Love Means_. Freedom - Andrew Grey

sympathy. That sounded so much like his own father, except his father had punctuated his point by slapping Stone on the head until he saw stars.
    Stone's initial reaction was to back away from Preston's father just like he'd backed away from his own. Then he stepped forward and leaned down to Preston, saying, "No big-boobed bimbo is going to take you away from me!" Without thinking further, he leaned down and slammed his lips against Preston's. At first, Preston stiffened and tried to pull away, but Stone kept kissing and then felt those firm, hot lips part slightly. For a second, he forgot he was standing in Preston's house with both his parents looking on and just went with the feel and taste of Preston's lips against his. A hand on his shoulder pulled Stone back to reality, and he pulled away. Stone looked at Preston and saw his eyes widen, both of them breathing hard.
    Preston was the first to recover. "Let's go."
    Stone glanced away from Preston and saw the shocked look on his parents' faces. Jasper helped Preston out of the door and down the few steps to the sidewalk. Once on the concrete, they moved quickly, and soon Preston was in the truck between Stone and Jasper. Doors closed, and they pulled out and down the driveway. As soon as they reached the road, all three of them broke into fits of laughter, with Preston resting against Stone's shoulder, laughing the hardest.
    "Why did you do that?" He was still laughing, but the mirth had begun to die away.
    "I figured if he saw you kiss another guy, he might actually believe you were gay." That might have been why he'd done it, but Stone could still feel the tingle of Preston's lips against his. "I think he got the point." Maybe Preston was mad at him and he shouldn't have done it; it had been a gut reaction, and his rashness had gotten him into trouble before.
    "No kidding, I don't think I can ever remember my father being stunned speechless before."
They all settled down, and Stone felt Preston bump their shoulders together. "Thank you."
"For what? Kissing you? It was no problem." Stone felt shy and looked out the window.
    He'd liked the kiss, it was pretty incredible, but he was sure it didn't mean anything, at least to Preston. He'd done it on a whim, but when he was kissing Preston, he felt something. His body had reacted and he'd felt himself get hard as a rock. Jasper and Preston started talking about something that filled the space, and Stone gazed out the window, hypersensitive to everywhere that Preston's body touched his. And after what seemed like a split second, Jasper pulled the truck into the drive at the farm.
    The truck stopped, and Stone slid out, letting Preston scoot over. Carefully, Stone pulled the wheelchair out of the truck bed, assembled it, and held it steady while Jasper helped Preston as he shifted into it. A phone began to ring, and Preston shifted in his chair. Digging for it, he checked the display and shoved it back in his pocket. "He'll never leave me alone." The phone stopped ringing, and Stone began maneuvering the chair through the snow toward the back door as Preston reached for the phone again. "No more calls tonight," he said, and the phone chirped as it was shut down.
    "Won't your dad get mad at you?" Stone asked as he walked backward, dragging the chair to the steps. If he'd done something like that to his father, there'd be hell to pay.

    "Probably, but I can't stand it anymore. He just has to face reality."

    Stone tilted the chair back and maneuvered Preston into the house while Jasper held the door. Coats were slipped off and snow stamped off boots and wiped off wheels before they entered the kitchen.

    The house was filled with voices and laughter. Jasper walked toward the living room with Preston gliding behind him and Stone bringing up the rear. "Hey, guys, you remember Jasper,"

    Geoff's voice boomed above the din. "And this is Stone, and the guy with his own seat is Preston." Greetings were exchanged all around, and room was made at the tables for the three of them.
    "I've never played before." Stone didn't quite know what to do.
"No problem." Geoff sat down next to him. "Just watch for tonight, and next week you can join in if you want to."
Stone took a seat, and Preston wheeled himself up next to him. "Have you played before?"
Lumpy, one of the farm hands, asked as he shuffled the cards.
"Sure, deal me in." Stone watched as Preston passed over some money.
"The game's seven-card stud, so ante up and let's see if I