Stronger Together (bxb) ✔

Chapter 58 - Bryan

Bryan's POV

"I know Shawn told you he didn't want gifts for his birthday but did you really not get him anything?" Diego asks Dean while we prep the food for Shawn's party tomorrow.

Dean is hosting the party at his baby's request and he roped Diego and I into helping with the preparations. Meanwhile, Jesse and Shawn are by the pool area blasting music as they put up decorations. Chase isn't here yet but he'll be joining us later; he's adding some finishing touches to the birthday video he made for Shawn.

"No, I did. I bought him a Jean jacket that I think he'll like and I also bought him two pairs of sneakers and some toys for the bedroom," Dean replies, his eyes darkening with lust at the mention of toys.

I chuckle. "I think the toys will be his favourite."

Dean smirks. "Yeah, you're right. He's always so eager to try new stuff!" Judging by the wide smile on his face, he's just as excited to use the new toys on his boyfriend.

We all return to our duties and Dean's voice sounds again, after a few minutes. "I'm also asking him to move in with me," he says so softly that had Diego and I not been standing next to him, we might have missed it.

I gasp and immediately spin towards him. The raw chicken fat stuck to my hand from cleaning the chicken, flies to the floor at my sudden movement. "That's great! Why are you being so secretive about it!"

Diego grins. "Congrats! That's big news!"

"I never thought I'd actually like someone enough to move in with them. You two were the saps that wanted to get married and find boyfriends and settle down." A soft smile graces Dean's face with his next words. "But now I can't imagine my life without Shawn."

"That's what love does," I say with a light laugh, swiping the fat from the floor before washing my hands and continuing to clean the chicken.

"So you're giving up your teenage dream of moving in with four guys and having endless nights of pleasure?" Diego teases.

Dean chuckles and nods. "Shawn already keeps me busy. Imagine five of him." He bites his lip and releases a low moan. "Okay that would be hot! But I'm barely able to keep up with Shawn as it is." He pauses momentarily and a look of doubt flashes across his face. "He'll agree to move in, right?"

"Haven't you basically already moved in? You sleep together almost every night, whether it's here, at your office or at his place," Diego retorts, raising a very valid point. "There's no way he'd say no."

That seems to calm Dean and he releases a sigh of relief. "I'm going to ask him by doing a strip tease at the party. He's always re-watching the strip tease scenes in Magic Mike, so I'm doing a variation of his favourite dance from the movie. Oh and I've converted one of my extra bedrooms into a dance studio for him. He usually uses the living room if he's here and needs to choreograph anything, but I think he would like his own studio better," he gushes, grinning from ear to ear.

Diego kicks Dean's butt with his knee. "Dude! How could you not tell us all of this sooner!" He whines and Dean's smile morphs into a guilty look.

"Your lack of communication was the reason I had to wait forever to meet Jesse," I joke, exaggerating the words 'forever.'

"I'm sorry!" He wails dramatically.

We both know that balancing Chase's case and his legal work for the firm take up a lot of his time, and of course the rest of his time is spent with Shawn. Almost every time we chat on the phone, Shawn is there, so there really was no good time to tell us since he's a grandpa that hates texting.