides. “You gonna spy on us anymore?” he asked, still tickling.

Ella laughed loudly, kicking her legs. “No! No, Daddy, I promise!”

Josh smiled at the interaction between Justin and his daughter, his heart bursting with adoration for the both of them.

“Josh, do you believe her?” Justin asked, holding Ella still.

“I don’t know,” Josh said, shrugging. “Here, give her to me. I can tell if she’s telling the truth or not.”

Ella’s eyes got wide and her grin got even wider as Justin handed her to Josh, who tipped her upside down and held her by her feet.

She giggled uncontrollably, screeching his name. “I promise I won’t spy!” she gasped through her giggles. “I promise! I’m not teasing!”

Josh laughed and swung Ella so she was right-side-up, hugging her quickly before setting her down and allowing her to catch her breath. “She won’t spy anymore,” he told Justin.

“See Daddy? Told you!”

Justin laughed, kissing his daughter on the head. “Where’s Gramma, sweetie?”

“Right here,” Lynn said, leaning against the doorframe. “You torturing your daughter again?”

Justin laughed, shaking his head. “No, Mama, I only do that when you’re not around.”

She shook a finger at him, eyes traveling to Josh. “And you must be Josh,” she said quietly, smiling a warm smile.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied, extending a hand. “Josh Chasez. Nice to meet you.”

“First of all, my name is Lynn,” she chided, still smiling. “And second, it’s nice to meet you, too. You make my son a very happy man.”

Josh ducked his head, trying to hide his blush.

“Mama,” Justin warned. “Thank you for watching Ella for me. You’re free to go now.”

Lynn feigned surprise. “Justin, are you kicking me out?”

Justin rolled his eyes, smirking. “Mama.”

“All right, Justin. I know when I’m not welcome,” Lynn teased, wiping an imaginary tear from her cheek. She leaned forward and kissed Justin’s forehead. “Love you sweetheart. Josh, it was very nice to finally meet you,” she said, patting Josh on the shoulder. “And Miss Ella? Come give your gramma a big hug.”

“Bye, Gramma,” Ella said, hugging Lynn tightly.

“Bye, sweetheart. Gramma loves you.”

“Love you too.”

“Bye Mama,” Justin called as Lynn walked out the door. He looked at his watch, then at Ella. “Time for you to go to bed, missy.”

“But Daddy!” she whined. “I wanna play with you and Josh!”

“You can play tomorrow, honey. Daddy’s tired, and I know you are too.”

Ella sighed, crossing her arms across her chest. “Fine. But only if Josh tucks me in too.”

“That’s up to him,” Justin said, eyeing Josh for a reaction.

Josh just smiled, crouching down and opening his arms to Ella, who climbed into them and rested her head on his shoulder when he picked her up, her eyelids already drooping.

“Not tired. Right,” Justin whispered, wiping a stray curl out of her eye.

Josh, with an armful of Ella, followed Justin upstairs into the little girl’s room.

“Where’s Bella?” Ella muttered into Josh’s shoulder, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

“She’s curled up on your bed,” Josh said. “Wanna lay with her?”

Ella nodded, letting Josh lay her down on her bed and curling up close to the kitten, who purred loudly.

Justin watched as Josh pulled the blankets up to Ella’s chin and kissed her forehead lightly. “Night night, sweetheart,” he whispered.

“Love you, Ella,” Justin said, smoothing back his daughter’s hair and kissing the top of her head.

“She’s asleep already,” Josh whispered, and Justin smiled softly, nodding.

“She’s worn out. Big day,” he said quietly before taking Josh’s hand in his own. “Big day for me, too.”

Josh nodded, understanding what Justin meant without explanation.

Justin took his hand and led Josh out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He looked at Josh, suddenly nervous, and bit at his lower lip. “Um…your car is back at the coffee shop, so um…if you want me to bring you there…um…”

Josh smirked, squeezing Justin’s hand. “You want me to go?”

Justin’s eyes widened, and he shook his head. “No! No, it’s not…” His cheeks flushed pink, and he was suddenly embarrassed. “I don’t want you to go. But if you don’t want to stay, I’m not going to force you.”

“You’re not forcing me, Justin. I want to be with you.”

Justin smiled, his heart fluttering. “Ok.”

“Ok.”

Josh followed Justin to his room, and Justin closed the door behind them, leaning against it and taking a deep breath.

“Justin,” Josh said, sensing Justin’s nervousness. “We don’t have to do anything, ok? I know you’re nervous, and you’re not ready to take this to a physical level. I’m not going to push you, you know that, right?”

Justin nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. Josh took a step forward, running a hand over Justin’s curls. “I love you,” he whispered, “and I can wait.”

Justin smiled, kissing Josh tenderly, his mouth fitting perfectly against the older man’s. “I love you too,” he said against Josh’s lips, kissing him one last time before pulling away and nodding towards the bed. “I’m exhausted,” he admitted, stripping out of his shirt and crawling onto the bed.

Josh followed suit, curling up against Justin, one hand on the younger man’s stomach, his chin on Justin’s shoulder.

Justin shrugged his pants off, climbing under the covers and motioning for Josh to do the same.

They fell asleep curled in one another’s arms, and now Justin was awake, replaying the entire night in his head.

Unconsciously, he began running his fingers through Josh’s curls as he watched him sleep. When Josh mumbled an appreciative noise, Justin realized what he was doing and quickly stopped, not wanting to wake his boyfriend.

Boyfriend, he smiled to himself. Such a nice word.

“Why’d y’stop?” Josh muttered sleepily, his eyes fluttering open to meet Justin’s in the dark.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” Justin whispered, smoothing the frown lines from Josh’s forehead.

“S’ok,” Josh whispered, finding Justin’s free hand under the covers and linking it with his own. “What are you thinking about?”

“You,” Justin admitted, corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

“Me?”

Justin nodded, wondering if Josh could even see the movement in the dark.

“What about me?”

“How lucky I am to have you. How grateful I am that you came into the coffee house that day. How much Ella likes you. How much I love you.”

Josh smiled, nuzzling Justin’s neck. “I love you too,” he whispered, kissing the soft skin lightly. He laughed then, and the gust of air against Justin’s neck sent shivers up his spine. “You’re an idiot, you know.”

“Why?” Justin laughed.

“Because! You tried to give me back five hundred thousand dollars!”

Justin laughed again, shaking his head. “So? Maybe it was a test!”

“A test, huh?”

Justin nodded, brushing a stray hair out of Josh’s face.

“What kind of test?”

“If you took the money back, I’d know you were just a greedy jerk.”

Josh giggled, licking Justin’s neck.

“But you made me keep it. And you didn’t want anything in return. Not even my love. You let me walk away. You didn’t pressure me. You only wanted what was best for me, even if it didn’t include you.”

Josh sighed, pulling Justin closer. “Money can’t buy you love, Justin. If I’ve learned anything, I’ve learned that.”

“I don’t want your money. You know that,” Justin whispered, squeezing Josh’s hand.

“I know.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Josh sighed happily and snuggled against Justin’s warm body, one arm draped around Justin’s waist, one leg nestled between Justin’s thighs, and fell asleep to the soft sounds of Justin breathing.



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