Love Means_. Freedom - Andrew Grey

Stone." The working man waved, and Preston continued on to the car.
"So I take it this session was better than the last," Jasper commented as he closed his door.
    "Yeah." He sat quietly, thinking of a young man in a tight pair of blue jeans that hugged a pair of legs and showed off the tightest butt he'd seen in a long time.
    Jasper began to laugh. "See, I told you."
"What?" He grinned across at his friend.
"See, I told you that you just might meet someone with brains." Jasper put the car in gear.
"I believe you said someone with more than air between his ears," Preston clarified with a chuckle.
"I believe I did, and if I'm not mistaken, that young man you couldn't take your eyes off of the entire time you were here just proves my point." "I was just paying attention during the therapy session." He crossed his arms across his chest, his smile turning to a scowl.
    "You should pay that kind of attention during our sessions." Preston saw Jasper's expression as he drove, eyes gleaming with mischief. "You don't need to get all huffy--he was looking at you the same way," Jasper teased, as they bounced over one of the country hills. "No, he wasn't," Preston protested, but he couldn't help feeling a little flip of excitement at the thought. "He was just doing his job." Jasper looked over at him and then turned his attention to the road. "If you say so."

    STONE heard voices in the house and rushed down the stairs, coming to a halt at the tables that filled the living room. "Hey, Eli, can I help?" "Sure, the folding chairs are in the basement at the base of the stairs."
He looked around the room. "Where's Adelle?"
    Eli's eyes danced. "Fridays are her day off. After the first week, she pronounced that her job didn't entail feeding every man under creation and most certainly didn't mean she should clean up after them. We agreed, so for tonight we're on our own."
    "Where is she?"
Eli shrugged. "Geoff gives her use of one of the cars for the day, but no one's had the guts to ask her where she goes."
    Stone hurried to the door and made his way into the dank area under the house, finding the chairs right where Eli said they were. Grabbing two in each hand, he made his way up the stairs and back into the living room. "Should I set these up?" Eli nodded and handed him a cloth. Stone wiped off the chairs and set them around the table. "What's all this for anyway?"
    "Tonight's Geoff's poker night." He placed bowls of chips on the tables. "From what I understand, Len, Geoff's dad, and Geoff's father, Cliff, started the tradition years ago, and Geoff has carried it on."
    "Do you play too?"
Eli shook his head. "Geoff has tried to teach me, but I'm awful, so I usually sit and watch.
    Sometimes Robbie and I go somewhere together and let the boys have their fun." Eli continued the preparations, and Stone got the last of the chairs from the basement, setting them around the tables as the back door opened and closed. "Stone," he heard Eli calling, and went into the kitchen. "This is Len, Geoff's dad, and his partner Chris."
    They held out their hands, and Stone shook them, introducing himself.
"So, you're the young man Geoff has been telling me about?" Len asked, releasing his hand.
Stone colored slightly. "I guess so."
Len smiled. "Don't be shy. Geoff has been telling me good things."
    The back door opened and banged closed again. Boots stomped before more people entered the room. "Hey, Eli." Geoff hugged his partner, stealing a soft kiss before turning to the other people in the room. "Look who I found."
Stone smiled as he saw Jasper walk into the kitchen. He knew he had a slight crush on the man, who immediately approached and hugged him hello before greeting everyone else.
    "Derrick will be right in. He had to get something from the car."
    Stone knew that Jasper was off limits, and he even liked Derrick, but this was the first person, except maybe Geoff, whom he felt he could talk to about who he was. He and Jasper had spent a few hours over the past week talking when Jasper would stop by to check on Preston's progress. "Do you play poker?" Stone asked. It seemed to him that Jasper could do everything.
    Geoff answered the question. "Hell, yes. Last week he went home with all my money."
    "Have you ever played?" Jasper asked, and Stone shook his head. His father would never allow cards in the house. "Tools of the devil," he used to call them. Never mind that the man used to drink like a fish and would hit him for the slightest