Page 82 of Out of the Storm

Their tongues connected, and it felt as though one hundred swirls of heat had burst to life in Jeff’s chest. Solar flares continued to erupt as their tongues teased each other’s—again and again and again—and then Jeff let go of Gary’s hand so that he could hook his hand behind Gary’s head. Gary pulled back, breaking their kiss, and for a second, Jeff thought that Gary wanted to stop kissing completely, but instead, he ripped off those magnificently nerdy black-framed glasses of his and flung them onto the nightstand.

And then Gary captured Jeff’s mouth in another kiss, one more passionate than before, more passionate than even the kiss they’d shared in front of the tornado, and to Jeff’s complete and utter surprise, he wasn’t scared in the least.

For the entire next hour, they kissed like that, like the fucking world was ending, and it was the best Goddamn hour of Jeff’s entire life.

Finally, when they broke apart, their lips plump and sore, Gary nuzzled Jeff’s nose and Jeff whispered a soft, “Fuck, Gare, I’ve never kissed someone like that before.”

“Neither have I,” Gary said, still somewhat breathless. “Are you okay?”

“No,” Jeff said, smiling. “I’m perfect.” He kissed the tip of Gary’s nose. “Ifeelperfect. Youreallyareperfect.”

Gary pecked him on the lips and said, “You’re perfect too.”

Chapter Fifteen

Gary

Days later, when Jeff had some time off from the mall, he came over to Gary’s in the afternoon, and the two of them spent an hour snuggled together in bed before Gary had to prepare for the evening show. Sensing how hard it was for both of them to untangle themselves from each other’s embrace made Gary’s heart feel so happy and so full. Never had he been in a relationship like this before, one where he felt like the other person wanted to be with him as badly as he wanted to be with them. What made Gary’s heart even happier was the fact that Jeff seemed to be learning to trust him. And Gary was learning to trust Jeff more too. Finally, Gary seemed to be starting to believe that Jeff wouldn’t leave him out of the blue.

Over the next hour, Gary worked in the kitchen to try out a new recipe he’d made up—a vegetable and nut meatloaf—while Jeff skimmed the newspapers to find some information that Gary could share on his broadcast. Once the loaf was finished, Jeff came into the kitchen, a pencil tucked behind his ear.

“Smells . . . interesting,” he said.

“Yeah, well, if it tastes terrible, I’m blaming you,” Gary said, removing the pan from the oven.

“Uh, I’m sorry, what?”

“Meatloaf. Isn’t that one of your favorite meals?”

“Yes,meatloaf.”

“Well, I wanted to make it for you.”

“Gare, I think you’re missing the most important part of the word.”

“Come on, if vegetable burgers can be tasty, surely vegetable loaf must be edible.”

“You are a special kind of weird, radio man,” Jeff said as he walked over to the cabinets to get a couple of plates. “Don’t you ever eat meat?”

“Eh, sometimes.”

“Not that I’ve seen.”

“I feel more peaceful this way, maybe,” Gary mused. He cut a couple of slices of loaf and loaded them onto the plates. “I’m much more regular now too.”

“Wow, that is... romantic,” Jeff teased. “Thank you for that information.”

“Hey, now, I’m simply preparing for the future. I thought you said you wanted to stick that majestic cock of yours in my rear end sometime.”

Jeff erupted with laughter. “Majestic cock?”

“Do you not like my compliments?”

“Oh no, I like them. I just never know how weird they’re going to be.”

“Great.” Gary handed Jeff a plate. “Ready for mush loaf?”

“Is that what we’re calling this interesting creation of yours?”

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