Love Is Always Write Volume 4

maybe. He didn't want to stop but knew they couldn't make out in the car all morning.
    "I gotta go," he whispered, pulling back a couple inches. "And you need to get to bed. I don't want to worry that you'll fall asleep at the wheel before you get home."
    "Yeah." Zeb sighed, then fidgeted a little in his seat. Chad smiled, knowing exactly how the other man felt right now because he was in the same boat. The smile dimmed slightly, though, when an unwanted thought popped in – he wondered if Zeb had ever gone home unsatisfied before; he couldn't imagine anyone ever turning that beautiful tattooed body down for anything. But he'd have to be the first because he already had the feeling it would be more than worth the wait. He reached for the handle to open the door but paused, really wishing he didn't have to go.
    "Call me." Zeb turned to him with a cocky smile, but Chad saw it for what it was. His defenses were up. Chad was okay with that. He planned on taking things slow and proving to this gorgeous man that he didn't need any defenses where Chad was concerned.
    And that's exactly what he did. Over the next month they saw each other a couple times a week, but after talking on the phone every day, that just wasn't enough anymore. He was so glad when his and Derek's lease expired on their apartment near campus and they could move into their new apartment. He'd already started his new job but now his commute was shorter and even better, the new place was only ten minutes drive from Zeb's. Before Chad knew it they were inseparable and he was in love.
    ****
    NOW…
    Pain in his foot rudely brought Chad back to the present as a tall, skinny guy tossed a not so very sincere, "Sorry," over his shoulder, and was shocked when he looked around the theater and saw how crowded it had become while he wasn't paying attention. Where did all these people come from? It was standing room only, mainly college age kids. No surprise there really, since the theater wasn't far from campus and the fall semester was under way.
    Seeing that his drink was empty and maybe had been for a while considering how dry his throat was, he maneuvered between the people, jostling a few by accident, on his way to the bar. One girl gave him a dirty look when he said 'Excuse me' – like how dare he invade her space to get by. God, he remembered being that age. Thinking you were out experiencing 'real life' now that you were out of the parents' house; how full of yourself you could be at times. But he also remembered college as where he finally got to know himself, and for the first time in his life he felt like he found a place he belonged.
    It was also the place he discovered it was useless to measure yourself by success, looks or the family's money. Instead he defined himself by the friends he kept. It was his friends that made him feel so self-assured and balanced.
    And he had to admit, the biggest yardstick of them all had been Zeb. Which was probably why that confidence, that knowing where he belonged and to whom, had wavered so badly after Zeb left. No, not just when he left. He knew exactly when it started, Christmas, but he just hadn't known it at the time.
    It was those three little words. Three words that had been screaming in his head for over a year, aching to burst out of his chest on a daily basis, but never said out loud. One thing he'd learned quickly about Zeb was that he wasn't comfortable with the mushy stuff. They'd both agreed to take things slow, which is why he'd been surprised when it had been Zeb's idea to move in together the January after they met. Derek had been great about it, finding a new roommate and even helping him pack up with a huge shit-eatin' grin on his face.
    By that Christmas it had been close to a year they'd lived together and Chad had never been happier. Even if Zeb never voiced his love Chad knew he felt it. He showed it to Chad in so many little ways every day that there was no reason to question it. They were secure, happy and in love. So with the holiday just around the corner he figured it was time to make that big leap and bring Zeb home to his parents for the holidays.
    Once at college he'd been relieved to have some distance from his family and let the distance grow, never feeling the closeness from his parents he knew some of his peers had, and was content with it. But this was different. It was the first Christmas he'd be sharing with Zeb since moving in together and that's what you did, wasn't it? Bring