Love Means_. Freedom - Andrew Grey

home." Preston gave him a kiss and then moved back to his chair.
"Tomorrow's poker night; are you going to be here?" Stone certainly hoped he'd come.
"Of course. I wouldn't miss it, and hopefully I'll have some good news that we can celebrate."
Stone felt a surge of excitement push everything else out of his mind. He loved Preston's celebrations, and his body did too.

    PRESTON pulled the new, specially equipped car into the farm's driveway, pushing the hand control down to brake. He liked that he could drive again, and his mechanic had been wonderful about outfitting the car for his use. He just had to remember to push in to accelerate, pull back to slow, and push down to brake. "I can do this." He smiled as he pulled the car to a stop. This was only his second day with the car, but he already felt freer now that he didn't have to bum rides from everyone.
    The back door opened, and Stone bounded out, excited expectation on his face. "I'll help you in." Stone got Preston's chair out from the back seat, and Preston shifted into it. Stone helped him through the snow and into the house. "Did you get a job?"
    "Yes, I got an offer today."
"You don't look happy about it." Some of Stone's enthusiasm waned.
Preston shrugged off his coat and Stone hung it up. "It's at the bank in Scottville."
Stone's brow knitted. "What is it? You sounded so excited yesterday."
    "They called and told me they were putting an offer together, and I thought it would be as a loan officer. Instead, they offered me a job as a teller. They gave me until Monday to let them know." He'd been so disappointed. He'd felt sure with his qualifications that they'd want him for something better. But it was a job. "Anyway, we can be happy that I've got a job, okay?" He reached up and touched Stone's cheek, the smooth skin sliding warmly under his fingers.
    "Yeah." Stone smiled, and they made their way into the living room, where the guys were already setting up.
"Glad you could join us, Preston." Pete smiled as he thunked the chips on the table. "You in, Stone?"
"Sure, I'll play." He handed Pete a few dollars and got his chips, sitting next to Preston.
    The games began, both tables talking and laughing. Throughout the evening, Preston could feel Stone's heat near him, and a few times he felt Stone's hand on his leg, squeezing softly. He swore the zipper on his jeans was going to bust open every time Stone touched him. He also swore Stone was doing it to break his concentration, because the stack of chips in front of him got smaller and smaller as the night wore on, while Stone's kept getting bigger. "You sure got the hang of this fast."
    "I get the hang of lots of thing fast." Stone's hand started sliding down, and Preston had to try to help keep his poker face in place as fingers lightly ghosted over his length. "I'll raise you ten," Stone said, throwing in a chip, looking over at Preston, waiting to see what he'd do. "I fold." Preston threw in his cards, glaring at his lover, who just winked back at him, raking in the pot.
    As the evening wore on, his play became even more distracted. With every touch of Stone's hand, his stack of chips continued to dwindle. Not that he really minded. Stone seemed happy and was willing to express that happiness in the best way possible. He wasn't going to complain about a few poker hands.
    The guys began leaving around eleven, with everyone helping to clean up and put things away. "Could you carry the bowls into the kitchen?" Joey asked as he passed on his way to the basement, his arms loaded with chairs.
    "Sure." Preston answered, and he loaded empty bowls on his lap before gliding into the kitchen. Eli took them and loaded the dishwasher. "Did I hear you found a job?"
"I got offered a teller position at the bank."
The dishes clinked as Eli pushed in the rack and shut the door. "Is that what you really want to do?"
    "Honestly? No. But the job will allow me to stay with Stone." Eli didn't answer, and Preston turned back toward the living room to get another load and saw his lover standing in the doorway, staring at him. Preston felt himself heat under his gaze, but it soon dissipated when he saw what looked like confusion rather than passion.
    "We're all cleaned up. The chairs are downstairs and the tables are put away." Joey yawned as he said his good-nights. "Thank you all for helping." Eli smiled at them both as he ran dishwater for the rest of the cleaning. "We can vacuum in the morning." He followed Stone back into the