Love Means No Shame - Andrew Grey

swim?” Geoff sure as hell was.
    Eli and Raine both nodded and went upstairs to change. Geoff heard the back door again and saw Len rush inside. Geoff explained what happened and that he’d already called it in.
    “Are you okay? I know how you feel about things like this.”
“Actually, I am. It threatened the cattle, and it had to be done.
By the way, when you see him, tell Pete to expect a bonus. That was 157
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one hell of a shot.” Len smiled and nodded. “We’re going swimming in the channel. You want to join us?”
“No, I’m gonna relax tonight.”
Geoff nodded and went upstairs, meeting Eli in his room.
    “Are you okay? You’ve been really quiet.” Eli was there right next to him, and he took advantage, kissing Geoff hard. Then, remembering what he should be doing, Eli offered, “I’ll load the truck while you change.”
    “Thanks, Tiger.” The door closed after Eli, and Geoff changed quickly and headed downstairs. The three of them piled into the truck, and they headed to the park.
    Geoff parked the truck just outside the park entrance where the Au Sable River meets Lake Michigan. The water was usually warm, and there was a nice current to swim in. Unloading their beach stuff and the picnic basket, they dumped their things on the sand and got ready to swim. Eli had borrowed a pair of Geoff’s board shorts. Raine pulled off his shirt and dropped his shorts, revealing his pink micro-bikini bathing suit, and then he tested the water before wading in.

    “Is he allowed to wear something like that?” Eli sounded almost scandalized, and Geoff could understand why. There wasn’t much to that bathing suit.
    “Yes, he can.”
“Isn’t it a little small?”
    “Probably, and if I know Raine, he wore it to see how people were going to react. He likes the attention.” Geoff leaned close. “But I bet you’d look good in it.” Now Eli really was scandalized, and he looked at Geoff like he’d lost his mind. “Not here, Tiger. But maybe 158
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at home, in my bedroom. You’d look real good one of those… or out of one of those.”
Raine was getting a lot of stares, which he completely ignored.
Geoff knew that was whole reason he wore the suit in the first place—that and the fact that he was out, proud, and man enough to wear pink.
    “Come on, let’s swim.” Geoff needed to get his mind off the bear and his earlier worries and just relax. Raine was right, he definitely needed to stop worrying about things he couldn’t control.
    Eli was here with him. That was enough, and he was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
He ran into the water with Eli right behind him, letting the current carry them toward the lake.
    “I know that killing the bear was hard for you,” Eli said. Geoff nodded as Eli’s foot rubbed his leg. “I love that about you.” Geoff turned, definitely confused. “What, that I’m a wuss?” He sure felt like one right now.
    Eli shook his head. “That you feel remorse for killing the bear.
It means you care, even for the bear you had to kill to protect the cattle. It shows you have a kind heart, and I love that about you. It’s sexy.”
    Geoff did a double take. “It is? You do?” He’d always considered himself a wuss. Growing up he’d never gone hunting and only learned to shoot because his dad and Len had made him learn.
    He’d gotten quite good shooting at targets but had always refused to shoot anything living. Today was only the second or third time he’d ever aimed a gun at a living thing. And to find out that Eli thought what he’d always considered a weakness was admirable only made him love him more, if that was possible. Suddenly this was the last place Geoff wanted to be, and he wondered how quickly he could get them home and upstairs into his bedroom.
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    “Geoff, you ready to eat?” Raine called from shore. God, the man was a shameless hussy—standing on the shore, wearing almost nothing. A group of teenage girls sat nearby, looking at him and giggling. Boy, were they barking up the wrong tree. Geoff followed Eli out of the water, his eyes on Eli’s clingy-wet-bathing-suit butt.
    They spread their towels and the picnic blanket on the sand.
Geoff put out the food while Eli slipped on his shirt, and Raine reclined on his towel, giving everyone who wanted one a good look. “You’re a shameless queen, you know that?” Geoff commented.
“Well, duh. I could have worn a thong, you know.” Raine propped