The Older Man (BoyxBoy)

Twentysix

                                                                        Ian

            We threw a party after the wedding. It was a combination of congratulation, a reception, and Happy New Year all in one. I wanted nothing more than to be alone with Ollie. He felt the same way I did too but we both wanted to be with our family. We had our wedding at private hall, celebrated for a bit, and then we celebrated a bit more in the limo all the way to Oliver’s favorite place, the lake house. It was a few hours away but no one minded. The only person that left was the father who had to be with his own family.

            Victor was in some kind of disbelief. He hasn’t ceased in hassling Oliver since yesterday. It was interesting seeing them together. An outsider looking in would have thought Oliver was the older one of the two and Victor was his overly playful little brother.

            Finally, Cynthia took his attention away from my Ollie. I have a feeling she’ll be the one Ollie couldn’t wait to see his big brother get tangled over. So far it seemed that way. Don, Kevin, and my dad were in a heated conversation with Lívia, Ollie’s mom. I’m sure they were trying to know more about him. Ollie can be an open book but he only shows a person what he thinks they need to know.

            Oliver made his way over to me by the bar. Our eyes connected and I swear it’s like the first time every time. Oliver took my left hand with his, eyes locked with mine as he did so. He easily took my breath away. He possessed an immutable ability to control me and to mold me. It was an ability he wasn’t even aware of…one I didn’t think existed or could ever affect me. Then he waltzed into my life as a harmless, beautiful, carefree, kind, full-hearted, open, and honest man that changed my life forever. I knew I was in trouble. The way he hadn’t tried to fit in to impress me really trapped me. He never left my thoughts even when I wished my mind would just shut up. Then we had begun spending almost every hour in the day together. Next thing I know I wanted things I never wanted before. I wanted to love, to be loved, to have a family of my own with a man I barely knew at the time.

            As he looked down at my hand in his and used the index finger on his right hand to trace gently over the rings circling my ring finger, I feel completion. “Why are you over here by yourself?”

            “Just watching and thinking.”

            “What are your partners and your ambassadors and critics and f…do you consider them fans or customers?”

            Well, shit. Next thing I know Ollie and I are trying to hold ourselves up as our laughter filled the room over the music. “I guess both,” I said finally. I looked over his head. They were all talking animatedly with some kind of champagne or wine in their hands. “Do you think we can slip away for a few minutes?”

            “They’re purposely ignoring us.” Looking over at them, I noticed he was right. They were in their own little world and I wanted Oliver in mine for a few minutes. We walked hand in hand to our bedroom until we had to go through the door. I lied face first on the bed. Seconds later I felt Oliver’s body weight on my back. “I’ll stand by you no matter what.”

            “I know. Thanks, love.” Sighing, I unlocked my phone and was shocked to see how many text messages I had. Good thing it was on silent. I’m sure Oliver would have broken it because once it started vibrating I would have checked it out of habit. “Bloody hell.”

            “Holy shit,” Oliver said at the same time. “I’ll give you some privacy.” 

            “No, stay.” Grabbing a pillow, I fixed it underneath my neck to be more comfortable. “The first one is from…Jessie…” I trailed off. I never told Oliver how I got her to back off. He never asked. All I wanted was to be with him and put that part of my life behind me. The instant I said her name I felt Oliver’s body go tense.